A day after the first encounter with the Chimera, the Wing of Order resumed its flight towards Arrogentia (Capital City).
The morning progressed smoothly, but in the afternoon, as we approached a city slightly larger than the others, a major city on the way to Arrogentia called Desgrasa, the stationed military attacked us.
However, the attack came only after the Wing of Order had completely passed Desgrasa, so their combat readiness wasn’t exactly high.
“Twenty-six Twin Head Wyverns, seven Tri-head Wyverns, and three Snake Tail Wyverns. I expected this. The closer we get to Arrogentia, the more abnormal monsters seem to appear.”
“Right. So far, it’s just Wyverns, but I imagine other monsters will show up eventually.”
By the way, the ones who dealt with them were Yamato and Athena.
The newly confirmed Snake Tail Wyvern is an M-rank monster. A Wyvern’s tail is used for aerial balance, so the Tri-head Wyvern’s tail being a snake means that, on top of its normal tail, it has snakes growing from both sides.
Yes, if you understood the expression “both sides,” you should realize there are two snakes, meaning the Snake Tail Wyvern has five heads.
Since no pursuers followed, I assume they successfully annihilated Desgrasa’s aerial combat unit. However, the problem was the next city.
The next city, Envidia, came into view before dusk. They were clearly in formation, waiting for us, so it seems the information had reached them.
“From what I can see, there are about 3,000 ground troops and around 200 aerial combat units.”
“That seems to be the case. Once we clear Envidia, only the Byakkot Army’s garrison remains. Considering our current speed, the mobilization of the remaining Four Symbols Armies won’t be in time, so this is probably just before the final defense line.”
Arrogentia also has the Four Spirits Army and the Chiyou Army, which are apparently the elite forces of Abaricia. However, even combined, they don’t measure up to even one of the Four Symbols Armies in terms of scale.
But as the term “elite” suggests, they are said to be overwhelmingly powerful on the Gradia Continent.
Only the Divine Emperor should have evolved into an Ancient Demon. So even as elite forces, they should at most be High Demons. However, we cannot deny the possibility that they are learning from the defeat at the Battle of Linea, so we should assume Ancient Demons are present.
Given the Divine Emperor’s personality, I don’t think he’d allow the existence of Ancient Demons that could threaten him. But as the situation stands, beggars can’t be choosers.
If Ancient Demons are indeed present, Yamato is tasked with dealing with the Divine Emperor. It’s planned for the Element Classes—Prim, Mana, Meena, Flam, Ludia, Athena, and myself—to handle them.
“That’s probably true. However, we cannot just pass through. Rex, Ritter, and Hunters, heed my command. From this moment on, the Philias Allied Forces will enter into full-scale engagement with the Abaricia Army.”
“Yes! Message received! From this moment on, we, the Philias Allied Forces, will enter into engagement with the Abaricia Army! Everyone, rouse yourselves!”
Up until now, it was more like skirmishes, or simply repelling pursuers. This is slightly different from a military conflict.
However, this is our first full-scale military engagement since landing on the Gradia Continent.
“We can’t just pass through, so we really have no choice but to defeat them.”
“There’s a risk of being caught in a pincer attack. In any case, we will advance. Wing Crest, I’ll leave the skirmishing to you.”
“Understood.”
Us, skirmishing? But yes, that makes more sense. Yamato and I are trump cards against the Divine Emperor, the only ones capable of defeating him. I have no intention of falling behind against the Demon Race, but I can’t completely rule out the unexpected. Yamato has gone to the front lines a few times, but the opponents were pursuers, not a large force, and it was also to keep his senses sharp. But facing an entire army means we need to conceal our capabilities, so it’s better to focus on rear support. Though Prim and Ludia will likely be actively engaging.
“Well then, to the deck… no, the roof balcony might be better.”
“It’s quite spacious, so that might be better.”
“I don’t know how it will be during aerial combat, but it is the highest position on the Wing of Order.”
The roof balcony also functions as a temporary command post, so providing rear support from there is certainly a safe choice. We can’t just stay here forever, so let’s hurry and move to prepare.
Side: Ludia
By the time we emerged onto the roof balcony, the battle had already begun. The enemy had prepared aerial combat forces like Twin Head Wyverns and Tri-head Wyverns. More importantly, from Abaricia’s perspective, we are invaders. So, regardless of whether we were ready or not, they would attack.
“It’s started, but the attacks are milder than I expected.”
“Almost all of their aerial units are here, but their ground units are helpless at this altitude. Though, from our perspective, both are within attack range.”
Right. In fact, Ritter and the Hunters are using Flying and Scaffolding to move freely through the sky, attacking from all directions. Although they’ve descended to about 500 meters, the distance is far enough that attacks from the ground can’t reach us. The fact that we can completely ignore the ground troops is a big advantage.
“Securing air superiority seems to be no problem… Wait, that Chimera over there looks a bit troublesome.”
“The Chimera in the back… Ah, indeed. It’s A-rank, and its species name is Hydra. Exactly as it looks.”
“Having five heads and being A-rank means that at O-rank, it would be Yamata no Orochi, right? I think they could have been a little more creative, but given it’s the Divine Emperor naming them, this is probably his limit.”
“Agreed.”
Yamato and Mako are speaking ill of the Divine Emperor, but I understand what they mean. I saw him during the Battle of Linea; his face and behavior looked quite unintelligent.
“Still, an A-rank Chimera is troublesome, and the one riding it is probably a captain… no, something higher. So, it’s best to defeat it quickly.”
“Yes. Then I’ll…”
“No, I’ll do it. From this distance, I can handle it.”
“Indeed. Please, then.”
So, Mako is going to take on the Hydra, which hasn’t moved yet. Speaking of which, Mako hasn’t fought at all on this expedition, so the timing might be just right.
“Yes. Then I will.”
With that, Mako fully generated her Spirit Hexa Dipper and enveloped the battlefield with her Unique Magic, Field Cosmos. This included Abaricia’s ground army. Mako’s Field Cosmos is so powerful that even Demise Species cannot break it, meaning the Demon Race absolutely cannot break it. What’s more, it allows for both departure and re-entry, which is truly unfair. After deploying her Field Cosmos, Mako activated Meteorite Light Sphere, her ultimate Engraving Magic, targeting the Hydra and the Chimeras around it. The Hydra and Chimeras were buffeted by a sudden gust of wind, their bodies, along with the demons riding them, froze. Then, flames erupted from within their bodies, incinerating them without a trace. It’s brutal to watch, as always.
“It’s over. Their command structure should be in tatters now.”
“As brutal as ever. They probably have no idea what happened.”
Thanks to Mako, their aerial combat unit is in a hopeless situation. They are still attacking, but there’s no coordination whatsoever. Some demons are even trying to flee. However, since the battlefield is covered by Mako’s Field Cosmos, escape is impossible. In fact, some fleeing demons are launching coordinated attacks with the Chimeras they’re riding, but the Field Cosmos remains unshaken.
“There’s no room for hesitation or mercy with the enemy. Otherwise, it leads to carelessness, and in turn, puts us in a predicament.”
“That’s true. Well then, Brother Rai, we’re going too.”
“Understood. Though they’re just watching us now, many of those on the ground are also demons. Don’t be careless.”
“Yes, of course.”
The demons Mako defeated were only command-class. The aerial combat unit has not even been halved yet. Ritter and the Hunters are engaged, so the situation is in our favor, but the entire ground force remains. We need to deal with them as well.
“Your Majesty, Flam and I will head to the ground.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I’ll go too.”
Just as I was thinking that, Meena declared she would accompany Flam to face the ground troops, and I impulsively volunteered as well. If it were just the two of them, it would be fine, but there are still many enemies, and importantly, many of them are demons. There’s no room for error.
“Ah, in that case, I’ll go too. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine, but won’t Ritter be heading there soon as well?”
“Yes. The aerial situation is favorable, so I was planning to have Father, Beastar, Soldier, and the Hunters go. However, if Meena and the others are going as well, let’s have two Order units accompany them.”
The Order units are coming too. I’m grateful, but that might make the aerial situation unfavorable… No, that’s not right. Prim, who excels at aerial combat, not to mention Yamato and Mako, are here. In an extreme scenario, even if all units descended, there would be no problem. Yes, then I should descend to the ground without hesitation as well.
“Brother Rai, is it okay for Mana and I to stay in the air?”
“Please do. I think it will be fine, but if all the Element Classes descend to the ground, it might affect morale.”
“That’s certainly possible. Understood.”
Ah, I see. If Mana and Prim also descend to the ground, with Yamato and Mako remaining on the Wing of Order, unable to move, there will be no Element Classes left in the sky. While the situation won’t be greatly impacted due to the many Ancient Classes, some Ritter might feel we’re being looked down upon, so having Mana and Prim join them would prevent that. This might be a problem specific to a multinational army, but having to consider politics even at times like this is frankly troublesome. However, I’ll leave that to Emperor Reinhardt and Yamato, and we’ll deal with the Abaricia Army. Until now, we’d only encountered them sporadically and in small numbers, but this time, they’ve brought a large army. This is our first full-scale military engagement since landing on the Gradia Continent, and it’s a crucial battle that will foreshadow the future. So, not only everyone else but I myself am fully committed. Now, let’s do this!
