Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 16

Episode 16

Loki observed the enemy formation from a distance.

It was surrounded by a fence that wasn’t thick but was high.

The problem was that the Nordics weren’t inside the fence, which was supposed to be for ‘defense’.

Rather, it would be more accurate to say they had their backs to the fence.

‘What on earth are they thinking?’

Loki gripped the knight piece among his chess pieces.

‘Could it be a desperate last stand? If so, it’s pathetic.’

He placed the chessboard and pieces he had recently made on the ice and observed Aum from afar.

“Well, it’s none of my business. If you want to know the enemy’s intentions, it’s good to fall into their trap. First of all…”

Loki gripped the chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

“Knight, advance.”

***

The first to move were the Skeleton Cavalry.

The skeletal horses raised their front hooves, let out chilling screams, and began to run.

They lowered the lances they held high into the sky and charged at full speed.

The ice road, which wouldn’t shake even if 5,000 people walked on it, was stamped and broken by the skeletal horses’ hooves, shaking and echoing across the land.

-Kuaaaaaa!

The wraiths opened their mouths and screamed.

Instead of breath, a red current that seemed to have devoured souls flowed from their mouths.

A dark, ink-like haze rose from the skeletal horses and the lances they held.

It was the skill ‘Collision’.

A technique that increased speed, attack power, and defense power simultaneously.

The Skeleton Cavalry running on the ice sheet were faster and more powerful than any cavalry in this world.

Aum swallowed hard at the earth-shaking sound made by only 50 cavalry and stretched out his hand, shouting.

“Close ranks!”

Full-body plate armor made of steel.

In addition, huge circular metal shields were carried in both hands.

The shields of the Nordic warriors overlapped, resembling a huge rock mountain.

“Pikes!”

Behind them, Nordic pikemen with long spears stood ready.

“Berk Warriors!”

The elites of each tribe, personally selected by Aum Linnea.

The Berk Warriors, a group of divine artifact users, gathered in the rear.

They were planning to face the undead legion running at full speed ‘head-on’.

The undead never tire.

They have no emotions, so they don’t succumb to fear, and they absolutely obey orders.

They are an absolutely immortal legion that faithfully carries out orders even if their entire bodies are destroyed with a single command.

Using tactics to stall for time in the face of such beings would be the worst strategy.

The best way was for the tribal warriors to block as much as possible while the Berk Warriors, who were divine artifact users, destroyed as many undead as possible.

Nearly 5,000 Nordics become ‘shields’, and about 50 Berk warriors and skilled tribal chiefs fight as ‘swords’.

‘It’s an absurd tactic, but… it’s the best we can do right now…!’

He hoped that they could defeat the undead all at once.

They couldn’t afford to lose everything in their first battle.

“Spata Tribe! Show those guys what a steel wall is!”

The Spata tribe leader, intending to block the cavalry head-on, shouted at the top of his lungs.

They considered themselves the strongest ‘shield’ on earth.

So far, no arrows, swords, or spears had been able to penetrate their ranks.

The only things they couldn’t stop were huge catapults or large ballistae [large, powerful crossbows].

So, even if it was a hellish legion that seemed to come out of mythology, they thought they could easily stop it as long as it was undead.

The Skeleton Cavalry quickly pulled their lances back. And just before the collision… they quickly thrust the lances forward like machines, spinning them spirally without the slightest wobble.

Kwaaaaaa!

The cone-shaped lances rotated, scattering black haze in all directions.

When it touched the rock mountain made of steel, the Nordic warriors holding shields could see through the small gaps.

The shield was melting away due to the spiraling lance!

The shield also melted and bent in the direction the lance was turning.

When the warriors realized this and made shocked expressions, the shield was pierced in a spiral shape.

“What… Kuaaaak?!”

Kwakwakwang!

And collision!

The steel rock mountain collapsed with a single impact.

The warriors, unable to withstand the impact despite wearing heavy equipment, flew more than 10 meters and crashed to the ground.

Thud-! Wooddeuk!

It was natural for bones to shatter from the impact of falling with such heavy weight.

Dozens of humans, thrown like light objects, died horribly.

But they were the lucky ones.

Those who barely held on had their sturdy armor and shields crushed by the hooves of the skeletal horses.

“P, Pikes!”

The warriors in the rear hurriedly lowered their spears to block, but even that was not enough.

The spear blades that touched the armor of the charging skeletons only made scratches and shattered.

Puk!

And the humans who stretched out their spears were instead pierced by the lances, instantly killed with large holes in their bodies.

“T, This doesn’t make sense! I didn’t hear it was this strong…?!”

The chief of the Spark tribe, deployed in the front, was flustered and stepped back.

But just as the lance was about to reach his eyes, the chief made a desperate expression for a moment and quickly lowered his head.

It felt like a hot flame had singed and passed through his hair.

“Do you think I’ll just take it?!”

The chief swung the ax he was holding with all his might towards the skeletal horse’s knee.

Kwajik!

Only then did one of the Skeleton Cavalry lose its balance and fall over.

The skeletal horse, which had lost its knee due to the acceleration and the impact of the ax, also slipped and floundered on the floor.

“You son of a b*tch! Just a pile of bones! I knew it was nothing! I was scared for nothing! Good! Just stay dead like a corpse…”

At that moment, a lance pierced the chief’s head.

Despite falling at a tremendous speed, the skeleton was still alive and moving.

The skeleton got up from its seat.

It looked down at the Nordics with gleaming eyes and a huge physique.

“S, Surround him! He’s out of his mind!”

Hundreds of warriors surrounded the fallen skeleton.

The skeleton seemed amused by the sight, moving its jaw to make a laughing sound by clashing its teeth.

-Kahahahaha!

“Y, You bastard!”

It was when the warriors were about to kill the skeleton all at once.

The majestic and splendid music was heard from afar.

The sound of drums, trumpets, and lala [a type of wind instrument] being played echoed across the land.

The skeleton orchestra with various instruments deployed in Loki’s formation.

Their skill was ‘Performance’.

It was a supporter that increased healing, attack power, defense power, and mobility to allied undead.

In an instant, the legs of the skeletal horse that had lost its knee were restored to their original state, and it jumped up and ran wild.

At that, the skeleton got back on the saddle and began to swing the lance madly again.

It was a spear for stabbing, but even a simple swing was enough to massacre the Nordics.

They trampled the Nordics with their hooves and pierced them with spears. When the encirclement was somewhat loosened, they rejoined the ranks.

The Skeleton Cavalry drew a semicircle and returned to the main camp.

“Good heavens…!”

Just one collision.

With that, about 200 Nordic warriors died.

And the opponent suffered no damage.

It was more intense and threatening than a storm.

“…Damn it!”

Aum gritted his teeth.

He had no time to command due to the undead’s unexpected force.

In just a few minutes, hundreds of people were killed by only 50 cavalry.

Yet, there was no damage to the enemy formation!

If this situation continued, it would only become more disadvantageous.

The Nordics, who had been shouting until just now, lost their will and looked at Loki’s army far away and the comrades who had just died with fearful eyes.

There were several corpses scattered here and there like dolls, and some were fused with their armor.

They wanted to fight, but in the face of great ‘force’, they became unilateral sacrifices.

‘Just one collision and the morale is terrible.’

The current Nordics were in conflict between the ‘will to fight’ and the ‘will to run away’.

If, in this state, a few people screamed and ran away… the aftermath would spread to an unmanageable extent.

‘It’s okay for now… but what will happen in the next attack…!’

“H, Hyungnim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]!”

Per rushed to Aum.

“W, What should we do with those things…”

At Per’s words, Aum turned his gaze to Kudan.

“Kudan, can you defeat them?”

“I can… but…”

Kudan frowned and shook his head.

“They’re too fast.”

“Fast?”

“It’s a mobility issue. Unless they recklessly charge at me… I can’t catch up with them on foot. And I’m not good at cavalry, so if I chase them on a horse, I’ll just become prey.”

Aum made a sound of contemplation and pondered, and Per shouted.

“Hyungnim!”

“I’m thinking.”

Aum closed his eyes and then opened them wide as if he had thought of something and shouted.

“Form a dense formation again.”

“Yes? B, But Hyungnim. That didn’t work! They broke through the steel wall of the powerful Spark tribe!”

“Yes. So this time, make it as flimsy as possible and gather agile people to form a dense formation.”

“…Yes?”

“I have a plan.”

Aum smiled faintly.

“If the opponent charges… we can use that force against them.”

***

There was a change in the lances of the Skeleton Cavalry who had detoured and entered the main camp.

The dark haze was gradually disappearing.

Cooldown time.

It wasn’t that they could use a skill they had used once at will, but it could only be used for a certain period of time.

Therefore, all the skeletons gathered here could exert extreme power for a certain period of time, and after that, they needed a short cooldown time.

But at this level, they could sufficiently collapse the enemy formation with just simple attacks without skills.

“No matter how many there are, humans will eventually get tired. And they are also weak.”

The opponent has no cavalry. Even if they do, they won’t be able to catch up with the speed of the Skeleton Cavalry, and their weapons are not enough to pierce the Skeleton armor.

If it continues like this, it will take time, but even just the cavalry can defeat the opponent by hitting and running.

“Well… there’s also the method of overwhelming the enemy’s leader with a huge amount of troops, believing only in their numbers and recklessly attacking me.”

However, if they targeted him with a force of nearly 5,000, the sacrifice would be enormous.

Loki glanced at the Nordic formation.

This time, they were attaching shields on top of each other to create a rock mountain shape.

However, it looked much looser than the previous barrier.

“…What’s their scheme?”

That’s no different from suicide. But there must be a reason why they made it like that.

“I’m curious.”

Loki grabbed the knight again and moved the chess piece.

The Skeleton Cavalry turned red eyes.

The black haze rose again on their skeletal horses and lances after the cooldown time had passed.

Unlike before, the power was further strengthened by the skills of the skeleton orchestra in the rear.

-Kuaaaaaaa!

A roar like a scream echoed and they began to charge again.

The sight of them charging in a wedge formation was like a single blade flying.

The ice sheet trembled with the sound of the earth shaking.

“O, They’re coming!”

“Hey! Don’t move!”

“Maintain the formation!”

“H, But you told us to build it flimsy on purpose…!”

It was when the Nordics were hesitating.

Something was placed behind them with the sound of wheels rolling.

“…Could it be?”

When the Nordics glanced at it… the Skeleton Cavalry was already right in front of them.

Aum smiled as he watched the enemy’s charge.

“Everyone… Evade!”

“Run away!”

“If you don’t move quickly, you’ll become a hedgehog!”

The shield wall instantly disintegrated.

Everyone ran to live. Some people were so desperate that they even abandoned their shields.

The rock mountain disappeared in an instant, and all that was visible was one man.

Kudan Ragnala, holding a huge warhammer, glared at the Skeleton Cavalry.

And behind him were dozens of ‘weapons’ prepared by Aum Linnea.

‘Chariots’ and small ‘ballistae’ [large, powerful crossbows] installed on them were aiming at the Skeleton Cavalry.

The Skeleton Cavalry, seeing that sight, paused and their eyes widened.

They grabbed the reins and tried to detour, but it was difficult to change direction because they had already gained momentum.

Nevertheless, they changed direction with excellent horsemanship.

But that brief ‘hesitation’ was enough to make them a ‘target’.

In the gap where the Skeleton Cavalry’s formation was slightly splitting, Kudan jumped forward without fearing the ballistae deployed behind him.

He directly struck the skeletal horse of the Skeleton Cavalry at the forefront of the wedge formation with the warhammer.

Kwang-!

The huge hammer collided with the skeletal horse’s armor.

The armor cracked and crumbled in an instant. In addition, the bones of the skeletal horse wrapped in it were also crushed.

Along with the sound of bones being ground, the body of the Skeleton Cavalry riding on it was also shattered and scattered in all directions, and the bone fragments gradually scattered light powder and disappeared.

“Not yet-!”

Kudan didn’t stop there and started destroying the Skeleton Cavalry.