at 13th of October 2019 10:41:57 AM\nChapter 64
Chapter 64On the left side of the battlefield, Macbarn had been stuck in a close battle for a while . Until now .
ăâââ Look at our brave hero! Letâs follow in his steps! Victory is already ours!âă
Rodrigo shouted at the top of his lungs, and launched an offensive . Even ordinary soldiers had dreams of heroes since the day they were born as men . How could they not get fried up after seeing an actual hero in action?
ăâOoooooooooooooooh!âăăâWe wonât lose out to Macbarn! ATTACK!âă
As if their struggles so far were all a lie, the Lapland forces forced back the Asgardian soldiers at the center of the formation . Just by keeping themselves from being completely crushed, the empireâs soldiers were already living up to their reputation .
ăâMY HAIR!âăăâMaster! Please come back to your senses!!âă
To make things worse for the Asgardians, Kurats and Frigga were going on a rampage on their right wing, which had the least amount of soldiers .
ăâUh⊠Everyone, ignore that monster and push forward!âă
Gregory, the man leading the forces on the right wing of the empireâs formation, had to make a bitter decision and order an all-out attack . He had already gained victory over half the allied forces of Mountbatten and Eldris . Had he taken the rest of them down before Kurats brought down Cabernard, the state of the war might have been different . If there was a single way for them to succeed in any way, it was most certainly by destroying the northern allianceâs right wing . Hence why Gregory was ready to pull the enemyâs forces towards his own, at the risk of getting annihilated .
ăâD-donât step back! Our hero will be here to help us in no time!âă
This was the empireâs last offensive . It was like the last sparkle of a candle before it burned out, but it made the hearts of Mountbattenâs and Elsridâs soldiers skip more than a few beats . The soldiers believed that if they stayed careful and quiet enough, Kurats and Frigga were going to eventually save them . But these reassuring thoughts were preventing them from putting their lives on the line and fighting with their all . The more flashy Kuratsâ fighting prowesses were, the less fighting spirit they had .
Lapland could not abandon their allies as this crisis unfolded . This battle was not going to be the last, and for the future security of all the northern nations, they had to be careful of anything that could put a strain on their alliance .
ăâSorry Gregory⊠Weâre in your debt!âă
Thanks to the pressure of Gregoryâs last assault, the Asgardian forces at the center were able to retreat in a square formation . They were using the right wingâs assault as a decoy .
ăâWe will also retreat! Do not waste the right wingâs sacrifice!âă
As for the left wing, though Rodrigoâs soldiers were eating away at their formation, they did not hesitate to retreat . Moreover, they were still able to display all their skill and battle experience in their escape . Rodrigo was amazed .
ăâIs the difference in experience that big?!âă
It is said that a difference in experience between soldiers is better seen when theyâre in a position of retreat rather than when theyâre the victors . When a soldiers thinks victory is close, he immediately becomes more careful with his life, and less competent . He doesnât get to show his experience and skills . Who would want to die in battle with victory in sight, and miss out on all the rewards?
However, when an army retreated, the good and experienced soldiers could be distinguished by their unbroken wills . No soldier would get particularly frightened while being surrounded by his allies, but a soldier keeping his fighting spirit while his allies were being killed one after the other was anything but common . The Asgardian menâs retreat was splendid . It was as if it had come straight out of a military textbook .
ăâShow them the spirit of Asgard! Let us give our lives away! Let us find glory IN DEATH!âă
The last, frenzied assault of the Asgardians in the right wing put the forces of Mountbatten and Elsrid in a state of great anarchy . As foes and allies blended together, Kurats was unable to intervene . But eventually, the forces of Lapland and Macbarn came to encircle them from both flanks, and took care of all the fleeing soldiers of the alliance . The Asgardians were trapped . The battle was already over by that point . The empireâs soldiers put up a hard fight and kept resisting for a few more hours, but as their willpower dwindled, they fell one after the other . When Gregory finally died, his remaining subordinates surrendered . There were only 10% of them left . But the 90% who had given their lives to allow their comrades to escape had certainly left their mark on the pages of history .
ăââŠThat was incredible . âăăâIf I ever die in battle, I want it to be like this . âă
Although they had failed to annihilate the empireâs army, the northern alliance had still made half of them unable to go on with the war . It only took them a few days to take back the rest of Lapland afterwards . The forever invincible Asgard empire was defeated by a small kingdom . That information was eventually going to spread over the whole continent, giving hope to all the small countries that lived in fear under the pressure of major powers .
Brigitte was kneeling in front of Heimdall, with what was left of her right arm covered in bandages . When Cabernard died in battle, the responsibility for the defeat fell onto her .
ăâMy deepest apologies . This is inexcusable . If I have to be demoted to the rank of a mere soldier, then so be it . But please just give me chance to get revenge!âă
Even death itself was not going to stop her from challenging Frigga again . Without her arm, her chances of winning could very well be inexistent . Still, it was against her convictions to quit while she was ahead . Or in this case, quit while she was behind .
ăâCabernard was defeated? That Cabernard? I canât believe itâŠâă
The man deploring the loss of Cabernard was the commander of the empireâs first squadron . Gunther Olbrink . He was still only in his early thirties, but his swordsmanship went beyond anyone elseâs in the empire . People called him the Devil swordsman . He had short hair and an intrepid countenance to him, yet he also had charming features that were much favored by the opposite sex .
ăâYouâve picked my curiosity . You can have the Valkyrie if you want, but Iâll deal with the man myself!âă
It was easy to tell by Skuldâs smile that this news was the harbinger of a fun time to her . Skuld Beweldshteim . She was a distant cousin of Heimdallâs . A true descendant of the imperial family . Due to her fatherâs death, she had inherited the title of archduke of Beweldshteim at a young age . Her long blonde hair could stretch to her hips, but she had it tied in a bun and slightly hanging down . She was a beauty the likes of which would only appear once in any given population, but her eyes were dyed in such a deep crimson red that youâd believe they were covered in blood . She was known for being the cruelest of Asgardâs commanders, and as such, she was nicknamed the Mad Princess .
ăâBut Iâm having a hard time believing that a single man was able to destroy a Chaos horseman by himself . You canât just suddenly drop that on us . âă
The man quietly groaning in complaint looked like a literal giant compared to everyone else . Bruno Björkenheim . He was known as Bruno âThe strong-armedâ, and he was recognized as the strongest man in Asgard . But even he was not confident that he would be able to stand his ground in a contest of pure strength against a Chaos horseman .
If Cabernard was still alive, this would be a meeting between the commanders of all the squadrons . But he was never going to participate in any of their little meetings again . The death of the comrade they used to call the Iron Wall made the few people present in the room feel more than a little bitter, maybe even sentimental .
ăâLetâs put the Valkyrie aside for now and focus on that man . Who is he?âăăâThey were calling him earl âMcGregor Mathersâ . But we couldnât find his name anywhere in the registry of Laplandâs nobles . âăăâWhich country do you think heâs from?âăăâI donât know but I donât believe such a powerful warrior could be nameless⊠Weâll check the whereabouts of all the well-known figures of the surrounding nations . âă
Heimdall frowned at his subordinates, who could not provide him with a clear answer . This was a matter of national strategy . The empireâs failure to make Lapland surrender was going to have a severe impact on their plan of going to war against Jormungand .
ăâE-excuse meâŠâă
Brigitte interjected in the conversation with an apologetic tone of voice . She would have much prefered to stay quiet, but she felt like Heimdall was going to be in a foul mood if no one gave him concrete information .
ăâWhat is it? If you have something to say, just say it . âăăâWell, Iâd just like to say that the Snow White Valkyrie was calling that man âMasterââŠâăăâCome again?âă
Lapland was a kingdom with a long history behind it, and Frigga was the younger sister of its king . She was no commoner . There should have been no circumstances under which she would have to call anyone master . But perhaps she was just doing it for a sort of special âplayâ . If that was the case, then picking a battlefield for those kinds of activities was going too far .
ăâItâs my first time hearing that princess Frigga has that kind of⊠inclination⊠But itâs starting to seem more likely that heâs actually from Lapland, isnât it?âă
Guntherâs perplexed, wry smile did not undermine his point . Heimdall agreed with him . It didnât seem likely that a man from another country had somehow gotten a chance to reach that kind of ârelationshipâ with Frigga .
ăâIâll ask the three of you . Who should our country focus on? Lapland or Jormungand?âăăâWe canât hide our defeat by this point, so sticking to Lapland would be foolish . The potential gains are too meager to be worth making any more sacrifices . âăăâââ It doesnât matter to me as long as I get to fight that man . âăăâIf we wage war against Jormungand, I doubt Lapland will stay silent anyway, so itâll all be the same . âă
Heimdall was quite satisfied after hearing the opinions of his commanders .
ăâIn short, none of you objects to having a showdown against Jormungand, right?âăăâYes . âă
Even though the fourth squadron was partially destroyed, Asgard was still far beyond Jormungand when it came to their military forces . However, Heimdallâs sixth sense kept ringing alarm bells about that unidentified man .
ăâFor now, keep looking for the manâs identity, and gather data about his fight so we can quickly improve our weapons . I have a feeling there will be no conquering the continent without increasing the power of the Chaos horsemen first . âă
Heimdallâs ambitions were not limited to the land within humanityâs sphere of influence . In order to eliminate formidable foes such as high-level demons, having special equipment like the Chaos horsemen that could explosively increase an individualâs fighting strength was going to be absolutely essential .