Chapter 93

Chapter 93. Battle of Halborn Plain (2)

There was no place easier than a battlefield to unearth raw gems. It was a place where each person could show off their abilities without reserve.

That was why Viscount Roent liked battlefields. There was no better place to discover talent.

Recruit the Kingdom’s talent and remove the enemy nation’s talent. Was this not the efficiency of killing two birds with one stone?

That was why Viscount Roent was more often called the “Appraiser” than the commander of the Wedge Knight Order. On battlefields, he had discovered several sprouts for the Kingdom of Croa and removed several sprouts from enemy nations. It was possible because he had an eye for people sharp enough to earn him such a title.

And that eye of his activated once more here, on Halborn Plain.

“He is no ordinary man.”

“Pardon? What is?”

“Can you see that fellow far over there? The big one with the axe.”

“Where...... Ah, you mean that one rampaging around.”

The subordinate Knight looked in the direction Viscount Roent’s finger was pointing and nodded.

Since they had only been observing from the flank, everyone looked so small that it was difficult to tell who was who, but even so, he understood at once whom Viscount Roent was pointing at.

That was because the man stood out even from a great distance.

A man a head or two taller than everyone else was dressed in clothes that left him nearly bare, wildly swinging a huge axe. How could he not stand out?

“He seems to be a Barbarian...... He does look fairly capable. His axe work is certainly satisfying to watch.”

“Is that how he looks to your eyes?”

“Pardon? Yes. Well, of course. He’s still a Barbarian, isn’t he?”

“In my eyes, he is not someone to dismiss as a mere Barbarian.”

The subordinate Knight unconsciously began to nod at those words, then paused. Soon, he looked at Viscount Roent with round eyes.

“Commander. What do you mean by that? Do you mean that feeling has come to you again?”

“Yes.”

“My word.”

“He has skill, and he has a good head too. He knows how to play the board. A man like that...... is dangerous to leave alive.”

At those words, the subordinate Knight tilted his head. He could understand that the man was skilled, but he could not understand at all how he had a good head.

“A good head? I cannot see it at all. There is no way some stinking Barbarian could be intelligent.”

“I do not mean learned. I mean wise.”

“W-wise?”

“Yes. That man knows how to read a battlefield. He knows how to turn the situation in his favor as well. And he is actually putting it into practice.”

“Putting it into practice? What does that...... He is just swinging his axe.”

At the sight of the subordinate Knight tilting his head, Viscount Roent clicked his tongue.

“You fool. If you have eyes, look at him properly and observe. Do you not see that he is trying to change the flow of the battlefield?”

“Well...... I am not sure.”

“That man is persistently searching out and killing only commanders. The number of lower-ranking commanders he has killed alone is nine. That is only the number I counted, so the actual number must be higher. He accomplished that in such a short time.”

The subordinate Knight listened closely. Viscount Roent continued.

“The reason he did that was to break our army’s morale. And it has actually worked. Can you see it? How our soldiers cannot even approach him?”

The subordinate Knight nodded. Hearing it that way, it truly did look like that.

The soldiers were unable to approach a certain radius centered around the Barbarian.

At a glance, it looked almost as if a mage had cast a Barrier, but he knew the possibility of that converged on zero percent.

“The soldiers near him are already thoroughly afraid of him. They cannot approach him or even thrust their spears. That is proof their morale has begun to break.”

“It does seem that way. Now that you say it, it truly is!”

“In my view, that man seems to intend to eliminate the commander-in-chief. To do that, he will persistently aim only for commanders.”

“I understand his intention, but does he have the ability? It seems to me he will die before that. From the look of it, he cannot even use Aura.......”

“It appears that way to my eyes as well, but who knows? He might be hiding his ability.”

Looking at the Barbarian with cold eyes, Viscount Roent continued.

“Even if that is all he has, we must not leave him be. After all, the threat of death makes humans grow. I have seen many people on battlefields cross walls and transcend their limits. If that man crosses a wall...... it will be bad news for our army.”

After saying that much, Viscount Roent walked back, mounted his horse, and informed his subordinates.

“All members of the Knight Order, prepare for battle. It is time to go run wild.”

“Commander. Is it not too early for us to step in?”

“We need to cut down one sprout. Think of it as an appetizer.”

“Ah, if that is the case, fair enough.”

The Knights of the Wedge Knight Order mounted their horses all at once. Their gazes, quickly forming ranks, fixed on the central battlefield.

***

Somehow, something felt strange.

The more enemies he killed, the easier it felt to cut them down.

As if his frozen, stiff body were loosening up, Balun felt his body become lighter compared to the beginning.

The heavy weight of Black Moon felt so light that he could hardly feel it, which was truly strange.

Why was this happening? It was not that his body had not warmed up. In the first place, he had been moving far too violently to dismiss all this as a warm-up.

Then he understood the reason. It was because of Black Moon.

VRRRR!

This Ego Weapon, which trembled fiercely every time he cut down an enemy, was infusing Balun with strength. Not as some placebo effect, but truly.

The sensation had begun when he felt something strange from the handle of Black Moon in his grip.

His palm felt cool, and then a mass of energy with a lump-like texture flowed through the hand holding the handle and circled once through his body.

In the past, he would not have known what this was, but now he knew what phenomenon this was.

Mana.

The mana that had been latent inside Black Moon’s body.

It was being injected into Balun’s body and filling him with strength.

He could not clearly determine whether it was vitality, stamina, or improved muscle strength, but in any case, it was certain that Black Moon’s mana was bolstering his strength.

“Black Moon. You had an ability like this too?”

VRRRR!

Black Moon trembled. He could vaguely understand what it meant. This was an affirmation.

‘Amazing, Ego Weapon.’

He felt he knew why Seria was a Grand Smith.

If someone with the skill to hammer together something this incredible was not a Grand Smith, then what was she?

But,

“Black Moon. Do you have any abilities besides this? Can’t you make Aura like others?”

VRM!

A sharp tingling sensation flashed through him.

This was a clear no.

That meant he could not make it, right?

For some reason, it felt especially prickly, almost as if he was being testy.

When Balun thought about it, what he was asking for did feel like a thief’s greed. If his master could not use it in the first place, what solution would the axe have?

“I don’t care at all if my Black Moon can’t use Aura. This buff function is much better than that. Ah, I’m overflowing with strength. Overflowing.”

Even in the middle of saying that, Balun’s axe work did not stop. Every time Black Moon drew an arc, at least one person died. Perhaps because he had been rampaging like that for quite a while, the number of enemies charging at Balun clearly decreased.

The soldiers of Croa had realized it too. Whether this was an enemy they should face or one they should not.

The soldiers struggled desperately not to face Balun. Since they tried not to approach the direction Balun was in, the enemy formation began to subtly fall out of alignment little by little. Thanks to that, the board was being set so Balun could rampage even more easily.

Of course, in the overall picture, it was probably a crack no larger than a speck. If one looked down from an aerial shot, one might not even be able to find it.

Even so, Balun knew very well that this small crack was fatal.

After all, even buildings begin collapsing from small cracks. The shape of war was the same.

‘I should go in a little deeper.’

Perhaps because he had been killing everyone who seemed to be a commander, there were no commander-class enemies near this area. If he wanted to shake the enemy further, it seemed he would have to move deeper in.

In truth, that was dangerous for Balun as well. Going deeper meant moving away from his allies.

If things went wrong and he was surrounded, his life might be in danger, but.

‘Right now, I can do it.’

It did not matter. Rather, he had to go in. It was possible precisely because it was now. An opportunity to shake the board had come.

Balun knew very well that this kind of opportunity did not come easily. He also knew how stupid it would be to miss this opportunity.

Would they end the war early, or would they be dragged into a meaningless war of attrition? That depended on this judgment.

......That was what he thought, until he suddenly felt a vibration from the ground.

‘What is it?’

Just as he was wondering, a voice burst out from beside him.

“Lance Charge! It’s the Wedge Knight Order! Everyone, get out of the way!”

At the voice that was almost a scream, the soldiers of Corint turned deathly pale. Clear fear settled onto their faces.

Their heads turned toward the direction from which the rumbling came. From far away, they could see figures charging on horseback. They were Knights in plate armor.

They lowered their heads with long lances tucked against their sides. They seemed to have become one body with the warhorses, which were covered here and there in iron armor.

As the Wedge Knight Order, the pride of the Kingdom of Croa, began charging in, the Corint Army nearly turned into a complete mess.

“I-I can’t do this. I can’t.”

“Move! I said move! I don’t want to die!”

The existence of Knights was truly like a ball of fire dropped into a swarm of ants.

Those who lost their will to fight spread like a contagious disease. Feeling the allied formation collapse quickly, Balun’s face stiffened.

‘This is a disaster.’

Balun stared at the charging Knights. Even though there was still quite some distance, he could already feel how threatening they were.

‘So that is a Knight.’

He had seen many Knights until now, and he had killed many as well. So it was true that the existence known as a Knight had not felt all that great to him.

But he had been wrong. Balun finally understood why Knights were destructive tanks and killing weapons.

A mounted Knight and an unmounted Knight were on completely different levels.

How on earth was one supposed to stop that charging at them like that?

If he was hit by that charge, his body would burst or be flattened on the spot.

It was obvious that he too would be included among its victims, but Balun did not avoid it like the others. That was because he instinctively knew this was not the kind of thing one could dodge.

‘I have to meet it head-on. But how?’

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!

They were getting closer. Balun stopped thinking. Any more thought would be a luxury.

“HUUUP!”

He inhaled deeply. He put strength into his entire body. Balun’s body quickly entered an Awakened State. His swollen muscles compressed, and his senses sharpened.

He felt tremendous power. He felt confident that he could do many things, but in this situation, he thought only one of those many things would work.

He closed his eyes. Closing his eyes in this desperate crisis was sheer madness, but he had to. It was something he could only do by focusing to the highest degree.

So to speak, it was one step back to advance two steps.

No, to advance about ten steps?

‘Hard. I have to do it as hard as possible.’

He opened his eyes. At some point, the bastards had come close. Their direction was clearly this way. Was he the target?

No, that was going too far. Knights charged to crush formations. They must have come in because their side was gradually beginning to get pushed back.

Well, it did not matter. All he had to do was neutralize that charge.

To do that, timing was important. When they were as close as possible. Yet still at a distance where they had not reached him.

‘Now.’

Balun stomped with all his strength.

BOOOOOOM—!

A great rumble erupted. The ground shook violently. Everyone nearby staggered.

“Uwah!”

“W-what!”

CRAAAAACK!

Then spiderweb-like cracks appeared across the earth. Those cracks widened, and the ground began to split. Soldiers fell all over the place, and chaos broke out.

The horses carrying the Knights were no exception.

NEEEEIGH!

The horses neighed loudly and began twisting their bodies. The bodies of the Knights, who had lowered their posture, shook violently. Beneath their lowered visors, their eyes, visible only as thin slits, seemed to be stained with panic.

And at last.

“Aaargh!”

One horse lost its balance and fell.

The horses following behind fell in a chain reaction. The unhorsed Knights rolled across the ground and let out rough groans.

Seeing that scene, Balun grinned.

‘Wow, this worked.’