Chapter 312: Vanguard Battle (Patreon)

"Sorry, that… what was it again? Lord White-Robed Hero?"

"Just call me Haston."

"Ah, Lord Haston. Our country has brought thirty thousand elite troops this time, and we're willing to serve as the vanguard and strike Gaderia first from the west!"

Haston looked at the middle-aged man with the thin little mustache.

A cunning fellow. With Gaderia's population, they could scrape together a hundred thousand soldiers at most, and that was probably counting the old, the weak, and the sick. As for reinforcements, the Continental Mages' Association had already declared it would not interfere, so the number might double at best, to two hundred thousand.

The coalition here had nearly a million troops. That left out only Qual, who was rumored to be able to hold off a hundred thousand soldiers, and the Demon Race, the old hands of the Gaderia Bandit Band.

Haston's intelligence came from the country that had hired him, and its source was someone of unknown identity. By Haston's gut feeling, the information shouldn't have any serious problems. Gaderia would surely set its defensive battlefield in the south, which suited him fine, since he wanted a decisive battle against the main force of Gaderia's Demon Race.

The west was probably Gaderia's weakest point. If the mustached man took thirty thousand soldiers ahead and failed to break through, the loss wouldn't be great. Instead, he could claim a good position first, with no pressure from the main battlefield and a chance to earn some merit.

Haston didn't care. He had only come to kill Demons. Even if it took a little longer, they wouldn't get away. Once Gaderia fell, the alliance would end, and under the Northern Empire's sanctions the Demon Race couldn't survive anyway.

"Remember to share intelligence with us."

"Of course, no problem."

Knights rode out of the ranks one after another and passed the White-Robed Hero.

The mustached man at the very front had been all smiles and good manners a moment ago. The next moment, he put on a sneering, arrogant face.

"Tch. What kind of Hero is that? Just a barbarian adventurer the Kingdom took a fancy to, a commoner who isn't even a Baron, the lowest rank!"

Once he was well out of earshot, he spat carelessly at the roadside.

With just a little more military merit, he might even manage to become an Earl.

*

Two days later.

"Is there really an enemy coming to attack Gaderia?"

Wenbei gripped her scabbard, looking rather impatient. They had reached the very edge of the Northern Empire's borderlands, and so far they hadn't seen a single soul.

"Linie doesn't know."

Linie carried her axe on her shoulder and didn't slow her steps.

"…"

Wenbei cast a spell. Her wind magic, combined with the Demon Race's innate ability to fly, lifted her fifty meters into the air before Linie could react.

About three kilometers away, a dark mass of an army was advancing at a gallop.

"Ah. Found them."

All Linie heard was a whoosh from above, and Wenbei was gone from where she had stood. Linie didn't hesitate. She gripped her axe in both hands and flew up after her, though much slower than Wenbei.

"What the hell is that?"

At the head of the column, the mustached man suddenly noticed a streak of green racing across the sky. He reined in his warhorse and put a hand on his sword.

"Be careful, Lord Viscount! That's the Mana of the Demon Race!"

Beside him rode an old man with long, graying hair. He was a Second-Class Mage recognized by the Continental Mages' Association, though he didn't belong to it.

"Demon Race? How many?"

The mustached Viscount hadn't expected this. They hadn't even reached the enemy yet, and the Demons were attacking on their own? Could he have been unlucky enough to run into a Demon main force on the offensive?

"Within my Mana Perception range… uh…"

The mage seemed to doubt his own Mana Perception. He scanned twice more, and only when the green light was almost overhead did he finally say, "Two."

"Two?! Hahahahaha! Honestly, and here I was worrying for nothing. It's all just as I predicted. Two measly scouts think they can challenge us?"

The mustached man laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. His spirits soared. Wasn't this military merit delivered right to his door?

"I'll make sure they never go back alive!"

"Don't be careless, Lord Viscount. For a powerful Demon, massacring a whole town is an easy, everyday chore."

"Then hurry up and protect me with Defensive Magic," the mustached man said, turning his head and shooting the mage a look.

His aide behind him immediately ordered the troops to form a ring around the Viscount and the mage. A long row of soldiers with large shields on their backs dismounted and took up positions at the front of the formation.

Wenbei had already reached the sky directly above the army. She looked down at the thirty thousand troops, her tachi ready to leave its sheath at any moment.

"What's this? Scared?"

The Demon hovered overhead, watching without moving. The little mustached Viscount perked up. The Demon wasn't nearly as terrifying as it had seemed when it came charging in.

He had thirty thousand soldiers at hand, plus several Second-Class Mages and Third-Class Mages hired at great expense. Surrounding and killing one or two Demons would be no problem.

"Wenbei."

"You're slow. I've been waiting for you."

Only after the Viscount's army had set up its battle formation did Linie catch up with Wenbei. The two Demons landed on the ground together.

Awaiting them was a row of shield soldiers in heavy armor, holding large shields. Behind those shields, the mustached Viscount bellowed orders. "Quick! What are you standing around for? Kill these two Demons!"

The mages took a look. The two Demons had formidable Mana, but in front of thirty thousand troops, the advantage was theirs. The group of old mages began preparing their spells, taking their sweet time.

"Are you the enemies who would harm Gaderia?"

The answer to Linie's question was a blast of Ordinary Offensive Magic!

Linie relied on magic that imitated martial techniques and on the instincts she had honed with Nanoda. What used to be an empty show of form had now reached a first level of unity of form and spirit. With a mere sidestep, she dodged the attack with the smallest possible movement.

The spell struck the ground and left a small dent, with a few wisps of white smoke rising from it.

"Linie, want to have a contest? Whoever kills more humans before running out of Mana wins."

"Wenbei, until we're sure whether they're enemies, Lady Nanoda told us not to hurt innocent humans carelessly."

Linie still wanted to ask for more information.

"Those aren't innocent humans. They've already decided to kill us. If we don't fight back, we're the ones who die. We have to kill them. There's no way around it."

Wenbei had already pushed her tachi a little way out of its sheath.

They could actually run away.

But Linie swallowed those words. However she looked at it, these people were enemies.

"Yes. There's no way around it."

Linie raised the double-headed axe in her hands, and the phantom image of the dwarf Eisen overlapped with her.

The two Demons stood united.