Chapter 331 : Chapter 331
Chapter 331. Are You Okay? Still Alive? (1)
Year 1531. November 5th.
The defeat in the battle where the Imperial Sword Saint died was fatal.
For the next four months, the allied forces attempted to counterattack the Yusef Kingdom's army a total of five times.
It was a desperate struggle to somehow turn the situation around.
But the result was a disastrous series of complete defeats.
The allied forces, having mobilized the full military power of each nation, had been defeated five times in a row.
At this bitter result, the leaders of the allied forces could not hide their gloom.
“Damn it, does this even make sense?”
The person who slammed his fist on the round table in the meeting room in anger was Duke Derek Nicola of the Kingdom of Atronia.
Although he openly expressed his anger, no one in the meeting room reprimanded him for his actions.
In fact, most of the people present in this place felt the same way.
It was a war they had initially expected to be an easy victory, but it had gone terribly wrong from the first battle, followed by the death of the Imperial Sword Saint, and since then, they had suffered defeat after defeat.
No one had thought this war would fall into such a quagmire.
“What in the world is the reason for our defeat? Why can't we win even once?”
As Duke Nicola spoke, he looked at the 1st Sage.
After the death of the Imperial Sword Saint, it was the 1st Sage who was in control of the command of this allied army.
And the 1st Sage, who had his eyes gently closed, spoke….
“Our military strength is insufficient.”
“What? Are you saying that even with the military power of the entire continent gathered, it's insufficient?”
To Duke Nicola, who asked back strongly, the 1st Sage sighed and said.
“It is frustrating, but it can't be helped. That is the truth.”
“Mmmph….”
Duke Nicola could only swallow his indignation.
The main force of the Yusef Kingdom was a large number of black mages and the unknown Red Knights who used Aura Blades.
And there was the Hegemon King and the unknown swordsman who fought alongside him without ever leaving his side.
To analyze the allied forces' strength against this force….
“If we try a little harder, our Tower of Truth can handle the black mages.”
“Hmm, that's right.”
“And although the Red Knights are a serious problem, if we receive the help of all the knights of the continent, the 7-Star knights, and the demi-humans who have joined as reinforcements from the Schneider Duchy, we can manage to face them.”
At the 1st Sage's words, Tutan and Kirioth, who were attending the meeting on one side, nodded their heads.
The Red Knights were powerful individuals who emitted Aura Blades, but from what they had observed in the battles so far, they were slightly inferior compared to true 7-Star knights.
Since they were undead created by raising the dead, their realm was somewhat weaker than when they were alive.
However, among them, those who were made into Red Knights by modifying living beings, like the Sword Queen or the Giant Killer, were stronger than ordinary 7-Star knights.
To face them, they had to mobilize the entire knightly power of the continent and the strength of the demi-humans.
Only then did the scales balance.
Now, with this, what remained was….
“The Hegemon King and that unknown swordsman.”
“Mmmph….”
“That… is the problem. In the end….”
In the five battles so far, even while being defeated, the allied forces had done their best to somehow capture those two.
But the two monsters never acted separately on the battlefield and were always together, and to capture them, there was ultimately no way but a frontal assault.
Just two people.
In the allied forces, there were only two powerful individuals who could face those two.
Kenonier Gras, the Guardian of the Tower of Truth.
April Schneider, the Flash Queen of the Schneider Duchy.
These two were the only ones who were a match for those two.
Naturally, in the past five battles, those two had challenged the Hegemon King and the unknown swordsman by his side to defeat them.
But the result was a complete defeat.
April and Kenonier were able to stand against those two to some extent, but it was slightly insufficient to seize victory.
In the last battle, Kenonier Gras had been seriously injured and had barely returned alive.
The priests clung to him and poured all their strength into healing, but the wounds he sustained from forcibly using his soul weapon were beyond even the limits of holy power.
In other words, in the next battle, April alone would have to face those two monsters.
“If only the Double Dragon were here at a time like this….”
Tanius Owen, the Paladin of the Holy Theocracy, said.
At that, everyone's gaze turned to the Grand Duke of the Schneider Duchy.
Then….
“I apologize. My son is currently in a place where he cannot be contacted, so I cannot call him.”
“Mmmph…. What in the world is he doing away at a time like this? At this important time when the fate of the entire continent is at stake?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Tsk….”
“This is why new nations are….”
“It's just absurd. No matter what, for the heir to be out of contact about his whereabouts….”
There were a few in the command who blamed Patrick for his absence.
Taking this opportunity to strike, they were mainly new staff members from the Harbor Duchy and the Magellan Kingdom.
Having recklessly pushed forward at the beginning by volunteering for the vanguard, they had lost a force of as many as 70,000.
To escape the responsibility for that defeat, they were desperately engaged in political maneuvering.
They were doing this at a moment when the entire continent had to unite to fight against the black mages.
Grand Duke Schneider, being a good person, was just taking all the verbal blows.
But was it really okay to do this?
‘Of course not.’
‘What are they thinking, doing that?’
‘They've got some nerve. They really do.’
‘Our capital was destroyed just for saying the soup was salty….’
Those who had experienced Patrick Schneider even once knew.
They knew what it meant to be on bad terms with the Schneider Duchy.
No, in fact, there was no need to go as far as Patrick.
Even right now….
CRASH!
“My brother is currently doing something important to save the fate of the entire continent. And you dare to blame our father?!”
As Tutan spoke, strongly emitting his presence, the leaders of the other nations flinched.
And that wasn't all.
“If you try to hold His Highness the Grand Duke responsible, we Elves will withdraw from this war. We joined this war as an ally of the Schneider family in the first place.”
Kirioth, the king of the Elves, stepped forward and said.
At that, the staff members who were trying to shift the responsibility to Grand Duke Schneider were greatly flustered.
For the Elves and Orcs to withdraw here and now meant that the chances of winning this war would completely disappear.
And above all….
“Everyone, that's enough. If the Flash Queen were here right now, your heads would have rolled.”
At Tanius Owen's words, the staff members reflexively brought their hands to their necks.
That's right.
In fact, even excluding the strength of the demi-humans, the current military power of the Schneider Duchy was the most important core force for the allied army.
To stop the Hegemon King and the unknown swordsman, April's power was needed, and the Schneider Duchy's knightly order, the Double Dragon Knightly Order, was as strong as the Empire's knightly order.
The military power of the Schneider Duchy, revealed to the world through this war, was already on par with the three great powers.
No, it was even greater.
No matter how the war ended, the continent's prestige regarding the Schneider Duchy would completely change afterward.
The 1st Sage looked at the assembly and said.
“The war is not over yet. The enemy must be tired too, so we have a chance of winning. Let's endure to the end and aim for victory.”
No one answered the 1st Sage's speech.
A speech that just said to do their best and fight without any particular strategy was unlikely to raise morale.
However….
‘Right now….’
‘That's the only way.’
‘Damn it, this is driving me crazy.’
This war was no longer one where they could discuss strategies or tactics to turn the tide.
It was a war on a scale where the only way to win was to clash with power against power.
* * *
“I'm coming in for a moment.”
The barracks Isabella entered after speaking.
There, a beautiful woman with blonde hair was bandaging her own body.
The person who had engraved her name as the strongest female knight on the continent through this war.
It was April Schneider.
Isabella looked at April and said.
“I told you I'd do it, why are you doing it by yourself?”
“How could I possibly dare….”
“Stop saying that too. We don't have a status difference anymore.”
“……”
“Turn your back. I'll change the bandages.”
“Thank you.”
And Isabella re-wrapped the bandages around April's body.
As she did so, she suddenly remembered.
“It's the opposite of before, isn't it?”
“……?”
“You pushed my back at the hot springs before, didn't you? I was just thinking how much has changed since then.”
At Isabella's words, April hesitated for a moment before saying.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“That… I definitely said back then that I should know my place…. but it just so happened….”
“Stop it.”
“……”
“From your perspective, Elione and I are the ones who rolled in, aren't we?”
“……”
“If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I'm not even helpful….”
Isabella was self-deprecating.
Although she had devoted herself to the Tower of Truth and trained as a magic swordsman to become Patrick's strength, she was still far from enough.
Of course, she had become stronger than before.
Although it was a short time, her skills had improved enough to receive a soul weapon.
Certainly, she was not without talent.
Thanks to Patrick's teachings, her use of qi was also excellent, and thanks to that, she had quickly adapted to handling a soul weapon.
Her current strength was above average among the magic swordsmen.
Thanks to that, she had joined this war and was fighting with all her might.
But that was only to the extent of being somewhat outstanding.
The realm where April fought was on a different dimension.
Isabella was far from being able to set foot there.
Rather, Elione, the Elven Knight, would probably be stronger than Isabella for now.
“April. In the next battle, you might have to face those two alone.”
“I will win this time.”
“It's not something that can be done with bravado….”
Isabella, who was speaking, closed her mouth.
It was because she could feel a strong determination in April's eyes, not just a promise or bravado.
“I will win.”
“……”
“By any means necessary.”
“You….”
“Princess. May I ask just one favor of you?”
“I don't know what it is, but don't.”
“Please take care of the Young Master.”
“Didn't I say not to?”
“He is strong, but he has a vulnerable side. He also gets very lonely. Please, Princess and Lady Elione, stay by his side.”
“I… I can't make such a promise. So don't say strange things and just come back alive, no matter what.”
“Of course, I will do my best to do so. But this is a request I am making just in case.”
“……”
“Please take care of him.”
“……”
Isabella did not answer until the end.
For some reason, she felt that if she answered this question, April might really not come back.
* * of the allied forces.
The leaders of the allied forces did not know, but….
The reason the allied army had not been annihilated despite suffering repeated defeats was because they had been holding back.
Simply having a lot of casualties is inefficient.
Fear, despair, resentment, anger….
Souls filled with such negative emotions were the sacrifices that became the power of the black mages.
So the black mages had been dedicated to dragging out this war as long as possible to gather sacrifices.
But now, there was no need for that.
“I'll finish it in the next battle.”
The end of the war was approaching.