—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Report!”
Kane arrived at the smoke-filled gate, panting. But the atmosphere was surprisingly calm.
“Ah, Vice-Commander. The situation is under control.”
Two beastmen knelt on the ground, their hands bound.
“Where are your accomplices?! Talk!”
“….”
So these two were the saboteurs.
Kane examined the gate.
It was intact.
A few paces away, a section of the ground was scorched black. That was the epicenter of the explosion. They had almost breached the gate.
And a spell powerful enough to cause that much damage… they must have been skilled mages.
“Were there only two of them?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve tightened security at all the gates and are conducting a thorough search, but we haven’t found anyone else…”
“What about the keep?”
“The Commander-in-Chief and the Holy Knights are stationed there.”
“Then—”
What if the attack on the gate was a diversion? What if a larger force was targeting another location, sacrificing these two mages as a distraction?
A chill ran down Kane’s spine.
Bang…!
A flare shot into the sky, exploding in a burst of red light.
Red meant danger. And it had come from the direction of the mages’ quarters.
Kane’s mind raced.
He raised his sword, the red light reflecting off the polished steel, scattering golden sparks.
“All available personnel, follow me! Leave a minimal defense force at the gate!”
He leaped into the air, heading towards the mages’ quarters.
It would take him about a minute to get there. The signal flare meant the barrier had already fallen.
Could Gawayn’s daughter hold out for a minute alone? Even a skilled knight couldn’t withstand dozens of enemies attacking from all sides.
“Waaaagh!!!”
A wave of unease washed over him.
He roared, his voice echoing through the night.
The knights behind him responded with their own battle cries as they followed him.
He hoped the sound would intimidate the enemy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Sir! The barrier is down!”
“So they’ve breached the defenses?”
“Yes. All forty assassins have infiltrated the hotel.”
“….”
Elation.
That was the first emotion that surged through Lorraine as he heard the news. But he couldn’t afford to get carried away.
Intense emotions clouded judgment.
He forced himself to remain calm.
We’ve got them. The two mages.
Even thinking rationally, the outcome looked promising.
He had gathered the remaining loyalists within the Fourth Castle, led by his contacts within the city guard. Beastmen brave enough to launch a suicide mission in the heart of enemy territory.
Ten former assassins and thirty regular soldiers.
They couldn’t gather in one place beforehand.
That would have alerted the suppression force.
They had received their orders individually, gathering intelligence on every building in the Fourth Castle. And they had found their target.
An abandoned hotel where the Imperial University students had been seen entering and exiting.
The gate and the keep weren’t attractive targets. They had to eliminate the suppression force’s living tactical weapons, the mages.
And if the mage hunters, the assassins, had infiltrated the hotel… it was as good as done.
“We can begin the siege tomorrow.”
Without the mages, the suppression force’s only advantage was their stronger knights. But even their cavalry charges would be useless against fortified defenses.
They would slowly advance their barricades, tightening the noose around the Fourth Castle.
They wouldn’t have to worry about long-range magic attacks.
They had lost the Fourth Castle, but this was a turning point. They had regained the advantage.
“Commander! Emergency!”
A mage mercenary burst into the tent, ignoring protocol.
Such urgency meant bad news.
He had been enjoying the string of good reports, but he knew it couldn’t last.
“What is it?!”
“Schlus Hainkel… Schlus Hainkel has appeared.”
“What? In the Great Forest?”
“Yes. They’ve surrounded him and are attacking, but…”
“Heh… Hahahaha!”
Lorraine burst out laughing, unable to contain himself.
He was supposed to remain calm, but the tension had snapped. He had expected a crisis, but it was more good news.
They had eliminated the mages and the troublesome Schlus Hainkel.
Even losing the support of the Great Forest wouldn’t matter. They had dealt a crippling blow to the suppression force.
He could see the end now.
They would drive the suppression force out of the South and achieve independence. It was time to prepare for the inevitable clash with the Imperial Army.
“B-but sir… there’s a problem.”
“Heh… what is it?”
“The Great Forest is requesting reinforcements.”
“What…?”
Reinforcements?
He couldn’t believe his ears.
He had sent twenty knights and over three hundred elite beastmen soldiers to the Great Forest. And they had successfully surrounded Schlus Hainkel.
Why would they need reinforcements?
“Reinforcements? How many?”
“We’re not sure, sir. They keep repeating the request, but they’re not providing any details…”
“That’s impossible! Are you sure you received the message correctly?!”
“W-we’re certain, sir! We keep asking for a casualty report, but they just keep saying they need reinforcements…”
“….”
Lorraine’s face hardened.
He considered the possibility of a faulty connection, or interference from the suppression force. But both were unlikely.
He realized there was a third possibility.
The three hundred elite soldiers he had sent to the Great Forest were panicking. They were too terrified to communicate properly.
“No way…!”
He had sent his best troops.
They shouldn’t be panicking.
He wanted to deny it, but there was no other explanation. If his elite soldiers were truly in a state of panic, he had to send reinforcements immediately.
“Send reinforcements to the location of the transmission.”
“How many, sir?”
“All available personnel, excluding the cavalry.”
“…!”
It was a remote possibility, but he had to be certain.
He had to kill Schlus Hainkel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I had never faced so many enemies before.
The most I had ever dealt with was a dozen or so delinquents during the midterm exams. And those were just amateurs, showing off with their pocketknives.
These were seasoned soldiers, fighting for their freedom, veterans of months of battles against the suppression force.
My odds of survival were slim.
No matter how many simulations I ran in my head, it always ended the same way, I would cut down a few enemies, then my arms would be seized, and I would be hacked to pieces.
But why…
“You want to know who I am?”
…was I so confident?
Why wasn’t I afraid?
Why did they seem so… insignificant?
“It’s over, mutts.”
I drew my second sword.
Two longswords, one in each hand. I had chosen the dual-wielding style.
It was an incomplete technique, something I hadn’t fully mastered during my sparring sessions with Trie and Pelaine.
I had chosen it for one reason, surprise.
They had faced countless knights wielding swords in the conventional style. But a dual-wielding knight? That was something new.
It would throw them off balance.
And combined with Vafe’s light, which beastmen seemed to instinctively dislike… perhaps it would be enough to offset the overwhelming odds.
I would find out soon enough.
“W-where did he come from…?”
Crack!
One down.
I lunged at the nearest beastman, who stood frozen in shock, and swung Vafe. His head flew through the air, a geyser of blood erupting from his neck.
He offered no resistance. It was like cutting through paper.
“Uh…! Uh…!”
“Surround him! Damn it!”
The element of surprise was gone. The enemy snapped out of their stupor and swarmed me.
Vafe’s aura wasn’t enough to make them cower in fear, but I could see the terror in their eyes. It outweighed their aggression, their hatred.
That was enough.
“Here I come…!”
I attacked before they could complete the encirclement.
I parried a trembling blow and sliced through the attacker’s arm.
“Aaaaagh!!!”
I followed through with my steel sword, decapitating him.
Finally, he was silent.
“He’s trying to escape! Stop him!”
“….”
They thought I was trying to break through their lines and flee.
They were half right.
I was breaking through, but I wasn’t running. I was going to disable them all, one by one.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
“Stop him! Send more men! More!”
A chaotic melee ensued.
Two enemies lunged at me, then three more after I cut them down.
They’re slow.
Incredibly slow.
Even considering Trie and Pelaine’s superhuman speed, these were slow. Perhaps they were hampered by Vafe’s light.
It made them easy targets.
They had no idea how to counter a dual-wielding style.
They weren’t prepared for a second attack coming from the same direction, a pattern unheard of in conventional swordsmanship.
Slice. Slash.
I never had to swing more than twice. With such a significant advantage in combat prowess, their numbers didn’t matter.
I had no blind spots.
I cut them down, one after another, until the forest fell silent.
“Agh! Aaaaagh!”
“My arm! My arm!”
“R-run! Run away!”
The remaining beastmen either fled in terror or crawled on the ground, missing limbs.
I looked around at the carnage, the blood-soaked ground littered with corpses, and my mind went blank.
Had I really killed so many in such a short time?
My arms were trembling. Not from fear or adrenaline, but from exhaustion.
That was… too easy.
That was my first thought after the battle. It had been too easy.
I hadn’t expected to reach Trie or Pelaine’s level, but I had anticipated a challenging fight, one where I would inevitably sustain some injuries.
I had been wrong.
The enemy was much weaker than I expected. Or… had I become stronger?
Just as I was entertaining that unpleasant thought, I heard voices carried on the wind, amplified by mana.
“What are you doing?! Why are you running?!”
“M-monster! We can’t fight him! Run!”
“What are you talking about?! Reinforcements have arrived!”
I released my grip on Vafe’s hilt, and the blade vanished, plunging the forest back into darkness.
Reinforcements?
This wasn’t over yet.
I was just starting to get the hang of dual-wielding.
I crouched low in the darkness, watching as the enemy approached, their torches illuminating their path.
They had no idea what awaited them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I wonder why he didn’t use magic here. Since they are ambushing him, I assume they huddled pretty closely on both side of the road. Did I misremembered he once cast a forest wide spell and killing everything in it? Or is there a restriction at that time that I forgot?
The Saintess is with him so idk
He has only 2 seconds left