Chapter 581

Besides the wall with the phrase “Divine Punishment” written on it, there were a few more sights to see inside the cathedral. There were imaginative paintings and sculptures depicting me rescuing the women who had been exploited in this village.

A mural showed a naked woman kneeling with a sword stuck in the ground, being embraced and comforted with kindness.

Leonor was so amused by the overly benevolent expression that she had to cover her mouth and shake her shoulders to hold back her laughter.

If you think about it, all I did was wipe out the men, and it was Freide and Damien who actually saved the women…

Since the two of them were outsiders with no connection to the Elpinel Church Order, it seems they just credited everything to me.

After finishing the short tour, I left a note saying I had visited and seen the sights, as the bishop earnestly requested. He gave us plenty of provisions and holy water, so I figured I owed him that much.

The bishop bowed his head repeatedly, expressing his gratitude. He said that this alone would deepen the religious significance of the village many times over.

“To make this village, blessed by His will, a prosperous city worthy of being a holy site. That is the mission He has bestowed upon me.”

The bishop’s eyes were filled with the unique sense of duty and zeal of a religious figure. Rana praised it as a noble mission, while Leonor laughed, saying that in a decade or so, it might actually become a holy site.

I couldn’t find the right words to respond, so I just left some half-hearted encouragement and turned away.

After that, we left the village and headed back toward Karmaine Forest.

The fact that we hadn’t finished evacuating suggested that the village might have been the last one, as the villages we encountered afterward were completely empty, not even a single animal left behind, giving off an eerie, ghost-town atmosphere.

Well, from our perspective, it was actually a good thing since we could stay in empty inns and rest without any unnecessary disturbances.

—

Two days later. We finally encountered the monster we had been aiming for.

A specter atop a pile of rubble, cloaked in swirling darkness like armor. The Knight of Ruins, wielding the Sword of Ruin, looked down at us from atop the broken city wall.

“……”

Its ghostly blue eyes flickered like flames.

—

======[Great Plains]======

While Ha-shal-leur dealt with the monster’s movements and Ludwig gathered troops and fortified defenses in preparation for the barrier battle, what was Or-han doing?

Sending scouts deep into the east was nothing short of suicide, so only the Ka`har knew the answer.

“…The heavens are on my side.”

Or-han was laughing. He couldn’t help but laugh. His long-cherished desire was about to be fulfilled, so how could he hold back his laughter?

“Ooooooh!”

The warriors’ roars tickled his ears. Excited warhorses snorted and tore up the ground with their hooves.

Seven days and nights east of Ordos.

Behind Or-han, mounted on the Black King, nearly the entire army of Ai-shan was lined up in orderly ranks. With wild, fierce smiles, they prepared for a war festival that would determine the fate of their nation.

Across the plains, countless Ka`har warriors filled the horizon.

The warriors of the Tribal Alliance. After the peace treaty with the Empire was broken due to the actions of Amin and the sorcerers, they had stopped their eastern expedition and returned to Ordos, only to chase after Or-han’s army.

They were here to defeat Or-han and annihilate the Ai-shan tribe, ensuring they would never dare to attempt another eastern expedition.

With all the tribes of the eastern Great Plains united, the Tribal Alliance’s forces were more than double that of Ai-shan.

Yet, Or-han laughed heartily in the face of this overwhelming numerical disadvantage. There was no fear or despair. Instead, he was filled with joy.

One of his three desires. The conquest of the Great Plains, which he had to abandon when he chose to return to Ordos, had now come to him.

Once he defeated them, there would be no tribe left to oppose him. To Or-han, it felt like a pumpkin had rolled right into his lap.

“Such a massive army… It seems they’ve brought every warrior they have.”

“Are you afraid?”

The war chief, who was looking at the enemy lines with a bitter smile, responded to Or-han’s light-hearted joke.

“Of course not. Our Khan is here.”

The war chief also bowed his head and smiled with full confidence.

There was no reason to fear the enemy’s numbers. As long as Ser Khan was here, defeat was impossible for them. It was a faith akin to religion.

After the bloody conquest wars, they had become even stronger. The more they killed, the stronger they became.

Or-han smiled contentedly at the war chief’s response, then raised his Crescent Moon Blade high and shouted so loudly that it echoed across the Great Plains.

“Hear me, warriors of Ai-shan! The day has finally come! The moment you have all been waiting for. The descendants of the great Heavenly Wolf will conquer the Great Plains, and all Ka`har will kneel under our banner!”

“Ser Khan! Ser Khan! Ser Khan!”

“Long live Ai-shan Gi-or! Long live the Heavenly Wolf!”

The warriors roared in unison, their cheers and shouts filling the air.

Or-han’s Crescent Moon Blade pointed forward.

“Behold! The battlefield that welcomes you like no other! Listen! The songs of praise that will be sung for generations! Today, here, you will become legends of the plains!”

The enemies were also giving speeches to boost their morale, slandering Or-han, but to him, their babbling was meaningless—they would soon be corpses.

“Charge! Fight! Kill! For the glory of Ai-shan!”

“For the glory of Ai-shan!”

Or-han’s army began to advance, their reins slackened.

Led by the Black Armies, the medium cavalry Or-han had painstakingly trained, the light cavalry with short bows took up the rear and flanks, drawing arrows from their quivers and nocking them to their bowstrings.

“The Ai-shan dogs are coming! Advance! Bury the self-proclaimed conquerors in the mud of the plains!”

The Tribal Alliance also gave the order to advance.

Although they had trained heavy cavalry since the last war, this was the first time they were deploying them in battle, so their main force was still the traditional light archers.

The sound of hooves filled the grasslands. Dust rose like fog, and the warriors’ shouts scattered the clouds.

“Wolf dogs!”

“Kill them!”

It didn’t take long for the first clash to occur. Unlike the Westerners’ forces, which were a mix of infantry, archers, and cavalry, both sides here were purely cavalry-based.

– Kwaaaaang!

The Black Armies, enduring the rain of arrows with their armor, clashed head-on with the Tribal Alliance’s heavy cavalry.

Crescent Moon Blades, spears, and curved swords struck against armor, and warriors fell from their horses in droves.

Most of them were from the Tribal Alliance. The Black Armies, despite their heavy armor, displayed incredible horsemanship, ruthlessly trampling the Tribal Alliance’s cavalry.

The difference in training and the quality of the warriors was stark.

At the forefront were Or-han and the war chiefs, using the Unity of Man and Horse Technique.

“Khaaaah!”

Or-han roared fiercely, pouring all his strength into his arms as he swung his Crescent Moon Blade. With his superhuman strength, the Hero’s Life Force, and the Black King’s charge, no one could withstand his strike.

The heavy cavalry’s steel armor shattered like glass, and warriors’ bodies flew into the air, spraying blood. It was like a whirlwind of blades sweeping through a field.

“Inoooom! Or-haaaan!”

Unable to stand by, Adanmudur, the leader of the Tribal Alliance, swung his giant axe to block Or-han.

He too was a hero of the plains, surpassing the realm of a paladin. The Crescent Moon Blade and axe, made from the bones of a spirit beast, clashed with a thunderous roar. The shockwave swept through the area, and the ground cracked like it was in a drought.

“You’re still weak, Adanmudur! You haven’t grown at all! Neither in skill nor in wisdom! Did you think gathering these fools would be enough to defeat me?”

“I’ll smash your mouth to prove it!”

Enraged by Or-han’s taunt, Adanmudur raised his axe high and roared.

– Kwarurung!

Thunder echoed across the battlefield. Was it lightning from a clear sky? No, the sky was still clear. The source of the thunder was none other than Adanmudur’s body.

As he raised his axe, blue lightning surged from his body, enveloping him and unleashing a thunderous roar. It was a truly magical phenomenon.

The technique that earned him the name Adian-Mudur (Thunder Dragon): Thunder Dragon’s Wrath.

It was a heroic tale, manifesting the Power of Feats he had accumulated over half his life into a form of thunder that swept across heaven and earth.

The lightning imbued in the axe blade tore through the air, creating an endless roar. The dazzling whirlwind of lightning. Or-han grinned, baring his fangs.

“Impressive, but if you want to smash my mouth, you’ll need another hundred years of training!”

His soul, infused with Feats, distorted the laws of the world.

Stronger, even stronger.

The answer he reached after pursuing nothing but strength. An indestructible body that nothing could harm.

Indestructible Body.

“If you can come back from the afterlife, that is!”

“You’re the one who’s going to die!”

Or-han’s fist, having put down his Crescent Moon Blade, met the blade of Adanmudur’s axe—

– Kwarururung!

The lightning that erupted swept across the battlefield.