Chapter 147. Twisted (3)
“Keukkk… ”
Daren stepped back.
“Everyone, focus on attacking the bridge support pillar!”
As Daren felt the flow of battle leaving his control, he started targeting spells at the bridge itself, instead of the enemies in front of him.
The supporting pillar was very solid, but under sustained fire, it soon started to show signs of failing.
“He’s thinking of just cutting down the bridge.”
Desir read Daren’s mind, but didn’t dare take any action. It would take just a split second for the bridge to crumble down if he used his inversion negligently.
Kei also was not in a situation that allowed him to act rashly. He had to protect his soldiers. This left them with a single option.
“Adjest!”
He only called her name, but Adjest knew immediately what had to be done.
She stepped back from the frontline, hid behind the soldiers before striking her sword into the ground. Various spell arrays started unfolding in front of her.
However, Daren’s spell was completed just one step faster. [Death Stays in the River]
It was a Fifth-Circle spell.
An enormous amount of water suddenly appeared around the bridge. These waves inundated the bridge, indiscriminately shaking it like powerful seismic waves.
A spell on the level of a natural disaster. It was a spell of such magnitude and power that it could easily be described as such.
As Daren’s spell continued to wreak havoc, a significant portion of its power was suddenly aimed at the nine pillars supporting the bridge.
*Craaash*
One of the pillars supporting the bridge collapsed in an instant. The spell didn’t end there though. Its trajectory suddenly twisted and swept towards the second pillar.
The gigantic pillars supporting the bridge eight-stories high couldn’t withstand the force and crumbled instantly in the face of such unmitigated violence.
Subsequently, the third pillar was destroyed in a mere split second. This third pillar proved to be the harbinger of destruction, as the bridge began to shake intensely after its disappearance. Fortunately, the torrent that Daren invoked disappeared after destroying the third pillar. However, having lost one-third of the pillars, the bridge was already on the verge of collapsing.
Rocks and dusts started to rain down from the shaking bridge. It seemed to be a miracle that the bridge had not yet collapsed.
[Winter Crystal]
Adjest’s spell was finally invoked.
An extreme cold swept through a large area. This enormous cold front rampaged through the lower part of the bridge.
The cold air that quickly gathered around the damaged pillars crystalized into enormous ice pillars shortly after. By forming into these pillar-like shapes, they served as reinforcement to the bridge that was at risk of imminent collapse.
Adjest could be regarded as an entity loved by mana since birth. Even though the actual amount of mana she had was at just the Fourth-Circle level, she was nearing Fifth-Circle level.
Having such an unbridled level of talent would leave any hard-working magician envious of her. After all, with their dedication, imagine what they could accomplish!
However, Adjest was dedicated too. By making use of her talent instead of letting it fall to squalor, she was able to endure many tragedies and grand battles in Desir’s previous life; surviving until the very last moment, Adjest became the most powerful Magical Sword Grand Master.
However, even considering the magnitude of her talent, the consequence of channeling that much mana into a single spell had not been small. Adjest staggered as her face visibly paled. She had to use a considerably large amount of mana to build pillars that could support such a gigantic bridge. Since she had spent an enormous amount of mana in a short amount of time, it seemed like she would not be able to participate in the battle, while she took the time to recuperate.
Colonel Daren took a step back subconsciously.
The unit that Kei led had almost broken through. Their blockade was no longer effective.
Kei and Desir steadily confronted the spells launched at their side while the soldiers calmly advanced. At this point, their movement was almost unhindered.
The Red Rose battalion was gradually pushed back before finding that they had no further space to retreat to.
“Squad Three, aim your spells at the Sword Grand Master!”
After shouting out his command, Daren started to prepare his own spell. He felt that his best bet would be to end everything with a grand Fifth-Circle spell. Judging that if he could bring down the pillars again, the enemy would likely suffer significant losses in terms of military strength.
However, there was one point that Daren overlooked.
The Red Rose battalion had already entered into Kei’s range of attack. “Umph!”
Kei unleashed his signature ranged sword strike into the area where the Red Rose battalion had been backed into.
*Bang*
Pieces of rocks flew in all directions as clouds of dust billowed up.
After a while, when the dust settled, there was no one left standing on two feet.
The floor had sunken as if bombed and the magicians had disappeared without a trace. With just one strike, dozens of extremely precious Fourth-Circle magicians had died. “Keeeeuuuk.”
Daren was lying helplessly on the ground, he appeared to be hanging on by just a thread. His body was covered with scratches while both of his arms were gone.
“How, how could this happen? How could this be… ”
It seemed that Daren couldn’t understand the situation he found himself in. While he was dazed, Kei’s side continued to break through the bridge at a steady pace.
“Charge!”
Under Kei’s command, all of the soldiers advancing behind him rushed forward while roaring at the top of their lungs.
“Waaaaaghhhh!”
The only thing preventing them from breaking through now, were the Red Rose battalion’s swordsmen trainees. (Note: The past chapters referred to the Rose Brigade and their composite battalions as a mage-only unit, but it appears the author either forgot or changed his mind.)
A close combat brawl ensued.
*Clang*
The clash of weapons produced heavy sounds.
The soldiers, led by Sword Grand Master Kei Hazmaryoon, had all achieved a minimum level in swordsmanship. With the uncertain futures due to their lack of skills in magic, they had dedicated their lives and energy into honing their skills and learning as much as possible from Kei’s instruction.
They slaughtered the Red Rose battalion remnants, as if venting their anger on them for all of the magic that they had suffered under to get this far.
“Keuuk!”
The battle unfolded in a lopsided manner. The Red Rose battalion were renowned for both their skills on the battlefield and their experience in combat. No matter if they were assaulted by a unit far larger than theirs or by a smaller unit of elite soldiers, they were well equipped to handle the situation. What they couldn’t handle, however, was the relentless assault from Sword Grand Master’s unit in close-quarter combat.
“Da-Damn… ”
What was worse, as Daren had lost his arms, he had also lost his mind and was not able to continue his role as a commander. His adjutant supported him and they attempted to flee in order to distance themselves as much as possible from Kei.
The battle flow had decidedly leaned towards Kei’s side. “Clear the way towards Colonel Daren!”
Kei clearly stood out in the battlefield. He didn’t even need to call forth his Aura. He just had to swing his sword around and his enemies would find themselves overwhelmed. Whenever his sword was swung, more than one person would lose their life without fail.
It was not an overstatement to say that he was a one-man army. He had such a dignified and overwhelming presence.
“Don’t let anyone near the Colonel!”
The Red Rose battalion resisted strenuously, but it was no use.
Kei approached Daren while taking down all those who obstructed his path. The distance shortened in a blink of an eye and in the end, the head of the adjutant supporting Daren also fell. There was no longer anyone who could resist Kei.
“Everything is over now.”
Kei pointed his sword at Daren who lay haphazardly on the ground.
“W… Wait! Spare my life. I’m not a figure that can die like this. Information. I could give you information! The Prophet. I could give you information on him. How does that sound?” “I’m sure you know a lot of information. It may be a rash decision to kill you here.”
For a moment, Daren’s face lit up. *Slash*
And at that moment, Kei slashed his neck.
“But those who sacrifice their soldiers in vain are unworthy of life.” Kei grabbed and lifted the now decapitated head.
“The war is over!”
Kei’s resonant voice echoed. The sounds of weapons clashing gradually subsided and then finally stopped.
The Red Rose battalion was in a situation where they were close to total annihilation. From nearly six-hundred soldiers, there were now but a handful of them left.
“Any more resistance would be futile. If we continue to fight here, it would only cause unnecessary deaths.”
Compared to them, Kei’s side did not suffer much damage. It was thanks to Pram, Romantica, and Adjest who actively played decisive roles in the battle.
“Please open the way to the inner bailey. We will spare the lives of those who remain.”
The soldiers of the Red Rose battalion were walking on eggshells while looking at each other. Then a man, possibly with the highest rank amongst them, stepped up.
“We appreciate your concern, Commander. However, whatever the reason, your actions are clearly treason. And surrendering to a traitor means death for us.”
Surrendering to a rebel army. It would be considered an extremely serious crime and the penalty would be death.
“We will win.”
“… The chance of that happening is very slim, Commander.” He hesitated for a moment, then spoke as he sighed.
“Soon enough, the Blue Rose battalion will arrive here. Colonel Daren anticipated which route you would take and prepared for all eventualities.”
Daren was wary of everything and used all available military might to face Kei.
“That matter is for me to deal with. So all of you will not surrender and take a firm stand until they come?”
The man who stepped up to talk turned around.
The survivors looked at each other and then nodded.
“We know that resisting against you is useless. But we want to die as loyal subjects who kept their oaths, rather than being executed as dishonorable cowards.”
“That is a shame… ”
His words were sincere. He really admired their unit for both their skill and unwavering loyalty to the King.
Kei frowned. However, soon enough, he became determined and gestured towards the soldiers.
Then, Kei’s subordinates all drew out their swords. “Any last words?”
“No.”
The Red Rose battalion no longer resisted and Kei’s subordinates ended them as painlessly as possible. Moments later, there were no survivors left among them.
The total annihilation of the Red Rose battalion.
Kei turned around and opened the door to the inner bailey.
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