Chapter 386

Translator: Nat

–Aegir POV–

Sekrit slowly moves from the railing of the bridge to the center .

The enemy soldiers barely react, remaining in position and fortifying defenses on either side of the bridge .

「I have an injured person over here and can’t move . Do me a favor and come at me . 」

I say as I stab my Dual Crater near my feet .

「Captain!」

「Don’t rush . He has nowhere to run . Wait for the signal . 」

Both sides seem to exchange some kind of signal .

So they intend to coordinate their attack .

I stay vigilant and examine the bridge more carefully .

The bridge spanning the fairly wide river is 4 meters wide and no more than 50 meters long .

It’s well-made using sturdy stones and strong enough to support cavalry running across .

My gaze shifts to the river .

There is a relatively large volume of water, all of which isn’t muddy .

It doesn’t look like I can fool the enemy’s eyes if I grabbed Sekrit and jumped into the river .

「We don’t have to fight the demon head-on! Shoot him to death!」

「Match up your timing…… loose――!!」

At the same time the order was given, multiple arrows fly from both sides of the bridge .

I estimate roughly 50 of them .

「I thought this would happen . 」

I went pretty wild with their allies after all .

There’s no way they would come attack me from the front .

Even if I’m a commander, it would be annoying to deal with me, that’s why they are doing things in this way .

「I’m not going to let them kill me so simply like this though . 」

If I die, Sekrit’s fate would be sealed .

I take a deep breath, then suddenly stop and open my eyes wide .

I see the enemy’s arrows soar high in the sky, change direction and fall down .

When I ascertain their trajectory…… all of them are aimed at me, not likely to hit Sekrit, who is crouching by the railing of the bridge .

While holding my shield, I twist my body and swing my longsword .

「H-he won’t defend!?」

「There are that many arrows!」

I can’t block all the arrows with only my shield .

「On top of that, they’re all accurate . 」

If I stay still, at least 30 arrows would hit their target .

I can’t afford to cry about it though .

I turn my body and sweep my longsword in front of me first .

With a crisp snap, four arrows were cut down . The breeze generated by the swing of my sword blows three more arrows away .

One hits my chest and bounces off, then one grazes my cheek .

「Not even one hit him!?」

「So it was his swing that caused the arrows to veer off unnaturally…… monster . 」

Next is the back .

Using the momentum from swinging my sword, I continue to turn and hide my back with my shield .

I feel three soft impacts transmit to my hand holding the shield, two dull sensations on my back and one jolt of sharp pain .

「That guy, does he have eyes on the back of his head!?」

「He got hit by one though . He’ll be thrown off-balance . It’s over for him now . 」

Sure enough, swinging my heavy shield and longsword throws me off-balance .

But that was also anticipated .

「Hmph!」

As I spin, I fall to the ground and make my body low, letting five arrows pass right over my head .

「He dodged!?」

「Dammit…… he doesn’t only have power . He’s fast too!」

I let go of my shield in my fallen position, grab my longsword with both hands and then slash diagonally upward as I get on my feet .

My full-powered strike whipped up a more violent wind than before .

The blade makes direct contact with three arrows, deflecting them, the gust blows away another five arrows, one stabs into my thigh, and finally one stabs close to my collarbone .

I pull out the arrows stuck in my thigh and back and throw them in the river .

Since the arrow stabbed near my collarbone is buried rather deep, I break the shaft in half so it doesn’t get in my way .

「Fumu, it’s over?」

「He withstood a barrage like that?」

「He did get stabbed with three . But it didn’t affect him at all…… damn demon!」

Don’t mention those three . Hearing you say it makes the pain more noticeable .

I wanted you to praise my efforts .

「Next volley! L-looseー!!」

I can’t let you do that .

Another shower of arrows come raining down .

「Although……」

The enemy must be rattled .

Their collective volley seems more scattered this time around, and more importantly, the timing between the army in front of me and the army behind me is off .

「If this is all」

I choose to wield my Dual Crater and stare down the flying arrows .

「I can do this . 」

I take a firm step forward and swing my Dual Crater .

The way I’m using the Dual Crater is not as unrestrained as when I’m wielding the longsword, rather I determine the trajectory of each individual arrow and deliberately cut them down one by one .

「What is that!?」

「His sword…… I can’t see it!?」

My Dual Crater is as light as a feather compared to other weapons so I can basically use it like an extension of my arm .

I might not have been able to fend off all the arrows if the barrage was as coordinated as the first time, however the slight delay gives me a window to deal with one side before the other .

After knocking down the volley in front of me, I turn around and face the volley behind me .

I think I can manage to avoid getting hit .

「I’ve got it, I saw you . 」

I grin at the enemy .

The enemy commanders standing on opposite ends of the bridge take a step back and shake their heads to clear it before giving out orders .

「All units, prepare to attack . ……arrows won’t work on him anymore . 」

「Don’t underestimate this lone man . He isn’t an enemy who you can defeat with ordinary methods . 」

Soldiers holding swords and spears advance forward on the bridge .

A sigh of relief is breathed by my inner self .

My acting skills surprise me sometimes .

There’s no way I could actually see all the arrows .

If they kept shooting a fifth or sixth volley, they would eventually get me .

「Attack――!!」

With that said, I’m being pincered so I don’t exactly have the luxury to joke around .

I draw my longsword back to my hips and ready myself in a lowered stance .

Considering the width of the bridge is four people side-by-side, eight people are coming at me at one time .

「「「Uoooooooh!!」」」

When the spear-wielding enemies get into my range, I sweep my longsword in a circle with me at its center .

「Heh, too easy!」

「Hahaha, you think I’ll be done in by a simple sweep!?」

The eight enemy soldiers didn’t take the final step forward .

I see, so they might have seen how I fought before .

「The time to strike is now after he has swung, we’ll finish him and―― how strange, my body isn’t moving the way I want . 」

「Me too, everything looks tilted sideways . 」

Well, that’s because the top halves of your body were cut off and are sliding to the ground .

「It’s so obvious . 」

I saw them take a half-hearted step forward from the beginning so I extended the reach of my longsword by one step .

Seven of the enemies died in a similar manner .

The eighth happened to be shorter than the others and managed to escape being sliced .

「T-thank goodness I’m short . 」

「If only you were 5 cm shorter . 」

The top portion of the eighth soldier’s head flew off and he falls over, spilling the contents of his head .

I took out eight people like I wanted to .

「What are you doing!? Don’t think we can go up against the demon and come out without a scratch! Go with the next attack!」

That display wasn’t enough to faze the enemy and multiple sword-wielding soldiers come at me .

Six came from each side, for a total of twelve .

「C’mon, give me a break . 」

I repel the sword swung down at me with my longsword, then roundhouse kick the enemy approaching me at the same time from behind, dropping both of them into the river together .

「You won’t drop me so easily!」

「Is that so?」

I bend down and, using my shield, bash the face of the soldier who thrust his short spear at me, sending him flying back horizontally into the railing of the bridge, whose head cracks open on collision .

「His sword is a super heavy weapon, an opening will definitely be created after he swings it . Don’t ease up!」

While that statement pisses me off, it’s true .

Besides, there isn’t much space on the bridge to move around freely and I can’t leave Sekrit’s side .

「But, it won’t be so easy――」

I bring my longsword back in front of me and lower my hips in a thrusting stance .

The enemy soldiers yell loudly and rush forward .

「–To do me in . 」

I throw my Dual Crater forward .

The glimmering blade doesn’t slaughter anybody, instead it stabs into the railing of the bridge and diverts the attention of the enemy soldiers for a split second .

At the same time, I kick off the bridge and charge forward with the speed of exploding rock fragments .

In response, the enemy soldiers hold out their shields hastily, but I thrust with all my might as if they don’t exist .

「「Guboh!」」

Two voices overlap .

My longsword pierces through the initial enemy with the shield and also skewers the soldier behind him .

「Now!」

Seeing my sword plunge hilt-deep, an enemy soldier shouts to alert his friends, but before anybody could respond to the call, I let go of my longsword, pull out my Dual Crater from the railing and thrust the blade through that soldier’s throat .

Guiding my sword in the opposite direction after swinging through, I cut down another and then hop backwards while making another swing to take out one more . That reduces the enemies in front to zero .

「Hmph!」

Not long after taking a breather, I hurl my shield behind me .

The shield soars through the air like a discus, slamming into the torso of one enemy soldier along the way and also making a fellow soldier beside him flinch .

There’s no time for words .

Raising my Dual Crater, I rush in and slice the head of an enemy soldier in half .

Since I’ve thrown my shield away though, I’ve basically neglected defense and can’t dodge the short spear aimed at my side .

「I’ve got you!」

An enemy soldier delights in himself when he finds an opening to target a gap in my armor .

He genuinely seems happy, so I smile along with him .

「……w-why?」

「You don’t have enough strength . 」

He certainly aimed for a vital, but I’ve trained my sides .

This guy isn’t strong enough to get through my muscles .

I snap the partially buried spear in half at the center and return the broken weapon right into his eyeball .

The soldier twitches twice and falls over before two additional soldiers take his place .

「「Yaaaah!!」」

Their movements are synced .

I parry one slash with my Dual Crater, then quickly slice off the soldier’s head, but I unavoidably take the other slash with my arm .

「Guh……」

My intention was to block with my armguard, though the opponent isn’t an amateur .

At the last moment, he shifted his sword so it would land right at the joint of my armor, drawing blood as a result .

From the sensation, I can tell his sword cut to my flesh, and the pain is enough to make me question how long I can continue to fight like this .

「Cheh . 」

Boiling with anger, I grab the man by his helmet using my bare hand and slam his head into the railing of the bridge twice before throwing him into the river .

「T-two 10-man squads…… all wiped out . 」

「Demon……」

Commanders on both sides of the bridge become irritated and I hear the enemy soldiers express their unrest .

「If you overlook me, I’m willing to let you run back home with your lives . You don’t want anymore to die, am I right?」

「You must be dumb! Keep attacking . 」

「Infantry will just pile up corpses . Trample him with horses!」

Cavalry line up in front of me .

Horses take up more space than people, so only two can be side by side at one time, plus five more rows are behind, totalling ten units altogether .

Ten may seem like a small number, but I have to take on all of them head-on, which will likely make for a tougher battle .

「Get him!」

When the cavalry charge in unison, I pick up two spears, one in each hand, dropped by enemy soldiers in the previous engagement .

My Dual Crater doesn’t have enough reach and I threw my longsword somewhere far away .

The familiar dull trotting of hooves on dirt changes to a crisp clopping on stone .

「「Seiiyaahh!!」」

First come the two in front, aiming precisely at my chest with their spears, which I crouch down and dodge .

Two spearheads graze my temples .

With a low growl, I raise up and stab both riders in the side with the spears I’m holding .

The spears buried halfway into the soldiers’ bodies and get snapped by the force of the horses running past me .

I never intended to use those things more than once anyways, so losing the weapons doesn’t concern me .

「How dare you!」

「I’ll finish him!」

Two more cavalry promptly follow the first two .

「I wonder about that . 」

I deflect the spear of one cavalry with my armguard, then pick up a fallen sword and stab the horse’s thigh .

The horse lets out a pained neigh and falls to the ground, flinging the rider off as well .

His landing surface being stone should be enough for a fatal blow .

「Next . 」

The other cavalry which came slightly delayed is wielding a sword instead of a spear and is standing before me in an imposing manner .

Against a frontal enemy, a sword cavalry’s only attack is to run over them .

「It’d be nice if you had the guts to do so . 」

I pick up a sword that just happens to be lying around and face the cavalry with a belligerent smile .

After a brief moment of hesitation, the enemy changes direction .

「I didn’t think so . 」

Not letting the opening pass me by, I charge at the enemy cavalry and tackle the horse from the side .

In an unstable position because he was in the middle of changing course, the cavalry staggers and crashes into the railing, violently propelling the rider at a 45 degree angle .

It was right when I turned to face my next opponent .

「Guh . 」

My foot slipped on a fallen enemy’s blood or brain fluid .

I try to plant myself firmly, but pain shoots up to my head from my thigh and arm, causing me to waver .

I see, Sekrit might have experienced the same thing .

It was my fault for making light of the bolt she was hit with the other day .

An enemy cavalry uses its momentum to kick me while I’m stumbling .

Of course, I couldn’t hold steady and was knocked down .

「Now, trample him!」

Enemy soldiers shout from both sides of the bridge, and as if answering expectations, the next two cavalry rush at me .

They were not holding weapons, simply gripping tightly on their reins so they can run at full speed…… all so they could run over me .

「Not good . 」

I have a sword in hand, but it’s impossible to support the several hundreds of kilograms of weight behind the horse’s hooves .

Even if I try to counterattack and kill the horse, my head will be crushed .

「Uoooooh!」

「Do it . 」「Gooooー!」

I hear the resounding cries of the cavalry and soldiers cheering in support . Looking around, I only find useless broken spears and bent swords .

That was when my eyes met with Sekrit’s eyes .

Her eyes, vacant and unfocused perhaps from losing too much blood, were shifting back and forth from me to a certain point .

At the end of her gaze was…… the shield I threw earlier .

I pull the heavy shield close to myself .

I don’t have enough time to raise my body .

「Prepare yourself――」

The enemy cavalry was courteous enough to slightly step away before bringing down the horse’s hooves .

I fix my sight on the hoof and prop up my shield with both hands .

「Gaaah――――!」

What comes out of my mouth could not be distinguished clearly as a shout or a roar as I attempt to support the extremely heavy additional weight pressing down on the shield .

My jaw clenches down hard enough that my teeth could break and the blood vessels throughout my body could pop at any time as I gather strength .

I hear bones creaking and muscles tearing .

Then there was a thunderous sound .

「You’re kidding……」

「Unbelievable……」

「There’s no way……」

What came into my view was the slowly dancing body of a horse which spun once in the air before hitting the ground .

Sekrit’s mouth warped into a delighted smile as she watches me .

「Aaah, my joints hurt . 」

The next two cavalry charge in a hurry, although I don’t feel any pressure from them, probably because they were feeling timid after seeing what I did .

I grab the spear of one cavalry and pull the rider down . The other one panics at the last moment and tries to distance himself, but self-destructs and collides with the bridge railing .

「You guys are the last ones, huh . 」

Only two more cavalry to go .

For one of the cavalry, I stab with a stolen spear, then dodge the spear of the other by lowering my body before kicking and breaking the horse’s hind leg .

「A ten-man cavalry squadron…… wiped out . 」

The enemy commander shakes his head silently .

「Do you feel like overlooking me now?」

I ask confidently .

The enemy likely won’t seriously entertain my request even though I’m a little bit serious .

「Gehoh . 」

I clear my throat subtly .

Some blood is mixed with my saliva . I heard my rib crack when I fell .

Things could have been worse and the rib could have pierced my lung .

My movements are becoming duller .

I hope the next wave will be gentler as I retrieve my Dual Crater and get into a ready stance .

「Throw!」

The enemy soldiers are twirling around sling-type weapons and hurling rocks and iron balls .

「Siege weapons?」

They must have brought them in anticipation of attacking Arkland .

Compared to arrows, their aim is not as accurate, however their power is higher . That shoddy aim might actually be more dangerous for the crouching Sekrit though .

Using my shield and sword, I deflect the stones and metal objects to protect both Sekrit and myself .

So far, I much prefer these projectiles since they’re slower .

That was when something lit on fire came flying at me .

Sekrit cries out, trying to warn me, but I know what it is without her telling me .

「I guess this should be expected from siege weapons . 」

The flaming pottery must have oil or gunpowder inside .

It would be bad if I smash it .

I have no other choice though .

At such a speed, it isn’t a problem for me to dodge .

If I do, and the trajectory happens to be on target, it would land right on top of Sekrit .

Sekrit would be done for if I avoid this attack .

Sekrit groans feebly in an attempt to convey something to me, but unfortunately I don’t have time to strain my ears to interpret her .

「I have to do this . 」

I swing my shield and break the pottery .

「We did it!」

「He fell for it!」

The gallery is too noisy . I did what I did with the understanding of what would happen, you idiots .

There was a small explosion and my field of vision was engulfed in flames .

I remain standing still with my back turned, acting as a shield so the fire doesn’t reach Sekrit .

「……you idiot . 」

I don’t want you complaining after I protected you .

My back feels hot like it’s on fire…… no, it is actually on fire .

「Keep pouring it on! Burn him to a crisp!」

The enemy continues flinging multiple flaming projectiles at me .

「Fuuhー」

As I inhale deeply and look up at the sky, everything seems to be moving strangely slow, maybe because my life is experiencing a crisis .

I see a line of fire drawn in the air for each pottery flying .

There are a total of 25 projectiles…… 10 of which will hit me . I remember the trajectories of all the falling objects and close my eyes .

「Fuu . 」

I exhale shortly yet sharply, then with my eyes still closed, smash the flaming objects with my sword and shield .

Fire shrouds my head after the sounds of shattering porcelain .

Right now, I should be burning like the firewood in a furnace .

If I breathed in, my lungs would burn and if I opened my eyes, they would burst from the heat .

「We did it, he’s finished!」

「He’s completely covered by fire!」

I know you’re waiting for it, but I’m not dead yet .

「Hngh!」

I release the remaining air in my lungs as I stomp firmly on the ground and spin around once .

A grating sound is produced by my metal boots scraping along the stone bridge .

I utilize the centrifugal force, ignoring the screams of pain from my knee, heel and injured area, and spin fully with all my might .

「Ah……」

I couldn’t tell whether the gasp came from the enemy camp or Sekrit .

Once I opened my eyes, I see a circle of fire around me .

Furthermore, the flames are spreading outward like a casting net .

I blew the flames off my body with a high speed spin . It was an all-or-nothing gamble and it worked .

The fire enhanced by the scattered oil burned the green grass growing next to the river, causing smoke to rise up from various places .

Suddenly, a worn-out cloth flies at my head .

It was Sekrit who threw the cloak at me .

I realized at that moment that her hair was still smoldering .

The only way I could extinguish the fire with such a method beyond common sense is because of the dragon armor which doesn’t burn . It was simply the oil on the surface of the armor burning . If my armor or clothes caught on fire, there was nothing I could have done .

Despite the short period of time of being enveloped in fire, I didn’t come out unscathed .

A sharp pain is radiating from all the exposed skin on my body .

The more time passes, the greater the pain I will feel, and I won’t be able to move .

「Phew, that was close . I nearly became a roasted orc . 」

Not willing to show any signs of weakness, I direct a joking remark at the enemy .

The enemy commander has a stiff face and the words coming out of his mouth lessen remarkably .

I’m the one who should be making a strained face though . My entire body hurts .

「……l-load the next volley?」

「No, there’s a ton of smoke . If we continue to attack with fire, we might give him a veil to escape in . He’s weakened from our attacks…… or he should be . We should be able to finish him now…… I think . 」

Appearing before me is a knight clearly dressed in a different attire than the ordinary rank-and-file soldier .

He dismounts from his horse and slowly inches closer to me .

His armor is of the full plate variety and based on his movements, I can tell it’s rather thin, granting him mobility .

He wields a two-handed greatsword with a blade around the same length as the Dual Crater .

「A one-on-one now of all times?」

I stop myself short of picking up my longsword and put both hands on my Dual Crater instead .

I raise my sword when the knight reaches a distance of roughly two meters .

「It looks that way . Let us fight fair and square!」

「Fair and square, you say?」

I’m surprised he can still say that after shooting me with arrows, surrounding me with infantry, rushing me with cavalry and setting me on fire with siege weapons .

Regardless, all wars are pretty much fought like that, so complaining doesn’t really change anything .

「If you think you’ve won―― you’re making a huge mistake . 」

I position my Dual Crater at eye level and then open my eyes wide .

I have to ignore the pain and concentrate on this enemy .

「――how foolish . Leaving your large sword like that…… I know why you did that!」

The knight shouts and charges forward . Fair and square, my ass . You do know why .

A smile creeps on my face as I block the knight’s downward swinging sword .

「I see . 」

「Seeeeeiii!!」

The knight lets out a battle scream and puts more weight behind his attack .

I take a step backward and redirect his attack to the side of me .

「There’s more where that came from!」

The knight, after locking swords with me, puts some distance between us before unleashing a continuous string of attacks consisting of a sweep of his sword from the right, then bringing it back for a sweep from the left, followed by a slightly diagonal downward swing .

「I see . 」

Barely retreating, I deflect the two sweeps and sidestep the downward swing .

When I aimed for the knight’s neck after seeing he lost his balance, he easily dodges and once again distances himself two meters away .

「You move well for being riddled with wounds . You’re truly a demon…… I despise you as an enemy and respect you as a warrior . 」

「Well thanks . 」

The knight points the tip of his sword at me and gets ready to thrust .

「It’s all over though . In terms of movement and strength, I have you beat . This place will be your grave . 」

He seems to be sure of his victory .

「I might be hurting all over so much that I can’t take it, but……」

The man tenses up .

「I can still surprisingly-」

I see the slightest movement of the sword tip thrusting out .

「-move my body . 」

Faster than the man could move, I take a thrusting stance and fly out like an arrow .

「Wha-!? Fast!?」

His sword snaps in half after blocking my unexpected thrust .

I pull my sword back and take one step back so I can launch myself forward for a second thrust .

「I can’t see!?」

The man’s right arm is cut off and his sword dances in the air .

Without delay, I take another step forward .

「Wait!」

Frantically, the man twists his body in time, as my sword tears through his helmet and grazes the side of his head, causing fresh blood to trickle down .

To dodge all of my three-part thrust, he’s pretty quick .

I take one more step and headbutt the man in the face .

「Gue……」

Blood drips from his nose and then right as the knight falls on his butt, my Dual Crater cuts into his face right below his nose .

The battle is settled .

At that moment, before I turned around and as I was thinking of who my next opponent would be, I feel an impact on my back .

It was from a spear being thrust at me .

The sensation of something crawling down my skin must be from my blood oozing out .

「I failed to finish him, huh ……fine then . I’m next, let us fight fairly!」

「Hey now……」

The man twirls his spear as he declares loudly .

He considers what he did ‘fair’? I’m actually impressed that he can say that, although I’m also angry .

「Haaaaah! Toooh!」

He thrusts his spear, letting out an extended high-pitched yell each time .

His thrusts aim at my face, throat and thigh, precisely targeting the gaps in my armor .

So he isn’t merely cowardly and has some level of skill .

「Tch……」

Nevertheless, it isn’t