Chapter 113
Screams of the members echoed from all directions. 2nd Fortress Commander Hern quickly turned his head to look around.
—Kieeeeeek!
Hern spun around swiftly, turning his body toward the source of the sound and plunged his sword in.
—Kwa-jik!
However, even with its head pierced, the dead shuddered and swung its sharp hands.
In response, Hern drew a line with a small dagger held in his remaining hand.
—Chw-aaaak!
The neck of the dead was cleanly severed. As he swung the sword still embedded in the airborne head, the skull rolled across the ground.
The fact that the dead had reached even the place where Commander Hern stood meant that the formation had completely collapsed and they were being massacred.
'It's over. What am I supposed to tell the old man? No, I might not even get to see him in the first place.'
Hern let out a smile. Smiling was his habit, even under normal circumstances.
Of course, in this situation, it was more of a bitter smile.
He saw members being surrounded and killed. Hern felt a kind of guilt toward them.
'It's my fault.'
Who could have imagined that thousands of members would be surrounded by such a number of the dead and meet their deaths?
Thinking back, this extermination operation was wrong from the start.
'At first, I thought we were driving the dead into a corner...'
It was a misconception.
The moment they attacked where the dead had gathered, the dead swarmed in from all directions, and while fighting in chaos, not only the other members but even Hern failed to notice that the dead's forces were tightening their encirclement from outside.
Just then, Hern's lieutenant, spattered with the blue blood of the dead, spoke up.
"Commander, I'll try to at least secure a retreat. If we attempt a breakthrough with the remaining members, we might be able to escape to some extent."
"... Escape?"
Hern raised the corner of his mouth. They didn't even know how many layers the dead's encirclement had—how were they supposed to break through?
Hern neatly cut down three charging dead. Even wielding a longsword in one hand, his specialty as fortress commander was finishing his foes using a dagger he drew with his off-hand.
Immediately after, another dead lunged past the one that had fallen.
Hern stabbed a dagger into its neck and twisted the blade with all his strength.
—Kwa-jik!
With its spine severed, its movement stopped below the head. But its head gnashed its teeth with a grotesque sound.
Hern, using his dagger-less hand, grabbed the skull of the dead.
—Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!
With the sound of breaking bone, he crushed the skull with his bare hand. Hern's grip strength was so great, it was almost barbarian in level.
Back in his competitive days, he had even wrestled barehanded with barbarians. If he had lost then, he wouldn't still be here now.
Hern stood upright, stepping on the pile of fallen dead, and looked around in all directions.
But no matter how many heads he cut, it was endless. There were only the dead, everywhere.
The members, terror-stricken, couldn't handle the attacking dead all around them.
Hern sensed the end.
'Is this it?'
But at that moment...
A curious golden gleam arose.
—Hwarrururuk!
Flames like golden waves engulfed the backside of the dead.
Hern saw figures appearing through those flames.
Watchmen striking the rear of the dead with overwhelming force.
And the holy knights of the Church, and—
'Barbarian? What's that about?'
Hern narrowed his eyes.
But only for a moment—immediately, even from a distance, a familiar slash split the ranks of the dead.
—Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!
A slash so deep it gouged the earth.
A blue bloodstorm arose around him. Simultaneously, a flash of indigo, a magnificent brilliance.
Hern let out a hollow laugh and muttered,
"Damn, an even scarier old man showed up? Lucky us."
"Excuse me?"
"Heyze, line up the members and start a focused breakthrough in the direction I command."
"Understood. Which direction?"
"There."
Hern pointed to where the ranks of the dead had been disturbed. It was precisely the direction where the reinforcements had come.
***
Erich's sword blazed with golden flame and thrust out toward the dead on all sides.
It was more than simple fire—the scorching flames surged over the fallen dead and spread everywhere.
As if it was a power created solely to burn them.
Erich surveyed the scene. The barbarians pushed the dead with their characteristic mass and strength.
The holy knights advanced shoulder-to-shoulder as if in no way to be outdone.
At the center, of course, was the Lion of Barendorff, Alexander.
The old lion's sword, now sharper than before, swiftly cut through the dead.
'He's definitely... improved.'
His sword cut through the dead without mercy, proving that the impression Erich had before wasn't a fluke.
Yet more than personal valor, the power of the seasoned holy knights showed itself elsewhere.
It was in group combat.
This was the one thing both Watchmen and barbarians lacked. Unlike these squads, trained for small skirmishes, the holy knights came from a tradition of constant war.
Another mighty shock followed.
—Kwa-woong!
Air gathered and exploded outward, instantly carving a massive hole through the dead.
'Ceres, probably.'
Needless to say, torn corpses of the dead were strewn everywhere inside.
Her magic indeed wielded terrifying power.
Every time Ceres cast her spells, her distinctive blue hair shone even bluer against the white snow.
At that moment, seeing the overwhelming force of her magic, Frederick muttered in defeat,
"I should've gone into magic myself."
"With your brains? Don't think so."
"Ugh!"
Frederick swung his sword in annoyance, but the result didn't match his irritation.
Erich chuckled and looked away again.
Naturally, the true main actors today were Erich and Mikhail. Their skills as swordmasters bordered on massacre when faced with the dead.
Mikhail was already far ahead, unleashing slashes in every direction, and Erich scattered fire in return, unwilling to fall behind.
Soon, Erich confirmed the ranks of the dead had completely collapsed. Of course, this outcome wasn't achieved by Erich's unit alone.
'Hern, sharp as ever. He gathered his members and attempted a breakthrough toward us.'
As expected, Hern caught Erich's eye, slaughtering the dead with swords in both hands. His swordplay, arms fluttering rapidly, looked almost like a dance.
Then suddenly...
One member rushing forward was flung through the air.
—Tung! Teodung!
The flying member landed at Erich's feet like a skipping stone. But aside from the impact, he showed no movement at all.
Erich narrowed his eyes—the fallen member was completely frozen. He quickly realized why and dashed forward.
—Kwa-jik! Whirrik! Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!
'There's one among them wielding frost.'
'Frost.'
The power reminiscent of the aura used by dead necromancers and incomplete death knights.
In these circumstances, only Erich or Mikhail could deal with it. The other troops would freeze the moment they got close.
Erich, chasing the traces of frost, plunged into the mass of the dead. As the frozen corpses piled up, the culprit finally appeared in the distance.
'Death knight...!'
—Grrr...
A massive death knight glared at Erich with white eyes. The thing wore full armor across its massive body and carried a huge greatsword.
Erich closed his eyes and opened them again.
—Woo-woong,
His eyes glowed crimson, revealing the core's location within the creature.
'Good, there is one.'
Not every being scattering frost had a core, but for commanders like necromancers and death knights, the odds were extremely high.
In the meantime, Erich noticed,
'This one's a very young specimen.'
Most death knights' hides harden over long ages, but this one's skin was still tender.
—Grrrararara!
A powerful roar from the death knight. A sound like the air was being torn. Unfazed, Erich charged in.
—Ka-ga-ga-gak!
The greatsword barely grazed past Erich. But with Erich reading the threat perfectly, such sloppy attacks couldn't land.
Unable to put strength in his stance, Erich slid on the ice and spun, gathering rotational force like a top.
—Chw-aaaak!
Erich's blade severed the death knight's leg. The death knight lost its balance, waving its arms.
Swiftly rising, Erich thrust his sword into the creature's neck.
—Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!
Then, Erich's crimson eyes glared coldly. He sent power through his sword-wielding hand.
—Hwarrururuk!
—Kieeeeeek!
Flames engulfed the death knight, and it thrashed frantically.
But only for a moment—Erich drew out his sword and stabbed precisely where its core was.
There, gleaming, the core pierced down the blade.
Once extracted from the body, the frosty aura faded and the core lost its light.
Slipping another core into his coat, Erich smiled.
'Excellent. Any more?'
Erich swept his gaze across the battlefield. But there were no others. The dead were being wiped out everywhere.
But at that moment, something strange happened.
Without warning, the dead turned and all began to flee.
From beyond, Frederick's shout was heard.
"Don't let them get away! Chase them down and wipe them out!"
"Wait! Stop! 2nd Fortress does NOT pursue them!"
Conflicting orders. The members hesitated, then abandoned the chase. The one who shouted to stop was Hern.
He strode briskly toward Erich. Wearing a curious smile, Hern sheathed his sword.
—Clack.
"Deputy-Commander Erich, seeing you here is a relief."
"Isn't it a familiar face?"
"Now, yes. I'm personally grateful. I almost ended my life here."
Hern reached out his hand. Unlike his sarcastic tone at the meeting, there was a decidedly different air about him now.
It was no surprise, having had his life saved.
"Just so there's no misunderstanding, I'll say this. There's a reason we didn't pursue them. At first, we thought we were chasing, but later realized our own forces were being encircled."
"The one commanding the dead is quite intelligent. I already sensed as much. I don't misunderstand over things like that."
"Is that so? Good to hear. Hm... You coming here means you ignored my lockdown order, right? Well, never mind. I'd rather commend you. If you ever desire to be a fortress commander, I'll firmly cast my vote for you."
Hern grinned broadly. Becoming a fortress commander wasn't by appointment, but by a vote of all the commanders.
Erich also smiled. Being a fortress commander wasn't necessary for him right now, but it was an offer—if ever he needed help, Hern's hand would be there.
"My thanks for the sentiment. Is 2nd Fortress withdrawing now?"
"We should, right? In bad shape and, if possible, I'll maintain the lockdown order. What about you? Are you aiming deeper with your forces?"
"We have to, yes. Capturing Albrecht remains my objective."
"Hm... To be honest, it's odd to say this, but—"
"Yes?"
Hern furrowed his brow for a moment, then, seemingly thinking of something, shook his head and spoke.
"There'll probably be Fortress Commander Günter near where you're headed. Be careful about him."
"Commander Günter?"
Hern held up his finger at Erich, rubbed it quickly, and said,
"That guy's Albrecht's lackey."
"I see. Thanks for the advice."
Erich also smiled faintly. Hern's 2nd Fortress would now withdraw, leaving Erich's unit and 5th Fortress as the only ones remaining in this dangerous central region.
Those two had been stationed there from the start, mostly unaffected by the main army's movements.
Still, in truth, Erich already knew about this.
5th Fortress Commander Günter von Kluge.
Appointed by Albrecht himself to the Watch, he had a tangled history with Erich over the post of commander, but later fell in battle with the dead.
Erich was curious—having clashed with him so many times before, what would Günter do this time?
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】