How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 195

Sella joined the battle.

Fortunately, Sella’s skills, honed through years as a mercenary and training in Capital, were quite formidable.

Sella repeatedly swung her sword, beheading enemy soldiers, and began to rally her allies.

“Hold on! Reinforcements are coming! Just hold out!”

The momentum was slowly shifting.

The knight, seeing Sella leading this change, immediately charged towards her.

“I heard there was a savior in this fortress, but I never thought it would be real.”

Sella, catching her breath at the knight’s words, tilted her head.

“You knew I was here?”

“Yes.”

“So, I was the target from the start?”

“Did you think this large army was deployed just to capture a dilapidated fortress?”

“……”

Sella’s eyes wavered for a moment, but she gripped her sword tightly, regaining her composure.

“So, are you going to capture me?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Then try it.”

With those words, Sella pushed off the ground and charged forward.

The faces of the soldiers around her were filled with astonishment.

“If dying is your wish.”

The knight, amused by Sella’s actions, raised his sword and laughed, but at that moment…

Appearing suddenly from behind Sella like a rising shadow, Illia swung her sword.

Clang!

The knight’s raised sword was sliced in half.

Along with it, the shattered aura [magical energy] scattered in all directions, and in the midst of the chaos, Illia’s sword once again traced a path, piercing his heart.

“……”

Following that, Sella rushed in and cleanly sliced the knight’s neck with her sword.

All of this happened in a fleeting moment, and no one fully grasped it amidst the chaotic battle. It appeared to most as if Sella had finished off the knight.

Splat!

The knight’s head rolled on the ground. A fountain of blood spurted from his severed neck.

However, Sella didn’t avoid it. She was drenched in the blood and slowly began to rise.

All the soldiers standing nearby froze for a moment at the sight. But soon, the silence was broken by the shout of one soldier.

“The enemy knight is dead!”

“We won! Flores finished off the enemy knight!”

She didn’t react much to the roaring cheers. As if just doing what she had to do, she pushed off the ground again and ran to another area that was being pushed back.

And Illia followed Sella like a shadow.

Watching that scene from a distance, I slowly nodded.

‘The atmosphere is good.’

The outcome of modern warfare is determined by superior tanks, aircraft, and warships.

On the other hand, knights play that role in Midland. Similarly, the victory of a battle is often seized by the force with the stronger knighthood.

And now, there was no knight under Baron Beox who could surpass Illia. And that fact was being demonstrated by Sella and Illia, who were stirring up the battlefield.

“Our knight is strong!”

“We can win! We can defend!”

And the revealed fact soon began to have a huge impact.

‘It was said that in a dogfight, what matters is not the size of the body, but the size of the fighting spirit.’

The soldiers’ morale, recognizing the superiority of their knight’s absolute force, soared, and Mason was not a fool to miss such an opportunity.

“We have a savior and a frozen spirit with us!”

At Mason’s shout, raising his sword high, the soldiers also responded with their weapons.

“For Flores!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill them all!”

* * *

Thus, the fierce battle for the fortress continued.

Before long, more than half of the fortress’s palisade had been captured. No matter how much Illia did, the difference in troop strength, which was more than five times the original, was not an easy number to overcome.

Even Illia, who had been dealing with several knights, seemed to be reaching her limit, and fatigue was evident on her face.

If Illia was like that, there was no need to mention the ordinary soldiers.

But anyway, they had done their best to hold out until now, and eventually, the fruits of their efforts were about to arrive.

Woo-oong…….

“What is it?”

“What is this sound?”

The enemies, who had been cornering us and pushing us back, had confused faces.

“It’s the sound of a horn.”

“Reinforcements! It’s reinforcements!”

On the other hand, the allies, who had been squeezing out even the last of their strength while cornered, had hopeful faces.

“Reinforcements?”

Mason, who had thrust his sword and pierced the heart of a soldier, turned around.

In the distance, countless black dots were visible, and ahead of them, a vanguard of cavalry was rapidly approaching the fortress.

“It’s definitely the reinforcements sent by Lord Trot. But how could they be here so quickly?”

Leaving Mason’s question behind, I took advantage of the moment when everyone’s attention was turned and jumped down below the palisade.

There was a pulley device for opening and closing the fortress gate, and some soldiers guarding it raised their weapons when they saw me.

“Who are you?”

“It’s Cain.”

After answering briefly and beheading them in one fell swoop, I then gathered mana in my hand and grabbed the device.

‘Shall I use some strength?’

Normally, it would be impossible for one person to do it, but a knight who handles mana could not be considered an ordinary human in the first place.

Rumble!

Thus, the heavy gate of the fortress slowly began to open.

“T, the gate is opening!”

“They’re coming! The enemies are coming!”

And the enemies, seeing the cavalry charging fiercely through the opened gate, began to turn pale.

Woo-oong-!

At the same time, the sound of a horn echoed from Baron Beox’s camp in the distance. Hearing it, the enemy commander raised his hand and shouted.

“Retreat order! Everyone retreat!”

At the order, the enemy soldiers began to retreat like a tide, as if they had been waiting for it.

Originally, the greatest damage in a battle was usually suffered when retreating haphazardly. However, Mason looked around and sighed softly.

“Leave the rest to the reinforcements, and we will take care of the wounded and clean up the aftermath.”

The garrison, which had numbered over three hundred, had already seen more than half of them killed or injured. Even Mason himself had suffered minor and major injuries from the fierce battle, so it was impossible to fight any further.

Afterwards, a familiar face was at the head of the cavalry that entered through the opened gate.

It was Talogan, a trusted aide and knight of Lord Trot.

“I am Talogan, a knight serving Lord Trot. Who is the commander of this fortress?”

After looking around the devastated interior of the fortress, Talogan soon found Mason raising his hand and drove his horse towards him.

“Are you the commander?”

“Yes, my name is Mason.”

“More importantly, where is Sella?”

At Talogan’s question, Mason pointed to one side, where Sella was leaning against the wall with a tired look.

Seeing that, Talogan took a deep breath and got off his horse, approaching Sella in an instant.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not dead.”

“Did you perhaps participate in the battle?”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

Talogan nodded at Sella’s answer and then approached Illia, asking quietly.

“Where is Count Cain?”

“Over there.”

At Illia’s words, glancing at where I was, Talogan sent his gaze over, and I nodded lightly.

After exchanging glances like that, Talogan bowed slightly to Illia.

“I will continue to ask for Flores’ protection.”

“Don’t worry.”

After finishing his conversation with Illia, Talogan got back on his warhorse and looked at Mason.

“You held out well.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“Do you know who the enemy commander is?”

“It’s Baron Beox.”

“Good. I will chase after him immediately, so take care of the fortress and the troops.”

“Understood.”

“The merits of today’s battle will be carefully judged later, and appropriate rewards will be given.”

With that, Talogan led the cavalry out of the fortress again.

Confirming his departure, Mason raised his weapon again and began to shout loudly.

“It’s not over yet, you bastards! Wake up and move quickly!”

Once the excitement of the battle subsides, things that were not visible until now come into view.

The sight of comrades who were dead or severely injured, and their own broken or severed wounds.

To delay the moment of realizing that even a little, Mason began to drive the soldiers without rest.

Illia, who had passed through them, now busy again, supported Sella and approached me.

“Are you alright, Young Master?”

“Well, I didn’t do anything.”

“I saw you moving in unseen places.”

It was Illia who recognized my appearance as I fought alongside them without attracting attention.

“But did I suffer as much as you guys?”

After speaking, I glanced over the palisade.

There, Talogan was leading the main force and fiercely pursuing Baron Beox’s army.

“It’s over.”

Even if it’s impossible to completely annihilate them, they can still inflict quite serious damage.

It was a monumental day when 20% of Redran’s army was ruined.

“Count Cain.”

At that time, Sella, who had approached me, opened her mouth.

“Yes?”

“The knight on the other side said that I was the target from the beginning.”

“Was that so?”

“Are you avoiding the question?”

Sella narrowed her eyes.

“So, what do you want to say?”

“You deliberately leaked the information that I was coming to inspect the front lines and headed here, right? To put me in trouble.”

“Well, I won’t deny it since it’s true. Heroes are born in trials, after all.”

“Still, if you knew this would happen, couldn’t you have called for reinforcements earlier to reduce the damage? Too many people were hurt and killed.”

“If that were the case, the hero would have been Talogan, who brought the reinforcements, not you. Do you want to do all the work and give the credit to someone else?”

“Wh, what does that mean…….”

Sella stammered.

“Or, do you hate becoming a hero at the cost of other people’s blood? If so, I’m a little disappointed. You clearly said that night that you would do anything to achieve your goal, didn’t you? Why are you pretending to be so noble now, caring for others?”

“……”

“Did you think that if you just showed some vague determination, I would catch Redran and hand him over to you? So you thought you wouldn’t have to see such a dirty sight?”

I looked down at Sella, who couldn’t close her mouth, and sneered.

“Such a naive savior. How frustrated would Baron Riley in heaven be looking at you?”

“……”

“Shut up and do what I tell you. I won’t stop you if you don’t want to. Of course, if that happens, you’ll never be able to get revenge.”

Sella’s eyes wavered at my gaze, standing straight and looking down.

But soon, she nodded slightly as if she had made up her mind and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry for meddling presumptuously. I will continue to follow you without complaint.”

I turned away, averting my gaze from Sella’s declaration of surrender.

“Anyway, don’t let your guard down yet. Today’s battle was just an additional goal.”

At my words, Sella, who had quickly followed, asked back.

“Today’s battle was just an additional goal?”

“Yes. The real purpose is different.”

“……What?”

“How many people do you think knew that you were coming here today for a front-line inspection?”

“……”

“You asked me earlier if I leaked the information and deliberately brought you here. Yes. It’s true that I leaked the information. But I never told Baron Beox directly. So who passed on that information instead?”

It was something I had been pondering ever since joining Baron Trot in 악령산 [Akryeongsan, likely a mountain range or region].

Even though we had wiped out the Berserkers, the Allied forces were still at a disadvantage in many ways compared to Redran’s army.

Therefore, it was safe to say that we would have to risk our lives in every battle from now on.

In such a situation, what if there was a lord within the alliance who was colluding with Redran? And what if they betrayed us at a very important moment?

The damage caused by that would be beyond imagination. That’s why I laid a trap.

“So the reason for leaking that information is…….”

I nodded at Sella’s question.

“I’m confident that I can weed out simple spies no matter what method they use. But that’s not the case with the lords who have joined the Allied forces. They are not under Baron Trot’s command, but dignified lords with their own territories, so it’s not easy to touch them. That’s why I used such a drastic method as now.”

Glancing slightly, I could see Baron Beox’s army slowly collapsing.

And Talogan’s army fiercely hunting them down.

“So you were skeptical when Baron Beox first appeared with his army.”

“Yes.”

“But they actually appeared. So that means there’s a lord who’s been colluding with Baron Beox…….”

“Ruth and Lord Trot must have secretly assigned people to those who are suspected. They must have secured all the evidence by now. So we just have to go back and use that evidence to punish them.”

“……”

“Of course, the one who will carry out that punishment will be Sella Flores, the savior who defended the fortress from the enemy’s sudden attack.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Starting with this, you will be reborn as Flores, who reigns over all the lords, not Sella, who is overshadowed by Lord Trot.”

At my words, Sella’s eyes, which were looking at me, began to widen.

And the emotion in those eyes seemed closer to fear and unease than surprise or joy.