Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 398 Arch-Devil

Peace!

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/CLANG!/

/SWING!/

/SPLATTER!/

Screams and swords, shields and arrows… A combination is as old as humanity itself.

Rights, wrongs, and beliefs... When all meet, conflict is born.

War in its purest form. A place where two met, but three fall…

War is all about interest, and rarely did it not affect those unaffiliated with it.

It's all-encompassing, with the only thing that matters is the side you choose... However, at the end of the day, Humans suffer the same way.

Wherever the winds of destruction pass, people fall like weeds.

Lives are lost, loved ones perish, their dignity violated, and their futures are robbed of them.

/CLANG!/

Dale's second memory, the Memory of an Ancient Warrior was all about this…

The story of a man being thrown into War, of someone who fought for the sake of his family, friends, ideals, and more, only to fall amidst the words of history as a nameless nobody.

The great curse of time to man is to become a statistic, their achievements meaningless, their efforts reduced to speckles of duts. Their highs and lows, unknown to any… To disappear forever and ever.

That is true death...

But what wrong was there, as that was life for mankind, the beings who view their lives as greater than anybody's.

To make someone care, you must show them you are worth remembering, so that your name may be sung for generations.

Time and time again until the end of time.

/SLASH!/

At the edge of a mountain, facing a massive fort built at the mountain foot, two armies clashed for ideals long lost, their names and reasons forgotten and only remembered by the Gods above…

Now, there would be another man to remember them by.

/SLASH!/

"Huff…"

'It's as hard as I remember.'

Dale was currently within one of the frontline flanks, holding a spear in hand and slightly armored as he cut his way through a horde of 'barbarians'.

He didn't know much about this place, but he managed to gather some information based on his past experiences with this place.

This was a War of attrition between the Fortress behind them and the Invading Barbarians before them.

Behind the fortress was a path that led directly to the plains where many of the soldier's families stood, they could not let them pass, even if it cost them their lives.

Unfortunately, Dale already knew that winning was impossible, the fortress would fall to the endless wave of Barbarians.

There would be three waves across three days… On the third day, after fighting with everything he had, Dale fell inside the Fortress, killed by a group of three Barbarian Champions.

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He still remembered that experience, it was the first time he experienced death itself… It changed him a little and made him understand true despair.

After fighting for three days straight, he lost his sense of self, that was why he felt fear and anger at his defeat… Only to be relaxed upon waking up in his bed, as if everything before was just a bad dream…

Of course, it may as well be, but the lesson to learn remained. To cherish life as death is something all fear, some more than others…

/PIERCE!/

He swung his spear with great precision, killing another Barbarian with a strike directly at their throat, it was his 8th kill in this forsaken land.

8 strikes and 8 kills, he hadn't missed a single attack yet, but neither was he looking for opponents to fight.

He was precise and efficient, to live, he had to maintain his energy.

Even if he killed 80, 800, 8000, becoming a true relentless killing machine… That still wouldn't win the War.

This was but the first wave, composed of slaves and mindless people the Barbarian had tortured to a breaking point, once it ended, the second wave, composed of Mercenaries and other Armed troops would come to claim some territories around the area and prepare for their final push.

Finally, the third wave would hit, their entire army, their champions, and the remnants of the other waves would march onwards and conquer the fortress from the tired and broken soldiers.

Following that would be the cries of defeat as the men were slaughtered and the women were captured, war at its finest, nothing new here…

To win this War, Dale had to do much more than just take care of his quota, he had to take care of others too.

But how?...

/PIERCE!/

"Huff… This isn't going to work." Dale said amidst gasps as he slashed the throat of another barbarian

To him, it was easy to do so, they came rushing at him like bees in a straight line, it wasn't hard to just swat them away, especially when they didn't really seem to be trying to evade.

Kill and kill some more, the only thing preventing Dale's sanity from decreasing was the fact he knew these weren't exactly people, but individuals corrupted by the dark practices of the Barbarians, it would be a mercy to put them down.

'To win this… I would need to take the chain of command down, but that's easier said than done.'

'Diving into an army of tens of thousands of Barbarians... And infiltrating a camp full of SuperHumans and killing one of their strongest on my own... It's not possible.'

'I would've had a better chance if I had my original body back, but this guy is no better than most teens in Resko... I think most of them are stronger due to the potions even.'

'... After experiencing Elgur… Maltur's life, I came to realize that his story and this man's story occur in the same continent, this is because they both use the same form of power.'

'Kiton.'

'What I think is that all of these memories belong to the same Continent, they're all fragments of a world that has already been lost or forgotten.'

'But that only makes things harder.'

'Even if I had prepared beforehand with weeks of training, I wouldn't be able to gather enough proficiency with Kiton to make a difference in the War on my own, there's no need to even talk about Mana.'

Dale took a deep breath, looking a the chaotic land around him.

'Should I just focus on gathering what I can instead? It wouldn't be too hard to flee from the war…'

"HUOOOO!!!"

"Hm… I'll think about it later." He mumbled as he raised his spear

Rest time was over, another group of crazed barbarians rushed to him, their weapons raised and stained with blood

/PIERCE!/

…

/Meanwhile…/

/HOOOORN!!!/

The War Horn was sounded and the soldiers responded to its call, Testros successfully played the massive War weapon, and soon enough, multiple horns began to answer:

/HOOORN!/

/HOOORN!/

The message was relayed across the entire expanse of the wall at the speed of sound, and finally, for the first time since the war began, the soldiers on the frontlines knew what to do.

/PUSH!/

They pushed the Devils back before retreating to the safety of the Wall, and at the same time, a powerful round of artillery fire blasted the creatures back, giving the soldiers time to retreat and rejoin their compatriots.

"..."

Before Testros, the soldiers began clearing the Wall and reactivating communications.

He was seeing with his own two eyes the changes his actions had brought forth to this critical day.

From here on out, what he could do was far beyond his current abilities, not something he was worthy of participating in.

There was only one thing left for him to do…

…

"SALUTE!"

/SLASH!/

"... You're back soldier, I've heard the War Horns."

"The soldiers have safely retreated, communications are slowly being reestablished and the Wall is returning to our hands." The Commander replied in a somewhat relaxed tone before his face returned to its previous tense expression

"However, we're far from done here."

He looked up, but as he did so, his eyes returned to the battlefield, as tense as ever.

"Return to your original post. Don't die, there's still much to be done." The Commander proclaimed before he turned to a large beast riding the clouds atop the Wall

Testros could feel the beast's power, it was a Great Devil, although which kind he couldn't tell, that was a subject better asked a professional, such as Tina or Sarferato.

/Shine…/

The Commander's weapon began to glow, and soon enough, he slashed it at the floating beast with a powerful blow that shook the very air around them!

/SLASH!/

/ROARRRR!!/

Within the parted clouds, a beast scream rang, and soon enough, bloody pieces began to fall from the skies.

/SWOOSH!/

/BAM!/

Following that, a comet soon fell next to the Commander and Testros, it was a woman with red hair and heavy armor, she held a halberd in her hand and she seemed fiercer than fire itself.

"Commander." She said informally and somewhat dismissively, but she wasn't rude, not at all, there was undeniable respect hidden in her tone

Testros recognized her, she was the Division Commander of the Southern Corps air forces…

"Welxza, go help Ferdinand, I need everyone here as soon as possible." He declared deeply before turning his gaze somewhere

"Roger that… Hm?"

As she walked past the Commander, she saw Testros look at her with his "innocent gaze".

To her, he was nothing but a teen, a child fighting to prove himself and survive.

To her, how could that not be cute?

/Pat/

With a small smile, she patted his head before taking to the skies like a comet as she charged at another powerful Demon.

"..."

Testros didn't know what to say or do now… For once, he wished to return to his post, but another part of him refused to leave…

/Sheen.../

In the end, he took his blade, standing next to the Commander as he gazed at the army fast approaching.

"..."

The Commander saw his actions but did not stop him, instead, he raised his left hand as a Devil swooped from the skies, trying to claw at him.

/GRAB!/

He grabbed the Devil, ripping it apart with his fingers!

/SLASH!/

Meanwhile, Testros slashed twice with his sword, cutting the heads of two fast-approaching Devils cleanly.

"... You have a good form recruit, text-book form." The Commander praised with his usual dark and heavy expression as he gave Testros a side glance

"!... Thank you sir!"

What a strange feeling it was… Even if it was an illusion… To be praised for his efforts like this…

It was almost kind of… Freeing.

He had never felt so light.

/ROAAARRR!/

""!!""

At that moment, from the depths of the Monster army, a roar echoed throughout the entire Southern Wall.

/Tremble…/

"... It's coming." The Commander said out loud as he tightened his grip over his blade

He quickly turned around, screaming a series of orders to be relayed and executed as fast as possible, but Testros paid it no attention.

/Baddum…/

Instead, his heart beat furiously… Fear.

He was frightened, deeply frightened…

Because the creature that was approaching was the very being he feared the most in the world, the creature that ripped apart dozens of his companions, the being that made him tremble at night as he fled from the Wall…

/TREMBLE…/

On the horizon, a gigantic beast made of shadows slowly approached the Wall.

The reason the Commander got injured… The reason why everything went down the drain…

Even though they were overwhelmed, as long as they were given enough time, they would've been able to persevere and regroup… Even if at heavy losses...

Given the period of "peace" they had in the last 100 years, the Southern Corps may have been given some time to relax and grow again to its former glory...

But such dreams were as stable as a candle in the wind...As when it appeared, they began to fall like flies…

/TREMBLE!/

This creature was…

"Arch-Devil…" Testros said in a low tone, his voice trembling

A monster even a Demon fears… In terms of power, a monster that would thwart a Great Devil without much effort…

An abomination of nature, no, the epitome of its corruption.

The Great Ent, an Ancient monster from beyond their world.

That was what happened when a Great Tree lost its caretaker. When those of impure thoughts and goals were given free reign over it…

The mark of a dead Empire.

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Notes