Chapter 44 - The Blue-Eyed Savior

The Fairy Company Commander moved her ears.

At the same time, everything happening around her was drawn in her mind as clearly as if she were seeing it with her eyes.

Sharp five senses were an innate talent of Fairies.

Relying on her hearing, she moved two steps to the right.

SWISH.

That position was right in front of an enemy soldier thrusting a long spear.

Her position was at the very front of the allied line.

The Fairy Company Commander struck the enemy spear shaft upward.

At the same time she knocked the shaft up, the sword in her hand moved forward like a blade of grass flowing on the wind, punched a hole in the enemy's throat, and returned.

STAB! POP!

Blood spurted from the punctured throat.

She shook the sword in her hand toward the ground.

The blood on the blade spattered across the ground.

She kept moving.

If she stayed in one place, she would only become a target for quarrels.

The Fairy Company Commander ran and swung the leaflike sword.

TING.

Two quarrels caught on the blade and bounced away.

The sword in her hand was called a "Nidle."

It was shorter and sharper than an ordinary sword, a streamlined weapon unique to the Fairy race that resembled a leaf.

Its defining trait was a blade that, when the hilt was drawn smoothly out, brought to mind a skiff or the shape of a leaf.

The Fairy race's unique swordsmanship was a mixture of three forms: the Flowing Sword Technique, the Righteous Sword Technique, and the Swift Sword.

And the Nidle was a weapon specialized for that.

What the Company Commander had just shown was that very swordsmanship.

There was no soldier who could withstand a technique that knocked aside a long spear, flowed it away, and thrust like a ray of light.

'This is bad.'

Even as she killed her opponents, the Fairy Company Commander felt a bleakness settle over her.

Had sorcery always been this dangerous?

Long ago, she had faced a warrior who bore something called the Curse of the Berserker.

A berserker who charged without caring for his own wounds was dangerous and violent, but it was temporary, and it was not the sort of thing that could cover an entire battlefield.

That was all the sorcery she knew.

So when the fog descended, she could not help but be shocked.

This was sorcery?

Fortunately, she had been prepared, so she reacted properly.

When the fog first rolled in, the Fairy Company Commander pulled her troops into a circular formation and tightened their ranks.

She followed the cries of "Get down!" and "Shields!" that burst out at just the right moment exactly as they were.

When she shouted, several Platoon Commanders repeated the same words like mad parrots and held on.

It was a situation where they had suddenly lost all sight ahead.

It was more than enough to throw them into panic.

Of course the battle looked grim.

Even in such a situation, she did what she had to do.

She left the formation and, alone, cut down and stabbed the enemy vanguard.

If she did not do even that, her allies would be annihilated in no time.

At least the 1st Company would hold out.

'That potato-sprout bastard.'

The Fairy Company Commander cursed the Battalion Commander inwardly.

Potato sprouts were poisonous.

Fairies tended to enjoy expressions that compared things to plants.

When a potato sprouted, you had to cut the sprouts out before eating it.

If you ate it as it was, poison built up in your body.

The current Battalion Commander was exactly that sort of potato-sprout bastard.

In a situation like this, the command should have been coming up with some kind of countermeasure, but there were no orders from the Battalion Commander.

No whistle, no shout, no instructions at all.

He had led the unit complacently, trusting only in the people backing him.

She had told him countless times to prepare because sorcery might be involved, but he had shown no sign of listening properly.

This kingdom, too, was like a peach covered in mold.

In other words, it was rotten.

How could they dispatch a piece of trash like that to the front line as Battalion Commander?

'Even if luck is with us.'

Would even ten out of a hundred survive?

The fog blinded the allies.

That was fatal.

Just as she was predicting such a grim future, the fog before her suddenly cleared away.

"Hm?"

The Fairy Company Commander stopped with the Nidle in hand.

She was flustered.

The fog vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

And the enemy was even more flustered than she was.

"Huh?"

The enemy soldier holding a long spear right in front of her froze without even thinking to thrust.

The Fairy Company Commander's confusion lasted only a moment.

She had fought well even when the fog was there.

She swung the Nidle as it was.

The Nidle traced a semicircle through the air and precisely sliced through the enemy's throat.

"Ghk!"

Another enemy collapsed.

The Company Commander judged this to be the turning point of the battle.

This was not the time to wonder why the fog had cleared.

"Everyone, turn around! Counterattack!"

Her shout was answered from all around.

"Charge! Charge! Chaaaarge!"

"Kill them! Kiiill theeem!"

"You sons of bitches!"

"Beat them all to death!"

When momentum changed.

The flow of the battlefield changed.

The Fairy Company Commander drew back the Nidle and held her ground.

Soon, her company rushed past her side.

"Company Commander!"

The 1st Platoon Commander shouted.

"Grind them all down."

The Company Commander answered.

The 1st Platoon Commander replied with a battle cry instead.

"Uwaaaah!"

The air of the battlefield heated up.

The gloomy air that had hung over the allied ranks vanished in an instant.

Only then did the Fairy Company Commander wonder why the fog had suddenly disappeared.

'No way?'

That Squad Leader?

There was no reason for it, but she felt as if he had done it.

It was pure instinct.

A Fairy's instincts were still sharp.

* * *

The Captain of the Gray Dog, an independent company of the Aspen Kingdom, had turned back and was blocking the retreat route.

To be precise, he was at the point where the fog cleared.

All he had to do was kill any enemies who came out.

They were enemies fleeing in panic, so it could not be easier.

But then the fog suddenly cleared.

"What the hell is this? Why is the fog clearing?"

"Captain, the enemy is turning around."

There were no particular hills on the Green Pearl plains to block their sight.

They could see the army of the Naurilia Kingdom turning around.

The Company Commander grasped the situation in an instant.

Whether the sorcerer had done some bullshit or the sorcery itself had gone to shit, a problem had occurred.

At this rate, the strategy their side had prepared would collapse completely.

"Hit them from the rear! Don't break through—shave along their flank as we go! Follow me!"

The Company Commander dashed forward.

They struck the Naurilia Kingdom army from behind as they were.

By hitting their rear, he intended to help the allies at the front retreat.

"Which fucking..."

The Company Commander of the Gray Dog resolved that whoever had cleared this fog, he would punish them no matter what.

* * *

Encrid realized his calculations had been far off.

The quarrel lodged in the right side of his back behind his shoulder kept him from swinging his sword properly with his right hand.

And his opponent was a little more skilled than Mitch Hurrier.

Even when he tried to use Concentrate on a Single Point, there were bastards suddenly thrusting spears at him from behind.

No, it would have been fortunate if there were only spearmen aiming for his back.

Five crossbowmen kept following him and aiming at him.

Because of that, a quarrel was also lodged in his thigh.

'No running on this leg.'

His cracked sword had snapped at some point and become half a blade.

His opponent used heavy swordsmanship that wielded powerful strikes.

The blood flowing from his thigh and back mixed with the blood of his enemies, leaving Encrid drenched in blood.

Seeing him hold out in that state with half a sword in hand, the mustached man was inwardly impressed.

He was an enemy, a man whose words were irritating, and the bastard who had ruined the sorcery.

But was his spirit not astonishing?

Even now, there was no sign at all that he had given up.

"What are you relying on to act like that?"

Mustache asked.

Encrid steadied his breathing, took the crossbowmen positioned behind him into his field of view, and answered.

"Like what?"

"I'm asking why you still haven't given up."

At those words, Encrid answered as if there was nothing to think about.

"Hoo, because I'm a Squad Leader."

"So?"

"In my squad, I have friends named Rem and Ragna."

"Hmm?"

"Those two fight so well I don't even know why they're squad members."

"Are you saying those two are coming to save you?"

"There was a scenario like that too."

Since he had come this far, he thought they would be nearby.

No.

He could not see them.

He had thought it was about time for them to appear.

If they had not come by now, he had to assume they were not coming.

That was right.

At the same time, Rem had driven one enemy unit into utter collapse, broken through, and was in the middle of cutting across the Tall Grass Fields.

Because of the fog, Ragna had not advanced any farther and had only dealt with enemies who charged at him.

After the fog cleared, he had rejoined the allies.

Neither of them knew where their Squad Leader was.

Mustache took one step closer with his sword in hand.

Encrid dragged his injured right foot and retreated.

Even so, his eyes were far too alive.

Encrid's eyes were still aiming for something.

With that leg?

Where was he trying to run?

Looking at Mustache, Encrid thought he really was a bastard with no openings.

Even so, he did not give up on "today."

If he died, he could simply repeat it again.

He knew that too.

He knew it all too well.

But he did not think he had suffered a fatal wound yet.

More than anything, if he had spent all those todays without meaning, the Encrid of now could not exist.

Until the moment just before death, Encrid would resist.

He would do his utmost to live through today.

Struggling to the very end without giving up was who he was.

"It's a shame you're an enemy."

Mustache said, taking another step closer.

Encrid could not retreat any farther.

Behind him, an enemy soldier with a spear was glaring at him with vicious eyes.

He looked back once, then faced forward again.

Mustache held his sword with both hands on the grip and raised it.

The blade of the bastard sword, longer than an ordinary sword, reflected the sunlight that came in after the fog had cleared.

'Right? Left?'

Where should he dodge?

No matter where he dodged, he could not avoid a fatal wound.

Even so, he did not want to die meekly.

'If I can't dodge.'

Encrid gripped his half-broken sword tightly.

If left and right were impossible, and retreat was impossible too, then only forward remained.

The moment the sword fell, he would rush forward.

That was the moment he made up his mind.

TWANG!

With the sound of a string snapping, a quarrel flew in and lodged in his left shoulder.

While his gaze was distracted by the sword, one soldier had fired a crossbow.

Encrid let out a short groan, endured the pain, and said,

"Mm. That was dirty."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Mustache said with his sword raised.

There was no laughter in him.

Even if he killed the enemy soldier before him, the war would still be leaning toward defeat.

The life of one soldier and the victory or defeat of the battlefield.

Even a passing eight-year-old child would know which held more value.

Even so, letting him leave alive made even less sense.

WHOOSH.

He brought the sword down.

Heavy Sword, a powerful strike.

Encrid did not close his eyes.

He watched the descending sword to the end.

Heart of a Beast gave him boldness.

Without blinking once, Encrid thought,

'If my body were normal, how should I block this?'

To the very end, until the last moment, he focused on handling the sword.

And just before the sword struck his forehead.

"Aaagh!"

A soldier's scream rang out from behind.

At the same time the scream rang out, a black shadow struck Mustache's sword.

CLANG!

Encrid did not properly see what the shadow was.

However, he thought it was not a sword or an arrow.

If it were a sword or an arrow, it would not twist its body in midair after colliding and land on the ground.

"... Huh?"

Encrid confirmed the shadow's identity.

Blue eyes, fur like black silk.

It was a black panther.

In that instant, a distant memory surfaced.

Originally, it was not a memory from long ago, but because he had repeated today so many times, it had grown distant.

A memory that could have been forgotten.

And yet, one that had not been forgotten.

At the sight of black fur and blue eyes, it came readily to mind.

It was the beast he had met in the Tall Grass Fields.

"You?"

GRR.

Perhaps the black panther had grown since then, because its body was a little larger.

The creature glared at Mustache as it was, then let out a savage snarl.

"What the hell is this now?"

Mustache's eyebrows shot upward, as if he found it absurd.

Then he expressed his anger again.

In response, two crossbowmen aimed at the panther and fired quarrels.

"H-Hey!"

Encrid shouted in surprise.

The panther flexibly twisted its waist in place, kicked off the ground a few times with light thumps, and dodged all the quarrels.

After that, it kicked off the ground hard and charged forward.

Mustache reflexively brought his sword down.

The panther did not even go near Mustache.

It looked as if black silk had stretched out in a line.

That was how fast it was.

The panther's destination was the crossbowmen.

"Ghk!"

The panther's claws were so sharp that when it swung its paw and sliced through the Achilles tendon behind the crossbowman's ankle, blood sprayed out.

It was not a level that could be blocked by something like leather boots.

CLANG!

When the panther lunged, the soldier drew a short sword.

After that, the panther showed an even more astonishing movement.

It was not aiming for the soldier, but kicking the crossbow.

It kicked off the ground with its forelegs and leaped, then cut the crossbow string with its rear claws.

Then, stepping on the crossbow with its hind legs, it kicked off and flew toward another crossbow.

What it did after flying was the same.

It swung its forepaw and cut the crossbow string.

'Did it aim for that?'

One could have been a coincidence, but if it had cut the strings of all five remaining crossbows, it was hard to call that coincidence.

"A mere beast."

Mustache's face had now turned red.

He was properly enraged.

The panther did not deal with him.

It quickly kicked off the ground, returned to Encrid's side, and bit the back of his neck.

GRR!

As if something displeased it, the panther snorted through its nose while biting him and started running.

It was an incredibly strong creature.

His legs dragged and his body dragged, but it was as fast as Encrid when he ran.

His back stung, and scratches formed on his arms and legs in real time.

As he was dragged like that, he felt something hot flowing down the back of his neck.

He wanted to turn his head and check, but he had no time for that.

"Chase them!"

Mustache shouted.

Even like this, it seemed hard to get out of here.

"Run."

Encrid said.

Naturally, the panther did not answer.

Hot liquid kept flowing from the back of his neck, and Mustache was chasing behind them.

With the panther biting the back of his neck, Encrid was fleeing while scraping along the ground.

Even so, this kind of escape had a clear limit.

The panther's limit was obvious.

Mustache clearly had no intention of simply letting them go.

His bloodshot eyes were engraved with will.

"I told you to run."

He spoke to the panther again, and a black shadow formed above his head.

"I've come to save you."

"Huh?"

It was reinforcements he had not expected at all.

An ally whose entire body was dyed in blood.

A face he knew, and a Platoon Commander he had once spent all his time teasing.

"Platoon Commander Vengeance?"

"Yes. I am here."

He raised his sword and blocked the way in front of Encrid.

And he was not alone.

Allied soldiers came rushing in behind him in a crowd.

A platoon that had broken through the front had made it all the way here before anyone knew it.

The time Encrid, no, the panther had bought had not been in vain.