Regressor of the Fallen Family Novel - Chapter 296
C296
From the edge of Freedom’s border, the Freedom army moved towards the royal capital, having seized three consecutive fortresses. The vulnerability of the Freedom forces lay in their extended and thinly spread supply lines. Khalil Zamod recognized this and stationed some troops in each captured fortress to oversee the logistics. Consequently, as they neared the royal castle of Romen, the total Freedom forces had decreased to approximately 1,400 knights and 40,000 soldiers, a number even smaller than one of McLaine’s legions. Despite this, it was believed that they could still overpower the Romen army.
Upon seeing the royal castle from afar, Khalil Zamod reacted with dismay at an unexpected sight.
“What on earth… Oh, heavens…”
The scene before him was truly disheartening. The Romen forces, whom he had assumed would be holed up within the castle, were already preparing for battle on the plains. However, what troubled Khalil were the two flags flying alongside Romen. Romero and the Duchy of Tahiti. Three nations from the Alliance out of the four had come to confront them. And their combined forces exceeded the total Freedom forces by one and a half times.
– Penalize the intruders!
As the enemies began their advance amidst the resounding battle cries from the enemy ranks, panic spread through the camp of Freedom.
“Why… Why are there so many?”
“We were supposed to be victorious!”
“What is happening here?”
The Alliance had initially been established to counter Grandia. With Grandia’s defeat, the Kingdom’s army, which had not experienced war for centuries, lacked proper training and was ill-prepared for unexpected circumstances.
“Your Excellency! The enemy is drawing near!”
“Our soldiers are in disarray!”
“Curse it all!”
Even the commanders struggled, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Triah… They postponed their involvement…!”
Khalil Zamod, finally regaining his composure, cursed. He promptly sent a messenger.
“Establish communication! Inquire of the Triah Kingdom why they have not joined the battle!”
The deduction was straightforward. The other Alliance countries, except for Calon facing Teronan across the sea, had focused their forces on Freedom, neglecting Triah.
‘Are the Triah acting foolishly in this critical moment, attempting to sabotage their own nation?’ Logan found the situation incomprehensible, but regardless, he knew there was only one course of action now.
“Count Khalil. Entrust the knights to me.”
“Now is not the time for an outsider to intervene…!”
“Silence! Will the situation be resolved by a single message? Pull yourself together!”
Count Khalil Zamod flinched at the reprimand, not just out of avoidance of confrontation. The commanding presence of an Aura user subtly permeated his being. Surrounded by an unexpectedly large enemy force, the general succumbed to panic, bowing before the overwhelming dominance of a superhuman.
“Remember His Majesty’s orders, Count! I will lead the vanguard! Organize the knights. I will personally lead them!”
“What!? Yes! V-Very well!”
Despite Khalil’s fierce appearance, he could not reject Logan’s orders.
“Regain your composure and raise your spears!”
The Freedom knights were puzzled by the sudden appearance of the unfamiliar man with brown hair taking the lead. However, after Khalil Zamod’s rallying cry, they couldn’t help but reassess.
“The new extraordinary being of our realm… Gail… Slayer is here! Follow his lead!”
Logan’s identity, with its fictitious name and status, nearly caused him to falter.
‘What’s this “Slayer” about?’
The naming might have seemed hasty, but Logan grasped its intent.
No matter how much an Aura user was esteemed across the continent, if they suddenly hailed a commoner without a title in the heat of the moment, it could stir discontent among the knights.
‘Wouldn’t it have been courteous to inform me beforehand?’
Critiquing Khalil’s narrow-mindedness but pressing on, Logan wielded his sword with determination.
As Logan’s sword gleamed with a silver Aura Blade, a cheer erupted from the knights.
“If we capture the three banners, the war will cease! Follow me!”
Every eye on the battlefield fixated on Logan as he surged forward, enveloped in a silver flash.
“AAAAH!”
His presence resembled that of a mythical divine warrior, igniting the spirits of the Freedom knights. They charged, their shouts blending into a cacophony of screams and battle cries.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
The two forces rapidly closed the distance between them, and the knights leading the charge felt the approach of the opposing force, their momentum intensifying.
“Do not be afraid! It’s all a bluff! There are no Aura users among the enemies!”
A confident proclamation quelled the noise of hooves, resonating across the battlefield.
Upon hearing this, Logan frowned slightly.
‘They seem to have gathered intelligence on Gunter Liberty.’
“We outnumber them twofold! Attack!”
The enemy commander dismissed Logan’s intimidating presence and attempted to exaggerate his side’s numbers, but his soldiers’ morale had already surged.
It was a prudent decision. Even if the information regarding Logan was incorrect, delaying his soldiers from succumbing to panic was the only strategy a large force possessed against a superhuman.
However, Logan’s response was dismissive.
‘I never anticipated a conventional knightly charge.’
Logan’s knowledge of modern warfare tactics involved crossbow volleys and utilizing Liberatio to dismantle the enemy formation – this traditional charge seemed almost comical in comparison.
‘To dominate the Alliance, I must equip them with repeating crossbows.’
Gary’s contemplation of these thoughts highlighted the lack of tension in the battle.
To his eyes, no knight on the field could match his sword, except for one.
“Then I shall crush you all the more firmly!”
A 4-meter Aura Blade extended from his otherwise ordinary longsword.
“Try your tricks, but I will expose them!”
Whether due to overconfidence in intelligence reports or a failure to recognize Aura, the enemy commander’s Force Blade was pitifully shattered.
Bang!
Like an exploding bomb, the enemy commander was torn asunder by the silver Aura Blade.
Fragments of his body transformed into a bloody mist, enveloping the knights behind him.
Transcending mere attacks, the demonstration of force with added elemental attributes to the Aura exceeded the comprehension of anyone on the battlefield, except the perpetrator himself.
“I shall vanquish them all!”
As the silver Aura Blade swept through, everything within a 4-meter radius was severed. Armored knights and their equipment proved futile.
The silver figure traversed the battlefield, captivating every gaze, swiftly cutting through enemy ranks.
The retribution for underestimating, or rather disregarding, the enemy’s superhuman.
The joint forces of the three nations paid dearly for this oversight.
“AAAAH!”
“A monstrosity!”
“Flee!”
As the bloody whirlwind zigzagged, plunging the central army into chaos, the soldiers towards the rear began to falter in fear.
“What are you doing! There is only one enemy! Focus and eliminate him!”
Bound by numerous flags, King Romen’s commander, balta Grow, shouted repeatedly.
“An Aura user, you say? But Gunter was supposed to be confined to the castle…”
Baffled by the unforeseen turn of events, his insides churned with anger.
But no matter how formidable a superhuman may be, they will tire. Once the silver halo fades, all that remains is an ordinary human body. Relentlessly assail him until he is exhausted, and then he can be brought down. This was the sole recourse a multitude had against a superhuman.
However…
“Argh!”
“Flee!”
“How can we stop that!”
The so-called ‘expendables’ refused to fulfill their role.
Having witnessed the silver monster trample even the mightiest knights, the notion of confronting the beast was overwhelmingly daunting. The resplendent silver figure appeared as an invitation to the afterlife from Death himself.
“All who oppose me… perish!”
And the thunderous roar shook the very foundations of the troops, rendering them incapable of standing firm.
Even the elite soldiers chosen to safeguard their leaders were not immune to this terror. Trembling, many collapsed as the silver monster passed, swiftly dispatching the guards and advancing towards the commander.
Schick.
“The Romen Kingdom’s banner has fallen!”
Slicing through the commander’s throat with a single stroke and tearing down the banner, the monster paid no heed to the soldiers soaked in fear and advanced towards the next flag.
“Next! Romain!”
Romen’s twin-nation neighbor, Romain, was recognized by its crescent emblem – the antithesis of its sibling country.
At Logan’s command, the resolve of the Freedom knights soared as they immediately followed their leader.
“Wow!”
“We have triumphed!”
“Follow Lord Gail!”
These were the cream of the crop within Freedom. The unskilled majority remained entrenched in the heart of the battlefield, while only the proficient pursued Logan through the enemy ranks.
Ahead of them, Logan assessed the total amount of Force while urging his horse onwards, gaining an extraordinary insight.
‘I believed I was squandering Force, but is this actually efficient?’
It appeared excessive to envelop even the horse in sparkling Force, a move that typically marked one as a prime target, susceptible to swift elimination.
For Logan, assured of triumph, it was all about the spectacle of the performance. Yet, this display magnified the enemies’ dread and hastened their collapse.
‘It may be taxing, but it is worthwhile to employ. Even upon my return home.’
In such circumstances, his constrained movements and abilities resulting from the Aura color alteration posed no significant issue.
“Everyone, advance!”
With each successive swing of the silver Aura Blade, the path it cleared became drenched in blood, expediting the resolution of the battle.
The silver harbinger tore through the battlefield, wreaking havoc in the enemy command center.
Within less than three hours of the battle’s initiation, two of the joint forces’ leaders had been decapitated.
The final one discarded their helmet, abandoned their flag, and vanished – opting for a retreat more disgraceful than death for a commander of that era.
Naturally, from that moment on, the crumbling coalition forces lacked the strength to resist the onslaught of the triumphant Freedom troops.
“Annihilate them all!”
“Put them to the sword!”
“How dare they defy us!”
The soldiers of Freedom, who had been apprehensive prior to the battle, swung their spears and swords violently, renouncing their former timidity.
Having lost their fervor, the allied forces could scarcely counter the ferocious assault and were compelled to flee.
At that moment…
“Spare those who surrender!”
The silver messiah who had secured victory for his own side tempered the fervor of the battlefield.
“Discard your weapons, you are prisoners! The honorable warriors of Freedom do not slay captives!”
Though these were unfamiliar words to the soldiers, it made no difference. The master of the divine silver was the emblem of victory, the envoy of the gods who had delivered them.
“Obey Lord Gail Slayer’s command!”
“We have prevailed!”
“Show mercy!”
As even the knights who had led the war to triumph fervently echoed the plea, the frenzy that had engulfed the army dissipated.
Though over half of the enemy forces had escaped, it was an indisputable victory.
The beneficiaries of this conquest were evident to all on the battlefield.
“Long live Freedom!”
“Long live Gail Slayer!”
“Long live the silver herald (silver messenger)!”
Yet the recipient of these accolades, Logan, observed the fleeing enemies, already contemplating the forthcoming conflicts.
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