novelraw Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Chapter 127: Counterattack (3)
While each faced their nemesis, spilling blood in fierce combat, inside the inner castle, Kandahr warriors and kingdom soldiers were already entangled in a bloody battle.
And finally, at the center of the battlefield, the heart of this war,
three stood against the towering presence.
Evan Lafard.
Gaiard Lecan.
And Rona Penrel.
Gaiard stepped forward first.
Quickly assessing Bakan’s condition, he gave a meaningful smile.
“He’s wounded. Who managed to do that to this monster?”
“The Dean, at the cost of his life.”
“Really…?”
A flicker of surprise passed through Gaiard’s eyes.
Having faced Bakan himself, he knew the significance of wounding him.
“His body’s not something ordinary attacks can scratch.”
Gaiard muttered, then spoke loudly for all to hear.
“So we’ll need to be ready to risk our lives.”
Evan and Rona, already understanding, nodded silently.
Having clashed with Bakan once, they were prepared.
“If any of you are scared, step back now. He’s my opponent anyway.”
At Gaiard’s provocation, Rona snapped back and charged first.
“Who’s scared?!”
Rona unleashed her aura, drawing her sword with full force from the start.
“That woman’s got spirit.”
Gaiard followed sharply, like a bat.
Evan took a deep breath, gripping two new daggers in reverse, replacing Venus.
‘The chance Duke created… I won’t let it slip.’
Gathering his aura, Evan launched forward.
―Tad!
Rona attacked with sharp speed and precise swordsmanship, Gaiard with explosive power and blood-based ambushes, and Evan with unpredictable tactics and lethal precision, pressuring Bakan.
“You pests!”
Bakan, now serious, swung his greatsword, refusing to be overwhelmed.
No, a serious Bakan was even stronger.
The mere wind pressure from his swings forced them to brace their feet.
‘Even wounded, his power’s unchanged.’
Each swing of Bakan’s greatsword unleashed a storm-like shockwave.
A direct hit would mean instant death, and even a graze felt like bones would shatter.
―Whoosh!
Bakan seemed to overpower all three alone, but something was different from before.
Previously, Evan had focused on coordinating the others’ movements to find openings.
Now, he took the lead, driving the flow himself.
Moreover, each attack was aimed to kill, striking with razor-sharp precision.
Thus, Bakan had to prioritize Evan even while facing the other two.
‘He chose daggers to pierce my aura.’
Evan compressed his aura into the small daggers, maximizing their sharpness.
Inspired by Duke’s life-sacrificing Fist of the Raging Storm, which had breached Bakan’s barrier, it wasn’t yet enough for a fatal wound, but Bakan was clearly being pushed back for the first time.
Amid this fierce assault, Evan caught a dire situation at the edge of his vision.
‘Damn it! Some troops are sneaking toward the palace! Why isn’t anyone stopping them?’
Some Kandahr warriors, exploiting the battle’s chaos, were bypassing the main fight to head for the palace.
With most of the inner castle’s defenders already on the battlefield, the palace was likely extremely vulnerable.
“Captain! Take some troops and head to the palace now!”
Rona, desperately blocking Bakan’s attacks, shouted back.
“There are already Executors and royal knights guarding His Majesty! It’ll be fine!”
“But what about the others? The servants, officials, citizens—who protects them?”
Rona snapped to attention, as if struck.
She’d briefly forgotten.
Her duty wasn’t just to protect the King, but the kingdom itself.
Evan continued in a firm tone.
“The guards, as you said, will do their best to protect His Majesty and his family. But that leaves everyone else exposed!”
Rona nodded briefly, resolute.
“I understand. I’ll be back soon, so stay alive!”
Rona rushed from the battlefield toward the palace.
Bakan, seeing this, sneered at Evan.
“You dare show such leisure before me? You’re mad with a death wish.”
“Maybe. But whether I’m mad or not, we’ll find out. Right?”
Gaiard attacked Bakan from behind.
“Bakan, don’t get cocky.”
“You fly!”
Bakan swung his greatsword at Gaiard.
Evan crossed his daggers, redirecting the blade and pushing Gaiard aside.
As Bakan said, losing a key fighter tilted the battle in his favor.
“In the end, you and those inside will be torn apart by our hands.”
“Will we? The people in this castle aren’t as weak as you think.”
Evan regripped his daggers and said softly, “And neither am I.”
***
The Kandahr warriors invading the royal castle were mercilessly slaughtering everything in their path.
“Kill everything in sight!”
At the brutal command of the Thunderbear Tribe’s chieftain, warriors spread out, cutting down servants and officials with frenzied laughter.
“Kyaa!”
“Please, spare us!”
Terrified screams filled the palace halls.
Those who narrowly escaped death fled desperately through the maze-like interior.
“Huff… huff…”
But this was the sinister trap the Kandahr warriors had set.
The terrified would instinctively seek the safest place, which would inevitably be the palace’s designated shelter.
And a young maid, panting, stumbled into a storage room where many other maids were already hiding, trembling.
“Keh heh heh… As expected, you’re all hiding here.”
The chieftain, facing the terrified maids trapped in the storage room, raised his blood-soaked axe and advanced slowly.
“A pity, but Bakan’s orders are clear—you all die.”
As he crossed the threshold, a commotion erupted at the corridor’s end. Kandahr warriors were flung back, and a path opened.
A knight charged forward, shouting.
“Get your filthy hands off them!”
It was Anton, the knight guarding the princess, known as the Swiftblade Knight.
―Clang!
True to his title, Anton’s lightning-fast swordplay cut down warriors one by one, reaching the storage room’s door in an instant.
Ignoring his own wounds, he moved solely to protect the weak.
“Oh? Cutting down warriors so easily—you’re skilled.”
The chieftain grinned with interest.
“Knowing that, get lost now.”
Anton blocked the door, glaring at the chieftain.
But his opponent was Drenbalk’s right-hand man, a formidable warrior on par with Anton.
“Get lost…? Do we look like we will?”
The chieftain smirked, glancing at the warriors behind him.
“No way!”
The warriors raised their axes and swords with savage grins.
Anton quickly assessed the situation.
‘This is bad… Each of these warriors is skilled, and this guy’s my equal.’
But he couldn’t retreat.
Behind him, the trembling maids looked to him alone.
‘Even if I die, I’ll hold this ground.’
Anton locked the storage room’s door and charged at the warriors.
“Hah!”
“Kill him!”
Anton’s swiftblade parried the warriors’ axes and spears.
As one of the royal guard’s elite, he didn’t falter easily.
Cutting down warriors one by one, he began to take control.
Finally, he faced the chieftain head-on.
―Clang! Clang!!
A fierce melee ensued.
While Anton’s focus was on the chieftain, a warrior behind him prepared a cowardly ambush.
Anton noticed but was too close to dodge the axe.
‘Too late to evade. Fine, an arm’s a small price.’
Resolving to sacrifice his arm, Anton swung at the chieftain.
At that moment,
blood sprayed from the ambushing warrior’s throat, a sharp dagger piercing his neck and lodging in the ceiling.
“Guh!”
Anton repelled the chieftain’s attack, creating distance, and turned, shocked, toward the dagger’s source.
“Your Highness!? Why are you here!!”
At the corridor’s end stood Princess Anna, panting.
“I’m here to fight!”
“No! Are you mad? Why did you come out!!”
For the first time, Anton yelled at the princess he protected, knowing how dangerous this place was.
But Anna didn’t back down.
“No! A royal has a duty to protect those who follow them!”
“Not you—I’ll protect them. Please, go back!”
Their exchange was cut short by the chieftain’s harsh shout.
“Grab that girl!”
Two warriors charged at Anna.
Anton tried to intercept, but the chieftain attacked ferociously, holding him back.
“You play with me!”
“You bastard…!”
Anna, fumbling for her dagger in panic, hesitated.
The warriors approached with chilling grins.
“Heh heh heh… Come here!”
In a dire moment Anton couldn’t aid, Anna took a deep breath, calming herself.
‘One chance…’
She gripped the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
Exhaling, she threw two at once.
―Swish!
Shadow Throwing Technique.
Her unique method, infused with acceleration magic, sent a dagger flashing through one warrior’s throat, embedding in the wall.
“Guh!”
But the other warrior, pierced only in the shoulder, raised his axe.
“I’ll cut that arm off!”
“Kyaa!”
In that critical moment, Anna’s legs gave out, and she shut her eyes.
―Clang!
A sudden Executor’s sword blocked the axe.
Opening her eyes, Anna saw Rona standing before her.
“Sorry for being late, Your Highness.”
Rona felled the warrior with one strike and helped Anna up.
Then, she rushed to join Anton’s fight.
“Anton! Combined attack!”
“Yes!”
With the Executor’s sword, the chieftain’s group was quickly overwhelmed.
“Ugh! Wait!”
The chieftain lost an arm to Rona’s attack, and Anton’s sword severed his neck.
―Thud.
After dispatching the remaining tribesmen, ending the bloody fight, Anton asked Rona with a stern face.
“Why are you here instead of the battlefield? Shouldn’t you be there?”
“Don’t worry. The Duke’s arrived.”
“The Duke!”
“And…”
Rona wiped blood from her forehead and said, “There’s one remarkable man out there.”
“What?”
“So we need to clean up here and get back. That man can’t die. He’ll be a pillar for the kingdom’s future.”
Rona gripped her sword tightly, rallying herself.
More warriors were flooding the corridor’s end.