Duke Jisert was flustered. The land had been connected to him as naturally as breathing. The power emanating from his territory aided him like a breath.
100_
The energy that had been flowing majestically was his. Until he died and disappeared, before his descendants inherited his power, he was the root and the territory itself. If he wished, he could share that power with his descendants and the nobles who followed him. It felt as if he had become a god. After all, the power placed in his grasp was entirely his. But then.
‘…Did the link break?’
No, it wasn’t completely severed. It was just faint. Why was this happening? Long ago, when he had his territory taken away, it was only because the link hadn’t been fully established then. Once connected, the link with the land gave him perfect power. And yet. What was this situation?!
“Hup. You… you know, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
woo-woong—
No one answered. Earl Ofern simply raised his sword loftily and swung it. swee-eek— Was his sword swing always so fierce? For the first time, Duke Jisert thought of the word “death” in his mind.
swae-ek— swae-ek!
kwa-ang!
He struggled to hold on, but defeat was evident.
“I… I must live!”
The battlefield was chaotic. More than ever before! The proud soldiers of the ducal house began to crumble.
“Fall back! Retreat!”
“Your Grace! You must retreat!”
He heard the voices of his strategists.
‘Damn bastards!’
Why had the strategists he trusted in his territory become such miserable people out here? Those who had confidently devised schemes now looked completely different. Their eyes had become even more pitiful than serfs fleeing pursuers. If someone looked at him… he too.
‘I probably have that same look in my eyes.’
As he retreated, he wondered if he had the same eyes as those falling back. He was sure without even looking in a mirror. Still.
‘I must survive.’
I have to live. Whether serf, commoner, or noble. For the sake of survival, he could do anything, even if it was a despicable act.
‘…I need to withdraw my power.’
Sensing the crisis, Duke Jisert’s mind turned sharp. He could do anything to survive. The family’s way was that any deed was permissible for his own advancement. Duke Jisert scanned the faintly connected links. He was the root and the pillar. Countless branches were connected to it. Those who had sworn loyalty to House Jisert and inherited its power were the branches. Those who inherited the links connected through the family’s secret technique. Dozens, even including hidden ones, nearly a hundred were connected. After Helk Castle fell, many connections were severed, but there were still many. First, he connected to the land using the family’s secret technique. He spent every day, every year, strengthening the links. He used the strengthened links to connect the branches. Now it was time to do the opposite. He instinctively knew what would strengthen the link that was about to fade.
thunk. thwock.
From the distant links to the nearby ones. He withdrew the thick links. They were branches. They were also what replenished power for those who had sworn loyalty to him.
“Ugh?!”
“Kkeok!”
The links were severed. By his own hand! Each time, Jisert’s subordinates whose links were withdrawn lost their power like a kite with a cut string. As if struck by the same shock that had first blurred House Jisert’s link and made them lose consciousness, their strength drained away in an instant. Those far away in House Jisert’s territory were fine. The problem was those in the middle of the battlefield.
“Keeo-oog.”
pu-uk.
They couldn’t dodge a sword they would normally have been able to counter.
“Die!”
“Keuk.”
……
The spear shafts that had proudly curved while facing the Iron Fist became heavy burdens. Those who were the core of House Jisert collapsed, unable to muster strength. Instead.
‘…It’s done.’
10000-
Duke Jisert felt the link, which had been faint, become clear again. It had returned. Only then did he sense one thing. Above!
“Above, there was someone watching him.”
How dare! He should always be the one looking down from above! He felt irritation. And at the same time.
‘Ot.’
He felt awe. That person was also connected to the link. It wasn’t a simple link. If he himself was the root and branch, forming a link with this land, then that person…
‘He’s using it.’
He was using the land’s power in a different way from himself. The mana flowing through the links. Unlike himself, who was contaminated by that mana, he looked clean. This was a gap. The clear gap instantly bred inferiority. The inferiority that was born…
“Kyaaaah!”
It struck his brain, not his body. In the name of pain. He felt a shock that momentarily seemed to make him lose his reason. Ironically, the one to break that shock was his enemy.
“I
…….
sseu-ahng—
It was Earl Ofern’s sword. His sword, which contained dozens of variations in a single swing, trembled as it approached him. Because the sword itself was so powerful. Caught by inferiority, he had nearly fallen into a heart demon, but he managed to come to his senses. Because the crisis of life had struck again!
“Retreat! Retreat!”
Belatedly. Having come to his senses, he shouted loudly. It was a complete declaration of retreat. Jisert himself retreated. Until his faint link became firm again. Until his power returned. Continuously. Backward. He retreated again and again. That day.
“Pursue them!”
The soldiers of House Ofern, who pursued after them, were able to achieve an unprecedented victory report.
*
On a concentrated battlefield, defeat was inevitably fatal. The battle, which had seemed somewhat reckless, was actually a well-orchestrated war crafted by Rayrn’s hand. In the continuous chase, Jisert resisted.
“Ut.”
Whenever Rayrn moved following Duke Jisert, the latter had no choice but to gradually pull back.
‘Crude method.’
Understanding the pulsating mana, Rayrn knew how to shake Jisert. There was no surer way than to shake the very foundation and power that he and his family possessed. Tenaciously targeting the opponent’s weakness. Biting and clinging. He just had to break them apart with desperation.
‘The Demonic Cult was like that too.’
Even when he was the weaker one, he had clung to the Demonic Cult’s weakness and endured desperately. Now he was in the position of shaking, not enduring, so it wasn’t difficult.
“Retreat!”
Shaking and re-shaking the formation that Duke Jisert had painstakingly held.
“Advance!”
They continued to advance. Forward, further forward. The formula that the northwest was Ofern and the northeast was Jisert was completely breaking down. Among them, the one at the forefront moving most vigorously was…
“Further forward! Don’t dodge the swords!”
It was the Iron Fist that Rayrn had personally raised. Gajei did not dodge the enemy’s swords. He even went so far as to withstand Duke Jisert’s painstakingly launched attacks with his body.
‘Maybe Gajei suited the War Sword more than Hoden did.’
Gajei, who bloomed on the battlefield, grew stronger faster. He, who had seemed like he would slow down at this point, only grew stronger the more he rolled around in the battlefield.
‘At this rate… the next Aura Master might be him?’
Who would have known that the one he had jokingly accepted as a vassal would be such a talent? With innate talent and effort beyond what was natural, he was creating synergy beyond imagination. The Iron Fist following behind him…
“Don’t fall behind!”
“Don’t lag behind the captain!”
They struggled and pushed forward to follow him, to not lose sight of him. By simply following, the organization itself, the Iron Fist, was becoming stronger. The stagnant battlefield changed in an instant. Everything. The long-awaited reunion with his father could only happen after Duke Jisert had retreated far back. Such a fierce pursuit had continued. A full-fledged Aura Master. The composure of Ofern, who had reached that realm, wavered only in front of his son he hadn’t seen in a long time.
‘You’ve grown strong. Heh heh.’
Beyond his own growth, his son had become even stronger. His son, who had once had some shortcomings, had long since gone far beyond. Who would have known that the youngest, who was expected to be a family worry due to his weak body, would grow like this? The second son, who was training hard at Ofern Castle far away. The first son, who was working to establish Ofern’s influence in the capital to deliver news from the royal castle, also could not have imagined this. The son, who would soon become an adult, was already beyond what he himself was in his youth. His proud son.
“Father.”
He looked at him. His proud son was the same as ever. The gaze his son sent to him, his family and father, was warm. It was a warmth that didn’t suit the middle of this battlefield. But as a member of the family under the name Ofern, it was a fitting gaze. He had grown so much. Earl Ofern no longer held back his words. Hadn’t he already shown that he would not become arrogant or change even with great power? There was no need to be cautious with words for fear his son might become arrogant.
“It’s been a while. You’ve done really well. Good job. Thanks to you, we’ve achieved a victory report.”
“It’s thanks to your efforts, Father. You executed the plan beyond expectations.”
“It’s because you did well. There’s no need to attribute your achievements to me.” “…You’ve changed a bit.”
“Haha. Does it look that way? It might be so.”
A little. Just a little. To the point where he thought it might be okay to share the heavy responsibility of being the head of the house.
‘We’ve come this far.’
It felt like he had done well. Wasn’t this the house that had lost people to Marquis Owen’s attack and faced a crisis on the verge of destruction? He had led such a house to this point. With unexpected fortune, he had outstanding children and came this far. None of the three lacked anything. It was luck. The greatest luck. Even so, until the very end.
‘I must do well.’
He was the Earl Ofern who would lay the foundation for these children to succeed. Stronger and more solid! For that, he had no intention of resting.
“How far do you think pursuit can go?”
“Not much further. We will take Northern Owen, but the original territory of House Jisert might be difficult.”
“Even that is an amazing feat. Before that, I need to discuss a few more things.”
“What stories?”
“There are quite a lot. Let’s go through them one by one.”
That day, House Ofern, which had significantly pushed House Jisert, rather than retreating to rest their tired bodies from the long battle…
“…There’s a lot.”
“Even so, we must do it. That’s how one becomes a monarch… and that’s how one becomes a true lord.”
“Lord… It seems a bit early to say that, but I understand.”
They steeled themselves more firmly. To become a solid family, they exchanged and shared many things. Small things within the territory of Ofern. Large things encompassing all of Malexia, and even stories beyond that. Only after sharing considerable stories…
“We’ll be busy again.”
“Let’s do our best.”
The two seemed satisfied, and they were able to take another step forward. One long curtain was coming down.