The wyvern possessed dazzling aerial skills. Yuri’s role was simply to swing his sword in time with the creature’s movements.
“Why is this bastard so damn smart?”
“Kiyaaaah!”
The wyvern riders who had been chasing with arrows were now down to just two, fleeing for their lives.
With their roles reversed, the wyvern Yuri rode began to hunt its enemies in earnest.
Soaring high into the sky, it dove like an eagle snatching prey, grabbing the opposing wyvern’s rider.
Then it took to the air again.
At first, the linked chain pulled the enemy wyvern up along with its rider.
But no matter how strong the orc’s body was, it wasn’t tough enough to bear the wyvern’s weight.
The orc’s torso was ripped clean in two.
Blood and entrails scattered in midair.
“That bastard…”
Yuri stroked the back of the wyvern’s head.
This creature moved carefully, aiming to kill only the riders without harming its fellow wyverns.
When it was an enemy, Yuri had thought it was just a rude wyvern brat, but now that it was an ally, he realized it was a warm-hearted wyvern who cared for its own kind.
“How did you end up caught by orcs…”
“Kiyaaaah!”
The wyvern flew toward the last remaining orc rider. Once again, Yuri cleanly severed the orc’s neck.
The wyverns, now riderless, suddenly seemed to snap out of it, shook their heads, and flew off into the distance.
Were they heading toward freedom?
Yuri sensed a farewell.
“Ibim.”
“Kiyaaaah!”
“It was brief, but good to have met you.”
He half rose from the wyvern’s saddle and looked down at the ground.
The battle between humans and orcs looked like a clash of ant colonies.
It seemed like nothing.
But down there, the combatants were locked in a desperate fight for their lives.
That was where Yuri belonged.
“There.”
He pointed to a spot.
“Can you put me down there?”
“Kiyaaaah!”
The wyvern roared once more and banked toward that place.
The destination was the rear of the Briol army, the central area where the principalities of Joachim and Klein were connected.
The smaller, weaker states had formed a defensive line together, but that line was about to break.
They couldn’t afford to let it fall.
If the rear was breached while orcs were pouring in, the entire allied force could collapse. Like a small crack that brings down a dam.
The wyvern spread its wings wide and dove like an arrow.
The spot Yuri aimed for was drawing closer.
“Ibim, be happy.”
“Kiyaaaaaah!”
Knowing the wyvern’s speed, Yuri jumped off earlier.
Riding the momentum of the high-speed flight, he flew straight in the same direction.
At that moment, a large, well-fed orc stood there.
Yuri stabbed into its chest, using the orc’s body as a cushion to crash to the ground. The orc’s bulk slid, knocking other orcs aside.
A long trail marked his landing path.
“Phew…”
Yuri, who had appeared like a meteor, stood up.
All eyes—human and orc alike—focused on him.
He caught the brief silence that swept the battlefield.
Raising his sword, Guilty, he shouted,
“For Briol, no—for Joachim!”
Then, without hesitation, he charged at the orcs.
The battle resumed instantly.
After all, he was on their side. Joachim’s troops roared and began pushing the orcs back.
Yuri stood firm where the line was faltering, driving the orcs away.
“Thank you for your help. But how did you end up here riding a wyvern…?”
A Joachim knight asked Yuri as they fought side by side.
“I caught the wyvern and looked down. It seemed like this place needed help.”
“Embarrassingly, that’s true.”
The man, middle-aged with a long mustache, looked seasoned. His battle-hardened demeanor showed he’d faced orcs countless times.
He fought them as if it were a daily routine.
“Our forces have weakened. Joachim isn’t what it used to be.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The young ones these days are weak…”
Yuri knew Joachim had never been a strong power. Sven’s backhanded remarks treating Joachim like a bandit gang weren’t without reason.
Still, Yuri agreed.
“Yeah, it’s unworthy of the great Joachim.”
“The prince understands.”
“Then how about the two of us, real knights, drive these orcs out?”
“Hahaha, gladly!”
“What’s your name?”
“Gonté Murchin, Baron of Pebain.”
“Let’s go, Sir Gonté.”
“The honor is mine.”
Together, they advanced on the orcs.
The Joachim line, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, quickly regained its formation.
Yuri shouted,
“So this is all Joachim can muster!”
Then he charged forward.
To Joachim’s troops, who had never fought alongside Yuri, the sight was unfamiliar.
It looked like the prince might fall to an orc’s axe at any moment.
But the opposite happened.
He led the slaughter of orcs.
Each swing of his sword left deep wounds, blood pouring down.
The enemy was cut down like a scarecrow.
Though it looked easy, every move was a matter of life and death. And he always chose the right answer.
Gonté nodded at Yuri.
“The rumors were true. The spirit of knighthood still lives in Briol. Your movements show countless battles fought. Unlike these sheltered young ones, you’re in a league of your own.”
Inspired, his voice brimmed with admiration.
“I won’t lose either.”
His swordplay sharpened.
“We are Joachim!”
His roar echoed thunderously.
The tide of battle, where humans and orcs had been dying in turn, was gradually turning in favor of the allied forces.
At least here, humans were killing more orcs.
Yuri smiled.
Just a moment ago, Joachim’s front line was precarious. That’s why he came. Now, Joachim was mustering strength to push the orcs back.
It was a change brought about by none other than him.
He felt that once this fight was won, the tragedies yet to come could be prevented.
He was proving the reason he had returned to the past.
“Don’t fall back!”
Suddenly, an attack aimed for his neck came from outside his field of vision.
Yuri swung Guilty to parry.
A gently curved falchion sliced through the air.
“What the—?”
The orc who had been fighting in the Briol line had chased after him.
Yuri looked at the orc in disbelief. The orc’s face was twisted with rage, blade pointed at Yuri.
“You want to finish this?”
Yuri raised Guilty.
He didn’t want to get tangled with that persistent bastard any longer.
He would kill him cleanly here.
Yuri dodged each falchion strike, watching them carefully. Then, slipping through an opening, he stabbed the orc in the chest.
The orc dodged sideways but still bore a long gash.
Its face contorted.
“Did you think it’d end with just one eye?”
Yuri looked at the orc’s one remaining eye—the one he had cut out himself—and then pointed to his own eye, smirking.
Provoked, the orc let out a guttural scream.
“Akuaakkai!”
That much he understood.
“Arkuma Kmero!”
“Shut up.”
Yuri’s growing infamy might have made this orc see him as a worthy rival.
But to Yuri, he was just another orc.
A fleeting life destined to fall beneath his blade on the battlefield.
“You’re probably a rare one among orcs.”
It was unusual for an orc to chase a rival to settle the score. Unlike most, he fought technically rather than relying on brute strength.
But it didn’t matter.
That’s war. No matter how special or unique you are, only the victor survives.
Just as Briol fell and the empire’s banner fluttered over its ruins.
If you want to avoid vanishing into the pages of history, you have to crush your enemies.
“Phew…”
The mana scattered across the world transformed into Yuri’s energy through the mana method called Soul Slash.
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
What he could do, and what he couldn’t.
He extended his sword toward that boundary.
Soul Slash spun around Yuri’s body.
Fractal whirlpools endlessly repeated along Guilty’s blade.
The orc swung its falchion down at Yuri.
Yuri stepped back, pouring mana into Guilty. The patterns that had hovered on the surface began to rise along the blade.
He stepped aside to avoid the next falchion strike.
He understood the abundant mana surging through his body and all the processes within.
“Akuaakkai!”
The falchion came at an unavoidable angle.
Yuri met it with a sword strike.
Countless whirlpools swirled around Guilty.
They merged into larger and larger rotations.
The falchion was shredded from the smallest units.
The fragments spun like grains of sand caught in a vortex, tearing apart anything nearby.
The orc’s one eye was wide open.
Yuri glared at him.
Two lives fought for survival.
One would die, the other live.
Such battles would continue.
They formed battles, battles formed wars, and wars built something greater.
If you want to see the end, you must kill your enemy.
The orc’s body was soon caught in the whirlpools, torn apart.
Watching him, Yuri spoke.
“Yuri Briol.”
Had he sensed his death?
Orkval, who had been staring at Yuri, opened one eye clearly and answered.
“Duote.”
Was that his name?
It was the same as the infamous Ork knight who had slain countless knights in his past life.
And that became Orkval’s final words.
His body, caught in the swirling vortex, began to disintegrate.
The Soul Slash engulfed Orkval’s body, forming a dark red whirlwind before shooting a handful of blood into the sky and settling back to the ground.
Only formless remnants remained.
The spinning force of the Soul Slash made one last rotation around Guilty before fading away.
“Whoa…”
In awe of the miraculous technique, the battle between humans and orks came to a halt.
Joachim’s troops looked on with reverence, while the orks stared at Yuri in fear.
Gonte asked in a trembling voice, “W-what was that technique just now…?”
Yuri looked down at Guilty.
It had no name.
It was an attack born from a sudden flash of insight.
His lips moved slightly.
“This is…”
A name flashed through his mind.
“Yuri-style First Whirl.”
“First Whirl…?”
“The Sword of the Spinning Vortex.”
“The Sword of the Spinning Vortex…!”
After introducing his new technique, Yuri raised his sword.
“Everyone, watch closely! This is me, Yuri Briol!”
As always, he shouted to boost his allies’ morale.
“Now it’s your turn! I’m counting on you! Show them what knights of Joachim are made of!”
But the response was not what he expected.
No one answered.
The knights of Joachim lowered their heads and swung their swords silently.
“Briol really is different.”
“People like us can’t help it…”
“Let’s just hold the line for now. Someone else will take care of it.”
“We shouldn’t have come to the Alliance army in the first place…”
Instead of being inspired by Yuri’s display and igniting their fighting spirit, they grew even more passive.
Gonte closed his eyes, embarrassed.
“I’m ashamed…”
Yuri’s eyes widened.
At first, he thought Gonte was just old-fashioned. But in reality, the knights of Joachim lacked resolve.
Even the Briol squad, known for being relatively egalitarian, would be scolded by the commander if they acted so weakly.
If this were the Empire, they’d have been kicked in the face with a military boot.
“Sir Gonte, once this war is over, let’s invite the knights of Joachim to Briol. I want to offer them a joint training camp.”
“Really? That would greatly strengthen the friendship between our two nations.”