martial-elf ch79

‘Truly, it’s like a miracle.’

Clang!

Prigos barely blocked the incoming sword, enduring the pain as he watched Muktuk.

Muktuk’s face was a mixture of pain, injustice, rage, and despair.

‘I would have felt the same if I were Muktuk.’

Before the war, he could have guaranteed a complete victory.

Superiority in troop numbers. And with the Orcs joining, the quality of their forces was also far superior.

Therefore, even Prigos, before responding to Muktuk’s provocation, had given up on survival and was only thinking of scoring as many achievements as possible before dying for those who remained in Pohellen.

But then, the sudden arrival of Elf reinforcements on the battlefield.

Algul, who was like a disaster, was forced to leave the battlefield by Araya, and Arctic, who had overwhelmed Lamiya, couldn’t even withstand Anat and was burned to death.

Having witnessed Anat’s power firsthand, Prigos finally felt that he had escaped the crisis of death when he heard the stories of the High Elves heading towards the other three commanders.

Even with less than 500 exhausted troops and facing an army of enemies, including Orcs, that outnumbered them several times over and were full of morale, the atmosphere of the battlefield began to change just with the participation of less than 100 Elves.

The Elves did not touch the Bayatur army led by Muktuk.

When the terrified Bayatur army reflexively swung their weapons, they were merely subdued lightly.

But for the Orcs, it was like a disaster.

The Orcs were collapsing miserably against the unarmed Elves, who were half their size.

The six Harmony Sword Masters, revered as goddesses of victory in the Pohellen army.

Each and every Elf seemed to be comparable to those Harmony Sword Masters.

Aside from the three commanders, there were some outstanding individuals among the Orcs who put up a good fight against some of the Elves, but they eventually collapsed.

The number of troops led by Muktuk was still overwhelmingly larger compared to their side.

But despite that, the initially arrogant demeanor had disappeared, and their morale was steadily declining.

The soldiers were also sensitively reading and feeling the air flowing through the battlefield.

That they could never win.

And when Aliya led 500 of Pohellen’s reserve troops to the battlefield to provide relief, their momentum clearly broke.

Meanwhile, Booker, Prigos’s adjutant, had forgotten his deathly pale face from just moments before and was now striding across the battlefield, shouting with a triumphant air.

“This can’t be happening…! This can’t be happening! This was clearly a war that we were going to win…! If I had taken just one more step… just one more step, this whole world would have been mine!”

He swung his sword, venting his frustration.

His swordsmanship was far inferior to Araya’s, from whom he had learned, but it was a well-honed style that he had practiced for a long time.

Just as he had Aliya and Araya, Muktuk also had a patron named Algul, but even so, Muktuk was a remarkable figure who had conquered the south.

Compared to other ordinary humans, he was an extraordinary individual.

Clang!

It was a heavy blow.

A strike that carried not only the skill of horsemanship and his own weight but also a portion of the horse’s weight.

The wound on his injured left arm reopened from the weight, and dark blood seeped out once more.

“Eek!”

At the same time, a delicate scream, unbefitting of the battlefield, erupted.

Turning his gaze to the source of the scream, he saw a beautiful Elf, who had cleared the area around her with the summoned Spirits, clutching her staff with both hands and trembling, looking at him with an anxious expression.

And Aliya was also looking at him, showing a worried expression.

But the expression she showed when glancing at Anat next to her was…

‘…Aliya seems to be in a bad mood for some reason.’

Aliya was sometimes his reliable aide and minister, his ideological comrade, his lover, his older sister, and a mother-like figure.

They had been companions for a long time. It was not difficult for him to read the emotions hidden beneath her mask-like expression.

The scream just now, and the way she was giving Anat a sidelong glance with a very displeased expression whenever Anat did something.

‘Is her relationship with Anat not very good?’

In any case, Anat was Araya’s sister and the benefactor who had defeated Arctic.

If this war ended smoothly, he would have to make an effort to improve their relationship.

“You’re too relaxed! You damn bastard! You’re looking at a woman in the middle of all this!?”

‘Hmm…!’

Muktuk’s sword, swung with the added force of horsemanship, was fierce.

The strike, unleashed after not having rested properly for weeks and using the Internal energy he had scraped together, was not only blocked by Algul but also caused fatigue to accumulate in his right hand, which was gripping the center of the sword, due to the recoil.

Moreover, there was the sword wound on his left arm that he had sustained while saving Anat.

If he had been in perfect condition, Muktuk, who had innate talent and Divine Power but had not learned martial arts, would have had his head separated from his body by Prigos’s sword within ten exchanges.

The duel, fought in the worst possible physical condition with injuries and depleted Internal energy, had been going on for nearly thirty exchanges.

His body was in the worst condition it had ever been in since he had stepped onto the battlefield, and although they were winning the war, the situation was not comfortable enough for someone to help him right away.

Moreover, Muktuk, whom he was facing, was the best opponent he had seen among humans in all his conquests.

But even so, somehow.

‘I don’t think I’ll lose.’

It was just a thought.

His body felt heavy, as if he had entered the water wearing several layers of clothing, but his mind and eyes were becoming clearer, and he could see the clashing and intersecting swords clearly.

Prigos had the illusion that Muktuk’s sword, which was approaching him heavily, had slowed down slightly.

At the same time, a thought occurred to him.

‘…Could it be possible now?’

At the same time as that thought, Prigos’s right arm moved.

But the movement was too clumsy and weak to deflect Muktuk’s powerful sword.

Muktuk, who had excellent dynamic visual acuity, grinned cruelly as he watched Prigos’s clumsy move.

‘He’s exhausted! You son of a bitch! Even if I die, I’ll tear you apart and go!’

If his sword deflected Prigos’s sword, he planned to swing it wide and cut through his entire torso.

But Prigos’s sword drew a smooth curve and made contact with Muktuk’s sword.

At the same time, Muktuk tried to exert force at the moment of impact to blow it away in one go, but he did not feel the weight that should have accompanied the collision of heavy metal swords.

As a strange sensation was felt in the hand gripping the sword, Muktuk felt that the direction of his sword, which he was bringing down, was flowing in a strange direction.

Muktuk’s sword was sliding along the flat side of Prigos’s sword, not the blade, and was being swung in an unexpected direction.

Forcibly dragged by the force of the sword being guided in a strange direction, as much as the strong force he had put into swinging it, Muktuk’s upper body lost its balance.

‘…Oh no!’

At the same time as he exclaimed inwardly, Muktuk turned his eyes and looked at Prigos’s eyes, who was swinging his sword at him somewhat slowly.

‘…They’re clear…’

Prigos’s face was serene.

Without hatred for the enemy he was fighting, without fear of crossing the battle lines, without even the pain from his exhausted body and injuries.

His eyes, which seemed to have emptied something out, were clear like a still lake, looking at Muktuk.

‘Hah… you crazy bastard. You’re acting like that at the very end.’

At the same time as seeing his own desperate figure reflected in Prigos’s eyes, Muktuk felt the sensation of the blade cutting through his upper body.

‘…This is a bit unsightly.’

At the same time, Muktuk felt the strength leaving his entire body and fell off his horse.

◈          ◈           ◈

“…Cough… What are you doing? Why don’t you finish it quickly?”

Prigos looked down at Muktuk, who was still alive and spitting blood, even after being slashed diagonally across the chest and falling off his horse.

“…Bastard… Cough… Look at those eyes.”

“…You were lucky, Muktuk.”

At those words, Muktuk, who had been coughing up blood and heaving his chest, said with a serious expression.

“Cut the crap. Either way, cough, everything is taken by the one who wins in the end.”

“…”

“Still, it’s a bit of a shame. If it weren’t for those strange Elf bastards, the fertile lands and women of the north would have all been mine.”

“That will never happen.”

“Heh… Heh heh… Well, what more can a loser say?”

Muktuk, who seemed to have no more strength, laid his head on the ground and looked at the sky, saying.

“Kill me.”

“Do you have any last words?”

“The victory or defeat has already been decided, and with me falling as well, it’s practically over. Since I’m going to die anyway, is there any need to leave behind useless regrets? I’ve never been one to foolishly cling to things that can’t be done. Isn’t that pathetic? That’s what losers do. Heh heh… Or am I a loser?”

As Prigos approached to cut off his head and hang it up, Muktuk looked at the sky with a relieved expression and opened his mouth.

“…Not bad for a life of a sewer rat picking up scraps that others threw away.”

Prigos swung his sword towards the head of the man who had been his last nemesis in the human world.

The sounds of weapons clashing among those who had been watching the duel from the sidelines began to diminish.

“Hear me, enemies! Bayatur Muktuk has fallen at the hands of me, Prigos, the king of Pohellenia!”

Prigos shouted, raising Muktuk’s head.

“The war is over! The outcome has been decided! The enemies of Pohellenia, throw down your weapons and surrender!”

At the same time, cheers erupted from the Pohellenia camp.

“Booker!”

“Yes! Yes! Your Majesty!”

Booker, who had been fighting while watching the battle between Prigos and Muktuk nearby, appeared before Prigos in a flustered manner.

Prigos handed Muktuk’s head to Booker and said.

“Attach this head to the end of the flag and shout what I just said as you go around the battlefield.”

“Of course! Just leave it to me!”

Booker happily accepted Muktuk’s head, which was dripping blood from the gruesome cut surface, attached it to the end of the flag, and began to shout as he went around the battlefield.

“Hear me, enemies! Bayatur Muktuk has fallen at the hands of our king of Pohellenia, Prigos!”

“”Hear me, enemies! Bayatur Muktuk has fallen at the hands of our king of Pohellenia, Prigos!””

“The war is over! The outcome has been decided! The enemies of Pohellenia, throw down your weapons and surrender!”

“”The war is over! The outcome has been decided! The enemies of Pohellenia, throw down your weapons and surrender!””

As Booker led the chant while running around the battlefield, the surrounding soldiers also got excited and shouted along with all their might, even with their tired voices.

Before long, the majority of the Bayatur army laid down their weapons and gave up the fight, and the enemies who resisted to the end were all killed before long.

The Orcs, who had been following the orders of Algul and the three commanders instead of Muktuk’s orders, began to flee according to their instincts as those who had been leading them disappeared and the higher-ranking individuals who would have acted on their behalf were killed.

“…The soldiers are very fatigued. Postpone the pursuit. We will annihilate the remnants after they have recovered sufficiently later.”

Prigos did not order the immediate annihilation of the fleeing enemies and ordered the cleanup of the finished battle.

As he was giving orders to the surrounding soldiers, he suddenly felt a soft sensation on his right arm.

“…Anat?”

“I’m glad you won! Prigos. You were amazing!”

“Ah… Thank you. But… if possible… just a little.”

“Yes?”

Anat, who had approached unnoticed, wrapped her arm around his and clung to him, causing Prigos to be embarrassed by the sensation he felt on his arm.

Watching Anat look up at him with innocent eyes, Prigos was trying to figure out how to defuse the situation without embarrassing her when Aliya came to his rescue.

“Anat. I’m sorry, but Prigos is very tired right now. Besides, he has to deal with the aftermath of the war, so it would be difficult if you cling to him too much.”

“Ah… Was I being a nuisance?”

Anat drooped her long ears and looked dejected at those words.

“It’s not that. But given my condition…”

He felt a little sorry for his benefactor and spoke, but.

“Then I’ll support you! I’m strong!”

Anat, showing off her slender arms for someone who said that, perked up her ears and puffed out her nose.

At the same time, she reached out to support him, but in that short moment, Aliya stepped between Anat and Prigos and supported Prigos instead.

Then, smiling brightly, she looked at Anat and said.

“How could I ask a High Elf like you to do such a thing? I’ll support Prigos, so why don’t you take a rest to relieve the fatigue from the battle, Anat?”

“Who are you?”

“I am Aliya, the chancellor who has been assisting Prigos for a lo.ng ti.me.”

“…Oh my.”

Anat, as if sensing something from those words, smiled along with Aliya.

‘…Have I lost too much blood?’

Prigos felt a chill as he watched the beautiful sight of a succubus and a High Elf, two beautiful women, smiling at each other.