Duke Pendragon

Kieeek! Kieeek!

“Krrr…”

Humans would have died immediately after having all of their bones broken and their organs ruptured. However, the griffons and the armored orcs stood up without perishing.

- Kuwuugh!

An orc warrior with both arms broken and a broken leg jumped towards a griffon, whose wings were crumpled. The orc warrior sank his sharp fangs into the neck of the beast, flashing a look far more intimidating than a starving beast.

Kieeeek!

The creature screeched with pain and blood erupted like a fountain. As the griffon struggled, the orc warrior was thrown back towards the ground.

- Krrr…

But he stood up once again. The only thing sustaining him was killing intent.

“Uwahh…”

The soldiers shuddered at the sight. The scene currently unfolding in front of the soldiers of Alice’s army was truly bizarre and desperate.

“T, this is our chance! Kill them!”

A knight shouted urgently, and soldiers stabbed at the orc warriors after coming to their senses.

Pupupuk!

Dozens of spears pierced through the orcs’ armor and into their bodies. The eyes of the orcs had been filled with a dark red energy, but the light faded as the weapons bore into their flesh and bones.

Booom!

- Kuwuuuuugh!

The roars of the orc warriors resounded throughout the battlefield as they witnessed the death of their brothers. However, even orc warriors were helpless when surrounded by dozens of spearmen, especially since they had suffered serious injuries. In an instant, dozens of Ancona warriors were killed and crumpled to the floor.

Papapapak!

“Uagh!”

Meanwhile, the centaurs successfully drilled through the formation of the enemy army. They charged at the siege ladders while swinging their long spears. It did not matter whether enemy soldiers stood in their way or not. They jumped onto the castle wall like the wind, trampling on the soldiers of Alice with their large hooves.

Ancona Orc warriors followed right behind, striding through the path created by the centaurs.

“Uwaaaah!”

When dozens of centaurs made their way to the top of the wall, the morale of the soldiers in Fort Bellint instantly soared.

The centaurs were truly powerful. Every time they swung their long spears, three or four enemy soldiers were sliced apart. The same was true of those who attempted to attack the centaurs from the back.

The centaurs possessed incredibly powerful back kicks, and soldiers were thrown off the walls with their armor completely crushed after receiving the centaurs’ powerful kicks. Unfortunately, however, the castle wall was much too narrow for the centaurs to freely rampage, and there were just too many enemies.

“Uwaaaah!”

The centaurs specialized in charging at high speeds, just like cavalrymen. They were at a disadvantage in their current environment, where they were facing dozens of enemies in a narrow passage.

Eventually, some of the centaurs were killed and joined others as lifeless corpses on the castle wall. The void was instantly filled by the Ancona Orc warriors, who belatedly jumped onto the fortress walls.

Thus, the Battle of Fort Bellint entered a new phase.

“How many troops are left?”

Count Louvre asked. Baron Stones was completely drenched in sweat, including the inside of his helmet. He bowed his head after observing the formation of the allied soldiers in front of them.

“I, I think we have a little over three thousand left. But more than half of them are mercenaries and cavalrymen. The infantrymen that are capable of continuing the siege…”

Baron Stones trailed off.

More than one thousand troops had been sacrificed so far. In most cases, the attackers were more likely to lose the war if more than 30 percent of their total troops died or were unable to battle any longer.

Considering the current situation, in a short while…

“Push on.”

“Y, yes?”

Baron Stones raised his head with shock.

Even at this moment, countless lives were being reaved in the battlefield filled with dark, red smoke. Count Louvre continued in a cracked voice while observing the scene with eerie eyes.

“There must be less than half of them remaining. We can deal with the orcs and centaurs with our griffons.”

“B, but, Your Excellency, even if we manage to occupy the fortress, we still have the main army of the Pendragon Duchy to…”

“Are you disobeying my orders?”

“…..!”

Baron Stones felt a chill run down his back. Count Louvre’s faint words sounded like a ghost’s whispers. The gaze of the high lord that was headed towards him… It was already impossible to call it that of a human.

But what could he do?

“A, as the lord wishes…”

He bowed deeply. He joined the other knights and turned towards the troops before heading towards them.

Kwaaaaaaahh…

The enchanting sunset was losing its light, and the griffons flapped their wings towards Bellint Gate high in the sky.

Count Louvre grinned eerily while watching the sight.

“That is right. Kill, and kill some more. To finish the great task… It is only natural for your worthless lives to be sacrificed… Kekeuk!”

Count Louvre chuckled. Count Seyrod, who had been riding on his horse behind Count Louvre without a word, took on an even darker expression.

‘This man… has gone insane…’

His eyes trembled, and his hands clenched within the sweaty gloves.

‘Did I… make the right decision…?’

He felt regret, but there was nothing to do. There was nothing he could do but watch, or rather, join the insane high lord as he forced everyone towards their doom.

***

Kwaaaaahh!

Despite the strong winds, Raven did not blink.

His gaze silently burned with anger, as if to burn everything down. He only stared at Ancona Mountain, which appeared as a tiny dot in the distance.

[Ray.]

Soldrake called out after sensing the immeasurable fury of her companion. But Raven did not answer, only tightening his grip even further. However, his eyes widened with shock at Soldrake’s following words.

[There is a method to revive the child who inherited the griffon’s blood.]

“What, what!?”

He was shocked speechless, and Soldrake answered while continuing to flap her wings.

[With the power of the Dragon God and the Demon God, the child can be revived. But it will require great sacrifice.]

“What does that mean? Explain it to me.”

Raven asked back in a hurry.

[The power of the gods can be realized in this world. It is also possible to revive the dead. However, it will follow the same principles as magic. You must pay the corresponding price.]

“By that… do you mean we need to pay the price of someone’s life?”

[It is much more than that. Moreover, one must pay a great price to materialize the Dragon God and the Demon God in this world.]

“Hmm…”

Raven bit his lips.

Isla was truly precious to him. However, he could not sacrifice recklessly to save Isla. Even Soldrake, the Queen of All Dragons, described it as a “great price”. He could not even fathom how much was required to accomplish such a deed.

“What about the dragons? Do the other dragons have any methods?”

[There are none. And they already did everything they could for my sake by meeting with the human emperor. If the Nameless One makes his appearance, they will come to our land as promised, but they do not have a way to save the griffon’s child.]

“I see… Then that means… it’s impossible to save Elkin.”

Raven bit his lips even harder, to the point where blood started to flow. He slowly raised his head and grinded his teeth with a gaze of boiling rage.

“I will kill them all. I will kill those who were responsible, for killing Elkin and tainting my land.”

[…..]

Soldrake flapped her wings without responding to the fierce anger of her companion. But her eyes were filled with a strange light as she gazed at the Pendragon Duchy in the distance.

***

“D…ie!”

He wielded the sword with every ounce of his strength while shouting. But the attack only left a small scratch on the opponent’s plate mail.

Pupupuck!

The soldier who wielded the sword was instantly hacked to pieces by charging enemy soldiers.

“Long live… Pendragon…”

He shouted as blood poured out of his lips. He died as a brave soldier of Fort Bellint.

“Reorganize the formations!”

Sir Jade shouted in a hoarse voice. His armor was dyed red with blood, and an arrow was stuck in his thigh. About a hundred figures, which comprised of knights, soldiers, and a small number of surviving centaurs and orcs, gathered together.

The troops of the Great Territory of Alice had already taken control of the fortress, as well as the walls. The troops and mercenaries quickly surrounded the small group.

“Are you all right?”

“Kereuk! Don’t think us orcs are nothing but water. We fight even when we are not all right.”

Arios spoke, and Kratul answered with a smile, fatigue evident on his face. He had led the orc warriors on behalf of Karuta, who was seriously injured. However, the feathered decoration that rested on his head, which was a symbol of druids, was disturbed, and Orc Fear, which was a source of mana for orc mages, had dried up as well.

It wasn’t as if he had continually used magic.

In such a large-scale battle, it was much more efficient to battle directly than to use spells that consumed a lot of mana. As such, Kratul had never utilized his magic until now.

However, there was no need to save his strength anymore.

“Kuhehe! If I am headed to the Earth God’s side anyways, I should put up a good fight.”

Kwaaaaahh!

Energy erupted from Kratul’s body and wrapped around his staff. The ground started to shake, and the roots of the trees in the fortress began to sway out of the ground.

“A wizard! They have a wizard!”

The soldiers of Alice became shocked and faltered.

It was an unwritten rule for wizards or mages to not interfere in a war between territories. If they did interfere, the tower or the school to which the wizard belonged would receive harsh criticism and attacks.

Therefore, schools of magic and magic towers never intervened in worldly matters, such as wars between territories or countries, except when a black wizard threatened the balance of the world.

But orc druids were different.

They had no reason to follow the laws of humans. Nevertheless, people did not care much about orc druids anyways. In the first place, orcs rarely took the side of a specific territory or humans. However, the Pendragon Duchy was an exception. They had a special race called Ancona Orcs assisting them as allies.

It wasn’t strange for there to be a druid.

“Hmm!”

Everyone stared at Kratul with nervous eyes.

The dark, red energy swirling around his body and staff was quite threatening, and the large roots wriggled in the surroundings as if sympathizing with his energy.

“Kereuk! Tell Karuta. I will be waiting for him ahead. Tell him to fight to his heart’s content before he joins me by the side of the Earth God.”

The dark red glow grew in size and density as the orc druid made his final stance.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

Soldiers erected their shields and crouched at the words of Baron Stones.

Kwarararararark!

Kratul’s magic made its way to the ancient roots of trees in Fort Bellint. As the roots started coming to life,

Boooom!

Something suddenly flew through the air from the far side of the sky, where the sun was sprinkling its last light. It was a collection of dark green light. It exploded after hitting the ground.

Kuuwugh!

Kratul fell to his knees while screaming. He was heaving, and blood continued to flow from his mouth.

“W, what is it?”

Everyone raised their heads after overcoming the initial shock. All of their faces filled with shock.

“Heuck!”

Regardless of which side they belonged to, everyone in Fort Bellint was stunned at the sight.

Fwoooosh…

The body of the being was thin, and ominous green flames covered the body as if to devour it. At first glance, it appeared as if the green flame was fluttering like a greedy viper as if wanting to devour her. However, it did not take a long time for the soldiers to realize that it was but an illusion.

“Ahh…!”

As if experiencing ecstasy, the witch burst into a coquettish, nasal moan.

“Everywhere I see blood, I see death! Ahhhh! Wonderful, how wonderful! Hoho! Oh-hohohohohoho!”

In the middle of Fort Bellint, the laughter of the witch called the Queen of Death rang high over the thousands of corpses.