Chapter 24: It’s Easier to Die Fighting Than to Yield the Path Part 2

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Most wyverns were intelligent. This was a result of the sharpened instincts honed as apex predators in the natural world. Wyverns too belonged to the dragon race. While they lacked the wisdom of civilization, they possessed a refined intuition that allowed them to assess situations quickly.

Moreover, when the Abyss granted them its demonic power, their instincts became so sharp that they could sometimes use strategy and tactics.

“Grrr…?”

Even for these wyverns, however, the current situation was somewhat incomprehensible.

The knight approaching from the west, no matter how they looked at him, was clearly a superior demon who should naturally take the role of their leader. And yet, there was no trace of the Abyss emanating from him.

On the contrary, he carried a scent that was oddly repulsive. An overwhelming aura that belonged to those who stood in direct opposition to the Abyss. By their instincts, this was a being they should charge at immediately and tear to pieces.

Yet something whispered within their primal instincts.

That sword.

The gray blade hanging at the knight’s right hip. It exuded an aura so eerily similar to the Abyss that it was almost indistinguishable. Something about it set off a deep instinctive warning: Do not touch it.

Instead of the two swords at his hip, the knight drew the greatsword slung across his back.

Whoom—.

As the blade left its sheath, a low gust stirred the dirt around him. The greatsword carried an unusual weight. Even if the blade itself wasn’t sharp, its sheer mass alone was a weapon that could easily cleave a man apart.

When the knight unsheathed his sword, the tension among the garrison soldiers surged to a breaking point. Cold sweat dripped down their faces as they glanced nervously at their commander.

“…Prepare to fire.”

No soldiers remained on top of the fortress walls. To protect themselves from the wyverns’ claws, most of the troops had taken positions inside the watchtowers or within the walls. However, being inside the walls didn’t mean they were incapable of attacking the outside.

Through the embrasures, which were openings in the walls for attacks from the outside, various weapons were aimed at the outside. Not only were cannons and bows at the ready but a few staves charged with spells peeked through as well.

Everyone could feel it instinctively. A spawn of the Abyss had arrived. A demon who had sealed the gateway city with wyverns.

The commander calmly calculated the effective range. The worst mistake he could make was giving the order to attack too hastily before the enemy had fully entered their engagement range.

Such principles were originally intended for battles between armies, but the commander knew one thing for certain.

A demon was, in and of itself, an entire army.

What’s more, this knight wielded the power to control wyverns.

At the very least, we have to assume his strength is equal to that of our entire garrison…

The commander was calculating the distance between the knight and the walls and was preparing to give the order to fire.

At that moment, the knight charged forward.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Each heavy footstep sent tremors through the ground. The wyverns had yet to fully grasp the situation and were still caught off guard.

Though his movements were imposing, they were not sluggish. In the blink of an eye, the knight closed the distance to the city gates.

Does he intend to act as a battering ram all on his own?!”

But the knight wasn’t heading for the gates. Instead, he ran straight toward the wall—

And began to scale it.

It was as if the weight of his full plate armor and the large greatsword at his back meant nothing. He climbed the sheer vertical face of the wall as if it were second nature. It was a siege tactic the commander had only read about in history books. It was an extraordinary strategy executed by superhuman warriors who could render walls meaningless with their physical strength alone.

To counter such a brute-force siege, a mage would have been essential. They would need someone who could cast a barrier spell to make the wall impassable, even to those who breached it.

But this gateway city had no such mage. Or rather, its resident mage was absent.

If the city’s court mage had been present, the citizens wouldn’t have been too terrified of wyvern attacks to even venture beyond the gates.

In mere seconds, the commander’s mind raced through countless thoughts. It was a moment where his entire life seemed to flash before his eyes.

But his instincts honed through years of military service in the Empire refused to allow him to waste time blaming the absent mage.

“Fire!”

It was a desperate command, an attempt to stop the intruder at any cost.

But the knight’s movements were faster than the commander’s orders.

He soared higher than the height of the embrasures, where the garrison’s weapons were aimed, which rendered their attacks useless.

However, the knight did not cross over the wall. Upon reaching the edge of the wall, he kicked off with force. His target was the nape of a wyvern’s neck.

Without hesitation, his powerful kick struck the wyvern’s neck with pinpoint accuracy.

Crunch.

A sickening sound of bone shattering echoed through the air.

Kriel transferred the recoil to the wyvern and leaped simultaneously. It was in the fleeting moment when the wyvern still couldn’t distinguish friend from foe. He needed to deliver maximum impact.

His target was the largest wyvern in the pack, the one flapping its wings at the highest altitude. Using both the wall and one of the wyverns as a foothold, Kriel finally rose higher than the alpha wyvern itself.

In midair, the direction of his greatsword shifted. The blade that was gripped firmly with both hands now pointed downward toward the earth.

And then, he plunged.

Sensing the incoming shadow of an ambush, the wyvern instinctively flapped its wings. But that only proved to be a fatal mistake. The blade of the greatsword pierced through the thin membrane of its wing.

The acceleration of the fall, combined with the sheer weight of Kriel and the now torn wing, robbed the wyvern of its ability to remain in the sky. As the wyvern’s screech echoed through the air, the knight plummeted alongside it.

──!

With a deafening crash that shook the walls themselves, the alpha wyvern’s wings were completely shattered. The blade of the greatsword that had torn through its wing slammed into the cobbled street, sinking deep into the ground.

The full force of the fall had utterly destroyed the alpha wyvern’s body. Only now did the stench of blood begin to spread through the air.

Realizing that the Dark Knight was not their ally, the remaining wyverns began to rage furiously. Their claws and tails lunged toward Kriel in a frenzy.

At that moment, the delayed attack from the border garrison followed. Though they hadn’t been able to target Kriel earlier due to his height above their firing range, the situation changed now that he was descending.

The soldiers reflexively carried out their latest orders. It could be seen as an unconscious action taken in a state of panic.

However, at this moment, the commander was the only one who maintained his composure. His mind coolly analyzed the situation. The knight was an enemy of the wyverns.

But the wyverns are our enemies, so… the enemy of our enemy is a friend, right?

…Huh?

“Cease fire! Cease fire!!”

Overwhelmed by the chaos, no one had thought of it yet, but to the west, where the Dark Knight had appeared, lay the Holy Kingdom. He might not be a spawn of the Abyss, but rather a Paladin.

The thought that he may have nearly turned their long-awaited reinforcement into a cushion of arrows filled the commander with a whirlwind of emotions.

Though he wasn’t a particularly devout believer, in that moment, he prayed fervently to the entire Pantheon of gods.

In the aftermath of arrows, cannon smoke, and sweeping magic, the battlefield was left in silence.

Fortunately, the Dark Knight was still standing unharmed. Despite the chaos, he had managed to behead several wyverns and use their bodies as a shield.

The wyvern swarm, which still seemed to number around twenty, circled in the air for a while before disappearing somewhere.

They must have realized they couldn’t simultaneously fight the knight and endure the firepower of the garrison guards.

The commander swallowed a groan. If the rest of the wyverns had charged all at once, the situation might have been more favorable. Since the attack was taking place outside the walls, they could unleash the full might of their cannons and magic without hesitation.

That cunningly clever wyvern swarm knew humans valued their property and kin. During the initial stages of their raids, the wyverns mainly targeted bustling cities. They understood that the dense population made them easier to attack.

This time, however, was a rare instance where the battle had occurred outside the walls. There was no guarantee they would attack again under such favorable conditions.

“Sir Commander. That man is lowering his weapon and waving his hand.”

“…Open the gates. He’s a precious ally. I must welcome him personally.”

***

When the soldiers opened the gates, I quickly ran inside. Though the wyvern swarm had retreated for now, there were still too many of them remaining. Once night fully set in, the soldiers’ fighting power would inevitably decline, even if I could hold my ground. The deepening darkness would obscure their vision.

The precise supporting fire they had provided earlier couldn’t be expected again if they couldn’t secure their line of sight.

I had been inwardly impressed by the precision of their coordinated fire.

It was an exceptionally well-timed response. My charge had drawn the wyverns’ attention, and just as they lunged to attack me, magic and cannon fire had rained down, wiping out the swarm as they descended close to the ground.

Perfect timing and precise attacks. Even if they had prepared their attack in advance, it would’ve been difficult to judge the perfect moment. The commander’s ability to adapt and respond on the spot was truly extraordinary.

The commander who I could recognize by the red-plumed helmet that marked his higher rank than the other soldiers approached me. I raised my hand to my chest and bowed my head slightly.

The heart symbolized life, and this gesture conveyed a greeting among comrades united against the Abyss.

The commander returned the gesture. In order to ease the atmosphere and get a feel for the situation, I spoke first.

“Your command was truly remarkable.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m referring to the volley of fire directed at the wyverns. Such a feat would have been impossible without accurately predicting the wyverns’ dive following my fall. There must have been a risk of friendly fire, yet your courage and decisiveness were exceptional.”

For some reason, the commander looked a bit flustered despite receiving praise. Was he perhaps a humble man?

One response to “Chapter 24: It’s Easier to Die Fighting Than to Yield the Path Part 2”

  1. Zack Avatar
    Zack

    Yeah, this shit’s good food.

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