Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 62

“Ugh?!”

At first glance, Walm instinctively understood. The ogre before him was one of the leaders of the monsters that had breached the northern city wall—a leader among them. Its short, crimson-tinged horns stretched high into the sky. Although its body was a size smaller than that of a typical ogre, its magic and physical strength felt densely compressed and restrained. Its ancient armor bore the scars of many battles, yet not a single new scratch or stain marred its surface.

The mask on his face quivered like never before, shaking indiscriminately, a mask of a capricious demon. Walm cursed it internally. Its eyes, reminiscent of gold, were fixed directly on Walm. In its right hand, like Walm, it held a bloodstained longsword, and in its left, a human head grasped by the hair. Beyond the cuts from the battle before death, the head, seemingly a snack, was gnawed upon. Yet, Walm could still recognize whose head it was.

“…Wake, Al!”

It was the head of Al, a platoon leader and adventurer who had been ordered to sweep the northern wall. The head was carelessly thrown at Walm’s feet, rolling across the cobblestones. Although an old enemy, Walm struggled to remain unaffected by the death of a comrade who had fought alongside him on the battlefield.

While Walm was engaged in eliminating ogres, the ogre before him had been sweeping through Highserk soldiers and adventurers. Walm recalled the name of this wise, armed ogre leader.

“Ogre Lord.”

Designated as an S-rank species, the leader of its kind, an ogre lord led groups capable of overthrowing large cities. It was entirely plausible for it to appear as one of the main agents in a great rampage. The Ogre Lord, with its sword pointed at Walm, indeed smiled. No words were needed. It was as if the Ogre Lord was taunting Walm, signaling that he was next. Ironically, the surroundings were cleared by Walm and the Ogre Lord. With no soldiers or civilians left to protect, Walm’s decision was swift. He instantly conjured magic power. A hot wind blew, and demon fire approached the hostile Ogre Lord. The Ogre Lord vanished just before being entwined in the azure flames.

“Ugh, uh?!”

With a speed akin to constantly enveloped in wind magic, and with a posture low to the ground, the Ogre Lord closed the distance from Walm’s flank. He scattered demon fire in all directions, but the great Ogre Lord, unscathed and unfazed by the azure flames, broke through them. A formidable magical barrier blocked the azure flames. The Ogre Lord, judging from its conspicuous red horns, might even possess fire-resistant skills. The all-encompassing demon fire was effective against common soldiers but could be withstood by those with significant magic power.

Narrowing the range and focusing magic power might land an effective blow, but the problem was the Ogre Lord’s mobility. Walm received the approaching blade with his sword. A naturally dense magical strike, the “Strong Strike”. Even just deflecting it, the intense impact nearly knocked his sword away. Don’t be defensive, don’t hand over the initiative. Walm reminded himself, swinging his sword desperately, but his attacks were hindered by the delicate yet intense swordsmanship of the Ogre Lord, failing to reach their target.

He was at his limit just reacting to the unpredictable slashes aimed at his feet, throat, wrists, and fingers. His reliable demon fire couldn’t reach due to the Ogre Lord’s swift reflexes and astonishing magical barrier. Even in a clash of swords, Walm was overpowered due to the difference in physical strength, tumbling to the ground.

Walm instantly distanced himself using wind magic, but even then, he sustained a wound on his arm. Had he not used magic, it would have been a fatal injury. The Ogre Lord was superior in physical strength, magic power, and swordsmanship.

Yet, Walm did not retreat. Revenge for his subordinates, a young girl’s wish, and his pride as a soldier drove him to fight. While adjusting the distance and restraining with azure flames in a wave attack, Walm could not land an effective blow.

The king of monsters read even the slightest premonition of the demon fire and evaded it. For demon fire that couldn’t be avoided, it was struck down with a heavily magic-imbued “Strong Strike”.

Breaking through the sea of azure flames, the Ogre Lord lunged forward. Walm switched to a thrust-focused attack. He thrust rapidly at the throat, feet, and hands three times, but the Ogre Lord deflected them, sliding the blade away, changing its trajectory. Its reflexes were superior, but what was truly remarkable were its eyes, clearly reflecting the battlefield, unlike Walm’s clouded ones.

Walm parried the continuous slashes from the Ogre Lord, launching a “Strong Strike” from the middle guard, but the Ogre Lord dodged by twisting its upper body. Walm, having stepped in, realized his mistake when a thrust aimed at his throat extended from a blind spot. Though Walm was leaning, the blade harshly scraped the side of his helmet.

A sharp kick landed on Walm, even through his armor. The impact, even through the magical barrier, coursed through his organs.

He expelled air, tasting stomach acid in his mouth. The onslaught continued, the Ogre Lord, with its sword wrapped around its torso, swung it horizontally. Walm, holding his longsword with both hands, tried to deflect the sword pressure diagonally upwards, but pain shot through his shoulder.

Despite guarding, part of Walm’s right arm, along with the armor, was cut, blood seeping out. He suppressed the bleeding with a magic barrier, but the increased magic consumption put him at a disadvantage. Don’t stop thinking. Keep moving. If he stopped, death was all that awaited.

“AAAHHHHH!!”

With a war cry, Walm slashed at his superior opponent. His shins, flanks, and arms were cut, bruised. His ribs creaked and screamed, but his thoughts and body did not stop. Rolling disgracefully on the ground, Walm scooped up the scattered debris on the cobblestones with his sword and hurled it at the Ogre Lord.

The Ogre Lord didn’t even bother to dodge, which worked in Walm’s favor. In the moment his vision was obstructed, Walm unfastened his cloak, creating a fabric barrier between himself and the Ogre Lord, and manifested demon fire.

The azure flames, stretching out like arms from both sides, attempted to entangle the Ogre Lord. One side of the flame arm was repelled and erased by a “Strong Strike”. The remaining azure flame was also about to be slipped through by the demonstrated mobility.

A remarkable monster indeed. Walm even found himself admiring its skill. But this was all within his expectations. A certain trust as adversaries made Walm believe the Ogre Lord would break through his unusual tactic. Walm thrust his sword through the azure flame and cloak, aiming at where the Ogre Lord would emerge. For the first time, Walm’s sword caught the Ogre Lord, and his demon fire-imbued blade burned through the armor, scorching the Ogre Lord’s flank.

The Mithril longsword given by Gerald harmonized well with Walm’s Demon Fire. For the first time, Walm smiled at the sound reminiscent of meat being seared on an iron plate. It was the long-awaited melody, a gospel for Walm.

“Do you dislike rare meat?”

Contrary to Walm, the Ogre Lord, who let out a voice of agony, quickly shifted to a shout and swept his sword. Though it was a mere retaliation compared to the injuries Walm had sustained, Walm’s swordsmanship, magical power, and vision were honed and sublimated in the heat of battle.

While compensating for the difference in physical strength with Demon Fire, Walm did not retreat a step. The clash of immense magical powers caused the cobblestones to peel away and turn into rubble.

Monsters and soldiers caught up in the fray eventually watched the outcome of the battle from a distance. On one side, the highest military power of Dandurg Castle, and on the other, the king of the great ogres and one of the leaders of the Great Rampage.

It was clear that the victor would have an advantage in the subsequent battles. After dozens, perhaps hundreds of sword crosses, Walm was about to enter the zenith of concentration.

His mouth, clenched, had forgotten to swallow saliva, and only the necessary information was cut out from his field of vision. The one-sided cuts he had been taking no longer occurred. If the Ogre Lord pressed on, Walm would flexibly respond with swordsmanship and magic, and if a slight opening occurred, Walm would attack.

The high-pitched sound of clashing sword tips repeatedly resonated across the battlefield. It was like a duet playing a melody, and the swords, in their offense and defense, were instruments. Switching feet, exchanging positions, and despite the short hostility, they displayed a synchronized dance. Death awaited those who fell out.

Walm, having damaged his left hand and organs, faced the Ogre Lord, whose half body was being burnt by Demon Fire. If the battle became a war of attrition, Walm, who frequently used the magically exhausting Demon Fire, albeit on a small scale, would inevitably be at a disadvantage. To break the deadlock, Walm needed to take a gamble.

Using the pressure from the Ogre Lord’s sword during a standoff, Walm leapt backward and chanted a wind attribute magic spell, accelerating rapidly. His body screamed in response.

As Walm circled from under his arm to the rear, the Ogre Lord, with agility unimaginable for his huge body, turned and slammed his longsword down at the landing spot. Drawing the sword tip close at the last moment, Walm, ignoring his twisted ankle and rupturing muscles, chanted wind attribute magic again.

The Ogre Lord’s blade cut through the armor, but Walm crossed with the king of the great ogres again, completely circling behind him. The tactic of crushing feet, effective only once, was countered by Walm, who burnt and gouged the cobblestones with Demon Fire, forcibly fixing his feet and delivering a full-powered strike.

Pushing aside the hastily retracted sword of the Ogre Lord, the sword tip that plunged into the thick neck, burning and cutting through flesh and bone, thus beheading him. Walm was certain of victory, but his mouth twisted. It was because the Ogre Lord’s severed head was smiling.

Walm’s position as the victor was about to be reversed. A pathetic struggle, but fatal for Walm at this moment. The Ogre Lord’s fingers, even without a head, seemed to approach his face in slow motion. Walm realized that neither a shift in his upper body nor magic would be in time.

“Damn creature――”

Sharp fingers filled his vision. The moment darkness spread, Walm screamed as if his brain was being directly stirred.

“GUUUUH!! AAAAAGH!!”

Unbearable pain surged from where his eyes once were. Walm could no longer tell if it was pain, as his nerves seemed to be scraped away.

His brain was splitting. Walm had no luxury to flail his arms and legs. Against his will, his whole body began to convulse.

“Ah, aghhhh… ahh…”

Like a poorly made automaton, Walm kept leaking words. His breathing became irregular, his body arched back, unstoppable. He heard some words, but Walm’s brain was no longer processing normally. Invited into an endless darkness amidst intense pain, he tried to cling to something, but there was no response. He couldn’t tell if he had lost the sensation in his hands or if he was unable to perceive it.

“Ah― ur….gh…?”

With a faint word, Walm’s consciousness completely faded, and his sunken eye sockets were turned toward the unobstructed blue sky.