Ｓｉｄｅ: El
After sinking the Steam Battleship, I made my way back to my comrades at full speed, utilizing Flying and Scaffolding.
Harpy wings are attached to our arms, like a Wyvern’s, rather than our backs, but our hands are fully functional.
While we could glide before, we couldn’t wield weapons with our hands in that state, so we relied on our talons for offense.
That’s why many harpies use spears, and I wield a scythe with a sharpened tip.
However, the advent of Flying and Scaffolding has brought about a revolution in how harpies fight.
We still hold weapons with our talons, but Flying allows us to soar freely through the sky, and with Scaffolding, we can wield weapons with our hands while our wings are deployed. This has dramatically expanded our capabilities.
Our talons can also be used for offense, so not only has our attack power increased, but our versatility has also greatly improved.
I’m even considering asking Rüdia from Wing Crest to make me a pair of the greaves she uses.
“Miranda, Sley, and Caesar have returned.”
While I was slashing Solemne soldiers with my scythe held in my talons, switching to my hands with Scaffolding, Yamato called out to Miranda, the Royal Order leader of the right wing.
“Understood. But I’m afraid it’s over for them, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately.”
Yamato, who was dispatched to the right wing, says so without a hint of remorse.
Ten Ancient Classes were tasked with taking down the Steam Battleship. The remaining six are deployed as follows: two each in the desert central area of the right wing, one on the left wing’s seaside, and one at the rear main camp. However, the right wing was assigned the strongest, Yamato, and Prim.
The central front is Commander Rex and his sister Meena, the left wing is Mako, and the main camp is Flam. However, Eos is expected to return to the main camp. The left wing, being by the sea, is more accessible for Ancient Classes, and Mako excels at annihilating wide-ranging enemies, so this arrangement was deemed acceptable.
Nonetheless, to address command issues, Secondary Saber Vix is also deployed on the left wing.
“What, it’s already over?”
“Well, with Yamato and Prim here, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Sley and Caesar arrive and offer wry smiles, and they’re right.
I estimate I took down about 200 soldiers myself, but by the time I returned, the situation was far beyond a partial defeat.
“Still, there are probably seven or eight thousand left. Once the mop-up is done, we’ll likely move on.”
“Some soldiers seem to have fled into the Praia Desert?”
“Leave them. The Praia Desert is a dangerous area. A reckless pursuit would lead to casualties on our side.”
I agree with Miranda.
They’re unlikely to be near Deseo, but the Praia Desert is home to the Demise Species Antlion Empress, an Antlion demi-human. Provoking the Antlion Empress by carelessly venturing in could lead to catastrophic casualties for the Allied Forces.
“That’s true. In that case, we’ll regroup with our allies and push through the enemy’s left flank.”
“Yes, please. Yamato and Prim will be returning to the center.”
After rejoining us, who were dealing with the Steam Battleship, Wing Crest is to return to the central main force.
The left wing’s seaside, with the Steam Battleships gone, will have its alert level lowered. Holy Grave, Lily Wish, Sacred Bird, and Riot Flag will be in charge. However, we also need to watch the Praia Desert, so Gracious Lynx, Black Army, Wise Rainbow, Snow Blossom, and Falcon’s Beak, which I lead, will be responsible for that.
The only Amister Hunter in the center is Trial Hearts, but they are guarding Emperor Reinhardt, so they won’t be making any rash moves.
Therefore, Wing Crest is to rendezvous with the central main force to quickly take down the enemy’s main camp.
With Commander Rex and Muse joining them, the forces are more than sufficient.
Now then, I should also proceed with the mop-up…
“Miranda, Yamato! Look at the desert! Something’s coming!”
“The desert?”
The moment I was about to spread my wings, Plum cried out.
Something is coming from the desert, but what could it be?
I lightly flew up and peered into the desert, and indeed, as Plum said, something was kicking up sand and heading our way.
Wait until it gets closer… no, is that!
I used Scaffolding to ready my scythe and managed to narrowly evade the object that burst from the sandstorm.
My arms were tingling, but I was lucky it was only that.
“Antlion… Empress… To appear at a time like this…”
What emerged from the sandstorm was an Antlion Empress, nearly five meters tall, with dark red skin and armor resembling an ant’s.
Beating her insectoid wings, she found herself confronting me in mid-air, and I had to admit, this was bad.
“El-san!”
Yamato and Prim rushed over, their faces etched with surprise.
“We’ll take it down quickly!”
“Of course! Miranda-san, Sley-san, Caesar-san, Frau-san, Plum-san! Amister Alliance, I’m leaving the Antlions to you! And send someone to notify the main force and the left wing! With this appearing, we can’t afford to worry about Solemne!”
“Understood!”
“El-san, I apologize, but I need you to come with me.”
Yamato wants me to fight a Demise Species too, and I suppose I have no choice.
Although I participated in the Slume Lord subjugation battle in Torencia, I only had to deal with an M-rank Icequake Tiger then.
I never imagined I’d be fighting a Demise Species directly during the Deseo conquest.
“Understood. However, I’ll be a hindrance to you two at your full strength, so I’ll focus on support. You know my trump card, don’t you?”
“You mean that? Understood. When you use it, I’ll disengage immediately.”
“Otherwise, we’ll be caught in it, won’t we?”
What do you think?
Well, if they get through unscathed, I’m confident enough to retire as a Hunter and live as a shut-in, so I hope that’s not the case.
Ｓｉｄｅ: Mako
On the left wing where I was, Lidia and Rüdia returned first, followed shortly by Faris, and then Saya. This allowed us to overwhelmingly dominate the Solemne Army.
Actually, if we had a little more time, I believe the battle would have been decided even without the return of the four Ancient Classes.
“They had numbers, but that was it.”
“From the feel of the fight, there didn’t seem to be any High Classes either.”
Faris and Rüdia say things like that, and indeed, I didn’t feel any magic equivalent to a High Class, so there were either no High Classes on the left wing, or very few.
The Solemne, unable to use Innate Magic, likely began developing Steam Battleships and cannons to compensate for this disadvantage. Unfortunately, their new weapons proved ineffective against us.
However, if we couldn’t fly, dealing with the Steam Battleships would have been far more than just annoying.
But with Flying, as Prim invoked, and Scaffolding, which I invoked, anyone can now easily engage in aerial combat, eliminating the advantage of being over the sea.
It would be a different story if they could fire repeatedly like Earth’s warships and hit targets with precision by anticipating them through advanced calculations, but primitive cannons are incapable of such feats, and more importantly, their projectile speed is incredibly slow, making them easy to deal with.
“Shall we, too, rejoin the main force soon?”
“Yes, there’s no need to prolong the battle and increase unnecessary casualties on both sides.”
Once the Ancient Classes who sank the Steam Battleships rejoined, we of Wing Crest were to merge with the main force.
The reason for this was to break through the enemy lines with overwhelming force and swiftly eliminate Prince Airgaitz, who commands the Solemne Army.
A prolonged battle would only increase casualties on both sides, and if we were to defeat the entire Solemne Army, postwar public order would deteriorate, so we couldn’t afford to incur too many losses.
Of course, the Allied Forces would also suffer some casualties, so this is also meant to reduce those.
We don’t intend to preserve the Steam Battleships for posterity, so all of them will be sunk.
“The tide has turned, so you can leave this to us.”
“It will be a burden on Vix.”
“No problem. In fact, it was far easier than I expected.”
Really?
While Vix is in command of the left wing, I don’t think it was as easy as you say.
“With Mako here, it’s bound to be easy for the commander.”
“She can deploy a barrier covering a range of nearly a kilometer, and selectively attack only enemies. If any commander finds that not easy, they are nothing short of incompetent.”
“That’s absolutely true.”
Upon hearing this, Saya, Faris, and Vix immediately responded with agreement.
No, while target-oriented spells can indeed attack only enemies, I’m the one doing the identification myself, so it’s quite taxing on my end.
“It didn’t look that taxing.”
Well, both Spirit Hexa Dipper and the partially generated Air Spirit, which I’m using now, process information with high efficiency as Living Type Engraving Tools, and Accelerating Magic can also increase my thought speed. It’s easier than it is for Yamato, but…
“Let’s end the small talk. The enemy forces are still numerous.”
“Yes. It looks like… around 8,000 are left?”
“That seems about right. Some soldiers may have escaped… Hmm? What is that?”
Faris, who was surveying the battlefield, suddenly spoke with a puzzled tone.
Following her gaze, we saw someone engaged in aerial combat with something… likely an Antlion, though. And isn’t that Antlion rather large?
I quickly used Eagle Eye, a search-type spell, to confirm.
“A giant body nearly five meters tall, with a dark red color? Could it be…”
“Antlion Empress… Why is it here…”
So it is.
That means… a swarm of Antlions has appeared behind the Solemne Army.
The Solemne Army is in disarray due to this unexpected attack, but this is truly problematic.
“Are the Antlion Queen and Antlion Princess also here? In that case, we should head to the right wing as well.”
“We would like you to do that, but please refrain from taking the entire Union. It would significantly weaken our forces on the left wing.”
“I understand. Only I, Saya, and Wing Crest will go to the right wing.”
In other words, all the Ancient Classes.
We don’t know how large the Antlion swarm is, so we can’t afford to hold back our strength. This is unavoidable.
However, we can’t just abandon the Solemne Army either. It might be better for Faris or Saya to stay.
“Wait, Saya, I’m coming too.”
“Sliza?”
Just as I thought that, Sliza, a High Fairy from Lily Wish, also volunteered.
“If it were just the Solemne Army, perhaps not, but against a swarm of Antlions, a healer would be necessary, wouldn’t they?”
Ah, that’s true.
Sliza has been promoted to an M-rank healer.
While she can’t use Extra Healing until she reaches A-rank, she’s a High Fairy with a large amount of magic power. Unlike the Slume Lord subjugation, the Antlions here have swords and axes, so we won’t have limbs swallowed whole.
As long as there are severed limbs, she can heal any wound with Noble Healing. So, Sliza’s presence is greatly appreciated.
“That’s true. The more healers, the better.”
“I agree. Then let’s do this. Lily Wish will move to the right wing with Wing Crest. Holy Grave, I apologize, but you will remain on the left wing to deal with the Solemne Army.”
“Understood. I’ll handle the left wing, but be sure to defeat the Antlion Empress, okay?”
“Of course.”
Such swift decisions.
But with no time to spare, quick decisions are for the best.
“Then shall we use Traveling to transfer immediately?”
“Let’s do that. We don’t know what the main force’s judgment will be, but we can’t afford to waste time seeking it.”
I agree with Saya.
Looking at the right wing with Eagle Eye, it appears they are launching a surprise attack from behind the Solemne Army. The Solemne forces on that side seem to have been almost completely annihilated.
Furthermore, they’ve started encroaching on the main force, and if left unchecked, Prince Airgaitz’s main camp will be engulfed.
However, Prince Airgaitz’s head is still needed. We cannot let the Antlions capture Solemne’s main camp.
But I have no intention of rescuing them. If necessary, I might isolate him and have someone else defeat him after we’ve finished eradicating the Antlions.
Yamato, Prim, and El are fighting the Antlion Empress. However, Miranda, who commands the Royal Order, should be on the right wing. Let’s join her quickly.
