Chapter 189 – 53. The Trial of Roia (5)
‘After the lion sword, Atlin…’
Like Erti said. The female swordsman who had just cut off the demon beast was Atlin.
Beyond the milky or silver aura blade, the aura blade that shines like the sun was her symbol.
And the sword in Atlin’s hand was undoubtedly the holy sword Siertia. Erti stopped in her place and stared blankly at her own old master.
For a moment Erti stretched out her hand vaguely in front of her. She then got off again.
The Lion Swordsman in front of us wasn’t looking at us. I pretended not to know such erti.
“Do not be afraid, attack! I will take the lead!”
Atlin shouted with a fierce voice like a lion’s roar. Erti and the soldiers around me rushed to the front again at the sound.
‘It’s not real.’
Erti and I are in the middle of the battlefield. It was so vivid that I could even feel the fraud of the magic power, but it was not reality.
Erti, who came to her senses, explained the current scene.
“… As you can see, this battlefield is not real. It’s just the Wernigue battle that is unfolding based on my memories. But Loia’s voice commanded me to recall this battlefield. Perhaps it means that it is a place that has meaning to you.”
I nodded. As much as this ordeal is Roia’s ordeal. It was not unusual for Erti, the holy sword, to hear the voice of the god of battle.
‘Battle of Wernigue. And the sword of the lion.’
It was a battle that was fierce enough to remain in the history books, and the legend of the lion sword was created. As Erti said, it must have been an important place for me.
‘I’ve never entered a dungeon. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a large-scale battlefield.’
I followed Erti. She pointed to two soldiers near her. Standing next to him, he naturally nestled into the soldier’s body.
“Even though we cannot move or intervene in this body separately. It would be nice to see it from this point of view.”
She nodded in agreement with her words.
The attack of the group of monsters slowed down for a while. Knights and soldiers wearing lion-patterned armor gathered near Atlin.
They were the Knights of the Midnight Sun and the elite Essenmund soldiers.
A knight who seemed to be an adjutant reported the war situation to Atlin.
“The imperial army that came to help us was annihilated. Majesty!”
Atlin’s face turned pale at his words.
“What about Essenmund?”
The adjutant lowered his head. As if he couldn’t believe it, he said as his clenched fists trembled.
“We lost most of our remaining troops in the previous engagement. We have 1000 soldiers left. About 50 Knights of the Midnight Sun remain.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes… Your Highness.”
“Then, what about that demon army led by Greiel?”
“It is in good health. I only killed about 20% of them…”
“That would mean that there are about 3000 monsters left. Is it 3 times ours? The head count has been reversed.”
“Yeah. Majesty. And… Those beasts began to surround us.”
After that, the adjutant was silent. Atlin also shut his mouth.
As recorded in the history books. It is now 2 weeks since the battle started.
The Imperial Army and the Essenmund Army, sent from the Imperial Palace, united to desperately block the Witchbeast. However, as the adjutant informed, the imperial army was annihilated. The situation of the remaining Essenmund forces was also hopeless.
Spurt. The holy sword Siertia in her hand made a short resonant sound.
Atlin and Erti. The two seemed to be having a conversation about something.
“Aren’t you curious what he’s talking about?”
Erti spoke to me at that moment.
A hopeless war situation that cannot be foreseen. And a conversation between a famous holy sword and a female knight praised as a swordsman.
‘It’s not going to be a normal conversation. Maybe I’ll gain some enlightenment.’
However, Erti soon betrayed my expectations.
“At that moment, Atlin apologized to me. She promised me that she would find me a match for her. I am a sword made in the Old Empire period. And yet you’ve been a virgin for too long.”
She said, repeating her lines in a clumsy theatrical tone.
“That line was exactly like this. He was going to bring me a guy who would remove the cobwebs from your cunt. But if you go on like this, I think I’ll turn you into a virgin ghost. Sorry. Erti. I said so.”
I was perplexed for a moment. Erti’s personality is a little strange. She probably didn’t even know she was under the influence of the owner. Atlin didn’t seem to be normal either.
‘To see the holy sword and the swordsman having such a vulgar conversation…’
Also, it’s strange that Erti, the Ego Sword, has her virginity. She wondered how I felt. She added her words.
“Actually, it’s an Essenmund expression. It means that Atlin was prepared to die. Because if she dies, she can’t keep that promise. Isn’t it? And even though he is a human being, the fear of death is the same. To forget her fear, she joked with me pretending nothing was wrong.”
At that, she looked at Atlin’s face once more. Her despair and frustration felt by her soldiers surrounding her. And fear.
But Atlin, just like when he cut down the demon beast. He was looking everywhere with his straight, unwavering eyes.
‘Are you saying that she was afraid of her inside?’
The supreme commander responsible for the lives of his soldiers. So, even in a hopeless situation, it seemed that he could not reveal his inner thoughts.
‘But it’s not something anyone can do. To stand upright like that.’
Soon Atlil opened his mouth and spoke to his lieutenant.
“From the tenth. To mobilize all commanders above it. I will direct the next operation.”
And Atlin, accompanied by his adjutant, made his way to her barracks.
***
It was night.
All the remaining Essenmund forces gathered on the Wernigue Plain. And Atlin stood in front of the soldiers.
She shouted at her soldiers.
“As you know, I am not a talkative person. So what I am about to say is not a joke or nonsense.”
Her soldiers took note of Atlin’s words. Atlin was silent for a moment. She opens her mouth again.
“Tonight. You will all die here.”
The soldiers hummed. As much as I also borrowed the body of a soldier. I could feel their emotions fluctuating.
The fear of those who are about to die. And the death sentence handed down by Atlin, their commander and lord.
It was felt that a deep sense of despair was spreading among the soldiers at the confirmation that there was no chance of winning against the Witchbeast.
Atlin, as if expecting that reaction, calmly continued her words.
“There is no chance of winning. We were besieged by the Demonic Beasts. If more time passes and the demon army completely surrounds us. The Essenmund army is annihilated like this. It’s also impossible for all of you to retreat. As you all know, when the Demonic Beasts pass through the Wernigue Plain. There is no tomorrow for Essenmund.”
Atlin was right. The Wernigue Plain is the final line of defense to block the current Demon Beast Army.
The soldiers were agitated by her words, but soon fell silent. They also affirmed Atlin’s words as silence.
“So we, the Essenmunds, have only two options. All die now Or they all die later. And as I said before, the latter is impossible. You guys in a while After charging at those monsters, everyone will die without leaving a single one. I intend to stop the Demon Beast Army with your lives.”
One soldier, unable to withstand the desperate words, shouted.
“Is His Highness telling us to commit suicide!!”
Extreme disrespect for a soldier to vomit at the words of a ruler. However, you have already been sentenced to death. The soldier was also not sane.
Atlin responded calmly, as if the rudeness was nothing.
“You are right. To charge into the Demon Beast Army’s camp tonight is like committing suicide. But I will command you to do so tonight. This opinion will not change.”
The soldiers were greatly agitated. However, Atlin’s words were not over yet.
“And even if all of you die, I will survive. Certainly. You will sacrifice your lives and survive uglierly and terribly. So you will have to sacrifice your life to save me, the Marquis.”
“Are you saying that only Your Highness will survive by using us as bait!! Are you saying you want to run away!”
“It is true that there is hope only if the Marquis survives… But for Your Highness’s escape… Are you asking us to die… No! I can’t!”
“Calm down! Everyone be quiet! Isn’t His Highness talking!”
To the agitation of the soldiers, the commanders stopped them. However, the confusion once ignited was not easily quenched.
That moment. The holy sword Siertia shone brightly. An aura blade that shines like the midday sun. At the flash of the Aura Blade, the soldiers instantly shut their mouths.
Then Atlin raised his sword and pointed in one direction.
“No. You guys are misunderstanding. The place I am heading is not the southern retreat route. I’m in the same place as you guys. Are you going to the enemy camp? And even in the middle of that beast, I will definitely survive.”
The agitation of the soldiers stopped. The words were completely different from what the soldiers thought.
Based on the sacrifices of the soldiers until now, I will break through the encirclement and retreat. In that sense, the soldiers must have thought.
However, the place Atlin pointed to was in the middle of the enemy camp. She said her
“Soldiers sacrifice! And with your lives, you will have to send at least one more Knight of the Midnight Sun. And all the Knights of the Midnight Sun who survived like that should give their lives.”
The knights all paid attention to Atlin.
“And that sacrifice will bring me to the place where the goddamn beast lord is. I’ll say it again! You guys use your lives to clear a path for me!”
At those words, the eyes of all the soldiers suddenly changed. Everyone waited for the next word.
“It means to save me and send me to that Greiel! If so, I will surely survive and slit that Graiel’s head, even if I’m servile. Then you will all die tonight. Instead, Essenmund will survive. Your family will survive and pass on Essenmundian pride to future generations!”
Only then did the soldiers know Atlin’s true intentions. After ordering the soldiers to give their lives. He said he would survive.
In fact, it meant that Atlin would risk his own life as well. She also said that she would die today.
It is a reckless surprise attempt on a night full of magical spirits with no moonlight. But it was also the only operation with one chance.
Type 1 Demon Beast Graiel.
It was because Lion Swordsman was the only one who could face the calamity that surpassed the power of type 1 by commanding an empire-level army.
Atlin closed his mouth with those words. And after a while
The entire Essenmund army knelt at her on one knee towards Atlin. They shouted in unison.
“Glory to the bravery of a lion that calms the winds of the northern kingdom!”
An hour later. The Essenmund Army launched a surprise attack on the Magical Beast Army.
***
The surprise attack was not expected by the Demon Beasts either.
Night is an advantageous time for Witchbeasts, whose senses are much more sensitive than humans. And the magic beast army had already surrounded the Essenmund army.
A monster who imitated humans and created an army. They also mimic human tactics.
However, it was because they were magic beasts who operated with a more rational command system than humans.
The insane surprise attack by Atlin and the Essenmund army worked. It was not a retreat to escape the encirclement.
Conversely, a surprise attack on the headquarters of the Demon Beast Army.
The monster army could not respond quickly and immediately to the surprise attack at night. Erti, who was moving along with the soldier’s body, said.
“That’s why this operation was possible. But I couldn’t help the soldiers dying.”
However, it did not change that the Essenmund army was inferior. As Atlin had predicted, his soldiers prepared for death and cleared the way.
A fierce advance that spared no life. And their momentum, which confirmed Atlin’s determination, was as fierce as a blazing forest fire.
Even so, they were killed in an instant by the magic beasts.
“This. All soldiers are dead. Move your body to the knight.”
And the knights charged through the path that the soldier had pierced. All surviving knights are elite enough to use Aura.
They hit the road again But they also died in the end.
“Still, I survived much more than Atlin expected. When we arrived at Greiel’s headquarters. Not only Atlin, but five knights survived.”
Those five knights face off against the subordinates of the executive level.
And Atlin finally confronted the demon lord, the fallen angel Graiel.
“Ah. Now I get it. Why did Roia choose this battlefield as the beginning of her ordeal?”
“What do you mean?”
I asked Erti what he meant.
“If you learned Lion Heart Sword, you would know. That oath. About the midnight sun.”
“White night? If it’s the midnight sun, I’ve already learned it.”
“It could be. Perhaps if you are already familiar with Midnight Sun. It’s definitely not going to be a proper white night.”
The moment my stomach boils at the way I speak, subtly ignoring me.
The battle between Atlin and Greiel has begun.
