Chapter 609: Act 352 – Requiem II
The demons seemed to have discovered the humans’ actions in advance, as countless harpies soared into the starless, lightless night sky. The flagship of the Erluin Royal Fleet, the Victory, initiated this war with a barrage. A test shot exploded among the harpies, where the light from the explosion was nearly obscured by overlapping wings. The crossbowmen on the ship’s rail saw the shells fly forth like pebbles cast into the sea.
An uncountable number of enemies.
The wizard observed the effects of the bombardment through the cannon port window, the firelight from the explosion casting a pale reflection on his face. He took a sheet covered in charts and recorded the amount of gunpowder and magical energy infused. The signal officer received the sheet from him and relayed commands.
Moments later, the entire fleet roared, and countless shells whistled toward the dense pack of harpies. A series of explosions erupted among the monsters, the shockwaves almost forming a wave of blood that propelled untold feathers and severed limbs forward, with dismembered corpses raining down like a storm.
The roaring sounds of the rainy night awakened the dormant earth, resonating like the returning life of the forests from Buche to the Silver Sheath Cliff. Imagined blood flowed like a deafening roar in the massive veins beneath the surface, with every soldier feeling the ground tremble slightly beneath their feet, as though it were alive. The light from the explosions above illuminated the battlefield’s uneven terrain near the Buche Fortress, where flags were raised on the battlefield’s edge, alongside the emerging human armies.
The human coalition began its assault.
The Erluin people and the Crusains aimed to seize several villages near Buche Fortress to lure more demon forces into the frontal battlefield; however, the fireballs from the demon sorcerers atop Buche Fortress caused significant trouble, causing the battle to progress slower than expected.
Freya and her officer cadets, alongside the Lantonrand knights, advanced briskly through a patch of woods at the center of the battlefield, quickly reaching the vicinity of Buche Fortress. Their objective was to capture this ancient stronghold. After surveying the terrain, Freya immediately ordered an attack, and hundreds of Lantonrand knights charged toward a breach in the castle walls that had collapsed.
The lesser demons at the breach were no match for them. These small, low-grade demons were infamous for their cowardice in the Sulfur River; they possessed no magic or combat skills, and the higher demons didn’t even recognize them as true demons, viewing them merely as food or currency for exchange. After witnessing the deaths of several of their kind, these seemingly cruel and terrifying creatures revealed their true nature and fled in panic, allowing the knights to swiftly ascend the ramparts.
A girl from Buche took the lead, joyfully witnessing the rapid progress of their offensive, believing that with such speed, they would capture Buche Fortress in less than fifteen minutes.
But at that moment, a demon sorcerer appeared at the top of the breach—unlike the human wizards in long robes, these demon sorcerers were muscular, with large horns sprouting from their heads, and were unadorned like the lesser demons. They held a burning fireball in their hands and hurled it down, exploding among the knights at the front.
The resulting shockwave knocked the Lantonrand knights to and fro, and a flying stone even grazed Freya’s face, leaving her immediately bloodied. However, she paid no mind to the throbbing pain and shouted, “Everyone follow me! Let’s charge ahead without giving it a chance to cast another spell!”
With that, she boldly scrambled up the rubble toward the breach. Two lesser demons summoned by the demon sorcerer lunged at her from either side, but Freya raised her shield to block and then flung them off the ramparts. Her brave actions greatly boosted the morale of the Lantonrand knights, who began to shout the name of their lady knight as they charged to the top of the castle.
However, Freya also caught the attention of the demon sorcerers, and soon more lesser demons surrounded her, forcing her to slow her advance. The surrounding knights quickly surpassed her, rushing onto the ramparts, yet another gigantic figure appeared atop the battlements.
It was a Minotaur.
This monster from Jotungrund appeared without warning, having evidently been lying in wait behind the castle wall, just waiting for the human knights to walk into its trap. The creature stood at least three men tall, wielding an axe larger than itself, towering like a gigantic windmill, and it swept its massive axe forward like the blades of a windmill, instantly decapitating the leading Lantonrand knights with a single swing.
With an angry bellow, the Minotaur charged down the crumbling section of the wall, sweeping away any humans or demons that stood in its way. The human knights were no match for it, and the monster soon stood before Freya, raising its axe to deliver a brutal blow.
“Watch out, Freya!”
Freya even heard Beth’s warning from behind, and in that moment, she felt immense tension; she had never seen such a huge monster before—except for the terrifying wind element from the Margo Highlands. The feeling was different from a distant view; the oppressive weight of that dark, massive axe bore down on her psyche.
If it hits, she would surely die—
No, she absolutely cannot die here. Brendel was still ahead; she had to help him seize this place. Only then would the demons shift their attention to the frontal battlefield.
Everything she learned at the Royal Knight Academy suddenly became clear. In this last moment, her mind felt calm as if a special power flowed within her body—this feeling was exactly like the moment she received the Lionheart Sword.
The Minotaur’s massive axe struck down in an instant. Freya, seemingly inspired, ducked her head to evade the attack, leaping forward and instinctively grabbing the axe handle where it met the blade.
The Minotaur had no time to comprehend, and as it swung its axe to the highest point, Freya let go and jumped on its massive blade—it was nearly a meter wide, big enough for her to stand on. She then used the force to leap and landed on the back of the Minotaur’s neck.
This entire series of movements was completed in a heartbeat, catching everyone off guard, yet the Minotaur finally realized that its ‘prey’ had somehow made it to its back. It let out an enraged bellow and attempted to grab Freya with one hand, which was the size of a grass mat.
But Freya dodged to the side, avoiding the monster’s grasp as she gritted her teeth and raised the Lionheart Sword high. At that moment, the sword radiated a bright light, dazzling like a beam of icy blue flame, illuminating the entire Buche Fortress and reflecting in the bright eyes of the girl from Buche.
As if reenacting a scene from that day, a pair of silver wings of light spread from Freya’s back, the Valkyrie markings resurfacing; she tightened her legs around the Minotaur’s neck, gripping the sword with both hands and stabbed along the monster’s spine.
With a sound, the shining Lionheart Sword pierced the Minotaur’s neck as if cutting through tofu.
The Minotaur let out a mournful cry, appearing mad as it dropped its axe and began swatting at its neck. This time, Freya couldn’t evade; she heard a cracking sound from behind, a wave of intense pain coursed through her, as if her insides were shifting—she lost her vision for a moment and instinctively fell back, yet her hand remained gripping the handle of the Lionheart Sword, dragging it out as black blood from the Minotaur burst forth.
Freya coughed up blood and raised her long sword again, plunging it into the Minotaur’s brain. At last, the beast could not endure such a severe injury and toppled forward with a thunderous crash onto the collapsed castle wall.
Everyone was stunned.
“Freya!” Beth, who had accompanied Freya, ran frantically toward the Minotaur’s corpse. The officer cadets from the Royal Knight Academy already shared a bond as comrades, and with Freya being one of the few women among them, their camaraderie was even stronger.
But at that moment, the girl from Buche felt dazed, yet her mind was set on one thing.
She could not stop yet.
She had already learned everything from Charles; Brendel was still ahead, and she knew what he intended to do. She also knew what she had to do.
She absolutely could not remain the useless militia captain from Buche any longer.
She would change Buche, change everyone’s fate.
Brendel could help her.
But she was no longer that naïve girl from the countryside. She had learned so much. She even vaguely felt she might have glimpsed everything Brendel had seen, which was also what the Princess sought. It was not merely an ideal but a beautiful vision.
When would Erluin be free from its predetermined fate? Beth said that only when this kingdom became doubly strong could the tragedy of Buche be averted. But Brendel told her it was not only the nobility’s task; the Princess told her that everyone must use their swords to defend their dignity.
“Freya!” Beth helped the girl up.
The Lantonrand knights, seeing their bloodied lady knight, could not help but cheer. Freya gritted her teeth and raised the Lionheart Sword high.
The sword’s shining blade resembled a banner, a banner in the eyes of all. The Lionheart Sword was a symbol of victory, seemingly representing Erluin’s steadfastness and resilience.
“Freya!”
“Freya! Freya!” Everyone’s blood surged with excitement as the knights shouted the name of their temporary commander, launching an attack toward the ramparts.
No Minotaur appeared atop the walls again; such high-tier beings were not something even the demon horde could expend as mere fodder. After all, this was no longer the battlefield of the holy war thousands of years ago.
Freya watched the flow of black and red surge into Buche Fortress, yet her heart felt calm.
“Beth, help me up.”
“What? You’re wounded like this.” The short-haired girl complained, “I promised the commander to take care of you, and now my precious magic longbow is in jeopardy.”
Freya couldn’t help but cough and laugh; she knew Brendel would never be petty about this. She felt intense pain, but she had never felt so relaxed; something inside her had distanced itself yet matured greatly.
“I think I suddenly understand something, Beth.”
“What do you understand?”
In another time and space, the future Valkyrie of Erluin smiled slightly. At that moment, she finally understood that those words were not directed at her; they were merely Brendel’s internal dialogue.
‘Wars will always happen; we can only choose to accept them.’
‘We are born in a very bad era; we cannot choose our era. But we can try to change it—’
‘We might not change much, but at least we once struggled with many people to achieve it—such memories are already priceless.’
‘Do you know the word companion? No matter how far you go, many will accompany you. You will never be alone.’
She, he, and everyone would walk forward with Erluin.
Until forever.
……
The situation on the battlefield shifted; the demons finally began to realize that the humans’ frontal assault was fiercer than they had anticipated. Losing Buche Fortress was not catastrophic, but it signaled that the frail opponents across the way still had the energy to counterattack.
They began to send the reinforcements from Jotungrund into the frontal battlefield, aiming to crush the last hope of these pitiful creatures once and for all.
Meanwhile, deep in the woods near Ampere Seale, the knights looked up at the fireworks-like flashes in the sky, silently exchanging glances. They all understood what it was; the flashes continued for about fifteen minutes before the old witch Babasha finally returned with her companions.
As Brendel had predicted, these were the witches who had been hiding across Erluin, most of them comparable to Babasha in power, seemingly led by her.
One by one, they pledged their loyalty to Brendel, even taking oaths while avoiding the attention of others.
Time was pressing, and Brendel had no time to soothe these new subordinates. Under his command, everyone packed up and headed north. The knights had to venture through the forest in the pouring rain and darkness, sometimes even wading through swollen mountain streams. Fortunately, aside from the princess, most companions possessed silver-tier strength; the severe weather could at most only cause them a bit of trouble.
They navigated around a few low hills and traveled north for over twenty minutes, quickly reaching their destination. The hidden door was situated in a valley, surrounded by twelve hazel trees, just as Brendel remembered. But when they emerged from the forest, they found an empty space—neither a door nor any construct to speak of.
Everyone stopped and cast puzzled glances at Brendel.
Brendel remained silent, knowing what was going on. However, he was quite cautious, waiting for Babasha to explain: “There is an illusion here that only witches can dispel.”
As expected.
……
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