After the last update (yesterday), we received a new review. Thank you very much.
At the moment, the war situation was equal for both sides.
However, the situation could easily be reserved with a slight change.
Then, Niko noticed something.
The sounds of footsteps were approaching.
She couldnât see them yet, but they were definitely approaching.
From behind the corner of the mountainâââ-
[It seems that the Fourth has finally arrived!]
Slashing back at Niko, the old enemy captain raised his voice in triumph.
In concert with the captainâs strike, the old woman came slashing at Niko from her blind spot.
Niko had her hands full with these two.
If enemy reinforcements were to arriveââââ This fight might not be even anymore.
Of course, it would be them who would be at a disadvantage.
Niko understood this.
She knew that if she was outnumbered, she would have to take the lead and fill in the âgapsâ.
[Kuhh......!]
(I must quickly defeat these two and deal with the enemy reinforcements......!)
The two old soldiersâ movements accelerated.
It was as if they were taking advantage of Nikoâs impatience.
[Itâs two against one! It has always been the truth of the world that the greater the numbers, the greater the strength!]
A moment later.
Niko couldnât believe what sheâs seeing now.
[Dear!]
[Whatâs the matter, Dear!?]
[Itâsââââ Itâs not the Fourth!]
[......What!?]
What appeared in Nikoâs vision was a flock of monsters.
There arenât so many of them.
However, whatâs important is that the people who appeared are allies.
[Oh my!? What is the Fourth doing!? Youngsters these days really are useless!]
[Enemies in the rear! If we allow them to form a pincer attack, weâll be in trouble! The enemy reinforcements in the rear will be dealt with by Chromeâs troops!]
Even though they saw the monster reinforcements, the enemy was hardly shaken.
The enemyâs rear quickly formed up and got into positions to wait for the monster reinforcements.
Seeing them react like that, Niko frowned.
(It doesnât matter to them if the situation is a bit unfavorable huh...... These enemies are quite experienced in warfare......! Moreover...... Theyâre really strong!)
[Weâll take care of this! Chromeâs troopsââââ use the power of our cavalry to crush the monsters behind us who are getting carried away! Let them know how they canât even be compared to the monsters of the Demon Zone!]
[Ohohohoho...... Youâre underestimating Alionâs Thirteen Cavalry! Letâs boil their corpses and feed them to the dogs!]
[ ? ]
Behind the old captain and the old womanâââ- Niko spotted him.
A black Leopardkin.
Noââââ
[ ââââ ââââ ]
Belzegia, dressed in Leopard King attire.
ââââCrickle, crackleâââââ
[ ! ]
(He...... stopped......?)
The old captainâs movementâs stopped.
[ââââââ!]
Not letting the opportunity slip, Niko unhesitantly swung down her greatsword.
[Oiiii!? Wait...... a momâââ-]
Fwiiiiiish!
The old captain is cleaved from his left shoulder to his right hip.
It is clear to everyone that he is already dead.
Putting strength into her thighs, NIko then twisted her body.
Speeding up againââââ
[Nghhh!]
As if she was just chopping woodââââ
She swung her greatsword down with all her might to the top of the old womanâs head.
Fwooooooosh!
[Gyaaaaahh!?]
The old womanâs head is cracked open.
Receiving a decisive strike on the head, she also died instantly.
Killing her opponents, Niko immediately raised her voice.
[I have defeated the enemyâs leader!]
Nikoâs words sent the enemy soldiers into a frenzy.
However, Niko didnât let them have time to regain composure and immediately rushed towards the enemy soldiers.
And thus, she saved her struggling comrades.
[ ? ]
Nikoâs eyes caught the enemy troops who had headed towards the monster reinforcements.
They were almost one-sidedly trampled down.
(No...... The enemy troopsââââ- couldnât move?)
[The reason they couldnât move is because theyâre under my sorcery.]
[Belâââ-, ............Doris.]
Thatâs right.
The him who is dressed as the Leopard King isnât âBelzegiaâ, but âDorisâ.
âHmphâ, Fly King snorted.
[You killed them before I could make them spit out information huh.]
[My apologies...... I was in the heat of battle.]
[Well, donât worry about itââââ- Come on, letâs settle this already.]
[......Thank you for your generosity.]
The outcome of the battle has been decided.
14:36 ââââââ The 12th Cavalry has been annihilated.
â½
When she was finally able to catch her breath, Niko thanked the Fly King.
[Thank you for your help. However, arenât those reinforcements from the Central area?]
[When he heard that Iâm heading this way, Gio said to âuseâ them.]
[Gio did?]
[It seems that Liese has moved quickly and will be sending some reinforcements from the inside. And so, those reinforcements would be meeting up with Gio.]
[I see. So he lent the monsters from the Central area to you since he could replenish his forces huh.]
[Thatâs right.]
Affirming her words, Fly King looks in the direction where he came from.
[We were on our way here when we spotted the 4th Cavalry who were also on their way here...... and we took them out first. Then, we just headed straight towards here.]
[That mysterious power that completely stopped the movement of those two strong men, you mentioned how it was sorcery...... but is that any different from magic?]
[Itâs not the same as magic. Well, you can just think of it as a special power only I have.]
[Alright. I wonât unnecessarily pry on this. Even so......]
Nikoâs gaze flickers to the corpses of the enemies on the battlefield.
[Your plan...... really worked very well. I must confess...... Iâm a little frightened at the thought of turning you into an enemy.]
[However, without the ability to implement it, any plan would just be nothing but impracticable theory. If you and your comrades are able to do it, only then will my plan become reality. Iâm not the only one âfrighteningâ here.]
[......Hmph, you sure have a way with words.]
[Iâve sailed over most of the waves with my eloquence after all. Anyway......]
Fly King kneels down and checks the enemyâs equipment.
[With this, the 12th Cavalry has been annihilated.]
Seeing the expression on Nikoâs face, Fly King asked.
[Whatâs the matter?]
[......No, I was just wondering if Gio and the others were okay. If all the monsters had headed this way...... and if they had to fight the enemy before the reinforcements from inside the door arrived...... Gio and the others would have to fight with only the Leopard Light Army.]
It was at that moment when a messenger arrived.
A messenger from the Central areaââââ from where Gio and the others are.
Adjusting his ragged breathing, the messenger stated his report.
[Haahhh... Haahhh...... Reporting! In the Central area, the Leopard Light Army, led by Gio-sama, has engaged with the enemyâââââ]
The report that came in wasââââ
The Leopard Light Army, led by Gio Shadowblade, defeated the 13th Cavalry.
[The 13th Cavalry is almost completely annihilated! The enemy captain had also been killed by Gio-sama himself!]
Deputy Ferenoch was looking out at the landscape from an elevated position.
Thick clouds were beginning to increase in the sky.
Looking at such a sky, he was wondering if it would rain soon.
[From what Iâve heard from the messenger, it seems like the folks of the Faraway Country are also pretty goodã¼ã¼. I guess the Firstâs Mikhail is probably already deadã¼ã¼.]
Behind him were the soldiers of the 6th Cavalry.
Far behind themââââ is their captain John Doe.
Going past the soldiers, John Doe steps in front of Ferenoch.
[For beings who should have been holed up behind their door for so long, the enemyâs overall movements seemed like theyâre clearly accustomed to warfare. Are they accustomed to war due to frequent internal conflicts...... or perhaps, they have a very good commander.]
[They may have already been working with Miraã¼ã¼.]
[Thatâs possible. I had seen harpy-like shadows flying in the distance, but they didnât seem to have flown to the front line...... They seem to be using them in the rear to avoid the danger of being shot down from the ground. Perhaps, they are using other species as messengers on the front line. From what I could see...... This means that the enemy has the intelligence to go on the defensive. It would have been easier if they simply charged at us but...... in this case, it may be a little troublesome.]
[Captain, you sure are watching them closelyã¼ã¼.]
[It was somewhat unexpected that the enemy would get this far though. With the situation like this...... Itâs a shame that I couldnât make use of the Heroic Sword on this battlefield.]
[Whatâs the matter, Captainã¼ã¼?]
Repeatedly flicking a gold coin in the air, John Doe continued.
[Send messengers and notify every cavalry units.]
John Deo gave some instructions through Ferenoch.
One of the instructions was about sending messengers.
[Thoroughly check the numbers and identities of the messengersã¼ã¼? What do you meanã¼ã¼?]
[If the enemy was only Demi-Humans or monsters, there would be no problem. However, if that Mad Emperor, who can use âHumansâ as pawns, is on their side, there is a risk that the Humans will distort our messages and cause chaos in our information exchange. The Mad Emperor had sent assassins disguised as the Magic Knights and struck Heroic Sword...... Doing something like this is easy for them.]
[We donât have much interest and donât interact with other units that much after allã¼ã¼. We donât even remember the faces of the other troopsã¼ã¼.]
[And thatâs something they could use against us...... As long as thereâs a squad that theyâve dealt with, thereâs a good chance that theyâll use that squadâs equipment as disguise...... If I were on the enemy side, where I have a âHumanâ I could use, then that would be what I would do.]
[I seeã¼ã¼...... Thatâs something the Demi-Humans or monsters could do, but if the Mad Emperor is cooperating with their side, that would be something they could do huhã¼ã¼. Being surrounded just by enemies isnât fairã¼ã¼.]
Ping!
Bouncing in the air once again, the gold coin landed on the back of John Doeâs hand.
[The 2nd and the 9th should survive. If we, the 6th, are the ones âon the backâ, those two squads should continue to play an active role as the ones âin the frontâ.]
John Doe looks down at the gold coin that is showing heads.
[If the front doesnât exist...... Of course, the back wouldnât be able to hide themselves.]
[In other words, youâre kindly warning the rest of the squads because you donât want the 2nd or the 9th to be deceivedã¼ã¼.]
[Also, the enemy will definitely be targeting the key...... the Divine Beast, Radis.]
Speaking of that Divine Beast, he is taking care of his business in the back.
Whistling a tune, heâs pissing on a sling bag.
Incidentally, it seemed like âwhatâs insideâ that sling bag was still alive.
[Us losing the Divine Beast would mean that itâs a loss for our side after all. Thereâs no way we could leave Radis in the hands of Mikhailâs cavalryã¼ã¼.]
[Thatâs whyâââ- The âDivine Beastâ will be used as bait.]
[......Have Captain thought of a planã¼ã¼?]
[The enemyâs movements have also been thought of very well. If the Mad Emperor is behind this, we must not be negligent.]
[ââââ-Eh?]
[? Is something the matter?]
[Captain...... Did you just smileã¼ã¼? Even though youâre always showing no expressionã¼ã¼.]
[Thereâs no way thatâs the case. Itâs just......]
John Doe flicked the gold coin in his hand.
Ping!
Noticing it flying to his direction, Ferenoch caught it in his hand.
[The enemyâs movements...... I feel like itâs something close to mine. Thatâs a strange way to express it, but itâs like we are mirror images of each other...... Iâve never felt anything like this before.]
It was as ifââââ he feels closer to them than âHumanityâs Strongestâ with whom he shares blood.
[So, is it the Mad Emperorã¼ã¼?]
[Itâs definitely him.]
[Then, we must not underestimate himã¼ã¼.]
[......Now then. I think itâs about time that we also make our moveâââ- Ferenoch.]
[Iâm on itã¼ã¼.]
After receiving his instructions, Ferenoch stands next to John Doe.
Closing his eyes, he put his hands over his ears.
It was as if he was trying to listen closely.
[The flow of the wind...... the flow of the battlefield...... I can feel itã¼ã¼...... The place where we, the 6th Cavalry, should goã¼ã¼...... is that wayã¼ã¼.]
When Ferenoch opened his eyes, he whispered to John Doe.
Then, John Doe pointed in a certain direction.
[Well then...... We, the 6th, will head that way.]
John Doe then told the soldiers behind him to prepare for a sortie.
Shwipp!
Finished with their preparationsââââ The Sixth Cavalry formed a row.
Normally, this troop has a relatively loose atmosphere.
But at times like this, they radiate more power and intimidation than any other unit.
Leading the group, Ferenoch raised his greatsword to his shoulder.
[Then, well, letâs goã¼ã¼.]
A combination of a large man and his huge horse.
The intimidation he brings is quite tremendous.
On the other hand, John Doe......
[Now thenâââ]
Blending in with the common soldier, he was no longer distinguishable from the other soldiers.
[Sixth Cavalry, forward.]