Awakening the Great Chapter 80

Chapter 80 — Decisive Battle

That day, the imperial soldiers lost their courage. All that remained in their hearts was fear.

"Fire, it's fire!"

Through the cloud of dust, cavalry erged. The hoofbeats were impossibly light, as though striking air rather than earth. In the blink of an eye the distance closed, and the soldiers stepped back without even realizing it.

Before their eyes, knights of the Niboria Empire were falling one after another.

"Advance! Seize them!"

The mid-ranking commanders bellowed with all they had, but their feet refused to move. If anything, voices choked with fear rang out louder.

"But that…… That is no human!"

Indeed. At the very front, the being bearing down on them with black hair streaming in the wind looked like a beast wearing the mask of a noble youth. He swept in fast as the wind, drew his sword, and with every arc he swung, sparks shaped like flower petals blood with rciless beauty.

Each ti the Falling Fire scattered, screams erupted. Armor buckled, blood was coughed up, n tumbled helplessly with their shields still clutched in their hands.

Whoooosh.

Not stopping there, the second rank of the cavalry unit ca crashing in. Royce's sword rose high and breathed out another gust of fla. For a single instant, the soldiers' field of vision was swallowed by a crimson flash.

After him, Gregor let out a rough roar and drove his warhorse to its limit. The veteran rcenary, who had reclaid his focus for the mont, detonated refined Falling Fire and cleaved straight through the heart of the battlefield.

"Th-three Upper-Rank Swordsn!"

"You idiots, they're nothing but rcenaries! Not knights!"

The soldiers wavered, and dread spread thick among them. A few nearly dropped their spears, and one man stumbled.

"Hyaaah!"

And then Vice-captain Marik added his hand to the assault, swinging his sword laden with wind. When the extre Wind's Scar ground through the bodies of their enemies, the formation collapsed in an instant.

There was no way to bind the feet of the Antelopes.

Knowing better than anyone what the combination of speed and destructive power could bring about, only sighs escaped the lips of the imperial soldiers.

"That…… Is not sothing we can stand against."

At that mont, a sharp whistle cut through the wind.

Tweeeeeet!

A dium-length signal.

The soldiers flinched at the sound drilling into their ears, but Calix cleanly wheeled his horse around exactly as arranged. Before the montum could die, he slipped away smoothly, as though the escape route had been calculated precisely in advance. The other riders followed without a single mont's hesitation.

Those who witnessed it felt the will to fight drain from their faces. Unable to even think of pursuit, they stood there blankly and muttered.

"Red leaves, red…… Damn, just how many are dead?!"

"……They were like wraiths wreathed in fla."

"They said re rcenaries…… If anything, lions wearing rabbit masks would suit them better."

The soldiers soothed their fear by giving a new na to the beings who had delivered that shock.

A short while later. Only after the Antelopes had completely vanished from sight did the tension gripping the battlefield wash cleanly away.

What remained in the place they had left behind was nothing but countless corpses and a towering reputation.

* * *

Uwaaah!

When the Antelopes returned, as though they had been waiting, cheers and applause burst out among the wanderers. Life returned to faces hollowed out by exhaustion and fear. For the first ti, hope shone through.

"We actually, actually beat the imperial army!"

"That's the Antelopes for you!"

Voices filled with emotion rang out here and there.

Watching that scene, the eyes of Luma Critang trembled with admiration and shock.

"Was that…… Possible? Sweeping away the Empire's elite cavalry with only a few dozen riders. The rumors were true."

Until now, he had thought there was so degree of exaggeration mixed in. The resistance army also knew of the Draug's existence. But this ti, there had been no intervention from a monster.

Through clear tactical direction, the unity of their mbers, and outstanding execution, they had erased the imperial army's mobility.

A subordinate at his side whispered quietly.

"We must recruit them by any ans necessary. They have the ability to beco the backbone of the entire resistance."

He laughed with a hollow look.

"Ha, is that even possible? We lack money, we lack supplies. How would we draw in warriors that exceptional?"

In the words exchanged between them, the word 'rcenaries' no longer appeared. The count's nephew, the wanderers, the Niboria imperial soldiers, and even the Antelopes themselves—all of them had co to see things the sa way.

"Ha, what did I say! With just 9 riders they swept away a knight order, didn't they? That's Calix for you! And now with 50 riders, isn't this an obvious result?!"

When Volga proclaid this with great energy, a wave of excitent and pride mixed together and spread like a tide. Hadiya laughed loudly and nodded.

"I know. We'd been so desperate just to survive until now. But now we can be the ones to strike first. And we won, completely overwhelmingly at that."

At this, Gregor, his mind now clear, set his shield down and muttered quietly.

"This ans we're no longer in the business of running away. Everyone fought well."

That one sentence of his struck sothing deep inside their hearts. Being acknowledged by soone they respected, relief and confidence surged up within them.

The dwarf Basim let out a resonance hard to believe from such a small fra.

"Now there will be none who look down on the na Antelopes!"

Zahira gave a small pfft of a laugh and placed her hand on her hip.

"Well…… That's true. But among it all, the most important thing is that our thinking has changed. Everyone's co to realize it—that even in the worst of situations, we can push through, right?"

Just as the lively atmosphere swelled with everyone recounting each other's exploits, Vice-captain Marik, who had kept silent until then, let out a heavy pronouncent.

"That's enough! Don't get carried away."

The mbers turned their gazes to him all at once. The elated cheering deflated without resistance. Marik maintained his tension and continued speaking low and firm.

"What we did to the cavalry was splendid, but we haven't fully escaped yet. The enemy hasn't retreated, and the war isn't over. The situation is still precarious."

The mbers' fervor gradually cooled. They had once again co to understand the reality they were in. Marik's voice was not loud, but it carried a powerful weight that dragged them back to reality.

It was the right thing to say.

In the briefly quieted atmosphere, Hadiya put a period at the end of it.

"I'll go out on reconnaissance shortly. The western riverbank isn't all that far. I'll confirm once more that the path there is clear of ambushes."

Royce nodded.

"Don't push yourself. The rest—rest the horses and maintain your weapons."

The mbers began moving busily, as though they had never been elated at all. The unsettled atmosphere shifted to calm tension, and the vigilance that had briefly faltered was quickly restored.

In the anti, Luma Critang stood a few steps away, watching the Antelopes. His gaze held admiration and regret at the sa ti.

"I want them—but I can't hold them."

Just looking at the organization's structure made it clear. The Commander embraces, the Vice-captain commands. A remarkable young man points the way and leads from the front, and an experienced elder earns respect, so the mbers' trust is solid.

There was no opening.

Sotis what is seen from the outside is more accurate. They were one team, and there was no place left anywhere for trust to co undone.

* * *

The sound of flowing water quietly washed his ears clean.

While the Antelopes reorganized, Calix had co out to the stream and sat alone. His gaze followed the shallowly flowing ripples, then slowly drifted down to his own hands. Dried bloodstains had soaked into his knuckles. When he began washing from the tips of his fingers, dark red traces spread faintly into the clear water.

The bloodstains were gone—but the traces of battle were not so easily erased. His heart beat roughly, and a faint trembling in his hands repeated over and over.

From behind, the wanderers' murmuring voices drifted in on the wind.

"That person is the……"

"That's right. The one who swept away the imperial cavalry."

Gazes mixed with awe and fear grazed his back. But Calix felt no particular emotion, and looked once more at his own fingertips.

When he closed his eyes, the scenes of the recent battle rose clearly in his mind.

The mont the hoofbeats struck the earth. The sight of the Antelopes charging toward enemy lines as though of one body.

Things had changed quite a lot from before. Each individual's movents had beco more refined, and their coordination and speed had been overwhelming.

But there was still a problem.

Himself.

‘In the end, I relied on the Core's power again. My sword was rely the vessel that carried that power. What actually ran wild wasn't . If we're speaking of credit, it should rather go to the Antelopes as a whole.’

Alongside that thought, the next mory naturally overlapped.

The clash with Blutspheer's Vice-commander, Bart Lescar.

The sensation of that mont ca back to life vividly. The opponent's sword had been heavy and solid. It appeared ordinary on the surface, but inside, an enormous power had been compressed.

His Falling Fire was different from mine.

Unlike Calix, who had been busy spewing his outward, Bart seed to have already reached a level of mastering his flas.

His own was brilliant and intense—but had no center. He had simply been in a rush to pour it outward, scattering it in a disorganized way.

By contrast, his flas were small. And yet overwhelming. He had gathered his energy into a single point and created a solid force, continuously shattering Calix's.

"That is…… The completion of Falling Fire."

His lips moved quietly.

A thread of enlightennt flowed through his mind. Brilliance alone was not enough to beco stronger. A single small, compressed ember is hotter than a great bonfire, and lasts longer. The mont he grasped that truth, the Neural Accelerator tapped sowhere deep within his consciousness.

[Bloodline Ability Change Detected]

[Ashapel's Instinct/Avatar of the Battlefield '2%' Increase, currently '37%']

[Until 2nd Awakening: '3%' remaining]

It was a hint at a new level.

But still, sothing decisive was lacking.

‘I need to be able to control the ember with my own will. I need to hold it more tightly.’

Calix sank deep into one single thought.

How to wield it as he intended?

The answer did not co quickly. Simply applying force would not do it. It was not an ability that could be gained through technique or talent alone. Perhaps the completion of Falling Fire was not sothing that ca from the edge of a blade.

More clearly than ever before, Gregor's advice struck him hard in his mind.

"In the end, what moves the sword is not the muscles, nor the heart's Core. And that is precisely why…… the mind matters."

He understood it completely—yet he was not complete.

Calix sorted through the emotions buried deep within himself once more. Between rage and fear, revenge and responsibility, he still could not tell what he should place at his center.

So close—yet out of reach.

That was the limit he was at, right now.

And yet at the sa ti, he felt it. That the power to fan a small ember into a great blaze existed within him.

It was simply a matter of ti.

* * *

Three days later.

With the forced march continuing, any semblance of expression had vanished from the wanderers' faces. Brutal exhaustion was pressing down even on hope. The Antelopes, too, showed no signs of high spirits. The ease had disappeared, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding was seeping in between the hoofbeats.

It was Ella who broke the silence and spoke first.

"The Draug's presence is gradually fading."

The mbers' gazes all turned to the woman in the priest's habit. Royce carefully chose his words to ask.

"Does that an the creature has departed?"

"No. Rather than departed, it seems to have montarily stopped moving. Perhaps it's…… Watching us."

An uncomfortable stillness fell. Soon, Basim shuddered and gripped his axe handle tight.

"A monster that can think. Just imagining it is dreadful beyond asure."

Before those words had even finished, Hadiya ca forward and delivered her report. She had just returned from a scouting run to the plain.

"Imperial forces are approaching. They're closing the distance."

"Hmm……"

It was strange.

Throughout the battles of the past few days, the imperial army had avoided direct confrontation with the Antelopes. Even having completely lost their cavalry strength, they were repeating minor skirmishes. Taking damage but maintaining a certain distance—they would not thrust deep.

Royce found that curiously grating.

"A full-frontal battle isn't their objective."

Calix, who was at his side, took up the thread. His voice was calm, but within it was conviction.

"Yes. It seems like they're trying to pin us down. We're two days' distance from the destination now. They're stalling for as much ti as possible, waiting for sothing."

"Their intention being to deploy another cavalry force?"

"If reinforcents arrive on ti…… That possibility does exist."

The mbers' expressions slowly hardened. The thrilling sense of victory they had felt in battle had already vanished, and an undefined anxiety filled the void.

They all had the sa thought. The imperial army was staging a performance of sorts—as though fighting, without truly fighting.

At this, the captain spoke up again. His words carried the weight of deep deliberation.

"The situation has beco difficult. Now even a cavalry charge has grown hard. Last ti, we poured out everything we had. The diluted physical enhancent agents are exhausted, and the warhorses are spent now that the effect has worn off."

Silence followed. Everyone knew. Fighting with speed as their weapon was no longer possible.

Right at that mont, Vice-captain Marik calmly proposed.

"……We can still deliver a warning, though."

The mbers' eyes gathered on Marik. Without change in expression, he continued.

"The imperial forces are afraid. They would not have purged the mory of that last charge from their heads yet. If we show even an appropriate movent, the wretches will shrink back considerably."

"So we're both running a deception. Now that we're closer to the destination, from here on it's a question of which side buys more ti."

"Precisely."

Royce's stiff expression finally loosened. It was a dangerous gamble—but the strategy of exploiting the imperial army's psychology would clearly be effective.

Marik's prediction was accurate.

After showing a few exaggerated movents, the imperial forces froze with fright and halted any further advance. Watching the enemy hesitate right before their eyes, the tension seed to ease sowhat.

Only, this held true until the destination ca into view.

To the northwest, Sasingya stood tall. Called the pillar holding up the heavens, it was the greatest mountain peak on the continent. Beneath it, a single river wound its way.

And right around that ti, the imperial army's movents changed noticeably.

Thud, thud, thud.

Their passive attitude had gone sowhere, as the infantry stomped their feet and picked up their pace. By anyone's read, it was a signal that they were ready for a real fight.

The wanderers hurried their steps with eyes half-filled with hope and half with fear. So carried children in their arms, others bore what little luggage they had. Their gazes were directed not at Siseangya, but at the waterway flowing beneath it.

Right at that mont, cutting through the wind, a rider bearing a green insignia ca galloping in. A familiar silhouette. A ssenger from the resistance side.

"Word has co from the salt mine!"

He shouted directly without even dismounting from his horse. Calix, Royce, Marik, and Hadiya all turned their gazes at once.

"They have secured a boat! We can travel downriver along the current! All preparations are complete!"

For one instant, the Antelopes looked at one another. Crisis and opportunity had arrived together on the wind. Which of the two it would beco—that rested entirely on them.

* * *

Dark stormclouds blanketed the sky and hung low. Raindrops fell one by one, then soon a torrential downpour poured down.

Shhhhhhhhh.

The dirt ground turned to mud in an instant. The wanderers' ragged breathing, their sodden footsteps, the trail of muddy water—all continued onward through the curtain of rain. Wet clothing clung to their skin, ankles sank into the mud, but no one stopped.

The destination was just ahead.

And at that mont—

Clink, clink, clink, clink.

Cutting through the sound of rain, the cold tallic ring of armor rang out. The imperial forces were far too close.

"Battle ready!"

Commander Royce called out without delay. The Antelopes mounted their horses and ford up. Everyone had an instinct that the final battle was drawing near.

"Cross the river and Sasingya is right there! This is the last one!"

Volga bellowed the call, and the dwarf Basim answered.

"Aye, let's call it a rcenary's final mission!"

"Quite bold of you! And at no charge at that!"

Grim laughter and desperate battle cries mixed together as one.

And then it happened.

Calix, who had been pressing forward at the very front, narrowed his eyes sharply. Behind the plain, sothing strange was rippling. It was fundantally different from the presence of imperial forces or a Draug.

Overwhelming the entire space as it approached—there was so entity.

* * *

Animals held their breath. Not even insects cried. Every living creature that had made its ho in nature felt fear by instinct and retreated into hiding.

This was not the re appearance of a predator. Like a typhoon, a drought, a flood, or an earthquake—a living, breathing calamity was drawing near.

A short while later.

From far away, the silhouette of a man slowly made his form known. The rain falling from the sky soaked the world impartially—yet on him alone, it could not reach. Droplets struck his energy and scattered in all directions.

His precise form could not be made out, but his presence alone was enough to make shoulders involuntarily shrink.

Soon, cutting through the rain, a low and distinct voice rang out.

"Are those them."

The Master, Imran Akran, had co.