Hero without Blood or Tear Chapter 11-12

Chapter 11 - Lady Templar Walpurgis (2)

Translator: GollemtheRock

Editor: Perditor, Deus Ex Machina

 Phillip drove his horse on like a madman. His brain was already filled to the brim with fear.

d.a.m.n it, I can’t use my mana.

He couldn’t use his mana as if it was an aftereffect of his defeat. He felt extreme anxiety at the fact.

“Hyah! Faster!”

Walpurgis headed the group at first but after being overcome with survival instincts, Phillip surged forward.

“Your highness!”

Her, the retinues and guards struggled to keep up with Phillip who was racing like a madman. The renown Iron Prince-Elector was abandoning his army to save his own self.

“Your highness! It’s dangerous to recklessly charge ahead!”

“They’re coming to get me! They’re coming for me!”

There really were pursuers from the demon lord’s forces.

“Your highness! Your cavalrymen are still intact! If you face the situation calmly, everything will be fine!”

The retinues lent their support to Walpurgis’ words.

“Your highness! Please heed her!”

“The column is being stretched too thin!”

The demon lord’s pursuers were scary in their own right but everyone present were people strong enough to be in Phillip’s retinue. Furthermore, since the Demon Lord Pejamut himself had to withdraw after Walpurgis’ attack, an orderly retreat was the best chance for as many people to make it back alive.

However, Philip was overtaken with fear and chose the worst option despite their advice. Once the Moselle river blocked his path, he frantically looked around for a bridge. When he couldn’t find one, he felt an even deeper sense of panic.

“Your royal highness, there is a bridge roughly a kilometer from here…”

“We cross here!”

“Your royal highness?”

The retinue was flabbergasted at the sudden order.

“Your royal highness, crossing a river on horse is normally possible but they are wearing heavy barding right now. Furthermore, the current is quite strong! Please think of your safety first!”

“Silence! The fifth head of my house managed to cross the Danube on horse. Do you believe I cannot do the same?”

However, the Danube river Philip’s ancestor crossed did not have strong currents and his horse was not exhausted either. Walpurgis hurriedly pointed out these facts.

“Your horse is exhausted from sprinting away from the battlefield! Entering the water will be dangerous!”

As expected, the horses were breathing rapidly with little plumes of steam emerging every time they breathed out. Jumping into a cold river in this state was dangerous. However, Philip jumped in without reply.

Splas.h.!.+

Philip’s horse, which submerged under water for just a second, re-emerged with a loud splash. It was drifting down diagonally as it swam forward.

“Your royal highness!”

The retinues and guards followed after Philip who was drifting downstream.

“d.a.m.n it! If it’s come to this...!”

“Follow his royal highness!”

n.o.bles were a breed of people who put their reputation and appearance on the line more than anything. But a high ranking officer in the demon lord’s army was close on their heels and Philip’s horse was crossing the river unexpectedly well.

Splas.h.!.+ Puwuss.h.!.+

Gaggles of heavily armoured cavalrymen dived forward into the river. However, there was one thing they severely miscalculated. Philip’s horse, which was barely crossing the river, was not just an ordinary horse, but one of few peerless horses in the entire world. That was why it was fine even in the worst of situations. On the other hand, the others were being swept downstream.

“Uuuhp! Help!”

“Gurgle!”

The cavalrymen who were being swept downstream along with their horses grabbed at their comrades to try to survive, but it was no use. They would all be swallowed by the river.

It was a watery h.e.l.l where warriors of high stature drowned by the dozens. Only a tiny number managed to reach the other side. They were either lightly armoured, skilled at horsemans.h.i.+p, or simply lucky.

Walpurgis also managed to reach the other side as her steed was a mythological creature, a unicorn. She s.h.i.+vered as she was completely soaked in the still chilly April weather water. The armour was still draining water every time it moved.

“Where do you plan to head next, your royal highness?”

Walpurgis asked in exhausted voice. Including her, there were only ten others left beside Philip. Their original commanding appearance was nowhere to be seen and what remained was a pitiful looking group. Soaked to the bone was an apt phrase for the situation.

“I will go to the forest.”

It seemed Philip planned to hide in the “Deep Forest” ahead of him. Everyone felt uncertain but no one objected. They wanted to hide in the forest to lose their pursuers. Everyone rushed into the forest.

However, there was a problem. The sun was setting and inside the forest was dark. They couldn’t find their bearing. Furthermore, this was not a forest humans frequented.

“We seem to be going in circles, your royal highness.”

“d.a.m.n it!”

While Philip’s men were disoriented, the demon lord’s pursuers rapidly caught up to them.

“Zombie hounds! Your royal highness! They’re close by!”

That was the start. Having managed to find Philip thanks to the zombie hound, the pursuers began attacking immediately.

“Uaaagh!”

“Aggh!”

After being taken by surprise, Philip’s cavalrymen took off in all directions. Their morale was already broken. There were none who tried to fight. The zombie hound bit savagely at the horses’ rear legs. Once again, Philip attempted to escape while his men were under attack. For that, Walpurgis scorned him.

“Why do you keep running away despite being their lord! Do you not hear their screams?”

“My life is worth more than theirs! Who else has the power to avenge them at later date other than me?”

It was a reasonable sounding excuse.

No, it was only words.

Soon, only Walpurgis remained by Philip’s side. The demon lord’s army’s pursuit continued and every time they managed to catch up Philip dashed away in another direction leading them into a wild goose chase around the forest.

He ran like a baby boar bit in the rear by a hunting hound. Walpurgis finally suffered a wound trying to protect a man like him.

“Kukukuh, the most dangerous one is hurt. Now, this hunt will be as easy as twisting a child’s hand. Kuhahah!”

The leader of the pursuers was a high ranking officer in Pejamut’s army, Hessax. He roared out in laughter which shook the entire forest. He was an evil-looking demon with a large body, bat wings, and horns.

“This will be my opportunity for a promotion.”

He leisurely walked forward while stroking his beard. Considering the amount of noise ahead, it seemed his subordinates had managed to corner the target once again.

“Hiding in a place like this?”

Hessax arrived at a large clearing no one could have imagined would be in a forest like this. His quarry was standing in that clearing.

***

The time was now. After finis.h.i.+ng all the preparations, I hid in the ruined cabin and saw Philip and Walpurgis make it into the clearing. I squeezed my fist tight.

It was just as expected. They were locked in a melee with the pursuers. I didn’t jump in prematurely and instead watched for now.

Now, Philip, what will you choose?

If he showed even a little hint of grace, I would let go of all the grudges against him. I would even wish him luck from here. But if he abandoned Walpurgis to run away, I would be greatly disappointed.

“There is a place like this?”

That was when a great evil strode in with hefty footsteps. His devilish appearance and opulent armour confirmed that he was a high ranking officer in the demon lord’s army.

What was his name again? Ah, it’s Hessax.

I faced him several times while fighting Pejamut. He wasn’t very impressionable considering he was nothing more than a mini-boss that worked as a speed b.u.mp but he did drop some pretty good loots.

I kept my attention fixed ahead and prepared the necessary tools. I took out a pair of flints and lighted the fuse wrapped around my wrist.

“Foo-- foo--”

I softly blew at the fuse to make sure it was lighted and looked ahead. But Philip was someone who exceeded even my antic.i.p.ation. Originally, there were two choices here.

Fight with Walpurgis

Ask Walpurgis to cover his back

However, he took the third option.

Bam!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet Philip fired pierced Walpurgis’ thigh.

“Your... highness...!”

Walpurgis let out a sound that was closer to a scream. Instead of a reply, Philip fired once again.

Bam!

This time, he fired at the unicorn Walpurgis was riding.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

I stood up in utter surprise. Philip was an even bigger madman than I initially thought. I regretted thinking there was even a trace of hope left for him. When Walpurgis fell from her steed due to the injury, monsters swarmed around as if possessing her. Philip took the opportunity to ride away by himself.

“W, what the h.e.l.l…”

I couldn’t speak in shock. Even though Philip was an arrogant son of a b.i.t.c.h, he was still a Guardian. One of the defenders of humanity, who would shoulder the Empire’s future, just shot the lady templar who was guarding him. He left her injured so she would stall for time against the monsters. Then he disappeared like the wind.

What kind of outrageous conduct was this?

It was by far the kind of sc.u.mmy act which did not befit someone who occupied the position of Prince-Elector. I swore to not let Philip get away with it.

I already knew where that sc.u.m would head to once he gets out of the forest. An unantic.i.p.ated scene unfolded in front of me but the destination was obvious. The priority now was to save Walpurgis.

“Tayat!”

Walpurgis’ shouts echoed. She swung her twin swords, but she was already exhausted. She was barely putting up a fight against the demons and monsters that were swarming her. At their current rate, it wouldn’t take very long for them to tear her into pieces.

“Kuhahah!”

Hessax, who had been watching from the back, looked delighted. There was no time to waste anymore. Walpurgis’ life was already at stake.

I took the fuse to light the bottle bombs’ wicks. The bottle bombs were now ready to go. I rushed forward without hesitation. Fortunately, the demonic army was fixated on Walpurgis and didn’t even notice me.

“Hmm?”

By the time Hessax spotted me, I was already close enough with the bottle bombs.

“What? Who?”

I threw the bottle bombs without any thought.

Clang!

Flames spurted up along with sound of gla.s.s breaking. For now, this was the only apparent effect. Several demons broke out in laughter. Even Hessax smirked at me.

“A remnant? Kukuku, but just what were you hoping to achieve with something so insignificant?”

Kkuaaaanngg!

An enormous explosion erupted. A pillar of flame swirled amidst the dark sky as an entire barrel of gunpowder exploded. This was more than enough gunpowder to fire a heavy cannon and the immediate vicinity was covered in smoke and heat.

“Lady Walpurgis!”

I took the moment to hurry over to her. I helped her up after swinging my sword to decapitate anyone standing near by.

“Hurry!”

“You’re..!”

Walpurgis collapsed from the shock wave of the explosion but still looked surprised at my appearance.

“Valler! How did you?”

“We can talk about it after getting out of here!”

I supported her and hurried along. That was when a zombie hound leaped at me while making a strange noise. I took out a pistol from my waist and fired.

Bang

The shot penetrated its forehead and it slumped down on the spot.

“Just a little bit more!”

“No, save yourself! Both of us cannot escape this situation.”

Walpurgis was sincerely worried that I would die as well. It was difficult to support her since she was pus.h.i.+ng at me to save myself.

“Go! I cannot see a brave man like you die in a place like this.”

Right now, it would seem things would go that way. But, that’s why I prepared a bunch of contingencies for a situation like this. I sat Walpurgis down after helping her to the ruined cabin I was hiding in earlier.

“Pant-- pant--”

Walpurgis was breathing painfully. She was also bleeding heavily and the place at which she sat down immediately turned into a puddle of blood. I would need to take care of the demonic army quickly.

It seemed Hessax had fallen down after taking a severe wound. Countless other dead were on the ground. However, the lucky ones who survived were standing up. Walpurgis shouted again after taking a look at the situation.

“Go, now! I will hold them down!”

She tried standing despite the pain but I pushed her shoulder to sit her back down. Instead of running, I took a line of fuse from my waist belt and tied it around her wrist after lighting it.

“Just what..?”

I kicked over a wooden board instead of answering. The contents spilled out.

They were muskets. There were ten of them. Walpurgis’ eyes went round at the sudden appearance of the muskets. I could tell she was surprised even through that helmet of hers.

Fufu, that expression alone makes all this preparation worth it.

To be fair, just burying the gunpowder barrel alone seemed a little lacking. So I dropped by the army camp once again. It was quite exhausting to borrow them without permission. In short, I stole them all.

“They’re all loaded, so just grab one and shoot. I’ll leave five with you.”

I stuck the prepared musket stand on the ground.

Plop

I leaned on the stand and aimed forward while controlling my breathing.

“We have ten shots total. Let’s make it count.”

The demons and monsters in the demon lord’s army were already charging towards us.

“Kieeeghh!~”

When a demon’s monstrous howl sounded, the first round fired.

Bang!

Chapter 12 - Lady Templar Walpurgis (3)

One of the orcs running over collapsed on the ground. The sword he was carrying flew into the air and planted itself into the ground shaking.

Bang!

The second shot fired.

“Kueegh!”

A goblin that was aiming its arquebus at me collapsed. My skills were far superior due to having learned a lot about marksmans.h.i.+p from monster hunter Ludd. The Rank 5 Proficiency was really s.h.i.+ning through.

Bang! Blam! Bang!

Walpurgis was leaning on the ruined wall and firing away enthusiastically as well. When all ten shots were gone, no one was left standing. They were all dead or squirming while bleeding out. Still, it was too early to feel relieved.

“The big fish is still here.”

Hessax, who had fallen earlier, stood up. His lower body was a mess from being caught in the explosion. The way chunks of his thighs were missing was a gory sight. Hessax gritted his teeth while taking slow methodical steps towards us.

“Walpurgis! I planned to take you as a prisoner but I have changed my mind. I will kill you as painfully as I possibly can. By sunrise, this forest will be filled with your screams. You dare make a trap like this in the middle of a nowhere like this?”

Even I s.h.i.+vered at the words dripping with malevolent aura. The difference between him and I was ma.s.sive. He was only a mid boss when I played as a Guardian but now he was making me feel fear that froze my heart. His abilities were more than enough to physically fold me in half.

“And you!”

Hessax took an ugly mace from his waist and pointed at me.

“I have no clue where something like you came from but you will not be allowed even the relief of death. I will turn your life into a living h.e.l.l.”

This was no idle threat. His commander, Demon Lord Pejamut, controlled the aspects of blood and death. In one word, he was a necromancer. Obviously, his subordinates were also masters in the necromantic arts. He probably planned to kill me, revive me as an undead, and put me through endless pain.

“Valler, he speaks true. Please run. I will try to stall him.”

Even amidst everything, she was worrying for my wellbeing. Her att.i.tude helped my heart frozen with fear regain courage. I reminded myself why I came here. I had already prepared for this.

I knew Hessax would be the one chasing them as well. I also prepared for in case the explosion wouldn’t take him out. The muskets were just to clean up the minions. I had something else ready to take out the boss. A big fish required a big rod to reel in.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“How are you so calm about this! Urkk!”

Walpurgis’ condition wasn’t very good. I nodded to rea.s.sure her and shouted at Hessax.

“Hessax!”

“What is it? Begging for your life will be of no use. It is better for you to search for ice in a desert.”

“I have no plans to beg to a demon! I would rather embrace my death than beg!”

“Kuhaha! Your bluffs are as transparent as they come! What kind of tricks do you still have left that you’re so confident in?”

Hessax smashed the ground with his mace while still laughing.

Kuumph

It was a truly heavy sound. I wouldn’t be able to hold out against even a single swing from that thing.

“If you still have guns left, then go ahead and shoot! You will never penetrate this thick armour!”

Hessax pounded his armour to make loud clanging sounds. Hessax really was wearing an enormous and thick armour befitting his size. It was something that no human would be able to wear. Even a heavy musket wouldn’t dent something as abnormal as that. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a way.

“Kukuku, then shall we start after smas.h.i.+ng your loud mouth first!”

Hessax waited no longer and darted forward.

“Lady Walpurgis! Please buy me some time!”

“Understood!”

Walpurgis had already been preparing and lunged forward to stop Hessax.

Clang!

While she crossed her twin swords to block the mace, I opened a window on the old cabin to crawl inside. I pushed what I had hidden in the cabin outside with all my strength. I had to clench my teeth because its weight was no joke.

“Kuuurgh!”

What I had hidden inside the cabin was none other than a leather cannon. It was the lightest cannon used in the Empire and a single horse was enough to pull it around.

It may be called a leather cannon, but it wasn’t made from leather. To reduce the weight, a thin copper barrel was cast and wrapped with leather to provide structural support. This was why it was called a leather cannon. It was an attempt to reduce the weight, but durability also suffered as a result.

“Despite this, it’s very useful in situations like this.”

If it wasn’t a leather cannon, I couldn’t have used Filly to bring it here. Even a “light” cannon was remarkably heavy. To move even a schlangel light cannon required six horses. One could understand how light a leather cannon is when comparing the two. Its durability may have been sacrificed but the firepower was still there.

(TL: Schlangel is a German cla.s.sification of a cannon roughly similar in cla.s.s to “falcon” cannon, which is heavier version of better known “falconet” cannons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconet_(cannon))

It was already loaded with gunpowder and a shot weighing about 1.4 kg. I carefully moved the cannon to aim at Hessax. It was short ranged and had a thin barrel.

Since he was such a large target, the shot would land as long as I aimed carefully. If I missed, I was truly a dead man.

“Kuhaha! Is that all you have, templar?”

It seems Hessax didn’t notice what was going on in this direction. He probably thought I was not something worth paying attention to. He was more absorbed in toying with Walpurgis like a predator that had cornered its prey.

“Lady Walpurgis!”

After taking a careful look at the situation, I realized now was the perfect opportunity. Walpurgis threw one of her swords at Hessax’s face and retreated. The moment Hessax covered his face with his gauntlet in surprise, I lighted the cannon’s fuse.

Tsssssssss

Kuaaaammm!

The flash of light from cannon was extraordinarily bright most likely due to the sky already being dark.The direct fired shot from the cannon pa.s.sed through Hessax’s chest in an instant.

Klang

Sparks showered as his armour broke. Then, blood, and flesh fell on the ground.

“Wha….. what is….”

Hessax couldn’t close his mouth due to shock. There was a hole in his chest big enough to fit a fist through. He would never have antic.i.p.ated to be hit by a cannon of all things. I smiled smugly at him. Fear no longer controlled me. I may not be a hero, but I remembered facing down this insignificant mini-boss countless times.

“You said to shoot if I have anything left. Ah, my bad. My gun has some pretty big bullets.”

I was technically correct. Bullets in this time were not explosive rounds, but a simple ball of metal.

“If you’re wearing big armour, I only need to use more gunpowder and bigger shots.”

“... d.a.m.n you…”

Kuumph

Hessax collapsed with a hefty thump. Blood pooled out where he collapsed and soaked the surrounding ground.

“Amazing… Valler, your resourcefulness knows no bounds… To kill him with a cannon…”

Walpurgis was barely standing while leaning on her sword.

“Are you alright?”

“Fuuu…”

Walpurgis let out a long sigh and collapsed forward as she could no longer stand. I hurriedly took her in my arms. The confident knight finally looked like a girl her age. She was still only 16 years old.

“Huuugh..”

Her pained groans made my heart ache. Still, she tried her best to hide the pain so as not to worry me.

“It seems… this is as far as I will go. Valler, I will not forget your help… for the rest of my life… urghh… now… go. Save yourself…”

After those words, she fainted. Her breathing was shallow as if she was about to die at any moment.

“Walpurgis.”

I swayed my head side to side. She wasn’t even a little bit different. I owed her countless debts. She died protecting me numerous times in the past.

“I’ve always felt sorry and thankful. Now, I finally have a chance to save you.”

I took out a healing potion. It was the potion she gave me. I gingerly placed the potion down beside me and carefully removed her chest armour.

Since she fainted, making her drink it was not an option. Plus, if I removed her helmet, the consequences would be dire. She avoided exposing her face at any cost.

She said she’d rather die, so even I hadn’t seen her face before. It would be better to pour the potion on the wound itself. The potion was more effective this way as well.

Clack clack

I undid the ties holding the front plate and the back plate together and untied the connection to the gorget as well. Then the breastplate was pushed back with notable resistance.

“W, what? Is there something inside?”

It felt like there were small air packets inside so I lifted the plate to take a look. And I was truly surprised.

Jiggle jiggle

The unimaginably large b.r.e.a.s.t.s revealed their outlines. Looking back, I never saw her out of her amour. There was a fair amount of cotton padding to press them down but it was bouncing back against them with so much force. Also, the elasticity to push back against armour? I had never heard of such a thing.

But my excitement lasted for only a moment and dissipated when I saw her padded s.h.i.+rt soaked in blood. I quickly took her s.h.i.+rt off. Her white skin ruined with blotches of blood. A thick smell of iron wafted over.

Plop

I hurriedly took the lid off the potion and started pouring the potion over her chest.

Did she fight even with something like this…

“Hnnngg….”

Walpurgis moaned once more but her tone indicated she was in a much better condition. It appeared her pain had lessened. My gaze unintentionally went towards something above her white chest. I could glimpse a little above her collarbone where something that looked like a burn scar continued upward.

“Hmm…”

That was probably related to Walpurgis’ secret. Considering where the scar lead to, there must be a story behind it. My curiosity suddenly sprouted. Walpurgis was essentially in a coma due to the healing potion’s effects. Taking the helmet off would be easy.

Healing potions were not something that magically recovered any wounds the moment one drank them. That would be convenient, but nowhere close to reality. Moving after drinking the potion hindered the healing. Muscles needed to be as still as possible to re-attach themselves properly. It wasn’t just the muscles. Bones needed to be set properly before drinking the potion as well.

Though there were various kinds of potions, the majority of them put the user to sleep for the stated reasons. If not sleeping, then one needed to stay still in the proper position for an hour or so to heal properly. It was only natural since muscles weren't some intelligent ent.i.ty which could find its own position and link up with others.

“Hmm…”

I fell into deep contemplation while looking down at Walpurgis. I shook my head and dressed her back up.

“No, that’s not right.”

I needed to respect her secrets as much as I respected her.

Clack clack

I donned her armour up again and laid her down straight. She’d need at least 30 minutes considering how severe her wounds were. I decided to clean up the immediate surroundings in the meanwhile.

“There is the good loot I’ve been eyeing at.”

I rubbed my hands as I walked over to Hessax’s corpse. The way he carried around a bunch of expensive items made him no different than a walking bank vault. Today was a good day.

“I wonder what he has.”

“Hessax’s Armour” and “Hessax’s Mace” always dropped but other items were completely random every time. I started rummaging through Hessax’s corpse in antic.i.p.ation.

TL Note: Sorry for long hiatus folks. Had some issues crop up. HWBT's also gotten a new, cooler cover which will be uploaded along with next post.