Chapter 179 : Chapter 179
Chapter : 179
-“His Excellency has come out!”
-“Waaaaaah!”
The moment the lord they served stepped forward, a thunderous cheer erupted from the soldiers.
No matter how loyal and devout they were, if they endured such humiliation right before their eyes without any response, their resolve was bound to waver.
In that sense, the sight of their lord boldly striding out to the front drove everyone’s morale sharply upward.
Still, unlike the others, there was someone whose worry only deepened.
Magician Azuela.
“B-but… is it really all right for the lord? No matter how I look at that armament, it seems to be holding an enormous amount of mystery.”
Even from afar, the mystery roiled and shimmered as it poured out radiance—something not easily seen.
If it displayed that much mystery, then the power compressed within it would be equally formidable.
That was why Azuela’s anxiety surged.
If that young noble suffered a misstep, would Azuela not be dragged down with him?
No matter how unlucky he was(?), there was no other noble so generous. And she was already at odds with the emperor of the Holy Empire, was she not?
Magician Agpiel read that irreverent thought and snapped at her.
“What are you saying!”
“N-no, that is not what I meant… you never know, Sage.”
“Tsk. You are a magician in the position of an advisor. How can you be shaken like this? If people around you see it, will they not be shaken as well!”
“I-I am sorry….”
“Instead of doubting and worrying about the Margrave, soothe the people around you first. If something goes wrong, it will be your head that flies first.”
“My head?!”
Azuela jolted and clutched her neck as she asked again.
“Then what? Did you not say you could block lethal injuries several times by placing a mystery of protection on him? If the outcome is different, then….”
As he spoke, Magician Agpiel gestured with his eyes toward the rear.
“Hic!”
There, the elf knights stood with stiff, guarded gazes, fingers toying with their sword hilts.
“Tsk, tsk. Conduct yourself properly. Is this not exactly why people mistake you for a witch, when you keep acting like that?”
“I-I will remember.”
Azuela shrank in on herself under Agpiel’s harsh words and answered.
The cold bite of the elf knights’ drawn steel from moments ago flashed through her mind.
‘Tsk, tsk.’
Clicking his tongue as if displeased, Agpiel turned his head back to the battlefield.
In truth, though he did not say it aloud, he was worried as well.
‘According to tradition, that armor grants its wearer tremendous protection and vitality….’
And it was not only the Armor of the Holy Land’s Guardian. Even from a distance, the sword and shield—where the edge seemed to carry a keen, cutting presence—were no ordinary things.
Those too would be overflowing with mysteries that protected and strengthened their user. Even if the Margrave of Bellua was loved by God and truly blessed, it could still be dangerous.
‘If it comes to it, I will have to rush in and save him.’
So Magician Agpiel decided to prepare for the worst.
It was something that would infuriate and offend most nobles, but that young noble was different. And in any case, a great noble of that stature dying in a mere duel would be an even greater problem. What would happen to the remaining soldiers then?
“Sir Biden, attach three swift knights to me.”
“Pardon? Surely… Sage, you mean….”
“No. I am trying to prevent an unfortunate incident, just in case. The enemy may have set an ambush.”
“Hmm… that is possible. Understood.”
Thankfully, Sir Biden was not as rigid as he used to be. Experience had taught him a more open way of thinking.
‘Whew, what a relief.’
Agpiel let out a breath. Persuading stubborn knights was truly difficult.
Yet it had been resolved this easily!
‘Of course, the best outcome is for our young noble to win….’
Tense to the hilt, Agpiel fixed his eyes forward.
-Neeeeigh!
A loud whinny rang out, and two mounted riders at the edges of each formation began to charge.
-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
Soon, fate would cross.
Life and death.
Victor and vanquished.
Shining glory and spoils would now belong wholly to the winner.
-BWOOOOONG!
-SHAAAANG!
And at last, the moment sword-light rippled with a chilling sound—
-KRACK! CRUNCH!
-BANG!
With a sound like a giant from myth smashing a fortress wall, the enemy commander who had charged in was reduced to a pulp and sprawled on the ground.
In a single exchange.
“?!?!”
“?????”
For that reason, Magician Agpiel, after a long time, found himself forced to call upon God again.
“Oh! Good heavens… O God… have you stopped making ogre brats and started making true monsters now?”
---
I wanted to return home with my body intact.
Ever since I had fallen into the world of [Pangea Universalise], that had been my constant wish.
And yet, cruelly, there always came moments when I had to put my own body on the line.
“Hoo… hoo.”
I raised my visor and exhaled roughly. No matter that I had blessings and the system’s correction, a fight that wagered one’s life always gnawed away at stamina.
‘It really was tremendous protection.’
The [Armor of the Holy Land’s Guardian] was truly sturdy. Until now, whether it was armor or a shield, if I put strength into it, I could split it without much trouble. But that was different.
-A sharp tingle.
My blessed body itself was creaking.
Of course, the enemy commander who had taken my full strength head-on was rolling on the ground in a miserable state.
Even without checking closely, I could tell he had died in a single exchange.
As if he had been struck by a massive truck, that sturdy [Armor of the Holy Land’s Guardian] had been partly torn and partly shattered.
‘Tsk. That is no longer usable. It is completely ruined.’
It would be better to melt it down and make something else. Still, the other magical armaments looked somewhat intact, so perhaps that was a blessing in misfortune.
As I thought that, screams rose from the enemy lines across from us.
-“A-a monster…!”
-“That cannot be! How could our commander, blessed with miracles—!”
They had believed their commander was God’s agent. Seeing him die in a single blow sent them into shock.
But on our side—
-“Waaaaaah!”
-“Did you see? This is our true guardian of faith, His Excellency the Margrave of Bellua!”
-“Bel-lu-a! Bel–lu-a!”
A roar of cheers spread through our formation. A duel was a sacred act, a direct proclamation of the true will of God.
To the soldiers, the sight of me striking down the usurper was itself a miracle.
“Hm….”
The fervor was far more intense than I had expected, and I felt a flicker of concern—but then I thought, so what?
The higher the morale, the better.
And the enemy was not a regular army capable of organized response, but merely a hastily assembled, crude peasant rebel force.
So I decided to ride this momentum as it was.
-SHIIING!
Drawing my blade once more, I raised it high toward the sky and shouted,
“Follow me! We shall proclaim the true will of God to those filthy bandits! Charge! Crush them into the dirt!”
---
“Hahahaha! Now! Let us go at once! We will earn the greatest merit! We shall repay the Human Lord with it!”
The instant the order fell, Captain Konrad shouted, ecstatic.
And it was not only Captain Konrad.
“Advance! Advance! Move one step at a time to the drumbeat. Hold formation. Anyone who breaks ranks and rampages alone will be punished severely.”
Sir Biden, too, was fired up in his own way, urging his troops onward. The two commanders’ styles were quite different, but one thing was the same.
Crush the peasant rebels in one stroke.
-“Waaaaaah—!”
-“Charge!”
-“March! March forward!”
That will carried into the soldiers as well. No, it did not even need to be carried—they had already witnessed an overwhelming miracle with their own eyes.
The Margrave of Bellua striking down, in a single blow, the enemy commander who shone brilliantly and claimed to have received God’s miracle.
Every soldier was burning with morale like never before.
-“U-uh… ugh…!”
-“L-let us run!”
-“You idiot! If you run, you die! Hold the line!”
-“Damn it! You stay. I am leaving—kgh!”
-“Anyone who flees will be executed on the spot! Hold your ground at once!”
In contrast, the peasant rebels’ formation was a complete and utter mess.
Their supreme commander—the one who should have held everything together—was dead.
Their command structure had been a shambles already, and now it collapsed further. A few wandering knights and remnants of the Crusader Knight Order struggled desperately to restore some cohesion, but it was hopeless.
The moment Captain Konrad’s and Sir Biden’s forces drew close, they unleashed overwhelming firepower.
-“Fire!”
-“Fshushushushuk!”
Crossbows.
And not just any crossbows—steel crossbows said to pierce even oak shields and iron.
That rain of steel darkened the sky and mercilessly punched through the peasant rebels.
-“Aaaagh!”
-“Shields! Raise your shields, you bastard—kgh!”
-“Shields are useless… ugh….”
And that was not all.
“Thrust your spears on the command! Strike as though you are one body—together, at once!”
When the terrifying rain of steel ended, a dense forest of long pikes awaited them.
The pikemen drove their sharp, sturdy pikes forward without mercy.
-Hah! Hah!
-CRUNCH, CRRUNCH!
-Aaaagh!
-Please! I do not want to die like this!
The peasant rebels screamed.
There was no way out.
They wanted to contest strength, bolstered by looted armor, but they were cut down by bolts from afar.
And even when they somehow managed to rush in for a sword fight, what met them was a wall of pikes—dense as a tidal wave.
At that point, the knights and Crusader Knight Order remnants commanding the rebel front began to think differently.
-“S-should we just run?”
-“The difference in quality is too great. There is no answer! At this rate, we will be annihilated!”
-“Huh? If they pull out, we will be the ones sticking out on the front…?”
Dread and fear seized them. Normally, a commander would calm them and force the formation to hold, no matter what—but the commander was already dead.
Their organization crumbled like grains of sand in an instant.
-“Aaaah!”
-“Run! This is not a battle!!”
-“Damn it! We have to get out, at least! Anyone who can ride, follow me!”
A single clash.
That was all it took for the peasant rebels to collapse in practice.
Just as their commander had died in a single exchange in the duel.
---
“It is a great victory, my lord!”
A messenger, drenched in blood, ran to report to me.
The peasant rebels, who had numbered over twenty thousand, were now scattering in shattered pieces, their earlier momentum gone without a trace.
“What shall we do? Shall I deliver the order to pursue them and run them down, my lord?”
The messenger asked, intoxicated by victory.
At a word, he looked ready to chase them to the ends of the earth and wipe them out.
And indeed, defeating a force more than twice one’s size—no matter that they were peasants—was a glorious feat.
But I had no intention of pursuing them to the bitter end.
‘Am I insane? Why would I do good work for someone else?’
Rather, I intended to let them live—as intact as possible.
The peasant rebels had to flee with all their strength beyond my sphere of influence and keep stirring up trouble.
That was what I needed.
“No. Pull the soldiers back. There is no need to prolong the battle. Each of my soldiers is more precious than those paltry peasant rebels.”
“Ah… m-my lord!”
The messenger cried out, voice trembling as if deeply moved.
“Understood! I will spread word of your benevolent heart and return at once!”
That had not been my intention, but well—if it was good, it was good.
Then a faint unease crept over me.
‘Hm, I feel like I am missing something…?’
What was I missing?
No matter how I thought, nothing came to mind. So I simply shrugged.
‘Well, I will deal with it when it comes.’
The battle was over.
What problem could there be, surely?
---
At the same time.
A cavalry detachment lying in ambush in the neighboring forest.
“Hm… has the battle not begun yet?”
“How could that be? It must have started. Did you not hear the shouting earlier?”
At one knight’s question, another rebuked him. But the first knight protested, sounding wronged.
“Then why is there still no word? He said he would give us the signal to charge!”
“Tsk. This man. Why are you so lacking in patience? His Excellency set us aside to use as the final spear, did he not? We only have to wait. Surely the battle will not end in a single clash. A decisive engagement with armies of this size takes time. They trade blows many times. That is how battles go.”
“Ah…! I see. This is my first time in a battle of this scale. Hahaha. Then we only have to wait?”
“Of course. The battle is not over yet. When the sun begins to pass noon—that is when we will have our moment. Hohoho.”
They could not even imagine that the battle had already ended.