The Indomitable Martial King

“Attack! Attack!”

“Waah!”

A rain of arrows continuously covered the sky of Hundargard. The catapults relentlessly hurled boulders at the fortress walls.

Standing next to a catapult and observing the battlefield, Repenhardt nodded.

“Hmm, everyone is doing well.”

Unlike his usual position at the forefront, he was now just watching the situation from the rear.

Despite being allies, this war’s main party was undeniably Baron Galin’s household. At the very least, they had to deliver the final blow. If Repenhardt took the lead here, it would completely upend the roles, and Baron Galin’s household would lose face.

Therefore, this time, only Siris and the Knights of Antares were sent out while he stayed back. Victory was almost certain anyway, so he was leisurely observing.

“Let’s go! Knights of Antares!”

In the distance, Sir Azrael encouraged his subordinates as they climbed the fortress wall using ropes. Other knights, with fire in their eyes, followed behind him.

“The opportunity has finally come!”

“This time, let’s show our lord our bravery!”

The Knights of Antares had mostly been left to handle cleanup due to Repenhardt always taking the lead. Now, they were all excitedly attacking the fortress wall using ladders and ropes.

While continuously pulling on the ropes to climb the wall, a dark object appeared above Azrael’s head. It was a cauldron filled with boiling oil.

Just then, Siris, who had reached the base of the wall, urgently shouted a warning.

“Be careful, Sir Azrael!”

Azrael’s expression hardened as he looked up. The boiling oil was just about to pour down on him. He quickly raised his shield to cover himself, bracing for burns.

At that moment, Siris shouted in a clear voice.

“My friend, Nymphia! Flow for me!”

Water droplets gathered and transformed into the shape of a blue woman. With a gesture from Nymphia, the spirit of water, the boiling oil reversed in mid-air and spilled back over the wall.

The soldiers who were doused in the oil screamed in agony.

“Aaagh!”

“What’s happening?”

“Hot, hot, hot!”

Taking advantage of the lull in the attack, the knights fiercely climbed the wall.

After dismissing Nymphia, Siris also started climbing a ladder. Despite concentrated attacks, she summoned Sarana and evaded into the air, leading the charge up the wall. When the platinum-haired elf girl appeared on the wall, the soldiers cried out in fear.

“It’s the Sword of the New Moon!”

Upon reaching the top of the wall, Siris drew two scimitars and swung them fiercely. The silver sword light swept through the soldiers, creating a whirlwind.

No one could maintain their morale in front of that sword light, which cut through spears and swords like straw. Soldiers screamed and began to flee in all directions.

“Hoo…”

After taking control of the wall, Siris took a moment to catch her breath. Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind her.

“Dempir Astarna, let the radiance be upon my hand and become the scourge to smite the enemy! Luminous Punishment!”

A thick beam of light tore through the air towards her. Startled, Siris flipped into the air.

“Ugh!”

The beam carved a long path of destruction across the wall, with enough power to partially collapse it.

Barely dodging the attack by flipping three times in the air, Siris looked up in surprise. Luminous Punishment was a 7th-circle light spell.

‘A high-ranking mage of the 7th circle? Did Baron Chetas have someone of this caliber?’

On the other side of the wall, a young blonde man in his mid-to-late twenties looked at her with a smirk.

“The Sword of the New Moon, huh… Quite a grand name for an elf girl.”

Siris involuntarily frowned. For some reason, just seeing that young man made her feel instinctively disgusted and gave her goosebumps.

“The contract is only with Repenhardt, but…”

The young man raised his right hand and muttered.

“I’ll take care of her as well.”

* * *

Jade Arclight chanted an incantation as he brought down his raised right hand.

“Mass Photon Ray!”

Dozens of yellow beams occupied all around Siris, pouring down like rain. There was no way to avoid it. As she leapt back, she urgently shouted.

“Terratus! Rise for me!”

A giant earth golem rose from the shattered fortress wall. The summoned Terratus enveloped Siris, taking all the beams in her stead. The Photon Ray ruthlessly tore into the golem’s body.

Jade looked slightly surprised.

“Oh? You blocked it? So that’s spirit magic?”

Eventually, the earth golem blocked all the attacks. However, as a result, it was on the verge of collapsing entirely. It was evidence of the immense destructive power of the magic. Having lost its strength, Terratus finally crumbled back into earth.

Barely having overcome the crisis, Siris clicked her tongue.

‘That was close. To think there was such a high-level mage…’

Raising her alertness, Siris launched herself off the ground. The best way to deal with a mage was to not give them any time to cast spells!

“Haaat!”

She let out a clear cry as she charged at her opponent. Jade frowned as he saw her rushing like a gale.

“How impudent!”

He quickly formed hand seals with both hands.

“Air Bomb! Weight Distortion!”

The compressed air exploded violently, creating a gust that pushed Siris back as she dashed forward.

As Siris tried to regain her stance after being pushed by the wind pressure, the following Weight Distortion twisted her sense of weight.

“Ugh!”

With a groan, Siris fell to her knees. It felt as though an invisible giant was pressing down hard on her shoulders. Pointing at her, Jade continued his incantation.

“Ray Bind!”

Light ropes materialized, binding Siris’s limbs tightly. A sinister smile appeared on Jade’s face.

“An unruly wench needs to be shackled.”

He leisurely formed hand seals, preparing for the final strike.

“Let all things become ash…”

At that moment, Siris suddenly straightened her knees and stood up. Then, with a shout, she broke the light ropes binding her arms.

“Haaaap!”

By enveloping her entire body with the power of the earth spirit, she restored her senses and called upon Sylph to cut the magical ropes. Having broken the spell, Siris steadied herself and charged at Jade again.

‘What?’

Startled, Jade hurriedly completed his spell.

“Incinerate!”

Red flames blazed, filling Siris’s vision. The heat was so intense that her sight seemed distorted.

Crossing her scimitars in front of her, she shouted back.

“Ignatius!”

A giant of fire deflected the fiery breath, scattering the heat. The pillar of fire shot high above the fortress wall. The extreme heat caused the surrounding stones to melt like butter, forming strange shapes.

Boom!

A hot wind blew in all directions. Siris took a step back, shielding her face. Jade ground his teeth as he blocked the aftermath with a barrier.

“You even blocked this?”

To have his magic blocked repeatedly by just an elf? Jade’s pride was wounded. He raised both hands, drawing more mana.

“Winds of the North! Become blades and strike my enemy! Prison Blade Storm!”

A snowstorm arose around Jade, summoning dozens of ice blades. The chilling blades swirled and rotated, causing the surrounding fortress walls to start freezing white.

Siris counterattacked with her own spirit magic.

“Go! Salamander!”

Dozens of fire lizards flew through the air, striking the whirlwind of ice blades. Explosions echoed one after another. Siris’s expression hardened.

‘It’s not working?’

The Salamanders were torn apart as they approached the blades, scattering in all directions. The cold imbued in the ice blades was too strong for the Salamanders’ firepower to handle. Biting her lower lip, Siris retreated.

‘Damn…’

Ignatius might have been able to handle it, but he had exhausted his strength blocking Jade’s previous magic and couldn’t be summoned again right now.

Whirr!

With a sinister cutting sound, the whirlwind of blades targeted her entire body and rushed in. In desperation, Siris swung her scimitars to deflect the blades.

Clang! Clang!

Each time, ice clung to her scimitars. The edge of her blades dulled, and they grew heavier. Jade smirked as he watched Siris struggle.

“Heh, this trick works well against swordsmen.”

“Ugh!”

Holding the increasingly heavy scimitars, Siris frowned. So much ice had accumulated that the swords no longer retained their original shape.

‘What should I do?’

Panicking, she racked her brain. The usual trick of imbuing her swords with Sylph’s power to enhance their cutting ability was useless in this situation.

She needed to imbue the swords with the power of a fire spirit. But her control over spirits was limited to using Sylph.

As she pondered, Siris suddenly gritted her teeth.

“Argh! As long as the result is the same, it’s fine!”

She shouted.

“Come out! Salamander!”

Once again, a fire lizard flared into existence in midair. Summoned by the call of the spirit’s friend, an Elf, two Salamanders hovered beside her, awaiting orders. Suddenly, Siris bowed deeply to the Salamanders.

“I’m sorry! Really, I’m sorry!”

“??”

The fire lizards blinked in confusion. At that moment, Siris raised her head and plunged the scimitars in both hands deeply into the tails of the Salamanders!

Squawk!

The fire lizards’ eyes widened. They didn’t actually make a sound, but their expressions were extremely intense. Both Salamanders struggled on the scimitars with faces that seemed to say, ‘What? What is this?’

Despite apologizing, Siris smiled broadly.

“Got it!”

She had skewered the Salamanders like kebabs with the scimitars, forcibly transforming them into flaming swords. With the fiery scimitars in both hands, she slashed at the approaching blades of ice.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

A series of explosions sounded as the ice blades shattered and melted away. Just as she had hoped, the Salamanders’ firepower, added to the scimitars, proved powerful enough even against that formidable cold.

Siris continued to swing her swords, breaking the ice storm. Of course, she deliberately ignored the pitiful struggles of the Salamanders skewered on the scimitars. Jade gaped in astonishment.

“…Elves are supposed to be friends of the spirits, right? That’s why they use spirit magic?”

Even though he didn’t know much about spirit magic, this seemed wrong. Friends with spirits? Even if they were slaves, he doubted they would be treated so harshly.

“How can that still be considered spirit magic?”

In reality, it was only possible because Siris was favored by the World Tree—a bit of a cheat. If an ordinary Elf did such a thing, their affinity with the spirits would plummet instantly.

While Jade was dumbfounded, Siris shattered all the ice blades. Holding the fiery scimitars, she dashed forward again. Jade tried to use magic to block her approach, but each time, the twin swords imbued with the fire spirit’s power destroyed the magic.

‘This is more troublesome than I thought!’

He kept casting spells while retreating until something touched his back. It was the foundation of the castle wall.

With no more room to retreat, Siris leaped at Jade with a triumphant smile. She raised her scimitars high and unleashed a powerful attack.

“Ha!”

Flames surged as two slashing arcs rushed down from above. Jade’s face hardened. Siris’s eyes sparkled with the certainty of victory.

“Blink!”

Poof!

Suddenly, Jade vanished from sight. The two slashes cut through nothing but air.

“Huh?”

Siris blinked in surprise. The opponent who had been right in front of her had suddenly disappeared?

A cold voice came from behind her.

“Damn, using Blink Boots against an Elf…”