Chapter 247
Chapter 247
Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”
The night attack by the Elven Knights on the Northern City of the Empire.
Although it wasn’t a complete surprise because they were noticed just before the attack, the red lotus arrows fired by the elven knight commander’s Knight destroyed part of the long row of walls.
The Elf B-class Knights charged into it and broke through the defense line. One after another, they were closing in on the Northern City.
『Don’t fight alone! Form a pair!』
The lord, mature Viscountess, gave her command from inside her crimson colored A-class Knight. Her expression is stern as she sits in the cockpit.
Probably due to the difference in mobility. They were being shot at with attack magic from outside their sword’s range and were being destroyed one after another.
(They have surrounded him. It will be difficult for him to win in a melee fight)
The only ones who have been able to fight them back are the Lily Knights, who have formed a formation and are taking advantage of their numbers. While the enemy was wary of her after she defeated two of their Knights.
(They got through us huh)
A tall wall surrounds the Northern City. Flames rose from within, illuminating the clouds that covered the sky.
The elven Knights must have managed to slip through them and get into the city.
She gritted her teeth as she began to think about how to proceed, when an indescribable chill came over her.
(What is this?)
Her instincts urged her to jump to the side as fast as she could. Immediately afterwards, a red lotus arrow struck at the place where she was a moment ago.
While engulfing the surrounding B and C-class Knights, the ground was gouged out and the surface melted with high temperature.
(Was that the Ghost Knight just now?)
The one who once sniped the expeditionary force sent to Awoke and destroyed two A-class Knights with a single blow. While thinking of this, she turned to the direction where the arrow came from.
(That guy huh)
What she saw there was an A-class Knight with a prickly appearance, kneeling on one knee in the distance. From the fact that he was holding a rifle, there was no doubt that the magic from earlier was from this A-class Knight.
(Hm?)
She tried to move quickly, but failed to stand up. When she quizzically made her Knight’s face look down, she saw that the right leg of her Knight was missing from the knee down.
(……No way)
Her womb sensor tingled in pain. When she turned her face to the Elf A-class Knight again, he was still in the same position, with the tip of his rifle glowing.
The aim is still on her.
『Your Excellency!』
That voice came from the seven Knights of the Lily Knights, all of B and C-class, holding their shields, trying to prevent the next magic attack.
『There’s no way you can block that! Hurry and get away from there!』
The mature Viscountess shouts. But before the Lily Knights could answer, the elf A-class Knight rifle shone brightly.
The high temperature of the oncoming red lotus arrow distorts the air around it. The eight pilots could not even blink.
At that moment, all of them were prepared for death.
『Heave-ho』
Suddenly, a hoarse old man’s voice rang out from the external sound system.
At the same time, the back of the Knight who came from the side obstructed the mature Viscountess’ and the Lily Knights’ view.
『Hup!』
Following the carefree tone of his words, the red lotus arrow sparks violently in front of the Knight. A few moments later, the burning mass of flames is deflected into the sky.
(What?)
The mature Viscountess was speechless, unable to understand the situation.
But she knew this lacquered A-class Knight. He was a pilot of the Empire.
『…Commander』
It looks more like Japanese large armor than Western armor. It’s the Knight Commander of the Imperial knight order.
He turned around and lightly waved the shield in his left hand as if to show off.
『Hoho~ that was quite powerful. If it weren’t for this shield that His Majesty gave me, I might have been in danger』
It is a gorgeous western-style shield that strangely doesn’t look out of place in the hand of the A-class Knight, which resembles Japanese great armor. It is a shield that is said to be a national treasure of the Empire and has excellent anti-magic attack properties.
(The problem was not about the shield though! Good grief, this person is always…)
The mature Viscountess forgot about the impending death that approached her earlier and looked up at him in exasperation.
The old warrior didn’t completely block it, he deflected it by holding his shield at an angle. It made her think, 『Wouldn’t you be able to do that even without the national treasure-level shield?』.
『Thank you very much, you saved us』
The crimson A-class Knight of the mature Viscountess stands up and thanks him, borrowing the shoulder of the Lily Knights’ C-class Knights.
While feeling relieved, the skill that she hadn’t seen for a while made her heart as a pilot flutter.
『One of the strongest in the Empire』
This is a synonym for the Grim Reaper. But he’s not called as 『The strongest』.
That is because of the presence of this old warrior.
『That swordsmanship is like flowing water』
He is not as conspicuous as the Grim Reaper because he specializes in evasion and counters. However, this 『Quiet Swordsman』 can overwhelm even the Grim Reaper in certain situations.
The armored warrior turned to the Elf A-class Knight in front of him and said in a quiet tone.
『Don’t worry about the city. Count Rosehip will definitely do something about it』
After Count Rosehip finished his affairs at Rose Castle, they departed albeit belatedly. In order to regain as much time as possible, they had been marching all night.
Confirming the red light that shot up in the cloudy sky, the two A-class Knights, the old warrior and Count Rosehip went ahead. The Rose Knights should also be arriving soon.
『Leave that guy to me』
After he said this, the armored warrior held his one-handed sword aimed at the opponent’s face and walked toward the Elf A-class Knight.
Thus began the second act of the battle for the Northern City.
***
Light leaking through the curtains, the ground shaking, and the sound of explosions.
Waking up, Elder jumped out of her bed, pulled back the curtain a little and peeked outside. In the sky above, she saw a red ball of light falling down.
(This sound… It’s a battle between Knights isn’t it?)
Elder wore her robe, twirled the raven snake around her neck and went outside. She looks around at the walls surrounding the city and heads towards where the people are gathering.
There is an indoor staircase that leads up to the top of the wall.
(Am I late? It’s already crowded)
Pushed by the crowd of people, she stepped out onto the city wall and looked at the plains to the north, just like the people around her.
There, as she had expected, were the figures of Knights engaged in battle.
(Elven Knights… and there are so many of them)
There must be at least ten of them. Moreover, it was B-class Knight as far as she could see.
She had heard about them from the black snake she had sent to the great hole, but it had been a long time since she had seen them. While she was looking at them with deep emotion, she overheard the conversation of the old men next to her.
「Which country are they from? I’ve never seen Knights like them」
「It seems they’re coming from the north, so they’re probably the elves’?」
But the one who said it seems to be not sure either, 『Does the elves have Knights?』, he said while tilting his head.
Elda nodded her head in her mind.
It’s very rare for the elven Knights to leave the spirit forest and show themselves in front of humans. It’s no wonder they don’t know about it.
「They move as if they’re sliding without moving their feet? How the hell did that even work?」
「Isn’t this bad? Our side is getting pushed back」
She silently agreed to the next words.
In her eyes, elven Knights are much stronger than human Knights. The difference in numbers would be easily reversed.
In fact, the human Knights are being defeated one after another below them.
(Oh my)
However, there was one place that was persistently resisting.
It was a group of people fighting in a circle, and a crimson A-class Knight that looked brilliant even from a distance.
The crimson A-class Knight skillfully dodged the magic attack and leapt as if it was moving instantly to cut at the Elf B-class Knight.
(Hee… They’re pretty good)
As she watched with interest, a huge flame arrow flew at them.
(That was no doubt a red lotus arrow. Did an A-class Knight also come?)
B-class Knights can’t shoot that powerful magic. When she looked for the Knight who shot the magic earlier, she spotted a pointy green-black colored A-class Knight.
(A-class… then it means, High Elves? Since he led such a large number, it must be the knight commander)
Then Elder thought about the Knight she had used to escape the Spirit Forest and abandoned. She also thought about the other Knight that had been hidden in the cave behind the waterfall.
Both Knights are exclusive to the royal family. But that A-class Knight that seems to be the commander’s Knight is neither of those.
(It’s been a long time but, this means they haven’t found it yet)
She left one of the Knights in the forest after going too deep into the territory of the human race. She doesn’t know what happened to it afterwards.
It was a shame, but she had no choice but to do so.
(Those two Knights are special even among the A-class. I don’t think they’d destroy them just because they’re Knights belonging to the royal family)
If they had got their hands on it, they definitely would have given it to the knight commander.
There, she shifted her mind and thought about what to do.
(This city is going to fall. To think that it would become like this, I guess I wasn’t insightful enough)
She doesn’t want to get caught by the elves, and die in their hands.
It would be better to leave as soon as possible, or hide until the situation is resolved.
(Even though I’ve just settled here. What a pain)
As she sighed heavily, a flash of light came from behind her with a thunderous roar.
She turned her head to look in that direction, and saw that one of the Elf B-class Knights that had climbed over the city walls was shooting fire arrows at the lord’s mansion facing the central square.
They must have been satisfied with the destruction to some extent. They then began firing fire arrows at the shopping district and residential areas.
「Hey! They’re violating the agreements.」
The people on the city walls start to make a commotion.
In this world, there are “wartime agreements” or “international wartime laws”. Wickedness to the defeated is one of them.
『War is conducted between battle professionals』
The summary is as follows.
Pilots and soldiers may kill each other, but the lives and property of civilians must not be harmed. Everyone is abiding by this, on the surface, at least.
However, the green-white colored B-class Knight in front of them shows no signs of caring. They’re probably planning to burn the city down.
(Unfortunately, the elves didn’t care about such a thing)
Elder shrugs her shoulders.
For the elves, humans are just like livestock. There’s no meaning in the agreements if they don’t see humans as equals in the first place.
(It might be safer if I just stay here)
She pulled up the collar of her robe and exhaled so that the black snake around her neck would not be visible.
At that moment, a loud cheer erupted from the surroundings.
「It’s the Rose Knights! They came!」
「Go get ‘em!」
The one who easily jumped over the city wall and attacked the green-white colored Knight was a massive black A-class Knight. On its chest was a big red colored rose symbol.
He cornered the Elf B-class Knight who could not hover due to the building around it, and swung his sword.
「Nice!」
The old man shouted excitedly while leaning against the city wall.
The third blow was fired by the Rose A-class Knight. It caught him in the torso and split the Elf B-class Knight with brute force.
The lower half of the body remains intact, while the upper half falls to the central square. A little later, the city walls shook with a thud.
(My my, that Knight is strong)
Another cheer prompts her to look again at the battlefield outside the city.
(This side too?)
He was supposed to be devastated by the Elf A-class Knight’s magic attack, but he was somehow able to hold on his own.
(Hmmm)
I might not have to worry about moving after all. While thinking as such, she decided to continue watching the battle for a while.
***
At that time, it was beginning to rain in the royal capital.
A stone building on the northern outskirts of downtown. In the pond on the roof garden, a turtle sinks into thought.
It is Zaratan, a great spirit beast who has lived a long life and is knowledgeable.
(Muu…)
What it was thinking about was the matter that the lord had consulted it about.
『I activated the cure injury magic in the cockpit, and there was a reaction. Even though it’s not a living thing, it’s strange isn’t it?』
Its master had certainly said so.
The truth is, it has something in his mind. But from Zaratan’s point of view, it is not something that can be easily handled. There were also older members of the familiars, which are Imosuke and Dangorou. But both of them were still too young to be of any help.
(Maintain status quo, it’s better that way)
It will be the same as it always was if it doesn’t do anything unnecessary. It will only confuse them, if it tells them something difficult.
Satisfied with its decision, the turtle squinted at the white light of the poisonous mushroom and thought about other things.
(My master this time is much different from before)
A human magician that once lived on its shell that it called its friend.
He said he has been active in the human world as a genius magician when he was young. However, after he settled down on Zaratan’s back in the spirit lake, he began to cut off his relationships with the humans.
(He did nothing but stroll in the forest or read a book)
He strolled along the lakeside while lost in thought. And after sunset, he either reads books or writes in his journal.
He only uses magic to hide himself from those who ask for his help or wish to become his apprentice.
(Magician)
Apparently its current master was also a magician. But unlike its previous master, who was able to use all kinds of magic, he seems to be limited to recovery magic.
However, the strength of his magic in his specialty is far superior. He could even heal its tail, something that its previous master could not do.
(…No, he doesn’t have that magician feel in him)
Unraveling the workings of magic and getting to the akashic magic. It doesn’t feel that kind of ambition from him.
Magic is just a useful tool. It feels that is how he sees it.
(That too, is good in its own right?)
It was interesting to see the diversity of the human race. Zaratan thought.