“You this… what are you saying?”
What was that fool trying to say?
Logan clicked his tongue in disappointment, watching Aslan who had fallen into the moat filled with water with a splash.
It was a pity that he had missed a golden opportunity.
A top-tier knight who foolishly came up alone.
Logan thought he could end it with a single strike, seizing the opportunity, but the man managed to ward off his attack even in an unstable state hovering in mid-air.
As a result, he fell below the ramparts, but even if it hadn’t been the water, a fall from this height shouldn’t have been a problem for a top-tier knight.
As expected, water from the moat where the man had submerged erupted explosively, and soon enough, the drenched figure of the enemy was standing on the ground.
“Tch!”
And the problems didn’t end there.
Aside from those who had moved to another part of the ramparts, there was the Phobos Order of Knights who had now huddled together, blocking the rain of bolts more efficiently than before.
And at that moment, when Logan saw the newly arrived cavalry and infantry spreading out across the ramparts and pulling out longbows,
he intuitively knew that the sweet time, during which he had been sucking honey, had come to an end.
Yet, the outcome of the initial skirmish had already exceeded expectations.
‘I just need to deal with them.’
Aslan, the other top-tier knight Plantz, and the seven high-ranking knights scattered to the north and south.
These strong opponents, capable of not only defending but also counterattacking within the effective range of the repeating crossbows, were the problem.
‘I’ll have to hold out the north and the south. But first, I deal with what’s in front of me.’
Logan’s red pupils glared down at the two top-tier knights preparing to leap up from the western rampart.
The outcome of this early battle, no, the defense of Tomodo depended on this very moment.
Logan drew on all his strength in that instant.
Wooong.
His heart’s force core surged, expelling a sudden burst of energy, most of which then focused into his beloved sword, Lux.
His target was both of the top-tier knights.
Under normal circumstances, this would be an impossible feat. But with him atop the ramparts and the enemies leaping up from below in an unstable posture,
in this situation, it just might be possible.
Logan heightened his senses, calculating and predicting the movements of his foes, then swung his sword following the optimal path he envisioned.
‘Die!’
With all his might, the strike of the Grand Earth Slash was unleashed.
A golden light erupted from the swung blade, transforming into a giant sword over 20 meters long, sweeping the enemies who were suspended mid-air in a single blow.
“Gasp!”
“What…?!”
Catching a glimpse of the shocked expression in the enemies’ eyes, Logan felt a premonition of success.
Suddenly, there was a sharp noise.
A silver whip burst forth from Plantz’s blade, it struck the ramparts, and using the recoil, he twisted in mid-air, narrowly dodging Logan’s attack and landing atop the ramparts.
Boom!
The strike, filled with Logan’s entire being, left behind only a golden afterimage in the air.
A mocking smile on Plantz’s face seemed to taunt, as if asking if Logan thought such an attack would work on him twice, but Logan could not express his frustration just yet.
“I shall kill you!”
Before Plantz, another figure looking like a monkey and with movements just as quick, appeared before Logan, thrusting a red blade at him.
Clang! Clang!
Boom!
“Kuk!”
Aslan, who had now firmly planted both feet on the ramparts, unleashed ferocious blows.
Despite employing all his speed and even utilizing the Ghost Shadow and Wind God’s Boots to their fullest, Logan’s speed was barely keeping up.
The force behind the red sword, strangely short but brimming with intensity, was decidedly more powerful than Plantz’s.
“Try and squirm more!”
Pressed on the defensive, Logan barely withstood the onslaught while scanning his surroundings.
Zerrroong!
“Impossible!”
His father, who had temporarily receded to the northern wall, returned, standing in Plantz’s path.
A sound judgment; even though it might weaken the northern defenses, for the moment, it was the best course of action.
The soldiers who had been defending the wall had either become corpses by now or had long since fled.
The dazzling force blade and the lightning-fast movements kept anyone nearby from intervening with ease.
Moreover, while Logan couldn’t assess the situation on the northern and southern ramparts, Plantz’s silver force blade was already tearing down a piece of the western wall.
His intrusion alone had reduced the crossbows that were aiming at the enemy outside the fortress by a third.
This, in turn, was subtly changing the movement of the enemy forces outside.
The enemy archers outside the wall started to fire arrows upwards, occasionally harrying Logan’s troops.
‘I must end this swiftly!’
Logan had to deal with them as quickly as possible because although the aftershock of the previous failed strike had not yet dissipated, leaving his force not fully recovered, he had no time to consider such factors.
Woong.
Drawing out his force as if wringing it out, Logan threw himself toward the enemy, even as he was being pushed back.
He had no intention of parrying the red blade piercing toward his vision; he simply struck back at the enemy.
Then, a sinister smile appeared on Aslan’s face.
The length of the force blade shot out from the enemy’s sword aiming straight for Logan’s heart.
But.
“Kuk?!”
Shwuck.
Before it could hit, a golden stream of light shot from Logan’s sword, piercing Aslan’s shoulder.
‘Finish it with one breath!’
Woong.
The force core resonated with a sharp pain.
With his last burst of energy, Logan pressed the attack like a storm.
Chachaachang!
Kwaang!
The golden blade relentlessly assaulted the red armor, but the sword could not easily achieve its goal.
‘Kuk!’
Weirdly, no special wounds were inflicted, but the taste of blood was palpable in the mouth, and there was a sting near his heart.
Yet the enemy showed no openings, minimizing each assault with limited movement from the pierced shoulder.
He knew that once this offense ceased, Logan’s reserves would be depleted.
Continue to wear down the enemy with persistent defense, the adversaries’ eyes tracking his movements.
Feeling a sense of despair, Logan squared off with Aslan.
The height of mastery had not increased, but having received training from his master in the capital and mastered the Ghost Shadow, Logan was confident that he had become much stronger than before.
He thought he would surely be able to defeat the likes of Plantz, whom he had fought previously.
However, Aslan’s level, also known as a top-tier knight, was something else.
While he lacked unpredictable moves like a whip-like force blade, he was noticeably faster and stronger than Plantz.
‘This won’t do…’
As his remaining force dwindled, Logan could easily imagine himself falling to a counterattack.
And that imagination naturally bred an opening.
In a flash, the long arm of the lurking enemy extended a red lightning bolt.
Realizing his mistake in that moment, Logan mustered all his strength to swing his sword.
Kwaang!
The golden blade grazed the enemy’s shoulder, and the red lightning tore through Logan’s side, piercing the wall of the ramparts.
Looking down at the hole the size of a human head that had opened at his feet, Logan wondered.
‘Why?’
Logan had exposed the gap, yet the enemy’s attack was too hurried.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that thanks to that, Logan had been spared.
That red lightning held a force more powerful than the Single Slash; aiming just for an injury through the gap instead of life would naturally have tipped the victory in the foe’s favor.
‘But why?’
“You rat-like scum!”
The enemy’s hoarse voice erupted with such vehemence, making the air around him seem to shiver.
Nonetheless, Logan managed to bear the assault, and in return launched another golden light.
“Aaagh!”
This time too, the three enemy knights who had just scaled the wall were caught in the stream of light, tumbling down.
Logan keenly felt the limits approaching, but he launched at Aslan with renewed ferocity.
“Come, let’s play a little longer!”
Then, at that moment.
– Retreat! Everyone retreat!
A voice from outside the ramparts called out – Phobos’s.
Aslan, who had thought his rage had peaked, trembled as the anger surged past its previous limit, experiencing something altogether new.
“You son of a…”
Clang! Clang!
Boom!
Caught off-guard by the retreat order and Logan’s tactic of whittling away at Phobos’s knights, Aslan couldn’t even vent the fury building up inside.
Flailing his sword, Aslan finally pulled back abruptly.
“Remember this, kid. Next time…”
“Why not now? Why wait?”
Fuelled with killing intent, Aslan chose to leap outside the ramparts rather than engage, despite his eyes burning with rage.
And then Plantz, who had been locked in combat with Patrik, also fled the scene, gritting his teeth.
Logan, who had been feigning composure, collapsed as if crumbling.
And with his father shouting with a pale complexion:
– We won!
Tomodo resounded with triumphant cheers.
* * *
The Maclaine army shouted as if they had triumphed in war, but anyone with sense knew this was not the end.
Though the initial dread and terror felt at the appearance of Phobos’s forces had been somewhat replaced by confidence, the victory in this battle was still significant.
But the expression of the leadership was grim.
“They won’t be careless anymore.”
Padric, still pale, commented with a steely face, his tired appearance evidence of the difficulty of the day’s clash.
The deep concern in his eyes was expected.
“I know.”
“Is it still not time?”
“…Yes.”
“And you still can’t explain why?”
“…Please, just hold on a little longer.”
Logan’s gaze turned towards the rising moon again.
After filling up, the moon began to wane once more.
In normal circumstances, everyone here would be celebrating the start of a new year with joy on this New Year’s Day, with the first moon.
But now, that moon only instilled despair in Logan.
‘I should have heard something by now.’
Maybe something has gone wrong in the history of his previous life.
This dark and ominous guess was something Logan could not dare share with others.
Perhaps his expression had given something away.
“Hm, what can you do about it now?”
His resolute father patted him on the shoulder.
The knights listening also thumped their chests and clenched their fists when their eyes met with Logan’s.
Looking at them, Logan could feel an aching near his heart.
It wasn’t because of the injuries he sustained in the day.
‘Because of me…’
These people might end their lives here.
Just because they followed his word.
Should he have focused on strengthening his domain from within rather than rising so early?
The regret he once cast aside now clung deep within his heart again.
The fear that everything he achieved since his regression could collapse at once weighed heavily on Logan.
And at that moment.
– The enemy! They approach!
On the night when the first moon of the New Year had risen, Phobos launched its second attack.