novelraw Chapter 139: Iberica - The Defense of Dilrus (5)
Chapter 139: Iberica - The Defense of Dilrus (5)
The Grenadiers threw the grenades, which flew straight toward the Drones.
If they were normal soldiers, they would have scrambled to avoid the grenades, or at the very least, not committed the insane act of charging toward the spot where the grenades had landed.
However, the Drones charged on without a care, and were mercilessly shredded and cut down by the shrapnel from the exploding grenades.
“U-Uwaaah!”
Still, some Drones charged on, even with shrapnel embedded in them, and just as the soldiers were about to panic—
“Hraaap!”
Demian and Kazel, along with the Cuirassiers, drew their swords and leaped out, cutting them down.
They couldn't gallop on horseback inside the obstacle-filled fortress anyway, so this was the most effective use of dismounted elite heavy cavalry.
And yet.
“Uwaah……”Demian panicked, seeing the Drones swarming behind the smoke of the exploded grenades.
“His Excellency the Count! The cannons have been reloaded!”
“Oh, right! Fire, fire away!”
“Fire!”
At Giselle’s command, the cannons fired grapeshot again, and the charging Drones were once again torn to shreds.
“Now, run! Retreat to the 3rd Defense Line!”
“To the 3rd Defense Line! Run for your lives!”
“Don’t worry about the cannons and equipment, just abandon them! Retreat at full speed!”
No sooner were the words spoken than Demian ordered a retreat. As Peter de Cassel and Giselle Davi repeated the command, Demian’s army began to fall back in a hurry.
The refugees were gathered in the deepest part of the fortress to lure the Drones; the paths inside the fortress were restricted as much as possible; and units were assigned to each direction to eliminate as many Drones as possible with grapeshot and grenades from divided strongpoints.
For that purpose, cannons were also distributed at strategic points in each strongpoint, and each point was stocked with ammunition and equipment for resupply.
It would be impossible to move cannons around while fighting an intense battle, and besides, the Drones couldn't perform complex tasks like firing captured cannons.
They would hold the line as long as possible, then abandon the cannons, equipment, and defense line, retreating to fight using the prepared cannons and equipment at the next strongpoint.
From the direction Nicolas Nere was in charge of, the sound of successive cannon fire, loud fighting cries of the Kroxx, and war cries of the Orcs could be heard, so the operation seemed to be progressing well.
Demian was inwardly amazed.
Lafayette and the generals had certainly prepared well for this defensive battle, but…….
“The rate of attrition is too fast!”
Demian screamed as he looked back.
Though it was far, he could see a horrifying swarm of Drones running after them.
“Hey, Davi! How many defense lines did we set up?”
Despite already knowing the answer, Giselle answered faithfully even while running hard.
“Haaaaaaa, haaa, five, Your Excellency.”
“Wow, how reassuring. We can hold out for a long time, right?”
Demian muttered soullessly, then grabbed his head and shouted.
“What is Marquis Lafayette doing!”
If I die here, I’ll follow him around for the rest of my life and curse him!
*
My warhorse, unable to even run properly amidst the wave of Drones, had been caught and fallen long ago.
“Tsk!”
I lopped off the head of a Drone charging at me from the front and immediately rolled my body to avoid the other Drones that were pouncing on me.
As I rolled to my feet and swung my sword, the legs of the Drones swarming toward me from the front were all cut off, but they thrashed on the ground even after losing their legs, reaching their arms out to me.
I dodged, cut, and trampled those arms as I ran.
“Hoo, hoo.”
I regulated my breathing, which was becoming ragged, by fully utilizing my mana, and advanced, dodging and destroying the Drones reaching for me from all directions.
“How beautiful.”
Paimon, who had been continuously retreating, maintaining a distance where I could almost catch him but not quite, muttered with an ecstatic expression.
“To think that a Marquis-nim like this was called the Shame of the Nobility for being defeated by a commoner, hahahat! The humans of Francia must have inferior eyes. I have received several reports on Your Lordship's combat abilities, but what you are showing me now far surpasses even those!”
I glanced behind me.
Gaston, Shandra, and the Cuirassiers were desperately trying to break through the Drones, but the Drones' numbers were still far too great.
If they push too hard to break through, they will be the ones to fall.
No, in this case.
I should see it as them deliberately opening a small path for me, so as not to be hindered by the others, right?
I twisted my lips into a smirk and said.
“Well, I’ve been through a lot here and there.”
With the experience of a previous life, on top of having gone through so much in this one.
Whether I like it or not, I have no choice but to become stronger, because if I hadn’t, I would have died long ago.
Besides…….
I tightened my grip on my sword, cleaved a Drone charging at me vertically, and then swung horizontally, cutting off the arms of other Drones.
I could feel that my sword and movements were sharper than ever before.
Gremory's blessing is certainly effective.
At this rate, I might not be able to take on the Blue Knight, but I might get close to Gaston's level.
After cutting down another charging Drone, I pointed my sword at Paimon and said.
“How long will you hide behind your puppets and run? Is playing with dolls all you can do? I didn't know a Great Demon, let alone the CEO of Abyss Corporation, could be so incompetent.”
It was meant as a taunt, but Paimon just smiled slightly and spoke.
“Your Lordship, Marquis Lafayette, how long do you plan on playing this revolutionary army game? Honestly, it's quite a mystery to me. Since you were a mere Young Marquis, you have been aware of Abyss Corporation's innovation, and in that chaotic kingdom, you joined the new wave faster than anyone else.”
This damn bastard, we can't even have a proper conversation.
As I dodged and cut down the charging Drones, Paimon chattered on his own.
“But has there ever been a precedent for a human with such ability, such achievements, to be content with being a mere military commander? It's about time you coveted power, but democracy, of all things. This is……”
Paimon grabbed the neck of a Drone standing beside him and twisted it off.
Then, lifting the severed head, he looked into the Drone’s soulless eyes and said.
“What is so good about a government where inferior and uncivilized vermin fight amongst themselves—the pinnacle of inefficiency—that you'd devote yourself to it? Where has that shining progress and innovation gone, that you'd suddenly stagnate with the vermin?”
……So this damn bastard isn’t running away because he lacks strength.
“You madman.”
I cut down a Drone, immediately dashed out, and sprinted towards Paimon.
As I charged, aiming for the horn that emitted a purple light, Drones once again wedged themselves between us.
I frantically cut down the charging Drones, but in that time, the distance between us had widened again.
Damn it, at this rate, there’ll be no end to it.
“Fufufu……”
Paimon brought a hand to his lips and chuckled, then snapped his fingers.
At the same time, the Drones that had been charging at me stopped their movements.
“Your Lordship the Marquis, please answer me, why on earth are you so devoted to something like the National Assembly and the Revolutionary Army? You are a man who has lived as a nobleman, and I have not seen a human like Your Lordship in hundreds of years, so I cannot help but feel it is a pity that someone capable of more efficient innovation is stagnating.”
I slowly evened my breathing, which had become ragged from the intense movement.
Dammit, but it’s true that this crazy demon’s curiosity has given me a chance to catch my breath.
“……It seems you are greatly mistaken about something.”
“Pardon?”
I smirked at the blinking Paimon.
“Do you think I’m working as a general of the Revolutionary Army because I like democracy and the National Assembly?”
Maximilien Le Jidor had told me to prove to him that their National Assembly was worth protecting.
I refused Valliant’s proposal not because I had a firm belief in protecting the National Assembly, but because I didn’t find Valliant’s proposal particularly attractive.
Maximilien Le Jidor’s noble death certainly left a deep impression on me, but all it elicited was the reservation that I would protect them ‘if they do not betray the spirit of the revolution.’
“I follow them for no other reason than that the person I have decided to serve as my lord wishes to embrace them.”
“Your lord? Surely, you don’t mean that puppet queen you yourself put on the throne?”
“Puppet.”
I smirked.
Yes, a puppet queen with no real power.
Eris doesn't have any great power or authority.
The claim from other countries that she is nothing but a puppet queen set up by the National Assembly is not entirely baseless.
But…….
“You bastards may not understand, but there are people one wants to follow even if it means taking a small loss in that efficiency you love so much, even if they have no power, demon.”
To me, the National Assembly was nothing more than a lesser evil that could be replaced at any time if necessary. It was merely a means to protect Christine and my people.
But Eris believed they could take a better path, and she actually succeeded in unifying them and gaining their absolute support without any power or authority.
In that case, as the supporter who found a saint who simply loves people and put her on a throne she never wanted, I should at least follow her will.
“At the very least, I have faith that my queen will help me and my precious person avoid the worst. This is the National Assembly that the queen has chosen. It may lack the efficiency you bastards live and die for, but it won’t go down a completely wrong path.”
“Hmm, to avoid the worst.”
“To think you would abandon great progress for such a thing…”
Paimon wore a rather disappointed expression.
I felt my body in a much more comfortable state, and I spoke.
“More importantly, are you alright, demon?”
Paimon frowned slightly.
“What might you be referring to?”
I answered with a smile.
“The number of Drones that have entered Dilrus must be decreasing quite a bit.”
Paimon’s eyebrow twitched.
Millbeau and Kroxx seem to be doing a good job buying time, though that means of buying time causes mass casualties among the Drones.
He can't observe the situation inside the fortress from here, so from Paimon’s perspective, he can’t ignore it.
“Is it alright for you, the command tower, to be so leisurely satisfying your curiosity? You bastards must have deployed the Drones in Iberica because you had no other way to procure materials for them. If you fail here too……”
As I said that, I shifted my gaze slightly and looked at Gaston and Shandra, who had drawn a little closer.
I could see Jerome Morelle and the Chasseurs joining them from behind.
“If I make you end up like Halphas, I wonder if Abyss Corporation won’t just cut its losses. If you’re a CEO who acts like Abyss Corporation’s dog, obsessing over efficiency so much, would you still be loyal?”
The CEO of Sloth Corp, Paimon.
It seems he holds a grudge against Abyss Corporation, especially Pride Inc., which is its de facto head.
That’s what Gremory said.
“Hmph.”
Paimon let out a scoff.
“Fufufu……”
……So it won't work so easily?
The moment I thought that, Paimon’s finger moved.
At the same time, the Drones ignored me and began to swarm towards Gaston and Shandra.
If I leave them alone for even a moment, the damage will be severe.
“Ah, it is a pity. It is truly a pity, Your Lordship the Marquis. I had such high hopes for you, but you too were nothing but a mediocre human.”
Paimon stretched his hands and made a cracking sound.
Outwardly, they were slender arms like a woman’s, but…….
Considering this fellow’s track record, there was no telling how much he had modified them.
“Finally going to fight in person, then?”
“Yeees. Still, you have given me a moment of interest in my several hundred years of tedious life, so as a special treat, I shall give you the honor of making you my personal experiment instead of a drone.”
“That's not very welcome—Kuk.”
The moment I came to my senses, Paimon had already sprinted before me. I blocked the arm he swung with my sword, and the impact made my arm ring.
“Ha, this is really no joke.”
Before I could finish my words, Paimon raised both arms and brought them down.
I raised my sword to block, and almost buckled under the brutish force.
Paimon looked down at me and sneered, as I struggled with all my might to block his two arms with my sword.
“What is the matter, Your Lordship the Marquis? Where has the composure you had just a moment ago gone?”
“Ugh……”
“Yes? Tell me, Your Lordship the Marquis, what on earth did you believe in that made you provoke me so?”
Facing Paimon, who was looking down at me and pressing down with a very amused expression, I replied.
“……I believed in your arrogant composure?”
The moment Paimon’s face turned quizzical.
“Kraaang”
A Leopard Beastman leaped from behind him and bit into Paimon’s nape.
“Keuuk!”
I don’t know what kind of body he has, but even after Ostell, Kroxx’s Fifth Confidant, bit him squarely, only a little blood trickled down Paimon’s neck.
“You lowly beast!”
“Keuheong!”
Instead, Ostell was sent flying by Paimon’s punch.
However—
“Kraaaang!”
As dozens of Beastmen, sprinting after Ostell, charged in unison, Paimon couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“You thought you were using yourself as bait to lure me in to satisfy your curiosity, but actually, I was the bait.”
While the cavalry charged from the front, the Beastmen, specializing in stealthy action, had flanked from the beginning to lie in wait.
The fact that Jerome Morelle’s Chasseurs, Gaston and Shandra’s unit, and I coordinated to feign a desperate breakthrough was just a bonus.
“Insignificant things……!”
Paimon displayed surprising martial prowess even against the charging Beastmen, but they charged desperately and, in the end, latched onto Paimon’s arms and legs.
“You were only watching me. As if the others had no value at all.”
It was quite a sight, a demon captured by natives he had held in contempt, not even deigning to pay them attention while wreaking such havoc in Iberica.
“Lafayette—!”
I approached the roaring Paimon and swung my sword—
“And that’s why you lost.”
—and cut off the horn of the command tower of the soul-lost puppets, which had been scattering an ominous purple light.