Translator: Nat

–Aegir POV–

I kick Schwartz in the belly and give the signal for everyone to dash at full speed.

However, they didn't catch up like I thought they would.

「Chief, you're going too fast! The escort unit can't keep up!」

The proof is that Gido and the others as well as their horses are breathing heavily.

Well, if Schwartz ran seriously, n.o.body should be able to catch him.

「So slow, Schwartz. Did you mate too much and tire yourself out? If you can't run, you're horse meat.」

In response, Schwartz snorts and glares at me.

More accurately, he's staring at the weapon on my back.

「Chief, that's a warhammer…… no, that's……」

「Isn't it nice? It's st.u.r.dy, first and foremost.」

I carried a hammer with me.

It isn't just any hammer. It's a giant hammer used by laborers in the demolition of rocks and buildings.

Normally, multiple people would wield the hammer to smash rocks.

The ma.s.s of metal making up the head of the hammer weighs 30 kg and the shaft is extremely long as it was meant for more than one person to hold it.

Since wood would not be able to withstand the force, the shaft is also metal.

Altogether, the hammer weighs 80 kg and even workers proud of their strength can only swing it a few times at the most.

Schwartz keeps snorting unhappily.

He must be complaining about how he can't run as fast because of how heavy the hammer is. If you're also a male, I don't want to hear it, just run.

「This is perfect for me.」

Using my right hand, I lift up the big hammer.

The reason the head is all dented and warped is because I borrowed it right from the construction site.

If a sword was in a similar state, it would be a problem, but that isn't so for a hammer.

Certainly, the Dual Crater is the greatest sword, however, I need more reach when fighting on horseback and there isn't enough weight in the weapon to blow away my opponent.

I would hate to have the sword snap from my reckless fighting style.

「If you just told me, I could have prepared any number of warhammers for you. That one is meant for construction so the head is flat.」

Gido is right that the head of the hammer is flat.

A battle-oriented hammer would be pointed in that area to smash apart the enemy's armor.

「Pointed or not――」

The frontlines get closer during the time we move our mouths.

Schwartz, annoyed as he may be, maintained his speed and gradually pulled away from the escort unit until we were clearly in the lead, naturally prompting the enemy to s.h.i.+ft their attention to me.

「Whether it's polished or dented――」

I swing down my hammer diagonally at the enemy cavalry running at me.

A satisfying clank sound was made upon contact and the enemy flew high into the sky at a 60 degree angle.

It looked like he tried to block with his s.h.i.+eld or sword, but it's meaningless against the overwhelming weight behind my strike.

「――it's all trivial.」

I turn next to an enemy infantry holding a large s.h.i.+eld and trying to thrust his spear at me, gripping my hammer with both hands before swinging it down forcefully.

Unlike the first guy, he was crushed into the ground with a dull splat.

No, not the ground. His upper body was pressed into his lower body.

The armor worn on the upper body was badly crumpled and blood squirted out from the cracks.

「Uwah!?」

I continue swinging my hammer regardless of Gido's astonishment.

I'm obviously able to handle the weight, in fact, the burden from such a heavy weapon is comforting.

「This sensation, it's been so long.」

My hammer slams head-on against the s.h.i.+eld of a heavy infantry blocking my way.

His st.u.r.dy armor caves in and the heavy infantry, who was supposed to be a solid lump of metal, bounces along the water surface like a skipped pebble off into the distance.

「Yes, I like how I can swing without a care.」

I block a sword coming at me from the side with the shaft of the hammer.

Something metal and meant for several people to hold is strong enough to easily withstand a slash.

When I counter by hitting the enemy soldier's helmet, his neck snaps and bends backward limply.

「A man has to be big after all.」

Lastly, I raise my hammer and swing it down on an enemy cavalry who tries to line up beside me.

The thin sword he tries to parry my strike with breaks like a twig.

His head is blown away, helmet still on, and the horse's back collapses.

I exhale lightly after finis.h.i.+ng off my fourth kill.

「Chief! I also got two…… uwah…… nevermind.」

Gido started to say something and became quiet once he saw the remains of my enemies.

Looking around, I see the escort unit dominating their foes too.

I was going to tell him not to sound like a new recruit, but I realized something more important.

「Chief, the bow cavalry is there!」

The bow cavalry are fighting in front of us.

Our objective is to reunite with them so we can run wild.

We have to do so urgently.

「It's 200 m if I head in a straight line.」

「There's an enemy camp in between us. We should detour to the left……」

I appreciate the suggestion, Gido, but I'm doing something else.

I turn my weapon toward the camp.

A giant hammer can't s.h.i.+ne at such a time. Moreover, my hands are shaking from how heavy it is, how uncool.

Whatever, what I have to do is the same.

「Take the shortest distance.」

In the first place, the escort unit is an elite squad meant to prevent me from jumping out too far.

The best ma.s.s-produced weapons and armor were given to hand-picked soldiers and horses chosen for their excellent physiques.

Although there aren't many of them, they can be considered some of the greatest heavy cavalry in Goldonia.

「The beauty of heavy cavalry is that they can run through the enemy. Now, follow me.」

I lightly pat Schwartz on the head before I finish speaking.

With a grumpy neigh, the black animal gallops forward.

「Uwah!? The feudal lord rushed out! E-everyone, follow him! Don't fall behind!」

「Eei, whatever! Charge!!」

I lead the escort unit straight into the enemy.

「The enemy is charging! Don't let them pa.s.s no matter what!」

「Stretch the formation horizontally―― stop them.」

「Uwaaaah!!」

Irrespective of training, it's natural for infantry to be scared of charging cavalry.

Excluding Schwartz, who is larger than other horses, it is normal to be frightened by an animal weighing several hundred kilograms running at you at breakneck speeds, rather it's abnormal to not be afraid. Not to mention, riding those terrifying beasts are soldiers wielding spears and swords.

Yet, those highly-trained soldiers suppress their fear and ready their spears.

If they form a tight defensive wall, it's not impossible to stop us.

The South Yuguria soldiers grit their teeth and point the tips of their spears at us.

「Very impressive.」

I praise their courage, smile to commend them and then crush their bodies.

My giant hammer swings down at them, breaking all spears it comes in contact with and then continuing through the weapons to smash several soldiers.

Schwartz's added momentum made my attack way too strong for them.

Enemy soldiers who were hit directly had their upper bodies blown off, leaving their lower halves behind.

Since it wasn't a slash, their bodies were messily torn apart and some of their internal organs were still connected to the lower body, albeit hanging out.

An adjacent enemy soldier manages to barely evade, my attack grazing his helmet.

It makes a bell-like ring and spins around twice……along with his head of course.

When I raise the hammer again, it sc.r.a.pes the ground, kicking up dirt and small rocks.

They flew with such force like they were flung from a slingshot and hit three enemies lined up in a row in the eye, nose, and mouth respectively, causing them all to fall over in pain.

What they saw last as they tried to stem the bleeding from their face was probably Schwartz's hooves.

I was so focused that the world around me was moving in slow motion even though in reality less than a second pa.s.sed.

One strike knocked over more than ten enemy soldiers who were standing in front.

「Don't slow down.」

I pull my hammer back as I warn Schwartz, who becomes like a black wind blowing through the enemy camp.

Enemies who impede us get sent flying, enemies fallen to the ground get trampled, and enemies who try to attack from the side are dodged at the last second. Schwartz snorts at me to take care of them.

I whip my hammer around to slaughter enemies to the left and right, occasionally swinging it in front to launch enemies away and continually disrupt the enemy lines.

The escort squad keeps up and charges with me.

My initial attack must have shocked them, since it didn't take long for the neat enemy lines to disappear like they never existed and enemy soldiers to abandon defending and retreat.

Thus, we were successful in joining with Luna's bow cavalry.

Luna did her best to support her allies after they went from disarray to disadvantage once the enemy cavalry joined. Then, her eyes widened when she saw me appear suddenly.

「Chief!? Why are you……did I do something bad?」

Luna's face changed from astonished to concerned.

「No, you did well. It was Celia.」

I point to the separated battalion.

Luna's excellent eyes look to where my finger leads and then makes a troubled face.

She goes as far as clicking her tongue softly, a rare gesture for someone as mild-mannered as her.

「It's too far to rescue them. There are two heavily-guarded camps…… plus we have to get through the enemy cavalry in front of us. At a time like this……」

Heading directly to where Celia's battalion is will be difficult. Leopolt also said that.

「I know. That's why we'll be doing a different method. The bow cavalry can still fight, right?」

「Yes. They ran around keeping the enemy cavalry in check to aid our struggling allies and suffered an insignificant amount of casualties. More than 8000 are still capable of fighting.」

Good.

I gently pat Luna's head and fondle her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before drawing my Dual Crater.

「We're going to launch an attack on the enemy.」

「Eh? What about saving Celia-san――」

My finger presses against Luna's lips. I pushed too hard and my finger went inside her mouth, not that it matters much.

Anyway, instead of saving Celia, we're going to run rampant and attract the enemy's attention so they have no time to bother with Celia's battalion.

「We don't need any diversionary tactics or reinforcements. We'll simply charge straight into the heart of the enemy and attack anyone we see!」

I let out a roar and the bow cavalry shouted back energetically.

As I thought, keeping orders simple will raise morale more.

Rather than "act as support and curb the enemy", it's easier to understand "run in a straight line and attack".

I free my finger from the mouth of the mumbling Luna.

「Let's go.」

「Yes!」

「I'm here too!」

Gido, who showed up without me realizing, makes a tense face.

When he looks so serious, it confirms just how handsome he really is. I heard he's gobbling up young girls in Rafen lately. I guess it wasn't entirely a lie after all.

The bow cavalry congregates together in an acute triangle formation, staying vigilant of all directions――in other words, a typical breakthrough formation.

「Go!」

At my signal, the bow cavalry began running forward.

Of course, the enemy noticed this and tried to stop us with a flank――

「Right side―― loose!」

After a small time lag from Luna's voice, a few thousand arrows fired in the specified direction.

The enemy must not have expected arrows to come from the side of a forward-moving army das.h.i.+ng at full speed. The entire enemy squad appeared to tumble.

They stopped moving momentarily and hid themselves behind s.h.i.+elds. That will stop them in their tracks.

Next is the front.

The enemy pokes their spears out from the other side of the fences and many crossbowmen swarm to the top of simple watchtowers.

「Gido. We're heading to the front.」

「Yes!」

Gido and I, accompanied by the escort unit, stepped forward.

While the bow cavalry are matchless in accuracy at long and medium range, and can also fight more competently than average cavalry at close range with their swords, they aren't suited to a frontal charge with how lightly armored they naturally are.

If they ran at a well-defended camp, they would most likely suffer great losses.

That's where I come in, to fill the gap with the escort unit.

Members of the escort unit form the point of the acute triangle.

In other words, they'll fulfill the role of an arrowhead.

When we attack the enemy camp, they are quick to align spears and position crossbows at the back. We're already close enough that the enemy commander's orders can be heard.

「Spearmen, protect the fence with your lives.」

「Archers, draw them in for five more seconds.」

「Check your spare crossbows. Aim for commanders first, then after you stop the enemy from moving, switch to your other crossbow and fire in succession.」

Gido becomes anxious as the enemy's defence seems more fortified than the one we previously broke through.

Fufufu, if that's all it takes for you to be so pathetic, then your popularity is nothing special.

I continue charging without giving an order.

Right before the enemy archers and crossbowmen were about to shoot――

Still without any orders given, there was a whoosh of wind from behind us.

Arrows fired at a low angle, barely grazing us, fly toward the top of the watchtowers.

Confused cries leak out from the enemy camps.

There was a reason for that despite the arrows being fired straight ahead with no tricks.

「Incredible.」

Exactly five arrows flew toward the watchtower manned by five soldiers. Exactly three arrows flew toward the watchtower with three soldiers.

One arrow was used per soldier.

Wary of further attacks, some of the enemy soldiers duck down and only stick part of their heads and hands out to aim at us.

Nevertheless, those cowards were shot with a single arrow beautifully to the forehead.

「Gyaa!? No way……」

One soldier's crossbow itself was shot with pinpoint accuracy. Luckily, he escaped with his life, however he was left standing stock still, in awe of the terrifying precision of the volley.

「We have some of the best in the clan. There's no way they'll miss at this distance!」

Luna exclaims, drawing back her own bowstring and launching one shot. She nocks her next arrow in the time it takes for me to blink, then fires a second shot.

I follow the trajectory of the arrow until it reaches an especially large enemy on the watchtower.

Her first arrow accurately flies toward the enemy…… or so I thought. It landed on a branch right next to him, making me think even an expert like Luna occasionally misses.

「……see that? Their aim isn't perfect. Calm down and counter―― gugh!」

Her second arrow pierces through the temple of a soldier, most likely the commander based on the fancy helmet he was wearing, who stood up about to say something. I guess that first shot to the outside was deliberate.

There isn't time for me to praise Luna, as the entire bow cavalry unit shoots a volley at the enemy camp.

Countless arrows rained down on the row of spearmen and archers…… this time, the bow cavalry didn't have to thread through the eye of a needle.

It was a barrage from archers considered average among the mountain nation, though they were still leagues above ordinary archers. Furthermore, the fact they did it on horseback is what's truly frightening.

Beaten to the punch and unsure of whether to aim for the bow cavalry or the escort unit, the enemy's counterattack was too lukewarm to be considered a threat.

Their spearmen have also been decimated and multiple holes opened up in their camp.

With all this groundwork done, the only thing left is to charge.

Schwartz speeds up and takes the lead.

「Aah, again! I said wait!」

「Too slow, Gido. You can't only be quick when eating girls.」

Threats from crossbows and archers have gone and the spear wall is scattered.

Yet, the final obstacle for cavalry, the fence, is still up.

「This thing is really coming in handy today.」

I grip the giant hammer in my right hand.

There's nothing better to smash fences with than this.

The bow cavalry ceases their arrows as the escort unit engages with the enemy at close range.

I inhale and lift the hammer high.

Schwartz doesn't slow down at all.

「They've stopped firing. Regroup immediately! It won't be easy for them to get past the fence.」

「What's that guy in front doing? What is he holding……」

「Ah…… ah……」

The enemies stare dumbfoundedly at me through the fence.

A shadow shrouds the man's face and hides his expression for a split second.

「……demon.」

His involuntary mumbling and my strike was simultaneous.

Normally, destroying a fence is done by a hammer or axe.

An axe would target weaker areas and open a hole, while the hammer would pound repeatedly at stakes planted in the ground to break them.

Those two methods are made more difficult if they have to be done in front of the enemy.

Therefore, simple as the fence may be, its defense is as solid as a line of veteran spearmen.

「All rules have exceptions.」

For example, charging in with a giant hammer.

I purposely aim for the most durable section not to open a hole or crack it apart.

On impact, the logs, thick stakes, ropes, and reinforcing metal brackets making up the fence exploded to pieces.

Even the soldiers waiting behind the fence got dragged in with the attack.

A few wet fragments mixed with the splintered wood, but it didn't weaken my hammer strike much, as it slams into the ground.

The resulting cloud of dust and thunderous boom created the illusion like the earth itself was shaking.

Five enemy soldiers fell down with broken limbs from the flying shrapnel of the demolished fence and a few dozen more were knocked in the air briefly by the force of my hammer before falling back down, losing their weapons in the process.

Because the surrounding fences were also connected via rope, other fences within 10 m to the left and right also collapsed like a chain reaction. I can see that some of the stakes were pulled right out of the ground or were snapped off.

Sadly, that one strike caused my hammer to break.

Mmm, such a thick handle isn't good enough either……?

Using up all that momentum, Schwartz was thrown off balance and had to slowly stabilize himself.

There was a moment of silence, then I roared at the center of the 20 m wide hole.

I created a hole, but only at one small point. The enemy will surely flock to seal it up.

More fighting needs to be done in order for the charge to be successful, so I renew my determination and stare at the enemy.

My hand rests on the hilt of my Dual Crater.

However, things turned in an unexpected direction.

「「……」」

The enemy soldiers quietly looked at each other, then after agreeing silently, dropped their weapons and fled.

「What?」

I was surprised.

It started around me and then the effect rippled out to the other parts of the enemy camp.

Enemy commanders who should be stopping them are running along as well.

「What's going on?」

This is pretty bad even for a militia army.

No, they certainly felt like a legitimate army.

I look to Gido for an answer.

「I think it's a natural reaction to what they saw just now…… Also, the ground actually shook. See, some allies fell off their horses.」

I turn to Luna on the opposite side.

「The last roar didn't sound human at all…… I mean, it was forceful enough to distinguish itself from a human.」

The escort unit and bow cavalry show their admiration with a mediocre shout that felt more restrained than a genuine victory cry.

This feels familiar.

When I went hunting for foxes with Carla and Mireille, I defeated a bear that suddenly appeared with my bare hands. The two of them stared at me the same way I'm being stared at now.

I'm not satisfied at all with how things ended, but at least the first stage went well.

Noise from behind disrupted the awkward atmosphere.

「Multiple smoke signals from headquarters! Meaning is…… unknown.」

Several pillars of smoke rise from where Leopolt and my personal army is.

I don't see a particular meaning in them.

「Headquarters has started to advance!」

Leopolt is making a move, huh?

I don't know his intentions, but I told him beforehand where I'll be charging.

He is probably taking advantage of the fact I defeated one of the enemy squads.

「Smoke is rising from Royal army headquarters too……」

Not long later, Goldonia headquarters also does the same.

It's a pattern I don't know how to decipher, so I can't understand the signals.

「Let's go to the next stage.」

I toss away my broken hammer and unsheathe my Dual Crater.

I also pick up a spear dropped by an enemy soldier.

「Eh? We're moving out?」

Gido sounds surprised.

I can't blame him. I'm acting without concern for Leopolt's or Erich's moves after all.

「Those smoke signals don't make sense. It's fine to ignore them.」

It would be a different story if the headquarters is in danger or we're getting ambushed from behind.

「Perhaps they made a mistake in the confusion…… wouldn't it better if we confirmed?」

「Confused? Leopolt?」

I try to imagine Leopolt running around in a panic.

Nope, I can't see it. I can see Celia doing that though.

「It may not be limited to him. If it doesn't have meaning to us, maybe it's not directed towards allies.」

I issue the command to head to our next objective.

Afterward, we would continue defeating more enemies along the way.

During that time, I understand what Leopolt's signal meant.

A few minutes after the smoke signal rose from my personal army, several more signals shot up from further back.

To the enemy, it could only look like the signal to launch an all-out counterattack and then the one to the rear would be a signal for the arrival of reinforcements.

Without delay, Erich and the Royal army headquarters follow suit.

In the enemy's eyes, the scattering of squads also seems eerily like it's part of a scheme.

The more attention the enemy paid to the main army, the more freely we could move.

Some valiant fighting later, we reunited with Pipi riding on Pochi on the way. With their help to clear the way, we were finally able to reach Celia and successfully rescued her battalion.

「Uuu…… Aegir-sama…… I……」

Celia bites her lips in the middle of exhausted soldiers.

Her hand tightly grips the cloth covering her thigh.

「Celia.」

Her face has traces of an arrow grazing by and the armor on one of her shoulders is dented.

She also lost one of her gauntlets.

That shows how desperately she must have been fighting.

「Well, we can address that later.」

There is no time to comfort or scold her.

Celia slumps her shoulders, almost like she's in a state of shock.

「Have all those who can still fight gather into one group.」

I can see every company suffered their fair share of casualties or have many fatigued soldiers who can no longer contribute.

It's best to have one strong unit than several weakened squads.

Celia, with tears welling in her eyes, briskly reorganizes her soldiers.

You don't have to make a face like it's the end of the world, I'm not that angry.

「Our side is taken care of for now.」

「We're really getting to the climax.」

Erich moved as soon as I penetrated deep into the enemy camp to save Celia.

That smoke signal trick helped to curb some pressure, allowing the Royal army and Leopolt to attack in concert.

The advantage gained by the partic.i.p.ation of my army was already erased by the enemy cavalry and they've even recovered from the unfavorable situation.

Infantry are battling each other here and there, archers are shooting arrows and cavalry are running back and forth to help wherever needed.

I occasionally hear the booms of cannons, most likely from my army.

Formations warp into unrecognizable blobs as other squads strengthen the collapsed areas.

「You have a cla.s.s of circular formation there…… enhanced by the right wing. Over there, you have a partial encirclement that has fallen apart……」

Having finished organizing her army, Celia comes beside me to explain the situation, her eyes cast downward.

The moment my eyes turn to her, she shakes like she's afraid of me.

It's not her fault. I wanted to tell her it's the fault of the South Yuguria army that surrounded her, but I didn't have time.

「Our allies are one move ahead. However, whenever they try to gain the advantage, that group of cavalry……」

Gido cuts into our conversation, prompting Celia to step back awkwardly.

「We have to do something about them.」

The enemy cavalry are moving very effectively.

I'm sure their commanders are quite skilled. Whenever their allies are in a pinch, they immediately run over to help, and they rush in whenever they see an opening.

Because their entire squad is composed of either cavalry or chariots, they can run from one side of the battlefield to the other side like the wind.

「Leopolt was right. It's a good thing we dragged them out early.」

If they suddenly attacked from the rear, that might have decided the battle.

「I guess I'll go subdue them.」

I survey the battlefield.

That was when a timid voice spoke and a slender finger pointed.

「The enemy unit over there is falling apart. Since that is a crucial section of the enemy line, I'm sure they'll go in that direction to provide reinforcements.」

I pat Celia's head softly and order the army to get there before the enemy.

Sure enough, our targeted group kicks up a cloud of dirt as they gallop to aid their allies in distress, just like we predicted.

「Loose!!」

Our bow cavalry rains down arrows on them.

Reflexively, they dashed backward until they got out of range of our bows, but not before many of their soldiers were shot.

「Kuh…… we could only hit them with one volley.」

「They're also on horses after all.」

Next, they try to come at us with chariots.

The bow cavalry adjust their aim and shoot, however the armor plating prevents any significant damage from being done.

On the contrary, a few bow cavalry were taken out by the ballistae mounted on the chariots.

「……kuh, then we should use swords――」

「They're aiming for that. Fall back.」

I interrupt Luna and order the bow cavalry to stand down.

If the lightly-armored bow cavalry are in front, they'll suffer great losses.

The enemy cavalry unit has roughly 20 000 and we have 8000. We can't hope to win against them in close combat.

「3000 of the enemy army is circling to our right outside shooting range! 4000 of them are going from the left!」

Here comes the surround. Not only are they moving fast, they are fast at relaying orders too.

They are quick to respond to what we do.

When we sit back pa.s.sively, they instantly come charging at us.

「They are charging through the center!」

「Shower them with arrows!」

Luna yells.

But the enemy turns around, barely staying outside the range of the bow cavalry.

「The enemy on the right side has stopped moving and is getting ready to charge! The enemy on the left side is slowly closing the distance!」

Luna and I look to the front, then to the back, then to the side, all in rapid succession.

Honestly, I'm stumped.

As annoying as it is, we can't keep up with them.

If only this was 1000 vs 1000, then I could mobilize the squad more nimbly. I can't do it when the enemy army is so ma.s.sive.

And they don't seem to be an opponent I can beat using power alone.

Luna also seems to be feeling the same and is restlessly squirming around.

If things continue at this rate, we might have to resort to a last ditch attack.

「Aegir-sama……」

Celia chimes in with her timid voice again and points with her finger.

……fumu, I see.

「Everyone, march forward!」

We move in front of Celia's finger, specifically, to the place where the enemy hammered rows of stakes into the ground.

It was already vacated for us.

「Horses can't run through this area……」

Gido skillfully maneuvers his horse in between the obstacles and comments anxiously.

As someone from the mountain nation, he must dislike how his horse can't move properly.

「Yeah, our horses are impeded. But so are theirs.」

We center ourselves in the stakes and get into a circular formation, keeping our guards up.

Since the enemy army is all cavalry based, they can only come through if they go slowly, like we did.

Their chariots, on the other hand, certainly can't pa.s.s.

「Go forth!」

Pochi breaks the wooden stakes with its chest as it walks through.

After robbing the enemy cavalry of their mobility, they are nothing more than big targets.

Whereas our bow cavalry still have their marksmans.h.i.+p.

「The enemy…… stopped.」

I'm sure the enemy is also aware that they can't go any further and are only walking around us without getting closer.

We're essentially cornered and it looks pretty uncool, but it can't be helped.

Besides, our objective has, for the most part, been achieved.

「We don't necessarily have to annihilate the enemy cavalry.」

I look at the entire battlefield.

What would happen if the enemy cavalry were stuck having to keep us trapped instead of helping out their allies?

「The enemy camps are falling apart all over the place! There…… and there!」

If we can restrain the enemy's trump card, even temporarily, Erich and Leopolt can simply win the war.

Undoing the encirclement now is already too late.

The enemy commander is undoubtedly skilled, but he paid too much attention to me.

Our allies are starting to push back the enemy at various spots on the battlefield.

At first, it happened gradually, and then eventually, the enemies began running away at full speed.

「It's about time.」

I mutter as I make my way through the stakes.

「Yes.」

Gido, with his wealth of experience in battle, also agreed.

Enemies in all areas continue to retreat, even running out of heavily-protected encampments.

If they can't hold on to the camps, there's no reason to stand their ground.

Having a high proportion of militia is also bad for the enemy.

That's because it requires skill and experience to stand firm again once you've already started retreating.

And while they might be routed, it doesn't appear the enemy has suffered too many casualties.

This is due to both sides having a high troop count.

If it was 100 vs 100, it's common for the defeated side to be ma.s.sacred, unlike a battle of 100 000 vs 100 000. It's also possible for a larger army to support fellow soldiers getting pursued, since the movements of the winning side can become sluggish when enormous numbers are involved.

「The enemy's command hasn't been broken and we can't carelessly give chase.」

「Well, based on how South Yuguria has acted so far, they probably won't unreasonably stand their ground. They'll probably retreat all the way to Arkland region carefully, making sure not to give us a chance to chase…… then fight once more.」

The Royal army and my army aren't pursuing too deep either and seem to only be driving enemies away.

At the very least, we've managed to repel the enemy from the capital. Erich should be relieved of some stress a single defeat would cause. I wanted to settle everything in one battle if possible, but it's not that easy.

「Let's return to where Erich is. This time――」

My sentence is cut short.

「T-the enemy……」

Gido's eyes open wide.

「T-this is.」

Celia gasps in surprise and takes a step backward.

All of a sudden, the retreating enemies turned around and started running furiously in the opposite direction.

「-!? Prepare to intercept!!」

Luna shouts and the bow cavalry, who thought it was over, scramble to ready their bows.

The enemy runs at us, yelling wildly.

「Loose!!」

Arrows fired at enemies charging head-on easily find their mark and several fall flat on the ground.

However, that doesn't stop the rest of them.

This kind of behavior is totally different from before.

It's like having an intellectual argument with a woman, who then abruptly becomes hysterical.

「Go confirm what happened!」

I point Gido to headquarters.

「Right!」

This has to be an abnormal situation.

I need to contact Erich.

It's going on across the battlefield.

A supposedly concluding battle is heating up again.

Messy battles break out in collapsed areas.

「Erich didn't expect it either?」

The Royal army was in position to deal damage to the fleeing enemy after giving chase.

It's hard to deny their surprise when the enemy suddenly flipped the script on them.

I swing my Dual Crater on horseback, cutting down two incoming enemies, and then a third one after that.

A fourth enemy tries to sneak past, but Schwartz's front leg kicks him right in the forehead.

「Charge! Everyone, charge!」

「Why charge now of all times!? Isn't this a situation where we should be trying to limit losses and retreating!?」

「I don't know what's going on either, but these are orders from headquarters! There's no room to object!」

I hear the enemy commander shouting.

They also seem clueless.

Nevertheless, Leopolt and Erich show their ability.

Although initially taken by surprise and unsure of what to do, the army is quickly organized and they properly respond to the enemy charge, eliminating the danger of being overrun.

To begin with, the enemy went from a disadvantageous situation to a forced attack, so there are limits to what they can do.

The ratio of defeated soldiers is 3:1, no, 4:1 in our favor.

「Still……」

The number of deaths is tremendous.

A pursuit battle would not be as bad and I've never seen a frontal battle produce this many casualties.

South Yuguria doesn't let any setbacks stop them from charging.

Their regular army soldiers urge the less-trained militia forward by running after them.

「At this rate, the death count will be huge.」

The bow cavalry, escort unit, and 105th army, who came over thinking the battle was over, are fighting hard, but losing members at a frightening pace.

In times like these, there is only one thing to do.

「Yakov, follow me.」

「Yeah!」

I make my way through the crowd of soldiers.

My sole aim is to kill the enemy commander.

I yell at Celia to stand down when she tries to follow me.

She just exhausted herself earlier to stay alive, so taking her with me into a free-for-all is too dangerous.

To that point, if Yakov happens to die, I can come to accept it.

「……General, you're so cruel.」

Yakov smiles.

I also grin, though I keep my eyes peeled.

I'm searching for the commander.

With that said, I don't know the symbol of his flag.

「General!」

Yakov uses his sword to point.

He points to a flag of a hawk holding a sword.

It's glittering because of the gold thread used to sew it together. That is definitely the flag of someone important.

「That one, huh?」

I head straight for the flag.

Enemies are all over the place, but they are more focused on charging than dealing with me.

This isn't normal. The enemy commander must have given an outrageous order.

I thought I would have an easy time taking out my target, but I guess they're not going to let me.

「!? Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!」

「Maestus, Your Excellency! Please stay back!」

The commander's personal guards, who have not joined the charge, stood in a line to block me from their superior.

I've already come this far, so I'm not going to chicken out now.

「Come.」

「I'm with you!」

I hop off Schwartz and unsheathe my Dual Crater, lowering my stance before das.h.i.+ng forward.

「T-this guy's fa――」

I cut through his torso while he was in the middle of his sentence, then cut off the spear and right hand of the adjacent soldier.

A quick roundhouse kick sends one of them flying and then a downward slash splits another one in half.

「Your Excellency! Retreat for now!!」

The man who appears to be the commander's close aide shouts.

However, I have no intention of letting them escape.

I run past the bodyguards, leaving Yakov to handle my back and run toward this "Excellency".

「I won't let you!!」

The close aid stands in front of me.

He twirls his 3 m long spear.

I don't have time to challenge this guy to a battle.

Silently, I run forth and leap at him.

「Seei!」

I twist my body and avoid the sharp slash.

A second strike comes immediately, which I deflect with my sword, but my momentum was stopped.

I wanted to end the fight in one blow, but this guy isn't bad.

「Kuh! Take that! General, not done yet!?」

Yakov seems to be struggling with several opponents behind me.

I don't have time to waste.

I exhale slowly and position my sword at eye level.

「Fuu.」

In one breath, I dash forward again.

「Coming head-on!? How brave!」

He unleashes a powerful thrust at me.

I swing my Dual Crater with the intent to bisect his spear, however, he somehow twists his spear barely to the side to let my sword slide off.

「You're mine!!」

My sword whiffs and the man's spear plunges into my side.

I feel a dull impact hit my torso.

「Well, I got you too.」

Seconds later, my sword lops his head off.

He had an expression of disbelief as he fell to the ground.

「Guh……」

I put a hand on my body to check the state of my wound.

There is only some blood leaking. My internal organs are fine.

If he used the same force as he did in the beginning to stab me, it would have definitely been a more serious injury.

My strategy to aim to destroy his weapon caused his power to decrease drastically from having to slip my attack.

He chose to aim for a gap between my armor, but he didn't even penetrate my muscles.

「If I kept my hips still, maybe I would have come out unscathed……」

Time is more precious than my health right now. I can't clash too many times.

Having cleared the obstacle, I search for His Excellency.

「Your Excellency, let me handle this!!」

A young page steps forward with a sword, his hands clearly trembling.

He is a small fry incomparable to the man I fought earlier. This won't even slow me down.

「……」

His Excellency draws his sword.

It was a long slender sword primarily meant for lunging based on its shape.

I was just about to lower my waist and get fired up.

「General, this guy isn't the Supreme Commander! That flag is not the general's flag, it's the army flag!! The way the flag hangs is the same as how the Federation does it, so there's no mistaking it.」

「What!?」

Yakov breaks the tension.

「A-an opening――!」

I catch the arm of the page who thrusts at me and toss him aside, muttering in an annoyed tone.

「How unlucky, coming this far and being wrong……」

The page hits the ground and faints.

I stare at His Excellency Maestus.

Then it happened.

Maestus starts looking confused.

At first, I wondered if it was a trap, then realized he was genuinely shaken and followed his line of sight.

The distance was about 100 m.

It was an army of close to 100 war horses.

At the center was a man with a large physique.

Waving in the air was a flag depicting a dragon and a sword.

「General!! That's the commander's flag――!!」

「Tch!」

Maestus runs at me.

However, my eyes are no longer set on him.

「Yakov!」

「Yeah!」

Yakov hurls a sword at me.

I grab the sword in midair, ignoring the demonic-looking Maestus, and throw the sword at the Supreme Commander.

The sword wasn't meant for throwing so it spins ungracefully as it travels in an arc, eventually disappearing from my view.

Maestus stopped moving right when I threw the sword.

There was no point in charging at me anymore.

A few moments of silence later――

There was a screeching neigh.

The horse the commander was riding falls over, prompting all those around him to form a human wall in the direction of where the projectile came from.

「Eei, I missed!」

I hit the horse instead of the rider.

At this distance, my aim isn't good enough.

Despite my two failures, I did achieve my objective.

「Retreat―― retreat!!」

「Orders from the top! Retreat immediately!」

A messenger runs to relay the command.

「They're calling for everyone to withdraw.」

I face Maestus with my Dual Crater at the ready.

「……it appears so.」

He is also pointing his sword at me.

Maestus sighs and takes off his helmet.

「The face of a demon, I'll remember it.」

The shock hits me.

He's handsome. Even more so than Gido.

「The next time we meet, I'll ruin that pretty face.」

I unconsciously replied back with my internal thoughts.

Maestus treated it as a joke and after a small grin, left with a flip of his cape.

I don't have the will to chase anymore.

「Hey General, shall we evacuate!? I'm getting pretty beat up here!」

I look over at Yakov, who is riddled with wounds.

For some reason, he is carrying the fainted page on his shoulder.

「When I went closer, I saw it was a girl. Let's do her together after this. I really feel like ramming her a.s.s.」

「Don't say something so bandit-like.」

I also feel up the page's a.s.s.

An ally messenger comes running from far away.

It's probably the report of our victory. I already heard it from the enemy.

「Great work. We won, right?」

My casual remark was answered with a pale face.

「T-three of the eastern feudal lords have alienated us――!! Urgent report of them colluding with South Yuguria!!」

「Haah?」

What a time to betray.

It can't be a coincidence, meaning it was planned.

「This is bad, General. If they attack us from the east……」

「We're going back to headquarters.」

Geez, it's one thing after another. What an irritating opponent to deal with.