Published at 16th of December 2020 09:26:01 AM
Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Though Marika was the de facto highest leader of Bashtar’s administration ever since the start of its great reconstruction, she technically was still only a simple bureaucrat .
That being the case, when it came to the simple act of signing documents, she needed someone who had the authority to make decisions .
And aside from Kurats, the one person who held that power was Lunaria, as both his fiancee and a princess of the kingdom .
When she was told to stay in Bashtar while Kurats would go to the battlefield, Lunaria had made things difficult . Very difficult .
【”No no no no no no! I will come with you, too, Kurats!”】
【”It can’t be helped, I guess . If you can win against Frigga, I’ll take you along with me . ”】
Thinking about it after the fact, Lunaria felt like those words were a trap .
Though Frigga was the strongest of the two, the difference between them was not that big .
In an actual contest, Lunaria would win one out of four times .
Her chances of winning were not low .
【”I will definitely gain victory!”】
Lunaria had excitedly picked up her sword… only to suffer a crushing defeat .
【”Kuh…To think that Frigga dropped out of the bedroom so easily the day before in order to gain the advantage the next day… I failed to see through her ulterior motives! Even my royal eyes couldn’t see through!”】
【”Getting overworked over it will not help you get the work done faster . There are more documents remaining . ”】
【”Yes, there is still a lot more to go . ”】
In response to Cornelia’s and Marika’s cold retorts, Lunaria threw some of the documents at Marika’s servants, who were standing in front of her, to vent her frustration .
【”You! Who has the highest position here in your eyes?!”】
【”Of course, that would be you, princess Lunaria . However all of us retainers here believe in spiritual bonds rather than social constructs!”】
【”So you’re saying it’s Marika!!!”】
【”I see Marika has her fair share of trouble dealing with this lot…”】
Indifferent to Cornelia’s sigh, Marika’s amusing servants were acting the same as usual .
Without a single clue in regards to the conversation taking place in Bashtar, Kurats was tilting his head, confused by the 4,000-men strong army marching forward .
【”… . Aren’t there too few of them?”】
【”Well, I can see how you’d think that, my lord . ”】
Realizing that Kurats seriously believed 4,000 was too little, McClair shook his head with a dejected expression on his face .
The pressure exerted by an army of 4,000 on a force of only 100 people was nothing to scoff at .
Any regular mercenary would have escaped by now .
(Still, I ain’t gonna run away…)
McClain had a high esteem of Bernard as a mercenary .
So, while he couldn’t believe Bernard’s words until he’d see them come true for himself, he still felt that this lord wouldn’t fall easily against such an opponent .
【”Listen well, bastards! We’ll show them that the fearless Owl’s eye force is no different from the rumors!”】
【”Ooooooooooh!”】
【”―― I see they’re coming for us head-on . ”】
Desaix was staring with cold eyes at Bashtar’s army . They were coming in a formation akin to the point of a sword, with 20 men in the lead .
【”If they deserve praise for one thing, it’s that they didn’t run away . ”】
Contrary to what his words indicated, Desailly answered Desaix with a sneer .
Despite being so frightened by Kurats’ power earlier, his morale seemed to have inflated endlessly upon giving the powerful Alphonse riders a test drive .
Though Kurats’ body was massive, he was not as big as the Alphonse magic riders, let alone Asgard’s Chaos riders .
The nobles here had a very common understanding of the limits of a mere human’s body .
【”Now then, shall we grant them the privilege of piercing through their ranks?”】
The baronet of Mirabeau excitedly stepped forward .
In the eyes of all these nobles, the Bashtar army was already naught but a sacrificial sheep .
Humans are creatures who believe what they wish to believe .
Hence, it was impossible for those who had never seen Kurats in action to take his monstrous power as a real premise .
【”The enemy’s force is small! Do not let a single one of them escape!”】
The assault was started by a private force of 500 men, led by Mirabeau aboard his Alphonse rider .
【”We will cut off their path of retreat, for caution’s sake! We can’t give them a chance to escape!”】
Meanwhile, baron Desailly and baron Monnier tried to circumvent the army, taking a thousand soldiers each to both flanks .
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On top of having the overwhelming advantage in numbers, the nobles went for a coordinated pincer attack .
They were all expecting Bashtar’s army to fall apart .
―― But at that moment…
【”It’s been a while, so I’m gonna fight them with my own power!”】
『How inefficient . You could end them with a single blow using magic . 』
【”It’s not about efficiency, it’s about the great feel of it!”】
Dashing forward like an arrow was a single man ―― not just any man, but the baron of Bashtar himself .
As he charged forward, he was holding up a sword, which was larger than himself, over his head .
【”Humph, out of respect for your achievements, I will take you on . ”】
The Baronet of Mirabeau, whose role was to intercept Kurats from the front, chuckled to himself when he saw Kurats jump over all his allies and come forward on his own .
Although he was holding a ridiculously large sword, that would at most allow him to bring down a few soldiers .
【”I suppose that bestial strength is worthy of praise, at least . ”】
―― This would be the last show of overly-confident gloating from the nobles .
【”OUT OF MY WAY!”】
In a powerful flash of fighting spirit, Kurats brought down his sword, Warcry .
The sword cut through a soldier’s armor like it was tearing through paper . His blood sprayed like a waterfall, while his entrails splashed all over the ground .
However, that was not the end of it .
The shockwave generated by the tip of Warcry went past the speed of sound and blew away dozens of soldiers standing behind the first one .
【”H-how can this be?”】
As he covered his face from the cloud of dust that followed, Mirabeau was hit by a feeling of terror .
This was a single swing . A single swing by a single person .
And yet, that had been enough to bring down a whole tenth of Marabeau’s army .
It was unbelievable .
【”Impossible! That’s impossible!”】
He felt shivers down his spine .
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His jaw was open wide, as if to welcome the truthful weight of the many heroic stories that he had deemed to be only rumors .
【”TAKE THIS!”】
This time around, Kurats moved his sword horizontally, yet again cutting down dozens of soldiers from the waist down .
Their bodies collapsed like broken puppets .
【”The rest of them are just empty husks! He broke their spirits! Dice them up on sight!”】
To press the chaotic army of Mirabeau even further, McClain and the rest of Kurats’ army came forward, ready to trample them down .
Mirabeau’s soldiers were sliced, stabbed and crushed, without being able to offer anything resembling resistance under the weight of both fear and disorder .
【”Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih! Run away! There is no way we can deal with such a monster!”】
【”Sorry, but there is no escaping from this devil!”】
【”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”】
The last sight Mirabeau witnessed before being eternally released from this cruel world was that of a gigantic lump of Iron covering everything in his sight .
While Mirabeau’s army was cruelly reduced to a corpse, a tragedy was also coming for Desailly’s and Monnier’s forces, which were coming from the left and right flank .
【”Let’s go, Shellac . ”】
*Kraaa!*
With a loud cry, the large griffon, Shellac, soared into the air .
Using the absolute supremacy offered by the sky, Frigga released a blow that contained not a single atom of mercy .
【”Piece them through, Murasame ―― ‘Lightning Reflection‘ . 】
A single beam of light reflected by countless sparkling mirrors turned into hundreds of flashes going for the enemy’s soldiers .
In but an instant, nearly a hundred soldiers met the end of their lives, pierced by the lights .
Desailly was bewildered to see the soldiers fall before his eyes without a sound .
【”Shoot her! Shoot her down!”】
The only method to attack Frigga in the air was to fire at her with arrows and spells .
However, the attacks of a few mages were not going to be enough to break through a griffon’s magic defense .
Seeing the fiery flashes of the Fire Lance spells coming at her, Frigga did not even attempt to dodge .
【”Tear them to pieces, ‘Shredder Shine’!”】
【”Ridiculous! For our army to fall to the hands of a single woman… The Alphonse riders entrusted to us by sir Albert are- NOOOOOOOOO!”】
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【”…What did you hope to accomplish by bringing these mass-produced, lower versions of the Chaos riders?”】
Did they believe they could face Kurats with that level of power?
Had they gotten themselves drunk on a child-like feeling of omnipotence from getting these Alphonse toys?
【”This is your reward for making light of Lapland’s heroic savior . ”】
While Desailly’s army was being attacked by Frigga, Monnier’s army, on the right, was doing somewhat better .
But by no means did that mean they were going to be okay .
Rather, they were in a far darker predicament .
【”Lovely little boys… Come… . Offer your lives to me…”】
Under the charming enchantment of the 53 Nosferatus under Triestella, the men of baron Monnier’s army could not offer any resistance . They were only human after all .
The soldiers were weakly staring in the void with blissful expressions .
One by one, they were squeezed out of their energy and lost their lives like withered trees .
In a sense, it could be said they had met a pleasant end .
【”…As I thought, this isn’t enough . Master’s energy is multiple times more delicious and powerful than a thousand of you combined . ”】
Triestella licked her lips with her crimson tongue . She was showing a bewitching smile .
【”T-this isn’t what we were told! T-the marquis of Strasbourg played us!”】
Desaix shouted at the sight of his allies who had all fallen less than ten minutes after the start of the battle .
【”No, you brought this on yourself by not believing in the stories . ”】
【”There’d have had to be something seriously wrong with my head to take those rumors at face-value! WAIT, WHEN DID YOU COME HERE?!”】
Desaix threw himself back, greatly shaken . He thought he was answering one of his close aides, but this was actually Kurats himself .
Before he realized it, all the guards protecting him had been wiped out, and Frigga and Triestella were approaching . The armies at both flanks had already been annihilated .
【”Save me! I surrender! I’ll do anything you want!”】
【”Just give up . It’s over . ”】
【”NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”】
Now that victory had been obtained, it made sense for Kurats to let it be known he would have no mercy for traitors .
From the start, Kurats never had any intention to pardon Desaix anyway .
The rebellious nobles had been crushed by Bashtar with a force of just a bit over 100 .
The news of that defeat was delivered to Albert the very next day .