As I wish you all a good New Year, this is my last post for the year!!
Since I’m competing with the instructor, I need to settle this quickly, but my position as a general doesn’t allow me to announce myself so boldly here.
Clad in armor and helmet, I leapt forward, as if to dive into the moving group ahead.
“Who goes there!?”
My sudden appearance made the horses neigh and stop abruptly, but the knight commanding this army seemed quite capable, posing a question to me calmly. Without letting his guard down, his hand reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist.
It’s a natural reaction, of course, when a suspicious figure appears and stands boldly instead of retreating.
But their reactions beyond that are failing grades.
They should be able to tell I’m no ordinary person just by looking at my equipment. Maybe they lack experience, or perhaps they’re underestimating me, thinking I’m just one person, but this question suits me.
“The Demon Lord’s Army.”
Slowly, I drew the Ore Tree from my back and unleashed my magic power. The pressure of my magic power changed the surrounding air, overwhelming the army despite my being an individual.
And the moment I announced myself as from the Demon Lord’s Army, the opponent sounded a loud bugle call, ordered their archers to prepare, and loosed their arrows.
“Fire!!”
They decided not to allow my introduction and to eliminate me quickly. I see, so it’s a unit with extensive combat experience. And such a unit is ordered to retrieve refugees. What a world. The country is finished.
Do they feel nothing seeing the state of those refugees?
As if to vent the boiling anger rising within me, I swung the Ore Tree without hesitation against their unreserved violence. Despite swinging with only one arm, that single stroke blew away the arrows falling like rain.
A gasp ran through the soldiers. In just one strike, I had shown them the difference in our strength. I understand their fear, but it’s regrettable. This time, I cannot let you go.
I took a step forward.
“Magic Unit, begin incantation! Shields up! Keep firing arrows!”
That alone must have given them an approximate grasp of my abilities. At least it’s a passing grade that they don’t try to beat me individually. The attack and defense are excessive for an individual. Swiftly, a wall of greatshields was formed, and people began to hide behind it. It would be presumptuous to challenge that wall alone. From the gaps in the shields, long spears thrust out, quickly forming a spear phalanx. Above this spear formation, an arrow rain, twice as heavy as before, poured down.
“Listen to a person’s introduction until the end.”
I have my own reasons. So, without regard for the renewed violence, I slowly walked forward. Physical arrows, not magic tools, are no concern. Even if I’m hit, a barrier like a membrane around my body will deflect them. However, getting hit repeatedly consumes magic power, and it’s annoying. I swung the Ore Tree again, blowing away the arrows and walking towards the spear phalanx.
“I am one of the Demon Lord’s Army’s Seven Generals, Jin’ō. Shall we go head-on?”
And with that, I delivered the minimal necessary declaration of war. I have no intention of revealing my name. Simply using magic to amplify my voice and convey only my title to the commander was sufficient for etiquette.
My declaration of being a general seemed to make them falter. They probably never imagined that the Demon Lord’s Army’s highest combat power would be acting alone here. They were unfortunate, from my perspective, or rather, they served the wrong master. However, whether I show them mercy or not is irrelevant.
The slow movements end here; I circulate my magic power and reinforce my body. Taking a deep breath, I gather strength in my abdomen. That alone grants me the leg strength to close the distance instantly.
“Kieiyyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh–!!”
And released through the air, my roar imbued with magic power, transferring the force gained from shouting directly into my legs. Kicking off the ground with leg strength that gouged the earth, I charged towards the spear phalanx.
“Hmph!”
I slammed the Ore Tree directly into them, cutting down the knight protected by the greatshield, spear and all. Shouting, stomping, and cutting. All those actions were completed in an instant, and the knights beside the one who was cut down only grasped reality a few seconds later. The knights I glimpsed from the corner of my eye had their eyes wide open. Gazes filled with the question of “when,” astonishment of “why are you here,” and the fear of seeing the impossible.
With various gazes on my back, I swung my counter-blade to secure the area. They hurriedly tried to turn their shields towards me, but do they think I’d stop with such movements? If you intend to defend against my slash attack, you should prepare magic tools with conceptual defense. A mere iron shield cannot block my slash. The Swallow Return is my specialty. Before I could even think, my muscles and bones moved to draw the blade’s trajectory; the downward swing reversed its path just above the ground and changed into a horizontal slash.
Covering the blade with magic power, the edge extended beyond the tip by magic, boasting an attack range greater than that of a spear. The overhead swing that cut through the shield wall created a path, creating space. Stepping into that space and sweeping sideways, the knights were sliced vertically from top to bottom, creating a fountain of blood.
“Magic, huh.”
Though not on my blade, to avoid being splashed by the spraying blood, I blew it away, scattering it around. The opponent did not miss this brief pause. Well, to be honest, I wanted to gauge their strength and held back a little. If I had intended to annihilate them, I would have cut deeper and turned the entire area into a storm of slashes, trampling these knights. But my opponent was more decisive than I expected. A magic circle unfolded in the sky within range of their own allies, and lightning rained down.
“This much.”
However, this lightning was also disappointing. The deployment speed was average, and its power was only slightly above average. They couldn’t prepare many of them. I cut through the single lightning strike, and the lightning, now bisected vertically, reverted to magic power, and I slashed through the magic circle above it.
“He… cut the magic?”
“A monster.”
For the Demon Lord’s Army, a collection of eccentrics, this is commonplace. Although there are few who focus solely on slash attacks like this. Evia should have been able to do the same. The knights, seeing me as something other than human despite my human form, mustered their courage, drew their swords, readied their spears, and cast their magic.
“Do not falter! We have the blessings of the gods! The enemy general is a fool who charges into our army alone! He is no match for us!”
Even after seeing that, their morale is still high. I wonder why they came chasing refugees. They don’t seem to be on any drugs. But I feel a religious fervor. I see, so this is an army of idealists with flowers for brains. Perhaps I’ve stumbled upon a fortunate encounter?
“For now, let’s capture that noisy commander alive. As for the rest… I’ll just spare those who seem to have a high status.”
A commander of a well-trained army might possess valuable information. However, if I capture only the one with that information and leave, they might continue their mission to capture the refugees. My job is to protect the refugees, but after seeing the refugees in that state, I’m also a little angry.
Calmly considering how to fight them, I came to a conclusion: “Yeah. I’ll kill them all.”
If Keiri, a brute, heard this, she’d definitely call me an idiot. Using wide-area magic would be far more efficient. However, using wide-area magic would kill the commander along with them. But if I used intermediate-level area magic, the knights might escape. So, it might be better to kill them one by one steadily, so they might hold onto a sliver of hope that they could win.
“But, can they even perceive that?”
Regardless, they will taste despair. It’s good that they muster their courage and charge at me with a roar, but…
“Eh?”
“I’ll ask you. Are you sure about that equipment?”
They need to take about five more steps to reach me, but I can attack from beyond that range. It’s possible because not only my charging speed but also the length of my blade extended by magic. Frankly, even if our swords clash head-on, the moment they connect, their blade will be cleaved by my Ore Tree, and I’ll cut through the armor beyond as if it were paper, bisecting their bodies. The sensation I feel near my hands is less resistant than cutting tofu. To them, they are cut down without pain, or rather, they feel the pain only after being cut.
“Well then, let’s see, there are about three thousand and some soldiers left.”
At this pace, it won’t even take an hour. The instructor would be merciless and might have already annihilated them.
“Let’s pick up the pace a bit. If you have any trump cards, I recommend you play them quickly. Otherwise, you’ll be wiped out soon.”
That’s all the consideration I’ll give to these fools I’m bullying. I’ll switch gears and focus my thoughts on combat. My Japanese common sense needs to sleep for now. There’s no need to feel guilt towards them. They became knights knowing they were prepared to die. Therefore, they are my enemies.
Summoning my combat mode self, I let out a large, showy sigh. My face after that was probably as expressionless as a Noh mask. After all, it’s a battlefield that barely stirs my heart. My expression is so devoid of emotion that not even the corner of my mouth twitches. I am aware that I’ve become nothing more than a machine for slaughtering annoying enemies, which feels a bit unsettling, but I recognize this as a necessary battle. I trample them, blowing away their limbs with my sword pressure and clearing footholds. Whether they cry or try to escape, I have ears that won’t listen. When I swung the Ore Tree, I kicked off the ground again, kicking up dirt, and with a colossal boom, I slipped past the knights, creating a fountain of blood spray. And it repeated. Despite swinging the Ore Tree many times during these exchanges, the knights showed no signs of noticing. And when they did notice, death had already arrived. This is the difference in strength. Is there anyone in this army who can defend against this?
“Hey now, what’s wrong? The glory is right before your eyes. If you can take this head, your god will surely be pleased!!”
I won’t be careless. I won’t be complacent. Getting injured due to such foolish emotions would make Suella and the others sad. I provoke them, angering them and stealing their composure, while my own thoughts remain calm, exposing their command structure. The front-line commander spoke first. There must be someone higher up. If I can find them, this battle will be much easier. They are likely further in, but if I push forward like this, I’ll let enemy soldiers escape.
“In that case, I’ll shift to another gear.”
This is good enough for a warm-up. Simply charging at high speed and swinging the Ore Tree is an easy task. Even if by chance they manage to block with their sword, I’ll cut through that sword itself, creating a Buddha. While the surrounding scene appears to move slowly, I alone race across the battlefield at normal speed. There are no threatening magical reactions. If things continue like this, complete annihilation won’t take much time. That prediction was not wrong. In just thirty minutes of trampling, one army was annihilated. And before me remain three cowardly men, paralyzed with fear, begging for their lives. Fools who clung to power, incomparable to the brave front-line commander. I’ll return with them as souvenirs.
Thank you for your usual comments and error reporting. If you find it interesting, please leave comments, ratings, bookmarks, etc. I am currently serializing another work, “Pandora Pandemic Panic.” The Pandora’s Box has been opened again, but we are fighting back with various things at our secret base!! Please check that out as well!!
