The author doesn’t have good names to his chapters… they are mostly the same lol… 😄
Chapter 1, Episode 23:Ill Omen
The battle had begun.
From the north, 2,000 cavalrymen slowly make their advance southward.
Aura leads the group which is looked up to as the elite, even within the Third Imperial Army. They are the 「Imperial Black Knights」.
The horses wrapped in armor kick up dust. They are completely covered in sturdy iron, all the way to their heads.
And all the knights straddled atop them were burly soldiers clad in heavy black armor.
A flag with a crest of purple soil and a sword and shield flutters in the wind.
From the enemy encampment, a war cry swelling with tension can be heard.
It is to be expected. At this point, there was not a single person on the central continent who does not know of her.
Reason being, she is the chief of staff of the Third Imperial Army at just 17. Some also say she is a sweet young girl. She is Aura, also known as 「Mars」.
The enemy army placed their archers on the frontline. They now await Aura's approach.
It is obvious that they were sneering, and they could hardly be blamed for it.
Aura had cavalrymen. And they were heavy cavalrymen at that, with low mobility.
The enemy archers unleashed a swarm of arrows, and in an instant, it covered their entire field of view.
Who knows what sort of scene the enemy imagined in their heads? Maybe it was the sight of Aura's army dying. Maybe it was the sight of the arrows being stopped by armor and shields and tragically breaking apart. There is no way of telling.
But then, Aura smiled.
As she thrusts her left hand up, drums ring out and the entire army comes to a halt.
The arrows poured down right before the advance guard. Surprisingly, not a single arrow hit them.
「Now. Advance guard, move out.」
She lifts her right hand into the sky and swings it down.
The drums ring out 3 times and the men of advance guard raise their steel shields, kick the bellies of their horses, and race out onto the wasteland.
There were 5 units arranged in 5 lines, and they began to move side to side. The enemies releases their arrows, but without fixed targets, they mostly pierce the ground. Even if they do hit their targets, they are blocked by the shields.
So they decide to shoot the horses, but the horses are covered in armor as well.
In which case, their only option was to aim for the eyes or legs, but perhaps because their commanding officer was bewildered, the enemy's attack lacked any vigor.
Alfred approaches Aura's side with his horse as he listens closely to the roaring of the hooves.
「Lady Aura, I have conveyed the orders to each commanding officer.」
「Then we will advance without letting the enemy take notice.」
「Yes!」
Alfred lifts two fingers and swings his arm to the side.
After each commanding officer confirmed the sign, the rear guard began their advance.
Just because the horses and the soldiers are clad in armor, it does not necessarily mean the arrows will not hit them.
If enough arrows are shot, they will hit their marks.
A number of soldiers in the advance guard fell to the ground and became targets for the enemy's arrows.
Seeing this, Aura snorted displeased.
「We will move on to the next step. Prepare the drums.」
「Yes!」
As Alfred raised his right arm, the cavalrymen in the rear prepare to beat their drums.
「We will seize this opportunity before the enemy has a chance to regain their composure!」
Aura extended her right arm to the side.
The drums are beat twice, and two flags go up.
As they do, two units joined and ran towards the edge of the enemy's left flank in a circular formation.
The enemy soldiers are distracted by Aura's men on the right flank.
Then, in order to agitate the bewildered enemy…
「Next.」
Aura extended her left arm to her side.
The drums were beat twice and four flags were raised.
Two more units joined together and headed for the edge of the enemy's right flank.
「This is it.」
Aura brought her hands together, and her dangling cuffs swam in the wind.
The drums were beat 5 times, and 5 flags were raised.
「Take this.」
The last unit charges the enemy's center.
Attacks also begin simultaneously on the left and right.
The enemy army tried to pull their archers back, but they were late in doing so. The archers fell victim to the spears of the heavy cavalry units.
Aura saw a perfect opportunity in the enemy formation's confusion.
「All units, attack.」
She drew her sword and raised it high in the sky. Her spirit weapon reflects the light shining down on it from the sun.
It was an extremely beautiful sight.
Seeing the beautiful goddess, Alfred psyched himself up, drew his sword and yelled out.
「All units, attack! Victory to our 「Mars」!」
『『Ohh!』』
Clang—
The heavy cavalrymen respond by banging their spear handles against their shields.
Hearing that, Alfred races to the head of the group, and 500 riders following behind him while giving off an overwhelming sense of intimidation.
In order to execute a pincer attack in tandem with the advance guard, the rear guard and the troops on both flanks kept their distance from them and surrounded the enemy in a circular formation.
The advance guard converges inside the enemy formation and pushes towards their headquarters like a spear.
Fifteen hundred cavalrymen approach. The enemy soldiers on the frontline notice this, but in a large army of 12,000, the transmission of information ends up being delayed.
—They collide.
The main unit of 500 aim for the exposed backs of the enemy troops.
The enemy soldiers let out sprays of blood and meet their end as they are run over. The wall of humans is easily destroyed, like a mudslide washing away a forest of trees.
Only left with having to push through the path opened by the advance guard, the units on both flanks disperse the enemies around them to join with the main unit.
「Keep pushing forward to the enemy headquarters—!」
Alfred yelled, then look to his side with a surprised look on his face.
「Count Spitz, you'll end up dying with a face like that.」
He was surprised because Aura, who was supposed to be at headquarters, was riding calmly beside him.
Aura was moving farther ahead as she lightly swung her spirit weapon and massacred her enemies.
「What are you doing?! It's dangerous here!」
「I have a spirit weapon. I am currently stronger than even you, Count Spitz.」
「Well, that is true, but we do not know what might happen! Please return imme—」
Alfred turned back and realized that they were already surrounded by the enemy. Though not impossible, it was a number which Aura would not be able to break through easily.
The units from the flanks had already joined them, and all that was left for them now was to join with the advance guard and overrun the enemy's headquarters.
「Please do not separate from me at any cost!」
At this point, their only option was to cut through.
However, their morale was raised at least. 「Mars」 was with them. There was no way they could lose now. It was apparent that the soldiers were uplifted.
At that time, a drop of moisture fell on Aura's cheek. She looked up at the sky and furrowed her brows.
「… This is bad.」
The sky was dyed black. It was even beginning to encroach on the sun which was shining so brightly earlier.
The lukewarm air carried the smell of the enemy's death and the sign of rain.
The winds had grown strong atop the central tower of Fort Belk.
Liz looked to Hiro while holding her hair down with one hand.
「Amazing… Do you think they'll reach the enemy headquarters?」
Liz was pointing at the 「trident」 which was penetrating the enemy formation.
Hiro nods in agreement.
「Yeah. It's different from the original method, but I think they did well.」
「Really?」
「Actually, infantrymen are supposed to pry open a hole in the enemy formation first, but Aura did that with cavalrymen. That's pretty hard to think up, because if you made a mistake, it's total annihilation.」
Especially because their side is overwhelmingly outnumbered.
In this situation, rather than praising her, her well trained soldiers probably deserve the credit.
This explosive power is thanks to the calculated way which they joined together, and the lack of hesitation in their assault.
Thereafter, they attacked the exposed backs of the enemies who were distracted by the advance guard. You could say Aura's command of her troops was magnificent.
It was truly an admirable sight.
Her allies would obviously think so, but even her enemies found it difficult not to.
「Do you think they can win?」
「I think they can win if they keep moving forward like this.」
He doesn't voice his anxiety. At least it's going well right now.
They need to keep pushing through, raid the enemy headquarters, defeat their general, then withdraw.
After that, all they had to do was trample down the rank and file soldiers once they fall into a panic. But something was making Hiro uneasy.
(It all comes down to how strong the enemy general is…)
Long ago, when Hiro used this strategy himself, he had the 「Black Heaven's Five Generals」 with him.
It was because he had them fighting in the lead that this strategy succeeded.
Does Aura have such stalwart men in her camp?
(Also…)
Looking up at the sky, he feels even more unease.
The sky will likely start weeping and moisten the earth in less than an hour.
The heavy cavalrymen already have low mobility. If the rain should wet the surface, they'll end up losing half their destructive force.
Hiro looks down on the battlefield.
The enemy's formation was cut through along their center by the 「Imperial Black Knights」 led by Aura.
It impressed the image of a black dragon rising into the heavens and enchanted those who saw it.
「Liz, can you ask Mr. Kiolk to get ready, just in case?」
They must be ready to race off as reinforcement if something should happen.
You never know what might happen on a battlefield.
No matter the situation, humans are bound to create an opening.
If something unforeseen were to happen, it would likely occur in a striking way.
There's no way the enemy would let that slip by. No one wants to die.
「Alright.」
Liz consents immediately without saying a word. In her current position, that's all she can do.
「Thanks.」
After he mutters his appreciation, he watches her back as she goes to find Kiolk.
He looked overhead. A gloomy shadow was spreading, and there were violent clouds hanging low.