Vol 7 Chapter 3 (2/2)
The sound would be loud in close proximity, and would drop drastically with distance
It didn’t feel reliable
Even if that was the case, it was i
“ Hmmm… I invention than the new type of rifle”
Just by walking with another horse, the sound would be transround even if it wasn’t transmitted via air
And the horses have scents, which meant that they could smell them
Altina looked ard
“But it was different than expected right?”
“ That’s noro awry After all, it’s an adversary we never fought before”
“That’s true, it’s common to see that the person is different from the rumours”
“H…”
Regis looked at the map
Altina turned her head and gasped
“Regis! An unknown carriage is co from behind!”
“Eh!?”
The guards noticed shortly after and panicked
They raised their pikes and yelled: “Halt!”
It was a large carriage
Approaching side by side were two horseman
They were the soldiers sent to guide the way
“It’s ht Mr Blacksmith with me!”
A large bearded man with a physique similar to a bear appeared and waved his hands
“I aentina de Belgaria!”
“Brother-in-law Enzo!”
Regis stood up and walked towards the carriage
Altina followed right behind
“Our guest is on that carriage! Clear a path!”
The soldiers in the defending caates of a city
After keeping their pikes, the soldiers on guard saluted
The carriage came slowly from the west and drove slowly into the base camp
The rider leading the way at the very front dismounted besides Altina
“I have brought Mr Blacksmith with me!”
“Sorry for the wait!”
One of the in the east The other was a horseman who stayed behind at the old base when they shi+fted last night His task was to lead the Blacksmith to the new base
They completed their mission splendidly
Altina replied “Thank you very much” and the horsemen finally relaxed their expression
They treated the carriage more cautiously, and stopped it further away
On top of the hill, the flagthe base camp was erected in the middle, while Altina’s chair and the table for battle plans were placed on the side
A short distance aas a place for meals, equipment repairs, treatment of the wounded and for the shi+ft workers to rest
Five hundred infantry protected the heart of the base at all times
On the outer layer were one thousand men formed into teams of tens
The carriage was stopped in the middle of the rear defence units
Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, the Blackse
He looked tired, and it was easy to tell how hard his journey was froait
Enzo bowed respectfully
“Your Highness, I have brought your item with me!”
“My deepest gratitude! It erous battle field!”
“It is a sword after all How can you do without it on the warfront I am concerned about that, so…”
“Can I open it now?”
“Yes please”
Altina walked towards the carriage
Regis nodded at Enzo
“I gave you reat if the war ends soon…”
Enzo looked around him, and said in a volume the soldiers around him won’t be able to hear:
“ How goes the war? Will it affect Rouen city?”
“ As far as I can tell, there’s no need to worry”
“Rouen city is very close to the capital right? I asked e in my old hometown It’s further to the north”
“ Did sister seek refuge?”
“Erm, no She insisted that ‘it will be fine to leave it to the Princess and Regis’ Well, the Empire won’t fail, so my worries are unfounded”
“ Although we are trying to even the score after the devastating defeat earlier… Anyway, the ill end soon, it will be fine if the First Imperial Army doesn’t mess up”
As Enzo had a worried look on his face, Regis told him not to worry
Regis and Altina walked side by side to the carriage
When Altina reached the carriage first, she suddenly leaped back
“What!?”
“Hyaaa—!”
Soe!
Thea sword
And he slashed at Altina’s head
No one could react in time
But Altina responded swiftly She drew the sword on her waist and blocked the blow
Ding! A sharp sound echoed out
The attack didn’t stop, and the e started his second wave of attack
“Hee! Hee! Hee!”
“Eh… Tch… Hah! Hyaaa!”
Altina wielded her sword ni from the side
Her blade grazed the brown robes
Both parties pulled away
And closed in immediately—
Clasping their left hand
“Isn’t this Baltasar! You actually came!”
“You are as good as ever, Argentina!”
Altina laughed happily, and the old man opposite her chuckled
The soldiers around theo, but now they looked at each other, wondering what happened
Regis ran over
“Could you be Duke Baltasar Basil de Balzac?”
“That’s me”
The old man nodded loftily
Altina held her sith her right hand, and swung her left hand that was holding the old Duke’s hand like a kid
Regis sighed
“ Don’t do that… What if the guards thrust their pikes at you?”
“If I get to die by their pikes, it would be a fitting end”
Altina nodded in agreement
It’s troublesome even if you understand
“ Princess, the troops are watching”
“Ah, that’s right”
Altina only noticed this now, and showed a serious expression as she sheathed her sword
Baltasar kept his sword too
Regis started explaining to the confused soldiers:
“Well… This is ex-Duke Baltasar Everyone must have heard of him He is the swordsmanshi+p teacher of the Princess”
The soldiers finally put away their pikes after understanding the situation
House Baltasar achieved nu Emperor, a famous noble house that was bestoith one of the treasure swords of the Eiven that the ex-Duke was qualified to teach the Princess swordsmanshi+p
The surprised Enzo sighed in relief
“Hah… We were very worried during the fight with the enemy soldiers”
“Kakaka! If ht lose my head”
Baltasar see casual, and Altina besides hi matter
The way these two thought were a bit different from others Or were they muscle headed?
Regis couldn’t understand
But the mission to make the delivery to the battlefield had been completed perfectly
“What brings you to the west, Baltasar?”
“Nothing important I just heard that Altina was troubled by some mercenary”
“Eh!?”
Altina smiled wryly
“You lost?”
“Well… Yes… To avoid a slash, my sword hit a tree, and the hilt was broken…”
“Whatever happened or broke doesn’t matter Did you lose?”
“ Yes”
Altina bit her lips vexingly and nodded
Baltasar sighed deeply
“Not good enough… The i isn’t the way you use your sword Noyour opponent, how dire the situation, even if they have guns or anything else, you have to win Losing in the battlefieldis over if you die”
“I know… So I sent my sword for repairs”
She looked towards the carriage
Enzo nodded
“Bring it out”
Together with his disciple, he unloaded a crate that looked like a coffin
The driver watched from behind the curtain
The crate was sealed with many nails, and needed to be pulled out one by one
Baltasar observed the crate curiously
“Ohh, so you are the blacks that sword”
“Yes Will need to focus here… You too sir, to actually be the teacher of the Princess”
“H since it’s like this”
Altina nodded
“That’s right, just soh swordsmanshi+p”
“This old one had never lost though!”
“Ehh!? But I won thrice!”
“I didn’t lose!”
The old man said childishly
Enzo finally pulled all the nails out
“Well, in the blacks world, you tould be fellow disciples”
“Haha…”
His disciple laughed wryly
The crate was finally opened
Regis planned it wonderfully
What’s left would be taking the sword
And wait for the battle results of Jerohts
Then sending news of the Fourth Army’s victory over the supply unit
Be it the High Britannians or the First Imperial Army, after they receive this news…
The ill end
Even if the High Britannians have new rifles and cannons, If the 40,000 e the enemy on the field, the fort wouldn’t fall in just half a month
A gentle breeze caressed Regis’ forehead
The God of Death struck in the dense fog, the first to fall were the sentries
In the beginning, the soldiers around the
It then became a one sided massacre without any resistance All of them died without any last words
The grass was covered in fresh blood The headless soldiers stood there without even raising their pikes
They probably didn’t even kno they died
A iant trident appeared
Men in black clothings then ca one after another
The armour they wore and the weapons they wielded varied wildly There were spears, swords, bows, scythe, bo and even unknoeapons
The only thing they had in common was their black robes and the stench of blood
The man with the trident said in a low voice
“One man to take on a hundred… And open a bloody path!”
The group in black assaulted the soldiers before they even answered
Belgarian soldiers weren’t weak
“Eneuys…!!”
A soldiers picked up his pike to fight
But his vision was filled by a large hammer
“Wha!?”
“Warrgghhh—!!”
The thing that ca out was a hammer It bent the pike and smashed into the face of that soldier
His opponent was a large burly iant hammer
The pikes of the soldiers who engaged him all broke, and they backed away
“What is with that guy…!? Just like a tornado…”
“We can’t retreat! The Princess is behind us! Stop them!”
“damn it… Now is the time to show the honour of the Empire!”
The troops drew their swords and slashed at him
But the swords snapped crisply into two, as if they were already broken
It was because of the strange shape of the large sword that cut them the sword's blade was very wide at the tip and was curved
Maybe it cah Britannia’s tea
A slender man with slit like eyes surveyed the area, then yelled:
“Fufu… Haha—!! Hyaa!! Laa—!!”
He wielded a twisted sabre, which was surprisingly sharp
It easily split the sword and pikes of the I sharp, it was the
Be it veins or bones, all of that would be cut in two like wheat stalks
The Iht on as if they didn’t realize the result of the melee combat had already been determined, until they were all defeated
The one standing at the very front was a man with a trident
The Mercenary King Gilbert Schweinzeberg
He led the strongest roup
The three hundred elites of ‘Renard Pendu’ began their assault in the fog
Their individual co the defence formation of the Imperials easily
But the soldiers of the Empire wouldn’t retreat so easily
Wars had been ongoing before the tirandfather, allto the battlefield one day
At thisthe mercenaries
The Pikeed at the burly mercenary with his pike
“We are the 19th Pikemen team!! Even in death, ill show the enee!”
“Ohhhh—!!”
“Roar!! Hyaa!!”
The mercenary cut down all the pikes, and took the heads of the Imperials with a follow up blow
The soldiers behind thrust their pikes from the side of the dead soldiers
“Die—!!”
“Guah!?”
The twisted sabre fell from his hands
Two, then three pikes pierced his body
The Pikemen leader shouted:
“Charge! Charge!”
The thrust of a spear changed direction
One of the mercenaries thrust his spear into the Pikemen Leader’s stomach
“Guaa!? damn it—!!”
When he was hit, the leader released his pike When he was dodging earlier, he was already prepared to die
He just went and grabbed the spear of the enehtly
“Long live the Belgaria Empire!”
“Hah!?”
The mercenary whose weapon was seized was surprised for a moment— He was then stabbed by numerous pikes
Nothe mercenary was, they only numbered three hundred
If the battle was drawn out, the 5,000 Imperial soldiers wouldn’t lose
But when the ar and the command system was still imperfect
Of the 5,000 uards from Beilschmidt The rest were the remnants of the Second Army, and private armies sent by the lords of various territories because of the state of eency
A them were untrained recruits, retired soldiers, and even nobles who joined because of pride
For the poorly trained soldiers, they already presented a huge weakness in the operation of the unit and the conveyance of information before their combat potential even comes into question
Some didn’t hear the orders correctly because they were too excited Soement based on their experience There were soldiers who couldn’t carry out their orders due to fear
In the end—
The guards ere supposed to reinforce the cru defence units came too late
The soldiers guarding the base camp had fallen
The man with the trident was already before Altina
They were just ten paces apart—
Just how many soldiers did he kill to reach this place
A rain of blood see blood
Pieces of ered on the trident in his hand
The man showed a feral smile
“I believe this is the first time we met, Princess of the Empire”
“Trident… You ”
Altina drew the sword on her waist
The guards were still locked in battle by four mercenaries with extraordinary arm power
Regis finally realized his misstep
“ How can this be”
An uniinable situation occurred, not only did it make him shi+ver, he couldn’t catch his breath either
Breaking through the base cauarded by 5,000 troops with less than a thousand men!
Gilbert said:
“Your Highness, how about a trade? Using the supplies in exchange for your life”
“Weighing ree to this kind of deal?”
“This wench… I have to teach her a lesson”
Altina was very loyal to the Empire
Jeroe what the soldiers would do
There were plenty of ways to inflict pain and despair to humans If the Princess issued the orders after torture, it was highly possible that the troops would give the supplies back
Regis cursed his own shallowness
— When he , he considered the possibility of the ene to capture his commander
That’s why he arranged for 5,000 troops to guard the base camp, just in case
But it was broken through so easily!
He underestimated the ‘Renard Pendu’
The probleement of the new unit’s combat potential
Iether wasn’t enough to is didn’t utilize the soldiers efficiently
Even if he had to let the Second Army clained all the old guards frouard the base camp
If Regis was proficient in martial arts, he would be able to tell that the new units were no match for the mercenary
Gilbert shouldered his trident and approached nonchalantly
“I have sos What did you do?”
Altina wiped away the sweat on her brow
They were still facing off against each other, but she was under a lot of pressure
“My strategist is a wizard”
“Hmm? I see… I noticed on rounds all over Did you spill a lot of water? Was that the secret behind that ic?”
“You actually understand this much”
“That explains the half assed night raid earlier The purpose was just to pin us down at the camp site It would have been disastrous if we discovered the units spilling water”
“”
Altina was silent
She didn’t affirm or deny Gilbert nodded
“What an iht?”
He swept his eyes across everyone present
First were the escorts around Altina, then Enzo’s disciple besides the crates near the carriage, and finally Regis
“That’s you?”
“Ughh… Yes”
He heard Franziska’s description before Regis had a frail body unlike a soldier Gilbert couldn’t explain why he could identify him
He laughed out loud
“Hahaha! Really! You are Regis!?”
“Ugh…?”
“It is my utter defeat! The first tiuy who can create fog! As expected of a wizard!”
Instead of a coh of a devil
Goosebumps
Even though Regis felt breathless, he still replied with determination
“ In order to stop this fro Gilbert frohness The one who failed is me”
“Ahh, I can understand You thought the eneht? Naive, war isn’t determined by numbers!”
“ This fatal incident is because of the soldiers’ lack of training”
“Lack of training? Wrong!”
“Huh?”
Gilbert span his trident
And pointed it at Altina
He watched this ith bloodshot eyes
“The things that decides a battle has always been— Guts!”
Altina gripped her sword tight too
“I feel the sais, I didn’t considered how the soldiers would think, so it’s my mistake I’m too naive to think I can ith just numbers!”
“As expected of the Princess Well then, I will clais!”
“What nonsense are you saying? Mercenary King? The price is letting you show your face before me”
“Hoo?”
“I ah that’s not what I want to be!”
“Haha! Very brave But I don’t ! I will tear off your skirt and nail you to a cross, Princess!”
“Disgusting!!”
Altina yelled
Gilbert starass shook in the shockwave as if there was an explosion
And charged in with a speed that was hard to iine
The escorts wanted to protect Altina—
But were stopped by the four mercenaries nearby
After shattering the pikes blocking his way, Gilbert moved before Altina
The sharp edge of the trident appeared before Altina’s eyes
She evaded by twisting her body
“Is that all you got!?”
“Haha! You think you can dodge that easily!?”
Like a snake, the trident tracked Altina’s body
The path of the trident changed suddenly— which was ith
Altina parried with her sword
“Take this!”
“Coet some!”
The trident was pulled back instantly Before the fact it was pulled back even registered, it was thrust out again
An ear piercing screech
The trident was blocked again
Any slower and her wrist would have been cut by the blade
Gilbert roared:
“Faster! This is not playtime in summer!”
“Ugh!?”
It was impossible to tell how many thrusts there were
Consecutive thrusts similar to Jerome, but the attacks were faster than him
The intense sound of metal on mind as the sword creaked
Regis was thinking
This was his fault
He was fine with any punishht be meted out to him
But what he could do noas…
— Gilbert’s objective was to capture Altina alive There was noher
If he did that, the only thing that awaited hie their commander
He should only be thinking of capturing her alive
Regis turned and looked:
“ It should be, no… I have to be sure”
He can’t fail anymore
At this moment, he said with certainty
“Gilbert is ai for the Princess’ sword!”
“Oh, but even if you figure that out, what can you do!?”
Gilbert attacked fiercely as he shouted that out
Altina was barely fending off the bloith her sword, and she also couldn’t counter But she had no intention of running
Sheher teeth
“Ughh…!!”
Even the unskilled Regis could tell her determination
With her sights set on beco the Empress, she couldn’t turn tail and run before a mere mercenary
Absolute faith in her martial skills—
Might ushered in a result that runs contrary to Gilbert’s plan
Altina’s sword couldn’t withstand the dae and shattered
“What!? It broke so easily!?”
She could still dodge the attacks, but she lacked the ainst them
Gilbert threw his head back in laughter
“Haha! The blades of my trident is made from Tristei!”
“What did you say!?”
“Anyway… I will break one of your arms first!”
If she had to block a sweeping attack, Altina will lose her arm
A fluttering brown robe barged in
It was Baltasar
After taking the heavy blow, he slid back a little
“Ku~~ I see, he is strong”
“What!? Baltasar!?”
“Altina… What you should be holding isn’t that thin sword right? The blacks for you”
“B-But… the one on one duel…&rdq
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