Volume 6, Chapter 5 - The Sun Will Rise Again, Part 5
Screams can be heard. It is a pitiful voice that cannot hold back the pain and tearfully appeals to others.
Unable to avoid the torrential downpour, one by one, they plummet to the ground.
However, the momentum of the arrows that painted the sky black did not stop. The arrows pierced mercilessly and took their breath away.
“Focus on the command center. Do not miss the opportunity that the opponent has taken the trouble to come out of their walls.”
The Great Grantz Empire ― the fourth prince Hiro Schwartz von Grantz.
He has black hair and dark eyes that stand out on the battlefield ― a unique characteristic that only one person in the world possesses.
His gentle face is not adorned with the usual eye patch.
“Fuh, it’s a nice view. It’s a scene worthy of the end of the foolish people.”
Hiro’s left eye had been released, giving off an eerie glow that gave people chills.
“It was hard to get here. The security was pretty tight.”
Hiro straddled the swift dragon and smiled at the command center of the Six Kingdoms from the top of a small hill.
Last night, Hiro had decided to take 2,000 cavalrymen and go around the back of the enemy army. Hiro knew geography better than the enemy. However, he wanted to be sure to get behind them, so he appointed Lord Kyrthia, a western nobleman, as his guide and bypassed the battlefield. In other words, what he saw below him was the main camp of the Six Kingdoms.
“War requires elegance. Just one eye-catching tactic is enough for the historians of the future to praise it. They will beautify history on their own.”
The tone of the man’s voice was lighthearted, but there was a hint of joy in it.
“Where is the unnamed commander of the Six Kingdoms ― the one who will become my stepping stone?”
Hiro narrowed his eyes and began to search happily, but he could not find anyone who looked like the commander.
In the meantime, archers have been firing arrows over and over again.
As a result, the ground is now a hellscape of screaming and agonizing cries.
“Finally…”
Horns were blown from all over the place to announce the enemy’s attack. The brave sound echoed throughout the battlefield. The first and second lines of the enemy must have noticed.
Still, the order to retreat had not been given. They had no choice but to continue fighting.
Turning over, fighting each other, confusion in the main camp ― before they knew it, the situation had become irreversible.
“If a single decision is delayed, it can be fatal on the battlefield. The commander of the Six Kingdoms seems to be slow in making decisions on the spur of the moment.”
This is how Hiro intended it to be, but he wondered how the enemy would feel about it.
“Well then, let’s get going; it’ll be troublesome if they fortify their defenses.”
Hiro drew his silver sword from his waist and released it. The soldiers behind him paid attention as the “Heavenly Emperor” glowed in the sky.
“All troops, mount up!”
The soldiers who had been firing their bows all lowered their arms and jumped into the saddles of the horses beside them.
Hiro, who sensed their presence at his back, held the “Heavenly Emperor” horizontally.
The flag with the black dragon on it fluttered in the wind.
It is a magnificent flag that was once famous throughout the world as the “divine flag” of the “God of War.”
“Eat up the fear in your own jaws, and bite down upon your enemies with fangs that boil with rage!”
They will bring the hammer down on the savages who trample their land.
“In the name of the “God of War,” all troops charge!”
As if pushed by the shout, Hiro kicked the belly of the swift dragon.
Perhaps noticing the group of cavalrymen galloping down the hill, Hiro saw the enemy archers readying themselves.
Hiro waved his “Heavenly Emperor” to the right and encouraged the entire army.
“Don’t be afraid! Don’t be a coward! Put your heads down in front of your shields and keep moving!”
The sound of the wind breaking was heard in their ears. And then, just as Hiro thought, several soldiers fell off their horses behind him.
Hiro clicked his tongue and swatted away the oncoming arrows with one hand.
“You’re in my way!”
After kicking the back of the swift dragon, Hiro landed in the middle of the enemy army.
“Ko ― Goaahh!?”
With a single thrust, he crushes the enemy’s throat and uses the momentum of his pull to chop off the head of a nearby enemy soldier. He twisted his body to dodge the spear thrust by the enemy, and in an instant, kicked down the distance and thinned out.
“Hyii!”
After delivering a reverse shoulder slash to the enemy, who let out a small scream, he picked up the dropped spear and threw it at the enemy soldier who was about to fire an arrow. The spear continued to fly vigorously, shattering the skull.
“Now, let’s clear the way.”
As Hiro leisurely announced, the cavalry that had finally caught up with him blew away the enemy soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, the wall of humans built by the enemy soldiers crumbled.
Horseshoes crushed screams, the tips of spears burst into cries, and a rain of blood poured into the sky.
Hiro steps over the corpses and begins to walk.
Without a single glance at the oncoming enemy, he cut them down with a single sword and walked like a king.
“…There are more of them than I expected.”
As if they had anticipated the attack, the enemy’s main camp has deployed their forces to the rear.
The cavalry was rampaging, but some of them began to be dragged down in front of the enemy soldiers, who appeared one after another. Still, without giving up, the Grantz soldiers are on their feet, determined to win.
With spears in their hands, swords in their hands, and shields raised, they continue to fight for their families. Until the end of their lives, they will never retreat.
“……I’m sorry.”
Hiro smiled weakly and said he was sorry for the scene.
Human desire knows no bounds. They take advantage of good intentions by painting them with bad intentions.
It is――,
“I’m no different.”
Hiro waved the “Heavenly Emperor” at the approaching enemy group. It was only a simple movement, but it posed an unbearable threat to the average person.
They could not scream, and they were not allowed to suffer. They are lured to death without even realizing it.
What lies there is a mad dance of absolute death.
The blackness paints over everything in the world.
Life, death, and even light cannot assert themselves in the face of the darkness.
“Endless despair.”
Someone muttered in fright, but unfortunately, it was impossible to identify the person.
Because every single enemy soldier around Hiro was dead.
Hiro’s glare was enough to cause everyone to take a step backward.
After releasing his supremacy as a check, Hiro put the “Heavenly Emperor” on his shoulder and opened his mouth to the people around him.
“Soldiers of the Grantz. Gather together, don’t scatter――!”
The shock that struck his back forced Hiro to close his mouth. As if a torrential downpour had fallen on him, his eardrums were violently shaken by the roar.
There was no pain. Thanks to the Black Princess Camellia, all threats have been removed.
However, the suddenness of the event did not erase the shock, and Hiro took a step forward.
“I see… it was here, huh?”
There was not a single scratch on his body, but Hiro felt the pain and held his chest.
When he looked around…
“As expected… it’s hard to be betrayed by an ally, even if you already know it.”
With the enemy soldiers, those who were on his side were pointing their spears at him now.
The banner of the black dragon is thrown to the earth one after another, and the banner of the snake is dancing in the sky instead.
“Your Highness Hiro… I’m sorry, but I need your life.”
Receiving clear hostility, Hiro turned to the back.
“First of all, let me ask you what you mean by that ― Lord Kyrthia?”
“…Please forgive me.”
“I don’t want to hear an apology. Explain what you mean.”
Hiro tried to approach Kyrthia with a deadly glint in his eye but was immediately attacked. The soldiers around him thrust their spears at Hiro.
Hiro swung his “Heavenly Emperor” and lightly flicked the tip of the spear, which was filled with murderous intent.
With his left hand, he took the spear and severed the carotid artery of the enemy soldier in front of him. He thrusts the hilt at the enemy soldier behind him and cuts his throat. As he swung the spear around in the dust of war, several heads were flung away. When Hiro threw away the spear, the impact of the fall caused a spray of blood to bloom from the ground.
“Shut up and wait.”
Hiro told them, holding his forefinger over his crescent-shaped mouth. It was a small gesture, but it made the soldiers’ faces tense up, and they stopped moving.
“Now, can you explain to me… Lord Kyrthia?”
Perhaps unable to endure the horror, Kyrthia dropped to his knees with a broken smile on his face, as if he had forgotten how to express his joy, anger, and sorrow.
“Forgive me! Please forgive me! Your Highness Hiro, please forgive me!”
“…I’m asking you why you did this?”
“My people! They are being held hostage!”
In the face of a young man who is more than a year older than his son, the sight of a good old nobleman shedding tears, his eyes painted with shame, and his back arched is pitifully small.
“So that’s why you told me that Orléans was a traitor, to gain my trust.”
“F-forgive me…! I have no reason to be ashamed!”
Rubbing his forehead on the ground, Kyrthia uttered an apology.
Looking down at his head with cold eyes, Hiro quietly turned his back.
“I knew it, actually. I know you’ve been connected to the Six Kingdoms since the beginning.”
“…Huh? You knew that?”
“Protecting the people? Don’t lie to me. You’re just trying to save your own life.”
Hiro turned around with great vigor and flashed the “Heavenly Emperor.”
“――!?”
A large amount of blood was sprayed into the sky from the base of Kyrthia’s neck.
“……I’m done with you. The only reason I kept you alive was to create this situation.”
Hiro takes a glance at the rolling head with a frozen expression. He then looked up vaguely, with the sound of the world crumbling behind him.
“Your Highness Hiro! Please run away! At least you alone!”
The soldiers who hadn’t been turned over tried to break through the encirclement to let Hiro escape.
However, some were stabbed in the back, some were pierced in the chest, some had their arms cut off, and one after another died a cruel death.
“You were raised by the Grantz, were you not? I will not forgive you, traitor! I will not forgive you!”
The blood-curdling cries of the soldiers that resembled curses did not reach them. One after another, spears were thrust out to scatter their lives. But they still wielded their weapons.
“Spirit King, bring death to the traitors! Glory to the Grantz!”
The reason they decided on this betrayal was for their own protection. If they showed any hesitation, they would be killed immediately.
That’s why everyone closes their hearts and kills the friends they had yesterday.
Heartbreaking cries echoed in the surroundings.
The screams of those who were betrayed by their allies echoed ceaselessly.
Hiro smiled a self-mocking smile, but his face instantly twisted into a grim expression.
It was because he heard the angry voice of a creature that had no place on a battlefield.
When he looked around, he saw the swift dragon surrounded by a large number of soldiers.
“Tch, it’s so stubborn. Let’s kill it now!”
Many spears pierced the dragon’s scales and tore into it. A scream of grief was launched into the sky.
One after another, the soldiers surrounding it were kicking and tossing it around.
“It’s rare to see a swift dragon. Their skins sell for a lot of money, don’t they?”
However, no matter how violent or unreasonable the attacks, the swift dragon boldly stood up to them.
“Hah, we’d better use it ourselves. Even so, I don’t know why it would blend into a battlefield like this.”
“Do not let it escape. Be sure to choke it out. We have to take care of this pest.”
They certainly had a point.
But even so, they are humans, and there are always limits to what they can do.
“There’s too much trash in this world.”
Hiro kicked at the ground with such anger that it made his head boil.
Dark and stagnant supremacy rises from his whole body.
“Hey… don’t mess with my familiar.”
After cutting off the head of the soldier who was grabbing the head of the swift dragon with a single swing, Hiro immediately attacked the enemy soldiers surrounding it. No one who hurt the swift dragon was left behind, and those who cursed the swift dragon were mercilessly decapitated, and then, as if that wasn’t enough, the other enemy soldiers around the swift dragon were also decapitated.
“…Sorry.”
Hiro approached the swift dragon, which was looking at the bloody world in a daze.
“I was late to help you.”
He gently stroked the swift dragon’s neck and rubbed its head against his chest.
Hiro smiled at its loyalty to him.
“…It’s all right. Now, you should just run away.”
After gently stroking its neck, Hiro left it regretfully. At that time, he picked up the banner on the side of the swift dragon.
“Your legs will get you off the battlefield.”
He smiled and took out a letter from his pocket and placed it on the saddle on the back of the swift dragon.
“I want you to deliver it to Liz.”
With a cute squeal, the swift dragon tilted its head.
There was a strong feeling in its eyes that it was going to be with him forever, that it was going to follow him.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
Hiro put his hand on the swift dragon’s neck and pulled its head back, resting his forehead on it and smiling.
“I’ll be coming after you… can you wait for me under Liz?”
Hiro said with a gentle voice and a youthful smile that suited his age.
As soon as Hiro left the swift dragon, it heeded his wish and began to run. However, in the middle of the run, the swift dragon stopped, looked back, and let out a small cry.
Hiro smiled and waved his hand, a sad sound like a lifelong farewell.
Only a few people could stop a swift dragon that started running at an incredible speed. If it were only to escape without a fight, it would be able to get out of the battlefield safely.
Witnessing this beautiful scene, the enemy soldiers forgot even to attack and stood there in a daze.
“Thank you for waiting for me.”
Hiro held up his “Heavenly Emperor” and stabbed the “Black Dragon Banner” into the ground.
The sight of a dragon swimming through the sky on the wind is a sight to behold.
It’s just a flag, but the enemy soldiers retreated as if pressured by it.
When Hiro looked around, there were only enemy soldiers ― including former allies ― left.
But when he listened carefully, he could hear the sound of sword fights. It was being created by the soldiers who were still resisting somewhere. Every time Hiro took a breath, the sound would fade into thin air.
Hiro let out a deep breath.
“Let’s begin; this is what you wanted.”
He snaps his fingers with a show of flair.
The surrounding space begins to distort. It cracks, emitting a dazzling light.
It was a privilege reserved for those who possessed the “Heavenly Emperor.”
A great number of spirit weapons filled the space, and tens of millions of stars were born on the ground. Even though it is daytime, the starry sky created on the ground shines as bright as the sun.
“Are you ready?”
It sounded like a death sentence, and everyone’s face was filled with fear.
If he had been an ordinary young man, the soldiers would have laughed it off. But the young man standing in front of them, radiating a strange atmosphere, was no ordinary person.
He exercises a power equal to that of a God and shows glimpses of cruelty similar to that of a devil.
“Please, don’t make any unnecessary moves. You don’t want to die in pain, do you?”
――The young man’s figure disappears.