Chapter 194. The Strongest Knight Order (2)

The First Sword Raven, as well as the Second Sword Justia and the Third Sword Ironveil, were all powerful individuals who had completely reached the realm of Sword Expert.

With skills that had already reached the threshold of Sword Master, if their names had been revealed even a little earlier, their fame would have resounded throughout the continent.

The bigger problem was that these were not individuals who moved alone.

Individuals, each capable of leading a group on their own, a total of six of them had gathered to form a knight order that could be called the strongest in history.

“A bunch of nothings making a fuss.”

“Haha! Show us more. Is this all the kingdom has?”

Powerful beings who could be called the Empire’s own Seven Stars without any reservation, those swords of Robern stirred the battlefield and thoroughly toyed with the allied forces.

“Damn it! Who are we! Are we not the pride of Manoa! Do not waver!”

In response, the commander of Manoa’s Lancer Order raised his lance high and roared for all to hear.

“If there is anyone who shows a disgraceful appearance before the enemy, I will personally stab them to death!”

Steeling his subordinates’ spirits, the commander himself spurred his horse and charged forward.

—Dudududu!

His target was the Second Sword, Justia, one of the two knights who had broken the momentum of the Lancer Order from the start.

‘I must break at least one of them. The kingdom is behind me. If I retreat like this, the kingdom will be in danger!’

He gripped the lance with his calloused hand, knowing better than anyone that there was a clear difference in skill between him and his opponent.

‘If we fight ten times, I will lose nine. No, perhaps there’s no chance of winning at all.’

But this one strike is different.

A single thrust, honed over a lifetime.

It was a technique he had polished countless times to reach the legendary lancer of the kingdom, Bryden.

‘This is not a spar, but a war of life and death. In a situation where a head can fall in an instant, there’s no reason I can’t win!’

A simple yet certain, and therefore most powerful, thrust.

The essence of his spearmanship, condensed, finally blossomed.

“Haap!”

The moment he thrust the lance, only one thought crossed the commander's mind.

Perfect.

Among the tens of thousands of spear strikes he had honed throughout his life, this very moment was the most perfect.

The movement of his muscles, the flow of his Qi, even the direction of the wind, everything was so perfect.

It was so perfect that he could never replicate it again if he tried, that thrust at that moment was close to the ideal of Bryden.

‘I got it!’

However, that was only from the commander's perspective.

—Clang!

Justia received the tip of the spear by laying her sword flat as if to let it slide, and immediately counterattacked by thrusting her sword, piercing the commander's armor and his heart.

“Keoheok……!”

The commander, pierced armor and all, looked down at Justia with an expression of disbelief.

On the other hand, Justia slightly frowned and let out a sneer.

“Don’t tell me you thought you were Bryden?”

The lifelong obsession the commander held was shattered in front of her.

‘How can there be such a difference between fellow humans!’

At the lamentable reality, he dropped his lance and, with both hands, grabbed Justia’s sword, holding on with all his might.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Then he shouted, squeezing out his voice.

“Thrust!! It doesn’t matter about me! Quickly!”

It didn't matter if his own strike had been broken.

Behind him, the Lancer Order that would succeed him still remained.

“Quickly!”

The lancers, so as not to let their commander’s sacrifice be in vain, charged in from all directions at once.

They believed that no matter how skilled she was, she could not avoid this wave of attacks.

“Tch. Playing dirty tricks until the end.”

“Die with me! You she-devil!”

Just as the lancers' lances were about to fly in simultaneously, a massive figure leaped in like a thunderbolt and cut down the lances coming from all directions with a single stroke.

—Clang clang clang!

The one who appeared, cutting the hard spears as if they were tree branches, was the man called the Third Sword, Ironveil.

“You owe me for this.”

As Ironveil, with his greatsword on his shoulder, grinned, the frown on Justia’s brow deepened.

“This one and that one, they’re all so annoying……”

With Ironveil’s intervention, the lancers' all-or-nothing attack was also thwarted, and Justia looked at the commander with his despairing eyes dispassionately before raising her sword high and splitting his upper body in two.

“I never asked you to save me from these bug-like things.”

“Puhaha! I just did it because you looked like you were in danger.”

“I was in danger? Then open your eyes wide and see. If I really was.”

Stimulated by Ironveil's words, Justia began to mercilessly slaughter the remaining lancers.

“Oho? Are you trying to take them all down by yourself?”

The smell of blood from the slaughter soon stimulated Ironveil as well, and the two began a frantic massacre as if competing to see who could cut down more enemies.

‘How can this be……. To think Manoa’s hidden secret weapon would collapse so futilely…….’

William, who was watching the scene from the watchtower, fell into deep despair.

He could only stare blankly at the crumbling vanguard along with the Lancer Order before his eyes.

“…….”

“Commander!”

Just then, the adjutant next to him woke him up with a desperate voice.

“Commander! Please give the next order!”

Coming to his senses, William looked back and forth between the adjutant and the battlefield.

“Quickly, the next order!”

“……Close the gates! We must not engage!”

Having keenly realized the enemy's strength, he sensed that Benked Castle could be captured with just that force alone.

“Abandon the vanguard. If we try to save them, everyone will be annihilated.”

So he tried to close the castle gates without even a moment to spare for the retreating allies.

“Understood!”

The adjutant might have disobeyed this heartless order at any other time.

How could he abandon the comrades who were with him just a moment ago?

‘It’s sad, but it can’t be helped. If we let them into this castle, a great disaster will occur.’

But it wasn't that he didn't understand the unfolding situation and the commander's intentions.

Thus, without even a moment to grieve for the sacrifice of the falling soldiers, he immediately ran to the castle gate and executed the order.

“Close the gates! It’s the commander’s order!”

At the adjutant’s command, the sturdy castle gates began to move slowly and close.

—Drrrrk…… Thump!

But the closing gates suddenly stopped, and soon began to open in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing! I said close them!”

The adjutant yelled at the soldiers operating the gate.

However, what came back was not an answer, but their severed heads.

—Thud!

As the two heads fell to the floor, the adjutant looked up in horror.

“What?!”

And with the passing of a black shadow, his neck also rolled onto the ground.

“Hiek!”

The surrounding soldiers screamed and backed away.

Two knights who had infiltrated the heart of the enemy lines at some point revealed themselves.

They were the identical twin knights, Lec and Luc.

“Kih hee hee! So you were all gathered here?”

“Puh huh huh! No need to distinguish. We can just cut down everything in sight, right?”

The Five Swords of Robern, the twin knights, had finally appeared inside the castle.

“Let’s make a bet. Who kills more.”

“What’s the stake?”

“The spoils of war, of course.”

“Alright! Don’t go back on your word later, big brother!”

In their eyes, death did not exist.

Without feeling even fear, they just rampaged through the allied forces as if enjoying entertainment, cutting them down relentlessly.

“Uaack!”

“Keok!”

The allied soldiers charged bravely, but the intrusion of forces on par with Sword Masters was a wall that could not be overcome with their courage alone.

In the end, the commanders of each nation had no choice but to step forward themselves.

“Tch! Looks like I have to step in after all. Omar, surely you're not just going to watch?”

“Nonsense! Use your fancy magic for support. I’ll stop them!”

The two bickering commanders eventually jumped down from the castle wall and charged towards the twin knights, Lec and Luc.

“Oho?”

“The high-and-mighties have come out themselves?”

“Should we count that as one head?”

“No, we should count it as ten heads!”

A clash of four immediately unfolded in front of the castle gate.

—Clang clang!

The commander of Solaid, Omar, though not reaching Harashin's level, was also a master who had undergone countless training to reach his position as commander.

Luise of Remshait was also the head of a school and a renowned mage.

The continuous attacks of these two were certainly at a level that could threaten the twins.

However.

“What, is this really all you’ve got?”

“That would be too disappointing.”

The two commanders were men who had long since withdrawn from the front lines.

On the other hand, the twins were the core fighting force of the Empire, now at the peak of their prowess, so a clear difference existed.

“Huk, huk.”

“Ugh! Omar! Just hold on a little longer!”

That gap was immediately revealed, and the twins gradually pushed Omar and Luise back.

“The commander is in danger!”

“Protect the two of them!”

The allied soldiers who had been just watching could no longer stand by and jumped in.

“Small fry……”

“Get lost!”

As the two twins simultaneously unleashed a sword wave, the area was swept away, and hundreds of soldiers were instantly cut down.

In that tragedy, Omar lost an arm trying to save a few soldiers, and Luise also had one eye cut, blurring her vision.

“Kugh……”

“It seems…… our strength alone is no match for them. Ah, to think I’d get this rusty from not being in real combat.”

The piles of soldiers' corpses and the fallen commanders.

Just as a despairing scene was pressing down on the allied forces, from among the hesitating soldiers, individuals exuding a completely different aura leaped out.

“Huh?”

“What are those now……?”

The werewolf Rorn and the vampire Gaiard clashed with the older twin, Lec, while Anton and Jack charged towards the younger brother, Luc.

—Kwang!

They were mercenaries that the Solaid Kingdom had brought along with their reinforcements.

Those who had gained a reputation for playing a big role in the battle against Varkanon.

“They are……”

“Solaid’s mercenaries. The ones who came to help us!”

Their appearance captured the attention of the allied soldiers, and even Lec and Luc on the Empire's side couldn't hide their interest.

“Are you the ones who supposedly survived the battle with that unlucky dragon brat?”

“It doesn’t matter what you are. As long as you can entertain us.”

Lec and Luc raised their momentum and revealed their true intentions.

Facing that killing intent, the four stood opposite each other, silently sweating and dodging their opponents’ swords.

“Hey, mosquito! If you’re planning on holding me back, just be a shield.”

“Shut up! Before I kill you first!”

While the two rivals, who were at odds with each other, launched a combined attack, Anton stayed with Jack and looked after him.

“Jack, if you think it’s dangerous, pull back. I will handle this one.”

“No! Everyone is giving their all, how can I possibly pull back!”

This leisure for conversation was very brief.

The twin knights' swords became increasingly fierce, leaving no room to breathe.

Jack, in particular, was reminded of the powerful figures of Kandahr he had faced in the past, and he gritted his teeth to suppress the fear rising up his spine.

‘Young Master! I don't think I can hold out for long! Please come quickly!’

Just as Jack felt that ominous premonition, the worst moment of their lives was dawning upon Evan’s party.

The worst time, where they might have to risk even death itself.