"Good... That worked out well."
Confirming the results of his own handiwork, Rest let out a sigh of relief for the time being.
An original magic that concentrated sunlight and fired it as a beam — [Amaterasu].
He already knew its power, having slain even the lord of a demon realm, but actually being able to carry out his mission brought a genuine sense of relief.
The beam Rest unleashed incinerated a portion of the rebel army and then swallowed their position whole.
This time, since the targets were an army, he had dispersed the light to a considerable degree to widen its range.
Because the concentration had been relaxed, the power had dropped accordingly, but still — roughly one-tenth of the enemy forces, some seven thousand soldiers, had been burned down by the light.
If he had compressed it to full power, they would have been reduced to nothing without a trace, but spreading the beam out this far inevitably meant this level of output.
Against ordinary foot soldiers it could pick them off with ease, but anyone with a reasonable amount of mana could probably manage to defend against it.
That said, because part of their army had been scorched and the attack had even reached their main camp, the rebel army had fallen into a panic like someone had stirred a hornet's nest.
This chaos caused more damage than the number of fallen soldiers alone. If they committed their forces now and charged in all at once, the enemy army would surely collapse entirely.
The plan was a success. His role as the tip of the spear had been fulfilled admirably.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Knight Commander... Is this satisfactory?"
"............"
"............"
He looked to confirm with the two commanders watching from a short distance away, but neither Richard nor Marquis Cattleya moved.
They stood with expressions of sheer astonishment, staring straight at the panicking enemy forces.
"Um... After I attacked, weren't you supposed to move the army in and charge...?"
"............"
"Your Highness? Knight Commander?"
The two of them stood without saying a word, their expressions unmoving, and his unease grew with each passing second.
Could it be... had it been a disappointment?
Perhaps they were let down by its power falling below expectations.
"Um... I-I'm sorry! Please, let me fire another shot, give me one more chance to attack!"
"Hmm... ah, no, no, no! Wait!"
He panicked and moved to unleash another Amaterasu, but at last Cattleya stirred and stopped him.
"That's enough! Your job here is done!"
"Huh? It is?"
"Yes. In fact, if you keep performing like this, it'll hurt the others' pride... er, never mind. You must have burned through your mana by now. Fall back and get some rest."
Cattleya cleared his throat with a cough and placed a hand on Richard's still-frozen shoulder.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince... please, give the order to charge."
"Hmm... ah, yes! Right, that's right!"
Richard hastily raised his hand and bellowed his command to the soldiers.
"All forces, charge! Annihilate the rattled rebel army!"
"......"
Richard shouted, but... his allies were slow to move.
Rest couldn't tell why, but Richard, just like Cattleya, had gone rigid as a stone statue.
"Charge! Cut them down!"
Amid it all, a single unit burst forth from the royal army and plunged into the enemy ranks.
At the forefront of the charging soldiers on horseback stood Wilhelm Lubeth—the Sword Saint Who Hates Women, freshly granted the title of baron.
The soldiers trailing behind Lubeth were ones he had borrowed from his family house, the Lubeth family, along with mercenaries hired using the reward money granted by the king.
Lubeth was the only soldier on the field who had witnessed Rest defeat Sabnock, albeit from a distance.
That was precisely why he was able to move faster than anyone else present.
"C-Continue! Charge!"
"Don't let some youngster show you up! Forward, advance!"
Following Lubeth's lead, the royal army's knights and soldiers charged in one after another.
They surged into enemy territory still gripped by chaos and cut down the rebel army soldiers scrambling in disarray, one after another.
"Oh... impressive. They're raring to go, aren't they."
"No matter how you look at it, I think the impressive one here is you."
Diebl appeared at Rest's side.
For Rest, Diebl was something of a magic mentor... yet after witnessing that last strike, his expression was more dumbfounded than impressed.
"...Rest. It is no longer just House Rosemary who will have eyes on you. Many others will not let you out of their sight any longer."
"What's this all of a sudden?"
It was a completely out-of-the-blue remark.
What was Diebl getting at?
"Your talent, Rest, exceeds even what we had imagined. His Majesty the king seems intent on putting you forward as the symbol of a new era... but it may not merely be for show. You might truly be at the center of what comes next."
"You're exaggerating... Master Diebl."
Rest let out a wry laugh.
He felt he had performed well enough, but surely not to the extent of being called some kind of hero of the era.
Starting with Lubeth, more people who will prove themselves should emerge from here on.
"Now then... Setting that aside, are the soldiers from House Rosemary permitted to remain here and observe?"
Aside from the reserve soldiers guarding the command post, the bulk of the royal army had seized this opening to push to the front lines and strike at the enemy.
Yet the unit under House Rosemary, for which Rest served as commander-in-name only, remained stationed in camp without advancing to the front.
"Um... To be honest, I don't think they want us to be too conspicuous in our contributions."
"Is that so?"
"Lord Rest has already achieved more than sufficient results... We haven't done anything at all, and I apologize for that, but I believe we should cede this opportunity to other units so they can earn their share of glory."
"I see... If Master Diebl says so, then let's do as you suggest."
Rest gazed down from the hill at the battlefield below, taking in the view from a literal vantage point.
The royal army: one hundred thousand strong.
The rebel army: seventy thousand.
It had been a battle that favored the kingdom from the start, yet Rest's opening strike had sent the scales of victory tilting decisively toward the royal army's side.
Half an hour after the fighting began, the rebel army had already been reduced to half its original number.