Chapter 34
“Is that really possible?”
“It may be hard to believe, but I think it’s worth a try.”
Kang Hye-rim, who had fully awakened, had become much stronger than before.
She could easily blow away three or more enemy soldiers at once, while saving her energy.
Her power was comparable to a mid-level collector.
“Besides, isn’t it true that we don’t have any other options at this point?”
“Hmm. You’re right. It’s not a matter of whether we can do it or not, but we have to do it no matter what.”
“It may seem like a reckless plan, but it’s not impossible. If we use Hye-rim’s power, we have a good chance.”
Of course, Kang Hye-rim couldn’t break through the army by herself.
No matter how strong she was, she needed some troops to escort her to the inside.
“Fortunately, they seem to back off for a while.”
As Kang Hye-rim swept away the enemies and reinforced the broken stakes, the Ottoman soldiers stopped their attack.
They retreated slightly and began to reorganize their formation.
If we were going to execute the plan, now was the time.
“So what will you do, Your Majesty?”
“What else can I do? There’s no other way out of this damn situation. If we stay here, we’ll die slowly anyway. We might as well make our last stand.”
Dragasis seemed to have made up his mind.
“Although it’s a slim hope, it’s a hope that we never had before. You may not know, but to me, this ray of light is brighter than the sun.”
“Then we need to select the personnel for the operation. We can’t have too many or too few. They also need to be skilled.”
Before we knew it, the knights and soldiers had gathered around us.
They were all exhausted and panting, but none of them had dead eyes.
“We need about 300 people.”
“300 people?”
Dragasis looked at the soldiers with a heavy expression.
300 people was not a small number.
But it was also far too few to break through an army of over 100,000.
If they participated in this, they would never come back alive.
It was practically suicide.
They would burn their lives as fuel for victory.
It was natural to hesitate.
What he was about to order was essentially telling them to go and die.
Dragasis, who was a loyal general for his people, couldn’t say that lightly.
300 lives were not something to take lightly.
“If you find it hard to say it yourself, I can say it for you.”
“No. It’s fine. I’m not that shameless. This is something that I have to do myself.”
Dragasis seemed to have made up his mind.
He stood in front of the soldiers with a determined will.
He hesitated for a moment and then opened his lips.
“Soldiers. Today I owe you a debt that I can never repay in my lifetime. It is my life, the safety of my people, and the honor of my country. You have done your best to protect this worthless empire.”
He picked out the words that he had kept in his heart.
He said.
“I told you before the war started. God will help us. We can definitely stop them. But I was wrong. God doesn’t help us. The ones who protect this city and this land are us.”
I glanced at the crowd.
Everyone was focused on Dragasis’s speech.
Kang Hye-rim, who had quickly sorted out the situation, stood next to me and watched the scene.
“You have… protected this city until now.”
So, Dragasis continued.
“I’m sorry to ask you this, but I have one last favor to ask you.”
He was the legitimate emperor of Rome and the commander of these soldiers.
But he didn’t give an order or a coercion. He asked for a favor.
“Please lend me your strength until the end to protect our homeland. Today I will go out myself to break this hateful chain. Those who will join me stay here. This is not an order or a force. If you want to live, if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. You have the freedom to choose.”
He said as if he didn’t care if anyone followed him or not.
That’s how it was.
He must have been prepared to charge into the enemy lines alone.
“Will… anyone join me?”
There was a moment of confusion among the soldiers as they heard his words.
The murmurs spread like waves and then faded away.
Soon, the soldiers closed their mouths at once.
But there were those who acted.
Clank. Clank.
Some soldiers in armor stepped forward.
They were wounded and barely standing, but their eyes were alive.
“…”
“…”
They were not the only ones.
Most of the soldiers who had been fighting grabbed their weapons and moved forward.
The knights in armor, the mercenaries who came for money, all of them.
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They all responded to the emperor’s request and volunteered for the final operation.
Dragasis’s eyes moistened as he saw the scene.
“Thank you. Really… thank you.”
“Then we have enough people for the operation.”
There were more volunteers than we expected.
We actually had to narrow them down.
I nodded at the soldiers who looked at us and said.
“Let’s go. Let’s survive.”
***
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed II, scanned the battlefield with a sharp gaze.
The wall had collapsed and he had sent his troops there a while ago.
But due to Rome’s desperate resistance, the situation had calmed down for a while.
“Dragasis. You never give up.”
Mehmed II knew it.
They had repeated this tedious war many times.
But he couldn’t stop.
This was his life’s purpose and his great achievement that he wanted to accomplish.
That’s why he always did his best to siege the city.
However.
‘This time, something is different.’
Every time the wall collapsed, the victory was his.
The enemy’s defense was broken in an instant and his nemesis, Dragasis, met his end.
But this time, even though the wall was breached, he couldn’t capture it easily.
“Did they still have allies left?”
He knew it.
There was a mercenary group called the Lion of God.
But they were too cowardly for their power, and they ran away whenever they felt danger.
Apparently, this ally was different from the other cowards.
“But, nothing will change.”
Mehmed II was about to order an attack.
At that moment, he noticed something strange in the enemy lines.
The enemies who should have piled up stakes to fill the broken wall were clearing the way instead.
‘Have they gone mad?’
He thought that for a moment.
Then, cavalrymen in armor poured out of the enemy lines.
Mehmed frowned as he saw the scene.
‘What are you thinking? My enemy.’
***
Kang Hye-rim and I stood in front of the wall with 300 cavalrymen.
Dragasis, the commander-in-chief, was with us.
The enemies who were reorganizing their lines were startled to see us.
And even their leader who was far away in front of the tent.
[The spirits are holding their breath and watching the situation.]
[Most of the spirits are praying for your victory.]
“Yu-hyun. This is really possible, right?”
“Are you scared now?”
“That’s not it but…”
“Don’t worry. Don’t you feel it? It’s different from before. With your power now, if we can make a way, we can definitely cut off the enemy’s head.”
Of course, for that, as many as 300 soldiers volunteered for this operation.
I know what Kang Hye-rim is worried about.
She must feel some guilt for those soldiers who are prepared to die.
“Hye-rim. They are here by their own will. To protect their country and family. Don’t pity them. That’s rather an insult to them.”
“I…”
“If you really feel sorry and guilty, then succeed.”
As I said seriously, Kang Hye-rim nodded with a heavy expression.
Good.
Now it’s our turn to do our best.
I signaled to Dragasis and he drew his sword on his horse.
“All units!”
He swung his sword as if to slash and shouted with all his will.
“Charge!!!”
The 300-man suicide squad rushed towards the enemy lines.
The hooves of the horses shook the ground.
The enemies responded. In front of them were infantrymen with spears, and behind them were archers with bows.
The archers pulled their strings and shot their arrows.
Zzzz!
A thunderous rain of arrows.
For a moment, even the sunlight was blocked by the arrow shower.
“They’re coming!”
“Stop them!”
We raised our shields against the falling arrows.
A heavy impact ran through the shield.
Ting!
Neigh!
Aaah!
Not everyone was safe in the rain of arrows.
Some of them fell off their horses or lagged behind due to bad luck.
“Don’t look back! Don’t stop and run!”
“Make way!”
Clank!
The front collided with the enemies.
The horses in armor pierced through the enemy lines and trampled them mercilessly.
The Ottoman defense line that couldn’t form properly collapsed easily.
A big hole was made in the front line and we squeezed in through it.
The enemies didn’t just take it and fought back.
“Stop them! Stop them!”
“Protect the Sultan!”
Shouts came from all sides.
My vision was rapidly passing by.
The suicide squad members who attacked with distorted faces.
The enemies who fell down.
The ones who tried to counterattack among them.
“Haa. Haa.”
It was a complete surprise attack that pierced their core, but the difference in military strength was overwhelming.
That’s how in my sight, the suicide squad fell down.
One by one. One by one.
Their lives went out.
Ugh!
I saw Kang Hye-rim gritting her teeth.
I couldn’t say anything to her.
I didn’t have the time to do so.
We could only spur our horses to run on the sacrifice of others.
The horses ran with foam in their mouths.
“Go!”
“We’ll hold them off here!”
The power of over 300 cavalry was outstanding.
But the enemies were too many.
We were charging in a wedge formation, but our forces were being shaved off from the outside as we advanced.
Even so, the suicide squad members threw themselves at the enemies and sacrificed themselves.
It was all to protect me and Kang Hye-rim who were in the center.
Knowing that.
That we couldn’t waste their determination.
We couldn’t stop.
“Sipahi!”
“They’re coming out!”
The enemies also realized what we were aiming for.
So they also pulled out their last card.
The Sipahi, the cavalry that formed a pair with the elite infantry Yeniceri of the Ottoman Empire, came out on their horses.
“We’ll break through!”
“Give your lives!”
The escort knights shouted and went to the front.
Clang!
Cavalry and cavalry collided.
Soldiers and soldiers, horses and horses clashed and tangled and fell down.
Shouts and screams were everywhere.
Because of that, our charge was slowed down.
The enemies tried to surround us in that gap.
[The spirits are squeezing your heart.]
[The spirits are holding their breath.]
“Ditch the horses!”
“We’re almost there! Push on like this!”
We got off our horses.
The enemies blocked our way, but Kang Hye-rim and I broke through them with overwhelming force.
“Protect the Sultan!”
“Stop them!”
The enemies did their best to stop us.
It was a completely different picture from the first siege battle.
Now we were the ones trying to break through, and they were the ones trying to stop us.
Weapons clashed and blood splattered.
Every time that happened, one or two of the suicide squad died.
“Go.”
The fallen ones didn’t hold our ankles.
They rather pushed our backs and were swallowed by the enemies instead.
One of the escort knights who was joking with Dragasis a while ago, smiled at us even as he was stabbed by the enemy’s spear.
“Kuhuk!”
“Damn it!”
Some soldiers swallowed their tears.
They didn’t have time to mourn for their comrades and friends who died.
Kang Hye-rim tried to look back at that moment, but I stopped her.
“Don’t look back! Miss Hyerim! Just look ahead and run!”
I shouted as I cut down the Yeniceri.
Sweat ran down my forehead.
I was out of breath.
How many did I kill?
I didn’t even remember.
Kang Hye-rim clenched her teeth and sped up her run.
Even in this terrible melee, her martial arts shone brightly.
[Goryeo Era Swordmaster]
Despite its playful name, its power was real. Especially Cheok Jun-gyeong’s trait was more effective in this situation where we had to break through a large army with bare hands.
The nightmare of the Yuan Dynasty and the strongest sword of the Goryeo era who had pierced through thousands of troops alone.
It transcended time and world and unfolded here.
“Stop the witch!”
The enemies also knew that she was the most dangerous and attacked her intensively.
To match that, the suicide squad threw themselves to block them. So did I, so did Dragasis.
“Protect the saintess!”
Both sides were fiercely entangled.
I swung my weapons in a trance in the chaos.
I held a sword in my right hand and a spear in my left hand.
I stabbed the enemy’s vital points with the spear and cut off their necks with the sword.
The enemies who approached me became corpses in an instant and fell down one by one.
‘It hurts.’
I squeezed out all my strength from my whole body.
I never stopped running at full speed without resting for a moment.
But it wasn’t enough.
The enemies were still too many.
That’s why I had to fight with all my might.
‘More. More. More.’
Faster. Stronger. More.
If I take down one enemy, it reduces the burden on our allies.
And it opens the way for Kang Hye-rim to go.
She is the last key to end this fight.
So I kept fighting.
Even if my breath was up to my throat, even if the sweat stinging my eyes.
“Run!!!”
That’s all I could shout.
I couldn’t stop anymore.
I couldn’t go back either.
I just had to move forward.
For what?
‘To live.’
To save.
This was the final assault that staked everything on our side.
A merciless march that didn’t allow even a requiem for the fallen ones.
Waaaaah!
The enemies were endless, but there was hope.
Finally, the high ground came into view.
Their leader, Mehmed II, was watching us from not far away.
He who looked like a dot from afar was now close enough to see his expression with the naked eye.
He didn’t run away.
He rather showed himself proudly.
Was it confidence or provocation?
Maybe he was sure that we couldn’t win.
“Miss Hyerim!”
“I got it!”
There were hundreds of enemies between us, but Kang Hye-rim and I still stood in front of them.
The enemies rushed at us.
Their countless spears and swords aimed for our lives.
“Huuk.”
My breath was short.
My vision was blurry from the excessive exertion.
But I didn’t fall down and gathered my mind more.
A tightrope walk where a moment of carelessness leads to death.
I die if I stop.
“Get out of the way!!”
Kang Hye-rim swung her sword.
The sword energy attached to the tip of her sword exploded like a bomb.
The ground flipped over and the enemies fell down.
We didn’t miss the gap before they filled it and penetrated in.
Was it because we broke through their formation and forced our way in?
A sharp pain ran through my shoulder.
My cheek also felt a burning pain.
The blood from the wound disappeared as text before it hit the ground.
“Yu-hyun!”
“I’m fine, don’t look back and run!!”
Kang Hye-rim was surprised by my wound, but this was nothing compared to the wound pile.
One of our suicide squad members dies every second we hesitate.
We were carrying their heavy lives on our backs as well.
Even if they were created beings, they were people who lived and breathed in this world.
So we couldn’t look back.
“We’re almost there!”
The distance to the Sultan was now 50m
I gripped the spear in my hand tighter.
“Uryaap!”
And with force, I threw it as it was.
The spear pierced through the air in a straight line towards the Sultan.
The enemies were stunned by the sight.
But.
Clang!
One of his guards deflected the spear with his sword.
The Sultan looked at us with an unwavering gaze.
I smiled at him mockingly.
“Now!”
I picked up a shield that fell on the ground and tilted it slightly.
Kang Hye-rim stepped on the shield as she ran towards me.
She used the force of me pushing the shield to jump high towards the enemy line.
Of course, that wasn’t enough.
No matter how much she awakened, she couldn’t jump over 50m in one go.
But.
Whoosh!
White wings spread behind her back.
[Icarus’ Wings] that allowed her to fly for a short time.
She wasn’t used to flying yet, but anyone could break through that distance quickly.
“Stop her! Stop her now! Shoot arrows!”
She looked like an angel descending from heaven with her white wings spread out.
The enemies opened their mouths wide.
The spirits also spammed messages filled with awe.
Kang Hye-rim crossed over the heads of the confused enemies.
Someone stabbed a spear from below, but she showed off an acrobatic evasion maneuver and avoided them all.
Before long, Kang Hye-rim reached Mehmed’s side.
He also tried to swing his sword belatedly, but it was too late.
We were much faster.
“Aaaaaah!!”
Kang Hye-rim screamed as if her throat would tear apart.
It was something mixed with passion or madness.
The white sword energy contained in her blade soared up for a moment with tremendous momentum.
I was captivated by her sword.
White sword energy.
That was the ultimate skill that proved her status as a Swordmaster.
Fwoosh!
The sword roared and swung down.
It cut through space and even pierced through sword and shield and slashed Mehmed II’s chest.
