YM778.TV Chapter 45
In other words, everything was going according to plan.
Even so, I couldn’t help but be momentarily taken aback.
‘……He’s quite the actor.’
I quietly watched Baron Tucker, who had jumped in at an unexpected moment.
His tone, mannerisms, and gestures of bewilderment.
Each and every one of them were nothing short of that of a top-tier actor.
Just look at him now, shouting his lungs out with an expression full of shock.
-If you’re going to do it, do your best, you rascal!
Baron Tucker desperately conveyed his will.
‘Well, it takes two to tango, doesn’t it?’
After contemplating, I met his expectations.
“Oh no~ I accidentally set it on fire!”
Fwoooosh!
Just as I’d said those words.
The blaze grew uncontrollably.
Dense trees rapidly grown with magic.
They were highly flammable conifers.
“Knights of the Count, we retreat as quickly as possible!”
“There’s a gap between the trees on the left! Squads 2, 3, and 4, head left immediately!”
Viscount Rodri, who was watching, shouted like thunder.
Of course, escape routes were open on both sides.
One each to the left and right of the endlessly soaring forest.
‘Since they can’t have a dogfight in this inferno over just one escape route.’
The knights of Count Arsene’s household were backing towards the left exit.
Naturally, our allies retreated in that direction……
“Commander! There’s enough of a gap behind us for us to get out too!”
The White Lion Brigade moved to the remaining escape route.
“Wait a moment! We must consider the possibility that the gap itself is a trap, shouldn’t we?”
Of course, not everyone was a fool, and even in this chaos, some doubted the situation.
“No matter how fast we run, we can’t reach the gap on the left before the enemy due to the distance. In the worst case, if those who escape first take the position and ambush us, we’ll have to fight with the inferno at our backs!”
“Give us the order, Captain!”
Various reports rang out simultaneously.
But in the end, they had only one path to choose.
‘Burn more fiercely. The more it does, the more impatient they will become.’
The ground was thoroughly soaked with oil.
However, there was no worry about the flames spreading to civilian homes.
The area near the castle gates was an open field with no cover.
“Damn it……! To think things would get this messed up because of one mere brat……”
Cursing, Tripier looked this way.
“What’s the matter? Want to break through?”
I provocatively pointed the tip of my sword towards his direction.
About a hundred knights, including Baron Tucker, stood firmly behind me.
The rest of our allies, led by Viscount Rodri, had all reached the gap on the left.
“Baron Tucker.”
“……Speak.”
“If we can take down the renowned White Lion Brigade with just a hundred men, it would be more than worth it, wouldn’t it?”
Shiiing.
Instead of answering, Baron Tucker drew his sword.
His resolve was clear.
If the enemy decided to change their minds and run towards the gap on the left……
“……It’s more than enough to be a lucrative deal.”
He would fight them to the death, without hesitation.
Crack! Crash!
“Damn it!”
There was no time to waste.
“Fight later! Turn your horses around before we’re engulfed in flames!”
Tripier, tearing his gaze away from me, shouted roughly.
“That’s more like it.”
“We need to hurry and get out too!”
Baron Tucker, his face blackened with soot, shouted as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“You all go ahead.”
“Wh-What?”
However, I decided to stay here.
Ancelot’s Code, Chapter 19.
Never let your guard down until the very end.
“I’ll follow soon, so just go.”
“Ugh……!”
Baron Tucker, biting his lip, nodded his head.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you need to get out before it’s too late.”
“Yes.”
I fixed my gaze on the enemy once more.
“Captain! The first line is about to reach the destination!”
“Tell them to brace their shields! Break through as quickly as possible! Be wary of ambushes taking advantage of the chaos!”
“Understood!”
“These contemptible Count’s men! They resort to crude traps due to their lack of skill! Ensure no one wavers!”
“Yes, sir!”
“What is there to fear! We are the White Lion Brigade. It’s much easier to hunt down rats hiding than to break through a closed castle gate!”
“Woaaaaah!”
The White Lion Brigade let out a vigorous roar.
And finally, when they passed through that rat hole……
Boom!
“Gasp!”
With a great noise, the front line suddenly collapsed.
The ground had caved in instantly.
“Aaaaargh!”
“I-It’s a trap!”
Dozens of knights, unable to overcome their momentum, were sucked into the pit.
Screams echoed continuously from within.
“Th-There are spikes installed at the bottom!”
“……!”
The depth alone looked immense at a glance.
“You fiendish scoundrel!”
“……It would be unfortunate if that’s all it took to unsettle you.”
As I muttered briefly, at the same moment, the shield unit at the front crumbled.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
“Argh!”
“Arrows! Second and third lines, raise your shields!”
Black dots swarmed, obscuring the view in an instant.
“Fire! Don’t let a single one survive!”
Count Arsene finally revealed himself, demonstrating his prowess as a commander to the fullest.
***
Fwoosh!
A pillar of fire shot up, reaching for the sky.
The pungent smell of smoke stung the nostrils.
“……Impressive.”
Count Arsene, at the forefront, uttered a genuine exclamation of admiration.
The trap could have been easily uncovered by the enemy.
Had they attempted to escape to the left, our forces would have suffered significant damage.
But that child stayed on the battlefield until the end, ensuring that the enemy commander could not change his decision.
An overwhelming presence that turned even the enemy’s horses.
That audacity.
That wit.
The strategic mind that utilized human psychology in layers upon layers.
“Did he truly have a reason for his confidence?”
Count Arsene muttered to himself, a wry smile forming on his face.
Having fought alongside him, he now understood the basis of that confidence.
“I don’t imagine us losing.”
He was merely a child, young enough to be his son.
Until just before this battle, he had been uneasy.
But now, that feeling was gone.
“Keep firing! Don’t let the enemy cross the pit, and spare no arrows!”
Count Arsene shouted continuously.
Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!
The sound of bow strings snapping filled the air.
Arrows shot straight ahead.
However, the enemy belonged to one of the marquisate’s elite forces.
Regrouping swiftly, they advanced slowly with their shields in front.
“Was even this included in your predictions?”
Count Arsene’s smile deepened.
“Second line! On the ready!”
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
Immediately, the second line of archers stepped forward.
Fwoosh!
Unlike the first line, they loaded their bows with new arrows.
“Fire!”
Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!
“Aaaaaargh!”
“F-Fire arrows!”
Even the air inside was now thoroughly saturated with flammable fumes.
Not only the trees but also the ground had been drenched in oil.
“Count Arseeeene!”
The soot-blackened Tripier let out a furious roar.
“Stop hiding and shooting arrows like a coward. Come and fight me!”
A monstrous roar mixed with mana and rage.
For a moment, Count Arsene felt a surge of anger rise within him.
“Whatever happens, do not engage with the enemy. The moment you lose, this war is as good as lost.”
“……Whew.”
However, he soon recalled the child’s words.
He barely managed to suppress his desire to fight.
Although it was the perfect opportunity to behead the enemy commander.
‘A beast is more dangerous when wounded.’
There was no need to take unnecessary risks in a battle they were already winning.
More importantly, he had no chance of winning in a one-on-one fight.
Even among all the Count’s men, there was no one with his level of skill.
‘Therefore, we need to become stronger.’
Count Arsene bit his lip and steadied his resolve.
“Damn it!”
From Tripier’s perspective, it was maddening.
If things continued this way, all his knights would be roasted alive without even putting up a proper fight.
“It was a mistake to think there were only two paths from the start. We can always make a new one!”
With that, Tripier sharply turned his head.
“Kieran!”
“Yes, Captain.”
Kieran, who had lost one hand, responded with a grave expression.
By now, the White Lion Brigade couldn’t advance any further and were barely managing to defend against the arrows.
“Tell them to stop trying to break through.”
“What do you mean……?”
“It’s just wood. It will take time, but it would be better to break through the wall and escape, even if we suffer some damage.”
It was a rational choice.
The thought hadn’t crossed their minds because of the intensity of the flames.
Rather than trying to dodge the annoying rain of arrows and leap over the pit, they’d rather brace for burns.
“White Lion Brigade, squads 5, 6, and 7!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Turn around and start breaking through the wall!”
“Understood!”
In a way, it was an order that demanded the sacrifice of his men.
Yet, there was not a hint of hesitation in the knights’ responses.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
As Tripier began to turn his horse around.
“Hey.”
“……!”
A now familiar, yet still aggravating voice was heard.
“You……?”
Amazingly, the lone remaining child stood quietly in the middle of the inferno, looking this way.
‘What’s with him?’
Gulp.
Tripier unconsciously swallowed hard.
The child stood amidst the roaring flames.
A demon from hell’s gates.
The bigger problem was……
‘……The flames aren’t reaching him?’
The sight added to Tripier’s confusion.
Even if someone possessed fire mana, it didn’t mean they were immune to actual fire.
After all, it was still a mortal wielding the power.
A human’s frail body couldn’t withstand such high temperatures.
Unless they were a ‘Master,’ someone who surpassed human limits.
A stage beyond manifestation, reaching awakening.
A supreme state where one becomes one with mana, making such a sight possible.
‘However, to even mimic an awakened state, one must be at least a high-level Expert.’
Does that mean this child is already at a high level?
At such a young age?
‘Impossible.’
He had never heard of anyone becoming an Expert in their early teens, let alone a high-level one.
‘Moreover, there’s no sign of elemental transformation, the tell-tale sign of awakening.’
Awakening takes various forms.
In the past few centuries, there were quite a few who awakened fire mana.
Some could manifest a cold flame known as blue flame.
There were knights infamous for wielding black flames, called demonic fire.
But among them, the most renowned was……
‘One of the current Three Heavens. The Empire’s greatest swordsman, wielding a flame that governs other flames.’
Theorg, the Knight of Blazes.
The mana he wielded looked like ordinary fire on the surface.
But the most notable feature is that it appeared to dominate the flames, just like now.
‘Who are you?’
As Tripier’s eyes twitched.
Step.
“A fight left unfinished should see its end, right?”
The little demon strode forward with a menacing aura.