Yuri rode on horseback along with ten knights, including Raymond.
Among them were Laurent and Jared.
Yuri glanced back with a grin.
"You all look like your hangovers haven't worn off yet."
"No, sir."
"Have you gotten used to the speed?"
"Yes!"
Thanks to the magic cast by Ernando, the horses were much faster than usual.
"Jared, you don't look so good."
"I-I'm fine."
Jared, who had drunk a lot, didn't look well, but the rest seemed fine.
Suddenly, Laurent came up front and aligned his horse with Yuri's. He seemed to have something to say.
"Your Highness."
"Laurent."
"I'm once again in awe of Your Highness."
"Hmm?"
Yuri looked at him.
"Not only did you forgive those who insulted you, but you even extend a personal hand of salvation…"
Laurent's eyes sparkled. It seemed he had misunderstood something.
"You must believe there's no need to become a petty man like them. You shattered my narrow thoughts, which were only about subjugation."
"That's not really what I was going for…"
Putting aside his blind faith, the mention of 'subjugation' bothered Yuri.
"But subjugation…?"
"Well…"
Laurent hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"I was pretending to be drunk so I could pick a fight with the Holy Knights. It was a foolish idea."
Yuri looked at him in disbelief. The Laurent he knew wasn't like this.
Under Yuri's gaze, Laurent scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
"I know it wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't bear the insult to Your Highness."
"I see…"
It was good to have earned Laurent's loyalty, but it felt a bit burdensome. Still, he couldn't ignore such a devoted knight.
"T-Thank you for your loyalty, Sir…"
"Thank you for acknowledging it."
Laurent beamed brightly.
Looking at his pale face, Yuri felt a strange sensation.
The Laurent who had his throat slit by Yuri at the end of his previous life felt completely disconnected from this pure Laurent now.
Maybe that was only natural.
He himself had changed, so there was no reason others would be the same as they were in a past life.
Humans walk completely different paths depending on the environment they are given. And Laurent's descent had been caused by none other than Yuri's own mistake.
This time, he would never repeat that future.
"Laurent."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Let's do well together."
"…Pardon?"
Laurent's eyes widened, then he nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Yuri gave a short chuckle and looked ahead.
Far ahead, the silhouettes of Sibylla and the Holy Knights appeared, racing across the horizon.
"I see them!"
Raymond remained calm, Jared was dry-heaving on his horse, and the rest were visibly tense.
Yuri opened his mouth.
"This will be your first battle against orcs."
All eyes turned to him.
Yuri wanted to give some advice. But he didn't really have anything to say.
Battle wasn't something you could teach with words.
So instead of advice, he offered a request.
"Don't get hurt."
It was a heartfelt plea.
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Yuri increased his speed.
"Your Highness. We'll take the lead. Please fall back."
At Raymond's suggestion, the other knights nodded in agreement.
Though Yuri had shown many bold sides so far, he had never participated in a proper battle. So they didn't know his exact strength.
He was, after all, only an eighteen-year-old prince—how strong could he really be?
More importantly, Yuri was the commander of the Briol forces.
On the battlefield, ensuring the safety of the commanding officer was a basic rule.
"No."
But Yuri shook his head.
"Since it's the first battle, I'll explain. And this goes for every battle going forward."
He smiled slightly, recalling his days as a mercenary.
They were different from knights.
No rank, no titles.
Respect from comrades came solely from skill and dedication.
Only those who stood at the front against the enemy could become leaders.
"I am the first to enter the battlefield and the last to leave."
"…What?"
Yuri spurred his horse.
He urged it to run faster, and with that thought, he activated the heart-soul slash. Mana flowed into the horse. Its speed increased even more.
No one could catch up to him.
From Yuri's body, a pale white aura of mana rose like heat haze.
The legacy of Erich Briol was revealing itself on the battlefield for the first time.
"Your Highness!"
The knights called out to him, but Yuri didn't stop.
"Well, well."
In the distance, Sibylla and the Holy Knights were all tumbling to the ground.
Those who had never fought orcs tended to underestimate their cunning.
"That must've hurt."
As he muttered to himself, Yuri spotted an orc approaching with a torch in hand.
A fire attack.
Yuri twisted his lips.
There was no time to think.
Mana surged through his body.
Sensing his intent, the horse tensed its muscles and leapt.
Yuri's body swayed in the air.
In a single, fluid motion, he leapt from the saddle, sliced through the orc's neck, and snatched the torch.
It was a dangerously close moment.
Fortunately, the leaders of the Holy Kingdom's army didn't all end up burned to death.
"Whew…"
He looked down.
Sibylla had her teeth clenched and eyes tightly shut.
Yuri's lips curled into a smile.
"Sibylla."
One of the knights had his mouth hanging wide open, another looked like he was about to cry. Even Fenek, pale as a ghost, was visible in a corner.
"Open your eyes."
They gradually began to understand the situation.
As he watched their ever-changing expressions, Yuri couldn't help but tense his abdomen.
He tried to hold it back, but it wasn't easy.
In the end, Yuri burst out laughing.
"Your faces are priceless."
***
The Holy Kingdom's main force was successfully fending off the orc assault. The soldiers held firm formation, and the few Holy Knights who had stayed in the camp rushed out to confront the stragglers.
The orc unit began to retreat before suffering any more damage.
Watching the scene, Yuri murmured,
"They really are clever."
At times, orcs were better than humans at pulling tricks on the battlefield.
From the beginning, their target hadn't been the main force of the Holy Kingdom.
After confirming that Sibylla and the Holy Knights had split off, they aimed for the moment they would regroup.
Perhaps even the Briol forces were under observation.
It seemed the news about the Allied Army had reached the orcs.
"How did they get the intel…"
Yuri spotted an orc observing the battle from afar.
It had only one eye and a flag strapped to its back.
"Orcbal."
A higher-ranked tribe among the orcs.
Their eyes met for a moment.
The Orcbal stared back at Yuri, baring its tusks in a grin.
Yuri muttered,
"Normally, I'd smile when someone else does, but with that face, I just can't."
The Orcbal shouted something. The orcs began retreating even faster.
The soldiers faltered.
"What are you doing!"
Yuri shouted back.
"Don't let them go!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Hit their backs!"
The knights of Briol pursued the orcs from behind without letting up.
Laurent swung his sword with great momentum. An orc's arm flew into the air. The other knights didn't stand idle either.
The biting sword aura of the Briol Knight Order swept through the area.
The morale of the Holy Kingdom's army soared.
The soldiers pushed back the orcs even harder. As they turned their bodies, weapons pierced the orcs' backs.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Yuri."
Sibylla and the Holy Knights were just now crawling out of the pit.
Sibylla sighed as she watched the fleeing orcs. In the end, they had been no help at all.
"We owe you. Thank you."
She bowed her head formally in gratitude to Yuri.
"If it weren't for you, we'd all be dead."
Fenek still looked displeased, but seeing Sibylla bow, he had no choice but to follow suit.
"We express our gratitude to the third prince of Briol."
Following him, the entire Holy Knight Order bowed to Yuri.
Yuri waved them off.
"What's with all this? Allies help each other on the battlefield."
He helped Sibylla to her feet, then approached Fenek and patted his shoulder.
"Next time Briol's in danger, let the Holy Kingdom return the favor. That's fair, right?"
Fenek's expression grew complicated.
Yuri gave him a bright smile.
Though his personality was arrogant, it didn't change the fact that he was a valuable asset.
Yuri didn't want to judge him over just one clash.
What had he himself been like in the past life?
Yuri saw a reflection of his old self in people like Fenek.
He had also lacked much. When you're young, there's just so much you don't know.
"Don't you think so?"
At Yuri's words, Fenek nodded.
"Yes."
He looked Yuri in the eye as he spoke.
"I formally apologize for the rudeness I showed earlier today. I won't forget what you did for us. Thank you again."
"Thank you!"
The Holy Knights echoed Fenek's words.
"Alright. I accept it."
Yuri didn't think Fenek was twisted at his core. After all, the Holy Knights followed him so devotedly.
Though it was unfortunate for Sibylla, their leader was Fenek.
"By the way…"
Just as he spoke, Yuri suddenly turned and swung Guilty.
The arrow that had been deflected by the blade slammed into the ground.
Fenek's mouth opened in surprise at his reaction speed.
"A-Are you alright?"
"Don't worry."
Yuri searched for the attacker.
Among the retreating orcs, the Orcbal was waving its bow at Yuri.
A deliberate provocation.
"Must've hit a nerve."
It must be furious that Yuri had saved the Holy Knights from its trap.
Yuri grinned.
There was nothing quite as exciting as taunting a furious enemy.
And besides, how long had it been since he returned to the battlefield?
He couldn't be satisfied with just killing one orc.
Now that the Orcbal had provoked him, it seemed he'd be spilling more blood today.
"Guess I'll pay you a visit."
"…What?"
Mana surged from his core.
As killing intent filled his heart, the torrent raced through his bloodstream.
Yuri focused.
He instantly closed the distance between himself and the orc unit.
As the image formed in his mind, his body, powered by mana, chose the most efficient path.
He perceived the terrain's highs and lows at a glance, placing his feet in the ideal spot.
His figure flickered a few times, and suddenly, he was at the rear of the retreating orc unit.
He swung Guilty.
The orc in the back, unaware of Yuri's approach, was cleaved in two on the spot.
Two more orcs swung axes at him. He couldn't block them directly, so he dodged to the side.
He intended to exploit the opening after their attack, but multiple weapons aimed for him in succession.
He rolled across the ground and looked up.
The shadows of the orc horde loomed over Yuri.
Surrounded by several large orcs, it felt as if he were walled in.
Grotesque faces bared their teeth, glaring down at him.
He didn't panic.
In fact, it was a familiar sight.
Yuri gripped Guilty tightly.
After the fall of Briol, he had lived as a mercenary, wandering the edge of death. He had always been thrown into the heart of the enemy.
He had wanted to die but never did.
His senses sharpened most when death was just a breath away.
He perceived the enemy's movements all at once.
One stepped forward, one pulled back its shoulder, one roared, one thrust a spear.
There was only one path through all those attacks.
As he envisioned it, the mana of heart-soul slash surged through the blade's spine.
Attacks crossed with counterattacks.
Two orcs spewed blood and collapsed, and Yuri slipped between them and took the rear.
He struck again before the orcs could turn around.
He slashed their backs and waists.
The belated counterattacks didn't reach him. The orcs surrounding him collapsed at once.
Their tough hides didn't let them die immediately, but that was fine.
Orcs didn't tend to their wounded comrades. They just tossed them aside as bait and ran faster.
Yuri picked up a long spear dropped by one of the orcs. Stepping on the orc's back, he leapt high to locate his target.
"Orcbal!"
Though their languages didn't align, proper names weren't so different.
The Orcbal with the flag turned around.
Yuri threw the spear with all his strength.
The Orcbal's eyes widened.
It instantly lowered its posture, driving its feet into the ground and blocking with its double-edged axe.
The tension on its face was comical.
Crack!
The spear flew over the Orcbal's head.
The flag tumbled down.
Because it had curled up in preparation for impact, it couldn't respond properly.
The Orcbal's face twisted.
"You're scared, huh."