Golden Cross: Chapter 9
Chapter 9. Now, I Place My Life in Your Hands (3)
The same chant echoed loudly in the vicinity. That was none other than the fight song of the Blue Force. Eugene, too, bravely roared loud, like a lion.
“For the empire!”
The panicking enemy turned the direction of their horses, but it was already too late. Rushing like the wind, they fired their guns as they went past their target.
Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang!
“Aaaahk!”
“Krrr! It’s an ambush!”
Clamoring noise was heard all around, and the enemy fell as they screamed. Fortunately for Eugene’s unit, the enemy guards weren’t wearing armors, and were holding long guns that were modified to be used on horsebacks. They were the so called the carabiniers which had more fire power than the heavy gunners, but their ability to fight in close range was inferior.
As opposed to the unit of the heavy gunners which charged in armors, the carabinier was a unit that fired guns from remote distance. As a result, every time a gun was fired, there came painful moan.
“Krrrahk!”
“Aaaahk!”
Pang!
Using a pistol, Eugene blew up the head of an enemy horse.
‘This is surely a good luck.’
Had the enemy unit been heavy gunners, they would have easily withstood the fire power of the pistols with their tough armor. However, the opposing soldiers would simply fall off their horses as they got shot with the pistols. Of course, there were some who had on simple breastplates, but they were only a few out of the entire unit.
“Strike with your swords after using all the bullets!”
The ambushers brought 2 pistols with them, so after firing twice, they had to use their swords to continue fighting. Some of them tried to reload, but most of them engaged in close combat.
“Stop them!”
The enemy tried hard to fight back, but the tide had already turned against them from the get go. The friendly soldiers were all wearing heavy three-quarter armors, but the enemy soldiers only had a single layer of coat. Most of the enemies fell by the single blade swords of the friendly unit’s members, without even putting much of resistance.
“Aaaaahk!”
As they were optimistic of their imminent victory, a scream broke out from the back side.
“You bastards!”
A red bearded cavalry man wearing an armor suit approached them riding on the back of a big military horse. His armor suit was black, but there were golden glamorous decorations on it. But what was truly awesome wasn’t that at all.
What was really awesome was the fact that there was a dark blue aura on the sword of the red bearded cavalry man. Some of the soldiers immediately recognized who it was.
“The red bearded knight Stralsund!”
The blue aura, the black armor, and the elegantly maintained red beard. Every one of them was an indication of his identity. He was like the terror itself to the Blue Force.
“Kr-hahaha!”
As if to display his awesome power, Stralsund struck and killed one heavy gunner that was before him. It was the same one, with the bushy beard, who was complaining about the dwarfs and the elves while they were hiding in the forest.
“Stop him!”
Stirred up by it, Daimsfelt shouted, but the red bearded knight was truly vicious. His sword, clouded with the aura, cut through even the armor in an unforgiving fashion. He stabbed the abdomen of the heavy gunner who was nearby then taking out the twin guns and fired them at the same time. Pang! Pang!
Then removing the sword from the abdomen, he severed the head of the heavy gunner, and blood spewed out of him.
“Aaaaahk!”
The fear took over the friendly soldiers. At the same time, the spirit of the enemy rose high. Having decided that it was, now, his time to come forward, Eugene rode his horse toward the red bearded one.
“Kyddiup!”
He held the rein in one hand and held his sword in parallel with his other hand. On the bouncing horseback, Eugene thought about the Brotherhood’s poem. It was one of the few secret weapons that were allowed for him to use along with the whirlwind sword.
[As the waves rushed towards the sandy shore, your life, too, will rush towards the end.] Poem was like a magical incantation to the swordsmen. As Eugene pulled and used the magic from the vicinity, murderous spirit congregated at the end of the sword.
“What!”
Stralsund, who was fighting frantically, looked ahead with a great surprise. At the same time, he gritted his teeth as he saw the dark energy that was being directed at him at the same time.
“Kraaah!”
With all his might, he slashed the killer energy with his concentrated aura. Kwang!
As the two powers have collided, there came a loud crashing sound and Stralsund fell off the horse as he was unable to sustain his balance. Eugene quickly got off his horse, and shouted at Daimsfelt.
“I’ll take him. Please rescue the Countess and terminate the remnants.”
Daimsfelt quickly nodded and ordered his underlings. Now, holding his sword, Eugene approached the red bearded knight. There was a slight trailing down of blood from his lips, but the knight looked to be enjoying the moment.
“I’ve seen this technique before. You are, perhaps, a provost of the Brotherhood.”
Eugene, too, recognized the identity of his foe.
“You are the provost of the 8 swordsmen society.”
The 8 swordsmen society was well known for their strong swords and aura. They were also one of the 7 emperor certified organizations, and their history went back a long time. Having been founded by 8 swordsmen from the beginning, they were still called the 8 swordsmen society. They were obsessed with aura, and they were most capable swordsmen of all the swordsmen. As opposed to the swordsmen of the other organizations who could only use the aura when they reached the maestro level, they were able to use that skill even at the provost level. Of course, as there were strengths and weaknesses, they were not able to recite poems like those of the Brotherhood’s swordsmen.
“I was getting bored as there weren’t any meaningful opponents. I’m glad that you came along because I was growing more curious about the high Brotherhood’s reputation, anyhow.”
His smile was like the one of a starving red wolf. However, Eugene did not fear him. In fact, he was cautious.
‘Difficult. This sword will not be able to sustain from the impact if it crashes with that aura sword.’
Eugene had to dodge the opponent’s sword at any cost. If he was to try to block it, his sword would snap. Either an aura sword or magic sword was needed in order to face the aura, but Eugene did not have either.
“Paaat!”
Perhaps, he was thinking for too long. As if he was tired of waiting, Stralsund rushed to severe Eugene’s head. Eugene felt somewhat regrettable.
The counter attacks that he had worked hard to master have all become unusable. As a result, Eugene was being driven to a corner for a long while.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
His stamina drained quicker due to him being anxious, even to the level that it was hard to believe that he was a provost. Stralsund, on the other hand, put on a victorious smile.
“Is this all there is to the Brotherhood’s swordsman!”
As his smile showed overconfidence, even the aura became more prominent to go with that. If he was to block that sword then his sword would not only break, but he would also get sliced. However, Eugene did not flutter. He did not give up yet, and he sought to methodically find an answer. As he found a way, he quickly became calm, and his breathing became normal. He was a provost to start with. His ability to manage his body and stamina was near a super human.
‘No need worry. Counter with slow pace.’
The maestros of the Brotherhood often emphasized nach pace. That meant a slow pace. Slow pace induced carelessness from the counterpart. Nach pace was, especially, well fit in facing the strong swords used by the likes of the 8 swordsmen society.
‘Attack a bit, a bit more slowly.’
Certainly, the opponent moved to block the path of his sword. Eugene read the opponent’s intentions in his eyes. Stralsund was thinking to launch a counter attack as he quickly blocked. However, the moment after that, he realized that Eugene’s attack was slow, and that his blocking maneuver was completed much quicker than necessary.
“Aaht!”
At the moment when he tried to recompose himself, Eugene’s sword scraped over his thigh.
“Kraaah!”
The blood poured down over the green grass.
“Damn it!”
Despite the pain, fierce Stralsund did not go down on his knee. He was born a great swordsman and as such, his pride was immense.
“Don’t think I’ll lose like this!”
Although attacks came at him in series, Eugene easily dodged them. And he, once again, attempted the slow attacks.
The esthetics of the slowness continued to fool Stralsund. As Stralsund’s defensive maneuvers continued to outpace the offensive moves, he kept losing the space and time. The biggest problem of all was the fact that, in time, Stralsund has turned to being defensive.
‘Damn it!’
Slowly, he, too, recognized his own problem. Fooled by the opponent’s slow attacks, he continued his defensive maneuvers. As the defensive maneuvers continued, he failed to main the attack mode which was the 1st necessary rule of using a sword. Losing the attack mode in a battle between the swordsmen, which was similar to eloquent quarrel, only meant defeat. Stralsund thought about the words that he heard when he first took up the sword.
‘When you come to an understanding, you will despise the one who only defends.’
Stralsund realized the meaning of those words, but he could not avoid defeat. In a short moment, Eugene’s sword crossed through his chest.
“Kraahk!”
His boastful black armor was cut in an elongated fashion. Before the sword of a provost, ordinary armor did not mean much. However, the armor that has been wonderfully made did one thing for its owner. That was, it has prevented Stralsund from getting killed with a single strike.
Hence, he survived although he fell as he shed much blood.
“What are you going to do with him?”
In no time, Daimsfelt approached after finishing off his assignment. He surveyed the surroundings and found that most of the enemy gunners were either killed or held captive, already. Eugene thought briefly before coming to a decision.
“Will hold him as a prisoner. Treat his wounds. The swordsman of the 8 swordsmen society does not die easily.”
“Understood! Hey!”
When the soldier that came, running over, and removed the helmet from Stralsund, Eugene moved over to the carriage. A woman opened the door and was about to appear from it. She was astonishingly beautiful with brown hair and purple eyes. She had a haggard expression, but as she looked at Eugene with dignity, Eugene greeted her like a gentleman.
“Please allow me the honor of rescuing you, your beautifulness. Duchess.”
She replied gracefully.
“Of course. Brave one. I’ll now put my life in your hands.”
As her tone of voice indicated that she was about to become another man’s prisoner, she did not seem to trust Eugene. As a matter of fact, from her perspective, it would be hard to discern between a foe and a friend. It did not matter to Eugene, either way. All he had to do was to deliver her to Myrus Landgraf.