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Eisen heard the cheers from his position below.
"No way... Did he really pull it off?"
The barrage of Crest Swords had ceased. The knights scaling the walls were no longer falling back.
Instead, they were swarming upward, one after another. There was only one thing that could mean: the enemy commander had been slain.
The knight order of one hundred men led by Leo had completely overtaken the ramparts. They had likely already begun establishing a stronghold atop the walls.
In other words...
"Ha... Hahaha! I see! That First Class Merit wasn't just for show! What a monster!"
The initial stage of the siege was over.
They had successfully secured a bridgehead on the castle walls.
"Eighth Squad, all forces, charge! Widen the path that brat opened for us!"
A thousand knights scrambled up the ladders in quick succession.
The foothold expanded, and the sounds of clashing steel rang out.
Once a siege reached this stage, victory was decided by whoever had the superior numbers.
"Leo Knight Order! Everyone, follow me!"
""Yes, sir!""
The hundred knights under Leo’s command didn't harbor a shred of doubt.
Strangely, his words carried an innate power; they felt a profound conviction that as long as they followed his voice, they would emerge victorious.
That certainty erased all hesitation, forging the hundred men into a single entity.
(What a boy... At this rate, he’s already more than just a Knight Commander... he’s a General.)
Zain watched Leo’s back, filled with nothing but awe.
He didn't know if it was simply charisma, but he felt the same sense of absolute reliability from Leo that he felt from Three-Star Knights—from Generals.
If we follow this person, we can win. Even though they had only known each other for a short time, there was something about the boy that inspired that belief.
"Zain-san!"
"...'Zain' is fine! Lord Leo, you are the Knight Commander!"
"Understood! Zain! I’m going to keep taking down their leaders!"
"Sir! What are our orders?!"
"Stay behind me. And I’m counting on you... everyone! I need you to watch my back!"
Leo’s voice wasn't particularly loud.
However, his words were carried by his Sword Aura, striking directly at their very souls.
""Yes, sir!""
Every man there resolved to protect him, even at the cost of their own lives.
Perhaps they were swept up in a sort of collective intoxication. Leo’s words carried the weight of his natural martial talent and a strength born of kindness.
Leo targeted the enemy commanders one after another.
The Odixia Federation forces were still reeling in confusion. While they tried to defend against the Arcadians climbing the walls from all sides, Leo’s unit came charging down the length of the ramparts atop their Emblem Horses.
"Wha—?!"
"Haaa!"
Leo cut down the enemy commanders, defeating only the minimum number of soldiers required to reach them.
He had no desire to kill, but he accepted the necessity of it, knowing that ending these lives now would ultimately lead to fewer deaths in the long run.
"What incredible strength. He’s already on par with a Three-Star Knight... no, perhaps even higher? Someone of my level can’t even see the bottom of his well."
Zain, guarding Leo’s rear, found the boy's breakthrough power nearly impossible to believe.
Leo surged forward with such speed that it seemed as if no enemies stood in his way at all. Soldiers fell before they could even cross blades with him.
The element of surprise was certainly on their side.
The fact that the walls were primarily manned by common soldiers rather than elite knights was also a factor.
Even so, that strength was—
"S-Stop him!"
"Bring that brat down!"
"It’s no use! He won't stop!"
He was a monster who brought to mind the legendary Five Star Sword, Gaia Featherfield.
However, Leo’s advance finally met an obstacle.
Leo clashed with a knight larger than himself mounted on an Emblem Horse, and the impact sent Leo skidding back.
His arms numbed slightly from the force, and he knit his brows.
"My name is Delhart Ignises! I am a Two-Star Knight of the Odixia Federation entrusted with this castle! Don't get cocky, brat!"
"A Two-Star, huh... No wonder you're strong."
"Delhart, you say?!"
Hearing that name, Zain’s voice cracked.
Delhart was a famous knight even among the Two-Stars, and his reputation reached as far as Arcadia.
Nearly forty years old, he was a veteran among veterans. On the battlefield, that was synonymous with being a survivor of countless slaughters.
He was an opponent one could argue was as close to a Three-Star Knight as possible.
"Lord Leo! Let’s pull back for now! We’re in the heart of the enemy! We’ll be surrounded!"
"But if I take him down, the battle will be decided right here."
"That may be true, but the odds are against you! He isn't someone you can overcome in a single day!"
As a result of their rapid advance, they had penetrated deep into enemy lines. They had likely fought their way halfway around the entire perimeter of the castle walls.
the Leo Knight Order was becoming isolated.
Leo looked back, surveying the battlefield. His mind quickly calculated the variables.
"Thirty seconds... I have some breathing room. If I haven't finished it by then, we'll pull back."
"Don't you mock me!"
The two clashed at high speed.
Leo traded blows without immediately pushing himself to his limit.
He was observing.
For ten seconds, Leo studied his opponent.
He memorized Delhart’s habits, his movements, his physical strength, his stamina, and the flow of his Crest power. He learned everything.
His rate of growth was staggering; with every clash, his limits were redefined.
"Yeah... I can win."
Leo nodded to himself.
At that same moment, Leo spurred his Emblem Horse forward. Delhart braced his sword for the impact.
Suddenly, Leo leaped from the saddle. Only the Emblem Horse continued its charge toward Delhart—a technique Leo had learned from Deskis.
"Hmph!"
With a single strike, Delhart cut the horse down, causing it to dissipate. It turned into a white spiritual mist, and from within that smoke—
"—!?"
A sword flew like a spear, piercing the air at high speed. It was Leo’s throw.
Delhart gripped his sword with both hands and caught the blade.
Clang!
He barely managed it. The force was so immense it nearly knocked him off his feet.
Even with his vast experience, Delhart had never seen a throw of that caliber. It carried a weight as if a master had dedicated their entire life to perfecting that single throw.
However, despite breaking into a cold sweat, Delhart proved his worth by stopping the projectile.
But stopping it was all he could do.
He had lost sight of Leo.
And once you lost sight of him, you would never find him again.
Delhart realized it all too late.
Leo had already assumed a drawing-sword stance behind Delhart's back.
The thrown Crest Sword turned into particles of light and returned to Leo’s Crest.
"I’m Leo. Just Leo."
"............Damn it... you monster."
On the Emerald Plains, Iricobert had stated his name to the enemies he defeated.
Leo understood the meaning behind that now.
At the very least, a dying warrior would want to know the name of the one who bested them.
And Leo would state his name as a way to shoulder the weight of the sin.
He wasn't some nameless entity. He was the one who had taken this man's life.
He would etch every life he took into his own name.
Slash!
The Two-Star Knight, Delhart Ignises, fell in battle.
The Crests of nearly a thousand men vanished instantly.
The knights of the Odixia Federation fell to their knees.
At that moment, the tide of the battle shifted toward Arcadia so decisively that it could no longer be overturned.
The end came quickly after that.
The knights defending the Odixia Federation castle surrendered unconditionally.
Arcadia accepted them as prisoners of war.
It was a lightning-fast seizure, taking less than an hour from the moment Leo joined the fray.
The castle on the Eldoro Plains now belonged to Arcadia.