Capítulo 137: 23-29
Chapter 23 - Leonel's Body
After giving Leonel this information, Aina, to the shock of Leonel, gently softened the wrinkles in the animal fur and laid on her side with her back facing him. She cradled the long arm of her ax in her bosom, the soft sounds of her steady breathing soon following.
Leonel blinked for a moment. With will power he didn't know he had, he forced himself to look away from the elegant curve of her back and…
'Focus, focus… You have a lot of work to do.'
Leonel had spent all his life avoiding women. In middle school, he simply wasn't interested in them aside from the usual teasing a boy might have for the opposite sex at that age. And, when it came to high school and he finally realized that girls were more interesting than he thought, he caught sight of Aina. No… It was more accurate to say that she was the reason he found women were worth looking at.
With how popular Leonel had been as a Five-Star Professional, the women who wanted him could form a line that wrapped around Earth. But his father's two mantras had always been respect and persistence. If he wanted to respect Aina, even if they weren't a couple, he had to at least do the bare minimum.
Like this, Leonel, who had a friend like James who had probably lost count of the number of women he had been with, was a green virgin. Something like being in a tent barely four meters in every direction with the only woman who stirred his heart was too much stimulation for him to handle.
To clear his mind, Leonel began to subconsciously circulate [Dimensional Cleanse]. Without having to worry about Invalids, he unleashed his talent completely. Those who could only be considered normal humans felt a comfortable and warm, yet strong wind picking up.
The flaps of open tents whipped back and forth. The horses, in their makeshift stables, neighed, hot air billowing from their nostrils. It almost seemed like a gentle summer's day despite the fact they were deep into fall and quickly approaching winter.
As for those who weren't normal…
Aina's eyes flashed open, an unconcealed shock hidden within. But she didn't turn back. Instead, she closed her eyes once more, feeling comforted. A light smile Leonel couldn't see played her delicate features.
'The energy density in this place is severely lacking compared to the current Earth… Is that the difference between a world that's begun its evolution and one that hasn't?'
Despite the low energy density, Leonel's speed was still much faster than it had been when he was constantly worrying about Invalids. In fact, he felt that it was faster than it should have been.
'My speed increased more than it should. That's probably related to my increase in spirit?'
Eventually, Leonel's mind slipped away. By the time he awoke again, the sun had set and risen.
[Leonel Morales]
[Strength: 0.80; Speed: 0.75 (+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 0.99; Stamina: 0.87 (+0.05); Reactions: 0.99; Spirit: 0.12]
Leonel's spirit had risen once more, this time by 0.1. He couldn't help but smile to himself. Before, three days had netted him some small improvement due to his forceful slowing of his own progress. But, now that he had unleashed his full potential, he gained such a large amount in a little over 12 hours. He was immensely satisfied.
By now, Aina had awoken. Her back still faced to him, she was meditating as well. It seemed that she wasn't able to meditate and sleep like Leonel could. In addition, whatever technique it was that she was practicing, it relied entirely on the goings on of her own body. There was no energy entering her from the outside at all.
Leonel noticed a tray of food in front of him and nodded a thanks Aina couldn't see. It wasn't nearly enough food for him, but he couldn't expect an encampment of a thousand men to have too much to spare.
After wolfing down the porridge and sausage, Leonel set the tray aside, thinking of going hunting for his own food as he had in the Mayan temple. However, not wanting to leave Aina alone, he thought against it.
'It's rare that I have time to calm myself and think. It's already been four days since I received those two booklets, yet I've yet to even open them.'
If Montez heard Leonel's thoughts, he would go numb from shock.
If Leonel had never opened the technique booklets, how was it that he had used both [Dimensional Cleanse] and [Call of the Wind]?!
Unfortunately for Uncle Montez's sanity, Leonel's answer would be the same shrug he used after he chose [Dimensional Cleanse] over the other four Tier 9 Black techniques.
When Leonel laid hands on the booklets, the things he could already sense with his eyes were magnified several times over. He got an instinctual feel for the existence of the technique without even opening its cover. That first night he spent with his friends after coming back, he found that he could simply use them with ease.
When Leonel realized this, he refrained from reading through the techniques. He felt that in such a dangerous environment, since he could already use them without issue, there was no point in risking anything now to read them. After all, he couldn't meditate and rest if he had to read.
Finally, Leonel pulled out [Dimensional Cleanse] and flipped open to the first page. The first thing he saw was a summary of the technique.
'Dimensional Cleanse. This technique attunes the body to the shift in Dimensions, using Fourth Grade Force to wash Third Dimensional Constitutions and bring them closer to Perfection.'
'Fourth Grade Force? Is that what it's called?'
Leonel realized immediately how important this booklet was. He didn't have enough fundamental knowledge about his quickly changing world. The more he knew, the better system he could build in his mind. Then, there'd be less variables to contend with.
'But this 'perfection', what is it that they mean by that?' Leonel kept reading.
'The completion stages of this technique are graded from One Star Cleansed Body to Three Star Cleansed Body.
'If you succeed in forging a One Star Cleansed Body, congratulations. You are one of the foremost talents in your world. Should you help your plane continue to evolve, you have the potential to form a Seventh Dimensional Constitution. You can be considered amongst the 1%.
'If you succeed in forging a Two Star Cleansed Body, I praise you whole heartedly. You are a generational genius of your time, a God amongst men. Should your world continue to evolve, you have the potential to form an Eighth Dimensional Constitution. You can be consider the 1% of the 1%.
'If you succeed in forging a Three Star Cleansed Body, I hope you'll remember the Karma we've forged on this day.'
'So a Three Star Cleansed Body is this 'Perfection' they're talking about?'
Leonel wasn't sure. Even the lowest completion of One Star received such high praise. If that was the case, then what sort of existence was the Three Star Cleansed Body.
Shaking his head, Leonel could only continue.
'Internal Sight.
'Before any Force technique can be cultivated, Internal Sight must be mastered. If you do not have the talent to awaken this ability, I advise you to place down this technique. Once you advance to gain a Fourth Dimensional Constitution, you will naturally awaken Internal Sight and you can then choose another Force Technique.'
'Internal Sight is a subconscious, instinctual grasp of the Force not only in the world around you, but within you as well. Without the ability to both sense this energy and also guide it into your body, the quest for Perfection is simply not in your destiny.
'Force Nodes.'
Leonel turned the page to find a diagram of the human body. From his biology studies, there were several points off from the humans of Earth. But the creator of this technique wrote diligent notes on how to adjust his diagrams to fit the evolutionary quirks of each world.
'Force Nodes are the points in the body that generate and propagate Force. They do not exist naturally in Third Dimensional Constitutions. Instead, they must be formed either through the use of techniques such as this one, or naturally as a world evolves.
'Cultivated Force Nodes are neither inferior or superior to Natural Force Nodes. The only exception to this are individuals able to forge Natural Force Nodes of a higher rank than their current world's Dimensional Plane. However, these individuals are incredibly rare and are usually World Spirit wielders, or the offspring of one.
'In addition to this, the better the foundation technique, the better your Cultivated Force Nodes of the future will be. My Dimensional Cleanse technique can be considered among the best, so you are in luck.'
Leonel refrained from rolling his eyes. You hadn't even finished the technique when you wrote this, how could you possibly know that? What a narcissistic creator.
As Leonel continued to read, he found a few differences from his expectations.
For one, due to the fact he hadn't formed even a single Force Node and was just cultivating Force by instinct, what he was doing now was 'Priming' his body. According to the creator, the longer one could 'Prime', the higher chance they had at forging a Three Star Cleansed Body.
From what Leonel could see, he had already begun to pass the thresholds necessary to enter those completion realms. The creator described that state as 'Force infused into the brain'. Leonel had already naturally accomplished this.
The second thing that subverted his expectations was that unlike those anime he and his dad liked to watch, the core of Force techniques wasn't at his lower belly, but was rather in his mind. The reason 'Force infused into the brain' was so important was because this was where the Stars would form. The more resilient the mind, the higher chance there was at success.
The third thing was that Leonel felt he could already form Two Stars without issue. But the fact he could exposed to him just how difficult it was to form Three. He felt that it was an astronomical distance away despite the fact he had reached the Two Star threshold so easily.
The fourth thing Leonel began to contemplate was on just what his ability truly was, then… According to the description of Internal Sight, it matched the way he had used his ability all along.
Could it be he had mistaken Internal Sight for his ability? If that was the case, then what was his actual ability, then? It couldn't be that his ability was something everyone would receive eventually… right?
Leonel could only set these thoughts aside. The more he cultivated [Dimensional Cleanse], the stronger his ability would become. By then, he'd know the truth. If it was more potent, he'd be able to get a rid on it much easier.
'Alright, there are multiple options from where to start forming Force Nodes. If I want to gather enough Force to form the first Star, I need three Nodes. Six Nodes for two. And nine Nodes for the third and final. But, it's very difficult for a Pseudo Fourth Dimensional body to withstand that many nodes even if my brain can withstand Two Stars already.
'The most dangerous starting position is the brain stem… the easiest is the calf. However, starting at the calf will make your Nodes about a tenth the size of their full potential. The further the starting position from the brain, the longer the path you need to forge, and thus the less energy you can spend on widening your Node.
'The closer to the brain you start, the less energy you need to spend on the path, and the more you can spend on widening your Node. The wider the starting Node, the more Force it can withstand. Since your first Node acts as a pathway to your second Node, the same principle applies, so the closer the second Node is to it, and the larger that first Node is… the larger the second will be…
'In that case, what I need to focus on is reaching saturation in my Priming stage. After this, I'll form my first Node at my brain stem!'
Like this, three weeks passed and Leonel's brain had finally reached its full capacity.
[Leonel Morales]
[Strength: 0.80; Speed: 0.75 (+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 0.99; Stamina: 0.87 (+0.05); Reactions: 0.99; Spirit: 0.30]
Chapter 24 - Cleanse
Leonel hadn't moved in weeks. He wasn't even consciously aware of the fact that Aina had left and come back several times already. Without any strong threats around him, and subconsciously putting his trust in her, he went all out.
Due to the strong winds and comfort that emitted from his tent, the Frenchmen hadn't dared to approach. By now, they were all convinced that he was an envoy of God.
Aina entered the tent once more. But this time, she frowned deeply seeing his current state.
Leonel's lips were a deep shade of blue, his body quaking with every passing second. The whirlwind of Force surging toward him was more than ten times greater than it had been on the first day. Whether that was due to the increase in his Spirit, or due to the fact he had a deeper understanding of the technique after actually reading it, it was impossible to tell.
Ghastly blue-green veins ran across Leonel's neck and forehead. Beads of sweat rolled down his body, mixing in with the foul odor it was giving off. If Leonel knew that Aina had continuously dealt with his body odor without a complaint for so many weeks, who knew how he'd feel.
If one peered into Leonel's brain stem, it would be possible to see a growing seed of concentrated Force. There was no simple way to complete this process. Leonel had to carve out his own flesh while simultaneously using Force to heal himself.
This was why this step was so dangerous. The brain stem was arguably the most important part of the brain. If it was ever damaged, death was basically guaranteed. Yet, Leonel had to actively do exactly that to carve out a Node for himself.
The only way this was possible was due to the special characteristic of [Dimensional Cleanse]. Not every Force technique would carve out Nodes in the same places, and most directly avoided such dangerous areas. It was precisely because the creator of this technique was so confident in his methods that he dared pen down this technique.
'Use your senses to perfectly memorize the structure of cells in your brain stem… reorganize… stimulate their recreation… destroy the original… repeat…'
It took hundreds of years of research before humans of Earth were able to use stem cells to reproduce brain cells. In fact, it was still in its infant stages even now. Yet, this technique was able to use Force to surpass anything Earth was capable of.
However, it was still up to Leonel in the end to repeat this process countless times. It was simply impossible for him to do this for every one of the millions of cells in his brain stem. That said, a normal Node formed of Fourth Grade Force would barely be visible to the naked eye and could have its size measured in cubic micrometers.
The issue Leonel faced was that his Node was not normal. And, though a normal Node would only take up the space of about 10 cells at most, the true difficultly came in properly restructuring everything so that your mind could continue to function properly.
That alone was already difficult… But Leonel had to replace and reorganize not just 10 cells… But 100!
On any other day, a mere paper cut could slice across far more than 100 human cells with ease. But to Leonel, that seemingly small number was the barrier between him and death.
He knew he could have stopped at 10, that he could have stopped at 20, even at 50… These numbers were already far more than a normal person could match. And, it should also be considered that [Dimensional Cleanse] wasn't a normal technique to begin with, another technique might have their user form a Node of five cells at most!
But, Leonel knew that if he stopped, he would be cheating himself. What had he wasted so much time Priming himself for if he wasn't going to tap into his full potential? If he stopped now, then he might as well have formed his first Node back when his Spirit was at 0.12.
Blood began to leak from Leonel's nose. It was such a deep crimson that it almost appeared black.
The calculations running through Leonel's mind were astronomical. Just how many other neurons did 100 brain stem cells connect to? How many spinal connections? How many smooth muscle connections? How many organs did they control?
Rerouting his whole body like this put immense pressure on his mind. He just wanted to sleep, to alleviate that pain racking his body, but he knew he couldn't.
'Persistence…'
His back straightened. He realized now that the reason he fought those seven A-grade Invalids wasn't because of some random excuse, it was because of something his father had ingrained in his body since he was young.
Persist.
Aina stood at the doorway, her teeth biting down hard on her soft lips.
'He's forming his first Node now? How is that possible? He should at the very least be on his fifth or sixth… Is his high coordination and reaction purely due to his ability then? What kind of ability is that?'
Aina obviously didn't have access to the same stats Leonel self-created. But, she had a natural ability to read people that came from years of training and experience. From her experience, it was simply impossible to have such high 'base stats' without first forging Nodes. She herself was already working on her seventh.
In fact, the base strength she displayed wasn't her full strength. Because she rarely used her Force, the stats Leonel had of her were actually wrong. After all, he can only measure what he can see, and he had too little knowledge of Force before.
The only point that stood now, however, was the fact Leonel's ability, whatever it was, was actually so great…
Suddenly, a roar escaped Leonel's lips, a shower of blood bursting from the pores of his body.
In the next moment, the sound of something that almost resembled a massive flame being lit swept through. Concentric circles of rippling force winds and dust billowed around him, shooting the tent he sat into the sky.
Leonel opened his eyes with a flash, their hazel burning with a deep blue light that flickered and disappeared a moment later.
He was a complete mess. His body was coated in blood from head to toe. In fact, the his general vicinity looked as though a concentrated rain of blood had fallen, splattering around gruesomely.
However, if one looked closely, one could see that this wasn't normal blood. It had an impure, brownish-black quality to it that released a terrible smell. At that moment, despite his looks, Leonel felt more alive than he ever had.
[Leonel Morales]
[Strength: 0.80; Speed: 0.75 (+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 1.00; Stamina: 0.87 (+0.05); Reactions: 1.00; Spirit: 0.30]
That was it. He had crossed the limits the human body could theoretically endure!
His other stats hadn't improved, but this made sense. After all, it was a Node for his brain, not his body. They only had minor ticks up. But, Leonel knew that if he activated the Force in his first Node, his stats would increase by another margin.
'… Seems I've missed something important…' Leonel reprimanded himself.
"You stink." Aina's soothing voice appeared above Leonel sitting form.
Leonel was speechless. But, looking down at himself and taking a whiff, even he could only cringe.
Sweeping out his senses, he quickly found the nearest water source.
"Come with me." Leonel said.
Aina raised an eyebrow.
Leonel grinned. "It's alright. I'm okay with you taking advantage of me."
It was Aina's turn to be speechless. In the end she turned and blushed, not meeting Leonel's eyes.
At that moment, Leonel couldn't hide the confusion in his heart. He had thought that Aina's bashful personality was all just an act, not different from how Yuri pretended to be the kind, considerate friend for so many years. But what was this?
"Leaving you here doesn't sit well with me. Come on." Leonel dashed away.
After seeing that he wasn't scrutinizing her anymore, Aina quickly followed. By the time she caught up, Leonel was already stripping by a riverside. Flustered, she could only find a tree to sit behind in the opposite direction.
Aina's militaristic outfit didn't have any defensive abilities. All it had were its convenient pockets that allowed her to store many things like miniature spatial devices, and the real reason she chose it: a self-cleaning function.
She liked to stay clean, but she was also practical. Finding a place to bathe in a Zone or even on Earth right now was near impossible. So though she missed the feeling of water gliding across her soft skin, she gave it up.
"Do you think they'll be alright without us?"
Leonel's voice traveled to Aina's as he alternated between scrubbing himself and his clothes.
"They'll be fine…" Aina said softly. "… Yuri knows what to do. Plus, only the Beginner Zone works on the same timeline. The Zone we're in currently is ten to one. Not even three days have passed to them yet."
"Oh. I didn't know that." Leonel muttered.
Aina always seemed to speak to him as if the things she was saying were obvious. Did she not realize that he had no idea what she was talking about?
Leonel frowned. 'Uncle Montez said that because Earth had so much potential, there were several other worlds looking to get a piece of the pie… His words seemed to imply that they had started doing this even before the Metamorphosis began… Could Aina's family be related to this?'
"Did you really only just light your first Node?"
After several moments of silence, Aina's sweet voice traveled to his ears again.
"You know about Nodes?" Leonel asked, surprised.
"Did you think you were the only one?" Leonel could almost hear the light smile through Aina's voice. He could barely hold back his desire to see it.
"Sort of… I had to do a lot to get my hands on the method. I didn't think others were already aware."
Leonel wasn't lying. He only got [Dimensional Cleanse] because he was the first to clear a Zone, and as such, he received a Tier 9 Black reward. There could only be one of him, right?
But, it seemed he forgot to consider that a Force technique didn't have to be such high grade. And, also, from Uncle Montez's words, maybe others had gotten their hands on treasures through other means. Maybe that was why Aina seemed to have more treasures on hand than she should.
"I did just light my first one." Leonel eventually answered. "I chose my brain stem as my first location, so it was pretty dangerous. I should have prepared some more."
Aina froze. "What did you just say?"
Leonel raised an eyebrow. "That I chose my brain —"
"Are you insane?!"
"Uh…" How was he supposed to respond to that? "… Maybe?"
"Maybe?! Why didn't you just pick a spot on your legs?! You can only choose nine locations at best, and most can't even form a second. Recklessly choosing your brain now is not only dangerous, but if you reach a bottleneck in your potential, your bodily strength will always be substandard!"
Leonel could hear Aina almost huffing and puffing. It seemed the Aina who could curse out a grown man three times her size had come out. He was too angry to see it that night, but he was sure it was an adorable sight.
"I knew I should have woken you up…" Aina bit her lip again.
"You shouldn't do that, you'll scar your lip."
Aina was shocked awake from her own rant, finding Leonel standing before her with wet, dripping hair. It was fine if he wanted to come, but did he really have to do it shirtless?
"… You don't understand. The bottlenecks people face get worse and worse with every step. Unless you're lucky enough to be born with a Lineage Factor that gives you Natural Force Nodes, reaching past the third Node is impossible. You would need Force Node medicines, but Earth just can't produce those now."
Leonel smiled. "You don't have to worry about me."
It was a smile he had practiced in the front of the mirror so many times, the very smile he prepared just for this one person.
Seeing Aina completely disarmed, he felt a swelling of satisfaction in his heart.
'Whoever that old fart is who wrote [Dimensional Cleanse] really is a liar. No difference between Cultivated and Natural Force Nodes my ass. You could have at least mentioned this in a footnote you ass.'
After recovering, Aina's expression turned serious once more.
"It's good that you know that I'm worrying. In that case, be less reckless and choose your right arm for your next Node. It will improve your throwing abilities by a large margin."
Leonel nodded innocently like an obedient child, but internally he had no intention of listening.
After awakening his first Node, Leonel gained a greater grasp of just what his ability was. If he had to sum it up in one word it was… Calculation.
In the simplest terms, his mind was like a supercomputer. The reason why he had almost mistaken Internal Sight for his ability was precisely because of his mind's ability to make use of that information far better than anyone else would be able to.
It was the reason he could tell the difference between a loaded and unloaded gun by its weight. It was the reason he could assign 'stats' just by glancing at a person's body. And it was the reason he was certain that there was a perfect configuration of Nodes that would maximize his body's potential.
He had accidentally stumbled into the perfect start with his brain stem and he didn't plan on taking the second until he had gathered enough knowledge to find the next perfect step.
That said, he had already eliminated his arms, legs, and most of his chest. He was certain that the perfect second Node was along his spine somewhere, he just had to run a few more calculations to find that flawless location.
As for Aina's worries. Well… What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
'Aina seems to be preparing to form her seventh Force Node. Her Node locations actually have 93% compatibility with her, I didn't expect that. Oh!'
"What are you doing?" Aina frowned as she gazed at Leonel. She felt for a moment that she had been stripped bare in front of him, but she couldn't find a logical reason why. Leonel's spirit was just too far above hers. Had he not been standing right in front of her, she might not have even noticed.
Leonel snapped out of his thoughts. He had just seen something that explained to him why it was Aina seemed to cultivate without pulling in Force Energy. She was actually practicing a technique aside from a Force technique, one that applied particular pressure on her blood.
However, Leonel knew instinctually he couldn't practice this technique. Only those with Aina's blood could…
'Just what's her story exactly…?'
"Sorry, just committing your words to memory!" Leonel saluted like a soldier.
"Pft —" Aina laughed beside herself. It was such a dazzling scene that Leonel stood completely frozen in time.
'… I bet she didn't have to practice that in front of a mirror…'
Just then, the sounds of war horns reached their ears.
Sending a glance toward each other, they dashed back to the war camp.
Chapter 25 - Conscience
As he ran, Leonel squeezed his still wet flexible armor on. Its black fabric flexed, clinging tightly to his body. Luckily, he hadn't been foolish enough to leave his weapons behind. No matter how uneventful the last month had been, Leonel would never forget that he was in the middle of a Sub-Dimensional Zone.
The idea of time dilation sounded great. Thanks to Zones, Leonel would be able to experience more life than his lifespan dictated, and even train faster than he should. But Zones were not a joke. If the main quest couldn't be accomplished, they'd be stuck here to their deaths. Only then would the Zone open once more to allow another to try.
A Zone wasn't a place that could be taken casually. If there was anything Leonel had learned in the Mayan temple, it was that.
The two, Leonel and Aina, hadn't traveled more than a kilometer from the campsite. It took them less than two minutes to return, finding the group of thousand men quickly organizing.
Leonel got a read on the situation quickly. It seemed that a scout had caught wind of an approaching English army, bearing down on Orleans.
From what Leonel knew, Orleans was one of the first if not the very first battle Joan of Arc had fought in and won. It was an important city on the edge of what remained of French territory and what was once French territory but now English territory. Back then, or what was considered right now, it was unprecedented and skyrocketed her fame upward.
However, with such a critical loss, and to a woman no less, it wasn't a surprise that the English would try and take it back as soon as possible. It was just bad luck that this encampment happened to be in their way.
The smart decision was to retreat and send a messenger ahead to warn Joan and Orleans. The encampment had likely already done the latter, but for some reason they weren't doing the first.
"If we retreat now, the common people are finished. We must hold out for as long as we can."
Leonel's gaze flickered. Ultimately, knights were still nobles. Though France had run into a problem of lacking enough land to consecrate these knights properly during this era, this fact still remained. How rare was it for a noble to care about the common people in this time?
'I've never heard of this General Franck before, likely because his name had been washed out of history maybe due to this very act here. But his actions are commendable…'
Leonel looked toward Aina. "I'm going to help them. You're a front line fighter so you'll be at too much risk if you jump into such a lopsided fight, just stay next to me."
Leonel was well aware that both he and Aina had surpassed the limit of humans, but they weren't gods. They still got tired, they could still get injured, and they were more than susceptible to overwhelming numbers.
Aina looked toward Leonel blankly for a moment before shaking her head.
"If you don't want me to die, then you'll just have to put a bit of extra effort into covering for me."
Her voice still carried the same gentleness, but it had an unyielding command to it. Leonel felt that her will was far stronger than his own.
Leonel closed his eyes. If they were open, it would be possible to see a deep flicker within them.
"General Franck. Do you have any siege engineers with you? Or any who have experience working with them?"
"Well… yes. We need a few to properly fortify our encampment."
"Good. Give them to me and a few men to chop down some wood. You build your defenses."
Quite frankly, the general was much too scared of Leonel to refuse.
When the engineers heard of Leonel's asks, they looked at him weirdly. The request wasn't difficult at all. In fact, it was ridiculously easy. They could easily complete the three of them Leonel asked for by the time the Englishmen were in range.
"After you finish chopping down the trees the engineers need, continue and build at least 50 Cheval de Frise afterward…"
"Cheval de frise?"
Leonel patted his forehead, had such a thing not been invented yet? Without the proper experience, finishing 50 like he hoped would be impossible. Unless…
'Simplify the design…' Leonel's mind churned. In a flash, he had an idea that could work.
Walking to the sparse forest of trees that surrounded a part of the river he had bathed in, he borrowed an ax and cut down a thin tree with a diameter no larger than about eight inches.
He worked swiftly, leading by example.
He separated the length of the tree into portions about a meter and a half long. Then, cut those portions widthwise into fourths. In the end, from a single tree, he managed to get eight total meter and a half length pieces.
Brandishing the ax, his began to chip away at both ends of these pieces. Eventually, they ended up looking like double headed spears, albeit much thicker than a spear should be.
"A Cheval de Frise is a device capable of nullifying calvary. It stops the charging of horses by placing deadly barriers in their path. Even if the calvary men are aware of their danger and avoid them, it will slow down their charge and disrupt their formation. If they aren't aware of them, the result will be even more devastating.
"I want you to do exactly as I did after you've prepared what the engineers need. Then…"
Leonel slammed three of the double ended spears he created into the soil at an angle, just about a foot or so apart.
"Press them into the ground just like this in sets of three. Work in lines that cover the battle in a systematic way. Between every set of three, leave about two meters of space. And lay out a single line to extend about 100 meters.
"When you finish laying a line of 100 meters, move back about five meters and begin a new line, but don't place them in the same positions as the first line, or else the enemy can just charge straight through the gaps. Make it so that even if an enemy makes it past, they must swerve and slow themselves down continuously.
"Do you understand?"
The warriors nodded fervently, jetting off to their work. They were a bit skeptical of how just laying down spikes could stop a calvary, but much like their general, they were too scared to refute.
Against Leonel's expectations, General Franck actually committed a hundred men to Leonel's cause. Leonel hadn't thought he'd receive such support, so he had asked for very little. But he had underestimated their religious fanaticism. If they weren't like this, why else would they trust a small village girl like Joan with their lives?
By the time Leonel's sharp gaze could see the Englishmen over the horizon, marching under the high sunlight in perfect rectangular formations, the battlefield was already set.
'It's as perfect as it can be.' Leonel thought to himself. 'The river to our back only has one shallow enough point to cross within tens of miles, they have no choice but to come through here… The encampment itself was already chosen to be on a small hill to act as a temporary fortress… And everything is in my line of sight…'
Leonel climbed to the top of a set of a wooden staircases.
This was the device he had asked the siege engineers to build. It was nothing but a simple elevated platform. From afar it looked like a staircase that led nowhere.
It could be considered to be a simplified siege tower. The differences lied in the fact that there were no castle walls to scale here and it was a great deal shorter than what it would usually be. But, for Leonel's purposes, this height was enough, especially with the help of the elevated position of the encampment.
All around the destinationless staircase, barrels of crudely made spears lied. Leonel knew that he could work faster to complete what he had asked of the Frenchmen, but he had spent all of this time forming thousands of spears. He hadn't had the luxury of helping them.
A small encampment like this one wouldn't carry so many weapons with them. He could only make them on his own.
When he reached the top, there was only a single barrel filled with about a hundred. Unfortunately, this was all he could fit without impeding his throwing motion. The space was quite small, only about a meter and a half in width and two in length, so he had to make do.
He picked up a crude wooden spear, weighing it in his hands.
A sigh escaped his lips. Only he would be mad enough to try and throw such a poorly weighted weapon. But there hadn't been time to build any stabilizers for them. He could only rely on his ability.
The Englishmen stopped in the distance. There was clear disdain on their faces when they noticed the numbers before them. There were 20 000 of them, yet the enemy wanted to face them with a measly 1000?
The spikes pierced into the ground were incredibly conspicuous, but what did little branches in the ground mean to their heavy calvary?
"FORM UP!"
The roar brought an eerie silence to the Frenchmen. They gripped their weapons and shields tightly to the point their knuckles went white beneath their armor.
And that was when it happened.
A small woman of beauty beyond words leaped through the skies and landed before them all with her back facing them. Her demeanor was almost lackadaisical, a massive ax dragging across the ground to her side.
"It seems we're in luck, men. That Whore who claims to be of God is right before us. Slay her here and take revenge for our fallen brothers!"
"Revenge for our fallen brothers!!" The roar was deafening.
In this era, women didn't even touch the battlefield, let alone taking the vanguard alone. Coupling that with the poor information circulation ability of this era, and it was no wonder they mistook Aina for Joan.
Unfortunately, this misunderstanding gave the enemy a morale boost Leonel hadn't accounted for.
'I'm still too inexperienced…' Leonel's gaze narrowed.
"CHARGE! FOR OUR BROTHERS!"
'… However, as punishment for saying such words about Aina…' Leonel's grip tightened.
But then, it suddenly loosened. '… Just what am I thinking?'
Leonel shook his head furiously. Back then, when those three bastards said those words, Leonel saw red. Before he even knew what was happening, they had died.
Afterward, he tried to justify it to himself. They had alluded to all the women they had hurt before, they deserved it… right? It was fine if he punished them.
But that was just an excuse. What was that feeling he had had just now? That feeling that told him he had the right to execute people as he saw fit for little more than their words and ideals…
'I'm losing my damn mind, what's wrong with me…'
Leonel grit his teeth. A part of him had already decided. There was simply no place in this world for his soft heart. In a lot of ways, the words of those men that night had enlightened him to that fact.
However, he refused to lose himself to the madness of this world. He felt that the end result of killing was just as important as the reason for it was. He wanted to be able to look himself in the mirror one day and justify his actions, to be able to feel that his heart could still remain as light as a feather.
The Englishmen weren't bad people. They were fighting for their country. They were fighting for their brothers.
Some of them committed horrible deeds. They looted villages, raped women, took mothers from their children and children from their parents. But, it remained that this was only some of them.
Leonel wasn't a God. He wasn't judge, jury and executioner, nor could his fragile mind state withstand such a burden.
However, what he could do was work within the confines of his own limits. As long as he didn't overreach… as long as he maintained his respect for his opponents… he could slowly climb over this hurdle.
Leonel took a deep breath as the horses and men charged, kicking up dust clouds.
'Today, I'll kill you not for the words you've said, but because you are the general of my enemy.'
Leonel closed his eyes, feeling every detail of the battlefield perfectly projected into his mind.
He lifted his spear above his shoulder, setting his feet.
'50 meters… 40… 30… 20…'
Leonel's eyes flashed open when the general was just a few strides of his horse from the first line of spikes. His timing was perfect.
A low grunt escaped his lips, an unimpeded strength gushing through his body and leaving from his fingertip.
The spear shot across the skies. The force was so strong that any unbalanced weight remained unable to exert its presence, leaving it flying perfectly straight and through the slit in the helmet of the enemy general.
Even as the first blood was reaped, the calvary smashed into the first line of spikes, the screams of horses having the chests pierced and legs broken rang through the battlefield.
English calvary men flipped through the air, completely astonished. But, before they could have a chance to regain their bearings, their fellow charging warriors bore down on them from behind, turning the front line into a complete mess not even 50 meters from the Frenchmen's own.
Unfortunately for the English, their start only got worse. Because, appearing like a deathly ghost, Aina crossed the 50 meter distance between them in a flash, brandishing her ax toward those very same unorganized Englishmen.
Without a leader, they fell into a bloody mess.
Chapter 26 - Something's Wrong (1)
Aina's agility couldn't be matched by these normal soldiers. A single sweep of her ax took five lives at a minimum, sometimes as much as ten.
With Leonel's support to her back, she entered the fray without hesitation. She was maybe a little too reckless. Leonel could only watch on with a cold sweat matting his back, throwing out as many spears as he could as quickly as he could.
Reaching over toward his barrel, Leonel realized that he had run out. He could only sprint back down and grab another, carrying it up with him.
'This isn't good. The plan is working almost too well…'
Leonel threw out another spear, reaping yet another life.
A striking problem was becoming obvious to him. The Englishmen's first line had been disrupted so thoroughly that even the most forward of them hadn't crossed the third line of defense yet.
Because of that, Aina, who had already been their target from the beginning, wasn't receiving the support of the Frenchmen who stood in a daze as though they were watching the work of gods.
Because of the spikes, charging forward now would disrupt their advantage. It was best if they waited at the end of the last line of defense to begin their own slaughter. But since Leonel's trap and Aina's prowess was too overpowering, the enemy was nowhere near reaching that goal.
This might sound like a good thing, but Leonel's calculative mind saw that it most definitely wasn't. The way things were going now, Aina would be under too much pressure. He only had one arm to throw with, it was impossible for him to cover her perfectly. Though his high coordination gained him an ambidextrous ability, he needed his left arm to use his shield.
'Dammit.'
"ARCHERS, TAKE DOWN THAT MAN!"
By now, the Englishmen had noticed Leonel's impact on the battle. They could scarcely believe that a man could so accurately throw a spear, and such low quality ones at that. But, they could only accept what was before them.
Archers, by their very nature, were located near the back of an army. As such, they were the least affected by the mess at their front line.
Unfortunately for the Englishmen, trying to scream over the sounds of a battlefield as a normal human was impossible. Medieval armies usually relied on a combination of horn and flag sequences to give orders, but with their general gone, this was easier said than done.
By the time the second in command finally got hold of the situation and sent down the orders for the appropriate signal, their entire front line was unrecognizable. A ghastly scene of bisected bodies, pools of blood and organs, and men with tears in their eyes painted a terrible hell.
"Aina! Retreat!"
Unlike the Englishmen, Leonel's body was no longer normal. His voice carried a weight that theirs couldn't.
But, to Leonel's shock, Aina didn't listen.
Leonel's lip twitched. She was always talking about his recklessness, but what was this?
'Those long bowmen have an effective range of 200 meters at best. There's only about 150 meters between me and them, though. They can definitely hit me from here. Dammit, Aina…'
Leonel dashed down the siege tower, grabbing another barrel of spears and hoisting it up.
Just then a rain of arrows fell toward his direction, but he was already prepared.
Leonel had noticed before that Aina's judgement was a bit off. The spear on his back was in fact of the D-grade. But, this small shield was a C-grade treasure with just one ability…
Leonel raised the shield strapped to his left arm above his head. An instant later, its size increased tenfold, forming a massive umbrella in the skies.
The clink of the metallic arrows ricocheted off the shield, not leaving even the slightest dent. How could weapons of the 15th century damage a C-grade treasure?
Leonel's mind turned rapidly. In that moment, with every clink of an arrow that rebounded from his shield, he drew a picture in his mind… Its trajectory, its speed, its acceleration…
Every arrow was projected into his mind, drawing a perfect line from its contact point to where the bowman who let it loose was.
Leonel locked onto a target. Two fingers reached down toward his right, plucking a dart out of his metal container.
His shield still above his head, he flicked his fingers upward, causing the dart to spin for a brief moment to his side as he ripped his atlatl from his waist.
In perfect synchronization, the dart's spin was halted by the appearance of the atlatl, slotting into place as though finding its perfect home.
Leonel's left arm swung to the side, swatting the last of the arrows away with his shield. In the same instant, his right arm whipped forward, using the swinging momentum of his left to its advantage to send a silver dart streaking through the air at over 200 kilometers an hour.
The targeted bowman never stood a chance. He was the best of his squad, Leonel could tell by the power behind his arrow. But on this day, he fell.
The pattern continued. Leonel alternated between protecting Aina's back with crude spears and taking out the bowman with his atlatl. He knew that he didn't have enough darts to take out all the bowman, but he didn't have a choice.
'Come on… Retreat… Retreat already!' Leonel gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, he felt the siege tower beneath him snap under another rain of arrows.
Leonel leaped down before it could tilt to the side. He had already expected this to happen. There were only so many arrow volleys a structure they scrambled to build could take. But… This was why Leonel had had three built.
Leonel streaked across the battlefield, making his way to the location of the next siege tower. Even as he used inhuman strength to lift it from its side, the Frenchmen and Englishmen finally clashed.
However, Leonel found it hard to settle his heart. Aina had pretended not to hear him and she was even deeper into Englishmen territory now. Had it not been for them focusing their arrows on him, he didn't know if it would be possible to protect her.
With a final roar, Leonel stood the siege tower upright, pulling up one of the barrels he had left in this location up with him.
'Dammit, what is she thinking?'
The good news was that even if the Englishmen wanted to ignore him from now on and target Aina, they would only be targeting their own men. The bad news was that this was only because Aina had traveled so deeply into their numbers that she was a small dot amidst a sea of infantry.
Leonel frowned. 'Something's wrong…'
Chapter 27 - Something's Wrong (2)
Aina was like a lone blazing star. Despite being alone and surrounded, there seemed to be a perpetual five meter radius around her that no one could keep their life within.
From afar, it seemed like the Englishmen army had split into three. A single group of archers focusing their might toward Leonel, another attacking the Frenchmen, and the final entirely focused on this small woman with a weapon twice the size of her body.
However, though Aina seemed invincible, Leonel could see her body heat increasing at an unhealthy pace.
'Her stamina is running low…'
Leonel's frown deepened. It had been less than 30 minutes since the battle began, but just how long could a normal human fight under such conditions? Even with her being far beyond a normal human, the load she was facing was severalfold greater as well.
"Aina! Retreat!"
Leonel shouted once more, putting everything he had into his voice. However, this time, the blaring horns of retreat sounded over him, covering his shouts completely.
"No! Not now!"
Just minutes ago, there was nothing Leonel could have wanted more. But now Aina had traveled too deeply into their territory.
Leonel's arm cocked back and launched forward another crude spear.
With a sharp clang, it rebounded and shattered off of Aina's massive ax blade.
Aina's head finally snapped backward. But Leonel never got to register just what her expression was. All he could see was the fierce golden glow of her eyes, hiding a flickering redness that seemed to be the depths of a hellish flame.
There was only a single thing Leonel could grasp through the almost hundred meters that separated them. Her eyes were almost telling him to piss off.
He had seen them like this once before. That day she killed Conrad and stared him down as though she wanted him to witness every moment. He had been too stunned to register just what she was trying to convey to him back then… But now he was certain.
She wanted to be left alone.
A fiendish red Force erupted from Aina's frail body as her killing speed increased explosively.
[Aina Brazinger]
[Strength: 1.50; Speed: 0.99; Agility: 0.99; Coordination: 1.00; Stamina: 0.10; Reactions: 1.00; Spirit: 0.10]
Leonel's pupils constricted into pinholes. Leonel had never seen stats like this. Even the adjusted stats of the metal Invalid paled in comparison.
But, all his mind could focus on was her stamina. It hadn't gone up. In fact, it had plummeted the instant she began using this strength.
Aina's delicate roar overwhelmed the blaring horns of retreat.
Her ax whipped around, a Force blade extending from its body. However, it didn't sweep outward. Instead, it attached to the blade of the ax, extending its range from almost three meters to over five!
It was like the ax was enveloped in the spirit of a larger battle ax, borrowing its power to reap lives. Just the first swing took 20 Englishmen from the world. The second swing took almost 25.
The Englishmen quaked in fear, but Leonel's anxiety only grew.
On the third swing, Aina faltered and the spirit that enveloped her ax flickered, leaving half the Englishmen destined to die with a new lease on life. It wasn't only this, but they suddenly felt more confident than they had before.
Before Aina stood a wall of Englishmen. To her back, the retreating Englishmen barred her in.
Leonel didn't even register what he was doing before he found himself falling through the air, having jumped over the railing of his siege tower.
'Something is wrong …'
In a flash, Leonel had already burst through the line of Frenchmen who had chosen not to chase. The Englishmen still had more than 16 000 of their original number. It was nothing short of foolish to pursue them with their now less than 1000 number.
However, these weren't things Leonel had the mind to care about.
"Get out of my way!"
"Kill her! Kill Joan of Arc!"
The anxiousness in Leonel's heart grew. There was a wall of Englishmen before him, each completely set on Aina. They all but ignored him entirely. Aside from a few veterans who were tasked with holding the back line in a retreat, there was nothing.
Leonel's jaw set. Without his high vantage point, he couldn't even see Aina in his line of sight anymore. He could only feel the direction of the Force she emitted.
A part of Leonel wanted to hate these soldiers for standing before him, for blocking his way to Aina. But, with a will he didn't know he had, he pressed that hatred down.
He had promised himself not to kill in rage.
'Breathe, Leonel…' He spoke to himself, slowly pulling the spear from his back.
It felt oddly familiar to him. The black steel that stood cool to his touch, the flat silver blade on its end… it all seemed to balance perfectly in his palm.
The body was almost two meters in length, the blade at just over two feet. It had proportions more like a glaive than a spear, but its glistening point made its true identity clear.
Three flashes pierced forward, ending in holes in three English necks.
One arm held his shield, the other held his spear, dripping in blood.
Leonel took a deep breath, his gaze flickering with a strong blue diamond-like light.
[Leonel Morales]
[Strength: 0.80; Speed: 0.75 (+0.1); Agility: 0.99 (+0.1 - nullified); Coordination: 1.10; Stamina: 0.99 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 1.10; Spirit: 0.40]
Chapter 28 - Respect (1)
The feeling of Force coursing through your body was hard to describe. If Leonel were to try, it would be like landing on a bed of soft pillows, or walking through a mist of water on a hot summer's day. It didn't just feel good, it felt right. As though this was the true state of being.
Leonel didn't know why his stamina had shot upward while Aina's tanked, but he didn't have the time to think about it. In fact, if he thought about it for even a little while, he would realize that because his coordination shot upward, he could more efficiently make use of his abilities, allowing him to use less strength to accomplish the same result.
Though Leonel's strength and speed remained untouched, his combat prowess was on a completely different level. The movements of the Englishmen were almost painfully slow.
His spear snaked through the air like a viper, piercing throats and severing spines with every stroke. It was the most humane way Leonel could think to end their lives.
Something about wielding a spear felt different from his rod. Leonel had chosen the rod due to his lack of battle experience. He thought he'd have an easier time with a longer ranged weapon.
However, with the spear, despite the fact it was obvious he had no real experience with it, he felt free. Something within his body was churning, waking from a sleep as though it had been waiting for this moment.
[Leonel Morales]
[Strength: 0.85; Speed: 0.80 (+0.1); Agility: 0.99 (+0.1 - nullified); Coordination: 1.10; Stamina: 0.99 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 1.10; Spirit: 0.40]
More of the hidden medicine within Leonel's body diffused, increasing his strength and speed by 0.05. He felt his blood boiling, but it wasn't fatigue. It was excitement.
Leonel forgot his hatred of death, of killing. The awkward coordination in his arm stabilized. Like a child learning to walk, his spear became less reliant on his agility and more on his skill.
He seemed to be walking through the battle, traveling five meters forward with every step, a swath of bodies being left in his wake.
The Frenchmen felt numb. Was this the power God could bestow upon a man?
Leonel's spear almost looked like a black whip, curling and curving around defenses and snapping back with supersonic speed.
He could feel her presence getting closer, but also fainter at the same time. Aina was already at the end of her rope. Leonel didn't know what had happened to her, but he knew he had to take her out of here.
"Aina!" Leonel roared, cutting down another Englishmen.
No matter how good he felt, Leonel knew there was a limit to his strength. His stamina wasn't unlimited. Just walking forward these 50 meters through a swath of Englishmen had begun to tap into his 0.99 stamina.
Whatever weird phenomena was happening to his blood ate into his stamina far quicker than he had been before. Leonel suspected that what he was experiencing now, Aina was experiencing tenfold.
'Faster…'
Leonel grit his teeth, pushing forward with an even faster speed. He began to rely on his ability heavily, reading through who had the weakest ability, cutting them down and using the gap their body formed to shoot past.
"Aina!"
Leonel could barely see her through the sea of bodies. Her breath hung so heavily on her lips that a dense fog formed whenever she exhaled. It wasn't nearly cold enough for air to condense like that, just what kind of heat was Aina experiencing.
In the past, hardly a speck of blood ever touched her. But now, she was completely drenched.
Leonel could tell it wasn't her own blood. In fact, she seemed to be completely uninjured. But her present state still sent waves off in his heart.
'Just what's wrong with her?'
"Kill her! For our fallen brothers!"
"For our fallen brothers!"
The gazes of the Englishmen almost glowed red beneath their helmets. They didn't see Aina as an arbiter of God. To them, she was a demon. A terrible devil descended to their lands. By this point, their resolve in taking down France raised several levels. It was their duty as God fearing men to expel these Devil Worshipers from their lands!
"For our brothers! For our families! For the Lord!"
"For the Lord!"
The Englishmen dug deep, throwing their lives away under Aina's ax only to allow those behind them to close an extra inch closer.
Leonel couldn't find it within himself to hate them. Even if they bore down on the only woman that had ever stirred his heart, he realized now how right he was not to kill them in a rage. These were men who deserved his respect. Even in the face of power so much greater than their own, they put everything they had on the line.
This was the strength of the human race. A people who struggled to survive even in the most terrible situations. It was for this reason that the actions of Emperor Gervaise Fawkes were so reprehensible. Allowing the lives of billions to be snuffed out just to maintain control… Only these sort of people deserved his rage, his anger…
For the men before him now… They only deserved his regard.
Leonel's mind calmed by another level.
In that moment, he realized that anger wasn't what fueled him. In fact, it impeded him.
The sincere respect Leonel felt brought him back. The challenge before him became no different from a football game or an exam, not because he found the lives of these men to be trivial, but because he had always taken even the simplest of tasks with the utmost seriousness. Taking on the burden of the lives of these men on his conscience was no different.
A natural aura erupted from his body, coating the battlefield in a suffocating presence.
'Come… I'll lay you to rest beneath a blade that recognizes your resolve…'
Chapter 29 - Respect (2)
Leonel's spear became swifter. The clearer his mind became, the sharper his ability shone through. A calculative mind didn't need to rely on emotion.
Maybe it was ironic that an inherently emotional man like Leonel had suddenly become the exact opposite. But it was an irony that Leonel wasn't thinking about.
[Call of the Wind], a technique meant for throwing, subconsciously molded itself into his spear. His mind could see through how it worked, forming dozens of calculations a second, he changed its foundation, adding a power previously impossible to his strikes.
It was only now that Leonel finally made use of his powerful spirit. To now, he had only foolishly only used it to power his Internal Sight. Even when he activated his Force, he had focused it into his mind, vastly improving his coordination and reactions.
But now, a pale light coated his spear. It didn't extend his blade to near the extent Aina's ax spirit had, probably because it was being wielded through a crudely formed technique Leonel was still adjusting even to this very moment. But its power was undeniable.
Leonel burst through the last line of Englishmen, his flexible armor and sweats matted in blood that wasn't his own.
"Aina!"
Having burst through only one side of the encirclement, Aina still had enemies closing in from at least three sides.
However, all Leonel received in return was a blazing ax.
He had never paid much attention to Aina's ax before. Maybe it was typical teenage boy selective sight. But, seeing it up close, it could only be described as a beautiful weapon.
It had a handle of over a meter and a half long, with a thickness so robust Aina's small hands couldn't wrap all the way around it.
The handle was a blazing red. Veins of gold and silver coursed through it, pulsing with a ruby light almost as though breathing.
The double headed blade was obscenely large, even a small bit longer in diameter from one blade to the other. The heads themselves glistened with a beautiful silver that was now covered in blood. But, their blade edges were an even deeper shade of red than the handle.
Like he thought before. It was a beautiful weapon. But it was maybe less so when it was coming for his own head.
Leonel knew Aina's strength was too much to take head on. Even with her stamina almost hitting zero, it was still over 1.00, far more than his own. In addition, he couldn't see through the grade of Aina's weapon at all, making him certain it would slice through his spear like it was rotting wood.
Without hesitation, Leonel ducked beneath it. Aina's agility matched his in this state, but it was clear that she was compromised. Her attack speed wasn't nearly as fast as it once was.
The moment the ax soared over his head, Leonel popped back up, using the flat of his spear's blade to slap the back of Aina's hand with some force.
It took more resolve to do this than he thought it would. The idea of harming her small frame made him sick. But he had no choice.
Leonel wrapped around Aina's left side, even as her ax faltered in her hands. He expanded his shield to just over two meters in diameter, blocking the attacks to her back.
"… Le…"
Aina seemed to finally sense Leonel's presence. A struggle lit in her eyes as though she was trying to decide whether or not to cut him down where he stood.
The truth was that she really could if she wanted to. His chest was completely opened to her after he wrapped around her left with his shield. She didn't need her ax at all. Just a palm to his chest would kill him with her level of strength.
"… I'm sorry…"
Aina's gaze swayed with fatigue, her cheek falling to Leonel's chest.
Leonel's eyes flickered. He could feel the searing heat of her body even through his flexible armor.
"Stop him!"
"Don't let her get away!"
Leonel sighed. He strapped the massive shield to his back, pulling Aina in with his left arm to his chest. She herself was as light as a feather, but the ax she refused to let go of even while unconscious was a completely different story. It alone weighed over 200 pounds… And Leonel had vaguely felt Aina lowering its weight before she fainted.
Despite the situation, Leonel inadvertently smiled and even felt a bit flustered.
'What am I thinking?! She has a high fever and you're in the middle of an army that wants nothing more than to kill her. Get it together!'
Making a decision, Leonel didn't choose to run. His shield to his back, Aina in one arm, his spear in the other, he stood tall.
"If you'd like to come, you can come. I'll take as much as you can give. But I won't let her die here."
Regaining his calm, Leonel's imposing aura shone forth once more. As dangerous as Aina had been, this was something she hadn't had.
Leonel meant his words. Running away would do him no good and he would only end up implicating the Frenchmen. Even though the English had retreated, they still had more than 15 000 of their original number. If they rallied, they could still crush the less than thousand remaining Frenchmen.
There was only one option left. Leonel had to impose his will. He had to appear invincible. He had to crush their resolve until nothing was left, that very resolve he respected with all his heart.
Status de energia semanal
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