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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Due to limited space, it’s difficult to provide everyone with individual rooms. This is the largest barrack, so please make yourselves comfortable here.”
“Alright.”
“And… Could you stop using honorifics? I’m fine with it, but it might confuse the chain of command for the other knights.”
“….”
I turned to see Pelaine fidgeting nervously, her fluffy cat ears twitching.
Despite being covered in dirt and sweat, she was still strikingly beautiful.
It wasn’t easy to look that good without makeup, wearing armor.
The author’s dubious taste was showing.
“Mr. Schlus Hainkel?”
“Ah. I will.”
I quickly collected myself and replied.
It wasn’t something I should be stubborn about.
A stable chain of command boosted morale, and morale was directly linked to victory in battle.
“We’re sleeping on the floor?”
“Ugh… I don’t want to sleep in the same space as men.”
“What? Who said I wanted to be with you?”
Erica and Ainz were already bickering as they unpacked their belongings.
Deciding that it wasn’t the best place for a conversation, I shook my head and left the barrack.
Pelaine put her helmet back on and followed me.
“You haven’t revealed it to everyone yet?”
“Excuse me?”
“Under your helmet.”
“No. Not at all…”
“You’re hiding that you’re a woman?”
“Yes, I am.”
It made sense.
The members of the Holy Knights Order knew her skills and trusted her, but others would likely underestimate her because she was a woman and a beastman.
They might even try to expel her, accusing her of being a spy sent by Lorraine.
Fortunately, no one in our group reacted too strongly.
While there were certainly nobles who despised beastmen, my companions weren’t so shallow.
They were merely surprised.
“What is the composition of the forces here at the fortress?”
“Twelve members of the Holy Knights Order, twenty knights from various backgrounds, and about sixty infantrymen.”
Less than a hundred soldiers… And there were no other fortresses nearby.
This was bad.
It seemed like the suppression force was in a far worse state than in the original novel.
They were practically beyond recovery.
“What about the Commander-in-Chief?”
“The Imperial Knights Commander? He’s currently missing.”
“So you’re effectively in command here.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then I hereby appoint you as the Commander-in-Chief of the suppression force.”
“What? Excuse me?”
I patted her shoulder and showed her the document I had received from the Emperor.
It was an appointment letter for a direct subordinate knight.
I had the authority to replace the Commander-in-Chief in an emergency, such as the complete collapse of the suppression force.
“But so suddenly…”
“Do you object? Then I’ll have to ask one of those archers over there.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Good. Now, tell me what happened, as briefly as possible.”
“Yes. Forty-four hours ago… around half past midnight two days ago… the entire army launched a surprise attack on an incomplete enemy camp. We succeeded in disrupting the camp, but we allowed the enemy cavalry to escape. While pursuing them…”
“You were caught in a swamp and surrounded.”
“Yes… How did you know?”
“…”
It was easy to guess.
It was a tactic Duke Lorraine had often used when he led the Imperial army to conquer the south decades ago.
The beastmen of the south had boasted a formidable cavalry, but it was completely decimated by Lorraine’s lure-and-surround tactics.
The same thing had happened again, decades later.
This time, it was Lorraine and the beastmen who were using the tactic against the Imperial army.
“In the meantime, the prisoners at Fort Four escaped for some reason, and the fort fell to the enemy.”
“…”
The fort hadn’t been taken by force, but from within…
It was an unbelievable report.
Pelaine lowered her head, clearly ashamed.
“Do you know where the remaining suppression forces are?”
“Most of them are probably imprisoned at Fort Four. The mage mercenaries as well.”
“And you have no idea where the Imperial Knights Commander is?”
“I saw him fleeing towards the Great Forest, but I haven’t seen him since.”
“When was that?”
“Forty-three hours ago.”
It was close.
He could be dead by now.
But he was the Imperial Knights Commander, a man known as a monster.
He wouldn’t just die after being stranded in a dark forest for forty-three hours.
Of course, he would die if the time stretched longer, so we had to hurry.
“We’re rescuing the Imperial Knights Commander. Can the Holy Knights Order deploy?”
“Yes, but…”
“Will the other knights follow your orders?”
“Probably not.”
That was why we had to rescue the Imperial Knights Commander.
No matter how high her rank was here, no one would want to listen to a young girl leading a private knight order.
Even with twenty experienced knights, it would be pointless if they wouldn’t follow orders.
To utilize them, we needed someone with authority who could command their respect.
Of course, whether such a person would be willing to work under me and Pelaine was another matter…
But I would make it happen.
There was no other way.
“Taylor, prepare for deployment.”
“Yes.”
The Vice-Commander, clad in black armor, began relaying the orders.
I returned to the barrack where our companions were waiting.
“Trie. Iris. We’re going to rescue an isolated ally. I need you to come with me.”
“What about us?”
“You two stay here.”
Ainz and Erica’s eyes were still wide with fear.
They had calmed down somewhat, but they had been trembling in terror just a moment ago.
Taking them would be more trouble than it was worth.
They needed to get used to the battlefield first.
Iris was physically weak as well, but… her healing magic was invaluable.
In an emergency, she could do the work of hundreds of potions.
It was better to have her with us.
“I-I can help…”
“Look at your hand before you say that.”
“Ah…”
Erica looked at her hand and sighed.
It was shaking uncontrollably, as if she had Parkinson’s disease.
It was frustrating, but understandable.
Anyone would react that way after witnessing bloodshed for the first time.
I had felt my heart pounding so hard that I thought I was going to die after crushing Iskandar’s skull.
I had become somewhat desensitized to killing after experiencing it a few more times.
Not as much as Trie, who seemed completely unfazed.
“Get some rest.”
“…”
I lowered the tent flap and climbed the watchtower, overlooking the battlefield.
The view was nothing but a vast, flat plain.
There were at least three enemy camps surrounding the fortress.
Their total strength seemed to be about five hundred, but their ranks were spread out.
It wouldn’t be impossible to escape on horseback.
The problem would be getting back in.
By then, the enemy would have received reinforcements and completely blocked the entrance.
“Is there a back gate or something?”
“Yes. There’s a small gate at the back. We can sneak out undetected under the cover of darkness.”
“Prepare the Holy Knights for deployment.”
“Yes, sir.”
We had to move quickly and quietly with a small, elite force.
We needed to rescue the Imperial Knights Commander and return before the enemy noticed.
The time limit was dawn.
It would be pointless to rescue him if we couldn’t make it back.
“We’re deploying. I’ll ride with Pelaine.”
“Yes, sir. But can you ride a horse?”
“No…”
She had no qualms about hitting me where it hurt.
I coughed awkwardly.
I’m a temporary knight…
I’d have to learn how to ride a horse soon.
Trie seemed to be able to handle a horse on her own.
I cleared my throat and started walking.
We slipped out one by one through a narrow gate that was barely wide enough for a single person.
If it had been the main gate, the enemy would have heard it creaking open even in the darkness.
The small gate was perfect for a stealthy escape.
The enemy camps didn’t seem to have noticed us.
We slowly made our way through the widest gap between the camps, crouching low as the tall grass concealed us.
Once we were out of the enemy’s sight, we mounted our horses and started galloping.
A quest had appeared…
Judging by the low difficulty and reward, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find him.
“We’ve escaped, but what’s the plan?”
“Once I know where the Imperial Knights Commander went missing, I’ll track him down. The goal is to rescue as many allies as possible before dawn.”
I said that, but I didn’t have much hope.
The Imperial Knights Commander was probably the only one who could survive for forty-four hours without food or water, fighting alone.
The others would have either died or surrendered.
“There, at the edge of the forest. That’s where it happened.”
Pelaine pointed to a dense forest of towering trees, shrouded in an impenetrable darkness.
Even moonlight, and perhaps even sunlight, couldn’t penetrate its depths.
It was the perfect place to lose pursuers, but a terrible place to survive.
If they had gone too deep, they would likely be lost and unable to get out.
“Halt.”
At Pelaine’s command, the knights dismounted.
It was a forest that even I hesitated to enter.
The Great Forest wasn’t called the Devil’s Forest for nothing.
The Empire had tried to conquer it many times, but the beastmen had always successfully defended it.
To think they would try to invade such a cursed place… The Empire must have had resources to spare.
“Ah, we don’t need torches. Iris, could you cast a light spell?”
“Yes, sir. Lights on.”
“….”
Iris replied curtly and conjured a light source in the air.
We tied our horses to nearby trees and walked into the forest in single file.
The interior was eerily silent.
The terrain was rough.
We quickly grew tired, constantly tripping over fallen trees, roots, and rocks.
“I’m not doubting you, but… Do you know where the Imperial Knights Commander is?”
“…”
He was clearly doubting me.
“I’m following his trail.”
“Trail?”
“There are faint traces of magic clinging to the surrounding mana. I’m following them.”
“Ah…”
This was one of the perks of having high mana sensitivity.
I could easily detect traces of magic, even if it had been cast long ago.
We had been walking for about thirty minutes when we found something.
“…”
“…”
We froze, staring at the scene in front of us.
Five beastman corpses with crushed faces and the body of a human knight, clad in armor.
Judging by his helmet, he was a member of the Imperial Knights…
But not the Commander.
“Retrieve the sword. Leave the bodies.”
“Yes…”
I wanted to recover the bodies as well, but we didn’t have time.
We observed a moment of silence and moved on.
We paid our respects to the noble sacrifice of the knight who had taken five enemies with him.
“Schlus, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“…”
Trie whispered in my ear.
I glanced at Pelaine.
She was twitching her ears and narrowing her eyes, seemingly sharing the same sentiment.
The intuition of experienced warriors shouldn’t be ignored.
Especially when two of them felt the same way.
If we had to fight, it would be better to fight in the darkness.
I didn’t need light to see.
“Iris, turn off the…”
I was about to tell her to extinguish the light when I heard a snapping sound beneath my feet.
Iris had stepped on something, and at that moment, I sensed something flying towards us from behind.
‘Selection and Concentration. One second on Agility.’
Damn it.
I was a little too late to push Iris out of the way.
I quickly pulled Iris into my arms and wrapped my arm around the back of her head.
A sharp branch pierced my arm.
“Ha…”
The sharpened tip of the branch went through my arm and stopped just in front of the back of Iris’s head.
It was just a small splinter, but if it had been a proper arrow, it would have gone through my arm and pierced her head.
The thought made me shudder more than the pain in my arm.
“Graaaaaagh!”
“…?!”
A deafening roar rang out, and something charged at us from the darkness.
I drew my sword, but Trie and Pelaine were faster.
They blocked the attacker’s sword, but—
“Haaa!”
“Ugh!”
They were pushed back by the sheer force of the attack and fell to the ground.
The attacker continued to charge towards us, seemingly intent on destroying the light source.
There was no time to hesitate.
I drew Vafe with my right hand and swung it, clashing with the attacker’s sword.
Clang…!
A clear ringing sound echoed through the air, and the attacker was thrown back.
Vafe had absorbed the impact, redirecting the attacker’s own force back at him.
I could finally see him clearly.
Bathed in the light of Vafe and the illumination spell, I recognized him.
He wasn’t a beastman.
He was a human, clad in armor.
“Is he… not an enemy?”
He seemed equally confused, his eyes darting back and forth between us.
His trembling eyes and the dark circles under them betrayed his lack of sleep.
I recognized him from his gold-trimmed armor.
“Stand down. Imperial Knights Commander.”
I had found him.
The Commander-in-Chief of the suppression force.
Or rather, the man who had been the Commander-in-Chief.
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