“Crash! The east wall is collapsing!”
One of the forts responsible for the second defensive line in the west of the empire.
The commander, Ziklint, wiped the blood flowing from his forehead with his sleeve and shouted in a half-broken voice.
“Hold the line! We MUST hold the line! If the east wall falls, it’s over for us! Reinforce with more knights!”
“The other walls are also at their limit!”
“Damn it!”
The defensive line built on the barren land was in a dreadful state.
Old equipment was not resupplied in the long-standing peace, and soldiers were lax in discipline. Food supplies were woefully inadequate.
With nothing functioning properly, it was tough to maintain the line with the supplies hurriedly delivered a week ago.
The slim hope of reinforcements arriving from the royal palace had long been discarded.
No matter how fast they came, by the time reinforcements arrived, everyone would likely be dead.
“Do we have no choice but to abandon the line…?”
“But…”
“Jax, we really have no options left. It’s better to give up the fortress and retreat to reorganize for the future!”
“But where do we retreat to? The enemy is closing in from all sides…”
He clenched his teeth at the despair leaking from his lieutenant’s voice. There were escape routes, but with refugees trying to flee right now, saying that in anger was pointless. There was nowhere to run.
If they falter, even the fleeing refugees would end up sprawled out in this desolate wasteland.
Lord Ziklint stared blankly at the monstrous army staining the defensive line and pulled his sword from its sheath. His left arm was broken, so he couldn’t swing it properly, but the battlefield didn’t accommodate such whims.
“Fight to the last! The gods will lead us to paradise!”
“Lord Ziklint, it’s the end, so I’ll speak candidly. You’ve been an annoyingly bothersome superior.”
“You were an annoying lieutenant as well.”
Chuckles.
A smile bloomed on both their lips.
They stepped forward toward the approaching death—
“…Jax, do you know what’s happening?”
“Not at all.”
It’s hot.
A heat that rivals the scorching sun pouring down on the wilderness burned their bodies. It forced them to accept that the sudden turn of events was indeed reality.
A pillar of fire filled the area outside the defensive line. It resembled not a pillar but more of a wall of flames rising higher than the walls themselves.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
The only difference was that the smell came from the monsters.
“Wake up, Ziklint.”
“…Lord Kalintz?”
A familiar voice, one that occasionally disturbed his sleep, made him feel an unexpected joy at this moment.
The white-haired old man leisurely drew his sword from its sheath and spoke to Ziklint.
“The battle isn’t over yet.”
‘It’s not over until the battle is over. Never let your guard down until the very end!’
Echoes from the past rang in Ziklint’s mind. He chuckled and made a jest at Kalintz.
“Where have you left that granddaughter you doted on so much to come here? You would always say you never wanted to step on the battlefield again.”
The old man nonchalantly waved his sword, drawing a line through the army of monsters climbing over the walls. A cruel line that split everything in half.
“If it were up to me, I’d love to stay home and watch Amy perform, but when the empire is in crisis, I have no choice but to step in. The royal family is caught up in their own power struggles, so an old man like me must take action.”
“Lord Kalintz…”
“Lord Kalintz. But about that pillar of fire earlier…”
“My dear friend, Merlin.”
“M-Merlin? He should be at the academy, right?”
“How could he sit idly by when the empire is in peril? That thunderous fool has come as well.”
“G-Geren too?”
As if responding to his question, the ground exploded, launching monsters into the sky.
“Haha! How trivial! But it’s a good warm-up! Come on, you lot! Step it up!”
“And there’s another promising newcomer.”
“Excuse me?”
The wall trembled in agreement with his words. The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, causing both people and monsters to sway. Before long, they all widened their eyes at the gradually repairing wall.
“How… How is this happening? The wall…”
“I told you so. I said another promising newcomer has come with me.”
The swordsman old man looked at the large man repairing the broken wall with pride in his eyes.
——————–
“This is rather trivial.”
“Ow, my back…”
“It’s been a while since I threw a tantrum like this. Hey, can you stoke the fire?”
“Of course.”
I tossed some firewood into the campfire and blew fire from my fingers. I wonder what kind of expression the Phoenix would make if it knew I was using its blessing to stoke this fire.
Surprisingly, it might just brush it off, saying, ‘It’s your power now, do whatever you want.’
“It seems fighting for the first time in a while has rusted my skills a bit.”
“If you had continued training like me, that wouldn’t have happened! Hahaha!”
“Shut up, muscle-head.”
“I’m better than a weakling!”
“Stop fighting like children.”
At least the mature Lord Kalintz mediated, and the two stopped their bickering to accept bowls filled with stew I distributed.
“You’re quite the cook.”
“To survive in the wild, you have to know how to do everything.”
“Still, you seem to know an awful lot of things… I’ve never seen a wall repaired that fast in my life.”
“Had there been more talents like you, this wouldn’t have happened. If the walls could be repaired so quickly in less than ten minutes, I would have lost all will to fight.”
Seeing them look at me like I was a gifted student felt a bit strange. I felt like a graduate student and waved my hands in denial.
“Surely there are talents greater than me in an empire with vast lands. Just at the academy alone, there are plenty of brilliant people.”
I had to be careful not to say something wrong and get buried in unwanted love calls. I answered as humbly as I could while keeping my eyes open for trouble.
“Even so, you’re nearly the only one of your age with such abilities. As the former captain of the royal knights, I can vouch for it.”
“Um…”
“When I was young, I was more impressive than this one! Though this guy is quite something too!”
…Did I call this guy for no reason? Of course, his skills are remarkable, as he can sweep away the remaining monsters almost single-handedly, but it’s getting chaotic.
“…Lord Kalintz.”
“Oh, Ziklint. What is it?”
As everyone’s gaze turned to Ziklint, the middle-aged commander gulped and spoke.
“Thank you for today. I owe you my life.”
“I was just doing my duty. But do you happen to know the state of the other forts?”
“They’re probably similar to ours.”
“We don’t have time to waste.”
“Are you leaving?”
“What choice do I have?”
Kalintz’s gaze landed on me. As his gaze turned toward me, everyone’s gaze naturally followed. It felt as if I was the one with the decision-making power in this matter. I stared blankly at the floor for a moment, then raised my head and said.
“How about we leave early in the morning? It would be better to recover from fatigue before heading out.”
“Let’s rest here tonight.”
“That makes sense.”
There’s no point in pushing the old men whose bodies are already in poor condition. Ziklint, or was it Zikrint? sighed in relief at my answer. Maybe he thinks they can safely spend the night.
I looked at the smoke rising from the fort and recalled what we had to do.
First, we need to buy time to repair the defensive line and organize ourselves. Then, we’ll reduce the enemy’s forces as much as possible.
The thoroughly commanding Harpas wouldn’t reveal himself easily, so to draw him out, stopping the monstrous army’s advance was the priority.
Considering Harpas’s penchant for wanting human blood, this stagnant battlefield was one of the few things that could provoke him. In the original story, restoring the defensive line was the first quest in the campaign against Harpas.
“You are…”
“I am Johann Quartz. You can call me Sir Quartz.”
“I see. Sir Quartz, thank you very much. Without your efforts, we would not have been able to spend such a comfortable night.”
I took his hand covered in calluses and shook it.
“No, I cannot just stand by while people are dying.”
Repairing the walls isn’t particularly difficult. There were plenty of materials. Monster bones and broken debris, after all. Though it kind of left the fort looking shabby, it’s still better than having nothing.
“You’ve done a great deed. There may be many who can wield weapons on the battlefield, but few can repair walls.”
“Indeed. Even a dwarf wouldn’t be able to do it like this.”
It felt a bit awkward receiving continuous compliments.
But it seems like they intended to bombard me with praise, as the old men, except for the narrow-minded Geren, threw me a celebratory party of flattery that lasted until it was time to sleep.
…Maybe I should have just suggested we leave immediately?
“Hey! It’s getting late, so can you shut it for a bit!”
Geren may not be such a bad person after all. Clueless, headstrong, and somewhat dim-witted, but maybe he’s a true moral person who can save those in distress.
Thinking that, I used my skill to create bedding.
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