By the time Vihera arrived along with her subordinates, including Tilleyle, the battle was already nearing its end.

Gurgast stood at the center, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction as he looked around.

Vihera, who was a fellow battle maniac, and Tilleyle, who had known Gurgast for a long time, knew that he wasn’t surveying his surroundings, but rather recalling the battle that had just occurred.

A strong smell of blood hung in the air from the corpses of the punitive force soldiers as well as several of Gurgast’s subordinates which were scattered everywhere, but Vihera didn’t seem to care as she went over to Gurgast.

As a battle maniac herself, Vihera was no stranger to corpses.

She didn’t particularly like seeing them, but she wasn’t going to scream at the sight of them like an ignorant person either.

「Gurgast, you seem to be in a good mood. Did the battle satisfy you?」

「……Vihera-sama? Well, it wasn’t a fight I was completely satisfied with, but it was still quite enjoyable. It was a far cry from when I fought Rei though.」

Gurgast spoke as he looked at both his battleaxes with an ecstatic gaze.

It was a look that would normally stop anyone from getting close to him.

His aura at this time just didn’t feel right.

However, Vihera just nodded with a small smile at his words.

「I see, that’s good.」

「……It seems you had an enjoyable battle on your side as well?」

Understanding the meaning of Gurgast’s gaze, Vihera smiled ambiguously as she spoke.

「I don’t know about that. They were certainly strong, but their style of combat was a complete mismatch to mine. I had the overwhelming advantage in the match up. If you asked me whether it was fun or not though……well, I guess I would say it was fun.」

Vihera’s response was vague as she thought of Digma.

As an A rank adventurer with a title, Digma certainly lived up to his name.

But as his title of Water Dragon suggested, Digma was more suited to fighting large numbers of opponents.

Of course his combat skills were by no means weak and could even be considered very strong if he fought alongside his water dragon.

Still, Vihera hadn’t been able to lose herself in the excitement of combat as much as she had hoped.

Gurgast was a little suspicious at Vihera’s reply, but Tilleyle interjected before he could say anything.

「Now then, since we’ve cleared this area, shall we keep advancing? Rei has already caused quite a lot of damage to their rear guard. Surely it wouldn’t be a problem to charge straight for their main camp?」

「……That’s right. Gurgast, you……no, looking at you, there’s no need to ask.」

As Vihera looked over at Gurgast, he swung both battleaxes in his hands to show that he still had the strength to fight……no, more than enough strength to fight.

It had been some time since Vihera had fought with Digma and her opponents since then hadn’t posed much of a challenge, so she had been able to recover a fair amount of stamina.

Tilleyle had yet to need to fight in person, giving orders to his subordinates instead, so he was still doing fine physically.

Gurgast’s subordinates had expended a lot of their stamina in combat, but with the adrenaline rush they were all having, they would probably be able to continue fighting for little longer, if not a lot longer.

The biggest source of concern at this point were the soldiers under Tilleyle’s command.

Not that they were a hindrance in any way of course.

On the contrary, by most standards, they could be considered elites.

It was just that everyone else present was so abnormal that Tilleyle’s unit were the only ones where it might be a concern.

「Tilleyle.」

With just one word, Vihera’s subordinates knew what she wanted to say. Tilleyle gave a deep bow towards Vihera.

「Leave it to me, Vihera-sama. My soldiers and I will ensure that your exploits on the battlefield will be glorious.」

「……Fufu, same as always. But please don’t push yourself too hard.」

Vihera spoke to Tilleyle, who appeared the same despite all this time on the battlefield, with a charming smile.

Tilleyle spread his arms wide as if overcome by emotion at Vihera’s smile.

「Let us go now! To put an end to this battle……this civil war, that has pitted brothers against each other. And to show the greatness of Vihera-sama!」

「Seriously, he never changes, no matter how much time passes by.」

Gurgast sighed, but his whole body seemed radiate a joy for combat as he continued onward.

Seeing that, Vihera also stepped forth, looking forward to the end of this civil war.

Vihera stood at the center with Gurgast behind her to the right and Tilleyle behind her to the left.

Following behind them were their soldiers.

The central battle lines had already completely collapsed and the few soldiers who had remained had been swiftly dispatched by Gurgast and his subordinates.

Any who were still left were in no state to lay a hand on Vihera as she advanced through the battlefield.

In this situation, some even found Vihera’s confident and fearless figure on the battlefield to be like the descent of a deity.

As Vihera and her subordinates advanced through the deserted battlefield, only those who remained loyal to their masters didn’t flee.

Those remaining soldiers somehow managed to rally a final defense, waiting at the end of the battlefield before the rear guard.

「……Do it!」

「Here we come.」

With just those words, the final fight of the central battlefront began.

In terms of numbers, the punitive force still had the advantage.

Even after being at a disadvantage for so long, the fact that they still had the superior numbers spoke to the punitive force’s true strength.

Of course, that strength was also the Bestir Empire’s strength.

Vihera honestly wanted to avoid killing as many of them as possible.

They knew that the battle was already lost, and yet they still remained loyal to the very end.

Of course, not all of them were truly loyal.

Some still hoped that they would be able to pull off a miracle reversal, earning themselves a large reward, while others were still being lured in by Vihera’s beauty.

Despite being such a mixed bunch, they still hoped to turn the battle around at this point and were confident enough in their own ability to face Vihera and her subordinates head on.

Vihera’s main combat power at this point was still in Gurgast and his soldiers, with Tilleyle’s soldiers having tired out from the long battle.

Naturally, Gurgast and his soldier remained the main combat force while Tilleyle’s soldiers fell back to their usual supporting role.

As for the punitive force soldiers that remained, they were a mixed group with no real coordination between them.

Because of that, after clashing head on……

「You dare to challenge me with such meager skills? Try again when you’re stronger.」

Vihera muttered to herself as she knocked out another soldier using Magic Palm while dodging a spear thrust.

Looking around, the fight could only be described as a massacre.

It was a fight that the punitive force stood no chance of winning from the beginning.

All they had been able to do was to buy enough time for the rear guard to regroup.

And above all, as they believed, time for Kabajid and Shurus to come up with a countermeasure.

「Damn it! Don’t retreat! We cannot retreat! If we lose here, all that’s left is the rear guard! We have to hold out! Until Prince Shurus comes up with a plan!」

One of the soldiers facing Vihera let out a heartfelt shout.

『UOOOOOOOOH-!』

Those words seemed to galvanise the remaining soldiers.

They swung their weapons desperately, hoping to reduce the enemy by even a single person.

「Die-!」

「Oh, you’ve got a good eye, attacking me. I’m definitely weaker than Vihera-sama and Gurgast.」

Tilleyle twisted his body as he spoke, dodging the spear thrust targeted at his body.

「But……」

With those words, Tilleyle quickly drew his rapier from the sheath at his waist before slicing off the tip of the spear.

A rapier was a weapons mostly known for its thrusting attacks.

So how had Tilleyle cut off the spear tip so easily? It was simply because he was using a magic rapier.

Of course, it wasn’t a particularly special magic rapier.

It couldn’t generate any of the elements, like fire, wind, lighting, water, ice, or earth, like typical magic weapons, and it was only slightly more durable compared to an ordinary rapier.

What made this rapier a magic weapon was the effect it had that allowed a slashing effect to occur wherever its tip was thrust towards.

「Eh?」

The soldier with the spear let out a confused voice, seemingly unable to understand how the tip of his weapon had been cut off.

「I also serve Vihera-sama. Naturally, I have to posses at least this level of skill.」

Tilleyle swiftly thrust his rapier out as he spoke.

Two thrusts in under a second.

By Vihera or Gurgast’s standards, it was nothing fancy, but for the average soldier, it was still too fast to track and avoid with their own eyes.

The thrusts pierced through the gaps in the soldier’s armour that covered his elbow and torso, applying its magic effect immediately as it tore through skin and ripped through flesh.

It wasn’t quite enough to cut through bone, which was why it was still a low grade magic weapon.

Of course, even low grade magic weapons weren’t commonly available.

The only reason the Bestir Empire even possessed such low grade magic weapons was thanks to their advances in alchemy.

「AHHHHHHHH-!」

But, even if it didn’t cut through the bone, tearing through skin and flesh was still extremely painful.

If the soldier hadn’t noticed the cuts, they might not have felt the pain immediately due to the excitement from combat. However, seeing the injuries on their arm and body made it hard to not notice.

They weren’t sharp slashes either, but proper cuts.

As the soldier knelt on the ground, screaming in pain, Tilleyle knocked them out before searching for his next opponent.

Unfortunately for the soldier, they had assumed Tilleyle to be a weak and easy target. Fortunately for them on the other hand, it was Tilleyle they were fighting.

Tilleyle understood Vihera’s desire to kill as few people as possible since the battle had already been decided and knocked out those he could.

Of course, Vihera’s wish to leave as many soldier alive didn’t come from an aversion to killing but a desire to maintain the Bestir Empire’s strength after the war. That said……

「AAAAAHHHHH-!」

A soldier screamed in agony as their right arm was severed by a single battleaxe.

It was Gurgast who had made the attack.

Gurgast didn’t care for either Vihera or Tilleyle’s thoughts as he merciless swung his battleaxes at anyone who stood in his way.

If there had been anyone with Bratta’s strength or qualities, he might have left them alive, but to Gurgast, any enemies he could describe as weaklings would be killed without question.

「Damn it! Stop them! Stop them here! The rear guard is still reorganising! If we let them through, they’ll collapse in an instant and will be able to push all the way to the main camp!」

The highest ranking commander among the surviving punitive force shouted out.

They had to buy more time, which was why they desperately doing whatever they could to raise morale, even if just a little……

「Oh, really? That is really good to know.」

As the commander turned to face the voice……he was distracted by the sight of a sensual woman, unsuited for a place like the battlefield.

He felt something touch his armour, but never found out what it was.

The sight of their highest ranking commander being knocked out only served to further demoralise the punitive force.

They were now at the point where they were outnumbered and outmatched, only holding out through what little morale that remained……and with that gone, the soldiers’ final defensive line crumbled in an instant.

Like so, Vihera’s soldiers, joined by the rest of Mercurio’s army that had moved up since, advanced towards the punitive force’s rear guard.

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