DK – Chapter 41-42: Fires of War III

“…Fine, but I would like an answer that I can accept.” (Lamia)

“If I can’t, will you try taking that sword and attack me?” (Solje)

“You are joking, right? Against a dragon knight? I would die… What I am interested about is the truth.” (Lamia)

“…I knew with the power of the magic eye, but he has forest elf blood…or more like, he ended up having?” (Solje)

Lamia made a surprised expression.

“Really? But he is supposed to be an Imperial noble, moreover, a pretty high one.” (Lamia)

“That’s why it is ironic.” (Solje)

“…I see, so he doesn’t know. No, he was not told.” (Lamia)

“Faris and Garuna had allied since that day 9 years ago. It is not strange for elf blood to be flowing in the Faris nobles.” (Solje)

“I thought they had been brought to an end by the ‘Blood Hunt’.” (Lamia)

Blood Hunt; a shitty word. Killing anyone who is a mixed race of a human and demi-human -one of the evils of Yuandart. Saying that it is the purification of the human blood… Makes me wanna puke.

“That oppression was thorough.” (Lamia)

“But he survived. Yeah, that guy made it. His little sister as well!” (Solje)

Lamia looks at me with a fed up expression.

“You are happy? …The magic of a half-elf is strong, you know? If he notices that, that swordsman might turn into quite the strong person.” (Lamia)

“Yeah, I would like to try making that straightforward idiot into a mercenary of mine.” (Solje)

“My, you ended up having a big ambition there.” (Lamia)

“Maybe because I acted as your ‘father’?” (Solje)

“Renault? He didn’t have bottomless possibilities like you do, you know?” (Lamia)

“Being praised by a princess is the greatest honor of a knight. Now then, I’ve gotta work!” (Solje)

I whistle with my fingers. This time using special mana. 

“GHAAOOOOOOOHH!!” 

Zephyr who had spit a hella ton of fireballs in the sky drew an arc and descends in front of me.

Riel and Mia were at his back.

And…Riel seems to be kinda pissed?

“Captain Solje!! Don’t slack off!! Moreover, a clandestine meeting with a woman?! In the battlefield?! What are you thinking?!” (Riel)

“Clandestine meeting? Don’t say that I have been slacking after seeing this hellish scene filled with corpses.” (Solje)

I killed more than 70 skilled soldiers, you know? On my own. It is a great achievement that one medal wouldn’t be enough to fill.

“Excuses won’t be forgiven!! Work is ongoing!! There’s places where the enemy is being problematic!! We are going there at once and destroying them!!” (Riel)

“Alright!! Let’s go, Lamia!!” (Solje)

“Yes, Solje-sama!!” (Lamia)

Lamia and I ride on the back of Zephyr. Hmm, four people is a bit tight. But that’s fine. It should be easy for Zephyr. Your wings won’t weaken just for having four people on your back, right?

“T-This woman is being overly familiar!! Don’t wrap your arms around Solje’s waist!! His waist is mine!” (Riel)

“Oh my, this elf is a pervert!! …The ‘waist’ of Solje-sama is your belonging? …What a lewd elf.” (Lamia)

“T-That’s not what I…!! It was just a figure of speech and…!” (Riel)

“Ara, getting embarrassed?” (Lamia)

“S-Shut up!! …I-In the first place, who are you?! There’s a limit to overfamiliarity!” (Riel)

“Who, you say. It is obviously Sharon.” (Solje)

Riel freezes at my words.

Ah, now that I think about it, I didn’t report it to Riel.

“Eh? Uhm, d-did I hear wrong?” (Riel)

“No, this guy is Sharon Doche.” (Solje)

“HUUUUUH?!” (Riel)

“In other words, Lamia-chan is Sharon cross-dressing. These boobs are stuffings, the hair is a wig, the color of his eyes we used glass to change them.” (Solje)

“Don’t lie!! T-This is obviously a lie, right?!” (Riel)

“No, it is me, Riel.” (Sharon)

“HIIIIH! I-It really is HIIIM!!” (Riel)

Lamia speaks with the usual voice of Sharon. Riel is panicking. Well, you wouldn’t believe this is a man, right? …Honestly speaking, he is more femenine than Riel and Mia…

“…W-What’s with humans?!” (Riel)

“Oi, don’t think Sharon represents humans. Normal men are not like this.” (Solje)

“…Well, yeah…” (Riel)

“Geez, who cares if the Poet-san is a woman or a man! Zephyr, let’s go!! We got Onii-chan! We have plenty enough fighting power! This time we are going right to the center of the battlefield!!” (Mia)

“Got it! Well then, let’s go, everyone!!” (Zephyr)

Zephyr flaps his wings and returns to the sky. 

Riel then notices. That’s right, this is the sky of a battlefield. Even if Sharon has turned into a woman more femenine than her, there’s no time to be discouraged.

…With only one glance from here, you can easily tell that there’s still a lot of enemies. We have killed a good amount of them, but we can also see a big commotion. There’s soldiers running away from the battlefield here and there. 

As I thought, the order of command isn’t working anymore. 

Well, obviously.

Their Commander is missing, and the influential knights at the base were killed by me.

Seeing that Sharon has blood staining his clothes, he must have assassinated some knights while I wasn’t looking.

That was nice acting, right?

By having him see through a fake like me first, the knights trusted Lamia. We made it so that it would reach that conclusion, and…it seems like it showed good results.

In the plans, after having the knights retreat, Lamia must have said something like ‘I want to search for the real Commander’.

‘He was the real one just a few moments ago, so Father must have been hidden somewhere close’…if Lamia were to testify that, she would have managed to make them move.

They must have used soldiers to investigate. They themselves may have searched too. There’s worth in finding the commander after all.

Even if he is like that, Renault is still a General that has experienced many wars. His ingenuity would become a big weapon. If there’s a need for charisma in order to control this chaos, the only one who can do that in the seventh division is him…

If they only find a corpse, that would serve as their chance to take his position…

If the General is dead, they can just forge a ‘will’ and get themselves into being the new Commander. That’s just how high the ranking of the old knights who retreated with Lamia-chan were after all. 

Lamia joined this search for General Renault while finishing them one after the other with his poisonous fangs.

They should have been decently famed knights, but they are aged veterans. If they get attacked by his rapier or dagger from behind…they won’t be able to react and simply die.

Being really sneaky here, right? 

…That works just fine with us. 

The fireballs of Zephyr were not unleashed in random places either. He bombarded the places where the captains of the units would most likely be; in by order of priority. 

It is easy to find the captains, because they have a red decoration at the tip of their helmets. Whenever he found one, he would bombard it with fireballs.

We have done this much, so their command order must have crumbled a long time ago. They are panicking and are simply attacking the enemy in front of them like animals trying to survive.

…Thinking about how well it has been going, part of it must be because the Queen has been assisting us with her soldiers in the creation of this chaos. 

There’s a lot of soldiers deserting and scouts have met disasters, and she might have opened holes in the vinegar tars as well. Those kind of stuff might have been her support.

Whether it be us or her subordinates, the fact is that we have been doing a rush of small things. And in the end, what she chose was a breakthrough from the front. I can only be amazed.

This is not a wrong choice or desperation. She simply has the guts and is efficient. Because it is easier to slaughter the crumbling army with this after all.

The exhausted Ludo army wouldn’t be able to stop a second wave. They have no choice but to destroy them in the first clash or they won’t be able to draw a scenario of the Ludo Kingdom winning.

A reckless strategy? I don’t think so. Their soldiers and their higher-ups are dying like crazy, their strategies are not working, and that’s not all, the soldiers are showing fatigue from the expeditions. Their everyday forced marches -at the later half were forced by me (the General) though- and an insurrection in between.

The soldiers had a busy schedule, their stamina is low.

That’s why the Ludo army has managed to partially destroy the enemy army in a matter of a few tens of minutes from the beginning. The fallout between the Vaireid is still continuing and the casualties from that doesn’t seem to be small at all.

The left-wing has been burned by flames and is completely in shambles. We are managing to keep them in place with small numbers. The injured soldiers who were made to retreat had no choice but to spectate. 

People are mysterious beings. Once they show their back to the battlefield, they are controlled by relief and freedom. More so when they are injured soldiers. They have already fulfilled their duties to the Empire before the other soldiers. 

They can’t bring themselves to approach danger (the battlefield) anymore. They just have to say their legs hurt. There’s no Empire knights who can negate that argument of theirs. 

In other words, we have currently successfully sealed the left and right wing. 

This is the best plan we have. 

…But the issue is the main force. The clear problem of the numbers is big…There’s also places where resistance is strong. Looking at their armors, I try to analyze who they are.

Hmm, the knights and the infantry are amassing together and creating a ‘fortress’ to stop the ‘dragon’, huh.

As expected of veteran soldiers. Even without commands, they can still maintain their essence as warriors. 

Then…what should be done has been decided.

Destroy it. We are dropping right in the middle of that.

Chapter 42

“Zephyr, fly low!! We are gonna wreck that place as a mercenary group!! Right in the center!!” (Solje)

“Got it!!” (Zephyr)

“Y-You idiot!! You are thinking of rushing into that mass of people with only us?!” (Riel)

“That’s right!! Enemies from all sides! We can kill as much as we want!!” (Solje)

“Yes, Onii-chan! Mia will also kill a whole lot!!” (Mia)

She must have gotten tired of using her slingshot on the back of Zephyr to do long ranged snipes. She pulled out mithril claws from her knuckles. 

Ending them with a weapon right in their faces has more of a feeling that you actually fought, right?! 

“I also want to rampage a whole lot!!” (Sharon)

Lamia readies his two swords with ponytail swaying. Well, let’s see what you can do. I want to leave the follow-up to you while Gandalla is not here, since here we only have idiots who know how to charge in.

“You all are a bunch of idiots!!” (Riel)

“The fact that you have joined the Banjar Mercenaries means that you also have the talent of being an idiot, you know?” (Solje)

“H-How rude! B-But fine. This is Captain’s order, so it is absolute!! It is the rules!! …Sing, Zephyr!!” (Riel)

“GHAAAAOOOOOOH!!” 

Singing as Maje ordered, Zephyr goes down to the very center of the enemy army. 

The soldiers exclaim at the attack of a dragon.

Fireballs were already a pain, and yet, a monster with giant claws is descending from the skies. Of course they wouldn’t like it. They tried to run away, but with people being so packed, they were finding it hard to run away.

Zephyr burns the ground with a blaze as if heralding his entrance, burning the running soldiers along with it. And then, the dragon lands!

*Shrrrgh!*

A sound of claws tearing the ground and this vibration, it is so nostalgic that I could only laugh!!

“Hahahaha!! Let’s go, Banjar Mercenaries!!” (Solje)

“GHAAAAOOOOOH!!” 

The dragon shouts and the mercenaries jump down onto the battlefield.

I charge into the enemy group. Right now our job is to kill enemies. Not for honor, what’s important is to reduce their numbers.

Whether it be people showing their backs or confronting me, I cut them down without discrimination with my dragon longsword!!

Zephyr was doing the same thing. But he did it flashily!!

Cause you know, it is a giant beast of over 7 meters. He stomps the enemy while running at high speed on the ground, with those giant fangs he bites them to pieces, and with his tail that is several meters long, he sends them flying. 

He is not a storm but a tornado!! The soldiers couldn’t do anything as they get one-sidedly killed.

Riel shoots a rapidfire of arrows. There’s so many enemies that there’s no way she would miss. She is shooting away!!

…But that’s just like her, she is steady.

The attacks of Zephyr are slightly coarse, so she is accurately shooting the soldiers who survive it. It is her motherly heart of not wanting them to attack Zephyr.

She is also targeting soldiers who are running away from me while at it.

Is she treating me like a kid? …But that’s fine with me, Maje. I also won’t allow a single Empire soldier close to you!!

I am the knight of the bow princess. I don’t need a thanks. I just need you to give me a nice blessing at the end of this. Let’s flirt like mercenaries as we treat each other’s wounds!! 

Mia is in charge of raiding the enemy. She is using her slingshot set on her left armguard to deal mid-range attacks. 

It shoots small iron balls, but with the commonly distributed thin infantry armor, it can easily open a hole in them. Their armors prioritize lightness, so they are brittle. 

Also, Mia is accurately shooting at their arms and legs, so when she is against people with tough-looking armor, she aims there. Even if she doesn’t kill them that way, their bones are broken and end up unusable.

The ones who don’t have a helmet on have their eyes or nose pierced, and end up in a truly tragic state. 

As expected of the Strauss Cait Sith. She is not solely using ranged attacks, you know? With her movements clad in wind, she slips through the soldiers that approach her, and with her mithril claws that can cut even iron, she cuts the joints of the armor…along with what’s inside. She goes for the artery and the tendons.

The ones who aren’t wearing a helmet are obviously cut on their face with the claws!!

“GYAAAAAAH!!” 

“Ahahahahahaha!!” (Mia)

Screams and laughs resonate. Mia always seems to be having fun when killing humans. I can feel madness from it. There’s no doubt she is a Strauss girl!! Just like her Onii-chan!!

…Well, I say that, but Mia is lacking in power, so there’s a lot of instances when she is on the verge of being surrounded. When that happens, don’t panic. That’s right, jump high into the sky.

Onii-chan’s ‘demonic sword’ will kill them all!!

“[BURST SAPPER]!!” (Solje)

The demonic dragon’s fire reached the scum that were chasing Mia around. The soldiers further ahead of them were also bombed by the fire gale.

What once formed Empire soldiers had now scattered into pieces of flesh and blood as they rain red on the battlefield.

“GHAAAAOOOOOOHH!!” 

Smelling the scent of blood from the wind, Zephyr grew excited and roars, and increases the magic power flowing inside his body!! Because of increasing the magic power too much, electricity began to run through that body of his.

It is incredible but…what’s that?

Even I don’t know about this feeling.

(Doje, wind!!) (Zephyr)

“I see!! Riel, Mia, use wind to match Zephyr!!” (Solje)

“Eh?! L-Like this?!” (Mia)

“What what! What are we doing?!” (Riel)

“Just call wind!! I will do the controlling!!” (Solje)

“Then, I will be the support!!” (Sharon)

Lamia charged into the crowd of enemies and is causing panic around the enemies.

‘A beauty charging on her own?!’ It is such a bizarre situation that you just can’t help but panic, right?

…But too bad, he is probably a guy…and the bottle he holds, when it falls in the middle of your group, an interesting thing happens.

Mixing with the wind…3, 2, 1…

*BAANG!!*

An explosion that tears eardrums and an intense light.

The power isn’t actually that high, but the sound and light will make you guys falter. You are animals after all, it is an instinctive reaction that can’t be held down that easily.

This is a ‘threat bomb’ that Sharon Doche created from an elf concoction. 

There’s no killing power at all, but it creates time. 

He is throwing that kind of thing here and there. Nice job.

Well, it is called a Threat Bomb, so I feel like the naming sense is lacking a bit…but the practical utility is truly amazing. 

“S-Something like this…!!” 

“Fufu, a gentleman with a lot of energy is lovely.” (Sharon)

Even so, a man of valour didn’t falter and gets close to him, but with the beautiful voice of Lamia-chan, he gifts him a sharp rapier. 

It entered the openings of the helmet and the armor, and pierces your flesh. Aiming at the arteries of your neck. If it is the official armor of the Empire army, there’s no angle where you can escape from the swordsmanship of Lamia. 

My friend that has a lot of talents aside from the literary front is truly passionate in researching, and his fingers are truly skilled. Even against the armor of an Imperial Knight, there’s still angles where a thin sword can stab through.

He relies on technique to compensate for his lack of strength. Splendidly polished technique.

Nice killing. I want to praise you for that.

Also, thank you, my friend.

I am slowly unable to tell if you are a man or a woman, but I don’t mind. With the time you bought, we have approached the finishing touches. 

“W-What is that?!” 

“The wind is descending?” 

“The sky is…coming down?” 

“Why?” 

The soldiers are scared at the tsunami of wind that is blowing violently in the battlefield. By the time the light of Lamia’s Threat Bomb went away, the ‘storm’ that Riel, Mia, and I called was rampaging in this place. 

With this much of a storm, the soldiers won’t be able to approach easily. 

“…And so, what are we going to do? This ‘storm’ won’t last long.” (Riel)

Riel seems to be in pain. In the battlefield, my orders are absolute for her. She is giving all her mana and is forming most of the storm here. She is so gallant it even makes me feel guilty. 

“Y-Yeah, I also…won’t be able to hold it for more than 20 seconds…!” (Mia)

Mia looks more in pain. Even if she is a Cait Sith loved by the wind, she doesn’t have as much mana as an elf royalty. That’s why I also have to hurry.

“We are deciding this right away!! Let’s go, Zephyr!!” (Solje)

“GHAAAAAOOOOOOHHH!!” 

Zephyr faces the enemy army. 

And then, while changing the accumulated mana into fire, he releases a fire breath in a scale so large that even I haven’t seen before!!

My field of view was dyed completely by fire, and my body was bathed by an impact  and an overwhelming pressure created when mana is released, to the point of bringing pain.

These hellish fire that held that much heat mixed with mana was released by Zephyr obliquely as if drilling the ground. 

Close to where we are.

That’s why…

That’s why I use all of the mana of Ares and change that swirling storm’s power into a straight line, and…grant direction to the raging fire of Zephyr that’s bursting open the ground!!

That’s right, hit the ground with a fire demonic sword, blowing away the surroundings with the wave of the impact and the heat, and in that way, we recreate a skill of mine, [Burst Sapper]!!

Have the ground reflect the mana blaze that’s on the verge of exploding, control the waves of the impacts with wind, and shoot an amplified version mixed with wind! A big move of big moves!! 

I call it Dragon Sapper!!

*BOOOOOOM!!*

It was already on the level of a flash. It was so bright and hot it might burn the retinas. The ground that exploded had its fragments fly onto the surroundings like a buckshot. There were also rocks of several meters flying. 

The rain of rocks that were flying at random speeds were accompanied by a red hot tsunami of fire.

The soldiers were sent flying away in different directions while they were burning. On top of that, they were being pierced by rock fragments flying faster than the arrows of Riel.

Death was rampant at that place.

D-Damn, I haven’t seen a spectacle like this before.

Even when we had six dragons in our house, there was nothing like this. Why did it end up having this much power? I can infer something.

The child of an Endurance Egg…has the mana of two Dragon Eaters synchronizing. The power of Ares inside of me and the power of Zephyr, and with the storm that the elf and cait sith weaved; it all became one and it was released…no, it went wild!

Several tens…several hundreds were killed by the Dragon Sapper.

The Empire soldiers are in shock. Of course they are. I thought magic like this could only be done by a Zeruaga (Invading God)…! 

But…this is not good.

The mana in my whole body is dried up. We messed up. Even if we wiped out a part of the enemy army, to think it would exhaust us to this extent… There’s already no mana in my body. I can’t call a single ball of fire.

Zephyr and I are completely empty… Riel and Mia have fainted and collapsed. Those two fainted by just the recoil of the impact wave? 

…No, that’s not it. It is not physical damage. They instinctively created a barrier of mana to survive, and they ended up running out of mana.

Lamia is also in a similar situation. He is barely standing, but it is hard to tell if he is even conscious.

This isn’t good. This was a mistake. 

This thing isn’t something that a dragon and people should use. If we are going to do something like this, it should be about 1/10 of the output. We are all on the verge of death…! 

…But that’s exactly why I should clench my teeth and maintain my consciousness.

This is not the time for us to collapse.

…You understand, right, Zephyr?! 

(Yeah, let’s go, Doje!) (Zephyr)

“UUUOOOOOOHHH!!” 

“GHAAAOOOOOOHHH!!”

Zephyr and I roar. In order to put energy into our wavering and fading consciousness. Wake up. Don’t cut off your senses. Not yet. It isn’t over yet.

Zephyr and I began to run lined up against the crowd of enemies. We are charging into the direction where we didn’t shoot the Dragon Sapper!!

Ah, damn it. My heart is pulsing weirdly. My body is completely different from usual. The energy and mana to maintain my life is almost gone…!

“*Cough!*” 

I ended up coughing. If this were just me acting as General Renault, it would be fine, but this time around it isn’t mock strawberry syrup, but the taste of iron. Shit, the inside of my mouth is tasting like blood now. 

My vision is also kind of…red…and my left eye that has lost its mana has gone completely black. 

No.

Even if that’s the case, as if I can afford to care about it!! 

We are going to become the ‘fortress’, Zephyr!! 

…That’s right, it reminds of the time when my homeland was burned.

The burned dragon church, and the burning red bones of Cecil and mother.

As if I will let that happen…

I won’t let that happen a second time!!

Like hell I will let the enemy get close to my family!!

(Yes!! We will protect everyone that’s at the back!!) (Zephyr)

“That’s right. That’s why…DIE, EMPIRE PIGS!!” (Solje)

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