Side Story – Final Battle [5]
[59]
Count Philip.
He was one of the imperial officials currently overseeing not only Phillip’s County but also nearby imperial territories.
Although the influence of the Phillip family had grown incomparably larger compared to the past, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant matter for Count Philip.
“…”
Count Philip sat alone in his study and leaned back in his chair.
Whenever he reflected on the past, Count Philip still felt regret and guilt. He should have made that decision back then.
Such lingering regrets weighed heavily on Count Philip’s chest, refusing to fade away.
Perhaps because of this, Count Philip stubbornly insisted on not leaving his territory.
“…”
After habitually sighing, Count Philip thought about his daughter.
Alesya endured all sorts of humiliation while charging into battle and eventually succeeded in having a daughter who resembled him.
Recalling Alesya’s recent complaints about how unusual their daughter was, Count Philip chuckled softly.
“Karma.”
Count Philip muttered a reprimand that Alesya wouldn’t hear and stood up from his seat.
Mohamed, fully armed, entered the study and whispered something into Count Philip’s ear.
Having heard the report, Count Philip calmly prepared his own armor.
There had already been warnings about simultaneous attacks likely occurring across key strategic points throughout the continent.
And just as warned by the Imperial Capital, the offensive from the wicked ones began.
The forces from both Phillip’s County and Osiris Countdom, along with all other nearby imperial territories, were uniting to prepare against the enemy’s assault.
Troops dispatched from the Rubia Kingdom also joined forces with Phillip’s County.
Still, even with such thorough preparations, enduring the malicious onslaught would not be easy.
Nonetheless, surrendering was not an option.
After equipping his helmet, Count Philip left the study alongside Mohamed.
*
CLANG!!
A glass shattered as it hit the floor.
Duke Matthias continuously grabbed items within reach and threw them against the window frame, unable to contain his anger.
One of his subordinates spoke up towards the enraged Duke Matthias.
“We can’t hold out much longer. We need to retreat…”
“Damn it!! Retreat where?! Even if we retreat, do you think those bastards will sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for us to run?!”
Duke Matthias found the current situation utterly ridiculous.
His current location was one of the empire’s key strategic points.
The White Tower stood there, close to a large mana vein and a major river flowing inland.
Abandoning this place would make defending nearby regions impossible and cost the empire a critical waterway and resource supply.
Followers of the Dark God began assaulting this strategic point.
Demons, demon creatures, dark wizards—these were now familiar to Duke Matthias.
However, they also discovered a massive slime-like monstrosity oozing the Blessing of the Dark God as it advanced.
Watching the slime-like creature, which could envelop a small mountain, approach from afar caused Duke Matthias to lose control.
“Where in the world are these monsters crawling out from?!”
These creatures belonged in the Demonic Realm.
Yet, due to the continent being increasingly infiltrated by the Dark God’s blessing, demons were now rampaging across the land.
KACHUNK!!
SCREECH!!!
Duke Matthias repeatedly hurled decorative objects from his desk at the walls.
Not long after the offensive from the followers of the Dark God began, the empire’s legions were already at a disadvantage.
Despite knowing retreat would be difficult, his subordinate urged Duke Matthias to fall back.
Of course, Duke Matthias didn’t listen.
“If those bastards in the capital still have their heads on straight, they’ll send reinforcements our way!”
As Duke Matthias claimed, this was indeed one of the key strategic points the empire must defend.
Naturally, reinforcements would arrive soon.
With bloodshot eyes, Duke Matthias stared at the battlefield, hoping his assertion would prove correct.
*
“Guh…”
Captain Gilland of the Silver Cross Knight Order groaned.
Gilland was currently fighting on the eastern front.
The eastern front was always a bloody battleground, but today the situation was especially dire.
Several mysterious unholy beings appeared without warning, disrupting the front lines, and Gilland suffered injuries during fierce resistance.
Gilland had originally sustained severe damage to his left shoulder.
While attempting to call a cleric to treat his wound, he was ambushed by a traitorous cleric, leaving him drenched in blood.
“Huff…”
Gilland pushed aside the split body of the traitorous cleric and forced himself to stand up.
A member of the Silver Cross Knight Order rushed to support Gilland.
“Are you alright?”
“Ha… I’m not sure.”
Gilland wiped his blood-soaked face and breathed heavily.
The surrounding air was acrid.
It was a clear sign that the Dark God’s blessing was invading the land.
Breathing heavily, Gilland let out a short laugh.
Gilland was originally a citizen and knight of Alimo.
But now, Alimo had lost all its territory and become a nation in name only.
Losing his country, Gilland briefly questioned why he was fighting so desperately here, limping slightly.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t afford to collapse.
Gilland forced himself to straighten his posture.
Seeing Gilland regain composure, the knight informed him of the orders received from above.
“The order is to withdraw the front line. Both flanks have collapsed. Moreover, the rate of erosion is faster than expected, so they plan to regroup in the rear and re-establish the front line.”
“Do you think that’s possible…”
Many lives were at stake in fierce battles, but with the frontline collapsing, reversing the tide of the battle would be extremely difficult.
Upon hearing Gilland’s pessimistic thoughts, the knight forced a smile.
“Reinforcements will come.”
“…Alright.”
“A meteor might fall on our heads, so we need to move quickly.”
The knight’s half-joking advice made Gilland give a wry smile and nod.
*
Apostate fanatics.
The wildfire-like spread of fanaticism caused numerous problems across the continent.
At this point, thoroughly rooting out the apostate fanatics had become nearly impossible, and this applied even to the empire’s primary military facilities.
No matter how carefully people were selected, it was impossible to completely filter out the fanatics.
They revealed their true nature at the most critical moments.
BOOM!
At the heart of the royal magic tower stood the Obelisk.
Numerous defensive installations had been constructed nearby to safeguard the Obelisk.
However, apostate fanatics secretly inscribed sacred marks at the core of these defenses.
Detecting the sacred marks, Speira utilized consecrated artifacts to strike and destroy the defensive installations near the Obelisk from beyond the horizon at extreme range.
Having dealt a preemptive strike, Speira accelerated fearlessly toward the Obelisk.
Speira’s power had drastically changed compared to two years ago.
A dark radiance overflowed from her, and the incomplete sword skills she once possessed had reached their zenith.
AAAHHH!!!
The remaining defensive installations fired upon Speira in an attempt to intercept her.
In an instant, Speira ‘severed’ the immense firepower raining down on her from above and redirected it.
The firepower aimed at Speira by the defensive installations returned in full force.
BOOM!!!
Unexpectedly, the empire’s defensive installations began to rapidly lose effectiveness due to Speira’s response.
Continuously accelerating, Speira spun thin threads of dark radiance horizontally like silk.
As the thread resembling a sword aura swung, a colossal wall hundreds of meters away collapsed with a deafening roar.
For two years, Speira had moved cautiously, mindful of Luna’s presence, but now she crushed all the empire’s resistance as if nothing could hinder her anymore.
Blocking Speira with sheer numbers was impossible.
That had been the case in the past, and it was even more so now.
Stepping over the debris of a fallen building, Speira furrowed one brow.
SQUEAK!!!
A massive, sharp metal rod, devoid of mana, struck Speira at supersonic speed.
Speira effortlessly pinned the metal rod, which had been electromagnetically accelerated beyond the speed of sound, to the ground with the hilt of her sacred sword.
Simultaneously,
Johanna launched a surprise attack from behind Speira.
!!!!
Dozens of shockwaves combined into one, shaking the atmosphere.
Effortlessly blocking Johanna’s surprise attack, Speira stepped back and smirked.
“Where did you leave Moros?”
Among the two swords Johanna held, Moros was nowhere to be seen.
Ignoring Speira’s question, Johanna accelerated her physical form to its limits.
Speira clicked her tongue playfully as she chased Johanna’s movements.
Speed-wise, Johanna still surpassed Speira.
However, Speira didn’t practice a sword style that prioritized speed.
The trajectory of her sword technique was infinitely heavy yet razor-sharp.
SQUEAK!!!
The sacred sword pierced through the gaps created by the trajectories drawn by Johanna’s dual swords, suppressing them.
The infinitely heavy blow from the sacred sword disrupted the trajectory Johanna had drawn.
CRACK!
Johanna connected the severed flow of her sword with a bizarre trajectory.
Smirking still, Speira clashed swords with Johanna.
!!!!
A dazzling sword glow covered the area.
Speira easily blocked Johanna’s assault.
Two years ago might have been different, but now Speira’s swordsmanship was nearing its peak.
After exchanging blows as a greeting, Speira pushed Johanna back and shrugged.
“Are you going to grovel until the very end?”
“If you have any tricks, use them now.”
“Before you die without accomplishing anything.”
“…”
After a brief silence, Johanna gripped her two swords again.
“Don’t worry.”
“This time, I have no intention of showing my back.”
“…You’re really obstinate.”
Speira showed a genuinely serious look of pity towards Johanna.
“Why can’t you sacrifice yourself? Fighting for Ray? Ray didn’t think of you as anything special either, did he? Those who truly loved Ray are hiding in safe places, protected from the war. Aren’t you upset about that?”
Recalling past memories, Speira lightly mocked Johanna.
She didn’t expect her light mockery to weigh down on Johanna’s expression even for a moment.
Johanna clenched her jaw as if trying to suppress a sob.
Then, she gave a bitter smile and replied.
“So first, I’ll win the 4th place match, and then kick that bastard’s ass.”
“…Really, you’re too obstinate.”
Regarding Johanna’s blindness, Speira clicked her tongue once more and adjusted her sacred sword.
“Fine, I won’t hold back. Catch up if you can.”
BOOM!!!
During the brief pause between their movements.
Artillery fire from the imperial army rained down on Speira.
However, the light beams infused with mana didn’t even reach Speira before dispersing on their own.
“…”
Johanna silently watched Speira.
She knew that bombarding Speira with artillery wouldn’t harm her.
But…
This phenomenon right now…
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!!!
A strange barrier rippled out from Speira, covering the entire area.
Unapproachable genius blooms under the blessings of transcendent beings.
Absolute Domain.
The symbolic power of a Swordmaster overwhelmed the space.
Before swinging her sacred sword, Speira issued her final warning.
“If you’ve got anything hidden, don’t hesitate.”
