Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 84

84

Bang-!

The explosion sent dozens of Forman soldiers flying.

The Asgardian cavalry charged through the narrow path, cutting down the enemy.

“This warhorse is incredible! The quality is superb. How did they train them so well?”

The horsemanship skill Loki imparted also enhanced the Nord warriors’ steeds.

The horses instinctively understood and responded to their riders’ intentions.

With horse and rider perfectly synchronized, no trainer or jockey could achieve such skilled and practiced movements.

These were Nord warriors, each a combat specialist. Paired with well-trained warhorses, their effectiveness doubled.

“Block them! Block them!”

The Forman soldiers shouted, their voices cracking with fear.

However, witnessing their comrades trampled in the narrow path, and the horses and Nord warriors rampaging like monsters, their resolve crumbled.

They merely held out their spears, eyes fixed on the ground, overwhelmed by the sheer force before them.

Consequently, their spears failed to penetrate the horse armor, shattering on impact, and the spear wielders were swiftly butchered.

“Ugh…”

The Forman soldiers groaned in pain.

Once the cavalry had passed, the survivors breathed raggedly, relief washing over them.

“Gather the survivors! Reorganize and strike them from behind! Then the surrounded ones—!”

“Looks like you’re the ones who are surrounded.”

The Forman soldiers whirled around.

The Nord warriors were emerging from the path.

Not cavalry this time, but infantry.

They tapped their swords against their gauntleted hands, their eyes fixed on the Forman soldiers.

“Now, if you surrender—”

“A-Are you going to spare us?”

“No.”

The Nord warriors’ lips curled into a cruel smile.

“We’ll send you to the afterlife swiftly.”

“……!”

“This land is now Asgardian territory. After you mercilessly murdered the people here, do you think the King would show you any mercy?”

The Nord warriors advanced.

“Don’t resist pathetically; just die quietly.”

***

Loki, astride Sleipnir [Odin’s eight-legged horse], trampled everything in his path.

With Loki leading the charge, the Asgardian cavalry maintained a wedge formation, their speed amplified despite their numerical disadvantage.

Opportunities to utilize skills in such large-scale battles were rare. The combat-hardened Nord warriors quickly adapted to their enhanced abilities.

“Fall back! It’s too narrow! Too narrow!”

Just as Loki and his group burst through the narrow city streets, they reached the entrance to a wide plaza.

A horrifying sight met their eyes: the corpses of Nordrian people were piled high, Forman soldiers stacking the bodies like cordwood.

“Huh?”

The Forman soldiers gathered in the plaza were struck dumb.

Victory seemed assured, and they were preparing a celebration of their triumph.

They had been toying with the surviving Nordrians, but the sudden appearance of the white cavalry caught them completely off guard.

No, the ‘red cavalry.’

Their white armor was stained crimson with the blood of countless victims.

They stared blankly as their allies fled before the bloody knights.

“Having quite the party, aren’t we?”

Loki clicked his tongue. He then glanced up at the Nordrian palace atop the hill overlooking the plaza.

The battle still raged there, it seemed.

The Nordrian king lived, the war wasn’t over, yet the Forman soldiers before him had already begun celebrating their victory.

‘Judging by this, the king of the Forman Kingdom must be participating as well…’

The king was fighting, while his subordinates were already enjoying the spoils?

He quickly assessed the caliber of the Forman Kingdom.

‘Just a swarm of vermin, I suppose.’

“K-Knights?”

One of the Forman soldiers muttered, his gaze fixed on the Asgardian armor.

Knights—that’s how they perceived them.

The Asgardian cavalry swelled with pride at the title.

“Wow! They’re calling us knights!”

“Haha, does that mean we’re on par with the Berserker Warriors [elite, frenzied Norse warriors]?”

“Hey, hey, those guys would kick your ass if they heard you say that too loud.”

“…Seriously, listen to us. Does this sound like knightly conversation? You idiots.”

The Asgardian cavalry chuckled.

Despite their overwhelming numerical advantage, the Forman soldiers were unnerved by their relaxed demeanor.

They scrambled to don their armor.

“Too late.”

The Asgardian cavalry drew their bows and unleashed a volley at the Forman soldiers struggling to arm themselves.

Thud-!

The Forman soldier struck by the arrow was thrown backward, sprawling on the ground.

The Nord warrior who loosed the arrow roared with laughter.

The Asgardian cavalry joined in his mirth.

Maniacs covered in blood, erupting in laughter.

They resembled the grim reapers of the battlefield.

“R-Report to King Pothor! Tell him an unidentified army has arrived—!”

The Forman soldiers descended into panic.

Some of them fled toward the Nordrian palace, and Loki tightened his grip on his spear.

His spear crackled with golden energy.

“No need. We’ll go there ourselves.”

***

“What are you doing?! Are you struggling against a dying old man?!”

King Pothor raged.

He sensed a shift in the tide of battle.

From the palace on the hill, he could see the armed force racing through the city.

It had to be those Nordics.

Their combat prowess far exceeded the reports he’d received.

Especially the one at the forefront, who displayed power that defied human limits.

‘I assumed they were hesitant to move, intimidated by my forces.’

But that was a grave miscalculation.

They were biding their time.

‘At this rate, our retreat will be cut off!’

The Nordrian king and his remaining soldiers were desperately holding them at bay, and now the Nord cavalry would soon reach the palace gate, their only escape route.

If this continued…!?

‘I’ll die!’

Pothor’s breathing grew ragged with fear.

Die? Him? The one destined to seize control of Astoria Island, to fall in this insignificant kingdom, at the hands of these barbarians…!?

Rage surged within him.

It wasn’t enough that his son was murdered; he couldn’t die here as well.

“Retreat!”

He had hoped to claim the Nordrian king’s head as a trophy, but that now seemed impossible.

In the end, King Pothor ordered a retreat.

He and his remaining forces began to withdraw, inch by inch.

Seeing this, the morale of the Nordrian king and his soldiers soared.

“Hahaha! Are you running away? You cowards—!”

The Nordrian king’s laughter echoed across the battlefield.

“They’re running away!”

“Our victory is at hand!”

Fueled by renewed hope, the Nordrian soldiers charged the Forman soldiers.

‘Don’t be ridiculous! Don’t get any ideas! Do you think we’re retreating because of you!?’

King Pothor gritted his teeth.

The sight of those rat-like bastards celebrating was infuriating. His pride was wounded, but he had no choice but to retreat.

However, Pothor’s emotions were so transparent that they inevitably affected the Forman soldiers.

“Y-Your Highness! The Nord cavalry will soon reach the palace!”

“I know! So fall back! Pull back the troops!”

“T-There seems to be confusion in the command! The order to gather at the palace and the order to retreat are overlapping….”

By occupying the palace and sitting on the throne, King Pothor had intended to demonstrate his conquest of the Nordrian kingdom.

But his arrogance had become his undoing.

He was trapped.

“Damn it! Pull back quickly—!”

“Haha! Cowards—!”

“Shut up!”

King Pothor roared at the Nordrian king.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have taken action myself—!’

Allowing himself to be intimidated by the Nordrian king’s spirit, failing to confront him directly, had led to this disaster.

“T-They’re—!”

King Pothor turned his head.

Below the hill, cavalry radiating a dark red aura were charging toward them.

The Forman soldiers who stood in their path were swept aside, and the Minotaurs [mythical creatures, half-man, half-bull] wailed and collapsed, devoured by their onslaught.

“……!”

Soon.

Thud-.

The Asgardian cavalry, their charge halted, stood before the palace gate.

“…Hear me, King of the Forman Kingdom.”

The one leading the charge.

The ‘King of the Nords’ spoke.

A soft murmur.

Yet it possessed a strange power that carried to every corner of the palace.

“Disarm immediately.”

King Pothor hesitated.

They were demanding surrender. After fighting their way through so many soldiers to reach this point, they must be exhausted.

They couldn’t possibly have the strength to fight any longer.

Perhaps there was room for negotiation.

“Lay down your weapons and remove your armor.”

But he wasn’t simply demanding surrender.

“Kneel naked, bow your heads, and prostrate yourselves. Then.”

Loki’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

“I will grant you the privilege of a clean death by guillotine.”

It was a blatant mockery.

He intended to publicly execute the king of a country, to kill him in the most humiliating way possible.

The veins on King Pothor’s forehead throbbed.

“Your Highness Pothor. W-What should we do?”

“Shut up! Figure it out yourselves!”

King Pothor desperately searched for a way out of this predicament.

But his mind drew a blank.

All that remained was.

“Capture the Nordrian King—!”

To seize the Nordrian king and use him as a bargaining chip.

They had come at the Nordrian king’s request, so their primary objective would be his survival.

King Pothor stepped forward.

In response, the Forman soldiers, desperate to survive, charged as well.

The Nordrian soldiers rushed to defend their king.

“Protect His Majesty!”

The Nordrian soldiers thrust their spears and swung their swords.

“Get out of the way!”

King Pothor swung his mana-infused halberd.

The Nordrian soldiers fell before the weapon’s deadly arc.

But dozens of spears pierced his horse.

The horse collapsed, and King Pothor gritted his teeth, using the falling animal as a springboard to leap forward.

He broke through the Nordrian soldiers’ defense and glared at the Nordrian king.

“Nordrian!”

“Pothor!”

They roared each other’s names, swinging their swords and thrusting their spears.

Thud-!

Slash-!

The halberd’s blade pierced the Nordrian king’s shoulder.

King Pothor stepped on the Nordrian king’s body, pinning him to the ground.

The price for his desperate gamble was high.

The Nordrian king’s sword was embedded in King Pothor’s stomach.

“Kuh—!”

“King Pothor, let us die together!”

The Nordrian king attempted to twist the sword. But Pothor grabbed the blade with his free hand, preventing him.

“Don’t be ridiculous, old man. If you’re old, you should die quietly… How dare you struggle!?”

Instead, King Pothor twisted his halberd.

The Nordrian king groaned in agony.

‘I can’t muster any strength.’

The Nordrian king felt his strength ebbing away. Eventually, his grip on the sword hilt loosened.

“Hah… hah… Yes, I will die quietly.”

King Pothor saw a glimmer of hope.

He had secured a hostage.

Just then, the Asgardian cavalry entered the palace.

The Pothor soldiers hesitated and retreated.

King Pothor forcibly hauled the Nordrian king to his feet.

He pulled out the halberd, pressed it against the Nordrian king’s neck, and shouted at the Asgardian cavalry.

“Everyone, don’t move! If you want to save the Nordrian king, clear a path immediately! Pothor, the king of the Forman Kingdom, will negotiate with the King of the Nords—”

Thud-!

“……?”

King Pothor’s words died in his throat.

A single arrow, unerringly aimed.

It pierced through.

King Pothor lowered his head, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“…Wh…at?”

It had pierced the Nordrian king’s chest, and the arrowhead was now lodged in King Pothor’s own chest.

“……!”

It was a fatal blow.

The Nordrian king was doomed, and he himself had suffered a mortal wound.

Pain seared through his chest.

‘Crazy bastard!’

They had shot an arrow at the Nordrian king without hesitation.

“Negotiate?”

King Pothor stared at the figure at the center of the Asgardian cavalry.

At Loki.

“Do you have any other bargaining chips ready?”

Now there was no hope of survival.