Eastern Front
For the Luine Kingdom, the current war situation is more difficult than expected. They knew that the battle against the Izrim Empire would be a difficult one. In the Izrim Empire, there is Mei, who is currently the world's strongest mage as an individual and holds the title of Great Mage. In addition, there is Yuya, the strongest warrior, who holds the title of Hero. Although slightly inferior to these two, Jin and several other former heroes are also present. They are a formidable fighting force.
However, the Luine Kingdom is the strongest on the continent in terms of the quality of its military. What they lack in individual strength, they more than make up for in organizational strength. There was a good chance of victory. This is what they thought.
What destroyed this belief was a mysterious magic. It was the existence of a magic that transformed ordinary soldiers into powerful, not afraid to die madmen. The army is the exact opposite of the Luine Kingdom Army, with no control. They simply continue to charge. No matter how many of their allies die, they do not stop charging. They attack even if they lose an arm or a leg. Even if one unit is wiped out, a new one will strike again, and even if that one is defeated, the next one will strike again. The casualties were overwhelmingly on the side of the Izrim Empire, but the Luine Kingdom Army was forced to continue its gradual retreat.
"They are no longer knights or soldiers. They are just a bunch of people who want to die."
"It is true that they are neither knights nor soldiers."
For the Izrim Empire Army, such things as individual combat power are irrelevant. They're just trying to push through with the power of numbers. The soldiers of the Izrim Empire Army who are on the battlefield right now are amateurs who have not been trained as soldiers. It doesn't matter if they are a farmer, a merchant or a craftsman. They're just lining up living people on the battlefield.
"I never thought that the Izrim Empire would do such atrocious things without hesitation…"
The Izrim Empire sends ordinary people to the battlefield. And no tactics. Just ordering a deadly assault. Is such a battle allowed? The knights of the Luine Kingdom Army think so.
"We have known for a long time that they do not care about the people at all. It has only become clear that this is true on the battlefield as well."
The people living in the occupied territories of the Izrim Empire are being treated badly. The Izrim Empire is such a country. Hutton, the Commander of the Black Iron Knights of the Luine Kingdom thinks this way.
A little misunderstanding, but it doesn't matter. In reality, the Izrim Empire is carrying out a strategy only to kill its people.
"The situation won't improve just by complaining, will it? I don't think so, but are we inept too?"
Complaining about the enemy will not improve the war situation. Baat is listening and is a little irritated. The demons are beginning to suffer casualties too. They will not stop attacking unless they kill them completely. If they have to deal with dozens of such enemies, no matter how much the fighting power of the demons is higher than that of the humans, there will be those who will lose.
"We have a plan. But we need time to prepare."
The Black Iron Knights act as a wall until the preparations are complete. Its role is to slow down the enemy's advance until they are ready.
"How long is that? I think the passage of time favors the Izrim Empire, right?"
The Izrim Empire is forcibly conscripting soldiers. It is the reason for the endless armies that are being defeated. Even as they speak, the Izrim Empire is increasing the number of its troops. Buying time for the operation is good, but it is meaningless if it ultimately benefits the Izrim Empire, Baat thinks.
"I know that. But we can't just retreat without a plan. That, in the end, will only increase the number of the Izrim Empire."
"……Indeed."
If the Black Iron Knights retreat, it will become an occupied territory of the Izrim Empire. This would lead to an increase in the number of targets that the Izrim empire could forcibly mobilize.
Let as many of the people as possible flee to the rear. The Luine Kingdom is pushing for this as well, but it is not going as smoothly as they would like. The place that is now the battlefield is not the territory of the Luine Kingdom. The people living there are not citizens of the Luine Kingdom. They are not going to follow them. Even if this place were the territory of the Luine Kingdom, many people would be reluctant to leave their land. If they lose their land, they will not be able to survive. Many think this way.
"I don't think we have time to complain."
Another battle begins. The Izrim Empire army is on the move. A battle begins that will produce many more casualties.
"I see a familiar face."
"What? Who is it?"
"I only know that he's a former hero. A former hero whose name I don't know."
Baat only knew his face. He did not even remember his name. That is the extent of his existence.
"Male or female?"
"Male."
"Yuya, Jin, or Tatsuya Minami..."
Finally, a former hero has come to the front line. The Izrim Empire has made a decision to change the way they fight. The battle would become even more severe. Hutton, the Commander, could not hide the darkening of his heart.
"I know Yuya and Jin. They were famous among the former heroes."
"Then Tatsuya Minami... if it's him, we can do something about it."
Compared to Yuya and Jin, Minami was a step or two below them. As a former hero, he has a certain amount of strength. However, it is not so much that the knights of the Luine Kingdom cannot compete with. It should have been so.
"……What does this mean?"
A demon that thought the same way and was impatient to take credit for it was defeated as soon as it stood in front of Minami. It means that Minami has enough power to defeat a demon with a single blow. The current Minami.
"It's not good. The formation is broken. Send a message to the second line! Don't get caught up in the confusion of the advancing group! Don't let them break the formation!"
The soldiers of the Izrim Empire Army rushed to the corner of the formation that Minami had broken. The Izrim Empire Army is slowly eroding from that one point. It is only a matter of time before the entire first line is swallowed up in the chaos. If that happens, the situation will be in favor of the Izrim Empire Army. It doesn't matter if each individual's strength is superior to that of the Luine Kingdom Army. The enemy soldiers do not care about the difference in strength. No matter how many people die, they will kill their opponents. That is all.
"Shouldn't we lower the second line?"
"If we do that, the first line might be wiped out."
"Either way, I think they'll be annihilated, right? Another former hero is approaching. One, no, are they also former heroes? Two women."
Even at a distance, Baat can see their faces. The two faces that Baat himself does not know the names of are Maki Takeshita and Rina Moriyama. The two mages have come to the front line.
"Anti-magic...! No, get back! Keep your distance from the enemy!"
There is no time to deploy defensive magic. The front line was already in chaos. It is only a matter of time before the second line is engulfed. They must fall back and regroup. Commander Hutton thought to himself.
"Anyone! Deploy defensive magic!"
"What!?"
"Surely, the former heroes are atrocious, isn't it?"
A defensive magic by the demons was deployed over the heads of the first line. Maki and Rina's magic arrived a little later. A dazzling light spread over the heads of the crowded first line. The two attacked the place where their allies were fighting with magic.
"…………"
They unleash magic attacks against their allies. Witnessing the Izrim Empire, which does such things, Knight Commander Hutton is speechless with anger. For a former hero from another world, the people of this world are unimportant. They don't care about the lives of the people living in this world. He realized this.
"I can't afford to lose. I had intended to fight from the beginning, but I realized that once again."
"Yeah, we definitely can't lose"
The former heroes are the enemy of all people living in this world. It doesn't matter if they are a human or a demon. They must do everything in their power to defeat the enemies of this world. The two of them vowed to do so.
◆◆◆
The invasion of the Eastern Alliance came as a surprise to the Lemberg Kingdom. They were wary of it because they were still at war. However, the Eastern Alliance did not have the strength to invade the territory of the Lemberg Kingdom. Thinking that they did not have the courage to do so, they went to suppress the rebellion in an area occupied by the Izrim Empire. Jin, the king himself, had gone there to put down the rebellion.
The Lemberg Kingdom, which had no intention of relaxing its border defenses, was breached at once by the Eastern Alliance. This was another miscalculation. They did not expect the Nord Empire to provide full-scale support for their invasion. The Nord Empire was only going to fortify the defense of its own territory and watch the battle between the Izrim Empire and the Luine Kingdom. The Lemberg Kingdom believed that the Nord Empire was aiming to take advantage of it.
Even so, the Lemberg Kingdom managed to stop the invasion before the main army led by Jin returned. The Lemberg Kingdom had always boasted a military power on par with the Luine Kingdom. Even with the addition of the Nord Empire's forces, it would not be pushed aside by the Eastern Alliance, a group of small nations.
"They defended well. How is the battle going?"
Furthermore, the main army led by Jin joined the defending forces. From this point on, they went on the offensive and pushed back the enemy at once. On the contrary, they attacked the territory of the Eastern Alliance. The Lemberg Kingdom Army's will to fight is rising.
"In the battles so far, we know that only one army is tough."
"How many are there?"
"Five thousand. It's the army on the far left."
The general of the Lemberg Kingdom pointed to the left flank of the forces of the Eastern Alliance deployed in the front. As he explained, there was an army of about 5,000 troops in a tight formation.
"Which country is it?"
"I don't know. They are not raising a battle flag."
The troops other than the leftmost flank raise battle flags in the camp. If one looks at it, one can tell which country's army it is. But the army on the far left has never raised a battle flag. The Lemberg Kingdom side couldn't figure out which country's army it was.
"...Could it be?"
"Yes. It is possible that they are the armies of the Nord Empire."
The reason why they don't display military flags is because they don't want to let people know which country's army they are fighting for. If they thought about which country would want to do that, the Nord Empire is the first thing that comes to mind. They know that there is a connection between the Eastern Alliance and the Nord Empire.
"Who is the general leading them?"
"He is still a young general, so I don't know the details. But I am certain it is not the Nord Emperor."
"I see……"
Ren is not there. Jin is relieved by that, and he is ashamed of himself. He had gained power by doing depraved things. It was miserable that he had gone that far and was afraid of fighting Ren.
"The enemy forces that have been on the offensive all at once up to this point are now on the defensive. I think they are cautious now that they know of His Majesty's arrival."
The Eastern Alliance, which had continued the invasion, stopped their advance before the river in front of them. At first, they thought that they were thinking of regrouping across the river, but this was not the case. The Eastern Alliance had begun to build up their positions, which were already quite complete.
"Do you think the Nord Empire Army will invade?"
Again, fear of Ren wells up in Jin's heart.
"I cannot deny the possibility. The enemy in the front might be a decoy to keep us here, and the main body of the enemy may attack from the north."
"Is the northern defense okay?"
"I am sorry. I don't know how you can say it is safe against the Nord Empire Army."
The Nord Empire Army is strong. They once fought against it in far smaller numbers and more evenly matched. And that was not the full strength of the Nord Empire Army. They still don't know how seriously the demons were mobilized.
"...Can I leave this place to you?"
"Of course"
If the Nord Empire Army, which would be called the main army, is going to attack from the north, the Lemberg Kingdom will have to use the most elite army. Jin decided to move to the northern part of the country.
But even the enemy can understand that kind of thinking. That is why they are encamped here.
"...The river... that's ridiculous."
The flow of the water was diminishing as they watched. The strong current of the river, which had made it difficult to cross, was weakening rapidly. This could not have happened naturally.
"Enemy attack!"
"Intercept! Prepare to intercept!"
The Eastern Alliance left their positions all at once and advanced forward. A battle has begun here. It was started after waiting for the arrival of the main army led by Jin.
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