Chapter 218

[Are you crazy?! What are you doing with someone else’s body…!]

Ignoring Hersela’s shock, I threw myself into the air.

There’s no time to answer.

It takes less than 3 seconds for a falling human to crash 30 meters below.

– Whoosh!

The sound of the wind roared like waves in my ears.

My tied-up hair flailed wildly, and my flipped shoulder armor fluttered.

A free fall of several dozen meters without even a parachute.

Even if I had ten lives, it wouldn’t be enough.

In this near-death crisis, my heightened concentration stretched time endlessly.

“Kyaah!”

As I twisted my body, the spear I thrust pierced the barrier-

– Crack!

But it bounced off.

Huh…?

The spearhead did penetrate the wall, but it couldn’t withstand the momentum of the fall and was pulled out.

[Do you think that will work?!]

Hersela screamed hysterically.

Well, I guess that could happen.

Although my speed decreased slightly, I ended up moving further away from the wall.

Doing something like that again is now impossible.

With only 2 seconds left before I turn into a splattered tomato,

I twisted my shoulder and thrust the spear again.

Not at the barrier, but at Havar.

– Thud!

A spear thrown with all my might.

The recoil pushed my body toward the barrier.

With a hammer-like impact on my shoulder, the shoulder armor collided with the wall, sparking fiercely.

As expected.

– Crack!

The icy claws of the Ice Blade pierced the barrier like tofu.

“Khhak!”

The shock felt like my left arm was shattered, and a scream escaped involuntarily.

If it weren’t for the Life Force threads stabilizing my arm and dispersing the impact, my shoulder would have dislocated or been completely crushed.

– Crash!

Broken rock fragments rained down like a storm.

Five claws left long marks on the barrier.

The relentless crimson energy dug into the wall, slowing down before exploding.

With less than a second left,

I caught a glimpse of Havar, far away, turning his horse’s head to deflect the spear.

Not yet. I need to close the distance a bit more…!

I succeeded in drawing his attention, but it’s still too far.

If Havar breaks through the heavy infantry, it’ll be impossible to stop.

“Havarrrrr-!”

I roared, provoking him, and kicked off the barrier to leap.

A parabolic descent.

The ground rushed toward me.

Durandal, drawn, glowed with a blue light.

[Ahahaha! Fine, I admit it. You’re ten times crazier than me!]

Hersela burst into laughter.

She was panicking earlier, but now she seems confident I won’t die.

Bracing for impact, I clenched my teeth and threw Durandal downward.

The final deceleration. And-

– Boom!

A shockwave ran through my entire body as a cloud of dust surged like a tidal wave.

======[Havar]======

Havar truly felt speechless for the first time in years.

It was like seeing a horse walk on two legs.

The bizarre sight erased even the thrill of slaughtering enemies, the duty of a general, and the anger toward a traitor.

Though Havar was bold enough to fight a tiger bare-handed, even he couldn’t help but be shocked by a human who jumped off a cliff-like barrier and still survived.

He began to doubt if she was even human, made of flesh and bone.

‘A ghost…!’

Amin’s habit of speech flashed through his mind.

And who she, Princess Ha-shal-leur Ai-shan Gi-or, was.

A girl who had survived half-frozen, without eating or drinking, for half a month.

A prodigy who stepped onto the battlefield at eleven and became a great warrior in just four years.

A transcendent strength rivaling Ser Khan and Or-han.

If she had been a boy, she would have been recognized as the Khan’s successor long ago.

Through the rising dust, blue flames flickered and burned.

The eyes of a ghost.

Feeling a chill in his heart, Havar turned his horse toward her.

‘No, don’t be fooled. She’s just a traitor!’

Denying the creeping awe as a mistake, Havar glared through the slowly clearing dust.

Her left hand, propping up her collapsing body, and the Empire’s sword embedded in the ground.

Ha-shal-leur knelt on one knee, baring her fangs like a wolf threatening its prey, glaring at Havar.

She looked like a warrior on the verge of collapse.

But the ominous aura radiating from her body, like a wildfire, made it clear that this was just the beginning.

Ha-shal-leur, gripping the sword’s hilt, slowly rose.

Dust and sand covering her armor fell away.

Despite the impossible feat of jumping off the barrier in a human body, her flesh showed no visible wounds.

Havar gritted his teeth.

Ha-shal-leur, Or-han’s daughter.

The greatest genius born of the Ai-shan Tribe…

And the woman who betrayed her father, her country, and her people.

**Kill the traitor.**

An ancient tradition.

The cooling hostility reignites.

*”Ha-shal-leur!!”*

With a roar filled with rage, Havar yanked the reins. The warhorse, carrying its burden, charged forward with a thunderous sound.

==============

“Ouch… that hurts like hell.”

Even after slowing down three times and finally landing with an Ice Blade strike on the ground, every part of my body ached. My left arm, which bore most of the impact, was twitching.

If it weren’t for the Ice Blade, I might have exploded, leaving only my shoulder behind if I had done it bare-handed. It’s great that I landed successfully as planned, but I’m not doing that again.

[Did you think it wouldn’t hurt? Consider yourself lucky your limbs didn’t break.]

‘Well, that’s true…’

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I grabbed Durandal, half-buried in the ground. I’d love to catch my breath, but now’s not the time. Havar, who had been staring at me with a ridiculous expression, was now charging at me, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The sound of hooves shook the ground.

From a distance, it looked like a truck, but up close, it was more like a tank. Is this how infantry feels facing heavy cavalry? Brutal.

The shimmering scale armor reflected the sunlight, dazzling like a school of fish. Clad in heavy steel, it charged at more than double the speed of a normal cavalry, swinging its weapon.

I can roughly guess the power of that attack… It’s hard to block, and even if I do, I’ll probably be sent flying.

“Ha-shal-leur! Offer your neck!!”

‘…Seems like he’s really mad. Would he calm down if I offered his own neck instead?’

[You’re the traitor, so it’s your neck that should be offered. Just cut off your head and present it, and it’ll be fine.]

I can’t give that in this world.

I got up, muttering to myself. Havar, now within striking distance, pulled back his glaive.

The curved blade, soaked in blood, gleamed. It didn’t seem like steel or black iron… but it looked oddly sturdy.

‘Is that thing made from some mythical beast’s scales or something?’

[Yes. Most weapons of great warriors are like that. They’re forged by mixing the remains of mythical beasts from the Ordo’s archives.]

So, it can’t be shattered in one strike.

I gripped Durandal tightly and took a deep breath. The golden runes glowed faintly.

First, I need to deal with that horse.

I recalled a memory from not long ago, in the Renea territory.

All that’s left is to make it real.

“Haaaah!”

Red spikes shot up from the ground like awls, aiming for the unprotected belly of the horse.

This should do it…!

“Futile effort!”

Havar, with a roar, kicked the horse’s side. With a sharp cry, the iron-clad beast leaped into the air.

Wait, is it jumping? Heavy cavalry?!

The crimson stakes pierced through empty air.

– Boom!

The heavy warhorse landed, shaking the ground. Dust billowed up.

He turned the horse’s head and charged straight at me.

“You think such tricks would work?!”

“Just trying it out!”

The glaive, carrying the force of a mountain, came flying at me. No time to dodge. I gritted my teeth and swung Durandal. At least, his speed had decreased…!

– Crash!

The two weapons collided violently, creating a deafening explosion.

“Ugh!”

My body was pushed back. My heels dug into the ground, leaving long trails.

I could handle the strength, but the weight difference was too much. Still, it stopped his charge. Maybe this is my chance.

“Kyaaaah!”

I let out a fierce roar and charged at him. I can’t give him any breathing room.

I had to stick close to prevent him from gaining distance for another charge.

“You dare fight me without a horse! Such arrogance has its limits!”

“Can’t you fight without a horse? Such cowardice has its limits!”

I retorted and swung my sword. The longsword and glaive clashed fiercely, sparks flying.

“What nonsense are you spouting, you treacherous wench!”

“You’re the ones who betrayed me! What gives you the right to barge in like this!”

Bit by bit, fragments of metal began to fly.

His glaive was slowly being pushed back. Clearly, without the momentum of a charge, I had the upper hand in raw power.