Extra Chapter 48 – When a Mute Cries, a Crow Falls (18)
When Caradoc clicked his tongue, the commander suddenly grew flustered. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you are not at fault. Since you would not be able to figure it all out from here."
The commander still didn't understand what Caradoc was saying. However, Arietta and Percival, who had been briefed on all the fronts, were able to understand Caradoc's words vaguely.
"Sir Caradoc, where do we need to go now?" Arietta asked, prioritizing movement before making sure everyone understood.
Caradoc closed his eyes for a moment and answered firmly, "The Twin Head Fortress, located on the midwest front."
"Wait, if they are going to attack the Twin Head Fortress, they would first need to penetrate the place guarded by General Mendalian." Percival pointed out.
Arietta shouted, turning the horse towards the east, "I'll listen to your explanation on the way! For now we shall head for the Twin Head Fortress!"
Mordred, hearing Arietta's command, took the lead. "Come on! Now that the order has been given, we move! That's us! Aren't we knights?!"
The knights were briefly confused by Mordred's words, but then laughed cheerfully. "Hahahaha! That's right! We will follow the orders!"
"We will follow the orders!"
Mordred smiled lightly at Arietta as she rode up next to him. Led by Arietta, the Knights of the Round Table rode their horses onwards, taking no time to rest, even after they crossed the mountain range.
* * *
Malefebrin, the Witch of Greed, touched the ground with her magic staff. A spot of land far away from her soared upwards, where a small mole popped up from the ground and into the air.
"Iron Maiden."
The mole floundering in the air was pierced and killed by a pile of sand-iron thorns made by Zillaven, the Witch of Lust.
"Oh, is that a new magic? Did you create it yourself?" The Witch of Greed asked.
The Witch of Lust nodded with pride. "Of course! I put a lot of effort into using natural materials to make it extremely low in mana usage, and to make it possible to make many variations."
Earth with much blood spilled on it was used to forge the sand-iron, but if that was not available, the thorny material could be exchanged with wind or ice by adding elemental power.
"It's an omni-directional attack, so to defend against it, you'd need to change the default magic shield to a spherical shape. You're trying to induce full-body mana consumption in the opponent and eventually outlast them in mana quantity, right? How smart."
The basis of the shield was a hexagonal mana plate that read mana movement and floated towards the path of the attack. However, this magic alone was so useful that it changed the basics of a magic battle.
The Witch of Lust blushed at the Witch of Greed's compliments, unlike her usual smug demeanor. "Hmph! I-I won't fall for flattery l-like that! … But if you really want it, I can give you something similar to the magic formula..."
"You're still an easy woman, Lust."
"Who are you calling an easy woman, Greed!" the Witch of Lust shouted angrily.
The Witch of Greed laughed. "Ahahaha, I'm just a little jealous of that brilliant mind of yours. You still can't handle a joke. Seriously though, you may be our next head, after Anger."
"Oh, r-really? Right? Well, as the next head, let me tell you about this magic..."
Looking at the Witch of Lust explaining the magic, the Witch of Greed and the Witch of Envy shook their heads and sighed. "The magic explanation can wait until later. Now is the time to extract the information contained in Merlin's familiar."
The Witch of Envy opened the letter that the mole, now full of holes, had been carrying.
"What is it about?" The Witch of Greed asked.
The Witch of Envy smiled bitterly, "It's a letter from Caradoc. An order to General Jaturan to lead his troops to Twin Head Fortress in a hurry."Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.
The two other witches looked at the Twin Head Fortress right in front of them.
"General Zeblin's operation was found out. He was caught off guard while trying to do a surprise attack. As expected, he is more dangerous than Merlin."
For the past two years, with Caradoc as the chief of staff, the Holy Kingdom had not lost any territory. Meanwhile, the nation of Giants had been forced to consume resources heavily.
"Well, that was expected. If he wasn't able to do this much, it'd be troublesome."
They could feel a powerful mana in the distance. The witches could feel the presence of a goosebump-inducing monster among the knights of the enemy country.
* * *
"The enemy really did invade the Twin Head Fortress. As expected of Caradoc." said Percival in amazement. "Fortunately, it's not too late. Even though the fortress walls have been torn down a little."
The walls could be restored quickly. Despite being praised, Caradoc's expression looked grim. "I think one of Sir Merlin's familiars fell into the enemy's hands. The letter to General Jaturan was likely intercepted, so I do not think we will be able to properly catch the enemy when they retreat."
Even though there were two troop divisions outside the fortress, Caradoc regretted that he could not annihilate more of the enemies on the path there.
Arietta praised Caradoc's achievements, "Wasn't this inevitable because we sent the familiars out in such a hurry? We should be praising how you figured out the enemy's strategy based on such little information, like the number of enemy soldiers who came to disturb the rear and the timing of the surprise attack."
Caradoc smiled bitterly. The reason why he had been able to see through the enemy's operations accurately was not only because he knew about all the fronts and the information sent from secret agents planted behind enemy lines. It was the result of integrating what was reported only to the Holy King. Information that was not known to Percival or even Arietta, who was supposed to be the commander-in-chief of the front lines.
"Now is the time to deal with the enemy though, rather than just figure them out."
"You are right. Everybody! Gather your strength!"
At Arietta's command, everyone, including Mordred, raised the power of the Holy tribe. Arietta further strengthened the knights by controlling the power they emitted. She paid especially close attention to Mordred, making sure he didn't explode. Mordred had grown very adept at handling the power of the Holy tribe, but he still could not fight alongside his allies without her assistance.
"In wedge formation! The target is the enemy command center! Ignore the others! Mordred! Can I leave you to lead?" shouted Percival.
Mordred exclaimed cheerfully, "Of course, Captain!"
Mordred moved to the front of the wedge formation, pulled out his sword, and let out killing intent. The enemy's cavalry horses screamed and collapsed, foaming at the mouth in response to Mordred's thick killing intent. Enemy magicians tried to calm the horses with spells, but there was no way to stop it.
"Barricade! Set up a barricade! If there's none left, at least use caltrops to slow them down!" shouted the enemy commander, trying to prevent a charge into his command center.
The enemy soldiers were in utter confusion as the more experienced knights moved in the direction of the commander. As Mordred swung his sword from his horse, plowing through the soldiers and obstacles blocking the front, they realized their efforts were meaningless. The power of one absurd superhuman trumped all else. When the knights reached the enemy command center, the enemies who had fallen from their horses tried to counter with spears, but it was not enough.
The man wearing the most colorful armor in the center of the command grew several times in size and roared, "How dare you charge all the way here! It seems you really want to die, Percival!"
"Ahahahaha! You still have that hilarious, stupid face, Zeblin! It's a shame today will be the last time I get to see it!" Percival shouted back.
Zeblin, the Giant general, burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! That's what I was going to say! That old scar from your spear is still aching!"
Zeblin swung his giant sword, unique to the Giant tribe, at Percival. However, Mordred's blade swept in to block it.
"You call that a strike? I expected more from such a big brute!" growled Mordred.
Zeblin was taken aback. "What kind of monster…?!"
"What do you mean monster? You're the monster, ask anyone who has seen your face. You have that rough look!"
Zeblin was confident that he could hold his own against the Knights of the Round Table. To be exact, he could endure the fight long enough for the Giant warriors attacking the fortress to come to his rescue. Zeblin was also a great warrior, recognized by the king of Giants. There was no way that one of the most prominent warriors in the Giant tribe wouldn't at least be able to stall for time against the Knights of the Round Table when there were less than a hundred of them. That's what Zeblin had thought. But now there was a new, unimaginable monster mixed in among the knights. He had easily blocked Zeblin's strike and threatened his life by firing a sword aura back. It would have made for a challenging one-on-one battle, but the Knights of the Round Table drove their horses forward to cut off Zeblin's legs and bring him to the ground.
"Tch, I could've handled it myself." Mordred muttered indignantly.
The last voice that Zeblin, a great warrior and Giant general, heard in his life was that of a young Crow, complaining that he could have killed Zeblin on his own.
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A piece of ice grazed the tip of Mordred's nose. He looked up and saw snow falling from the cloudy sky and realized that a lot of time had passed.
"It's already winter now. The war will enter a lull again, and the enemies will remain still until spring comes next year."
When spring came, there would be small battles, but no great offensive like in late summer. For enemies to whom food was most important, the timing for sowing seeds was more important than anything else.
"Oh, is that why we came back to the capital?" Mordred asked Arietta, who was standing across from him in a beautiful dress.
Arietta responded as she fixed his tie and patted him on the chest, "We haven't come back, we're just stopping by. We'll properly go back up in spring."
Arietta had returned to the capital to work as the next Holy King-to-be for the winter while the war was at a halt, and her escort, Mordred, had naturally followed.
"And with all your contributions to the war effort, you should be rewarded."
Since the battle at the Twin Head Fortress, Mordred had participated in dozens of battles, both at the western and eastern front, making large and small contributions. The number of Giant warriors who had died at his hands was already over forty, but the biggest name among them was Zeblin, a great warrior of the Giant tribe. After rescuing the Twin Head Fortress, not only had he restored the front lines again, but the Holy tribe even recovered some territory afterwards. All in all, it was an achievement worthy of a reward. That was what Mordred and Arietta were dressed up for; a banquet that also served as an award ceremony.
Mordred smirked, "A reward to tell everyone not to down on us animals, since we are strong."
"You're not wrong, especially given how overly decorated this banquet is."
The size of this banquet was larger than any other. This was not simply to celebrate the great achievements made on the front lines. It was also to announce the end of the massive purge prepared by the Holy King, Caradoc, and Lancelot from early summer, and to show off the power of the Holy tribe. Before the purge had begun, Arietta knew nothing, but now that the purge was over, she knew all the facts. Among the purged were some relatives who had been close to Arietta. Power had never felt so vain to her.
"Arietta!" Mordred called.
Arietta looked up at Mordred.
"That, how do I... I want you to smile because you're pretty when you smile." Mordred murmured.
Arietta burst into laughter when she saw him speaking awkwardly and shyly, unlike his usual self.
"Puhat! Hahaha! What's up with you? Did Sir Percival tell you to say that to cheer me up?"
"Oh, was it obvious?"
"Very. Sir Percival himself is the type to appreciate such obvious flattery."
Mordred clicked his tongue. "Tch, I shouldn't have listened to that old bachelor."
"Ahahaha! But thanks to you, I actually feel a little better. There's something pretty cute about you, too." Arietta teased.
"Tch! I tried comforting you for no reason." Mordred grumbled as he walked off the terrace and into the banquet hall. Following behind, Arietta looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't noticed it before because she was always with him, but Mordred had grown taller.
The banquet hall was full of colorful music and food, with nobles gathered in twos and threes, mingling and chatting. The Holy King smiled at Arietta as he sat on the throne of the banquet hall, listening to stories from Caradoc and Lancelot. Arietta bowed slightly in response. This sort of banquet was called a victory banquet. Naturally, the stars of the banquet were Arietta and several other soldiers, so all the nobles who saw Arietta cautiously approached her and greeted her. As people walked through the banquet hall, some bored, some busy, and some joyful, all the windows of the banquet hall suddenly opened, sending a gust of wind blowing in.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, His Majesty the Holy King, and Her Highness the Holy Princess. It is nice to meet you all for the first time."
As though carried in by the wind, a woman suddenly appeared in the center of the banquet hall and bowed politely. "I am one of the seven witches who lead the witch's Sabbath. My name is Feliva, the Witch of Envy."
The knights attending the banquet drew their swords in unison at the sudden appearance of the witch.
"Oh my. Even though I came in without an invitation, that's still a bit too much. I even brought you a present." said the Witch of Envy, smiling as she leisurely walked in Arietta's direction.
"I give to you the future that one of the only three great madosas in the world, Adeline, and our six great witches, saw. At the cost of some of our vitality, I might add."
- When you come to know love, the Holy Kingdom will be destroyed.
As the prophecy came out of the witch's mouth, Merlin's staff in the ancient castle began to emit mana. At the same time, Merlin's consciousness was sucked into the deep darkness.