「They’re coming, they’re coming, they’re coming! Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid! Don’t let these monsters advance any further!」

A desperate voice echoed through the battlefield.

However, the voice failed to encourage the punitive force soldiers as they desperately tried to suppress their own fear.

It was only natural.

The beings heading towards them weren’t things things people would see normally..

If the approaching enemies had been Mercurio’s soldiers……or even cavalry, they probably wouldn’t have been as scared.

But, the figures heading towards them were nothing so simple.

They had tentacles, scales, and even tails growing from their bodies.

If that was all, they might have been mistaken for Beastkin or humanoid monsters, but it was a different matter when each figure was made up of several such features.

One had tree root like legs and seemingly sentient tentacles sprouting from their back.

At first glance, one appeared to have the body of a Lizardman, but their lower half stretched out like a snake.

A giant centipede with the face of a human.

A gorilla like creature with green fur and many eyes all over its body.

A gigantic praying mantis with tentacles growing from all over its body.

There were many other indescribable creatures beyond that.

Facing such monsters……there wouldn’t be a soldier who wasn’t terrified at the sight of the Demon Soldiers charging towards them.

No, it was already good enough that the soldiers hadn’t started to run away in a panic.

「Damn it, why are those monsters here……」

「Seriously. I’m pretty sure they are the Demon Soldiers that were used in the Spring War, right? I thought Prince Mercurio’s authority over them was taken away.」

「Now’s not the time to think about that. We can’t let them get through! Archers, fire!」

Following their commander’s orders, a volley of arrows was released from the rear.

However……in terms of pure combat power, Demon Soldiers were far superior to human soldiers.

They dodged the arrows flying towards them as they used their various tentacles, limbs, and other appendages to knock away the ones they couldn’t avoid. Some didn’t even bother to dodge the arrows, letting them slide off the slime that covered their body.

The attacks that had been released to strike first and slow the Demon Soldiers down were largely ineffective.

This caused the morale of the soldiers who saw it to plummet, intimidated by the unexpected results.

Like that, the charging Demon Soldiers plowed straight into the front ranks of the punitive force.

「We can’t be beaten here! Everyone, your spears! Use your spears! Take them……」

The commander suddenly fell silent mid shout.

A nearby soldier gasped as they turned to ask their commander for orders and formations.

What they saw was the corpse of their commander, with the insides of their head gouged out from right ear to right eye.

The commander’s brains spilled out through the wound, causing the soldier to immediately vomit the contents of his stomach.

The soldier had experienced his fair share of battlefields, but even so, the sight before him was enough to make him throw up.

「Huuurgh-, ugh-, ugh-, impossible……what is thiiiiiiiiis-!」

Reacting like that on the battlefield naturally made them an easy target on the battlefield……

「Die, you little shit!」

The Demon Soldier, whose upper body was made of stone, like a Golem, swung their arm down.

Normally, that would have been enough to crush the soldier’s head.

However, the Demon Soldier was puzzled about the result before his eyes.

His arm……in human terms, was missing from the elbow down.

「Huh? Why is my arm……?」

「Scum that have abandoned your human form. Don’t think you can kill my soldiers so easily!」

The attack that accompanied those words effortlessly sliced through the stone body of the Demon Soldier, blood spilling everywhere as they collapsed to the ground.

「Don’t be afraid! They are merely people who fled their human bodies and into monstrous forms because they couldn’t get any stronger! There is no way that we……soldiers led by Pelfiel……will be defeated by such enemies! Stand up! Ready your weapons! This battle will decide our future! For your family, friends, and lovers! Ready the weapons in your hands!」

Pelfiel’s words caused the soldiers who heard her to grip their weapons tightly.

The thought about what would happen to them and their families if the punitive force were to be defeated.

「If we lose-……if we lose!」

「ARRRRRRRRRRRGH-!」

「Pick up your weapons! If we lose this battle, we’re doomed!」

Shouting at each other, the soldiers readied their weapons as they charged the Demon Soldiers.

The Demon Soldiers had the overwhelming advantage in terms of individual strength. However, on the battlefield, numbers were strength.

Overcoming quantity with quality required extraordinary strength, like Rei.

As a result, the punitive force started to gradually push the Demon Soldiers back. If it continued, they might even be able to launch a counterattack against Mercurio’s army.

Those were Pelfiel’s thoughts as she kept a vigilant eye on her surroundings…..suddenly looking towards the ground.

She hadn’t noticed before……but grass had started to grow at her feet.

She wouldn’t have thought much of it if it had been spring or summer.

If it had been the end of summer or beginning of autumn, wouldn’t have paid that much attention to it either.

But, it was late autumn and it wouldn’t be surprising for snow to fall any day.

Was it possible for grass to grow at this point in time? ……And to grow so lushly?

Pelfiel’s instincts warned her of danger.

「Everyone, be careful of the grass on the ground……」

A warning.

That was what Pelfiel wanted to give.

But, her warning came too late.

「AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!」

「Damn it, damn it, what is this, what is this?」

「Damn it, cut it, cut it! Why is it……」

Screams and shouts of confusion and bewilderment filled Pelfiel’s ears.

Looking towards the source of confusion, wondering what had happened, she was met with an unbelievable sight.

Some soldiers were unable to move, their bodies tied down by the grass that grew from the ground. With their bodies pinned down, the grass grew through the gaps in their armour, strangling them as their faces turned red from fear and lack of oxygen.

Others were already dead, their bodies skewered by tree roots that extended from the ground.

One soldier was swung like a flail, their body restrained by thorny vines as they crashed into their comrades, screaming in extreme pain as the thorns pierced their flesh.

「What……-! That’s right, Demon Soldiers!」

After a moment of confusion, Pelfield remembered the documents on Demon Soldiers that Kabajid previously showed her.

The documents said that, while rare, some Demon Soldiers were capable of traveling underground or underwater.

The success rate of the rituals to create such Demon Soldiers was incredibly low and many had been disposed of after disobeying the orders of Kabajid’s subordinates after taking control of them from Mercurio.

(There are at least three here. Was the report a lie? I need to speak with the person who wrote it.)

Muttering to herself, Pelfiel approached a soldier being strangled by vines as she swung her sword.

She cut away the vine strangling the soldier in one strike and dealt with the subsequent vines that grew with continued attacks.

「Cough-, cough-, hah, hah, hah……Pelfiel-sama, you saved me.」

Leaving the soldier, who expressed his gratitude, Pelfiel began to free the soldiers bound by tree roots and thorny vines, one by one.

However, Pelfiel could only attack the parts that extended above ground.

She had no way to attack the roots underground.

She had her soldiers try pulling out the severed vines and roots, but they broke shortly after without any Demon Soldiers emerging from underground.

In addition, the battle with the Demon Soldiers above ground was still in full swing.

Getting over their initial shock when seeing the Demon Soldiers, they had been able to use sheer numbers to fight back on equal terms. However, thinking about the potential of attacks from beneath their feet caused them to lose focus against the Demon Soldiers.

So, despite Pelfiel’s efforts, the battlefront remained in a state of stalemate, with both sides evenly matched.

 

 

「Don’t let them get around us! Show everyone that we are the strongest cavalry in the Bestir Empire!」

In a different location from where Pelfiels soldiers clashed with the Demon Soldiers.

Cavalry clashed with cavalry.

On one side was the famed elite cavalry that served directly under Shurus.

「Forward! Everyone, show the beauty of the White Rose Knights on the battlefield! Teach them that the thorns on these roses can be fatal to anyone who lays a hand on us!」

On the other side was the White Rose Knights, led by the First Unit, serving directly under Frizione.

Both were among the most powerful cavalry units in the Bestir Empire and, as such, shared a long standing rivalry with each other.

With two such cavalry units meeting on the battlefield, it was clear that the clash would result in a fierce fight.

「Fire-!」

「We won’t give in, everyone, fire-!」

Arrows and magic shot out from the back of Shurus’ cavalry.

As if to intercept them, the Fifth and Sixth Units of the White Rose Knights responded similarly with arrows and magic of their own.

Arrows were intercepted with magic and magic with arrows.

The few arrows and magic attacks that made it through were then knocked or slashed away by the cavalry.

With both groups possessing top tier skills, it was hard to land any meaningful damage on the other.

The melee cavalry split into smaller groups and moved rapidly as they clashed, slashing their opponents or knocking them off their horses.

Some even tried to take advantage of their mounted mobility to get behind the enemy, but the other side didn’t ignore that and spread out to prevent themselves from being surrounded……seeing that, the flankers shifted their attacks to other locations.

As the hectic battle continued, Angela issued orders one after another to each White Rose Knights unit.

「Second and Third Units, move to surround them. Fourth Unit, attack the flanks of any units that try to stop them. Fifth Unit, provide support.」

The White Rose Knights moved swiftly under the rapid orders from their commander.

「Wow……no matter how you look at it, there’s no way we’d be able to fight there.」

「If we went in there carelessly, we’d all die.」

「But, it’s amazing. They’re going head to head with Prince Shurus’ cavalry and staying evenly matched.」

「Yeah. I knew they were strong, but I never imagined they’d be so strong.」

「Until the civil war, I had always thought the White Rose Knights were just a ceremonial order.」

「Ahh……that’s fair. In fact, they’ve appeared in quite a few ceremonies, so that’s not entirely wrong.」

「If anything, doesn’t that mean that ceremonial orders are also powerful?」

「No, that’s usually not the case.」

The soldiers accompanying the White Rose Knights were discussing among themselves.

While they were supposed to be supporting the White Rose Knights, they had also been expecting a battle between highly trained cavalry units. They were concerned that a poorly coordinated infantry assault would result in more casualties if they made a mistake, so they were just watching from the sidelines for now.

Of course, they weren’t just watching. Their role was to keep an eye on the battle between the cavalry forces, ensuring that other enemy units wouldn’t try to take advantage of the situation.

That said, despite their role, they were still captivated by the highly coordinated fight that was happening.

The cavalry moved as soon as they received an order, as if they were a living organism.

That was why both the punitive force and Mercurio’s army refrained from intervening in the battle.

「I know it’s inappropriate to say this, but I wish I could watch this battle forever.」

One soldier muttered out loud, expressing the thoughts of all those present.

They knew and could see that lives were being lost amidst the fighting at this very moment.

But, even so, watching from a distance like this, they continued to be captivated by the battle that could be described as artistic.

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