novelraw Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117: The Overwhelming One, Bakan (3)
With the fire pillars gone, Drenbalk’s execution ritual paused, and an eerie silence settled over the battlefield.
What were those fire pillars…?
Though the pillars had vanished, an ominous foreboding grew in the warriors’ hearts.
“Something might have happened to Lord Bakan!”
“Shouldn’t we head to the rear?”
The Kandahr warriors murmured among themselves.
But Drenbalk remained unshaken.
“Cast aside pointless doubts. Lord Bakan is stronger than any of us.”
He silently raised his axe.
“We do our duty, and that’s enough.”
Just as Drenbalk prepared to resume his assault on the castle in his own way, Morcal, who had retreated earlier, pushed through the warriors and appeared.
“Drenbalk!”
“What are you doing here? Come to interfere again?”
“It’s not interference. I’m saying now’s not the time for this.”
“What?”
“Let’s call the bet over with you as the winner. But I’m done waiting for your precious execution show. I’m deploying the full force to attack the castle now.”
Drenbalk’s face twisted.
“You bastard…!”
Before Drenbalk could retort, Morcal turned away.
He shouted loudly to his troops.
“Warriors of the Black Snake Tribe! Raise your weapons! Attack the castle now!”
The Black Snake warriors roared in response to Morcal’s command, and Drenbalk, not to be outdone, gritted his teeth and shouted to his own men.
“Execute all the prisoners! We’ll do this our way!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Drenbalk raised his axe high to behead Everhart.
At that moment—
The castle’s tightly shut gates opened with a thunderous roar, the drawbridge lowered, and soldiers from within surged out.
“Waaaah!”
The soldiers, who had been enduring the enemy’s assault, finally launched a counterattack.
Leading them was Rona, the Executor responsible for the outer defenses.
“Rescue the prisoners and drive out the enemy!”
They, too, had seen the fire pillars rising from the enemy’s rear.
It meant one thing: reinforcements had arrived to support the castle.
Whether it’s the duke or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that this is our chance.
Judging this moment as their last stand, Rona had ordered the charge without delay.
The troops that crossed the drawbridge fanned out rapidly.
Some advanced fearlessly toward Drenbalk’s Thunderbear Tribe on the right.
The Lansed Academy members joined this charge.
Their goal was clear:
to rescue Head Instructor Everhart and the captured instructors and cadets.
Centered around Dean Duke Valendo, the academy group rushed toward Drenbalk’s forces.
“We must save the instructors and cadets! I’ll lead the way!”
At Duke’s command, Jaina and Jack picked up their pace.
“Jack, we’re going in with a combo.”
“Understood, Lady Jaina!”
Jaina entrusted herself to Jack with practiced ease.
Jack crouched low, and Jaina stepped onto his shoulder, balancing herself.
Jack then grabbed her feet and, with all his strength, propelled her upward.
“Hup!”
The compressed force exploded from her toes, launching Jaina high into the air.
Soaring above, she scanned the battlefield, pinpointing the prisoners’ location before twisting her body.
Gripping her sword tightly and steadying her breath, Jaina’s eyes gleamed sharply.
This is my first time using it in real combat…
A sword technique reinterpreted from the Ritual of Bloodstorm in her own way.
Jaina Vaberin’s body sliced through the air, descending toward the enemy.
Her sword glowed red in the air, finally revealing her new technique.
A storm of sword aura rained down from the sky.
Having observed Gaiard’s blood feast in Hell’s Path, Jaina sought to recreate that overwhelming moment with her own swordsmanship.
Spinning rapidly in the air, her Falling Blood Sword tore through everything, scattering blood.
Slash!
The whirlwind of sword aura shredded the Kandahr warriors’ flesh.
But these were the elite of the Thunderbear Tribe.
They didn’t fall so easily.
“When that wench lands, cleave her with your axes!”
They raised their axes, waiting for Jaina.
As the warriors focused on the sky, a spear shot sharply from the side.
“Dare to strike me?!”
One warrior, noticing the spear, hurriedly raised his axe to deflect it.
But the spear’s immense weight slid the axe aside, and the blade pierced straight through the warrior’s torso.
Thud!
Pulling the spear free, Executor cadet Elliott emerged.
“Does that mean I got here first?”
As other warriors rushed at Elliott, cadets leapt in from both sides.
Jerito, swinging a flail fearlessly, Leman, advancing with unwavering swordsmanship, and Jack Reed, vaulting lightly over Elliott’s shoulder with agility.
“Is that really the priority right now?”
“Stop showing off!”
“Saving our friends comes first!”
The nine Executor cadets, including them, pushed through the enemy toward the prisoners.
Though young, having endured hellish training for years, each was worth ten men on this battlefield.
“Leman! Cover my back!”
“You don’t have to tell me!”
Each cadet’s skill was already at the aura level of a knight, and their teamwork was impeccable.
Their perfect coordination made even the veteran Thunderbear warriors hesitate to approach.
“We’re almost there!”
“Those bastards treated our friends like garbage.”
One by one, the cadets reached the bound prisoners, and Jack rushed forward, quickly cutting their ropes.
“Everyone okay?”
“Ugh… Sob…”
The prisoners, teetering on the edge of life and death, finally let their tears fall.
Jack patted their shoulders, offering comfort, while Jaina spoke firmly to the trembling group.
“If you’ve got time to cry, get up and evacuate to the castle! We don’t have the luxury to babysit you.”
Jaina snapped sharply, swinging her sword at the warriors again.
At that moment, Executor cadet Meris appeared from the rear, drawing her bow with a gentle smile.
“Understand her. Our training was brutal, so she’s a bit prickly.”
Her voice was soft, but as she drew her bowstring, her eyes turned fierce, piercing an enemy’s head with precision.
“Got it?”
Seeing their peers, of similar age, perform so brilliantly, the rescued cadets looked at each other, ashamed.
Then, with resolute determination, they declared to Jack.
“Jack, we’ll help too.”
“Yeah. This is why we trained at the academy.”
Though fear of the Kandahr Tribe lingered within, their desire to protect the kingdom was stronger.
“Even if I die today, I’ll take at least one of them with me.”
Jack smiled lightly and shook his head.
“It’s okay. I appreciate the sentiment. You’re already exhausted.”
Honestly, they wouldn’t be much help.
But out of consideration, Jack didn’t say that aloud.
“There are people waiting inside. You need to go back.”
“But…”
“We’ll clear a path to the gate. When you see an opening, run to the castle.”
“Still…”
As the cadets hesitated, feeling guilty, Jaina, watching them, lost her patience and shouted.
“I said get lost because you’re not helping!”
Jack smiled awkwardly, and Meris, firing another arrow, spoke softly.
“Understand her.”
Finally, the cadets snapped to attention and clung closely to Jack.
“Alright, follow me!”
Jack, along with the other Executor cadets, carved a path to the gate.
The robust Thunderbear warriors blocked fiercely, but the coordinated attacks gradually opened the way.
Meanwhile, Drenbalk, watching the scene, raised his axe in fury.
“You fledgling brats dare!”
As he swung his axe down, a hand roughly grabbed his arm.
It was none other than Duke Valendo, seething with rage.
“You’re dealing with me first, you bloodthirsty punk.”
“…?!”
Drenbalk, shocked by the immense strength in his arm, faced him.
What kind of strength is this?
He tried to shake Duke off, but Duke was slowly forcing his arm down.
For Drenbalk, a lifelong strongman, this was unfamiliar.
Most would have resorted to other tactics, but Drenbalk’s pride was immense.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad? I’m far older than you.”
“No mercy for the elderly in our society!”
“I wouldn’t want it!”
Seizing the moment as they clashed, other instructors swiftly moved to secure Everhart and the remaining prisoners, retreating.
“Protect the head instructor!”
“Hurry, this way!”
They carried the exhausted instructors, who had been on the brink of death, to safety.
Thus, the academy’s instructors and cadets avoided further tragedy.
But the battlefield remained grim.
Rescuing the prisoners hadn’t addressed the root of the crisis.
“Hahaha! Your spirit’s admirable, but you’ve overreached. War isn’t won by momentum alone.”
Drenbalk sneered, surveying the scene.
The kingdom’s initial charge was impressive, but the overwhelming numerical and experiential disparity was sapping their momentum.
Given a little more time, they’d be pushed back entirely.
“You should’ve stayed cowering behind the walls to prolong your lives a bit.”
“We’ll see who lasts longer.”
“Still waiting for the duke? Wake up. The moment our Bakan steps in, all your vain hopes will shatter.”
“No. I’m not waiting for the duke.”
Duke’s eyes still held unwavering conviction.
He awaited only one person.
The one thought dead, whose fate was still uncertain—Evan Lafard.
“That boy… No, the man now, wouldn’t want me to look pathetic when he returns.”