Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The other paladins on the front lines hurriedly joined the fray upon seeing two of their comrades being repelled.

“Sergio! Clemens!”

They reached out to their fallen comrades and were shocked.

“Ah, they’re so cold!”

Their bodies were as cold as ice.

“Huuuu… Hrrrk…”

The paladins who had been directly hit by Binaeril’s magic trembled like aspen leaves, white breath escaping from their lips. Their swords and armor were all frozen solid, covered in frost.

“Pull the paladins back!”

The soldiers grunted as they dragged the two frozen paladins away.

Binaeril, exhaling a white breath, looked at Yunnaeril. Yunnaeril met his gaze. The temperature around them had plummeted rapidly due to Binaeril’s magic.

Ssss―.

Half-frozen sleet fell between Binaeril, Yunnaeril, and the paladins glaring fiercely at Binaeril.

‘Are you watching?’

‘Watching what?’

‘The paladins are no match for me.’

‘I never expected them to be.’

‘Stop the pointless sacrifices. This fight is between you and me, after all.’

‘Do the others think the same?’

‘Let’s settle this, just the two of us.’

‘The tide of battle is in our order’s favor. Even the world’s biggest fool wouldn’t retreat from this war.’

The two exchanged many words with their eyes.

“Is he the enemy of the Order?”

Yunnaeril nodded.

“Hrrrrk… Be, beware…”

Clemens, lips trembling, warned his comrades.

He had killed Yunnaeril’s clone, Scylla, and rendered two paladins unable to fight. He had also single-handedly blocked the sword energy of the Starfall, which could sweep away hundreds at once. On this battlefield, Binaeril had already become the last hope of Elfenbine, a symbol of resistance against the Order.

“If we just defeat him…”

“Sir Leo, calm yourself. The tide of battle is in our favor. There’s no need for us to be hasty.”

Yunnaeril calmed the paladins, who looked ready to leap into action at any moment.

There was no need to rush. The forces of Elfenbine and the Duke’s army were visibly dwindling. The ones who were desperate were on the other side.

Those words were meant not only for the paladins but also for Yunnaeril himself. In truth, he was exerting all his strength to suppress the power of the Starfall, which was on the verge of revealing its true force.

“Binaeril! Damn it, so you were here! No wonder there was all that flashing!”

Duke Torben Dux approached Binaeril on horseback.

“Damn it! The Order’s forces are disgustingly numerous! Are they planning to wage an all-out war, those Order bastards!”

The Duke’s body was covered in small wounds. Familiar faces were with him. Though exhausted, the Duke’s knights greeted Binaeril with relieved expressions.

“How are you holding up, Binaeril!”

“I’m fine. But that’s not what’s important right now…”

“Hmm, it seems the mages of Elfenbine have taken a hard hit. Their numbers have greatly dwindled.”

“Yes, but the tide of battle…”

“What’s with these wings, Binaeril! Is this also magic?”

The Duke, displaying a surprising amount of composure given the situation, continued to speak casually. It was hardly the time for such leisure. Although they had incapacitated two paladins, there were still tens of thousands of enemies left to face.

“Binaeril, don’t worry.”

The Duke smiled.

“Do you know why I was late?”

He had just returned after safely evacuating the villagers around Elfenbine to the safety of the Duchy. Though it wasn’t a short distance, the vastness of the Duchy made it manageable. According to the original plan, he shouldn’t have appeared so late.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“There are reinforcements.”

“What…?”

Buuuu―uu―uu―!

Just then, the horn blared once again. It was the first time Binaeril had heard it, but for the mages of the Order and Elfenbine, it was already the second time.

“What… what is that?!”

Dudududu―!

The ground began to tremble. The sound of the horn, the rumbling of the earth, and from afar, the roar of people echoed.

Waaahhhhh―!

A look of shock quickly spread across Yunnaeril’s face.

What is this rumbling?

What is this horn?

What is this earth-shaking roar of soldiers?!

Duke Torben Dux turned his head towards the direction of the sound.

“Why are they so late, for heaven’s sake…?”

The first thing that became visible beyond the horizon was a banner. The banners were adorned with intricate gold embroidery. Standard-bearers, taller by a head than the other soldiers, held their flags high with solemn and dignified expressions.

“Who… who are they?!”

Someone shouted in astonishment.

“That… that emblem!”

Another gasped and screamed.

“It’s the Empire! The emblem of the Albrecht Empire!”

Someone cried out in disbelief, clutching their head.

Indeed, it was the Empire. The dominant power of the continent. The eternal rulers of the land.

The soldiers of the great Albrecht Empire began to surge forward like a tidal wave.

Paladin Inno grabbed the collar of the lieutenant beside him and demanded,

“What is this?! Didn’t they say the Empire had no interest in this war?!”

“I don’t know either, sir!”

Inno, shoving the unfortunate lieutenant aside, wiped the rain from his face to clear his vision.

“Is it really the Empire? Did the Empire really move… to protect Elfenbine?”

As if to dispel his doubts, angry shouts rang out from amidst the rumbling cries of the soldiers.

“Save Elfenbine!”

“Crush the Order!”

“Show them the might of the Albrecht imperial family!”

“The… the imperial family…”

The Vitory Order was certainly the dominant power in the eastern part of the continent. That much was undeniable. No other power in the east could muster an army of 60,000 for a hastily started war. But the ruler of the east? That title was meaningless.

Who truly owns this entire continent?

No matter how much time passes, no matter how much their power wanes, the ruler of the continent has always been and will always be the Albrecht imperial family.

Now, the forces of Essen were marching against the Order.

Among the soldiers of the Order, the faint-hearted trembled and collapsed where they stood.

“W-we’re all going to die…”

The combined forces of Elfenbine were still less than half of the Order’s army. But what of those who were now charging from beyond the horizon?

If the soldiers gathered from the capital of Essen were from the Empire, a force of a hundred thousand would be no laughing matter. The imperial soldiers surged like a tidal wave, and among them, dozens of banners were visible. Binaeril and the mages of Elfenbine watched in shock as the newly arrived imperial army appeared.

“Binaeril―!”

A voice imbued with mana called out. It was a voice Binaeril could never forget. Though he had the audacity to call the Emperor by name, there was no one on this battlefield who could chastise him for his insolence.

Emperor Friederike II emerged, flanked by a stern escort. But that wasn’t all.

“Protect Elfenbine!”

Among those who appeared alongside the imperial army were others who did not belong to the Empire.

“Inyakaan!”

The barbaroi, standing amidst the mounted soldiers, roared with bare, muscular bodies. On the left flank, the vanguard was led by Dominic Schiller, now Marquis of the borderlands. The ones bounding forward on all fours, with tails trailing behind them, were the Miao tribe warriors from the Hoenberg Mountains. At the very front, the Miao warrior Sorisimon bared his sharp teeth.

“Senegakan! Dominic! Sorisimon and even Scylla!”

The paladins’ heads spun with confusion. Not only the imperial army, but also the warriors of Barbaroana, and even the Miao tribe?

At that moment, an explosion sounded from the southeast.

“Show the strength of the Toins! Prove to the Order bastards that we are not their slaves!”

Waaahhhh!

“Who are they?!”

“They… they seem to be Toins…”

“By the Earth Mother, we swear we are not the slaves of men!”

“The Toins of Aliba? Why are they here, when they’re under the Order’s influence…?”

A small alliance of three nations—Aliba, Walka, and Tel Mer—had suddenly appeared on the southeastern front. They joined the battlefield wielding all sorts of bizarre weapons crafted by the Toins.

“Ducat!”

King Ducat Herebos of the Toins burst into hearty laughter among the dwarves.

“We didn’t come to help you, little one! We came to free ourselves from the oppressive bastards of the Order!”

The small alliance’s cause was resistance against the Vitory Order. The Order had accumulated too many debts. With the appearance of members of the Pigruben Federation, murmurs spread among the Order’s forces, especially those drafted from the Federation.

“The small nations have rebelled!”

Not everyone wanted to be conscripted into the Order’s war. They simply lacked the courage to resist. But now, an alliance of nations far smaller than themselves was standing up against the Order. The courage that the relatively larger states like the Principality of Pigny and the Kingdom of Ruben had failed to muster.

“Kaya!”

Standing beside the Toin King was the last nymph, Kaya, whom they had met in Aliba. With this, all three nymphs were now gathered on this battlefield.

“Ugh… Urgh…”

The soldiers of the Order, overwhelmed by the newfound reinforcements, began to retreat in fear. Not only the soldiers, but even the remaining paladins hesitated, their faces pale with dread.

“Commander, what do we do? Shouldn’t we retreat now?”

The nearby soldiers flinched at those words. They all remembered the fate of the one who had dared to suggest retreat to the Knight of Salvation.

The Order still had over fifty thousand soldiers remaining. But when combined with the imperial forces, the Pigruben small alliance, the remaining ducal forces, and the mages of Elfenbine, the opposition seemed to number twice that.

If they didn’t retreat, the battlefield would offer only death.

As Yunnaeril pondered, Binaeril called out his brother’s name.

Binaeril’s expression was resolute, while Yunnaeril’s face showed signs of anxiety. In an instant, the positions of the two brothers had completely reversed.

‘This is the end, Yunnaeril.’

Binaeril’s eyes conveyed that message clearly. Yunnaeril planted the Starfall sword into the ground and made another declaration to those around him.

“…Are you out of your mind, Commander?!”

“The war is not lost yet.”

“What?! Are you telling me you can’t see that swarm of soldiers out there?!”

“I will stop them.”

“Even if you’re the Commander, you can’t possibly face tens of thousands alone…!”

The paladin who had been protesting suddenly fell silent. The aura emanating from Yunnaeril was anything but ordinary. The dazzling white light that had once shone brightly was gone, replaced by a menacing gray smoke rising from the Starfall.

Yunnaeril locked eyes with his brother once more, and his gaze spoke clearly:

‘This is where both you and I… where both of us will meet our end.’

-That madman!

Veritas shouted in alarm. Binaeril could also sense the ominous power pouring out from the Starfall. Even those on the battlefield who were the least sensitive to magic felt an inexplicable chill.

‘What are you planning, Yunnaeril?’

-He’s planning to recreate what he did in the village of Inya here!

-He’s going to summon the demons!

Binaeril was horrified.

Yunnaeril began channeling the dark power of the Starfall into the ground, which was already piled high with corpses.

“Rise…!”