novelraw Chapter 84 : Flag
Chapter 84 : Flag
Chapter 84: Flag
The place Robin followed the Admiral to was not a combat unit.
It was neither a supply support unit nor a rear guard zone.
Unlike the soldiers standing in formation, aligned in rows and columns, they moved without being bound by drill.
The Admiral focused solely on retreat.
“Are we just going back like this?”
“I’ve already passed along that a spy leaked information, so our work is finished.”
‘That part made sense, but why was he in such a hurry?’
The Admiral’s pace was unmistakably fast.
Robin asked Imelda what had happened, but she replied that she didn’t know.
“I’ll increase the speed.”
The Admiral practically broke into a run.
Before he knew it, Robin had followed along and overtaken the main force.
When they reached terrain where Monsters could appear, Robin could no longer hold back and spoke up.
“Wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s walk for a bit and catch our breath.”
Only after Robin slowed down did the Admiral’s feet begin to slow as well.
Even so, the Admiral did not look back at Robin.
Like a child who had done something wrong.
Robin bluntly spoke up.
“What is it? You won’t even answer when I ask. Did I do something wrong?”
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Robin. I’m only grateful that both Miss Imelda and Miss Serena followed us this far so well.”
“Then at least tell me that. What is the war weapon? Everyone’s going to find out anyway.”
He casually asked about a classified matter.
He hadn’t expected an answer, yet the Admiral readily opened his mouth.
Upon hearing what the weapon truly was, the three of them showed expressions filled with shock.
“That’s actually possible……? Judging from when the troll was taken down, the performance is certainly real, but…….”
“So that’s what those stones were for.”
“…I heard that dwarves who interact with humans are rare.”
The Admiral continued with a refreshed expression.
“Now that your curiosity has been resolved, are you satisfied?”
“Thank you for telling us. Hearing it explained directly really clears things up. But…….”
Robin stared straight into the Admiral’s eyes.
In the slowed passage of time, his eyes wavered.
‘It doesn’t seem like a lie. Is there something he didn’t tell me?’
The sense of unease he had felt since parting with the mercenary band.
He realized what it was.
“That weapon is a kind of area attack. If that’s the case, it won’t distinguish between friend and foe, right?”
“That’s correct. That’s why we instructed the mercenary band to strike and withdraw.”
The Admiral mentioned the mercenary band even though Robin hadn’t brought it up.
His ominous suspicion became even more concrete.
“You said destroying the stone is the activation condition, right? Then who breaks the stone?”
“…Breaking the stone doesn’t kill you. Just covering your ears greatly reduces the effect.”
“What are you talking about? If you’re pinned down in the middle of enemy lines, that’s basically the same as dying. Does the mercenary band know that?”
“…….”
“Why aren’t you answering? That’s… a suicide squad.”
The Admiral turned his gaze away.
In Robin’s mind, the puzzle pieces began to fit together one by one.
One hundred elite soldiers accompanying the mercenary band.
Among them, orders would have been given to those deemed trustworthy to use the weapon.
To maintain secrecy, only those who activated the weapon would be able to respond.
Even so, their survival could not be guaranteed.
A rain of arrows would pour down on the immobilized enemy forces. They were fated to be struck by arrows along with the enemy.
From the beginning, they had never planned to return alive.
Whether they volunteered or were forcibly conscripted.
If they had at least been given shields, their chances of survival would have increased. But the elite soldiers had no proper means of defense.
In guerrilla warfare that valued mobility, shields were a hindrance.
If they had carried shields, the mercenaries would have found it strange.
Had all of this been calculated?
Robin tried to grasp Leonolf’s intentions, but he couldn’t.
“I’m sorry. According to the original plan, we would have taken measures so it could be activated from long range, but the operation changed so suddenly…….”
Seeing Robin’s expression, the Admiral readily admitted fault.
Imelda and Serena also sensed that something was wrong.
“Hoo. Haa.”
Slap!
After taking a deep breath, Robin slapped both of his cheeks.
Along with the reddened cheeks, his mind cleared.
“How much time has passed since we left?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“It’ll be tight, but if I run at full speed, I should make it.”
“You’re not seriously planning to go back, are you? The main force has already set up camp ahead. Even if it looks like they’re retreating, once the order comes down, they’re soldiers who’ll charge immediately. If you cut across the main force, you won’t make it in time.”
“So you’re saying I should just stand by and watch?”
Suddenly, seven years ago came to mind.
A child who could only helplessly watch a friend’s death.
This situation was different from back then.
He possessed personal strength now, and it was too early to give up.
After briefly alternating his gaze between Imelda and Serena, he left only one sentence.
“I’ll be back.”
“Robin, wait—”
The Admiral whispered something into Robin’s ear for just a moment.
At the same time, he slipped a stone into his pocket.
“I wish you victory.”
Robin did not reply.
He didn’t listen to what the two girls said either.
Tadadadad.
Light footsteps faded into the distance.
Leaving his backpack behind, the boy ran, gripping only two swords.
“Gwooooooar!”
More than a dozen ogres charged forward, letting out hideous roars.
Serrrk!
A long line was drawn through the air, and the ogre’s neck dropped with a thud.
Among them were some who clutched at necks hanging on by tough muscle, but they were soon brought down by other mercenaries.
Uuuung.
Several children who looked around ten years old trudged forward and raised their hands.
They were no longer trapped in cages like before.
They walked out on their own.
Light shot toward the mercenaries fighting the ogres.
Kwaaang!
The ground swept by the light burst and scattered, leaving long scars etched here and there.
The horned children cast magic with emotionless eyes.
Chunks of stone flew, and the ground was turned slippery, throwing the battle into chaos.
“Those damn brats!”
“If it weren’t for those bastards, we would’ve won this war ages ago!”
When they first saw magic, they were terrified by the unknown power and thrown into utter panic.
Attacks that came flying without warning were fear itself.
The mercenaries struggled desperately to survive, and that struggle was not in vain.
Some with keen senses began to feel an ominous presence while watching the magic.
Calimacos called it ‘demonic energy’.
The fuel the Demon Tribe used to cast magic.
Mercenaries with sharp senses felt the demonic energy and grew accustomed to dealing with the children who wielded magic.
Thunk.
Felix drove his spear into the child’s heart.
“Ah… it hurts…….”
“Rest peacefully there.”
The child who had terrified countless soldiers and driven them to their deaths weakly let his head fall.
Together, perhaps because a child they had spent time with had died.
A slight crack appeared on the faces of the horned children.
“…It’s de… ad.”
“…No. It’s… no.”
They gathered among themselves, muttering something, then stretched their hands toward a single point in the empty air.
Ung. Uung. Ung.
At a glance, dangerous power was gathering.
Every member of the Calimacos Mercenary Band, who had been facing the enemies at the front, understood without needing words.
They must not let that be completed.
A mercenary who had been watching for an opening lunged forward, but a troll blocked the way.
They each swung and hurled their weapons, yet they could not break through the wall of trolls and ogres.
“Daamn it! Squad leaders! Help us out here!”
“Captain, what are you doing! Stop it already!”
With one heart and one mind, they looked for the squad leaders and the captain.
Those considered among the strongest in the mercenary band were attached to the elite soldiers.
The elite soldiers Leonolf had attached were, as expected, failing to hold their ground.
Forced to serve as escorts on the spot, the squad leader–level members could not move freely.
“Ha… if we leave that alone, it’ll become a real mess. Hey, can you people hold out for a bit without us?”
“…We’ll try somehow.”
“So that’s a no. Brandok, can you do an arcing shot?”
Brandok, who had been ravaging the troll’s ankles with daggers, stepped back.
He took out the bow slung on his back and, without hesitation, Paulled the string and fired it into the sky.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he drew his daggers again and charged at the troll.
Shiiiiik.
A moment later, along with the sound of wind being cut, a single arrow fell from the sky.
The arrow aimed at the child casting magic was sharp, but—
Thunk.
It only ended up embedded in the ogre’s forearm as it tried to protect the caster.
The ogre let out an enraged roar, but it was not a significant result.
Zzzzzzuung.
Seeing magic that was clearly on the verge of completion, the mercenaries widened their distance.
“Fuck, is this where we die?”
“Everyone, scatter!”
Just before the unbearable power was about to be unleashed.
Torgen threw something with all his might.
What was hurled toward the wall of Monsters was a person.
A red-haired woman wrapped head to toe in dense killing intent swung a curved blade.
A crimson energy extending from the curved blade lashed out like a whip.
The supple, flexing energy mercilessly struck the surroundings.
Kwa-dang-tang-tang.
As Mirian rolled across the ground, the magic misfired.
Lacerations were carved across the Monsters’ bodies.
The attempt to land a decisive blow on the mercenary band was thwarted.
The horned children collapsed one by one.
The words one of them spat out stabbed into Mirian’s chest.
“Mo, mom…….”
“…….”
Shraak!
Mirian swung the curved blade once more.
Even though Monsters blocked the way, the bent crimson energy reached toward the children’s necks.
Their heads and bodies were cleanly separated, and they met their end without even being able to close their eyes.
In less than a second, she met the eyes of a child facing death.
“Ugh…….”
She thought she had grown used to it by now, yet the past kept surfacing.
Her mood turned foul.
She felt as if she would only be satisfied after killing and killing and seeing even more blood.
Just as she was about to spread the killing intent wrapped around herself.
Thud.
Someone grabbed her shoulder from behind.
She turned around with the thought of cutting off the arm.
Torgen was standing there with a stiff expression.
“When did you get here?”
“I asked Paul to throw me. I flew over like you did.”
“Paul threw you?”
“Would the First Squad Leader be the First Squad Leader for nothing?”
“This isn’t the time to be hanging around.”
“Thanks to you dispersing the magic just now, their momentum’s broken.”
As Torgen said, the Monsters gradually stepped back.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity, the mercenaries eagerly charged in.
Monsters that fought defensively were nothing more than prey for the mercenaries.
The sound of weapons slicing flesh and butchering announced victory.
Mirian withdrew her killing intent.
She stared expressionlessly at the retreating Monsters.
“The captain was right. These children aren’t Demon Tribe. Calling them half-human, half-demon would be more accurate.”
“So what. Are you going to beat yourself up because it goes against your creed?”
“…….”
“Get a grip. If it weren’t for you, dozens of our members would’ve died.”
Mirian looked around.
Among the members she had lived shoulder to shoulder with, there were no casualties.
“To those guys, you’re a hero.”
Torgen tossed out those words and joined the battle.
It was clumsy comfort, fitting his looks, but it gave her considerable strength.
The mercenaries who had been scattered here and there quickly formed up.
Paul, who was observing the battle situation, spoke.
“The main force looks like it’s about to come out from over there.”
“Finally coming out, huh. How long did it take?”
“Ten minutes.”
“If the commander hears that, he’ll be overjoyed.”
Calimacos sneered as he looked back at the hundred elite soldiers.
“You all saw our mercenary band in action, right? Go back and report it properly.”
“…We will.”
“Why so listless. Did you get scared? Put your worries away. If you just listen to what I say, I’ll make sure you get out alive.”
“There are twenty minutes left according to what the commander said. If we want to deliver a decisive blow, we need to push in further.”
Calimacos stared into the centurion’s eyes.
The centurion swallowed hard.
Calimacos’s single remaining eye was sharp, as if weighing the truth.
“That’s strange. Saying that ‘we’ need to go further means you didn’t install the war weapon around here in advance.”
The centurion realized his slip of the tongue.
Reliable when on the same side, but they were mercenaries unbound by affiliation.
Moreover, the one-eyed mercenary before him was quite temperamental.
He wracked his brain to cover up the mistake, but no suitable excuse came to mind.
“I don’t know what kind of war weapon it is that you’re making such a fuss over.”
“It is a task absolutely necessary for Wilcock’s victory. The command authority of this unit lies with me. Retreat is not an option.”
“Who said anything otherwise. Loyalty toward one’s lord, the spirit of no retreat before battle, the conviction of certain victory. Fine, all good. But you see…….”
Shhk.
Calimacos’s sword sliced through the air.
The energy that extended along the arc of the swing severed a retreating troll.
The troll, split into upper and lower halves, tried to reconnect the severed section, but the mercenaries swarmed it like ants and turned it to mush.
Calimacos continued speaking to the centurion.
“Whatever your operation is, don’t force sacrifices on us. If you try to use my comrades as expendable pawns under the guise of an operation, I promise you this. I’ll chew up and swallow you and your subordinates, and even the Wilcock family.”
“You bastard……! How dare you utter such blasphemous words……!”
“…Or so you’d expect me to say. I will trust in the excellent judgment of the centurion.”
The centurion shut his mouth.
He was a man impossible to read.
The rumors were true.
An untrainable mad dog.
Leaning close to the centurion’s ear, who could not retort despite being insulted, Calimacos whispered.
“Consider yourself lucky. I was planning to Pull back around now anyway, but I ended up seeing the flag.”
“The flag……? What flag could you possibly be talking about……?”
Calimacos merely raised one corner of his mouth.
Surveying the mercenary band’s formation, he shouted.
“Twenty minutes! Just run around for twenty minutes and gold coins will come out!”
“Woooooo!!”
There was no better way to raise morale than money.
Paul murmured at his side.
“Betterot really went all out preparing this. I didn’t expect even real Demon Tribe to step in.”
“For the lower stream to be clear, the upper stream has to be clean. Just looking at it, you can tell the measure of things. Anyone who drives horns into a child’s forehead can’t be normal.”
“What are you talking about now.”
“Didn’t you see that flag over there? This might be my once-in-a-lifetime chance to settle a long-held wish.”
Paul strained his eyes, following where Calimacos pointed.
“The Imperial Knight Order?”
“That settles it. This war—the Emperor intervened.”
“…Do we have a chance of winning?”
“I don’t know about that, but I can’t fall until I face him.”
From the front, seven figures approached.
They were accompanied by more troops than before.
Dragging hundreds of Monsters and infantry along, they shared common traits.
An ominous aura, and horns sprouting from their foreheads.
Purple skin.
“Let’s figure out something about the Demon Tribe first.”