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ED: LonelyMatter
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<b>Part 4</b>
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âThey really came, huhâŠ?â
With her eyes shining with admiration, Skadi turned her gaze to the shadows of the army that had appeared at the rear.
She dexterously stood up on the back of her horse and looked around at the shadows with her hand on her forehead.
âIsnât that little fellow amazing?â
She had heard from Aura that the enemy would ambush them from the rear.
But she never thought they would really come. Everyone thought that Azel had been abandoned. However, Skadi revealed her joy that this would relieve her frustration.
âHaha, I wet my pillow with tears when they told me to wait in the back, but I guess it is worth the wait.â
Seeing the size of the dust cloud that was gradually approaching, Skadiâs smile grew deeper and deeper.
One of her aides pulled a horse up to her.
âNee-san! Weâre ready when you are!â
There was a smile on his face as well. It was like an innocent child being given a new toy.
But at her aideâs words, Skadi waved her hand.
âNo, no, we havenât received a message from that little fellow yet.â
âWhy shouldnât we? They are already here. We can kick the crap out of those puny long-eared people if we just charge right into them!â
She grabbed the head of the noisy aide and lifted it up. The huge body of the beastman was lifted lightly in the air.
âOh.. shut up. Who are you talking to?â
The horse of the aide was shaking its head around because of the sudden loss of weight from its back. Smiling at this, Skadi let out a yawn.
âFuwahh, well⊠I think so, too. That little fellow said that itâs important to find out when itâs time to do something, and since we are here to help, we have no choice but to do what they say.â
The horse of the aide began to walk in search of its master. Skadi opened her hand and released the head of the aide.
Then, with the horse gone, the aideâs buttocks hit the ground hard, drawn by gravity.
âU-ugh!â
After taking one look at the slumped aide, Skadi looked ahead again.
âFrom the size of the dust cloud, Iâd say there are about 20,000 of them.â
The number of the Steichen Republic was 5,000, and if the estimate was not wrong, thatâs quite a gap in strength.
The only other force that had taken up position behind the main Grantz camp was the âRaven Armyâ of the small country of Baum, but Aura said that they would not be moved as much as possible during the military council.
Skadi guessed that they would be anxious to completely get rid of the main campâs walls.
âBut why canât we just go on?â
They couldnât wait to fight. Looking toward the main Grantz camp, Skadi saw a horseman riding toward their camp from that direction. The man on horseback was wearing the armor of the Grantz army, and Skadiâs eyes were shining brightly.
âMessenger! It is a messenger! Is Skadi-sama here?â
âI am here~!â
Waving her hand cheerfully, Grantzâs messenger pulls up on his horse.
âThe Chief of the General Staff has sent a message. As soon as the flag is up, charge towards the enemy in the rear and destroy them.â
It was a very simple order. But if she had one complaint, it was thatâŠ
ââŠAre we still waiting?â
The messenger gasped at the sharp gaze. The temperature dropped a little due to the murderous intent released by Skadi.
The messenger was horrified to have that directed at him.
He moved to turn his head to get away from her, but Skadiâs hand reached out to him faster than that. The messenger closed her eyes tightly as if prepared to die.
ââŠNee-san! The flag is up!â
Savedâwhen the messenger opened his eyes with a look of relief, Skadi was running far ahead of him. The messenger rolled his eyes.
The speed of the horse was one thing, but what kind of physique did she have? She was standing on her horse, arms outstretched, facing the oncoming enemy forces.
âYou people! Youâve been waiting for this for a long time, and youâve got a lot of resentment! Now is the time to get rid of it and take your fill of the bait thatâs right in front of you!â
Skadiâs clear voice rang out through the army of the Republic of Steichen.
The sight of those dressed like bandits, raising their weapons and shouting was terrifying enough to chill the heart.
âFollow Nee-san, you bastards!â
Followed by the roar of horseshoes as they raised their roars across the battlefield, the army of the Republic of Steichen chased after Skadi at once.
Feeling the heat of the battle at her back, Skadi could sense the wind in the air.
âThis is it. This is what weâve been waiting for.â
Since entering Azel, Skadi had not been able to participate in a single battle. She cursed the Six Kingdoms for their lack of guts. But now, they had given Skadi and her troops exactly what they wanted.
Then they must return the favor.
They must do everything in their power, hunt down their enemies, turn the ground red, and celebrate their deaths.
Skadi, who had attached the claw from her waist to her hand, kicked the horseâs back the moment it passed the horsemen from the enemyâs advance force.
âWhatââ!?â
Three vertical lines were etched on the face of the soldier who was startled by Skadi floating in midair. As soon as the blood spurted out, Skadi jumped onto her next prey. The enemy soldiers who died one after another in front of the lightweight woman crashed to the ground.
Those who were lucky enough to escape Skadiâs attack were chewing on their happiness for just a moment before being blown away by the overwhelming crashing force of the Steichen Republic Army that came from the front.
âOne of them got away from us! Donât let any of them escape!â
Like hungry beasts, they relentlessly pursued any living enemy soldiers they found, rampaging across the battlefield with a look of their own.
âHahaha, Nee-san! Finally, we can fight like a beastman!â
The aide was laughing as he rode alongside Skadi, who was back on her beloved horse.
âDonât let your guard down. Weâre up against those insidious long-eared people, and if weâre not careful, we could die.â
As Skadi warned him, her aide raised his spear with both hands.
âBring itââ!?â
She grabbed the aide by the collar, but an arrow had pierced his head, and he was dead.
âGood grief, it is as I said⊠Iâll avenge you, so sleep tight.â
She let go of the collar of her aide. He disappeared from the horse and quickly disappeared into the dust behind her.
âDonât think that you can be safe by messing with my lovely kids.â
A large number of arrows flew at her. The insidiousness of the long-eared people was emphasized by the fact that they did not hesitate to kill the horses, even though there were still some of their allies on horseback. This only increased Skadiâs anger.
âThatâs why I donât like the long-eared people. They talk about their iron will and other cool stuff, but theyâre nothing more than killers of their own kind.â
Skadi flicked away an oncoming arrow, disappeared from the horse again, and plunged into the midst of the enemy bowmen.
Stab, stab, stab. Without allowing them to grunt or scream, Skadi simply thrusts a single blow at the enemies in front of her. Corpses piled up on the path that Skadi took.
Nor were there any weaklings among her men who would be frightened by an arrow.
They swung their swords even while arrows pierce their arms, they kicked even when their thighs were pierced, and they continued to kill their enemies with all their might as long as they were alive.
The beastman smiled as they killed their enemies, bathed in their own blood and looked like fiends, and the calm and collected long-eared people were painted with fear on their faces.
ThenâŠ
âHuh?â
A scream was heard from the rear of the enemy army. However, the situation could not be confirmed from here.
Not knowing what had happened, Skadi began slaughtering the enemy soldiers again, knowing that she could find out if she went to the rear.
âNee-san! From behind the mixed forces of Urpeth, Tigris, and Scorpius, the âImperial Black Knights,â âGolden Lion Knights,â and âKnight of Rosesâ launched a surprise attack. I heard that they succeeded!â
Hearing this report from Steichen soldier, Skadi nodded her head in understanding as she snapped the neck of a long-eared man.
âOh, so thatâs why thereâs so much noise?â
After piercing the chest of an approaching enemy soldier with her claw, Skadi turned her attention to the main camp of the Grantz.
âShe seems like a real military strategist. Even though sheâs so small, sheâs amazing.â
Beyond her admiration, she felt a surge of respect. The reason for telling Steichenâs army to wait was probably to lure the combined forces of the three countries deeper.
And while they were eagerly trying to defeat Steichenâs army, the elite troops of the Five Imperial Armies, the pride of the Great Grantz Empire, surprised them from the rear of the army.
The chief of general staff of the Great Grantz Empire had come up with a brilliant plan.
Oddly enough, it was the same strategy that the mixed forces of the three countries had tried to use against Grantz.
âThe irony is not so bad. It would be a shame to leave her with the humans.â
Sheâd like to take her back to the Steichen Republic.
It was such an exhilarating measure.
âItâs so much more effective against the insidious long-eared people.â
With a heartrending feeling in her heart, Skadi vowed to kill many of the long-eared people in return for their kindness.
As Skadi continued to push her way through the walls of the long-eared people, she soon became aware of something strange.
âAgain⊠itâs not all about my sweet kids.â
The number of fallen Steichen soldiers was beginning to outnumber the number of enemy soldiers.
The morale of Steichenâs troops was not a problem.
It was still swelling. She began to wonder if it was because of the difference in strength, but the advantage of numbers must have been crushed by the surprise attack of the elite of the Five Emperors Army in the rear.
If so, why were there more corpses of the beastman thanââ,
âHaha, thatâs good!â
After all, there was an enemy who showed overwhelming prowess against the strong beastman.
âWhere are you? Where are you?â
While cutting down the enemy soldiers who stood before her, Skadi strode around the battlefield in search of the strongman.
Then she found a strange space where her allies were clumped together.
Seeing the desperate expressions on the faces of her lovely subordinates, Skadi exploded with joy and kicked the ground.
âYou guys get out of my way!â
Leaping higher and higher, Skadi saw a long-eared man below her.
The presence he gave off was superb, the atmosphere he wore was brilliant, and above all, his overwhelming fighting power sent a shiver down Skadiâs spine.
âIâll take it from here!â
With both arms outstretched to the limit of their joint range of motion, she concentrated all her strength into her back muscles and exploded them at once.
The firepower instantly expanded the muscles, and Skadi tightened both arms as hard as she could as if she were hugging her enemy.
Normallyâshattered flesh and blood would have rained down from the sky.
ââŠ..Thatâs good.â
Skadi licked the blood dripping from her cheek with her tongue, and her whole body gushed with joy at having finally met a worthy adversary.
Around her, Steichenâs soldiers kept their distance and began to hunt enemies in the area so as not to disturb Skadi.
âDisgusting⊠It smells like a beast!â
The man who said this was the long-eared man who had scratched Skadiâs cheek.
In his right hand, he was clutching a moon ring the size of a bracelet.
Without lowering her guard, Skadi looked at the weapon he was holding and realized that it was no ordinary weapon.
Then, as if noticing her gaze, the eyes of the long-eared man turn to Skadi.
âA beastman woman is really an eyesore!â
The manâs arm blurred, and the moon ring in his hand vanished.
Facing the oncoming threat, Skadi joyfully leaped forward with her shoulders and charged.
âYou fool, you didnât even measure your opponentâs strengthârushing in is not valor!â
Hearing the disappointed laughter, Skadi popped the approaching circle moon ring. But it splits into two pieces.
Twisting her head, she avoided one piece and knocked the other one off with all her might.
âOh, you have two pieces on top of each other. I was a little surprised.â
âI see⊠but itâs a close call.â
Skadi felt something approaching from behind her and jumped to the side. But the pain was so intense that she tripped and fell to the ground.
âWhatâs the matterâŠ?â
When she looked at her leg, she saw that her thigh had been roughly gouged out.
Skadi frowned suspiciously, thinking she had avoided the attack, but the sound of a man laughing caught her attention, and she turned her gaze in that direction.
âI was surprised that you managed to avoid one of the Five Destructive Holy Principle Swords, the Hourin Moon, even though you had never seen it before.â [T/n: æłèŒȘ / Hourin is originally a wheel-like weapon used to destroy the evils of mankind in Buddhism.]
âAs I thought, thatâs one of the worldâs five great treasure weapons⊠I may have underestimated you a little.â
She realized that this was not a simple enemy.
She would have to change her mind. Skadi stood up, limping.
âFor a lowly beast, I commend you for dodging that one. But it looks like there wonât be the next time.â
He threw the Hourin Moon again. Compared to the previous one, it was so slow that it made her yawn.
âMy name is Malam Inar. Even for a beast, wouldnât you at least like to know the name of the person who killed you?â
âIâm glad to hear it⊠I havenât had a good opponent in a long time, and I was hoping to at least remember your name when I killed you.â
Skadi avoided the Hourin Moon with a broad smile.
She was having a lot of fun.
A bloody battle, a fight to the death, a long-awaited and much-anticipated opponent.
She couldnât help but enjoy it. The gouged thighs were no longer on her mind.
All she could think about was how to cook and eat the food that had appeared before her.
âYou donât have to remember my name.â
Skadi kicked down the distance in an instant with a florid smile like a maiden in love.
âBut you knowââMad Claw, just remember this childâs name.â
Skadi raised her claws, which were beginning to turn black, high in the air and swung them wide.