——Maxim, fighting Banseim’s elite forces, stood clad in Sand Armor as he surveyed the scene before him.
"Rrrraaaaaagh!!"
Facing the colossal purple creature, Maxim gripped his spear tighter. It was indiscriminately crushing friend and foe alike, growing ever larger—the purple caterpillar’s head was the only part that still vaguely resembled a human, which only made it more grotesque.
Maxim signaled his allies to pull back.
"I’ll handle this one! Fall back, all of you!"
Even in this state, enemy soldiers charged at him. Their eyes were bloodshot. And despite knowing they wouldn’t survive, the soldiers fought with joy.
Maxim swung his spear, cutting down the surrounding enemy soldiers, then raised his left hand.
"...People can become stronger without relying on drugs."
Honing techniques, wielding weapons, manifesting Skills, learning magic—there were countless ways to grow stronger, Maxim thought. And that was true.
However, power that couldn’t be controlled was meaningless, and not true strength—that was Maxim’s firm belief.
"I’ll show you. Why my name is known throughout Banseim."
"Aaaaaagghhhh!!"
Before Bread, who could no longer even speak words, Maxim began drawing up soil from the earth around him—the dust clouds, the sand—growing ever larger.
The Skill Maxim had manifested was Sand Arm—a rear-guard type magic he had uniquely refined. At the second stage, it became Sand Armor, and at the third stage, Sand Giant, allowing him to create a colossal giant of sand.
The figure of a warrior clad in armor—this Sand Giant, with a single step forward, crushed and sent enemy soldiers flying.
"In a way, it’s the final stage that many Skills reach. I never needed to rely on such drugs after all."
The Sand Giant hefted a massive spear. The purple monster spat a green liquid from its mouth in attack. Where the liquid hit the ground, it emitted a pungent odor and smoke.
It would surely be dangerous to be hit directly, but Maxim was currently inside the sand. He was positioned at the giant’s neck to observe the outside, but could easily guard.
"Here’s payback!"
As the spear swept sideways, the purple monster rolled through the Banseim soldiers, taking them with it. Where its body was wounded, green liquid sprayed out, dissolving the Banseim soldiers.
"Hmm, so when you attack it directly, it sprays out body fluids. What a troublesome monster."
Maxim made the Sand Giant raise its spear high.
"Normally, it might be better to blast it away with magic, but... sorry, I'm going to use you. If you're going to hold a grudge, hold it against Ceres for turning you into this kind of monster."
The raised spear took on a drill-like shape and began to spin. As it was thrust toward the monster, Maxim deployed a shield of sand in front to protect himself and his allies.
The embedded spear rotated, sending the monster's liquid splattering outward.
"GAGUBAAAAAH!!"
The purple monster stopped moving, showering the surrounding Banseim soldiers with green liquid. Across the battlefield, giants of flame, ice, and lion form—beyond even Maxim's creation—wrought destruction and slaughter in every direction.
Seeing the giants dominating the battlefield, I slung the serpentine sword over my shoulder.
May had retrieved it for me, and I gazed down at the scene from above, scanning the surroundings.
"Monica—there's a group hiding over there. Divert a unit to their position."
*"I've spotted them. They're not the reckless charge-only type. Still, at this point, we really should have played our trump card from the start."*
Monica's assessment wasn't wrong. But pushing human bodies to accomplish this much was bound to take a toll.
The rapid drain of magical energy, plus the fact that the most valuable Skills holders—especially those who had reached the third stage—would need to pull back to the rear almost immediately.
For those of us already short on commanders, that was a serious problem.
"That's exactly why we had to do this... Well, I just hope the Four-Nation Alliance and Cartafus realize that Banseim is in danger now."
As Monica moved to carry out the orders without delay, I let out a sigh up in the air. May watched the situation below.
"It's certainly convenient, though. By the way, Rael received a lot of things from Fredrics, didn't he?"
"A lot? You mean the Skills and this thing?"
I casually lifted the silvery serpentine sword, and May shook her head.
"No, that's not it. That too, of course, but there's plenty more. Right now, he's using Skills to oversee everything from above and issue orders. He's the type to be strong, you know? There are always people who insist on being out front no matter what."
Hearing May's words, I understood what she was trying to say. She was trying to tell me that I'd inherited the Fifth Generation's teachings.
"Is that so… Maybe I've gotten a little closer to everyone after all."
—Baim.
Having weathered Baim's relentless daily offensives and seeing signs of fatigue in the enemy, Banseim's generals gathered in their command tent for a meeting.
"Well then, let's hear the results."
One of the generals rose to his feet.
"We launched a night raid using captured ships, but as expected, they had adventurers stationed at the port as well. The naval combat was one thing, but it turns out some of those adventurers are capable of operating underwater, so the operation failed. However, this does mean they can no longer divert their forces to the wall alone. Apparently, they've shifted a considerable force to the port."
The supreme commander stroked his chin.
"…I can't make sense of it. Banseim has virtually no naval capability. After their failure, the difference in strength should have been crystal clear. Why would Baim commit that many forces to the port?"
One of the Landed Nobility who was present answered the supreme commander's question.
"That's Baim for you. The merchants hold enormous power, and the decision-making authority rests with them. They probably thought their own ships would be attacked. I visited Baim several years ago, and even then, I was nothing but surprised the entire time. After all, there's no king. Policies are determined by a gathering of merchants."
Everyone present was reminded that while they all possessed some knowledge about Baim, they hadn't truly understood it. Then the supreme commander murmured.
"I see. So that's why they keep making nothing but bad moves up to this point. A military that relies on adventurers, with no experience in wars of this scale. We've been underestimated."
The Landed Nobles looked at the supreme commander.
"Supreme Commander, perhaps it's time we got serious on our end as well?"
"We've already assessed their strength. We'd like to wrap things up quickly."
"We'd like to finish this war before the busy season arrives."
The majority of both the Landed Nobles' forces and Banseim's main army consisted of conscripted peasants. Using commoners as soldiers meant that the territory was short on hands — particularly the able-bodied men who did the work.
From their perspective, they needed to bring the war to a swift end if they wanted to manage their territories properly going forward.
The supreme commander was a Court Noble from Central. His standing was different — unlike the Landed Nobility, he didn't govern territories of his own.
"Hmm, I suppose pushing further is indeed difficult. Once the cold sets in earnest, fighting will only result in heavier losses. And if we'll need vast quantities of firewood as well… it would be wise to move quickly."
The Landed Nobles appeared somewhat irritated with the supreme commander's attitude. After all, maintaining troop numbers was not the supreme commander's responsibility.
From the Landed Nobles' perspective, the supreme commander seemed to understand nothing. Then again, from the supreme commander's point of view, it would be better if the Landed Nobles' military strength was diminished. After all, the supreme commander was a Court Noble of Central.
He didn't think well of the Landed Nobles holding too much power.
*(If we send them in first, those brutes will rush ahead aiming for plunder and wear themselves down on their own. In that case—)*
"Very well. Then we shall prepare large-scale magic on our end. As for the charge—"
Before the supreme commander could finish, the Landed Nobles eagerly raised their hands.
"Then leave it to me!"
"Your forces are unreliable! I am the one best suited!"
"There's no need to rush. I hear the wealth of Baim is staggering."
The generals watched the Landed Nobles, who immediately began thinking of plunder, with cold expressions. The supreme commander addressed the Landed Nobles:
"As for Baim's prominent merchants, allow us to handle those — there are negotiations to be conducted. Everything else, you may do with as you please. Oh, and if possible, I'd ask you not to destroy any buildings suitable for lodging. I'd rather not live in tents after marching all the way into Baim."
Inside the command tent, the Banseim side wore relaxed smiles.
But this confidence was well-founded. Many of the adventurers stationed in Baim were specialists in dungeon combat. That alone gave the adventurers enough power to match or even tip the scales against a force of comparable size.
The catch was that they had only ever specialized in fighting within confined, narrow spaces.
However, the knights who would take the battlefield were a different matter entirely. And if the truly capable ones were involved—.
—Before dawn broke.
Tahnia was bustling about inside the Eastern Branch Guild, dressed in her Guild uniform.
She was looking after adventurers rotating in for rest breaks, arranging meals, coordinating personnel, following orders from headquarters, and preparing food for the refugees who had gathered in front of the Guild.
The Guild staff were also working frantically.
There were few wounded adventurers, yet day by day, the brightness was fading from everyone's faces. At first, the adventurers had laughed off Banseim as a bunch of cowards, but now, facing a war that showed no signs of ending, their spirits were beginning to break.
"It's almost time for the shift change. Is the food ready?"
When she spoke to the staff member, they were burdened with a large pile of luggage.
"It is, but... the smell has leaked outside the Guild, and the refugees are demanding we give some to them as well... The temporary kitchen can't prepare that much food, so we've been telling them to wait, but..."
Baim was overflowing with refugees. They had started clashing with the original residents of Baim, and the atmosphere within the city was tense.
Just then, another staff member ran up to Tahnia.
"Tahnia! An executive is calling for you. They said they need you urgently."
She told the staff member she'd been speaking with to prioritize the adventurers, then headed for the executive's office—.
—Inside the office, an executive with dark circles under his eyes reported the current situation to Tahnia.
"The council has decided to refuse South Baim's demand."
"Now they decide? Several days have already passed since the negotiations ended and you returned. What on earth was the council discussing all this time?"
Though Tahnia's words were laced with anger, the executive did not reprimand her.
"...As things stand, after Banseim's failed attack on the port, the majority opinion in the council is that this will become a prolonged conflict. If that happens, Banseim will be forced to withdraw in less than a month."
Maintaining such a large army required considerable resources. At the same time, Banseim's soldiers were citizens with their own jobs to return to. When the lords withdrew, the merchants of Baim made their judgment. And they believed that if this situation continued, Baim could be defended.
"Among the adventurers, there are those who feel a sense of crisis about Banseim, which shows no signs of collapsing. Morale is dropping day by day, and if this continues, Baim will fall before them—"
Tahnia's plea went unheard to the end. Mid-sentence, the room shook. It was a small tremor, but different enough from an earthquake that Tahnia felt a jolt of alarm.
"—Something's wrong. I'm going to take a quick look outside."
"What could it be? The shaking was surprising, but—"
Tahnia told the executive she would check outside, then leaped from the window and bounded toward the tallest nearby building.
Looking from there toward the wall, black smoke was rising. As the outside gradually brightened, what had happened came into view――.
The Banseim army had been bombarding Baim's wall with large-scale magic.
They unleashed spell after spell, overwhelming the adventurers' shields with sheer numbers. The relentless assault had left the adventurers of Baim unable to keep up with their shields.
Several spells struck the wall, but did little more than scrape the surface.
The commander-in-chief saw this and murmured.
"That's quite sturdy. Well, that's fine in its own way."
Immediately after, the commander-in-chief issued orders to those around him. The surrounding units, upon hearing the orders, took aim not at the wall itself, but at the adventurers defending on top of it.
Thunder, flame, ice, water, rock――countless spells rained down on the upper portion of the wall, and the adventurers who could not deploy a Magic Shield were blown away.
A handful of adventurers remained, but that was no problem.
"Well now, flashy magic has uses like this too."
The Banseim mages――that is to say, the nobles who had been unable to resist――created a staircase with magic against Baim's wall. A wide staircase was prepared to allow a large army to scale the tall wall. As the earth rose up and a grand staircase formed, troops that had been standing by beforehand charged up its steps.
Atop the wall, adventurers and the knights and soldiers of Banseim clashed in battle, but the sheer weight of numbers allowed them to surround and overwhelm the defenders.
The commander-in-chief observed the scene.
"Hmm, this is far less dramatic than I expected."
He murmured those words as Baim's great gate slowly began to open――.