Rosalia-The Crimson Queen of the Battlefield
No one was sure when it started, but a cold shower of rain poured down onto the battle field. The earth became muddy, soldiers who were fighting felt their strength drain from them as their body temperature dropped. The weakened ground made it difficult for even a veteran soldier to move around.
“Damn this rain…” cursed Elliott as he got to his feet. On top of his eyes being blurry, he could feel part of his consciousness fading because of the accumulated fatigue from battle. The wind brought sounds of battle to his ears. Battle cries and the sounds of clashing metal could be heard off in the distance.
‘Seems close…’
Gathering what little strength he had left, he raised himself up and forced his body towards what he thought was the source of the sound. Having been born into a family with a long line of Rosenheim knights, his body was exceptionally trained. Though none of the family heads were famous, they each served the kingdom of Rosenheim dutifully and without fail. Ever since he was a youth his father had taught him everything he knew about wielding a sword and what it meant to be a knight. Despite his immaturity, he accepted everything his father taught him gratefully and vowed to live up to his hopes.
‘There’s no way I’m going to dishonor my family by sitting around while a war for the future of Rosenheim is taking place…’ He tightly gripped his sword and beseeched the gods and past heads of his family to lend him their strength.
Led by the heavy stench of blood, he finally made it to a hill near the source of the sound. What Elliott saw astonished him beyond belief. He blinked several times, rubbed his eyes, and then stared at the scene again for several seconds. This process repeated itself numerous times but still the hardened knight could not believe what he saw.
--A woman?
What drew Elliott’s attention the most was her indescribable beauty. She had vibrant red hair down to her waist which seemed almost on fire with the right lighting. She donned a sturdy set of crimson colored armor with a breastplate built for both mobility and endurance, and carried a medium sized broadsword in her right hand. Every inch of her body was dyed red with blood, both her own and her enemies. Moreover, her eyes shined with an overwhelming will to fight that could force even the fiercest of enemies to doubt themselves.
From a young age, Elliott was forced to go to various concerts per the request of his family to meet nobles and meet with those of the upper class, and even dance with noble women of the court on occasion. The ball room was always filled with women of all ages clad in elegant body hugging dresses, fashionable jewelry, and heavy makeup. They could be considered attractive to anyone other than Elliott but he still had to follow the instructions of his family. In his opinion, they always overdosed on foreign perfumes and at most would talk about the local gossip. He would much rather swing his sword and train to become a knight or even talk to one of the cheerful servant girls who served his family then attend another one of those “concerts”.
However, this was not the case with the woman he saw before him now. He found himself focusing on each and every one of her movements without his knowing. This awe inspiring red haired warrior was single handedly slashing her way through the enemy’s ranks despite being at a clear disadvantage. An enemy soldier charged at her from the back with a spear in hand. Elliott felt his throat clamp up as he desperately tried to warn her of the attack. Seeming to know what was coming; her entire body twisted in the air to dodge the spear by mere inches, and then she returned with a strike of her own. Ten more armored soldiers appeared and decided to maintain a distance of 60 feet from her while more arrived. Their muscles tightened as they held up shield and spears in hand, attempting to block her path before she made it any further.
Running. Still running.
Seoyoon lowered her body almost parallel to the ground.
‘Faster….faster…have to go much much faster…’
Hot blood surged through her body as she sped toward their formation at a break neck pace.
One of the warriors panicked and lunged at Seoyoon with their spear. He blinked in surprise as she disappeared from his line of sight. Left, right, and even above. The red haired berserker was nowhere to be seen.
-PIERCE-
His body shook in surprise as a sword pierced through his mouth and penetrated half way through his skull. The warrior’s large frame separated from the ground, floating several inches into the air. Moments away from death, the warrior gazed at the lone swordswoman in front of him. A single word came to mind as he looked on at this crimson berserker, her face full of conviction and fighting spirit.
“Beautiful…”
His words ended there as he gasped his last breath.
In the next instant, the berserker withdrew her sword and used the man’s falling body as a pivot to jump toward the enemy formation where a gap had appeared, then viciously slashed at them with her sword. Some of the soldiers died before even getting close to her. The remaining members retreated to their main army in a panic.
Unexpectedly, a new group of some 50 soldiers had arrived. Despite their deaths, they had accomplished their goal of buying time for reinforcements. In the center of the horde of soldiers was a flag with the image of a black horned demon. Surrounding it was several more layers of soldiers holding torches and bows.
“Arrows! Release the arrows! Release the arrows!” shrieked a panicked voice from within the crowd.
Seoyoon ran quickly and rolled onto the ground. Arrows littered the area she had been mere moments before. Immediately afterward, a second volley of arrows rained down on her. Considering her options, she chose the simplest method to cope with her disadvantage. Her left hand reached for one of the fallen armored soldiers she had slain and used it as a shield. however a few of them managed to hit her thigh and abdomen. If she had been exposed to the volley directly then she her body would have been riddled with countless arrows.
Tightening her grip on the sword, Seoyoon gave a muted battle cry as she ran towards the horde of soldiers. The numerous torches before her gave off a bright radiance, as if they were embracing her. Once she was close enough, the ragged body she had been using as a shield was thrown at the archers as a distraction and she retrieved one of the spare swords she carried. Characteristic of a Berserker, Seoyoon gathered all of her strength into her two swords and let loose an intense chain of continuous attacks in all directions. It was a rapid, extreme unmatched assault.
Kaeng!
Kaeeeng!!
With just a single hit of her sword, the soldiers either turned grey and died or fell to the ground in pain clutching their wounds.
“Fire more arrows! What are you waiting for!!”
“-Eh!? But she’s too close! We’ll hit our own allies!”
While Elliott stared in amazement, Seoyoon continued to cast her attack skills. There were already enough corpses to form hills surrounding her. One of the torches that had fallen to the ground illuminated the girls face and her crimson red hair flowed freely in the wind as though it was on fire. Her extraordinary beauty caused him to fall into a daze.
‘How strange….I’ve met many people before but this lone female warrior’s beauty is far greater than all of the noble women and pampered ladies of the upper class I’ve seen combined.’ thought Elliott to himself. The battle scars and blood could not mar her beauty. It could even be said that she shined even brighter because of them. A resolute will that shone in the darkness in spite of how bleak the battlefield was. She was an exotic kind of beauty full of pride and strength.
On the muddy ground, the torch continued to burn while the broken flag and Seoyoon’s crimson hair continued to be swept away by the cold night air.
Droplets of blood stained her cheeks, and her round eyes held a cold resolution in them. Perhaps it was her characteristic as a warrior but the droplets of blood only served to further enhance attractiveness, almost like make up. She possessed a peerless beauty that would not lose to even the finest of jewels. It was as though a goddess had fallen to the earth and took on a mortal form.
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Beauty beyond veiling.
A goddess descends from the celestial realm and fights for the kingdom falling into ruin.
Her aura envelops the world with light and new hope, while her sword beats back the darkness.
In the distance, Elliott spotted a new set of torches. They wore shining black armor, rode massive warhorses that were almost twice that of the norm, but what shocked Elliott the most was what they carried in their hands.
“Lances…” cursed the knight
Elliott stared at the red haired swordswomen again and felt his body go cold.
Seeing the enemy group come towards her, Seoyoon pulled out the arrows embedded in her body and made a stance to fight.
She was clearly getting ready for a fight to the death.
“NO!! Lancers are different from the usual mob of soldiers!!” shouted Elliott in desperation. Unfortunately, the distance was too far and his voice didn’t reach her; instead it was drowned out by the nearby sounds of clashing metal, battle cries, and drums.
Lances provided far more piercing power compared to a spear. One of the reasons was that their balance and durability made it much easier to wield, especially on horseback. It was for this reason that knight training placed extra emphasis on using a lance. Of course wielding a sword and using practiced formations for combat were important, but a small squad of trained knights wielding lances could easily crush a typical formation. It would take an expert general and careful moving to bring them down once they had pierced far enough into an enemy army. In other words, it would be impossible for one person to take down a group of lance wielding knights, no matter how skilled they were.
An armored hand gripped his right shoulder. Elliott spun around sword in hand only to see some familiar faces. It was the remaining squad of Rosenheim knights plus a few unfamiliar faces, adding them all together there was a total of 34 knights. It wasn’t sure when they arrived but they were most likely drawn here by the sound of battle as well and saw what was taking place. Some were injured and bleeding while others lacked the necessary weapons, but their eyes shined with the will to fight. Something in them was set aflame after seeing that lone swordswomen’s heroics.
Jacob looked at the scene before him and then drew out his sword and looked at Elliott straight on. No words were spoken, he could immediately guess what his partner was going to thinking.
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“Yeah…It’d be our greatest disgrace if we just stood by and let someone else fight in our place.” Said Elliott with a wry smile on his face.
“Glad you understand! I was afraid I’d have to punch you a few times to bring you to your senses!” replied Jacob, grinning from ear to ear and laughing. A few of the knights joined in on the laughter. He motioned to the nearby knights. All of them thought the same and took out their shields and swords. After letting out an ear splitting battle cry they rushed down hill to aid the red haired berserker.
The remaining Rosenheim knights gathered into a Phalanx formation and rushed toward one of the lance units from their right with wild abandon. Many of them had lost their shields and weapons so they resorted to scavenging what little they could from corpses. When they were close enough the Rosenheim knights let their momentum carry their bodies toward the War Horses. Taken by surprise from their flank, several of the lancers were thrown off of their horses. Those that weren’t thrown off were attacked from below and dragged down to the muddy earth.
From the corner of his eyes, Elliott saw a lance come at him and ducked down ducked down immediately. He clutched the long sword he was holding and plunged it into the soldier’s abdomen where the armor pieces connected with one another.
Wielding their swords, the Rosenheim knights faced off against the hundred lancers who were gradually encircling them in a net.
“SPEAR HEAD FORMATION! SPEAR HEAD!! Use your swords to cut down their horses and breakthrough in one go!!” commanded Elliott as he deflected a lance which was aiming for his head.
Their clothes soaked by the rain started to feel heavy, every inch of their armor was marred with scratches and cracks, while their swords became dyed red with fresh blood. As a reward for their sacrifices, they managed to break into the center of the enemy unit. Jacob looked on at the soldiers with a ferocious beast like gaze and swung his sword at a random horse. Its leg fell to the ground, but the enemy managed to jump off and rebalance himself in time. The soldier glared back at Jacob with disdain as he readied himself. Because of this, he failed to notice Ian closing in from behind. With a single slash of his sword the soldier was slain.
“That’s not very knightly you know.” Joked Jacob in a mocking tone
“These bastards aren’t even worth it, they should feel lucky to be killed by my sword.” Replied Ian curtly
“Gyahhh!!” cried a voice from behind them
Elliott suddenly felt a chill run up his spine and he lunged forward and rolled to the ground. A Embinyu lancer clothed in black armor had pierced one of his allies and continued through their ranks until he made it to the opposite side. He looked on in horror as he saw 10 more lancers rush in from both of their flanks.
‘Tsk! Flanking the enemy after being flanked themselves…I can’t believe I underestimated them that much…’ muttered Elliott to himself as he looked on at his eminent doom.
Even the brave Rosenheim knights wouldn’t be able to endure an attack from 3 different angles.
The previous him would have given up into despair but having watched that red haired berserker fighting against the other lance units in the distance he changed his mind.
“—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Elliott could feel his roar reverberate inside his body as his arms gradually tightened their grasp on his sword.
His body lunged forward and took the lance head on. It was a suicide tactic but if it worked then there may be a chance for the others to make it out of this hell hole alive and capitalize on this opening.
“Uooooohhhhh!!!” was all Elliott could cry out as a white hot pain coursed through his body.
On the border of passing out from the pain, Elliott swung his sword at where he thought the handle of the lance was. Sure enough, he managed to break it, and assuming he felt it right, the soldiers arm was cut off as well. With his last bit of strength Elliott executed one more slash as a precaution. The soldier fell to the ground, dead and missing an arm. Quickly mounting the horse, Elliott swung his sword in all directions to dissuade any other attackers. He wasn’t sure how many there were but he had already lost all feeling in his right arm, and his eyes were beginning to get to the point where he couldn’t see what was right in front of him.
Seeing this tactic, the remaining Rosenheim knights employed a similar move but slightly modified. Each one of them paired up; as one of the knights took the brunt of the attack the second would attack from the side, kill the rider, and take command of the horse.
Swinging his sword left and right was all Elliott could do at this point. Jacob and Ian tried to cover for his injuries but their efforts could only go so far. The hole in his abdomen from having stopped the lance and other wounds he received caused him to be unable to support himself anymore.
“Gather.” ordered Jacob in a chilling voice. The remaining knights instinctively surrounded Elliott’s hunched over body. Most of the Rosenheim knights they had attacked with were still alive, but it was only a matter of time considering how serious their injuries were. Eight of them rode on horses while the others supported themselves on the ground with their swords.
By then the enemy commander had reorganized his cavarly and prepared to launch the final offensive on this small band of knights. Their leader laughed maniacally as their horses closed in on their prey. No one said anything, but each of the knights knew that they would be unable to escape from the enemy forces with all of the wounds they had incurred.
“If I’m going to die, then I’ll at least die in good company.” Said Jacob with a sharp edge to his voice
“Well, we should at least make these bastards work for it.” joked Elliott as he supported his body.
Right before both sides collided, a crimson silhouette descended on the enemy commander and cut through both the horse and rider.
“Eh? Commander?”
“Th-The commander is dead!!”
“Hold the line! Don’t break formation!! We can still finish them off here and now!”
The sparks of metal colliding with metal illuminated the face of the red haired swordswomen. Her body was covered with even more wounds than before but she swung her massive sword around with ease. With each swing of her sword another soldier was sent to their deaths. Her strength was frightening. No matter what type of armor, Seoyoon’s sword brought certain death to its victims. In mere minutes, a pile of corpses laid at her feet.
Once Seoyoon was finished with slaying the soldiers, she walked toward the Rosenheim knights. None of them could say anything after having watched that unbelievable scene.
Seoyoon was using her sword skills and strong body to cleave her way through the wave of enemies one after another.
The attention of all the knights turned toward the red haired Swordswomen. It was Seoyoon. She looked at their wounds sympathetically.
‘Looks painful’
Having fought through countless battles in Royal Road alone, she knew full well of the pain of getting hurt. Then, she saw these knights fight alongside one another to help her.
‘I should help him. That man had done the same for me whenever we were together(Weed).’
Thinking that he’s likely to die soon, Elliott gives his thanks to the swordswoman for having fought for Rosenheim and letting them live a little longer, though he regrets that he will not be able to do more for Rosenheim. However, Seoyoon pulls out some bandages and begins to wrap them his body.
“Ha ha, it’s a good effort but my wounds are far too serious. It’d be much better to help the others-URK”
-The wound has stopped bleeding
-The injury has stabilized
-Life is being restored, Current life: 26%
-Life is being restored, Current life: 29%
“…” Elliott’s eyes were wide with surprise as his health soon returned to full. Seoyoon repeated the same treatment for the other knights.
After bowing their heads in thanks, they looked at each other with smiles. Incidentally, Seoyoon had learned the effectiveness of bandaging from Weed. After watching him, she decided to practice using bandages to treat her wounds as well. The skill definitely had its merits, especially for solo players who avoided grouping up with others. After all the fights she had been through, it had already sky rocketed to advanced level 7.
Another wave of enemies was approaching them now. This time it was a group of infantry with large tower shields plus a few of the lancers from before. Seoyoon took the chance to wipe some of the blood on her face off using her right shoulder which held her sword. To her it was a simple action, but to the Rosenheim knights they saw it as a sign to prepare for combat. Their spirits were reignited and they shouted at the top of their lungs!
“We will protect the goddess at all costs!!” ordered Elliott, the others backing him up. They formed a circular formation encompassing Seoyoon as they got ready to fight.
Seoyoon looked at them confused, wondering what they were talking about. Such thoughts soon disappeared as the enemy closed in on them. For now, she would focus on this fight and cleave her enemies in two. That was the only thing she would think about. The other, was maybe meeting a certain sculptor again when the battle was over.
The battle exploded into a frenzy as soon as the fight started. The red haired berserker ripped through her enemies time and time again.
The sword reflected blue moonlight as it cut horizontally into the enemies thinly protected stomach and fresh blood flowed out from the wound. There was a low scream. However, the attacks didn’t stop there. A second slash was chained in with a speed greatly surpassing the first, this time a vertical slice that went top to bottom. From this state she drew her sword back so that it was parallel to the ground, and executed a single thrust that pierced the skull of her battered enemy. To her allies, she resembled a goddess of victory who protected them and gave new hope with each swing of her sword, whereas for her enemies she was the harbinger of death and destruction. Much later after the battle was over, rumors spread of a certain Queen of Destruction with crimson red hair. Noble and elegant beyond compare, she scoured the battlefield and wrecked havoc upon whole armies. They called her…Rosalia-The Crimson Queen of the Battlefield.
All of a sudden, the entire battlefield went quiet. None of the soldiers dared swing their sword as an eerie silence loomed over them. Even the normally loud animals and insects went quiet. Instead, there was just a terrible sense of dread in the air as though something sinister was slowly clawing it’s way upward out if it’s hellhole. Hell-bent on strangling the very life out of them.
Seoyoon immediately turned to face the crevice where the undead dragon had perished. It was the place where ‘that’ man fell. That was the place where ‘he’ would certainly return from.