Chapter 164 - The Roaring Lions of the North (3)

I stared blankly at the infantry in the front line.

The cylindrical weapons hooked onto the edges of their shields were weapons I had seen before.

In the distant past, back when Orcs and Giants, Elves and Dwarves ruled the world, there were elites who represented those mighty races.

For the dark green clan, there was the 'Furious Flame Legion',

for the Giants, the 'Legion of Thunder and Lightning',

for the Elves, the 'Legion of Dance and Song of Death',

and for the Dwarves, there was the 'Boiling Iron Legion'.

The cylinders tightly gripped in the hands of the royal infantry were undoubtedly the hand cannons (hakenbüchse) used by the elite gunners of the Dwarven clan's 'Boiling Iron Legion'.

The only differences were that the hand cannons used by the Dwarven gunners were far more powerful, and the object used as a support was a giant rectangular shield rather than a large battle axe.

It was something I could not understand.

The Dwarves treated hand cannons even more preciously than regular iron cannons. They were not items to be handed over to other races in such massive quantities.

But whether I understood it or not, what the royal soldiers were holding were the real deal.

Even though their appearance was far too crude to say they had been touched by Dwarven hands, and their power could not be compared to the originals.

BANG!

While I stood there blankly, the hand cannons of the Heavy Armored Musketeers spat fire once again.

The monsters beyond the shields collapsed en masse.

STEP.

While the monsters faltered for a moment, half of the Heavy Armored Musketeers retreated to the rear rank. The remaining musketeers laid their shields horizontally and filled the empty spaces in the front line.

CLANG.

The musketeers who had stepped back cracked open their hand cannons.

The motion of taking something out and shoving something back in was astonishingly swift.

And having finished their task, those Heavy Armored Musketeers returned to the front line.

BANG! BANG!

The hand cannons of the newly returned Heavy Armored Musketeers spewed fire once more.

While the monsters faltered, half of the musketeers retreated to the rear again.

The time it took them to crack open the hand cannons, take something out, put something in, and return to the front line was a mere dozen seconds.

Those who had left their spots returned and fired their hand cannons in unison once again.

That same spectacle was repeated several times.

The Heavy Armored Musketeers were not just perfectly blocking the monsters, they were overwhelming them.

There were moments of crisis as well.

The large monsters charged in ignorantly even after being struck by the hand cannons.

Whenever that happened, the Royal Knights stepped forward.

The Heavy Armored Musketeers would open the barrier, the Royal Knights would strike down the large monster and return, and the Heavy Armored Musketeers would close the barrier again.

That series of actions was carried out incredibly naturally.

The personnel of Winter Castle, who had been skeptical about how much power the reinforcement troops from The Capital—who had practically no real combat experience—could exert, let out gasps of admiration from all around.

However, not everyone was merely marveling.

"How long are you going to just sit back and watch!"

Vincent shouted fiercely.

At that moment, the knights of Winter Castle, who had stepped back to recover their energy, stepped forward to the front lines all at once.

STEP!

The Heavy Armored Musketeers opened the barrier as if they had eyes on the backs of their heads.

RUSH.

The knights of Winter Castle slipped through the gaps in the barrier.

And then they began to run wild like madmen.

The sword lights that had grown faint as their stamina was practically depleted were shining vividly once again. It seemed they had recovered quite a bit of their exhausted energy in that short moment.

The brave Orcs could not overcome the knights' swords and were swept away. The ferocious large monsters were subjected to the knights' cooperative attacks, spurting blood and tumbling down all over the place.

The soldiers of Winter Castle roared in cheers. The heavy armored musketeers slammed their shields, letting out sharp metallic clangs.

VWOOOONG.

Sword Resonance rang out in all directions.

BWOOO! BWOOOOO! BWOOOOOOOO!

Right then, the sound of a horn echoed out.

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

As soon as the words ended, from behind the walls,

THUD, THUD, THUD.

a group of troops revealed themselves with heavy footsteps.

Stubby shadows with cloaks pulled over their heads—they were Dwarves.

One Dwarf standing at the forefront threw back the hood of his cloak.

"It's been a while! Prince!"

"Meister Surka!"

He was Meister Surka, who had previously visited Winter Castle alongside Prima Meister Tur-ka.

"I've come to lend a hand!"

At the unexpected participation of the Dwarves, I smiled brightly and welcomed them.

"You came at the perfect time! If you were just a little later, there wouldn't have been a share left for the Dwarves!"

At my words, Surka laughed heartily.

"That is incredibly fortunate! Dwarves prefer living Orcs over dead Orcs, you see!"

Saying that, Surka led the Dwarves up onto the wall.

"Lift your shields!"

As if the words exchanged below the wall were the entirety of their greetings, the Dwarves immediately shouted as they drew their axes.

CLACK!

The musketeers reflexively hoisted their shields high.

STOMP STOMP STOMP.

Two hundred Dwarves stamped the ground in unison. Their stubby bodies passed through the space the Heavy Armored Musketeers had opened up.

SLASH!

The Dwarves, having passed through the front line like that, swung their axes.

KUEAAARGH!

KAAARGH!

The monsters whose legs were severed screamed and collapsed.

The Dwarves sprang up and split the heads of the fallen monsters.

That was the beginning.

The two hundred Dwarves began to hack away at the monsters like madmen.

Slashing, splitting, and slashing again.

Defense wasn't even a consideration. The Orcs' crude blades couldn't even leave a scratch on their armor and helmets.

CLANG!

The strikes launched by the sturdy Orcs simply bounced off.

"You damn bastards!"

"Piss off! You stinking runts!"

The furious Dwarves immediately took revenge.

KUAAARGH!

The screams of the monsters filled the surroundings.

"Winter Castle!"

Right then, Vincent roared fiercely.

"Excluding the minimum forces needed to defend the wall, everyone transition to the offensive!"

The castle gates opened with a deafening roar.

The lancers in black iron armor, who had been lined up fully armed, charged out of the gates all at once.

At their forefront was the Knight of the Advance,

the descendant of the Blood Lion Galahad, who was said to be unmatched on horseback with his god-like horsemanship,

Gallahan Galahad.

SWOOSH!

The moment Gallahan passed through the gates, a gust of wind whipped up.

It was the Poem of Martial Deeds of the Galahad family, [Poem of the Gale].

Becoming one with his horse, Gallahan thrust his lance, carving through the densely packed monsters where there wasn't even room to step, just like the wind.

"Don't fall behind the rookie!"

The one-eyed cavalry captain shouted fiercely, backing him up.

Arwen and that bastard Eli, who had descended the wall at some unknown point, were with them as well.

Seeing them charge out while splitting the dark green wave, the Dwarves hurled their bodies onto the high pile of monster corpses in front of the wall.

"Heave-ho!"

"Hiyah!"

Covered in iron from head to toe, the Dwarves were like giant iron balls. Wherever they passed, monsters screamed and rolled down beneath the pile of corpses.

The knights of Winter Castle followed behind them, cutting down the monsters the Dwarves had failed to finish off.

"We can't lose either! Brothers of the North! Join me!"

The knights and soldiers sent by the Northern lords gripped their swords and spears tightly, charging over the walls and out of the gates.

The dark green wave that had been crashing against Winter Castle was split and shattered.

The monsters began to falter and retreat.

Winter Castle's army plunged their swords and spears into the backs of the retreating monsters.

"Chase them!"

The excited knights were gradually getting further away from the castle.

"Come back!"

I poured all my mana into my voice and shouted at them.

Right then.

DOOM DOOM DOOM.

The sound of drums could be heard from the distance.

Pushing through the monsters fleeing in droves, the elite war legion of the Orcs revealed themselves.

At their forefront was a massive Orc gripping the war banner of the 'Furious Flame Legion'.

"We'll crush them just like this!"

"Don't fall back!"

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing elite legion, the knights shouted fiercely and charged forward.

GWOOOOOO!

The Orc royal guards and Orc Warriors charged head-on toward those knights.

"Kill them!"

"We'll finish you off!"

The knights flared up streams of sword light.

GWOOORGH!

KUAAARGH!

The Orcs gathered red Fighting Spirit onto their respective spears and axes.

And CRASH.

Hundreds of brilliant sword lights and thousands of streaks of red Fighting Spirit collided.

"Kuaaargh!"

Dozens of knights turned into bloody pulps and flew through the air.

KUEUGH!

Hundreds of Orcs were sent flying, their limbs severed.

"Do not retreat!"

"I will stand at the vanguard!"

Arwen and Eli scattered sword light in all directions, trampling the front lines of the Orc war legion.

The knights of Winter Castle and the soldiers of Winter Castle advanced, trampling over the Orcs.

"Vincent!"

I shouted, looking back at where Vincent had been.

"The troops have pushed out too far! It's time to pull back!"

However, the position of the lord was empty.

"The lord is over there with the Knights of Winter!"

A Ranger pointed his finger.

Following the tip of his finger, I could see the knights of the Knights of Winter carving through the war legion alongside the rest of the order in the distance.

And at their forefront was Vincent, who had drawn his sword and was cutting down Orcs like a madman.

I furrowed my brow.

Vincent's judgment wasn't bad.

The outstanding performance of the royal Heavy Armored Musketeers and the joining of the Dwarves.

The enemy's momentum had been broken, and our forces' momentum had skyrocketed to the heavens.

Riding that momentum to maximize the damage dealt to the monsters was an extremely rational decision.

Furthermore, charging out of the castle whenever an opportunity presented itself was already an agreed-upon plan.

In reality, it was undoubtedly our forces who were dominating the battle.

The Dwarves, who had dropped right into the middle of the Orcs like cannonballs, were turning the Orc formation into a complete mess with fortress-like sturdiness. The knights, led by Arwen and Eli, were frantically battering the Orcs from the outside.

The elite war legion was rapidly collapsing, unable to even live up to its name.

Everything was going smoothly.

At this rate, we would undoubtedly be able to crush the enemy's spirit and scatter the monsters before the day was out.

However, I felt extremely uneasy.

"Ah...!"

I belatedly realized the reason.

"God damn it!"

I spat a curse and kicked off the ground.

"Everyone, come back!"

I yelled for a retreat out loud, infusing all my mana into my voice.

But it was too late.

"Ack!"

"Uwaaagh!"

Screams erupted from everywhere within the ranks of the Northern allied forces that had rushed out of the gates.

Orcs suddenly popped out from beneath the ground.

And the Orcs that sprouted up like that began to run wild like madmen from within the ranks.

Soldiers died all around.

The Dwarves and knights at the front lines were continuing to cut down Orcs, entirely unaware of what was happening behind them.

"I said come back!"

I shouted, infusing my mana once again.

But the Dwarves and knights were still too engrossed in dealing with the enemies before their eyes.

I shouted with enough mana to reach the mountain range, but they acted as if they couldn't hear my voice.

Perhaps they had judged that it was too late to return now. They might have thought it would be better to completely scatter the enemy and then return, rather than showing their backs and forcing a retreat.

"Even if they try to return, the Northern allied forces are blocking their retreat path!"

"Fools!"

The Rangers shouted in unison.

The knights and soldiers of the Northern allied forces, who had been fully drunk and excited on Winter Castle's momentum, were now at the peak of confusion due to the Orcs that had suddenly appeared from beneath the snowfield.

For the knights of Winter Castle to return, they had to pass through the chaotically disorganized ranks of the Northern allied forces. That was by no means an easy task.

"It's better to just crush the enemy's core and then return to reorganize the Northern allied forces!"

The Rangers were right.

That was a far better method. And the highly spirited knights and Dwarves had enough strength to put that plan into action.

Unless the Overlord suddenly revealed himself, there was no entity that could stop them while their momentum was so high.

However, our forces weren't the only ones waiting for an opportunity.

In the middle of the battlefield filled with the Fighting Spirit shed by the Orc Warriors,

beneath the snowfield where Vincent and the knights of the Knights of Winter were just about to step.

Something massive was hiding.

Secretive, but fierce and incredibly threatening.

The aura of the Overlord that I had been searching for so desperately.

"Dammit!"

Judgment was a matter for later.

I threw my body forward.

Drawing my sword in my hand.

Blindly slashing down the Orcs blocking my path.

I ran and ran.

The old knight, the Royal Knights, and the Heavy Armored Musketeers followed me, then stayed behind to reorganize the Northern troops that had fallen into chaos.

Hearing them shout endlessly to rally the troops, I continued to sprint forward.

"Vincent!"

When I finally barely caught up behind Vincent, they were passing right over the spot where that secretive aura was hidden.

"You're late!"

Perhaps having only just heard my voice, Vincent looked back at me and chuckled.

"Hah!"

I spat a curse internally at his carefree reaction and kicked off the ground.

BOOM!

The ground exploded as my body soared high.

I leaped over the knights blocking the front and closed the distance in an instant.

Seeing me falling from the sky, Vincent's eyes widened as he looked up at me.

RUMBLE.

The snow pile beneath him heaved.

CRUNCH.

A dark green hand that pierced through the snow pile was reaching toward Vincent.

Belatedly grasping the situation, Vincent flared up sword light and launched a slash. However, the brilliant sword light was scattered all too easily before the wildly blooming Fighting Spirit.

It was something that happened even before I reached the ground, before I could even draw out the aura of my poem.

In the slowly flowing time, I glared with my eyes wide open.

SWISH.

Right then, a golden flash shot out from among the knights.

Adelia. My dear woman pushed Vincent away and scattered her sword light.

The golden aura and red Fighting Spirit collided.

And upon that, the Dragon Slayer's strike came crashing down.