CH 191

Chapter 191 – Capital City Hagwai

The nameless elf kid, an up-and-coming mage (or something like that), who had pounced on us and was knocked out on his own, was left in the car for the time being. Then, I set Griffon forward toward the capital city of Hagwai.

“All hands, prepare for battle. Get ready to disembark.”

“””Roger.”””

The Cassmeer Guardsmen are ready for battle, each equipped with longbows and swords, hand spears, and one-handed shields on the side decks of the hovercrafts.

As we approached, we found that the city walls were intact, but the eastern gate had been destroyed. There were fresh traces of the battle: trampled snow, broken gateways, splattered blood, dead horses, broken spears, and arrows sticking out of the ground.

No dead soldiers lay on the ground. The battle had not progressed far enough for either side to recover the wounded or corpses.

“Deputy Captain, how can we identify friend and foe? Aside from the imperial troops with their black armor, we won’t be able to tell if there are any enemies among the local soldiers.”

“It is the same for the other side. Assuming a melee, they should all be wearing the same symbol for identification. Such as the cloaks worn by the guards of each territory.”

As he said this, the soldiers in battle came into view. I see that the side surrounding the guard station has a red cloak with a yellow bird-shaped pattern dyed out on the back. It may be the banner of the northern territory, but it is so simplified that it looks like a badly made bird. There were about 20 of them. The guards of the central territory, who were probably holed up in the guardroom, were out of sight, but arrows were being fired at them and were being repelled by their shields.

“I see, I understand. Takifu?”

With a gesture to indicate “vehicle stop,” Myrril jumps from the passenger seat to the gun turret on the roof and fires a single shot from her UZI.

“It’s all right now; move on!”

That was fast, hey. The group that had stopped moving flopped down like puppets with broken strings. It took less than ten seconds for the twenty or so men to be exterminated.

“By the way, Deputy Captain, I don’t remember seeing any signs of the central territorial guard.”

“It’s a blue cloak with a red sun crest. The Cassmeer Guard’s was stained reddish-black with bloodstains, so they had to take it off to avoid friendly fire.”

That’s another amazing story. I’m surprised you survived.

“Oh, thank you. You don’t have to worry anymore. Don’t worry about the rebels. It won’t take long.”

We saw the soldiers looking stunned as our hovercraft passed in front of the guard station. Although I could not see the symbols on their backs, I could see that they were wearing cloaks of a deep blue color.

“Where are we headed, McKin-dono?”

“Straight ahead, and stop at the square ahead.”

“The square? Not the council chambers or anything like that?”

“The tall building with the steeple at the back is the council chambers. The council members are probably holed up there, but if we attack with this many men, we’ll just get caught up in a melee. Instead, it would be better to divide the enemy and cut them down separately.”

“I see. So, what are you doing in the square?”

“The Southern Lord, who is in hostile relations with the rebel army, will announce the arrival of strong reinforcements and the launch of a clean-up operation.”

“Hmm. No way the enemy will surrender just because twenty-odd men have arrived…”

Myrril smiles ferociously on her lips as she loads the UZI’s magazine with pistol rounds.

“…No, that’s going to be interesting, isn’t it?”

The hovercraft roared forward, and some arrows flew. Since it was flying the flag of the Southern Territories, there was no doubt that it was the rebels who were attacking. Each time we see them, enemy soldiers fall in the shadows and tumble off the roof due to Myrril-san’s accurate shooting.

In the square, there were about 50 heavily-armed infantrymen of the Imperial Army and about 100 light infantrymen of the Northern Territories who seemed to be working in cooperation with them. In contrast, the Central Territories troops in blue cloaks had 20 or so fallen bodies and mortally wounded. It is unknown how many of the soldiers had escaped, but it is clear that they were no longer able to maintain organized resistance.

The rebels, who seemed to be on the verge of raising a battle cry of victory, were open-mouthed when they saw the huge Griffon looming over them. The deputy chief, who had gone out to the side deck, drew his bow in unison with his subordinates.

“We can’t let just the little girl take the good part; let’s show the Cassmeer Guardsmen our determination!”

“”””Yes!!””””

Arrowheads fired one after another and rained down on the densely packed soldiers. The plaza was unshielded, and the careless rebels were unable to escape and fell in a flurry.

By the time the enemy recovered from the confusion and launched a counterattack with shields up and spears raised, their numbers had been reduced to nearly half.

“Do not be frightened; they are just a small army! We’ll push them around and exterminate them…”

“You think you can do it, you fool!”

The formation, which had been fronting heavily armed infantry with sturdy-looking steel-plated shields, instantly disintegrated when the MAG general-purpose machine gun began firing. They had never imagined their own defeat, and their fear and despair were intense.

“””Gyaaaaaahhh…!”””

It is not only the enemies who are staring in horror at the bullets being fired and the cruel deaths being sprayed about. Even the Cassmeer guards, who were poised to fight back on the side deck of the Griffon, stiffened and became speechless at the sight of such power.

“…W-what happened!?”

They had been fighting alongside us at night in Cassmeer, but they had either not seen our battle or were blinded by the distance and darkness.

Weapons that could easily pierce shields and armor and reap nearly a hundred men. And the terrifying fire and gunfire that snatched away the enemy’s will to fight. The rebel army stopped and stopped thinking and fell to the ground in a heap of flesh and blood, motionless.

“What a festivity!”

“H-hey!”

I heard a shaking voice from the backseat. When I turned around, I saw a pallid-faced elf shaking and pointing at me.

“What’s that? I can’t sense anything with my magic senses…”

“You’re being so noisy, kid. Stay there for a while. If you ever make another mess, I’ll open up a hole in your limb.”

The elf shook his head with a frightened look on his face at Myrril-san’s words.

When the surroundings quieted down, the deputy captain announced loudly from the side deck to the surrounding people.

“Listen! I have news from McKin-dono, Lord of the Southern Territories, who is here as an emissary of the Cassmeer Permanent Council!”

The fat lord comes out of the car and waves his hand in an exultant manner. He is not very dignified. Not that I can speak for others.

“I’m McKin, Lord of the South. The central trade port of Cassmeer, which was invaded by the imperial army and the fleets of the eastern and northern territories, has already been recaptured!”

A gasp goes up from the crowd. The voices are louder than expected and full of joy.

“We have received a request from the seven directors of Cassmeer and have come here to retake the capital! By the end of today, we will suppress the rebels and bring the capital, Hagwai, back under the control of the Council!”

The groans turned to cheers, and applause, finger whistles, and yellow voices rose from everywhere.

Sounds good. Then I noticed something strange. I knew that the residents of the capital city of Hagwai were looking at us and feeling happy or sad, but there was something strange about the voices I could hear leaking out.

“…You’re lying!”

“Huh? Could it be…?”

“…Look, the rumors.”

“It’s true.”

Rumors? True, you say? What do you mean by that? Look at what…

I followed their gaze and saw that it was Cassmeer’s Guard Unit in the distance. The deputy captain was also looking around suspiciously, but then he came to himself and looked at me.

“…Hey, isn’t this a bad idea?”

“It’s not good, is it?”

“What are you going to do about it? Explain…”

“It’s impossible. I don’t believe it. …How much is known about the origin of Lord McKin?”

“It was so widely reported in both my father’s and my brother’s reigns when they took their seats that it would be difficult to find someone who didn’t know.”

“It’s not good. It sounds like a lame excuse at this point.”

“What is it, Takifu?”

“It’s the deputy captain and the others’ equipment. Since the supply was cut off, I prepared this hastily…”

“Mm?:

“Armor, swords, and bows, all the equipment of the Kingdom’s army.”

From the perspective of the isolated and snowbound guards, it’s enough to be useful and capable of killing. But I didn’t realize how it would look. The southern lord, originally from the Kingdom, had repelled the rebellion of the eastern and northern territories and the invasion of the imperial army. The inhabitants, who apparently recognized this as a fact, looked at the guards of the central territory who had come from Cassmeer and thought.

There was the support of the Kingdom’s army.

This is a bad idea! I can only see a future where Lord McKin will become a hanged lord if he is suspected of sericulture of interests from foreign powers (which, in normal circumstances, he should be suspected of)!