I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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223rd Chapter

“Good morning.”

“……Did you sleep well last night?”

As I emerged from the tent, yawning widely, I spotted Jonathan approaching and greeted him cheerfully. He bowed respectfully.

I shrugged my shoulders lightly. My body felt incredibly light.

“Yeah. Exercising before bed really clears the mind.”

Jonathan flinched slightly. I pretended to gaze at the snow-capped mountains, observing him closely.

After hunting the Kyubera monsters, Jonathan’s demeanor had oddly changed. At first glance, it seemed he had begun to cower before me due to fear from yesterday’s event, but I could instinctively tell that wasn’t the case.

‘Originally, he was intentionally showing a bit of resistance… but after yesterday, it feels like he completely concealed his blade behind a calm facade.’

His aura had suddenly become placid. To anyone else, it would appear to be a positive change, but to me, it was not.

A hedgehog with its quills raised is easier to deal with. You just need to remove the visible spikes. But a turtle that retreats into its shell offers nothing when approached.

I looked into his dark, wary eyes and mechanically raised the corners of my mouth.

I couldn’t discern why his attitude had shifted so suddenly, but as long as he was on guard around me, I couldn’t trust him.

“Order the soldiers to prepare for the march.”

“Yes.”

As his aide, I should see him more often, but if things continued like this, he would remain uncomfortable.

Last night, the snow piled up to our knees, and the wizards melted it with heat spells as we moved forward.

I felt guilty riding on horseback amidst the struggling soldiers, but as the commanding officer, I couldn’t dismount.

‘Hmm?’

Bored, my eyes drifted until they landed on a soldier marching before me.

“Is that your daughter?”

Startled by my question, the soldier nearly dropped the picture he was holding and turned to face me with wide eyes.

“Commander?”

“I wanted to see the fond expression in your eyes.”

In response to my sudden inquiry, he nervously rolled his eyes and cautiously nodded.

“Yes. It’s my young daughter. It hasn’t been long since we parted, but… I already miss her terribly.”

With a loving hand, he stroked the photo showing a girl smiling brightly. I swallowed hard.

‘That… feels like a death flag, doesn’t it?’

Looking at a photo of a treasured person on the battlefield and longing for them is more dangerous than going into combat barehanded. I genuinely began to worry for this soldier’s future.

Just as I was about to tell him to put it away, he delivered the final blow with a wistful smile.

“When I return, I’ll definitely take her to see the lotus flowers…”

“Wait. Just stop there.”

I quickly intervened. The soldier looked bewildered, but that statement carried too much power. It was akin to strapping a suicide bomb to your waist.

Thinking I had saved a life, the soldier timidly spoke up.

“Um, Commander.”

“What is it?”

“My daughter wants me to bring her a gift… Do you happen to know what children her age like?”

He asked with full trepidation. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“A daughter? How old is she?”

“She’s 12 years old.”

“At that age, she can start learning to wield a sword. A sword made of Atara steel would make a decent gift.”

“Well, she has shown some interest in swords lately…”

Whack!

I suddenly yanked the reins sharply, bringing my horse to a halt.

“Commander? Is something wrong?”

Jonathan, who had been riding a distance away, approached me suddenly as I stopped.

When the commanding officer halts, the other soldiers awkwardly paused their march as well.

Confused gazes were directed at me, but I stood there, my face cold and hardened, surveying the surroundings.

This place was a canyon surrounded by towering cliffs on both sides. The path was narrow, and the massive cliffs allowed movement only forward or back.

It was a terrain where it would be hard to dodge falling objects.

“Sir Ameri, you have quite the instinct.”

The black eyes facing me blinked.

Even though his eyes resembled those of berries to the point where the pupils were indistinguishable, I noticed them twitch slightly. Had my expression been too fierce?

“Do you feel something?”

Jonathan looked around but shook his head.

“No. I don’t feel anything.”

His gaze remained fixated on the reins.

I took a deep breath and gazed upward.

The sky was grey and overcast after the snow had stopped. I stared absently at the colossal cliffs that loomed above, which appeared dark and ominous.

I desperately tried to suppress a sense of unease, but I could feel it.

Enemies were up there.

Thud.

Suddenly, the sky darkened.

Swoosh!

Snow. White snow began to fall.

This wasn’t a trivial flurry to obstruct our vision. It was a massive avalanche that could bury us here.

“What the hell!”

“AAAAH!”

Screams erupted from all around as soldiers panicked and scrambled.

Whack!

I leapt from my horse, drawing my sword mid-air. My blue cloak billowed wildly behind me.

Sweep!

I swung my sword, channeling maximum aura. The blade soared rapidly, spreading aura wide and long over the soldiers’ heads like an aurora.

Boom!

The falling heaps of snow collided with the aura barrier, creating a thunderous sound as it exploded and scattered in every direction. The shattered snow particles sparkled like diamond dust.

If I had been even a moment late, the soldiers would have been buried in the snow. It was a very close call.

I landed amid the soldiers. As blind gazes pricked at my skin, I glared coldly upward and raised my sword.

‘Very cowardly… but cunning.’

Attacking the reinforcements while having the terrain advantage. It was infuriating, but there are no rules in war. The more vicious the plan, the better it was.

Swish.

I pointed the tip of my sword at the cliff.

“It’s an ambush! Everyone, raise your weapons!”

Kraang!

With my loud cry as a signal flare, monsters began raining down from the sky like a deluge.

“Form up!”

The soldiers, who had been momentarily disoriented, quickly regained their footing and began to prepare for the ambush. I infused my feet with mana, leaping into the air.

Schwaack.

I dashed through the air faster than the monsters could land, beginning to slice them down. The monsters shrieked as their vital points were struck, and black blood gushed forth.

‘This is an extremely disadvantageous terrain for us.’

In battle, seizing higher ground is crucial, yet they were already looking down at us from the cliffs. It must have been easy to pick us off as if we were fish in a barrel.

‘If I stay here to protect the soldiers, I can minimize casualties. But that would be akin to a defeat.’

With this situation, the North would suffer no losses, while we alone would be the ones to bear the brunt. Even if we survived, it wouldn’t mean victory.

I directed my gaze back to the snake-like monster charging at my shoulder, then glanced at the sharp cliffs.

The height was significant, but there was nothing I could not climb if I set my mind to it. I quickly began to devise a plan.

‘What if I ascend and take out the sorcerer?’

Without the sorcerer, the monsters wouldn’t follow orders, making them useless. We could end this much faster.

‘But is it okay to leave my post?’

I glanced around and noticed that even though I was single-handedly dealing with more than half of the monsters, the remaining ones were still causing the soldiers trouble.

I couldn’t estimate how many would die in the few minutes it would take me to ascend and strike the sorcerer.

My decision would determine the fate of this battalion. It wouldn’t merely end with my death and injuries.

Would I find meaning in surviving while barely holding off the relentless assaults, or should I recklessly jump into the enemy’s midst, seeking victory?

Caught in this dilemma, my thoughts were spinning.

‘Ah.’

The key to this situation caught my eye.

I rushed over to him, explaining my plan. He was startled when he saw me approaching, and his face turned pale at my words.

“B-but if I don’t know the exact location, it could go wrong…!”

“Even if you lose an arm, it doesn’t matter. I won’t hold you responsible! Just do it!”

At my firm command, he gulped nervously and nodded resolutely.

“……Just give me a moment!”

“Make it as fast as you can!”

I stomped down on a centipede-like monster with my sword. Just as he began his task, a bizarre event unfolded above.

‘Damn it.’

I cursed internally.

“Arrows! Fire arrows!”

Flames were raining down like divine retribution.

“Wizards, prepare the barrier!”

I kicked off the cliff and leapt. At my command, the wizards hurriedly began to deploy barriers, but it was too late to stop the arrows that were already descending.

Since everything around was snow, it wouldn’t be a catastrophe if the surroundings turned into a sea of flames, but the damage would still be substantial if anyone got hit.

I had to intervene.

“Duck down!”

The blade of my sword, quivering with energy, was infused with aura, causing it to blaze upwards like flames meeting oil.

Swoosh!

I swung my sword with all my strength.

Kaboom!

The long, crescent-shaped aura blasted through the descending arrows, clearing a path as it exploded. It was like a rough guide leading me through the chaos.

The embers couldn’t withstand the wild heat of the aura and quickly extinguished, leaving only remnants of arrows scattered on the ground.

Swoosh.

“Another wave of arrows is coming! Keep the barrier up!”

I shouted loudly at the wizards who stood dumbfounded and stopped forming the defense. Though the enemies must have seen the arrows cut down by my sword, they were undeterred and continued their assault.

“Commander! Over here!”

Just as the arrows drew close to the barrier, a man who had been doing something different called out to me.

Without hesitation, I rushed over. As I slashed down a bear-like monster blocking my path, its black blood splattered, stinging my eyes, but I didn’t stop.

Before me lay a rough magic circle drawn in the snow with branches.

“Activate it!”

I leapt high into the air. The man, eyes shut tight, poured massive mana into the magic circle.

“Teleport!”

Whack!

As my foot touched the circle, the man shouted.

WHOOSH.

A bright white light enveloped me. I closed my eyes, enduring the familiar nausea.

Pop.

When I opened my eyes again, the scene atop the cliff came into view.

“T-that’s!”

One of the arrow shooters screamed as I revealed myself in the air. All eyes turned towards me.

‘They say teleporting to an unknown location is heavily prone to failure, but I made it.’

The danger of becoming crippled from a misfire was legendary, but I was prepared to lose an arm or leg—if only to arrive at Atara Kingdom together with the first support troops.

The Archmage Julian, who had arrived first, would have been there. He could have easily restored severed parts with divine power.

Considering how unsure I was, this was a remarkably clean success.

I grinned, raising my sword.

“Peekaboo.”

It was time to counterattack.