The wyvern possessed dazzling flight skills. All Yuri did was swing his sword in response to its movements.
"Why is this guy so damn smart?"
"Kyaaaa!"
The wyvern riders who had been shooting arrows in pursuit were now reduced to just two, fleeing.
Now that their roles had reversed, the wyvern carrying Yuri began to hunt in earnest.
It soared high into the sky, then, like an eagle snatching prey, it dove straight toward the enemy wyvern and seized its rider.
Then it soared upward again.
At first, the wyvern remained connected, dragged upward by the link between them.
But even though an orc's body was strong, it wasn't tough enough to bear the wyvern's weight.
The orc's body was torn clean in half.
Blood and entrails scattered in midair.
"This guy…"
Yuri patted the back of the wyvern's head.
It deliberately moved in a way to kill only the riders while sparing the other wyverns as much as possible.
When it was an enemy, it had just seemed like a nasty little wyvern brat, but now that it was an ally, it revealed itself as a kind-hearted wyvern friend who cared for its kin.
"How did you end up captured by orcs…"
"Kyaaaa!"
The wyvern flew toward the last remaining orc rider. This time as well, Yuri cleanly severed the orc rider's neck.
The wyverns that had lost their riders all suddenly shook their heads as if waking up and flew far into the distance.
Were they flying toward freedom?
Yuri sensed that this was goodbye.
"Wyvern."
"Kyaaaa!"
"It was short, but I'm glad we met."
He rose halfway out of the wyvern's saddle and looked down at the ground.
The battle between humans and orcs looked like swarms of ants clashing with each other.
It seemed like nothing much.
But down there, those fighting were likely locked in a brutal life-or-death struggle.
That was where Yuri belonged as well.
"There."
Yuri pointed to a spot.
"Can you drop me off there?"
"Kyaaaa!"
The wyvern let out another roar and began circling toward that location.
The destination was the rear of the Briol army, where Yoheim and the Duchy of Klein were joined in the center.
Small nations with weaker forces had formed a tight square formation there, but it was beginning to break apart.
They couldn't be allowed to collapse.
If the rear broke while the orcs were pressing in, the entire Allied Army could fall. A small crack was all it took to break a dam.
The wyvern spread its wings wide and began a rapid glide.
The spot he was aiming for was growing steadily closer.
"Be happy, wyvern."
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
Because he understood the wyvern's speed, Yuri jumped off a bit earlier.
Using the momentum built up from the high-speed flight, Yuri shot forward in the same direction he'd been rushing.
Just then, a large, bulky orc was standing in that spot.
Yuri stabbed the orc in the chest, using its body as a cushion as he crashed into the ground. The orc's body slid, knocking other orcs aside.
A long trail was left behind along the path where he landed.
"Phew…"
Yuri, who had arrived like a meteorite, straightened his posture.
The attention of both humans and orcs focused on him.
Yuri didn't miss the brief silence that swept across the battlefield.
He raised Guilty high and shouted,
"For Briol—no, for Yoheim!"
And without any further words, he charged toward the orcs.
The battle resumed immediately.
Regardless of who he was, he was an ally. Yoheim's forces let out a battle cry and began pushing the orcs back.
Yuri stood at the front of the weakened line and drove the orcs away.
"Thank you for your help. But how did you come all the way here on a wyvern…?"
A knight of Yoheim, pushing back the orcs alongside Yuri, asked.
"I caught a wyvern, and when I looked down, I figured this place needed help."
"Shameful as it is, that's exactly right."
The man, with a long mustache, appeared to be middle-aged. His actions, suited to his years, showed he was no stranger to combat.
He fought the orcs as if it were part of his daily routine.
"Our forces have grown weaker. Yoheim isn't what it used to be."
"That so?"
"Yes. The younger ones these days are too soft…"
As far as Yuri knew, Yoheim had never exactly been a powerful nation. When Sven spoke ill of Yoheim and compared it to a bandit gang, it wasn't entirely without reason.
Still, Yuri gave the man his agreement.
"You're right. This isn't the Yoheim I know."
"So the prince understands."
"Then how about we, two true knights, drive back those orcs ourselves?"
"Hahaha, I'd like that!"
"What's your name?"
"Gonte Murchin, Baron of Febaine."
"Let's go, Sir Gonte."
"It's an honor."
The two of them advanced toward the orcs together.
Yoheim's line, which had been faltering, began to recover in an instant.
Yuri shouted,
"Is this really the best Yoheim can do?!"
Then he sprinted forward.
To the soldiers of Yoheim who had never fought alongside Yuri, it was a strange sight.
It looked like that prince might be struck down by an orc's axe at any moment.
But the opposite was true.
He was the one slaughtering the orcs.
With each swing of his sword, deep wounds appeared on the orcs' bodies, and blood poured down.
The enemies were shredded like straw dummies.
It looked easy, but each of his movements tread the line between life and death. And he always chose the right move.
Gonte looked at Yuri and nodded.
"So the rumors were true. The spirit of knighthood still lives in Briol. That's the movement of someone who's been through countless real battles. Completely different from the greenhouse-raised youngsters of today."
Moved, excitement filled his voice.
"I can't let myself fall behind."
His sword grew even sharper.
"We are Yoheim!"
His shout rang loudly across the battlefield.
The tide, which had been claiming lives from both humans and orcs in turn, now began to shift toward the Allied Army.
At least in this area, the humans were killing more orcs.
Yuri lifted the corners of his lips in a smile.
Not long ago, Yoheim's front lines had been on the verge of collapse. That's why he came. And now, Yoheim was mustering its strength to push the orcs back.
This change had been brought about by no one else but him.
Winning this battle, he felt, might prevent the tragedies still to come.
He was proving, with his own hands, why he had returned to the past.
"Do not falter!"
Suddenly, an attack came from outside his field of vision, aiming for his neck.
Yuri swung Guilty and deflected it.
A gently curved scimitar was gliding through the air.
"What the hell?"
Orcbal, who had been fighting on the Briol front earlier, had followed him.
Yuri stared at the orc in disbelief. Orcbal, his face full of rage, pointed his blade at Yuri.
"So you're saying we finish this?"
Yuri raised Guilty.
He didn't want to get involved with this persistent bastard any further.
He would kill him cleanly here.
Yuri dodged each of the curved blades flying toward him, watching every movement. Then, slipping through a gap in the attacks, he stabbed Orcbal in the chest.
Orcbal dodged to the side, but a long gash was left across his chest.
The orc's face twisted in pain.
"What, you thought it'd end with just an eye?"
Yuri looked at Orcbal's missing eye—the one he had cut out himself—and pointed to his own eye. Then he grinned.
Provoked, Orcbal let out a furious scream.
"Akuakkai!"
That word, at least, Yuri understood.
"Arkuma Kmero!"
"Shut up."
Perhaps, with Yuri's growing infamy, this Orcbal had come to regard him as a personal nemesis.
But to Yuri, he was just one of many orcs.
A fleeting life encountered on the battlefield, destined to fall beneath his blade.
"You must be a special one among orcs."
It was rare for an orc to chase down a nemesis to settle a score like this. Even more unique was that he fought not with brute strength but with technique.
But it meant nothing.
War was like that. No matter how unique or irreplaceable someone was, only the victor lived on.
Just like how the Empire's flag fluttered over Briol's ruins after it fell.
If one did not wish to vanish into the shadows of history, they had to trample their enemies.
"Hoo…"
The mana spread throughout the world transformed into Yuri's energy through the mana method, Heart-Soul Slash.
A multitude of possibilities flashed through Yuri's mind.
What he could do, and what he couldn't.
He reached his sword toward that edge in between.
Heart-Soul Slash began to rotate within Yuri's body.
On Guilty's blade, a swirling fractal pattern began to form endlessly.
Orcbal swung his curved blade down at Yuri.
Yuri stepped back, continuously pouring mana into Guilty. The patterns that had remained on the surface began to rise from the blade.
He stepped forward to dodge the continued curved strikes.
Yuri could understand the abundant mana surging within his body and all the processes occurring inside it.
"Akuakkai!"
The curved blade flew in from an angle that couldn't be avoided.
Yuri swung his sword to meet it.
Then countless whirlwinds swirled around Guilty. They gathered to form a larger rotation, and that in turn gathered into an even larger spiral.
The curved blade was shredded from the tiniest fragments.
The pieces spun like grains of sand caught in a vortex, tearing apart everything in their path.
Orcbal's only eye opened wide.
Yuri glared at him.
Two lives fought with everything at stake.
One would die, the other would live.
Such battles would happen again and again.
They became fights, fights became wars, and wars became parts of something far greater.
If one wished to see the end of it, they had to kill their enemy.
Soon, Orcbal's body was swept up in the vortex and began to tear apart.
Yuri looked at him and opened his mouth.
"Yuri Briol."
Was it the premonition of death?
Orcbal, staring at Yuri, opened his one eye clearly and replied,
"Duote."
Was that his name?
It was the same as the name of the infamous orc swordsman who had slaughtered countless knights in his past life.
And that became Orcbal's final words.
His body, caught in the vortex, disintegrated.
Heart-Soul Slash devoured his body, forming a dark red whirlwind, then shot a handful of blood into the air and descended to the ground.
Only formless remains were left behind.
The rotational force of Heart-Soul Slash made one last turn around Guilty and vanished.
"Ooh…"
At the wondrous display of martial prowess, both human and orc battles paused.
Yoheim's army looked at Yuri with awe, while the orcs stared in fear.
Gonte asked in a trembling voice,
"Th-that technique just now… what was it…?"
Yuri looked down at Guilty.
It had no name.
It was an attack he had created in a sudden moment of enlightenment.
Yuri's lips moved.
"This is…"
A name flashed through his mind.
"Yuri Style, First Move."
"First… move?"
"The Sword of Whirling Vortex."
"The Sword of Whirling Vortex…!"
With that, Yuri introduced his new technique and raised his sword.
"I trust you all saw that! This is who I am—Yuri Briol!"
As always, he shouted to raise the morale of his allies.
"Now it's your turn! I'll be watching! Show me what the knights of Yoheim are made of!"
But the reaction was not what he expected.
No one responded.
The knights of Yoheim swung their swords with their heads bowed.
"As expected, Briol is on another level."
"There's nothing a country like ours can do…"
"Let's just hold on. He'll take care of it."
"We never should've joined the Allied Army…"
Rather than being inspired by Yuri's feat, they became even more passive.
Gonte closed his eyes, ashamed.
"How shameful…"
Yuri's eyes widened.
At first, he thought Gonte was just a bit old-fashioned. But the knights of Yoheim truly lacked resolve.
Even Briol, known for its relatively flat hierarchy, would have its knights dragged in for a harsh scolding if they showed this kind of spiritlessness.
If this were the Empire, their faces would be stomped with military boots.
"Sir Gonte. When this war ends, I'll invite Yoheim's knights to Briol. I'd like to provide them with a joint training course."
"Truly? That would be of great help to the friendship between our nations."
[T/L: Read more chapters on Ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]