Shurus’ cavalry and the White Rose Knights.

The two cavalry units were still locked in combat.

The sight of each side searching for an opening in the other looked like a work of art to onlookers.

「Damn it, couldn’t they have just kept watching a little longer?」

「Seriously! Damn it, they’re coming again! Fire, fire!」

The infantry unit that had accompanied the White Rose Knights shouted abuse as they shot their arrows furiously towards the punitive soldiers heading their way.

Until a moment ago, they had been leisurely watching the cavalry battle, but the punitive force suddenly became more active.

They had started to surround the cavalry battle as they attacked the supporting infantry as well.

Of course, this wasn’t to say that Mercurio’s army didn’t know why this had happened.

「There’s no doubt, the Water Dragon is involved!」

As a soldier shouted out, they directed their gaze to where a water dragon had appeared on the battlefield before.

……Yes. Where it had been.

The water dragon that had been there was now no longer visible.

All the soldiers had gasped when they first saw the water dragon and were now relieved that it was gone.

Of course, a water dragon wasn’t something you could find anywhere.

The only person they could think of that could create a water dragon like that was the A rank adventurer Water Dragon Digma, and they had never heard of Digma joining Mercurio’s Army.

In other words, the water dragon had been their enemy.

It wasn’t a strange conclusion to reach.

In addition, Water Dragon Digma was known for using his water dragon in large scale engagements.

The soldiers had been worried about when the water dragon might bare its fangs towards them, but it ultimately seemed to just rampage around where it had first appeared without troubling them.

……That said, where the water dragon did go on a rampage, near where Vihera and Digma had been fighting, both Mercurio’s army and the punitive force had suffered varying levels of casualties.

Fortunately, as the damage was limited to the immediate surroundings, the punitive force soldiers quickly became active.

Water Dragon Digma was nominally one of the punitive force’s most powerful fighters.

But since his water dragon had disappeared without attacking Mercurio’s army, it was only natural for the punitive force to assume that he had been defeated by someone.

In that situation, the punitive force wasn’t left with many options.

Their original plan had been for Digma to play a major role in inflicting casualties on Mercurio’s Army.

This would have reduced the casualties the punitive force would have taken themselves, so it wasn’t a surprising plan.

But since that plan had failed, they decided to take advantage of the fact that they still had four times the number of soldiers in Mercurio’s army.

「Damn it, it looks like we’re being pushed back everywhere! The center front line in particular is being rapidly worn down.」

As the soldier shouted and shot an arrow and turned to look at the center of the battlefield, a calm voice responded.

「The center front line? I believe the soldiers fighting there belong to the traitorous nobles. In that case, there’s no need to worry about them. It’s probably the main camp’s plan to wear them down as well.」

Those words reminded the soldier of past events.

While their own soldiers were being worn down by the punitive force, nearing their limits, he decided that maybe it wasn’t that big of a problem.

To the other soldiers in Mercurio’s army, they deserved it for attempting to betray them.

If they had really been betrayed at a really important point of a battle like this……the losses they would have suffered would likely have determined the outcome of the battle.

「But……regardless, there are just too many of them! There are just too many!」

As the matter of the center front line left the soldier’s mind, he continued to complain about the punitive force soldiers approaching them.

No matter how many arrows they shot, their numbers didn’t seem to drop at all.

Rather, it was their own numbers that were slowly dwindling.

It was in this situation where the difference in numbers became more apparent than ever.

Of course, the White Rose Knights weren’t idle either.

If they lost their supporting infantry, they would be the next to be surrounded.

In addition, to uphold the honour of the White Rose Knights, they couldn’t let the soldiers accompanying them be wiped out either.

However, Shurus’ cavalry weren’t an opponent to be underestimated.

While the White Rose Knights held a very slight advantage in this moment, it was a very precarious balance.

Even the slightest mistake on their part would rapidly shift the advantage to the other side.

(I knew they were strong, but not to this extent. Prince Shurus really does hold great sway over the military.)

Widele thought to herself as she crossed swords with the captain of an opposing cavalry unit.

Her own subordinates also brandished their weapons against the enemy.

Some time had passed since they had first clashed and both sides had suffered injuries. There were even a small number that had been killed in battle.

The main reason why the death toll was so low was primarily due to the fact that both sides had prepared large numbers of potions for the battle.

In terms of amount of potions available to them, the punitive force had more, having support from the Imperial Capital. However, in comparison, the White Rose Knights had a relatively large number of knights in the fifth and sixth units who could use healing magic.

Thanks to that, the White Rose Knights also had minimal casualties.

Of course, even if they were healed with magic, while those with minor injuries could go straight back into battle, this wasn’t possible for serious injuries. Many already had to withdraw from the battlefield because of that.

(If this continues like this, our smaller numbers will be pushed into a corner.)

Widele cut off the tip of a spear that was thrust at her with her magic sword before cutting of right arm of the captain she was fighting, causing them to grit their teeth.

To begin with, Mercurio’s army was close to four times smaller than the punitive force.

It went without saying what the result would be if they both lost numbers at the same rate.

「What wrong? You were the one who challenged me with that level of strength.」

Widele’s fierce shout echoed into the surroundings.

Having just defeated their captain, many of the opposing knights were intimidated by her shout.

The captain was helped to the rear by his subordinates after losing his right arm and collapsing to the ground. But in actual fact, any other captain among the White Rose Knights other than Widele would have had a hard time defeating the captain from Shurus’ cavalry.

Among the captains of the six units in the White Rose Knights, Widele held the greatest individual strength.

While it might have seemed to the others that Widele had easily won, it only served to remind Widele of the strength of their opponents.

(In any case, now is the time to demonstrate our superior strength, even if it is just a pretense. We have to keep it up……)

As Widele contemplated what needed to be done and who to target next, she suddenly noticed a commotion.

However, it wasn’t coming from Mercurio’s army, but the punitive force.

「What’s going on?」

As Widele wondered what was happening, she poured her magic power into her sword, creating lightning as she slashed at the enemy cavalry.

Her lightning infused blade was particularly potent because the enemy was wearing metal armour.

It might have been a different matter if they had been wearing armour made from magic metals, but not even Shurus’ cavalry could afford to equip everyone with such armour because of its rarity.

Widele swung her sword again and again, hoping to hit as many targets as she could.

「GYAAAAAAAAH-!」

「AHHH-!」

「GAGAGAGAGAGAGA-!」

Each time her attacks hit, the targeted knight would scream as their bodies were paralyzed, causing them to become unable to keep up with their horse’s movements and falling off.

This was a tragedy given this was a battlefield between cavalry forces.

Anyone who fell from their horse in such a battle risked being trampled on by friend and foe……in fact, if they weren’t careful, they even risked being trampled by their own horse, having their body and limbs crushed or head smashed in.

「Messenger, messenger!」

As Widele struck down her enemies with her lightning magic sword, a White Rose Knight rapidly rode up to her.

「What’s wrong?! What’s happened?! I saw a commotion coming from the rear of the punitive force. Is it related to that?」

「Yes. It seems that Count Obrisin and Viscount Bugle’s soldiers have launched an attack on the rear of the punitive force’s infantry!」

「……What?」

Widele stopping pouring magic power into her sword as she seemed a little confused.

「Weren’t Vihera-sama’s soldiers meant to be fighting somewhere else……」

「It seems that Vihera-sama is nowhere to be found.」

Struck by a bad premonition, Widele stopped in her tracks.

She thought for a moment that the fact that Vihera was nowhere to be seen meant that she had either been killed or had suffered severe enough injuries to make her unable to continue fighting.

However, she quickly dismissed the idea.

As one of the most skilled fighters in the White Rose Knights, she could sense Vihera’s strength without even fighting. It was clear that someone like Vihera wouldn’t be easily injured.

Unable to think deeply while fighting at the same time, Widele left the front lines to her subordinates as she retreated to the rear.

……Of course, retreating to the rear still meant that she was within the battlefield, just not on the front lines.

「So, am I correct in saying that Gurgast-dono is leading that force?」

「Rather than saying that he’s leading them, it would be more accurate to say that he and his soldiers are just fighting as they please……but yes, you are correct.」

Widele was aware of the unique fighting style of the soldiers Gurgast led.

It was a strange unit that fought as individuals without any thought given towards coordination, yet somehow still achieving results.

Now that they were part of Mercurio’s army, they had additional support from Tilleyle’s archers, but even without support they would have fought the same way.

Naturally, having survived up until this point fighting like that, it was fair to say that every single soldier under Gurgast was an elite.

Still, considering Vihera’s preferred style of combat, Widele couldn’t shake the thought out of her mind.

「Vihera-sama……could she really have been injured and forced to retreat? That can’t be possible.」

「I can’t imagine Vihera-sama retreating due to an injury. In that case, she must have left her unit for some other reason……I mean, Vihera-sama has some bad habits.」

「……That is true.」

Widele nodded after hearing that.

She knew that Vihera loved to fight.

That said, it did seem strange for her to be so honest about her desire to fight the strong in this battle, which would determine the future of Mercurio’s army……

(No, if there was someone that Vihera-sama wanted to fight, perhaps that means that there is someone who is just that strong. If we left someone like that unchecked, the damage we would have suffered would have been considerable. ……In that case……)

As Widele thought of that, the image of the huge water dragon that could be seen across the battlefield flashed through her mind.

She had been surprised when it had first appeared on the battlefield, but it had then barely moved from its position, seemingly fighting someone.

If the water dragon had been able to rampage freely on the battlefield, there was no doubt that Mercurio’s army would have suffered significant casualties.

The original plan had been for Rei to launch a surprise attack at the enemy’s rear, causing a large amount of confusion, but there wasn’t any sign of that happening.

Nothing was guaranteed on the battlefield and many soldiers still believed that they would win with Rei on their side, but it was also true that some people were beginning to lose heart.

Of course, in such a situation, there were also those who wouldn’t let the situation get any worse……

Under those circumstances, it wasn’t hard to guess who had fought the water dragon.

(If that’s the case, it was probably Vihera-sama.)

She wasn’t certain.

But Widele believed it to be the most likely scenario.

「Contact Commander Angela. It’s time to launch an all out attack.」

After asking the messenger to pass on her message, Widele returned to the front lines.

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