Volume 5, Chapter 5 - Black Dragon King, Part 1
The horizon was being dyed by the setting sun. Darkness, like water soaking into cotton, was establishing its dominance in the sky.
As the dominion of the sky is about to change, the battle on the ground is also reaching its climax.
Shouts of anger and vindictiveness swept the ground. Thinking only of defeating the enemy, thinking only of their own survival, everyone continues to fight with single-minded devotion.
In the midst of all this, a young man with black hair and black eyes was quizzically looking down at his hands.
“As I thought… I had a strange feeling about it.”
A hand that was still numb, there was a definite response. But when he turned around, Loing was standing there, unharmed.
“I didn’t think someone as good as you could be ‘corrupted’…”
His discomfort was quickly answered, but there was much he could not understand about why someone as powerful as Loing wanted the power so badly.
When Loing heard Hiro’s question, he smiled in a way that didn’t look out of place on the battlefield.
“Is there something on your mind, Your Highness Hiro?”
He expressed his emotions abundantly, which showed that he was in complete control of his power.
It may be that the five great generals are different from ordinary people.
“Uraaaaaaaaa!”
“Guahh!”
After slaughtering the attacking enemy soldiers with a single swing, Hiro turned his head to Loing once again.
“Can I ask why you’ve become the Fallen One?”
There was a battle going on around them. There should be no time to talk about it when the situation is so disturbing. But even so, he couldn’t help but ask.
A man of his caliber ― recognized by his country, his family status is not inferior to the five great noble families. He even has a family to support. He couldn’t understand why he would throw away his happiness and fall into a state of depravity.
“Your Highness Hiro is very kind. But at the same time, it’s a very cruel word.”
“……”
Hiro didn’t answer but urged him to continue.
“I love my family. However, since I was born a man, I want my place of death to be on the battlefield. I guess you could say that’s my responsibility for having risen to the rank of one of the five great generals.”
“So why did you take such a step…? If you have fallen, you will never be human again. You have to live as a monster forever.”
“For eternity… if I can live as a warrior, I will be happy.”
Loing gave a slight chuckle and then pulled out the spirit weapon on his hip.
“If I tell you more, I might be overcome with emotion.”
He held the weapon up high.
“It’s unfortunate. You made the wrong choice.”
Hiro, who sighed deeply as if in sorrow, suddenly changed his attitude and laughed. And before Hiro could even set up his “Heavenly Emperor,” Loing moved.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and came in closer. The tip of the sword cut off Hiro’s bangs with tremendous force. Taking a step back, Hiro thrusts out the “Heavenly Emperor” with blinding speed.
Sparks flew.
Hiro’s blade tip shot up into the sky, and Loing’s sword tip aimed at his heart.
Hiro, who had shifted his body half a step to the side, easily dodged the powerful thrust and spun his body to flash the “Heavenly Emperor.” But Loing catches the slash and throws a fist at him.
The air roared in his ears. Hiro quickly slammed his palm into Loing’s jaw.
“Ugh, nuaaaaa!”
Hiro looked at Loing’s counterattack even though he was dazed.
(…It’s quite hard)
The blade that was released sharply continues to aim at Hiro’s vital point. He was able to avoid it with small movements, but Hiro started to counterattack to get back the flow.
“Aah!”
Now that Loing had been “corrupted,” it was safe to assume that his physical strength was inexhaustible. If that’s the case, then it’s best to use a moderate counterattack in order to keep him from taking the initiative.
“Ugh!”
Hiro drew a precise trajectory and slid his sharp blade into the gap between the armor. But Loing, who sensed it beforehand, flicked it with his gauntlet and slashed at it with the dagger he had planted there.
Hiro turned around to avoid it and tried to shake off Loing, who was chasing him with the “Heavenly Emperor.”
However, he swung his foot into the ground, causing sand to roll up and take away Hiro’s vision. The slash that went through it with tremendous force cut through the thin skin of Hiro’s cheek.
“Heh…”
“It is better not to be too careless. I’ve been on the battlefield for a long time. I know how to win.”
Of course, he didn’t mean to be careless, but he also didn’t mean to be easy on himself. It’s just that he hasn’t been able to adjust his power properly.
If he used that power here, Liz and Skaaha would surely find out about it.
He wanted to avoid that.
(At least… if I can take off my eye patch…)
When he first came to this world, he could not withstand the vast amount of knowledge that was pouring in.
Therefore ― in order to suppress the power, he had to wear an eye patch with a spirit talisman, but now that his body can withstand it, it has the opposite effect. It’s because he’s suppressing his power so much that he’s having trouble adjusting it.
“It can’t be helped. Just a little, only for a little while.”
Hiro muttered to himself and surrendered himself to the frenzy. With half of his body submerged in darkness and with an eerie smile on his face, he let the tip of his blade run wild.
“Haha!”
“W-wha!?”
After receiving a strong slash, Loing retreated as if he was going to burst. He looked down at his numb hands in astonishment and then looked at Hiro with a happy expression.
“Good. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a good opponent.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Then let me give you more pleasure.”
The two sides clashed again as they readied themselves. When the sound of sword fights rang through the air, the earth cried out, unable to withstand the vibrations. There are many wounds on Loing, and fresh blood splatters all around. Some of the wounds could have been fatal.
However, he has become the Fallen One. So the wounds instantly healed.
“It’s just one step at a time. May I take my time?”
“Certainly… there is no end to this.
Shrugged his shoulders, Hiro stopped and cut his gaze from Loing and looked around him.
Everyone was fighting desperately to survive. The soldiers on Hiro’s side didn’t have the luxury of being intimidated by the difference in numbers; they were just slitting the enemies’ throats that appeared in front of them like animals.
He wondered how long he would be able to keep that up. If the first or second group of dispersed enemies came back, they would be annihilated in the blink of an eye. Above all, he didn’t know if he would be able to maintain his strength until then.
“If the commander is defeated, no matter how many there are, they will just be a bunch of crows.”
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
“Then you may defeat me. The rebel army will surely fall apart. But that doesn’t mean I will die for nothing.”
Hiro gave a quizzical look to Loing, who kept a comfortable smile on his face.
At the same time ― someone had fallen off a horse somewhere, and the horse, which had lost its rider, began to run wildly across the battlefield, and unfortunately, was struck by a stray arrow and the neighs of the horse fell on both sides.
On the battlefield, humans, animals, and nature are all equally equal.
A great deal of death is sucked into the ground, and a great amount of blood stains the earth red. Yet, the battle never ends. Unless one side surrenders, the killing will never stop.
“It’s reckless. This war is reckless from the beginning.”
Loing, realizing the intent of Hiro’s words, slapped the back of his head in annoyance.
“It’s true; there is no battle as reckless as this one. If I were to win here, I would inevitably find myself under siege. If I were still one of the five great generals, I would have disbanded the army and sent the soldiers home long ago.”
The old general suddenly raised his voice and amusingly cleared his throat.
“But I am here because I found hope in a reckless battle. Above all, there are those who follow me because they think we can win, and I will not give up so easily.”
Hiro had to agree with him on that.
There are those who still believe in Hiro and are fighting for him. Fifteen thousand against one thousand eight hundred ― if the separate units are not included, only one thousand are left here.
At the edge of Hiro’s vision, Hugin was fighting with a bow in her hand, giving orders.
She, too, believed that Hiro would win, so she stayed here and kept out of the way. With Hiro in the line of battle, the enemy’s resistance would be futile.
However, Hiro is sure that she could get to him faster than he could finish off Loing.
“It’s almost time.”
“……Do you still have a plan?”
“There’s a cloud of dust rising behind us. If you listen closely, you can hear it, can’t you?”
It was coming from the rear of the rebel army, which was stretched thin as it rushed to support the main camp.
The sound of sword fights never ceased. A large cloud of dust rolled up from the rear, where no enemy was supposed to be, and no battle was supposed to take place. But the sound that was gradually becoming clearer and clearer was the death call of the rebel army.
“Enemy attack! The enemy attacked from the rear.”
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶