Chapter 686

“The Imperial Army…”

Or-han let out a low hum as he gazed at the fluttering military banners. This was an unexpected situation. There were still a couple of cities left before reaching the Empire’s border, but who would have thought they’d encounter the Imperial Army so soon?

“The Empire has noticed. It seems Dane has no intention of stopping us.”

The fact that the Imperial Army had set up camp here meant they were willing to lower their chances of victory to protect the people of Dane. The civilians abandoned by the Dane royal family.

“Even so, I didn’t expect Ludwig to take such a reckless gamble…”

It was a gamble, and a low-odds one at that. If they could defend this city, they could save the lives of the people and expand the Empire’s territory by accepting them. But if they failed, they would only perish alongside them.

“Does he have something up his sleeve?”

Or-han raised his guard. He couldn’t believe that Ludwig, of all people, would throw such a gamble without a plan.

“An ambush? No, that’s impossible. We’ve been avoiding terrain suitable for ambushing large forces.”

Unless they had buried soldiers underground, an ambush was impossible. The scouts hadn’t found any traces of such a setup either.

“…I’ll have to shake them out.”

If the enemy was hiding something, all he had to do was shake them until they revealed it.

Or-han divided his forces into two. One group to attack the city walls, and a rear guard to prepare for any unforeseen variables.

“Ibamai, Targien. Stay alert. Ludwig must have prepared some trap we can’t foresee.”

“Understood!”

“Leave it to me, Father!”

After warning the two, Or-han led the siege group toward the city, keeping his senses sharp to detect Ha-shal-leur’s presence.

No matter what trap Ludwig had set, since Ha-shal-leur was the only one capable of breaking through the Indestructible Body, the core of the trap was already determined.

In other words, if they could locate Ha-shal-leur, they could anticipate and counter any trap before being swept up in it.

But…

“…I can’t sense any presence.”

Even as they approached the limit of arrow range, no significant presence was detected.

Were they hiding their presence like last time? It was an unwelcome thought for Or-han.

It meant they wouldn’t be able to locate the trap until they sent in the warriors to begin the siege.

“Then…”

Or-han glared at the city where the Empire’s flag fluttered.

If they were hiding their presence to buy time to gather more warriors, all he had to do was force them into a situation where they couldn’t.

“You all, wait here. Until I give the order to charge, or until I’m unable to give any orders.”

“What about Kagan?”

“I’ll go check. To see what tricks they’re up to.”

After ordering the siege force to wait, Or-han advanced alone toward the city walls. His black warhorse, infused with the blood of a spirit beast, roared fiercely as it charged.

“Or-han is coming!”

“Focus fire! Drain his strength!”

The Imperial archers on the walls rained arrows down on him.

Their aim wasn’t to wound him but to chip away at the duration of his Indestructible Body. Thus, the number of arrows wasn’t overwhelming.

“Haaah!”

Or-han, standing on the back of his charging steed, swung his crimson blade wildly, deflecting the arrows.

He didn’t need to block every arrow. The soldiers’ arrows couldn’t pierce his armor or his horse’s barding. He only needed to deflect those aimed at the gaps in his armor.

After a hundred meters, the attacks he needed to seriously respond to began.

– Kwaoooo!

A throwing spear imbued with heroic feats tore through the sky with a deafening roar. The flash of Einfeldt. Frederick, the 3rd Legion Commander of the Imperial Army, unleashed his Heroic Tale against the Empire’s enemy.

The spear would cause a massive explosion upon impact. Even if Or-han could withstand it, his horse couldn’t. Its thick barding would shatter along with its body.

“Yah!”

Or-han gripped the reins with his right hand and spurred his horse, increasing its speed. If he couldn’t block it, he had to dodge. The massive black steed kicked up dust as it charged forward.

A gallop like a raging storm. The spear missed its target, embedding itself into the ground and exploding with a thunderous roar.

– Kwaaaang!

The ground erupted, spewing rocks. The earth shook, and the shockwave swept through the area. The fierce wind pushed against Or-han’s back, unraveling his tied hair.

Or-han charged forward, his gray-streaked black hair flying. He skillfully maneuvered the reins, dodging the relentless barrage of throwing spears.

Like a thunderstorm, the deafening explosions roared without pause.

“…Getting closer.”

As he neared the walls, the distance to the incoming spears narrowed. Or-han realized this was as far as he could go, dodging the bombardment by a hair’s breadth. There was no way to avoid it further.

“Endure, Black King!”

Having made his decision, Or-han spurred his horse and leaped into the air. With the distance to the walls sufficiently closed, he no longer needed his horse’s legs. Or-han’s body soared high into the sky.

“Neigh!”

The black horse groaned under the immense pressure on its spine, but thanks to Or-han infusing it with his own power at the last moment, its spine and knees didn’t break.

A stark contrast to Ha-shal-leur, who treated his warhorse as a disposable springboard, shattering its body without hesitation.

– Kwaooo!

As Or-han soared into the air, Frederick’s spear shot toward him as if waiting.

“Not a chance—!”

With a fierce roar, Or-han kicked off the air, using the recoil to dodge the spear.

Once airborne, dodging a straight-shot spear wasn’t too difficult. He angled his flight path sharply and charged toward the walls.

The Imperial soldiers who saw this screamed in panic.

“Or-han is flying! Take off! Take off!”

“Sir Joshua! He’s coming, Or-han is coming!”

At the knights’ urgent cries, Joshua, standing beside Frederick, finally drew his sword. He glared at Or-han, who was zigzagging through the air toward them.

“Where do you think you’re flying?!”

A longsword imbued with heroic feats swelled to massive proportions and swung diagonally.

The Giant Hunting Sword.

Joshua’s Heroic Tale cast a giant shadow as it flew toward Or-han.

“Kaaah!”

Or-han charged toward the massive blade obscuring his vision. The crimson blade in his hand vibrated with a heavy hum. The Reverse Scale of the Fire Dragon drew a red arc.

– Kwaaaaang!

The clashing blades let out a deafening roar. Joshua’s sword, unable to withstand the impact, was sent flying upward.

An unbelievable sight—a longsword larger than a temple pillar being deflected by a single slaughter sword. But in hindsight, it was only natural.

Joshua’s Heroic Tale could sweep away dozens of meters, but the power within it wasn’t much different from a normal slash.

The Giant Hunting Sword was a technique that struggled to exert its full power against another hero.

In fact, Joshua never expected his slash to bring Or-han down.

“Now, Sir Frederick!”

He had unleashed his Heroic Tale and swung his sword not to cut Or-han down but to pin his body in place.

– Kwaooo!

The moment Or-han deflected Joshua’s massive blade, Frederick’s spear, shot like a beam of light, embedded itself in Or-han’s chest.

– Kwaaaang!

The ensuing explosion. With a deafening roar, the buckles on Or-han’s breastplate scattered in all directions.

Or-han fell like a ball hit by a bat.

He quickly activated his Indestructible Body to block the spear itself, but there was no way to resist the explosive force that pushed his body back.

– Kwoooong!

Or-han crashed into the ground with a heavy thud. Frederick’s spears continued to rain down on him.

The relentless flashes of Einfeldt. The earth screamed as it burst apart. The thick dust rose like smoke, only to be swept away by the next explosion.

By the time Frederick had shot nearly ten spears, he exhaled the breath he’d been holding and staggered slightly. The recoil of expending so much power in an instant. A dizzying weakness enveloped his entire body.

“Haaa…”

Frederick stopped throwing spears and gasped for breath as he looked down at the crater. The dust, rising like a cloud, slowly settled, revealing the torn and shattered ground, now resembling a crater.

At its center stood a one-armed man gripping a crimson slaughter sword.

Though his armor was damaged here and there, his robust body bore no wounds.

“Damn that Indestructible Body…!”

Frederick gritted his teeth as he glared at Or-han. He had guessed they wouldn’t be able to wound him, but it was still a disheartening sight.

The only knight capable of injuring that monster hadn’t even arrived yet.