Chapter 138

Chapter 138:  Stalemate

On the moonlit tidal flats.

Near the corpse of Unit Commander Chillas, who lay buried in the mire... three men stood in a tense standoff.

With a rugged appearance reminiscent of a barbarian and dual axes in hand—3rd Unit Commander Gilton.

Thin and long-limbed, with pale skin, wielding a rapier nearly twice the normal length—4th Unit Commander Bohim.

Both of them glared at Hardin, their eyes gleaming with a vicious blue light.

'Chillas... is dead.'

'That guy isn't normal.'

Just moments ago, Chillas had charged in ahead—only to have his head severed in one strike by that same Hardin.

Though Chillas had left himself open in his frenzied state...

The fact that someone had killed a commander-level knight was enough to put both of them on edge.

It was then that Hardin sneered and spoke.

"If you're coming, hurry up. I don’t have time."

The two commanders narrowed their eyes, sidestepping slowly as they kept their eyes fixed on Hardin.

‘...He's bluffing.’

‘He’s trying to act tough, but... he’s clearly not in good shape either.’

Even while he was grinning, his eyes fluttered half-closed, his hands and feet trembled, and blood flowed from multiple wounds—one from Chillas’s earlier attack.

Crucially, the other Daphne Knights had turned their backs and were sprinting away across the tidal flats without even looking back.

All this led them to one conclusion.

‘He’s trying to buy time.’

‘...Planning to sacrifice himself, is that it?’

Gilton and Bohim exchanged glances briefly, then almost simultaneously curled the corners of their mouths into smirks.

Taah!

The two men charged at Hardin in unison, darting forward with speed that belied the terrain.

“Uwaaaahhh!”

Leading the charge was Gilton, dual axes in hand.

He swung his mana-infused axe down from above with tremendous force.

Claaang!

Sparks flew from Hardin’s sword as he raised it horizontally to block, his body pushed backward from the blow.

And at that very moment—

“Hup!”

Pababat!

Bohim had already circled around and now appeared behind Hardin, thrusting his rapier forward.

Hardin instinctively twisted his body to the side and avoided the blow—

Slaaash!

—but the tip of the rapier grazed the wound left by Chillas, causing it to tear open further.

“Huuuuuuh…”

Hardin let out a deep breath and adjusted his grip on his sword once more.

The stench of blood stung his nose, his body throbbed with fatigue, and the blade in his hand had so many chipped edges it looked like it might snap at any moment.

He briefly closed his eyes.

—Varlach! Varlachhh!

A voice from a similar day echoed in his memory.

That time when he’d gone through hell trying to save that dumb Elf... This felt a lot like back then, didn’t it?

And then it happened.

Pishushushuk! Puhshuk!

“Hhrrk!”

The sound of something slicing through the air made Hardin quickly leap backward—

Ka-kang! Kaang!

He swung his sword, igniting sparks in the air.

When he came to his senses, he saw dozens of arrows embedded in the spot he had been standing in just a moment ago.

A drop of blood trickled down from his cheek.

As Hardin lifted his head and stared straight ahead—

"Target the rear!"

"Pin down his feet!"

Behind the two unit commanders—

Tread soldiers were approaching from a distance like a swarm, longbows in their hands.

Fwishuk! Fwishushuk!

Arrows kept flying in.

"You’re not getting away!"

"This is your grave!"

The two unit commanders relentlessly closed in, applying pressure on Hardin.

Kaang! Kaang!

He somehow managed to deflect their attacks—

"Hup!"

Slaaaash!

—and attempted a counterattack, targeting the axe-wielding one.

Claaang!

But Bohim, the one with the rapier, blocked Hardin’s strike in Gilton’s place and snapped at him.

"Get your head straight, Gilton!"

"Damn it... What the hell is this guy?!"

As he endured their coordinated assault under a hail of arrows—

Crack!

Hardin’s sword shattered completely, metal fragments scattering through the air.

"......"

Now he had no weapon.

He could no longer fend off the incoming arrows, nor land any meaningful blow on those two.

But with a composed expression, Hardin began to backpedal and then—

Taah!

—suddenly turned his back and took off running.

"Get himmmmm!"

"This is our chance!"

Good, good!

The two unit commanders bared their teeth in grins as they chased after Hardin.

No matter how fierce a beast he might be, there was no reason to fear one that had lost all its fangs.

How long had they been chasing him like that?

When the distance between them and Hardin had narrowed to almost a single step—

"Uwaaaah!"

Gilton raised his dual axes high with force.

Just as he was about to drive them into Hardin’s back to end his life—

Slaaaaash! Thud!

"Hrk!"

Suddenly, Gilton’s feet halted from the unexpected impact.

As he rolled his eyes around—

‘An arrow?’

He saw a single arrow lodged in his shoulder—one that had flown in from somewhere.

And then he heard Bohim’s voice shout out.

"Gilton!"

When he raised his head—

"What is that?"

Dozens of arrows were raining down toward them.

Ka-kang! Ka-kang!

The two unit commanders hastily swung their weapons to deflect the barrage.

And just then, a voice shouted out.

"Hardin! Hurry up!"

"Huh?"

When he turned his gaze that way, he saw hundreds of troops standing on a shallow slope beyond the tidal flats, firing their bows.

‘Daphne?’

‘An ambush? They were lying in wait?’

Shock surfaced on the faces of the two unit commanders, while Hardin grinned, baring his teeth.

---

At that moment, behind Tread’s front line—

Commander Pattinson twitched his eyebrows and spoke nervously to Vernian.

"Lord, it seems Daphne had an ambush prepared as well. What are your orders? Shall we continue pushing through the front?"

Count Vernian narrowed his eyes and looked straight ahead.

“Uggggh! My legs... my legs!”

“Move faster!”

“It’s not that easy in the mud!”

Because their feet kept sinking into the ground, Tread’s soldiers struggled to move forward.

It was clear that if they allowed Daphne to widen the distance, the casualties would grow.

Scratch, scratch!

Vernian clawed at his own forehead until it turned red, then let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Let them go for now. Regroup first... then prepare to strike again.”

“...Understood.”

He seems to be in a foul mood.

Pattinson nodded, then raised his arm high and shouted.

“Stop! Cease pursuit! Pull the front line back!”

At that—

“W-We’re really stopping?”

“Looks like it.”

Tread’s soldiers halted, standing still in the middle of the tidal flats.

“Haaaah! Haaah! Uaaah! We’re alive!”

“Over here!”

Daphne’s knights, carrying soldiers on their backs and in their arms, began to exit the tidal flats one after another.

Now, the only one still running across the flats was Hardin Daphne.

“……”

Vernian, watching that retreating figure intently, snorted through his nose and said:

“Bring me a longbow.”

“Ah, yes!”

As he stretched out his arm, a soldier standing nearby quickly handed him a longbow.

Vernian silently pulled the bowstring taut.

A blue light gathered at the arrow’s tip, and a chilling blue aura swiftly condensed.

In less than five seconds, he let the string go with a light flick.

Poooof!

With a booming sound, the arrow was released, creating a ripple of blue energy as it flew through the air.

Its destination: Hardin’s back.

Daphne’s soldiers, witnessing it, widened their eyes.

‘Sh-Shockwave!’

The moment they saw it, they knew the sheer power embedded in that arrow.

‘At this distance, he can’t dodge it.’

‘The Young Master didn’t see it!’

Slaaaaash!

The arrow moved faster than thought, faster than reflex—faster even than the speed of consciousness.

Before any of the Daphne knights could cry out, the arrow had already reached the space just behind Hardin’s head.

The thing, like a gaping maw, was ready to swallow Hardin whole.

‘Got him.’

Just as a smug smile curled one corner of Count Vernian’s mouth—

Hardin suddenly ducked his upper body.

Taah!

And rolled forward.

Slaaash!

Blood sprayed from a grazed cheek, and a few strands of golden hair floated through the air.

‘He reacted…?’

Vernian’s eyes went wide.

BOOOOM!

The arrow crashed into the ground instead of Hardin, sending mud flying and carving a massive crater into the tidal flat.

“Hrk!”

Timing his roll perfectly, Hardin then launched himself forward—

Taah!

In one swift dash, Hardin reached the position where Daphne’s forces had been waiting.

“Huuu... not easy.”

“H-Hardin! Are you alright?!”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

As Cobalt called out urgently, Hardin wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied.

Cobalt nodded, then raised his sword high and shouted with all his strength.

“Everyone, return to the camp!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Move quickly!”

Daphne’s forces began to retreat en masse.

Count Vernian, watching the scene unfold, furrowed his brows and asked,

“Commander Pattinson, do you know who that man just now was?”

“...Most likely, that was the so-called Young Master Hardin.”

“Hardin, huh.”

“He’s said to be close to Princess Medeia.”

“Right. I think I recall now.”

Vernian bit down hard on his lower lip, his body trembling slightly.

‘So that rat was their leader. Looks like the higher-ups didn’t keep tabs on this third-rate house for no reason after all.’

Vernian clenched his fist tightly.

Fwoooosh!

The wind blew, sending his hair fluttering.

---

Late at night, the defensive camp in Mudside was lit by scattered torches and the dim moonlight.

The faces of the soldiers standing watch behind the watchtowers and palisades were tight with tension.

Off in the distance, faint lights and trails of smoke began rising from the direction of the tidal flats.

“Those must be the Tread bastards, huh?”

“Yeah. Setting up shop right on our doorstep.”

“...They really don’t give a damn about us, do they.”

The Tread Count’s troops had now fully withdrawn from the tidal flats.

And now that they were building a forward base practically right in front of them, Daphne had no choice but to stay on edge—tension and worry stretching taut like a rubber band.

At that moment, in a large temporary command tent set up at the rear of the defense line—

“......”

Cobalt, Malion, Hardin, Mulgybson, and all the unit commanders...

Daphne’s key figures were seated in a circle around the central table.

The torches mounted around the tent flickered and cast dancing shadows across the walls.

“You did amazingly well, Young Master! Truly... truly remarkable!”

“To think you’d find such an ingenious way to inflict damage. When did you prepare all this?”

“That moment when you had the troops withdraw first on the tidal flats—what a brilliant move! I was moved!”

The retainers poured praise onto Hardin, their faces lit with smiles.

After today’s impulsive actions from Hardin, they had all thought they were headed straight for hell.

But thanks to his decisions, they’d inflicted a serious blow to the Tread fleet and completely shifted the tide of battle. Their reactions were only natural.

“Oh come on, I didn’t do anything that special. Haha.”

Hardin, seemingly not displeased with the compliments, scratched his head and responded with an awkward smile.

Of course...

‘Because of that operation, we almost all died.’

‘If anything had gone even slightly wrong, it would’ve been a disaster.’

Standing in the corner and quietly listening in, Beryl and Manton both wore dissatisfied expressions.

“Oh, I swear, when the Young Master first gave that order, I thought he was joking! Hahaha!”

At that moment, Gadolph, who had been standing in one corner of the tent, got overly excited and began animatedly recounting the day’s events—exaggerating every detail with wild enthusiasm.

“Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.”

“So that’s why he built the stone towers!”

“You went through a lot too, Gadolph!”

Perhaps drunk on the joy of victory—

The retainers couldn’t stop smiling, and for a brief moment, a cheerful atmosphere filled the inside of the tent.

It was then—

A calm voice cut through it all.

“Hardin. That reminds me...”

“Yes?”

As Hardin replied to Cobalt’s call, the latter stroked his chin and asked,

“So… all that’s great, but… when exactly are the reinforcements arriving?”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

Hardin blinked and tilted his head.

“The reinforcements from Princess Medeia. You said they’d arrive in half a day, right? I believe that time has passed... and we haven’t heard a word.”

“Oh... that.”

In that moment, the smile disappeared from Hardin’s face.

His expression darkened noticeably.

‘Well, I can’t keep hiding it forever.’

Whether reinforcements were coming or not would clearly affect the morale of everyone here.

But... even so, he couldn’t lie any longer.

‘Because they’ll have to be ready to die.’

This wasn’t a fight against some second-rate noble house—it was a battle against an overwhelmingly superior force.

To stand a chance, they needed to summon every last drop of determination and tension within them.

And to do that, this truth had to be said.

Hardin let out a long sigh and said,

“They’re not coming.”

“Huh? What did you just say...?”

Tap tap.

Hardin held his silver bracelet on his left wrist with his right hand and spoke in a solemn voice.

“Neither Her Highness nor the reinforcements are coming. I just received word—they got tied up on the eastern front. They won’t be able to make it.”

“......”

Instantly, the inside of the tent froze over.

As if time itself had stopped, even the sound of breathing vanished.

Cobalt, briefly dazed, trembled as he asked,

“...Is that true, Hardin?”

“Yes.”

That’s real?

The atmosphere in the tent began to turn glacial.

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