Chapter 205

Chapter 205

When mana was infused into a sword, the sword’s sharpness and durability would increase by a notch. Naturally, the more mana was used to create an even more intense aura to wrap around the sword, the sharper and more durable it would become.

At its peak, the mana would form an aura that would superimpose over the sword, creating what was called the Aura Blade. It was a technique that had always been the goal of most knights to master.

If aura was water, then Aura Blade would be like ice. Basically, Aura Blade was the most concentrated form of aura.

In that case, what was Aura Force?

Aura Blade would gather mana in one spot, for example, on the sword.

However, Aura Force was basically spreading the most concentrated form of mana throughout one’s entire body, and since mana wouldn’t be gathered in one spot alone, Aura Force was less destructive than Aura Blade.

If mana were water molecules, then Aura Blade would be its solid form, which was ice, while Aura Force was water vapor.

A knight could only wield Aura Force when they were at a certain level. A-Class Intermediate Knights could maintain control over the most concentrated form of mana over a varying period of time.

The length would always vary depending on the particular knight’s ability, but when maintaining control over the most concentrated form of mana, the knights would always have something in common—mana expenditure.

Aura Force would naturally consume more mana to maintain than Aura Blade, but since Aura Force was basically enhancing every part of one’s body, a skilled knight would have an endless repertoire of tools to use in battle using Aura Force.

As an example, what if one’s opponent suddenly moved at a speed of ten rather than the usual speed of three that one’s opponent had been displaying throughout the fight?

One would naturally be caught off guard. n0velusb.c0m

It didn’t matter even if one’s opponent couldn’t maintain that state for a long time because the fact that they could exponentially increase their speed in the proverbial blink of an eye meant that one had to be always wary about it.

In other words, Aura Force would always be a threat, even if it wasn’t in use.

Unfortunately, Aura Force was a monster in a whole new league compared to Aura Blade. At the bare minimum, wielding it would require one to be an A-Class Intermediate Knight, and one’s mana control had to be precise and immaculate.

Since Aura Force was basically spreading the most concentrated form of mana throughout one’s entire body, and it had a limitation in the form of mana expenditure—what if Joshua could harness the latent mana in nature rather than just his tiny mana hall?

“Forward!”

The drumming of hoofbeats heralded the arrival of a horde of three hundred knights on horseback. The horses and men were clad in silver armor from top to bottom. It was a formation that could crush an ordinary army in one fell swoop.

“Archers! Prepare!”

At Count Keiros’ shout, the archers raised their bows. Count Keiros just had to give the command, and the arrows would immediately send their arrows flying toward the enemy troops.

Count Keiros raised his hand up and started measuring the distance between the archers and the incoming enemy troops.

“L-Lord Keiros...!” exclaimed an archer.

Count Keiros noticed it as well, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

He found a lone individual charging at the enemy troops.

Count Keiros finally recognized the individual, and he started shouting, “Baron Sanders, stop!”

“Advance! Wilhelm Knights shall follow His Majesty!” Leo de Grans prepared to join his liege in battle.

“...” Count Keiros gnashed his teeth when he saw that.

“No!”

Fortunately, a voice offered respite to Count Keiros. Leo de Grans and Count Keiros turned to look at the owner of the voice, Cain.

“Master told us to stand by,” explained Cain.

“Sir Cain?”

“Master will succeed.”

“But the number of troops isn’t the same as last time—”

“I-Incoming!”

“...!” Cain, Leo de Grans, and Count Keiros turned to look at the battlefield at the same time.

Joshua was moving much faster than they had expected, and in what seemed like a few seconds, Joshua already ran roughly a kilometer and had just crashed into the enemy’s front lines.

“Is that... Aura Force...?” Cain stared at Joshua in disbelieving awe. Even from far away, it was a very distinct power that there was no way Cain could mistake that power for something else. Joshua wasn’t even holding his spear as he ran—no, he became the spear itself.

Joshua pierced the enemy’s defense as if he were a spearhead.

And the resulting collision was something no one on this battlefield would be able to forget...

“...!” The troops on Peril Castle’s walls stared wide-eyed at the scene.

“Aaargh!” The loud screams of men filled the air.

The silver-clad knights raced forward like an unstoppable tsunami, but when they met Joshua, they were immediately sent flying. A single collision sent five or more knights flying off their horses.

Joshua had become a spear that could penetrate anything.

One moment, he was like the devastating jaws of a wild beast that killed its prey in a single bite, but in the blink of an eye, he would become similar to a butterfly softly flapping its wings in the air.

Joshua perfectly displayed how even softness could be devastating.

The horses that had lost their riders started panicking, and they unknowingly stomped on their knights, instantly incapacitating most of the fallen knights.

“Dismount!” Upon seeing the chaos, the enemy commander quickly shouted, “Assemble formation!”

At the commander’s words, the knights immediately moved and followed by directly jumping off their horses and softening their falls by rolling a few times. The knights were wearing heavy armor, but none of them seemed stunned by the fall.

“You really do deserve to lead the Marquis’ army.” With Lugia in hand, Joshua leisurely admired the grace with which the knights leaped off their galloping horses in spite of their heavy armor.

Eventually, he smiled. There was no way a lone individual could single-handedly win a war, regardless of their strength. Raw power was important to beat one’s enemies, but half of the battles in wars were mostly won by the morale of the troops.

“Ahem, ahem.” Joshua casually cleared his throat as if he weren’t being surrounded by enemy troops. The white smoke curling around his figure gathered in front of his mouth, and it was an old and tested way to use Aura Force.

He was no dragon, but Joshua’s way of using Aura Force to amplify his voice was far superior to normal methods.

“Did you see it? The spear is the ruler of the battlefield.” Joshua’s low, soft voice was heard cleanly across the battlefield.

The prelude was done. Now, it was about time for the main act.

“It is a path where all those who walk it will be showered in flower petals. It leads to glory, above all else.”

Joshua’s mana-infused voice was like a melody specifically made to captivate the ears, and it swept away the fears of the Pontier Family troops. However, the words that emerged from his mouth next were a dark melody.

“As for those who dare to oppose it, the reaper of the battlefield’s wrath awaits you with open arms.”

The Pontier Family troops clenched their fists in determination and welcomed the ominous message while the troops of the Marquis started shivering in fear.

Joshua continued in a louder voice.

“This is the performance of the lonely knight whose only respite is his weapon...”

“Argh! Enough of the nonsense and those petty tricks! Unit One and Unit Two, charge...!” shouted the enemy commander.

The enemy troops shook their shoulders to get rid of the inexplicable feelings welling up inside of them.

“Is... Is this what the Master wanted us to see?” Cain could feel Joshua’s words affecting him deep in his bones. His mana resonated with Joshua’s words, and it started to swell—filling every nook and cranny of his body with energy.

Cain felt light as air, and he also felt as if no one could stop him in this world.

Joshua’s way of harnessing the latent mana in the air to use as his weapon was like a whole new world to Cain.

“Master... are you a god?”

“He’s our king,” said a man next to him.

Cain frowned and replied, “He’s my master.”

“No, he’s the proud King of Reinhardt.”

“He picked me first.”

“He accepted us just a few days ago.”

“So?” Cain’s frown deepened as he glared at Leo de Grans.

Leo de Grans replied, “It means that the order doesn’t matter.”

“What...?”

“His Majesty probably believes that the heart wanders when a person is far away.”

“You...!” Cain was annoyed by the bad joke, and he was about to refute when the thunderous roar of the nearby troops inundated the air.

“AAAHHH!”

“All hail Hero Sanders!”

“Let’s help Lord Sanders!”

“Let’s gooo!”

Cain and Leo were blown away by the soldiers’ enthusiasm. The soldiers looked like they would immediately run to help Joshua the moment the castle gates were opened.

“If we leave them alone, they’ll barge out of the castle and fight until they drop, but the main force hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Hmm. Count Keiros is here. I’m sure he’ll take care of those maniacs.”

Cain looked around, looking for Count Keiros. He finally found the latter standing next to Charles, and it seemed that Count Keiros was also dumbfounded to find his soldiers screaming like maniacs.

However, there was something wrong...

Count Keiros had always been diligent and serious whenever Cain was around, so Cain was sure that Count Keiros would remain calm and composed while waiting for the signal to attack.

However, Count Keiros’ chest was puffed out...

His face was flushed as he stared at his troops with gleaming eyes.

“...?” Cain was confused. He thought that Count Keiros wouldn’t open his mouth, but it seemed that he was mistaken as Count Keiros quickly betrayed his expectations and started shouting like a madman.

“Aaaah!?Let’s help the Hero Sanders! Let’s help Lord Sanders!”

“What...?” Cain couldn’t believe it. The seemingly amiable Count Keiros actually had such a fierce voice.

“This...” Joshua considered the situation for a moment. “This should do for now...”

He glanced behind the enemy vanguards and felt an enormous presence among the soldiers of the main force.

“The Mercenary King...” muttered Joshua as he gripped Lugia even tighter.

“Go!” Upon their commander’s orders, hundreds of enemy knights made a beeline for Joshua. They sliced through the fog with their swords wrapped in mana.

As the swords slashed at him, Joshua took in each and every one of them before taking one step forward. It was such a subtle step that it could easily be missed if one wasn’t paying that much attention.

“...”

Joshua came to a halt and stood as still as a rock as he quietly set Lugia down. At some point, the dense fog blanketing the plains vanished, and the moon could finally be seen above the clouds.

The Siege of Peril Castle had just begun.