Chapter 303 – Following Your Instincts (3)

However, Cale soon flinched.
He responded naturally after seeing Choi Han's injured hands.

"No, never mind."

He felt as if he would have a one-way ticket to the afterlife if he was slapped by Choi Han right now.
As someone who had a strong attachment to staying alive, Cale just chewed on the apple pie and put some strength into his shaking legs as he stood up.

"Cale-nim, will you be okay?"

Choi Han bit down on his lips as he asked.

'I'm sure he'll say that he is fine.'

That was how Cale always answered.
Choi Han slowly supported Cale while avoiding his gaze. He heard a grumbling voice at that moment.

"You think it's okay?"
"…Excuse me?"

'Does he mean that he's not okay?'

The expression on Choi Han's face turned extremely serious as this was the first time Cale had ever responded like this. Cale continued to speak at that moment.

"I can't fathom what might have happened to the Jungle right now. Do you think it's okay there?"

'Adin, you fucking bastard. You fucking trash that's a waste to even burn to death.'

Cale was getting angry as he thought about the Imperial Prince, Honte, and the Jungle. His insides were boiling as if it was lava.

"Ha, Cale-nim, you really-"

Cale, who didn't know what Choi Han was thinking about as he shook his head, looked away from Choi Han and pointed his hand toward the sky.

Screeeech-

One of the white skeleton birds landed on the ground. It caused the rose gold ashes to fly up once again.

"Commander-nim, please get on."

The Paerun Kingdom's knight on top of the white skeleton bird got off. The Dwarf handed the reins to Cale as well. Both of them had looks of reverence on their faces, however, Cale was extremely annoyed and ignored them as he quickly started to move.

"Hey, Choi Han."
"Yes, Cale-nim?"

Cale got on the white skeleton bird and grabbed the reins before pointing behind him.

"Get on."
"Excuse me?"

Cale nonchalantly responded to Choi Han who blankly asked in confusion. They had no time to lose right now.

"Aren't you going to fight?"

'Ah.'

Choi Han immediately came back to his senses. He turned his head and saw respect in the eyes of the Flame Dwarf and the Paerun Kingdom's knight who were looking at Cale.
He then looked back toward Cale.

Raon said that Cale's plate was fine, however, he had bled a little and his legs were shaking quite a bit.

Yet he was still saying, 'let's go fight.'

"I will fight."

Choi Han immediately jumped on top of the white skeleton bird.
The white skeleton bird quickly started to flap its wings as soon as he landed on it.

It was not the largest bird, however, this medium-sized white skeleton bird quickly flew up into the air. It was the fastest of the white skeleton birds.
It was obvious why this was the case.

A voice that others couldn't hear could be heard on the white skeleton bird with Choi Han and Cale.

"Human, I will fight as well!"

Raon was levitating the white skeleton bird.
Raon and Choi Han could clearly see the Empire's dirt wall once the bird was in the air.

Baaaaang! Baaaaang!

The white skeleton birds, the Paerun Kingdom's knights, and the Flame Dwarves were all fighting against the Empire's forces. They were also all aiming for one person.

Imperial Prince Adin.

'We will go there as well.'

Choi Han had made up his mind.

"We're moving."

Choi Han nodded his head at Cale's comment. He then became flustered.

"…Cale-nim?"
"Human?"

Choi Han and Raon both became anxious after seeing the quickly moving white skeleton bird and Cale's fluttering red hair.

"Human! Are you suddenly really hungry? Do you feel like you're going to faint? You can't faint! I will destroy everything!"

Raon shouted with anxiety.

"Why? Human, why are you retreating?"

Cale was moving toward the Whipper Kingdom instead of the Empire.
He was moving very quickly toward the Whipper Kingdom. Choi Han and Raon were shocked, as well as Rosalyn, Harol, and Toonka who had to greet them.

"Young master Cale! Are you in pain?"

Rosalyn almost ran toward the edge of the tower as she shouted before flinching. Cale, who had approached on the white skeleton bird, shouted toward her.

"Miss Rosalyn, sword!"

Choi Han realized that he didn't have a sword in his hand at that moment.
Cale reached his hand out as well.

"Mary, let's go!"

She had been on this tower the whole time.
Mary, who was covered by her usual black robe, walked over to the ledge. She had to just sit back and watch everything during this battle.

Cale needed her more than anybody else on this battlefield.
Cale started to speak to Mary, whose face was not visible as it was covered by the robe.

"It is black magic. I think you are the most knowledgeable about it here."

Mary reached her hand out past the ledge. Cale grabbed her hand as soon as the hand with the spiderweb-like black lines appeared outside her robe.

He then became anxious.
His hand was shaking.

"Raon!"
"Sigh, human, alright!"

Raon sighed before pulling Mary on top of the white skeleton bird in order to help Cale who did not have the strength to do so.

"Mary, I don't know anything about black magic! But I can fight really well if you teach me!"

Rosalyn stood at the edge of the ledge and reached out as Raon whispered in Mary's ear.

"Choi Han!"

She then threw the sword.

Clack!

Choi Han easily caught the sword.

"You managed to bring it so quickly."

Choi Han smirked and touched his sword. It was his sword.
It was the same sword Cale gave to him in the Henituse territory battle after telling him to create a legend. That sword was in Choi Han's hand again.

Screeeech.

Choi Han took off the black helmet and threw it away.
Everything had returned to normal.

Cale confirmed that everyone was ready before pulling on the reins again.
They needed to head to the battlefield now that they were ready.

"Young master Cale!"

Cale turned his head toward Rosalyn who called out to him. Rosalyn smiled and continued to shout.

"I will let the Jungle, the Roan Kingdom, and the alliance know about what is going on!"

'She really is smart.'

This was why Cale could move without worrying about his back. Rosalyn would thoroughly explain the changed situation to the rest of the alliance.

"I will coordinate the attacks!"
"Open the gate! Warriors, follow me!"

Chief Harol and Commander Toonka also came back to their senses and started to do their parts.
Cale turned back around without any hesitation. He then clenched on the reins and informed those on the bird.

"We will move quickly."

They needed to quickly take care of things here.
They had to go to the Jungle. They could not allow the black despair to spread in that vibrant Jungle.

"Everybody find your balance. Raon."
"Alright!"

Screech- screech-
The white skeleton bird quickly headed toward the enemy leaders.

Cale felt the cool breeze brush past his face as they approached the other white skeleton birds in the sky. He could see the current state of the battle.

Baaaaang! Baaaaaang!

An endless array of spells continued to come from the Empire's side.

"Second Mage Brigade, aim for the Dwarves and knights on the birds instead!"
"The birds! Third Mage Brigade, destroy those bones!"

The knights surrounded the Imperial Prince.

"We must protect his highness! Lift up your shields! Soldiers, at least throw stones or something!"
"It is over if we are caught by those birds' talons! Protect his highness no matter what!"

Honte and the Vice Tower Master were right next to the Imperial Prince and the alchemists were surrounding him as well.

The Lions had already stepped back long ago while the nobles were busy fighting or retreating with their knights surrounding them.

"Block them! Protect me first!"
"Assist his highness! We can only win this battle if his highness survives!"

There were shouts and screams throughout the Empire's base. The wings of a white skeleton bird cast a shadow over them at that moment.

Screech- screech-

The noise made by the wings that were made with bones instilled fear in the hearts of the Empire's forces.
The person commanding the white skeleton birds could not hold back his laughter.

"Kehehe, hehe!"

Clopeh Sekka. He felt chills on his back.

The Empire fought well even without the golems. That fact was giving him the chills.
The white skeleton birds had not managed to completely destroy the shield created by the Empire's mages.

Baaaaang!

The beak of his white skeleton bird pecked at the shield.

"Ugh!"

One of the mages coughed up blood as the shield broke. However, a different mage appeared in his place and created a shield around the Imperial Prince.
Hundreds of people's shields were gathered in one spot.

Adin was surrounded by the alchemists and Royal Knights underneath those shields.

Clopeh and Adin made eye contact.
Clopeh could see Adin's mouth moving.

'It's you, isn't it?'

Adin was looking at Clopeh with a relaxed expression as if he had figured everything out.

'Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka.
You're Guardian Knight Clopeh, aren't you?'

Adin could see the corners of the lips of the white-haired priest whom he was certain was Clopeh starting to move as he silently asked.
The white-haired priest started to speak.

"You stupid bastard.'"

The priest could not help himself. He, sword master Clopeh, lifted his head as soon as he noticed a person approaching him.

"Cale-nim, you're here."

Cale Henituse.
Clopeh smiled at Cale's appearance. He then quickly moved his white skeleton bird to the side.

Swoooooooosh-

A rough and fast wind brushed by Clopeh's cheek.
The white bird that Cale Henituse was controlling flew past him extremely quickly. That was enough for Clopeh to realize it.

'It's starting.'

He quickly started to shout.

"It's time for the full assault! Slam into them with everything you have! Slam so hard that the bones break down!"

He was telling them to slam into the shields.
It was the moment he shouted at the others. Cale was only looking down at the eyes of the monster as he started to speak.

"Mary."
"Yes sir, I have been waiting."

Black mana started to flow out of Mary's hands. It then landed on top of the white skeleton bird they were on.

The white skeleton bird slowly turned black.
No, it removed the white paint that was covering up its original color.

The white skeleton bird turned back into a black skeleton bird.
It returned to its true appearance. Everything was bound to be the strongest when it was in its true appearance. Mary's black mana seeped into the black skeleton bird's black bones, making it shine even in darkness.

Clopeh gave another order at that moment.

"Open up a path!"

Cale lowered his body. He raised the speed of the black skeleton bird even more. The black skeleton bird was turning into a black arrow.
He made eye contact with Imperial Prince Adin at that moment.
Clopeh shouted from behind him.

"Destroy everything in the Commander-nim's way!"

Open up a path.
Block the enemy attacks so that Cale could move forward without worrying about anything else.

Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!

The white skeleton birds used their bodies to crash into the spells.

"Cast more spells! Fortify the shields even more! We can't let them through!"

The Captain of the Empire's Mage Brigade gave the orders before finally asking the Imperial Prince.

"…Shall I prepare for you to teleport?"

Teleport.
That was different than retreating to the back.
Teleporting would mean escaping from the battlefield. It would be something that would bring down the dignity of the Empire.
However, there was a limit to what they could do as the golems had disappeared while the white skeleton birds were continuing their attacks.

"It's fine."

However, the Imperial Prince refused to retreat. The Captain felt that Adin was acting like the Empire's future emperor as he raised his voice again.

"Create more shields!"

He could now even see Cale's face as the now black skeleton bird approached them.
That was how close they were now.

The only thing the Captain could rely on was the shield.
He put all of his strength into the shield.

It was at that moment.
Cale charged toward the shields created by hundreds of the Empire's mages without stopping.

Baaaaang! Bang!

The white skeleton birds helped create a straight path for him.
Cale clenched his hands that were holding onto the reins.

He had no strength in his body.
He felt extremely tired.
He didn't have the strength to use any ancient powers anymore.
He would faint or who knows what else could happen if he used any of them once more.

However, he could not stop.
He knew what he had to do.

The Empire's shield was right in front of his nose now.
Everybody believed that the black skeleton bird would crash into it right here.
However, Cale's decision was different.

"Raon."

Cale started to speak to the invisible existence he couldn't see but knew was always by his side.

"Pierce through."

He didn't even need to hear a response.

"Huh, huh?"
"T, the shield!"
"No!"

The Empire's shield started to melt.
It was just a small dot at first.
A small dot appeared on the shields made by hundreds of mages, including some high-grade mages, before the hole gradually became bigger.

"No! The shield's been breached!"

The Mage Brigade Captain shouted as Cale led the black skeleton bird through the spot where the shield had melted.
The Imperial Prince was right in front of him now.

"Attack! Attack the black skeleton bird!"

The mages whose shield were dispelled urgently started to launch spells toward Cale.
Cale made eye contact with the Imperial Prince at that moment.

Adin had a relaxed smile on his face as he was protected by the Empire's forces.

Cale didn't know what was making this bastard smile like this, however, he smiled back as well.
He then started to speak.

"Choi Han."

That was it.
Cale could see someone kick off the head of the black skeleton bird and shoot forward.

Choi Han.
There was a black aura coming out of his sword. The swordsman who no longer had any restrictions rushed toward the Imperial Prince.

"It's you who is coming for me."

Imperial Prince Adin opened up his arms and welcomed Choi Han. He then sneered at Choi Han.
Choi Han responded to that sneer with a stoic expression as he swung his sword.

"D, dodge!"
"Your highness, please dodge!"

The black aura left his sword and shot down.

Baaaaaang!

There was a dent in the dirt wall.
However, hits attack had been too obvious. The Imperial Prince had been surrounded by knights and alchemists and had already dodged. The smile on his face had not disappeared.

'This is my level.'

Adin was someone who could aim to take someone's life while being protected by others.
Why wouldn't he be excited?

However, the Imperial Prince's expression quickly changed.

"You bastards!"

Choi Han mumbled toward the Imperial Prince at the same time.

"Where are you looking?"

He was smiling. He then activated his aura as he charged toward the Imperial Prince.
However, Adin did not look at Choi Han. No, he could not look at him.

The black skeleton bird had not stopped once Choi Han had gotten off.
Cale had been moving toward a single goal since the beginning.

Choi Han's aura was being used to make the Imperial Prince dodge to one side.
As the knights needed to surround him, Adin had no choice but to move away from someone in order to dodge Choi Han's attack.

The Imperial Prince shouted.

"Honte-!"

Honte, the Tower Master's disciple.

"Hurry up and protect Honte!"

Adin shouted with urgency for the first time.

Caaw.
However, the black skeleton bird's beak had already opened up toward Honte.

The necromancer Mary was inside that beak with her black mana pointed at the enemy.
The only necromancer on the continent started to speak.

"Young master-nim, I am ready."

Cale started to think.

'The Imperial Prince cannot stop the Jungle's golems. Golems were made with black magic by the Alchemists' Bell Tower.
In that case, shouldn't they capture the leader of the tower?'

The monster on land.
That was talking about Honte.

Cale looked down at the lifeless Honte's eyes, the only things that were filled with life. Honte gently started to speak as he got ready to face Cale.

"How entertaining."

A black presence started to appear around Honte.
The alchemist leaders were protecting him.

Unlike the knights and low-grade alchemists who had moved to protect the Imperial Prince, the alchemist leaders were protecting Honte when Choi Han's aura had struck.

Cale started to smile.
He clenched onto the reins even tighter and raised the speed of the bird as he started to speak.

"Mary, Raon."

A dark blue light mixed in with Mary's black mana at that moment.

– Human, I will help Mary! The two of us can do it!

The necromancer and Dragon's powers combined in order to turn into a small and sharp dagger.
Cale looked toward Honte who was activating his black mana and gave the order.

"Fire."

A dark blue arrow the size of a person's arm shot out from the beak of the black skeleton bird.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]