Translator: yAmi
It had been three days since the war began.
After being ambushed by the Royal Army of the Federation of St. Gallen, the province of Volden lost numerous bases and villages in the blink of an eye, despite sporadic resistance from various regions. The military forces of this region were weak to begin with. If the enemy forces, who were far superior in terms of skill level, took the lead, there was no way they could put up a front. If they went out to fight in the open fields, they would be scattered, if they chose to hold up in a fortress, they would be overrun in the blink of an eye. No matter what they did, there was no chance of winning the battle.
At this rate, the whole of Volden could be lost in less than a week. The people of this land and the soldiers who had been fighting and losing could not help but feel such anxiety.
But...
".....Argghh! We still can't get past that fort!"
The commander of St. Gallen's army bit his teeth at the sight of the small fort in front of him. Their rapid advance after their successful crossing of the mountains was interrupted here. They had blitzed through the eastern part of the province and were on the verge of reaching the capital city of Volden, when they were stopped in their tracks by this isolated stronghold.
The defence was so fragile with a strong gust of wind. That’s why it was frustrating for St. Gallen, known for its elite soldiers.
As the commander's face flushed with humiliation, a voice called out from the ramparts.
"These are the so-called famed troops of the East?"
The refreshing voice of a woman was out of place on a battlefield crowded with soldiers and grass-covered corpses. If this was on the street, it would sound so appealing that many would want to perk out their noses and follow the owner of the voice with their eyes.
However, no one in this place would behave so casually. Especially if it was a soldier from St. Gallen.
"......Not as big a deal as I thought!"
What followed was roars of expletives. Such ridiculous words for somebody who understood nothing. The St. Gallen army was encroaching on the land at a speed like that of a wildfire. How silly to say that of them?
However, no one here could openly say anything in return. The total number of this army was 3,000, and they were eager to take down the main city in one fell swoop. Yet, it was this woman who had been keeping them at bay from this tiny fortress.
"Damn...... why is the most elite Imperial Guards knight in this remote area!"
Gritting his teeth as if grinding them, the commander cursed.
—Elisha Rosmond Balbastre. She was a knight of the Imperial Guards of the Kingdom of Arquell, and was a leader in the Second Order, considered to be the most powerful of them. For some reason, this person who should be serving the royal court in Broussonne, the capital, was out here in remote regions.
Without knowing the Imperial Guards were here, the commander had attacked without taking it too seriously since this was supposed to be a lightly defended region. The result was the failure of 3 attempted offensives.
Their siege weapons, which were limited in quantity since they had to cross the mountains, were destroyed swiftly by the Second Order. The attackers, despite their overwhelming numbers, were crushed by a hundred of their most elite knights. In order to avoid confronting them directly, they surrounded the fortress and shot arrows as if turning them into a hedgehog, but it didn’t seem to be working.
The attacking St. Gallen army was wasting precious time because of the Second Order of the Imperial Guards and their tiny fortress.
(If we don't do something about it, we would be outshined by the units...)
This unit surrounding the fort was one of the separate units in charge of multiple routes of attack. Of course, the other units were fighting on their own battlefields. Would there be another enemy out there that could compare to this female knight and her knights?
Surely not.
Originally, it was nonsense to assume that they would encounter the enemy's best and brightest in Volden. Or, it might have been placed there in anticipation of this surprise attack, but that was very unlikely. If they had known from the beginning that they would be attacked by St. Gallen, they would not have haphazardly placed only a hundred knights from the Imperial Guards in such a place. Normally, they would have organised an army of several thousand men, with knights at the core, to defend against such an attack.
The fact that this had not been done meant that the presence of Elisha and the others here were most likely a coincidence. Perhaps they had just stepped on this land for a local exercise or inspection and were accidentally caught up in this war. Alternatively, there was somebody who predicted their surprise attack, but due to lack of approval, could only send a small number of knights here.
Either way, the other units would not have met with as much resistance as they did. The commander grimaced, wondering if they were the only ones who got unlucky.
"What are you idling around for?"
An irritated voice came from behind him. When he turned around, there stood a person who was as unsuitable for the battlefield just like that damned woman.
He was wearing only a robe and no armour in a battlefield where arrows could be flying around. He was thin but while he looked like he should have nothing to do with violence, he had a vaguely mysterious air about him.
He was a mage who was with this unit.
"Such a small fort is no more than a dirt house for us mages. We can clear the land in the twinkling of an eye."
"You idiot! Why did you come forward?"
The commander shouted at him, interrupting his sarcasm. The commander had previously ordered the mages to stand by.
As a result, the mage shrugged his shoulders in disapproval.
"Of course it's for the sake of fighting, isn't it? What, even if it's an opponent that a small army of soldiers can't handle, if it's me who has mastered the depths of magic at the academy—"
"I told you I would call on you when the time was right! And if you want to make a report, use the messenger! You know why I ordered you to stand by..."
The argument did not last long.
"......Mage, I found you."
—neigghhhhh......!
The high-pitched neighs of the horses echoed over the battle cry of the St. Gallen soldiers.
The sound was coming from the fort. The commander turned around reflexively and looked up. In his eyes, he saw an astonishing sight.
"I shall take that head of yours!"
Out of nowhere, Elisha, riding on a horse, jumped down from the top of the fort. Even though they were still being sieged and their current location was still more than a hundred metres away from the fort. The frenzy on her face hardly resembled a woman as she rode closer.
"Eh!? F-Fireball!"
The mage immediately tried to intercept her with magic, but to no avail.
Just before the magic bullet of flame that was released hit the approaching female knight, it was neutralised as if it had bounced off an invisible wall.
The commander was stunned.
"A Unicorn......!"
A white horse with a female knight on its back. Its true identity is that of a rare kind of phantom beast.
Unicorns. They were beasts that had a horn of spiritual power on their forehead while possessing a horse's body. They brought blessings to their masters. With such a high ranking beast, it became possible for her to get down from the fort in a single jump and easily dispel a half-assed low tier magic.
And there was only one end for a mage when a powerful knight closes in.
"Ahh!"
A sharp sword came down from the horseback. And that’s how the head of the careless mage separated from his body.
"Ahhhhh!?"
"There she is! It's the monster woman!"
Not only that, but the momentum was so strong that the surrounding soldiers were kicked by the unicorn, literally blowing them away. It was a catastrophe.
(That's why I told the mages to stand by......!)
The commander thought, trying to hide the shivers that ran through his body.
They were the country's most elite knights of the Imperial Guards even if just in name. They must have been prioritised with anti-magic equipment. Even if they did not expect a high-ranking phantom beast such as a unicorn to appear, it would be too much to call for a mage against a small detached force like theirs. That was why he had ordered them to stay on standby so that they would not collide with each other by any chance.
