Chapter 31
The commander and emperor of this place, Dragasis, desperately cried out for reinforcements, but in his heart he had already resigned himself.
There would be no reinforcements here, he thought, the mercenaries had all fled to the ‘original world’.
Had he not experienced this hell countless times, repeating over and over?
‘And yet.’
He could not stop swinging his sword.
How many times had he repeated this hell?
This place was a world doomed to destruction.
Even so, even if he was ultimately a created being.
‘How can I stand by and watch my country and my people fall?’
If this was the predetermined fate, then he would resist it with all his might.
He would never give up, no matter how many times he died.
That unwavering determination was the proof that he was alive.
“Come on! You dogs of Osman!”
“There’s the enemy leader!”
“Kill him and offer him to the Sultan!”
The Osman soldiers who recognized Dragasis rushed towards him.
“Your Majesty! Please avoid them!”
“We’ll hold them off here!”
“No. I can’t retreat any more.”
The escort knights stepped forward and shouted, but Dragasis shook his head.
If he ran away from here, his end would not change anyway.
If he was going to face the same outcome anyway, then he wanted to make the process different.
That was the best choice he could make.
“For our country and our people! For the thousands-year history of Rome!”
“Ugh! For the Roman Empire!”
The escort knights who sensed the emperor’s firm resolve bit their lips and echoed him.
They knew too well that there was no hope.
Even so, they wanted to send their lord safely.
That was the loyal heart of a vassal.
But since the emperor had made up his mind, they had no choice but to follow him until the end.
Aaaah!
The Osman infantrymen who had briefly reorganized their ranks rushed in with spears and shields.
The faces of the Roman soldiers darkened.
Even if they held on for now, eventually their swords would be trampled under the cruel boots of Osman.
He sensed that future, but still Dragasis raised his sword.
“Everyone…!”
It was then.
A white figure dropped from the top of the wall that had not yet collapsed.
It cut through the line of Osman soldiers who were rushing in from the front, forcing them into a temporary lull.
“Aaargh!”
With a scream, dust from the stone wall rose like fog.
Immediately after, the dust cloud split in half as if a giant had swung a sword.
“That person…”
Dragasis’s eyes widened.
It was one of the mercenaries he thought had run away.
He remembered her because she had a unique atmosphere and a very beautiful appearance unlike the other mercenaries.
“Why…”
Didn’t she run away?
Light shone through the gap in the collapsed wall and landed on Kang Hye-rim’s head.
A Roman soldier who saw that scene muttered without knowing it.
“Joan of Arc…?”
“Ah. A saint.”
Dragasis nodded his head unknowingly as he heard the soldier’s words.
She really looked like a saint sent by God, appearing at the moment of crisis.
She was devout and beautiful, and strong.
“I came to help.”
A voice that was strong yet gentle.
Kang Hye-rim, who held a sword in her hand, spoke without fear even in front of the Ottoman soldiers.
Dragasis snapped out of his trance and nodded his head.
“Thank you, mercenary. What about the others…?”
“That is…”
She hesitated to answer, and he shook his head.
“No. Never mind. I can guess without you telling me. I’m grateful that you came to help, at least. But, are you sure you want to stay here alone? The situation is hopeless.”
“I still… have to fight.”
That was all she could say.
She didn’t have any plan or strategy.
She just trusted Yoo Hyun, who recommended this place to her, and she didn’t want the ‘people’ here to die in vain.
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But, to Dragasis, her small act of kindness and courage was more precious than anything in the world.
“Amazing. All the mercenaries who came here so far only ran away to save their own lives.”
“All of them… do you remember them?”
“Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. We are not real beings, but creations of this place. The name Dragasis itself is a fake one, the real one has long been buried in the history of the past. What remains now is only a remnant, a scrap.”
“That is…”
“But, I don’t care. I know what I have to do.”
His goal was to break free from this bondage, and give rest to his people.
For that, he was willing to repeat this hell over and over again.
Kang Hye-rim saw his determination in his expression and nodded solemnly.
“I’ll help you. I’ll fight with you until the end.”
“Thank you very much.”
Dragasis’ gratitude was sincere.
No one ever wanted to stay here before.
They all felt the futility of the situation as soon as the walls collapsed, and ran away without looking back.
He tried to stop them at first, and cried out desperately.
But, after a few experiences, he realized it was useless and gave up halfway.
‘But, this one is different.’
Kang Hye-rim was nothing like the other mercenaries who only tried to look cool.
Calling her a mercenary was an insult to her.
“Even though we are nothing but scraps, please take care of us.”
“No. You are not scraps.”
Kang Hye-rim shook her head at Dragasis’ self-deprecation.
“I think of you as living people. That’s why I helped you, and that’s why I want to fight with you. At least, that’s what I think.”
“…You think of us as people?”
“Do you hate it?”
Instead of answering, Kang Hye-rim asked back, and Dragasis couldn’t say anything.
He opened his mouth to say something, but something hot burning in his chest kept blocking his words.
Anger? No.
This was joy.
“…Of course not.”
He barely moved his trembling lips and answered.
“How could I hate it? When you say that our lives, our desperate struggle, our things we wanted to protect. Are not meaningless, who would hate it?”
When he felt his reality being acknowledged again after giving up on it, Dragasis couldn’t help but smile even in the middle of a war.
Even though it was just a word.
“Thank you. I feel like I’ve been saved by your words.”
“I didn’t do anything that deserves such high praise.”
“No. That’s enough for me. Sometimes, a warm word from someone can be more valuable than gold.”
So, don’t give up.
The way I walked was never wrong, just as she said.
Even if I fail this time, I have seen hope.
So I can challenge this hell again next time.
“No. We can’t fail.”
Dragasis shook his head.
This was a rare opportunity to have an ally.
As a commander, as an emperor of a nation, and as a person.𝒏օν𝔢𝙡𝙗ì𝖓.𝑛𝙚ｔ
How could he miss this chance?
“Please. Buy us some time. If we set up the defenses, they won’t be able to cross over easily.”
“Gladly.”
Kang Hye-rim gripped her sword.
Next to her, the emperor’s guard knights stood one by one.
The knights drew their swords, and the soldiers lined up behind them.
None of them had fear in their eyes.
What they had was a burning passion in their hearts.
The Ottoman soldiers were overwhelmed by the sight.
“What, what are they doing? This is our chance! Hurry up and sweep them away!”
The Ottoman soldiers came to their senses late.
“Protect!”
Kang Hye-rim wielded her sword, and Dragasis shouted.
“The front line! The people! The nation! And our benefactor!”
“Waaaaah!”
The Roman soldiers also screamed loudly.
They held spears and swords, shields and headed towards the enemies.
The sound of armor and armor, weapons and weapons colliding echoed.
Those who tried to break through with all their might and those who tried to protect with their lives clashed again.
***
I was overwhelmed by the fight.
I had seen and experienced many fights in my previous life.
But I can say for sure that none of the fights I had seen were as devout as this one.
[The Drunkard of the Tavern is speechless.]
[The Unyielding Practitioner wishes for their victory.]
[The Abundance of Dabudad clenches his fist.]
[Most spirits are moved by your story.]
[You gained 4,320TP.]
Even the spirits who usually liked to chatter, were silent and watched quietly at this moment.
They couldn’t take their eyes off Kang Hye-rim’s story.
They were touched by her courage to fight alone when everyone else ran away, and they empathized with the soldiers who burned their lives to fight with her.
Yes.
Everyone was immersed in this story.
‘The book… changes.’
Kang Hye-rim, who was fighting desperately to defend the narrow passage.
The book that floated above her head began to change.
The cover that had been emitting a faint silver light from bronze turned into a complete silver color.
It meant that Kang Hye-rim had caught up with her previous self.
[Kang Hye-rim’s trait ‘Goryeo Era Swordmaster’ is fully awakened.]
[Unopened trait ‘Sword Unity’ is partially opened.]
As she continued to fight, her light became stronger and clearer.
What did she fight for, and why did she go so far?
She looked like a pilgrim who was trying to find the answer to that old question.
‘Show me. Ms. Hye-rim. Your fight.’
Before I knew it, the number of spirits gathered in my library exceeded 800.
And that number was still increasing in real time.
“No way!”
“There was still a library left?!”
Some of the tellers who didn’t leave [the Integrated Zone] were shocked by my story.
The collectors left and the tellers retreated, and the library was about to close, but the worldview of Constantinople was not over yet.
I won’t end it.
Ding. Ding.
The messages of the spirits entering the library rang loudly.
The spirits found a story.
They flocked to my library, looking for the light that never went out, after staying in the closed library.
As if it was the natural flow of things.
[Congratulations! You have reached 1,000 viewers!]
[Sub-mission-1,000 viewers achieved!]
[Sub-mission-300 subscribers achieved!]
[Sub-mission-500 subscribers achieved!]
Such notifications popped up one after another, but I couldn’t spare a glance.
My eyes were fixed on Kang Hye-rim, who had been fighting fiercely since a while ago.
Wowowowow!!
Chang! Chaechang!
“Kraaak!”
“Kill her!”
The fight had escalated to the point of no return.
Bodies piled up.
They were all tangled up, making it hard to tell who was friend or foe.
The Ottoman Empire pushed most of its troops through the broken wall, not wanting to miss the rare opportunity.
On the other hand, the defenders had a shortage of manpower.
They fought desperately, taking advantage of the narrow passage, but it was inevitable that they would be pushed back by the endless waves of enemies.
‘We’re going to lose at this rate.’
Kang Hye-rim was doing her best, but she couldn’t handle all these enemies by herself.
Thanks to her, we managed to set up a makeshift front line and buy some time more than we planned.
But.
“Hmph, what’s that? You acted so cocky before, but is that all you can do?”
“Looks like you can’t hold on much longer.”
Suddenly, I heard some annoying voices from behind.
They were the ones who had been eyeing me since a while ago, and they spoke as if they wanted me to hear them.
When I turned around, they even sneered at me.
“Hey. Your collector looks pretty exhausted. How about giving up?”
“Yeah. You’ve done enough already. Isn’t it time to quit?”
I spoke coldly to them.
“Shut up. You worthless bastards.”
“What, what?”
“Are you deaf? I said shut up.”
“You, you bastard…!”
“What now? Did I say something wrong? You ran away with your tails between your legs after losing, and you still have the nerve to stay here? What? Did you think you could get something by clinging to my library? Or did you hope that I would pity you for stealing all your customers?”
“You, you…!”
He couldn’t refute me because my words were true, but he blushed with anger and glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
But when I glared back at him with more intensity, he flinched and avoided my eyes.
I felt a surge of disgust towards them.
“Cowards. You act so arrogant? You get greedy? You’re nothing but trash who can’t even do that, and only cry for your rights.”
“…”
They didn’t trust their own collectors and treated them like machines that only earned points.
They didn’t even try to show their own stories properly and only thought of how to stick to the spirits somehow.
What kind of confidence do they have to judge others so casually?
“If you have any shame, just shut up and watch.”
When I glared at them fiercely, they wisely backed off.
I looked at Kang Hye-rim again.
The wall had collapsed and it had been two hours since then.
The fight that started in the morning had passed noon and was heading towards the hottest time of the day.
And since her stamina was not infinite, she naturally got tired.
The other defenders were also reaching their physical limits.
“Hold on! Just a little longer!”
“Aaah! No, no!”
In the end, the last line of defense was broken.
