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Chapter 32
“Waaahhh!”
“Advance! Annihilate them all!”
A fierce battle erupted at the entrance of the canyon.
Because of the narrow canyon entrance, only a limited number of soldiers could enter at once.
Using this terrain advantage, the warriors stationed on the canyon walls engaged the imperial soldiers in combat.
Under normal circumstances, this natural terrain could compensate for a tenfold difference in troop numbers.
“How… how could this happen…”
Braktus muttered in disbelief as he watched the situation unfold before him.
A significant number of warriors, who should have been concentrated at the front, were moving to stop the imperial soldiers attacking their rear.
“What are you doing! Stop them immediately and concentrate the warriors at the entrance!”
He shouted desperately, but all that reached him from both sides were screams.
To make matters worse, a section of the canyon wall suddenly collapsed, sending boulders tumbling into the center of the canyon and blocking the path.
Because of this, their forces were inevitably split.
But then…
“…?”
A group caught Braktus’s eye.
A small squad of about ten soldiers was climbing the sloped section of the left canyon wall, killing the warriors stationed there.
That position had been set up with warriors who could shoot arrows to block the imperial soldiers entering head-on.
If that position fell…
“…Turak, lead the warriors and kill them. That spot must be held!”
“Understood!”
“I’ll handle the one at the front.”
A group was breaking through the rear center of their formation.
The one swinging a sword at the front exuded an extraordinary aura.
Braktus was likely the only one capable of facing this warrior here and now.
Turak responded loudly to Braktus’s command.
How the situation had gotten this bad was unclear, but as Braktus said, it was serious.
If the warriors on the canyon wall were defeated, the enemy’s main force pushing from the front could not be stopped.
Turak and about ten other warriors quickly ran toward the wall of the left canyon.
Flap!
Turak’s movements were filled with urgency.
They had to quickly clear this area and stop the enemy’s main force.
‘If we can just stop these guys… we can reorganize the formation quickly.’
Although the collapsed canyon wall had blocked the path and disrupted the formation, within minutes the warriors could cross the boulders and rejoin.
Yet what was still hard to believe was…
‘How could they have gotten inside the canyon so quickly…?’
Their defenses had no gaps.
They had disregarded the eastern canyon because even they could not cross it.
To reach that side, one would have to cross a river with an extremely strong current.
‘That’s impossible.’
The depth was over three meters.
Even someone like Turak, with three feather tattoos, could not cross it easily.
‘Could there be someone even stronger than that?’
Turak shook his head.
No, that couldn’t be.
If such a warrior existed, they would have already discovered it.
Without hesitation, Turak followed right behind Arteon and the soldiers.
“Nenoooooom!”
With a fierce shout, Turak charged at the soldiers trailing Arteon.
The following soldier turned quickly to block, but…
Whoooosh!
“Ugh!”
The soldier was sent sprawling across the ground by Turak’s strike.
Magic rippled along Turak’s sword.
The condensed sword energy flashed threateningly.
At that moment, Arteon grabbed the axe of a fallen Kar soldier and hurled it at Turak.
Whirrrrr!
The axe spun through the air at incredible speed, aimed at Turak’s face.
But Turak lightly swung his sword, deflecting the axe, and faced Arteon.
Flap! Tap tap!
In that brief time, the soldier who had fallen got back up.
In the narrow, sloped path of the canyon, Turak and Arteon faced each other instantly.
Arteon glanced back at the rear, then spoke to his squad:
“Corporal Fonlaron! There are only archers above. Attack them with the rest of the squad!”
“What about here?!”
“I’ll handle this.”
Determination shone in Arteon’s eyes.
If the archers on the canyon walls were eliminated, the advantage of the canyon would be gone.
The clash would then be pure strength against strength in the narrow pass.
In that case, the Kar forces, already scattered, could not withstand the numerical disadvantage and would collapse quickly.
Fonlaron’s gaze wavered at Arteon’s words.
Why at a moment like this…
‘He reminds me of Isaac…’
Even in danger, he focused on making the best decision rather than his own safety.
And there was an unfounded sense of trust that leaving the rear to him would be fine.
At first, Fonlaron hadn’t liked following Arteon instead of Isaac.
But in the heat of the moment, he couldn’t protest and couldn’t defy his commander, so he followed.
Now, he seemed to understand why.
Fonlaron said,
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Survive and we’ll see each other again.”
Arteon’s words made Fonlaron nod.
“The rest, follow me!”
With that, Fonlaron immediately ran up the slope with the remaining soldiers.
Turak widened his eyes and shouted,
“Do you think I’ll let you go!”
But before he could even take a few steps…
Bang!
Arteon struck the ground forcefully.
A section of the narrow path cracked, sending dust and small stones falling downward.
Arteon’s eyes flashed sharply.
“You face me.”
“You little brat…!”
A soldier so young blocking his path was infuriating.
But the narrow pass only allowed a maximum of three to attack at once.
Even then, stepping wrong on the right side could send one tumbling down.
Turak said,
“I’ll hold him, you chase the ones ahead. You must catch them!”
“Understood!”
Arteon gripped his spear, watching the focused Kar warriors.
There wasn’t much room to step or swing the spear.
Moreover, the three feather tattoos on the warrior’s shoulder indicated he was one of the strongest, aside from the commander present.
Arteon could not defeat him with his current strength.
‘But…’
He had no intention of retreating.
Defending this spot was what Arteon had to do.
“Come.”
“Hyaaaah!”
As soon as Arteon finished speaking, Turak charged with a shout.
Unlike an ordinary sword, the blade was short and wide, almost like a combination of sword and axe.
It was built strong to withstand heavy strikes.
‘Anyone using a weapon like that…’
They must have immense confidence in their strength.
And with three feather tattoos…
‘A frontal clash must be avoided at all costs.’
Arteon, having fought thousands of Kar warriors, immediately assessed the type of warrior he was facing and knew what to do.
“Hyaah!”
Arteon stepped back as Turak charged and extended his spear fully.
Turak immediately sidestepped the direct thrust.
The thrust wasn’t threatening enough to parry, and Arteon intended to split Turak in half in a single strike.
‘The moment he recovers the spear to attack again…’
That would be his chance.
Spears have long reach, but retrieving them takes time.
In a split second, Turak also finished his calculations and raised his sword at Arteon.
Then—
Whish!
Something seemed to flash past from the side.
The one holding a two-meter-long spear…
“…?!”
Now held only half its length. And as Turak noticed this—
Shing!
Something shot out from the short rod in the boy’s hand.
Whoooosh!
“Gah!”
Almost instinctively, Turak swung his sword to deflect it.
The boy’s spear grazed past, missing him.
“Ugh!”
A Kar soldier chasing Turak shouted as he caught the rebounding warrior.
It was an attack no one could have anticipated.
Did he have an artifact that could change the spear’s length?
Even more astonishing was the magical control he displayed during the shortening and lengthening.
How could someone so young—even an imperial soldier—show such mastery over magic?
There was no time to ponder.
Flap!
Arteon, using an irregular attack to seize the timing, sprang into the air.
Jumping in such a narrow pass!
Turak’s eyes flashed in surprise.
But Arteon’s target was not Turak.
“Hyaaaah!”
Bang!
Arteon struck the wall above Turak and the Kar soldiers.
The release of magic caused cracks, and stones began to fall overhead.
As the Kar soldiers scrambled back…
Thud!
Turak stomped the ground, charging at Arteon.
In that brief moment, he made the best choice he could.
“Using tricks…!”
“Tricks? I just separated the others.”
“What?”
Did he intend to push the soldiers back with his previous attack?
No, more than that…
“You expected me to charge?”
“Even retreating from a rock like this, you’d have to tear off the tattoo, right?”
Arteon knew the Kar clan better than anyone.
The weight carried by those with and without feather tattoos.
Especially, an advanced warrior with three feathers would not lose even to imperial knights.
One such warrior stood before him.
Rather than a frontal confrontation:
‘Make the situation as messy as possible.’
Keep him from making normal judgments.
Perhaps the fact that Arteon pushed back the regular soldiers would already confuse his mind.
And…
Flap!
As Arteon approached, keeping proper distance, Turak’s brow twitched.
“Looks like you want to die!”
Magic surged along Turak’s sword, forming a deadly blade aura.
A spearman who should have fought from a distance was closing in.
But Turak never imagined…
What kind of spear technique Arteon used.
The power of Vargas’s Northern spear style in close combat.
Bang! Bang!
And the situation unfolded before them.
“In an instant, I’ll finish this.”
Arteon’s words carried on the wind like a death god.
