Chapter 9: The Final Battle (part 2)

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On that battlefield, where a pitched battle was still being fought, the principality's

army suddenly began to crumble.

Members of the force that had fought hard to resist the attacks of the

numerically-superior army of the kingdom up until this point began to flee. The first

to run were those who had been hurriedly pressed into service in the time between

when the force had left Goldoa Valley and their arrival at the plains.

The Principality of Amidonia had mandatory military service for all men once

they reached a certain age, so they were combat trained, but these were people who

ordinarily lived as civilians. If they were suddenly sent into a disadvantageous

battle, their morale wasn't going to be great.

Eventually, soldiers started fleeing towards the southern side where the

encirclement wasn't yet complete.

The Amidonians cut down fleeing soldiers in an attempt to keep the others

fighting, but there were close to 10,000 of these levied troops, so it was little help.

However, the more of them that tried to flee, the more their lines were thrown

into disorder, and that ended up disturbing their ability to function as a unit.

Elfrieden did not miss this chance to attack.

"Hal, it's time, you know!" Kaede shouted.

"I've been waiting for this!" he called back. "Let go get 'em, you louts!"

"""Yeahhhhh!"""

In the left wing of the kingdom's army, Halbert charged forward with his troops

to complete their encirclement of the enemy. In this battle, Halbert was leading

somewhere between ten to twenty men from the Army and fighting as a platoon

commander under Kaede's command. He rode no horse, spinning his two halberds

around and knocking his confused enemies flying. The Amidonian general noticed

what was happening and shouted from up on horseback. "Don't let them encircle us!

Use indirect fire to stop the enemy's left wing!"

In the next moment, a hail of arrows and magic flew from the principality's army

towards Halbert and his unit.

"Earth Wall!" Kaede shouted.

This summoned a wall of earth that was nearly one hundred meters long and

three meters high which narrowly saved Halbert's unit.

That must have surprised the forces of the principality. There couldn't have been

more than five mages on the entire continent who could conjure such an impressive

wall of earth in an instant. Kaede may have had a timid personality, but she was a

genius when it came to her quick thinking and earth magic.

Halbert pressed his back up against the wall of earth for cover, then gave an

order to his men who were doing the same. "We can't let Kaede hog all the glory!

We're going for some payback!"

"""Yeah!"""

This time it was Halbert and his platoon firing arrows and magic over the earth

wall at the principality's army. Halbert threw one of the fire spears he had shown off

in the battle near Randel against the Zemish mercenaries.

The principality's forces were on an attack footing, so they were unable to

prepare themselves in time. They were shot full of arrows or scorched, and their

formation was thrown into chaos.

Seeing this chance, Halbert leapt out. "Now's our chance, while they're in

disarray! Charge in!"

Meanwhile, in the disorderly chaos of the principality's forces, their general was

trying to restore calm. "Men, don't fall into disarray! If we break ranks, we'll give the

enemy exactly what they want!"

He frantically tried to encourage his troops, but the chaos showed no signs of

abating. Growing impatient, the general rode up to one of his panicking soldiers and

suddenly lopped the man's head off.

"Shut up! If you'll not calm yourselves, I'll behead you like I did this fool!" he

bellowed.

"No, you shut up," a voice said.

"What?!" the general shouted.

By the time the general noticed him, it was already too late. Halbert was in front

of him with his arms crossed.

When Halbert uncrossed his arms, the blades of his two halberds acted like a pair

of scissors, catching the general's torso and cutting him into pieces.

The upper torso of the now ex-general thudded to the ground.

The sight of blood spurting from the still-standing, headless horse and the now

torso-less rider in its saddle robbed the soldiers of their will to fight in an instant.

Halbert flicked the clotted blood away from his two halberds with a flash, and

then he roared, "Forbidden Army Officer Halbert Magna has slain an enemy general!

Now, which of you wants to die next?!"

With blood dripping from the halberds in each of his hands, he must have looked

like some horrific monster.

Today, Halbert was fired up to compete with Souma and Kaede, who were both

around the same age as him. Souma had assembled this massive army, while Kaede

was supporting Ludwin with her strategic ingenuity.

I'm not gonna let them get any further ahead of me! That was the feeling that

drove Halbert now.

When they saw Halbert with such intensity, the Amidonian soldiers reacted as if

they'd run into an ogre in the darkness. They scrambled to retreat, thinking, There's

no way we can fight that thing!

One soldier of the principality, who saw Halbert at this time and narrowly

survived the battle, later told the story like this:

"Back then, I was sure I would die. He was still a young man, but even fierce,

veteran warriors didn't want to face him. When I later heard that was 'Hal the Red

Ogre,' it made a strange amount of sense. Honestly... I'm amazed I survived..."

It would be fair to say that for "Hal the Red Ogre," who would in later years be

used in stories as a representative of Souma's followers, his legend began with this

battle.

His style of standing at the front, leading his subordinates forward in a charge,

would remain unchanged even when he was given command of a full army. Souma

would warn him time and again that it wasn't how a leader should behave, but

Halbert would say, "This way suits me better," and never listen.

In fact, because he would always manage to survive, and to get results, Souma

wouldn't be able to say anything more than that. It would end up causing Kaede a

great deal of worry, but that is a story for another time.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hahhhhhhhhh!"

Meanwhile, in the right wing of the kingdom's army, Liscia let out a battle cry.

While acting as the commander of the right wing, she also rode around on

horseback herself, moving up quite close to the front line.

Each time Liscia thrust her rapier out towards the enemy, blades of ice formed in

the air and tore apart the Amidonian soldiers. Her form as she did so made her look

like a valkyrie. It even had a certain beauty.

But on the other hand, Liscia seemed to be acting in haste, as if the blood had

rushed to her head. She gave the impression of having lost her calm.

Of course, if she stood out so much, the enemy were going to target her.

"Don't falter! Surround her and take her head!" an enemy unit commander

ordered.

Enemy soldiers swarmed towards Liscia.

No matter how incredibly brave Liscia was, she was at a numerical disadvantage.

If she let herself be surrounded by spearmen, she wouldn't be able to break away

using the horse's superior mobility.

The enemy's spears closed in on Liscia. Then, "Princess! Why, yoooou! Get away

from her!"

Arriving just in the nick of time, Aisha knocked away the enemy soldiers

swarming around her with a full swing of her great sword.

Aisha had been assigned to guard Liscia, but her great sword wasn't meant to be

swung around on horseback, and she had fallen behind because she was on foot.

Once Aisha had wiped out the nearby enemies with a slash of her great sword

and a blast of wind, she ran up beside Liscia's horse with tears in her eyes.

"Princess, please, don't be so recklesssssss!"

"...Sorry," Liscia said. "I lost my head there."

Seeing Aisha's pleading, tearful eyes brought Liscia to her senses. She put her

hand on Aisha's head, which was at thigh-level for her because she was on a horse.

"But I have to be a little reckless," Liscia said. "Because... I want to end this war

quickly."

"Princess?" Aisha tilted her head to the side, confused by the worried look on

Liscia's face.

While the forces of the principality were showing some stubbornness, the battle

was going in Elfrieden's favor. Soldiers were already starting to flee from the

Amidonian side, so if the kingdom's forces slowly encircled them, it wouldn't be long

before they emerged victorious. There was no need to rush that victory.

However, Liscia turned to Aisha with a pained look on her face. "Hey, Aisha. What

do you think of the way Souma's been lately?"

"What do you mean?" Aisha asked.

"He seems... like he's pushing himself too hard, don't you think?"

"Well... yes, I think you're right."

Even to Aisha's eyes, as one who offered her unwavering loyalty to Souma, his

expression lately had been frightening. No... she wasn't frightened of him, she was

frightened for him.

There was something fragile about him.

Of course, considering they were in the middle of a war now, it would have been

just as worrying to see a stupid grin on their ruler's face. Still, she couldn't help but

feel Souma was straining himself to act like a king. Aisha wanted Souma to be

smiling.

"Once this war ends... do you suppose His Majesty will smile again?" Aisha asked.

Liscia's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled broadly. "We'll make it so he

can smile."

"Ah! Right you are!" Aisha raised her head, getting back into a fighting stance

with her great sword, then stood in front of Liscia. "However, princess, please, stand

back. If anything were to happen to you, His Majesty could never smile again."

"...Right," Liscia said. "I'll try to show more prudence."

"Leave the fighting to me!" Aisha cried.

"No, that I can't do. Aisha, you do know that if anything were to happen to you,

Souma would never smile again, right?"

"...Do you think so?" Aisha asked.

"I do."

"You do?"

The two looked at one another and smiled. Then, a moment later, they wore the

faces of warriors.

"Then, princess, let us both take care of our lives."

"Yes," Liscia agreed. "Let's end this agonizing war together."

The two of them rushed across the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

The battle between the armies of Elfrieden and Amidonia had reached a turning

point.

In the center of the principality's army, which was slowly being encircled, the

Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, Gaius VIII, had a grim look on his face.

His initial plan to ambush the kingdom's army as they encircled Van, then catch

them in a pincer attack with the garrison troops, had gone up in flames. The forces of

the kingdom hadn't laid siege to Van. Instead they had waited on the plains for the

main force of his army to arrive.

The principality's army had been exhausted from marching and from the ambush

at Goldoa Valley, and they then had had to go into battle against the well-rested

army of the kingdom, which had had nearly twice as many soldiers.

The kingdom's army hadn't been aiming for the capital city Van, but for the main

force of the principality's army, or to be even more specific, for Gaius VIII's head.

That was a fact that made Gaius VIII gnash his teeth.

The forces of the principality had fought well at first, but they were exhausted,

and their quality had been watered down with fresh conscripts, so they couldn't

have hoped to hold out for long. Soldiers had already started to flee, and there was

no hope of regrouping.

At this point, Gaius made up his mind and called Julius back from commanding on

the front line.

When he returned to the main camp, Julius stood before Gaius filled with anger.

"Father! What have you suddenly called me back here for?! You know if I leave the

front line, Elfrieden may push through it!"

"...Julius." Gaius spoke to Julius with a thoroughly calm demeanor. "Withdraw

from this battlefield."

"Wh-What are you saying? The war has only just begun..." Julius stammered.

"We've lost this war," Gaius said to his bewildered son in a self-mocking tone.

"The soldiers of my army are strong. They'll not be found lacking compared to the

kingdom's. However, in their exhausted state after our long march, it will be

impossible for us to overturn the difference in power between our forces. I will buy

time, so you cut a bloody swathe out of here while their encirclement is yet

incomplete and escape by yourself."

Gaius had accepted defeat.

When he realized that fact, Julius felt his legs begin to give out underneath him.

However, if he considered what Gaius was saying, he couldn't let himself collapse

here.

"No... If anyone should do that, it's you, Father!" Julius cried. "I will be the one to

buy time!"

"That is not possible," said Gaius.

"Why not?!"

"Because Elfrieden is aiming to take my head."

Having chosen this as the place he would die, Gaius VIII's mind was now more

clear than it had ever been before. It let him see Souma and Hakuya's aim.

"I am a constant irritant to Elfrieden," said Gaius. "Many of the nobles in their

country are beholden to us. By striking me down, they must hope to remove that

threat."

Julius fell silent.