The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die - Chapter 88

Chapter 88

It was an unexpected situation.

The appearance of the giant individual. The soldiers were already in a confused frenzy.

The commanders’ shouts, trying to organize the ranks, rang in his ears.

‘This is insane,’ Yoo Geung thought.

The demonic beast that appeared in his sight was unique. Its size seemed at least three times larger than the other individuals.

And in proportion to its massive size, it had skin three times as thick and a weight three times as heavy.

‘Is that one the leader?’

Whether human or demonic beast, the strongest and most powerful individual would take the leader’s position.

Moreover, as soon as that giant individual appeared, the momentum of the other demonic beasts weakened. The deduction that it was the leader was plausible.

As the prince discarded his spear and drew his sword, the leader roared as if recognizing the prince as his opponent.

Yoo Geung frowned. It was a deafening roar that felt like it would make his ears bleed.

“Don’t interfere, just get out of the way,” the prince said.

That’s impossible, Your Highness, just as Yoo Geung was about to answer.

The demonic beast, which had somehow approached within striking distance, swiped its forepaw, and Yoo Geung instinctively backed away.

Even as he thought about protecting the prince, his instincts prioritized his own safety first.

It was a moment of shame for a warrior.T

The prince said with a twisted grin, “Yes, stay out of the way like that. Don’t try to interfere.”

The next moment, Yoo Geung realized that the prince had disappeared from sight.

The prince was rolling on the ground before he knew it. And seizing the split second, he slashed at the demonic beast’s side.

However, the demonic beast roared, seemingly unfazed, as if such a wound was merely a scratch.

“————!”

Yoo Geung’s face paled at the demonic beast’s roar. It wasn’t because he was worried that other military officials on the wall would see this scene.

Yoo Geung felt pure fear for the first time in a long while at the prince’s recklessness.

As befitting a leader, the demonic beast seemed a bit more intelligent than the other individuals. It stepped back and aimed its forepaw at the prince.

However, the prince had already moved out of the way.

Yoo Geung saw him move to the side of the demonic beast and thrust his sword into its lower body, where the torso and legs connected.

“————!”

It was a very quick decision.

The demonic beast roared and twisted its body.

Perhaps because the sword wasn’t deeply embedded, the prince, in a flash, retrieved his sword and slashed at the demonic beast’s hide.

“… Huh.”

The demonic beast’s fur became wet. Soon, blood dripped down. The prince’s attack had worked.

Meanwhile, the other demonic beasts were still demoralized and didn’t move as ferociously as before.

“Ha, haha.”

Yoo Geung laughed in disbelief.

It was absurd. The prince was undoubtedly a possessor of mediocre skills.

His bloodline clearly descended from a family of generals gifted with military prowess, but he himself had always been lazy in training himself.

Yet, in just a few months, he had grown enough to face that giant demonic beast alone.

It was unbelievable.

It wasn’t that he was disparaging the prince’s efforts.

Of course, Yoo Geung, with the exception of a certain eunuch, was one of those who had observed the prince from the closest distance.

He had known for a while that the prince would retreat to a corner and train in secret.

But it had only been a few months.

As a military official himself, Yoo Geung knew.

Even with Yoo Geung’s own level as a goal, the prince would have needed years of effort. He couldn’t have achieved such results with only a few months of effort.

But it was as if a warrior who had rolled around on the battlefield hundreds of times had disguised himself as the prince.

A hidden talent? Even those words couldn’t explain it.

It didn’t make sense that he would have hidden such talent in the first place.

If others had known early on that the king’s eldest son possessed such military prowess…

The influential figures of the warrior families wouldn’t have let him be called a wastrel.

“————!”

Crack-

The demonic beast opened its jaws to swallow the prince whole. The prince, holding his sword with both hands, blocked the demonic beast’s teeth.

At that moment, the archers below the wall simultaneously fired their arrows.

The prince’s sword tore through the demonic beast’s hide.

Blood splattered out, covering the prince’s entire body. Despite this, the demonic beast showed no signs of relenting, instead, it lunged even more ferociously.

‘No. This is dangerous.’

The prince’s arm, holding the sword against the demonic beast’s yellow teeth, trembled.

Witnessing this, Yoo Geung made a decision and shouted,”Cease fire! Secure His Highness first!”

Just watching the prince struggle made his heart clench, making him feel like he was going to die instead.

This was the first time the prince had personally stepped forward to fight. He usually commanded from atop the wall.

How much stronger the prince had become in such a short time didn’t matter.

The real problem was that the prince wasn’t a veteran with a lot of experience.

Why is beginner’s luck dangerous? Because excessive luck makes one forget their true level and delude themselves into thinking they’re greater than they are.

In the end, it leads to danger.

Yoo Geung gripped his spear and prepared to charge at the demonic beast. The bleeding demonic beast was moving slower than before.

“Don’t come!” The prince shouted then.

Yoo Geung was momentarily flustered, but he couldn’t back down. There were times to obey orders and times not to.

The prince was indeed his superior, but there was a status that preceded even that. Yoo Geung’s priority was to protect the prince.

Yoo Geung charged at the demonic beast with his spear.

A dozen soldiers followed him. A dozen spears poured towards the demonic beast’s body, and dozens of arrows flew.

“I said I don’t need it!”

Meanwhile, the prince’s exasperated voice was clearly heard. But even if he got scolded later, securing the prince’s safety was the priority.

Meanwhile, the soldiers were dumbfounded.

It was surprising enough that the prince was fighting with a spear alongside the common infantry on the front lines, but he had even rushed alone towards the giant individual that everyone else was reluctant to approach.

As if that wasn’t enough, he was yelling at those who came to help him, saying he didn’t need it.

“————!”

“Oh, really…”

The prince’s eyes flashed. Witnessing that split-second moment, Bu-seop felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.

And the next moment, the prince’s sword shone white. Bu-seop squeezed his eyes shut at the blinding light.

When he opened his eyes again, the demonic beast was no longer able to move. And the prince was catching his breath with his sword lowered.

“Ah, ah.”

In the dim surroundings, only the prince and the sword he held were clearly visible.

Bu-seop stared blankly at the scene. The others around him weren’t much different.

“Y-Your Highness.”

Yoo Geung, the first to regain his senses among those blankly staring at the prince, spoke. Then the prince abruptly turned his head and glared at Yoo Geung.

His gaze seemed to kill Yoo Geung.

“Captain Yoo.”

“… Yes, Your Highness.”

Hadn’t he thought to save the prince first, even if he got scolded later? Yoo Geung replied in a dejected tone, unlike before.

“See me when the sun rises.”

“… Yes.”

The prince exhaled deeply, then tilted his head back and looked up at the sky, bathed in the moonlight.

Watching this, the surrounding soldiers recalled the scene they had just witnessed.

It was as if a war god had descended.

* * *

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t afraid.

But I had to fight. I had to fight alone.

The moment I faced that giant creature, an old memory that I had pushed to the back of my mind surfaced.

The day I first saw Jincheon, that dawn. The feeling of that moment came back to me.

The moment our eyes met, I felt the difference. I knew from the start that he was an opponent I couldn’t defeat.

I was afraid. But I still fought. I fought with the determination to die.

But I couldn’t win.

-Survive.

Survive. My eldest brother, who had left me with those words and turned his back on me. I could clearly see his broad back clad in armor.

But my eldest brother didn’t return. My eldest brother, who had ordered me to live and went to the front lines leading the soldiers, that was his last image.

When I saw my eldest brother again, he was in a horrific state, hanging from a high pole.

Even his body couldn’t be retrieved.

As I stared blankly at the face hanging from the pole, someone grabbed my shoulder.

– Second Brother…

It was my second eldest brother. I called him that and regretted it. Did I, a lowly being, have the right to call him family? Could I ever be given such a right?

A lowly being had devoured his family, so shouldn’t he hate me terribly? Yes, he should. It should be natural for him to hate me.

I didn’t even fulfill my duty properly. I failed to do what I had to do. I didn’t fulfill my obligations.

-What did Eldest Brother say at the end?

The words wouldn’t come out easily. I forced out the words that kept being swallowed back down my throat.

-He said to survive… He said to survive.

Eldest Brother died because I showed fear.

Eldest Brother went in my place because I hesitated to step forward.

If I hadn’t been afraid, Eldest Brother wouldn’t have had to die like that.

-Then you should live, why are you acting like this?

Did Eldest Brother sacrifice himself to save me?

If that’s the case, then I must live.

I must live a very long life, remember him, and fulfill what he wanted, even if it’s in his stead.

Even after ten years, a hundred years, even after everyone who remembers him dies and their bones turn to dust, I alone must survive and remember him.

Only then would his sacrifice not be in vain. I would live and make his death the most meaningful.

So I stood up.

But my second brother, determined to avenge Eldest Brother, went out to battle and lost his life.

Now it’s a story of a time that only I remember.

If I hadn’t been afraid back then, none of this would have happened.

I lowered my gaze from the moon and looked at my sword-wielding hand.

It was covered in blood.

My palm was torn and a mess. The pain from the cuts on my palm finally registered.

“Your Highness, please rest for a moment. Your injuries…” Yoo Geung said cautiously.

Now that the big one had been caught, perhaps it was okay to rest for a bit. I nodded and followed Yoo Geung’s lead towards the wall.

As I walked, I glanced back. The corpse of the demonic beast, drenched in blood, lay sprawled in a gruesome sight.

Now no one would fear such a thing anymore.

———