Chapter 527
Episode 144. For a Friend (5)
Everywhere, Dante could feel the enemy tightening their grip. The knights on guard were relentlessly reporting the enemy’s numbers and movements, their voices strained with urgency.
“Activating defense equipment!”
“Helter, draw your swords!”
“Ropermo, provide rear support. Rally up!”
Vrrrrrrr—!
The defensive artifacts installed throughout Sword Emperor Fortress hummed to life, sending vibrations and resonant tones through the air. Blue protective shields from the artifacts and the knights’ shimmering white sword barriers quickly enveloped the entire fortress.
Dante’s gaze fixed on the reinforcements appearing at the main gate.
At the very least, there were over five thousand knights and mages, about twenty dragons, and more than fifty cannons of dragon-level caliber or higher.
Though the so-called ‘Empire’ was considered inferior to Runcandel and Zipple, and now even trailing behind Kinzel, no one denied that Bimont was one of the four great powers. Regardless of troop quality, the Empire was the only force capable of mobilizing such a vast army in such a short time.
Dante’s eyes darkened with deadly intent as he looked at the Emperor’s army.
Despite being surrounded by tens of thousands, neither Dante nor the knights of Hiran showed any sign of faltering.
Since the emergence of knights and mages in the world, humanity’s wars had never hinged on sheer numbers.
Before a single superhuman, thousands of ordinary knights—no matter how many—were no more than fallen leaves.
Though Dante was not yet a superhuman, he wielded a sword of comparable caliber. Together with the five Sword Emperors and the other knights of Hiran, subduing the countless ordinary knights was no difficult task.
The real threat lay with the enemy commanders. If they could cut down the knights and mages capable of shaking the battlefield alone, victory was possible even when outnumbered.
And Dante estimated there were about a hundred such individuals.
The Emperor’s main force was advancing onto the plains.
Among them was a massive cannon, led by five dragons and over a hundred knights.
“Sogaju, that’s…!”
The main cannon of the Imperial Royal Guard.
The Empire’s one and only Emperor-exclusive war machine—the Dragon Spear. Originally installed at the center of the Imperial Palace, this cannon’s power rivaled the decisive weapon of Zipple, Kojek’s warship cannon.
Though detached from the palace and thus unable to unleash its full power, the appearance of the Dragon Spear meant the Emperor himself had taken the field.
“Dragon Spear, loading confirmed!”
The knights’ voices trembled as they looked at the cannon. Even a dragon-level cannon could pierce the still-recovering defensive artifacts of Sword Emperor Fortress in time, but the Dragon Spear was on a completely different level.
Dante quietly stared at the back of the Dragon Spear.
Somewhere beyond the plains, he imagined the Emperor sitting in his palanquin, face swollen with greed and arrogance, eagerly awaiting news of victory.
“Sogaju! The Dragon Spear is about to fire! You must dodge!”
“To them.”
Slowly, Dante drew his sword.
Ssssshhhhh…!
The moment his blade was enveloped in radiant light, the ominous roar of the Dragon Spear filled the battlefield. A faint tremor shook the ground, and all eyes turned toward the cannon.
“I will show you the true might of Hiran.”
KRAAAASH—!
The Dragon Spear unleashed a massive magical projectile, aimed precisely at the wall where Dante stood.
Layer upon layer of protective artifact shields shattered like glass.
The projectile moved at a speed too fast for the untrained eye to follow, threatening to bring down Sword Emperor Fortress in a single blow.
But Dante did not flinch.
He swung his sword the instant the projectile neared.
Imperial Sword Secret Technique
Heavenly Slash of a Thousand Cuts — Dante Hiran
The Dragon Spear’s shot split cleanly in two.
Even the knights standing beside him didn’t notice the moment Dante swung his blade.
They only saw the projectile cleaved in half, soaring upward along the arc of his sword before vanishing.
And true to the technique’s name, a long, gleaming sword trail remained, darkening the sky.
For a few seconds, time seemed to freeze. Everyone on the battlefield looked up at that light.
There, in the sky, was the sword of Hiran—the symbol revered by all in the Empire.
A hush fell over the battlefield, broken only by the pounding of hearts.
Awe.
The knights gathered beneath Hiran’s banner erupted in a unified roar.
As Dante leapt from the wall onto the plains, the advancing enemies faltered, their movements stalling.
“I have no mercy for those who forget honor. If you fear death, then flee. Hiran does not pursue those who retreat.”
Behind Dante, the knights rallied.
“Sogaju… are you all right?”
The assault captain checked Dante’s face. Blood trickled from between his blue lips. Yet Dante nodded lightly, as if feeling refreshed.
‘Even though this secret technique was modified by my grandfather for me, to be in this state after just one use…’
Though everyone revered him, Dante knew better than anyone that the true power of Heavenly Slash of a Thousand Cuts far exceeded what he had just displayed.
He felt a pang of regret.
Not because he couldn’t unleash a better sword technique, but because he would never again be able to train alongside his grandfather, the knights of Hiran, and his loyal followers on this land.
‘Why do I feel so light…?’
Perhaps because he was carrying the weight of everything his ancestors and grandfather had built and protected, fully aware that he was risking his life.
He had entered a kind of awakening.
Until the war’s end, he believed he could maintain the best sword technique he could wield, even at the cost of his life.
“First, we destroy the Dragon Spear. I will break through at the front—assault team, follow me!”
As the knights of Hiran charged forward, the Emperor observed the battlefield from the very rear, receiving real-time reports.
“Oh, oh…! Truly the successor of Lord Ron, remarkable indeed!”
Standing beside the Emperor was John Sina Perrel, Dragon King Knight Commander of the Emperor’s army and overall commander. Unlike the excited Emperor, John Sina wore a grim expression.
Kevin Perrel—the reason the Emperor appointed him as vanguard commander was because he believed that to ease the guilt of the Empire’s greatest sword, the death of kin was necessary.
“You heard the report just now, Sir John Sina Perrel. Dante Hiran killed your brother and slaughtered the knights who sought to uphold their oath to Hiran…”
John Sina nodded solemnly.
He was no fool.
He understood why the Emperor had placed his brother at the vanguard, knew that Dante would never have killed the ordinary knights, and recognized how unjust this purge was.
“I gave Hiran a chance. But all I got in return was your brother’s head and betrayal of the oath. If we don’t end this today, that poisoned wolf will drag the entire Empire into death and terror.”
Still, John Sina followed the Emperor because it was the path to protect the Empire—more precisely, its people.
“Your Majesty.”
“Speak, Sir John Sina.”
“Keep your promises. And make sure they keep theirs…”
The Emperor smiled faintly at those words.
“I will see to it!”
As John Sina rose and headed to the battlefield, the Emperor waved at his retreating figure. But as soon as John Sina disappeared, the Emperor’s expression darkened.
Dante and the knights of Hiran, drenched in blood, were already advancing toward the Dragon Spear. The blood belonged to the ordinary knights who had thrown themselves in their way.
Except for the vanguard, the main force’s knights all believed Dante had slaughtered the knights who tried to uphold their oath to Hiran.
In the brutal, unforgiving chaos of war, there was no time to correct misunderstandings or reveal the truth.
The hundred or so rescued knights had not survived the relentless sword strikes and magic. When the main force arrived and a new battle erupted, the knights of Hiran had no strength left to protect them. The main force had arrived sooner than expected.
To the Emperor’s army, it looked as if Hiran had mercilessly massacred the vanguard.
Disobeying the Emperor’s orders meant death; fighting against Hiran meant death. Better to choose the latter. To avoid being branded a traitor and having his kin executed.
Blood and war bred madness. The ordinary knights who blocked Dante’s path chose madness over fear, even as they faced death.
Dante was no different.
Righteousness.
The word that summed up Dante’s humanity was stained dark red.
‘How many have I cut down already?’
Even as the thought crossed his mind, his sword severed the necks of those charging at him. The guilt heavier than blood weighed on his back, but he couldn’t fully grasp it.
Like most swept up in war.
Dante naturally transformed that overwhelming guilt into hatred.
‘There’s no turning back now. Neither I, nor my family, nor my grandfather have ever betrayed the Empire. So why do you seek to stab us in the back…?!’
Swoosh—!
Dante paused to catch his breath when they were about five hundred paces from the Dragon Spear. Until then, the entire assault team following him remained unharmed.
But just as they prepared to advance again, someone struck at their flank.
“Ugh!”
“Hold the line!”
Golden-armored soldiers—the Imperial Royal Guard—had appeared. The moment they arrived, they cut down two of Hiran’s knights at the rear.
Dante stared blankly at the fallen knights of Hiran.
“There’s no devil like you, Dante Hiran. Was everything you showed us just a façade? I never imagined you’d be so accustomed to killing innocent people… ugh!”
Dante lunged at him like a bolt of lightning, swinging his sword. The man met the attack without flinching, but the moment Dante increased his speed, his arm was severed.
The knights of the royal guard, who had appeared so confidently, couldn’t help but flinch at that sight.
The knight Dante had crippled in mere seconds was their very own Third Squad Captain.
“Shut up. I have nothing to say to trash like you.”
Dante’s cold voice cut through the air as he dropped the Third Squad Captain to the ground.
“You bastard—ugh!”
“Sogaju, we’ll handle this here. You need to get to Yongchang!”
Without hesitation, Dante turned his back on Hiran’s knights and pressed forward.
He knew that the slightest hesitation on his part would only mean more of Hiran’s knights dying faster.
And by cutting down anyone who stood in his way, he felt he could hold onto his sanity, which was on the verge of snapping.