The 3rd Prince of the Fallen Kingdom Returns

31. Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1)

The battle raged on.

They fought for what felt like an eternity.

Corpses lay scattered, both friends and foes alike.

Once the situation in Joachim stabilized, Yuri helped out in other critical areas before returning to Briol.

The Allied Forces were putting up a strong fight.

Despite being outnumbered, their lines held. The casualties were heavy, but the orcs suffered even greater losses.

Everyone, friend and foe, was exhausted.

It had become an endless war of attrition.

The orcs didn’t give up, pressing on relentlessly, while the Allied forces held their ground.

“It’s time to eat….”

Yuri grumbled.

Occasionally, orcs broke through the Allied Forces’ lines. However, the orcs also didn’t have enough forces to properly breach the defenses.

The orcs left behind in the enemy lines were eventually pierced by pikes and swords, dying like pincushions.

Blood dried on the ground.

Yuri looked up.

Okuah stood in the distance, unmoving.

On the opposite side, at the heart of the Allied Forces, Moyongchan stood atop a tent, glaring at Okuah.

It was as if the two were engaged in a staring contest.

“Is the one who looks away first the loser?”

Yuri muttered absently to himself as he trudged forward.

The formation of the Allied forces had become more scattered. The orc assault was the same. The two sides were gradually encroaching on each other’s territory.

If the enemy stood, they fought.

If there were allies, they helped.

It was an endless repetition of this process.

While fighting an orc, Yuri spotted a knight in the distance, his abdomen pierced by a halberd, blood vomiting from his mouth.

Yuri stabbed the orc to death and hurried towards the knight.

It was already too late.

Irreversible.

Yuri approached the dying knight and tore the family crest from around his neck.

“I shall bear witness to your courage for your family.”

“I, I…….”

Blood foamed in his mouth, rendering him unable to speak.

Yuri whispered again.

“I will avenge you.”

That was all he could promise.

The knight looked at Yuri with blurred vision, giving a slight nod before breathing his last, eyes still open.

Yuri closed his eyelids.

As he stood up, an Orkbal wielding a halberd stood before him.

“Krrr…”

It was gnawing on a human arm, torn from who knows where.

Their eyes met.

The Orkbal tossed the arm aside.

As soon as Yuri dodged, Orkbal swung his halberd and charged at him.

Suddenly, blood splattered from the stump of its arm and flew into Yuri’s eye.

The sensation of the warm blood on his cornea was vivid and sharp.

Yuri did not close his eyes.

He could see the Orkbal’s contorted face through his blood-reddened vision.

His body was tired.

His mana was depleted.

But his senses, honed through countless battles, were still alive.

No unnecessary strength was exerted in his movements.

He effortlessly deflected the halberd and slit its throat with just enough force to pierce the flesh.

Another Orkbal fell.

Taking a life was this effortless.

“Concise. Efficient.”

The senses of the ancient orc hunter he had gained in the ruins were gradually becoming one with him.

Slaughtering orcs had become a mechanical task. He was a seasoned expert who had mastered the technique.

The longer the battle raged and the more his stamina depleted, the greater Yuri’s efficiency became.

He could carry out the slaughter in any condition. As the difficulty of the task decreased, his efficiency soared.

With minimal effort, he cut down orc after orc.

Then, he encountered Jared.

“How have you been?”

Blood was smeared across Jared’s face. He wiped his cheek and gave a weary smile when he saw Yuri.

“You’re alive.”

“Yeah.”

“Many have died.”

Was he referring to orcs or humans?

It was both.

Yuri simply nodded.

“I know.”

“Yes.”

Before their brief exchange could continue, a group of orcs charged toward them.

They weren’t as reckless as before. Okuah’s induced frenzy was pushing them forward, but their exhausted bodies held them back.

One of them tripped over its own feet and fell before Yuri.

Yuri, as if waiting for this, mercilessly plunged Guilty downwards.

Blood splattered up to his waist.

“Kuuaahhh…”

Even the orcs were too tired to roar.

They were simply driven by frenzy, their hoarse voices squeezed out.

“Your Highness, be careful.”

Jared whispered with a sigh.

He didn’t have senses like Yuri’s, so he was as exhausted as the orcs.

“These damn bastards….”

The orc swung its weapon with an unsteady trajectory, and Jared, swaying, dodged and then slashed upwards with his sword.

The orc’s jaw split halfway.

“Grwweee!”

The orc swung its weapon down again.

Jared rolled on the ground to dodge, then got back up.

“Your Highness, are you alright…”

Jared, who had briefly turned to check on Yuri, froze with his mouth open.

While he had been fighting one orc, the others lay scattered on the ground, defeated.

Yuri took a deep breath and rested his sword, Guilty, over his shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

And then, like a machine with pre-programmed movements, he walked towards the orc facing Jared.

“That one is mine…”

Yuri walked past him.

With swift, almost fluid steps, he closed the distance to the orc’s attack, narrowly dodging the blow before thrusting his sword into the orc.

The orc fell.

At first glance, it looked as if the orc had offered its chest to a weak, desperate attack.

But Jared could see the control embedded in Yuri’s movements.

It was as if he had anticipated the enemy’s thoughts, or perhaps manipulated them.

At the very least, his movements were at the edge of such mastery.

“No way, he’s growing even stronger during the war…”

“You still have the strength to talk?”

“Do you use your mouth to wield a sword?”

“If you have no strength in your arms, you should bite the sword and swing it.”

“If that worked, I’d be a triple-sword wielder.”

As they bantered, Yuri moved on, seeking more orcs to battle.

Battles were raging all around them.

Yuri spotted a knight who stood out among the rest and called out his name.

“Laurent!”

“Your Highness!”

Yuri, while assisting a nearby soldier, said,

“Exhausted?”

“No, sir!”

As Yuri’s voice rang out, the morale of the Briol forces began to rise again.

“Remember our fallen comrades!”

In a situation where everyone was exhausted, mental strength made a huge difference.

Yuri kept yelling while mechanically cutting down orcs.

“Don’t die! Wealth and honor await! Don’t worry about the fallen comrades! I will take responsibility! Briol never forgets!”

As Yuri shouted, an Orkbal charged at him.

Yuri dodged back as if waiting, then sliced forward.

The Orkbal’s body was split open.

Yuri killed the Orkbal with just two movements—dodging and striking.

It was a level of mastery that would have been impossible before.

“For Briol!”

Yuri raised Guilty and shouted. The exhausted soldiers responded in kind. The dying embers were rekindled.

Starting with Briol, fighting spirit reignited within the Allied Forces.

They were definitely winning.

And then, something unbelievable happened.

A strange wailing sound echoed. It sounded like sobbing, or perhaps the howling of a beast.

The orcs began to turn their backs.

“What’s going on?”

It was a retreat.

The orcs, who seemed unyielding, began to flee.

Even though their leader, Okuah, stood firm at the rear, they showed no will to fight any longer.

“Is it over…?”

“Did we win?”

The Allied Forces lowered their weapons. Some of the soldiers planted their swords in the ground and leaned on them, vomiting in exhaustion.

Yuri drew in mana.

“Do not let them get away!”

His commanding roar echoed across the battlefield.

On the front lines where the heat of battle had already subsided, Yuri alone was calling for the pursuit of the enemy.

“Remember what those bastards did! Chase them down and strike their backs!”

And he was the first to charge forward, Guilty in hand.

He thrust Guilty into the back of an orc’s neck, used its body as a springboard to leap, and slashed at another orc’s waist. When it didn’t stop, he aimed for its legs.

The orc, its ankles severed, tumbled to the ground. Yuri stomped on its head, crushing it, and continued his pursuit.

“What are you doing?!”

Yuri knew.

This wasn’t the end.

The war wouldn’t be over until they killed Okuah. That meant now was the best opportunity to reduce the orcs’ numbers.

The orcs they let escape would regroup and return to kill the Allied Forces.

Killing an orc now was the same as saving the life of an ally who would die in the future.

“It’s not over yet!”

Yuri, rarely showing anger, urged his troops forward.

As Yuri charged, Laurent and Jared, who had followed him, also targeted the orcs’ backs.

The Briol knights began to chase after the enemy, their hoarse voices roaring a battle cry.

“Follow His Highness!”

“Kill the orcs!”

“Don’t let them escape!”

The orcs at the rear were falling one by one.

The rest continued their retreat.

“Chase them down!”

Yuri, who had just taken the life of an orc, suddenly looked up.

His eyes met another pair.

Far away, Okuah’s crimson eyes fixed on him.

The mere contact with those eyes sent a dizzying wave of unease through him.

His breath quickened.

A sharp ringing sound filled his senses from deep within.

“Briol!”

Yuri shouted and swung Guilty through the air toward Okuah, trying to shake off the pressure.

The pressure lifted slightly.

“Strike them from behind!”

As Briol fiercely pursued the orcs, the entire Allied Forces were stirred. Those who had stopped, exhausted, began to follow one after another.

Though overwhelmed by exhaustion, they knew they had to reduce the enemy’s numbers now. They were simply overwhelmed by their physical limitations.

But seeing Briol’s desperate attack reignited their fighting spirit, and they squeezed out the last of their strength, buried deep within.

The orcs’ losses mounted steadily.

Then, Okuah’s roar reverberated like thunder once more.

“…!”

It resonated less like a beast’s growl and more like the very roar of nature itself.

Those with lower endurance covered their ears in pain.

Yuri sharply shouted.

“Focus!”

A red haze emanated from the orcs in the rear, who had been on the verge of charging.

The orcs, who had been fleeing, suddenly turned on their heels, charging with frenzied rage and causing chaos among the ranks.

The orcs, now gripped by frenzy, were not as exhausted as before.

“That’s….”

Yuri clenched his teeth, watching as the orcs who had led the charge retreated further, slipping away from his grasp.

This, too, was part of Okuah’s scheme.

As the Allied forces chased and tried to wipe out the orcs, Okuah had incited frenzy in those at the rear. He used them to block the advancing troops.

An unknown fervor fueled their frenzy.

They charged as a herd of cattle with their tails on fire.

“Haa….”

Yuri glanced back.

Moyongchan, still engaged in the staring contest, was visible in the distance.

Shouldn’t he step forward, do something while Okuah played these tricks? No matter how much he kept Okuah in check, the situation was worsening.

But Moyongchan remained motionless, his expression hardened, his gaze fixed on Okuah with unblinking intensity.

“Damn it.”

The orcs at the rear clashed with the Allied Forces, forcing those in pursuit to halt and engage in battle.

Meanwhile, the rest of the orcs continued to escape.

Yuri glared at Okuah.

“That bastard.”

Then, as if he had been waiting, Okuah looked at Yuri and turned away.

As Okuah’s crimson eyes turned away, the air seemed to lighten.

Okuah lumbered away, as he had before. The orc troops surrounding him followed.

They were the ones who hadn’t moved even during the battle.

This confirmed it.

Okuah commanded the orcs as if they were his own limbs.

Judging from how he had turned the rear orcs around, he might even be manipulating their minds.

By the time the last of the attacking orcs fell, the main force had already retreated far beyond their reach.

They couldn’t pursue them any further.

The Allied Forces’ advance ground to a halt.

“Aah.”

Nevertheless, victory was theirs.

The soldiers, weary but triumphant, raised their weapons and cheered.

The entire Allied Forces erupted into an uproar.

“Okuah has retreated!”

“We’ve won!”

“Long live the Allied Forces!”

It seemed like the end of this war was in sight.

Yuri glared at the retreating orc army and said,

“We must strike immediately.”

He had such a premonition.

Now that the enemy had retreated, they had to seize this momentum. If they waited too long, they might lose their advantage.

Okuah.

He couldn’t rest easy as long as that grotesque creature, that monster, was still out there.