“He who knows the enemy and himself will never be defeated.
I believe that was a saying from an Old Chinese Great Person. I, however, lack knowledge about monsters, which can be considered fundamental in this world. I’ve encountered goblins and orcs on battlefields and roads, but beyond that, I’m clueless.
It’s the same with giants; Sophia mentioned she only had knowledge from literature, and I doubt they are common knowledge even among other adventurers.
Therefore, I wish to know how to fight them. Just as there was an effective way to combat the Black Flame Dragon, giants are said to be weak to magic. However, the only magic I can use is my partner, Transform.
I used Godspeed to intercept a giant’s path and wait for it. That… is impossible. Before meeting the giant, I hid in the shade of a tree, but just seeing it, I had no idea how to fight it.
There’s no way I could possibly stab a spear into its head. I can’t even reach its knees. Should I climb the giant using Godspeed? I don’t have any climbing gear.
The main force of monsters, with the giant at the forefront, was approaching. The Demon Army commander was likely behind it, but the ground was shaking. As the giant drew nearer, the earth trembled like an earthquake.
At this moment, it felt like a magnitude three. Don’t underestimate a Japanese Male from an earthquake-prone country! A magnitude three wouldn’t surprise me.
When the giant’s foot came down right in front of me, it surely surpassed a magnitude seven. I found myself clinging to a nearby tree. Because it was so close, the kicked-up dust coincidentally concealed my presence.
It would be good to let the giant pass and then aim for the Demon Army commander. However, I’d rather not fight an uninjured giant head-on afterward. I just get this image of being “Puu,” crushed.
Since the dust has been stirred up, I might as well make use of it. I matched the giant’s pace, looking ahead with my situational Mind’s Eye. It stomps its foot, raising dust, lifts its leg, and places it down again. I timed my actions with this. Just before its foot lands.
‘Now!’
In the brief moment before the giant placed its foot on the ground, I thrust my spear between its toenail and flesh. Perhaps due to the speed of Godspeed and the forced extreme vibration, the spear slid in smoothly.
Honestly, as I was doing it, I felt a pang of guilt. Just imagining how painful it must be to stab a spear between a toenail… it surpasses comprehension. To use an analogy, it’s like piercing your nail with a toothpick. Just thinking about it makes my behind clench.
It must have been excruciatingly painful. The giant, holding its injured foot with its hand, jumped on one leg. Of course, I had already pulled out the spear before it jumped, but the tremor now exceeded magnitude ten.
The other giants overhead seemed to be glancing back with concern, wondering what happened, but they couldn’t possibly spot a tiny me, a user of Godspeed, and in no time, I had gouged the flesh beneath the toenails of five giants.
I can’t do anymore. It’s not that Godspeed is gone, or that my Mind’s Eye has failed. My spirit is broken. My heart has become filled with guilt and regret.
Stabbing between the toenails is a form of torture. I remembered this when Priscilla seemed about to pierce my behind with her halberd.
I am a mercenary, so cutting and stabbing is my Work, but piercing between the toenails is unacceptable. It might be the last thing I’d ever want done to myself.
Because of that, the damage to my mind is significant. …I don’t want to do it anymore.
While five giants were hopping in pain, writhing, or shaking the ground so intensely they couldn’t move, I noticed blood appearing on my own stomach. The effect of Rufina’s heartfelt ‘fire branding treatment’ had vanished. It definitely wasn’t treatment. It was undoubtedly an attempt to do something she’d always wanted to try!
I managed to escape from the giant’s feet and get close enough to see the presumed Demon Army commander. Around the commander were what appeared to be his adjutants and orcs, staring dumbfoundedly, unable to do anything about the confusion of the giants before them.
Is this my chance!? I can kill him now. I dropped my spear and entered a crouch, drawing my used sword.
Leaping out with Mode Two, I severed the commander’s head without anyone noticing, and before his head hit the ground, the heads of his two adjutants also flew off.
How about that! If the monsters were being controlled by the demons, this should be the end. Even if they weren’t controlled, their employer is dead, so they should go home and start over. …No, don’t come back, just go home to Nordland.
With their commander killed, the giants immediately went berserk, and the orcs, seeing me, the enemy, standing before them with a blood-dripping sword, looked comically confused. Some started talking to each other, some fled, and some roared with anger at me. I really didn’t want to fight anymore. The sensation of stabbing the spear into the giant’s foot made me feel sick.
The feeling of peeling skin. It makes me want to hold my own nails. I silenced an roaring orc by stabbing it through the heart.
I don’t mind stabbing hearts, but the discrepancy between that and my aversion to nails is hard to ignore. I dislike it, and I dislike it. I let out a roar myself, trying to intimidate the orcs.
The orcs began to falter. Did they see me as a Demon? Then, I cut down another one diagonally… Darn, the sword is stuck.
With another bestial roar, they showed faces of Terror and fled back towards Lauenstein. Seeing this, the giants also moved away, keeping a distance from me.
Choking on the swirling dust, I stood alone. This is the end. I couldn’t kill the giants, so they will likely return someday. There were about a hundred orcs in this main force, and I haven’t defeated them all. The vanguard that arrived earlier was also not enough to conquer Anaheim with just orcs. Trolls are yet to come, and I am a bit tired.
Let me rest for a bit…
When I came to, I was a Horseman. This feeling of being held… it must be Christine. As always, a wonderful figure.
“Did you wake up?”
An unfamiliar voice. And the firmness I felt in the hand holding me… Plate Mail. Christine wore leather armor, didn’t she? Then, who might you be?
“To grab like that, where on earth are your hands…”
I hastily pulled my hand back, but what I felt was the coldness of Plate Mail and a good physique. Looking around, I saw about ten severely wounded cavalrymen. Could it be that the Anaheim Knight Order used us as bait!?
If so, the woman walking at the front must be the knight with a sunflower-like smile. Her name is… Helena Nantoka.
“You saved me…”
“We couldn’t abandon a man who did so much. It seems you drove off the giants.”
Giants are large, so perhaps they saw from a distance when they fled. Also, I’m the one who defeated those three demons.
“You’ve worked hard. We thank you.”
There was no more conversation until we reached Anaheim. Of the fifty cavalrymen who went on the offensive, fewer than ten remained. The mercenary group that accompanied us must have also suffered casualties, and I worried about the state of the West Gate.
It can be said that we won the first battle. The Demon Army is in disarray, having lost its commander. The subordinate orcs also suffered losses, and the Sand Dragon is now ours.
It’s undoubtedly a great victory, but will we be able to hold out if another attack comes? Next, giants will advance. If they are weak to magic, Sophia, Rufina, and Rossa will have to be instrumental.
Will that be enough to win? Also, I wished someone would stop the bleeding from my stomach. The cavalrymen probably can’t use magic, but I would have welcomed even basic first aid.
I managed to stop the bleeding myself by pressing my hand against my stomach until we reached Anaheim, and it seems I held out.
When the members of the White Lily Corps saw me on Helena’s horse, they quickly approached and struck me down with the shaft of a halberd that had no axe.
“Why?”
The words spat out as I tasted dirt were met with cold stares.
“Your hand speed is Godspeed!”
What is this idiot talking about? Should I get angry for once? I was just saved. I only use Godspeed in battle… except for in Bed.
When I looked towards Helena to ask for assistance, there were handprints of my blood on her body. On all sorts of places where they shouldn’t be.
“M-Misunderstanding…”
“■■■■, Inferno.”
I lost consciousness after receiving treatment that was more like instant death from a near-death state. While contemplating if I had done anything commendable in today’s battle, I lay as if dead until the next day.”
