Gimeena City - 2

…Then there were five days left until the start of the third match. The noontime Gimeena City main road was quiet.

Yet at the same time, there were enough people there to fill the street to capacity. The quiet throng was eerily intimidating, sinking the entire city into silence.

The scene outside was visible from the windows of the estate built up along the mountain.

"Hrmm, well, looks like things have really turned sour."

They were in a large dining hall on the estate's first floor. Ozonezma replied to Yuca's grumbling as he sized up the situation outside the window.

"THEY DO NOT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF STOPPING."

Ozonezma was able to surmise the identity of the throng. "THEY'RE OLD KINGDOMS' LOYALISTS, ARE THEY NOT?"

"Probably."

The Old Kingdoms' loyalists crowding into Gimeena City were targeting Yuca the Halation Gaol.

The main road, ordinarily lively with voices from the shops and merchants, had gone silent, and the armed throng continued to gather as time went on. The wave had continued to grow stronger from morning that day.

"See, usually, there's some signs with this sort of stuff, but welp. Times like this are when you get the relatively serious types. You can't hear any angry cries or speeches or anything, right…? Actually, you probably don't get any of this, huh."

"…NO. I UNDERSTAND. THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY RESOLVED THEMSELVES TO ACT DO NOT NEED TO ENERGIZE THEMSELVES. CONTROLLED ACTION, NOT PROPELLED BY FEAR OR ANGER."

Having always taken the lead in quelling uprisings, Yuca had profoundly earned the hatred of rebellious forces, such as ones outside the window. He was a valuable fighting asset who was the one in charge of leading an insurrection would want to eliminate before all else.

However, together with the execution of Gilnes the Ruined Castle, the Old Kingdoms' loyalists had lost their main constituents—and were supposed to have been already cleaned up entirely—

SAFETY IS NOT GUARANTEED OUTSIDE OF AUREATIA. THEIR TRUE TARGET MAY ACTUALLY BE ME.

Naturally, a disorderly group of however many thousands surging toward him couldn't possibly be enough to defeat Ozonezma the Capricious. However, the same wasn't true of his sponsor, Yuca.

"THE SITUATION IS BY DESIGN. A MANIPULATED UPRISING."

"Hmmm. Well, thinking through it all logically like that isn't really going to do anything, to be honest. Something's gotta be done about the situation first. After this is all over, there'll be someone else to think about all that stuff."

"I CAN FACE THEM."

"No, no, no. Quelling uprisings falls under my jurisdiction, after all, and I can't owe you a favor, Ozonezma."

Yuca was already donning a red suit of light armor. Very sparse armor, preventing arrows from piercing through to his vitals—and nothing more.

"BUT ESCAPE SHOULD BE THE FIRST PRIORITY. YOU AND I ARE

EQUALS. I WANT YOU TO BUY TIME."

"Ha-ha-ha. Well, you got me there. And here I thought I'd just fight through them all on my own."

"…THERE IS A MOUNTAIN BEHIND THIS MANSION, YES? SURELY YOU HAVE AN ESCAPE ROUTE PREPARED."

"I'm surprised you knew that." "MERELY CONJECTURE."

Yuca's manor had a steep mountain behind it. It was for times like now, suddenly under attack, to restrict the defensive area to its facade. It was an approach very appropriate of a military official.

Even if the attackers had sensed the presence of an escape route through the mountain, Ozonezma concluded that the troop strength capable of deploying in the tangled mountain wilds would be more restricted than it would be in front of the mansion.

"LET US MOVE TOGETHER UNTIL WE PASS INTO THE MOUNTAIN PATH. I WILL KEEP OUR REAR SAFE. ONCE YOU ESCAPE, GATHER SOLDIERS AND POUND THIS FORCE BACK AGAIN. WE SHALL DIVIDE OUR ROLES BETWEEN US. THAT SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE."

"I didn't want to trouble you like this, you know? Didn't you want to keep your skills hidden until the day of your match?"

"I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT THAT. LEAVE IT TO ME."

"Of course. Well then, let's go with that."

With the matter settled, the two moved quickly. They were both warriors who had fought through a great number of battles.

When they passed through the wooden corridor that stretched out from the hidden back exit in the mansion's basement, they immediately exited out into the middle of the mountain. After cutting apart the entryway, concealed by bushes, they both dashed down the wet crags, without wasting any breath between them.

Ozonezma ran in front of Yuca, ensuring the mountain road was safe. The mansion at their backs would likely be up in flames before long. Though, the best plan would be to bring the situation under control before it met such an end.

"By our hands, the kingdom will rise again!" "Expel the Twenty-Nine from the assembly!" "Take the Fourteenth General's head!"

The people's shouts could be faintly heard far off in the distance.

This throng of theirs wasn't the true threat. There were likely those mixed in

their ranks who hadn't been Old Kingdoms' loyalists in the first place. People agitated into a frenzy, their misfortune, oppression, and discontent used against them.

THE ONES FORCED TO STAND IN THE LINE OF FIRE… ARE THE WEAK, DRIVEN UP AGAINST THE WALL.

If this was a purposefully planned raid, then the force in front were, in part, a feint—

There was a whoosh of something slicing through the air. Simultaneously from three directions. Continuing to run at a high speed, Ozonezma caught the arrows flying from the gaps in the trees.

Tossing the arrows aside, he declared, "RANK AND FILE."

The fingertips that caught the arrow shafts with abnormally precise movements did not belong to any of Ozonezma's eight legs. They were part of the crowd of humanoid arms that grew out of the fissure in the center of his back.

Within Ozonezma's enormous body, not reminiscent of a chimera at first glance, housed an innumerable number of people's arms, like a nightmarish cnidarian creature.

"IS THIS THE EXTENT OF THE ENEMY'S STRENGTH?"

"I mean, they really can't do anything but hide and shoot from afar, right?

They can't use fire attacks in the middle of the mountain, either."

Yuca was facing archer fire himself, and yet his tone stayed carefree and easygoing through it all.

On top of this, as he spoke, he dashed out from behind Ozonezma. In a straight line toward the mountain fighter, perfectly aware of their position after judging the trajectory of their shots moments prior.

They aimed at Yuca as he ran—and fired off the second volley. Too slow. Ozonezma's movements were faster than the arrows' flight. The countless arms blocked the arrows' arrival like a wall. Yuca had gotten in close to the archer.

"Yuca the Hal—!" the archer shouted, the distance between them neutralized. Of the three of them, the archer likely hadn't ever imagined they would be the one to die and see their end come so abruptly. The gleam of a curved short

sword flashed through the air. "Hrrrm."

The flash of Yuca's sword severed their abdominal artery. The blade cut off the small intestine, dragging it out into the air.

"Sorry about this."

Yuca told the soldier plainly, yet with a look of regret, before continuing deeper into the mountain. Jumping, accelerating, fatally injuring, then escaping

—it was a rapid performance, like flowing water.

The entire chain of movements showcased ability inconceivable of his outwardly obese body.

"…FITTING OF THE TWENTY-NINE OFFICIALS."

Naturally, at that point, Ozonezma's attack was over, too. Instantly exterminating the other two archers, he was collecting the exceptional latissimus dorsi muscle from the first—and the well-conditioned pulmonary artery from the second. With their windpipes ruptured, they weren't even able to let out death rattles.

He stopped there and watched Yuca's back recede into the distance.

"NOW THEN, I SUPPOSE I WILL BE…KEEPING ALERT FOR PURSUERS FROM BEHIND."

The instrument stored inside Ozonezma's body was exposed. A large radzio transmitter.

It was one of the reasons he had let Yuca continue on ahead. While Ozonezma was a chimera, he could control radzio with a level of precision beyond any minia.

"DO YOU HAVE A GRASP OF THE SITUATION, ZIGITA ZOGI? THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSAULT FORCE ARE OLD KINGDOMS' LOYALISTS."

<…You're finally able to get in touch, I see, Master Ozonezma. estimated that if you kept yourself hidden without entering Aureatia, eventually someone would do something drastic, but… This is quite something, indeed.>

"IN ANY CASE, THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE UPRISING. EVEN I AM ABLE TO REACH THAT CONCLUSION."

<First, allow me to give you my read of things. The one behind those loyalists is, in all likelihood, Aureatia's Twenty-Seventh General. Haade the Flashpoint, I'd say. military officer supporting Soujirou Willow-Sword, opponent for your first match, Master Ozonezma.>

The third match was determined to be between Ozonezma and Soujirou.

In which case, the obvious approach was to eliminate the opponent beforehand. However.

"IS AN AUREATIAN BUREAUCRAT CAPABLE OF MANIPULATING THE ANTI-AUREATIA OLD KINGDOMS' LOYALISTS?"

<After losing Gilnes the Ruined Castle and Romzo Star Map, Old< p>

Kingdoms' loyalists around the land are nothing more than raucous hens with their heads cut off. They don't have any clue where their orders are coming from. Replace the "heads," egg them on a bit, give them a target, and manipulating them like this is quite possible. Not a particularly uncommon fate for the remnants of a defeated army.>

"…HOWEVER, THE OLD KINGDOMS' LOYALISTS ORIGINALLY HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, DID THEY NOT? ZIGITA ZOGI, EVEN WITH YOUR POWER, YOU WERE NOT ABLE TO KEEP THE OLD KINGDOMS' LOYALISTS UNDER YOUR CONTROL?"

<That would be the difference between influencing an organization temporarily and using them long-term. In fact, with this latest development, I grasped that there are spies from Aureatia infiltrating Old Kingdoms' loyalists. If one was truly going to take command of organization, then it more efficient do so after waiting for make a move like today's, where our enemy has revealed pieces they have in play. Though, caused some trouble you unfortunately, Master Ozonezma.>

"…INTRIGUING. IN THAT CASE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE SCENARIO AFTER ALL THIS?"

Zigita Zogi the Thousandth. His might was fundamentally different from that of individual strength.

It was the strength of his tactical foresight and intellect, and the more cooperators he had, the more he was able to share this power. Introduced through Hiroto the Paradox and now collaborating with the goblin, Ozonezma could make use of his own personal fighting strength as a champion through strategies and tactics based off the goblin's optimal situational judgments.

<The enemy's true target is Master Yuca. Without any preliminary information, they decided to neutralize Yuca instead of you, Ozonezma, given knew nothing your origin or fighting strength—would be what I would surmise. Since you haven't openly shown yourself in Aureatia, if were lose sponsor, then no longer have means enter the city… To go one step further, positions himself line fire—and has suppressed uprisings reactionary forces. The Old Kingdoms' loyalists plenty reason themselves attack him directly.>

"YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT IT IS AN EASILY INCITED OBJECTIVE FOR THEM."

<…And with that, first they seek to eliminate Master Yuca. It's likely that will try capture him alive. Thereafter, using the "head" was< p>

previously concealed within the Old Kingdoms' Loyalist ranks, guiding them… Master Haade will suppress the Old Kingdoms' loyalists under the pretext of rescuing Master Yuca. With that, he will be able to largely dispose of the loyalists in a position to know the particulars behind this series of events. Master Yuca would then be in his debt, there'd be no leftover friction, and then once the third match is over, well… I imagine this is the likely the scenario he's operating under. If so, then our enemy has thought up a rather interesting plan, I would say.>

"IF THIS 'HEAD' IS HERE NOW, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CUT IT OFF MYSELF… ARE YOU FINE WITH ME MAKING A MOVE?"

<Thrilled. If our enemy is putting this scheme into motion, at the very least, one in charge of agitating uprising must be mixed with group out front. Do not worry about what's behind you. My commando unit has already taken care ones placed along Master Yuca's path retreat.>

The radzio communication was cut off.

Zigita Zogi… As expected of a strategist recognized by Hiroto the Paradox. He was always reading two or three steps ahead of his enemy, weaving webs of initiative and taking every precaution. If he was guaranteeing Yuca's safety, then Ozonezma believed he must have indeed been truly safe.

As if to prove this fact, a single soldier came running up to Ozonezma. "Heeey, Ozonezma!"

It was one of the Fourteenth General's bodyguards, who he had seen several times before.

"IS YUCA SAFE?"

"Yeah. Our unit's already begun moving to put down the uprising. The Old Kingdoms' louts are moving much slower than expected. You should retreat now while you have the chance."

"BECAUSE THEIR FORWARD-FACING ACTIONS…WERE ALL A FEINT TO LURE US INTO THESE MOUNTAINS. THUS THE SLOW PACE."

Then their best troops were hunted down by Zigita Zogi's soldiers. No matter how meticulously prepared and planned their forces may have been, they couldn't possibly put up a fight against a goblin colony moving in accord with the truest tactical strategy.

Ozonezma lifted his enormous head and captured the citizen mob in his gaze from atop the mountain.

Their individual heads looked like poppy seeds from afar, but for Ozonezma,

that was more than good enough.

"OF COURSE, I WILL OBEY THE ORDER TO RETREAT. HOWEVER, BEFORE THAT, I HAVE SOMETHING TO TEST."

"What's that…?"

"Yaogoyurrg yogog. Yogm agenyeryu. Yesgef goyuyarg. Yayoymc yuuya. Yarhatyu." (From Ozonezma to Gimeena soil. Shadow of queued divergence. Swimming horn. Reflected in a white line. Assemble.)

With this, he scratched the dirt with his colossal forelimbs.

Countless silver lights appeared from beneath the thin layer of soil. The weapons Ozonezma created with his Craft Arts were surgical knives used for medical treatment.

"THERE WAS A MAN… A RENOWNED MERCENARY NAMED ALBERT THE SUMMER RAIN."

Far…far away. Ozonezma observed the throng, tinier than ants at this distance.

Ozonezma could distinguish all the bodies in the rabble from each other.

Along with each of their movements. Even down to their breathing, too.

Though they consciously tried to hide it, he was able to grasp the movements of an Aureatian soldier.

It wasn't relevant who the Old Kingdoms' loyalists were outwardly propping up as their leader. Haade the Flashpoint was a trueborn soldier, which meant that the subordinates he sent for the task would be, too. Ozonezma identified three targets. Haade's undercover agents, sent into the Old Kingdoms' loyalist ranks. The "head" guiding the organization from within.

The minian arms that sprouted up in droves from his back picked up the blades formed from soil.

Then—

"WHILE THEY MAY NOT BE AS ACCURATE AS 'SUMMER RAIN' WAS…"

A shrill sound of slicing through the air, like a flute.

With it, his throw was finished. The three Ozonezma had in his sights were eviscerated by surgical knives launched at bullet speed.

"…IN TERMS OF RAW POWER, I WOULD SAY MY CAPABILITIES ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE."

"Y-you killed them? From this distance…? Impossible…"

Leaving the still-stunned guard behind, Ozonezma quickly departed the area.

He reported back to his own camp on the other side of the radzio.

"I DISPOSED OF THE 'HEAD.'"

<…I heard about your exchange. This is Dant. If Haade really behind this, then this 'head' or what have you doesn't end with the ones standing out in open. There had to be others who saw attack.>

The Twenty-Fourth General, Dant the Heath Furrow. Zigita Zogi's sponsor. "THAT IS NOT A CONCERN. AS LONG AS THE ONES OUT IN THE

OPEN HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH, THEY WILL HAVE LOST THEIR CONTROL. IT SHOULD ALSO HELP WITH PUTTING THE UPRISING DOWN TO SOME EXTENT."

<…So you're saying the attacks you showed off weren't everything, huh? In that case, what's your trump card, then? I haven't been told yet about how fight.>

"DANT."

Ozonezma glumly smiled without answering Dant's question. A bestial smile that couldn't be expressed through the radzio.

"I AM GRATEFUL. YOU MADE THE CORRECT CHOICE. THE SPONSOR YOU PREPARED FOR ME, YUCA THE HALATION GAOL… THE MAN DOES NOT TROUBLE HIMSELF WITH SCHEMES AND IS NOT LOOKED AT WITH CAUTION BY THE BUREAUCRATS. BUT…HE HAS OTHER STRENGTHS AS WELL."

Ozonezma had a goal. An objective that had remained unchanged from the moment the True Demon King's era came to an end.

"IT IS HIS AUTHORITY OVER THE PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION. HE HAS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE THAT NO OTHER GENERAL POSSESSES. THE RIGHT TO SLAUGHTER HIS COMPATRIOTS. AS LONG AS ANY SUPPRESSION HAS RECEIVED HIS APPROVAL… EVEN IF I KILL AUREATIAN CITIZENS, I WILL NOT BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE TOURNAMENT."

Haade had used Yuca's position, which incurred hatred among reactionary forces, and dispatched troops in their ranks.

Right now, Ozonezma had simply used that for himself.

The archers from earlier, and the "head" mixed in with the throng. All of them were nothing but unfortunate victims, created in the process of suppressing revolt. That was how it would be seen.

"YOU WILL UNDERSTAND MY OWN SPECIAL PRIVILEGE BEFORE LONG, AS WELL."

In the barracks situated in central Aureatia, Haade the Flashpoint learned the results of his surprise attack.

Dry white hair, with a long scar running down his right cheek. This elderly general, having lived through fiercer wartimes than any of the other living Twenty-Nine Officials, commanded Aureatia's military, as well as a faction in the government to rival Rosclay's own.

"The Gimeena City plot was put down. We failed to capture General Yuca. Is it at all possible that General Yuca saw through our surprise attack?"

Haade blew cigar smoke at the staff officer's report.

"No. I know Yuca very well. Putting ambush troops on the mountainside, anticipating our movement there, none of it's, well…it ain't his cup of tea. That man prefers his nightly beauty sleep over constantly being on alert for surprise attacks. If he had actually foreseen the siege on his mansion, he would've been able to make his escape right then and there, too."

"Then, does that mean his hero candidate, Ozonezma, prepared for the attack ahead of time and worked out a scheme of his own?"

"…Most likely. He's either really sharp for a beastfolk, or he was getting help from someone sharp. It doesn't matter either way."

Was it shrewd subterfuge or a magnetism capable of allying himself with such wits?

The more collaborators on one's side, the more it was possible to share that kind of talent with others.

"But, Lord Haade, I have one piece of good news. The 'nerves' that were sent into the Old Kingdoms' loyalist ranks were apparently murdered by short daggers flown from far in the distance. Sniping the 'nerves' of the operation with deadly precision, while they hide among that peculiar frame. It would mean our enemy possesses the ability for such an incredible long-range attack."

"It's a trap."

"…Huh?"

Haade placed his cigar on the ashtray. He was thinking about what these results meant.

If Ozonezma had indeed readied for this ambush, then he purposefully went out to fight for himself. That's where the problem lay.

"He killed them to announce to us what his fighting style is like. He wants us to get it in our heads that he utilizes long-range attacks. With that…he's trying to

coerce us into setting match conditions that would take advantage of Soujirou's close-quarters sword range. Ozonezma wants to use Soujirou's sword to work in his favor. Only natural that's the direction my mind'd go."

"Is there anything to base these suspicious on, sir?"

"Hmm, various things, sure. But for starters, on the battlefield, you don't see such convenient things happening often."

At the very least, Ozonezma wasn't going to fold just by getting in close. He had some trick to use when in sword range.

Throwing knives were far too conspicuous to be used for assassination. He was trying to make Haade inform Soujirou about this technique and instill an incorrect preconception into Soujirou before the match. Poison mixed in with information.

"…In any event, nothing to worry about. The dead here are nothing more than Old Kingdoms' loyalists who got nothing to do with me; Yuca even earned himself another notch in his belt. Good for him, eh?"

"We'll make our next move."

"Got it. At the bare minimum, for the second round… We gotta make sure we're going at it against Rosclay."

"Understood. We will see to it that Soujirou will advance through the first round."

The staff officer departed.

Haade grinned wide to himself. A smile that anticipated bloodshed. "I can't wait. You'd better entertain me, Rosclay."