Published at 14th of November 2020 7:16 pm

Volume 4, Chapter 5: The Battle of Vuiran Part 2

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: Skythewood

Editor: Hiiro

Ⅴ

Vuiran PlainsBarze Army

Turning back the clock a little—

The enemy detachment unit they were watching out for didn’t show up, so Barze’s army that crossed through the Orstoy Forest and Carbadia hill linked up successfully on the Vuiran Plains. Gold Officer Barze who was commanding his forces that had formed up again looked uneasily around him.

(… Nothing much has changed.)

The tall hills and dense vegetation obscured their field of vision, but the place was quiet without anything that might be of concern.

Barze already received news that the Nozan Persilla army won a complete victory in the Garlock Valley.

If he attacks them from behind, then victory would be assured—

「You seemed bothered… What’s wrong?」

「— I don’t really know either.」

Barze answered sullenly, and his aide Notorias looked at him in surprise. He really didn’t know what to say, the only thing that came to mind was that the surroundings were too quiet. The kind of serenity that made him restless.

「Sir Barze, are you worried about an ambush?」

Notorias had a tense face, but he didn’t sound too concerned. Not just Notorias, the men also had a relaxed atmosphere. All of them were certain of their victory.

「No matter how great our advantage is, we can’t let our guard down. The Royal Army is on their last leg, and that makes them unpredictable. Be wary of the cornered cat biting back.」

Notorias mentioned 『ambush』 on a whim, and it sunk deep into Barze’s mind. If that feeling of unease was a premonition of an enemy attack, then everything would make sense.

(We didn’t detect the enemy, so it’s unlikely they have us surrounded. Even if their detachment unit was lying in ambush, like Sir Arthur said, they are just a few thousand men, no more than ten thousand. If they had the manpower to spare, they should be directing them towards Garlock Valley— seems like I’m overthinking things…)

Barze looked around him and everything remained unchanged. A hare that came out of the tall grass was looking at him with a baffled face.

(There’s still an off chance of things going wrong. We should strengthen our security…)

When Barze was about to summon a messenger, a hail of arrows rained down from above. Barze swiftly drew his sword and yelled at his clamouring men:

「Don’t panic!! Quickly, defensive formation—」

However, Barze’s orders were drowned out because of the soldier’s screams.

「A large number of enemy troops appeared on our left flank!」

「On our right flank too!」

「They are assaulting our rear!」

「Sir Barze! We are under attack from all sides!」

「How is that possible, that’s too fast…?!」

Even if the Royal Army was lying in ambush, that was still too quick, their speed was comparable to 『Spirit Beast Gollum』— That was the first thing that came to Barze’s mind.

「— Sir!」

「Sir Barze!」

Notorias shouted desperately to bring Barze back to reality.

「Our army is in disarray! Your orders please!」

「Get into defensive formation! The enemy shouldn’t have enough numbers.」

However, Barze’s expectation was betrayed in the worst way possible. The supposedly enemy forces of a few thousands kept increasing until they reached around 20,000.

And aside from the red flags with the insignia of a lion, they were also hoisting black intimidating banners with bloody roses, a white skull, and two scythes.

The large number of black banners fluttered with the wind from the valley.

(They brought so many distasteful banners! Are they trying to shake our resolve!?)

They were overwhelmed in both numbers and morale. Barze yelled to restore fighting spirit, but it didn’t have much effect. From the looks of the soldiers, those ominous banners affected them greatly.

The more sudden the attack, the more fragile the defenders would be. On top of that, no one, including Barze, believed that victory was at hand.

「They laid an ambush with more than 20,000 men… They Royal Army played us like a damn fiddle.」

「It seems Sir Arthur and I both underestimated the Royal Army…」

His own mistake made Barze ground his teeth with crushing force.

Two hours after the battle started—

「How’s the situation?」

「The confusion has been cleared up, but we are still at a disadvantage. We should retreat while we still can…」

「Notorias, you say retreat?」

「Yes.」

「Notorias, you are terrible at jokes. Look around you, how can we even do that?」

Barze sneered and surveyed his surroundings in an exaggerated manner. Notorias didn’t need to remind him, Barze would have retreated if that was possible. They should have considered retreating the moment they were ambushed. But their retreat route had been blocked, so they had no choice but to stay in place.

(The enemy’s encirclement is basically complete. It’s impossible to escape no matter how great at fighting one is— At this stage, should we open a bloody path at the cost of a great number of troops so we can at least save a few more soldiers?)

As a warrior in command of an Army, he was not permitted to show unsightly behaviour.

Barze gripped his hilt tightly, prepared to sacrifice himself.

「Sir Barze! Look over there!」

A Tough Officer said joyously as he pointed in the direction where his telescope was aimed at. Barze looked in that direction and saw the enemy retreating like the tide. A telescope was handed to Barze.

「That’s the unit led by Iron Officer Olga…」

「Sir Barze, this is a golden opportunity. It might be possible for us to withdraw now.」

Notorias said excitedly. This was indeed a great chance to withdraw. It’s not glamorous, but it was better than getting wiped out.

「Attempt to retreat from the corner where the enemy’s formation is collapsing. Relay this order to Olga.」

「Yes!」

Detachment UnitCommand Post

「Major, the enemy on our right flank is heading north.」

「Towards Yuras river, huh… Send the Seventh Platoon over. Remind Sergeant Tokuma to not hold back on attacking an enemy that’s crossing a river.」

「Yes Sir!」

「Major Ashton. Agasa from Third Company—」

「The encirclement on the left flank is too thin?」

「Y-Yes Sir, it is as you say.」

「We have sent two platoons to reinforce, tell him not to worry.」

「Y-Yes Sir! I will inform the messenger immediately!」

Ashton gave precise orders, as if he had a bird eye’s view of the battlefield.

(Like a God moving human pieces on a chess board…)

After his negotiations with Marquis Saltonia, Evansin who had returned to his duty as a staff officer looked at Ashton in awe.

Another messenger entered the tent.

「The enemy had concentrated their forces to attack Second Lieutenant Gauss’ unit. Second Lieutenant Gauss is retreating to the predesignated area.」

The messenger’s report made all the officers cheered.

「Major Ashton, the enemy took the bait.」

An officer looked at Ashton with a bright smile.

「That’s right. Be it retreating or regrouping, the enemy desperately wants to get out of their current predicament. This is only natural.」

「But even this was within the Major’s calculations, I’m in awe.」

「It would be a different matter if the enemy has the philosophy of sticking stubbornly to their plan or die trying. If not, they will definitely try for an opening that presents itself. If I’m in their shoes, I will pounce on the bait too.」

Ashton joked with an eye closed. However Evansin didn’t think that was true. Given everything that Ashton had accomplished, he wouldn’t be baited that easily. He had always taken actions after considering all the possibilities.

The overwhelming light from Olivia overshadowed him, but Evansin felt Ashton’s achievements were on par with Olivia.

But Ashton would disagree if he told Ashton that.

「By the way, any word from Her Excellency Olivia?」

「We had not received any communications… Worried?」

Ashton feigned disinterest and probed. Evansin smiled wryly at how easy he was to read.

「What’s so funny?」

「Haha, I’m just thinking there is no point in worrying about Her Excellency Olivia.」

「That’s true, we should worry about ourselves. Especially Lieutenant Colonel Claudia, she was always looking at me with worried eyes.」

Ashton scratched his neck.

「Maybe.」

Evansin shrugged. Was Lieutenant Colonel Claudia even aware of her own feelings…

「Well, the rest will be up to Second Lieutenant Gauss to strut his stuff.」

「Yes, he’s really great at strutting.」

Ashton told the messengers standing by that the plan was in the final phase, and they ran off with their well trained legs.

Again, Evansin looked at Ashton issuing commands with a face of relief.

Barze ArmyOlga Battalion

「The enemy is faltering! Charge right in!」

To pursue the retreating Royal Army, Olga’s battalion set off from the Vuiran Plains and headed to the Vuiran Highlands in the northwest. Iron Officer Olga who was mounted on his horse shouted as he pointed at the Royal Army soldiers with his short spear. His voice overlapped with the shouts of his men, creating desynchronous noises normally found on the battlefield.

As the sun set on Vuiran Highlands, the Nozan Persilla army switched to the offensive and the Royal kept pulling back.

「Iron Officer Olga, emergency message from Gold Officer Barze!」

「Sir Barze’s message?」

Olga pulled on his reins to stop his mount, and looked down on his aide Marseille.

「Say it.」

「Yes. Sir Barze ordered 『Continue suppressing the enemy to open a retreat route for our forces』.」

「Retreat route? — Could it be!?」

Marseille nodded with a complicated expression.

「You are correct. Gold Officer Barze issued orders for all units to retreat.」

「Impossible, we finally carved out a gap in the Royal Army, and he ordered a retreat? Has Sir Barze gone mad!?」

Olga angrily stabbed at a fleeing Royal soldier. He struggled a while after his chest was pierced, then stopped breathing.

Marseille had cold sweat on his brows.

「But our battalion is the only one with an advantage, the other units are in danger of getting wiped out. I concur with Gold Officer Barze’s decision…」

「Tch! A bunch of wimps!」

Olga grabbed the collar of a brave Royal soldier who was thrusting his spear, spurred his horse towards a boulder and smashed that soldier onto it.

「Damn it!」

The Royal soldier who was now a bloody mess collapsed onto the boulder after Olga let him go. Marseille watched that scene with bated breath.

「Haha… Don’t be so worried, I will follow that order.」

Olga knew that he can’t defeat an enemy ten times greater with just two thousand men. It was a pity, but from a different perspective, the merits of securing a retreat route would be all his.

Arthur’s evaluation of him would rise— Olga quickly calculated in his mind.

「The withdrawal is already starting. It’s fine now, right?」

「Yes.」

「In that case, we will push back the enemy and support the retreat of our forces. Relay the order.」

「Yes!」

Barze ArmyMain Unit

「If we follow the path, we will reach Toledo Highway…」

Barze exhaled as he looked at the narrow road. He lost half of his men, but thanks to Olga opening a bloody path to escape, they avoided complete annihilation.

The sun had already set, and Vuiran Highlands was only illuminated by the faint moonlight. Given how poor the visibility was, the Royal Army had stopped their attacks.

(Their next attack would probably be in the morning. I want to put as much distance between us as possible… But the men are worn out.)

It was dark, but he could still see the fatigue on the faces of his soldiers. It wasn’t obvious when they had the upper hand, but it weighed heavily on them when they were at a disadvantage.

(Should we rest…)

As if to seize the momentary lapse in Barze’s mind, Notorias who suddenly looked up into the sky let out a shriek that cut through the darkness.

「Fire arrows!!」

Looking up, he saw countless fire arrows pouring down from the cliff on both sides. Faced with the sudden attack, Barze made the right decision.

「All units, stick together! Raise your shields above your heads!」

After a slight pause, the soldiers immediately lifted their shields above them. As expected of the troops that had survived for so long, they were a little shakened, but didn’t get confused. The iron shields blocked the fiery rain, and the sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the valley.

As he listened to that noise, doubts appeared on Barze’s mind.

(There is only one path through Vuiran Highlands, how did the Royal Army behind get around to our front?)

Barze’s question was blown to the far corner of hades when the fire arrows stopped falling— with a heavy thud, large boulders rolled down the cliffs.

(They even prepared things like that?!)

No matter how many iron shields they had, it was meaningless before the boulders.

「Sir Barze!!」

「Help! —Save me!」

Cries for help echoed between the valley, but Barze couldn’t help them. The troops were crushed or sent flying by the boulders.

The lucky ones died on the spot. There were some whose lower body got smashed, and still crawled towards Barze for help— It took Barze a moment to realize that was his aide Notorias.

(This is the end. Melissa, Henrik, please forgive me for ending my life foolishly in a place like this…)

Barze’s sword slumped weakly in his hand. As he looked at the boulder approaching him, the smiles of his wife and son flashed across his mind.

Detachment UnitGauss Regiment

The wails of the enemy soldier drifted up the cliff with the wind. In the valley below, the hellish scene was still ongoing. Gauss watched the battlefield wordlessly as the outstanding new trooper, Private First Class Smerri, saluted with obvious lack of experience.

「Captain Gauss! The enemy had lost all will to fight! Our victory is certain now!」

「That might be true, but don’t stop. Major Ashton demands huge amount of blood.」

「H-Huge amount of blood?!」

Smerri cried in shock.

「That’s right, Major Ashton wants to dye Vuiran Highlands red with the enemy’s blood.」

「I-I see. Yes Sir.」

Smerri gulped. Gauss laughed in his heart as he watched Smerri’s face.

And of course, Ashton didn’t give such a chilling order, this was just some nonsense Gauss made up.

From the perspective of a soldier, Ashton lacked dignity in many ways, just like how Olivia used to be. For Olivia, people just need to watch her battle once to recognize her prowess. However, Ashton couldn’t do the same. Including Smerri, all the recruits looked down on Ashton. So this was Gauss’ way of helping Ashton build up his reputation.

If Ashton found out, he would definitely grumble about it. Even so, Gauss still judged this to be necessary for the Eighth Army.

Just to be clear, he wasn’t trying to tease the recruits.

「Side tracking for a bit, Major Ashton ordered me to submit a list of unmotivated recruits to him— do you know why?」

「… I’m not sure, please enlighten me, Lieutenant.」

Gauss replied confidently to the jittery Smerri.

「It’s normal for a recruit like you to not know, but anyone who defies Major Ashton will get sent to the 『Experiment Room』?」

「Experiment Room? What’s that?」

「I don’t know the details. But since it’s an Experiment Room, experiments are probably conducted there… Probably human experiments, since Major Ashton is a scholar.」

At that, Gauss smiled deviously.

「Human experiments… Could it be… Hah… Hah…」

「Well, it’s Major Ashton who nonchalantly proposed using the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves to train the recruits. Human experiments might be too exaggerated, but there would definitely be hell to pay there.」

「Wait, isn’t the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves Her Excellency Olivia’s idea? That’s what I heard.」

「Oh? That’s wrong, Major Ashton is the one who proposed the use of Night-Eyed Pale Wolves to Her Excellency.」

Gauss knew Ashton was just jesting back then— but he didn’t plan to tell the recruits about that.

The truth might not always lead to the best results.

「He proposed to Her Excellency Olivia…」

「Back then, the Major happily explained the specifics of the plan to use Night-Eyed Pale Wolves for training.」

Gauss gently pat the shoulder of the pale Smerri.

「So, can your work meet Major Ashton’s expectations?」

「I-I will take my leave!」

Smerri ran away. Gauss’s words would quickly spread amongst the recruits. The more something threatened them, the deeper it would lodge in their minds.

「Captain, is it really fine to say such things?」

One of his veteran subordinates who saw the whole thing asked exasperatedly.

「Major Ashton is too soft on the recruits, so threats on this level is necessary.」

「If Lieutenant Colonel Claudia finds out, she will punt you into the air.」

Under the starry night, Gauss pretended to be retarded and issued the next order.

Ⅵ

The stage switches to the Vuiran Plains. Arthur who had caught up with the enemy Rearguard gave an order to Silver Officer Gazakh, also known as the Ace Lancer, commander of a Cavalry Regiment.

「Shyahaha! He wants me to deal the final blow to the enemy, Commander Arthur really knows his stuff! Come on, boys! Follow me and charge!!!」

Three thousand cavalry followed behind Gazakh who was charging ahead with his lance at the ready.

「Annoying! Out of the way, minions!」

He swept aside the Royal Soldiers stopping him, and charged deep into enemy territory. The enemy’s movement seemed sluggish, probably from fatigue.

「Sir Gazakh! It will just be a matter of time before we subjugate the enemy commander.」

「That’s the spirit, Hirus. But don’t forget, our goal is not the enemy commander.」

「Heehee… I understand, you are after their Commander-in-Chief, right?」

「Of course. We have to crush the enemy here quickly and pursue the scampering enemy main force. Our Gazakh battalion will be the one to kill their Commander-in-Chief!」

「You are right— you heard the man! Hurry up and take care of those enemies!」

「「「Yes Sir!」」」

Gazakh battalion’s fierce assault swiftly split the enemy. A while later Gazakh found a figure that seemed like the commander riding on a dark horse.

(It seems that’s the commander… That’s the commander?!)

On closer look, that petite figure made Gazakh forget he was on a battlefield for an instant. Her beauty was otherworldly— More importantly, she looked like a girl in her teens.

「Hirus, there’s a girl riding on that dark horse, right?」

「So you saw it too, Sir Gazakh. I thought I was seeing things. The Kingdom is really done for, they actually appointed a girl to be their commander.」

「Indeed. Even if she is just a girl, this is a battlefield— Hmm? What is she trying to do?」

The girl stood agilely on the saddle for some reason.

(She’s gone?!)

The next instant, the girl was standing on the neck of his horse with a smile. It happened so suddenly that Gazakh couldn’t say anything. Hirus beside him was looking at the girl as if she was a monster.

「Hey, are you the commander of this unit?」

「Yes, that’s right.」

The girls' oppressive aura made Gazakh speak.

「H-How are you standing so easily on a galloping horse?」

She’s an enemy, and might not provide the correct answer. She didn’t even have the obligation to answer. But Gazakh still asked. Standing on a stationery horse made sense, but doing so on a galloping horse was too strange. And his horse was sprinting without a care despite the additional weight— it was natural for him to have doubts.

The girl blinked.

「Oh, because I used 『Featherweight』.」

She answered nonchalantly, and didn’t seem to be lying. Even if she said Featherweight, Gazakh still didn’t understand. He asked for further details, and the girl said it was a technique that made her as light as cotton. The mind boggling answer was proven by the girl with her body, which sent a tremor down Gazakh’s body.

「I answered your question, so it should be fine now, right?」

The girl placed her hand on her hilt. She slowly drew out a dark sword from the sheath, and a black mist spilled forth. This scene spooked Gazakh so much that he jumped off his horse in reflex.

「Ughh!」

With no chance to break his fall, Gazakh’s chest hit the ground violently.

「W-What’s that?! What is that dark sword that looks like the manifestation of death?!」

A mysterious technique. armour with a chilling coat of arms. A dark sword that emits deathly dark mist. And her otherworldly beauty. All this made Gazakh think he had stepped into another world.

「Ughh. Even if you ask me, I don’t know~」

「What?!」

Gazakh lifted his face up from the dirt, and the girl was still smiling before him. The only difference was the dark sword in her hand. Like before, it was enveloped in a dark mist.

「It should be fine now— Wrong, I’m going to kill now.」

「Warrrggghhh!」

With no time to draw his blade, Gazakh punched the girl in the jaw. His iron fist that killed a bear in the past was easily stopped by the girl’s left hand with the sound of bone shattering.

「Ughh… Why are you so strong?!」

Gazakh backed away in a panic to create distance, and the girl flexed her biceps with her slender arm.

「Because I trained hard.」

「Trained? …Don’t mess with me, that’s not a level you can reach through training. Are you a monster?」

「Ah, this again. I’m not a monster, I’m Olivia.」

The girl who called herself Olivia looked seriously annoyed.

「I don’t give a damn about your name—」

With the sharp sound of wind, Gazakh’s world turned upside down.

「Bye bye.」

The girl bid farewell and Gazakh’s consciousness sunk into boundless darkness—

Leaving the bisected man sprouting blood, Olivia mounted Comet and ordered Claudia to light the smoke signal.

She then flicked her cape and declared loudly to the troops.

「Redeploy the formation by ranks. First rank will be the heavy infantry to suppress the enemy. The second rank will be light infantry for support attack and cover the first rank. The third rank will be archers to launch four stage staggered salvos. We will begin our counterattack now!」

On the same day, Third watch—

「Their final resistance is such a pain to deal with…」

Arthur said to himself. From the results of Garlock Valley, it was clear that the rearguard commander was excellent.

However, the situation was within Arthur’s grasp, the enemy was just delaying the inevitable a little longer.

「Should we commit the next unit?」

「No, don’t waste anymore time. We will close the encirclement in one shot—」

「Commander Arthur! We detected an enemy unit to the south!」

Arthur looked suspiciously at the soldier who barged in with a pale face.

「A new enemy? Did the enemy that fled turn back?」

If that was true, then the enemy’s struggle so far would be in vain. There was no point in doing so strategically or tactically, just meaningless drama.

Arthur was trying to figure out the intentions of this new Royal Army unit when the soldier said something unexpected:

「We can’t tell if that is the enemy that withdrew, but they number around 30,000!」

「30,000?!」

Raji raised his voice.

「30,000? —Not 3,000?」

The soldier shook his head firmly.

「It’s 30,000! They are going to surround us!」

「How is that possible… How is such a ridiculous thing possible!?」

An army of less than 10,000 came back with thrice the numbers? Was it reinforcements? That changed everything.

No matter how he checked the details, the only conclusion was that the soldier wasn’t lying.

Worst of all, the rearguard they had encircled wasn’t retreating, and was counterattacking in concert with the 30,000 army.

Arthur’s forces had to fight on two fronts.

「Commander…」

「Really now! What is Gold Officer Barze doing!? If his army has reached us, we can turn the tides again!」

Arthur ground his teeth as he looked at the dark banner with an ominous coat of arms in the distance. Leaving the enemy inside for now, the enemy outside wasn’t as well trained. However, Arthur’s three attempts to break through the encirclement all failed.

Does the enemy have an outstanding commander? Arthur felt every move he made was being countered preemptively.

(Even so, when Barze gets here…!)

Arthur’s expectations were betrayed in the worst way possible.

「What did you… just say?」

「Gold Officer Barze was killed in action, and his army was wiped out…」

The messenger covered in mud and blood calmly recounted Barze’s death. Raji roughly asked him again a few times, but the messenger’s answer remained the same.

For Arthur who was sure of his victory a few hours ago, this situation was unacceptable.

(If this goes on, Drake will…)

The image of Drake laughing at him appeared in his mind, and Arthur swung his command baton with all his might.

Ⅶ

News of Barze’s army defeat was ordered not to be leaked, but the information still spread in no time. The sharp drop in morale led to a drastic increase in casualties. The encirclement tightened, and the sound of shouts and wails could be heard in the basecamp.

The tides had turned, and the Nozan Persilla army was on the defensive. Under this situation, the pale Raji said:

「Commander, if this goes on…」

Not just Raji, the other officers had tense faces. No one proposed any plans to overturn the situation, and just watched Arthur’s every move.

There were too many conditions that made Arthur harbour dark feelings towards them.

「Commander! The Royal army has broken through the fourth defence line!」

What did that mean? It meant the Royal Army had broken through three defensive lines that guarded their basecamp. With the claws of the lions looming, Arthur’s clenched fist started to shake.

「Commander… Please order a retreat.」

Raji spoke the words that Arthur had been refusing to consider. Soon, the other officers concurred with him.

(The incompetent fools are always dragging down talented men. Maybe I should kill the whole lot of them?)

Arthur stopped his hand from reaching for his hilt. He knew that wouldn’t change the situation and just create more chaos.

The greyscale voices changed shapes like a kaleidoscope before reaching Arthur’s ears.

「Commander, we are out of options.」

「… It can’t be helped.」

Arthur brushed aside the illusion of Drake in his mind and ordered a retreat.

Missing the right timing for a retreat was a heavy burden for the commander, and was very taxing on one’s flexibility. After racking his brain, Arthur forcefully switched to Arrow Formation. They lost more soldiers, but successfully broke out of the encirclement with their main unit.

Future historians would evaluate Arthur as an incompetent commander, but they would rate this retreat action highly.

But even though they accomplished the difficult withdrawal—

「Commander!」

「As expected, they won’t let us off so easily…」

A female knight on a white horse attacked their flanks with 3,000 soldiers. The Arrow Formation had better penetration than other formations, but its flanks were critically weak.

The assault on their flank at the moment they broke out led to the complete collapse of their formation, and their headquarters fell into disarray. In the chaos, Arthur drew his weapon 『Maitreya Blade』.

「You think cretins like you can harm me!?」

Arthur deflected a Royal soldier’s attack with his shield, and swiftly created a pile of corpses. Arthur eliminated all unnecessary movements, using the triangle shield in his right hand to attack and the Maitreya Blade in his left to finish the enemy off— combining his attack and defence into one.

「— You are a fine warrior. I will be your opponent then.」

「You are…」

The female knight approached slowly on her white steed with a bloody sword. Sensing she wasn’t your average opponent, Arthur immediately took a stance with his sword and shield before him.

「I’m a Knight of the Royal Army, Claudia Jung. What’s your name?」

「… I don’t have anything to say to lowly plebeians.」

「I see… Well, I can wager a guess from your luxurious armour.」

Claudia said as she took a stance leaning forward. What surprised Arthur was the golden light in her eyes.

(What? What’s that light in her eyes…?!)

Seizing the instant her opponent was drawn by her eyes, Claudia charged in with incredible speed. When she passed by Arthur with the wind, he felt pain from his right hand.

Arthur looked down and saw his hand was bleeding. If he didn’t dodge on reflex, his hand would have been sliced off.

「I didn’t control my balance properly and failed again…」

Claudia who was behind Arthur took a forward leaning stance again. She was probably trying to repeat the same attack. But Arthur didn’t have the confidence of dodging again, that speed was unreal.

So he should focus on defence— but his right hand holding the shield was heavily wounded and couldn’t raise the shield properly. For the first time in his life, Arthur felt fear from facing the prospect of death.

(What should I do? How do I get through this—?!)

As Claudia looked at him coldly with her forward leaning stance, Arthur grabbed a wounded Royal Soldier with a smirk on his lips.

「… What’s the meaning of this?」

「Can you cut me down together with this woman?」

「……」

「I thought as much. You can’t stand by idly and watch this soldier die, that’s the kind of person you are.」

The woman before him claimed to be a knight. In that case, the honour of a knight would hold her back— Arthur felt this was a good idea. Arthur had always treated chivalry with disdain, and it saved his life this time.

「I don’t need to remind you that I will kill this woman if you make any strange moves.」

「……」

「A wise decision, I will be going now.」

Arthur took a step back. But the next moment, he lost his balance and fell down with his face towards the sky.

「?!」

「I see. To master this power, it not only requires skills, but also a tenacious mind. Thanks to your despicable actions, I made this breakthrough. You have my thanks.」

Claudia’s sword was hanging on top of his head before he knew it. Sensing pain, Arthur looked down and saw that his legs had been cleaved clean through below the knees.

「What? Ahhhh?!」

It took a matter of seconds for that scream to become his death throe—

Ⅷ

「Reporting. Because Lieutenant Colonel Claudia had slain the enemy Commander-in-Chief, there has been no organized resistance. We will now switch to cleaning up the enemy remnants.」

The messenger was all smiles.

「As expected of Lieutenant Colonel Claudia, it’s over.」

「Yes, that's right. I’m going out for a while, just leave the rest to Ashton.」

Olivia jumped off Comet’s back, gently soothed its back and said 「Wait here for me.」 She then walked to the west, which was a forest.

「What do you mean by leaving it to me? Why are you going to the forest— Are you hungry and going to hunt for birds?」

「No way, the birds around here taste horrible.」

「So you will go if they taste good?!」

Ashton’s retort made Olivia giggle, but she didn’t stop. They will be celebrating their victory soon, so how could the most important Commander-in-Chief be absent—

Despite what Ashton said, Olivia answered 「I will leave that to you two」 and disappeared into the woods.

「— You like playing tag? Still want to continue?」

Olivia entered the forest and looked up at a large tree. The leaves swayed and a tiny figure fell from the sky.

「… To think you actually detected me.」

The man who slowly stood up didn’t show any fear. His dark attire and mask seemed similar to a gutter rat Olivia saw in the past. But there was a slight difference, since the quality of his killing intent was completely different.

Must be a different breed of gutter rat— Olivia decided.

「You concealed your killing intent well, but it’s directed too blatantly towards me.」

「I see, so that’s the problem.」

The man snickered.

「Hey, why are you so small?」

Olivia asked something that bothered her to a person she just met. He was an adult, but his height was around that of Patty from the Grey Crow Pavilion. Even if he didn’t eat properly during his growth spurt, he still wouldn’t end up like this. This was as incredible as 『the incredibly incredible box of incredulity』.

「Because this size is just right for assassinations.」

The man answered plainly.

「You intentionally grow into this size?」

「I stopped growing by my own will, and end up like this.」

「Oh, that’s a surprise.」

She had never read anything about people who could stop their growth by their own will. There were still many things she didn’t know— Olivia thought in awe.

「I’m the one who is surprised. When you were playing this game of a war, I kept searching for a chance to cut off your head. You look so out of it, but I couldn’t find any openings. Even if I hit you directly with that sure-kill 『Qi』, you will just laugh it off. Normal people would have fainted already, as expected of our sworn enemy, the 『Abyss Clansman』.」

She was often called a monster or a Death God, but this was the first time someone called her an Abyss Clansman. When Olivia asked what that term meant, the eyes of the masked man widened slightly.

「You don’t even know about your heritage? …That’s only natural since you were just a baby then.」

「Ehh? You know me?」

The only one who knew her as a baby was Z, so Olivia was curious about the man before her.

He might know where Z was.

「To think you are still alive after entering the 『Forest of No Return』—」

「Hey, rather then that, do you know Z?」

「Z? —Why are you asking that?」

「You know him?!」

Olivia approached with great speed and the man swiftly jumped up the huge tree.

「You won’t tell me?」

「You are going to die anyway, so what’s the point?」

The man weaved between the trees and the ground, throwing knives at Olivia from time to time. When all the knives were knocked down with her bare hands, the man landed on the ground once again.

「Compared to the Abyss Clansmen I killed in the past, you are much more formidable. No wonder Nefer is so wary of you…」

「Gave up? Then tell me about Z.」

Olivia approached that man again. Her hand touched something, and a red liquid spilled out.

「Ehh?」

Olivia looked closely and saw something like strings were laid out everywhere. It would be hard to not touch any of them.

「You finally noticed, huh.」

「What’s this?」

This was no normal string, and not steel wire either. Olivia asked as she poked the string before her.

「This is a special string made from the cocoon of 『Chano』 and processed by me. It’s much sharper than any half assed sword.」

The man said as he pulled with his left arm. Seeing the strings around her close in with a screeching sound, Olivia placed her hand on her hilt.

When she drew out her dark sword, Madara calmly told Olivia:

「Don’t waste your strength, my strings can’t be severed so easily. There’s no way you can escape from my 『Deadly Slash Barrier』—?!」

The sword thrown without any preparatory actions severed the main control string on the gauntlet, and pierced Madara’s right shoulder.

The impact pinned him to a tree.

(She actually severed my string— laceration wound on my right shoulder, the rest… no issues.)

Madara reached for the hilt to pull out the dark sword pinning him to the tree— but a pale hand covered the top of his hand. And of course, that was Olivia’s hand.

「It will be troublesome if I let you move.」

Olivia pushed the sword deeper with a smile. The excruciating pain in his right shoulder and the gushing blood made Madara’s face hidden behind his mask scowl in pain. When the dark sword was struck halfway into the tree, Olivia finally stopped.

After pinning the sword this deep, there was no way he could escape.

「I can take my time to question you now. So, can you tell me about Z?」

「Yes, I will tell you.」

「Where is Z—」

「I don’t know this Z character.」

「… Are you lying?」

She was still smiling, but the light had completely faded from Olivia’s eyes. Madara felt a chill on his back.

「I’m not lying. I only asked you the reason you want to know that, and you jumped to the conclusion that I know that person by yourself.」

「Ughh… Human language sure is hard.」

Olivia touched Madara’s face with her hand. With a snap, his mask fell off.

「I lost because I’m weaker than you… But this is just the beginning. From this moment on, you— Abyss Clansman, will never have a peaceful day. I swear on the name of 『Asura』.」

「Which means, your comrades know me too?」

「What about it?」

「— I look forward to meeting them.」

Her horrifying strength sunk in from the sides of his skull. Madara could see Olivia’s face through the gaps of her fingers, which had a cute but eerie smile.

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