Chapter 406: Last Battle (3) |
This wasn’t my first fight.
It had been a long time since I fought on the front lines, but I had encountered many dangerous situations when the Blue Guild was still growing, and it was all because I was following Kim Hyun-Sung around.
As such, I had plenty of experience when it came to close combat. Of course, my experience was only limited to small skirmishes and dungeons. This was my first time in a large-scale fight, and I couldn’t help but acknowledge that there was a stark difference between being here and watching the events unfold through a screen.
The battlefield was heated, and there were screams everywhere. The smell of dirt and blood had also combined to the extent that it was hard to distinguish them from each other.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come…’
I felt uncomfortable about entering the middle of the battlefield instead of staying in the back where it was safe, but I was already too far in to start regretting it. We collided with the enemy, and the vanguards started fighting with the allied forces.
Boom!
Crack!
“Aaaahhh!”
“Close formation!”
“Bastard!”
“Aaaahhhh!”
Crack!
I couldn’t even see what was happening. All I could see were the backs of the allied troops surrounded by armor and shields. If it weren’t for my eyes, there was no way I would have understood what was going on. Unlike my dizzy mind, my eyes kept on collecting information from my surroundings.
The fallen soldiers became obstacles, which made it difficult to move around. It was to the point that I found it amazing how the allied soldiers kept on breaking through the enemy soldiers’ encirclement.
I looked around carefully and saw Park Deok-Gu swinging his shield with a frown. I was reminded of our days in the tutorial dungeon when I saw him pushing an enemy soldier away from me. Back then, he blocked, and I stabbed the enemies for us. It wasn’t the case right now, but I recalled how reliable he was back then, and although our method of fighting only really worked on tutorial monsters, it became pretty useful here now because of the limited space. The soldiers wielding spears in my place attacked behind the vanguards who were holding up their shields.
“Hyung-nim, are you following me?” Park Deok-Gu asked.
“Just look forward and stop worrying about me,” I told him.
“O-Okay. By the way, which way are we supposed to go?” he asked.
“West, but we have to join up with the closest detachment first,” I replied.
“Alright, but are you doing fine? I’ll take you there no matter what,” he said.
“Just focus, Deok-Gu,” I said.
“All right! Stay close to me!” he yelled.
We were moving as fast as possible, but it felt like we were slow. I really felt like I throwing a bottle of Dragon Breath Potion, but I couldn’t do that because it would hurt the allied troops. I couldn’t do an alchemy summon as well because it would reveal my location. This detachment was formed at the last minute, and even though it was strong enough to break through the enemy line, it wasn’t strong enough to withstand focused attacks. If they discovered that I was a part of this detachment, then I was sure the enemy mages would start hurling their spells over here.
As such, our priority was to group up with the unit deeper into the enemy line. The reserve forces knew that, and it was why we were moving desperately.
“Break through them!”
“Don’t get pushed back! We’ll join the main force no matter what!”
“Cough!”
The detachment’s task was to send me to the main unit, and even though I saw soldiers falling one by one, all I could do was cast a short holy spell. I wanted to hold their hand or pull them into my arms, but I would get isolated if I focused my attention on them. I was a bastard with no conscience, but I couldn’t help but think about saving the soldiers dying for me.
‘Shit, shit!’
Crack!
Craaaaack!
“Stop them! Stop them!”
“Block the front! Spells are falling, so lift your shields up! I told you to lift your shield! What are you doing?! Lift your shield!” Park Deok-Gu ordered.
“Arrows! Arrows! What are the allied mages doing?!”
“Priest! Priest!”
An arrow lodged itself into the chest of the soldier who was calling for a priest next to me. An enemy soldier came running while holding a spear, but a large shield blocked their path. The allied soldiers filled up the opening that momentarily appeared.
I looked down and saw that the soldier who got struck by an arrow was running out of breath. An allied battle priest quickly checked up on his condition, but they really couldn’t do anything. The priest didn’t even try to pour their holy power to extend their life because they knew that it was a stupid move to waste holy power on someone who had no chance of surviving.
‘So this is why people are sensitive about wars...’
Someone once said the death of one man was a tragedy, but the death of a million was a statistic. The saying perfectly described this battlefield. I didn’t have time to be sad about the death of an ally, and finding out who died and who survived was impossible while we were still in the middle of all this. I was sure the dead each had their own stories, but during a war, they were nothing more than dead allies.
No one would remember those who died.
“I’ll remember you,” I said.
“Th—cough. Thank… you.”
I felt sad to see the soldier close his eyes quietly while coughing up blood and crying. I probably wouldn’t remember the soldier as well, but it wasn’t difficult to tell them that I would remember them. I nodded when the soldier closed his eyes comfortably, but I felt bitter about it as well.
We left the dead soldiers and continued heading toward the main unit, and as time went on, I was starting to get used to the sounds of the battlefield and was getting numb to how soldiers were dying left and right.
“Die!”
“Aaaahhhh!”
“Bastards! Bastards! Bastards!”
“Hang in there just a bit longer! You bastards! A little more! Don’t lose! We just need to move a bit more!”
“Don’t let them break through our formation!”
“Arrows! Arrows! Hold your shield up! Hold your shield up! Priest and mage! Protection! Protection!”
Arrows came flying down once again as large shields blocked my vision. Seeing that some of the arrows managed to break through the shields, the enemy had to have archers who could use magic, but the arrows didn’t cause a lot of damage.
Park Deok-Gu and other allied soldiers held their shields up and moved forward while killing the enemy troops. It felt like we weren’t far from our destination, but I suddenly heard a loud explosion and shrill screams.
‘Shit.’
The allied soldiers were being lifted up into the air and thrown away. I couldn’t see the details, but I knew what was happening.
‘An enemy named player?’
Craaack!
Craaack!
“Aaaahhh!”
“Stop them! Stop… them. Don’t—Cough!”
‘Who is it?’
The face of the bastard who was charging from afar looked really familiar. He was the Russian Park Deok-Gu. Valentin Alexandro. He was one of the Five Tiger Generals whose job was Fighter of Ronaf. During the Laios incident, he was the same bastard who saved demon summoner Jin Cheong by sacrificing his right arm to Jung Ha-Yan’s magic. I bit my lips when I saw him charging toward us.
‘Did my cover get blown?’
I was sure it wasn’t the case because I wasn’t being specifically targeted. The enemy probably sent him here because they didn’t want the reserve forces to reinforce our main force. I couldn’t help but realize why players as strong as him were famous for being above the standards when I saw how he was pushing away the allied soldiers despite wearing heavy armor.
In addition, the way he roared while covered in blood made him look like a monster.
‘Are we not getting any support from our allies?’
I was sure Lee Ji-Hye was trying to help us, but it was highly likely that she wouldn’t be able to help in time because the allied forces were completely surrounded by the enemy. I was sure the allied forces that weren’t that far from us were trying to break through after seeing the banner of the Three Nation Alliance, but…
‘Will they get here on time?’
It would be nice if they did, but that crazy gorilla was here, so it would be an issue if they came here. In addition, I wasn’t really sure if I could stop him.
‘No, we can stop him.’
The soldiers with us should be able to handle him, and I could buy time through alchemy summon and the Dragon Breath Potion. I also have the Light Bomb Potion in case of an emergency, so we could fight this dumb bastard even for a moment, and I had a reliable shield beside me as well.
The problem was what would happen next…
Once they figured out my location, the pressure on our detachment would increase until we grouped up with the main forces. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a choice because we couldn’t expect reinforcements to arrive right away.
It was making me nervous, but the most reasonable thing to do was stop Valentin as fast as possible, then group up with the main forces. After making up my mind, I immediately started talking, and Park Deok-Gu looked at me.
“Get ready to fight, Deok-Gu.”
“Can we win?” he asked.
“I’m sure we have a chance. Prepare yourself. We have to meet with them,” I replied.
“...”
“...”
“Hyung-nim,” he called out.
“What?”
“I’m not an idiot,” he said.
“What kind of bullshit are you saying this time?” I complained.
“I’m telling you that I know what’s going on right now. I know we’re currently in a dangerous situation, and I know you shouldn’t be here right now, hyung-nim. Actually, the enemy shouldn’t know that you’re here right now. Well, they basically mean the same thing,” he answered.
“Shut up and get ready, you pig! We’re in an urgent situation, so I don’t have time to listen to your jokes,” I told him.
“You go on ahead, hyung-nim. I’ll take care of this,” he suggested.
“Bullshit. Do you really think that we’re in some kind of cartoon? Don’t try to create a memorable scene. Just prepare for battle. I’m being serious here,” I warned him.
“I told you to go on ahead. I’ll take care of this. The remaining allied soldiers will take you to the main forces,” he repeated.
“What the hell are you…”
Park Deok-Gu grabbed my shoulder. He was huge, so I had to look up to him. It was strange how the way he looked overlapped with the Dark World Park Deok-Gu.
“I said I’m sorry for showing a shameful side. I think I finally know how you can stand so calmly on the battlefield, hyung-nim. Thank you for being considerate, for being with me, and just… thank you. I already know that I sound stupid, and I also know that you don’t really trust me…” Park Deok-Gu started.
“Don’t do something stupid!” I yelled.
“If you can do it—”
“Stop it with the bullshit! You don’t even know your place, you pig!” I screamed.
“I can do it better,” he finished.
Park Deok-Gu pushed me away, and the allied soldiers grabbed me against my will. The space between Park Deok-Gu and I quickly became filled with soldiers fighting each other.
It didn’t take long for the Fighter of Ronaf to rush toward Park Deok-Gu, and I saw the pig placing his large shield on his back before grabbing Valentin’s arm.
Booom!
There was a loud noise, and the scene of them grabbing each other’s hands was the last scene I saw.
“You dumb pig!” I yelled.
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