Episode 53.
“Kkuhk!”
“Kkeok!”
Death rattle screams spread.
Thousands of arrows shot by the enemy ruthlessly pierced the flesh of defenseless refugees and embedded themselves in the ground.
In that instant.
“Uwaaaah!”
“S-save me!”
“I don’t want to die!”
The morale brought about by the Twin Dragon Sword and the miracle was completely shattered.
No matter how tremendous the power of Noble Phantasms and characteristics might be, they couldn’t eliminate the primal human fear of death.
“….”
Without being able to lift a finger, thousands—no, tens of thousands died.
But he was not shaken by that.
‘It’s an illusion anyway.’
An illusion indistinguishable from reality, but an illusion in the end.
Nothing more than an illusion that reproduced a fragment of the past through special power.
Even if death was unfolding before his eyes.
Even if heart-wrenching, resentment-filled screams erupted, there was no need to be shaken.
Because all of that was nothing but an illusion.
He stared at their deaths impassively.
Phew-phew-phew!
They were helpless against the flying arrows.
‘Of course.’
Untrained refugees without proper armaments—how could they possibly withstand a regular army?
Dying to blind arrow fire was only natural.
“Shall we begin?”
It seemed the time had come.
So he spoke to Jeong Dohwan, who stood guard beside him.
“Let’s do it.”
Step.
Jeong Dohwan stepped forward.
Swoooo—
He raised an aura of death.
The black mist he conjured covered the corpses of refugees who had fallen to the arrows.
In that instant.
“Gu-uuuh—”
“Guh—”
Refugees rose with guttural, throat-scraping roars.
Zombies.
They were cursed specters risen under the aura of death.
Their numbers were easily in the thousands.
‘The Soul Flask must be quite full.’
The Soul Flask, on the verge of evolving soon, must have been brimming; raising thousands of zombies was no trouble at all.
「Go!」
An order directed at the risen zombies.
“Guek!”
“Gwak!”
And their relentless advance began.
Normally, they were sluggish specters that posed little threat, but now was different.
Thud-thud-thud!
They were fast.
And aggressive.
It couldn’t be helped, as they were influenced by the Twin Dragon Sword’s stat increase.
「Fire!」
But Wang Jeon was calm.
As if accustomed to transcendent phenomena, he urged his archers on.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
Reloaded arrows once again filled the sky.
Just as before, pitch-black arrows pierced the zombies’ flesh and embedded in the ground.
However.
“Gwawaaak!”
They only served to enrage them further.
‘Arrows against zombies? Unless their brains explode, they keep moving.’
One of the zombies’ advantages was that they could keep moving unless their heads were severed or destroyed.
Of course, before receiving the Twin Dragon Sword’s effects, they would have been slow, unthreatening specters, but with their numbers and risen stats, the feeling was entirely different.
In the end, Wang Jeon, realizing they were unaffected by arrows, changed tactics.
Clack, clack, clack.
Infantry and archers cleared the way.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
What emerged from their midst were cavalrymen on horseback.
And standing at their head was:
「Follow me, Mongmu! I shall lead you to victory!」
Great General Mongmu—he looked easily twice the size of an ordinary adult.
A monstrous fierce general with no equal in one-on-one combat.
No, he was not a mere fierce general.
Whoooosh.
Look.
A red aura blooming around Mongmu, and the soldiers reacting to it with redoubled courage.
『Grand General Under Heaven (天下大將軍)』
The dignity of the Great General who could have led the peripheral state of Qin to unify China.
In a sense, it could be said to have an effect similar to the Twin Dragon Sword, but the disposition known as ‘Grand General Under Heaven’ was far stronger.
「Advance!」
Mongmu, radiating fierce valor, and the cavalry charged.
Their formation was:
‘One-Point Breakthrough (一點突破).’
An offensive formation only possible because they placed absolute trust in Mongmu at the vanguard.
And as if to repay that trust, Mongmu began to display tremendous prowess.
Kwaang!
A roar like an explosion.
At its epicenter was Mongmu.
A heavy club like a mortar pestle struck the ground, and dozens of zombies caught in the shockwave perished instantly.
「Uwahahahahaha!」
It was the momentum of a wolf—no, a tiger leaping into a flock of sheep.
There was nothing that could stop him.
He pulverized every zombie within reach, carving a path.
But he couldn’t just let that continue.
“Fire!”
He gave the order to the archers he had kept waiting.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
This time, arrows flew from their side.
Though not enough to dye the sky black like the arrows of over ten thousand archers, they were still dense.
Shiiiiiiik!
Arrows tracing parabolas covered the enemy archers.
A standoff between allied infantry and enemy cavalry.
Normally, it would be impossible to utilize archers, but their infantry were zombies unaffected by arrows.
Therefore, he utilized archers capable of countering the cavalry.
But.
Ting-ting-ting-ting!
It failed to produce a significant effect.
「Not a chance!」
Because of the general called Mongmu.
He wildly swung his heavy club, deflecting every incoming arrow.
Moreover.
Tung!
Even if any slipped through, the Great General’s armor bestowed by Qin Shi Huang allowed no harm.
Thanks to Mongmu standing at the forefront and absorbing most of the arrows, the cavalry’s losses were minor.
On the contrary.
Kwaang!
Mongmu’s remarkable performance was only increasing the zombies’ casualties.
The archers, who should have been a counter to cavalry, were utterly ineffective.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
To make matters worse, troops sent by Wang Jeon on both flanks were pressing in to surround them.
The best option here would be to bar the gates again and fight a siege battle, but.
‘The worst of bad options.’
Having played the zombie card, he couldn’t afford to give them time to think.
If Wang Jeon, bearer of the disposition of a Grand Strategist Under Heaven, found even a brief opening, he could easily discern the zombies’ weakness.
Now, while they were still unprepared and his insight had yet to take effect, was the only opportune moment.
Neigh!
He mounted the prepared horse and charged out at once.
He did not bring troops along.
The entire force, including his companions, advanced in a different direction toward the troops led by Wang Jeon.
Urging his horse onward, he headed for Mongmu—surrounded by hundreds of zombies, yet slaughtering that very horde.
He had literally turned those hundreds of zombies into blood paste in a short moment.
It was a spectacle showing why Mongmu could help Qin Shi Huang unify the world—why he was a man worthy of the position of Grand General Under Heaven.
「You dare face me with your measly self?」
“….”
Without answering, he subtly surveyed the surroundings.
He was isolated alone, quite far from the cavalry.
Hmm. Come to think of it, since Mongmu was massacring zombies by himself, he wasn’t sure if the word ‘isolated’ even fit.
Regardless, this was an opportunity.
“Shall we dance?”
An open request for single combat.
Of course, coming from Mongmu:
「Uwahahahahaha!」
He burst into laughter as if it were absurd.
「To think there would be a fool demanding single combat with me.」
But contrary to his words, he pulled back the cavalry that was trying to approach.
「If you wish for death, I shall grant it.」
He had expected him to accept.
‘He doesn’t avoid a fight that comes to him.’
Mongmu was a man frantic to prove his might.
A man who stood on the battlefield solely to prove that his strength, his martial power, was the greatest under heaven.
Keeping that temperament in mind, he had requested single combat, and as expected, Mongmu accepted.
‘There is definitely an opening.’
It was true that the situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable.
But there was an opening.
A gamble using Mongmu’s temperament, as now.
‘In this war, capturing the king ends everything.’
If he captured the two generals, Wang Jeon and Mongmu, there would be no need to hold out for three days, nor any reason to fight so many troops.
A war that ended when the king was captured, just like chess.
Thankfully, Mongmu responded to his challenge and withdrew the cavalry, slowly approaching.
「….」
“….”
In the brief moment they faced each other.
Tat—
Mongmu displayed astonishing horsemanship and closed the distance.
「It is over!」
Huuuung!
A club rushed at tremendous speed.
Mongmu, swinging it, seemed to intuit victory.
But.
Kwaang!
He raised the Sword of Strange Belts and resisted it.
「Huh?」
As if by unexpected resistance, a deflating sound leaked out.
Gggeuuuk!
Monstrous strength transmitted through the sword.
But right now, he was not inferior to Mongmu.
“What, this is nothing much?”
Of course, it wasn’t nothing, but bluster was essential in such a situation.
「Nonsense!」
As if unable to believe it, he swung his club again, but.
Kwang!
He blocked it once more.
Of course, an impact that felt like it would tear his grip apart coursed through, but it wasn’t to the point that he couldn’t endure.
‘In this situation, I can’t lose.’
The sun had reached its zenith.
The orange jewel embedded in the Sword of Strange Belts gleamed.
The gleam was proof that the Power of Noon, one of its characteristics, was manifesting.
『+99(★★) Sword of Strange Belts (合)
Category: Sword
Rank: High-Grade Noble Phantasm
Durability: 350/350
Unique Effect: Through the ‘Gem of Ability’ attached to the handle, use unique abilities employed by the Knights of the Round Table
Reinforcement Effect (9/99): Gem of Ability duration increased by a minute amount
Reinforcement Effect (15/99): Gem of Ability effect increased by a minute amount
……
Max Reinforcement Effect (Max): Gem of Ability duration and effect increased by a small amount
Transcendence Effect (★): Use 2 Gems of Ability simultaneously
Transcendence Effect (★★): Use 3 Gems of Ability simultaneously
Active Abilities: Power of Noon, Guardian, Strongest Sword
Description: The Sword of David, also called the Holy Sword (聖劍) or the Sword of Strange Strings. It is decorated with an ornate hilt, and the pommel is made of colored gems imbued with the souls of knights. The cross-shaped handle is enchanted to ensure its wielder never tires, and the snake-skin scabbard has verses engraved in gold and silver on front and back.
-No one except one person can hold this sword, or rather, this handle. That one person shall surpass all others-』
Noon, when the sun stands at the zenith.
Now that the Power of Noon was manifest, there was no way he would be pushed back by Mongmu, no matter how monstrously strong he was.
No.
Kku-uuuk!
“Hrgh?!”
On the contrary, the conditions to overwhelm him had been prepared.
Griiik—
Mongmu’s body was pushed back, along with his horse.
He was not satisfied with just that.
“Haap!”
Unleashing a spirited shout.
Kwang, kwaang!
He pressed Mongmu hard.
“Hee-hing!”
Unable to overcome the shockwaves generated with each impact, the horse toppled over.
Of course, the same was true for him.
Escaping the fallen horse, he landed on the ground and resumed close combat.
「You—」
Perhaps dissatisfied with trading blows?
Black aura began to erupt from Mongmu’s club.
『Weapon Destruction』
Mongmu, who had experienced countless wars and faced many enemy generals over a long time.
Having fought single combats as frequently as meals, he had acquired a special technique to destroy generals’ weapons—Weapon Destruction.
Black aura.
The moment that aura wrapped around the club, the opponent’s weapon would inevitably shatter.
「Huaaap!」
His club laden with monstrous strength tore through the air as it charged forth.
He had to evade.
However.
Kkwaaak!
His body refused his will as if bound by something.
『Frontal Contest』
The disposition he possessed alongside the Grand General Under Heaven.
Mongmu’s opponent was not permitted to dodge; only through neutralization could attacks be defended against.
Weapon Destruction and Frontal Contest.
This absurd collaboration ensured Mongmu held absolute superiority in one-on-one combat.
And that lethal blow.
Kwaang!
Struck the Sword of Strange Belts.