Chapter 59: The Counterattack Operation Part 3

As I felt the blade cut into me, a curious question crossed my mind: “When was the last time I spilled blood in battle like this?” Since I was blocking out the pain of the cut, I was able to control my senses and detach myself from the situation, allowing me to observe it from a broader perspective.

Remarkably, I managed to maintain my balance despite the severe injury. There was no immediate follow-up attack from the soldier, and that was because I had already anticipated the strike beforehand and made a strategic move in response.

“■■■■■!?”

Not only did my blood and part of my exoskeleton fly through the air, but so too did the soldier’s white-painted metal arms, the sword it held, and the pungent-smelling dark brown oil that spilled from its body.

The sand pincers I didn’t use for defense weren’t just for show. At the moment when the enemy’s reinforcement arrived, I made the bold decision to let myself be cut down, but I didn’t use my pincers for defense. Instead, I strategically positioned them behind the enemy, and, at the exact moment of being struck, I swiftly severed both arms that were growing from the soldier’s back at their base.

While he sliced through my exoskeleton and flesh, I managed to sever both of my opponent’s arms. I consider this bout a draw, or perhaps a slight victory on my part. With the advantage now in my favor, I continued to fight.

I raised my fighting spirit to stop the bleeding and heal my wounds before leaping forward with two swords in hand. Utilizing both the white and black swords, as well as my tail and pincers, I launched a simultaneous assault from all directions.

“Gaaaaaa!”

“■■■■■■!”

As expected of an elite warrior. Despite my full-on attack, my opponent managed to defend against me using just two swords and his agility. While I managed to strike him with my swords, tail, and pincers, none of my blows seemed to have any significant effect, only leaving dents in his armor.

Nevertheless, just because it is not working does not mean that I can afford to relax my offensive attacks. Right here, I needed to stay focused and ready, as my opponent might try to flee or counterattack. I learned this lesson in a previous battle一I must defeat strong enemies when I have the chance, or I will regret it later. Furthermore… the others have already finished.

“Garururururu!”

“Woooooh!”

“■■■■■……!”

It seems that because the soldier’s focus was so concentrated on me, he neglected to pay attention to his surroundings. Tigar and Zald had already taken care of the enemies trying to breach the sand wall and were silently approaching from behind. Without warning, they launched a surprise attack.

Tigar’s broad sword, gushing golden lightning, cut through the soldier’s back along with his armor, while Zald’s long, thin silver sword, wrapped in a silver gust of wind, pierced through his body from the gap in his armor. The white-armored soldier emitted a noiseless scream of agony.

“Ooooooh!”

“￭￭……!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I struck the already heavily injured enemy with both of my swords in a final blow. The two black and white swords swung from left and right, sandwiching the enemy’s neck….precisely severing the head from the body.

The white helmeted head fell to the ground in a gruesome display, spilling fresh blood from the severed neck. The once-pure white armor was now stained with its owner’s crimson blood, and the lifeless body convulsed before collapsing face down.

Gashaaaaaaaaan! ! !

Shortly after I had dealt the finishing blow, we heard the sound of the fortress’s gate being destroyed from beyond the towering sand wall behind us. It seemed that the other demons’ had finally succeeded in breaching it. Remembering how my master, Alexander, effortlessly destroyed the gate with a single strike, which had taken  around thirty demons so much time to break through, I realized how he was even more of a monster than I am.

Since the sand wall was no longer needed and would most likely obstruct the imperial army’s charge, I started breaking down the sand wall before scattering it away. As soon as the imperial army noted that the gate had been destroyed, they increased their marching speed while cheering. Although some panicked invading army soldiers came down from the outer wall, the damage was so severe that it was impossible to repair.

“Hey, you’re amazing, man!”

“I can’t believe you held your own against a White Knight…I saw it with my own eyes, yet it’s still hard to believe,” 

Tigar patted me on the shoulder as he spoke, and Zald repeatedly expressed his disbelief. So those soldiers in white armor are called White Knights? I didn’t know that.

With this, our mission was complete. However, that did not mean we were allowed to leave and return outside the gate. We had to fight within the fortress until it was completely under our control. Furthermore, I had a place I wanted to go.

“Hey, where are you planning to go alone?” 

 “We’ll go with you. Let us be your escorts at least.”

Although I had planned to go alone, it seemed that Tigar, Zald, and the rest of the demon squad intended to come with me. If they were willing to help me, I would take their word for it. I nodded once and headed inside the fortress.

There were two places I wanted to go. One was to find and destroy the metal boxes carriages used for escape, alongside those fire-breathing war chariots. The other was to search for the spot where the white-armored soldier we had just defeated had appeared. The former was because I didn’t want to engage in a drawn-out pursuit of those fast metal boxes, while the latter was out of pure curiosity. I wanted to know how the white-armored soldier managed to enter the fortress.

“■■■■■!”

“It’s the enemy! Kill them!”

“Cut them down!”

The demon squad skillfully took down the enemy soldiers who were swarming out of the fortress buildings. Using a combination of spiritual arts and arrows to suppress them, those carrying shields and large weapons charged forward while deflecting metal fragments. Those who followed behind them then swooped in to strike and trample any remaining enemies, and if anyone was injured, they would either boost their fighting spirit or heal their wounds with spiritual healing art.

The entire operation was carried out without anyone giving specific commands. The two units moved in perfect harmony, as if they were a single organism. Although individual bravery was important, I couldn’t help but feel that their true worth lay in their coordinated work. If they were already this well-trained when they were still humans, then surely they would only grow stronger from now on, right?

“Is this where you wanted to go?” Tigar asked.

“To the warehouse where they keep those fire-breathing war chariots. You want to destroy them, right?” Zald added.

As I searched the fortress while being careful not to get in Tigar and the others’ way while I was also fighting, we finally arrived at my first targeted place: the warehouse where the fire-breathing war chariots were kept. I nodded in agreement to Zald, who seemed to understand my intentions, and then promptly slammed my tail onto one of the war chariots, destroying it immediately.

The demon squad followed my lead and began destroying the fire-breathing war chariots. Greatswords, longswords, spears, axes, hammers, and spiritual arts all turned the enemy’s weapons into mere scraps of metal. After we finished destroying them all, the enemy soldiers noticed the abnormality, but since no white knight was present among them, they posed no threat to us.

With all the fire-breathing war chariots and the metal boxes with no cylindrical weapons attached to them destroyed, we headed to our next destination. It was a tall tower located in the center of the fortress, with only doors on all four sides and no windows. It had no decorations and gave off an eerie feeling despite its lack of organic features.

“What’s this…? A giant pipe?” 

“There seems to be a metal box in a cocoon-like shape inside….It’s all empty, but there’s a seat. Could it be that they used this to transport soldiers?” Zald speculated.

After we broke down the door and entered the tower. In the center of the tower, we were confronted with a bundle of giant metal pipes, about twenty in total, all bound together with doors on their surfaces. Inside each pipe lay a metal box shaped like a cocoon.

The interior wasn’t particularly spacious, and even with a seat, it was clear that only two people could fit at a time. However, if it was possible to transport even one White Knight on it, then it was sufficient. Surely that’s how the previous White Knight arrived at the fortress.

Had the invading army been using this device to send soldiers from the rear? With this size, it seemed possible to send supplies as well. It seemed that this was the secret behind how their military strength was being replenished. I was simply amazed.

“Hey there, Demons. You’re probably wreaking havoc inside the fortress, but the enemy is beginning to flee from the northern gate. Chase after them and kill them. Oh, and there’s no need to overexert yourselves. The cavalry elite unit will go around and surround them,” Orvo’s telepathic message reached us all at once.

The moment Tigar and the others heard the message, their expressions became visibly displeased. I couldn’t say I was thrilled either. Perhaps I, too, had a look of distaste on my face.

The sad thing is that, as much as we hated it, we couldn’t ignore the orders. I wagged my tail and smashed the pipes, then filled the gaps with as much sand as possible. If the enemy decided to send reinforcements, they wouldn’t be able to climb up with all that sand in the way.

I left through the same door I came in. The outside of the tower had turned into a battlefield, with more and more enemy forces entering through the gate that the demon squad members had destroyed. The white knights on top of the gate were fighting back, but they were being held off by some pretty strong opponents.

With the best fighting force contained, it had become impossible for the enemy soldiers to push back. That was probably why they abandoned the fortress and started to flee. They were quick to make decisions.

“What are you spacing out for? Let’s go to the northern gate!” Tigar slapped my shoulder to snap me out of my thoughts. He was right. We needed to focus on our mission. I nodded and headed towards the northern gate.

At the north gate, two fire-breathing war chariots were lined up side by side, scattering flaming projectiles and metal fragments while their ally soldiers escaped, buying them some time. The imperial army couldn’t close the distance, so the enemy soldiers managed to slip through the gaps.

To pursue the fleeing soldiers, we had to destroy those war chariots. We could go back and exit from the gate destroyed by the demon squad, but it was likely to be a battle zone, so it was troublesome. Therefore, destroying the war chariots was the quickest solution.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

I heard Tigar’s voice from behind, but I ignored it and stepped forward. The war chariots noticed me and concentrated their flaming projectiles and metal fragments on me, but I charged forward without flinching.

I deflected the metal fragments with my hardened exoskeleton and avoided the flaming projectiles by running low. I zigzagged, so the flames never hit me. As I reached the war chariots, I leaped into the air, somersaulted, and smashed one of them with my tail as I landed.

I drew out my two swords and jumped onto the wreckage of the destroyed fire-breathing war chariot, propelling myself towards the other one. With a burst of momentum, I stabbed through the war chariot shell, and red blood dripped out of the gap I created. It seemed I was lucky enough to have slain the soldier inside. Using my tail, I flipped the immobilized war chariot and sent it crashing into a group of enemy soldiers who were trying to flee.

The invading army soldiers shrieked in fear as they retreated, while the imperial soldiers cheered as they charged forward. The area in front of the north gate quickly devolved into chaos.

“Haa! That tail of yours is incredibly powerful!”

“Your fighting style was reckless, but it opened up a path. Let’s leave the imperial soldiers to handle this and pursue our mission.”

Tigar and the others, who had been observing from a distance, joined me. Together, we ran out of the northern gate, clearing away any enemy soldiers that stood in our way.

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TN: I think the metal pipes are like elevators of some sort.