Chapter 98
Erich watched as the Barbarians toppled like dominoes. There was a fundamental flaw in their formation.
'... Foolish bastards.'
Having arrived on the battlefield ahead of time, Erich was fully prepared to meet them.
His first step was digging pits and covering them with snow to camouflage them.
If the Bear Tribe had been coming his way, the risk of encirclement would have made it impossible to anchor a position and use such a tactic.
However, the Bear Tribe was furiously rushing toward Grossnak for their own benefit.
Thanks to that, Erich could choose his battleground with peace of mind.
The pits they ran into posed extremely disadvantageous conditions, though not insurmountable.
But Erich had added another trick: Shadow operatives disguised as Barbarians were causing chaos in the rear ranks.
You might think an Imperial couldn't manage much of a disguise, but Shadows were certainly different.
They were people who had spent their entire lives blending into their environment and appearing as natural as possible.
So Erich had already ordered the Shadows to prepare a means of appearing as Barbarians.
Although they were short in stature, in a chaotic battlefield like this, they wouldn't stand out.
Especially when everyone was intoxicated by the excitement of battle.
Thanks to that, the Barbarians advanced without knowing blades were being plunged into their backs.
Moreover, their advance wasn't smooth at all due to the pits, but they kept pushing forward, creating a bottleneck at the traps.
[Warriors! Tear them to pieces!]
Further sowing confusion in the already chaotic formation were the Barbarians themselves, led by Hrung-ga.
They dove into the center of the enemy lines, indiscriminately cutting down other Barbarians.
Hrung-ga stood out in particular, transformed into a berserker, as if consumed by madness.
Wherever his axe swept, limbs flew through the air, so the enemies gradually retreated from Hrung-ga.
Erich curled his lips in a smile.
'... The pressure in the front lines has almost vanished.'
Having confirmed this, Erich nodded at Barnes. Then Barnes led his 500 security detail and slipped out to the side.
To fill the gap left by Barnes, Frederick shouted,
"Push them all! Anyone who retreats dies by my hand!"
Spurred on by Frederick's roar, the soldiers pushed the line even harder, making Barnes's absence hardly noticeable as the line held firm.
Then came a flanking attack from Barnes's unit, who had maneuvered around.
Ordinarily, they would be the ones in danger of encirclement, but now, it was as if they were devouring the enemy from both sides.
Encircling a larger force with fewer troops—generally an almost impossible feat.
But Erich still hadn't thrown himself into that gap. He wasn't after just any Barbarian.
'Someone observing this situation, trying to see what's going on.'
That was Erich's target.
Soon after, a smile formed on Erich's lips.
'Found him.'
With that, his sword slid from its sheath.
― Wooong.
Both his eyes glimmered with a crimson radiance as he advanced.
― Chaaak!
Erich cut down hesitant Barbarians. Thanks to the gap Hrung-ga and the others had forced open, Erich entered with ease.
Upon seeing Erich's burning eyes, none of the Barbarians dared to confront him. But those caught in the already-formed ranks, unable to retreat—
― Chaak!
[Urgh!]
[Kraagh!]
They could only lose their lives to Erich's blade, which approached like a natural disaster.
Soon, Erich confirmed his quarry.
A man holding a massive greatsword, scanning not just ahead but all directions.
'He's the enemy leader.'
If a Barbarian chief died, their force fell into disarray in no time.
Unlike the Watch, where a clear chain of command allowed the next-in-line to take over, the Barbarians, except for their chieftain, considered all warriors as equals.
This had its virtues, but losing their leader was a fatal weakness.
― Kaaaaang!
Erich's sword swept across Haratan.
The chief instinctively raised his greatsword to block, but a red streak of blood flowed where Erich's blade had grazed his unprotected belly.
Haratan glared at Erich.
[... You, what's your name?]
But Erich didn't answer, only sensing the subtle, odd aura emanating from Haratan's body.
Erich recited inwardly,
'... Is this guy also a Head Hunter? Just a bottom feeder who can't even manifest aura.'
Apparently, even this one had received power from Ungrim.
Erich was curious as to how that power was given, but there was no way to extract such secrets from a mere subordinate.
Erich's blade soon glowed with a crimson flame. Haratan charged at him, greatsword raised. As their weapons clashed—
― Kagagagak!
With a screech of twisting steel, the giant Barbarian's greatsword was sliced clean in two.
[... Im-impossible...]
Not only did Erich's sword cut through the greatsword, it pressed on, slicing a clean diagonal from Haratan's shoulder to his flank.
An impeccable single strike—Haratan fell without even an agonized cry.
A wave of horror rippled through the Black Wolf Tribe's Barbarians as their chief collapsed, robbing them of their fighting spirit.
Hrung-ga and his young warriors didn't let the retreating Barbarians slip away.
Then, at Frederick's bellowed command, all the troops charged, entering an extermination phase.
Erich quietly turned his head to the rear.
There would be Ungrim's advancing horde, with Grossnak lying in ambush.
Beyond Grossnak, barbarians of the Bear Tribe were in pursuit.
But all of this depended on one condition: the Bear Tribe could not reach the others until Grossnak sprung his ambush on Ungrim's forces.
Erich thought of the one sent to enforce that condition.
A name that, after this day, would forever remain a nightmare to the Bear Tribe....
Mikhail.
***
The warriors of the Bear Tribe marched past those of the Black Wolf Tribe. Leading them was the Bear Tribe's chieftain, Roanok.
Even in this biting cold, he strode bare-chested, his swollen muscles not only bulging but also steaming with a reddish glow.
Since the awakening of his aura, Roanok had possessed strength no one could rival. His explosive aura continually supplied his body with intense heat.
Ironically, that very power allowed Roanok to unleash explosive might. As such, he rose as a new sacred figure for the Bear Tribe, on par with Laboon, but—
Despite opinions that he was stronger, Roanok ceded the title of champion to Laboon. His ambitions as a chieftain outweighed those of a mere warrior.
[... Foolish one, opening a shortcut for us. He'll regret it.]
Roanok curled his lips into a smirk, snickering with his warriors. Yet, he could understand why those crows had left Grossnak's rear exposed—they must have had their own calculations.
Still, for their scheme to work, the White Wolf bunch here would have to hold out for quite some time.
'But can they manage that?'
Roanok had no doubt that victory in this engagement would be his.
Should he quickly dispose of Grossnak and link up with Ungrim's forces, he planned to obliterate anything—or anyone, be it crow or Black Wolf—that remained.
'While I'm at it, avenging Laboon would be nice too.'
The death of Laboon—his equal in strength—at the hands of some no-name had also been a heavy blow to Roanok.
It was as if he'd lost the champion's title to the wolf tribe on a fluke of luck.
He intended to beat that cursed man to death with his own hands.
Not for some sweet reason like revenge for Laboon, but because his proud Bear Tribe's honor had been wounded.
The warriors of the Bear Tribe continued their advance. Suddenly, the vanguard stopped.
[... What's this? Why have we stopped?]
Roanok wondered as he gazed ahead. There stood a man with a sword and a black cloak—an unmistakable crow in appearance.
Roanok snorted derisively.
[He must be out of his mind. Did he get left behind?]
[Chief, we are in a hurry. Perhaps we should simply push through him.]
[Let's do that.]
When Roanok waved his hand, the Bear Tribe's warriors resumed their advance. He couldn't imagine what that lone man thought he could do against a host of Barbarians.
But at that moment—
― Pakakakakakak!
Blood spurted above the vanguard's heads.
It wasn't just a trickle; a multitude of blood fountains erupted simultaneously, and the Barbarians at the front were thrown into confusion.
[... What is this?]
Roanok's breath caught. Before him stood a Swordmaster bathed in a vivid indigo glow. Several Barbarians boldly rushed him, but—
― Chaaak!
Before they could even get near—before his sword was even drawn—their limbs were split in two.
The Barbarians grew even more agitated. Had their weapons at least clashed, it could be understood.
But the sight of dozens being cut down without the opponent lifting his hand was terrifying enough.
Roanok's eyes narrowed.
A clear indigo light streamed from the crow's gaze, but Roanok had never seen such a radiance.
Even Laboon, awakened as a Head Hunter, could never display such power. Roanok's emerald eyes flashed sharply.
[... Mon... Monster?]
Roanok could do nothing but swallow hard. The aura flowing from that man was like the sun itself.
His vast aura stretched clawlike in every direction, and the blades manifested by his power targeted everything nearby.
Then Mikhail, the man blocking their way, murmured quietly,
"From this point on, not a single one of you shall pass."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Every time Mikhail makes his move, he's just farming aura...
Beating up Erich...
Beating up the Shadows...
Now, decimating the barbarians...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】