A light infantryman from the Border Guard named Clemen saw the back of a man.
That back gradually grew larger, filling his entire field of vision. Then, it became a wall that blocked his path.
A wall appeared before him, separating the enemy and ally forces like an illusion.
He knew it was a trick of the mind, an optical illusion. Yet, Clemen recognized the wall.
The wall stood firm, blocking the enemy and becoming a fortress for the allies.
Through the illusionary fortress, he saw the enemy forces before them kneeling one by one.
Did they see the same thing as he did?
He didn’t know.
And it didn’t matter.
What was happening around him, or even where he was now, felt utterly insignificant.
As the illusion faded, only the man standing alone remained.
Suddenly, Clemen realized the name of the person who had appeared out of nowhere and blocked the way between the enemy and the allies.
The Demon Slayer.
He also knew his name.
Encrid.
He even knew his rank.
He was the Master and General of the surrounding lands, named the Border Guard Territory.
He spoke, saying that it was over, to stop.
And with that, the battle ended.
The sun was still up, its rays shining on the earth. The light made everything around him stand out in vivid clarity.
The fact that the battle was over was as clear as the light that illuminated everything.
This was the end.
“End of war.”
Clemen murmured.
Why?
The song of the end of war, an old ballad often sung by bards, came to mind.
He knew the song of the end of war.
In the lyrics, there were people who stopped battles without using their swords.
It was something you would only hear in a bard’s song, yet it had just unfolded before his eyes.
At some point, a shiver ran through Clemen's entire body, making him tremble.
His hair stood on end, and he could only focus on that one person.
Even though the illusion had vanished, he couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“End of war Knight?”
His murmur never fully turned into words.
In fact, no one made any noise.
Even the wind seemed to carefully wrap around him, and the sunlight seemed to support him.
Clemen, without even realizing it, stepped out of formation and walked forward, only to trip and fall.
Normally, he would never make such a mistake, but with a thud, he tripped, twisting his ankle. His knee bled too.
It should have hurt enough to make him scream, but he felt no pain. The shiver still ran through his body.
Clemen felt something boiling over, heating up his heart.
He knelt on one knee, lifting his head. What was this emotion he was feeling?
He didn’t know. It didn’t matter.
“En-crid!”
He merely chanted his hero’s name.
And it wasn’t just him.
The entire army shouted the name of the man who stood before them.
Encrid!
It was the name of the man who had stopped everything on a land soaked with death, steel, and blood.
* * *
It wasn’t just Clemen. Many among the enemy forces were also moved by the moment.
One of the few Commanders who realized something had gone wrong.
“Crazy bastards.”
He cursed the leadership that had let things escalate to this point, but it was too late.
Even if he were to disobey orders, there was no going back now.
Facing the fully prepared Border Guard army up close, a clear realization dawned on him.
‘We’re going to lose.’
It wasn’t just a loss. It was a crushing defeat. The bodies that would pile up would be nine-tenths his own troops from Aspen.
But it was an arrow already shot. Spilled water, fallen leaves.
Most of the Commanders and soldiers, who had been charging blindly at the enemy, regained their senses.
To be precise, fear forcibly knocked sense into them.
Charge, and you die.
So you’d better calm down, right?
This might be a crude way to put it, but wasn’t that what was happening?
Rem might have described it that way.
In any case, even the Commanders who thought they would win with the arrival of the rear Knights stopped.
In the unavoidable moment of battle, the Aspen forces, despite being the enemy, saw a man worthy of respect.
They might not realize it now, but when they look back on this moment later, they would inevitably respect him.
That man stood in the way, not to spill unnecessary blood.
Had they fought, it would have been nothing more than a massacre of Aspen.
Whose blood would have filled the battlefield in such carnage?
It was a question that needed no answer.
“Wow.”
One of the assault soldiers at the front of Aspen let out a breath of admiration.
“Hey, it’s over.”
The quick-witted assault leader stated outright.
The momentum was gone, and charging now would only lead to their annihilation.
No matter how idiotic the Commanders were, none could charge in a situation like this.
Thus, both Aspen’s Commanders and soldiers looked at one man.
The man who stood alone, blocking the battlefield.
A Knight is said to slay a thousand men.
So what do you call someone who single-handedly stops an army of over a thousand?
“It’s the birth of a hero.”
One of the Commanders, who instinctively understood, quietly laid down his weapon.
Though the war had ended, the matter of surrender remained.
Behind them, there was someone who had been watching the battle, idly observing his superior’s death, and who had now become the Supreme Commander.
When he saw one man stop an entire army, the moment he witnessed it, he felt something inside him crumble.
‘He’s stopping us without even killing?’
It’s like grabbing the reins of a horse in full sprint and stopping it with sheer strength.
Even doing that was amazing, but usually, when you force a horse to stop like that, the horse should collapse, its legs broken, or its neck snapped, right?
‘Damn, does this make any sense?’
But neither the horse nor the man had fallen.
From a distance, it looked like he alone had stopped the entire army.
As the sunlight fell on the lone man in the center of the battlefield, fear gripped his heart.
What was crumbling inside him?
It was his future and everything he had built up until now.
It would have been better if they had fought and lost.
Even if their bodies had piled up to form mountains!
They could have claimed they fought to the end, that their Commanders had died in battle, and that they had done their best to follow Corwin’s command.
Even if he faced punishment, it wouldn’t have been a death sentence.
But what happens if they stop fighting here?
If the war ends like this, who will take the blame?
Everything will come to light, and it will be a problem.
The Knight is an issue, but so is he for following that Knight’s order without resisting.
He was simply frozen in fear, unable to think.
He decided to flee as quickly as possible. Forget cleanup, running was the only option.
With his army poised for slaughter, there was no guarantee he would survive the aftermath.
After all, what’s more important in the world than your own life?
You have to live first, right?
Where there are those who speak of duty and responsibility, there are also those who stand in opposition.
So he grabbed a horse and ran, only to encounter a friendly unit on horseback halfway.
Unable to avoid them, he halted, and Avnair suddenly stepped forward to confront him.
“What’s going on?”
The fleeing man blinked, his breathing labored, unable to respond and only staring in silence.
Why is Avnair here?
Avnair had come because the Commander hadn’t sent regular reports, and a nagging sense of unease had driven him to the battlefield.
Despite his trust in Varna, that lingering doubt had led him here.
As he set out, he had hoped for nothing to be wrong, but the situation had spiraled out of control.
“Well, uh...”
The man began to babble excuses. His words were pathetic.
Avnair quickly realized, with the man rolling his eyes, that something was being hidden.
“If you lie to me now, I’ll cut off one of your hands.”
Avnair’s tone wasn’t aggressive, nor did he grab him roughly. It was calm, a flat statement.
But the effect was undeniable. Avnair was the type of man who kept his word.
Even the man who had abandoned everything knew that much about him.
“What happened to your immediate superior?”
“H-he died.”
The man replied, panting heavily, cold sweat dripping down his back.
Soon, the truth came out, and after hearing the full story, Avnair closed his eyes.
“We’ve lost.”
He didn’t fully understand the situation, but he was sure they had lost.
If they hadn’t, why else would the enemy Knight appear on the battlefield before the Aspen forces could retreat?
“Sigh.”
It wasn’t the Red Cape Knights. It was the Border Guard Reserve Unit that had stopped them.
What did that mean?
It meant the power of the Border Guard Reserve Unit exceeded that of the entire Aspen Duchy.
If you counted the soldiers and other factors, it shouldn’t have been possible.
“A Knight.”
Their devastating force had been overwhelmed.
Avnair briefly looked up at the sky. The blue sky, the white clouds, the sunlight piercing through them.
His hair fluttered in the wind as he removed his helmet and nodded.
“Kill him.”
“...Why?”
The adjutant turned Commander tried to flee.
It was foolish. To run, where could he possibly go now?
Defeat?
That could be forgiven. Losing a Commander to the sword of a crazed Knight?
That could also be forgiven.
But to abandon his remaining troops and flee was unforgivable.
Leaving the army leaderless could lead to a massacre.
Thump!
One of the guards thrust a spear. The man turned to run, but the spearhead pierced his back.
“Guh!”
The man fell forward, his face crashing into the ground.
Without even glancing at the dead man, Avnair and the guards continued onward.
“Is it over?”
The guard captain asked, but Avnair answered with a list of tasks instead.
“Let’s save as many as we can and retreat.”
Would the enemy allow them to retreat in peace?
Who could have possibly stopped the battle?
It was now Avnair’s turn to witness with his own eyes and act accordingly.
When he arrived at the battlefield, he saw everything.
There stood a man, alone, blocking the enemy.
Avnair knew his face and name.
It was the man they had once wanted to kill, even at the cost of their own forces. How could he not know?
Blue hair, dark eyes, a man bathed in sunlight, now a Knight.
Even without being able to judge his skill, the situation alone was enough to make Avnair realize his power.
“The Demon Slayer.”
Avnair spoke. It was his most famous nickname.
Now, what should he do?
Avnair was willing to risk his own life to save his troops.
“You all return.”
“We started this together, so we’ll finish it together.”
The guard captain refused to leave. Avnair didn’t have time to argue. If the Border Guard Reserve Unit initiated combat, their army would be slaughtered.
Especially since there was a Knight on the other side.
As Avnair was about to step forward, the enemy spoke first.
“Retreat.”
“Just like that?”
The distance was too great to hear, but Avnair mumbled to himself.
It seemed unbelievable, but it was true.
The man had stopped the battle, plunged the battlefield into silence, and turned the Aspen army away.
There was no need for a promise that they wouldn’t be pursued.
His word alone was proof of trust.
And then, he turned his back.
As Avnair watched Encrid turn away, he reflected on everything he had learned so far.
And so, he understood why Encrid was turning around.
“Unnecessary blood.”
They could fight. They could determine victory or defeat. They could kill and be killed.
That’s what battlefields were for, and taking up swords and spears meant agreeing to that.
But if it was deemed unnecessary, he would stop it.
Avnair could almost hear Encrid’s words.
Seeing this, Avnair felt a shiver run down his spine.
Even more than those who had seen the wall of Will and Intimidation.
Could such a person truly exist?
Avnair had seen many people.
He had seen Kings, Imperial Knights, and even Knights of the great southern nations, though he hadn’t seen the legendary heroes.
Though the Eastern King was said to be a worthy warrior, how would he compare to the man before him now?
At least, from Avnair’s perspective, these were people beyond his ability to judge.
He had no right to evaluate them.
Their ideals were lofty, their convictions unshakable, and their will stronger than ever before.
“Let’s go back.”
It was time to return and face the consequences of the war.
General Frog had saved his troops and was ready to die.
The Knight who had fled was killed by the sword of a friendly Knight.
The new Commander who had accidentally ordered the full charge was killed trying to save his own life.
Avnair was ready to face the consequences of defeat, whether it meant imprisonment for life or death.
That was the end of the battle, the end of the war for Aspen.
Thanks for the Chapter Bro!!! :DD
Thanks for the Chapter.
Is it updated regularly? Also what is release schedule
Creo que he leído el manhwa, talvez lo esté confundiendo.. 🤔