BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 33 (WN)
Chapter 33 – The Commander’s Newfound Youth
“What the hell just happened…?”
I scratched my head, looking at the golden-haired young man standing in front of me.
He was the spitting image of Valon Sphinx: the only major difference was that this Valon sported a well-trimmed golden beard.
I then moved my eyes to the copper-colored ring the young man wore on his finger.
“That ring is a Magic Tool, right? That makes you…turn younger?”
“Correct!”
The young man — Vert Sphinx puffed out his chest and declared loudly.
“This is indeed one of the treasured Magic Tools of House Sphinx, “Past Sage Urd”! It has the power to return the wearer to their prime! As you can see, it affects both appearance and…”
Vert snatched a spear from the hands of a subordinate and launched it towards the “Terror Armies” creatures approaching from the north.
The spear, shot like a cannonball, pierced through the bodies of several undead, finally stabbing itself in the ground.
“…my physical prowess too is now at its peak! My disease is gone as well! I can easily bury one or two thousand undead now!”
“…well, why did you keep such a trump card hidden? Should we pack up and go back home?”
“Hah, unfortunately it is not all good news. The stronger the Magic Tool, the steeper the price it demands.”
Vert replied to my sarcasm with a smile, then once again pointed his curved blade to the north.
“O valiant warriors of House Sphinx! The time for retribution has come! The time to take our homeland in our hands once more! All troops, charge!!”
“WOOOOOOHHHH!!!!”
The House Sphinx soldiers answered Vert’s call by raising a thunderous war cry. They stomped the ground and followed their rejuvenated commander’s lead and charged towards the creatures coming from the north.
With their commander having regained his full potential, the Sphinx troops tore through the undead like a herd of raging bulls.
“Well damn, we can’t let the ex old man hog all the glory. I better show off a bit of what I can do too.”
I smiled wryly at the Sphinx forces’ renewed energy, then looked towards the south. I pointed my blade at the approaching undead, then activated the Magic Tool bracelet on my arm.
“Herakles!! Our rotting guests here have overstayed their welcome!!”
A dazzling silver light enveloped my whole body.
I didn’t activate the Magic Tool for recovery purposes this time: all of its power was poured into me, to boost my physical abilities.
I took a deep breath, concentrated my strength in my legs and kicked the ground forcefully. The boost of power allowed me to cover a few dozen meters in one leap, at the end of which I swung my sword horizontally.
The front line of the approaching “Terror Armies” was cleaved in two and dissipated in the ground without a sound.
“Wooh!?”
“G-General!?”
I leapt into the enemy forces so fast that it must have looked like I moved instantly. The adventurers reacted with surprise and disbelief.
I didn’t bother turning around, and shouted an order from where I stood.
“Are your legs just for show!? Follow me already!!”
“Y-Yaaahhh!!!”
The adventurers hurriedly obeyed, heading towards the “Terror Armies” approaching from the south.
I didn’t wait for them to join me, and continued slicing through the mummies, my body and sword shining silver.
“GWRAAAHHH!!”
“Gwooh…GWRUOOHHH!!!”
I continued advancing, not letting my momentum slow down one bit. Every time I stomped the ground, a cloud of dust rose on the battlefield.
The undead soldiers swung their swords and thrusted their spears at me, but I dodged them all, with minimal movement, and tore through their bodies instead. I chopped their heads, severed their limbs, snapped their spines, tore their torso apart.
Were they living beings, I would be bathing in a lake of blood, organs and bones, and the battlefield would look like a scene from hell.
It could be said it was fortunate, then, that the undead creatures did not shed a drop of blood when they fell: all that formed at my feet was small mounds of sand.
“FOLLOW THE GENERAL!!!!”
“WOOOOHHHH!!!”
Eventually, the adventurers reached my position. They took down all the creatures that survived my charge with their swords and spears.
We were too far for Herakles’ recovery abilities to affect them, but they stood their ground bravely: they faced the undead without fear and defeated them one after the other.
“No weak soldier follows a fierce general, as they say. Looks like they have more guts than I expected. Pretty good for a bunch of vagrant adventurers.”
I planned to use them as expendables at first, but they had turned into promising elite troops all on their own.
“Heh. Not bad at all! Don’t you die without my permission, you hear!?”
I raised my pace even more and rushed through the enemy lines while swinging my sword.
More or less one hour later, the “Terror Armies” that had surrounded the third fort were completely wiped out.