Chapter 192: Everyone Step Back From My Side (3)
The son-in-law is drenched in silence.
Ghislaine killed the five strongest knights here in the blink of an eye with just a few movements.
No one imagined that a 5 to 1 combat would end this quickly.
Cabaldy’s soldiers turned pale and hesitated, stepping back.
Calling it a monster was an understatement.
Who in the world is this powerful being that has invaded here?
After taking down Cabaldy’s knights, Ghislaine waved his hand forward without saying a word.
It was a gesture that seemed to say even speaking was a waste of time.
At that moment, a Knight of Penris shouted loudly.
“Alright, let’s sweep the rest away!”
In stark contrast to the enemy, the Knights of Penris wore expressions full of pride.
As soon as Ghislaine’s gesture dropped, they began to unleash their mana and attacked.
“Hahaha! Truly our Lord is amazing!”
“I swear, it’s incredible every time I see it!”
“The best! The best! I’ll try to copy it too!”
With Ghislaine’s performance boosting their morale even further, the Knights of Penris wreaked havoc on the battlefield like fish in water.
Though Cabaldy’s soldiers tried to hold on, it was no use. Despite deploying the most troops, their defense line crumbled helplessly.
Jaimon, watching the situation, closed his eyes.
‘Is this the end?’
They were never an opponent he could handle in the first place.
Even if they were ambushed, it had barely been a few minutes since the fight started, and they were already suffering near annihilation.
With his abilities, all he managed to do was hold on for a brief moment, swinging his sword a couple of times.
He didn’t even realize how remarkable that was.
At least, because there were no archers in the Penris Army, he hadn’t been attacked outside the castle, allowing him to stall for just a little longer.
But that was coming to an end. The infantry wasn’t just idly standing by.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the castle wall was fully occupied, the sound of drums echoed from the Penris side, and the infantry began to move.
It seemed they had prepared ladders a while back.
Soon, the soldiers outside the castle would come climbing over the ladders. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the castle gate opened.
Then, from afar, a loud cheer rang out.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Realizing the meaning of the cheer from a distance, Jaimon’s eyes widened.
Allies. Allies were coming. A loud noise like that meant to hold on a little longer.
‘If we play our cards right, we can push them back again.’
It would take time for the army to scale the castle wall. If the allies arrived before the Penris Army, they could gradually drive them out.
To do that, he had to make sure the castle gate didn’t open, no matter what.
If the gate opened and the army outside flooded in all at once, even the reinforcements that came would not escape death.
‘Just a little longer, just a little longer…’
As Jaimon agonized, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.
A brilliant idea flashed through his mind.
In such a pressing situation, he had only just remembered the mechanism at the castle gate.
“Destroy the cranks of the barred gate! Don’t let the enemy open the gate easily!”
The castle gates of Cabaldy Castle were incredibly thick. Inside, the barred door was also made immensely thick to withstand the assault of a siege engine.
Being one of the best iron ore sources in the North, they spared no expense in pouring steel into its construction.
To lift this heavy barred door, four cranks had to be operated simultaneously.
If they were destroyed, it wouldn’t be possible to open it with normal methods. It would have to be broken from the inside to be opened.
It would cost a lot to restore later, but it was better than having the castle taken at that moment.
KABOOM!
Hearing Jaimon’s order, the knight commanding the allies at the castle gate immediately shattered all the cranks without hesitation.
And that was his final action.
CRACK!
“Tsk.”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue, barely failing to stop the knight in time.
His body was soaked and stained red with the blood of the enemies.
“The enemy commander is quite impressive. Seems there was at least one smart one among them.”
Although he had engaged in a few skirmishes with the knights, it had been a very short time. They had pushed the enemies back at an incredible speed.
Yet, the enemy commander had devised a strategy to reduce the castle wall’s troops and immobilize the gate in that brief span.
Typically, an opponent caught off-guard by such an ambush would be flustered or busy fleeing. But despite being an enemy, one had to acknowledge their quick judgment and decisiveness.
“It would take time to simply break through.”
The structure of the castle gate was not something that could be opened easily.
After the arrival of the Cabaldy forces, even if they opened it late, the Penris Army would have to push in sequentially.
At that point, they wouldn’t be able to fully utilize the advantage of a large army.
Ghislaine surveyed the surroundings.
The ambush was successful. The allies had suffered no damage, while the enemies were almost completely decimated.
Thanks to only deploying a small elite force, their momentary destructive power was second to none.
“Hm, is this it?”
But the issue was sustainability.
In this brief moment, the knights had poured almost all their mana.
Everyone seemed exhausted, the light trapped in their swords fading.
If they overexerted themselves in this state, they would certainly collapse and start bleeding.
They couldn’t fight against the oncoming enemies like this.
Ghislaine looked back at the castle wall.
The allies were climbing up diligently, but before they could all cross over, the main force of Cabaldy would arrive first.
“It’s too late. We’re still not enough.”
The forces forcibly gathered here lacked training, which was unavoidable.
Of course, even if they replenished forces through the castle wall, they wouldn’t lose. However, doing so would surely incur casualties.
For Ghislaine, who needed to conserve strength as much as possible, it wasn’t a pleasant situation.
The best method was still to open the gate quickly, form a battle line, and then push forward with overwhelming force.
“Sigh, I’m tired, but it can’t be helped.”
Ghislaine chuckled softly.
Even without opening the gate, victory was virtually assured.
Even if the Cabaldy forces brought their main troops, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the Penris Army. However, he had ways to protect his forces, and there was no need to incur casualties unnecessarily.
He felt sorry for the enemy commander, but this situation was already within the scenarios Ghislaine had anticipated.
Perhaps there was a more sophisticated and effective method. But, in his view, this was the best course of action.
“Everyone step away from my side.”
Ghislaine pushed the nearby knights back and extended his sword forward.
*
Jaimon, anxiously overlooking the castle gate, let out a cheer as the movements of the Penris Army ceased.
“Got it! We can hold out until our allies arrive at this rate!”
“Alright! This should be enough to hold out until our allies arrive!”
Our allies moved faster than Jaimon had expected. As expected, Cabaldy’s soldiers were worthy of the title of a strong army from the North.
“It’s not going to be easy to open the castle gate.”
Even if the enemy could use mana, they’d have to swing their weapons hundreds, if not thousands, of times to break through that thick barred door and the castle gate.
That would give them enough time to hold out until the allies arrived.
Of course, even if they blocked the castle gate, they’d still have to fend off enemies climbing over the walls, and considering the power difference, he couldn’t guarantee that his allies would win.
“The probability of defeat is probably higher.”
However, if the chance of victory increased even slightly compared to now, it would be the right choice to take that path.
And his role ended there.
“I’m about to die.”
Jaimon muttered with a self-deprecating smile.
He had already missed the opportunity to escape. The Penris troops were pouring over the walls from both sides, and the defending soldiers were completely wiped out.
Even the Guard Knights had been sent down to defend the gate, leaving Jaimon completely alone.
If he was going to flee, he should have done so the moment the battle started.
But if he had, his allies might have perished even sooner, and the gate might have been smashed to bits.
“This was the best I could do.”
As a commander, he had done all he could. It was just that the enemy was far stronger than expected.
He had to be satisfied that he had at least stalled them for a moment.
Letting out a sigh, Jaimon drew his sword and turned around.
“Is it my turn now?”
Before him stood an assassin, face concealed by a black mask and draped in a robe.
Jaimon asked in a resigned voice, “Can you tell me your name?”
“……”
“I’d like to at least know who’s going to kill me.”
“Belinda.”
“It’s an honor to be killed by someone of your caliber.”
Belinda hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“You seem to be the commander here. How about surrendering and cooperating? You look capable enough; I might spare you. Thanks to you, we’re slightly delayed.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Then you’re going to die here right now?”
“How can I call myself a knight if I’m afraid of dying? I’m only afraid of not being able to serve my lord any longer.”
With a resolute expression, Jaimon extended his sword.
Whoosh.
Belinda didn’t respond any further and moved like darkness itself.
He thought it might be useful for stabilizing the castle after the conquest, so he proposed it, but since she rejected it, that was the end of that.
Once she made a decision, she never looked back.
Slash!
With a single motion of Belinda’s hand, blood gushed from Jaimon’s arm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Following the relentless attacks, Jaimon was busy retreating.
As a knight and a commander of a territory, Jaimon’s skills were fairly impressive, but they were inadequate against Belinda, whose prowess had surpassed his own.
Clang!
Just when Jaimon barely blocked Belinda’s dagger once again.
Flutter.
Her robe swayed, and several daggers shot out from within.
Thud!
“Cough!”
That marked the end of the battle.
With daggers piercing through his body, Jaimon knelt, blood gushing from him.
Blinking his dimming eyes several times, he muttered in a fading voice, “Because of Baron Penris… the North will plunge into chaos…”
Those were his last words.
*
In the present age, ‘Master’ was more of a title than a term describing a level of skill.
There were no clear standards for what constituted the level of a master.
As a result, even among those who were deemed to have reached the level of ‘master’, their skills varied somewhat.
It was all based on the person’s achievements, reputation, and demonstrated abilities that people recognized them as “worthy of being called master.”
Based on Ram’s achievements and reputation, people recognized him as someone deserving to be called a “Master.”
But long ago, there were indeed certain standards regarding what constituted a master.
Now, very few know about that.
Whoooosh.
Ghislaine infused mana into his sword.
As the mana gathered, the sword began to tremble and started to glow with a red light.
This is what is commonly referred to as the “Mana Blade,” a qualification of knights.
Whoooosh!
However, Ghislaine did not stop there; he poured even more of his mana into it.
The trembling of the sword intensified, and the light grew even more brilliant.
The knights around him watched in amazement.
The light emanating from the sword was so bright that it spread out into the surroundings.
Whoooosh!
As the light spread out, it shrank in size, but the intensity of the light emitted became even stronger than before.
The compressed mana could no longer withstand the overwhelming force and tried to spread out in all directions again.
But Ghislaine focused his mind, pulling it back and compressing it once more.
The power of mana, infinitely compressed and compressed.
Now, the red light enveloping Ghislaine’s sword was no longer just simple light.
It was so bright that it could rival the sun, causing everyone to squint and take a step back.
Yet, Ghislaine continued his actions, showing no signs of stopping. His expression was as cold and rigid as marble.
This is not a technique that can simply be used by pouring a large amount of mana recklessly.
It requires control of strength, realization of principles, and a powerful and resolute will to express one’s understanding to the world.
All of these must align perfectly.
Whoooosh whoosh!
And Ghislaine was someone who had already mastered all of this.
What was lacking was simply the amount of mana.
At least now, for a brief moment, he could use this technique.
Thanks to the Blood Python’s venom, his mana reserves had increased rapidly, and his body had also trained to withstand this power.
As the compressed mana surged and surged, it began to change into a different form.
Paah!
The shape of the light altered. It was no longer just a faint glow lingering on the sword’s blade.
The knights witnessing this were awestruck and let out screams of horror.
“W-What is that!”
“H-How can mana stretch out like that…….”
“The light…… it’s like it’s burning.”
The light, which had been flickering like smoke, suddenly stretched out several times beyond the length of the sword, extending straight ahead.
That light was brighter and hotter than the sun, instilling a sense of awe just by looking at it. It felt untouchable.
This is the true sword that can cut anything.
An apex of refined power that transcends the limits of mana.
A technique that can only be manifested when the principles of the world are confined within one’s will and redefined.
The Sword of Light, the Aura Blade.
Throughout the ages, it was referred to by different names, but the most famous one was the name used in the ancient empire.
In the ancient empire, only those who could use the Aura Blade were acknowledged as masters.
“Huuh….”
Ghislaine gripped the sword infused with aura with both hands and slowly pulled it back.
With each movement of the sword, shimmering little particles of light began to spread out.
It looked as if a cluster of stars was moving, and the people around just stared at Ghislaine, entranced.
Leaving the entranced crowd behind, Ghislaine took a deep breath and swiftly swung his sword towards the firmly closed castle gate.
Paah!
In an instant, a brilliant light blinded everyone’s eyes.
And as the light vanished—
Kaboom!
The castle gate, completely shattered, began to slowly crumble down.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
