Yuri looked at Donchichi and said,
“So you’re the big guy, huh?”
It made sense—Donchichi was as huge as a small building, which explained why no one dared to stand up to him. To the soldiers, he must have felt like an unstoppable monster.
But to Yuri, he wasn’t such a difficult opponent. His strength was immense, but he had plenty of openings. As long as Yuri didn’t slip up, he could keep toying with him.
Donchichi stood up, furious.
“You little runt! I’ll kill you!”
“Whoa…”
Donchichi charged wildly, and Yuri admired his fighting spirit.
“Everyone, fall back!”
At Yuri’s shout, Bursen’s soldiers began to retreat. Though he had told them to leave, they vanished so quickly that Yuri felt a twinge of disappointment.
Soon, only Donchichi and the Empire’s forces remained around him.
“Grrrrr!”
Donchichi roared and charged. The sheer mass of the creature barreling forward felt like a wall crashing down.
Yuri raised his sword, Guilty, and unleashed the Spiral Whirlwind Slash.
His sword energy, now mastered to perfection, tore through the air in an instant, creating a swirling vortex. There was no need to build up speed anymore—the whirlwind expanded rapidly.
The fractal pattern of spinning spirals meshed together like interlocking gears, growing larger and louder.
By the time Donchichi reached him, the whirlwind was as massive as the giant himself, roaring fiercely.
No matter how tough an ogre’s skin was, it was no match for Yuri’s sword energy, which had reached the tenth rank.
Instinctively, Donchichi slowed down.
“Scared?” Yuri shouted, driving the whirlwind forward.
Donchichi’s sudden deceleration gouged a long trench in the ground. Just before colliding with Yuri’s sword energy, he came to a complete stop, then pushed off the ground, turned his back, and fled.
Yuri gave chase.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Monster human! You’re back again!”
The soldiers, controlled by dark magic, fought without fear, but Donchichi hadn’t reached that level yet. He seemed to resist the external magic better than ordinary humans.
Yuri changed his plan. Instead of killing Donchichi, he decided to use him to slaughter the Empire’s own troops.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Don’t come near! Human! Stop it!”
Donchichi kept running in the opposite direction of Yuri’s pursuit, paying no mind to the Empire soldiers he trampled underfoot.
Yuri drove Donchichi forward, and Donchichi crushed the Empire’s forces beneath his feet.
“Everyone, get out of the way!”
The Empire’s knights shouted, but they were soon flattened under Donchichi’s steps.
Even though Yuri was deep in enemy lines, he felt no difficulty—Donchichi was clearing the path. Yuri laughed repeatedly as he teased the giant.
“This is fun.”
Then, moving faster, he struck Donchichi’s rear with a whirlwind slash.
Blood splattered, and Donchichi fled even more fiercely.
If this kept up, they’d end up back at the Empire’s base, so Yuri shouted,
“Donchichi, stop!”
“I’m not stopping!”
“If you run, I’ll chase you to the end! I’ll kill you!”
“N-no!”
“Stop, and I’ll spare you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
The wildly running Donchichi finally came to a halt.
As his thunderous pounding ceased, a temporary silence fell over the battlefield.
All the Empire soldiers around stared at Donchichi, their eyes filled with a mix of fear and resentment.
But Donchichi ignored it all and tried to please Yuri.
“W-what do you want?”
“Very simple.”
Yuri wiggled his fingers.
“If you run back and forth ten times like this, I’ll let you go.”
“Why do I have to run?”
“Punishment.”
Yuri crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.
“You messed things up, so you have to pay. Ten laps is already generous.”
“Is that so?”
Donchichi scratched his head, and Yuri pressed him before he could think too much.
“Start now. Ten times.”
“Ah, got it. Donchichi will run.”
Donchichi looked at the two points Yuri indicated—right through the Empire troops fighting Bursen. If Donchichi ran between those points, Bursen would have an easier time, and the Empire would suffer near-total devastation.
The Empire knights realized Yuri’s plan and shouted at Donchichi.
“Donchichi! You can’t do that!”
“Don’t be fooled by him!”
“Stop!”
But Donchichi ignored them, even covering his ears.
“I don’t follow anyone weaker than me.”
“Good job, Donchichi.”
“Ten laps, then forgiveness. Right?”
“Right.”
“Running!”
Donchichi started running to escape Yuri’s torment. The Empire troops had to scatter to avoid being crushed, breaking their formation.
In this chaos, there was no way Bursen’s desperate defense line could hold.
Gradually, the front shifted in favor of the Anti-Empire Alliance.
One expert at the tenth rank had changed the course of the war.
Of course, the Empire wasn’t going to let Yuri run wild without a fight.
Suddenly, Donchichi stopped running.
“What now?”
Yuri raised his sword and chased after Donchichi to threaten him, but sensed an approaching energy nearby.
He looked around.
Six knights were closing in on him.
Their presence was ominous.
“Hmm…”
They hadn’t sent troops without preparation.
There was a reason they hadn’t dispatched powerful warriors like the Black Knight or the Shadowless Sword in this battle.
Individually, these six knights weren’t too threatening—just typical Empire squad leaders from Yuri’s perspective.
But together, their combined aura was strong enough to make him steel himself.
“Not bad…”
Yuri suspected they hadn’t grown strong through normal means.
If the Empire could mass-produce such powerful knights through dark magic, that was a serious problem.
Yuri stood still, observing the six knights. The war had just begun, and he needed to assess the enemy’s strength.
One of them spoke.
“This is where your antics end.”
“Oh?”
Yuri smirked.
“Did you think it’d be different if you came in numbers?”
Instead of answering, they drew their swords.
Black energy rose from the six knights, surrounding Yuri. It felt like a barrier was forming, weighing down his senses.
Yuri realized the dark magic implanted in them was interfering with him.
And as always with dark magic, the cost was their own life force.
These six knights would exhaust their lifespans and die to maintain the barrier—a kind of sacrificial magic circle.
“Putting six lives on the line… how honorable.”
“Die quietly.”
Yuri didn’t bother asking why they’d do such a thing.
They were all under the influence of dark magic. Whatever was happening in the Empire, the entire population was probably brainwashed by it.
You could tell just by looking at the Empire troops here.
Except for Donchichi, everyone had turned into mindless war machines.
“Donchichi’s really something.”
As Yuri muttered this, Donchichi appeared.
“Huff, huff. Human. The situation has changed. Revenge time!”
“…”
Yuri immediately reconsidered his earlier thoughts.
“You dumb brute.”
“What? Dumb? Donchichi’s smart! Genius ogre! If you ignore me, I’ll get revenge!”
Donchichi charged.
The six knights stepped back as if they’d been waiting for this.
Their bodies connected by black energy in a hexagram shape, continuing to interfere with Yuri.
His movements felt heavy.
“This much…”
Yuri raised Guilty and infused it with the energy of the Soul Slash.
He swung.
The Soul Slash had the power to cut through dark magic. The oppressive dark energy that had been choking him vanished without a trace.
Just as Yuri prepared to block Donchichi’s attack, the dark magic returned, clinging to him and disrupting his movements.
“Ugh…”
Yuri lost his balance for a moment.
Donchichi’s massive fist slammed into his body.
Yuri raised his sword just before impact, avoiding a fatal blow, but the force sent him flying, tumbling across the ground.
His head rang, and his body ached.
The brute’s strength was brutally overwhelming.
“Damn…”
Meanwhile, the six knights rushed back, activating the hexagram barrier again. Yuri felt like he was drowning, his movements sluggish.
“Cowardly, attacking in numbers…”
Yuri lifted his eyes.
“But you know what?”
No one answered. Only Donchichi was charging at Yuri.
“You’re not the only ones with comrades.”
Suddenly, Donchichi collapsed.
“Hahaha!”
A hearty laugh echoed.
“Long time no see, Your Highness!”
Bursen’s tenth-rank warrior, Hose, was grinning broadly at Yuri. Yuri waved back—it had been a while since they’d met.
“How have you been?”
“So far, fine. But these Empire bastards have ruined that.”
“Same here. That’s why I’m here.”
“What should we do with this big, dumb guy?”
“Beat him up.”
“Understood.”
Donchichi got up and glared at Hose.
“Human! Interfering!”
“You’re not scared of me?”
“I’ll beat you!”
“You bastard!”
Jose, a man towering close to giant stature, and the truly colossal Doncic faced off against each other.
The ground trembled and explosions erupted as their battle raged.
Yuri shrugged his shoulders.
“So, how’s that?”
At that moment, one of the six knights spoke up again.
“Even if it’s not Doncic, there are plenty who’d kill you.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Empire’s knights surged forward.
All of them glared at Yuri with murderous intent.
With black magic restricting his movements, it wouldn’t be easy for Yuri to fend off dozens of knights charging at him.
He had to take out those six first.
Scanning his surroundings, Yuri suddenly spoke up.
“Let’s kill those six first. What do you say?”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at Yuri’s sudden muttering.
Then, something unexpected happened.
One of the six knights forming the barrier suddenly collapsed.
“No, wait.”
“What the—?”
Everyone was stunned. Standing atop the fallen knight’s body was someone else.
“You went off on your own and made a scene, and now you’re asking for help, huh?”
The voice was clear but dripping with sarcasm.
“I took out one of them. The rest are up to you.”
The one who appeared after killing an Empire knight was a young man with flowing blonde hair and strikingly handsome features. His pure, clear appearance contrasted sharply with the decadent aura that hung over him.
Yuri narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
“Something about that face and attitude just doesn’t fit…”
This young man was none other than Laurent.
With Inariel’s help, Laurent had regained his original body, unwarped by black magic. But his core remained as cynical as ever.
“Well, whatever.”
Yuri chuckled softly.
No matter how twisted he acted, to Yuri’s eyes, Laurent wasn’t all that different from the guy who used to trail after him.
As Yuri raised his sword again, another figure appeared beside him.
“Sir Laurent, your new look is charming, but I do miss the cute Laurent who used to follow the prince and Your Highness. Don’t you agree, Your Highness?”
“Right?”
“Prince, the Laurent who used to follow you and His Highness…”
“Enough. Laurent’s getting mad.”
“Yes, sir.”
One of the few who wasn’t fazed by Laurent’s change, Jared, appeared.
Laurent’s face twisted in irritation.
“Shut up.”
He swung his sword sharply.
The fight resumed.
Yuri and Jared moved as well. Thanks to Laurent’s assassination, the barrier trapping Yuri no longer held its former power, which spelled disaster for the Empire’s knights.
Yuri’s sword slashed through the enemies around him.
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
Jared supported Yuri, methodically cutting down foes one by one.
As Yuri mechanically killed his enemies, he suddenly straightened and looked around.
Before he knew it, Bursen’s forces had broken through the Empire’s front lines and were overwhelming the Empire’s black-clad army.
The first battle was a success.
In his past life, the Empire’s army had been so strong they never lost a single battle.
But this time was different.
He could feel hope—the hope that they could win.
“Wait for me, Cedric…”
Yuri gazed toward the northern sky, a cold smile playing on his lips.