Chapter 111 : Chapter 111
Chapter 111. There's Still One More Shot Left (1)
‘I did it.’
Roden thought as he watched Latif collapse.
But the joy was fleeting.
He had no strength left in his body.
It was only natural, as he had used all his strength in the last moment to cast the 6th-circle magic spells ‘Infernal Bloom’ and ‘Judgment Bolt’ in succession.
After attacking Latif using almost all the secret techniques he had, without much success.
Roden decided to use his hidden weapon, magic.
This was because, with their similar skills, catching him off guard was extremely important.
So, Roden conserved his energy, saving it up as he secretly chanted an Aurasong without Latif noticing.
He waited for the most opportune moment to use his magic.
As a result, the moment finally came when Latif felt that Roden could no longer exert any more power as a knight.
It was an accurate judgment.
In reality, even if Roden had used all his remaining strength, there would have been no way to defeat Latif.
However, Roden had one more hidden weapon.
And so, Roden succeeded in defeating Latif by using magic twice.
Thud.
But that was as far as he could go.
Having used two 6th-circle magic spells, Roden had exhausted all his stamina.
For that reason, he could no longer support his body and ended up collapsing on the spot.
“Ernst!”
It was then. Someone called a name that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Slowly turning his head, he saw Michael riding towards him on a horse.
“Staff Officer……”
Roden called out to Michael but lost consciousness before he could finish his sentence.
Michael leaped off his horse and hurriedly checked Roden’s condition.
“Ernst! Ernst!”
At the same time, a memory from his childhood with Ernst surfaced in Michael’s mind.
One day, when Michael was nine and Ernst was six.
Ernst, covered in dirt, had suddenly shown Michael two flowers.
[What’s this?]
[Hehe. A gift.]
[A gift?]
[Yeah. I found them in the garden. Aren't they really pretty?]
It was a pretty purple flower with five neatly spread petals, each the size of a fingernail.
Michael also liked the flower, but he slapped away Ernst’s hand that was holding it.
[Forget it. What kind of boy thinks flowers are pretty? Besides, we are of a prestigious swordsmanship family’s bloodline.]
[Even if we're from a prestigious swordsmanship family, we can still think flowers are pretty. And more importantly, this flower resembles us.]
[It resembles us?]
[Yeah!]
Ernst replied like this and once again handed one of the two flowers to Michael.
And Michael reluctantly accepted it.
It was only later that Michael learned the flower’s name was Dianthus, and that its meaning was brotherly love.
“Ernst! Ernst!”
Michael, who had been lost in thought for a moment, once again shouted Roden’s name.
He had wished for Roden to die.
So he had even personally plotted a few schemes to kill Roden.
But that didn’t mean he truly wanted Roden to die.
Only after seeing Roden collapse and lose consciousness could Michael realize this fact.
“Ernst! Erns… huh?”
Michael belatedly realized that Roden had merely fallen asleep and that there was nothing wrong with his body.
The moment he realized this, a sigh of relief escaped Michael’s lips.
“Phew.”
However, belatedly realizing the situation, Michael covered his mouth, from which the sigh of relief had escaped.
Michael’s embarrassed face turned red.
***
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar sky greeted me.
From the rattling, it seemed I was lying in a wagon.
‘Why am I here?’
As Roden was thinking, someone spoke to him.
“Company Commander? Are you awake?”
Turning my head, I could see Chevalier riding a horse beside the wagon.
Roden sat up and nodded.
“Yeah. I'm fine. So what happened? Why am I lying in a wagon?”
“The Staff Officer brought you here after you defeated the enemy assault commander and collapsed.”
“……My brother?”
“Yes. Don’t you remember?”
Roden frowned and searched his memory.
Now that I thought about it, I seemed to remember seeing Michael’s face at the very end.
‘In that case, did he also see me use magic?’
I was slightly worried.
But I soon shook my head, deciding that it was okay not to worry too much.
‘After all, I cast the magic with aura.’
In other words, Roden’s magic did not feel significantly different from a secret technique of Superior Swordsmanship.
So Michael would have probably mistaken his magic for one of his secret techniques.
A rather high-level one.
Having organized his thoughts, Roden spoke to Chevalier.
“It's vague, but I remember. Seeing my brother's face.”
“Yes. According to the Staff Officer, you lost consciousness after using all your strength to unleash a secret technique and defeat the enemy assault commander. The Staff Officer then loaded you onto his horse and brought you here.”
“But why was my brother there?”
“According to the 3rd Squad Leader, after hearing that you were pursuing the enemy assault commander alone, he suddenly rode his horse and disappeared into the gorge. As for why he followed you, I don't know the reason either.”
“Hmm……”
“Could it be that the Staff Officer followed you because he was worried, just like us?”
Normally, one would have thought so.
However, because it was Michael who had ridden off, the story was a bit different.
Michael was one of the people who wished for Roden to die.
“That’s unlikely. My brother is someone who has threatened my life several times. More importantly, are we with the 3rd Corps now?”
Roden pushed aside his thoughts about Michael and asked Chevalier a question as he observed the long line of 3rd Corps troops in front of and behind the wagon.
It was a problem he couldn't find an answer to anyway, no matter how much he pondered it.
Above all, there was something else that needed to be done first.
“Yes. That is correct. We are currently moving towards Kroxen Castle as part of the 3rd Corps.”
“How much time has passed since I collapsed?”
“About three hours have passed, I think.”
“Three hours isn't too late. I need to see the Corps Commander right now.”
“I will guide you.”
Roden thus followed Chevalier to meet Alexis, who was moving around the middle of the marching formation.
Upon seeing Roden’s face, Alexis spoke in a bright voice.
“Oh! The hero of this battle has finally woken up! How are you? Are you feeling alright?”
Roden glanced at Michael, who was walking with Alexis, and replied.
“I’m still a bit stiff, but I'm not bad.”
The expression Roden saw on Michael’s face was very stoic.
It didn't seem like he was the one who had rescued and brought him back at all.
He didn’t even glance at Roden.
“I suppose it would be difficult to recover your condition completely. You must have had a hard time facing an opponent of the same caliber. Still, you dealing with the enemy assault commander was a great achievement.”
“It is all thanks to you, Corps Commander, for accepting my rather challenging military strategy.”
“Of course, I had to. Thanks to you, our corps was able to hold on to the thread of hope. And this time, you even revived us from the brink of death. By the way, when did you reach the level of a 6-star? I was quite surprised when I confirmed your level.”
Alexis asked the question, and only then did Michael’s expression change.
Michael also seemed curious as to when Roden had reached the level of a 6-star.
Of course, Roden avoided saying anything unnecessary and deliberately gave a generic answer.
“My usual diligent training finally paid off after I went to the Empire. It hasn't been long since I reached the level of a 6-star.”
“And yet, to achieve victory against a veteran 6-star knight is incredible. Truly commendable. I plan to give you a great reward. I wish to bestow upon you the position of Main Battalion Commander, which the traitor Linor Mustafi held, and the <Mustafi Swordsmanship Manual>. How about it?”
Roden, who had been constantly observing Michael’s expression, widened his eyes and looked at Alexis at the unexpected proposal.
As Roden, it was a reward he couldn't help but be very pleased with.
He had keenly felt his limitations as a Company Commander and the lack of secret techniques while carrying out this operation.
However, it was not yet time to discuss rewards.
Roden had not sought out Alexis as soon as he woke up just to receive a reward.
“……I believe it is too early to talk about rewards. Isn't there still an operation that requires us to race against time?”
That was right.
In fact, the operation Roden had proposed wasn’t just about capturing the spy and crushing the enemy assault unit.
When the soldier sent by Alexis came to Kelot Hills.
Roden had given this soldier another letter.
And this letter contained the following message.
[If we can achieve a great victory against the assault unit in this operation, it is worth attempting to capture Kroxen Castle by faking a defeat.
As soon as you receive this letter, send a soldier to order the troops besieging Kroxen Castle to retreat.
When the besieging forces retreat like this, the Kroxen Castle defenders will mistakenly believe the assault unit has won and send their troops outside.
If we do not miss this opportunity and can push our troops into Kroxen Castle, it will be possible to open the castle gates from the inside.]
And this was what Roden believed to be the fastest way to capture Kroxen Castle at present.
Roden was certain of this, and that was why he had sought out Alexis as soon as he woke up.
To confirm whether things had been handled according to the operation he had proposed.
And if the operation had not been accepted, to persuade Alexis.
Fortunately, a positive answer came back from Alexis’s lips.
“Do not worry. They should already be preparing to retreat from Kroxen Castle, just as you intended.”