Blood tax

Chapter 1 The Eastern Front
Violent reverberations pounded on the brain, and vague but close ravings lingered in my ears.

who am I?
He opened his eyes hard to see black iron handguards smeared with mottled blood. The sharp and hard metal protected his fingers, the back of his hand and the outside of his forearm. The inside was brown leather and a belt, which firmly tied his own. arm.The wrist and fingers moved slowly, and the numbness was transmitted back.Well, this is my hand...

where am I?
The field of vision gradually expanded, and there were sharp spears, small round shields, sabers, daggers and mace on the wooden table in front of him.There were bows and arrows and quivers full of feathered arrows in the corners of the table.The soil beneath his feet was firm and hard, and the black iron forged iron boots, greaves and spurs were ferocious and evil.

what am i doing?
The loud noise hitting the brain became clearer and clearer, and it was gradually recognizable as a reverberating horn.Later, a clear voice came into my ears...

"Griffith."

"Griffith apprentice knight!"

"Hey! Second squad leader, wake up!"

The pitch rose slightly, accompanied by the knocking sound of his shoulder armor.

"Huh? What?" The apprentice knight who was called Griffith felt blankly that it was his name, but it wasn't his whole self.All kinds of chaotic memories mixed together, making it impossible for him to outline his own image.

"What?" Standing beside her was a tall, bright-looking young woman wearing a golden armor made of precision craftsmanship and raised her thin eyebrows, "What what? Why what?"

Griffith's sanity became clearer, he touched his breastplate subconsciously, then grabbed the weapon and put it on his body: "I'm a little dizzy~"

"Ha?! You're not dizzy anymore, okay?" The girl in front of her shook her head, her flaming red hair ponytail swaying behind her head, "Come sober up, pick up your weapon, and attack! "

Without waiting for Griffith to agree, the red-haired girl stuffed the black iron helmet into Griffith's arms, raised her right hand, and slapped the apprentice knight's face half a head taller than herself.

Griffith, who had been hit twice, immediately took a load of weapons and walked out of the camp behind the red-haired girl.

"Second Assault Squadron Commander Valkyrie, take your men to the right flank and hide under the slope behind the infantry," an officer in a red wool cape rode past them.

"Order received," the red-haired Valkyrie Squadron nodded, dragging Griffith, who didn't know what to do, to the front of the two war horses.

"Okay, whether you are awake or not, there is no time for you to adjust slowly now~" Valkyrie held his helmet in one hand, patted Griffith's shoulder with the other, and tilted his head towards him, " Get on your horse, grab your spear, and make an assault as usual, as long as you knock down the guy on the other side, we can go back... ah, it's not auspicious to say this before the war."

Griffith's body moved on its own, and naturally stepped onto the tall and majestic black warhorse in front of him just like eating and sleeping.The steed also wears a black visor and breastplate.There are sharp rams on his forehead, like a monster in the dark, silently waiting for his rider to pull the reins and trot behind Valkyrie and her mount.

Woohoo~ Although I don't know exactly what happened, everything seems to be going with the flow.

The breeze passed through the gaps in the visor, sending air with a faint strange smell into the nostrils.The mind that was still cloudy just now gradually became clear, and Griffith passed through the crowded camp.

The white tents were arranged in an orderly manner on both sides of the straight road, and each intersection was marked with the name of the nearby squadron and the direction ahead.On the wooden tower five or six meters high, soldiers waved green and red flags, stopping or letting go of the passing teams.

The infantry in bronze and iron armor lined up in neat formations, holding spears and life-size shields, and daggers hanging from their waists, as they walked through the straight road with a calm expression.Their helmets are adorned with feathers of bright red, bright yellow, and white, and they travel like a sea of ​​colorful colors.

The sound of the horn that was still reverberating in his mind had long since ceased, and the running officers on horseback occasionally issued loud and clear orders, and the troops who received the order simply responded loudly, and then continued to move quietly.

Griffith followed Valkyrie through the camp. From time to time on the road, well-dressed armored cavalry joined their ranks, until they came to the exit on the side of the camp, and from there they galloped along a slope for quite a while. Yes, and finally stopped on a large flat open space.

Dozens of male and female cavalry soldiers as young as Griffith saluted the red-haired female knight on horseback.Several people greeted Griffith with smiles on their faces.

"Battle ready," Valkyrie waved to the side, "Are the priests here?"

"The apprentice nun Christa is already in place. The messenger just came to inform that the high priest is at the infantry man, and it's too late to come over."

"Hmm~" Valkyrie nodded, "Krista, come to the front, bless the front row of the squadron, and skip the rest."

A pretty girl with a petite blond hair made her way through the crowd and ran to the front of the line.She was wearing a gleaming silver chainmail over her blue robe, holding a book that was almost the size of her upper body, and softly chanting blessings as clear as a stream.

Griffith, who was standing in the front row, suddenly found himself wrapped in a warm light, and both himself and his mount felt light and airy.

It's amazing.What power is this?
"Elegance of the wind, shelter, loaded."

The blond girl who chanted blessings finished her work and nodded to the squadron commander, took a breath, and looked in the direction of Griffith with her big, emerald-like eyes.

Is she looking at me?

"Hey~ Griffith, when this fight is over, I want to go to Bayeran with Krista," a tall brown-haired cavalryman poked Griffith with his elbow and smiled He made six virtual taps on his chest, "When I have enough merits to be promoted, I will confess to Christa!"

Griffith was reminiscing about the effects of the blessing.He felt that his movements became more agile, his movements became more dexterous, and at the same time his strength increased greatly, and he somehow felt that he would be lucky.He thought about it and remembered that the brown-haired cavalryman's name was Golona, ​​one of the admirers of the pretty nun.

"502 A cavalry regiment, action!" A thunderous roar came from a distance above the slope, followed by one after another of shouts and slogans, and the heavy and dense sound of hoofs rolled in.

At the same time, fireballs dragged long flames across the sky, flying towards the front beyond the sight.

A red flag appeared on the slope near the cavalry procession and was waving vigorously at them.

"Armored cavalry, advance!" Valkyrie put on his golden helmet, put down his visor, raised his golden lance and jumped forward.The armored cavalry followed closely, wrapped in a bewildered Griffith, and trotted from the hidden depression to the slope on the other side in four columns.

Griffith's line of sight moved up the arc of the slope little by little, gradually seeing the whole picture of the battlefield.

Thousands of infantry lined up in square and horizontal formations, square shields in their hands forming a wall-like front, straight and smooth like butter cut by a knife.Under the guidance of flying flags, the huge battle formation that stretched for several miles moved forward.The horizontal team at the forefront held a high eagle flag wrapped in a pure gold garland, and just projecting the line of sight over it made people more courageous.

Heavy catapults as tall as the giants in the story were throwing meteor-like fireballs from behind the battle lines.Hundreds of fireballs swept across the sky round by round, falling to the ground while igniting flames more than ten meters high.An invisible shock wave spread from the location of the explosion, swept away nearby trees and blurred figures.

The cavalry squadron, originally led by Valkyrie and hidden in the depression, maintained a column formation and detoured toward the right side of the wide battlefield.Several cavalry like them were advancing or fighting.

The cavalry of some teams was not equipped with horses like Griffiths and the others, and when they approached the enemy, they jumped from their horses, took out their strong bows and spears and poured their death on the opposite side.When the wall of people in front of them collapsed under the blow of the bow and arrow, another line of cavalry roared past and rushed towards the gap in the front.Immediately afterwards, some huge monsters like bison and jackals rushed from the rear of the opposing front, riding humanoid creatures, and collided heavily with the cavalry team that launched the impact, sending out bursts of roars and screams.

"Good luck today!" Gorona shouted from Griffith's right hand, the two were less than the width of a warhorse, "There are not many wolf cavalry, it would be great if no one stopped us all the time. It's gone!"

The armored cavalry quickly crossed most of the battlefield, and the infantry of the brigade could not be seen near Griffith.Hundreds of archers in light leather armor assembled not far from the squadron.They swiftly drew feathered arrows from the quiver behind them, and threw a continuous rain of arrows in front of them.

The locust-like arrows covered the sky and the sun, and screams came from the opposite position when they landed.

Griffith trotted while watching the archers shooting, and suddenly Valkyrie on the far right of the team shouted: "Long-range defense!"

The knights around him raised the small metal shield in their left hand to protect it diagonally above, and at the same time, they leaned as low as possible to get close to the war horse.

As soon as the words fell, a storm-like rain of arrows washed over.Griffith, who was hiding behind the shield, heard a loud crash on the shield, like a summer shower hitting the roof.

The archers who were not too far away let out a scream, and the archers who were shooting at a rapid rate just fell down like a wheat field in summer.

Valkyrie led her cavalry on foot, continuing to make a large circle to the right.The heavily armored cavalry indifferently separated from the sparse battle line of the archers and marched deeper.

"Hurrah!" The tsunami-like shout of the mountain frightened Griffith and his mount. I saw two crowds of people collided in the center of the distant battlefield, and many figures flew into the air.

"Squadron, stop!" Valkyrie raised his lance again, and the cavalry took up the trot's mounts.At the same time, several cavalry columns also came from nearby, gathering together like a stream converging into a river to form a dense formation.

"Horizontal! Prepare for an assault!" A commander in a red shirt drove his horse to the front of the queue and pointed his sword at the crowded crowd not far away.

The cavalry quickly spread out from column to line.Griffith suddenly found a small figure in his right back.

Is this Krista who blessed us just now?This slender girl was also wearing armor all over her body, holding a saber and riding a horse calmly.She turned her head slightly to see Griffith's eyes and smiled at him.

"Close formation!" The officers and knights handed down the password one by one.

The iron-clad young cavalrymen put down their helmets and approached each other, let out a low growl like a beast, and stared straight ahead.

The red-robed general pointed his sword forward and started to trot, and the brilliance like a rainbow spread from his long sword, shrouding him and the knights around him.

"Cavalry, advance!"

Hundreds of thousands of armored cavalry began to trot, pounced on the enemy's side and rear like a city wall.

Looking from the sky, it was like a shimmering tide of cold water, roaring towards the shore.Along the way, many scattered monsters and warriors rushed towards this huge wave, and then they were swallowed up and disappeared without a trace.

The first row of the trotted cavalry battle line held lances, and the next few rows clenched saber and mace, maintaining a smooth line and rolling forward.

"Be level with me!" The red-robed general shouted, and the battle line of thousands of people was like an extension of his hands and feet, "Byelan—!"

"Byelan - Wansheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

The cavalry regiment began to charge on horses.

"Jie Jie Jie Jie Jie Jie!" The crowd in front of him was commotion.Griffith saw countless black humanoid creatures like festering ant nests from the crevices of the undulating helmets, collapsing piece by piece in front of the cavalry and fleeing in all directions.

"Boom!" The cavalry battle line broke through the enemy's defense line like a flood, making a deafening roar.Griffith picked up a monster's skull, and then stepped on several of the same kind under the horse's iron hooves.

It was only at this time that he could clearly see the face of the enemy.

This is a creature that is slightly shorter than humans and has dark green skin.They have the same hands and feet as humans, but with sharp fangs protruding from their lips and ears like donkey ears.These foes wear grotesque black and gray armor and wield machetes, wooden shields, or spears.

Half-orc.Griffith felt that his brain, which had just normalized, was a mess again, and all kinds of confusing and conflicting information were scrambling into a ball.

Howling orcs, marble columns wrapped in flames and collapsed ruins, huge and twisted shadows emerging from the rolling fire waves... All kinds of information gathered in my mind, as if there was an illusory image, the countdown hand of the clock was moving. Scroll towards the end point.

A dark figure emerged in the depths of consciousness and slowly turned around.Griffith subconsciously felt that the identity of this person was extremely important, and he almost forgot that he was still on the battlefield, trying his best to see the true face of this shadow.

"Ow!" Suddenly, a monster 4 or 5 meters high appeared in front of him.It is extremely strong, and its whole body is full of strong muscles like rocks, waving a giant tree and sweeping towards the second-level squad leader.

"Er? Huh?!" Griffith, who was still trying to see the true face of the mysterious man, flew out with his warhorse and smashed into the ground beside him.

……

The intense tinnitus made people mad, and Griffith got up dizzy, only to see an armored cavalry with a spear collided with the giant monster that had just knocked him off, and fell into the mud together.

The cavalry battle line has disappeared, and there are screams and screams of killing everywhere.

"Ouch!" A sharp voice sounded from behind, and Griffith turned around in a hurry. Two orc warriors in tattered clothes and armed with machetes and wooden shields had already rushed not far from him.

The apprentice knight subconsciously sent his right hand forward, and the lance that had been interrupted in half immediately pierced the throat of one of the orcs.At this moment, another orc flew over and stabbed Griffith in the head.

"Clang!" Griffith flashed slightly, and the blade slammed into his shoulder armor and flew out.The apprentice knight pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed it in the horrified orc's eyes.

The two corpses fell to the ground almost at the same time, and black blood splashed from the gaps in the visors to the eyes and mouth.Griffith was immediately nauseated, and while holding back his nausea, he drew the long sword around his waist while blinking, looking for the next enemy.

"Griffith!" Krista and another wounded cavalry ran over.They all lost their mounts, covered in dirt and blood, and still had sabres or half lances in their hands.

"The wing broke through the defense line and rushed over, what should we do?" Krista's helmet flew somewhere when she fell off the horse just now, and her soft blonde hair was draped over her shoulders.She pointed to the side of the battlefield and said to the two: "A group of orcs are coming towards us."

"We're here," Griffith picked up a shield from the ground and held it in his hand, while holding up the long sword in his hand, "Come closer to me!"

On the muddy ground on the side, several cavalrymen who had been knocked off their horses were crawling up from the ground, and two of them immediately ran towards Griffith, who was shouting.Several other people also gathered together and formed a small formation.

It was too late to gather or retreat.A team of wildly fighting orcs was originally sent to support the defense line here, but before they could arrive, the defense line disappeared under the impact of the human cavalry, and the remaining two teams of foot cavalry happened to be regarded as theirs. Target.

The five cavalrymen immediately gathered back to back, forming a circular formation with swords and shields that could be picked up easily.

"Waaaagaaaaah!"

An orc was the fastest, jumping over his companion and slashing at Griffith.Before its axe could fall, Griffith pierced its chest with a sword.

"Boom!" Several orcs crashed head-on, hitting the shields of Griffith and the cavalry around him, making a loud noise that made people tinnitus.Before they could stab each other, the Orcs from behind rushed up and squeezed their companions among them.

A rusty machete and axe were dangling in front of him, and Griffith seized the opportunity to stab a sword from the gap and plunged into the belly of an orc.The little monster immediately screamed and twitched as he grabbed the blade that had pierced him with both hands.

In the crowd, no matter how hard Griffith tried, his longsword couldn't be drawn.The screaming orc was squeezed around by his companions and Griffith's shield, spewing blood like a crushed orange.

A long spear stabbed from the crowd, and a cavalryman standing beside Griffith was stabbed in the throat. The tall warrior fell down before he could even snort, and pressed on Krista behind him.The cavalry, who had died, still held the shield tightly in their hands, maintaining a standing posture under the crowded front and back.

After an unknown amount of time, the besieging orcs took a few steps back.The three dead cavalrymen and a dozen orc warriors laid layer upon layer of corpses on the ground.Another squad of cavalry in the distance has also been submerged in the sea of ​​people.

Griffith didn't know how many weapons he had changed. He took a hatchet that God knows where he got it, and was back-to-back with the apprentice nun.The panting orc soldier glared at the two from a few steps away, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Krista dropped the half-broken saber in her hand, quickly took off the heavy book hanging from her waist, and tied it with a silver chain with four gleaming horns on the chain.The holy book that had just been used to bless the cavalry turned into a terrifying shield full of fangs and teeth...

The blond girl held the shield and rested her head lightly on Griffith's shoulder.The two stood silently, waiting for their final fate.

"Wan Sheng!"

The majestic battle cry erupted again at an unknown location on the battlefield.A brigade of infantry did not know where to penetrate the enemy's line, and rushed towards the battlefield under the command of the commander.

The orcs who were still besieging the cavalry immediately shook, some shouted to kill Griffith and the others, and the other part had already started to turn around and run away.

"The Light gave me courage,

"The Holy Light gives me shelter,

"The Light looks upon me, throwing fear upon the heads of my enemies..."

Griffith heard the soft prayer of the girl behind him.Krista suddenly picked up the chain in her hand and swept around.Griffith shrewdly shrank his head, and then a silver light flashed, tearing a bloody path among the surrounding orcs.

The slender blond girl didn't know where she got so much energy, waving the holy book on the chain and flying in the center of the orcs.The half-orc team that was still shouting just now fled in all directions.

"Don't stop, keep attacking!" Several infantrymen had already smashed through the line of defense and came to Griffith's side, and a sergeant who took the lead approached his visor and shouted, "Follow us to continue... ah!"

Before the sergeant could finish his words, a sudden violent tremor came from under his feet.A palm larger than the body of the troll stretched out from the ground and smashed the sergeant in one fell swoop.

"Beamon!"

"Beamon!"

The infantry on the attack uttered a terrified cry, and fell into a frantic rout in front of the sudden monster.Amidst the shouts, a giant as tall as a hill broke through the ground.Its skin was as powerful as bronze, with a huge single horn on top of its head, and its single wheel-like eye scanned the battlefield, turning around to strike at the infantry and cavalry around it.

what is this!Griffith screamed in his heart.Although he soon realized that this was the legendary monster that hunted dragons.When his vision was obscured by a giant black shadow, the will of the war was still unable to withstand such a sudden sight.

In the middle of nowhere, it seemed that two dice fell to the ground.Immediately afterwards, Griffith felt as if a crack had opened in his head, and chaos, evil, fear and anger poured out.

His reason is losing.

The legendary monster just appeared without warning.The terrifying force brought a powerful shock wave, and Griffith was blown to the ground like grass in a gust of wind.Most of the nearby comrades fell into fear and madness, some fled, and some held long spears to charge at the giant beast, but the sharp spear head stuck on the giant beast's body as if it hit the city wall. Broken instantly.

The terrifying giant beast swept over with its arms like a city wall, and the chaotic infantry brigade immediately heard a continuous sound of bone cracks.In Griffith it sounded as dense as hailstones falling, fear and nausea spewing from the stomach.

A troop of cavalry returned to the battlefield.They had just broken through the line of defense and were about to lay siege to the still-persisting enemy formation, and they collided head-on with the devastating attack of the legendary creature.Some of the cavalry fled screaming, others collided out of inertia.

Screams and crackles echoed in the air.

It's...it's scary...I'm dreaming!
My rib is broken...it hurts...damn it hurts!

Griffith was shaking all over.The whole body armor was useless in the face of Beamon's sweep, and it was only rubbed by the wind pressure that shattered his internal organs.

Griffith kept spitting out blood, scratching on the mud ground desperately, trying to escape the battlefield.

At this desperate moment, a brilliant golden light appeared in front of him.

"Griffith, hold on, I'm here!" Krista ran to Griffith with her soft blonde hair scattered, still chanting the magic of healing.

The warm heat immediately enveloped Griffith's body, and he felt as safe and calm as if he were immersed in warm water.All he could see was Krista's bright features and brilliant blonde hair.

Ah...is this a goddess!

"Snapped!"

A gust of wind swept in front of him, and the apprentice nun who had just been in front of her disappeared immediately.

"Krista!" Griffith heard Golona's familiar, terrified shout, and then he saw the nun trainee's broken limbs fall to the ground.The head that had been separated from the body rolled in front of Griffith, and the big blue eyes were still watching him.

Griffith groaned in his heart, as if something important was shattering.

Beamon kicked the cavalry who came to support him, and the three or four cavalrymen who couldn't dodge immediately turned into a mass of torn pieces of meat.

"Go to hell!" Gorona nimbly dodged a blow and jumped up from the warhorse, following Beamon's arm towards the blind spot of its vision.Just a little further, he can pierce the one eye of the behemoth.

I'm trying to distract this monster... Griffith almost clenched his teeth, stood up with all his might, grabbed a spear and threw it at the beast.

"boom!"

The spear smashed to pieces against the wall-like chest.The Behemoth Behemoth raised his left hand and slapped it heavily, and Golona, ​​who was sprinting on his right arm, turned into a puddle of flesh on the spot like a killed mosquito.

"Uh!!!" Griffith took a step back in horror as he saw the heroic Golona being smashed to pieces.Fear had spread all over his body.The apprentice knight with black lines on his face took a few steps back and fell to the ground with a plop.

Krista's head lay quietly beside his hand, the beautiful light in her eyes has been extinguished.

"Ouch!" Griffith vomited, as if he was about to vomit his stomach.

no, no...

How can this be something that human beings can overcome...

Then again... what the hell am I doing here?
(End of this chapter)