Chapter 611

“Is this Ludwig’s scheme, such a cunning move…!”

Poi-si-ra, who had understood—no, was certain she had understood what Ha-shal-leur was up to, gritted her teeth and hurled curses at their sworn enemy.

Using their strongest combat power as bait to lure Or-han near the barrier, then naturally inducing a war of attrition to break through the Indestructible Body technique.

The intelligence Ha-shal-leur was known for wasn’t capable of such a scheme, so it must undoubtedly be Ludwig’s strategy. Poi-si-ra thought so.

If she had noticed before the battle, she could have countered, but now, even if she realized their plan, there was no alternative but to face them head-on or retreat.

“Dangerous. How much time is left for the Indestructible Body…?”

No matter how much she racked her brain, Poi-si-ra couldn’t know. She wasn’t Or-han, after all.

Grasping the stamina of someone overwhelmingly stronger than herself wasn’t something a mere paladin could do.

The only thing Poi-si-ra could be sure of was this: if this was Ludwig’s trap, they hadn’t gained the chance to punish the worst scoundrel of the grasslands…

Instead, with tens of thousands of troops at their disposal but unable to use them properly, they might become fools who charged in with a small force, fell into a trap, and were defeated.

…But retreating wasn’t an option either.

What if all of this was just Poi-si-ra’s delusion?

What if Ludwig’s scheme was just an illusion, and the foolish Ha-shal-leur was merely thrashing around like a raging bull, unable to even flee?

In that case, retreating now would only mean releasing the monster they had barely cornered after suffering thousands of losses, allowing it to return stronger.

If that happened, she would be remembered as the biggest fool in the history of the grasslands.

In the end, Poi-si-ra could only issue a vague order, sending one Thousand-Man Unit to scout the enemy’s movements.

If the scouting party sent west reported Ludwig’s forces, she could at least be certain they should give up and retreat.

—

Ha-shal-leur, who was in a fierce battle with Or-han, noticed one of the Blue Army’s Thousand-Man Units heading west… and simply ignored it.

“…That should be fine.”

If the advancing Thousand-Man Unit had been charging as a single cohesive force, Ha-shal-leur would have had no choice but to risk exposing a weakness to Or-han and charge to intercept them.

With only a hundred and seventy Special Forces, it would have been difficult to deal with a thousand pursuers.

However, the Thousand-Man Unit heading toward the barrier was advancing in small groups of less than a hundred, sweeping a wide area.

Understanding their intent wasn’t too difficult for Ha-shal-leur.

They weren’t trying to chase down and annihilate the Special Forces but were instead conducting a wide-ranging reconnaissance of the entire western front.

And that was something Ha-shal-leur didn’t need to risk taking a direct hit from Or-han to stop.

Even if the Blue Army’s paladin figured out her intent and sent scouts to confirm Ludwig’s movements… nothing would change at this point.

So Ha-shal-leur ignored the movements of the Blue Army’s 6th Thousand-Man Unit and continued her bloody battle with Or-han.

For a full forty minutes.

—

======[ Ha-shal-leur ]======

– Chiii…!

I bit my lip, feeling the Life Force Technique beneath my feet gradually weaken.

It had already been an hour since I started fighting Or-han. Even I thought I couldn’t hold out any better than this, but even that was reaching its limit.

The vast Life Force Technique, once like a lake, was now drying up, nearing depletion. How much longer could I hold out? Even if I fought while minimizing my movements, I would likely fall helplessly in about ten minutes.

[…You must already know this, but this is the last point where you can choose life. If you fight any longer, you won’t have the strength to escape.]

‘Surprising. To say such a thing. I thought the Ka`har never turned their backs on the enemy?’

I answered while adjusting my body, which ached like an old man’s joints with every move.

Hersela, who so despised Or-han, was telling me to flee if I didn’t want to die. She must think I have no chance of winning now.

[‘I’ wouldn’t. But you’re not Ka`har, are you?’

Not wrong. I chuckled, wiping the blood trickling from my mouth with the back of my hand.

Escape. It was a tempting offer, but I couldn’t follow it.

Even if I tried to fly away, Or-han wouldn’t just let me go, and if I retreated without winning, Durandal’s restrictions would kick in, greatly weakening my abilities.

Besides…

‘I already told you. I won’t run.’

Unlike the twisted and broken Winter Armor, I gripped Durandal, which was as flawless as new, and adjusted my stance.

It was an irrational feeling, but… I didn’t want to run.

‘Even though my body aches all over, my legs and arms are still fine. How can I talk about dying already?’

Let’s hold out a bit longer. Trusting in Ludwig.

[Hah, how stubborn.]

Hersela let out a hollow laugh, spitting out a sarcastic remark.

‘Who knows? Or-han seems tired too. Even the invincible Indestructible Body might be nearing its limit.’

[You dream big.]

Yeah, it’s an excessive hope.

Instead of answering, I curled my lips and glared at Or-han, who was catching his breath about ten meters away.

His tattered and cracked blade. His clothes were now closer to rags, but his bronze body still bore no wounds.

—

“…You seem quite tired, Ha-shal-leur. Is this your limit?”

Or-han, feeling my gaze, met my eyes.

His sharp, knife-like eyes and black sclera exuded pressure just by looking at them. His neatly combed hair was now disheveled and soaked with sweat.

“Limit? Me? Seems like you’re getting old. Your eyes are getting blurry. Why don’t you pull them out and replace them?”

“Such rude words, pathetic bravado.”

Or-han, baring his fangs, laughed and charged through the air, swinging his blade, which had been chipped away by Durandal’s durability.

I braced Durandal’s blade with my left arm and took a defensive stance.

– Kaaang!

A clear metallic sound. The two blades clashed, sparks flying, and the force of the charge pushed me back relentlessly. I was pushed back dozens of meters without resistance, still locked in a blade clash with Or-han.

Rather than resisting with the Life Force Technique, it was better to let myself be pushed back and dissipate the impact, allowing me to fight longer.

“See. Your strength is clearly waning.”

“Hah, isn’t it the same for you?”

It was true that I chose to yield instead of resisting due to lack of strength, but Or-han’s momentum was also much weaker than at the start.

If I had defended against his attacks like this at the beginning, I would have been sent crashing to the ground like a comet… but now, I was only pushed back a dozen meters.

“True. As you say, my strength is almost spent too. You can be proud. You’re the first to push me this far.”

“Ah, is that so?”

We continued our close-quarters combat while exchanging words.

An Ice Blade aimed at his eyes was deflected by his left arm, and a knee strike aimed at his groin was caught and blocked by his hand.

His vise-like grip squeezed my knee as if to crush it.

“Hand, off!”

Using my left leg, caught in his grip, as a pivot, I spun my body and kicked Or-han’s head with my right foot.

– Kaaang!

A kick that could shatter rocks failed to crush a human head and was blocked. Or-han tilted his head and rolled his eyes to look at me.

“Stubborn bastard…!”

“Did you ask me to let go? Fine, I’ll let go.”

At those words, Or-han released my knee, gripped his blade with both hands, and swung it down like lightning.

A strike too powerful to block head-on. I quickly rotated, spewing Life Force Technique from my elbows, and tilted Durandal’s blade to deflect his strike.

– Kakakakak!

The blade of his sword shattered, scattering debris.

I was sent flying, cutting through the air with Durandal pressed close to my shoulder. I had perfectly deflected the slash, but the remaining force was enough to send me flying.

“Haa… haa…”

I adjusted my stance while spinning and exhaled a heated breath. The distance between us had widened again. Instead of charging again, Or-han maintained the same altitude and spoke.

“Impressive. At nineteen, such skill. An extraordinarily robust body and perfectly honed abilities. Powerful sorcery and ultra-fast Conceptual Manifestation. If not for the Indestructible Body, even I couldn’t guarantee victory.”

…Praising the enemy now. Must be feeling confident.

I twisted my lips, feeling a disgust stronger than the accumulated fatigue and pain throughout my body.

“Yeah. You’re really something. At fifty, all you have to boast about is your hardness?”

My words were filled with sarcasm, but surprisingly, Or-han nodded lightly as if agreeing.

“The Indestructible Body is indeed modest among Conceptual Manifestations… But that modesty is what will defeat you. The simpler, the stronger. You must know there’s no chance of winning if you keep fighting like this?”

Well, I don’t know.

I raised Durandal and aimed it at him, cracking my stiff neck left and right.

“Blah, blah, blah. I thought you were a man of few words, but you’re more talkative than I thought. What, if I admit defeat, will you let me go?”

“Of course not. Quite the opposite.”

…Opposite?

What, if I admit defeat, will you kill me nicely?

“What do you mean?”

I tilted my head, puzzled by his incomprehensible statement.

Or-han, with a raised lip, rested his nearly broken blade on his shoulder and spoke in a low, stern voice.

“Return to the grasslands and succeed me as Kagan, Ha-shal-leur. You have the strength, the qualifications. Among the five children who bear the name of Ai-shan Gi-or, only you have inherited the blood of the wolf.”

“……What?”

I was so shocked I almost dropped Durandal.