After finishing our battle with the Count, we retreated to our predetermined position and began preparations.
Our main force of roughly ten thousand soldiers needed only to wait for the army coming from Banseim. Inside the command tent, I read the words Shannon had transcribed.
The letter from Redant Fortress stated that a small-scale unit would be arriving for reconnaissance. However, in the margins of the letter—
"Approximately thirty-five thousand troops in preparation."
"Participation of the Royal Guard and Landed Nobles close to Ceres."
"A few traitors have emerged on our side. Dealt with."
"Objective: proceed to Redant Fortress with the unit for its defense."
—All manner of things, written in brief. The target was General Broa. He was a capable officer, and a rare one at that — not captivated by Ceres's charm. Born into Court Nobility, he possessed talent but rose too quickly through the ranks, which made him something of a nuisance in Central.
According to Rauno's investigation, the man hadn't actively sought advancement. Rather, he'd simply risen through the ranks while faithfully carrying out the duties assigned to him.
Inside the tent, I returned the letter to Shannon.
"Can you read them properly now?"
Shannon averted her gaze slightly.
"Th-these people's handwriting is rather unique. I'd say about eighty percent."
I had her copy out the characters and worked from there to piece things together, and it seemed I wasn't wrong. If Shannon's reading and writing had been a little more developed, she would have been able to read text written in mana-infused water directly.
I spoke to Shannon, who was fidgeting and touching her pale purple hair to distract herself.
"I'd prefer it to be perfect, but for now, this will do. And — good work."
Shannon let out a breath of relief, apparently reassured. From inside the tent, Baldoa peered at the letter and remarked.
"From where I stand, it seems like mostly favorable news, but I can't quite make out what it says."
He had his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Miranda began gently explaining the contents to Baldoa.
"Shannon's eyes are special. This way, we can lure their main force out onto the battlefield."
But Baldoa's expression didn't improve.
"Lady Ceres—no, Ceres's personal guard. And the Central's elite troops. I've heard rumors that they're death soldiers who've already accepted their own demise. Soldiers who aren't afraid of dying are terrifying. When you have tens of thousands of them, having a numerical advantage over the opponent only gets you so far... Besides, the war won't end until one side is completely annihilated."
An army enchanted by Ceres, fearless in the face of death. They were beyond troublesome—they were terrifying. No matter how many allies fell, their morale wouldn't budge.
"I've asked the Four-Country Alliance and Cartathus to send troops. Even if we fall short of fifty thousand, we'll still outnumber them. We need to annihilate them in a favorable position, so I've been pushing preparations forward, but—"
I looked at the Valkyries standing around us in their blue armor. In a way, they, as automatons, were also death soldiers.
Eva, studying the map, pointed her finger at a marked location.
"...We'll do our job properly, of course, but their numbers are just too great. We can't thin them out that much."
I looked at Eva, who seemed on edge.
"If it's dangerous, pull back. No—actually, the point is just to make them cautious. All I want is to wear them down a little. Reducing their numbers isn't the goal. What matters is making them lose their composure."
Eva was staring at my face, her cheeks twitching.
"You really are something, always coming up with strategies like this. Is something wrong with your personality?"
Then, inside the Jewel, the Fifth Generation—who had proposed this strategy—
*Tch!*
—reacted involuntarily. That's right, it was the Fifth Generation who had devised this plan: launch night raids to put the enemy on alert while quietly draining their stamina. Other strategies that nibble away at the opponent's endurance are also in play.
To the wounded Fifth Generation, Mireia said:
"It's all right, Father. Being called cowardly is a compliment."
Meanwhile, Baldoa was staring at Eva with a dazed expression. He still hadn't gotten used to the way we operated around here. Or rather, when he'd heard that nearly every woman present was one of my marriage candidates, he'd been completely dumbfounded—and apparently he was still struggling with how to interact with them.
"Lady Eva? Lord Lyle's tactics are effective. This, too, is for the sake of victory."
Eva, watching Baldoa, looked genuinely exasperated. She probably hadn't expected him to come back with a dead-serious explanation. Her remark had just been playful banter.
Maxim nodded as he spoke.
"I get it. I really do, Lord Baldoa. This particular atmosphere— I struggled with it too, at first. But it's fine. This is just how things are around here."
I also said to Baldoa.
"The casual jabs are just how things are around here. There's no need to take them to heart."
At that, Baldoa once again looked troubled.
"Well, that may be so... but if I were to stick my nose into various matters... and it does concern my lord's honor as well..."
As I watched Baldoa, the Third Generation inside the Jewel was laughing.
"Ahaha, this one's quite the earnest type, isn't he? He reminds me of Landberg-kun from my era, who became a knight as the First Generation. He was a bit too serious for his own good—clumsy, even. But look at how all these threads of fate keep connecting."
The Seventh Generation appeared to be nodding as well.
"House Foxes, and then House Cerclie... Yes, there were things that were lost, but there were also things that remained. And what Lyle has newly gained as well..."
The Seventh Generation looked a little pleased. I clapped my hands to pull myself together.
"Alright then, let's continue the meeting. I don't think this will be an enjoyable fight, but it's an absolutely necessary one. Cutting down Ceres's fighting strength significantly here carries enormous meaning."
Yes—the elite troops were the soldiers from Central. If we could deal a heavy blow to their forces here, the battles ahead would become easier. And besides, if we let the dead soldiers face Baim, there was a real chance Baim would be completely crushed.
"The war has only just begun. But if we lose here, there's nothing after that. Let's stay sharp and focused."
——At Redant Fortress, Broa had cornered the generalissimo who served as supreme commander.
Entering the room the generalissimo was using, Broa made his plea.
"I need you to listen. Lyle Walt of South Baim is dangerous! Sending thirty-five thousand soldiers—including the Royal Guard—to what amounts to a death ground! We should be sending fifty thousand here. No, we should send sixty thousand, or simply ignore this and march toward Baim!"
The generalissimo responded in a flat tone.
"It's not a bad strategy, honestly. We proceed toward Baim as originally planned. Besides, the Count's forces have already been lost. Overall, our casualties have exceeded ten thousand. Quite a few lords who went off to plunder ran into counterattacks. And to top it off, there are plenty of fools who went out to pillage and never came back. In that state, we don't have the luxury of sending sixty thousand. Sending thirty-five thousand to pin down South Baim's movements isn't bad either. They should be capable of that much. It's certainly better than South Baim coming at us from behind while we're pressing Baim."
Broa heard the generalissimo's words and had to admit it was true. In the end, the generalissimo simply believed it didn't matter if the Royal Guard lost.
The Royal Guard and the elite troops—which units would be selected to fill the gap they left behind? The army returning from the eastern front after the victory at Baim would be favorably remembered, and the generalissimo believed that once he returned to Central, he would be even closer to Ceres. That was what Broa concluded.
"However, if South Baim possesses more military strength than anticipated—"
"General Broa. It seems rather unsavory rumors have been circulating about you, haven't they?"
Hearing the generalissimo's words, Broa made an expression of frustration. The generalissimo didn't actually believe the rumors, but he apparently intended to use them as leverage to refuse the current proposal.
"I'll entrust you with the defense of the fortress. Your soldiers plus three thousand from the main army gives you a force of seven thousand—do be sufficiently careful. Well, once you perform your duties properly, those unpleasant rumors will simply vanish."
Broa was effectively driven out of the generalissimo's room. The generalissimo's bodyguards pulled him out by the arm—
—Bread replenished the soldiers lost during the mountain crossing from the main army and the Landed Nobility, then departed from Redant Fortress.
The Royal Guard's subordinates and the elite troops now numbered twenty-eight thousand. Two thousand had been killed or incapacitated by injuries during the mountain crossing.
However, they would absorb the seven-thousand-strong garrison to bolster their forces and march toward South Baim. Among them were mercenary bands, to whom Bread had delegated trail guides and sent ahead as the vanguard.
"There are more Monsters than I expected."
At Bread's remark, the mercenary band leader who had come to report gave a shrug.
"Since the adventurers have all gathered at Baim, they've probably multiplied. Those things pop up everywhere, you know."
Bread turned to the baronet positioned nearby for his opinion. Whether for better or worse, the man had been stationed close by precisely because he would listen to Bread's counsel.
"Baronet, if we avoid the trap and proceed normally, it'll take too long to reach our destination. What if we force our way through the trap instead?"
The baronet replied without any haste.
"That would exhaust our forces. Besides, with an army of this size on the move, the enemy will hear of it whether they like it or not. And if they don't, then they're simply incompetent—and we won't need to worry about them. Even if the reports are wrong and there are more enemies than we heard, we outnumber them by more than three to one. There's no way we lose."
Bread considered this opinion.
(Suffer some casualties and advance by the shortest route to keep our numbers from dwindling, so we're not forced into a disadvantageous position, is that it? The reports say they don't even reach ten thousand, while we have thirty-five thousand. Ideally I'd want four times their number, but the elite troops fear no death if it is for Lady Ceres. This breakthrough power won't be easily stopped. The chances of the enemy coming out for a field battle are low, but…we've also prepared siege equipment. Even if South Baim and its ilk hole up inside, the advantage is ours!)
Bread concluded that since victory was assured either way, there was no need to push forward recklessly. And so he decided to advance the main army while avoiding the traps—
—Night.
Eva was part of an elven clan. Moreover, she was closing in on the enemy encampment where a force leading a forest-dwelling clan had made camp.
Dark elves were stationed around Eva as her guard, and the swiftest among them were returning from reconnaissance.
They had draped themselves in dark blue cloth rather than black, blending into the darkness to scout the enemy lines. And now they reported back to Eva.
"It seems to be confirmed. The baronet's men have been marking targets. At this range, fire arrows should hit their mark easily enough."
Eva gazed into the distance.
"I can't see them, though?"
The elves around her chuckled, and while offering apologies to Eva—
"For us, not being able to see at night would be a real problem in daily life. Unlike clans that left the forest, our legs, our eyes, and our archery skills are all something to be proud of."
The dark elves scattered in different directions, nocked fire arrows, and let them fly. As Eva ran with her guards forming a protective ring around her, she watched the fire arrows pierce the canvas tops of the supply wagons and burst into flame.
And then—whether it was the oil stored inside catching fire—the supplies began to burn.
The elves quickly smothered the flames and headed for the nearby forest. Arrows rained down on both where they had just been and at entirely different locations.
Hundreds of arrows were loosed in an instant, and the elves were made acutely aware of the sheer difference in manpower.
"I'm envious, truly. They can keep up that volume of fire. Still, the range is short and their aim is all over the place. They lack skill."
Eva kept pace with those around her as she spoke.
"I had a fair amount of confidence myself, but you all are beyond even that."
Then, a dark elf woman near Eva spoke up.
"You don't need to worry about that. Your job is to get on that man's good side. The chief said that's what would lead to improving our standing."
The reason the elves were cooperating with Eva apparently wasn't solely because she belonged to the Nihil clan. Eva smiled, having gained such shrewd allies.
"Leave it to me. I do have a lovely singing voice, you know. I'll capture Lyle's heart with my song. More importantly—it looks like a horse is coming."
Glancing behind, she saw a knight on horseback raising a lantern to survey the surroundings. But the dark elves kept running and firing arrows as they went.
"No problem. Besides, we'll be in the forest soon. Once we get there, horses make easy targets."
The arrow she loosed knocked the lantern from the knight's hand, and another arrow struck the horse, sending it into a frenzy and throwing the rider off.
"Not bad."
"Naturally. Now, into the forest. Don't fall behind."
Surrounded by the dark elves, Eva slipped into the woods —.
——A village near Baim.
With no adventurers or soldiers venturing out from Baim, the baronet and his one hundred and fifty men had entered the village intending to plunder — only to collapse at the knees before a mere two people.
Or rather, there had been a hundred and fifty until just moments ago. Now only a handful of knights and soldiers remained around the baronet. Perched atop the cargo wagon's canopy that the baronet's forces had brought in sat a young girl.
And the towering woman standing on the ground — just these two had annihilated the baronet's entire company bare-handed.
The tall woman pressed the palm of her left hand against her right fist.
"There's no challenge at all. You surrounded us and this is the best you've got?"
The baronet's soldiers had surrounded them with spears, backed by archers, and still lost to just two women. And one of them was a little girl.
"What… what are you people?!"
Being close to Baim was one thing, but only if you were looking at Baim as a whole. The girl atop the wagon leaped into the air and landed right in front of the baronet.
At the same moment, the knights and soldiers nearby were sent flying.
They were blown away, tumbling across the ground before lying still. On that moonlit night, the baronet wondered if he was dreaming. He sank to the ground and looked up at the girl — she stood framed against the full moon.
"Sorry about that. But you lot have been causing plenty of havoc, so I don't feel like holding back. You came all the way out here to pillage, right? I trust you've made peace with the idea of dying?"
The baronet saw something sharp flash from the girl's right hand, and when it swept sideways, his field of vision lurched violently. He watched his own body crumple as his sight grew dark —.
——May watched as the village chief approached after the battle had ended.
He seemed to have been an adventurer once, but now he had put on weight around the middle and could no longer fit into his old armor — he carried only a weapon.
"Oh, you're adventurers, aren't you? The way you fight... you're pretty skilled, right? Please! Protect our village!"
May shrugged at the village chief's plea. Marina clearly had no intention of negotiating from the start. May thought to herself.
(This sort of thing should be more Marina's forte than mine.)
"I'm sorry, but no. We're Lyle's party members... former party members, I should say. We got kicked out of the Guild and just happened to be passing through the area. But we have business to attend to, so we have to get going."
The man knew Lyle's name, and perhaps knew about their expulsion too, because his shoulders slumped.
"I-I see. Lyle, you say... that'd be the one from Redant Fortress... I certainly don't have the money to hire adventurers like that. But then, why did you help us?"
May crossed her arms.
"Because we couldn't just leave you alone. But we can't protect you forever. So you need to run. Banseim is rampaging all over the place, and many of the villages that have been attacked have been completely wiped out."
With that, May left the village together with Marina.
Once they were clear of the villagers, May transformed into a Kirin and leapt into the sky. Marina rode on May's back, and as she gazed down at the ground below—
"...That kid really does follow through. If those people we saved enter Baim, word will absolutely spread. Baim—the Guild, the merchants—they'll definitely be held accountable."
May found that kind of human behavior perplexing, yet—
"That's just how Lyle does things. Truly... humans really are frightening."
May said this as she set out to search for villages under attack. She and Marina had been sent to rescue villages being assaulted by small-scale forces. Primarily, they were rescuing villagers fleeing toward Baim and spreading the word about what had happened within its walls—.