Volume 1, Chapter 5 – Awakening of The War God Part 3
Volume 1, Chapter 5 – Awakening of The War God Part 3
Three cells (nine kilometers) to the west of the battlefield where Hiro was fighting. There were several large cliffs, and as if hiding behind a large shadow, an army of 20,000 troops filled the wilderness. It was the Fourth Imperial Army of the Grand Empire of Grantz, the dominant force on the Central Continent.
At the head of the army, astride a horse with a white mane, the one who was slowly advancing was the man in command. His name is Trey Frien von Loing. His rank is general.
He is a fierce general and one of the five great generals of the Grantz Empire.
General Loing glanced backward. There, a luxurious carriage was running while shaking due to the uneven ground. Someone important to the general and the Great Grantz Empire was riding in it.
General Loing turned forward, and one horse came galloping from the front. It was one of the scouts.
“General! I’m reporting back! The battle is not going well as Margrave Grinda’s soldiers are fighting on the border.”
“That’s likely the case. The Principality of Lichtine’s army must be fifteen thousand in number. I don’t know how many Margrave Grinda has, but there’s no way they can win. Or rather, I should praise him for holding them in check until now.”
It’s an area that hasn’t even had a skirmish in many years. Its prowess is impossible to know.
No matter what kind of ability they have, Margrave Grinda territory’s regular army is at least three thousand. There are also troops that can’t be moved to maintain security. General Loing thought it was around one thousand after being gathered. With just that, he wondered why they had been able to endure fifteen thousand of the enemies until now, and then――.
“It seems the War Maiden is there.”
The scout’s report finally made sense to him.
“Hoho. So they came all the way from the west to the southern end?”
“But I couldn’t confirm if she was dead or alive; it seems the enemy general has taken her down.”
“So the little girl went to the frontline, huh? Good grief, why didn’t she just stay in the back?”
He thought she was a smart little girl, but he was wrong. So much for mistaking reckless for courage. To such a person, the title of “War Hero” would be quite heavy. The whims of the third prince Blutar, who gave her that title, are also troubling.
Loing thought that he was the one who deserved the title of “War Hero” and turned his attention to the carriage again. Then a voice with a hint of menace came from inside the carriage.
“Loing.”
When his name was called, General Loing slowed his horse and put his face to the carriage window. The interior was dimly lit, and what he could see was a man surrounded by naked women―the man was the first prince Stobel, who had followed the emperor’s pro-conquest.
The first prince Stobel, together with the emperor, had recently destroyed Felzen, which was a great power and had a significant influence on the nations until its defeat by Aura two years ago.
Instead of returning to the great imperial city intact, the first prince Stobel had brought with him his elite guards and even Felzen’s princesses, a byproduct of the victory.
Perhaps it was because of their pessimism about their future, or maybe it was because they had seen hell, but their hapless forms have lost the light in their eyes like the dead. When the first prince had enough of them, they would soon be sold off as slaves.
Pitying their near future, General Loing replied.
”What may I do for you?”
“Call your scout here. I have a question.”
“Ha!”
General Loing looked out for the scout who had come to report immediately. The scout pulled his horse up to the carriage.
Face to the window. General Loing waves his chin in the air. The scout put his face close to the window with a nervous look on his face.
“…How was Rayhill?”
The scout looked puzzled when Stobel told him that.
“You have been ordered to check on Rayhill,” he said.
The astonished scout opens his mouth in a hurry.
“…I was surprised that a mysterious boy interrupted the battlefield. However, even the enemy general who is armed with a spirit weapon is not capable of dealing with it――.”
“A mysterious boy?”
“Ha, he appeared at the enemy’s main camp at an unspectacular speed――guahh!?”
As soon as he said that, the window shattered loudly, and shards pierced the scout’s face. The painful scout’s screams did not last long. This is because a large arm reached out from where the window was, and that large hand covered the scout’s face.
“Ogoo!? Uuh, uugh!?”
The horse ran away from the scout, who couldn’t breathe. But the scout’s feet remained afloat, jittering in the air. Loing sighed, then grabbed the scout by the waist and called out to Stobel.
“Prince Stobel… please stop playing around. Take your hands off――.”
Before Loing could finish, there was a gurgling sound, and the strength from the scout’s body was released. The princesses of Felzen, who were in the carriage, heard the sound and screamed. Loing thought they were losing their emotions, but maybe it was because they remembered something that made their voices come out.
When Loing released the soldier’s waist whose neck was broken, the wreckage that fell to the ground disappeared straight to the back.
“…Is there something you don’t like about it?”
“His report is inaccurate. Therefore, I am executing him. Do you have a problem with that?”
His voice was full of frustration and killing intent that would chill anyone’s to the bottom. But Loing just shrugged his shoulders. It could be said that he has quite a bit of nerve.
“I don’t think you’d listen to me if I told you.”
“Don’t talk then. But I’m still curious about the dazzling speed. And he says that it is from a boy.”
“If that is not a mistake, then it is possible that he has one of the “Five Great Swords.” If that’s the case, even though you gave him a spirit weapon, it’s still a heavy burden for Rayhill to handle.”
“No, I don’t think so. I gave him that thing to drink.”
“Fumu… then, I’m not sure what would be the result.”
When Loing had once heard of Stobel’s ambition, he remembered his open mouth not being able to close it. At the same time, he wanted to see where this man would end up. Even now, when he recalled it, it made his heart burn with age. Loing laughed to himself.
“Maybe the Spirit King’s curse will be sprinkled on me at some point.”
“…What do you think the Spirit King can do now?”
Loing could say nothing to Stobel, who said in a disappointed voice.
“I will certainly be [email protected]#[email protected]”
Stobel’s muttered words were struck down by the rain, which shook so hard that they never reached Loing’s ears. Or even if they had reached him, Loing must not have been able to say anything to…
When Loing reached the battlefield, the battle was over. There are four men and women in front of him, including the sixth princess. Every eye was looking at him with wariness.
It’s not hard to understand; at this point in time, they would want to question him as to why he appeared. Whatever the accusation, the only thing he has to do is to avoid it.
He gallantly dismounted from his horse and put his hand to his chest. Loing dropped to his knees in front of the sixth princess.
“Your Highness Celia Estrella, I am sincerely sorry for the delay. It seems that the rain that was falling earlier slowed down our march, and we were unable to make it.”
Loing looks up and sees a boy being held by the sixth princess. No matter how badly finished he is, he is still able to defeat a “Demon”…
He thought that if someone could defeat it, it would be the sixth princess who possessed the Flame Emperor. That was only in a group fight, and even then, he didn’t think anyone would be able to defeat it alone…
General Loing was amazed at what a boy not much older than the sixth princess had accomplished.
(This is… interesting.)
It was a shame that he didn’t get to see the boy fight. Still, the result alone is something that ignites the great general’s instincts. He wants to try it out. To see with his own hands just how strong he is.
However, Loing clenched his hands so tightly that his blood-soaked through, and he endured. Defeating a weakened opponent is no fun or interesting. He could take care of the boy now with just one hand.
(Let’s save the fun for now. And that’s not what I’m here for this time.)
And then he noticed—a deadly force emanating from next to him.
“That was close.”
The one who muttered in a low voice was the first prince Stobel. The figure straddling a horse has an overwhelming presence like the supreme king. His golden hair stands upside down and looks like a crown. And his sharp eyes pierced the boy without hiding his killing intent.
(Not good…)
Loing twitches his cheeks.
“He might get in my way.”
“Please wait. In this situation――.”
A thunderbolt gushed from Stobel’s hand. It was impossible to follow it with mere eyes. However, the lightning strike, which crawled across the ground, burst out right before the boy.
“Huh?”
A dumbfounded voice comes from Loing.
(Ridiculous… It’s the Thunder Emperor’s thunderbolt of the Five Spirit Swords. How did he stop it?)
He had no idea what was going on. The boy had done something; he was sure of it. But he had no idea how he had managed to avoid Stobel’s attack.
“…What do you want?”
A voice full of killing intent unimaginable from his mild appearance――was released. The boy’s pressures swelled as he stood up waveringly, and Loing involuntarily retreated.
And then he was astonished.
(For me to be pressurized… by such a child that more than younger than me?)
The boy is weakened before then. However, he was afraid of the pressure that the boy radiated.
He has gone through many battlefields and passed through many scenes of carnage, and hasn’t felt fear in a long time. That’s why he is unprepared. He was just ashamed of his unpreparedness.
Did he think he was called a great general and stand at the top of his game?
But now, rather than that, he had to admonish his lord. When he caught Stobel with a sideways glance―he was spilling his amusement from his misfortune-twisted mouth.
“Kuku, interesting. Who are you? How did you prevent that one?”
“The first prince Stobel. Please wait. Any more outrage will be heard by Your Majesty.”
Loing whispered, but Stobel ignored him, and this time, he pointed his hand at the sixth princess―not the boy.
“Try to deflect it.”
The sky rumbled, and the air roared and scattered lightning bolts. An electric bolt of despair shot wildly around the girl.
―The boy dances.
With unimaginable speed, he intercepted the lightning strike to protect the girl. However, the weakened boy couldn’t prevent everything, and when Loing noticed, he could only see the boy soaring like a scrap of paper.
“Hiro…!!”
It was Liz who screamed first. She ran up to the boy as he fell to the ground, getting knocked down.
“Hold on! Oh no. Why?!”
Stobel jumped down from his horse and approached with a broad gait. In his hand is a large battle-ax―the Five Spirit Swords “Thunder Emperor.”
“Elizabeth. Get out of there.”
“Stop messing around! Why did you do this to him!”
Liz’s cry echoed with tears in the corners of her eyes. Flames rise from the Flame Emperor’s blade as if in response to her anger. The electroshock raged from the Thunder Emperor in response to its favored rival.
“…You don’t think you can win by pointing your sword at me, do you?”
“I don’t care if I don’t win. I won’t let you hurt Hiro anymore!”
This is what it means to be in an explosive situation, and it’s not surprising if they start killing each other at any moment.
No―Liz will only be torture to death on one side.
That’s how much difference there is between their abilities.
“I’m just trying to get rid of a pest that clings to my pretty sister, you know?”
“Hiro is a pest, you said?”
Loing thinks it’s terrible, but he can’t think of a way to stop it. If Liz were killed here, it would be impossible to hide it from the emperor.
――There are too many witnesses.
And if they killed the Flame Emperor’s holder here, the throne would be far away for sure.
He should know that. He must be aware of that.
(That’s how much of a threat it is!)
Stobel opened his mouth in annoyance.
“Is that man that important… Or is there some reason you desperately need to protect him?”
“Yes, I have. If you kill him, Father will never forgive you, I’m sure of it.”
“What did you say?”
Maybe it was a hard decision to make. After taking a glance at the lying boy, Liz’s face was tinted with deep sadness.
“He’s―he’s the descendant of the second emperor.”
With those words, the sound disappeared from the world for the very last moment. Everyone was speechless; everyone peeled their eyes. All eyes were focused on the boy who had passed out.
――The die has been thrown.
――The world begins to move with the boy at its center.