“Excuse me! The demon army appeared on the highway!”
“They’ve come… Thanks . ”
General Zasha, the commander of the third and now the fifth fort, nodded heavily to the messenger’s report .
On his burly body like a large rock, he was wearing armor that was a magical tool .
He was a handsome uncle with a rich beard .
“Then, Claire-san, Rei-san . May I leave it to you?”
“Yes, please do . ”
“We’ll try to lead them here somehow . ”
The demon army was now located just before the detour that had been mentioned at the countermeasures meeting .
If they take the northern course, things will become difficult for humanity .
We needed to get them to take the route to the fifth fortress no matter what it took .
“General, please start withdrawing troops from the fort as soon as movement of demons is observed . ”
“Hum . I’ll do that . ”
The Inferno was a magical weapon to destroy the demon army together with the fortress .
If anybody were at the fortress, they’d get mixed up in it .
It seems that the Inferno could be activated remotely, so it wasn’t necessary for soldiers to remain in the fortress .
If we succeeded in leading the demon army here, General Zasha would immediately withdraw from here .
“Then Rei, shall we go?”
“Yes . ”
Claire-sama and I were already prepared and waiting, so all we had to do was join up with the soldiers on-site .
Because we were some distance from there, we’d be sent there by an imperial magician who can use the wind teleportation magic .
Manaria-sama used that magic during the fight with me, but there aren’t many people who can use it .
It was clear how serious the empire was since they send such a valuable human resource here .
“Good luck . ”
“You too, general . ”
“We’re going . ”
◆◇◆◇◆
When we arrived there, the imperial army and the demon army were already facing each other .
Although no direct clashes had occurred yet, the situation felt explosive and it wouldn’t be strange if an actual battle broke out at any time .
“Claire-san, we’ve been waiting for you . My name is Dennis and I’m in charge of the frontline command . ”
“I’m Claire . This is my partner, Rei . How does the situation look?”
“A few hours ago the demon army appeared . Currently they took positions before the highway crossroads and we’re facing off . ”
“What’s the enemy’s strength?”
“Just from here we can see tens of thousands . We only have about three thousand troops at the frontline, so we should be able to hold up for a few hours under normal circumstances . ”
The role of this until was to lead the demon army, so they weren’t supposed to all-out engage the demon army .
“Who’s the enemy commander?”
“You can see one of Three Great Archdukes, Arist . He appears to be commanding the frontline . ”
“How convenient . Arist knows who I am . ”
“Please be careful not to get sniped, Claire-sama . ”
“Yes, please protect me, Rei . ”
We held hands tightly .
“I’ll leave five hundred soldiers to the both of you . We assembled people who can operate by themselves, so no command is necessary . You can act freely . ”
“Thank you . ”
“Can you ride a horse?”
“Yes, it’s fine . ”
There were horse riding classes both in Bauer and the empire, so not only Claire-sama who had been familiar with horses since her childhood, but also I could ride a horse too .
However, there was a world of difference between our skills .
“Then, I wish you good luck . ”
Seen off by Dennis-san, Claire-sama and I left the encampment .
“Claire-sama, are you nervous?”
“Yes, naturally . I have some experience with one-on-one battles, but this is my first time fighting among military forces . ”
“Our role is to appear and provoke demons, and only then we can move to the withdrawal route . Let’s focus on what we need to do . ”
“You have a point . ”
While I was having such a conversation on the horseback, the demons started to become clearly visible .
Small monsters were placed on the frontline .
They were goblins .
Behind them were slightly taller orcs with boar-like faces, and further behind I could see big monsters, ogres .
The demon army seemed to be made up from demi-human races .
Although those demons were called demi-humans for convenience, they were creatures clearly different from humans in reality .
Like water slimes they are monsters with magical stones cores and they disappear if that’s broken .
Well, there might be some smart individuals like our Relaire, but it was wartime now, so there was no way we could tame them individually .
“Now then… It seems they’ve at least become aware of us, but their reaction is lacking . ”
“So it would seem . ”
The demons seemed vigilant of a brigade-sided frontline battalion advancing .
They were vigilant, but that was all .
There were no hints of them trying to attack us .
“What should we, Claire-sama?”
“It’s simple . Let’s inform them that I am here . ”
Saying that, Claire-sama stepped forward a little .
“I am Claire François! The former Bauer noblewoman who is now in charge of this unit! Anybody who thinks they can take me on, please try!”
She introduced herself in a clear voice from the horseback .
The demons reacted dramatically .
Raising a roar like the Hate Cry, the demons suddenly seethed with anger and attacked without chaotically .
“Claire-sama, get down!”
“No, I can’t! Rei, spread pitfalls ahead!”
At Claire-sama’s instruction I immediately spread the earth attribute magic Pitfall ahead of us .
The monsters in front were pushed by their fellows from behind and fell into the holes one after another .
“Flames!”
Claire-sama created innumerable fire arrows at the same time and rained them into the pitfall .
Demons’ death throes resounded .
“Incredible…”
“So that’s the power of the revolutionary maiden…”
Voices of admiration rose from allies .
In the eyes of imperial soldiers who had to be good at magic, Claire-sama’s power looked particularly impressive .
“The second wave is coming!”
The demons made full use of their numbers and went forward while stepping over the corpses of their fellows .
Thanks to our provocation, the demon seemed to be completely frenzied .
“Claire-sama, it’s enough, right? Let’s begin withdrawing . ”
“Yes! But… It’s strange . ”
Claire-sama looked puzzled as she pulled on the reins to change the direction .
“What is?”
“I can’t see Arist . I was sure he’d come if we provoked him . ”
Certainly .
We heard that Arist was leading this unit, but there was no sign of him .
Of course, the leader doesn’t usually appear on the frontline, but that demon was a person who would enter the empire on his own .
It was a little strange he didn’t respond to Claire-sama’s introduction .
“There’s no use thinking about it now . ”
“You have a point there . ”
“We’re talking about him, so it’s not out of question that he’ll aim at you during retreat, Claire-sama . Please stay vigilant . ”
“Fufu, you don’t need to tell me that .
Claire-sama laughed boldly while riding the horse .
Yup, cool .
“Claire-sama . ”
“What is it?”
“I fell in love with you again . ”
“Bah…! W-What are you saying at such a time!? We’re in the middle of a battle!”
“Sure, but I felt like I had to say it!”
“… Jeez . ”
Claire-sama sulkily turned her face away .
Jeez, she sure is cute .
“Rei, you too . ”
“Eh?”
Claire-sama whispered something, but I couldn’t catch it .
“What is it, Claire-sama?”
“It’s nothing! Look, we’re about to join the frontline troops soon!”