Volume 3: Chapter 223 – The Hero of Pena IV (5/5)

“After me, druids!”

“Don't let them near the king!”

　At Gi Za's behest, magic bullets of wind shot at the enemy.

“Onwards!”

　With a swing of the Holy Sword Guradion, the wind bullets were torn apart, and the Order of the Blue Knights rode onwards within the billowing clouds of dust.

“Left Wing! Right Wing!”

　100 knights split to the left and right as they rode toward Gi Gu Verbena's army.

“The valors of war be with you! Commander!”

　As they bid their commander goodbye, they threw their spears and charged onward.

“We're being pushed back!?”

　The charge of the enemy was so great that Gi Gu had to blink twice, unable to believe that he was being pressured by these humans. Very quickly, however, his expression turned from disbelief to anger.

“Don't falter! Anyone who retreats shall die by my blade! Do not disgrace yourselves before His Highness!”

　The cavalry desperately charged at them, swinging their axe and sword.

“…At this rate, the center is—!?”

　Gi Gu said as he clicked his tongue. The enemy continued to push into them.

“Fearless warriors of Gaidga! Let loose your anger! Turn these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds before you into prey!”

“5th platoon, 6th platoon! Onwards! Open a path for the commander!”

　At the words of the platoon commander in charge of the rear, the cavalry rode onwards.

　The Gaidga goblins laughed as they swung their clubs and crushed the knights, but despite that the Blue Knights rammed their horses into the wall of giant goblins and pushed them back.

“…I see. It seems you people insist on attacking the dead corner of my thoughts. In that case, let us begin the second stage.”

　As soon as Pale said those words, the knights that managed to pa.s.s the Gaidga goblins fell into the pit holes and lost their posture. The knights that fell off their mount immediately got up and pushed onward, but Felbi's arrows were already waiting for them.

“Send a messenger to Gi Gdono. Surround the enemy from the back and wipe them out!”

　Certain of victory, Pale sent the messenger with these orders. But even at this time, she had not abandoned the possibility of the enemy having a detached force.

　Traps were most effective when one was certain of victory. When the enemy broke through the Gaidga goblins, they must've thought that they'd already reached the king, but what was waiting for them was actually a h.e.l.l of pitfalls by their feet.

　As such, even though she was certain of victory, she gave a completely different order.

“Tell Gi Za Zakuend-dono to watch the back!”

“Glory to Pena!”

“!?”

　Immediately after Pale sent the messenger, the soldiers under Allen's direct command appeared. The soldiers ignored the arrows. .h.i.tting them as they protected Allen's path.

“Please go ahead, Commander!”

　As his subordinates died one after another valiantly, Allen nodded and went over their corpses.

“Imperial Guards!”

　Without waiting for Pale's commands, Gi Ji led the goblins to stand before the king.

“You shall not pa.s.s!”

　The a.s.sa.s.sin unit of Gi Ji Arsil that has been hidden until now attacked Allen, but they were deflected with a stroke of his sword. Allen continued onward. The Blue Knights acted as Allen's s.h.i.+eld and received the spears of Gi Be Slay's imperial guards.

“NUuUUURAAaAAAAa!”

　Finally, Allen could see the Goblin King wielding a sword burning with black flames.

“GURUuUUUOOOAaAA!”

　As the Goblin King bellowed out a howl, he stopped Guradion

“KU!?”

　As expected, Guradion had an anti-monster effect, and when the Goblin King stopped its blow, he could feel his body weakening, but despite that the Goblin King forced his way through and pushed Allen back.

　The Goblin King used the distance that opened between them to swing his Flamberge straight down, but Allen jumped back. There was now a distance of about 10 steps between them, but in the next moment, they moved again.

　As far as Allen was concerned, he had no time left.

　His body was already on the brink of destruction. He even felt like if he turned around he would be able to see death right in front of him. Now that death was right behind him, he has no choice but to defeat the Goblin King to save Pena.

　As for the Goblin King, he understood that it was this youth in front of him that sent the soldiers of Pena on this suicide charge. He also understood that it was this youth who was wielding the G.o.d cla.s.s weapon, the Holy Sword Guradion. Awhile ago he had inadvertently mentioned the extremely ominous word ‘hero'.

　The Goblin King knew by instinct that if he could defeat this youth, he would gain something. Because of that he was impatient. Unless he defeats this youth here, his future, the goblins' future, and the future of the country he has built will all be covered in darkness.

　Sparks erupted once again as their weapons clashed. Each time the dazzling Guradion fiercely thrust, the Flamberge covered in black flames would rage. The Goblin King's powerful muscles and swordsmans.h.i.+p made his sword faster than your average swordsman.

If ether weren't at play, the Goblin King's great sword would easily suppress the hero of Pena. But Allen easily tore apart any notion of that, as he easily fought back with his sword. There was a big difference between their height with the Goblin King being two heads taller. As such, it was only a given that he would have a greater range than Allen.

　Hence, the Goblin King tried to move away from Allen to get out of his range, but when he did, it was if chains had wrapped themselves around him, slowing him down and causing the tip of Allen's sword to cut his body.

“What!?”

　Delayed by a little, black flames burst out of his body in place of blood and healed his wound. While that wound had yet to close, Allen made even more flames burn on the king's body with his long sword. The Goblin King's instincts have been sharpened by countless perilous situations. He relied on those instincts to dodge his enemies' attacks, but against this foe, every attack of his would leave a wound on his body.

“I can't lose at a place like this! Not to the like of a hero!'

　The king used the power of the snake within him to heal his wounds.

　He forcefully mustered the power of the snakes from the underworld that once fought against the world. The only way to contest the spell of a G.o.d cla.s.s weapon was with the power of another being from the Age of the G.o.ds.

　That regenerative power seemed to be endless, but Allen showed no signs of stopping his attacks. With each step, he grew even fiercer, and the wounds his long sword inflicted on the king's body gradually grew deeper.

　The Goblin King fell back and Allen pursued. But this battle did not continue like this for long. The Goblin King himself was a warrior who has survived many battles to get here. Naturally, he has faced many battles where he was at a disadvantage. First, he had to stop the enemy. As he thought that, he braced himself for the coming pain and stepped forward. At the same time, he hid his body behind the shadow of his great sword to defend.

　This sudden action of the Goblin King's left Allen unable to respond immediately. Allen ended up hitting the great sword from above, but he immediately realized that was the wrong move. The Goblin King tried to parry the sword off of Allen's hands, but unwilling to let go, Allen was sent flying back with his sword instead.

　With his posture broken, the Goblin King began his counterattack.

　The Goblin King cut straight through horizontally. He prioritized hitting the enemy and took another step to attack with the returning blade.

“GU!?”

　Allen grit his teeth as blood flowed out of his mouth. Although he had managed to dodge the first blow, he could not properly defend against the second. Already, cracks were appearing on his arms, and when he froze for a moment, the Goblin King approached with his great sword.

“Turn me into a blade (Enchant)!”

　The Goblin King knew this was the decisive moment. Black flames burned fiercer than ever and they coiled themselves around Flamberge. The black flames clad even the Goblin King's body as he stepped forward to erase the brilliance of the holy sword. The flames that clad around his body converged and the flames on Flamberge grew even bigger.

　The flames were so big now it was as if they had turned into a pillar of flames. The Goblin King slashed down with that colossal flame.

“Guradion, give me power! Power to fulfill my promise!”

　As the great sword descended, the hero faced it head on. He raised up Guradion from below and slammed it into Flamberge, receiving the Goblin King's attack. Cracks appeared on the ground beneath his step, and he grit his teeth so hard his molars chipped.

　The hero had indeed stopped the attack of the king.

　But he couldn't stop the ether. His chest wide open, that blade of ether cut him from his chest to his side. The amount of blood he'd lost was long fatal.

　When the battle seemed decided and the Goblin King let down his guard, the hero that was about to fall suddenly took a step and looked up at the Goblin King. Their eyes met.

　In that moment, the Goblin King realized that the battle was far from over.

“GU, GAAAAAa!”

　The Goblin King didn't even have the time to spare to be shocked, as he immediately backed down when he saw Allen moving. Those arms that should no longer be able to rise, those legs that should no longer be able to walk forward… Allen forced them onward, and he began attacking again.

　That body that would spit blood and be torn each time it moved, Allen forced it onwards.

“—GU”

　He swung his holy sword, and the great sword struck back. But unlike before, the Goblin King was now one-sidedly being pushed back. Blocking the hero's attacks was the most he could do, and he didn't have any opportunity to strike back. The Goblin King has never before met an enemy this tenacious.

“…What king am I if I can't even overcome this!?”

　The king scolded his cowardly self and forced out even more ether. Once again, a pillar of black flame rose. This was the first time the Goblin King found this power unreliable.

　The power of the G.o.ds, the curse, and even his army. This man before him had overcome all that.

　Seeing this man block his path… For the first time in a while, the Goblin King was perplexed.

“—Shaking? Me!?”

　He tried to paint over his emotions with anger, but he could not fool himself. He knew that he had begun to fear. At this rate, defeat was certain. The sign of an impending defeat shook the Goblin King.

　In this one on one battle, the Goblin King was gradually falling back, while the hero of Pena was gradually chasing after him.

　Already, they had crossed swords over 40 times. As their swords clashed more and more, the pace of the battle grew faster and faster.

“GURUUuuUUOOOOAAAA!”

“—GAaAAA!”

　Like a candle about to burn out, the exchange between the Goblin King and the hero reached a peak. Havoc was wrought around them like a powerful storm.

　The Goblin King's sword, the hero's sword, they clashed head on and deflected each other, but the two warriors valiantly held on and continued to fight. With every stroke, the winds would blow. With every clash, shock waves would blast out to their surroundings.

“I willLL!”

“RAKUSHaaAAA!”

　In almost the same moment, the two warriors stepped forward. As the ground cracked from the weight of their step, their deflected sword followed the shortest trajectory and clashed once more. The Goblin King's sword was smashed up and the hero's sword was now pointed at his throat.

　The Goblin King had lost.

　He knew that more than anyone else.

“…”

“…”

　They quietly looked at each other. As they both breathed, steam rose from the black flames to heal the Goblin King's wounded body.

　The Goblin King had to acknowledge it. That this hero — No. This man before him was strong. It was not because of the holy sword, but because of his will that he was strong. This was a man fitting to shoulder a country.

　This was a man strong enough that defeat was understandable.

　The king who has come out victorious against powerful enemies many times knew full well the rules of the defeated. The moment he reached for the great sword on his back, death would come. A death he could not avoid.

　The Goblin King looked for an opening until the very end. If Allen showed even the slightest opening, he would unsheathe the sword behind his back and attack.

“So… fate… has… finally… caught… up… with me.”

　But the one to fall was Allen.

　When Allen s.h.i.+fted his eyes behind him a little, he saw death holding his neck.

The hero had used all of his power and died.

　The king lost, but he survived. The hero won, but the one to die was him.

“Raks….”

The hero tried to call the name of the person he most loved before pa.s.sing, but death did not permit even that.

The Goblin King watched him in his last moments.

“Your Majesty, are you alright!?”　Pale asked as she came riding for the king.

The Goblin King used his sword as a cane and asked her. “Pale, how is the battle going?”

“The Blue Knights that fought us have all been wiped out. Not one is left. They're all dead. We're moving to surround Pena now, but…”

“Stop the army. Send their bodies to Pena.”

　The Goblin King's words left Pale speechless.

“I won't say it again. This is the man who defeated me. He can't be left out here to rot. Perhaps, this is nothing more than hypocrisy. But even then…”

“As you will.”

　The Goblin King's army retreated temporarily from Pena after that.

　The next day, all the bodies of the members of the Blue Knights that fought with Allen, all of these heroes, were sent back to Pena through an envoy. The envoy sent was the elf, Felbi, and he retold Allen's last moments to the elder council through the words imparted to him by the king.

　After that, having lost all power to resist, Pena signed a treaty with the Goblin King. The Goblin King gave Pena autonomy. Shortly after getting word of Allen's death, Queen Raksha committed suicide.

　Although this battle that would later be known as the Battle of Pena has now come to a close. The bravery a lone youth showed will forever be burned in the hearts of the people… And be remembered as the Hero of Pena.

　After this battle the goblin army left Pena and headed north.

Dash: Bonus when leading a cavalry.

Indomitable Courage: When in a predicament, the level of one's possessed skills will increase by one level.

Limit Walk: Can ignore the limits of one's own body. The price will be paid the next day.

Holy Sword Guradion: A weapon that can disperse the ether of monsters. As it loses its brilliance, it can seal the movement of monsters. If an unchosen one wields it, he will be cursed with a curse that will shorten his life.

Tl Note: More than twice as long as the usual releases but not enough to make three, so this will count as two releases.