The enormous form of Okua, composed of gathered corpses, was a massive target.
And Moyong Chan, who stood in opposition, gave him no room to evade.
[Unbelievable.]
Okua's voice flowed through the air.
Then, the sun struck down upon him.
A massive flash of light burst forth.
Yuri, watching the scene, raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Within the blinding blaze, the writhing form of Okua shimmered faintly.
"All that begging finally paid off..."
Yuri muttered.
Ever since he had seen Mariloz's fireball sweep across the battlefield, Yuri had pestered Ernando every day to cast magic.
He knew it couldn't be done because of Dispel, but he kept insisting anyway.
It was for moments like this.
Ernando gathered all his pent-up frustration and unleashed a spectacular offensive spell. Okua must have been completely roasted.
Soon, the flash faded, and a shockwave burst out.
Yuri was swept up in it and tumbled backward. Having used up every last bit of mana, he had no strength left.
"Ugh..."
He rolled on the ground and came to a stop.
Raising his head, he saw Okua, charred pitch black amidst the dark smoke, standing blankly.
He wasn't dead. But he seemed too gravely injured to move.
Moyong Chan and the knights who had been lying in wait charged toward Okua.
Yuri was certain of victory.
But that joy didn't last long.
"Akuakkai?"
A strange voice rang out from above. When Yuri turned his head slightly, an Orcbal was standing there.
Its eyes twisted.
"Uk akuma kuku..."
Then, the axe was raised high into the sky.
"You bastard..."
Yuri fumbled for Guilty. But that was all he could do.
He couldn't even stand.
The grotesque face of the Orcbal was reflected in his eyes.
The axe blade was just about to fall.
Then, someone charged in and slammed into the Orcbal, knocking it over.
"Are you alright?"
"You're..."
Yuri opened his eyes wide.
"Sver Gain?"
"Yes. It's Sver—no, Sven Gane."
It was Sven Gane, who had become close with Yuri after a bout of gossiping.
With his sword raised, Sven kept wary eyes on the Orcbal as he spoke.
"Please retreat. I'll take care of this one."
Yuri slowly got to his feet.
"Thank you, Sven."
Without even looking at him, Sven replied,
"This settles my debt."
He was acting rather cool about it.
But Yuri didn't bother to tease him. If you risk your life acting cool, then you're really cool.
"I'll forget the gossip about Yoheim."
"Huh?"
"There's still plenty more gossip about you. About Briol, Bursen, the Holy Kingdom, the Empire, the Duchy of Klein..."
"No, wait..."
Meanwhile, the Orcbal got back on its feet.
Sven let out a hollow laugh and readied his stance.
"In any case, I'll handle this."
"You sure you can?"
"Even if I can't, I must."
Yuri let out a chuckle.
The once-immature brat had grown so much. At this rate, even Wolf Gane would have to bow to him.
"I believe in you."
He rose to his feet.
But several orcs, having noticed that Yuri was in no shape to fight, began to approach him.
"Your Highness!"
Just then, Briol's soldiers came rushing in, forming a protective circle around Yuri.
"You guys..."
All familiar faces. People he had eaten meals or played cards with.
"We'll protect you."
"Your Highness, please step back."
"Just trust us."
To ordinary soldiers, orcs were overwhelming foes. Orcbals were even worse.
But these men didn't retreat. They raised their weapons toward the orcs.
Yuri spoke.
"It's too dangerous. You can't handle them."
"It's alright."
It was one of the soldiers he used to play cards with. From Euzeth, where Genard was the lord, he was always teased for being Genard's lackey.
"You were always the one at the front. Just this once, stay behind us."
Yuri felt a lump in his throat.
"I still can't believe you were Genard's lackey..."
"I'm not, I told you."
The orcs approached with menacing expressions. Among them was an Orcbal.
No matter how determined they were, the soldiers couldn't hold out for long against such monsters.
Yuri forced himself to raise Guilty.
"Your Highness!"
Just then—
A few knights stumbled over to join Yuri. Not only from Briol, but from other nations as well.
All of them were knights who had, at some point, received Yuri's help.
"We'll take care of the Orcbal."
And then they clashed.
A fierce battle broke out.
Yuri was overcome with a strange feeling.
Even in his past life, there were those who had died fighting for him. But it wasn't for Yuri the individual.
It was because he was a prince.
But this time, it was different.
That's why Yuri all the more wished they wouldn't die.
And someone responded to that wish.
"Your Highness."
Someone suddenly appeared by Yuri's side.
"Asana. I told you not to stay here."
"Should I go back, then?"
"No…"
It was Asana.
Before the battle with Okua, Yuri had ordered her to return. But it seemed she had stayed and remained by his side.
"You wish for them to survive, don't you?"
"Can you handle it?"
Asana was skilled in assassination, not in open combat like this.
"Of course."
As always, she nodded lightly and disappeared back into the shadows.
She reappeared at the rear of the orc horde and slit the Orcbal's throat.
The sudden attack left the Orcbal clutching its neck in a daze. Its artery had been severed. Blood poured out continuously.
The Orcbal staggered and collapsed.
"Haha…"
Yuri laughed.
"My life hasn't been wasted after all..."
He had squandered his life so much in his previous one.
Yuri swept back his sweat-soaked hair and turned his gaze.
Amazingly, even after taking that magic head-on, Okua wasn't fully dead.
But he was slowly collapsing.
The body, originally made of human corpses, had melted in the flames and fused into a single mass of flesh.
Moyong Chan's sword aura continued to rain down on it.
It was an unbelievable output.
How many humans could unleash sword aura like that in succession? He truly was one of the ten strongest.
And for Okua to endure such attacks—what kind of monster was he?
Okua, who had been steadily retreating, suddenly swung his fist.
Moyong Chan, focused on his attack, was flung far away. With him gone, the other knights couldn't stand against Okua.
A knight's body flew through the air again.
Okua was still standing.
But now, his energy was nearing its end. You could tell by the way the black haze rising from his body was thinning.
Yuri glanced at the air.
Magic was manifesting once more.
Following the fireball, what appeared next was a giant spear covered in thorns. It looked well-suited to hunt a giant monster like Okua.
[Kraaaah…]
As he flailed and struck down knights, Okua raised his eyes.
The spear flew toward him.
Perhaps sensing his fate, Okua stood still.
The spear pierced through the center of his chest.
Okua fell to his knees.
[This is not the end.]
With those final words, Okua completely collapsed.
The corpses that had been fused together by black magic scattered and fell apart. Because some parts had melted and stuck together in the flames, they dangled in an even more grotesque form.
As Okua fell, the remaining orc forces lost their will to fight.
Perhaps they had been under control of black magic from the start, as they could not put up proper resistance and were annihilated by the Allied Army.
Yuri collapsed where he stood.
"Hahahahaha…"
He burst into laughter.
They did it.
They killed Okua, who had devastated the Allied Army, killed Moyong Chan, and ruled over the plains, plunging the continent into fear.
They had saved countless lives.
They had changed fate.
"Waaaaaaaah…!"
Realizing their victory, the entire Allied Army roared in unison.
Joy surged through the plains, which had once been filled with sorrow.
"Your Highness!"
"We won!"
"Hurray!"
Briol's forces rushed toward Yuri.
They fell upon the lying Yuri.
"Guh!"
More and more soldiers piled on.
They flattened Yuri beneath them, chanting his name. It was a time-honored congratulatory ritual rivaling a "hoisting toss," known as the "hamburger."
Yuri struggled, but the number of soldiers only increased.
"Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!"
"S-Stop…!"
"Yuri! Yuri!"
Seeing Yuri's pale face, one soldier pushed the others away.
"Hey, hey! His Highness is gonna die!"
The hamburger collapsed.
The soldiers gathered again and lifted Yuri up.
This time it was the hoisting toss.
Yuri soared high into the air and dropped back down, repeatedly.
Normally, he would have escaped quickly, but having exhausted himself in battle and even drained his vitality, Yuri fluttered like a doll, unable to resist.
Without mana, he was just an eighteen-year-old boy.
"Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!"
While Briol reveled in their victory, the other nations also erupted in cheers. Each celebrated the Allied Army's victory in their own way.
***
Just before Okua fell, Ernando had been observing the battle.
The magical flame he had unleashed contained enough power to annihilate an entire city.
Having sensed its might up close, Aizen's attitude changed dramatically.
"Amazing. You truly are a Master Mage."
"You doubted me?"
"N-No, of course not."
Ernando kept his eyes on the battlefield.
Even after taking such a strike, Okua had not died. He had visibly weakened, but still survived.
He was a monstrous being.
"I'll have to make one more."
"One more?"
Aizen's eyes widened.
"You can create another one of those?"
"No."
He, too, had consumed a vast amount of mana.
"We'll use a mana linking and create a spell together."
"You can do that too…"
Mana linking was a technique where multiple mages combined their powers to form a single spell.
The lead mage had to control various types of mana simultaneously, requiring advanced mana handling.
The mages, intuitively trusting in Ernando's abilities, obeyed without resistance.
After drawing a magic circle, Ernando positioned each mage at their place and stood at the center.
Before casting the spell, he called for his disciple.
"Cory."
"Yes!"
Cory had been watching from a distance.
"If we collapse, don't let anyone touch us."
"Yes."
When mages overexerted their mental strength, they often fainted. Even a small jolt from the outside could become fatal in such a state.
As Cory nodded, Ernando gave a wry smile and began chanting.
A sound unlike language resonated outward.
As if echoing his voice, the other mages followed the chant a beat behind.
The magic circle glowed.
It was a breathtaking sight.
A colossal magic spear, created by Ernando, floated in the air. A couple of mages collapsed from the strain.
But Ernando did not stop.
At last, the spear pierced through Okua.
Their enemy fell.
As the magic circle lost its light, all those standing upon it collapsed as well.
"Lord Ernando! Lord Aizen!"
Cory called out to them, but none regained consciousness. A few bodyguards reflexively tried to step forward, but Cory blocked their way.
"Lord Ernando said no one must touch them."
Standing guard over the magic circle, Cory looked out over the battlefield.
With Okua gone, the Allied Army was sweeping through the orcs.
It looked like the war was ending.
Cries of victory, drunk on triumph, rang through the air.
Cory smiled.
"We won."
Then suddenly, Cory recoiled in shock.
Something was there.
"W-What…"
A black, shadowy serpent was slithering toward them. At first, it seemed far away, but in an instant, it was right up close.
Cory locked eyes with the snake.
He was seized by intense terror.
The snake hissed a few times, then kept slithering as if it had no interest in someone like Cory.
"L-Look, a snake…"
The guards ignored Cory's words. They couldn't even perceive the snake in the first place.
Eventually, the snake slithered past the magic circle and stopped in front of Ernando.
"N-No…"
Ernando had pleaded.
He told Cory not to let anyone touch them.
And now, that black snake was baring its fangs at Ernando.
Cory clenched his fists.
Something within his chest pulsed, overcoming the fear.
'Yes. This is magic. It's about making what you wish for come true.'
That's what Ernando had said.
At that moment, Cory truly wished it.
That the snake would not harm Ernando.
As he stepped forward to block it with his body—
Something in Cory's hand shone.
"Huh…?"
The snake suddenly snapped its head toward him.
Cory instinctively knew—this was his one and only chance.
Before the snake could react, he thrust both hands forward.
A stream of light shot toward the snake.
A swirl of indescribable colors.
It wrapped around the snake.
Like sunrise sweeping away the darkness, the snake's form vanished in an instant.
The snake screamed.
[This is impossible…!]
Leaving only those words behind, the snake disappeared without a trace.
Cory collapsed, gasping for breath.
He had no idea what had just happened.
Just then, Ernando stirred and rose to his feet.
"Cory…?"
"Lord Ernando!"
In his haste to look up, his hood fell off, but Cory didn't care—he beamed with joy.
"We won!"
[T/L: Read more chapters on Ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]