Published at 5th of August 2023 4:44 pm

Volume 12, Chapter 5 – War Maiden, Part 7

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

December 8th, the 1026th year of the Imperial Calendar.

Birds swarmed gracefully in the sky in the fresh morning sun, and the sun’s rays dazzled the ground.

The weather was even refreshing, but the fresh air was muddy and mixed with the smell of death.

The cause was obvious at first glance.

The ground was filled with a large number of corpses―it was as if hell had been recreated.

The corpse-strewn plain was unbearable to look at, and the corpses that had been trampled over and over again were so damaged that it was impossible to tell if they were human or not.

A sword thrust near the corpse trembled. Soon, it seemed to shake violently, and then it broke free from the ground and fell to the side. At that moment, a large number of soldiers ran away screaming.

They were called the Allied Forces, and they were the forces that had gathered under the name of “Black Dragon King” to defeat the “monsters.”

The Allied Forces fought a fierce battle with the “monster” army.

After fighting day after day, they had little strength left, and as time passed, the number of casualties increased. They could not fight forever with only their spirit and mentality.

Nevertheless, they continued to swing their swords for the sake of those they were supposed to protect.

On the front lines, the commander, “Black Dragon King,” inspired his soldiers to fight.

Wiping the blood from his cheek, Hiro stopped in his tracks, feeling a strange sense of unease.

He stroked the back of his neck with a questioning look, looked around, and then called out to Ghada, who was nearby.

“…..Don’t you think something’s wrong?”

“What? Speaking of weird, this isn’t normal considering the circumstances.”

“I don’t mean that. I just have a strange feeling.”

That day, the army of “monsters” had launched an attack early in the morning. The force was tremendous, and now the two armies were beginning to mix, creating a hand-to-hand situation. However, this was not what Hiro had expected. Therefore, to prevent the formation from collapsing, skilled commanders were stationed at various locations.

On the right wing was the Second Prince Selene, on the left was Claudia with the “Demon Race” leading the way, and in the middle was the elite of the “Raven Army,” Hiro, and his entourage. Therefore, even though they were outnumbered, they were able to maintain the front line and hold their ground.

They took every possible precaution. There should be no problem, but still, Hiro’s fear grew in his heart.

In the middle of the battlefield, Hiro stopped and looked at the “monsters.”

He read all the information: the flow of air, the movement of troops, the disorder in the ranks, and the frenzy of morale.

“Hey, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind to stop here!”

Ghada yelled at him, but he couldn’t reach Hiro. That was because Hiro was reading the atmosphere of the battlefield.

It was an early morning attack, but a monotonous attack, as if they were trying to hide something.

“I see… Ghada, get reinforcements to the right flank immediately―no, you go straight for them.”

Sensing the uneasiness, Hiro glanced at the right wing and sent instructions to Ghada.

The sound of his voice alerted Ghada to the critical situation, and he tried to mount his horse,

“…..It collapsed.”

“What?”

Ghada asked back. A violent dust storm erupted from the right wing, and violent shouts erupted wildly.

There was no doubt that something unusual had happened.

The “monsters” that appeared in front of him were cut down with a single sword, and Ghada approached Hiro, who had a serious expression on his face, grabbed his shoulders, and turned him around.

“What are you going to do? Can the situation be improved if I go for reinforcements now?”

If Hiro went there, it would be possible to restore the right wing. However, if the right wing completely collapsed before he got there, there was nothing he could do, even if he joined them. If they left, the center would be the next target.

“No, that is impossible. They are already too far in.”

While he would have liked to know the status of the Second Prince Selene, who was entrusted with the right wing, there was no point in worrying about it under the current circumstances, which could not be confirmed. The first priority now was to deal with the collapsed right-wing and retreat before it affected the entire army, and in some cases, encirclement must also be considered.

“First, let’s retreat while maintaining the front line. Signal all troops at once, and ask Claudia to send word as well.”

“Understood.”

Ghada replied briefly and started to run. He strode across the battlefield where “monsters” and humans mingled, swinging his large sword and giving orders to his subordinates. Hiro took his eyes off the back of this reliable man and looked across the front line to the main camp of the “monsters.”

“…So the Faceless King has started to take command, huh?”

The movements of the “monsters” were completely different from before. The reason why they attacked so aggressively from the beginning was to take away space from the center and left flanks so that they would not have to pay attention to other areas of the battle. If a melee broke out, it was likely that they would have concentrated their forces on the right flank and tried to collapse it while maintaining precise coordination. There should have been no problem with Selene’s command. He was simply overwhelmed by the number of “monsters.”

“Is the reason he did not take command until now to prevent the Heavenly Spirit Eye from detecting his movements…?”

The “monster” army has changed commanders several times. Each time, Hiro had adapted by reading the opposing commander’s mind, figuring out their preferred tactics based on their personalities, and then outsmarting and outwitting them.

However, in order to prevent his opponent from realizing that the command had changed, the Faceless King continued the same monotonous attacks as the previous commanders, creating the illusion of the “Heavenly Spirit Eyes,” which he then proceeded to destroy in one fell swoop.

The strategy worked, and the current situation was born.

“I have given instructions to all the troops. This is all that is left. We are retreating.”

Ghada came up to Hiro, out of breath. Hiro shook his head, smiling.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll let us go that easily.”

The Faceless King was not that naive. He never misjudged a stalemate. There was no way he would let Hiro escape.

As Hiro looked around, he saw the army of “monsters” approaching the center from both sides. Even though the left and right flanks of the allied forces were retreating, they were not pursuing them but were coming toward the center where Hiro was. From the beginning of this battle, the Faceless King must have been thinking only of killing Hiro personally, not of winning the battle for his army.

“…..He knows my personality well, doesn’t he?”

The Faceless King must have read what Hiro would do in this situation.

“I’ll take care of the reinforcements. One-Eyed Dragon, you go first.”

Ghada’s voice was tense――,

“What are you doing? This is the only place left! Retreat quickly!”

Luca, riding her horse, stopped right in front of Hiro. Hugin and Munin followed behind her. As Hiro was relieved to see the three of them safe and sound, an arm was thrust out in front of him.

“What are you doing standing there like a fool? Get back on your horse!”

Hiro smiled at her as he reached out and pulled a long, cloth-wrapped object out of the Black Princess Camellia. He placed it in Luca’s hand as she frowned suspiciously.

“What is this…?”

“It is Eagle’s arm. I will return it to you as promised.”

In the past, he had used the arm of Luca’s brother, who had been killed in battle, as a bargaining chip to get Luca to join him.

Since then, his life has been threatened every day, but recently Luca seemed to have had a change of heart when they invaded the Six Kingdoms, and she has stopped attacking Hiro.

“A-are you… insane? Returning this means…”

“Luca, silence. The promise has been fulfilled. From this day on, the promise is null and void.”

When Hiro put his index finger to her mouth and said this, Luca fell silent against her will when she saw Hiro’s “eyes.”

“…S-stop screwing around….. you… you…”

Hiro smiled as he pointed to the south, though he was slightly surprised by Luca’s resistance to the power of the “Lion King’s Eye.”

“Escape safely. All right?”

“Damn, you… I’ll kill you… I’ll kill… you!”

Luca moved away, screaming. Hiro looked at Hugin, and she nodded but turned around hesitantly. Looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t put it into words, Hugin followed Luca. After seeing them off, Hiro turned to Ghada.

“So, I’ll take care of the rest, and you can leave quickly.”

“…..I thought you’d say that, but… I’ll stay too.”

The moment Ghada said this, Hiro closed the distance, thrust his fist into Ghada’s solar plexus, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him to the ground without even giving him a chance to grunt. Seeing that he had stopped moving, Hiro picked up his huge body and threw it at Munin.

“Ugh, wha!”

Munin, who had been knocked down on his horse, successfully received Ghada. He turned his reproachful gaze to Hiro.

“Hiro-sama, aren’t you being too reckless…? This is a complete exaggeration.”

“If I don’t do this, Ghada is strong enough that he won’t lose his mind.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Munin, take care of him.”

Hiro turned on his heel and waved his hands behind his back. Then he started walking in the opposite direction from where his allies were retreating.

“Hey… Hiro-sama, please be safe, and let’s meet later.”

Munin bowed his head to the man’s back and galloped across the plains with Ghada in his arms.

As he felt the roar of the horse’s hooves leave the area, Hiro shot the approaching “monsters,” and a hail of blood rained down from the sky. Ahead of Hiro’s eyes, an army of “monsters” moved to fill the horizon. Hiro let out a small breath and looked up.

The endless blue sky filled his field of vision.

It felt good, even comforting. If he could fly free, it would feel so good.

Once in the past… an old friend of his had wished to fly freely. However, he was unable to fulfill his dream and left this world with a feeling of regret.

“My old friend… Black Dragon King… now is the time to fulfill our promise.”

Clutching his chest and closing his eyes, his smile appears in his mind.

The last memory―the day he parted ways with him―he smiled in a world of blood.

“Hey… you little brat… you… you wanted to kill the ‘King,’ didn’t you?”

The Black Dragon King, who had been protecting Hiro from the Faceless King’s attack, spat out blood and said.

“But you can’t kill the King…”

“There’s only one―only one way…and that’s this.”

The Black Dragon King pulled out the Creation of Heaven and Earth that had been pierced through his chest, spat out the blood, and turned to face the Faceless King standing behind him.

“But first, I’m going to make sure that bastard gets what he deserves.”

After a look of fury, the Black Dragon King’s appearance changed. His back heaved, his clothes flew off, and his rough scales were exposed to the outside world. Eventually, his skin turned black, and fangs began to sprout from his huge mouth―Hiro could only watch in amazement as the Black Dragon King transformed.

“You―do you know despair?”

The “King of the Sky”―the Black Dragon―roared from his massive jaws.

Beyond that, the battle of the gods―unreasoning despair―covered the world. Natural disasters were unleashed, and calamities befell the people of the land. Cities were destroyed, countries collapsed, and villages disappeared.

But there was no solution.

The “King” cannot kill the “King” because they were the “King.”

Whether it was the strongest or the most fearsome, a King cannot even kill the weakest King as long as he was the King.

Then―how can you kill the king?

“Usurp the king. In other words, you are the Black Dragon King from this day forward.”

Long ago, the Black Dragon, the lone and most fearsome of all dragons, was usurped and killed by a boy right after he gave him his “wisdom.” The boy then obtained the power he desired and used the corpse of the Black Dragon to create the Five Dragon and Phoenix Swords and rebelled against the Five Great Heavenly Kings.

However, he could not reach the heavens, and even though he obtained the wings he longed for, he could not fly in the sky.

There was nothing left in the hand of the defeated boy.

Everything spilled from his palm. He could not keep his promise.

“But… I need your help once again.”

Hiro opened his eyelids to see the army of “monsters” approaching before him.

With the Heavenly Emperor in his right hand and the Dark Emperor in his left, Hiro kicked up the ground.

“Now―let’s dance!”

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