The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 255: The Battle of Yoman (2)

“...”

Ganeth, the Sword Master of the principality, gazed below the wall. The flag bearing the anchor symbol of Fran’s army fluttered fiercely in the wind. The enemy forces were so close that they could be seen with the naked eye.

It was the first time since the war began that the enemy had positioned themselves this close, maintaining a tense standoff.

“What about the White Bunker?” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“There were no specific orders. They said that merely defending Yoman could secure victory in the war.”

“Hmm...”

Ganeth bit his lip at his subordinate’s report but soon nodded.

A few days ago, about two thousand enemy reinforcements arrived at Yoman. The numbers are now about equal. With the Great Wall being to our advantage, this shouldn’t pose a significant problem.

To Ganeth’s mind, the numbers weren’t the issue.

However, the enemy’s attitude had changed. Unlike before, they were no longer content with simply holding their position at Yoman—they had taken up battle formations and come out in force.

If the enemy received reinforcements, it could mean our forces were defeated elsewhere... Does Lady Tuli still believe the overall situation is under control?

Even with Yoman’s strength, Ganeth didn’t avoid considering the possibility of defeat. However, what kept puzzling him was the fact that he was unnecessarily tied down to defend Yoman, which already had such solid defenses.

With these numbers, it would have been better to launch an offensive and end it quickly.

Ganeth realized too late that he was already regretting his decision.

“They may not breach the Great Wall... but prepare for their attack. We’ll use this opportunity to wipe them out.”

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinate saluted and quickly descended from the wall. Ganeth remained with his massive halberd resting against the ground as he continued to watch the enemy forces.

There was one person who had been grating on his nerves for some time, and today was no exception—she was still there, staring up at the wall. Her lavender hair, visible beneath the white cloak made from the fur of a white-horned rabbit, was an exceedingly rare sight, even in the principality.

Perhaps she’s a sorcerer.

Someone receiving such attention was unlikely to be a regular soldier, and at such a young age, her position suggested she was a sorcerer. Ganeth’s guess wasn’t wrong, but it was something else about her that bothered him.

They’ve even sent a child like that to the battlefield.

The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Of course, he himself had been thrown into the battlefield as a teenager, surviving and rising through the ranks to become a Sword Master.

But he was a man.

Perhaps it was a narrow-minded view, but unlike Ganeth, who had grown up dreaming of wielding the blade, the girl before him didn’t look like she belonged in a battlefield.

“...Hmm?”

However, as he looked down at Serica Lauren from the wall, Ganeth’s expression hardened.

The girl looked up and flashed him a bright, defiant smile as she casually raised her middle finger. Then, she brought that finger to her neck and drew it across her throat while sticking out her tongue.

“...”

Ganeth was stunned by the gesture, but before he could react, Serica moved first.

Mercy on the battlefield? Serica knew better than anyone that such a thing was a reckless luxury.

“Waaaaaaaaahhh―!!”

“Waaaaahhh―!!”

As she raised her arm high above her head, the soldiers roared and charged.

“You fools...” Ganeth muttered as he watched the enemy soldiers. To his eyes, they were nothing more than moths rushing into a flame.

“It’s just a civil war. They can’t possibly have a sense of duty powerful enough to make them unafraid of death... This is the fault of a commander who doesn’t value the lives of his men.” Ganeth shook his head.

Arrows poured down from the wall in a relentless barrage. From such a height, they descended upon the soldiers with force and speed far greater than a normal shot.

Swish—! Swish—!

Thwack—!! Thwack-thwack-thwack—!!

The soldiers in the frontline raised their massive kite shields over their heads as they charged. The relentless barrage struck like hailstorm, and despite the unyielding defense, the arrows eventually pierced through the thick steel, dropping man after man.

“Advance!”

The commander's shout caught Ganeth’s attention momentarily, but he quickly focused back on Serica, who stood out with her white cloak. She was so conspicuous that it almost made him forget the commander.

I’ll have to deal with him first.

Ganeth decided to end this futile battle as quickly as possible, and the best way to do so was beheading the enemy commander.

Thunk—

With one foot on the edge of the wall, Ganeth slowly gathered his mana.

Crackle... crackle...!

Lightning—his unique element—surged along the blade of his halberd. But strangely enough, the force seemed rather weak.

That was because the halberd was made from Ultimatum, a mineral with water element, while his element was lightning. Although water and lightning weren’t opposites, they didn’t perfectly complement each other either.

BOOM—!!!

Of course, that wouldn’t be a major issue for a Sword Master. However, just as Ganeth was about to leap from the wall, he briefly lost sight of Serica.

When did she...?

It was natural for sorcerers to stay in the rear, casting their spells while protected by the soldiers. So, Ganeth looked for her in the rear of the advancing army.

But to his surprise, she wasn’t in the back. Instead, she was at the very front, ahead of even the advancing soldiers, approaching the wall.

Thud—

Serica Lauren, as if she had planned it all along, stepped out from the group of soldiers and reached out to touch something on the wall.

Ganeth flinched. At that moment, he realized why he had been so fixated on Serica, even more than on the enemy commander. His instincts had warned him.

She was dangerous.

“Huff, huff...”

The soldiers around her shifted uneasily, eyes darting in every direction as they braced for any incoming attacks. These were the troops Serica had tasked with finding something earlier.

“My father, you know... He wasn’t a skilled mercenary, but he was a decent man, so many kinds of people came to our inn.”

The soldiers looked at her with confused expressions, clearly wondering why she was bringing up her past in such a tense situation.

“Most of them were trash, but occasionally, there were people like bards who knew all sorts of stories. Apparently, they were folks he had met during his mercenary days.”

However, she kept mumbling to herself, as though enjoying the situation.

“One of them once said something interesting.”

As Serica kept feeling along the wall, she furrowed her brow slightly before suddenly smiling.

Vooom....!!

Voom...!

With all her strength, Serica drove her staff into the wall. The blade-like tip of the staff pierced through the stone with a loud thunk as she poured her mana into it, her eyes gleaming with intensity.

“They said ‘the north used to be a desert, a long time ago.’”

Crack... craaack...!!

In an instant, the wall shattered where Serica had struck. The initial crack splintered into countless branches, climbing upward like a spider’s web, then spread horizontally at an unbelievable speed.

Something inside the wall began to swell, and as it burst under the pressure of the mana, the cold water within started freezing, emitting white vapor as it solidified.

Is the ice forming inside the wall?

What is that?!

The soldiers couldn’t believe their eyes as the once-solid Great Wall of Yoman cracked with ease.

BOOM...!! BOOOM...!!

The wall shook violently, and the ground trembled as though an earthquake had struck.

“Wh-What’s happening?!”

“What’s going on all of a sudden?!”

The soldiers atop the wall lost their balance, stumbling and falling over in panic.

“This root is actually a type of ancient cactus called Hapap. It’s almost extinct, though some still remain in the south. It’s tougher than vines and has a tendency to grip the soil around it tightly, so it was occasionally used to build earthen walls in the past.”

Serica chuckled as she watched the wall continue to crack.

“But this plant isn’t supposed to survive in such harsh, cold conditions. So even I was doubtful at first.” She shrugged. “But fortunately, it’s true...”

Thunk—!!

She drove her staff into another root and said in a low voice, “And it’s also true that cacti hold water.”

Serica forcefully froze the moisture inside the Hapap with her mana. As the water within the cactus expanded into ice, the inner walls began to bulge and, eventually, the pressure caused the walls to burst from the inside out. No protective magic on the exterior could stop the wall from crumbling.

Rumble... Rumble...!!

“...!!”

Ganeth watched in shock as the cactus roots inside the wall began to writhe uncontrollably, unable to withstand the force.

Crack...!!

The cracks surged upward, reaching the top of the wall, and then spread horizontally like a ferocious wave.

Crack—!!

BOOOM—!!

The thick, frozen roots swelled and eventually shattered, leaving gaping holes in the wall. As Serica funneled more mana into the wall, the empty spaces filled with water, which then froze and expanded, pushing the cracks further apart.

Crreeeeeak...!!

The entire structure creaked loudly, as though wailing in pain.

“The ice is falling!!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!!”

As the cracks deepened, the entire wall quaked, and the bricks at the top started to crumble and fall.

Crash!! Thud!!!

The debris from the wall, frozen solid in the cold air, tumbled down like massive chunks of ice, crashing onto the soldiers below with a deafening roar.

The Great Wall of Yoman was disintegrating all around.

The sorcerers of Yoman desperately tried to contain the frozen bursts, but the roots that had broken through the wall were freezing faster than the sorcerers could keep up due to the bitter northern cold.

“The Great Wall... is collapsing.”

“This can’t be happening...”

The soldiers, forgetting they were in the middle of a battle, could only stare in disbelief at the wall as it crumbled before their eyes. They felt as if they were witnessing something impossible, something they had never imagined they would see in their lifetimes.

“...”

Ganeth was no different. He’d had no idea that such a plant could grow inside the wall, nor had he expected that the enemy would have a sorcerer capable of wielding such powerful mana.

“Tsk!”

However, Ganeth did not forget about his duty here at Yoman. His initial shock quickly turned to anger, and unlike the soldiers who were paralyzed by the sight, he managed to regain his composure. Descending from the collapsing wall, he fixed his gaze on Serica, gritting his teeth in fury.

At that moment, Serica Lauren, with a slight pout, drew her finger across her neck once more.

“Come at me.”