Chapter 421: Hafrena Defense (2)

Editor: Tseirp

At that moment, Zack Cooler being near the gates was purely coincidental.

It was quite fortunate that he managed to hear the muffled sound amidst the chaos of the battlefield when a magic incantation was interrupted.

Rushing to the source of the sound, facing the one responsible for it, whether it was lucky or not was a matter of perspective…

“It’s the same with this guy, but have incantations become the trend among magician these days? Back in the day, incantations were only done during the use of grand magic…”

The huge man in front of Zack remarked.

Presumably, it was a question directed at Zack.

The sword he held in his right hand was bloodied… at the feet of the huge man who had come through were the fallen bodies of the defense force’s magicians.

“You bastard… how did you get on this side of the wall?”

Anyone, not only Zack, could clearly tell that the huge man in front of him was an enemy, an attacker, and should have been outside the wall.

“Well, you know, if you’re asking me, jumping over these walls is easy peasy.”

The huge man replied with a smirk.

“So, I take it you’re not just an ordinary soldier?”

Zack said, drawing his sword while keeping his guard up, of course.

“You’re wearing some pretty fancy armor yourself. So you’re not just an ordinary knight, you’re a commander, right?”

Oranj, the huge man, said with a clear grin.

“I’m not going to answer that! If you really want to know, ask with your sword!”

With that, Zack swung his sword at Oranj.

Clang, clang, clang…

Oranj deftly parried all of Zack’s attacks.

His defense with the large sword was like something out of a textbook.

Using every part of the sword from tip to hilt to parry with minimal sword movements.

A defense that made it clear to the opponent that, due to its faithfulness to the basics, it wasn’t easy to break through.

For the past three years, Zack had devoted himself to the way of the sword.

As a result, he had become so strong in sword arts, that he ranked in the top five among the Royal Knights when it came to swords.

He had swung his sword relentlessly, defeating and being defeated.

That’s why he understood.

(This guy is a monster…)

Of course, he was a Djinn’s subordinate.

Moreover, he was probably a high-ranking one.

So, he was undoubtedly a monster… but it wasn’t in that sense that Zack thought so.

In terms of sword technique, he was a monster.

It was because he had gained strength himself that he could understand.

The strength of the man in front of him, in terms of sword technique.

It was the same with everything.

Only when your knowledge, experience, and abilities improved could you understand…

The greatness of the person in front of you.

The skillfulness of the person in front of you.

…You could understand the vast difference between yourself and them.

(I can’t win this…)

But just because he understood that he couldn’t win didn’t mean he could run away.

The fact that he had come alone to this gate area undoubtedly meant that opening the gate from within was his objective.

If Zack retreated now, the gate would be opened, and the city of Hafrena would fall…

If that’s the case, then what he could do was…

“Someone! Please come!”

Zack shouted.

Yes, call for reinforcements.

“Hey hey… isn’t a one-on-one duel the pride of a knight?”

“Beats me. That practice stopped being a thing a long time ago.”

Oranj said with an exasperated tone, and Zack rather confidently affirmed.

Indeed, such chivalry had long since faded… in fact, Zack didn’t even know if such a time had ever existed except in books.

“Well, never mind that. Even if you call for reinforcements, all it will do is increase the body count, don’t you think?”

“…Even so, letting you open that gate will spell the end.”

Zack had to answer despite momentarily being at a loss for words due to Oranj’s accurate point.

It must be protected at all costs…

Scenes like that always emerged on the battlefield.

That’s why the hearts of commanders grow more and more tumultuous.

They understood they were letting their comrades die, yet they had to give orders.

For the things they absolutely must defend, they must say, die for us.

“It’s a damn cruel business.”

Zack muttered nonetheless.

At least, the Royal Knights went into battle with that resolve.

To protect the citizens.

To protect the Kingdom.

Zack stood firm.

And continued swinging his sword.

No matter how many times he was blocked.

He would keep swinging.

No matter how many times he was blocked…

Clang.

“Ah…”

Zack involuntarily let out a sound.

Oranj dodged Zack’s diagonal strike without taking it head-on.

Using footwork he hadn’t shown until now.

Stepping forward with his left foot, Oranj slashed upward with his lowered sword.

His incredibly sharp sword flash tore through Zack’s abdominal armor, running from his right side to his back.

Just one strike.

“Ughaa…”

Zack kneeled, unable to withstand the blow.

“For someone who’s only picked up the sword for a few years, you’re not bad, human.”

Oranj said with a confident smile, looking down at Zack.

“Guess this is it… Sera-sa…”

“Off you go.”

“”

A young voice echoed on the battlefield.

Clang.

Oranj’s sword was deflected by something invisible.

“Ohh…”

Eyes widened, he muttered involuntarily.

In the meantime, a young man ran from a distance and knelt beside the fallen Zack.

He took something out of his pocket.

“Commander Cooler! It’s a potion, drink it!”

“Evans-dono… stay back, he’s dangerous…”

Evans, the head of the merchant caravan, approached Zack with a potion.

Despite Zack’s attempts to keep him away while gasping for air.

“It’s okay. It’s an ice wall made by my teacher. It won’t break that easily!”

Saying so, Evans made Zack drink the potion.

“Hmm… so this is an ice wall. I thought it was a barrier, but… it’s surprisingly transparent.”

Orange remarked.

Impressed, he lightly tapped it with his fist.

“Water magic of this caliber. I’ve never seen anything like it even in past battles…”

Oranj muttered, recalling something.

Then, looking at Evans who had administered the potion, Oranj spoke.

“Water magician. Your attire doesn’t look like that of a knight. A magician in a knight order? Not bad for a human of your age to wield such magic.”

“I’m a merchant.”

Evans stated firmly.

“Huh? A merchant? Seriously?”

Oranj replied with a bewildered expression.

Looking at Evans once again, Oranj noted.

“Indeed… now that you mention it, you’re neither a knight nor a magician in robes… But still, such powerful magic? Among humans, you’re quite advanced… right? Even in this Kingdom? And you’re just a merchant…”

“I don’t know who you are, but you seem quite ignorant. My magic is nothing compared to my teacher’s”

Oranj expressed admiration, and Evans denied it.

“…Is that teacher of yours really that amazing?”

“Yeah, incredibly so. My magic is like child’s play compared to his.”

“O-Ohh…”

Evans stood proudly, his words imposing, and Oranj, for some reason, felt intimidated by his expression.

Perhaps this aspect of Evans was inherited from his ‘teacher’ who might have been a water-attribute magician….

“Phew… thought I was a goner. Evans-dono, I owe you one.”

Zack said, standing up with his sword as support.

“Commander Cooler, I’ll keep using to contain him, so please go get a priest’s .”

Evans said.

“That won’t be possible, I’m afraid.”

Oranj replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s an impressive ice wall, but…”

Swoosh.

After a light sound… the crumbled down.

“Wha…”

“It’s not unbreakable.”

Evans was speechless.

Oranj smirked, lifting his sword onto his shoulder.

“Damn it… I couldn’t even see the sword flash…”

Zack said regretfully.

Oranj’s strike was lightning-fast.

“Well, getting healed is important. Yeah, it’s damn important. I agree it should be done right away. However…”

Oranj paused for a moment, scratching his nose before continuing.

“While that’s happening, I’ll take the opportunity to open the city gate.”

Zack readied the sword that was supporting his body again.

Running away wasn’t an option.

Seeing Zack’s determination, Evans made up his mind too.

“”

A thin layer of ice armor covered Zack and Evans’s bodies.

“I don’t know how effective it’ll be against that sword, but…”

“No, I appreciate it.”

Zack nodded in response to Evans’s whisper.

Then he continued speaking.

“Evans-dono, if I fall, keep casting that ice wall you just used to keep him away from the gates.”

“Eh…”

Zack said that and then without waiting for Evans’s answer, he leaped into Oranj’s range.

His quickest strike yet.

…However.

Oranj sidestepped to the left using his footwork, and then struck Zack’s right side again, where he had been injured before.

“Guhaa!”

However, Zack’s abdomen wasn’t cut this time, but his body was blown away.

“Your sword flash has dulled.”

Oranj muttered and increased his speed toward the city gates.

“”

“I told you that’s futile.”

With that remark, Oranj swung his sword at the ice wall….

Clink.

He swung, but… a loud sound echoed, indicating he couldn’t cut through.

“What the hell?”

Oranj was clearly surprised.

This was perhaps the first time since appearing near the gate that he was genuinely astonished.

“”

As Evans chanted further, two ice lances attacked Oranj from both sides.

Slash, slash.

The lightning-fast sword, almost unrecognizable as a greatsword, swept left and right, slicing through the ice lances in an instant.

However, that was a decoy.

The main attack was…

“From above!”

Sixteen ice lances attacked Oranj from directly above.

The area was filled with swirling sand and smoke, hindering visibility.

“…Did I get him?”

Evans muttered softly.

Surely, his ‘teacher’ would have said something like.

“Evans, that’s a flag”.

Even the movement of his body was invisible to Evans.

He didn’t even recognize the five-layer ice wall crumbling in an instant.

Completely unconsciously, completely accidentally, his body moved…

Evading the furious strike.

From the enraged Djinn’s follower, whose clothes were now tattered.

“Hey… a merchant dodging my sword? You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Oranj’s earlier composure had vanished.

He exuded an aura of anger.

Evans dodging was purely coincidental.

For the past three and a half years, they had been practicing mock battles of Ice Wall and Icicle Lance exchanges among themselves…

But despite dodging, Evans fell on his backside and couldn’t move anymore.

Oranj raised his sword.

“Rot in hell.”

In fact, that too was a flag.

The water-attribute magician there wasn’t alone.

“”

A younger voice than Evans’ resounded.

Younger, but with much more magic power than Evans.

Member of the First Caravan.

“Luce!”

He possessed a significant amount of magic power, but he had bled too much during the attack.

His complexion wasn’t good.

How much longer could he fight…

“Hey, wait a minute… what’s going on here?”

A voice filled with surprise, anger completely dissipated.

Of course, it was Oranj.

“There’s another person who can use such magic? In this remote city? How’s that possible…”

Oranj paused and looked at the pale-faced boy who had cast the new spell.

“And… please don’t tell me he’s another merchant or something. He looks like a kid at first glance.”

Shaking his head repeatedly, Oranj spoke.

“Now, what should I do…”

While Oranj was pondering, the situation outside the city walls underwent a drastic change.

“Knights, charge!”

A sharp charge order was issued by a young woman.

Immediately, the knights launched a surprise attack on the men in red armor from behind.

Even Grüne, who was assigned to the rear guard, was not careless.

Blüne, who was commanding the vanguard, had not overlooked the possibility of reinforcements.

However, they had only anticipated reinforcements consisting of fifty Royal Knights heading towards Buso Village.

They believed they could handle a surprise attack of that scale adequately.

It wasn’t arrogance but a fact that there was a significant power gap between the Djinn’s ‘physical soldiers’ and human knights.

However, what attacked them was not fifty.

But three hundred knights.

“Breakthrough! Show the strength of the Silverdale Knights to the Djinns!”

A charge led by the future Duchess of Silverdale, Faith.

Their strength was among the top in the Kingdom.

In equal numbers, they could surpass even the Royal Knights.

Facing such a charge from the rear, even the formidable Djinn’s ‘physical soldiers’ couldn’t hold their ground.

After five charges, they were routed.

Thus, the defense of Hafrena came to an end.

Later, in a series of wars known as the Djinn War, this battle marked the first victory of humans against the Djinn’s minions.

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