Chapter . 112
Even when a commoner with poor armor and terrible sword skills attacked, Michelon would throw his body to dodge and only pounce on knights. If there were too many commoners between him and a knight, he would kill some to clear a path, but if there were only one or two, he would literally leap over their heads to pounce on the knight. The knights looked pitiful beneath him, who seemed to be growing larger and larger.
‘At least stick a spear into the ground and pretend to need a lever. Have you given up on imitating a human?’
So later, the commoners, noticing his discriminatory treatment or taste, would quickly run away, pushing knights towards him. The knights tried to surround him and succeeded. So they suffered greater pain than knights who died from a single fatal blow.
“Saint Romola! Saint Romola!”
“Receive the mercy of Saint Romola!”
“We bestow the love of Saint Romola!”
On the other hand, the Knights of Saint Romola were truly orderly in their shouts and attacks. It was an attack so perfectly disciplined that the Saint would be proud.
Under the sky which was completely dark except for the proclamation and bonfire light, the knights riding white horses with pure white cloaks fluttering and armor shining were like comets in the night sky. The path they passed also looked like traces where a comet had struck, trampling and burning everything.
“Indeed, it is the Knights of Saint Romola.”
As the battle began, Jerome, who was shooting arrows while guarding my side, exclaimed in admiration.
When Immanuel at the vanguard broke through, the knights behind him followed; they would advance in a straight line like a javelin, then spread out like wings to trap the enemy when the moment was right.
It sounds easy, but since they could not envelop all these many enemies anyway, it was an act that could rather lead to their own annihilation if they were not careful. The enemies also swarmed in pitch-black numbers.
“We have more numbers! Block them!”
But making enemies approach to surround them in return was exactly Saint Romola's trap.
“That is—”
Beside me, Jerome gasped. The moment the knights raised their swords with Immanuel at the lead, something shimmered in the night sky.
“In the name of Saint Romola!”
As Immanuel's shout rang out, an illusion of Saint Romola, like the holy icons they wore around their necks, shimmered. The swarming enemies flinched. The next moment, the illusion of Saint Romola burst out in white light. Stabbing into the enemies' chests like blades.
“Aack!”
“Uaaack!”
Leaving behind dying screams, the enemies fell. The Sword Master was a knight named Raphael; as soon as Immanuel emitted the illusion, he wiped out half of the enemies they had trapped within their wings.
“That must be the famous Sword of Light that the Knights of Saint Romola boast of.”
When Jerome spoke blankly, Yolande answered coldly.
“They shaped cutting magic into light to maximize fear. Actually, there are some whose hearts stopped before even being hit by that Sword of Light.”
“Ah, if it weren't for Your Highness, I would have ended up like that too......”
Jerome shuddered.
While we watched for a moment, the Knights of Saint Romola continued the battle. At first, they repelled rushing enemies in that way, but when the enemies soon avoided them, they blocked the enemies' path with illusions. The illusion of Saint Romola was a means to increase fear, but they were utilizing it quite diversely.
“Certainly, Immanuel is not the Knight Commander for nothing.”
As a knight, he was the strongest after Raphael, and an outstanding mage. There were various mages mixed in the Knights of Saint Romola, such as fire and water, and they were concentrating their various elemental magic into the illusion of Saint Romola to use it in various ways. Burning Saint Romola, frozen Saint Romola, like this. It was not to the extent of my fusion magic, but the special magic circle unique to the Traneha religion was strengthening the various effects of those magics.
“Hmph, I am stronger! Your Highness, I want to use new magic on those bastards!”
At that moment, Yolande begged energetically. After joining us, Michelon told the three what we had done, and Yolande was anxious to see it herself.
It was not a problem we could figure out right now anyway. For now, it was time to focus on the battle.
“Kill! Kill them all!”
“Kill that whore, the leper, and the pimp bastards!”
“Where did a mage whore pick up a young master to impersonate a Prince!”
This was why mages did not reveal their faces and made their appearances look identical. But Yolande did not want to fight like that.
-If Your Highness only permits, I want to fight revealing my face. Since I will suffer ridicule anyway even if I cover my face, I will become the face they see last.
-Do so.
Vincent had a worried face, but since Yolande was so jumping with joy at my permission, he did not stop her. And as Yolande revealed her face, he also revealed his deformed face. Even when Yolande tried to stop him, he did not listen.
“A prostitute dares to kill my friend! I will tear you to shreds and kill you!”
So among us non-knights, the enemy's anger and ridicule concentrated on Yolande, the most active mage outwardly and a woman. Because no one wanted to attract the attention of the Knights of Saint Romola who drove enemies like prey or a flock of sheep, nor Michelon who picked only those he wanted to kill but killed anyone in the way together.
“She is not a prostitute, she is my wife.”
“Those bastards dare!”
Vincent raised his staff and Jerome aimed his bow. But Yolande stopped the two.
“Wait a little, let them come closer. I wish as many of them as possible would come. We should wait for those dawdling behind and arriving late, hohoho!”
“…Why are you laughing like that?”
“You didn't originally laugh like that?”
Since the two who used to laugh along when Yolande giggled flinched before Yolande's bright smile, I opened my mouth.
“Then try using the Wave of Flame you boast of.”
Originally, such magic required some distance. Otherwise, the caster would also be swept up in the aftermath of the magic due to surrounding environmental factors like water or earth. So another mage had to cast a defensive barrier next to them.
But since I handle all four elements, perfect control was possible. If it was a Wave of Flame, it was easy for me to slyly add fusion magic.
“Your Highness!”
In the meantime, the bastards came close enough to terrify Jerome.
“Running out of mana now, are you? Kill them all!”
“Burn all four of them alive!”
The moment the bastards raised their weapons in unison and rushed at us, Yolande, who had endured persistently until then, smiled brightly and unleashed flames. The flames pushed towards the enemies like a wave. From behind, I slyly added a fusion of water and fire.
“Oooooo! Owooooo! Oaaaaaa!”
This was Jerome's scream. At first, it really sounded exactly like a wolf's howl, but gradually human screams came out.
Actually, if not for him, I would have screamed too. Even if called a wave of fire, it was just a phenomenon that looked like that once when fire spread out, but fire could not actually push forward like water.
But now, the flames were pushing forward like waves again and again. When the shimmering flames pushed forward and engulfed the enemies, the enemies did not just burn but flailed as if drowning in a wave of fire. With my unique water-fire fusion, the outside of the body burns while the inside freezes. Or lungs fill with water and they drown.
Then the enemies behind ran away frantically, but the wave of fire, swollen because of those who fell in first, crashed down on them with splashing, thudding, roaring sounds like water.
Really, only those sounds were heard. No one could even scream as they were swept away. Even after the surprised Yolande and I stopped the magic for a moment, the piling corpses were pushed by inertia, engulfing other enemies as well. Even after the wave of fire stopped, remnants of magic that did not extinguish easily due to being water-fire spread in all directions.
“…Your Highness! Just now what did you— Did you see? The enemies are dying!”
Pointing at the enemies falling and twisting without even being able to scream, Yolande said anything out of surprise. Because I interfered with her magic.
“Y-yes, you did really well, Yolande!”
One mage's magic cannot interfere with another mage's magic. If one uses fire, the other blocks with water, or sets a counter-fire to compete who burns better. But they cannot be mixed or combined.
I also fused my magic; I did not even think of interfering with another's magic. I just thought if I sent my magic following the flame wave Yolande sent, it would look like a continuous attack so it would be seamless.
However, the wave of fire sent by Yolande was swallowed by my water-fire right before exhaustion, and the embers that were about to go out flared up inside my fire. So the fusion also created a synergistic effect.
‘Did my magic eat Yolande's magic?’
No, this expression is a bit too, um, excessive…….
“Yes, it is truly amazing! Beautiful!”
Yolande shouted with sparkling eyes. We were piling up magic stories we wanted to discuss with each other. How I had missed the uninhibited magic discussions I shared with my master before regression.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Please enter the castle!”
Just then, Sir Rolf ran to me and said.
Now we were seizing victory. The army of Montova, guarded from above by my proclamation, joined the Knights of Saint Romola to guard the gate and kill enemies. With mountains of corpses piling up, the end of the battle began to appear slowly. We had overwhelmed them from the start, but that many bastards had swarmed in.
“The Count of Montova is also very worried and recommended escorting Your Highness into the castle. To think it is your first battle without even wearing armor, although you have cast a barrier.”
“It is fine, Sir Rolf. Yolande, Vincent, and Jerome are protecting me well.”
“…Yes, ever since Lord Michelon abandoned Your Highness and ran out alone, I mean. Even though he told me he would protect Your Highness.”
“I told him to go. It was an order I gave because that was better for me too.”
It is certainly better for a friend to go do it elsewhere rather than leaving him next to me like a weird kid picking only knights to eat.
“Above all, isn't it my first battle as you said. I will finish it with my own hands.”
I absolutely had to. Later, if this group of looters came under the Emperor Father's order and made a fuss about me harassing them or whatever, my hands were already itching at the thought of stepping up then too. To do that, it was better to lay the bait nicely from beginning to end.
“The enemies are running away now; shall we pursue and annihilate them?”
As I stood firm in my intent, Sir Rolf did not urge further and asked.
“Do so. I will make them an example of what fate one meets for pillaging in this land.”
Bastards like this, who are originally robber nobles and commoner thieves taking pillage as their profession, would only do the same thing even if they left Montova and went elsewhere. Since they ended up in a terrible state, they would pillage even more severely next time.
Above all, there were too many of them. If we did not pursue, they would hide in nearby mountains or forests and become bandits.
“The most bitter defeat is a counterattack suffered from an enemy who reorganized their battle lines after winning the first battle. We win until the end!”
My words echoed across the battlefield. The leaders among the enemies flinched, and the foot soldiers ran away without looking back.
Sir Rolf and the Count of Montova nodded solemnly, and the exhausted soldiers gathered their strength again to pursue them. Only Michelon had a bewildered face, then soon shouted vigorously with sparkling eyes.
“First battle, then is there a second battle too? When is it?”
Then, laughing brightly, he roamed the battlefield.
“Where is the one who will fight the second battle with me! Come out! If you do not come out, I will go to you!”
It was not that he did not know. He, who would usually dislike nagging saying let them fight on their own, was joking because he was in a good mood since it was a battlefield.
“Oh, you bastard are worthy of being the captain to lead the second battle!”
With such praise, as he sliced necks picking only the stronger ones than before, those who had held out started to run away first.
It was when we were about to pursue them to the end, leaving only personnel to defend the castle.
The vision sharing sent by Harald began again.