"Sir Count Lancephil. I hope this fire field tactic was of a help."
Ian Phillips, who was hiding himself in a gap between two buildings, formed a faint smile.
According to the data Count Phillips House, no, the intelligence organization Evishun that Ian Phillips privately commanded to be precise, Roan could increase his strength through heat.
'The final battle with the Istel Kingdom Army when Sir Count Lancephil was the Troop Commander of the 2nd Rose Troop……'
At the time, Istel Kingdom allied with the Byron Kingdom and invaded Rinse Kingdom's northeast regions.
Roan, who was a mere adjutant of a troop at the time, showed superb strategies and outstanding might and rose up to the newly formed 2nd Rose Troop's Troop Commander rank past the Vice Troop Commander rank.
The Istel Kingdom Army ultimately chose retreat due to Roan's performance and Baron Aaron Tate who was the 7th Corps Corps Commander at the time decided reorganizing the troop instead of giving chase.
But as Viscount Benjamin Doyle, who was the Eastern Corps Supreme Commander, became blinded by military achievements and forcibly gave a pursuit order, the events began to turn foul.
The 7th Corps that went on a chase had fallen into the current Istel Kingdom's noble Viscount Peid Neil's scheme and received damage of near annihilation.
Ultimately, only the Corps Commander Aaron was able to barely salvage his life and Troop Commander Gale of the Rose Troop and the majority of the troop members including adjutant Keniss lost their lives.
'According to the collected information, Sir Count Lancephil who joined in on the battlefield late suddenly absorbed the surrounding flame and then turned into a monstrous form.'
The rumor that the Istel Kingdom Army's soldiers who saw that sight at the time called Roan the Crimson Ghost and feared him after returning to their country.
'Sir Count Lancephil. The Phillips House cannot particularly use its power due to his majesty the king's, no, Prince Simon's suppression and Viscount Delph Blick's surveillance. All I can do for you is this fire field tactic.'
A fire field tactic using carriages and carts.
This was an especially impromptu strategy.
It was a strategy he made up on the spot the moment the Evishun's agents who were staked out in the entirety of capital, Miller, notified him of the news of Roan's appearance.
Having created and executed the strategy predicted to have the highest effect with the information about Roan he was reported on in the past and estimating Roan's current state.
Ian Phillips.
The genius was definitely a genius.
However, there was a part that not even he could have predicted.
That although it was a fact that Roan receive a powerful strength according to heat, that an incredibly large side effect followed that.
Because of that side effect, Roan was abstaining from absorbing heat directly into his body.
Also the same for right now.
'Huu. What to do.'
Roan couldn't easily employ the Flamdor Mana Technique.
The crimson flame waved as if to seduce him.
'The possibility of rampaging is high.'
Roan bit his lower lips.
It was also the same at that time.
When he raged at the death of Rose Troop's members and pulled in the field's fire into his body.
Roan had absolutely no memory of that time.
Except that from listening to the troop members at a later date, they had said that it wasn't an appearance of a human.
A crimson ghost.
Roan didn't want to experience that event again.
Furthermore.
'A situation where the water energy that controlled the heat has hit the bottom.'
It meant that regaining calm was impossible if he were to rampage.
His hesitation lengthened.
Suddenly.
Gggggckk!
A sound that made his forehead crease pierced through his ears.
Roan looked towards the direction the sound was heard from.
"Hhm."
A quiet groan leaked out.
The castle wall that widely spread left and right following the south gate bursting with flame.
The ballistas situated on top of that had all turned their directions and were aiming at him.
And next to that, Viscount Delph Blick, who as guarding the ramparts, glanced through the south gate area with fierce eyes.
'This is definitely a fire field tactic. Count Lancephil isn't alone.'
A very normal conclusion.
Delph clenched his teeth.
Then the one that he had to take care of foremost wasn't the army outside the castle but the army inside the castle.
Gigigigick!
The stiff and tight strings were intensely pulled.
For each ballista, five above five below, a total of ten arrows were placed.
A strategy to fire the five arrows notched on the upper string first and then fire the remaining arrows.
If more than ten ballistas fired arrows with timed difference, they would be able to give serious damage to Roan as well as to his army that should be hiding somewhere.
'I don't have a choice.'
Roan exhaled a short sigh.
If he were to stay still like this, he would be skewered by a spear-sized ballista arrow and lose his life.
'I can only hope not to rampage.'
A long time had passed since the first rampage.
The Flamdor Mana Technique too was at a situation where he had repeated training after training.
'It should be easier to control the heat than before.'
Roan tightly clenched his fists.
The Travias Spear on his right hand sharply trembled its body.
As if it too was afraid of the situation that would storm from then on.
'No, perhaps it may be delighted. Since there still hasn't been one time when the Travias Spear has shown all of its strength.'
Roan bitterly smiled and closed his eyes.
From the edge of his ears, Delph's voice was heard.
"Aim!"
Gggggckk!
The ballistas twisted its bodies left and right and aimed directly at Roan.
Simultaneously with that, Roan employed the Flamdor Mana Technique that he had laboriously sealed.
And.
Fwwoooooosh!
The giant flame that was widening its size around the south gate area greatly waved as if delighted.
It, almost as if a living organism, danced and swarmed around Roan.
A crimson tempest whirled with Roan at the center.
"Uuuuk! What the!"
"The, the fire's moving on its on!"
"It's a squall of fire! Dodge it!"
The surrounding knights and soldiers jumped and moved back.
Even Delph, who was standing on the ramparts, became dazed at the unnatural sight.
Forgetting even giving orders to the ballista troopers to fire, his gaze was caught by the whirling flame.
Kwakakakakakang!
The carriages and carts' wreckages were finely shattered and soon turned into ashes and disappeared.
"Uaaaak!"
"Kuhuk!"
Few soldiers were swallowed by the whirling flame and turned into balls of fire.
Roan, still with his eyes closed, focused on using the Flamdor Mana Technique.
A situation where he too had now entered the most important moment.
'Should I begin……'
An instant.
Paaaat!
The fire whirling Roan's surroundings was sucked inside his body.
An event that occured in a blink of an eye.
As the fire disappeared, the incredible sound of wind and monstrous roar that were hitting the ears all disappeared as well.
Stillness and peace.
A strange silence fell down in the south gate area.
The Blick Knight order including Delph and the Patore Legion's soldiers stared at Roan with a half-dazed expressions.
A situation where Roan was standing straight and still closing his eyes.
"Whe, where did the fire……"
Dex Kerry, the Blick Knight Order's commander, unknowingly muttered then halted.
"Vapor?"
Because a white breath had came out in front of his mouth.
At the same time with that.
"Uhuk!"
"Co, cold!"
"What is happening!"
The nearby knights and soldiers quiveringly trembled and exhaled out breaths.
The season was Midsummer when the southern wind blew.
Definitely, a burning Sun was scorching above their heads.
But for some reason, the air brushing their skin were beyond chill and cold like a blade.
However, it wasn't that only the knights and soldiers in front of the south gate were experiencing such situation.
Although there were differences in degree, not only the Lancephil Fief Regiment outside the castle gate but the citizens of the Miller Castle and even Aily Rinse and the elves who were fighting the enemy army far away at the palace were feeling the frigid cold.
"Lady Piscis. This……"
One elf turned towards Aily.
Aily, who cut down a knight who was running towards her, slightly nodded her head.
"You're correct. The heat disappeared from the mana around us."
"How could such……"
When the elves were shaking their heads with shocked expressions, Aily's gaze headed towards the south.
'Sir Lancephil. You're okay, right?'
Her heart unreasonably became hurried.
Quickly swinging her long and thin sword, she kicked off the ground.
"We'll have to go to the south gate as fast as possible."
"Yes! Understood!"
Energetic answers.
Soon following that, the elves' graceful and brilliant swordsmanship cut through the air.
They too had felt that the events weren't flowing unnaturally.
The chilled air, no the earth, no, the world.
Roan, who had actually caused such unnatural situation, was still closing his eyes and standing on the same spot.
'We have to end him before he moves.'
Delph clenched his teeth.
Veteran was a veteran.
The sharp instinct unique to a commander who had rolled through battlefields for decades.
Delph, feeling a horrifying terror, shouted towards the ballista troopers.
"Fire! Fire all the ballistas!"
"Yes? Yes, yes! Understood!"
The ballista troopers who were warming their frigid hands came back to themselves a moment late and quickly fired the ballistas that had finished loading.
Tudung! Tudung! Tududududung!
More than ten ballistas fired spear-sized arrows one after another.
Ssweaaaak!
Together with a sound of ripping apart the air, fist-sized arrowheads flew towards Roan.
An instant between life and death.
Even so, Roan, still with both eyes closed, wasn't even twitching.
'It's done!'
Delph inwardly cheered.
"Die!"
"Die just like that!"
The knights and the soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs.
But their wish couldn't be achieved.
The moment spear-sized arrows reached foot from Roan.
Flash!
Roan opened the closed eyes.
Simultaneously.
Paaaaaaat!
An incredible fire burst up from his body.
It was a much more colossal and burning flame than the original flame that was burning the south gate area.
"Kuuk!"
"Kuk!"
The knights and the soldiers, at the incredible gust of heat, wrapped their arms in front of their faces and stepped back. No, were pushed backwards.
Furthermore, the ballista arrows that flew as if to instantly skewer Roan turned into fistful of dust and disappeared.
Literally an incredible heat.
It brought to minds the hellfire of hell.
"Da, damn it! Just what is this!"
"For the disappeared flame to burst out from a man's body!"
Numerous knights including Delph and Dex and soldiers lost their minds at the unbelievable sight.
At that moment.
Fwoooosh.
The flame that intensely soared towards the sky slowly subsided and Roan's form that was standing inside of it showed itself.
"Ah……"
For an instant, exclamations and dejected sighs stormed on the south gate area.
Roan Lancephil.
The neat brown hair and eyebrows, eyes, and manly face disappeared as if into a thin air.
The hair, eyebrows, and eyes were colored with a bright red light and a crimson flame was flowing on the hair and eyebrows.
Furthermore, the hair had grown long below even the waist.
Crimson fire thickly dripped flowing the ends of his hair.
But the even more shocking thing was.
Fwaaaaaaah!
The Travias Spear the right hand was holding.
The spearhead as well as even the pole that was originally black was all covered in a bright red flame, but that heat did not seem ordinary.
Gulp.
Everyone lost their words.
Roan's appearance wasn't an appearance of a human.
That was almost.
"C, Crimson Ghost?"
The name the people of the world gave and called Roan.
That Crimson Ghost had truly descended into the world.
A feeling of suffocating just from staring at it.
"Di, die!"
Delph on the ramparts instinctively shouted.
"Die!"
Dxe too was the same.
If it wasn't now, they felt that they won't be able to properly counterattack even once.
Tat!
Dex and the Blick Knight Order pounced towards Roan.
The Patore Legion's elite soldiers followed their backs.
Hundreds of people formed a circle and pounced Roan.
But.
"Kuuuuuuuu."
The tips of Roan's mouth, who had been still, slightly went up and a monstrous laugh flowed up.
Simultaneously.
Ssswuaaaang!
The Travias Spear elongated with an incredible speed and quickly spun.
Fwoooosh!
Bright red flames burst out in every direction.
The spear and the flame pounced the knights and the soldiers.
"Block it! Blo……"
Dex's shout couldn't reach to the end.
The moment the Travias Spear and his sword and body touched, half of his entire body incinerated.
Death.
At the every least, he was able to leave at least half of his body because his level of mana was high.
Low rank knights or ordinary soldiers, the moment they were touched by the flame, became a fistful of ash and scattered.
He couldn't leave behind even a scream or a throe of death.
Wooosh.
Instead of the southern wind that originally should be warm, a cold southern wind softly whirled around the south gate area.
Ashen dusts hollowly flew across the sky.
"So, son of a……!"
Delph, who was watching the situation from the ramparts, goggled his eyes and shouted.
That was also the same for the knights and soldiers who were still alive or hadn't carelessly attacked.
"I, it's a ghost! It's a Crimson Ghost!"
"It's a god of fire!"
"A monster! It's a monster!"
The rationalities were paralyzed by the intense fear.
Delph tightly clenched his fist and shouted.
"Idiotic bastards! Fire the ballistas! Don't get close and fire the arrows and throw the spears instead!"
He spurred the knights and the soldiers.
"Roan Lancephil too is a human! Get a hold of yourselves!"
Berating shouts poured down.
Gggggckk
Soon the ballistas finished loading anew.
Although the knights and soldiers weren't very willing, they received Delph's order and fired arrows and threw spears towards Roan.
Then they soon regretted their actions.
Fwoosh.
The arrows and spears couldn't even touch Roan's body.
The newly fired ballista arrows too were the same.
The arrows and spears, the moment they reached Roan's surroundings, turned into a fistful of ash and disappeared.
"Uuuuh."
"No, no way."
The knights and soldiers unconsciously and falteringly stepped backwards.
"Kuuuuuh."
Roan, who had been watching, sinisterly smiled and burst out a crazed laugh.
A look of obliquely bending his head.
The scarlet hair flowing with fire gently waved.
And at that instant.
Taat!
The Crimson Ghost moved.
Paaaaaat!
The Travias Spear that was longspear-sized elongated longly and thickened as wide as a man's torso.
The flame flowing along the spear and the spearhead also became much larger.
Kwakang! Kwakakakakakang!
Roan swung that giant spear of fire as he wished.
Each time, the ground was gouged out and the crests of the earth were turned over.
The knights and soldiers who were forming an encirclement, without being able to properly oppose even once, turned into a mush or became ash and disappeared.
"Kuuaaaaaah!"
Roan, as if he had gotten exhilarated, exploded out a monstrous laugh.
Delph crumpled his forehead at that gruesome sound.
"Fire! Continue and fire the ballistas! I'm telling you to do everything we can!"
The resounding voice echoed through the south gate area.
But that instead pulled in Roan's attention.
"Kuuu?"
Roan casually glanced at the highly soaring castle wall.
The scarlet pupils repeated shrinking and widening.
"Uum!"
Delph, together with a groan, dryly swallowed.
'I met them.'
He had felt Roan and his gaze meeting.
Sseureng.
Delph pulled out his sword.
He was a veteran amongst veteran commanders.
He wasn't a coward who would run with an enemy in front of him.
"Alright! Come at……"
The shout he intended to bravely shout couldn't continue to its end.
Paat!
Because Roan who was below the castle wall kicked off the ground and soared up into the air.
It was the castle wall that not even a single one of even that Lancephil Fief Regiment famous as a mighty army couldn't step on for days.
The castle wall of the capital, Miller, was that high and giant.
But Roan, with merely a single jump, jumped up to the ramparts even higher than the castle wall.
"Huh……"
Delph expelled out an empty laugh.
He, looking at the giant Travias Spear flying towards him in front of his eyes, muttered with a despondent voice.
"Count Lancephil. Are you truly a ghost?"
The answer?
"Kuuuuu."
Was merely an unintelligible monstrous shout.
Simultaneously.
Kkwaaaaaaaaang!
With an incredible roar, the Travias Spear struck the ramparts and Delph.
The Rinse Kingdom's veteran commander Delph Blick, without being able to swing his sword even once, lost his life.
The south gate's ramparts too, which had firmly stood its place since the kingdom's birth, was absurdly destroyed.
Kukukukukung.
The wreckage of the rampart rained down inside and outside of the castle gate.
Roan directly turned his body and came down on top of the castle wall.
It was to destroy the ballistas that were shooting spear-sized arrows at him.
"Uah! Ru, run!"
"Move! I said move!"
"Do, don't push! We're falling!"
The soldiers who were guarding above the castle wall, at Roan's entrance, were frightened out of their wits and ran.
During that process, those jumping or falling down the castle wall also frequently occurred.
"Kuuuuuh!"
Of course, Roan minded it none.
Raising the giant Travias Spear high up into the sky, he then directly smacked the castle wall.
Kkwaaaaaaang!
With an incredible explosive sound, the ballistas were all destroyed.
Roan jumped over to the other side of the rampart and destroyed the remaining ballistas without missing any.
Craaaaack!
A crack formed on the solid castle wall.
Roan's attack was incredibly powerful to that degree.
"Kuuuuuu!"
Roan, who had finished all of the ballistas, jumped once again down below the castle wall and cornered the Blick Knight Order and the Patore Legion's soldiers.
The Travias Spear slowly lengthen and thickened, and now its length easily went over half the high of the castle wall and its width was about five times that of a grown man's body.
Kwakang! Boom! Kwakang!
Roan's spear was now not a weapon for facing humans.
The giant spear of fire split the earth and gouge out the castle wall.
And finally.
Kwukukukukukung!
The nearby castle wall including the south gate area broke down.
A sight that it absolutely couldn't be believed that one human had cause.
Gulp.
Ian, who was watching the south gate area, unconsciously swallowed dryly.
He, towards the middle-aged man next to him, asked in a quiet voice.
"What exactly have we done?"
The middle-aged man too was of shocked-still expression.
"I don't know, sir. I, if that's the Crimson Ghost's real form, then the information Evishun collected was too poor."
Ian slowly nodded his head at those words.
"Yes. That's not a crimson ghost."
Gulp.
Once again, a dry spit gulped over.
"That is a god. And a savage war god at that."
A bitter smile hanged on his mouth.
"So we have summoned a god into this world."
"Yes. And a crimson war god red like blood at that……"
Even while the two people were conversing with dry voices, Roan moved without a pause.
The south gate area became a ruin.
At the place where the fire disappeared thanks to Roan, a hell of fire unfolded again thanks to Roan.
And at that place, a group of people simultaneously appeared from both south and north.
"Tha, that's!"
Austin and the Lancephil Fief Regiment, who were charging in through the destroyed south gate, faltered and stopped their steps.
"My, my lord?"
"How in that form again!"
Austin, Harrison, and so on, who had already experienced rampage of Roan in the time of 2nd Rose Troop, did not carelessly approach and moved back.
"Don't rashly act and all army retreat back!"
A new order fell down.
Because the Lancephil Fief Army was an exceedingly well-trained powerful army, the order was executed immediately.
'It's a rampage. If this really is a rampage, it's a situation where he has no consciousness.'
Austin swallowed dry spit and looked at Harrison.
Harrison too slowly nodded his head.
He too was of a same thought as Austin.
To stop damage to the allies that might perhaps occur, retreating back for now was wise.
But the moment they were just about to retreat back outside of the south gate, a woman unhesitantly approached towards Roan from the north side.
"Ah!"
Austin's face instantly stiffened.
"It's dangerous! Please move back, your highness!"
The woman's identity was in fact Aily.
But Aily, unclear whether she heard or didn't heard Austin's shout, didn't stop her steps and kept approaching towards Roan.
Kwakang! Kwakakakakang!
Roan, who was swinging the giant Travias Spear and was turning the area into a ruin, looked at Aily approaching straight towards him and burst out a monstrous laugh.
"Kuuuuuu!"
He raised the Travias Spear high into the sky.
A movement to crush and kill Aily.
"Lady Piscis! It's dangerous!"
"Please come back!"
The elves desperately called out to Aily.
Aily, without stopping her steps or looking back, answered in a soft and clear voice.
"It's not dangerous. Because the man in front of me is Sir Roan Lancephil."
A situation where the Travias Spear could immediately fall above her head.
But she had absolutely no look of being afraid.
"Kuuuu?"
Roan rolled his scarlet eyes this way and that and looked at Aily.
The hand holding the giant Travias Spear sharply trembled.
A pause was made on the unstoppable rampage.
Aily continued to move her steps towards Roan.
"Sir Lancephil. It's fine now. The tightly closed south gate has opened."
A beautiful smile and a gentle voice.
Her large and clear eyes pushed away Roan's scarlet eyes.
"Put down that heavy spear now and please rest easy."
Roan and Aily now neared enough to touch if they extend their hand.
"Kuuuuuh."
Roan sharply trembled his entire body.
The scarlet eyes greatly shook left and right.
Aily slowly extended her hand.
The tip of her fingers touched Roan's cheek.
"I'll be at your side."
A touch gentler and more tender than the wind.
Roan's eyes shook even faster.
The sharply trembling body too became even more violent.
And finally.
"Kuuaaaaaah!"
An incredible monstrous roar exploded out.
"Lady Piscis!"
"Princess!"
With the south gate in between, voices worrying of Aily exploded out from the south and the north.
But Aily didn't have a single bit of trembling.
She, still faintly smiling, softly wrapped her hands around Roan's face.
"Kuuaaaah……"
Roan's monstrous roar slowly died down.
The Travias Spear, which had reached half of the castle wall's high and five times the width of a grown man's body, slowly turned small.
The fire that burned crimson too slowly disappeared.
Ssss.
The scarlet hair and eyebrows, eyes too found its original hue.
Sss.
At the same time, the frigid southern wind that brushed their skin and flowed also turned warm.
Silence.
Once again, a heavy silence and an unbelievably warm peace descended onto the south gate area.
The gazes of the Lancephil Fief Regiment, the elves, and the surviving Patore Legion's soldiers headed towards Roan and Aily.
Paat!
A crimson light flashed from Roan's body.
Simultaneously, his body greatly wobbled.
Aily quickly embraced Roan onto her chest and carefully sat down.
Although it was a dirty dirt ground, she paid not mind.
"Aily……"
Roan, seemingly tired, exhaled a long sigh with his eyes closed.
"Yes. I'm here. Don't worry."
Aily carefully brushed Roan's brown hair.
Roan softly smiled and whisperingly leaked out a word.
"Thanks."
Aily, rather than an answer, faintly smiled and lowered her head.
The long hair gently flowed along the wind.
A pleasant smell spread on the blood-smelling battlefield.
Roan, embracing Aily's scent, lost his consciousness.
Like that, the capital, Miller Castle, was conquered under Roan Lancephil's name.
< Amaranth (11) > End.
Translator : CSV
Proofreader: Fujimaru