Chapter. 16. Saints and Perfectors (25)
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Commoner Geston.
He was big from a young age, and thanks to working with his father, a woodcutter, from a young age, he was strong enough to lift large logs.
Geston always thought that luck followed him.
Not only because he was born a head taller than the neighborhood kids, but also because he was so strong, he was envied by many women. He thought he would follow his father’s example and live as a woodcutter, but that was also the case when a nobleman’s military recruiter approached him and encouraged him to become a private soldier.
‘What? You were selected as a noble private soldier? And did you accept that as a good thing?’
‘father! This is an opportunity! I don’t want to spend my life chopping down trees in a remote area like this! A noble private’s position is incomparable to that of an ordinary guard! ‘This is ridiculous luck!’
‘This idiot! Didn’t I always say that luck and misfortune are twins and always go together? Don’t you know that the atmosphere in the empire is turbulent these days? War means war! ‘You have to chop someone down with an ax that was used to cut down a tree!’
‘So it’s luck! It’s not just a castle or a roaming private army, it’s an opportunity to make a mark! Let’s wait and see. Just as the woodcutter Skarad cut off the heads of thousands of undead in the distant past and was called the condemned prisoner Skarad, I too will return with great achievements! This is a fortune that will never come again in my life!’
‘You bastard, that good luck is bad luck for me….’
My father stood outside the cabin until he was no longer seen leaving. Geston shook his head vigorously as the memory of his father came to him like an echo.
‘Your father was wrong. If this isn’t luck, what is luck?’
If you want to doubt, you cannot doubt. From today onwards, his future will be like a straight road.
Isn’t the evidence right in front of you?
‘oh my god! This is Saint Aulis, the Great Warrior of Courage! It looks just like the temple mural!’
Saint. As a commoner, he was something that could only be imagined through temple murals or clumsy hanging scrolls.
It is said that they are the kind of people who say that an ordinary serf awakened to divine power and entered a temple by holding their hand once. Isn’t this person, who is virtually no different from a god to an idiot like them, speaking loudly for them from the podium?
“I can assure you that those gathered here have been given the sacred task of bearing witness in the name of the goddess-”
“Do not be afraid! Those who step back in fear will be stabbed in the back and die, but those who step forward first will wave the flag of victory with the blessings of Da-Karja, the whole body!”
“Latura. The blessing of abundance will be upon your every step-”
“Light will be with you!”
“We always have the wisdom to look out for crises…”
We are an army that has been given a noble mission by God.
Not just one person, but all five of the most sacred humans in the world. I can assure you that even though they said that, if there was anyone who doubted victory, divine punishment would come immediately.
There were many other sources of confidence.
A young king who appeared after the saint. He is so great that not even the nobles of the border would dare to look at him, but he is a king. The young king gave us the honor of being with him in his own home.
thud. thud.
Knock, knock, knock!
The weight of the metal that weighed heavily on my body every time I walked was also believable.
Shields, swords, chain armor shining like dragon scales, and imperial-style armor made with plenty of good iron!
How much effort did you put into dealing with this? Wearing heavy armor, we had to climb the mountain for two hours, and after collapsing from exhaustion, we learned how to swing a sword, use a shield, and maintain formation. If they couldn’t memorize it properly, they would have to run again after the sun went down, so everyone learned it desperately and thought they were skilled enough to be able to fight as well as a knight.
Roderick’s soldiers seemed to have no such armor, and were covered in patchy pieces of leather all the way to their heads. It looked as bad as clothes sewn by a one-armed person and even had the musty smell of rotten pork fat.
‘They say that in war, there are soldiers who are discarded and soldiers who are truly important.’
Anyone could see that these soldiers were being discarded by the other side, so faith arose that the imperial soldiers, on the other hand, would not be wasted in vain. Thanks to this, Roderick’s soldiers, who muddied the water in the middle of their perfect formation, didn’t look so hateful.
chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck!
‘Father you are wrong! Your son Gaston will become a hero who will save humanity!’
Blessings of the five saints.
An army with a king.
Intense training and even equipment made by craftsmen!
In my imagination, he was already a hero. We will overcome the enemies and raise the flag of victory together with the heroes. If I go back to my hometown with a bag of silver coins so heavy that it’s hard to lift, I’ll be able to flatten the nose of my father who was yelling at me to come back alive.
Maybe he would become a nobleman. While listening to a private bard’s song in a large mansion, I asked my son on my lap, ‘Son, the main character of that story is your father?’ You could proudly say that. A future that is so sweet just imagining it –
Kaaang!
“evil!”
“Gaston! How many times have I called but no answer? Don’t be distracted like an idiot! “It’s Mute’s surprise attack!”
“….surprise attack?”
It was the Ten Seal Badel who woke him up from his sweet thoughts.
“Get into formation!”
“Exalt the honor of the empire! “Shield soldiers forward!!!”
『Forward!!』
Chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck!
“Uh uhh… ah forward. from now on!”
My heart, which had been loose due to the tedious march, tightened. He had no idea what was going on, but the command that irritated his ears caused his body to move as a conditioned reflex.
A wall of lined shields. And the earth shakes so loudly that the shoulder holding the shield trembles.
‘It’s mute!’
A number so great that it shakes the ground and shakes the air. Geston thought it was like an avalanche of butcher’s meat. An irregular lump of light pink, red, and white mixed together.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo!
Kieeeeek!
Tsuak tzuak!
Sigh!
‘A hundred pears? A hundred horses in a white coat? No, I’ve never heard of this many!’
‘What about saints and heroes? Where are the king and his knights? ‘Where did everyone go and leave us alone!’
‘That enemy is approaching… Can’t a shield soldier see beyond the shield even if the people coming to kill me are right in front of him?’
As the waves of flesh approached, the strength in my shoulder holding the shield weakened. The story of a soldier to be thrown away and a soldier needed was lingering in my mind. What if we, the shield soldiers, were outcasts? What if the heroes plan to move only after we stop that ignorant charge at the cost of our lives?
“It’s crashing!!!”
Kiiiiiiiiiiig!!!!
bang! Kugung boom! Wow!
Sigh!
“Uuuuuuu!”
The force with which these little guys, the height of a child, collided was like that of a bull. Here and there, the sound of shields crashing and the groans of the shield soldiers being pushed back were mixed together.
“stomach! Coming to the top! “Jang Chang-soo’s spear!”
‘….stomach?’
Even now, my shoulders and back feel like they’re going to break, but I can’t believe it’s coming again. The sound of long spearmen lifting their spears was heard along with the sound of small claws hitting the ground.
Tadat!
Only then did the enemy’s appearance, which he had been unable to see properly behind the shield, come into view.
Small, shiny yellow eyes and only one square tooth at the top and bottom.
It looks like a white skull and claws placed on the soft body of a newborn mouse.
Geston thought that anything that jumped over the shield wall would be pierced by the polearm, but that was a misjudgment by a soldier who had no experience with muting.
“Keeeeeeee!!”
Sigh!
Patter. Clap!
The guy who jumped on the body of his dead comrade tore his body apart with his scythe-like claws, scattering the blood and internal organs on the soldiers.
“Uh uhh…. uhuhuh!”
Phew!
A monster that plunged its large claws into Jang Chang-su’s dazed face, dripping with blood and internal organs.
Similar things were happening everywhere on the battlefield. The monster hit the shield until its body was reduced to mush, jumped up, and attacked itself.
“Ugh…. Ugh! blood! “It’s covered in monster blood!”
“Maintain formation! “Don’t leave your seat!”
“We need to find a priest! “Get out of there!”
The earthquake that seemed like it would break through the storm suddenly shook. The war against Mute was different from any other territory war, and it was also different from the attacks of monsters known for their ferocity. A monster that tears my body into pieces and scatters them? Where in the world is such a monster?
The empire’s heavy infantry corps, which seemed to be the strongest in the world, was quickly falling apart. Gaston held on to his shield as if it were the only way to survive as blood and internal organs poured down like rain.
Crackle-
“…Huh?”
So I didn’t know. Although he was stronger than others, he held on, but the other lieutenant general’s infantry line retreated one step further than him.
Something with wet flesh and claws crawled up onto his shield protruding forward, looking down at him as he shivered.
“Keeeeeeek!”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
“Don’t open your mouth as much as possible. “Once you drink blood, even a priest can’t turn back!”
Whoa!
And he didn’t even notice the gasps of the two people running towards him, who was sticking out in front.
The two people seemed to be used to this, one swinging an iron club to strike down Mute, and the other dragging a gaston and stepping back to join the square.
“Heo, heo, heo, thank you, thank you – wow!”
“I knew it would be like this. The Empire guys are pure bullshit, right? “Is this your first time muting?”
“Hey, what’s the point of holding on anyway? “If you think about when Chief Baek and I were the only ones who survived, these guys were top recruits.”
“To be exact, I am alone. “Todd, don’t you remember I dragged you there?”
Two people dressed in strange leather clothes and covered in pork fat. Soldier Rodrik seemed to be familiar with battlefields where blood and internal organs spilled out, and was even chatting as he wiped the blood from Gaston’s face with a dirty cloth.
Sigh!
The skin they put on his face smelled like rotten pigs.
“Even if it smells, endure it and use it. “I’ve oiled it thoroughly, so it will prevent blood from getting on it.”
“Thank you….”
“Thank you. As long as you guys are alive, we can take shifts and rest later. The mute battle is a terrible long-term battle. Just take a breath and come forward again. “If it’s this big… I think we’ll have to endure for about three hours.”
“Uh oh, Chief White Man! Brother Charles! That guy in front is going over! Let’s go!”
“Shit! Run Todd! Hey bro! “See you later at the line!”
Gaston trembled at the sight of the two people running forward after looking at him like they were hiding their eyes.
‘Ah, let’s meet up front? And in that hellish place, I have to rely on just a shield to survive?’
He was foolish. As always, my father was right. Now all that was on Geston’s mind was wanting to go home and drink the root tea his father had made.
Even though the corpses had already formed a hill, Gaston was moving backwards instead of moving forward due to the endless waves of piles of flesh.
Wow!
“Where are you going?”
A muscular man walked out as if taking a walk and grabbed Geston by the shoulder.
‘Courage…. Priest!’
A cleric who proves himself in battle. Geston, who was from the Empire and was a believer in the Church of Courage, fell to his knees in front of him and burst into tears upon seeing the priest he could rely on.
“Priest! I was foolish! I was neither a hero nor a warrior! I want to live. I want to return home alive! Ugh! In the name of courage, please look after me with the grace of Da-Karja!”
If he had to choose the most earnest prayer of his life, it would be today.
Did that kind of earnestness work? The Priest of Courage, armed with dazzling divine power, raised him up with a grinning face.
“I guess it was your brother. I understand that feeling too. “Who wouldn’t want to live there?”
“Ah, priest….”
“Don’t worry. “I will teach you how to live.”
Sreung-!
The Priest of Courage laughed out loud as he pulled out a large sword that matched his sturdy body.
“Priest Sa?”
“Warrior! As soon as you step into the battlefield, Da-Karja is watching you! If you move forward, His protection will be with you. If you step back, you will be ignored and die. It is natural! I am Vollard, Priest of Courage! I will do my best to help you, brother, so that the blessings of courage will be with you! Come forward!”
Huh!
The large sword swung by the priest grazed Geston’s forehead. Fu shoot! The blood gushing out showed that the crazy priest was truly trying to force him into battle.
“Priest Sa! Why are you like this! “Aaaah!”
“Hahaha! You can’t turn a believer who worships the same god of courage into a blasphemous coward! Now follow me! Ratura dakaaaaaz!”
“Ughhh Ratura…. Ratura da Karja…. Ugh!”
“Bigger! Ratura! Dekaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! Hahahahaha! “The only way to survive on the battlefield is calling to you, brother!”
The faster he ran away from the giant sword, the faster the priest ran. The blood and evil rags that had been distant for a moment quickly became closer, and Geston, who was running empty-handed, picked up an ax that someone had dropped instead of the shield lying at his feet.
Feels good in the hand. The familiarity of the shield, which was different from the one he had used for only three months, once again brought about his nostalgia.
As always, the choice was quick and the regrets were late.
“Aaaahhh!”
Seogeng!
‘It’s bad luck. As my father said, the worst misfortune came to me in exchange for all the luck I had had all my life!’
Gaston increased his speed as the sword wind passed by his neck and swung his ax towards the pink flesh that was right in front of him.
In the distance, two Roderick soldiers were seen giving a thumbs up to him, who was swinging his ax wildly with tears in his eyes.
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“That guy dragged himself to the front line alone and survived, right? Good luck.”
Of course, in the eyes of the saint who was observing it from afar, it was a very good situation. It was more than he had intended.
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