1102. Don’t mess with that side.
“I am Cyprus. I am the guardian of the Southern Front!”
In the large-scale battle that took place three days later, when a group of one-eyed giants approached the castle walls, Cyprus played a prominent role.
It is the sword that has defended the South until now.
His sword severed the neck of the one-eyed monster, cut off its legs, and split its torso.
Colloquial
With a scream, the guy collapsed with a thud, and one leg went into the moat. As the giant-heavy foot sank in, the water in the moat shot up like a fountain.
I’ll have to clean this up later.
Cyprus thought so. Perhaps considering that fighting in this manner might fill up part of the moat, the monsters kept letting their corpses pile up.
So, the allied forces lit a large fire nearby to burn the bodies, and the foul stench of burning monster blood and carcasses wafted ceaselessly around them.
That in itself was a painful ordeal, but it was certainly better than everyone dying.
Was Cyprus the only one who stood by? Of course not.
Do you think I’d just stand by and watch?
Lien also stepped forward.
He smashed the cyclops’ kneecap with his fist, placed his grip on the head of the one that had come down, turned his body upside down, and kicked it with his left foot; the force was so great that the head shattered, and blood, bone, and what had previously been the head turned into byproducts that spread out radially.
“joy.”
Lien brushed his hands off, stood up, moved to a different spot, and beat the next one to death.
It was such an impressive fighting style that, from the enemy’s perspective, it should have severely dampened their morale; however, perhaps because the monsters lacked such instincts, no reaction of shrinking back could be expected. On
the contrary, the atmosphere was the opposite.
Even as the knight forces took turns crushing the approaching monster troops, a subtle sense of unease began to permeate the allied units as time passed.
Was it because of the acrid black smoke burning monster corpses again today?
That was likely one of the reasons. It is only natural that the five senses affect everyone, whether humans, fairies, or dwarves.
But if one were to dig deeper and ask why the atmosphere was so shattered, I would say one of the biggest reasons was that the winged monsters still holding their ground in the back, or the talking scalers that had stepped forward first, were just watching.
They did step forward occasionally, but they did not intervene in the battle. Yes, that was the problem.
They simply sent monster units away endlessly.
Judging solely by the situation, doesn’t it look like nothing more than a skirmish?
Yet, in that skirmish, it seemed our forces could barely manage to hold out with all their might.
This was likely because the battles consisted entirely of defense rather than offense.
In reality, Cypress and Sinar were full of intent to charge forward, cut off the heads of those watching from the front, and restore our morale once they had the chance, but…
“No.”
Aurelia objected.
It is obvious just by looking that they are waiting for the Knights to leave.
How many knights have gathered here?
It is obvious that the intention is to at least deplete the Knights’ stamina or Will.
There were six of them: Sinar, Cypress, Lien, Ingis, Aurelia, and Valfir Balmung.
It was not a small number. Yet, it was also difficult to call it a large one. Some of them had already moved like a detachment, deployed in hit-and-run operations against parts of the monster forces, and were currently resting; Ingis, in particular, had been active even at the expense of his sleep.
Although he showed signs of considerable exhaustion, he wouldn’t collapse immediately.
Furthermore, while Aurelia was a novice knight and thus somewhat lagged behind the others, this was not a disadvantage. On the contrary, it was an
advantage. It was as if they had gained one more unexpected knight force.
Sinar, Cypress, Lien, and Ingis had been the main force to begin with.
In Valfir’s eyes, the Fairy and the two Knights of the Covenant were skilled fighters rarely seen even in the Empire, so regardless of the number six, it was difficult to say that their current strength was weak.
However, all battles are relative.
If the opponent were a ten-year-old kid, even third-rate mercenaries would be a formidable obstacle; but if the opponent is a fifteen-year-old genius swordsman, even five of them wouldn’t be able to do anything.
The biggest problem of all is that the monster units they send look like nothing but scraps.
This is because I couldn’t shake the feeling that the ones lined up in front of the Demon Mirror were becoming more condensed and elite as time went by.
I saw the monsters standing in perfect ranks. That alone sent shivers down my spine.
Still, the strategy itself remained the same. To be honest, I suppose I should say there was nothing I could do right now.
Aurelia said again.
“If they are capable of assembling an army of that caliber in such a short time, one must naturally assume they possess the strategic acumen. Waiting is the right course of action for now.”
“If this continues as a mere war of attrition, it will be difficult to fight properly once winter passes, won’t it?”
These were the words of Balfir Balmung, a man with the instincts of a beast. What he meant was that the knights are currently holding on by expending their physical and mental strength, and if this continues, they will eventually run out of energy and collapse.
Precarious situations where this knight order had to step in kept arising repeatedly. Naturally, fatigue continued to accumulate.
It was a gathering of six knights. It was a strategic meeting to establish the attitude they should adopt going forward.
Since losing balance while fighting recklessly would put them at a disadvantage, meetings like this were necessary from time to time.
In any case, Balmung was valid. Even knights have physical limits.
It is a fact everyone knows.
However, perhaps because he felt the atmosphere would become awkward if he didn’t raise an objection here? Or perhaps because he had a habit of speaking whatever came to mind, Sinar opened his mouth.
So that is how you are. I am not.
We were across from each other with a large rectangular table.
I didn’t exactly intend to pick a fight, but well, this is just the gab I picked up hanging out among a bunch of lunatics.
The elderly fairy has good stamina.
Valfir wasn’t the type to back down, so the answer came to him automatically.
Their eyes met, but they weren’t looking at each other with much affection.
However, it wasn’t something to worry about. It wasn’t that they were acting out of malice toward each other.
It was, so to speak, just a habit ingrained in them.
After all, Valfir wasn’t the type to be called gentle either.
That’s right. I have good stamina.
Upon hearing that he was old, he changed his tone accordingly, sounding as if he were soothing a whining Valfir.
“It’s certain that he is a member of the Order of the Mad Knights.”
The Knight of the Empire simply acknowledged her. After all, he had no intention of fighting from the start.
So, do I just have to wait?
In any case, Balfir Balmung saw that the situation was not very good.
The Empire had fought demons countless times, and was still fighting them now.
Roughly speaking, their military strength was similar in the North and here, but looking at the current situation, the demons’ intentions were obvious.
Their actions were truly despicable, like the penis of a dog with a human face.
War of Attrition.
If they unleash a flood of monsters to exhaust our knight forces, that is likely when the demons will strut forward.
One might consider launching a counter-assassination or surprise attack to exploit that, but given the disparity in military strength between the two armies to begin with, that was not an option.
We’re way too out of the pack.
And the one who needs to be killed is the devil, not his henchmen. Therefore, using the full power of the knights to kill the devil’s henchmen right now wouldn’t solve anything.
After all, the devils themselves haven’t even shown their faces.
In conclusion…
That is not the full extent of the Demon Realm’s power.
That is why it is a disadvantageous battlefield. This is the judgment Valfir made. He must have prepared other things besides the demons. Aurelia shared the same thought.
“Do you expect the remaining knights—whether they are lunatics or just generals—to gather only after you’ve exhausted yourselves from knocking them away, shoving them, and beating them to death as they come? Wouldn’t it be better to gather everyone now and strike all at once?”
Lien asked.
Just because he is skilled in dueling does not mean he lacks a sense for assessing the battlefield. He didn’t endure until now to become a knight and obtain the position of vice-captain for nothing.
He is the vice-captain of the Order of the Red Cloak Knights. He is someone who entrusts the direction of strategy to people like Aurelia and Ferdinand, but makes his own judgments and moves forward if necessary.
“If we push forward, the enemy will split their forces and attack the walls from both sides. If we can tie down the cavalry effectively, breaching the walls themselves won’t be difficult. Then, the majority of the troops defending this side will be killed.”
Ingis’s reply came back. He had spent days conversing with Aurelia, mapping out the battlefield situation in greater detail.
He spoke definitively rather than discussing possibilities, not because he was certain, but because this was the worst possible outcome.
If the enemy were to pour out their full strength and unleash everything in a single battle, he could simply fight back; but the enemy does not do so.
The demon didn’t seem to have any intention of showing its face in the first place. Even if it was
cowardly and dirty, there was no real solution. What if he gathered all his troops and crushed and killed the demonic army holding out right before his eyes?
The tide of battle would change, so he might be able to look for an opening.
It would be fine if the demon stepped forward, but even if not, wouldn’t some change occur?
“It’s just like the things you did back in Lichstein to wear us down. You really do pick and choose only the bad things.”
This is what Cyprus said. At one time, Lichstein used Griffin Riders to employ a tactic of draining the soldiers’ stamina at the expense of their lives, and broadly speaking, it was exactly the same thing.
At least thanks to the Fairy Wall, he was able to protect his soldiers and conserve his strength.
“Isn’t defending twice as hard as winning?”
Sinar replied with a smile. She added, “That is why winning is more enjoyable.”
Everyone agreed on this. However, the fact that they had to consider how to steer the situation to be of even the slightest help remained unchanged.
Aurelia quietly looked at the strategic map dividing the battlefield, then turned to everyone and asked her grandfather.
If you hold on, is there a tomorrow?
No matter how smart
you are, there are things you just don’t know. What she asked was whether there is anything left to gain by holding out like this. If that horde of monsters doesn’t swarm all at once and we hold out until spring comes, what will happen? Will things be different then?
I don’t know.
Cyprus answers his granddaughter. And she was right.
No one knows the future. No one knows tomorrow, either.
A prophet’s prophecy is merely a statement proving variability.
The moment a prophecy is spoken, it changes the coming tomorrow.
Moreover, if the future were to unfold exactly as predicted without the prophecy being spoken, what meaning would it have?
Therefore, such prophecies are meaningless. Thus, those living in the present must be faithful to the present.
That is the attitude for facing tomorrow. It was a truth that Sinar knew particularly well, and a fact that those standing here were not unaware of either.
“Who knows. The one I prepared is a guy named Kreis from the Border Guard. If anyone remaining here ends up dying like this, we can just become vengeful spirits and torment him.”
Sinar spoke. His tone was ordinary, but the content was chilling. Still, everyone took it as a joke.
“Isn’t Lord Encred the one ultimately responsible?”
Ingis asked back. He was a man who boasted a blank expression, much like a fairy, just like the name “Iron Mask.”
One was a fairy and the other a knight named Iron Mask, yet they exchanged jokes quite easily.
Although Sinar was a fairy, his expression had been becoming increasingly expressive, but at what he had just heard, he turned blank again.
Well, even in a joke, there is a distinction between what should and shouldn’t be said.
“Don’t mess with them. Don’t ask any questions, don’t argue.”
“……Yes.”
Ingis sensed a strange murderous intent from Sinar and obeyed. To think
the conclusion reached at the end of the meeting was simply to hold out.
A few days later, the battle broke out again. After enduring and winning, the winged creature issued a warning.
“Even if you endure the blizzard and survive, if your ankles and wrists are severed, is there any meaning to it? You are merely struggling to survive today.”
That was exactly right. However, it felt strange hearing a subordinate of that devil bastard speak like that.
The enemy acts as if they are preparing for the future, while our side speaks as if they are unable to do so.
His words made the atmosphere in the trench even more gloomy.
Is simply holding out by expending all our strength enough?
Some of the soldiers showed signs of anxiety.
“Damn, is this really working?”
The question of whether it was going to work was essentially a question of whether they could ultimately win or return alive.
Even to Krang, it was a truly grim sound. This time, he had disguised himself with determination. He had smeared ash on his head and pretended to be a soldier as a morale check.
In a way, he was a king with nothing better to do.
However, sitting on the throne, there was no channel to hear the words of a mere soldier, so he had no choice.
Otherwise, he would have to find someone willing to candidly reveal their true feelings to hear their opinion, but would that be easy?
This was faster than that. There was no room for suspicion once he heard what the other person had to say. After all,
what he was hearing now was the real voice coming from the field.
