Chapter 46: Rabid Dog (2)

The synchronized attacks of the two knights left those watching breathless.

They were from different countries, with completely different origins and swordsmanship techniques.

Even their builds contrasted so much that it seemed impossible for them to understand each other so well.

And yet, at that moment, their movements fit together like perfectly aligned gears.

Kurui had no choice but to defend. If he tried to counterattack clumsily, he would end up pierced by the other’s sword.

“Aghuak! Guaaaah!”

An orc tried to intervene to help Kurui. The knights who had been frozen watching the scene quickly regained their composure.

“Stop him!”

Shouting with all their might, the knights lunged at the Belmierd.

The prince, only eighteen years old, was facing the most dangerous enemy. It was a disgrace for the knights.

But none of them had the courage to fight shoulder to shoulder with Jose the way that prince did.

That’s why, at the very least, they would do what they could. They would not let a Belmierd ruin that battle.

“If needed, I’ll give my life.”

Said Laurent.

That thought was shared by all the knights present. The prince had walked into the lion’s den without hesitation—how could they now cower?

A fierce battle broke out.

“Damn it…”

Laurent muttered a rare curse. A knight died right before his eyes.

A comrade with whom he had recently shared a meal in the dining hall. He clearly remembered his expression as he spoke about what he would do after the war.

Yuri’s calm voice came to mind.

‘I’m only doing the bare minimum expected of me.’

Had he already known? That prince was younger than him, but he already clearly understood what war was and what it meant to risk one’s life.

Laurent stepped forward. The orcs focused their attention on him. Two or three of them raised their weapons toward him.

The malevolence attacking from all directions was hard to endure alone. Laurent deflected one, dodged two, and stepped back again. Advancing alone was an overwhelming task.

And Yuri had been enduring all of that on the front line? That thought stayed carved in his chest.

Laurent gripped the hilt of his sword. The manamethod of the Flandre bloodline activated.

A pure mana, like a white chrysanthemum flower, spread around him.

He stepped forward again. The protruding corners of the battle line had to withstand fierce resistance. But Laurent didn’t retreat. He advanced even further.

“For Briol!”

He shouted as he raised his sword.

The orcs’ wild attacks had no pattern. Laurent trusted his senses and focused.

Two axes were caught by a single sword. He let the impact flow backward and spun halfway, advancing.

He approached an orc and used its body as a shield to dodge the rest of the attacks.

The orc, bewildered, tried to crush him. But Laurent’s sword was faster.

The blade, wrapped in energy, split the armor and sank deep. The orc, looking at him in disbelief, collapsed.

Then more orcs charged at him to trap him. It was the collapse of the orc line that had once aligned with the knights.

The knights did not miss that opportunity. The spearhead that had pushed forward had already broken the tension; now it was time to pierce through.

Everyone charged at once. Weapons clashed. Life and death bloomed and withered over and over.

In the midst of the battle, Laurent felt a strange calm.

Yuri was fighting with his life on the line. He too had to step into the line of fire.

A halberd blade grazed his ear. For a moment, Laurent slashed an orc’s neck.

Had he been slower, he would’ve died. Had he ever fought a battle where he dodged death by such a narrow margin?

Laurent felt mana pulsing through his body and briefly turned his gaze. Through the hideous faces of the orcs, he saw Yuri and Jose fighting Kurui.

That battle seemed even closer to death than his own. But he could do nothing for them.

Laurent simply raised his sword and shouted with all his might.

“For Briol!”

***

Yuri thought it felt like he was doing acrobatics in a circus.

If he followed the predetermined steps, he could survive, but one small mistake could ruin the plan and a blind dagger would pierce his body.

Every moment fighting Kurui was like walking on the edge of death. If he lost balance even for a second, he’d be cleaved by an axe.

Yuri shouted.

“Jose! Can we win this?!”

“I don’t know!”

Though he was holding off Kurui with innate instinct and split-second speed, he was still playing a supporting role.

The one directly facing Kurui was Jose. Yuri kept pestering Kurui to give Jose a chance or to keep him out of danger.

“Phew…”

Kurui halted his movements and caught his breath. At that moment, Jose spoke.

“Your Highness, have you by any chance trained as an assassin?”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“It’s just… you’re pretty good at hit-and-run tactics…”

“I’m doing it because of you!”

He’d seen Yuri before Kurui’s arrival, sneaking among the knights and stabbing. But the situation was far too critical for jokes.

Jose only smiled.

“I see.”

“That’s right.”

Kurui was truly strong. Jose recalled the past years.

He had trained with extreme dedication. He didn’t settle for his natural strength—he completely focused on mana technique and repeated the movements thousands of times to understand the meaning behind each stance.

With a firm resolve to grow stronger, he had made unrelenting efforts.

But Kurui had done the same.

The countless scars on his body proved it. He was a warrior who had fought fiercely his entire life. Perhaps he had lived an even crueler life than Jose.

That’s why Jose was convinced.

If he could defeat this man, he would take one more step forward in his growth.

And with that, he could get closer to the seat of the Ten Greats he had long dreamed of.

“Your Highness.”

Said Jose.

“Let me take this one.”

He wanted a one-on-one fight. Yuri, meeting his eyes, answered while also holding Kurui’s gaze.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You want to fight alone?”

“I do.”

If an average knight had said that, he would’ve yelled at him to stop being ridiculous. But this was the one who would someday be the strongest in Brusen and sit among the Ten Greats.

“Understood.”

Yuri lowered his sword.

“Sir Jose, may I give you some advice?”

“Of course.”

Jose had built a brilliant history in his past life, and Yuri was nothing more than a mercenary who had lost his country and wandered in misery. But at this moment, Yuri felt the need to say something.

Though he had wasted his life, the talent he’d inherited from Fiore was genuine.

“Don’t worry about what comes after. If you die, I’ll kill that bastard myself.”

Jose had incredible ability.

So overwhelming that, fearing the risk to other knights if something went wrong fighting Kurui, he couldn’t fight at full strength.

Maybe he didn’t even notice it himself, but Yuri, who had fought beside him, could feel it.

Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and smiled confidently.

“Yuri Briol swears it. So Sir Jose, fight without hesitation—even if it costs your life.”

The certainty that it wouldn’t matter if he died. That’s what Yuri gave Jose.

After a moment of silence, Jose raised his sword and let out a roaring laugh.

So powerful was his laugh that even Kurui furrowed his brow.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Yuri’s role ended there.

He stepped back.

Kurui gave him a fleeting glance but did not attack him again. For him, getting rid of that pesky human must have been a relief.

But that was a mistake on Kurui’s part. The atmosphere around Jose changed completely.

“Now I…”

Yuri looked away.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the orcs trying to help Kurui by killing humans were locked in fierce combat against the order of knights.

There was no time to relax. Yuri aimed directly at the back of the nearest orc.

“Akuakkaai!”

“Yes, it’s me, you damn bastard!”

The energy of the Soul-and-Heart Slash surged. Yuri stabbed with Guilty. A nearby orc intervened.

“You too—back off unless you want to die!”

Yuri dodged and swung Guilty again. It was a series of attacks as fluid as a painting.

Yuri felt that this strange mana technique he’d learned continued to grow stronger. And it wasn’t just because he was fighting on the edge of death.

The battlefield was the place where will manifested more intensely than anywhere else.

Clashing swords with the enemy, Yuri could feel those turbulent emotions as if he could touch them.

The Soul-and-Heart Slash grew, feeding on that malice and despair.

The stronger the enemy’s hatred, the sharper Guilty became. He used to struggle against a single orc, but now he handled them with ease.

“Laurent!”

Yuri called out to his loyal knight, who was fighting a bit farther away.

“Yes!”

“What are you doing? Is that the level of my knight?”

Yuri’s provocation served as a powerful incentive for Laurent. Frowning, he tightened his grip on his sword and advanced toward the orc, unleashing a dance of blades.

It was an aggressive style, unusual for him.

Blood splattered.

When the orc fell, Laurent looked at Yuri with a wide smile. His face was smeared with blood.

Yuri also curved his lips slightly.

“Briol!”

Yuri shouted.

His voice, as if by magic, boosted the morale of the knightly order. As soon as he joined the battle, Briol’s offensive intensified.

The knights began to push the orcs back.

Yuri glanced over his shoulder.

Kurui and Jose were clashing like two wild beasts. If Jose was a cunning bear, Kurui was a seasoned tiger.

Each time they collided, it echoed like thunder crashing down.

“At least hold out!”

Yuri shouted.

As long as Kurui was being held back, the allied forces could advance further.

That alone could tilt the balance in their favor.

“Kill them!”

The balance tilted. The goddess of victory seemed to favor the alliance.

But then, an unexpected shift occurred.

From the corpses of the orcs, a black smoke began to rise.

Yuri immediately stepped back.

“Magic?”

It couldn’t be.

The alliance’s mages, including Hernando [1], were supposed to be sealing spells.

Using magic on the battlefield wasn’t as easy as people claimed.

But there was no other explanation for that scene. From that dark gas rising from the corpses, a strange energy could be felt.

“Everyone, get away from the bodies!”

The remaining orcs were also overtaken by madness. Their eyes turned red, like when they used crimson gems.

Yuri wanted to call for Hernando immediately and demand an explanation. But he had to be in the rear, maintaining the dispel incantation.

The same should’ve applied to the orc shamans. So then, how was this happening?

What was the true identity of the orc shaman?

“Damn it…”

Yuri cursed and looked up. And he shuddered as he raised Guilty.

A little further away, the same dark and blurry orc shaman he had seen last night at the camp was watching the battle.

Yuri wanted to approach him, but an orc blocked the way, swinging its weapon. Its eyes turned red, and its strength and speed surged.

Yuri barely dodged, but the force of the wind cut him. The energy these guys emitted made his bones vibrate.

“If the orcs are like this…”

While blocking the attack with Guilty, he looked for Jose. And shouted.

“Sir Jose!”

Kurui’s axe came down on Jose. It struck his shoulder.

Jose buckled, falling to his knees.

At that moment, Yuri—his focus diverted—noticed too late the dark shaman’s closeness.

That being grabbed him by the neck.

He couldn’t breathe. His mind was clouding.

But he didn’t let go of Guilty.

(1): The name “Hernand” will be changed to “Hernando” to match the name in the manhwa.