LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 39 - Vanguard (2)
19. Vanguard (2)
Ragna mounted his horse and gazed at the enemy camp. The orcs were stationed and waiting for them.
They had set up barricades and positioned spears beyond them, with orc cavalry riding Komodo Drakes standing ready at the center of their camp.
Their preparation for war appeared as methodical as any human’s.
“Let’s go see Briol.”
“Yes.”
He and his lieutenant headed toward Briol’s camp at the front.
The Third Prince of Briol was on horseback, his back straight, staring intently at the orc army.
On the verge of charging, he was armed with a sword at his waist and a spear in hand.
Ragna applauded.
“Yuri Briol.”
Yuri turned around. His cheeks, kissed by the prairie winds, appeared slightly flushed.
“Your Highness.”
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes.”
He was still a young boy, but he wasn’t to be underestimated. Those pitch-black eyes and hair were inherited from none other than Fiore Briol.
“So, what’s your assessment?”
Ragna inquired. Creating a knight is a matter of nature. Did this boy possess the quality suited for war? Ragna smiled, anticipating the forthcoming battle.
“Are you afraid? Or excited?”
“Neither.”
Yuri responded briefly as he stroked the mane of his black horse.
“I’m just doing what needs to be done.”
“That’s far more reassuring than any half-hearted resolve.”
Ragna placed a hand on Yuri’s shoulder.
“Look behind you.”
Following his gaze, Yuri turned.
“See them?”
The armies gathered from thirteen nations as the Allied Forces stood fully armored. The helmets of the lined-up Knights reflected the sunlight brilliantly.
Flags of various shapes fluttered above them.
Ragna’s eyes fell on the faces of each soldier. Their expressions were similar. They blinked rarely, lips dry and twitching pupils wavering as if swayed by the wind.
Faces like that wouldn’t last long. Clinging to fear would invariably lead to falling prey to the madness of the battlefield.
“What’s your impression now?”
“The same. I feel nothing.”
In contrast, Yuri’s response was dry. He seemed like a veteran accustomed to war.
Ragna tilted his head.
“This is your first war, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“What will you do when the signal is given?”
“I’ll charge and break through the barricade.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
He burst into laughter and raised his hand high.
“Then there’s no need to hesitate.”
Following his signal, a trumpeter from the Empire, stationed at the rear, took a deep breath.
Sound waves spread throughout the plains.
It was an order to advance.
Yuri nodded to him, then drove his horse forward in deliberate steps.
Ragna, slightly caught off guard by his sudden action, watched the boy retreating.
“Yuri?”
“I’ll go ahead. I’ll see you after the battle.”
“Aren’t you going too far forward?”
“I’ll take the vanguard.”
He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or intervene. No matter how capable, a commander doesn’t charge at the very front.
“Such nerve….”
As Yuri advanced, the soldiers cleared a path, and the knights opened the way.
Soon, Yuri Briol stood at the forefront of the entire Allied Force.
That image was imprinted on Ragna’s mind.
Was this bravado, or something else entirely?
Yuri lifted his spear high.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go.”
His tone was as calm as if he were going for a stroll.
With those words, Yuri spurred his horse into motion.
His horse raised its forelegs, neighing, before surging forward.
Following, the entire Briol army began advancing.
The shouts mixed with the prairie winds and struck Ragna’s face.
“Indeed….”
Subsequently, the entire allied army advanced.
Ragna watched the scene as the forces moved toward the enemy.
The Briol knights charged from the front in a wedge formation.
Though they had momentum, the orcs’ massive shield wall appeared just as sturdy.
At that moment, someone approached him.
“Your Highness, please excuse me for a moment.”
“Mage Lord?”
It was Marirose.
Even standing on the battlefield, she was dressed as elegantly as she was in Balshad. In a red dress, she somehow seemed out of place.
She extended her staff.
Light emanated from the crystal orb affixed at its end.
“The Prince of Briol requested something of me.”
“Magic, is it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ragna diverted his gaze.
The distance between Briol’s forces and the orc camp was closing in.
“When we pass that tree.”
At a particular signal, Yuri raised his spear, passing a lone, short tree standing between both armies.
“Now.”
Marirose lifted her staff high.
Ragna could sense the immense wave of magic coursing from her being like a tidal surge.
The Mage Lord, Marirose Entre.
Her magic was cast toward the orcs.
A massive fireball appeared in the sky and began decending toward the enemy.
Watching the gentle arc, Ragna furrowed his brow.
“Cancel it.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s too late. At this rate….”
“This is exactly as the Prince requested.”
Meanwhile, the wedge formation of Briol was nearing the enemy lines.
If the fireball descended now, they, too, might be engulfed by the explosion’s shockwave.
Yet, Yuri didn’t pull the reins. Instead, he accelerated.
He moved ahead of the knights following him, gripping the spear upright.
Then, the fireball crashed onto the orc’s barricade.
With an explosion, a deafening noise erupted.
The ground shook, generating intense heat, and igniting flames.
The fire consumed the surroundings.
Into the still glowing flames, Yuri dove. No hesitation marked his actions.
His figure was enveloped in flames.
Eventually, only black smoke lingered where the flames had been.
Then, through the broken orc ranks, a single line pierced through.
“That lad….”
Ragna chuckled wryly. Marirose let out a gleeful cheer.
Soon after, Briol’s knights speared through the now-chaotic orc forces.
Just before confronting the orc camp.
Yuri lifted his head.
From a distance, he saw the stout orc fortifications firmly gripping their spears. A single misstep would mean crashing against those shields.
He calculated the distance.
Closer.
Closer now.
The moment he deemed close enough, he raised his spear high.
“Now.”
Suddenly, the plains brightened.
Yuri glanced skyward.
A massive sphere of fire, conjured from nothingness, was descending toward the orcs’ formation.
It was the magic Yuri had requested from Marirose.
Seeing the fireball fall from the sky, the orc forces began to stir.
“It’s coming too close!”
“Hold your ground!”
“Your Highness!”
Those in the ranks shouted. But Yuri did not loosen the reins.
Instead, he increased speed toward the enemy barricades, where the explosion had been forewarned.
The landscape rushed past.
The fierce cries of the Allied Forces spurred him on. In an instant, space closed in.
His intent transferred.
The horse, unafraid of the flames, gathered its muscles.
Soon, the fireball descended upon the earth.
A bright flash swept across, as air expanded all at once. Flames erupted, and with a roar, everything within its radius contorted.
“Urgh….”
Heat surged throughout his body.
Gritting his teeth, Yuri pressed low.
He held at the ready, a sword embedded with mana crystal, the energy of water shielding both himself and his steed.
“Keep going!”
They burst through the flames.
The inferno that had scorched the ground, having consumed its fill, dwindled into black smoke rising toward the sky.
Embers still anew ignited, spreading across the land.
Surpassing shattered barricades and the charcoal remains of orc corpses, Yuri advanced.
The orc forces, situated outside the explosion’s range, hastily sought to reform.
But in the brief instant, after the explosion subsided, Yuri pressed his charge.
“Roarrrrr!”
The mana-charged collision sent several orcs flying backward, collapsing the rear ranks.
“Hyah!”
Yuri spurred his horse again. His black steed began a frantic dash.
Even as orcs barred his path, he did not veer off course.
“Hyuhwaak!”
An opposing orc was impaled on his spear and lifted skyward. Yuri swung the haft, casting its body high.
His eyes rose.
The distorted faces of the orc army were all fixed upon him.
Amid the enemy camp, alone.
Lingering was akin to inviting the horde, waiting to rend him to pieces.
Yet Yuri didn’t feel fear.
Instead, eyes that converged upon him diverted one by one, shifting focus behind him.
Terror did not consume Yuri; instead, it was the orc’s eyes that instilled dread.
Yuri hoisted his spear and shouted.
“Briol!”
As if responding in kind, a roar erupted behind him. Along with a bursting sound, the orc’s cries of pain echoed.
Briol’s knights surged forward like a tidal wave.
Yuri burst into laughter.
“Too late! How long will you tail my shadow?”
At that moment, the orc cavalry emerged.
Mounted on Komodo Drakes, a group of orcs trampled their kind to charge at Yuri.
“Charge, kraggh!”
One of them charged head-on, roaring.
A massive target.
Yuri hurled his spear.
The mana-filled spear pierced straight through the orc’s breastplate.
The orc fell backward, unseating the rider, and the Komodo Drake screeched, rampaging.
Surrounding orcs were ensnared in the turmoil.
Yuri turned the horse, encircling the Komodo Drake, and withdrew his spear from the orc’s body.
“Keep going!”
And resumed his gallop.
Though the mounted orcs pursued, they were dispatched by the advancing Briol knights afterward.
Yuri speared orcs to the ground as he raced.
In time, he discerned a figure that appeared to be their commander in the rear.
The figure had rallied orc soldiers, entrenched behind barricades.
Even seeing Yuri, they did not attack, merely glared.
“Hey!”
He taunted, yet received no response.
Even Yuri was not of such reckless audacity to charge headlong into such a fortified position.
With that, he passed the leader by.
“I’ll see you later!”
He rode on.
No further barrier lay in his path.
The vast horizon of the prairie and the clouds drifting overhead filled his view.
“Haa….”
Yuri inhaled deeply.
The cool air filled his lungs.
“That was, fun?”
He chuckled, stroking the horse’s mane. Despite the heat of the battlefield, the horse uplifted and pranced even as its pace slowed.
Turning his gaze back, Yuri saw the orc army collapsing, with the Allied Forces’ flag flying over them.
The disoriented orc units were being overwhelmed by the Allied Forces. It took just one charge to tip the balance of the battle decisively.
Briol’s knights, having pierced through the enemy camp, drew near Yuri.
“Why so late?”
“Your Highness!”
“Any injuries?”
“None.”
“Answering without checking?”
“Being unable to follow Your Highness but getting injured would disqualify us as knights.”
“True.”
Raymond spurred his horse forward. In Yuri’s absence, he had led the knights.
“Your Highness, could you go slower next time?”
“You guys need to catch up faster.”
“My, oh my….”
He shook his head in laughter.
Laurent, beside him, bowed to Yuri.
“I beg your pardon!”
“For what?”
“For my inadequate skills that I couldn’t dare follow Your Highness. Please punish me.”
“Well, then….”
For now, Yuri had given up on Laurent.
His loyalty felt as if it had slipped beyond Yuri’s grasp. So Yuri just nodded.
“Try harder next time.”
“Yes!”
Yuri shifted his focus back to the battlefield.
A melee continued.
Though the alliance encircled and pressed, the orcs did not yield easily. The battlefield was teeming with ferocity.
Suddenly, an image caught his eye: a soldier being cut down by an orc’s axe.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
“Extra duty. Volunteers only.”
“Excuse me?”
Hooking the spear on his saddle, Yuri dismounted.
He drew Guilty and slung it over his shoulder.
“No pay. But the valor will be noted.”
Finally understanding his implication, the knights exchanged glances.
Yuri didn’t leave more time.
“Charge!”
He lunged ahead.
Laurent tailed him, soon followed by Jared with a clicking tongue. Ultimately, the entire knights started running behind Yuri.
Raymond remained on his horse, watching the scene unfold from behind.
“Indeed….”
The sight of Briol’s knights charging toward the melee battlefield seemed disorganized yet incredibly valiant in its own right.
“I thought he resembled His Majesty….”
Such thoughts had crossed his mind before.
Having witnessed Fiore’s valor personally during a past alliance endeavor, he had seen glimpses of it in Yuri.
Now he understood.
The two were utterly different.
Yuri bore no likeness to anyone else Raymond had known.
Shaking his head once more, Raymond let out another laugh, dismounted, and charged after Yuri’s retreating form.