Academy’s Barbarian

Charging cavalry into the front of a tightly packed spear formation was originally akin to suicide.

A dense infantry formation with spears raised, leaving no gaps, was like an impenetrable iron wall bristling with hundreds or thousands of spikes.

If you charged head-on into such a formation, while your cavalry spear might pierce one infantryman, several times that number of infantry spears would tear through both the rider and the horse. That was the common sense of the Westerners.

However, Ibamai’s Black Armies shattered that common sense.

The elite heavy cavalry, trained specifically to trample and break formations head-on. Their thick armor easily deflected the spears of the Dane soldiers, and their heavily armored warhorses smashed through the spear walls without hesitation, crushing the enemy with teeth and hooves as they plunged deep into the formation.

“Kuaaah!”

“Hold the line!”

The knights scattered among the infantry held their ground against the Black Armies, swinging swords and axes in retaliation, but the ordinary soldiers, despite having the power of runes, were swept away helplessly.

“Be trampled to death, just as your ancestors were!”

Ibamai, the War Chief leading the Black Armies, shattered the infantry lines, creating massive cracks in their formation. The paladins following behind him widened those cracks like tearing apart a wound.

Through those gaps, the Black Armies’ cavalry charged relentlessly.

“We can’t hold them!”

A knight, turning back and shouting desperately, had a line of blood drawn across his neck as a Black Armies warrior’s blade sliced through him.

The helmeted head flew into the air, and the headless body sprayed blood like a fountain, flailing its arms.

The Dane formation crumbled at a rapid pace, like black ink spreading across paper.

“Barbarians—!”

The commander of the defense forces, Burgund, roared in fury as he charged toward Ibamai, his gray divine light surging behind him.

Burgund raised his spear, swirling like a whirlwind, and prayed to the Warrior God for a miracle and blessing to defeat his enemy.

The Runes of Strength and Vitality engraved on the backs of his hands glowed, greedily devouring the mana in the air.

“So you’re the commander!”

Ibamai threw the massive ice spear he was holding to counter Burgund’s Spear of War, then raised the two-handed axe strapped to his saddle.

“Bølberg—!”

Burgund also gripped his axe tightly with both hands and charged at Ibamai. The blessing of the Warrior God and the power of runes descended upon his body.

– Kwaaaang!

The two axes clashed, sending sparks flying.

—

“Archers! Focus fire on the light cavalry on the flanks! Those with elemental runes, target the heavy cavalry’s legs! Don’t use lightning—you’ll hit our own troops!”

With Burgund abandoning command to stop Ibamai, another commander shouted hoarsely, trying to salvage the crumbling formation under the Black Armies’ charge.

The battlefield was a chaotic mess of hoofbeats, clashing metal, screams, and curses.

The Black Armies, having shattered the Dane formation with their cavalry charge, trampled the infantry, stabbing and slashing in all directions. The Dane soldiers, unable to recover from the shock of the collision, were slaughtered helplessly.

“Kuh…!”

“Demons—!”

Those with runes enhancing physical abilities, like the Runes of Strength or Acceleration, barely held on, but even they couldn’t stop the relentless tide of black-armored cavalry.

“Sir Leif! Enemy light cavalry is approaching!”

To make matters worse, while the Black Armies threw the Dane formation into chaos, Targien’s enemy cavalry, having flanked the formation, began raining arrows from the sides and rear.

“Now what will you do, blue-eyed fools!”

Though the enemy cavalry had lost a third of their forces to the barrage of arrows and magic, their morale was higher than ever.

Whether it was because they saw the Black Armies trampling the enemy, or because Kagan’s heir was leading them, or simply because of their savage instincts as warriors—it didn’t matter.

“Kieeeet!”

The enemy cavalry, surrendering to the boiling battle lust in their chests, galloped in a semicircle, unleashing all their arrows.

They didn’t even need to aim properly. Even if stray arrows hit the Black Armies, their heavy armor would render them harmless.

The Black Armies charging head-on. The enemy cavalry raining arrows from the flanks. The Dane defenders, caught in the enemy’s fierce assault, couldn’t hold either front.

The chainmail worn by the Dane soldiers was torn apart by arrows, scattering metal rings.

“Cavalry! Stop them! Drag them into a melee!”

Deputy Commander Leif ordered the cavalry held in reserve to charge.

If they had engaged in cavalry combat from the start, they would have been overwhelmed by the Ka`har archers, but now that the distance had closed, they could catch the enemy cavalry before they could retreat.

“Long live Dane—!”

The Dane cavalry, armed with long shields and lance-swords, charged toward the enemy cavalry as if they had been waiting for this moment.

—

“Daring to engage in cavalry combat? Madmen.”

Targien, seeing the Dane cavalry charging toward them, shook his head in disbelief and sneered.

“Drunk on petty sorcery, they’ve lost their minds!”

Though the enemy cavalry had suffered significant losses from Dane’s magic, that was only because hundreds of spells had rained down from a distance. In close combat, magic was no threat.

“Enemy cavalry—! Teach them how to ride!”

The enemy cavalry sheathed their bows and drew their lance-swords, charging toward the Dane cavalry. A head-on collision. Sharp lance tips aimed at each other. The activation words of rune magic and beast-like roars crossed, followed by the sound of a fierce clash.

– Pwoosh!

Lances pierced through shields and armor, emerging from the other side. Hot blood stained the lance tips red.

Riders with pierced hearts screamed and fell from their horses. Horses collided and tumbled, and those trapped in their saddles were crushed into the ground. The fluids of the trampled turned the ground into a muddy swamp.

Most of the blood was Dane’s.

“See, this is horsemanship! Your childish games can’t even come close to real horsemanship!”

Targien, having dropped his broken lance, drew his dao and cut down the Dane cavalry, shouting triumphantly.

At the moment of collision, the enemy cavalry rolled off their horses or leaped while holding the reins, dodging the Dane lances and striking back with their own. It was like an acrobatic performance.

The overwhelming difference in horsemanship meant the Dane soldiers, even enhanced by runes, were pushed back almost helplessly.

Even with the Rune of Strength boosting their power, it meant nothing if they couldn’t hit their targets, and defensive runes couldn’t withstand such force. Only those with the Rune of Acceleration could barely keep up.

“Turn the horses to the side! Drag them back and hunt them down!”

After breaking through the Dane cavalry in a one-sided clash, the enemy cavalry turned outward, galloping away as if leaving the battlefield. They aimed to separate and slaughter the enemy cavalry.

The Dane cavalry knew this was the Ka`har’s strategy, but they had no choice but to give chase.

If they didn’t pursue, the enemy cavalry would simply circle around and strike the rear of the formation.

“Yes, they’re coming after all!”

Targien, looking back at the Dane cavalry charging toward him, grinned widely. Everything was going according to plan.

—

======[ Or-han ]======

‘Ha-shal-leur… seems to be absent.’

Or-han, soaring above the city to survey the battle, confirmed Ha-shal-leur’s absence.

The Imperial forces inside the city were on the verge of defeat, and the reinforcements that had arrived were being devoured by the enemy cavalry and Black Armies. If Ha-shal-leur hadn’t shown up by now, she must not be here at all.

‘Then, she must have truly left for Ordos.’

For revenge.

Or-han turned his head to look east. If, as Ludwig said, she had indeed set out to burn the Great Plains… by now, she would have already destroyed Ordos.

She would have slaughtered his wife, children, and all her kin.

Or-han couldn’t decide whether to mourn this as a tragedy or take pride in his daughter gaining such power.

It was a question with no answer.

‘I…’

As Or-han lost himself in these unanswerable thoughts,

“Where are you looking!”

Joshua’s Giant Hunting Sword slammed into his body, sending him crashing to the ground like a swatted fly. The inner garden of the fortress was overturned by the impact, spewing dirt like a fountain.

“You think I’d let you fly away?”

Amid the rising dust, Or-han slowly stood up from the deep crater, covered in dirt and grass, baring his teeth.

“…Fine. Deciding which path to take can wait.”

He decided to stop thinking and focus on what needed to be done now. As Kagan, he would fulfill his duty and lead this war to victory.

“First… I’ll tear you apart.”

The bloodthirsty dao in his hand roared like a dragon as it swung.

—

======[ Ha-shal-leur, a few days earlier ]======

After defeating Ragnar, the first thing I did was ask Knut to try implanting a Rune of Recovery.

To heal the injuries from my fight with Ragnar and further enhance my own strength. Since my accumulation of feats had reached its limit, I had no choice but to find another way to grow stronger.

The four factors determining a warrior’s strength: attack power, defense, stamina, and recovery. Three of these had already reached their peak, so if I could just add recovery, no enemy would be a threat.

But…

“…It’s not working.”

I looked down at the back of my left hand and let out a bitter laugh.

The moment I tried to engrave the Rune of Recovery, the Rune of Fire on my wrist emitted heat and burned away the ‘ᛒ’ shaped engraving on my hand. I tried chanting the activation words, but nothing happened.

It wasn’t just the Rune of Recovery. Any rune I tried to implant burned away the moment it touched me, as if the Rune of Fire on my wrist rejected all others.

“Is this normal?”

“Of course not. A rune rejecting other runes? I’ve never seen anything like this. So this is why the Rune of Domination didn’t work.”

Knut shook his head, looking slightly surprised.

Neither he nor any other rune mages could figure out why my rune rejected others, so I had no choice but to give up on healing myself with runes and call a healing priest to treat my injuries.

It took some time to bring a priest with the Healing Miracle to the capital, Edricksa, since the Bølberg Church Order was the only religious group present.

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