Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 235: Fall Of The Great Northern Tribe

Several projectiles fly towards me at once.

Like glowing arrows of light, their fiery and fast bodies vibrate with lethal heat and great ferocity.

Even from a distance, I watch as they all charge in my direction.

Although I have sent the Magivores towards the incoming army to attack, they must have figured out that I am the one commanding these Magivores, so they have chosen to concentrate their efforts on me.

Unfortunately for them, even if they take me down, it won’t alleviate their situation.

The Magivores will only grow more feral.

But—

’I don’t even intend to get hit anyway!’

Brandishing my blade, I leap forward and charge at the incoming projectiles.

WHOOSH!

As the world around me blurs and I sense the distance between me and the adversaries thinning, a broad smile forms on my face.

Their multiple numbers do not terrify me in the slightest.

Instead, it causes me to recollect my experiences in war.

My struggles in extreme battle!

’Back then, I was just a powerless Knight. But now...’

The several arrows of fiery light charge at me and I quickly twist my body to evade the first series of attacks while shifting my blade to deflect the next few.

Sparks fly through the air, and I feel a few stings on my face, but I continue to advance.

My legs propel me forward until I close in on the nearest soldier. Drawing an arc in the air with my Armament, I slice through the target’s bodies as though it were melted butter.

No resistance whatsoever!

More projectiles fly towards me, but I move quicker and flip my body, twisting while in mid-air while deflecting the ones I am unable to dodge with my blade.

Upon sticking my landing, I lean backward to evade what would have been a fatal strike, while still flailing my blade around to block other equally dangerous attacks.

More sparks fly, yet I feel no threat to my life.

My coordination continues to climb as I make a quick backflip and then use the momentum to create a massive lip away from my position towards another nearby opponent.

I get into close range and they begin to rapidly shoot at me with all they have.

Unfortunately for them, I maintain constant swing and destroy all their attempts to attack until I reach them.

Without hesitation, I raise my already glowing blade and pierce the opponent through their chest—killing them instantly.

Sizzling sounds of flesh echo in the air, and the smell of burned flesh tickles my nose, but I ignore the sensation and dislodge the blade within an instant.

The corpse falls limp, but before it even reaches the ground, I arrive at my next target to kill them once again.

While all of this is happening, the Magivores I command are also hard at work.

They’re destroying the weaponry and heavy artillerities of the enemy. They are also taking care of the melee attackers.

The Freedom Fighters serve as scouts, spotting hidden enemies or entrapments, just in case.

Since this was an impromptu attack, it has always been doubtful that the enemy would prepare such measures, and that remains true for the most part.

Still, I refuse to take any chances.

After several minutes of an intense battle, the fight finally concludes.

It ends in our victory.

"This is the last of the banded groups we’ll be going after. It’s a shame that none of the Tribes chose to surrender..." I sigh, turning towards the Freedom Fighters.

It couldn’t be helped.

Although these people were much weaker than us, they would be a pain if they banded together and reinforced the Great Northern Tribe. Now that these ones have been eliminated, the Great Northern Tribe won’t have reinforcements to support them.

"We’re returning now. If there will be any reinforcements left, it will be those Tribes whom we haven’t attacked yet, but it will not be wise to stray too far away from Kalakuta."

From this moment on, we’ll be reaching the last stage of this battle.

Any Tribe foolish enough to advance despite seeing the corpses we left in our wake would have already made their decision to fight.

They will only march to their doom.

"Let’s... huh...?"

I notice something—or rather, someone—approaching us from a great distance.

A single individual.

A woman.

"Isn’t that—?’ My eyes widen as I watch her charge towards us by her lonesome.

The Minister of Combat!

’That crazy woman...’ My eyes widen in genuine surprise. ’She actually survived all those Magivores. I didn’t think she was so strong.’

What an interesting development.

I can see the Freedom Fighters already stirring into action, and even my Magivores appear provoked by her effrontery, but I quickly raised my hand to signal a halt.

"Stand down. I’ll handle this."

Not saying anything more, I march forward on my lonesome and approach the woman.

’I know the Freedom Fighters are averse to fighting women, and someone like this will surely use that to her advantage and claim many of their lives.’

Now tightly holding my blade, I maintain a stern gaze on her.

She looks exhausted for sure.

Despite that, her body still seems to swell with immense energy.

It is a rather curious thing.

Suddenly, I notice her raising what appears to be a short staff. A stick of some sort with a handle and a slightly robust and round snout.

An Armament for sure, but—

POW!

All of a sudden, I witness a powerful projectile charge towards me at incredible speed.

I quickly use Tracing to avoid being hit.

’Fascinating...’

A broad smile forms on my face as my eyes rest on the Armament she wields. It is a B Grade Armament.

A powerful instrument for sure.

I truly cannot underestimate this woman.

’Alright! Let’s fight!’

WHOOSH!!!

I increase my pace and charge towards her, successfully evading her attacks while closing in on her rapidly.

I even manage to deflect one or two of the highly destructive projectiles.

At this point, my blade begins to glow with bright orange light.

This tells me one thing—

’The energy build-up is complete. I have absorbed enough to fill up its guage...’

My lips curl up immediately.

The reason why I joined in on the fight earlier, expending so much of my energy, wasn’t merely to display my combative prowess.

I also did it to absorb kinetic energy and increase the maximum output of my weapon.

Now, it is complete.

’Why don’t we try this?’ I send my blade into a straight thrust and fire a concentrate blast on the woman’s steed.

BOOOOOM!

The horse immediately explodes into pieces, but she had already jumped away from it before that could happen.

Now charging towards me like a meteor, she makes a blood curdling scream.

I brace myself.

She sends another powerful blast towards me, and I use Tracing to move a few feet away from position.

This allows her to successfully land.

Now, we both stand.

A few meters from each other.

Our breathing stabilizes.

She stares at me with deep hatred and passion.

I know she desires to end my life.

"I... think I have fallen for you..." She suddenly blurts out, much to my surprise.

"H-huh?"

"You’re quite the merciless man. Methodical and powerful too. That confident look in your eyes tells me you believe you can win against me in a close-up battle."

"...."

"I am the strongest person in the Central Plains. I have been searching for an equal, no, a superior, for a very long time. I believe I may have found that in you."

I cast a troubling gaze on the woman.

She is certainly beautiful.

Her appearance is currently marred by the rigors of battle. Her blond yellow hair is quite disheveled, and she does have wild green eyes that are filled with lethality.

But, I can certainly see her beauty through all of these.

Regardless, this is strange behavior.

"What happened to your squad?"

"They’re all dead. Only I survived. It took some time, but I killed all of those Magivores and swore to find you."

’This crazy lady...’

I sent three Cadre 4 Magivores after her entire crew, as well as multiple Cadre 3 Magivores.

I was certain they would be annihilated.

’Even if one has a B Grade Armament, this still shouldn’t be something an average to skilled person can achieve.’

That means this Minister of Combat is exceptional—a true anomaly.

"We could have a future together... you and I." She interrupts my thoughts with a proposal, one I immediately dismiss.

"You’re delusional."

"I wonder..."

Brandishing my blade in one second and charging at her in the next, my determination to beat her soars to another level.

"Haaa...’

I watch as she sighs at my advance.

Then, her gaze turns serious and she raises her weapon to strike.

She shoots the first strike and I lean low to evade it while striking in an upward vertical stroke.

Somehow, she gains enough momentum to flip upward, turning to the side so she mirrors my blade’s movements and lands right behind me.

She shoots at me once again, but I also sidestep her attack and send a downward strike this time.

She leans low, following my blade but shifting to the side so I don’t land the strike.

She makes several more shots, causing me to step back until she rises back up and reaches out for me.

I immediately twist my body and leap into the air, trying to stab at her while she tries to shoot at me.

We both dodge our respective attacks and find ourselves in our starting positions once more.

I don’t hesitate for even a moment.

I rush at her again.

I swing my blade and use Tracing to appear right in front of her, not giving her a moment to dodge.

Even then, she takes advantage of the brief moment of lapse in my strike to leap away.

Unfortunately for her, my blade has great reach and it strikes her weapon, turning it crimson due to the heat.

"Argh!"

Her panicked shout gives me more motivation as I appear behind her with Tracing and give her a powerful kick.

The sudden impact sends her flying forward.

"Guh!"

The sudden shock of the strike causes her already exhausted body to convulse before landing on the ground.

Before she can gather her strength, I kick aside her weapon and step on her in triumph.

"I win."

"Indeed you did..." She sighs deeply, not rising from the ground.

"My life is yours now."

’I was hoping she’d say something like that. It would be much safer to kill this woman now, but I can’t help but wonder...’

Regardless, it seems she already used up her Potions and the rest of her Armaments in the fight against all those Magivores I sent.

Controlling her will be easier now.

"Let us set out. We have to assist Kalakuta in battle." I declare to the troops who raise their hands with unbridled energy.

While they celebrate, I help the Minister of Combat up and pat her head.

"From this moment on, you are mine and mine alone... understood?"

A bright red hue forms on her cheeks and she nods without an ounce of hesitation.

"Yes, dear husband."

Sigh...

She really is delusional.

******

By the time we return to the battlefield... The battle has already been concluded.

The only person remaining is Kalakuta.

The Ministers and even the Chief who defied him are all dead.

All the thousands of enemies—Magivores and humans—lay at his feet, their bloody corpses unmoving.

Sure, they must have killed each other for the most part, but there is no doubt in my mind that Kalakuta had to fight against whatever remained of them afterwards.

In this vast place of war and bloodshed, only he stands victorious.

"Kalakuta..." I whisper while my wide open eyes focus on his injury-ridden body.

’He... is injured?’

This is the first time I have seen Kalakuta bleed. His body is covered in all kinds of slashes, and while the crimson ichor isn’t actively flowing from them, I can see the dried blood clinging onto his ebony skin.

Magnifiscent!

Even against such odds, he managed to triumph.

Is he even human anymore?

"Knight... Everyone... You are back."

Kalakuta snaps out of his daze and looks at us, offering me a warm smile once we make eye contact.

I nod at him and smile with pride.

With a small nod of his own, he raises the Pathfinder towards the heavens and loudly makes a declaration.

"The war is finally over. The Great Northern Tribe has now fallen!"