ăThe two armies formed their battle lines along the gentle slopes of the Kazte plains, staring each other down.
ăThe Kingdom had 200,000 and the Emprire had 60,000.
ăThere was a huge difference between their troops. The Kingdom had too many, and the Empire had too few. Yet neither showed any sign of apprehension.
ăThe Kingdom did indeed have an overwhelming number of troops. However in terms of individual strength, the Empire had the advantage.
ăThe soldiers conscripted had only been to this battlefield and had not learnt how to use weapons. Most had no armour and went only with weapon in hand. There were few that were not scared of the battlefield.
ăIn contrast, the knights were equipped in full armour and were forged by training after training and battlefield after battlefield. In a war, most had come here prepared.
ăIf there was such a stark difference in physical abilities and morale, overwhelming troop numbers were not enough to secure an advantage.
ăEven so, it was a simple fact that there was a vast disparity in the military power of both sides. Although it would not be a problem if they could fight forever without fatigue, they were only human. Once they got tired, even the difference in their individual abilities would eventually be caught up to.
ăAnd the Empire did not wish to lose any knights. One could understand this just by considering the amount of time needed to train a knight. A conscript and a knight. The loss was of a different scale.
ăMoving this many soldiers during the harvest period would result in the national power being lowered. The cost of having such a large war and to learn of the nobles that he should be wary of, Jircniv had acted . And so even if the Empire retreated, they would still maintain an advantage.
ăThat was why most of the wars have ended with them glaring at each other.
ăThis would be the same. Or some half of the Kingdom's nobles naively believed.
ăUsually after some light skirmishes, the Empire would charge once and then retreat.
ăHowever, after the knights had deployed from the castrum, they had not moved.
"They're not moving."
ăMarquis Raeven stood beside Gazef, speaking quietly as he surveyed the Empire's formation.
ăThis place was the safest place in the formation since it was surrounded by Gazef's elite warriors and Marquis Raeven's personal soldiers.
ăThat was why Marquis Raeven could calmly look at the Empire's knights.
ăWhile he had said that they were not moving, Gazef understood that he meant that they had yet to begin the attack.
ăThe Empire showed no intentions of moving.
ăAs Marquis Raeven said, the Empire did not seem to move after being deployed from the castrum. Despite the fact that the final negotiations were over and it was time to settle things with swords.
ăThat was why the Kingdom could not do anything.
ăIt would be dangerous if the Kingdom were to charge first. And the Empire usually attacked with their knights and the Kingdom would attack with their spear formations. There were nobles who had attacked the Empire first, but they were defeated instantly and brought great loses to the Kingdom.
ăThus, the Kingdom would construct a spear wall and focus on defense. And sometimes it would break, and the men would be trampled.
"It is normal for the Empire's heavy cavalry to take some time. It seems that there's movement in the castrum so just a bit longer."
ăGazef looked far away, and got a strange feeling from the movement within the Empire's formation.
ăThere was quite the distance, but to an excellent warrior like Gazef, he could feel the slight changes in the air.
"While it is the usual pattern, I am not good with this tense atmosphere. It feels better to say things that I don't like out loud, it's quite relieving."
"True. The left wing is moving strangely."
"Ah, Marquis Boullope."
ăThe two wings of the Kingdom had the soldiers of the Noble Faction, and the centre was of the Royal Faction. The wings had fifty thousand each and the centre had one hundred thousand.
"Rather than panicking, it seems he is angry. The thousand troops sent to capture Enri have yet to return. I believe Marquis Boullope is very unhappy."
ăGazef recalled the face of the noble he had seen before the war. Of course, it was not intentional.
"Well, he might think that they'll simply return late, but they are probably all dead."
"âŚ.Even if he did lose them, isn't a thousand a large number?"
"The loss of a thousand is not much."
ăWhile those of the Noble Faction might write off a thousand deaths, Gazef could not stomach the loss of a thousand commoners and made a worried expression.
ăGazef was originally a commoner. Yet he had to see men like him die. Marquis Raeven noticed this and apologised.
"Apologies. I said too much."
"No. I understand Marquis Raeven's perspective. Pay me no heed."
ăMarquis Raeven was looking at things at a level higher than Gazef. While Gazef believed that it was a waste to lose a thousand lives, Marquis Raeven was looking at the Kingdom's future were a thousand lives were a small price to pay. They could not be said to be right or wrong.
"Oh. It seems they're making their move."
ăThe Imperial army slowly parted in two, to make a path. A group of soldiers slowly proceeded down it. They beared a strange flag that neither Gazef nor Marquis Raeven had ever seen before.
ăHowever, the two were fixated.
ăAnd Gazef was at a loss for words. He recalled a certain battle.
ăThose were Death Knights. The undead soldier that served Ainz Ooal Gown. An existence that Gazef would have to go all out on if he were to fight one.
ăThere wasâ
"âThis many? Impossible."
ăGazef felt sweat run down his forehead.
ăThere were 300 Death Knights. The Kingdom had 200,000.
ă300 vs 200,000. It was a winnable battle. However, that was if they were facing humans that could tire. They could be defeated once drained, and so the violence of numbers was useful.
ăHowever, when facing creatures that could not tire like the undead, that threat would not decrease over time.
ăBasically the chance of victory was low even with two hundred thousand. No, even if Gazef could not tire, with those three hundred, they could kill all those present.
"This is badâŚ."
ăSeeing Gazef's frowning face, Marquis Raeven spoke in a grim voice.
"Those are Skeletal Dragons. A terrifying undead. And looking at Gazef-dono's reaction, the ones riding them seem to be quite the strong enemy."
"Yes. They are the warriors of Ainz Ooal Gown who I fought to a standstill."
"âŚ.Those."
ăMarquis Raeven was shocked, but he soon nodded.
ăThe undead troops slowly spread out and stood in front of the Imperial troops. Since there were three hundred creatures in front of sixty thousand men, there was a large gap in between them and did not seem threatening. However, Marquis Raeven saw Gazef's reaction and felt that no level of caution was enough.
"Understood. If we fight them head on, we will face tremendous casualties. For the planâŚ.Let's send out the soldiers of the Noble Faction to grind them down. I shall ask the King for permission for the Noble Faction to face the Archduke."
ăMarquis Raeven and Gazef, who had been looking at the Empire's troops, both made a blank face.
ăSuddenly, a black wall appeared in front of the Archduke's troops. It was not large. About three metres high and two metres wide. Two people then appeared from it.
ăA man wearing a mask, and the ex-Head Magician of the Empire, Fluder.
"That is Ainz Ooal Gown."
"Him."
ăHearing Gazef's unconscious mummur, Marquis Raeven took a good look at Ainz.
ăThe person who had become a major topic in the Kingdom who might control a magic power that was out of this world.
ăAinz waved his arm. In response, a magic circle sprang into existence, roughly ten meters in radius and shaped like a dome. It was centered on him. Seeing how Fluder was within its boundaries, it did not seem harmful, yet it was a dreamlike scene.
ăThe magic circle glowed bluish-white, and translucent symbols appeared across its length and breadth. The sigils changed with kaleidoscopic speed, shifting between runes and letters that nobody had ever seen before.
ăThe Kingdom's troops gasped out in surprise.There was no fear or tension in their voices, like they were watching a beautiful show.
ăHowever, to those two, they felt a strong unease from that giant magic formation.
"I'm returning to my unit. Gazef-dono, please protect His Majesty."
"Got it. I shall protect His Majesty."
ăAs Gazef said that, he turned back towards the centre formation, where countless flags were being hung.
"Then, let's begin."
ăThe two men hurriedly flew into action. However it was all too late.
ăNobody's there.
ăAfter Ainz deployed his magic circle, that was what he had thought.
ăThere are no players in the Kingdom.
ăYggdrasil's super-tier magic was incredibly powerful. Thus, it had a penalty until it was casted. It was a system where it was stronger the longer it was casted for. Â And if one's allies used more of them, there was an additional time penalty. This was implemented by the developers to prevent super-tier magic from ending guild wars.
ăBasically, it also meant that the longer it was held, the stronger it got.
ăBecause of that, during a large-scale battle, bringing down a person who could cast super-tier spells first was a basic tactic. One could hamper one's opponents in many ways. Teleportation assaults, for instance. Bombardment from atop a magic carpet. Pinpoint shooting from extreme range. There were countless methods to accomplish that aim.
ăHowever, no attacks like these came toward Ainz. In turn, that proved that there were no Yggdrasil players present.
ăUnder his mask, Ainz smiled, a fact which went unseen by anyone. Of course, his skeletal face could not form a smile.
"So I don't need to serve as bait, then?"
ăWhispering that, Ainz opened his gloved hand. In it was a tiny hourglass.
"Cash Item"
ăAinz spoke in the tone of a certain popular blue cat robot. And without hesitation, he crushed it. And Ainz's, no, Suzuki Satoru's two lunches worth of cash flew away.
ăIf he used a cash item, he could immediately cast the super-tier spell. The reason why he had not done this was because he was serving as bait to verify the existence of any possible players from Yggdrasil. However, if there were none, then there was no need to wait out the long casting time for the spell.
ăThe particles of sand leaking from the shattered hourglass moved against the wind and flowed into the magic circle surrounding Ainz.
ăAnd thenâ the super-tier spell activated instantly.
"
ăAnd now, there were five.
ăJust like a player who was celebrating over beating his own high score, Ainz was overjoyed by the fact that he had set this new record. In Ainz's mind, they were not humans, but points to be collected.
"Congratulations, Master."
ăBowing towards the ecstatic Ainz, Fluder's respect for that powerful magic deepened another level.
ă He thought, to this person, that was still just child's play. And in fact, one of the world's strongest spells was cast before him. A spell that he thought he could never reach. But, as long as he stuck to this man, hope rose within him.
"It truly is amazing, Master."
ăThe bright voice that came from the mysterious noble rode on the wind to reach the ears of the knights.
ăThe clattering of metal could be heard from the Empire's formation.
ăIt was the sound of armor clattering against itself.
ăThe bodies of those wearing them were shivering. No one could laugh. There was no one who did not get goosebumps by hearing the joyful cry of a magic caster who had released such a terrifying summoning spell.
ăEvery knight present was thinking the same thing.
ăPlease let Archduke Ainz Ooal Gown was a reasonable person. Please let him be our ally.
ăIt looked more like a prayer to the gods.
ăAs if praying to an evil god or a god of misfortune, they hoped that he would not turn on them.
ăAs the soldiers pleaded sincerely behind his back, Ainz began the next phase. He felt that he had already done enough, but he was in high spirits, and felt that it might be better to kill a little more to be sure.
ăHe felt that this was a chance to become a hero in the Empire by showing further overwhelming pressure.
"Now, let's begin. You may begin trampling."
ăAs they received the command of their summoner Ainz, the Dark Young began to move slowly.
ăTheir five goat legs moved in a bizarre gait as they segued into swift motion. It was not so much graceful as energetic, and perhaps one might smile to see it.
ăAs long as they did not come for you.
ăTheir vast bodies moved lightly, and the five Dark Young broke into a run as they hurtled towards the Kingdom's army.
"Is this a dream?"
ăA soldier from the Royal Army muttered to himself, far from the inhuman monsters. Of course, he received no answer. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding before them, and they had lost the power of speech.
"Hey, this is a dream, right? I must be dreaming, right?"
"Ahh. This is a fucking nightmare."
ăThe second time the question was asked, someone managed to answer. But their voices sounded like they wanted to run away from reality.
ăImpossible.
ăI don't want to believe this.
ăThoughts like these spread through the infantry. Even as the lumbering shapes grew steadily largerâ even as the inhuman beings approached them, they still did not want to accept that this was reality.
ăIf they were simple monsters, perhaps they might have been able to gather up the courage to raise their weapons. However, the monsters which had appeared after an entire wing of the army had been slaughtered in an instant could not possibly be simple monsters. It was like watching an advancing hurricane, and nobody could muster up the courage to brave the storm.
ăOne could call the figure of an anomalously large figure running on its stumpy legs to be cute. But that was only if one was in a safe place.
"Get your spears up!"
ăA voice rang out.
ăOne of the nobles was shouting.
"Spears up! Get your spears up!! Get your spears up if you want to live!!!"
ăActing on reflex, the soldiers raised and set their spears, forming a braced spear line.
ăThe reason left in their heads recalled what the spears in their hands were for. However, they also realised that they could do nothing else.
ăGiven the speed at which those bizarre creatures approached, escape would probably be impossible. Even if they ran with all their strength, they would still be squashed flat from behind.
ăThey prayed that the monsters would not come for them, even as they braced for their charge.
ăAnd the shockwave hit them.
ăIt was like a dumptruck smashing into a swarm of rats.
ăThe soldiers of the Kingdom raised countless spears in trembling hands. But what use were they against the massive, solid bodies of the Dark Young? The spears snapped like toothpicks without so much as scratching the Dark Young.
ăEven the soldiers wielding their spears lost their lives in an instant. It was perfectly natural.
ăWithout magic weapons, how were those monsters going to be hurt.
ăWithin the ranks of the Kingdom's troops, the giant bodies of the Dark Young rampaged.
ăThey screamed and they screamed and they screamed.
ăGobbets of meat flew through the air. They had not come from just one or two people, but tens, hundreds of victims. They were stamped flat by the enormous hooves, and thrownâ no, flung away by the waving tentacles.
ăBe they patricians or plebeians, now they were all the same chunks of bloody flesh. Everyone was the same in the face of death.
ăSurely they must have been satisfied after crushing countless humans underfoot, but they showed no signs of stopping.
ăThe Dark Young began to run.
ăThey ran on. They did not stop while in the midst of the Kingdom's forces, simply running on.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Abbaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
"Stoooooooooooooop!"
"Save meeeeeeeeeee!'
"Noooooooooooooooo!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!"
ăThe screams rose up every time those gigantic hooves came down. It blended with the sound of humans pulping under the Dark Young's mighty legs, and the sound as they playfully batted humans away with their tentacles. It continued.
ăTrampled.
ăWhat better word was there to describe this scene?
ăSeveral people desperately thrust their pikes forward. The Dark Young, whose bodies were massive and who had no intention to evade the attacks, were hit solidly by the points. However, the pikes could not pierce deeply enough to cause harm to their slab-like bodies.
ăIn the time it took for them to realise that panicked attacks had no meaning, the Dark Young had trampled into the middle of the centre troops.
"Run away!! Run away!!"
ăThey heard the shouts from the distance. In response, all the soldiers began to flee. It was exactly like a swarm of spiders scattering in all directions. But of course, the Dark Young were much faster than human beings.
ăThe sounds of humans being crushed to death and turned into chunks of meat went on and on.
"Retreat!! Retreat!!"
ăThe way Raeven shouted these orders was closer to a wail.
ăNothing could be done to such creatures. Humans could not touch them.
ăAs they heard Raeven's words, the surrounding soldiers threw down their arms and fled in a panic.
"Ainz Ooal Gown. So he's this powerful of a magic caster."
ăHe regretted it. That he had not imagined something of this scale.
ăAs Marquis Raeven looked at the rampaging monsters, he continued to shout at the surrounding soldiers.
"This isn't a battlefield any more, it's a killing floor! Just run!"
"My lord!" a knight said as he removed his helmet. "The King! What about the King?"
"You idiot! There's no time for that! My lord! It's coming right for us!"
ăThe Dark Young figure was larger than before. It was steadily heading towards them. Rather than saying that it was aiming for Marquis Raeven, it was probably just running in a random direction. In truth, the other Dark Young were far away from where Raeven was.
"Where's the King?!"
"He's there!"
ăHe saw the royal flag in the direction where the soldier was pointing, but a Dark Young was already bearing down on it.
ăRaeven hesitated. What could he do if he went to help? However, if King Ranpossa III was lost here, the entire country might come apart.
ăHoweverâ
"My lord! Please run! Humans cannot defeat such monsters! Hurry!"
ăYes. That was the case. Even if the Kingdom's Strongest, Gazef wielded his sword, he could not defeat it.
"Matching two hundred thousand troops with just one man. Impossible! How does that even work! Isn't he stronger than Landfall!"
"My lord!"
ăIt was closer to a scream that human speech. Hearing the soldier's warning, the Marquis replied with a shout.
"I got it! I'm running!"
ăThe sound of hooves was close. He could not turn around due to fear. That was why Marquis Raeven smacked his horse.
ăIn the confusion, a group of horses were running away. Most men had given up on controlling the horses, or rather the horses were escaping in sheer confusion and the men felt that it was better to leave everything to the horses.
ăThe horse could bear this fear due to its training of a warhorse. If it were a regular horse, it would not be able to move from fear.
"That magic caster's a monster! How can someone like him be allowed to exist in the world?!"
ăRaeven cursed Ainz as his horse jerked up and down in its top-speed gallop.
"Dammit! We have to do something! I need to think of some way to protect our world â our future!"
ăWhile feeling the horse pulsating beneath him, Marquis Raeven dashed off while protected by soldiers. When he returned, he would converse with Renner and come up with plans to face that ridiculous magic caster. If this went on, all of humanity would be conquered.
ăBut Marquis Raeven had one misconception.
ăMarquis Raeven looked at the Dark Young's rampage and believed that they were not sentient. However, he thought that having them rampage with their large bodies was the best way to fight. It was the best method to kill the most weaklings.
ăMarquis Raeven saw it coming his way and thought that it was a mere coincidence. But was that the case? Or could it tell from the soldiers final yells that he was the overall commander?
ăIn reality, the Dark Young's intelligence was impossibly high compared to its appearance. It was about the same as a human.
[MEEEEEEHHHH!!]
ăThe Dark Young cry out from close behind.
ăThe sweat poured off Marquis Raeven's head like a waterfall. He was so afraid that he did not dare turn around, but he could sense the air behind him getting warmer and warmer.
ăAnd then, he heard it againâ
[MEEEEEEHHHH!!]
ăHmm. He believed that he was protected by the soldiers on horseback.
ăThen what happened to the sound of hoofbeats?
ăHe heard one giant hoof. And as if erased, the other hoofbeats stopped.
ăHis heart lurched in his chest.
ăHe realized there was a massive shadow beneath his feet â his body carried by the speeding horse â and that a long and thick tentacle was reaching out for him.
"NoâŚ"
ăThe horse ran like it had gone mad. It was faster than Raeven had ever ridden it. It might have been the fastest it had ever gone. Even so, the mighty shadow still stretched out across the earth.
"I don't want this!"
ăMarquis Raeven's eyes widened and forced his horse onwards without looking back.
ăHe could not die yet. It did not matter what happened to the country. If it was to fall, then let it fall. If taking up arms against Ainz Ooal Gown meant death, then he was willing to abandon this country and flee.
ăHe had been an idiot.
ăTruly, he had been an idiot.
ăHe was a fool for trying to manage the Noble and Royal Factions by coming to this battlefield. Since he knew how powerful Ainz Ooal Gown was, he should have stayed in the Royal Capital no matter the cost.
ăHe would not think of the Kingdom's future any more.
"I don't want this!"
ăHe could not die yet.
ăHe could not die while his son was still so young. And⌠he could not leave his beloved wife alone by dying.
"I donâ"
ăRaeven imagined the form of his son before him.
ăMy lovely boy.
ăA tiny little life had been born. It slowly grew up. It got sick. Back then, he had made a huge fuss because of that. The image of himself running around half-mad, bellowing orders, while his wife sat there in silence was deeply embarrassing.
ăHis hands were soft and his cheeks were rosy. When he grew into a youth, he would be the talk of the Kingdom.
ăHe believed his son's abilities would surpass his own. He could already see traces of that from time to time.
ăHis wife said that it was the delusions of a parent but that was definitely not the case.
ăRaeven was deeply grateful to his wife, who had bore his beloved son. However, he rarely said so because it embarrassed him.
ăIt was time for a second child.
ăIf he had not come to this battlefield, he might have been able to hold their handsâ
ăHe lost consciousness in an instant.
ăThe last thing he heard was the sound of meat being crushed, and Marquis Raeven's consciousness disappeared.
ăIn the midst of the fleeing soldiers, Gazef slowly looked forward.
ăGazef drew his sword in response to the charging Dark Young. There were no soldiers near Gazef.
"If I let it past me, the King's main camp is next."
ăAs he felt the earth trembling under his feet, Gazef exhaled forcefully. He gripped the sword in his hands tightly, and raised it.
ăSeeing the giant bodies crushing humans in its wake, how did he feel?
ăIf it were a runaway horse cart, he could easily get control of it. Even if a ferocious tiger pounced him, he could evade its first blow and strike off its head. Even he could not imagine what would happen in front of the Dark Young.
ăOf course, his chances of survival seemed very low indeed.
"Please take care of the King."
ăDespite knowing that it would not reach his subordinates, he still spoke.
ăHe had not sent them away to hide, but to protect the King.
ăCompared to the monsters approaching, even if the soldiers put their lives on the line, all they could do was serve as meatshields that would crumble after one hit.
"Huuuuu!"
ăAs Gazef breathed out, a dramatic change appeared in the flow of people around him. Until now they had gone in all directions, but now it seemed like they were moving to avoid Gazef. It looked as though they were creating a clear path between Gazef and the Dark Young.
ăThe Dark Young continued splattering humans under its feet as it closed in.
ăGazef wielded his sword and look at it. Where would be the best place to strike. He activated a martial art called Weak Point. Butâ
"âIt has no weaknesses."
ăGazef did not know if that was because it truly had no weaknesses, or because it was so much more powerful than him that he could not read them. Still, he did not despair. He had expected that much, after all.
ăHe activated another martial art.
ăThe ability that could be called a sixth sense, Future Sight.
"Come, monster."
ăThe Dark Young seemed to have heard the challenge, and set a course straight for Gazef. The distance between the two shrank dramatically.
ăTo be honest.
ăGazef was afraid. If it was at all possible, he would have liked to flee with the surrounding soldiers. Since his senses were strengthened by Future Sight, he could tell several things. Judging by the way its hooves remained undamaged, it was likely that normal swords would not be able to deal any harm to it. From the deep prints it left in the ground where it stepped, its weight would instantly kill anyone it was applied to.
ăThe more he learned about it, the more his fear of it grow.
ăRight now, Gazef was exposed to a terror far more intense than those of the soldiers fleeing willy-nilly around him. But he could not turn back. The Kingdom's strongest warrior could not run.
ăâThe Dark Young closed in.
ăIt was close enough that the clods of dirt kicked up by its hooves could reach Gazef.
ăIt ignored the soldiers around it, like they were nothing but crawling worms, and headed straight for Gazef.
"I should have come will everything equipped."
ăHe should have come in full armour. He should have ignored the worries of being looked at with strange eyes by the nobles.
ăGazef regretted it, but it was too late. This was the result of being overconfident in his sword. No, even if he had come in full armour, nothing would have changed.
ăThe Dark Young closed in. With a force that shook the earth.
ăGazef slipped past the fleeing soldiers and ran towards the Dark Young.
ăRushing past the crowd, he stomped forward one foot at a time. Should he be attacked from the front, he could not avoid it as it was far too wide.
ăWith a foot of almost fifty centimetres, the Dark Young charged forward. And with thatâ
"âYeeart!"
ăGazef swung his sword. At this speed, the enemy's own velocity would become a weapon that would tear itself apart on the edge of his blade.
ăIn the instant the hoof touched the sword, a massive impact travelled up the weapon and into Gazef's arms. It made him feel as though his arms had been torn off.
ăHis feet, planted firmly in the ground, left two trenches in the dirt as he was dragged backward.
"Gwaaargh!"
ăSomehow, he had kept his grip on his sword, but pain spread through his entire body. Be it his muscles or his tendons, every part of him hurt from the stress it had to bear.
ăGazef panted heavily, and stared at the giant body that passed him.
ăNot far from Gazef, one of the Dark Young had finally stood still as opposed to running madly.
ăOne of its tentacles became a blur.
ăFear shot through his body. Gazef hurriedly raised his sword. In that instant, an extraordinary impact struck him, and his body floated into the sky.
ăGazef could not see anything, but he guessed that he must have been slapped away by the tentacle.
ăHis body flew through the sky.
ăAfter hanging in the air for a surprisingly long time, Gazef's body finally struck the earth. He rolled several times. This rolling was not the tumbling of a flung corpse, but the deliberate action of a human that was trying to bleed off the energy of his rotation.
ăThe Dark Young, for one second, hesistated.
ăIt was wondering if it should pursue the creature that did not lose its life after one of its attack. However, it realised that it should not. It had several targets, and it had no time to chase after one just to kill it.
ăLooking aroundâ It had no eyes but it could sense themâ It saw a group of prey running away. It had no time to chase after the creature it had hit out of its range.
ăThe Strongest Warrior of the Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff.
ăTo the Dark Young, that man was no different from a normal soldier, it was weak and did not need to be paid attention to.
ăThe Dark Young charged again. It would follow its summoners orders to smash everything.
ăGazef slowly stood up, spurring his ungainly body into motion. He stared at the distant Dark Young.
ăIt had been just one hit.
ăThe arm that took the strike had broken. It was probably sheer good luck that his sword had not snapped as well.
ăAll emotion vanished from Gazef's face
ăWhy had he been spared?
ăEven with a monster that could not understand speech, he understood it as a warrior.
ăThis was not a defeat. He had not even come anywhere close to the arena.
ăFresh blood flowed from his bitten lip. Following that, Gazef suppressed the intense pain which filled him and ran forth with all his might. Even if he could not beat his opponent, even if his limit was one more hit, even so, he still had to protect his King.
ăThe headquarters of King Ranpossa III was located in the center of the Royal army. It was surrounded by countless banners belonging to numerous nobles of the Kingdom of Re-Estize.
ăAlthough there had been many nobles gathered here before, only a few remained here. Most of them had already fled, and only a scant few remained in this camp. Â No, to be honest, there were two people here.
ăThe surprising thing was that one of them was Rampossa III. And the other was a man commoner's clothing.
ăThat man in commoner's clothing was tearing off Rampossa III's equipment. It seemed that he was being stolen from, but Rampossa III showed no sign of resistance. In fact, he seemed to be resigned.
ăThat person wearing commoner's clothes was Climb.
ăHis white armour was thrown aside, and he looked just like the other commoners in the area.
ăHis full armour was usually difficult to remove, but Climb used his magic sword to tear it apart.
ăThe armour of Rampossa III was also of excellent make, but that could also be destroyed by Climb's sword.
"However, what do you think are our chances if we were to run?"
ăIt was closing in with an earth shaking rumble. In such an extreme situation, Rampossa III's tone was calm. It was nothing like the panicked nobles that were here until now.
ăThe problem was his tone, which was the one of a human who had given up on life.
ăThe lack of his desire to remain in this world appeared in his tone.
"It's probably impossible. Those who escape on horses will definitely be chased. As you can see, they prioritise those who are running away. That is why we can do nothing but this."
ăRampossa III realised the intentions of Gazef's warriors who had left as a group on horseback. And the reason for the smiles on their faces as they left. And the recommendation for them to escape on the horses the nobles left behind.
"Climb. Why can you?"
ăDo this? Rampossa III continued.
ăIn such an extreme situation, only a certain group of humans could retain their mental faculties. One could only do it if they were mentally tough.
"I have seen a person more terrifying than those monsters. Thus I can act faster than any of them."
ăThe killing intent that he faced at the capital. Due to that, Climb returned to his senses faster than anyone.
ăClimb began to rub mud onto Rampossa III who was now without armour, sword and helmet.
"Your Majesty. Even now, our flight is still a matter of luck. If the worst happens⌠I pray you will forgive us."
"That's fine. It was my decision to use your idea. If it fails due to misfortune, then I will have no complaints."
ăThe Dark Young blew away the flags with its tentacles, and looked around in satisfaction.
ăThis place was probably the centre formation, but there was no one to be seen.
ăThere were two humans laid on top of one another on the ground. The two were alive, but they were the same as the countless other humans it had killed, without armour and in dirty rags. Considering the other humans it had massacred, they were not particularly enticing.
ăAs it was moving to crush them, it noticed a group leaving slowly. It was a group in full armour riding horses, showing that they were not mere soldiers.
ăLooking at its comrades, there was no one chasing them.
ăIts summoner wished for it to trample many humans. And to kill those of high positions who would ride on horses. Rather than wasting time killing the humans here, it should head towards those who were escaping.
ăThe summoning time of the Dark Young was not infinite after all.
ăThe Dark Young lost interest in the sprawled humans, and immediately ran off.\n