Chapter 7 |
Side Story 2 Chapter 7: Routing the enemy
"Keep running!!"
As Allen passed by the fleeing villagers, he charged headfirst into the enemy cavalry. His plan was simple: draw as many of them towards himself as possible.
The enemy force numbered in the dozens. While Allen could handle one or two on his own but if he were surrounded by so many, returning alive would be impossible.
He was fully aware of this.
All he intended to do was cause as much havoc as he could to slow down the enemy's pursuit.
With his own family now safe, Allen was determined to protect the others' families as well. It's easy to say, but not easy to do.
"I still haven't repaid you yet," I muttered as I infused Allen's sword with my magic.
It would be a shame to let him die. Whether he realized it or not, Allen was my first friend on this continent.
"Uoooooo!!!"
With a roar, Allen swung his greatsword at the leading enemy. It was a wide sweeping strike aimed at one target—but the magic-enhanced sword was far too powerful to be used against just one person.
With a single swing, the entire enemy cavalry was blown away. The force was so overwhelming that Allen himself was the most surprised.
"W-what the hell!?"
The young man who had rushed to save the villagers had, with ease, wiped out the enemy cavalry. The people of the capital, who had been watching the situation unfold, erupted into cheers as Allen returned.
"Well done!"
"You're amazing, young man!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"N-no... it wasn't really my own strength..."
Allen tried to explain, but at that moment, Wilfred approached him.
"Allen! What are you doing here!?"
"P-Prince... well..."
"No, I should be thanking you! Your arrival means... will he join the fight?"
"P-probably... that last attack was actually his doing, after all."
As Allen said this, he began looking around for me.
While watching them from above, I allowed myself a small smile.
"I considered making Allen the hero who drove them off... but there's no need to hold back against an army that would chase down fleeing civilians."
I had initially planned to control the situation from behind the scenes without getting directly involved.
But the enemy proved to be too barbaric.
It might have just been a rogue unit, but they had broken the treaty and launched a surprise attack, causing harm to the civilians. That was reason enough.
"For the sake of the people... you've given me enough reason to act."
With those words, I glared at the vanguard of the Raun Kingdom’s army from above the capital.
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The vanguard consisted of approximately 20,000 troops. Their main objective was to clear the way for the main force and prevent any reinforcements from reaching the enemy capital.
Once they spotted me flying in the sky, they immediately shifted to an attack posture. They must have caught wind of the mage who had dealt with the bandits near the capital, so while their quick response was commendable, it was only quick—and without any real understanding of what I intended to do, the vanguard launched their attack.
"Being quick to judge isn't always a good thing," I muttered as I watched countless fireballs being launched from the enemy forces.
While similar to modern magic, those fireballs numbered around a thousand and they were aimed at both me and the capital.
I easily neutralized all of them with my magic bullets.
"I'm not a fan of massacres, so I'll minimize the damage."
With that, I dove straight into the enemy formation at high speed. Some spells were launched at me, but they were all deflected by the barrier that is surrounding me.
I soon landed in the heart of the enemy's main force.
"Are you the commander?"
"K-kill him! Kill him now!!"
The man who seemed to be the enemy commander had been sitting in a chair while sipping tea with a calm demeanor. But when I appeared out of nowhere, he panicked, spilling his tea and stumbling backward.
"Dieee!!"
"If you come at me, I won’t show mercy."
I issued a warning as I swung my right hand. That simple motion sent the charging soldiers flying far away. They would definitely not survive that greeting.
"Attack! Attack him!!"
Relying on their numbers, the soldiers tried to swarm me in defense of their commander.
"My formation has no gaps! You'll regret entering here alone!"
"You seem to be fancying yourself as a tactician, huh? People like you are the worst, the kind who get their allies killed."
The first wave of attacks consisted of countless arrows. Without paying them any mind, I continued to advance toward the commander. The soldiers soon realized that their arrows were being nullified by my barrier and one after another, they tried to charge at me, only to be blown away each time.
Eventually, the soldiers' advance stopped. They had realized I wasn’t someone they could overcome with numbers and knowing that they would die for nothing, they hesitated to throw away their lives.
"What are you doing!? Charge!!"
"While you escape, I presume?"
"Wha-!?"
There was indeed a wall of soldiers between the commander and me while the commander had been preparing to retreat under their cover. But somehow, I had already made my way in front of him.
The commander cursed under his breath and turned his back on me.
"Damn it!!"
"If you’re ready to kill others, you should be prepared to be killed yourself."
"Guh...!?"
The commander's movements froze as slowly, his body was lifted into the air.
An invisible arm of magic that I had conjured was gripping his neck, suspending him in midair.
Unable to breathe, the commander kicked and flailed, but there was no one to save him. His struggle gradually ceased as he reached his limit.
"I, Silver, have taken down the enemy commander. If you run, I won’t pursue you... But if you stay, I’ll consider it your choice to die. So... what will you do?"
I posed the question to the nearby surviving soldiers, who immediately screamed and fled. The field commanders tried to stop them, but once the rout had begun, there was no halting it. Soon the army of 20,000 collapsed with each soldier scrambling among each other to escape me.
Even though they might have been ready to fight other soldiers, they clearly weren’t prepared to face a monster like me.
In the end, none dared to challenge me and the enemy vanguard was easily routed.
"If only the main force would retreat as well, then we could avoid such unnecessary bloodshed," I murmured as I released the enemy commander from my magical grip, letting his lifeless body fall.
I turned back toward the capital and made my way back to my temporary home.