novelraw Chapter 71 : Chapter 71
Chapter 71 : Chapter 71
Chapter 71
In a flash, I had dealt with two of the enemies.
The foes who had charged so valiantly just moments before now hesitated, exchanging wary glances with one another.
One of them, having already lost the will to fight, was searching for an escape route from far behind the others.
“Ki-kill him!”
“Run away!”
Their orders were even conflicting.
One fled while another charged, and the last one dithered, unsure of what to do. I almost burst out laughing, despite being in the middle of a battle.
I increased my speed.
As much as I wanted to let none of them escape, there was a limit to the speed I could achieve with the mass-produced Fairy Wings.
It was safe to assume that chasing down and catching an enemy determined to flee was impossible.
Therefore, I decided to deal with the one charging at me first.
I swung my sword.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The man swung his own sword in response.
With a loud clang, the red blade devoured his weapon.
Fortunately, since he was using a greatsword, it didn't result in the same catastrophe as the soldier whose head had been severed along with his sword.
However, with more than half of it sheared off, his greatsword would be useless as a weapon from now on.
I followed up by smashing the man’s face with the shield on my left arm.
“Keoheok!”
With a single scream, the man staggered, his altitude dropping slightly.
The pain must have been considerable, as he let go of his sword and clutched his face.
The greatsword, freed from its master’s hand, fell toward the ground below and embedded itself deep into the earth.
I reached out and grabbed him by the collar.
Only then did the man seem to realize he had no means of resistance left. He squeezed his eyes shut with a look of despair.
“…Any last words?”
We held no personal grudge against each other.
Perhaps I had grown more lenient because of the nature of war—a structure where I had to take the lives of others, simply because we were enemies, for me to survive.
A habit from my days as Odin's commander surfaced.
Though the answer I would receive was all but certain.
“Fo-for the Queen!”
“…As I thought.”
The one who had ultimately driven him to his death was the Purity Queen, so why did he display such loyalty toward her?
I recalled something Selina had said before.
She spoke of how the problem with the Alliance’s nurturing system was the desertion of soldiers who had benefited from it.
She had wondered how the Purity Queen managed to receive such absolute loyalty from the heroes who benefited from her system.
She had lamented that as long as that mystery remained unsolved, the Alliance's system would forever be incomplete.
Something I had casually dismissed during my time commanding Odin now piqued my curiosity.
What exactly had the Queen done to earn such absolute loyalty?
“You’re not the first to leave those same last words… I’ll try, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember you.”
I plunged my sword deep into the man’s chest.
His body convulsed once, then went limp.
I cut the straps to secure the Fairy Wings and turned my gaze to the last remaining enemy.
“…Are your last words for the Queen, too?”
“…Uwaaaah!”
The man’s last words were a scream, born of terror and malice.
* * *
Perhaps because the appearance of our target, the Lava Fiend, was drawing near, the population density on Tet Island had recently increased.
People scouting from the highest possible altitude to familiarize themselves with the terrain were now a common sight, and small-scale battles erupted in various locations.
Yesterday, there was even an incident where an airship that had lost an aerial battle crashed.
Naturally, the atmosphere within the Ederka airbase was not just heavy but downright murderous, like a bomb waiting to be triggered by the slightest touch.
In fact, altercations frequently broke out between people whose stress had reached its peak.
I tried my best not to be conscious of it, but given the atmosphere, the soldiers of Unit 917 seemed to have grown tense as well.
It was mealtime.
Normally, dinner would have been a boisterous affair, but now, not a single person spoke.
The only sound was the clatter of utensils.
“Haaah…”
Someone sighed.
As if on cue, all eyes turned toward the source.
The one who had sighed was Selina.
She seemed to have anticipated the attention, as she showed no sign of surprise and opened her mouth.
“To be honest, I was planning to ease the mood with some small talk before getting to the main point. But seeing as that seems impossible, I will get straight to it.”
At her words, the members began to exchange glances and put down their utensils one by one.
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard these past few days. Especially you, Rian.”
“……?”
“You consistently thinned the Purity’s numbers. Securing energy packs as spoils of war and increasing the unit's combat endurance was a huge contribution. Thanks to you, I was able to secure more mana sources than I calculated, and the unit’s combat capabilities have risen significantly. Marquis Saeb also had nothing but praise for you.”
“That’s… not exactly good news.”
If it were a physical reward like the one from Count Dman, perhaps, but verbal praise was not particularly welcome.
As if she had expected as much, Selina brushed it off lightly.
“Thanks to you, the probability of casualties in tomorrow’s battle has decreased.”
“……”
Another light silence followed.
It was because the word "casualties" had come from Selina’s mouth.
Until now, Selina had never used such a word carelessly.
There was nothing to be gained from lowering the unit's morale before a battle even began.
Her deliberate use of such an uncomfortable word was a kind of warning, informing us that the battle would not be easy and that we should prepare ourselves mentally.
“I will now begin the briefing. Tomorrow’s battle is to hunt the Lava Fiend Galakal, which periodically appears on Tet Island. First, a brief explanation of Galakal…”
“Lady Selina.”
Someone interrupted Selina without permission.
It was a very rude act, but Selina hid her displeasure as best she could and looked at the person who had spoken to her.
It was a woman with a face she had never seen before.
However, from her attire, Selina could deduce that she was an office worker here at Ederka.
As the woman whispered something, Selina let out a deep sigh and popped a piece of meat from her plate into her mouth.
Then, she handed the documents she was holding to me.
“Rian. Something urgent has come up, so I have to leave. I might not be able to return today, so could you please handle the briefing?”
“You always give me the annoying tasks.”
“At least call it a show of trust.”
Having passed off the work, Selina left with the office worker.
Naturally, the gazes that had been directed at Selina now shifted to me.
Briefings were always important, but the briefing for this operation was particularly so.
Whether a soldier knew the information or not could mean the difference between life and death.
Left with no choice, I accepted the baton Selina had forced upon me.
“…I’ll continue the explanation. To put it simply, imagine a massive, four-legged beast made of red lava. It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a lizard. Should I say it looks like a turtle without a shell? Well, its appearance isn’t what’s important.”
I said, flipping idly through the documents Selina had handed over.
In truth, the knowledge I possessed was far more extensive and detailed than what was written here.
I only pretended to reference the documents as a courtesy to Selina, who had prepared them.
“Because of its name and appearance, there’s one major misconception people have. Lirisa, if you had to pack equipment specifically for Galakal, what would you bring?”
“…Uh, yes? I’m sorry. I didn’t hear the question.”
“……”
There was definitely something wrong.
Being quiet and reserved was Lirisa’s nature, but not being able to focus during an important operational briefing was unlike her.
Though it didn’t show on the surface, there must be some psychological factor at play.
However, I lacked the ability to resolve it for her at this moment.
When I repeated the explanation, Lirisa finally furrowed her brow and began to think.
“If I had the authority, I think I would have supplied the soldiers with equipment that has resistance to heat.”
“Right. That’s what most people would think. But try to recall the list of items Selina distributed this time.”
“Gas masks and antidotes… Huh?”
Lirisa’s eyes widened, and the other members couldn’t hide their bewildered reactions either.
Selina was not someone who would skimp on supplies for her soldiers.
If heat-resistant equipment was needed, she was the type of person who would have prepared it, no matter how expensive or rare, even if it meant drawing on the power of the Verdin Family.
There was a good reason why she hadn't prepared any countermeasures against heat.
“First, there’s something you need to know. Tet Island isn’t just an island.”
“What does that mean?”
“Look at this.”
As luck would have it, there was something suitable in the documents Selina had given me.
When I placed a single sheet on the table, they all craned their necks and huddled together, wanting to see it with their own eyes.
“It’s an illustration of a fiend… right?”
Just as Latia said.
The document contained a rather crudely drawn illustration of a fiend.
The first impression was of a horseshoe crab carrying a large amount of something like moss on its back.
“But something’s…”
Byan, sensing something strange, frowned.
After staring intently at the illustration for a long time, Byan finally succeeded in spotting the peculiarity.
“Field Commander! What’s drawn here are clouds, right?”
“…Correct.”
Byan had finally found the right answer.
A small number of clouds were drawn around the horseshoe crab-shaped fiend.
One might dismiss it as a simple decoration, but this was not a piece of art; it was material for a military operational briefing.
There should be no meaningless drawings in materials used for an operation.
In other words, these clouds meant that the horseshoe crab-shaped fiend was enormous in size and possessed the ability to fly.
“The fiend’s name is Leviathan. Its individual name is Tet. It is a giant fiend that swims above a sea of clouds.”
“……”
“Kehek! Keck-keck!”
The members reacted just as I expected.
They either stared at me with their mouths agape, having forgotten to even blink; coughed after swallowing their spit the wrong way; pinched their own cheeks; or slowly turned their heads toward the direction of Tet Island.
I understood.
When I first learned the truth, I almost screamed in my office.
Who wouldn't be shocked to learn that the ground they had been standing and fighting on was, in fact, the back of a giant fiend?