Chapter 92: Northern Conquest War (9)
Perhaps because he had risen to the rank of Khan, far from collapsing or staggering from the blow I dealt, he looked at me with an air of confidence and said in a relaxed tone,
“Milk-smelling brat! Maybe because you slept warm within the walls, your punch is weak! I thought a fly just landed on me, pah.”
Seeing him spit out fragments of his teeth and blood, it seemed he had taken a significant hit.
After speaking, he spat the blood pooled in his mouth onto the ground, gave a distasteful smile, and approached me, twirling his sword with one hand.
After spinning his sword about three times in the air, he brought it down with his weight and centrifugal force.
Instead of dodging or blocking with my armor, I parried it with my sword.
This sent a numbing shock through my arms, and he, with a nasty smile, added his other hand to the sword he swung with one, gripping it with both hands.
He then pressed down on my sword with his weight, gradually bringing his sword closer to my helmet.
“Enjoying the struggles of a child who still wants his mother’s milk! As a reward, I, the elder, will kill you in one go! And if I return alive, I’ll put your corpse in a bag and have a horse trample it!”
“Shut your nonsense! You’re barking quite well for someone who’ll be hanging from our Imperial Army’s spear soon!”
“You’ll weep bloody tears, regretting refusing this old man’s generous offer after losing the war!”
We confronted each other for about 10, no, 20 seconds, and thinking this wouldn’t do, Ludwig withdrew his sword, creating distance between us.
Both he and I took a moment to catch our breath, closely observing each other for any openings.
Eyes, neck, chest, waist, groin, sides of the thighs.
All of these were vital spots where a single stab or slash could be fatal, places hard to defend while holding a sword.
As if admiring a piece of art or a beautiful woman, no, even more intently than that, we exchanged fiery gazes and attention.
All to kill the bastard in front of me.
“Trash worse than garbage, disturbing our Empire, Khan bastard! I’ll crush your and your tribe’s future right here! All the warriors following you will be beheaded. Widows, maidens, and children will end up worse than our Empire’s serfs, toiling in the fields, bearing the burden of your sins!”
“Cute kid, it’s a pity I can’t lay a cute kitten like you on my bed and play with you!”
Damn it, that barbarian chieftain bastard—could he really be homosexual?
No, he was just a piece of trash who raped, regardless of gender, on his bed.
There were already a thousand reasons to kill him, and now there was one more.
Though my face was hidden by the helmet, perhaps sensing my grim expression, Ludwig charged at me, laughing like a madman.
“I’ll definitely kill you here! Die!!”
Saying so, he swung his sword from left to right above his head, and I slightly tilted my sword to block it.
His sword slid down my inclined blade, and as I adjusted my stance to strike at his neck, he blocked my sword with another sword in his left hand.
“Uh, kid. You’re fighting better than I thought!”
“Shut your nonsense.”
“If we had fought ten years later, I might have lost!”
After exchanging swords several times, our swords clashed, and the standoff prolonged.
Ludwig and I glared at each other, panting heavily and catching our breaths.
“You handle the sword quite well, kid.”
The soldiers of the Empire’s army cheered upon hearing this news.
“The damned Khan bastard is dead!”
“Their chief is dead! We have won!”
“Quickly spread this news to all our forces! Enemy chief Ludwig was killed by the 24th Regiment!”
The barbarians, already cornered and now with their chief dead, realized they had no chance of victory and let out desperate sighs.
“It’s all over, damn it. We’re as good as dead now.”
“Oh, Khan, how could you drag us to hell? If you’re doomed, you should die alone!”
With the situation turning into a victory for the Empire’s army, the barbarians tried to surrender or retreat from the battlefield under the command of other tribal chiefs.
The soldiers and officers, who had suffered greatly because of these uncivilized savages, were determined to kill every last one of them.
“Mages, crossbowmen, and archers shoot down those fleeing!”
“These barbarians are less than cockroaches! Kill them all! Kill them!”
“Don’t let even a single one escape alive!”
“They shot arrows and cast spells with such fervor as if squeezing out every ounce of their strength.”
“You filthy pigs of the Empire. Oh, Heavenly God Tanggri!”
“May a curse be upon you all.”
“I can’t die here! Damn it!”
As a result, except for a lucky few, they couldn’t escape.
Barbarian infantrymen and some archers, with no pride left, dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves to surrender.
“Please spare us!”
“We surrender, just our lives. Please save our lives!”
“We don’t want to die like this yet.”
Seeing this, some soldiers attempted to kill even those who surrendered, but the officers suppressed them as much as possible.
“Bind those who surrender; don’t kill them.”
“The Emperor will judge them.”
“Do not kill those who surrender! Drop your weapons!”
Upon hearing this, the regular infantry of the Imperial Army could not hide their disappointment and confusion, but saving these men was more important than killing them.
Because by sparing the evil barbarians, they could be used to reveal the locations of their tribal villages and serve as guides.
Once the land of the barbarians is completely conquered, it must be presented to the Emperor.
Then the Emperor will gladly accept our loyalty, and all participating barbarians, be they infantry or archers, will be executed in the Imperial Square.
Having organized all my thoughts, I ordered the knights to pursue the enemy at their discretion.
Supported by Laura and Werner, I returned to the 24th Regiment where I was stationed.
On this day, the Imperial Army killed 35,000 of Rudolf’s 60,000 troops and captured 10,000.
It was a great victory that wou be long remembered in history.
