Chapter 111: Glory of Heroes

With the momentum of the battle turned in our favor, I led the charge. Using Matsukaze, I raised the heavy katana and pointed it at the routed enemy.

"Charge!"

"Oo-rah!"

The Space Marines…I mean dwarves let out a cry and raised their boltguns, power axes, thunder hammers and other heavy weapons. Clad in bristling power armor, they loped forward, the servos of their suits whining as they bounded across the bloodied terrain. The human infantry was scattered, broken apart by the armored charge.

More were blown apart by the grinding advance of my Malthas tanks and their plasma weaponry, but it was the Hellblade that did most of the work, massacring dozens of soldiers with each blast of its main cannon and chewing infantry up with triple twin heavy bolters.

"Our tank battalion has been destroyed, and we've suffered 90% casualties!" an aide shouted to the dumbfounded Genevean general. "Sir! What do we do?! Fall back?!"

"No!"

"Then what are your orders, sir? Fight to the last man?!"

"Ugh…"

The general gritted his teeth as he surveyed the battlefield, which had turned into a catastrophic disaster. His mind blank, he clenched his trembling fists, unable to think of a solution. Even though Kobayashi had charged him with securing victory over the blasted dwarves, he was on the verge of not merely suffering an utter defeat, but was staring total annihilation right in the face. In less than an hour, his men would be completely wiped out.

"How disgraceful."

Instead of Umezu Shigeo, a man in a white laboratory coat stepped up, pushing his glasses up his nose as he studied how the tides of the battle had changed. Flanked by several colossal bodyguards, clad in carapace armor and gas masks, he smirked confidently.

"D…Doctor Cillantro!" the general gasped when he saw the newcomer. "W…wait! I can explain this! Just give me some time…"

"You're out of time, General." The scientist shook his head in mocking displeasure. "Oh my, oh my. I can't believe they actually wiped out the entire tank battalion."

"I apologize! I didn't think they would possess a tank of that size and firepower! They actually destroyed your entire battalion of tanks in the blink of an eye!"

"I know. I was here. I witnessed everything." Cillantro was rubbing his hands eagerly, not at all bothered by the loss of the Mauler-pattern tanks that he had personally designed and built. "I can't wait to capture that tank and dismantle it…crack it apart and see how it works. Oh my, indeed. The power needed to move a tank of that size and weight and still supply it with enough energy to launch devastating strikes…I really, really want to find out what secret technologies the dwarves have been hiding from us. I can't wait to reverse-engineer it…for the greater glory of the Emperor."

"Doctor," one of the bodyguards spoke up, his voice muffled by his respirator mask. "It's dangerous here. That super-heavy tank is too close…"

As if to punctuate his remark, the Hellblade fired. The titanic shell arced over and slammed into the trench the infantry were taking cover in, wrecking the tempoprary HQ and causing men to cower. As the general and his command staff reeled from the blast, a gigantic debris – a boulder that had been gouged out of the mountain from the sheer magnitude of the Hellblade's firepower – soared mercilessly toward them, ready to crush them.

"Oh, Evelyn…" the general gasped as he helplessly watched his impending doom descend upon him and his officers.

But it never reached them.

The boulder was sliced neatly in half. The two halves of the boulder fell on either side of the sprawled general, sparing him and his men from a messy death.

Standing in front of them was the single, lone figure of Umezu Shigeo, who had drawn both his swords. He turned his head slightly to glare at the hapless general.

"H…Hero-sama…Umezu-sama!"

Realizing that his life had just been saved, the general fell to his knees and prostrated himself before the hero, tears leaking out of his eyes as he forsook his pride in order to prolong his life.

"P…please, Umezu-sama! Save us! Please save us! Please help us turn the tide of the battle! We need to secure a victory for his majesty Kobayashi-sama!"

While the general blubbered, Cillantro merely brushed the dust off the shoulder of his lab coat, shielded from the debris by one of his heavily armored bodyguards. He couldn't help but smirk at the pathetic display.

Umezu, however, was unmoved.

"Did you not tell me to stand back and take it easy, General?"

His voice was dripping with acid. The general blanched.

"I…I'm so very sorry, Hero-sama! Please, I beg of you…forgive my insolence! I swear, I'll never be so arrogant in front of you again!"

"Keep your empty promises," Umezu replied shortly, uninterested in the general's blabbering. "I am only doing this because Kobayashi-kun asked me for a favor, and not because I want to help you or your men."

Cold perspiration ran down the general's face as he stared at Umezu's cold expression. The hero had already turned his back on the shuddering soldier and was striding toward the tanks, fearless in the face of such titanic armor and immense firepower.

"Mayumi-san?"

"Let's go…dear!"

Dressed in scarlet robes, Kido Mayumi sauntered forward boldly, already casting spells with her slender, delicate-looking hands. Her long, red hair flowed in the wind, tied into pigtails so as not to get in the way of fighting.

The two of them had been married in Restia, under the blessings of a priest from the Church of Evelyn. They had always been dating since they were in high school, back in our previous world, but clearly they had decided at some point of time to consummate their relationship by pledging themselves to each other.

Not that I was interested…

As the dwarves advanced under the cover of my tanks, I led from the front. King Hedol hurried forward in his Terminator armor to catch up with me.

"Major Tomoyuki…" he growled. "Do not expect my gratitude."

"Of course not, your majesty King Hedol," I replied smoothly, my voice traveling through the speakers built into Matsukaze's hull. Even though he couldn't see me, I smiled. "I apologize for interfering in your battle. I was just merely taking the chance to show off my work…I hope you remember our end of the deal."

"Heh."

Hedol smirked, and nodded good-naturedly. He probably still recalled about our deal – that the first Hellblade would be mine. It didn't matter to him. Belisarius and his team had the schematics and blueprints, and now they had the practical experience and technical know-how necessary to mass-produce the Hellblade-patterened super-heavy tanks. Before long, we would be fielding entire super-heavy companies of Hellblade tanks and their variants. I could see a Shadowblade variant, which would be a Titan-killer with its Volcano cannon…

"Brother…"

Donorea had advanced forward as well, lifting her spear as if to thrust it forward into the rearguard of the fleeing enemy.

"Let's go ahead!"

A sweeping advance, huh? Now that the morale of our foes had broken and they were falling back, we could finish them off in one fell swoop.

However…

"No, Donorea."

Hedol's voice was firm. He turned his back on Donorea, even as he advanced forward with his Terminator bodyguards.

"You are strong and skilled, but you will stay here."

"What?!"

Donorea protested, but Hedol shut her down mercilessly.

"As your King, it is my duty to protect you. Even more so, because I am your brother. And this is not a place for you."

"…"

Donorea fell silent, even as she tightened the grip on her spear.

"Um…" I began somewhat uncertainly. "Your majesty, if I may…"

"No, you may not," Hedol cut in. "This is between a brother and a sister. An outsider like you has no say in the matter."

Without looking back at the crestfallen Donorea, he continued resolutely.

"And as your king, this is my command to you, my dear sister. You're to stay here, out of harm's way. The morale of our men will suffer a great blow if they were to see you fall. It is not just for your sake, but for the sake of my soldiers. I hope you understand and obey."

"…I understand and obey."

Despite her reluctance, Donorea consented. With that, Hedol raised his Thunder Hammer and let out a roar.

"Now, venture forth, brave soldiers of Moria! Do not falter! Do not relent! Do not show mercy! We will crush every single fool who dared think themselves capable of conquering Moria! And we will have the head of the enemy's commander!"

"Oo-rah!"

While the dwarves let out a single, unified cheer, Donorea alone remained silent and solemn, her eyes sad and worried.

As she stared at the advancing phalanx of power armored dwarves, my tanks caught up. I heard Gio's voice crackle over the vox.

"Good thing we got the Hellblade here in time!" he remarked cheerfully. "Now the dwarves have rallied and are on the offensive. There's no need for her highness Princess Donorea to fight. Isn't that right, Major?"

"Uh…you might be, except for one thing." I scanned the area with Matsukaze's sensors, feeling uneasy. "Where are the two Evelyn's Chosen who were supposed to be with this brigade? They have yet to show up and attack…"

That was right. Even if we had destroyed the enemy tank battalion, the most powerful assets of the enemy weren't the armored vehicles and the sheer firepower they brought along, but their heroes. Heroes who possessed enough strength to cut apart tanks with their swords alone, or obliterate vast spaces of terrain with terrifying magic spells.

"Don't let your guard down," I told my men. I was still unable to shake off the premonition that haunted me despite not detecting anything anomalous on my auspex. "Keep an eye out for Evelyn's Chosen or other threats…"

"What could be worse than a tank?" Daniel asked from his command tank. Then he corrected himself. "Well, Evelyn's Chosen. But I don't see them here. Where could they be? Did they retreat when they spotted you on the field, Major?"

"Knowing them, they would be more likely to charge straight at me when they see me, rather than retreat."

Gio snorted in laughter. "That much is true."

"…wait!"

I had finally detected something in my auspexes. To my horror, I saw sparks flying in front of us. The dwarves had stopped too, noticing the sparks and embers that flying around in front of them. Despite the sudden increase in temperature, their power armor or tactical dreadnaught armor protected them from the intense heat.

For now.

"Be careful! The enemy has flamers!"

"They might be potent, but they don't have much armor penetrating power…"

One of the dwarves dismissed the warning, but that turned out to be his last words. Blood sprayed into the air as someone slashed through a trio of dwarves, his enchanted swords slicing through their ceramite armor as easily as if they were made of thin paper.

"Enemy contact!"

The dwarves backed away, no longer confident and assured in their thick, ceramite power armor. Umezu adopted an offensive stance with his twin enchanted blades and glared at them, beckoning them to attack.

When they didn't, he kicked off from his spot and slashed another power armored dwarf, cleaving him in half despite the latter's hasty attempts to parry his blow with his axe. Before the top half could even hit the ground, Umezu was already flashing forward and cutting two other bellowing dwarves apart.

His enchanted blades gleaming, he left a trail of carnage in his wake, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the fearless dwarves. They had faltered a little, blown apart by his rampage, but they remained cohesive and determined.

"Don't fall back! Fire!"

"Take him out!"

Sergeants shouted orders and a volley of boltgun fire streaked toward the calm Umezu. However, he merely twirled his enchanted blades and cut the mass reactive shells apart before they could reach him.

"What the feth?!" Gio demanded from his APC, even as he tried to target the fleet-footed assassin with the Cerberus's hull multi-laser.

"It's him…one of Evelyn's Chosen." A grin spread across my face as I swung Matsukaze around to face him. "They've finally decided to come out and play, huh?"

"That's…an Evelyn's Chosen?!" Donorea cried as she watched Umezu's superhuman movements. Evidently this was the first time the cloistered princess had seen one of the heroes in the flesh.

"Fall back! Don't let him get close!"

"Form a firing line!"

Realizing that they were outmatched in close combat, the Brother-sergeants in each squad hastily yelled for their men to fall back, keeping a safe distance from the skillfull assassin. Umezu continued to plunge forward.

"I have no grudge against you dwarves, but…for Kobayashi-kun's ambitions, all of you must die."

"The only one who will die here is you!" a Brother-Captain shouted. "Fire!"

A line of power-armored Marines…I mean dwarves squeezed the trigger of their bulky boltguns, their weapons roaring as a stream of mass reactive shells erupted from their snout barrels. Even in the face of death, Umezu stood his ground and continued dashing forward.

He didn't slice through the barrage of projectiles this time. He didn't need to.

Raising her hands, Kido murmured something and cast fiery spells. Magic circles materialized above her palms, and in response to her will, fireballs appeared out of nowhere and slammed down against the hail of metallic projectiles, incinerating the bullets into ash before they could get near the charging Umezu.

With their volley of concentrated fire burned away, there was nothing standing between the dwarves and Umezu. He cut a bloody swathe across one line of boltgunners with his twin blades, annihilating the entire squad.

Beside him, the fiery form of Kido Mayumi descended gracefully, flames crackling and dancing around her.

"…!"

In the face of such bloodbath, even Hedol was forced to retreat. The king gnashed his teeth in fury at the presence of both heroes.

"That's another Evelyn's Chosen!" Gio shouted.

"Yeah. Umezu Shigeo and Kido Mayumi. It's been a while."

I sent an arc wave blasting toward them, but Kido countered it with an inferno. A pillar of fire rose and collided with the blue crescent of lightning, both spells negating each other. Umezu then raised his enchanted blades, getting ready to fight.

But I wasn't about to engage him in close combat, not even when I was in a Titan. The size of Matsukaze would be disadvantageous here. He would be more nimble and agile, ducking my Titan's attacks while carving Matsukaze apart with his twin swords.

No, it was best to keep my distance. Instead, I yelled at the stunned dwarves.

"Fall back! All of you!"

Switching to the vox, I transmitted a message to Jurgen.

"Jason, Geoffrey, start shelling the two Evelyn's Chosen with all the weapons on the Hellblade. Protect King Hedol at all costs!"

"Roger that, boss!"

"Heh! Will we get promoted if we kill the Evelyn's Chosen?"

"Shut your trap and fire, Gunnery! We haven't killed nothing yet!"

The Hellblade shuddered as it opened fire, its massive shells and ruby las-beams shrieking as they arced toward Umezu and Kido.

However, Kido shielded both herself and her husband with a wall of flames, which detonated the shells and dispersed the las-beams before they reached them. Manipulating the roaring tornado of fire, she directed a surge of flames at the armored behemoth, scorching the armored hull. I could hear my men cry out inside as the super-heavy tank shuddered.

"Whoa!"

"Hot!"

"Damn it! Engine's overheating! The weapons have overheated! We can't fire!'

"The tank's dead!"

"Are you guys all right?!" I voxed. At the other side of the system, I heard Jurgen cough.

"Yeah. It's pretty hot in here, but the thick armor protected us. The engine and weapons have overheated, though. We won't be shooting or moving for a while, until the tank cools down."

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least my men were still alive. Tanks could be fixed, crews could be trained, but comrades couldn't be replaced. Not by anybody.

However, the appearance of the two heroes had swung the tide of the battle back in the humans' battle. The surviving infantry were racing back, yelling zealously their faith and devotion to the Master of Mankind.

"Men!" the general bellowed, his courage and impudence restored. "We have the initiative! The dwarves are in disarray! Now's our time! Push them back toward the wall!"

"Hah!"

Hedol snarled when he heard that. Raising his Thunder Hammer, he charged toward Umezu, blue lightning crackling around his weapon.

"You think we dwarves will obediently be shepherded away by the likes of you?! Dream on!"

Clad in his Terminator armor, the hero of Moria swung his Thunder Hammer with all of his strength preparing to obliterate the calm and still Umezu. I clicked my tongue when I saw that he had ignored my instructions to fall back.

The guy was really trying to beat the heroes by himself! He was stealing my prey!

"Your majesty! Fall back! Allow me to fight Evelyn's Chosen!"

"NO! This is Moria, my domain! You're just an outsider! I will defend my own home with my own hands!"

With that, the armored king descended upon Umezu with the tremendous weight of his lightning-clad hammer, howling like a great wolf.

Kido stepped in and cast another spell. A pillar of flames sprung up between Umezu and Hedol, discouraging the latter.

"Brother!" Donorea shouted worriedly when she saw that he was about to plunge into the inferno of his own volition.

However…

"Your pathetic, cowardly spells will not stop me!"

With a surge of determination, Hedol smashed through the pillar of flames with his Thunder Hammer, unleashing a gigantic web of lightning that scorched and cratered the ground surrounding his armored body.

Umezu was forced to jump away before he got crushed by the tremendous head of the Thunder Hammer, even as Hedol's strike broke through Kido's protective wards and left a massive crater in the ground.

"That hammer…"

Landing away elegantly and twirling his twin blades, Umezu analyzed the situation and murmured to himself.

"I can't believe it actually penetrated Mayumi-san's strongest flame barrier. It must be a legendary weapon indeed…made of mithril, I presume? It's just too unfortunate…"

He tightened his grip in his twin swords and I spotted intricate runes glowing mystically along the gleaming blades.

"…this sword, forged by Nagano-san, is made of orichalcum…it is a noble phantasm…I mean heroic weapon that far surpasses the legendary treasures and weapons of any demon! Unless your weapon has been forged by Nishida-kun, which I doubt…"

With a vicious strike, he lashed out at Hedol, who was barely able to parry his blade. Unfortunately the king of Moria was driven back, only his Terminator armor saving him from a messy death from the flashing twin blades.

"Their resistance is weakening! Cannons!"

"Not if I can help it. Daniel! Company T! Destroy the infantry!"

"Yes, sir!"

Even without the Hellblade, it wasn't as if we were helpless. I still had an entire company of Malthas tanks. They lanced out with plasma blasts, incinerating scores of infantry.

…or would have, if Kido didn't stand before them and wreath them in flaming barriers. The superheated plasma met the inferno and merged, causing even more furious flames to crackle and roar toward the skies.

"Oh, feth!"

I swore under my breath. I completely forgot that there were two heroes.

And I had just aided Kido Mayumi.

Kido was making use of the plasma that I had just gifted her and wove them into a gigantic spell. A massive fireball floated above her.

"Armageddon," she intoned.

"Down! Evade!"

My tanks dispersed, but Kido wasn't aiming for them. Instead, she launched the enormous fireball straight at the wall and blew a gap in the fortress.

Alveron had been breached.

"…!"

Seeing the inferno rage along the breach in the fortress wall, perspiration dripped down Hedol's face as he faltered for a little.

"The wall!"

That hesitation was more than enough, especially for a hero like Umezu Shigeo.

"What an idiot."

With a sudden powerful strike, he cleaved through Hedol's Tactical Dreadnaught armor, drawing a geyser of blood and causing the heavily wounded king to stagger. With his Terminator armor breached, Hedol was left vulnerable and amost unable to retaliate.

"You'll pay the price for being distracted in battle…especially against an opponent of my caliber. Or did you think my status of hero was unearned?"

"Ugh…"

Hedol collapsed helplessly, dropping his Thunder Hammer. He could only watch helplessly as Umezu lunged forward, his twin blades scything down to finish him off. Closing his eyes, he could only apologize.

"I'm sorry, Moria…I'm sorry, my men…I'm sorry, my sister."

The blow never landed.

Clang!

Umezu's twin blades were parried by Donorea's mithril spear. The dwarven princess twirled her spear in a move almost reminiscent of Lilith's, and she drove the surprised Umezu back. Hedol looked up at her, stunned.

"Donorea?!"

Rage filled his voice as he clutched his grievous wounds.

"I ordered you to stay back! Are you defying your brother and king?!"

"I am!"

Donorea's reply was certain and without hesitation. Hedol gazed up at her, dumbfounded by her defiance.

"!!"

"Brother…" perspiration dripped down her face as Donorea struggled against the superhuman skills of Umezu, but she held her ground determinedly, defending both herself and her brother. "You have taught me well. But now…it's up to me. I have become independent. I can make my own decisions. And I choose to protect you…and Moria!"

With a sudden surge of strength, she knocked Umezu back.

"Donorea!"

Hedol watched worriedly, unable to believe his eyes.

"I care not if you're male or female."

Umezu pointed his blades at Donorea, his eyes narrowed.

"But the moment you step onto the battlefield and attack me, I will kill you."

"I expect nothing less."

"Do you now? Fine." Umezu glanced back. "Mayumi-san!"

His wife was rushing forward, magical circles glowing around her hands as she got ready to direct a barrage of fireballs at the new target.

However…

Boom!

"Kyaaa!"

Kido was sent hurtling backward as a gigantic katana slammed into the ground right in front of her. As expected of a hero – she had godly reflexes. I had tried to crush her or slice her in half, but she had stopped and jumped back at the very last moment.

"Ugh…"

"Mayumi!"

Umezu glared at me and swung his enchanted twin blades, ready to attack…

"Don't underestimate me!"

…only for Hedol to smash the ground where he was standing on a millisecond ago. Umezu cursed and countered, but Donorea interfered and parried the twin swords before they could cut her brother apart.

While he was being distracted by the dwarven king and princess, I turned my attention to Kido, who was standing up and casting more fire spells.

"Hey, Kido. Do you remember me?"

Her eyes widened when she heard my voice out from the speakers of Matsukaze.

"T…Tanaka-kun?! You're still…alive?"

"Yeah." Unseen in my cockpit, I grinned. "And I'm here to take my revenge on both you and Umezu."