Chapter 111: Failed Attempt
Edgar slowly released the girl from his arms before standing up.
The exhaustion weighing down his body hadn’t disappeared, but his expression had already turned calm.
"What did you say?"
Reeba hurriedly caught her breath.
"Scouts on the wall reported that soldiers from the Northern Sect have surrounded the Fortress."
Edgar jumped off the sofa and draped his leather overcoat over his shoulders.
"...How many?"
"I-I don’t know."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the house.
---
The stone stairs echoed beneath Edgar’s hurried footsteps.
One by one, soldiers moved aside as he climbed onto the Fortress wall.
The cold wind greeted him immediately, as it was still early in the morning.
From atop the battlements, the entire area outside the Fortress came into view.
Grey mist drifted lazily across the open field.
Roughly three hundred metres away, fifty armored soldiers stood in perfect formation.
They were divided into five groups.
Each group consisted of ten men led by a heavily armored knight.
Their polished armor reflected the pale light while long spears and shields formed disciplined lines.
Standing several paces ahead of everyone else was a broad-shouldered man riding a massive black warhorse.
His silver breastplate bore the emblem of the Northern Sect.
The dull side of the long sword rested across his shoulder.
Even from this distance, the pressure surrounding him was noticeably greater than that of the other knights.
Gordon’s expression darkened. "...Second Elder Bravi."
Edgar remained silent.
He remembered the man from the last time, when he came as an envoy with Mord and his son.
It seemed he had never forgotten the humiliation he suffered before and was eager to get his hands on him.
Almost as if hearing his name, the mounted man looked up toward the Fortress wall.
A confident smile appeared beneath his neatly trimmed beard.
"So..." His voice carried surprisingly far. "We meet again, Builder Edgar."
"..."
Edgar didn’t answer. To him, it felt like the man was asking for his own death.
Bravi didn’t seem bothered. "Once again, I am Bravi, Second Elder of the Northern Sect."
He slowly swept his gaze across the Fortress.
His eyes lingered on the Watch Towers for only a brief moment before returning to Edgar.
"I’ll admit. You’ve built something impressive." He smiled faintly. "It would be a shame if it had to be destroyed."
Silence answered him.
Bravi continued speaking as though discussing a business transaction.
"I’ll make this simple. Surrender the Fortress, hand over Hera Yamhad, and swear eternal service to the Northern Sect."
He pointed his sword directly toward Edgar.
"In return, I’ll allow everyone inside these walls to live."
His smile widened. "You and Hera will become slaves of the Sect. Resist, and every person inside this Fortress dies."
Silence once again settled over the battlefield.
’Why does he act like he is better than me?’ Edgar simply stared at him.
’What makes him think that he can make me his slave?’
After the reconstruction of his body, Edgar’s mind had always seen himself as a superior being to most.
To him, what Bravi was doing felt like comical arrogance.
Bravi frowned slightly. "...Nothing to say?"
Still, Edgar just stared at the man, which in return made Bravi even angrier.
Gordon suddenly stepped forward.
"My lord."
His hand rested upon the hilt of his sword.
"Allow me. I’ll cut that bastard’s head off myself."
"..."
Edgar remained silent.
His eyes slowly swept across every soldier standing below.
Five knights, fifty soldiers, and yet not one of them looked frightened.
It was obvious that they were loyal to the Sect.
Which meant even if a single one of them escaped, everything inside the Fortress would become known.
He couldn’t afford for the Northern Sect to get any type of intel that could harm him in the long run.
Edgar’s gaze briefly shifted toward the surrounding forest, and the Soul Network quietly responded.
Ten familiar presences waited beyond the soldiers’ sight.
’No...’
Edgar drew in a deep breath.
’Not a single one of you is leaving.’
Without changing his expression, the blonde boy gave a single command.
’Kill them all.’
---
The response was immediate, to the point that no one was prepared.
Bravi had used his head and had kept his soldiers out of the reach of the ⟨Watch Tower⟩.
He planned to lead the charge and block the towers if Edgar didn’t surrender.
But what happened next wasn’t something the experienced elder had imagined even in his wildest dreams.
BOOM!!
The forest behind the Northern Sect soldiers exploded apart.
"What?!"
Before anyone could react, ten towering skeletal figures burst from the trees.
Azure flames blazed within their empty eye sockets.
"They’re behind us!"
"Nightmares!"
"No--!"
The ordinary Soul Guardians crashed directly into the rear ranks.
CRACK!!
One soldier’s shield shattered together with his ribs.
Another Guardian swung its massive arm, sending two men flying across the ground.
Panic instantly spread through the formation.
"Turn around!"
"Defend the rear!"
The carefully organized lines collapsed into chaos.
Bravi’s eyes widened.
"Ambush?!"
Before he could issue another order--
BOOOOM!!
The ground beneath his horse cracked apart.
A gigantic skeletal Gorilla jumped right in front of him.
Its four-and-a-half-metre frame towered above every soldier on the battlefield.
Without hesitation, it threw a punch.
Bravi barely managed to leap from his horse.
CRAAASH!!
The armored beast beneath him exploded into flesh and shattered bones.
The shockwave alone knocked several nearby soldiers off their feet.
"What, w-what is..."
Bravi was disorganized, but he quickly got a hold of himself.
Trusting his instincts, he rushed in to attack.
If he didn’t end the fight quickly, then his death was inevitable.
He raised his sword and covered it with a hue that resembled red.
The Albino Commander answered with another punch.
BOOM!!
Steel collided with black bone, and the impact echoed across the battlefield.
Bravi slid backward several metres, his boots carving deep trenches into the earth.
His expression changed, his face morphing into disbelief.
"...Strong."
Behind him, the battlefield had already become a slaughter.
The ordinary Soul Guardians felt no fear, making their advance relentless and effective.
One knight managed to plunge his sword into a Guardian’s eye socket only for the Guardian to drive a bony hand through his chest.
Another senior knight tried rallying his men.
"Hold the line--"
CRACK!!
The Headless Soul Knight galloped past on its Soul Steed.
Its rusted greatsword swept sideways.
The knight and three soldiers behind him were cut down in a single strike.
Within moments, the remaining formation completely collapsed.
Soldiers abandoned discipline and tried fleeing in every direction.
"They’re monsters!"
"Run!"
"We have to report this--"
None of them made it far.
The Soul Guardians hunted them down one after another.
In just a short while, everything ended, leaving behind dead bodies scattered all around the place.
Bravi looked around.
Everywhere he turned, his soldiers were dead.
"...Impossible..."
’I need to tell the others about this! I need to run.’
Before he could retreat, the Albino Commander seized him by the torso.
CRACK!
His breastplate caved inward.
Bravi coughed blood as his sword slipped from his hand.
He looked toward the Fortress one final time.
Edgar still stood atop the wall without a shred of emotion on his face.
The Gorilla’s fist descended like a meteor.
BOOOM!!
When the dust finally settled, nothing remained of the Second Elder except broken armor buried beneath the shattered earth.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
Only the wind continued blowing through the grey mist.
Edgar calmly looked over the field of corpses before speaking through the Soul Network.
’Search every body. Take anything useful and bring the corpses back.’