Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 27 - Chapter 1.3

The general leading the charging heavy cavalry was a highly skilled warrior. Who could he be?

Each time the tip of his spear gleamed, a spray of blood filled the air, and screams of agony echoed across the battlefield.

The overwhelming violence shattered the spirits of the allied troops, who had only just been rallied, grinding their morale into dust.

The cavalry was like a herd of raging bulls. Without so much as a sideways glance, they charged relentlessly forward, mowing down the soldiers in the center ranks.

“This is bad! They’re targeting Lord Raul...!”

“Protect him! Stop them at all costs!”

Raul was on horseback in a daze, unable to even think of directing his troops, but he snapped back to awareness at the sound of his lieutenant’s desperate cry. In that instant, the flame of resolve reignited within his heart.

What am I doing? This is a battlefield! Pull yourself together!

Such thoughts flashed through Raul’s mind, but he had no time to reflect on his behavior.

“Infantry! Ready your spears! Stop that cavalry, no matter what it takes!”

It was the right command, but it had come a moment too late. And more than anything, that order created a gap in the collective focus of the central forces. They should have been dealing with the enemy attacking from the right.

But for Raul, this was an entirely natural reaction. Without thinking, Raul unconsciously assumed:

“There’s no way the enemy will attack from the left flank.”

Even though there was no guarantee Raul would think such a thing, the general leading the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy’s cavalry took full advantage of this blind spot in Raul’s thinking.

A new group of cavalry appeared and charged at full speed, like a sudden gust of wind, straight toward the left flank of the formation.

“Urgent report! The enemy is attacking from our left flank!”

The messenger’s cry echoed throughout the main camp of the central army.

“Impossible! The left flank?!”

“What were the scouts doing?!”

This cavalry unit easily scattered the soldiers around them and tore through the central ranks.

“Advance! The enemy’s formation is in disarray after falling prey to Viscount Orglen’s charge! This is our chance!”

With that shout, Chris Morgan raised his spear and surged toward the enemy lines. The cavalry following closely behind Chris was no less elite than the earlier heavy cavalry. Above them flew the banner of the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy, adorned with a two-headed serpent coiled around a sword. Their equipment was uniformly black, lacquered plate armor. To an outside observer, the two groups were nearly identical in appearance.

However, there was a decisive difference between the two forces. The first difference lay in the speed of their horses. Of course, the heavy cavalry that had initially charged in was by no means slow. In fact, they were actually quite fast. After all, despite wearing thick plate armor, their speed was comparable to that of light cavalry. But the cavalry now charging into the left flank of the central army was even faster. Their speed could only be described as a swift wind or a thunderbolt.

This extraordinary, almost unbelievable velocity was achieved by enchantments on their armor. The dark elven enchanters had imbued their armor with two spells: one for acceleration and one for weight reduction, granting this heavy cavalry a speed that surpassed even that of light cavalry.

And there was another decisive difference between the two forces. That was their tactical objective, or in simple terms, it was the difference in their roles.

Amazing... To think they could actually reach this speed... But if they can move this fast...we can do this!

As he thought this, Chris sliced through the enemy lines with precision. His role in this battle was clear: to break deep into the enemy’s formation and take down Raul Giordano, the vice commander of the allied forces.

“They’re aiming to pierce straight into the main camp!”

“Impossible! Are they serious?!”

“Reform the ranks!”

“It’s no use! We won’t make it in time!”

Shouts and screams of desperation erupted from all sides. Amid the chaos, the cavalry charged forward as if they were running through an empty field. They paid no attention to the common soldiers in their path, their eyes fixed solely on the target ahead as they urged their horses onward. Even when one of their comrades was unlucky enough to be struck by an enemy spear and fell from their horse, they made no move to help. The sheer intensity of their determination struck fear into the soldiers of the central army, who instinctively understood what their enemy was aiming for. The distance between Raul and the heavy cavalry led by Chris narrowed rapidly, shrinking at a pace that seemed almost surreal.

It was, indeed, like a charge across an open, unchallenged plain. And finally, Chris, leading at the front of the cavalry, aimed his spear directly at Raul and lunged.

“Lord Raul! The enemy is attacking from the left flank as well! Please, give us your orders!”

Damn it! My breathing won’t catch up!

In principle, body reinforcement through martial arts techniques did not require incantations. That is one of the reasons why martial arts techniques are considered superior to spell-based arts, which do rely on them. However, while it is true that no incantation is needed for activation, this does not mean that the user can activate their technique instantaneously at will. Martial arts techniques may not have required incantations, but they did demand specific breathing patterns to execute.

Of course, performing a specialized breathing technique didn’t require one to sit in lotus position and practice energy control and breath regulation like in Daoism or yoga. To activate martial arts techniques, one must circulate vital energy through the body and rotate their chakras, a process that typically takes about five to ten seconds. The time needed varies depending on the practitioner’s skill level.

For a true master of martial arts techniques, a single breath is enough to circulate vital energy through their body and rotate their chakras. And Raul Giordano was one such master. But this breathing required focused concentration to execute. In Raul’s current state, maintaining the focus needed for that one critical breath was nearly impossible.

Damn it... Without reinforcing my body with martial arts techniques, I won’t be able to block this strike...

It was a divine spear strike—one Raul, a seasoned warrior who had survived countless battlefields, had only encountered a handful of times in his life. The thrust was heavy yet honed to perfection, stripped of all unnecessary movements. Even if he were in top form, fully prepared, and at his peak, it was uncertain whether he could have reliably defended against such a sharp and deadly attack.

Now, Raul had only just recovered mentally from the shock of the earlier explosion. He hadn’t been able to reinforce his body with martial arts techniques, nor was his fighting spirit fully rekindled. In this state, Raul was unable to dodge or block the spear.

However, it seemed that Raul was under the protection of the god of war.

“Lord Raul! Look out!”

One of his nearby bodyguards threw himself between Raul and the spear. The collision of horse against horse sent Raul tumbling to the ground. Under normal circumstances, such a reckless act could have warranted execution. After all, falling from a horse could easily kill a rider. Yet, for a bodyguard, this was the natural move to make.

If it meant avoiding certain death, even falling from a horse was an acceptable risk. It was this decisive, self-sacrificial move that saved Raul’s life. But the price for his salvation was the bodyguard’s own life.

“What a nuisance!”

With this cold, merciless mutter, the spear thrust forward, piercing the soldier’s abdomen. The impact sent the soldier crashing from his horse.

Without hesitation, Chris raised his spear high and brought it down in a merciless finishing blow, targeting the soldier’s head. Amid the clash of metal, there was a sickening sound like a watermelon being smashed. The brave bodyguard’s body crumpled to the ground.

At that moment, the heavy cavalry following in Chris’s wake began pouring into the central army’s main camp in waves.

“Protect Lord Chris!”

“Keep the enemy soldiers away!”

The cavalry mercilessly cut down the soldiers who remained near Raul, one after another. It seemed that the god of war who had been protecting Raul had run out of blessings. At that moment, the tide of battle was decided.

“I take it you are the famed Fiery Tempest of the Kingdom of Tarja?”

Raul nodded quietly. On his face was the resolve of a man who had come to terms with his impending end.

“Ah... In that case, might I have the honor of knowing your name? I wish to know the name of the man who has come all this way to claim my head.”

“I am Chris Morgan, a vassal of the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy,” came the reply.

At this, Raul tilted his head slightly. His face showed a hint of puzzlement, likely because he had no recollection of hearing Chris’s name before. However, the look of confusion quickly vanished from Raul’s expression.