When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 34

Episode 34

A sinister sword piercing through himself. And behind him, the Orc Emperor stood.

His expression seemed to convey a sense of satisfaction. Pushing the Orc King to the forefront, using diversions, and then lurking to find openings to strike from behind.

What a cowardly, cunning, and petty enemy he was. However, despite his nature, what resided within him was overwhelming violence. He was the epitome of the most dangerous type of monster king.

This enemy was troublesome. Elliot Crane, rallying his fading consciousness, gathered his last ounce of strength and seized the sword piercing his chest with all his might.

Just a few seconds passed.

The Orc Emperor, who had been meticulously cautious until now, had slightly let his guard down after taking out a troublesome enemy commander.

But the legion commanders of the Tashman Kingdom couldn’t afford to overlook such a lapse in judgment.

“…You’ve underestimated a legion commander too much,” Elliot remarked, blood oozing from his mouth as he gripped the enemy’s sword tightly, burning with undying fighting spirit.

“Take this in your final moments. Magic Overdrive Burst!”

Sensing a sudden surge in magic power, the Orc Emperor felt the danger and attempted to withdraw his sword and retreat from Elliot, but…

“!?!”

Elliot, who should have been on the brink of death, refused to let go of the sword he had grasped. Realizing this, the Orc Emperor attempted to discard his sword and escape.

“You’re too slow.”

Simultaneously, with a strong wave of magic power pulsating as if it were the heartbeat of his heart, a brilliant light emanated from Elliot, engulfing the Orc Emperor, causing a localized and overwhelming explosion.

—

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the battlefield, and smoke billowed around the area where Elliot stood.

After a while, when the smoke cleared, there stood the Orc Emperor, missing a sword and an arm, but still standing firmly on his feet, albeit in a tattered state. However, he seemed to be focusing on recovery, as there was no sign of movement.

Observing this from a distance, Alex Morrison immediately decided to withdraw from the scene. Initially, he had intended to hold off the enemy army until death and follow Elliot. However, he realized that it was more important to inform friendly forces of the Orc Emperor’s presence than to die on the battlefield.

By invoking the “Dedication of the End” to defeat the Orc King and now, injuring the Orc Emperor and departing, Elliot had provided a reason to live beyond this moment, to ensure that future generations would remember his bravery.

“All forces, retreat! Divide into two groups! I’ll pursue Maria! Michael, I’ll leave Graysian’s direction to you!”

Thus, Alex succeeded in informing Maria’s 9th Legion and the Second Regiment of the 7th Legion, who would reunite in two days, of the Orc Emperor’s existence.

Despite reducing their numbers, Michael’s group managed to shake off the pursuit of the monster army and reached Graysian, battered and bruised, four days later.

The brave warriors, including Elliot, who faced a massive army of 100,000 with only 500, successfully held them off for nearly half a day, creating invaluable “time” worth more than gold, despite the enemy outnumbering them by a ratio of 200 to 1.

Legion Commander Elliot Crane defeated the Orc King, and further, with the Orc Emperor’s weapon and arm in hand, he embarked on his journey to Valhalla.

Losing the fortress city of Bastiona was a devastating blow, but one could argue that they achieved more than enough to make up for it.

However, out of the valiant 500 who fought courageously, only 17 soldiers safely withdrew from the battlefield.

It was because of these 17 soldiers, who, despite their injuries, managed to inform Maria and Graysian, that the humans were able to respond swiftly thereafter. The role played by these brave warriors of the 9th Legion was immensely significant.

—

Two days had passed since Maria’s departure from Bastiona.

They had just reunited with Alex’s group, and Maria had been informed by Alex about Elliot’s final moments and the presence of the Orc Emperor.

After hearing about Elliot’s death, Maria Valenti remained silent for a while, offering silent prayers. Then, for the first time, she resolved herself and took on the title of “Interim Commander of the 9th Legion.”

The Orc Emperor, wounded by Elliot’s actions, ceased activity for a while to focus on recovery.

As a result, the monster army had halted its large-scale invasion, with only a few fast-moving individuals sporadically launching attacks.

However, even though they were only a part of the massive army approaching 100,000, they still numbered in the hundreds or thousands.

Despite the unfavorable situation for the 9th Legion, which continued the retreat while carrying non-combatants, having left Bastiona, in just two days, the number of combat-ready personnel had dropped below 3,000.

Considering that the 9th Legion was originally composed of 5,000 soldiers, the casualty rate exceeded 40 percent.

Although Alex and the others had managed to join them and obtain accurate information, the limit of the evacuees was also approaching. Maria, inwardly concealing her concerns, was pondering that things were getting critical when cheers erupted from ahead.

“It’s the 7th Legion!!!”

After departing from Kohane and taking about ten days to head towards the fortress city of Bastiona, the Second Regiment of the 7th Legion finally reunited with them.

Leading this regiment was Ethan Morris, a brilliant officer entrusted with a separate unit by René Tashman, the commander of the 7th Legion. His regiment didn’t have as mobile a unit as the Al-Faz’s, but instead, they had been sending out small groups of scouts while advancing, and thus, they had a general understanding of the dire situation in the Bastiona area.

Therefore, he had been hastily constructing makeshift camps along the highway while advancing, finally managing to join forces with the 9th Legion. His priority was to take measures to prevent the scattered monsters from infiltrating the country while advancing without a clear plan.

Almost simultaneously, in the Graysian region, Jez and the others were still at the stage of trying to break down the mountains or attempting to enter Graysian.

The following day in Graysian, Princess René and others unleashed strategic-level magic, and the day after that, they would learn about the situation in Bastiona.

Thus, preparations for the counterattack by the human side were steadily coming together.