NOVEL NEXT Chapter 401: The final Act: Returning Knights
?Chapter 400!! Yay!!
Thank you all for reading, enjoy!!!
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/Din Din Din!/
As the sun rose from the mountaintops, dozens of bells tolled across the Fortress, crying loudly, waking the soldiers with their chaotic beat.
Soon enough, the quiet Fortress beamed with life as soldiers crawled out of their rooms, like angry ants running to protect their hive.
For those still in doubt, now they couldn't deny it, this would be their last defense.
Because they would either win and return home, or fail and meet their ancestors.
However, although in fear and greatly discouraged, morale couldn't be any higher.
Having taken a short rest, something they all needed, having eaten something decent, filling their stomachs with decent food, together with the presence of a General and armored Knights, they felt as strong as ever.
They were ready to fight tooth and nail not solely for their loyalty to their Lord, but for the safety of their people beyond these mountains.
They would survive, that's what they told each other time and time again…
It was time to start the final act of this War.
/HOOOORRRNNN!!/
A powerful Horn blew in the air and the Barbarians began their charge.
This time, they were aided by Siege weapons, powerful catapults, and other machines Dale couldn't quite tell what they were meant for, but he knew what the one in the middle was about.
A large battering ram, he didn't know if it was strong enough to burst through the Fortress' reinforced doors, but he didn't want to find out either.
/Shuaaa…/
Arrows and boulders flew in the sky above Dale, falling onto the approaching army.
He wasn't here to give any orders, his mere presence was more of a reminder for the soldiers, however, his presence was a reminder to the soldiers.
He was here to prevent trouble from brewing up within their ranks.
Given how things were going, there was a chance they could cut the Barbarian Army to a third of its current number by the time they managed to breach their defenses, if ever.
At that time, negotiation may be a possibility.
Meanwhile, he focused his attention on the main issue of this advance… The Barbarians brimming with Vitality.
It wasn't evident, likely because this body's sensitivity was terrible, but he could feel distinctive presences hidden within the army, barbarians of great power rushing ahead with their comrades.
He knew this form of power, Prime Origin, the energy of life within the Human body.
'Maybe these Barbarians have some knowledge about shamanistic arts… Well, they are the textbook example of where those studies originated from.'
'Tina told me Witches originated from Ancient Shamans from scattered tribes throughout the Southern Region long before the Devils began to invade.'
'These guys look exactly like how I would picture those people to be… Though I'm pretty sure I'm not in Azimuth's past.'
'I want to bring back what they know with me, but that's highly impractical.'
'But… I'll keep it in mind.'
/HUOOOO!!!/
The barbarians screamed with great valor as they reached the foot of the hill, arriving at the battlefield where the corpses of their compatriots now stood.
Dale previously ordered the creation of small 'body hills' around the battlefield, intending to slow down their charge, and it was working.
Previously, the old Knight wanted to use the bodies and hang them around the walls to demoralize the barbarians, but Dale knew better, those people would only get angrier if they saw that, and above that, he preferred to use ropes to make nets and trap soldiers within them rather then wasting them like that.
All for the sake of halting them momentarily.
To slow it down even further, he had the soldiers spread the bodies of the barbarians around randomly, and it was working flawlessly now.
Even if one barbarian jumped over it, the next one would fall, causing many behind it to fall too, creating quite the mess all around.
Most importantly, it slowed down the charge of their mounted beasts, some strange creature that looked like a lizard.
Dale was unsure why they would charge at a Fortress with beasts, but by process of elimination and his future knowledge, he determined those creatures could and would climb walls and mountainsides, and he didn't want to risk them spreading chaos in the soldier's ranks.
It's just that in the past he experienced, due to how advantageous this conflict was for them, the Barbarians felt that sending their beasts was unnecessary.
/SHUA SHUA SHUA!/
Arrows finally began to arrive at Dale, the enemy archers had arrived at their preferred range.
Even then, shooting arrows at enemies atop a wall from the ground wasn't an easy thing to do.
Seeing this, Dale issued his first set of orders, albeit it was mostly for show.
"... It's time, tell them to focus on clearing out the archers." He said towards the old Knight as he kept looking at the battlefield underneath them
"Sure thing, I would've done the same."
"..."
While he went to relay the orders, Dale's attention returned to the battlefield.
Even now, minutes after the fight started, Barbarians could still be seen rushing downhill like a wave.
'This is worse than I thought, to think we were down there once…'
'Just where are they?'
Dale scanned the battlefield, looking for the enemy's elites but he couldn't find them.
'Is it because it's too soon?'
/FWOOSH!/
/Grab!/
Suddenly, an arrow threatened to hit the back of his head, but Dale managed to grab it before it took his life.
His hand shining in yellow light, he looked at where he thought the arrow came from and saw a Barbarian riding one of the strange lizards, just that this one looked even stranger than the others. It was thinner and longer, almost like a snake with legs.
He was currently within the walls of the mountains behind them, it seemed he managed to infiltrate their Fortress by climbing the mountains around it.
They had watchtowers to take care of those areas, but those soldiers stationed were likely all dead by now…
"There he is, I remember him."
After thinking for a moment, Dale knew he was the only one capable of taking the man down so he turned around and began moving in his direction.
The archer wasn't surprised by this action as he pulled his bow up once more, this time, red light glistered at the tip of his metallic arrow as he condensed his energy.
It was clear that the next shot wouldn't be pulling its punches… So neither did Dale.
/CRACK!/
With the little energy he managed to gather thanks to some potions he found in the hidden storage area, he kicked the ground, dashing towards the archer.
Even then, the archer remained still and silent, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike Dale.
Both seemed to know that it would be best to end it all with a single strike and that missing would mean their undoing.
/Jump!/
Dale jumped from ceiling to ceiling as he ran after the Archer, eventually brewing only a dozen meters away from him.
To reach him, he would need to jump…
/STEP!/
/CRACK!/
/SWING!/
"?!"
But instead of jumping, Dale stepped hard on the ground, transferring his momentum to his sword as he swung it in the air.
/SHINE!/
A quick airwave quickly cut through the air, reaching the archer in the blink of an eye, cutting through his chest before he even had the time to react!
/Fall…/
His body quickly lost strength, and he fell from his mount, leaving the rabid beast alone as it ran away towards the mountains.
"That's one done."
'The archer who took down dozens in the past is now dead.'
'I didn't think he would infiltrate so quickly… He was either hiding waiting for a chance to slay any higher officials, which he did by killing the old knight when I first experienced this, or my actions changed his pattern.'
'No matter, just one of many other problems to deal with.'
But first, he needed to rest, Dale just used every ounce of his energy just now and he needed to recover if he wished to deal with another powerful foe.
…
/THROW!/
/BURN!/
Around half an hour had passed since the war began and so far, the soldiers in the fortress had the advantage as they rained fire down their enemies.
The barbarians tried to climb the walls with stairs and hooks, but the soldiers were ready for them, throwing all kinds of things down, causing them to fall to their deaths or worse, atop their conrads.
Although the situation was chaotic, Dale could see the end of the army on the horizon, and with it, a small group of Barbarians overlooking the battlefield.
'That's their leader… It's my first time seeing him.' Dale thought as he looked at the man, squinting his eyes to try and have a better view
Even then, the man was only about the size of a small bean. Yet, his appearance was so distinctive from the others around him Dale had no difficulty finding him.
"General." The old knight said as he approached from behind
"Something's wrong?"
"Aside from everything around us? Ahem… The soldier stationed at the Northern entrance said that… Our Knights have returned."
"What?"
"I know, I was just as baffled as you are… And given what we found out, I'm afraid they aren't here to help us. I'm afraid they were the ones who slew the previous General."
"Thankfully, the soldier knew better and didn't open the gates, but with their strength, if they so wish, they might be able to force it open."
"..."
'This didn't happen in the past, it's clear there was some sort of communication between the Barbarian King and the forces behind all this mess.'
'Those Knights are likely here to figure out what went wrong and to try and help the Barbarians invade.'
'If they lose even more forces, there is a chance the Barbarians may be repelled by the Lord when they try to infiltrate the region.'
'However, for as little as it may be, there is also a chance the Lord is actively observing the battle and chose to send his soldiers back when he realized what was going on.'
'On that same note, there is even a chance he mounted a barrier not far from here intending to take care of the emerging Barbarians, so when he realized the Fortress had an actual chance to defend, he chose to gamble and send his Knights back.'
'Even then, that makes little sense.'
'I'm assuming way too many things, that he is both intelligent, calculative, and incapable. They contradict each other.'
"What should we do?"
"... Was there any answer from the Lord?"
"None."
"... What do you think?"
"That we should kill them all just to be sure, the Lord may be upset if they were truly here to help, but without proof of their intentions, sending them here during such a time of strife was stupid, unless he is truly unaware of what's conspiring against him, which would go against some of the things we found out about."
"But if we had them, there may be an actual chance of victory… Instead of only relying on prayers."
"Unfortunately, we can't do the first option, much less rely on the other one... We're in a bind."
"... Let them in." Dale said after much deliberation
If the soldiers were half as strong as he imagined they were, leaving them outside would change nothing as they would get inside one way or another.
As such, it was best if he got the upper hand before they acted… Unless they decided to swap sides as soon as the gates opened.
He was betting his life on this.
…
Thankfully, there wasn't much to fear as the Knights approached the wall without raising much of a fuss.
The soldiers cheered and sneered as they saw the Knights coming back, but they couldn't stay like that for long otherwise they would be slain by the oncoming arrows.
Thus, the face off between Dale and them began.
…
"... Who are you?" One of the Knight asked as they reached for Dale, seemingly uninterested in keeping formalities
A bad sign.
The Knights seemed a little wary of Dale's presence, but they all seemed to believe he wasn't supposed to be here unanimously.
"I could say the same, don't you think you're a bit late?"
"Watch your tongue!" Another one of the Knights spoke as he reached for his blade
"..."
'They're impatient, are they worried they'll be dragged to the War?'
"Knight, are you sure you're getting angry at the right person when an army of Barbarians is at your doorstep?"
""...""
'The Knights looked at each other for a moment before chuckling, how anticlimactic…'
"You're clueless, aren't you? Better this way than to be dragged to the power plays of the rich." One of them said as they drew their blades
"..."
The old knight remained in his post on the side, his expression growing heavy as he realized they weren't here to help at all.
"And you know?"
"Not much, but enough to know who to support. You should've run away when you had the chance clown."
"Clown… Yeah, I think I fit that description." Dale said with a chuckle as he looked back at the Barbarian Army
"Let me ask you a question. I thought you all joined the Army to protect your families, have you given up on them?"
"Your words… Piss me off." One of them said as they spat on the ground
"Our families are none of your concern…"
"They are not indeed… Thank you for listening." Dale said as his right hand flashed with blue light
""?!""
Suddenly, all of the twenty Knights felt a great force push them off their feet, throwing them directly to the edge of the Wall!
"What's going on?!" One of them exclaimed as they fell
"Since you came here to cause trouble, make yourself useful." Dale said as he watched them fall down
"... That won't change anything." The Old knight said as he looked at Dale, holding back his questions as he tried to figure out who Dale truly was
"You're wrong, although the Knights are technically on the same side as the Barbarians, they're nothing but accomplices at most."
"Also, do you think the ordinary Barbarian has the ability to differentiate between us? For them, twenty Knights fell from the sky, that's all they know."
"There's no way they're aware of the secret dealings between leaders going on in the dark. So the only thing they can do is… Strike."
Dale turned back, facing the soldiers on the wall.
"ATTENTION!"
"OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE RETURNED WITH REINFORCEMENTS! THEY'VE DECIDED TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR OUR SAKE!"
"LOOK BELLOW YOU, THEIR VALIENT STRIDES TO GUARANTEE OUR SURVIVAL! DON'T LET THEM FALL! LET'S BRING THEM BACK WITH US!"
"PUSH BACK THE BARBARIANS! KILL THEM ALL!"
/HUAAAAA!!!!/
"KILL THEM ALL!"
"PUSH BACK THE BARBARIANS!"
"SLAY THOSE FIENDS!"
/SCREAMS!!/
The soldiers were suddenly hit with a wave of adrenaline and energy, meanwhile, Dale returned to face the battlefield, reaching for his throat as he felt a bit sore after screaming so much.
"... You impressed me, to use those traitors like that..." The old Knight said as he looked down, seeing the Knights fight with their swords, energy exploding all around
Clearly, they were in desperation, but no matter what they did or said, there was no way out of there unless they killed everything in their path.
"It's not over yet, for now, let's try our best to keep those guys alive."
"Isn't that an issue?"
"An issue? Do you think any man can be an issue after surviving such a brutal fight?"
"Even if they return, they won't be able to even move."
"When that time comes, we'll think about what to do with them."
"Now, focus on the war, we're going back home from this."
"..."
For the first time in a while, the old Knight saw hope.
Maybe he would indeed return, not that there was much to return to... Although he would be happy to see his granddaughter one last time.
The battle ragged on, its final act taking over the stage.
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Notes