Chapter 39: Like a Tidal Wave (4)
A smile full of excitement appeared on Beryl’s face.
We are stronger!
The opponents were the official knights of a noble house.
Knights who had learned swordsmanship and received proper training.
And yet, we were knocking these bastards down effortlessly.
We, who were merely swinging around logs.
Was all that training for this?
We could win.
We could defeat Calpion’s knights.
Confidence rose on the faces of Beryl and the Maw mercenaries.
“Uaaaaargh!”
The Maw mercenaries roared ferociously and charged forward without hesitation.
At the same time, Manton, who had followed behind with reinforcements, checked on Viscount Cobalt and Mulgybson’s safety and shouted.
“My Lord! Commander! Are you all right!”
Then Mulgybson blinked and asked again.
“What… what in the world is happening.”
“It’s the Young Master. It seems the Young Master has done all of this.”
Manton turned his head straight ahead to survey the battlefield.
Those bastards… to be fighting like this.
The Maw mercenaries.
All they had done for the past month was smash logs against walls.
Everyone in Daphne had scoffed and sneered at that ridiculous sight.
But those same men… with those same motions from back then, were now shattering Calpion’s formation.
His body started to tremble uncontrollably.
Was it shame, embarrassment, or simply something beyond words?
The shaking simply would not stop.
I must do something too!
Clack!
Manton gripped his sword tightly and stepped forward.
“Uaaaaargh!”
“We’re going toooo!”
Then, several knights dashed once more toward Calpion’s enemies and joined the battlefield.
As if they were throwing themselves into a raging wave.
“…We… we’re being pushed back!”
“D-damn iiiit!”
Calpion’s knights were rapidly driven back by that wave.
Shields shattered, gaps opened.
And Hardin did not miss that chance.
Taah!
Hardin leapt right into the middle of the broken formation and began his sword dance once more.
Crunch! Crack!
“Aaaargh!”
From the outside, they were battered senseless by the battering ram attacks of the Maw mercenaries, and on the inside, their heads continued to be severed by Hardin.
They tried desperately to resist somehow, but the momentum of the wave would not stop.
One by one, their throats were pierced by Hardin, their bellies split open, and their bodies hurled away by the rams.
Those bastards are death incarnate!
We’re dying… we’re going to dieeee!
Even with his entire body covered in blood, he lifted the corners of his mouth in a chilling grin.
Just looking at it made my whole body shiver, my legs feel frozen.
We can’t hold them head-on!
D-damn iiiit!
Terror paralyzed reason, and the body reacted on its own.
The once-solid formation collapsed, leaving a path open in the center.
Right in front of Hardin, it gaped wide open.
Then, a huge knight stood still, facing Hardin head-on.
“…Hmm.”
Calpion’s Knight Commander, Andrea.
His beard and hair fluttered, veins bulged across his body, and white steam rose in wisps all over him.
An overwhelming presence.
He gripped his mace firmly in both hands and spoke.
“Come.”
If it were any ordinary knight, they would not have even been able to meet his gaze.
But Hardin did not waver.
Calmly, without losing his smile, he advanced toward him, gradually picking up speed.
When the distance had closed to mere steps away—
“Hup!”
He swiftly thrust his sword forward in a straight line.
Manjo First Style, Stingray.
He shifted his weight onto his front foot and then forcefully extended it forward as it was.
A blue line shot precisely for Andrea’s neck.
In that instant—
Kaaaang!
Sparks burst in midair, and Hardin’s body was instead sent leaping backward.
When he slowly lifted his head, he saw Andrea standing there, holding his mace that radiated an extraordinary aura.
“Amazing. Are you truly… Hardin Daphne?”
“As you can see.”
When Hardin shrugged his shoulders, Andrea’s brow furrowed.
“You’ve changed too much to be the same man. Just what… did you do?”
“Well, is there any reason I should tell you?”
Then Andrea let out a faint laugh as he spoke.
“It doesn’t matter. Either way, I’ll only have to beat you down…”
“You’ve got some big dreams there.”
The two men’s eyes narrowed at the same time.
---
Right behind the battlefield where Knight Commander Andrea and Hardin Daphne were facing each other.
Viscount Cobalt and Mulgybson, who stood with difficulty behind Hardin, kept their gaze firmly fixed forward.
“Are you all right, my Lord? Commander Mulgybson?”
“Y-yes.”
Manton stood watch near the two men, gripping his sword tightly.
“Get lost!”
Crack!
Every so often, he knocked away enemy conscripts who charged in or arrows that flew toward them.
Around them, several Daphne conscripts and knights were standing guard as well.
Mulgybson blinked and asked.
“Haa… Wh-what is this situation, Manton?”
“The Young Master broke through the encirclement. By himself.”
“Are you… telling the truth?”
“Yes. I saw it clearly with my own eyes.”
Cobalt and Mulgybson both wore blank, dumbfounded expressions.
The mercenaries of Hardin, whom everyone had mocked, had completely shattered the enemy formation… and Hardin now stood crossing weapons with Andrea.
No one here had ever imagined such a sight.
Their gazes naturally turned to Hardin.
They could see Hardin and Andrea pointing their weapons at each other.
“Huuu…”
Just as Mulgybson and Cobalt gripped their swords and began to step forward—
Manton blocked them.
“My Lord, Commander Mulgybson, please wait here.”
“Why are you stopping us? We must at least go and help even a little—”
“You could do that.”
“What are you—”
“No matter what, the opponent is Knight Commander Andrea. We can’t just stand idly by—”
“If you go as you are now, you will only get in the way. So for now, focus on escaping safely under our protection.”
“…But.”
“The Young Master can do it. I saw it clearly with my own eyes… Please, just trust him this once.”
Cobalt and Mulgybson’s gazes met.
Their excitement subsided, and their minds grew cold again.
Then they slowly turned their heads and looked toward the middle of the battlefield, where Hardin and Andrea faced each other.
Neither moved an inch, both holding their breath.
It was such a suffocating atmosphere, it felt as though if someone merely prodded them, everything would explode.
“Uaaagh! Get back! Get back!”
“Yaaaaaah!”
When they thought about the Maw mercenaries and Calpion knights creating chaos all around them, the scene felt all the more surreal.
Just how much time had passed like that—
Taah!
He—he disappeared?
What the—
As the two men’s bodies vanished from sight in an instant, Cobalt and Mulgybson’s eyes went wide.
Kaaaang!
Then sparks burst in midair, and the afterimages of the two appeared between them.
“You’re impressive… Truly impressive!”
Knight Commander Andrea’s forehead bulged with veins.
Clenching his teeth, he charged in and swung his mace down at Hardin.
Fast.
Strong…
Each time, the sound of the air tearing and the blast of wind were enough to make everyone’s spine crawl.
…
Of course, Hardin, who was receiving the blows, seemed to stagger back bit by bit, but he never allowed the slightest opening.
Hardin.
A sorrowful expression rose on Cobalt’s watching face.
Kaaang! Kaaang!
Their attacks and defenses clashed repeatedly, the sounds of weapon striking weapon and the shower of sparks between them growing ever fiercer.
“Hnnnngh!”
Whenever the sword or mace struck the ground—
Boom! Boom!
The rain-soaked earth would burst up into the air, forming columns of dirt.
Such tremendous power.
Everyone watching swallowed hard.
They all felt it instinctively.
This fight between the two of them would decide the outcome of this war.
Hardin… Please, I beg you.
Young Master.
Within the hearts of not only the two but everyone present, a fervent wish took root.
---
“Haaaaah!”
Andrea pressed his assault, swinging the mace relentlessly.
Hardin evaded by the narrowest margins again and again—
Shaaak!
Then kicked up a spray of dirt right into Andrea’s eyes.
The instant Andrea’s eyes closed—
An opening!
Hardin swiftly thrust his sword forward.
Kaaaang!
“You filthy coward!”
Andrea reflexively widened the distance and dodged the strike.
But before he knew it, Hardin was already closing in again, driving his sword straight for him.
Kaaaang!
“Hnnngh!”
Andrea barely managed to lift his mace to block, then stepped back several paces to open the distance again.
Drip.
Blood trickled down, staining his cheek red as droplets fell to the ground.
Fast… And skilled.
The composure on Andrea’s face slowly turned to bewilderment.
That bastard— He was getting even faster.
Even though he was startled by Hardin’s skill, he had been certain of his victory.
Despite trading so many blows, he could not spot a single opening.
Clearly… in mana and stamina, he himself was overwhelmingly superior.
Yet it felt as though he was being toyed with by a demon.
It was the first time in his life as a knight that he faced such a strange kind of opponent.
But he, too, was the commander of a knight order, a veteran who had crossed countless battlefields.
He quickly searched for the path with the greatest chance of victory.
…Hmph.
His gaze shifted to the sword in Hardin’s hand.
A rather plain longsword, nothing remarkable.
Its edge was chipped here and there, and even at a glance, it was obvious the blade was on the verge of falling apart.
The reason he chose evasion… must be that.
Even when he had the timing to fully counter, he would deliberately dodge or risk a dangerous counterattack instead.
All because he knew his sword would not withstand a direct clash.
Meanwhile… his own weapon was a mace.
If this exchange continued long enough, that sword would inevitably break.
When that moment came… he would strike precisely.
In the end, battles between knights were always decided in a single instant.
As long as he could create one perfect opening, this was a fight he could win.
Andrea’s lips curled into a slight grin.
“Hnnngh!”
Vwooooom!
He thrust his mace at Hardin.
To make evasion nearly impossible, he widened the arc of the swing as much as he could… and while reducing the blunt force of the mace itself, he poured more mana into his body to raise his speed.
Kaaang! Kaaang!
His prediction landed perfectly.
With no room or angle left to dodge, Hardin was forced to lift his sword and block the blows directly.
Each time, sparks flew, and the cracks in the longsword deepened further.
When it reached its very limit—
Now!
Vwooooom!
Mana surged into the flying mace, turning it a chilling shade of blue in an instant.
Sssik!
A victorious smile spread across Andrea’s lips at that moment.
Pazzzzik!
The longsword snapped apart without mercy, and Hardin’s eyes widened.
Anyone could see the unmistakable look of shock.
I’ve won.
Andrea swung the mace again.
This time, the target was Hardin’s skull.
If it connected, at minimum it meant death.
In the sensation of time slowing down… he saw the mace clearly as it flew toward Hardin’s head.
Just as Andrea felt certain of victory—
Predictable.
Hardin, already wearing a different expression, was smiling at him.
What… What is that look?
A chill.
In that instant, he felt something was terribly wrong.
Andrea’s spine went cold—
Fwuuung!
Hardin suddenly twisted his upper body backward, letting the mace’s tip narrowly graze above him.
A few strands of blond hair drifted in the air.
Crunch!
…?
A feeling of something plunging up beneath his chin.
A burning sensation.
At that same moment, Hardin’s outstretched foot kicked Andrea’s wrist.
Whirl— Thud!
The mace tumbled to the ground.
And… when he finally realized what was happening—
“Hah… haaaah…”
As he lowered his gaze, he saw it for the first time:
A dagger, about a palm’s length long, protruding up through his jaw.
“Wh… What is this…”
He forced out a ragged, trembling voice.
Hardin grinned broadly.
It’s over.
“Kegh… Kkugh.”
In that instant, Andrea’s eyes rolled back—
Thud!
His body collapsed backward, falling silent.
A brief hush spread across the battlefield.
“Haaah…”
Then, on every face watching nearby, expressions of utter shock emerged.
Commander Andrea… has fallen.
This is insane…!
The Calpion soldiers’ faces turned deathly pale, and their bodies began to tremble.
They had all seen it clearly with their own eyes—
That great Andrea, his jaw pierced clean through by the dagger of that blond-haired man.
Then, Hardin picked up one of the longswords scattered around, raised it before him, and spoke.
“Anyone else who wants to die—come out.”
At that—
“Hiiiik!”
“Retreat! Retreeeeat! Commander Andrea has fallen!”
“Ruuuuuun!”
The Calpion forces, their fighting spirit shattered, began to flee one by one.
At the same time, shrill cries and screams rose from every direction.
Just moments ago, the Calpion soldiers had looked like specters—now they scattered like startled rats.
“How… How can this be…”
The Daphne knights stared blankly, their faces vacant with disbelief.
Calpion is retreating?
We… actually won?
They had been certain it was over.
The twin mace knights who were terrifyingly strong, and the Calpion shield formations that had seemed unbreakable.
Yet all of that had changed with the arrival of a single man.
Not just anyone—but Hardin, the reclusive Young Master they’d all dismissed.
…This isn’t a dream, is it?
Hardin… Hardin defeated Andrea?
No, beyond that—this entire war itself was turned by Hardin’s hand…
They couldn’t even begin to find the words or understand where to start.
They were nearly doubting whether this was truly reality.
As Cobalt stood there, lips moving soundlessly with countless unspoken thoughts, Hardin approached and spoke in a tone so casual it felt surreal.
“How about it, Father.”
“H-Hardin…”
When he could only stammer out the name, Hardin let out a breath through his nose, then reached out and gave Cobalt’s shoulder a few light pats as he continued.
I’ll be going after them. Can you handle cleaning things up here? You can manage, right?
“…Going after them? What do you mean?”
“Viscount Ruder, Donfel… those two, you didn’t catch them.”
“B-But there’s no need to take such a risk—”
At that, Hardin shook his head.
“This is war.”
…
‘War…’
Cobalt looked at Hardin with a dazed expression before his gaze shifted, taking on a newfound clarity.
“All right… we’ll do as you say.”
Hardin nodded once.
“Everyone, with me!”
“Yes!”
Taah!
He dashed forward without hesitation.