“d.a.m.n it. The pursuers got to us too fast.”

　Having to use their strongest trump cards because of Jize's pursuit was a huge miscalculation on her part. Despite that she continued to act the fool and encouraged her soldiers.

“Run now while your bosses are buying time!”

　The orcs and the goblins were worriedly looking at the camp, but Shumea ordered them to go. She led them down south. The border guards that have been following her from the start had no problems listening to her, and the other platoons listened to her as well, albeit reluctantly.

　They were able to destroy the legs of the enemy, the cavalry, as planned, but one of the enemy's strongest powers, the holy knight, came charging at them sudednly. The penetrative power of that knight was beyond anything Shumea had expected.

“Seriously. That thing is a monster in and of itself.”

　She muttered to herself as she thought that the holy knight might be able to give the Goblin King a run for his money. Although it was to allow them to escape, being forced to use three of their trump cards here was a huge miscalculation. If things went as planned, they were supposed to burn the whole thing along with the fortress, but now they had to revise their plans a little.

　They had left behind Gilmi, the general of the Bow and Arrow Army (Fanzel), so they have no choice now but to be flexible. This was by no means going to be easy on her. The forces of Germion Kingdom were bound to chase after them now, so they will have have to keep retreating while maintaining a reasonable distance.

　They've inspected the routes that they would be using to retreat many times. But that knowledge isn't very reliable when they're actually being pursued. Shumea felt like she could still see that holy knight with overwhelming power approaching, causing her to shake a little.

“Hmph. This isn't a joke.”

　Shumea tried to fight her body shaking by forcing herself to smile.

　Bui and the others may have carried out their plan to allow them to escape, but the fact that they're the ones most in danger of all still held true. Compared to them, their situation was still better. Shumea told herself that. Shumea fixed her grip on her short spear and narrowed her eyes.

“Come and try me, Holy Knights!”

　As Shumea spoke sharply, she could see smoke billowing out from the camp.

◇◆◆

“GURUUuuOOOAAA!!”

“GURUuuOOooOoAaa!!!”

　The howling iron spears attacked from both directions.. Bui the Orc King alone was already strong physically, and now even Gi Zu was around to thrust out his spear. Gi Zu's physical strength and body were both extraordinary among goblins. The attack unleashed by the two monsters was undoubtedly a killing blow. If a normal human were standing here, he would surely be blown away along with his head.

“Hmph!”

　But this was Jize the One-Eyed. Not only was he able to brush off their attack, he even sent out an attack of his own.

　He rested the blade he used to receive their attack a little and allowed his body to sink, then he ran away from the trajectory of the spears. In the same moment when he ran away, he had already prepared to unleash his own attack. That movement that was executed in practically an instant was a testament of his masterful technique and his abnormal courage. It was also proof of the training that he had beaten into his body many times.

　Jize's swordsmans.h.i.+p that was supported by his experience and training could be considered at a superior level even among holy knights.

　Even the way he s.h.i.+fted from a stance to an attack was polished. He chipped of the waste and focused only on swinging his sword. Using the least movement to cause the greatest effect, Jize's blade grazed Bui's side and caused blood to spurt out.

　His fighting style that was gradually starting to inflict deeper wounds without burdening his blade showed that he had experience hunting monsters alone. With the exception of someone like Vine the Mad Blade, who would use enchantment magic to strengthen her sword, normal adventurers would usually bring a lot of weapons with them when hunting alone and change them continually.

　To the common man it was not easy to hold back against monsters that had superior physical abilities. The body of monsters is their weapon itself.

Claws and fangs to tear apart their enemy. Hard skin to protect their body. Just trying to damage that hard skin would damage one's weapons. As such, it was a given for adventurers to bring multiple weapons.

　But, at the same time, there was another approach to this problem.

　This approach argued that one should instead target the weak points of monsters.

　At first, it might just be a scratch, but if you attack the same place many times, the wound will deepen and the skin protecting the innards will be ripped open. Of course such a thing was generally impossible when one is risking his life against monsters and fighting an already difficult battle, but it is true that the chance of losing one's weapon while fighting against monsters is extremely high.

　If an adventurer is put in a situation with no weapons left, then he will no longer be able to fight. On top of that, adventurers had to bet their survival on the trump cards they possessed and had to fight with them, if they can't do it they will die. The one who was able to succeed with that approach after much training is the man known as Jize.

As Jize cut open Bui's side, Gi Zu attacked him with his spear. Despite a pool of blood having formed, he still thrust out his spear. The trajectory his spear followed was too straightforward, however, and it couldn't be anything more than easy pickings for Jize.

　Jize dodged that spear that came thrusting straight forward, then entered Gi Zu's range with a step. Immediately after, he swung his blade, seeking to cut off Gi Zu's head, but Gi Zu hurriedly brought back his hand, so he was able to survive with just a scar on his neck.

　Gi Zu broke his posture from shock, and Jize pursued after him. In a flash, Jize held his sword in a high stance, but the sound of an arrow cutting the wind forced him to take a step back. Immediately after, the arrow shot from the shadows pa.s.sed through where he was just a while ago.

“I see. So you're planning to shoot when things are going bad for you.”

　As Jize opened up the distance between them, Gi Zu also stepped back. In his place, Bui stepped forward and swung his iron spear from above Jize's head. That attack could crush the ground and send stone fragments flying, but Jize easily dodged it.

　Jize jumped back and breathed out, then while paying attention to the two monsters blocking his path and keeping an eye out for the other monster shooting at him, he rested a little. This battle wherein a single blow could end him was extremely draining on his concentration and nerves.

　Jize intended to kill these monsters here, but it was likely that these monsters were planning to retreat. Otherwise, there would be no reason to allow their main forces to retreat.

　Monsters gaining intelligence… It was a terrifying thought, but he had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“To think they were able to retreat in such orderly manner.”

　The enemy before him was probably just trying to buy time. But even then, there weren't that many monsters that could face a holy knight like himself on equal footing. As such, these three monsters are probably big wigs of the monster army.

　The greatest opening is when they try to run.

　If they take too much time retreating, the main forces of Germion Kingdom will catch up. In that case, they will no longer be able to run. They should be aware of that. If so, then Jize could not afford to leave. They might also try to run at the expense of others.

　Either way, one of them will fall to Jize.

　There was no need to push himself. Jize just had to calmly a.s.sume his stance. And when an opportunity presented itself, he would kill them.

　As such, the only thing he was worried about was failing due to a misstep in his concentration. Jize fought with the three monsters while taking a break from time to time to maintain his concentration.

　As for the goblins, the most they could do was to keep themselves from dying to this holy knight. Bui the Orc King, Gi Zu the Duke Cla.s.s, Gilmi the n.o.ble cla.s.s… Despite these three working together, they were gradually being pushed back.

　The approaching shouts informed them that the enemy was getting closer.

“Bui-dono.”

　Gi Zu quietly spoke to Bui, who had eaten the forbidden fruit (apple) and had a completely different aura.

“Please step back when I give the signal.”

“BURUuuUu…”

　As Bui breathed out violently, Gi Zu stepped forward. And the holy knight that had taken distance, suddenly stepped forward and entered into his range. Gi Zu swung his spear to intercept Jize, who had suddenly entered into range, but Jize dodged his attack.

　In fact, Gi Zu only ended up being cut. Gi Zu cried out in pain, but he bought time. Gi Zu himself never thought he would be able to win against a holy knight. At first he was furious when he heard Gilmi and Shumea's plan, but now that he was fighting Jize, he knew they were telling the truth.

He had to acknowledge it.

　The enemy in front of him was clearly stronger than himself.

　That humiliating truth roused the flames of anger, but that anger could not possibly overturn reality. And it was precisely because of that that Gi Zu obeyed the plan. It was a given that there would be an enemy stronger than him when he was living in the forest. Those that were big, those that had poison, and those that had sharp fangs…

　This human had none of those, but in their place, he possessed a skill that he had trained so hard for.

　No matter how many times he swung his spear, the enemy would nimbly dodge and cut his thighs. When Gi Zu fell to his knees, Jize's sword came swinging. Gi Zu immediately rolled on the ground to dodge. Jize wanted to pursue, but Bui's attack forced him to back off.

“Holy Knight-dono!”

　The southern army Jize led entered the open area. When Jize saw that, he was certain of victory. But it was then that the suffering Gi Zu cried out.

“Ved! Now!!”

　Suddenly, flames spread through the ground.

“This is… No! Retreat!”

　As soon as Jize saw the pillars of flame running across the ditch of the ground, he cried out and ordered his soldier to retreat.

“Pops!”

“KU… As expected, that human is absurdly strong.”

　Ved, who had been hiding, ran to where Gi Zu was. Jize did not pursue. As he lifted up Gi Zu, whose expression was twisted in pain, Zu Ved glared at Jize, but without saying anything, he ran.

“d.a.m.ned monsters! You intend to burn even your camp!?”

　Jize spat curses as he glared at the running Bui and Ved, but he couldn't chase after them. No. He had to get his men out of here now. It was more important to get his personal army back on its feet than to chase after the monsters.

　On the other side of the haze from the heat was a lone monster standing.

“…”

　Ra Gilmi Fis.h.i.+ga, who had been hiding all this time, finally appeared before Jize, but Jize didn't say anything to him and merely turned heel.

“Next time, I will surely take your head,” Jize said to himself.

“Holy Knight-dono!”

“Jize-sama!”

　Jize responded to the voices calling out to him and began retreating his army.

“Don't panic. The wind is blowing southwest. So just calm down and destroy the camp from where the wind is blowing, then we can get out.”

　Seeing Jize calmly retreating, Gilmi too turned heel.

◆◇◆

　The goblins who burned their camp and survived the pursuit of Germion Kingdom sent the demihumans to every direction to look for the enemy army. The smoke from the camp they had burned to allow themselves to escape had spread throughout the whole area. That bit them back due to the demihumans' strong sense of smell.

　Although they managed to survive, they had now lost track of the enemy. As they poured all of their resources into locating the enemy, they started working on the new traps.

“Well~ It's great that you're all alive.”

　As the goblin forces met up again, Shumea patted Bui, Gi Zu, Gilmi and the others on the shoulders as she thanked their fortune.

“The enemy was strong as expected… If we hadn't burned the whole camp, we wouldn't have been able to escape.”

“I was done in pretty badly too. Honestly, I don't think we can win.”

　Gi Zu and Bui were both very dispirited, but Gilmi thought differently.

“But we were able to survive, so our plan remains the same. That human seemed to treasure his subordinates' lives more than ours.”

　The holy knight was an overwhelming power that could easily dodge all the traps, cross a great distance, and take them on in a melee. But even that enemy that appears to have no weakness at first glance still has to lead an army. He has subordinates.

　It is common sense to attack the enemy's weakness.

　If the enemy can't be defeated as a lone soldier, then the goblins should just make the enemy retreat as an army. That was the conclusion that Shumea and Gilmi arrived at, but there were still a lot of challenges to overcome to make that happen.

“Well, that's good news.”

　Shumea happily nodded and Gilmi agreed.

“Bui-dono. This is thanks to Gi Zu-dono.”

“Ahh, right. You guys better hurry up and meet your subordinates. They've been worried to death all this time.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

　Gi Zu nodded to them, then he went to his subordinates. The fact that he held his fist tightly as he left, however, showed that there were still some things that he wasn't convinced about.

“Bui-dono, why don't you go as well?”

“In that case, please excuse me.”

　Bui, on the other hand, seemed to have a sense of security from accomplis.h.i.+ng a great task, as he headed to where the orcs were with a relieved expression on his face.

“So, are you not going?”

“There's something I want to confirm. About the reinforcements. Rashka is coming here, right?”

“He should be headed to our meeting point.”

“…Hmm.”

　As Gilmi folded his arms and became thoughtful, Shumea tilted her head and asked him.

“Is something the matter?”

“No, I was thinking it might be better to change our plans and make the army retreat sooner. The enemy is more belligerent than expected.”

“Belligerent, huh.”

　Shumea once again considered the situation of Germion Kingdom. The information she got from Pale the Tactician flashed through her mind, but she could not come to a conclusion.

“Well, it's your opinion as someone who personally fought them, so I'd like to trust you, but we can't convince that girl with just that, you know?”

“You think so too?”

　Gilmi was aware that it was a feeling that only those that have tasted it would understand, and as such would be difficult to convince others with, but that was precisely why he was consulting Shumea.

“Yeah, she's pretty stubborn in some places, you see.”

“…Hmm.”

“If you want, I could try giving a full report to her.”

“…Never mind. I'll talk to her myself.”

　”I see,” Shumea nodded as Gilmi turned around and left since his business with her was done. As she saw Gilmi off, Shumea ordered her subordinates to hurry the preparations to retreat.

“Well, just in case.”

　As Shumea muttered that to herself, she went back to her tent to rest.

◆◆◇

　After getting out of the camp, the forces of Germion Kingdom immediately opened a war council under Crown Prince Ishtar and decided their next course of action.

　—Take the entire army and pursue the goblins immediately.

　That was the plan proposed by the n.o.bles and approved by the two holy knights. Although they may have expelled the monsters, they have yet to reclaim the Western Region. To the n.o.bles who haven't tasted victory in a long while, they wanted to make use of this opportunity to gain even more merits.

Of course, there were all sorts of political agendas in play as well, but that couldn't be helped.

　The cavalry were the ones who suffered the most casualties in the last battle. Because of their great losses, they have lost the ability to continue fighting, but at the same time, it makes them feel as if the achievement of having expelled the monsters was not enough. The damage received by the cavalry made up of n.o.ble children is the same power of the n.o.bles that will be supporting Germion Kingdom. Since that power has fallen greatly, they wanted to get the best results they could from this war.

If they couldn't pull that much off, then their political influence in Germion Kingdom will take a hit or even collapse completely.

The reason the holy knights and the military authorities that wanted to increase the authority of the royal family did not refuse was because of the military aspect.

　It was true that they were able to expel the monsters during the crown prince's expedition. It could be said that they were now standing at the starting line they were thinking of. But because the crown prince was so skilled, Jize and Valdor were now thinking of starting their own war.

　Another reason they decided to allow the pursuit of the enemy was because of the little casualties suffered by the southern and eastern army led by the two holy knights.

　If the holy knights could retake the western region during the crown prince's first expedition in exchange for the sacrifices made by the n.o.ble's army, then their merits would become unequalled. They would garner far more attention than any of the holy knights within the country.

　Moreover, this expedition was made with the objective of retaking the western region. If they could accomplish that, then nothing would be better.

“…It's a bit unexpected.”

“What is?”

　After the war council ended, the various generals went back to their platoons to lead their respective forces. Of those generals, the two holy knights took the same route.

“That you were not against pursuing the enemy, Valdor-dono. You are a prudent man, so I thought for sure…”

“…Ah, so that's what. It's because I want to give more merits to the crown prince.”

　The achievement of expelling the monsters with one's own army was sweeter than honey and would silence anyone within the Germion Kingdom that so respected power. King Ashtal himself had gone out on expeditions to hunt monsters when he was younger. It was because of his achievements then that his subjects and the n.o.bles continue to support him to this day.

“I see. So, it's parental love.”

　Ishtar will probably rule for a long time. As such, his educator, Valdor, wanted to gift him a huge achievement, and there could be no better opportunity than this expedition.

“Go ahead and laugh. I don't mind.”

“What? If we're talking of personal reasons, then I too have mine.”

“The goblin and orc leaders, huh?”

　As Jize quietly nodded, in his mind flashed the appearance of those high-ranked monsters that tried to trap his army. 　

“If there is one thing I'm worried about, it's that these monsters seem to be trying to lure us into the western region.”

“Of course, I'm aware of that too. We can't let our guard down. Defeat isn't impossible, but the odds of winning for us isn't zero just yet.”

　Valdor was basically saying that they won't know who's the victor if they don't try. To that, Jize wryly laughed.

“This battle isn't like you, Twin Swords Knight. Though I do prefer you like this.”

“I wasn't always so cautious. We have to win this war. That's why we have to prioritize our speed as much as possible.”

“Umu. I agree.”

　After deciding to pursue the enemy, the holy knights took the lead, and Germion Kingdom began pursuing the goblin forces even when it was still dark.

Tl Note: Half as long as usual, so there's another half coming right up. Give me a minute or two to post if you're seeing this chapter early.