The 3rd Prince of the Fallen Kingdom Returns

22. The Mad Dog (1)

Beyond the barricade, the number of orc soldiers wasn’t overwhelming. Most of their troops were concentrated on holding back the Allied Forces at the frontlines.

Yuri dashed forward and slashed at an orc guarding the rear.

The orc, however, blocked his attack.

As they exchanged blows, orc troops began to converge on their position.

“Laurent!”

“Yes!”

Laurent understood Yuri’s call and rushed to his side. Together, their synchronized strikes overwhelmed the orc and exposed a fatal gap.

The orc fell, bleeding profusely.

Without hesitation, Yuri stomped on its head, crushing its skull.

“Keep pushing forward!”

At the same time, the main force was engaged in a fierce struggle with the orcs.

Disrupting the rear was crucial to aiding the main force.

“Hey, Jose!”

Yuri shouted.

“Why are you so slow? Is that really all Brusin can manage?””

Jose burst into laughter at the taunt, then suddenly surged forward.

He was as large as the orcs themselves. With one powerful swing of his sword, he cleaved an orc in half at the waist.

Covered in blood, he roared,

“Show the Prince of Briol what kind of nation Brusin is!”

The Brusin knights charged forward with a roar.

The human and orc forces collided with brutal ferocity.

Blood and flesh splattered as the orc forces slowly began to retreat. Brusin pushed forward relentlessly.

Laurent, unusually, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“For Briol!”

Such ferocity was unlike anything he had shown before.

Laurent leaped high into the air, slashing downward with his sword. An orc raised its axe to block, but Laurent was faster.

The orc’s head split open, and its contents spilled out.

Laurent shook the blood off his sword and shouted once more,

“And for Prince Yuri!”

Yuri, who was in the midst of stabbing an orc’s abdomen, cleared his throat awkwardly upon hearing his name.

“That’s… embarrassing.”

The two knight orders surged at the orcs as though in competition.

Brusin, led by Jose, crushed the orcs like a relentless grinder, while Briol sliced through them with precise and coordinated tactics.

Yuri scaled the top of an orc tent to survey the battlefield.

A fierce melee was raging at the front lines, blood and chaos everywhere. Inside the camp, orcs swarmed like ants, scurrying in all directions.

Amidst all the chaos, one group stood completely still.

Dozens of flags fluttered.

“Orkbal…”

Yuri recognized the group.

The orkbal, each carrying a flag on their back, stood in clusters, waiting.

It was obvious who the orc at the center was.

Kurui.

Yuri glared at the orc standing in the middle.

It was no larger than any other orc, but the scars visible on its exposed skin hinted at countless battles.

Suddenly, their eyes met.

Kurui grinned.

It shouted something and gestured with its hand. About half of the orkbal turned to look.

“This is bad…”

He inadvertently drew their attention.

Yuri shouted.

“The orkbal troop is coming! Prepare yourselves!”

Dozens of flags fluttered as they advanced from afar.

The orkbal joined the battle in an instant.

Amidst the battle, a powerful figure emerged, disrupting the knights’ formations and hacking through allies with its massive axe.

“This is bad…”

Even Jared, known for his quick reflexes, momentarily lost sight of his opponent.

He knew something was wrong the instant he saw the axe blade closing in on his face.

A bright light repelled the attack.

“Are you not paying attention?”

A black-haired boy stepped in, intercepting the orkbal’s strike.

“Your Highness!”

The orkbal grimaced and swung its axe wildly.

Just as Jared thought it was impossible for a human to withstand such a relentless assault with mere physical strength,

Yuri countered the enemy’s attack as if it were nothing.

Remarkably, the orkbal was forced to retreat.

Jared’s eyes widened.

“This is how it’s done.”

Jared watched the exchange unfolding before him with his own eyes.

At first glance, it seemed like Yuri was simply countering the orkbal’s attacks. However, he was subtly redirecting the enemy’s momentum to his advantage, skillfully adjusting the angle to maximize his own strength like a lever.

That was why the orkbal was being pushed back.

Even as he watched, Jared found the technique hard to believe.

“Did you get it?”

Between the exchanges, Yuri utilized his speed, creating an opening for a single attack.

The orkbal’s body accumulated more and more injuries.

Its axe swings gradually slowed.

The orkbal gasped for breath, halting like a wounded beast.

Defeat gradually crept into its eyes.

“Your Highness.”

Jared mumbled unconsciously.

“Where did you get your training?”

Jared always knew Yuri’s combat instincts were exceptional, but this was something else entirely.

How could an eighteen-year-old toy with an orkbal as though it were a mere child?

This boy was growing stronger with each battle he fought.

“Stop the nonsense and focus.”

Yuri stepped aside.

He left Jared to finish the wounded orkbal.

“Yes, Sir.”

Gritting his teeth, Jared charged the orkbal once more.

As Jared lunged, the orkbal’s gaze shifted. Its axe strikes regained strength, and its demeanor suddenly changed.

Jared grimaced.

He had never considered himself a genius, but he always thought he was close enough to one.

Yet here he was, being treated like a complete fool.

“I’ll show you what I can do, you bastard!”

Mimicking Yuri’s technique, Jared deflected the orkbal’s strike, sending its axe flying high into the air.

Confusion flickered across the orkbal’s face.

“Yes, that’s the expression I wanted to see.”

Jared drove his sword into the orkbal’s neck. It gurgled, blood spilling down its chest, before collapsing.

Jared withdrew his sword and looked up.

The orkbal’s arrival had initially pushed the knights back, but now, with Jared and Yuri leading the charge, the tide was turning.

“I am Jose of Brusin!”

Jose’s strength wasn’t limited to his immense physical power.

The raw mana emanating from him pressed heavily against the skin. Every time Jose swung his sword, the orkbal couldn’t withstand the shock and fell flat.

Even against three orkbals at once, Jose dominated the fight with ease.

The bewildered expressions of the three orkbals made it easy for Jared to guess their frustration.

“He’s a monster.”

Yet another monster stood on the battlefield—Yuri, who fought with a style entirely his own.

Yuri moves fluidly through the chaos, slipping between allies and enemies to ambush the orkbals with deadly precision.

When outnumbered, he seamlessly melted back into the knight order, drawing attention away from himself.

It was an undeniably efficient method of killing, but at the same time, one could also say he was sneakily striking from behind.

Yuri’s grin widened as he drove his sword deep into an orkbal’s back.

Jared looked away, pretending not to notice.

“Not very honorable…”

One thing was clear: with both of them taking charge, the balance that had been tilting was now restored, and the battle had become even once more.

Jared gripped his sword tightly.

To say he wasn’t afraid would be a lie.

But he had decided long ago to follow Yuri.

He would stay by his side and witness how far this boy would go.

If he fell behind now, he would never be able to look Yuri in the eye again.

“Haah…”

An orkbal was walking toward him.

He relaxed his shoulders. Focused his mind. His senses became sharply attuned.

It was a strange sensation.

As it took a step, swung its arms, and raised its halberd.

He could clearly see how its center of gravity shifted, and where he had to strike to bring it down.

It was said that a knight could only truly grow beyond a certain level through real combat experience. Would he have ever thrown himself into battle like this, if not for Yuri?

This was something his old self would have never imagined seeing.

Jared stepped forward.

* * *

Watching Jared fighting fiercely, Yuri smirked. As the knight he had chosen, Jared was holding his own remarkably well.

He was still lacking, but with continued training, he would become a valuable knight.

Even if he never reached the Ten Strongest, he might still make it into the Hundred Strongest.

Yuri’s gaze swept across the battlefield, assessing the overall situation.

At the frontlines, the Allied Forces held their ground, while behind them, the knights of Briol, Brusin, the Holy Kingdom, and the Empire’s knights wreaked havoc.

The tide of the battle was gradually turning in their favor.

Considering the scale of the Allied Forces, this was probably the expected outcome.

“This is too easy…”

However, in his past life, the Allied Forces had been defeated with a similar force. He had to be prepared for the possibility of an unexpected move.

Just then.

Yuri sensed a chilling aura.

A scream echoed nearby.

It wasn’t an orc; it was human.

He turned, spotting a scarred orc tearing a knight to pieces.

“Kurui!”

As he had seen before, Kurui wasn’t especially large, but his presence was overwhelming.

Not a single opening existed in his stance.

Kurui tossed the knight’s head aside and let out a low chuckle. It sounded like a predator growling.

“Damn…”

The knight who had fallen was Lake, a baron with a small fief. He had married a childhood friend from a nearby fief and had two young children.

Kuruī stomped on his head, crushing it with a sickening sound.

“You bastard!”

An enraged Briol knight charged forward.

Kurui dodged the knight’s strike, retreating before suddenly leaping forward with an explosive swing of his axe.

The knight’s waist was severed.

Blood stained the ground.

Yuri repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hand around Guilty’s hilt.

His heart pounded in his chest, teeth gritted in fury.

“Your Highness.”

Laurent reached out, trying to restrain Yuri.

“Step aside.”

“I cannot.”

Kurui’s strength was undeniable. Even with Yuri’s exceptional abilities, a direct confrontation would be impossible.

“We will attack together.”

Laurent’s words were right. Yuri couldn’t die here; as a prince, his life held too much weight. It was the other knights’ responsibility to risk their lives in facing Kuruī.

Meanwhile, Kurui charged forward again.

This time, a Brusin knight was struck down by his axe. The orkbal’s momentum surged.

“Fall back! If necessary, retreat!”

“I understand.”

“I’m relieved you agree.”

But Laurent had forgotten something.

Yuri couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.

Yuri, who was retreating, suddenly grabbed Laurent’s shoulder and tripped him.

“Whoa, Your Highness!”

Taking advantage of Laurent’s fall, Yuri immediately dashed forward.

Jared tried to grab him, but Yuri sidestepped and leaped forward.

He swung Guilty towards Kurui’s back. Heart and Soul Slash, responding to his will, unleashed a ferocity like never before.

But he was the one sent tumbling.

In a flash, Kurui had turned and struck with his axe. It was a speed even Yuri could barely follow with his eyes.

Truly, the raw power of an orc chieftain.

“Protect the Prince!”

“Your Highness!”

As Yuri surged forward, Briol’s knights rushed to protect him, but their movements tangled in chaos, and they stumbled over each other.

Yuri shouted.

“Stop, all of you!”

He stood back up.

“You’re just getting in the way.”

With those words, Yuri lifted his gaze and faced forward once again.

By then, a hulking knight stood before Kurui.

It was Jose, the knight from Brusin.

“Your Highness, please step back.”

“What?”

“The commander must not fall into danger.”

“That’s absurd.”

Yuri shook his head.

“Sir Jose.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Look into my eyes.”

“What?”

“What do you see?”

Jose stared at Yuri in disbelief. Then he burst into laughter.

His laughter echoed powerfully around them.

“Seriously…”

He laughed for a while, then abruptly stopped, as if a switch had been flipped.

“I’ve never met a royal quite like you, Your Highness.”

“Is that so?”

Yes, though I’ve seen eyes like yours before…”

“In the founding king’s portrait?”

“No.”

Jose raised his sword.

In response, Kuruī lifted his axe. The orc was clearly cautious of the aura emanating from Jose.

“When I was young, there was a mad dog wandering the docks. You remind me exactly of that dog, Your Highness.”

“What?”

“It’s a compliment.”

Jose recalled a memory from his childhood.

There was a mad dog.

It never feared the larger dogs, no matter their size. If it was provoked, it would fight tooth and nail, never backing down.

At first, he thought it was truly a crazy dog.

But later, he learned the dog had a den hidden in the docks, filled with small puppies.

It had erased its fear to protect its young.

There are things in this world that make fear irrelevant.

In the end, the mad dog was bitten to death by a larger dog. Jose buried its body in a sunny spot, honoring its courage. He took the puppies in and raised them as his own.

On his land, those puppies ‘ descendants continued to grow.

Just like the mischievous Third Prince of Briol, the pups had inherited the mad dog’s jet-black fur.

“Your Highness, when the Allied Forces are done here, please come visit Brusin. I’ll treat you to the full course.”

“And what’s a full course?”

“You’ll find out when you come.”

Mana surged violently from Jose’s body, swirling with the wild, untamed ferocity of Brusin’s waves.

“Kurui!”

Jose shouted the enemy’s name and stepped forward. Yuri responded in kind.

The two knights charged towards Kurui simultaneously.