YM778.TV Chapter 178 – For the Sake of Victory
Chapter 178 - For the Sake of Victory
— Sirius —
Although it was discouraging that Jii-san acted somewhat recklessly, the initiation of the war began at the same time as Sanger’s command. Unlike the time of the frontline base, the units for attacking instead of defending started to charge all at once, but the speed of each unit differed greatly depending on the arrangement and the strategy of the units. Therefore, among the three divided units, the left wing unit centered on the horse, led by Reus and Julia, should collide with the monsters first, but it was me and Hokuto, who started the attack first.
There was a case where Hokuto and I, who were a mobile unit, were further ahead from the central unit, but it was only natural because I was riding on Hokuto’s back and no one accompanied us. After accelerating with the acceleration of horse racing, I took a breather and jumped from Hokuto’s back as soon as they entered my range.
“Now, shall we start? Please take care of things. I’m preparing now.” (Sirius)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
I put my foot on Hokuto’s tail when he jumped off earlier. Then, I was shot into the sky in the form as a catapult, as I had previously done. I flew at a very high altitude that was difficult to reach not only from the ground but also from the sky. While looking down at the monsters that filled the ground from a distance, I proceeded with preparations for battle while accelerating my thinking with [Multitask]
“It’s a good altitude. I can see deep into the enemy camp.” (Sirius)
[The formation of monsters… Priority goals…]
[Movement route of each unit… Support points…]
[Weaknesses… The enemy’s range of action…]
After grasping the entire enemy and adjusting my action with parallel thinking, I took out three pieces of mana stones that were also used at the frontline base and processed them into card shape. I connected them with [String] extended after throwing it around me.
[Alpha connection… Target… Distance… 100… [Snipe] - Lock]
[Bravo connection… Target… Distance… 20… [Gatling] - Lock]
[Charlie connection… Target… Distance… 5… [Magnum] - Lock]
After giving instructions through the [String] to the cards that had turned into balls of light, I aimed at monsters that hindered the assault units, with long-range attacks, and large monsters, which seemed to stop the horses, one after another. At the front line base, [Anti-Materiel] was used three times at the same time by using this method, but this time, individual instructions were given to release magic according to the situation. By using this method, I thought that the true value of [Multitask] had finally come to fruition.
Even if I could even predict the optimal action with high-speed thinking, I had only one body, so there would be limitations on the action taken. Thus, I had been thinking more than necessary in order to ensure my safety and the state of my disciples until now. However, with the increase in the invoked bodies that could take action and served as temporary arms, the need for excess thinking had disappeared. So, I was able to fight at full throttle. It was a method that could be used because manastones, which was the material of the card, were abundant, and this was one of my trump cards that I saved for the decisive battle.
“All weapons… Lock On - Complete… Strafe!” (Sirius)
When all the aiming was completed, various kinds of bullets… magic was all released at once from myself and the three balls of light. Magic bullets specializing in penetrating power were shot through the vital points of large monsters in the distance, scraped off small monsters moving in groups with countless bullets and killing nearby monsters with regular bullets. Although the first move alone killed a considerable number, it would be only a small number from the whole.
However, my job wasn’t to reduce the number, so I kept strafing until I fell to the ground. After killing the monsters at the landing point with [Magnum], I landed in the middle of the enemy unit. Of course, at the same time as landing, monsters attacked from all sides, but after the [Shotgun] was fired and blew them away, I restored mana while breathing deeply.
“Hmm… Maybe, this is the first time I’ve been surrounded by so many monsters.” (Sirius)
The place where I feel seemed to be quite far from the leading group of enemies. Although I had told Hokuto the approximate position, I flew further than expected. By the way, I moved to the direction of the allies in order to make the best use of the group battle. It might be necessary to attack the enemy’s leading group from the rear and make a hole so that allies could easily charge, but apparently, it wasn’t necessary.
“Awoooo-!” (Hokuto)
That was because a huge wave of flames created by Hokuto’s howling was assaulting the leading group of enemies. The amount of heat was tremendous as the monsters swallowed by the waves of flames turned into charcoal, and the monsters with spears that were waiting at the front line were burned out one after another.
I thought that was a terrifying attack despite being my partner, but it was a very excellent attack against hordes of enemies. I heard from Hokuto through Reus that it was a technique that transformed himself into a wave of fire. It was similar to the technique of the flame wolf that Hokuto once fought. However, if he became such a flame, it was likely that even the allied troops that would pass later would be injured, but there was no problem about that.
As I confirmed that Hokuto, who was dealing with the enemies at the front line, a medium size Orc suddenly approached from behind me. I tried to intercept the orc immediately, but the knife on my waist jumped out earlier than that and stuck in the orc’s head. By the way, it was a knife that flew, and I hadn’t touched it at all. The knife that moved freely even though I hadn’t touched it, knocked down a medium-sized monster with a single stab…
“…Have you finally woken up?” (Sirius)
[Shut up. You shouldn’t start that early in the morning.] (Shishou)
Yes, it was the branch of the Sacred Tree… the knife that I got from Shishou. Shishou’s knife, which normally couldn’t move freely, let alone speak, was the one who could finally speak by piercing it in the ground with a manastone. At the moment, even though it wasn’t touching the ground, it could move freely to kill the orc and talked to me. It wasn’t that Shishou had evolved, but that restriction was removed by using something that I made.
[Hmm, it’s not bad, but there are still some parts that are hard to move. Get rid of it later.] (Shishou)
“I did it in a hurry, so it can’t be helped. Work properly, not just your mouth.” (Sirius)
Shishou’s knife, which withdrew from the killed orc, returned and floated to my side. It had an ornament that emitted the same light as a manastone fitted in the handle, and from there, it was connected to my [String]. It was too complicated to explain in detail, but the ornament made by trial and error was a substitute for the ground… it was substitute for soil and mana, and it was possible to move freely by connecting it with a [String]. That was the reason why I was the only one who could hear Shishou’s voice.
The best feature was that Shishou can move by her own will even if I didn’t move the knife. In other words, just by maintaining the [String], Shishou was capable of rampaging on her own. In addition to myself, there were three balls of light activated by mana, which the invoked bodies, and Shishou’s knife that moved freely. This was the best fighting performance that I could unleash at the moment.
“I’m going to move soon. Don’t stay too long in the same spot.” (Sirius)
[Sure. Master.] (Shishou)
Well, she couldn’t move unless we were connected, so the calling was correct. I started to move at the same time as her reply without showing a respectful figure. I charged at the monsters that were standing up, while holding a knife with my other hand.
“First off… the left wing unit…” (Sirius)
On the left wing unit, the movement of Reus and Julia, who was at the center of the formation and on a horse, was faster than expected. They seemed to reach there first. After deciding the direction to go, I would open the way with magic unleashed by myself and the invoked bodies. As long as they were isolated in the enemy camp, they would be done if they stopped. Then, in addition to magically wiping out the interfering monsters, I could either slice the opponent’s neck with my knife as we passed each other, just avoid it and didn’t have to deal with them at all in order to continue ahead.
[Continuous Shooting [Shotgun]… Remaining Mana… 50…]
[Bravo… Mana Reduced… Purge… 3… 2…]
[Launching [Sniper]… Switching to [Magnum]… Sequential Launch…]
However, unlike me, who could recover mana in the meantime, there was a limit to the invoked body that was originally a manastone. When the mana of the invoked body, which had been considerably depleted by the first [Gatling] strafing, was about to run out, I manipulated the [String] to fly the invoked body to the part where the monsters were most densely packed.
It might be because the monsters recognized the suddenly flying invoked body as an enemy, they swarmed to attack it. The invoked body was separated from the [String] released a tremendous shock wave around it and disappeared while engulfing many monsters. It was like a small bomb that used its last mana. I lost one invoked body with this, but immediately took out a new card and replenished it. I brought all the cards as many as I could afford, but this battle was likely to be long. Therefore, I had to save as much as possible.
[Ahahaha! It’s fun to be able to move!] (Shishou)
And Shishou (knife), who became able to move, let out intense few words. Although it was only a knife, Shishou flew around me freely with a flexible [String] with fine joints, and accurately slashed the monster’s vital points and killed them. Not only slashing, she also pierced and penetrated them. In the case of large monsters, it entered the body and rotated inside, and it was rampaging to the fullest with a loud laugh. Even so, despite the rampage, it didn’t interfere with my movements at all. It was unclear whether it was Shishou’s technique or the power of Sacred Tree, but she was scary in many ways.
“Alright, we’ve had enough around here. Let’s go next!” (Sirius)
[I haven’t tasted that monster’s guts yet… Well, it can’t be helped.] (Shishou)
When I pulled Shishou, who complained in front of the prey she was aiming for, she reluctantly gave up. Normally, she was Shishou who never listened to people’s orders, but she seemed to listen to what I said, probably because she was connected to me now. By the way, how much did she enjoy tasting monster’s guts? I had imagined that this Shisou (knife) was hungry for blood, but apparently, it wasn’t a mistake to think that.
Since the work on the left wing unit side was completed in this way, we would proceed through the monster group again this time in order to head to the right wing unit side. On the way there, I also checked the state of Hokuto, who was moving to a position different from mine, and there seemed to be no particular problem there. At the frontline base, he seemed to be hitting the enemy’s position hard by making full use of the ability of flame, which he wasn’t used to much, probably because of aerial battle. Of course, I was joining and riding on his back at that time, but if I was on him, Hokuto’s attack would be restricted. Above all, the battlefield was wide, so I decided that we acted separately this time.
“Shishou, I entrust the group over there to you.” (Sirius)
[Do it yourself!] (Shishou)
“I can’t afford that. Do it while you’re passing them through.” (Sirius)
[You’re such a slave-driver, aren’t you…] (Shishou)
“Well, you’re no longer a person, right?” (Sirius)
I wondered about that… I was mysteriously uplifted in a situation that could be fatal even by a slightest carelessness. It might be because I was fighting with Shishou, but more than that, my soul remembered my previous life. A warrior who didn’t care about his disciples or his back, but just moved for the save of victory… That was when I was working as an agent.
“I will attack deeper!” (Sirius)
[Alright!] (Shishou)
In this way, I continued to break through the enemy’s unit alone while generously using the skills and abilities that I had trained.
— Beowulf ※Right wing unit —
“Ooooo—!” (Lior)
Tousen-san… No, Lior-san, who stood on the battlefield as Strongest Sword, ran ahead without waiting for the command to start the war. Well, it was almost at the same time as Sanger-sama’s command. Emilia, who wasn’t moving at all, started moving calmly, so we also started the assault while being one step behind. When I thought calmly about it, I originally wanted to keep a distance from Lior-sama. Hence, there was no problem if he went out first.
“It’s about time. Please get ready.” (Emilia)
At the same time as Emilia’s words, Lior-san, who was running ahead, collided with the head of the enemy’s unit. Unlike us, who were running, the monsters were approaching by walking, but they were probably being manipulated by the existence called Lambda.
The monsters, that were supposed to wield their weapons normally, stopped on the way, holding their spears all at once and waited for Lior-san to hit them. It was the line of spears held strategy that Sirius-san mentioned before the operation. I thought he would hit them after the soldiers at the rear broke the line of spears by casting magic, but Emilia didn’t give instruction. And then, Lior-san, who didn’t even show the pretense of using [Break Thrust] that unleashed a shock wave…
“Oraaa-!” (Lior)
It was just a single swing with no special move, and let alone the spear, even nearly a hundred monsters were blown away. The reason why we hadn’t provided any support until this moment was that he didn’t need any help if it was at this level. After that, we started attacking a bit later than Lior-san, who caused a sword storm that was shown at the frontline base. He continued slashing the monsters without stopping at all.
“Keep up with Strongest Sword-dono!” (??)
“Maintain the formation while breaking through! Break them down at once with this momentum!” (??)
“It’s fine for Strongest Sword to leave the rear. Make sure to annihilate them!” (??)
Lior-san made a breakthrough, and we shouted as we annihilated the monsters. Although Lior-san didn’t do anything fiercely just before the start of the war, the unit’s morale was surprisingly high even for me, who had had an unreasonable experience with him in the past year. Was his strength affecting the entire unit?
Fighting using weapons was the main thing because magic was preserved as much as possible, but his momentum was really tremendous. The monsters were unilaterally killed which was enough to be called trampling down by him.
“Ojii-chan, a little bit more to the left! And please conclude the right side at once!” (Emilia)
“Leave it to me! Hmmph!” (Lior)
In the meantime, Emilia was swinging a dagger at the monster that was approaching occasionally while giving instruction to Lior-san. For the first time, I saw Emilia fighting with a weapon instead of magic. I was fascinated by the way she fought by itself. She eliminated unnecessary movements and rotated in order not to kill the momentum… no, the appearance of slashing the monster’s vital points with a knife like dancing was really beautiful when combined with her appearance of the silver hair that seemed to emit light.
If Reus, who was also Sirius-san’s disciple, was represented by strength, Emilia-san could be represented by refined skills. However, she had to give instructions while fighting. As I was fighting to protect Emilia-san, she looked away. Then, she raised her voice while slowing down.
“Everyone, we will stop a little bit further from here. Get ready for the flow wall formation!” (Emilia)
“Eh!? From now on?” (??)
“Un-understood. Flow wall formation! Hurry up!” (??)
“The third and fourth magician units, start chanting! Wait for the signal!” (Emilia)
Emilia talked about one of the strategies decided before the war began. The detail was to stop the unit once and concentrate on annihilating monsters. It was a strategy that was possible because this was a unit close to a thousand soldiers. Soldiers with large shields began to move to protect the whole unit. As the magician units began chanting, Emilia called out Lior-san again.
“Ojii-chan, please stop for a moment. Go ahead on the monsters of the other side.” (Emilia)
“Is it coming!? I’m tired of waiting!” (Lior)
As soon as Lior-san, who seemed unusually happy, stopped, the magic of the troops was activated. The ground ahead was raised a bit further from him, and there were two long walls. That clay wall was fan-shaped starting from Lior-san’s position. Since it was extended diagonally forward to the left and right, it served less purpose as a defense.
However, most of the monsters would flow along the wall, so they were naturally gathered to Lior-san, who had a lot of strength. It was a strategy of completely entrusted the battle to Lior-san, but since that person had never got tired during the battle, there should be no problem. After all, he was motivated. But there was one thing I was worried about.
“But why in this place? There is a possibility that the wall will be broken by the monsters, so it is better to attack them some more…” (Beowulf)
“There are a lot of nasty monsters around that area, so if we don’t clear them, our feet would slow down. Besides, take a close look around it. Are there any monsters around here that you care about?” (Emilia)
“That is…” (Beowulf)
If I were asked that, I could hardly find large monsters that could break that wall. They would be conspicuous as their body was large, so I had confirmed that they were scattered throughout the battlefield before the assault, but before I knew it, the number was greatly reduced on the right wing unit side. While the troops were forming a formation for the strategy, I was taking a breather and asked Emilia, who kept observing the surroundings carefully.
“Could it be because of Sirius-san’s instructions?” (Beowulf)
“No. This is my judgment, as Sirius-sama needs to focus only on himself this time. Now, I don’t want to get in his way with unnecessary calls.” (Emilia)
“But isn’t it important to convey information?” (Beowulf)
“If this is the case, we can deal with it enough. Above all, I can understand the situation without him telling me.” (Emilia)
No matter where I looked, I could only see hordes of monsters, but there were signs of being attacked by Sirius-san or Hokuto-san at the end of Emilia’s gaze. I couldn’t see them since they were buried in monsters, but it seemed that they were always running around the battlefield.
“A lot of monsters have been intentionally reduced and there are many places disturbed by their attacks. Even if you can’t see them, you can see the outcomes of Sirius-sama and Hokuto-san’s movements by looking at the battlefield. To put it simply, they create some of the best paths, so I’m just choosing them.” (Emilia)
“If you say so…” (Beowulf)
Although it could be said that she was choosing, it shouldn’t be easy to understand the intention of the other party just by looking at the place and to put it into practice. They weren’t only trusting each other because it would be impossible if they didn’t develop their ability, experience and intuition. As I was surprised to see the strength of the bond, Emilia smiled and called out to me.
“If you are together with that person, you will soon understand. Now, if Ojii-chan clears them up to some extent, it will work. Keep your mind tight so that you can move at any time.” (Emilia)
“Yes!” (Beowulf)
She wasn’t only able to handle Lior-san, but she was also a really reliable woman as a commander. While I was proud to be able to fight with Emilia, I swung my sword at the approaching monsters.
— Albert ※Left wing unit —
Our left wing unit, which consisted of 2000 soldiers, were charging head on into countless hordes of monsters. The number of monsters was so large that it made me want to call it a wall of meat, but the breakthrough power of this unit, which gathered the elites of Sandor, was tremendous, and the monsters were swept away one after another like dead leaves.
Although it was an action that was performed many times at the frontline base, the assault this time showed incomparable momentum and strength. It was natural because the size of the unit was large, but more than that…
“Dorashaaaa-!” (Reus)
“Haaa—!” (Julia)
It was probably because the two people, who were the key person to the left wing unit, were fighting side by side. They were Reus and Julia. Of course, they had fought together so far, but they took turns taking breaks. Basically, Julia came out in front and Reus went to support, and so vice versa. But this was the first time they had been fighting side by side. It might have been the same when they chased Shishou and Strongest Sword at the frontline base, but at that time, they were on the same one horse, so they should have been able to do their best.
Reus didn’t try to ride a horse just because it was hard to swing a sword, but it seemed now he was able to swing without much concern probably because the fine horse he borrowed from Julia-sama. Keith, who was wielding a halberd next to me, muttered as he continued while checking the whole situation a bit at the rear.
“Goodness… what’s with those two?” (Albert)
“Yeah. I’m really surprised, you know.” (Keith)
It must be hard to swing because their swords were within reach of each other, but they were swinging without caring at all. I thought it was natural for Keith to say so because their long swords weren’t interfering with each other at all, but their swinging were filling each other’s openings.
“Aren’t they way better compared to the time at the frontline base? I feel like they are obviously stronger.” (Keith)
“I’m not feeling that because they really are getting stronger. That’s probably because they saw the battle between Shishou and Strongest Sword.” (Albert)
When Shishou and Strongest Sword rampaged at the frontline base, Reus and Julia went to see their battle with a strangely serious expression. Although they should have been tired from the fierce battles every day, it was an action that could be said as absoluteness, and… I thought this was the outcome.
In other words, it was a story that seemed to be a joke if looked from the side, but in the case of Reus, it was quite possible. Before this war started, Shishou talked about this to Reus.
[Reus, you have trained well the foundation of everything. That’s why it doesn’t matter if something changes suddenly, and you have actually exceeded your limit many times.] (Sirius)
Although the period was short, I was also trained under Shishou, so I knew how much effort Reus had made. So, I wasn’t too surprised that he was suddenly getting stronger. What surprised me most was that Reus was moving according to Shishou even in such a state.
Earlier, he was able to confirm that Shishou was fighting in a group of monsters, but when I noticed it, he moved and disappeared. However, the monsters, where Shishou was, were defeated to some extent, and traces of it could be seen throughout the battlefield. As I heard in advance, he might be disrupting the enemy unit. But when I looked closely, I noticed that it was all a planned move. He wasn’t only aiming at monsters with long-range attacks such as bows, arrows and stones, but also disturbing key points and distracting monsters to make it easier for our troops to charge. It benefited our troops greatly. However, in regards to how active Shishou was, I could understand it because I could afford to look around the whole unit as I was at the rear of the unit.
“Julia, there is a big guy over there!” (Reus)
“Understood! Everyone, we’ll go deeper. Follow me firmly!” (Julia)
While Reus showed a breathtaking sword dance together with Julia, he was clearly aware of Shishou’s intentions. If he didn’t notice it, he would miss the chance. So, he was loudly pointing out where the troops would be heading. Thanks to that quick decision, we frequently changed the direction in which we went into the enemy unit in order to aim for Chimera monsters. In addition, the damage to our unit was less than expected.
“Left! Let’s go!” (Reus)
“Hmm, over there!” (Julia)
What was even more surprising was that the left wing unit commander was supposed to be Julia-sama, but when I realized it, it was Reus who was leading the unit. Reus didn’t say much at the strategy meeting because he hadn’t had much experience fighting in the unit, but now, everyone was attracted to his back that it seemed natural to lead the unit…
He could never do it with his swordsmanship alone. He attracted people with various factors such as trust and merits… so Reus was shining as a commander who led the unit. By the way, I had heard from Reus that his father and grandfather were the head of the settlement. It might not be strange if Reus also had such a talent because of the previous two generations of his family. And Reus wasn’t the only one growing rapidly.
““Right!”” (Reus/Julia)
Seeing Reus, Julia might have begun to understand Shishou’s intentions, and when she noticed both started to speak up and rode their horses in the same direction. However, Julia refused to move forward and kept swinging her sword while maintaining a distance from Reus. The scene was a sight embodied to a phrase of one for two people.
“The power of those who really breathe together is more than just two people.” (Albert)
“Well… I was going to change on the way, but then, there’s no room to go in.” (Keith)
Keith lamented his lack of strength due to the tremendous strength of the two, but I thought he was also growing significantly. It was just that he wasn’t aware of it. He was always trying to fight on the front line because of his personality, but at the moment, he could do nothing but to maintain a distance so that he could help those two at any time.
If possible, I would also like to fight side by side with them. However, to be honest, the difference in ability between the two was too wide for me now, and even if I tried to help them unnecessarily, I would only get in their way. I could only regret my lack of strength, but there were enough things I could do at the moment. While looking around, I confirmed the exhaustion of the unit on the far right, so I instructed each nearby unit leader and messenger.
“It seems that the burden on the right side is a bit heavy. Please hurry up and change your position!” (Beowulf)
“Understood!” (??)
“Third unit, are you ready?” (Beowulf)
“”Is it finally our turn? We can go anytime!” (??)
“Understood. Now, second unit, please retreat! Third unit, move forward!” (Beowulf)
Even though I was from another country, I would try my best to meet the expectations of Julia and everyone, who entrusted me with some command. In addition, I have to give my best for Reus who would be my future brother in law.
“Julia, can you still move?” (Reus)
“Of course! I can continue sword dancing with you forever!” (Julia)
These people really needed to look at the people around them. Well, as long as they continued to shine, we would chase them forever and continue to protect their back.
— Shimifia ※Central unit —
While the battle to decide the fate of Sandor began, I was in a watchtower in the middle of the central unit. The watchtower was made by remodeling the carriage that could be moved, and when I rode it, I could look down on the battlefield anywhere, so it was very convenient. It was made so high that it was difficult to stop the feet from shaking from time to time, but I got used to it.
In such a watchtower, not only me, there was also Sanger, the commander of this unit, and Cayenne, who was responsible for all the morale of the central unit. We were on board, watching each unit that started to move forward with a serious look.
“It has finally started. By the way, are those two alright here? It’s a distance that is a bit far away, but you can’t feel relieved about it.” (Fia)
“Isn’t the same wherever they are now, right? And now that he’s here, I can’t help but feel sorry for him to curl at the rear.” (Sanger)
“He’s reliable, but you’re a supreme commander who bothers your men. I think you’re already fine, but you’re not a commanding officer, you know?” (Fia)
“Sometimes you can’t tell just by looking at it, and this time, I want to feel the atmosphere of the battlefield.” (Sanger)
It was safer to stay behind the rampart, and I thought it was enough to look over the battlefield because the wall was higher than the watchtower, but he seemed to be a person who took care of things by intuition just like Reus. However, in the case of Cayenne, there seemed to be other reasons. There were many occasions where he went out of the way to say things that we already know, but I thought he was trying to teach the next king, Sanger.
When I was laughing in my heart that he did something that Sirius did, Sirius and Hokuto, who moved faster than any other unit, began attacking the monsters.
“Ooh… I heard he is amazing, but it is more than I expected. Can the Hundred Wolves use flames comparable to advanced magic?” (Sanger)
“Surely, he is amazing, but I could say that Hokuto is too special.” (Fia)
Sanger gasped at how amazing Hokuto was. He transformed into a big wave of flames and burned down the monsters that were waiting at the front line with spears, one after another. After confirming that the troublesome spear unit had almost disappeared in the assault, Cayenne, then, muttered with a keen glace at the front line of the central unit.
“This should reduce Fort’s burden. Fia-dono, how’s the outcome?” (Cayenne)
“I’ve already activated it.” (Fia)
“Understood. Whole unit, move forward!” (Cayenne)
It was good to reduce the number of enemies, but if it became such a flame, the heat, that wouldn’t let people to come closer, would remain for a while. Perhaps, it was enough to burn the throat while standing there. However, if I magically created a tailwind and blew the heat away, the flame would disappear by the time the allies arrived. Incidentally, I was able to attack the monsters with hot air. Sirius happened to call it as killing two birds with one stone.
After that, the left and right wing units, led by Emilia and Reus, rushed into enemy positions and began to rampage, the central unit, which had been slowly advancing, finally collided with the monsters. When I saw a group of monsters up to the horizon, my mind was somewhat disturbed…
“Nuooh!” (??)
“Aarhhh!” (Beast King)
It seemed that the morale of the unit was increasing rather than decreasing due to the momentum of Fort, who opened a wind hole in the monster’s body one after another with a returning spear. He also prevented all attacks with a huge shield that was as tall as his height. The glorious Beast King blew away a large amount of monsters every time he swung a huge ax instead of his fist.
I was aware of the Beast King’s ability because I saw it at the castle of Arbitray before, but I thought Fort was also a strong person who far exceeded my expectations. Anyhow, Fort accepted an Orc’s fist, which was several times bigger than him, easily from the front. In addition, the spear that stabbed the Orc was swung and the surrounding monsters were also slaughtered.
Previously, Sirius tried to capture Fort for a certain operation. Although he was succeeded due to multiple traps, if Fort had used his favorite weapon instead of a self-defense sword, he might not have been able to capture Fort. That was what Sirius told me.
“It seems it’s right to call him a general. And Reus wants to fight him.” (Fia)
“He doesn’t seem to hate being a caretaker, but he’s better at fighting. He has been angry lately, and it looks like he is really motivated.” (Cayenne)
Cayenne spoke in a light one even in such a situation, but his commands weren’t loose and accurate. The proof was that the battle between large armies caused unexpected movements everywhere, but all the units were efficiently moved and the results were being achieved one after another.
“Fort-dono, shield formation! Go around the Beast King unit!” (Cayenne)
For example, if medium-sized monsters that weren’t likely to be destroyed, huddled together, Fort’s troop would harden the defense and stall. At the same time, the Beast King’s unit advanced from the left and right, pierced the side, and at the same time, Fort’s troop would attack… In other words, the monsters were destroyed by a pincer attack.
Of course, The Beast King and Fort’s units were also strong. Even so, the simple but most difficult thing to do was to minimize the damage and give the maximum damage to the other party. Cayenne noticed my gaze and muttered while looking at the battlefield, thinking that it was understandable for everyone to say it when he was reliable.
“Hmm… I’m already an old man, but I can’t stand the hot gaze from a beautiful woman like you.” (Cayenne)
“Oh my… you can afford to be flattered. I just thought that the commander of Sandor is reliable.” (Fia)
“Well, well, I can be calm because everyone moves beyond my expectations, which means my command is possible. The left wing unit is led by Reus-dono, not Julia-sama, so it seemed that your companions are actually moving both left and right wing units.” (Cayenne)
Cayenne, who finished giving new command, told Sanger, who was right next to him and he was looking at the battlefield with a serious look.
“Sanger-sama. As you can see, Sirius-dono disturbed the battlefield and created openings, and the left and ring wing unit were aiming at it accurately. Do you understand the meaning of this?” (Cayenne)
“Ah, yes. I don’t understand like you do, but I know they are doing ridiculously difficult things.” (Sanger)
“That’s good enough for now. Coordination between units is difficult in the first place, and it will be even more difficult especially for large units like theirs. But their collaboration on the front line is just right to call it perfect. Even though they are separated from each other, it can be said that there is a sense of unity as if their souls are connected.” (Cayenne)
They were a family that grew up together from an early age. So, it wasn’t strange to be told that they were connected by soul. It wasn’t about me, but I would be happy if they were praised.
“Therefore, it’s not something that I can explain, so it’s impossible for me now.” (Cayenne)
“No, you’re adjusting to the movements of those guys while saying it’s impossible. You’re sending support and replacement troops to both wings because you understand that collaboration, right?” (Sanger)
“That’s because the central unit I’m in charge of is slow, and I can take a closer look at the overall movement from behind. After all, it’s difficult to fight in the enemy camp…” (Cayenne)
He was being modest, but I thought it was more than enough to look ahead of the ever-changing battlefield and gave the right command to each unit. Due to the success of Cayenne and everyone, the reports of positive progress continued for a while.
“Report! Hyde’s unit succeeded in defeating the designated target. The damage is minor!” (??)
“Roy’s unit exhaustion is less than expected! The battle is still ongoing!” (??)
“It looks like it’s going well. To be honest, I didn’t think that the horde of monsters would go this far.” (Fia)
“It’s certainly a threat to have a number and attack with formations like us. However, it is easy to find weaknesses because they imitate people.” (Cayenne)
That was why it was easy for Cayenne to read the situation ahead, and the action of disrupting the information by Sirius had a big meaning. Since we were in a position that we could manage to hold the balance of battle by the collaboration of volunteers, we couldn’t let the guard down even if things were going well at the moment. After all, the strength in numbers would blow away strategies that would be done badly. It wasn’t only about the huge number of monsters, but there was still existence that we needed to pay attention to as they were still alive.
Sanger muttered while looking at the place where that man would be. He was probably thinking the same thing as me.
“That bastard… I wonder what he is thinking about. It’s impossible to leave these monsters unattended.” (Sanger)
“Did you notice that? Yes, it’s obviously going too well. It’s unlikely that someone who was so tactical in Sandor would still be on the sidelines in this situation.” (Cayenne)
Sirius said that it would be most efficient for them to let the monsters attack by instinct if they wanted to win by numbers. Even though they were going to attack Sandor to put fear, they would do something if it was done unilaterally.
“When you think about it, they are more aggressive than expected, so we’re considering a response or there is something you can do.” (Fia)
“Damn it. If it’s those people, it should be good enough.” (Sanger)
“However, we can’t ignore the monsters, so you have no choice but to stay at the rear. I wonder if Sirius-dono understands that as well. Sometimes you can notice from his movement earlier.” (Cayenne)
If they paid close attention to his movement, he might not only disrupt them, but also moved forward as much as he could. It was hard to be a decoy anymore.
“I’m also still vigilant, but if you notice something, please feel free to tell me.” (Cayenne)
“My thoughts may be a hindrance since I have no experience in combat. So, what did you notice in the first place?” (Sanger)
“Aren’t you spending the longest time with that guy? I will consider the content, so don’t hesitate to tell me. Your father also grew up through the actual battle.” (Cayenne)
“!?” (Sanger)
Cayenne didn’t show such a pretense in front of him, but it seemed that the words worked because Sanger sincerely adored his father. Sanger nodded quietly without replying. He turned his gaze back to the battlefield as if to say that he would show it in action. Since my drinking companion was trying so hard, I couldn’t lose. Everyone was doing their best, and when I was really looking forward to the turn… the signal had finally arrived.
[Fia. The front line, a little bit closer to the left wing unit.] (Sirius)
“Yes, I saw it. Leave it to me.” (Fia)
Guided by Sirius’ voice from [Call], I turned my eyes and the illumination from the [Light] launched in the middle of the enemy unit. When I squinted around there, I could see the Chimera surrounded by tall monsters, so I held the bow made of the sacred tree branch, Archerion.
“I see, that task is definitely for me.” (Fia)
Then, as I pulled down the arrow that Archerion had created, I knew why he entrusted the Chimera to me. It wasn’t only slightly away from both wing units, but it was also a bit troublesome for Sirius to break through because the defense was strong due to the crowded monsters.
“Ooh, is it finally your turn? However, I feel that the angle of shot is very low. So , will it reach there?” (Cayenne)
“If it’s too high, I will hit the monster in the sky. Well, please look.” (Fia)
Although it was different from Sirius’ magic, I had been training to aim at distant opponents. Well, in my case, I could ask the wind spirits to control the trajectory of the arrow, so I didn’t need to aim accurately. However, if I didn’t aim properly, the burden of the spirits would increase, so I couldn’t neglect that part.
When I finished fine-tuning and trying to shoot an arrow, a mysterious sensation suddenly flowed from the bow. Yes… it seemed to have noticed too.
“You don’t have to rush, that time will definitely come. So now, listen to what I say obediently.” (Fia)
When the nameless Elf taken in by Archerion calmed down, I held my breath for a moment and then shot the arrow. The arrow, which continued to fly due to the ability of Archerion and wind spirits, pierced the body of Chimera as intended even at a distance that would otherwise be completely out of range.
However, the target monster was at the same size as a medium-sized monster, so it would only feel that my arrow pierced it like a small needle. Originally, I should aim at the eyes or its vital points, but with this arrow, it was enough to shoot it in its body.
“Is that the mana of the Sacred Tree?” (Fia)
At the same time as the mana of Archerion flowed in from the stabbed arrow, the Chimera collapsed as if it ran out of strength and was completely silent. The Chimera that had corpses of various monsters attached was moved by a magic circle. Therefore, it was natural that it wouldn’t move since the magic circle was destroyed by the mana of the arrow. I was a bit unwilling to say this, but the mana of the Sacred Tree was the best poison for the Chimera.
Cayenne smiled in satisfaction when he confirmed that I had completed my goal. Sanger opened his mouth and looked surprised, perhaps because he was following my arrow with his eyes.
“Remarkable. Let’s just push Fort to that position right away.” (Cayenne)
“What are you talking about? Do you think her archery is no good?” (Sanger)
“In my case, thanks to this bow and magic, you don’t need to depend on other archers.” (Fia)
A person like me, who shot through a distant target, seemed to be called a sniper. That was what Sirius said. By the way, I liked the sound of that title quite a bit, so I was thinking about calling myself that from now on.
[Fia, there’s one more.] (Sirius)
“Understood. Don’t worry about me here. It’s coming!” (Fia)
Yes… there was almost no strain on my belly, so I could fight with everyone without any problems. However, I had to be careful not to overdo it. At the moment, I must protect not only my family but also a new life.
“Please, everyone.” (Fia)
The wind spirits and Archerion. And as I spoke to the nameless Elf, I nocked the next arrow