Chapter 84: Chapter 84

-Stop, stop him! Stop that knight!

Urgent shouts from the elf knights followed.

Now that the enemy's aura blades have been confirmed, we must eliminate it as quickly as possible.

With mana in decline and only a tiny fraction of humans born with it, letting a knight who can use aura blades live could deal unforeseeable harm to Alfraia.

"Whew... So this is what real knights used to see."

After a brief glance at the Colossus Fours charging in unison, Cain spoke and dove straight into their midst.

-When did he get here...!

Leaping like a cannon shell, Cain's colossus carved the clustered colossi in a single horizontal sweep.

The reaction speed was on a different level from anything shown moments ago.

The severed frame split apart, and the pilot inside met the same fate.

Behind the fallen machine, two more colossi collapsed as if robbed of strength.

-N-no...! We're outmatched!

-A real knight? Impossible! How are we supposed to win!

In the age of swords, when every human held mana and even peasants bent it to their will, the title "knight" was not given lightly.

One who infuses mana into a colossus frame-his own other self-until it crystallizes, gaining overwhelming power like that poured into a human body.

In the age before colossi they were called aura users; in other eras, swordmasters. History has named them in countless ways.

To the fallen people of the present age, dreaming of such beings with awe and mystery, the word "knight" is a banner of longing.

Thus everyone alive today can imagine its true meaning, and none can behold it without trembling.

-Creator...! How could You grant this to a human...!

The moment the blue-glowing sword rose and Cain's colossus stepped forward, the Elf Kingdom colossi began to fall back.

At that instant one Alfraian knight, steeling his resolve, stepped ahead and drew his sword.

Colossus Six, bearing the seal of Alfraia's Imperial House on its shoulder.

One of the Saint King's royal guards.

-The foe is exhausted and battered! The battlefield favors us overwhelmingly! Crush him with your frames and the rest of their knights will fold!

At those words, which read the war front with perfect clarity, the weary Lorenz knights let out curses.

-Damn it, get up! We have to support my lord!

-Our lord is fighting; we can't lie here!

So spoke the Lorenz knights, struggling to rise, yet the long battle had drained them too deeply for an easy recovery.

-We can still win! Everyone, stake your lives!

The elf knights, staggered by the sight of Cain's aura blade, now saw the state of the Lorenz contingent and forced their spirits up once more.

-My lord, we're fine! Please fall back!

Yet the Lorenz knights, limited by their human birth and drained by relentless combat, had mana at rock bottom.

Even an aura blade of absolute power would struggle to break this hopeless situation.

Their best course was to return Cain Lorenz-now able to wield aura-safely to the Empire.

Betting on the future was wiser.

-No. I will not retreat.

With that quiet declaration, Cain dismissed the aura from his sword.

The elf knights, their fighting spirit gradually firming.

But what happened next left their jaws slack.

-Cain Lorenz, Empire's strongest knight, head of House Lorenz! Second Duke of the Empire, Commander of the Central Knights-commands the knights gathered here!

His name rang out across the loudspeaker.

All the titles that had once oppressed merely by being spoken rolled off his tongue as if they weighed nothing.

With eyes shining coolly, as though those words carried no burden at all, he addressed his knights.

-Rise, heroes of yours! Cain Lorenz fights with you!

As he proclaimed himself their hero, crystallized mana spread in a circle.

Those he permitted-those who stood with him-felt mana flood their exhausted bodies and frames, vigor returning.

"Strength is flowing back into my body!"

"Mana that usually takes two days to recover-this fast!"

"We can win! Get up! Follow His Grace!"

One, then another... colossi that had fallen lifeless began to rise again. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel✶fire.net

Colossi standing anew within rising halos of blue light looked like a sacred, mystic scene from a holy painting.

-Knights whose mana should have run dry...?

-Mana Link...! He's real, a true knight...!

The knight's prerogative-Mana Link-bestowing overflowing mana to revive exhausted allies.

A sight drawn only in heroic tales now unfolded before their eyes.

An unbelievable sight. The elf knights could no longer find any will to fight.

"He's the real one-the hero who lived in the age of swords we've admired all our lives! How do we fight that...!"

Having met the legend they had yearned for all their lives, their will to battle was gone.

To those who remember the age of swords, it may be the very sanctity of arms, bearing the weight of the Creator's authority.

-Cain Lorenz commands! Wipe out every last Alfraian soldier left in this fortress!

At his word, the Lorenz knights drew their swords as one and charged the enemy lines without hesitation.

-His Grace demands their blood!

The tide of battle reversed in an instant.

Cain's sword, a crystallized manifestation of mana, cut through dozens of armor plates like slicing tofu with each swing.

One down with every arc.

There was no parrying, no blocking.

-Assault guns! Where the hell are the mana cannons!

-What are the mages doing!

Knights screamed for the mages who had been casting from the spires.

Those who scoffed at legend and the age of swords as barbaric now clung to a faint hope that they might stand against this natural disaster of a man.

"Mage Third Platoon, elimination complete."

"Two escaping. Sniper, take three."

"Location confirmed."

Yet the mages they sought were already marked by Greyhound snipers who had seized the spires.

"Damn it, they said kill on sight! Filthy humans!"

The moment they stepped outside to flee, bullets pierced the hands and heads that channeled magic.

Mages who had poured out overwhelming firepower through mana cannons were now nothing but prey without their spell arrays or guards.

"Pointy-eared bastards, how many of us died at Kerdan to your mana cannons."

"We lost two this operation too. Elimination order's in-do what you want."

The fortress, echoing with gunshots and screams, had become their private hunting ground.

- The collapse speed of First Battalion is too fast! At this rate they'll breach us before we can target!

- The goblins are running!

Colossus Four, attempting to block the sweeping aura blade, raised its sword only to be cleaved in half in a single stroke.

Unlike the House Lorenz contingent, who regained their morale in an instant, the Alfraian Army knights defending the fortress fled panic-stricken and began to abandon the fortress.

By the time they had driven every Alfraian soldier from the fortress, they had destroyed more than one hundred colossi.

The battle that had begun at midnight ended when the sun touched the horizon.

Cain's colossus, battered from the long fierce fight, slowly walked toward the fortress summit.

There, with a single slash, Cain cut down the Alfraian flag and raised in its place the Imperial standard declaring this territory part of the Empire, and the House Lorenz banner proclaiming the House that had claimed it.

- Victory in this battle belongs to the House Lorenz contingent!

A fortress assault involving one hundred colossi.

In the end, sixty-three knights survived.

[Pilot status check. Consciousness and life signs stable. However, after prolonged operation after-effects are feared, two weeks rest recommended.]

"Fine. This time I'll take a real leave."

[Frame status check. Chest armor 17 % damaged. Self-repair impossible, professional repair required.]

"Fine. Looks like I'll be stopping by the capital again."

While the battle continued, Cain's colossus had barely regained consciousness and now gave a snort of laughter.

Atop the fortress, sword and banner in hand, Cain's colossus looked down on his knights; below the fortress, the knights looked up at him.

"If he keeps that up, that'll make the history books."

Lying among the ruins of the shattered castle, Glaepnir quietly watched the birth of a new age's hero.

"How was it, Steward? I was right, wasn't I?"

A private room in Dunois Castle.

Duchess Alienor, reading the urgent Imperial Army victory report that prominently featured the name Cain Lorenz as its hero, smiled widely as she scanned the paper.

"Tch, he didn't appear."

Yaan's name appeared only briefly in the roster of knights who had fought alongside.

After skimming the paper, filled only with the heroic tale of Andel, who had charged the fortress at the start, Duchess Alienor, having lost interest, crumpled the paper and tossed it into a corner.

"However, My lady, it would be best to postpone the ball for at least two weeks."

"Hm? Is something the matter, Steward?"

Steward Fabian handed Alienor a letter in reply.

Fine lambskin, red wax seal. And the emblem pressed into it.

Recognizing it, Alienor twisted her lips in a small smile.

"So. Someone has the audacity to make the first move."

Saying so, she broke the seal; inside lay a personal letter from Emperor Cardias van Vailsar.

"His Imperial Majesty seems quite interested in this battle as well."

"Why drag me into that tedious political game?"

Alienor muttered, frowning in displeasure.

"Well, fine. Let's go."

Fabian, suppressing the urge to say "Even if you dislike it, you must obey His Majesty's command," merely shrugged his shoulders.

"What shall we do about the ball?"

"Postpone it for a month. But make sure preparations proceed without delay."

With those words Fabian bowed deeply and withdrew.

"Ah, Sir Knight. I can't wait to see you again."

Soon Alienor, cheeks flushed, lay back on her bed.

Only Alienor's laughter, echoing through empty eyes, filled Dunois Castle.