94 – Decide, and Persevere (1)
He willingly swallowed the dust into his lungs that were about to burst at any moment, tightly gripping the shield in his hand, and glaring at the person who was speaking with laughter from a distance.
“Heo-eok…! Huh…!”
“My dear younger brother! Are you really going to throw the dagger the witch gave you at this older brother?”
“Everyone, shut up… Shut up! You are not my brother!”
Holding the double shield, the symbol of my family, I knelt down on one knee and took a deep breath.
The demon in the body of my brother stood with the members of the Marsh of the Five Elements and laughed cheerfully at me.
‘Damn it!’
I was already in a hurry to block the ‘strange trick’ they shot, so there was no sound part of my body torn here and there.
‘If only I could get closer!’
I glanced down at the dagger hidden under my shield, given to me by the great witch of dark clouds, and gently bit my lip.
After Count So left for the imperial castle, I waited for the devil to come here in an empty lot located a little away from the imperial castle.
There was certainty that an army led by the devil would come here. Yes, there was Amantna by his side.
He has always raised his voice that, in the event that the Imperial Castle needs to be defended, it should be resolved in this vacant lot in order to reduce the damage to civilians.
I thanked Amantna from the bottom of my heart, who was looking at me sadly from the devil’s side.
‘This is the end!’
This is my only chance to make up for the mistakes I made with my brother and Count So.
“Serien~! Why do you think I didn’t take that goddamn witch’s dagger from her even when I imprisoned you?”
I know. The devil believes in me The disgusting pillars of faith are firmly established.
“There’s no way you could stab this brother’s heart! Ahahahaha!!”
“Kuh…!”
I’m sorry, but just having a dagger in my hand that can break the devil’s mark made it clear that what the devil said was true.
He laughs at me for not being able to make a decision while mortifying the lives of my relatives.
If it had been before I met Count So, I might not have been able to make a decision again because I was shaken and shaken by those words.
But not anymore. I am Serien Garatroso. The daughter of a ducal family who protects the glorious empire.
And he’s the next head of Karatroso!
I caught my breath, raised my double shields again, and confronted them.
“This time it will be different.”
“Where~ I wonder how different it will be! Pahahahaha!!”
At the same time as the demon’s laughter, the people lined up around them drew their bowstrings in unison. It was a longbow that was almost taller than me, so it seems that even the sound of the string being pulled can be heard brutally.
The taut string fell from my hand and an arrow with concentrated power was shot toward me.
Kaga Ga River!!
“Keuuugh!!”
Crouching down, he raised his shield to block the arrows pouring down like a torrential rain. Fortunately, I was able to cover my entire body with a kite shield.
No matter what he did, no matter how much mana he put into his shield, the shock wasn’t alleviated satisfactorily.
Both arms trembled from the series of merciless impacts hitting the shield. The only defense I could do was strengthen my body to withstand the impact.
Overcoming the shock, I dragged my knees and feet and moved forward little by little.
‘Go ahead!’
It doesn’t matter if you crawl on the ground like a turtle or an armadillo. I gritted my teeth, thinking that I was the only one who could free my brother from the devil’s clutches.
That brother’s ugly appearance is no different from what I created. So!
‘This time with my own hands!’
Even if my brother dies, I will continue to lead Garatroso in your will. You’re hoping for that too.
I’m sure any brother I know who has dedicated his entire life to the imperial family and this empire will do so.
Even if your death awaits at the end of your steadfast progress, I will not stop!
Seeing the demon laughing at me through the cracks in my shield, I burned my enthusiasm again.
‘Don’t think that everything will go your way!’
No matter what plan you plot, I will crush it from the front, confidently, like a Garatrosso.
One step, then another step. Before I knew it, I succeeded in advancing from where I was at the beginning to the edge of the midpoint.
As I was walking out step by step with the hope that it would be possible if I kept going like this, I was suddenly knocked back by the dull impact of hitting my shield.
“Kyaaah!”
It was an intense shock that was incomparable to that of blocking an arrow. As soon as I fell backwards, I rolled backwards and quickly got back into position.
When I saw the figure of the person standing in front of me through the shield, I put strength into the hand holding the shield.
“Sir Amantna…”
A confidant who had worked for the Karatroso family for a long time, and a veteran who had survived countless battles to the death, stood in my way.
He was also holding a double shield like a vassal of Garatroso, but it was different from me.
In his right hand, at the end of a thick shield that covers the forearm of his arm, five claw-like sharp blades extend straight out.
Just by looking at it, you can understand his fighting style, which is a little more focused on offense as well as defense.
And in his left hand, he holds a huge shield almost the size of a door, completely covering half of his body.
Even just looking at that massive shield, it seems like an enormous amount of mana and stamina will be consumed just by standing there.
However, Sir Amantna showed skill in running around the battlefield with that shield at will. Even if it is said that he strengthened his physical abilities using mana, it is an abnormal combat method.
A combat method in which the body is completely defended while aiming for an opponent’s gap and inserting a claw into it. Even so, he does not hesitate to use the weight of his shield to crush his opponent.
“Sirien. Please forgive me.”
Crunching, and the sound of metal clashing was heard.
He cast a heavy gaze, covering more than half of his body with his shield, like a warrior holding a spear behind his shield.
He wouldn’t have wanted to do this either. He must have had no choice but to respond to the threat of the devil playing with his brother’s life.
Knowing that, I had no choice but to say this to him.
“Please step aside… Sir Amantna.”
“This is not possible.”
“To clear up for my mistake!”
He answered in a deep voice without loosening his guard.
“It’s too late to undo your mistake, Mr. Serien.”
“I won’t hesitate this time! So!”
At my earnest cry, he shut his mouth for a moment and glared at me silently. I swallowed dryly and waited for a hopeful answer from him.
However, he immediately shook his head.
“Make a decision. And be patient.”
That word is a family motto passed down from generation to generation in the Karatroso family. Arrogantly, in front of the daughter of Garatroso, he pushed the family motto, but I had no answer.
“The world is not easy enough to reverse a decision once made. As you know.”
Clap!
He took a step towards me and muttered lowly.
“Until the end… Like a Garatrosso.”
I mocked myself, thinking that perhaps the one who deserved the name of Garatroso more than anyone else in this room was that man.
Then I got up and posed for him.
As long as Sir Amant and Sir came forward, there wouldn’t be a barrage of arrows like the one before. Rather, it would only hinder his movement.
“Whoa…”
In a one-on-one confrontation, I was the first to move.
No matter how much he can run around with that heavy shield, I’m ahead of him in terms of mobility alone. If so, the method of breaking through his defenses by moving vertically and horizontally was the most effective.
‘Armored Movement’
Close the distance with him by using martial arts to move quickly while armed. He too saw me approaching at great speed and solidified his defense.
‘Shock Strike’
A martial art that surrounds the buckler with mana and sends shockwaves into the target. However, it had no impact on him who lightly blocked my buckler with a huge shield.
He must have also used martial arts to shock him.
I didn’t expect an attack of this magnitude to break through his defenses. I rotated my body and stretched out my feet.
‘Double battering.’
“Tutong,” A heavy gong sound reverberated twice. However, as if he had hit Mount Tai, his body did not budge.
As I was about to wield the shield, his huge metal suddenly slammed right in front of my eyes.
“Ugh!”
I managed to block his thrust by returning my attacking hand, and then his body floated into the air. As it was, it flew far back and landed stably.
“Still… Still a long way off!!!!”
Right after that, I threw myself at him again.
Dozens of times since then. Repeatedly repeated attacking and failing to break through his defense.
“Keuheugh!!”
Because I fell back to the floor again, the stone fragments tore my skin, and a bitter pain came over me. However, even the mana to be used for recovery had already been used up for a long time.
I scraped up to the floor and poured it into the attack, but I couldn’t move Amant or Sir from the spot.
What would you do if you were the top of the academy? I had a clear feeling that I was still just an inexperienced girl.
“Agh… Ugh…! Huh…!”
Swallowing dust and rolling on the floor, I barely managed to get down on my knees. But I just didn’t have the energy left to get up.
He just looked down at me loftily with eyes that did not contain any ridicule, sympathy, or compassion toward me, who was completely exhausted.
‘Ha…’
That’s it. I had a sudden thought.
I never wanted to give up. I couldn’t destroy that warrior’s stronghold.
Seeing his brother’s figure in the distance behind him, he lowered his head.
‘I’m sorry, older brother.’
I really… I really wanted to save you one last time. My strength is so weak that I can’t even reach you.
I am sorry that I am a younger brother who is weak both physically and mentally.
The moment I was about to give up everything and let go of my strength in the hand holding the shield.
“I don’t think it’s been an hour since I asked for help.”
I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head in the direction where the voice came from.
“Countess So… Grand Witch…”
Before I knew it, Count So, who had been seriously injured earlier, was standing next to me in a normal state.
And beside him were the Archwitch and Earl Peirosis, who were distorting the atmosphere around them with anger.
He… Appeared before me again.
It seems like I waited and waited for the despair to eat away at my body, and I feel a pathetic resentment at the sight of it appearing.
“Did you forget it already?”
I felt like tears would flow again at those words, so I bit my lip to hold back my tears.
This Serien Garatroso can’t shed tears in front of the same person twice a day.
I burned my will again. Clutching my shield, I stood up with strength in my legs and stood next to him.
“Then… I will do my best, Count So.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled lightly, as if he had finally heard what he needed to hear.