Mercenary Hakan was an outstanding warrior.
Even at this moment, he was at the pinnacle of Aura Expert, and as befitting the leader of one of the continent's top ten mercenary corps, his leadership and tactical skills were exceptional.
'But his character was rotten to the core.'
Liking booze and women wasn't really a big deal.
Some even praised it as manly or generous.
The problem was that this man, who seemed devoted solely to martial prowess, was as sly and cunning as a fox.
'In public, he built his reputation with charity for the poor. Behind the scenes, he bled the commoners dry with usury.'
If they couldn't repay their debts, he forced men into mercenary work for free under the guise of job placement and sold women off to the red-light districts.
He groveled before the strong, but the moment they showed a weakness, he crushed them mercilessly or exploited it.
In short, his scheming outdid most nobles.
"To think I chased after a bastard like that for over ten years without knowing. What an idiot I was."
In truth, Karyl had only learned Hakan's true nature recently.
It was after he'd risen to a staff officer position in the Leviathan Mercenary Corps and uncovered the truth.
Even after finding out, he hadn't cared.
The world was full of hypocrites, after all.
Besides, before his regression, Karyl had been too busy scraping by to pay attention to other people's injustices.
'Then I got royally backstabbed in the Divine Weapons War. No—ten years ago, right here in this fortress, he clearly used us as bait!'
Hakan had undoubtedly abandoned the Palmen Squadron—made up of rookies—for his own ends.
Grind.
Grinding his teeth, Karyl vowed to save Ralph and give Hakan a massive payback in the process.
Conveniently, there was a perfect opportunity right here to screw him over.
'The reason that bastard could become the Mercenary King was because he got the holy sword. He mastered the Sword Saint's swordsmanship, and his fame skyrocketed. If I can stop the holy sword from falling into his hands...?'
Prevent him from becoming the Mercenary King.
Of course, it'd be best if Karyl could claim the holy sword's opportunity for himself.
But Divine Weapons couldn't be wielded by just anyone.
Only the chosen "attuned" could touch them and draw out their power.
'All God, is this for real?'
Shouldn't those chosen by Divine Weapons be noble heroes?
Yet the actual attuned were far from noble.
The wielder of the Fire Halberd Kelthar, Sun King Esteban, had killed his own brothers to protect his throne.
The owner of the Divine Gauntlet Reckless, Ricardo, was a grand magus with a perverted personality, and the attuned to the Heavenly Bow Astrafe, Eleanor, was a hysterical old-maid elf.
'Well, that's tame by comparison. There was even a lunatic who believed killing all humans and destroying the world would usher in a new era...'
The most dangerous figure.
Thinking of the Blood Sickle Thanatos's attuned—someone even demons would hesitate over—Karyl shook his head.
'I don't know how to become attuned to a Divine Weapon, but for now, the holy sword is mine. So where the hell is this secret passage?'
Karyl was frustrated.
He knew the holy sword was hidden underground in the fortress, but finding the entrance wasn't easy.
Plus, his fellow mercenaries were watching.
It'd look plenty suspicious.
"Karyl, what are you looking for here?"
To Ralph's question, Karyl quickly trotted out his prepared excuse.
"A secret passage."
"Secret passage?"
"Old fortresses might have one. If the imperial attacks keep ramping up, we need a way to bail. Who knows when reinforcements will show."
At the word "reinforcements," Ralph—and the other mercenaries nearby—darkened.
They were the vanguard unit, meant to hold out a few days until relief arrived, but the promised deadline had long passed with no sign.
"When the hell are the Valua Kingdom forces coming?"
"Fine, whatever with the kingdom army. But what the hell is Leader Hakan doing...?"
As they grumbled, Nico came tumbling down from the watchtower and urgently reported.
"Big trouble! The reinforcements..."
"They came? So why's it trouble?"
"Well, it's like..."
Hearing Nico out, the mercenaries rushed to the walls and peered at the imperial camp.
Their faces turned pitch-black.
"Damn it all, no reinforcements for us—the imperials got theirs."
"Looks more than double at a glance."
Strangely, Karyl's expression was even darker than the others.
Having regressed from the future, he knew exactly what forces were in this imperial reinforcement.
'We're screwed. The Cavalier unit's here!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Two hundred years ago, the mass proliferation of gunpowder weapons nearly doomed the knights.
Veteran knights who'd trained for over a decade were dropping like flies to musket balls from peasants with a few days of drill.
What revived the fading knight class was magic armor—special enchanted plate mimicking the Holy Spirit Armors, modeled after the twelve Divine Weapons said to have been forged by the ancient All God.
This magic armor deflected bullets and blocked shell fragments.
Plus, spells that drastically reduced weight or boosted physical prowess allowed Expert-level knights to dash across battlefields like the wind and cleave thick fortress gates with aura.
These knights, now far more powerful than in the past, received a new title in the ancient tongue.
Cavalier.
They were the stars of battlefields saturated with bullets and cannon fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Palmen Squadron mercenaries blanched at the sight of the imperial red magic-armored knights charging forward, shaking the earth with savage steps.
"R-real Cavaliers!"
"Why the hell are they deploying those murder machines on this old pile of rocks?"
"E-even Cavaliers can't get over these high walls, right?"
"You idiot, shut your trap and run!"
Defying rookie Nico's hopeful words, over a dozen imperial Cavaliers leaped straight up the vertical walls as if flying.
Thanks to the enchanted magic in their armor, they could ignore gravity for jumps like that.
"N-no way...!"
Crunch—!
It began with Nico's dazed head being split by a Cavalier's axe, followed by a one-sided slaughter.
Slash! Hack!
"Aaaagh!"
"Run!"
The mercenaries scattered like ants in a downpour.
Every time aura flashed from the Cavaliers' spear-swords chasing them, blood sprayed and limbs tumbled.
Despite outnumbering them ten-to-one, the mercenaries were no match.
It was like starving wolves crashing into a flock of sheep.
"Damn, they're terrifying for real!"
A few, including Karyl, tried to resist, but it was pointless.
Musket balls from the mercenaries harmlessly bounced off the magic armor's shields, and their swinging blades merely cleaved empty air.
The Cavaliers' superior swordsmanship, aura control, and bulletproof armor evoked the feats of legendary heroes.
Of course, ordinary mercenaries who weren't even knights stood no chance.
No wonder the adage was to flee or surrender upon encountering a Cavalier on the battlefield.
"Su-surrender... Gahk!"
"Kuhahaha! If you're warriors, fight honorably to the end! Don't beg like cowards!"
The most brutal was the hulking Cavalier wielding a double-headed axe.
Like children squashing bugs, he hacked off mercenaries' limbs with his aura-infused axe, cackling all the while.
"You damn butcher bastard... Arrrgh!"
"Oops, sorry. Meant to take the ankle but got the knee instead."
The double-axe Cavalier who'd just severed one of Ralph's legs as he resisted with a rifle butt.
An arrow flew straight at the sneering figure.
Swoosh—Thwack!
"Arrrgh!"
Lucky shot.
The arrow had pierced the narrow slit of his visor.
No Cavalier could block attacks slipping through gaps in their armor or helms.
As he writhed in agony, Karyl—the arrow's shooter—darted in, hoisted Ralph, and dragged him away.
"I'm done for. Leave me and run."
"Shut it, man. You trying to turn me into the asshole who ditches his friend?"
"You moron, at least one of us has to make it!"
"Still..."
Crack!
Ralph sucker-punched Karyl's stubborn jaw.
Then he snatched a nearby powder keg and musket pistol, bellowing.
"Get the hell out! Dawdle and we're all dead!"
"Ugh... Ralph..."
The Cavaliers were closing in.
Especially the one Karyl had shot, radiating murderous intent.
"Karyl, you live extra for my share too!"
"Shit!"
Tears streaming, Karyl turned and bolted.
He couldn't let Ralph's sacrifice go to waste.
Crunch!
Confirming his friend had fled, Ralph smashed open the powder keg, jammed the pistol inside, and pulled the trigger.
The pistol's flint sparked straight to the powder.
KABOOM!
The massive blast reduced Ralph to dust and sent the approaching Cavaliers tumbling.
Karyl dodged the explosion and slipped away into the billowing smoke.
That day,
Of those in the fortress, fewer than ten survived—including him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'Ha, if things keep going like this, I'll relive that nightmare again.'
Thinking of the tragedy set to unfold in a week, Karyl sighed.
He had no desire to repeat that hellish event.
So they had to escape before the imperial Cavaliers made their move.
The problem was the holy sword.
Fleeing now meant he couldn't steal it and screw over Hakan as planned.
He hesitated briefly, then shook off the lingering greed.
The sword was tempting, but it couldn't compare to a friend's life.
'Honestly, even if I find it, I probably couldn't wield it anyway.'
By contrast, Ralph had thrown away his life for Karyl's sake.
No need to agonize over the choice.
Decision made, Karyl immediately sought out Squadron Leader Palmen.
"What is it?"
"Squadron Leader, we can't hold any longer like this. We retreat."
Palmen's brow arched at Karyl's words.
No matter his standout performance over the past three weeks, the demand was too much.
"We were ordered to defend this fortress. Withdrawing on our own is a contract breach!"
"What the hell's the higher-ups doing? The reinforcement date came and went ages ago!"
The Palmen Squadron was to hold the fort while the Leviathan main force and Valua Kingdom army regrouped and arrived.
Yet over two weeks past the promised date, nothing.
"We're mercenaries. And they breached the contract first. Why should we hold this place?"
"I agree with Karyl."
One of the officers who'd been gauging the mood chimed in.
"Squadron Leader, we're exhausted. Reinforcements went only to the enemy, morale's in the gutter. We can't fight like this."
"Even so..."
As Palmen dug in his heels, Karyl landed the knockout blow.
"Our water's almost gone. At this rate, we'll die of thirst without even fighting."
"H-how do you know that?"
The prolonged siege had depleted supplies, with water shortages the most dire.
The fortress wells had run dry long ago.
Even the bravest army can't hold out forever without water.
That's why Palmen and the officers had kept it secret to maintain morale.
Who knew Karyl would figure it out!
"No idea when reinforcements come, enemy doubled, no water—what do you think happens? Comrades could riot any second."
"..."
"I have no intention of dying for nothing. If you don't agree by tomorrow, I'll tell the others."
In four days, the encirclement would be complete.
Then escape would be impossible.
With that near-ultimatum, Karyl stepped outside.
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