「HAAAAAAAH-!」

With rallying cry, a man swung a long sword designed for mock battles.

The speed of his swing was overwhelmingly faster than that of an ordinary soldier, demonstrating the man’s skill.

However, his opponent seemed to read his attack as they gently struck out with their own weapon.

The next moment, as if it had all be planned from the beginner, the long sword was deflected from the point of contact and the man saw a sharp blade in front of him.

「That’s it!」

The man with the long sword gave a sigh of relief as he heard the voice echo out.

Even so, there was a glint of regret in his eye as he looked at his opponent.

He knew that there was a difference in their ability from their track records alone.

But, as a man, he still wanted to be able to strike back.

Even though his opponent was younger than him, they were significantly stronger. For that, he held a sense of respect……no, something closer to awe of that person.

All because he wanted his own strength to be acknowledged.

「Your swings with your long sword were impressive. There’s no problem with your footwork as you shift your center of gravity. However, it would be better if you had stepped in a little faster. Try to be conscious of every single step……no, half step.」

His opponent spoke as the blade that had been thrust at him was taken away.

「Thank you, Captain Rei!」

Rei nodded at the words of the guerrilla soldier as he placed the Death Scythe on his shoulders.

After dismantling the Wyverns and handing over the materials to the blacksmith, a mock battle had been held to decided who would use the Wyvern leather armour that would be made, which was followed by a big barbecue party with the Wyvern meat.

Of course, there were five Wyvern’s worth of meat, so it was impossible for the guerrilla unit to eat it on their own. Naturally, it ended up being a big party with many others joining in.

Even so, most of them didn’t drink until they were drunk as they were aware that the final battle was near.

Anyway, the next day after handling the Wyverns, Rei was engaged in mock battles with members from his guerrilla unit.

However, with the final battle approaching, full scale mock battles weren’t really possible.

They were already going to start marching to the battlefield the next day, spending the night there before fighting the final battle the day after.

They couldn’t afford to have anyone injured in mock battles and they couldn’t tire themselves out ahead of time either.

So, instead of full scale mock battles like what they had done before, they had lighter sparring sessions.

But, to those watching from the surroundings, this didn’t seem like light sparring at all.

Rei’s method of training was quite rigorous.

And, since he was training elites, like the guerrilla unit, even if it was light training to them, it appeared a lot tougher to others.

「What’s wrong? You’ve been training since I went to the Imperial Capital, but you don’t seem to have gotten any stronger. Is this your limit?」

The soldiers in the guerrilla unit were filled with fighting spirit as Rei spoke in a provocative tone.

(That’s right, that’s the spirit.)

Rei nodded in satisfaction in his heart.

……All things considered, he was still somewhat astonished.

The original reason for why Mercurio’s army, then called the rebel army, was created, was to withstand attacks from the punitive force, so the risk of dying back then was considerable.

The act of fighting enemies that kept coming at them until you died or they died forced the soldiers of the guerrilla unit to grow……whether they liked it or not.

One real battle was better than three in training.

The intensity of real battles wasn’t something you could normally experience, so it was only natural that the skills of the soldiers of the guerrilla unit would improve.

「Here I go!」

The next soldier shouted as he dashed forward with spear in hand.

The spear and Rei’s Death Scythe were about the same length, but the Death Scythe didn’t have any methods of thrusting to attack.

Well, it technically did with the shaft, but compared to a spear, the Death Scythe had a huge blade, so it’s range was naturally inferior.

The soldier seemed to be targeting that as they launched several consecutive thrusts.

The thrusts were so fast that an ordinary soldier would never have been able to do it.

However, Rei deflected them all with the Death Scythe.

No, he didn’t just deflect them, he even closed the distance, little by little.

From the soldier’s perspective, the pressure he felt from Rei was quite heavy as the gap hadn’t closed in one stride, but was gradually decreasing.

Rei’s movements as he grew closer made his opponents feel threatened.

「Shit!?」

The soldier seemed to panic from the pressure he felt from Rei. After launching a thrust, he mistimed his pull back.

He might have gotten away with it against an ordinary opponent.

But his opponent was Rei and that split second opportunity was all he needed.

The next moment, the blade of the Death Scythe was pointed at his neck.

If Rei moved his hand even a little, his neck would have been slashed.

The soldier gasped at the thought that crossed his mind.

But, the blade left just as quickly as it had arrived.

「That was close. That series of thrusts was quite good, but you were impatient and missed the timing on pulling back your spear. Those types of attacks have very delicate timing. Even the slightest lapse in your emotions can throw you off balance. If you are going to attack, never doubt your own skills. Not until you’ve finished your attack at least.」

「Y-Yes! Thank you!」

And so the day passed with mock battles among the members of the guerrilla unit.

While Rei and the guerrilla unit spent their time leisurely, the rest of Mercurio’s army was very busy as they prepared to pack up camp and move.

No, Mercurio’s army weren’t the only ones busy.

Even those who had been doing business in the temporary camp were busy with packing up their stores.

It was a matter of course. Mercurio’s army would leave the next day to head to the location of the final battle.

If they won, they would head to the Imperial Capital afterwards. If they lost, they would never return.

In other words, this camp that they had stayed in for so long would be finished by tomorrow.

……That said, some people did think that it would be convenient to keep it around just in case they lost the battle and had to run from the punitive force.

As it was the last night, some people used the opportunity to have a party, eating and drinking the extra food and alcohol they had.

The camp was already as large as a town, so the voices of people echoed all over.

Hearing those voices, which seemed to be wishing for victory, Rei thought about the upcoming battle in two days before going to sleep.

 

 

The next day, under a clear autumn sky that seemed to be celebrating their departure, Mercurio spoke from a high platform.

「We are about to head to the decisive battle against the punitive force. But I am not worried. That’s because I believe in the strength of this army! The fact is we have won every battle against the punitive force so far. So no matter what they have planned, we will not lose! So let’s go! To grasp victory and glory with our own hands!」

Those words were spoken in a completely different tone to Mercurio’s usual tone as it was heard by the entirety of the army, about 10,000 soldiers, with the help of magic from one of Theorem’s subordinates.

Preparations for departure had been underway since before dawn and the speech was the last thing to happen before they left……

『UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-!』

A roar sounded from Mercurio’s army.

A roar that did not doubt their own victory.

Filled with the confidence that they had won battle after battle.

And above all, the feeling that they had with them the person who had brought them all these victories by their side.

It was a roar will with all those emotions.

Glancing at his army, Mercurio waved his hand.

At that simple motion, the soldiers immediately fell silent.

「Mercurio’s army, depart!」

Mercurio’s voice echoed out once more followed by cheers.

As the soldiers trembled with excitement, the army began their march.

That said, the army was now quite large at 10,000 soldiers.

There was naturally a departure order, so while their march had begun, there was a considerable gap before the last troops would depart.

「We can win, we can definitely win!」

「Yeah, yeah, yeah! We will win! To make Prince Mercurio the next emperor!」

「I……we will do it, for Prince Mercurio!」

「Up until now, for one reason or another, we’ve only fought battles defensively. This is getting me pumped up.」

「No, I think that juts fighting defensive battles was more than exciting enough.」

「Really? I’ve been around since the very first battle against the punitive force, when it was still the rebel army……」

「I envy you.」

The members of the units that had yet to depart chattered to each other with excitement.

They had already been informed of their departure order, so they weren’t annoyed at the wait, wondering when it would be their turn to leave.

「UOOOOH-! It’s no good, Prince Mercurio’s words just now got my blood boiling! Someone, let’s spar right now!」

Some of them seemed so excited that they were going wild.

 

 

「All is well in the world……I guess? Well, I can’t really say that since we’re in the middle of a civil war.」

「Guru~」

Rei muttered to himself and Set replied as they flew through the sky as advance scouts for Mercurio’s army.

Rei was feeling quite free as they flew.

It was now deep into autumn and the air was cold even if the sun was out.

Furthermore, as they were flying about 100m above ground, he would normally be shivering from the cold and wanting to return to the ground.

But, in Rei’s case, the Dragon Robe automatically regulated his temperature.

Set was a Griffon, so this level of cold was nothing to him.

「Even so, is it possible that the punitive force will take the opportunity to plot something……?」

「Gurururururu~?」

Rei didn’t really think the punitive force would does something like that considering they had confidently specified a date and location for battle.

But, at the same time, it was also true that Kabajid would use any means necessary to win.

In the end, Mercurio was the one to decide on the battlefield, so while there shouldn’t be any problem……Rei still felt uneasy.

「So, in the end, someone still needs to go ahead for reconnaissance. And if there needs to be reconnaissance, Set and I are the best ones to do it.」

「Gururu~」

Set gave a cry at Rei’s words.

As the strongest in Mercurio’s army, they were the people best suited to scout ahead.

That was what Set seemed to say as Rei stroked his back.

It must have felt good as Set gave a happy cry as he flapped his wings to fly forward.

「But, Set. You’re going a bit too fast. We have a force of 10,000 soldiers who are moving slowly. Plus we have a transport unit loaded with supplies. If you get too serious, we’ll end up too far away, so please go as slowly as possible.」

「Guru~……」

Set gave a disappointed cry at Rei’s words.

While they were in Frizione’s army, there was a lot less people, so their travel speed wasn’t that slow.

On the other hand, Mercurio’s army couldn’t move that quickly.

The more people there were, the longer it took for them to travel.

Set, who only needed himself, wasn’t too happy about that.

「Come on, don’t look so unhappy. You’ve experience moving with an army during the Spring War, right?」

「Guru~」

Set still seemed a little unhappy, but gave a cry of understanding.

The previous marches he had been part of were certainly difficult, but having moved alongside Mercurio’s army several times now, they had become somewhat accustomed to it.

In fact, the civil war had now gone on for much longer than the Spring War.

To put it bluntly, Set was getting bored.

「Calm down. The civil war will be over by tomorrow. Well, as long as they don’t put up any pointless resistance.」

Victory was all but decided in Rei’s mind.

Vihera, Theorem, the White Rose Knights, the guerrilla unit, the Demon Soldiers. …….As well as himself and Set.

With that much strength, they would definitely be able to defeat the punitive force.

The other side had likely prepared a considerable force, but Rei believed that they would be no match for him.

……His prediction couldn’t have been more correct.

Indeed, if the punitive force had only come with the force they had, Rei would have been able to wipe them out with his fire tornado and Overlord’s Armour.

However, he had made one major miscalculation.

The S rank adventurer, the Immovable Noiz, had joined the punitive force as a means to deal with Rei.

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