novelraw Chapter 241: 241. Abyssal Holy War – Gazing Into
Chapter 241: 241. Abyssal Holy War – Gazing Into
Episode 241. Abyssal Holy War – A Closer Look
A sound like shattering glass from the sky.
The sacred golden barrier shatters into pieces, scattering into light.
My body moved faster than my mind could grasp the situation.
“Your Majesty!”
“Ugh……”
I hurriedly caught Eris as she swayed and fell, and she groaned, leaning against me.
Whiz-
Whistle-
“Uaaagh!”“Spread out!”
Rockets roared through the air and struck the defenseless soldiers who had relaxed their guard, trusting in Eris's Shield.
“Aaaak!”
The rockets exploded, scattering flames and unleashing screams.
Damn it, the morale we just boosted with our victory is about to plummet.
But what was more important...
“Your Majesty! Are you all right?”
Eris shook her head as if trying to clear it, then forced herself to reply as if she were fine.
“I-it’s, it’s fine.”
But Eris couldn't even lift her head properly, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.
My heart sank at the sight of blood streaming from her nose.
I took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her nose, then tilted her head back.
“Ah, I-I’m fine.”
“Shh, stay still. Just stay like that, Your Majesty. It's obvious you're not fine.”
What was that just now?
Was that an aura?
Is it even possible to project an aura that immense?
What should I call that? Sword Energy?
Whatever it was, the damage Eris took was clearly significant.
Even though she hadn't used the Divine Power Amplification Crystal and the blow was unexpected, to think it shattered Eris's Divine Power—which could easily block heavy artillery—like a pane of glass.
“M-M-Marquis Lafayette, Your Excellency! The rockets are hitting the encampment! Her Majesty the Queen, what happened to... gasp, the, the Queen—”
“Shut your mouth, Millbeau!”
Demian, who had run over in a panic, was shouting excitedly, but he stopped and covered his mouth with both hands in shock at my words.
Is that madman trying to announce to the entire army that Eris has collapsed!
“Her Majesty the Queen needs to rest for a moment. There's no need to panic, proceed as planned. Prepare for counter-battery fire, and have the soldiers take cover and disperse.”
“Uh, ye, yes, sir! Understood!”
Demian immediately saluted and ran off.
I let out a light sigh and looked at Eris, who was quietly leaning back just as I had positioned her.
Seeing her this docile, she must be in really bad shape.
“……How are you feeling, Your Majesty?”
“I'm dizzy. My mana feels a bit... twisted. I'm definitely not okay.”
I sighed lightly and turned my gaze to Alexandre Berthier, who stood frozen beside me.
“I'm leaving you in command for a moment, Chief of Staff.”
“Yes, sir! Understood! Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!”
After hearing Berthier's reply, I lifted Eris into my arms and headed for the barracks.
Fortunately, everyone was busy watching the enemy position, and the staff officers I passed on the way understood my gesture, keeping their mouths shut and turning their gazes away.
Damn it, even the junior staff officers get it, but that guy Demian has no sense.
Eris remained quietly in my arms, only speaking after I had carried her to the barracks and laid her on a bed.
“That thing just now… can you do that too, Marquis?”
“I cannot. I have never seen anyone, human or demon, do something like that. More importantly, how are you feeling?”
Eris closed her eyes for a moment as if to concentrate, then nodded.
“I think I'll be fine if I rest a bit and compose my mana.”
“That's a relief, at least. In that case, do you think you can block it if you use the Divine Power Amplification Crystal?”
Eris fell silent at my question.
For now, it ended with it breaking the barrier made of Divine Power and twisting Eris's mana.
But what would happen if something like that hit our main force?
Fortunately, seeing as it hasn't flown in again, it seems they can't fire it indiscriminately, but if one were to fly into our main force...
A chill ran down my spine just imagining what would happen if that giant mass of aura, which shattered the Saintess's Shield in an instant, were to strike humans made of flesh and blood.
After a rather long silence, Eris, having steadied her breathing slightly, answered slowly.
“I... I'm not sure. If it's an attack of that level, I could certainly defend against it with the Divine Power Amplification Crystal, but I don't know if this attack was the enemy's full power or not….”
Eris seemed to lack confidence, but she soon steeled herself, her expression changing as she slapped both her cheeks and spoke.
“No, I can do it. Because I have to. I'll just rest a little and be right there.”
Right, that's our Saintess Queen.
I chuckled, about to tell her not to push herself, but stopped.
In this situation, neither Eris nor I would want to hear such words.
Besides, if you don't push yourself at a time like this, when would you?
We came here to win, no matter what.
We all know that, and we came here staking our lives.
“I'll be counting on you, Your Majesty. I'll be waiting while I command.”
“Thank you. Then I'll be counting on you, Marquis, and rest.”
I nodded to her and stood up from my seat.
Even though she must have felt terrible inside, Eris smiled and waved at me as I left.
*
The situation I saw upon going outside was, at a glance, not good.
Whiz-
Whiz-
Innumerable rockets, letting out their peculiar, eerie roar, slammed into the encampment, scattering flames everywhere.
“Uwaaaak!”
“Damn it, just how many rockets did those cursed demon bastards bring!”
“Aaaak, my leg! My leeeeg!”
A soldier unlucky enough to take a direct hit screamed, clutching his own leg, the lower half of which had been blown off.
As if the roar had blanketed the sky, countless rockets flew in without pause, tearing our encampment apart.
“Hurry with the counter-battery fire!”
“Turn the gun emplacement, the gun emplacement—”
“Th-the enemy shell—”
“Get down, Second Lieutenant!”
“Aaaaaak!”
Until now, the demons under Paimon's command had only been firing rockets, but this time, while continuously bombarding our camp with rockets, they were also hitting our artillery corps with counter-battery fire as we tried to do the same.
This is Abyss Corporation's main force, probably Baal's elite direct subordinate demon army.
I ran through the encampment, which was descending into chaos, and entered the headquarters.
“War situation!”
The moment I burst in, Berthier, who looked overwhelmed surrounded by his staff officers, answered immediately.
“The enemy's rocket bombardment is ongoing! Our artillery corps is targeting their rocket batteries, but we are accumulating damage from the enemy's counter-battery fire. What should we do—”
“Our artillery corps' positions are already exposed, so cease fire and relocate! And send a messenger to the Magic Corps! Leave the sniping of the enemy rocket batteries to the mages. As soon as our artillery corps has relocated, they are to conduct counter-battery fire on the enemy's artillery.”
“Understood, Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!”
“Our light infantry is approaching the enemy position! Opening fire!”
Hearing the staff officer's report amidst the chaos, I immediately turned my gaze to the frontline.
The machine guns…….
I can't see them yet.
The approaching enemy troops, for now, look like line infantry based on their uniforms and formation—
But that thought lasted only a moment.
The moment our light infantry got within range, the enemies dropped flat on the ground.
What is that.
Our light infantry are firing, but it's not easy to hit enemy soldiers taking cover on the ground.
Soon, the demons returned fire, and some of our light infantry, who were firing while standing or kneeling, fell.
Is it a movement focused on evasion? But in that position, they can't—
reload. That's what I thought.
But their guns have no ramrods.
Without a ramrod, you can't push a bullet into the muzzle, so how are they reloading?
“Wh-what!”
I hastily snatched the telescope from the staff officer beside me and was horrified by the sight.
They aren't reloading from the muzzle, but from the rear of the gun.
There's no need to struggle with a ramrod to shove a bullet down a long gun barrel; they're just inserting the bullet directly into the rear of the gun and firing.
Only then did I realize.
Those bastards weren't focused on evasion.
They can continue to reload and fire even from a prone position.
Their reload speed also looks much faster than ours, and they're conducting a one-sided firefight from cover.
At this rate, it doesn't matter how high the accuracy of our light infantry is; there's no way we can win a firefight with muskets!
“Damn it, give the retreat signal to the light infantry, now!”
“Ah, understood! Your Excellency!”
If it goes on like this, they have absolute superiority in a firefight.
While our side is standing and desperately ramming bullets with ramrods, they can quickly reload and fire while lying prone under cover.
“We can't deter them with infantry fire! Relay to the howitzer battery, prioritize those bastards over the Drones!”
“Yes, sir!”
Concentrated bombardment from the howitzers will inflict heavy damage on them, too.
But that means we won't be able to reduce the number of Drones.
What should I do?
Should we engage in melee combat?
But if we get mowed down by machine guns, it'll be a catastrophe, and their infantry is being covered by the Drones.
Even if we succeed in charging in for melee combat with their musketeers, we'll end up in a chaotic battle with hundreds of thousands of tireless, fearless Drones.
That's close to a suicide mission.
“What will you do, Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette? We have no viable countermeasures for the current situation. Perhaps it would be best to fall back and form a plan….”
Berthier seemed to have reached the same conclusion as me, asking cautiously.
Should we fall back and reorganize our stance for now?
I considered it for a moment, but immediately shook my head.
“No, we can't fall back now.”
This is enemy territory, and what's more, it's Abyss Corporation's main base.
“The soldiers have just witnessed Her Majesty the Queen's protection collapse and seen the enemy's new weapons. If we retreat now without doing anything, the next fight will be even harder.”
We've just achieved a great victory against Paimon's Drones and raised morale; if we are broken like this and retreat, we won't be able to maintain the expeditionary force's morale.
We are allied forces.
Eris barely managed to rally the troops who had already lost their will to fight and get them to sally forth; if their morale starts to break here, it will be irreversible.
“The moment even one nation decides there's no chance of winning against the might they've shown and tries to preserve its forces, they will start to desert one by one, and we will collapse in an instant.”
“Ugh……”
Above all, I have a strong premonition.
“Besides, that attack from before that shattered Her Majesty the Queen's Divine Power.”
I don't know if it was an aura or sword energy, but it was an attack powerful enough to shatter Eris's protection, and yet there's no sign of them firing it again.
He's supposed to be the strongest of the demon race; if it was an attack that would exhaust him after just one use, he wouldn't have fired it at the start.
“It would be great if he can't fire it anymore, but if he's just observing the situation, he'll fire it again the moment we turn our backs. You don't want an attack that shatters Her Majesty's Divine Power to strike the backs of our defenseless, retreating troops, do you?”
Berthier swallowed dryly and replied.
“M-my apologies.”
“No, as a staff officer, it's natural to think of preserving our forces in an unprepared situation. But not now.”
We have to fight now.
They are wary of Eris, too, and we have the Magic Tower Master.
They know that too, so that being called Baal must also be conserving his strength.
At the very least, we must hold out until Eris can somehow manage her twisted mana and cover our retreat.
“Erase retreat from your minds for now. This is the decisive battleground, and as long as this is an expeditionary war, we cannot fall back.”
“Understood!”
I glared at the procession of Drones and demons that were steadily filling the plains as they approached.
Baal and Paimon.
Yes, just as we observe their tactics and respond.
They, too, have observed us and brought things to counter us.
But we, too, have gambled everything to come this far.
If we were going to give up and retreat so easily, we would have accepted those bastards' ridiculous peace negotiation from the start.
Fine, I'll show them.
That what we've shown so far is not all we have.