IYAMD: Episode 43

Jaha thought it would be a peaceful night.

Their shared body heat had warmed the blankets, and the drowsiness brought on by exhaustion should have ensured deep sleep.

Yet, the reason Jaha opened his eyes—despite having slept without stirring—was the faint tremor shaking the ground.

Marsilia must have felt it as well, for he abruptly sat up, dragging a hand down his sleep-laden face.

What is that?

Jaha started to rise after him, but before he could fully sit up—

Thud.

The ground rumbled again.

Thud. Thud.

The tremors came in a steady rhythm, almost like the sound of approaching footsteps.

The two locked eyes at the same time.

And then, Marsilia kicked off the blankets and bolted out of the tent.

“An ambush! Blow the horn!”

His urgent shout rang through the camp.

The knight standing guard wasted no time in raising the horn to his lips and blowing with all his might.

The sharp, resonating sound cut through the night, rousing the sleeping knights as murmurs and hurried movements spread across the camp.

Marsilia seized a telescope from one of the guards while ordering them to launch a signal flare.

A flare attached to an arrow streaked through the night sky, exploding in midair—

And in that moment, Marsilia saw them.

Dozens of minotaurs were approaching from the distance.

His breath caught for a second.

The attack had begun.

Realizing the imminent threat, the knights immediately moved to prepare for battle.

Marsilia gathered the commanding officers and quickly issued orders—there was no time for hesitation.

“First and second divisions, form the front line with shields! Deploy every priest available to reinforce barriers! Archers, prepare barrels of oil—we’ll counter them with fire arrows!”

The land was already ravaged; a little more fire wouldn’t matter.

Besides, it was the dead of night, and they needed as much visibility as possible.

Marsilia first ordered fire arrows to be shot around the perimeter, setting up sources of light while directing personnel into position.

During this, Malek arrived with Marsilia’s sword belt and weapon, fastening them onto him before tightening the laces of his boots.

After dismissing the officers, Marsilia turned to where Jaha stood nearby.

Jaha had tied his hair up tightly, a single sword, no armor.

Marsilia disliked that.

He understood, of course—Jaha’s swordsmanship and martial arts made him as light as if he were running atop clouds. It was natural for him to favor mobility.

But still, the idea of sending him into battle without any armor gnawed at him.

And yet, there was no time to pull him back.

“Sable.”

Hearing the alias, Jaha—who had been adjusting the position of his sword—lifted his eyes.

“Don’t stray too far from my sight. And be careful.”

Jaha smiled at him, a small, quiet curve of the lips, before nodding firmly.

With that, the two of them moved toward the knights assembling with shields.

The knights had formed a two-line defensive formation, archers positioned just behind them.

Nearby, braziers and barrels of oil were set up, ready to fuel the coming fire attacks.

At the rear, priests stood in formation, murmuring prayers to the goddess.

The flares continued to light up the sky in intervals, revealing the minotaur horde drawing ever closer.

By now, the vibrations of their march were so intense that even the knights could gauge their approach by sound alone.

“Your Majesty, their numbers are greater than expected. Roughly seventy in total, but—”

“Wait.”

Marsilia cut off the concerned General Des with a firm gaze fixed on the darkness ahead.

At this point, their only option was to hold their ground.

Charging forward against those numbers would be suicidal.

They would have to wait and counterattack.

The terrain made it difficult to use grappling hooks or other tools.

The best strategy was to eliminate the frontmost minotaurs one by one.

Marsilia lifted his head toward the sky.

Judging by the position of the stars, the time was between one and two in the morning.

A terrible time to fight creatures whose night vision far surpassed that of humans.

But retreating now would mean the annihilation of their forces.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

If those creatures scattered and spread out—

The empire would be razed to the ground.

They had to stop them here.

Calmly assessing the situation, Marsilia took a deep breath—

Then raised his voice, commanding the entire army.

“Knights! Raise your swords and bows! Tonight, you will carve a new history upon this battlefield! The goddess’s blessing is upon you—so do not fear, my knights!”

His sword left its sheath, glinting under the faint light, and as if in response, a protective barrier unfurled around the stronghold.

At the same time, priests stationed throughout the camp reinforced the magical defenses.

The knights roared in unison.

“We will be victorious!”

Some pounded their chests with their swords, others struck their shields, rallying each other with fervent battle cries.

Amidst the uproar, Jaha quietly scanned his surroundings.

The knights shouting at the top of their lungs, the officers yelling even louder to spur them on—

And at the center of it all, Marsilia stood like a radiant moon, shining amidst the darkness.

They all seemed… a little mad.

But their lives burned brightly.

Humans, suppressing their fear in order to protect something dear to them—

It was beautiful.

The intensity, the hardship, the sheer force of their existence was blinding.

Unconsciously, Jaha pressed his palm against his chest.

Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded wildly.

A heat surged within his lower abdomen.

His vision blurred slightly, and he closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath.

Suppressing the energy churning within his dantian, Jaha recalled the image of Marsilia, sword raised high.

A man bearing the weight of countless lives upon his shoulders—

Yet standing firm, unwavering, as he faced the battlefield ahead.

When Jaha opened his eyes again, those broad shoulders remained in his view.

The leading minotaur had come close enough to hurl its massive axe.

At the same moment—

A deep green light burst forth from Marsilia’s body.

Like vines, the green glow spread along the line of knights, intertwining and forming pillars that reached toward the sky.

The pillars thickened, resembling the trunks of towering trees, while luminous, leaf-like fragments drifted downward.

Jaha’s eyes widened as he watched the spectacle unfold.

When the forest that illuminated the darkness engulfed the stronghold, the Minotaur’s axe struck the barrier fiercely and bounced off.

“Grrraaah!”

As if responding to the knights’ battle cries, the Minotaur horde let out monstrous roars.

“Grrraaah!”

Someone among the knights shouted.

“Ready!”

The archers positioned in the middle ignited their oil-soaked arrows and drew their bowstrings in unison.

Marsilia, enveloped in green light, watched the front without making a single movement.

One step, then another. As the Minotaur horde drew closer, tension grew on the knights’ faces. Some moistened their dry lips with their tongues, while others swallowed hard, waiting for the emperor’s command.

And soon, the emperor lowered the sword he had raised high and shouted.

“Fire!”

Flaming arrows shot through the air all at once. The burning projectiles arced across the sky, resembling a meteor shower. The arrows soared upward, then gradually slowed before rapidly descending toward the Minotaurs.

Everyone held their breath as they watched. Waiting for the fire arrows to strike the Minotaurs.

“Guooooooh!”

The Minotaurs bellowed in rage, swinging their hands or axes wildly at the air. Out of the hundreds of arrows fired, only a fraction found their mark.

However, those that hit ignited the Minotaurs’ fur, while other arrows set fire to the debris scattered around.

“Ready! Fire!”

This time, without hesitation, another volley of flaming arrows tore through the darkness.

As the approaching terrain became illuminated, Marsilia’s lips twisted slightly. He could see the leading Minotaurs lowering their bodies into a charging stance.

“First line, shields forward.”

Marsilia’s quiet order was echoed like a chant.

“Shields forward!”

The knights, who had been waiting with their shields, lowered their bodies and positioned their large spears forward.

“Second line, move between the first line!”

“Second line, move!”

The second line of knights stacked their shields atop the first line’s. Then, the third line stepped forward, aiming sharp, cylindrical spears between the gaps.

Axes from the advancing Minotaur horde flew toward them several times, but Marsilia thickened the barrier.

Whenever cracks formed, he reinforced it again and again. The same was true for the layers of thinner barriers stacked on top.

The priests, too, struggled with all their might to maintain the strongest protective shields they could muster.

The ground trembled as the Minotaurs drew near. The knights with bows continued firing flaming arrows, but they produced little effect.

Their thick hides prevented the flames from spreading, quickly extinguishing any fire that caught. However, the ruins around them contained plenty of wood, and it was only a matter of time before the flames grew stronger.

The rainy season had passed, leaving the summer heat. The dried wooden beams and rooftops, baked under the scorching sun, caught fire, causing the flames to spread rapidly.

The night had become so bright that one might not even notice the absence of the sun.

Jaha approached Marsilia, gazing at his profile.

He wanted to see with his own eyes how a man burdened with hundreds of lives survived.

A man who, once he stepped off this battlefield, would have to carry the lives of thousands, tens of thousands, upon his shoulders.

And yet, even with that weight, the man stood tall, unwavering, his gaze locked forward.

Under his sharply defined nose, his lips, slightly curved and askew, had lifted into a subtle smirk.