Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 89

The azure flames that spread before their eyes engulfed both the Meizenaf soldiers and mercenaries under Viscount Barnes’s command equally, as they leaned forward in their offensive. The common soldiers, lacking in magical barriers, were unable to withstand the hot winds and blue flames, igniting one after another with screams.

This scene only fueled the desperation of the soldiers, whose bodies were beginning to char. While some were accustomed to injuries from swords and blunt weapons, the experience of being burned alive was rare. Once experienced, it was impossible to hide their agitation and confusion.

Furthermore, regardless of the amount of magical power or the refinement of their magical barriers, they turned into human torches without warning, both in the front and back lines. It was natural that those who doubted they would be next became a minority.

“Stop, don’t push!”

“Ah, ah! My back, it’s burning! Move, hurry up!”

Before the order to retreat was given, the soldiers chose to fall back in disorder. This turmoil was nothing short of a rout. The soldiers and officers, who had been confident of victory, now found themselves in a desperate race to escape from the supporting castle.

Shoulder to shoulder, the soldiers pushed against each other, sometimes stepping on each other to climb over the remnants of the castle walls. What would have been an ordinary path in peacetime became difficult to navigate due to the limited space, the crowd, and the repeated attacks, which created numerous obstacles. Soldiers tripped over the bodies of Dalimarcus soldiers, falling, crying out, and then calling for help.

“Help… me…”

Outstretched hands, without anyone to lift them, grasped only the empty air, and even that did not last long.

“Guuh… what is this? Don’t mess with me!”

Giusto, the head of the mercenary band, screamed with a voice hoarse from heat and resentment. He had cornered soldiers with a hero’s bravado, holding the power of life and death. Now, half of his men had been burned, and the rest were continuously stripped of their magical barriers.

“Don’t run away! If you can’t get close, attack from a distance!”

Although half of the mercenary band had sunk into the azure flames, they had not yet developed a habit of losing. Responding to Giusto’s call, they began magical attacks, clinging to a sliver of hope. However, this hope quickly turned into despair.

“Ah! Damn it! It’s not working!”

“It’s no use… It’s too hot, we’re going to melt!”

Water magic evaporated before reaching its target, and wind and fire attributes only served to intensify the flame wind. Their reliance on earth magic also failed to capture the man fighting amidst the azure flames. Even bows were of no use, as some saw their strings ignite before they could shoot.

Long-range attacks were futile. Before they could inflict any damage, the majority of the band was overwhelmed by the heat. Despite the loss of concentration, Giusto made a calm decision.

“Lazzo, Nangi, Mertana, Lucca, Louban, grab your weapons. We’re going to kill him up close.”

Approaching him would mean being burned before even getting close, but Giusto called out the names of those in the band who had superior magical power and had survived the azure flames.

“Giusto, are you sane? To fight that thing…”

Lucca’s critical remark was immediately silenced by Giusto.

“Shut up and listen. If we run away now, our mercenary band’s reputation will hit rock bottom. It’s one thing to flee from a large army or central forces, but to run from just one person, we’ll be the laughingstock of the Archipelago Countries! We’ll never be able to work as mercenaries again.”

Giusto had indeed fled before, but only when faced with an enemy force several times larger. If they were to flee from a single individual, all the reputation and trust they had built up would be lost. No matter how many replaceable members died, they had to kill the enemy shrouded in azure flames.

“Look at him, he’s bleeding. He’s not some hero from the myths. If he bleeds, he can be killed. He’s just a person, nothing special.”

Giusto scanned the gathered individuals with bloodshot eyes. The unsettled members regained their composure. Currently, the magic soldier spreading the azure flames was focused on cutting off Viscount Barnes’s escape with his cavalry. However, their numbers had dwindled to countable on one hand.

Giusto had learned in the strife of the Labyrinth City that even the best course of action could become the worst if the timing was wrong.

“Louban, approach from the front with a golem. Even if it’s just for a moment, draw his attention. If he bites on the golem, use Earth Wall to destabilize his footing, then Nangi, attack from the left.”

Cutting his words short, Giusto gave them time to digest his instructions.

“Lucca, shoot wind magic from the right. It doesn’t need to be effective. Don’t give him time to think. Lazzo, Mertana, come at him from the front with me. Use whatever you can. Let’s go!”

At Giusto’s signal, the mercenaries moved all at once. Louban knelt, using his own blood as a catalyst to summon a golem from the ground. Following its master’s command, the earthen figure charged towards the center of the heatwave, though sluggish.

By now, Barnes’s cavalry had either retreated or been burned to death. They were utterly unreliable. Despite being educated in military tactics and assisted by aides, they were nobles at heart, easily retreating when their lives hung in the balance.

The golem, nearly three meters tall and made of earth, had its surface layer burned away by the mixed hot winds before it could even swing its massive arms. By the time it reached its target, there was no doubt it would revert to mere dirt.

Louban, having deployed far to the left of the golem, then raised the ground, forming an earth wall at the feet of the azure flame wielder. Without showing any intent to fight, he jumped, escaping from the rising ground.

As the azure flame wielder landed on flat ground, a blade of wind formed by Lucca’s wind magic attacked him, but its force was absorbed by the swirling azure flames at its outer edges. Giusto was not in the least bit flustered by this outcome.

His skin prickled, and his innards felt as if they were floating, a fluttering sensation. It was the primal fear of fire, something instinctively dreaded. These were feelings he had often experienced during his powerless struggles in the dark depths of the Labyrinth City.

For Giusto, who had gained power, wealth, and followers, it was an emotion long forgotten, one he now accepted with relish. From behind a golem, he charged forward, low to the ground like a fire-breathing lizard.

To minimize the risk of detection and to get closer to the relatively cooler ground that absorbed heat, this tactic was effective. He slid his saber close enough to graze the side of the burning golem, aiming for the neck.

The element of surprise was enough, and had the strike been successful, it would have been quickly over. However, things did not go as smoothly as hoped. The blade’s tip merely glanced off, only slightly diverting the upper body and missing its mark.

“Damn it!”

Yet, without a moment’s delay, Lazzo swept at the legs with his short spear, and Mertana brought down the war club from above. The azure flame wielder countered with a diagonal slash of his halberd, aiming for the ankles, then diverted the war club’s trajectory with the butt of his weapon, stepping back to dodge completely.

With a roar, Giusto pressed the attack. Seeing the azure flame wielder ready to counter, he suppressed a smile.

Suddenly, the earth wall beside them shattered. The cause was a projectile of earth launched by Louban through the wall. As dust flew, the deadly projectile sped towards the azure flame wielder. He tried to dodge in a split second, but the earth bullet gouged into his right shoulder, leaving his arm hanging limply.

“It hit the arm!”

Lazzo shouted in triumph, slicing down as everyone closed in to assist. All Giusto heard, however, was a dark chuckle amidst the anticipation of a cry of pain.

As the wind shifted, the azure flame wielder’s body fell rapidly to the ground, not just from his own weight or gravity. A clear, twisting force was at play.

Blades and blunt weapons crossed above him, but all Giusto’s saber did was graze the armor.

It was a simple trick. Desperately manipulating the hot air to slam his body into the ground to avoid attacks. It was not particularly fast, and once seen, not difficult to counter. But a man down to one arm and lying on the ground was an easy target.

As each made their move, Giusto’s gaze met with his. The eyes that looked back were gold yet cloudy, brimming with a killing intent that seemed to have been waiting just for him.

“Back off, it’s a trap!”

It wasn’t hesitation that caused the warning. The longsword, which should have been immovable, was being drawn by an arm supposedly incapacitated.

Louban and Nangi’s reactions were too slow. The longsword, emerging from the ground, slashed through Louban’s ankle and Nangi’s wrist.

Giusto thrust his saber forward, but as he did, the two were seriously injured and catapulted away to a spot riddled with holes.

“He put his shoulder back in place using the ground.”

It wasn’t a desperate attempt to avoid the blows; he had realigned his shoulder using the earth’s power. A wrong move could have left him unable to do anything, tortured to death. How could one act so decisively without hesitation?

Blood spurted from Louban and Nangi as they writhed on the ground. Just as Giusto had sworn to kill the azure flame wielder, so too had the azure flame wielder resolved to kill them.

Leading the remaining two, Giusto attacked again. No cautious observation, just bare blades exchanging countless blows, marking each other’s blood and armor. He was not invincible. Clearly, his movements had lost precision. The magic barrier was barely holding.

Giusto did not miss the opening he had desperately created. He stepped forward strongly, swinging his saber in a wide arc.

The sensation he felt was unlike anything before, a numbing sensation. The blow, aimed at the temple and eye, was barely deflected by the forehead, meeting it squarely.

“I won’t be beaten so easily.”

As if convincing himself, the azure flame wielder spoke. He countered the man slashing at him with his sword, getting used to his movements. If there were support, maybe—

Giusto sensed something was off. The crossed saber was being melted, sending a shock through his upper body.

“Giusto?!”

Unlike Digor, Giusto didn’t possess “Strong Strike” or “Iron Wall,” but he was not so frail as to be easily slashed through, and his equipment was of high quality.

Yet, he was cut through across the upper body along with his saber. Giusto fell to the ground, captivated by the azure flame wielder’s longsword, glowing with a magic different from “Strong Strike” and enveloped in fire. As Giusto was down, the remaining two were quickly defeated. Together they were thrown on the ground, burning to a crisp in the azure flames.

As Giusto’s consciousness faded, the magic barrier he had barely maintained broke, and his vision was engulfed in blue. He had been mistaken. This creature was no hero but a monster that enveloped everything in fire.

After all, the azure flame wielder looked down on the burning Giusto without expression, without joy, contempt, or hostility, simply watching him burn.

“…Mon…ster…”

Losing half his body, the fact that Giusto could still speak was a miracle. In the end, he let go of his consciousness, never to return.

Translator – Lyxxna