Chapter 18 - Legend of Demigod III

“As expected of the Foltest Elites. Truly… they were pretty strong.” Loutch remarked while observing the body of the Foltest Commander whose head had been decapitated.

“It was only recently that it would take the five of us to take down one elite soldier…” Krist verbalized the strides of progress made by each individual. “As of now, there is no doubt. You all have grown twice as strong.” In the past life, Krist was the one who killed the Foltest Commander and not Loutch. This spells a great series of changes in the coming future.

In Lukedonia’s main intelligence headquarters at Hollow Bastion, the Commander was sweating, thinking about the numerous failures that had gone while under his purview. Things are looking dire! While I did get a promotion, to have this many failures so early is sure to get me demoted! Sweat…

“Commander! The ‘Medical Sage’ approaches!” A messenger soldier reported.

Krist had sent a messenger soldier ahead of time for the coming of their arrival. Salute! Knight Krist greeted the Commanding Officer of the intelligence headquarters who is superior ranking, “Reporting. We’ve decimated the enemy scouts, sentries, and cavalry along with 400 Carcerons and taken their horses.”

The report was astounding, “We have also destroyed their base located at the border!”

I’ve heard he had the right to pick 200 Cavalrymen… “How in the world did you manage to achieve such a feat?”

At this critical juncture, Krist would initiate the dominoes that fall under the grand scheme plotted since the beginning of the regression of this life. No matter what I say, the Commander can not reject whatever I request. And this was true. To have brought news such as this would place Krist as the War Hero of this war, even if it were the initial stage.

“What’s important is that you lend me 300 Cavalrymen of my choosing,” Krist played the first move that would inevitably make the dominoes fall one by one in the grand scheme.

…! In this situation, saying no would make me the enemy! The Commander had been hamstrung and conceded to the request of Knight Krist.

Moving along, Krist was leading the retinue of 500 Cavalrymen mounted on Sleipnirs. All of them have been trained under the leadership of the Medical Sage, some since the very beginning, and others were taught at a later time. What was important for Krist was the retrieval of the troops from the 7th Reserve Division, they were the ones who were taught while they were the youngest. Such a detail was vital for the founding of an empire.

This place should be good enough. “Halt! Set camp here for today. Rest and eat for the time being!

The 500 Cavalrymen replied, “Ay aye, Lord Krist.” People had begun to sing the praises of the “Demigod” who had been witnessed during the battle. Such a Title had elevated Krist entirely that people under his command would all call such a person “Lord.”

“A sneak attack is our next move?” Loutch asked.

“Kuku! I don’t need to tell you,” Krist was satisfied that his childhood friend was able to deduce the next move in the war. “Very soon, I’d like for you to take charge.”

?!

Loutch was shocked that Krist had whispered something like that. This was your intention all along? The Enlightenment had dawned upon him, and with it, an Arcane Circle was beginning to form. Loutch was soon to become a 6th Class Mage.

***

“Our reconnaissance base was destroyed by the Medical Sage! What’s our next move?” The Carceron Officer was visibly frustrated and lamented at the bad news.

This place was the headquarters where the Strategist for the Carceron Kingdom was deployed. Foiled once again… Such a coincidence is impossible, considering the interference with the Ice Demon Pandemic. Who the hell is this Medical Sage that they now call ‘Demigod’ come from?!!

“Advance our forces. We can’t waste any more time.” The Strategist gave the orders. “Sir Enryun, I entrust the vanguard to you.”

“Yes, sir.” The Senior Officer who is one of the Foltest Elites was the person who was previously praised after winning the battle but losing a good amount of elites.

“General Albatross, you will command the main forces.”

Commander of the Legion of 6000 soldiers, General Albatross was a wartime veteran and had served the Carceron Royal Family for a long time, “Understood.”

“And lastly, Knight Wallace.” Officially known as Knight Resper Wallace was a commissioned officer for some time and a longtime practitioner of Aura. “I place you in charge of the rear.”

“Roger!” Knight Wallace acquiesced.

Before leaving, the Strategist gave some advice, “Knight Wallace, there will be a high chance that you will meet this ‘Demigod’ at the rear. He is the one who destroyed the main reconnaissance encampment. Expect them to use our Sleipnirs that they’ve stolen.”

This Strategist was not of the Carcerom Kingdom but from the North, and his name is Gillian Depierre, a half-breed. “You must kill ‘him’ at all cost!”

In the country of Lukedonia, Count Ludwig has heard rumors about the exploits of Knight Krist as displayed by the messenger soldier, “Knight Krist and his Cavalrymen had decimated the enemy camp which is said to be the intelligence headquarters!”

I underestimated that kid… Have I grown too old to see the potential in others? Count Ludwig was past his prime, not because of age, but because he succumbed to a terminal illness shortly. This was something that Krist knew all too well.

Knight Krist may as well be the generational soldier who would be perfect under Axel. The question is if my fool of a son could make amends for his poor impression.

“Axel.” Count Ludwig ceased with the useless thoughts. With such an opening created by Knight Krist, It’s necessary to make a move in this war! Although past his prime, discipline, and experience is the reason why Ludwig Van Solidor had ascended to the aristocratic status of a Count.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Yes, General.” Axel was at attention.

“I leave the Command to you,” Count Ludwig donned his helmet.

“Understood!” Axel Van Solidor had effectively received the right to fully command the main army of Lukedonia.

The Count gave further orders, “Gather my retinue of Knights!”

All mounted upon their heavy armored horses, Count Ludwig and his Knights wielding Lances would make their assault towards the Carceron Kingdom. Little did they know, this would be Count Ludwig's last onslaught.

Located at the spot where Krist and the 500 Cavalrymen were resting, it was the place where they could overlook the skirmish from atop a hill, “Both sides have showed up. They’ll be clashing soon.”

“Come, Loutch.” There was no doubt in Krist’s heart that his 500 Cavalrymen could easily sweep thousands of enemy forces. Such confidence was born in the fact that they were trained meticulously for some years.

The Count’s army was numerous. Exactly 10,000 soldiers were deployed as the main force of Lukedonia represented under the rule of Count Ludwig Van Solidor.

“AGH!!” An allied soldier was stabbed through the chest.

“Weakling!” The heavily armored Talbot Elite was the frontline of the skirmish.

Lukedonia may have had superior numbers, however, Carceron deployed a third of their elite forces for this onslaught. As such, hundreds were being killed precipitously by the heavily armored soldiers of Carceron.

“Fuck! They've sent the Talbot Elites this early!” The soldiers from Lukedonia immediately noticed the quality of the enemy forces were sent at the very beginning instead of the next wave. This meant that Carceron had changed their tactics and did not act as expected.

“HAHA! Tremble in fear for realizing too late!” The Talbot Elites had complete control of the battle since the beginning.

“ARGH!” A disruption from the rear changed the tempo of the whole battlefield.

At the perfect timing, Krist and his troops executed the Blitzkrieg tactic. Reddas, the more experienced soldier was the first to fight deep in the enemy lines. Krist followed up by gathering the mounted soldiers for another charge. As usual, the monsters of the battlefield had exemplified themselves.

Krist steadily assaulted the enemy masses with his godly spearmanship that was being controlled through Telekinesis. No enemy could withstand the flying spear. Reddas was one of the foot soldiers and a high-ranking at that. He and his regiment favored the axe or similar weapons and, thus, were also hard hitters. Among the Cavalrymen in the retinue of 500 Elite Aura Soldiers, 300 of them were “footmen” who did not mount on a horse and would fight while on foot. Such troops were vital in any battlefield and Reddas led them quite well.

Saix stayed by Krist’s side the best he could, given, that no one could keep up with Krist and his Demigod features. It was at this point that they were starting to realize that Krist was on another dimension and the Title, “Demigod” was fully conceptualized. Krist had become an existence where 1 out of 1,000,000 exist, a Martial God.

Loutch performed flawlessly as usual. He controlled the battlefield through his exquisite bowmanship and began to fire Aura Arrows after running out of physical long arrows. In this battle, every person in Krist’s army would exercise their mana pools to the very limit.

Lastly, Laciel was in a similar position to Saix, whereas instead of leading with brute strength, the Assassin would try his hardest through the speed of shadow. Unlike Saix who was physically gifted, Laciel was talented with skills and movement arts. Through this, he had the best evasion and agility. So far, he is the fastest, though, could not keep up with Krist’s speed. Witnessing Krist fight on horseback while wielding a spear through Telekinesis was another level altogether.

Excellent! This battle should make a few Masters, would it not?! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Krist’s heartbeat began to rise at the thought of creating a few Masters in this battle. With the events so far, Krist had deduced that such an experience was ripe to create a few Transcendence Realm Martial Masters. The battle may end longer than what was expected, however, the fruits to gain from such an encounter were tremendous. In other words, Krist and his group would have to kill 6000 Carcerons.

“Lord Krist!! Enemies approaching from the back!” Hal shouted.

“Things are going as you expected, Krist. Tell me, do you have a trick up your sleeve?” Loutch asked Krist the inevitable question since the tactic of sneak attacks had been used numerous times. Such a card repeatedly used in warfare is sure to be countered.

In the past life, it was beyond my reach to lessen the casualties of war… but now, I will make my dreams a reality. This firm thought within Krist was what enabled him to change his destiny. Of course, the achievement of the Reverse Revival Aging had placed Krist as a bonafide Martial God. Most importantly, such an achievement was accomplished within the 1st Metastasis. Those of the Mystic Realm have always gone through a 2nd Metastasis.

“You’re focusing on a small detail. Think about it as you clear things on your end, friend.” Krist did not reveal the answer as he had hoped that Loutch would learn. Though the Demon Bow may have the best eyesight, he lacks wisdom as to why he was born with such a blessing. If he could figure out such a thing, he may be able to be called a protagonist in any story. This is what Krist had hoped for his close friend.

“Saix, Reddas! Activate Blade Energy and clear your side!” Krist shouted the orders that were meant to signal the series of tactics that each soldier had learned in the academy at Hollow Bastion. It also meant that everyone must take things seriously as Krist had intended to kill every single Carceron on the battlefield.

It was then that Saix and Reddas had naturally entered the Transcendence Realm without undergoing the 1st Metastasis, “Laciel! Support Ser Barristan and Hal!” Krist did not forget the Commanding Officers who played the vital role of managing the elite force of 500 Aura Soldiers.

At long last, the heaviness has become barely noticeable. It was at this moment that Krist was a fully-realized Martial God, albeit, in terms of manipulating mana. This factor alone was why Krist was confident to have such a thought. Moreover, to even achieve such a feat was something unthinkable, in fact, not even the Lord Emir had achieved something similar other than killing Diablos. With this newfound level of power, Krist revealed the ‘Mind Division, Twinned Will.’ It is a form of Mental Arts where the manipulation of mana is refined beyond perfection that Krist could pick up the weapons through Telekinesis and wield them effortlessly.

Refining The Final Purification, and Divine Art of the Lionturtle Breath beyond perfection was what enabled Krist to carry a hundred weapons without expending chi. Not only that but to implement the Mental Arts of Twinned Will, Mind Division, was a skill passed down to the successor of the Lord Emir. It was a technique that could make any weapon being controlled through Telekinesis perform any martial arts that the user knows.

“AAAAH!!!” The scene had come to be surreal as Krist unleashed his full power. Controlling a hundred weapons from swords to spears had made the battlefield seem as if Mages had joined the battle.

“Demigod!” A frightened Talbot Elite was starstruck at the scene before him.

When the moving weapons attacked the Carcerons, fifty of those weapons showered the enemies like rain while the other half performed high-level Martial Arts.

“Loutch, continue to push through!” Krist gave another command amidst the slaughter happening to the Carcerons.

“Demigod!!”

“It’s true, he’s as powerful as they say!”

“Run! Not even a Force Master could kill him!”

Cries of agony befall the party that would impede them from joining Count Ludwig’s army. From then on, Krist continued to show why a Martial God could change any scenario in warfare through force alone. Whatever the enemy had strategized, everything would crumble before the might of an individual who had crossed into the Mystic Realm.

“CRAA!!!!!”

“When will it end?!! Kuuk!!”

“Please have mercy! Lord!!!”

Panic, hopelessness, cruelty, tyranny, and complete dominance were what was displayed by the Demigod, Krist Ceringer, and his troops. A new legend had been born through this bloodshed that had made Krist and his troops the focal point of the war. The battle had gone one-sided and the Knight Wallace from Carceron was just like the rest of the corpses that had faced the flying weapons attacking at supersonic speed. Exactly 2000 Carcerons had been killed in action, the people who would live to tell the tale was Lukedonia.