Arc 7, Chapter 102 "The Wall of Preparedness"
--Todd Fang does not consider himself particularly cautious or circumspect.
As a result of relentlessly pursuing the "obvious", all loopholes that come to mind should be closed, all possible measures should be exhausted as much as possible, and as much pessimistic thinking as possible should be done to reduce blunders.
Even if you do all that, if your opponent has prepared a strategy, action, or backdoor move that you have not thought of, you will be stunned out of your depth.
He is aware that this is the extent to which he has to come to terms with his natural abilities and reality.
Fortunately, he has never encountered such beings, or if he has, he has been able to avoid decisive hostility, and he has survived to this day.
However--,
"--Lately, I've been having bad luck anyway."
Todd laments to himself, as he is looking back over the past month or two, a very short period of time.
The stinginess began when he was incorporated into a group of troops deployed from the imperial capital to the east. If you think that's what separated him from his fiancée, Katya, it's that worst kind of pickup.
Two men and a woman were being swept down a river near the encampment - the man, let alone the woman, was the catalyst for all the bad luck that has befallen Todd to date.
As mentioned above, Todd doesn't think of himself as 'special' as if he were, but that man was off the tag there. --He was in spite of his mediocrity.
Few words were exchanged, and the time spent with them was short, but they were completely unaware of this.
Before and since then, Todd has seen many so-called outstanding individuals.
Everyone was aware of the fact that he or she had no choice but to walk his or her own path, outside the boundaries of normality, but that man was the exception.
That's bad. So, after that, he only thought about killing him at any opportunity.
However, once he realized that his goal was unobtainable, Todd immediately abandoned his policy of extermination and chose to stay away from the pestilence. It was best not to get involved.
It was part of this that he sacrificed Jamal, who had been his umbrella against the rain, and forcibly saved the captive Arakiya. He thought that if he could win the favor of the more powerful Arakiya, he would be able to escape from the unwilling position he was in. --However, this plan went far awry.
In order to avenge Jamal's unwillingness, he ended up leaving the presence of Katya in the imperial capital, and while making moderate use of Arakiya, who is empty-headed and has nothing of her own, she was thrown into the middle of a major incident involving rebellion against the emperor that was raging all over the empire.
Nothing, really nothing is going right.
It seems to him that the beginning of all this discontent was brought on by that plague. So he was hoping that at least this much speculation would work--.
"--I was going to do it all at once."
The first attack is made by sneaking deep into enemy territory and attacking by surprise.
Todd grumbles, looking at the remaining enemy after disposing of his first-time armed soldiers.
Three opponents - two girls and one superior man - were able to finish off the first soldier, a straight-forward soldier, but Todd doesn't think that was the best outcome.
Rather, he accepted that the war was minimal.
Originally, Todd left his post and rode into the enemy camp for the purpose of dealing with an entity that would play a troublesome role in this battle for the Imperial Capital - an opponent who has demonstrated extraordinary ability in information warfare.
In a mass battle of this magnitude, the handling of accurate information is a lifeline.
Frankly speaking, Todd believed that this was the main reason why the Imperial Army, with its solid defenses and "Nine Divine Generals", was being undercut by rebels whose only merit was their numbers.
If we were to replace the human body, the commander of the group is either the head or the heart. Both are fatal if crushed, and everyone knows this, so they try to protect them as a matter of course. However, no matter how hard the head and heart work, if the vessels that circulate the flowing blood do not function, the body will not be able to stand.
In that sense, it is the enemy that should be eliminated with the highest priority, who is committed to the position of 'vein' on the battlefield, that has the role of deciding the course of this battle.
"It would be easy to answer that there are women and children in the war zone, but that would be too much of a story for the residents of the Imperial City. Besides, it's a little too convenient."
While exchanging words that should not be exchanged, Todd prices the other party.
The faces of the three opponents are as listed above, but there is no proof as to which of the three is the "blood vessel" that Todd is wary of.
Not unlike the battlefield to look at are the two girls, who are still very young.
Looking in their early teens, the "Flying Dragon General" Madelyn Eschart is not so different in appearance, but unlike her, who can tell at a glance that she has a different dimension as a living creature, both girls are probably human.
However, the fact that there is a presence that should not be there is also a factor that makes one suspect that the girls are the ones who should be here as they are.
"If you were a non-combatant who was just left behind on the battlefield, your current theory might hold water, but I don't recognize a man working on the battlefield as a non-combatant."
On the other hand, the man who exchanges words with Todd head-on - he too does not have the look of a warrior, but at present, he is the closest to Todd's impression of the "veins" he assumes.
In terms of ineffectiveness, they are not much different from the girls, but there is something wrong with their eyes. A shrewd look, the kind that makes one's life into a tool with impunity, hides behind a thin face.
The graceful man is a sight to behold, and the two girls cannot afford to let their guard down.
One of the girls has an oddly liveried look in her eyes, and the other unmistakably has the color of a warrior in her stance and the way she stands. The latter girl must have already had some experience in taking a human life, although this is not unusual in Vollachia.
If you have experience in killing, whether it's a girl or not, you've overcome the barrier of preparedness.
In other words, you can never be too careful.
"I don't know. But my gut is telling me. You guys are the root of all the bad things going on in this war. And my gut also tells me this."
The three parties have a lineup of opponents who all three cause Todd to be wary.
He can't help but notice that there is a section that is planning to look for or create an opening for Todd while conversing with him. --Though he lacks a decisive shot at who is the top priority target.
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
They were all targets to be killed, which was Todd's unmovable conclusion.
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--Otto Suwen often curses his detours.
The disappearance of Natsuki Subaru and Rem, and the fact that they had to come to the Vollachia Empire, was the most serious problem, but there were many other things to reflect on.
The situation also made me reflect on the part of Petra who had rebuked me just before.
Using the "Divine Protection of Soul Language", he will dominate the battlegrounds of this imperial siege.
This policy, which was implemented with great foresight and with the help of Petra, changed the entire battlefield without favoritism or smugness.
The combination of the power of the "Divine Protection of Soul Language" and the expansion of Otto's hearing with Petra's yang magic - he keeps abreast of the ever-changing battlefield formations and positions and continues to provide information on an ongoing basis.
Of course, if the information gathered is not used properly, it will be a waste of treasure, but personality aside, Abel met Otto's expectations in terms of ability, and he used it with great skill.
Too few people know how much Otto's work has contributed to this battlefield, but Otto is not concerned with evaluation.
In any case, nothing in the Vollachia Empire can be leaked to the outside world.
If this were within the Kingdom of Lugnica, there would be value in making a big deal about it, but an evaluation of work in the Empire is a useless risk. So, evaluation is secondary.
"All we need is a result to bring back Mr. Natsuki and Rem. ......And also without sacrifice."
It would be a disaster if their people were sacrificed in order to bring Subaru and Rem home.
That is the minimum premise for this trip, and at the same time, it is the only premise any more. --No, it is not precisely more than this, it is more than this.
Therefore, he went into battle prepared to disclose all the cards in his hand that he had, and Petra admonished him for his recklessness.
He reflected a great deal on that - but it still wasn't enough.
The result of not being able to compensate for their carelessness in this way is an imperial soldier with an axe in his hand in front of him.
"--I was going to do it all at once."
An Imperial soldier with a bandana wrapped around his head grips a long-handled axe and looks at us.
Otto was very much cursed for his detachment as he sheltered Petra on his back from the hands that peeked into his thoroughly ruthless and pragmatic judgment.
The use of the information gathered was left to Abel, who would be able to use it best.
But the crux of information warfare is how to get the information to handle in the first place. Most of the time, people don't look at that part and are tempted to go after the main body of information to handle.
But the man in front of him was different.
"It would be easy to answer that women and children in a war zone, but that would be too much of a story for the residents of the Imperial City. Besides, it's a little too convenient."
Thus, the man who appears before Otto and the others has a clear intention - to target Otto and the others who are in a position to gather information, rather than the main camp where Abel handles the information gathered.
The opponent is less alert and has fewer guards, but if you take its head, the result is the same. The less information he handles, the less precise Abel's command will be. There was no reason not to do it.
Otto himself would have done it if he were in the same position as his opponent.
So--,
"If you were a non-combatant who was just left behind on the battlefield, your current theory might hold water, but I don't recognize a man working on the battlefield as a non-combatant."
While thinking that the other person's statement was plausible, he observed the man closely.
There are two main questions: how did they show up here without being caught in Otto's channel, and how did they locate Otto and his friends?
He assumes that perhaps those two questions are answered for the same reason.
He said that some peculiarity of the man made him bypass the channel and locate the source of the transmission.
"I don't know. But my gut is telling me. You guys are the root of all the bad things going on in this war. And my gut also tells me this."
He was hoping to find clues to this from the conversation, but as per his initial analysis, the man was thorough.
He understands that not saying much is the way to protect himself. He is not the kind of person who uses overwhelming military force to overpower his opponents, as is often the case in the empire, but rather he is cunning.
These enemies are formidable. --An opponent who thought he was weak was a threat.
That's why--,
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
A man jumps straight in, swinging a long-handled axe.
In response, Otto bites his teeth and pours all his energy into avoiding the first blow. He pours it in, then braces himself. --He wonders how far he can go with a man with a minimum of preparation.
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--Petra Leyte regrets her lack of grinding every time she is placed in adversity.
Because of her young age, Petra is often spoiled by her friends in the camp, but she has decided for herself that it is different to accept her immaturity by taking advantage of her position.
If this were because of a mistake she made in her daily life at the mansion, in the course of her duties as a maid, she might not take it so seriously.
However, such a laxity, depending on the situation, will eventually lead to a major failure.
Not saying that she has to be nervous all the time.
However, one must always be able to achieve the expected results. This was Petra's way of thinking about things, or at least her immature ideal of how she wanted to be.
So--,
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
She looks up, her limbs trembling, at the imperial soldier who dives at her, axe in hand.
At the edge of her vision, which was moistening with tears, she saw a charred corpse of a messenger who had been burned by the raging flames.
If Otto had not backed out of the car on the spur of the moment, he would have lost his life as well. That fact cracked Petra's soul, and at the same time--,
"Petra-chan!"
This is what moves Petra to have great trust in Otto, who called her name.
Otto's voice, which shook the real Petra, shrugging off her attitude toward the "young lady" who had been temporarily cast, released Petra's stiffness, which had been hardened by fear and regret.
And then--,
"--Number Seven!"
At Otto's signal, Petra reflexively lifted her arms.
A moment later, Petra's mind was filled with anxiety. She had been entrusted with this role after declaring that she could do it, but she couldn't deny that she had to take a spur-of-the-moment direction.
She has been practicing for a long time. She is also aware that she has the strength to compete in the real world.
And then--,
"--Subaru."
Just call out the name of the person you are thinking of and grit your teeth to kick off the excessive anxiety.
"--Jiwald!"
A ray of white light shot out from Petra's fingertips as she chanted this.
It is one of the few offensive magic in yang magic, a spear of light that pierces anything in its path --but only when exercised by a first-class user, and the inexperienced Petra is not up to that standard.
Petra's Jiwald does a little more than burn, let alone kill, the creatures.
But that's fine.
"----"
The white light emitted from the fingertip, it goes not to the man who jumps in - but to the ground diagonally behind him. It is a "number seven" trick, disguised to the extent that it is not unnatural.
The goal was not to burn the man. --The goal was to ignite him.
"N-"
Otto's specialty, a ground trick using a fire magic stone.
The ten traps he had prepared in case Otto, who opened a "channel" or something like that to search for the enemy, and Petra, who assisted him, were targeted.
It was not a perfect preparation because of the amount of magic stones he could carry and the fact that he had to move while searching for the enemy. Still, Otto's insidiously careful stance, saying "You never know what might be useful," and bared its fangs, and the ground exploded behind the man.
"--"
Instantly, the man's vigilance shifted slightly behind him.
The indicated Petra blew up at a remote point, not under the man's feet or up close, so the shock and heat of the explosion did not reach him. It just drew his attention back slightly.
That was enough for the girl who was looking for an opening to pounce.
"Oryaaaaa--!!"
Medium dives into the opponent's bosom, swinging a barbarian sword in his hand.
The blonde girl, not so tall as Petra, however, cut boldly in with a bravery different from Petra's, and began to slash away at the other's arm with an axe.
"Tsk."
The man, distracted and tongue-tied, twists his wrist and quickly bounces off Medium's blow with his axe. They shrug off each other's first blows, and go back to the drawing board--,
"Not yet! Not yet! Not yeeeeeet!!"
Thinking they would be brought in, but Medium was not that wimpy at all.
When the opponent's attack bounces off his sword, he uses the momentum of the bounce to spin around and release a sword strike with the same momentum. If the attacker is knocked away, the momentum of the rebound is used to spin around again and fire a sword strike.
It's like the water in a swollen river, a sword dance that never stops.
"Number four!"
"Yes."
Otto taps Petra on the shoulder, who is nearly transfixed, and the next instruction comes from Otto.
When given the signal, he would fire his magic at the designated spot without thinking. --When he and Otto had agreed to tour the battlefield together, he had been told that this was the most important condition.
Therefore, Petra was ready to follow the instructions, forgetting her fear and everything else about them.
"Jiwald!"
The magic is released again, this time exploding the ground at a closer point than before.
Or the man may have thought that he would not involve her to the extent that he and Medium are cut off from each other. But that is naive thinking.
"If necessary, Miss Medium will be involved."
"I'll do some healing magic later."
"Uohhhh! I don't know about you, but I can't stop!"
The explosion, which exploded a few meters to the side, struck them in a way that betrayed such naivety.
Ruthless as it may be, Petra agrees with Otto's conception. The reality of the three surviving, even with wounds, is more important than the ideal of the three getting through unscathed.
While the heat of the explosion scorched his skin, Medium's momentum was unstoppable.
Feeling both grateful and guilty, Petra and Otto put all their energy into defeating the assassin--,
"Oh, come on. Give me a break."
Just as they were looking into his eyes, a man said so over the sound of the explosion.
It was not a clear sound of anger or impatience at having been frustrated. It was more like a strange, out-of-place emotion.
What was in the man's voice, was dismay.
"Are we thinking the same way?"
The moment she hears it, Petra's entire body goes all hairy.
Even if she didn't understand the meaning of the words, she could understand the intent.
"Number two!"
Petra abandoned all thought and immediately obeyed Otto's cry, realizing in a little more detail the shiver Petra felt and what it was.
The released Jiwald transmitted heat to the magic stone hidden in the ground, just as before. --The point of Petra's finger, however, was now under their own feet.
"----"
A white light runs under their feet, which turns into a red light and causes a shockwave.
After doing it, Petra came to realize that it was an emergency evacuation setup, something Otto had prefaced with, "I don't want to use it because it hurts."
And in fact, Petra's small body launches into the sky, bounced off the soles of her feet by the overflowing light. However, she did not soar unprotected.
Petra's body is held in Otto's slender arms as he reaches out with a "Kh" and grabs her.
Of course, Otto's body was also sent flying by the same impact, but Otto chose to prevent the blunder that would have prevented the two of them from flying toward the scattering and being unable to assist, or at least minimize the damage Petra would have suffered with her own body.
What Petra was able to do with Otto's decision was not to complain or stiffen, but to exercise yang magic as quickly and strongly as possible, making Otto's body as resistant to impact as possible.
It did. Their bodies were bounced off. Immediately after that--,
"----"
With a bang, a violent explosion explodes at the same spot where Petra and Otto had been just before - the same spot where Petra and Otto had been just before.
The identity of the explosion, which slightly snuck into view, seemed to Petra's eyes to be the same thing as the flames that had burned the two messengers.
That thing was aiming to burn Petra and her friends from behind.
"With the axe......"
He made them think he was going to slay Petra and the others, but his real goal was that flame he had planted in the back.
The man's method of not trying to fight head-on was his specialty, and the fact that it coincided in some way with Otto's preparation was probably the true meaning of the man's blurting out.
"Zgh!"
Petra's thoughts arrived there almost simultaneously with Otto tumbling to the ground in Petra's arms.
Otto grunts in pain as he rolls on the hard ground and bites his teeth as he is also hit by the blast. But Otto immediately kneels down on the spot and turns to face the man as he raises Petra's body.
Petra also supported Otto's body and stared at the man who was some distance away.
But contrary to the warnings of Petra and her colleagues, the man did not immediately give chase.
He knew immediately what it was all about and why it was there.
"I don't really want to do it."
And so the man with the axe pointed at them and in check, spilling so much, turns his head.
The man sniffed at the scent of burning grass, black smoke rising from it, as he felt under his feet where the explosion had occurred.
"There and there. Then there."
Petra peels her eyes away from the events that follow, as if the man had muttered something small.
A man turns his head, and the ground explodes in his line of sight. It is number six. Then came the ninth and the first, followed by the fifth and the eighth, and so on, until the ground exploded.
"H-how come......"
"......No way, a spirit?"
He's surprised that they figured out where the plant was, but he doesn't know how they blew it up.
Otto's words made Petra gasp in response to the mysterious method of the man, a man who did not even pretend to exercise magic as Petra had induced him to do.
If he is a spiritist, it is the same as Subaru and Emilia.
He's very reluctant to admit to the man in front of him that he is the same kind of person as the two loving people in many ways for Petra, but--,
"But there is no such thing as a spirit anywhere......"
"There's more than one way to get them to comply. There's also the whole 'if you don't want to be eaten' thing."
"Huh?"
"I don't mean to be mean, but I'd prefer not to listen."
Petra, who rolled her eyes at the incomprehensible reply, froze. And then, with a tap on Petra's shoulder, Otto quickly brought her back to her senses.
She can't imagine either way whether the man's current statement was intended to create an opening for them, or whether he was telling a part of the truth.
However, she can say with certainty.
"I hate you."
"I'm with you!"
A small shadow flew in response to Petra, who clenched her small fists and shouted.
She was looking for a good opportunity to attack the unknown man's trickery, while keeping an eye out for it. She blended in with the smoke that the man caused by blowing up his devices one after another, and aimed at his back with a barbarian sword that she drew from the other side of the smoke.
After putting up with it for a long time, she took the plunge, and her blow went straight into the man's mouth.
"Of the three of you, you are the easiest to read."
"--ah"
Leaning to the side, the man escapes the path of the swinging barbarian sword.
As it was, the man turned himself around, slamming his axe down on Medium behind him.
"You're the only one with the imperial style. It's repulsive."
"Medium-chan!"
The man's unrelenting axe was sucked, straight into Petra's vision of the tail wagging scream and the wide-eyed Medium's face.
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--Midium O'Connell doesn't think things through too deeply.
Strictly speaking, Medium has a lot to think about as well.
She has been always worried about his brother, Flop O'Connell, and at the same time she trusts him. When she heard that he was taken away from the castle city, her surprise and worry were almost heartbreaking, but her brother would be upset if he found out that she had shrunk herself and so on.
So, she thought so, that both worry and trust are your partner.
"Sister! We seem to be able to draw much better right answers from our hearts than from our heads. You especially have that vibe about you, so keep it in mind!"
Her brother told her a long time ago that it was an important signpost in Medium, and she has it tucked away in both her chest before and after she shrunk.
Thinking with the mind tends to lead to out of line or outlandish statements, which can be detested. Abel, in particular, seems to be very uncomfortable with this.
But what her brother says is great. In fact, Medium has worked out that way.
"I knew you were great!"
Of course, if everything would have turned out all right, then she would not have been reduced to a small body, my brother would not have been taken to the capital, Rem would not have disappeared, Natsumi would not have been sent away, Chaos Flame would not have been broken and lost, and Emily and the others would not have been in a panic.
Not everything is going to work out.
But it's the best way for something good to happen, as far as the actions Medium can take.
So, at the moment when a surprise hit from behind failed and an axe slammed into her gaping face, Medium did not panic, thinking, "Oh, I'm dead."
It is similar to the feeling that because she acted the best she could, she did what she had to do, and if this is how she loses, she has no regrets because she had no choice.
Of course, she hates dying, it's hard not to be reunited with her brother, and she's very disappointed that she can't help her new friends like Rem and Natsumi.
But thinking things over with her heart, Medium made the best move she could take.
The outcome of such destinations depends on the luck of the draw - if it does not turn out that way, it is the world's way of life, and the Vollachia way of life.
However--,
"----"
Just before the axe pierces her own face, the thick axe blade sparks and pops.
With a slight smell of steel in her nose, Medium let out a small breath and said,
"After all, An-chan is amazing. I've never died this way."
"--Oh, I'm so jealous. I've lost count."
The person who bounced the axe that was supposed to take her life replies to Medium who spills that the way her brother taught her, it saved her yet again.
What was wielded was a blue dragon sword with a blade as thick as the axe that was played - what an unusual and high-profile Medium to hold it.
"You are......"
Looking at the person who interrupted him, the man whose Medium was protected, who could surely have killed him, moved his lips in disapproval.
The man who interrupted him - a one-armed man with a jet-black helmet that hid his face - said, "Sorry to interrupt your good mood,"
"I thought it was the worst place to be, but it's always darkest under the candlestick. It's so dark, it's a real problem."
"----"
Quietly, caution dwells in the posture of the man who has come to finish off the non-combatant.
However, this was not the stance of a lioness who would not let up even against a rabbit, but that of a hunter who is wary of a rabbit disguised as something else.
And then--,
"The darkness is too much to handle. After all, you can't even see the stars."
So he announced his participation.
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--Todd Fang does not consider himself particularly cautious or circumspect.
As a result of relentlessly pursuing the "obvious", all loopholes that come to mind should be closed, all possible measures should be exhausted as much as possible, and as much pessimistic thinking as possible should be done to reduce blunders.
Even if you do all that, if your opponent has prepared a strategy, action, or backdoor move that you have not thought of, you will be stunned out of your depth.
He is aware that this is the extent to which he has to come to terms with his natural abilities and reality.
Fortunately, he has never encountered such beings, or if he has, he has been able to avoid decisive hostility, and he has survived to this day.
However--,
"--Lately, I've been having bad luck anyway."
Todd laments to himself, as he is looking back over the past month or two, a very short period of time.
The stinginess began when he was incorporated into a group of troops deployed from the imperial capital to the east. If you think that's what separated him from his fiancée, Katya, it's that worst kind of pickup.
Two men and a woman were being swept down a river near the encampment - the man, let alone the woman, was the catalyst for all the bad luck that has befallen Todd to date.
As mentioned above, Todd doesn't think of himself as 'special' as if he were, but that man was off the tag there. --He was in spite of his mediocrity.
Few words were exchanged, and the time spent with them was short, but they were completely unaware of this.
Before and since then, Todd has seen many so-called outstanding individuals.
Everyone was aware of the fact that he or she had no choice but to walk his or her own path, outside the boundaries of normality, but that man was the exception.
That's bad. So, after that, he only thought about killing him at any opportunity.
However, once he realized that his goal was unobtainable, Todd immediately abandoned his policy of extermination and chose to stay away from the pestilence. It was best not to get involved.
It was part of this that he sacrificed Jamal, who had been his umbrella against the rain, and forcibly saved the captive Arakiya. He thought that if he could win the favor of the more powerful Arakiya, he would be able to escape from the unwilling position he was in. --However, this plan went far awry.
In order to avenge Jamal's unwillingness, he ended up leaving the presence of Katya in the imperial capital, and while making moderate use of Arakiya, who is empty-headed and has nothing of her own, she was thrown into the middle of a major incident involving rebellion against the emperor that was raging all over the empire.
Nothing, really nothing is going right.
It seems to him that the beginning of all this discontent was brought on by that plague. So he was hoping that at least this much speculation would work--.
"--I was going to do it all at once."
The first attack is made by sneaking deep into enemy territory and attacking by surprise.
Todd grumbles, looking at the remaining enemy after disposing of his first-time armed soldiers.
Three opponents - two girls and one superior man - were able to finish off the first soldier, a straight-forward soldier, but Todd doesn't think that was the best outcome.
Rather, he accepted that the war was minimal.
Originally, Todd left his post and rode into the enemy camp for the purpose of dealing with an entity that would play a troublesome role in this battle for the Imperial Capital - an opponent who has demonstrated extraordinary ability in information warfare.
In a mass battle of this magnitude, the handling of accurate information is a lifeline.
Frankly speaking, Todd believed that this was the main reason why the Imperial Army, with its solid defenses and "Nine Divine Generals", was being undercut by rebels whose only merit was their numbers.
If we were to replace the human body, the commander of the group is either the head or the heart. Both are fatal if crushed, and everyone knows this, so they try to protect them as a matter of course. However, no matter how hard the head and heart work, if the vessels that circulate the flowing blood do not function, the body will not be able to stand.
In that sense, it is the enemy that should be eliminated with the highest priority, who is committed to the position of 'vein' on the battlefield, that has the role of deciding the course of this battle.
"It would be easy to answer that there are women and children in the war zone, but that would be too much of a story for the residents of the Imperial City. Besides, it's a little too convenient."
While exchanging words that should not be exchanged, Todd prices the other party.
The faces of the three opponents are as listed above, but there is no proof as to which of the three is the "blood vessel" that Todd is wary of.
Not unlike the battlefield to look at are the two girls, who are still very young.
Looking in their early teens, the "Flying Dragon General" Madelyn Eschart is not so different in appearance, but unlike her, who can tell at a glance that she has a different dimension as a living creature, both girls are probably human.
However, the fact that there is a presence that should not be there is also a factor that makes one suspect that the girls are the ones who should be here as they are.
"If you were a non-combatant who was just left behind on the battlefield, your current theory might hold water, but I don't recognize a man working on the battlefield as a non-combatant."
On the other hand, the man who exchanges words with Todd head-on - he too does not have the look of a warrior, but at present, he is the closest to Todd's impression of the "veins" he assumes.
In terms of ineffectiveness, they are not much different from the girls, but there is something wrong with their eyes. A shrewd look, the kind that makes one's life into a tool with impunity, hides behind a thin face.
The graceful man is a sight to behold, and the two girls cannot afford to let their guard down.
One of the girls has an oddly liveried look in her eyes, and the other unmistakably has the color of a warrior in her stance and the way she stands. The latter girl must have already had some experience in taking a human life, although this is not unusual in Vollachia.
If you have experience in killing, whether it's a girl or not, you've overcome the barrier of preparedness.
In other words, you can never be too careful.
"I don't know. But my gut is telling me. You guys are the root of all the bad things going on in this war. And my gut also tells me this."
The three parties have a lineup of opponents who all three cause Todd to be wary.
He can't help but notice that there is a section that is planning to look for or create an opening for Todd while conversing with him. --Though he lacks a decisive shot at who is the top priority target.
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
They were all targets to be killed, which was Todd's unmovable conclusion.
△▼△▼△▼△
--Otto Suwen often curses his detours.
The disappearance of Natsuki Subaru and Rem, and the fact that they had to come to the Vollachia Empire, was the most serious problem, but there were many other things to reflect on.
The situation also made me reflect on the part of Petra who had rebuked me just before.
Using the "Divine Protection of Soul Language", he will dominate the battlegrounds of this imperial siege.
This policy, which was implemented with great foresight and with the help of Petra, changed the entire battlefield without favoritism or smugness.
The combination of the power of the "Divine Protection of Soul Language" and the expansion of Otto's hearing with Petra's yang magic - he keeps abreast of the ever-changing battlefield formations and positions and continues to provide information on an ongoing basis.
Of course, if the information gathered is not used properly, it will be a waste of treasure, but personality aside, Abel met Otto's expectations in terms of ability, and he used it with great skill.
Too few people know how much Otto's work has contributed to this battlefield, but Otto is not concerned with evaluation.
In any case, nothing in the Vollachia Empire can be leaked to the outside world.
If this were within the Kingdom of Lugnica, there would be value in making a big deal about it, but an evaluation of work in the Empire is a useless risk. So, evaluation is secondary.
"All we need is a result to bring back Mr. Natsuki and Rem. ......And also without sacrifice."
It would be a disaster if their people were sacrificed in order to bring Subaru and Rem home.
That is the minimum premise for this trip, and at the same time, it is the only premise any more. --No, it is not precisely more than this, it is more than this.
Therefore, he went into battle prepared to disclose all the cards in his hand that he had, and Petra admonished him for his recklessness.
He reflected a great deal on that - but it still wasn't enough.
The result of not being able to compensate for their carelessness in this way is an imperial soldier with an axe in his hand in front of him.
"--I was going to do it all at once."
An Imperial soldier with a bandana wrapped around his head grips a long-handled axe and looks at us.
Otto was very much cursed for his detachment as he sheltered Petra on his back from the hands that peeked into his thoroughly ruthless and pragmatic judgment.
The use of the information gathered was left to Abel, who would be able to use it best.
But the crux of information warfare is how to get the information to handle in the first place. Most of the time, people don't look at that part and are tempted to go after the main body of information to handle.
But the man in front of him was different.
"It would be easy to answer that women and children in a war zone, but that would be too much of a story for the residents of the Imperial City. Besides, it's a little too convenient."
Thus, the man who appears before Otto and the others has a clear intention - to target Otto and the others who are in a position to gather information, rather than the main camp where Abel handles the information gathered.
The opponent is less alert and has fewer guards, but if you take its head, the result is the same. The less information he handles, the less precise Abel's command will be. There was no reason not to do it.
Otto himself would have done it if he were in the same position as his opponent.
So--,
"If you were a non-combatant who was just left behind on the battlefield, your current theory might hold water, but I don't recognize a man working on the battlefield as a non-combatant."
While thinking that the other person's statement was plausible, he observed the man closely.
There are two main questions: how did they show up here without being caught in Otto's channel, and how did they locate Otto and his friends?
He assumes that perhaps those two questions are answered for the same reason.
He said that some peculiarity of the man made him bypass the channel and locate the source of the transmission.
"I don't know. But my gut is telling me. You guys are the root of all the bad things going on in this war. And my gut also tells me this."
He was hoping to find clues to this from the conversation, but as per his initial analysis, the man was thorough.
He understands that not saying much is the way to protect himself. He is not the kind of person who uses overwhelming military force to overpower his opponents, as is often the case in the empire, but rather he is cunning.
These enemies are formidable. --An opponent who thought he was weak was a threat.
That's why--,
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
A man jumps straight in, swinging a long-handled axe.
In response, Otto bites his teeth and pours all his energy into avoiding the first blow. He pours it in, then braces himself. --He wonders how far he can go with a man with a minimum of preparation.
△▼△▼△▼△
--Petra Leyte regrets her lack of grinding every time she is placed in adversity.
Because of her young age, Petra is often spoiled by her friends in the camp, but she has decided for herself that it is different to accept her immaturity by taking advantage of her position.
If this were because of a mistake she made in her daily life at the mansion, in the course of her duties as a maid, she might not take it so seriously.
However, such a laxity, depending on the situation, will eventually lead to a major failure.
Not saying that she has to be nervous all the time.
However, one must always be able to achieve the expected results. This was Petra's way of thinking about things, or at least her immature ideal of how she wanted to be.
So--,
"--And you guys are the ones who shouldn't be doing the time."
She looks up, her limbs trembling, at the imperial soldier who dives at her, axe in hand.
At the edge of her vision, which was moistening with tears, she saw a charred corpse of a messenger who had been burned by the raging flames.
If Otto had not backed out of the car on the spur of the moment, he would have lost his life as well. That fact cracked Petra's soul, and at the same time--,
"Petra-chan!"
This is what moves Petra to have great trust in Otto, who called her name.
Otto's voice, which shook the real Petra, shrugging off her attitude toward the "young lady" who had been temporarily cast, released Petra's stiffness, which had been hardened by fear and regret.
And then--,
"--Number Seven!"
At Otto's signal, Petra reflexively lifted her arms.
A moment later, Petra's mind was filled with anxiety. She had been entrusted with this role after declaring that she could do it, but she couldn't deny that she had to take a spur-of-the-moment direction.
She has been practicing for a long time. She is also aware that she has the strength to compete in the real world.
And then--,
"--Subaru."
Just call out the name of the person you are thinking of and grit your teeth to kick off the excessive anxiety.
"--Jiwald!"
A ray of white light shot out from Petra's fingertips as she chanted this.
It is one of the few offensive magic in yang magic, a spear of light that pierces anything in its path --but only when exercised by a first-class user, and the inexperienced Petra is not up to that standard.
Petra's Jiwald does a little more than burn, let alone kill, the creatures.
But that's fine.
"----"
The white light emitted from the fingertip, it goes not to the man who jumps in - but to the ground diagonally behind him. It is a "number seven" trick, disguised to the extent that it is not unnatural.
The goal was not to burn the man. --The goal was to ignite him.
"N-"
Otto's specialty, a ground trick using a fire magic stone.
The ten traps he had prepared in case Otto, who opened a "channel" or something like that to search for the enemy, and Petra, who assisted him, were targeted.
It was not a perfect preparation because of the amount of magic stones he could carry and the fact that he had to move while searching for the enemy. Still, Otto's insidiously careful stance, saying "You never know what might be useful," and bared its fangs, and the ground exploded behind the man.
"--"
Instantly, the man's vigilance shifted slightly behind him.
The indicated Petra blew up at a remote point, not under the man's feet or up close, so the shock and heat of the explosion did not reach him. It just drew his attention back slightly.
That was enough for the girl who was looking for an opening to pounce.
"Oryaaaaa--!!"
Medium dives into the opponent's bosom, swinging a barbarian sword in his hand.
The blonde girl, not so tall as Petra, however, cut boldly in with a bravery different from Petra's, and began to slash away at the other's arm with an axe.
"Tsk."
The man, distracted and tongue-tied, twists his wrist and quickly bounces off Medium's blow with his axe. They shrug off each other's first blows, and go back to the drawing board--,
"Not yet! Not yet! Not yeeeeeet!!"
Thinking they would be brought in, but Medium was not that wimpy at all.
When the opponent's attack bounces off his sword, he uses the momentum of the bounce to spin around and release a sword strike with the same momentum. If the attacker is knocked away, the momentum of the rebound is used to spin around again and fire a sword strike.
It's like the water in a swollen river, a sword dance that never stops.
"Number four!"
"Yes."
Otto taps Petra on the shoulder, who is nearly transfixed, and the next instruction comes from Otto.
When given the signal, he would fire his magic at the designated spot without thinking. --When he and Otto had agreed to tour the battlefield together, he had been told that this was the most important condition.
Therefore, Petra was ready to follow the instructions, forgetting her fear and everything else about them.
"Jiwald!"
The magic is released again, this time exploding the ground at a closer point than before.
Or the man may have thought that he would not involve her to the extent that he and Medium are cut off from each other. But that is naive thinking.
"If necessary, Miss Medium will be involved."
"I'll do some healing magic later."
"Uohhhh! I don't know about you, but I can't stop!"
The explosion, which exploded a few meters to the side, struck them in a way that betrayed such naivety.
Ruthless as it may be, Petra agrees with Otto's conception. The reality of the three surviving, even with wounds, is more important than the ideal of the three getting through unscathed.
While the heat of the explosion scorched his skin, Medium's momentum was unstoppable.
Feeling both grateful and guilty, Petra and Otto put all their energy into defeating the assassin--,
"Oh, come on. Give me a break."
Just as they were looking into his eyes, a man said so over the sound of the explosion.
It was not a clear sound of anger or impatience at having been frustrated. It was more like a strange, out-of-place emotion.
What was in the man's voice, was dismay.
"Are we thinking the same way?"
The moment she hears it, Petra's entire body goes all hairy.
Even if she didn't understand the meaning of the words, she could understand the intent.
"Number two!"
Petra abandoned all thought and immediately obeyed Otto's cry, realizing in a little more detail the shiver Petra felt and what it was.
The released Jiwald transmitted heat to the magic stone hidden in the ground, just as before. --The point of Petra's finger, however, was now under their own feet.
"----"
A white light runs under their feet, which turns into a red light and causes a shockwave.
After doing it, Petra came to realize that it was an emergency evacuation setup, something Otto had prefaced with, "I don't want to use it because it hurts."
And in fact, Petra's small body launches into the sky, bounced off the soles of her feet by the overflowing light. However, she did not soar unprotected.
Petra's body is held in Otto's slender arms as he reaches out with a "Kh" and grabs her.
Of course, Otto's body was also sent flying by the same impact, but Otto chose to prevent the blunder that would have prevented the two of them from flying toward the scattering and being unable to assist, or at least minimize the damage Petra would have suffered with her own body.
What Petra was able to do with Otto's decision was not to complain or stiffen, but to exercise yang magic as quickly and strongly as possible, making Otto's body as resistant to impact as possible.
It did. Their bodies were bounced off. Immediately after that--,
"----"
With a bang, a violent explosion explodes at the same spot where Petra and Otto had been just before - the same spot where Petra and Otto had been just before.
The identity of the explosion, which slightly snuck into view, seemed to Petra's eyes to be the same thing as the flames that had burned the two messengers.
That thing was aiming to burn Petra and her friends from behind.
"With the axe......"
He made them think he was going to slay Petra and the others, but his real goal was that flame he had planted in the back.
The man's method of not trying to fight head-on was his specialty, and the fact that it coincided in some way with Otto's preparation was probably the true meaning of the man's blurting out.
"Zgh!"
Petra's thoughts arrived there almost simultaneously with Otto tumbling to the ground in Petra's arms.
Otto grunts in pain as he rolls on the hard ground and bites his teeth as he is also hit by the blast. But Otto immediately kneels down on the spot and turns to face the man as he raises Petra's body.
Petra also supported Otto's body and stared at the man who was some distance away.
But contrary to the warnings of Petra and her colleagues, the man did not immediately give chase.
He knew immediately what it was all about and why it was there.
"I don't really want to do it."
And so the man with the axe pointed at them and in check, spilling so much, turns his head.
The man sniffed at the scent of burning grass, black smoke rising from it, as he felt under his feet where the explosion had occurred.
"There and there. Then there."
Petra peels her eyes away from the events that follow, as if the man had muttered something small.
A man turns his head, and the ground explodes in his line of sight. It is number six. Then came the ninth and the first, followed by the fifth and the eighth, and so on, until the ground exploded.
"H-how come......"
"......No way, a spirit?"
He's surprised that they figured out where the plant was, but he doesn't know how they blew it up.
Otto's words made Petra gasp in response to the mysterious method of the man, a man who did not even pretend to exercise magic as Petra had induced him to do.
If he is a spiritist, it is the same as Subaru and Emilia.
He's very reluctant to admit to the man in front of him that he is the same kind of person as the two loving people in many ways for Petra, but--,
"But there is no such thing as a spirit anywhere......"
"There's more than one way to get them to comply. There's also the whole 'if you don't want to be eaten' thing."
"Huh?"
"I don't mean to be mean, but I'd prefer not to listen."
Petra, who rolled her eyes at the incomprehensible reply, froze. And then, with a tap on Petra's shoulder, Otto quickly brought her back to her senses.
She can't imagine either way whether the man's current statement was intended to create an opening for them, or whether he was telling a part of the truth.
However, she can say with certainty.
"I hate you."
"I'm with you!"
A small shadow flew in response to Petra, who clenched her small fists and shouted.
She was looking for a good opportunity to attack the unknown man's trickery, while keeping an eye out for it. She blended in with the smoke that the man caused by blowing up his devices one after another, and aimed at his back with a barbarian sword that she drew from the other side of the smoke.
After putting up with it for a long time, she took the plunge, and her blow went straight into the man's mouth.
"Of the three of you, you are the easiest to read."
"--ah"
Leaning to the side, the man escapes the path of the swinging barbarian sword.
As it was, the man turned himself around, slamming his axe down on Medium behind him.
"You're the only one with the imperial style. It's repulsive."
"Medium-chan!"
The man's unrelenting axe was sucked, straight into Petra's vision of the tail wagging scream and the wide-eyed Medium's face.
△▼△▼△▼△
--Midium O'Connell doesn't think things through too deeply.
Strictly speaking, Medium has a lot to think about as well.
She has been always worried about his brother, Flop O'Connell, and at the same time she trusts him. When she heard that he was taken away from the castle city, her surprise and worry were almost heartbreaking, but her brother would be upset if he found out that she had shrunk herself and so on.
So, she thought so, that both worry and trust are your partner.
"Sister! We seem to be able to draw much better right answers from our hearts than from our heads. You especially have that vibe about you, so keep it in mind!"
Her brother told her a long time ago that it was an important signpost in Medium, and she has it tucked away in both her chest before and after she shrunk.
Thinking with the mind tends to lead to out of line or outlandish statements, which can be detested. Abel, in particular, seems to be very uncomfortable with this.
But what her brother says is great. In fact, Medium has worked out that way.
"I knew you were great!"
Of course, if everything would have turned out all right, then she would not have been reduced to a small body, my brother would not have been taken to the capital, Rem would not have disappeared, Natsumi would not have been sent away, Chaos Flame would not have been broken and lost, and Emily and the others would not have been in a panic.
Not everything is going to work out.
But it's the best way for something good to happen, as far as the actions Medium can take.
So, at the moment when a surprise hit from behind failed and an axe slammed into her gaping face, Medium did not panic, thinking, "Oh, I'm dead."
It is similar to the feeling that because she acted the best she could, she did what she had to do, and if this is how she loses, she has no regrets because she had no choice.
Of course, she hates dying, it's hard not to be reunited with her brother, and she's very disappointed that she can't help her new friends like Rem and Natsumi.
But thinking things over with her heart, Medium made the best move she could take.
The outcome of such destinations depends on the luck of the draw - if it does not turn out that way, it is the world's way of life, and the Vollachia way of life.
However--,
"----"
Just before the axe pierces her own face, the thick axe blade sparks and pops.
With a slight smell of steel in her nose, Medium let out a small breath and said,
"After all, An-chan is amazing. I've never died this way."
"--Oh, I'm so jealous. I've lost count."
The person who bounced the axe that was supposed to take her life replies to Medium who spills that the way her brother taught her, it saved her yet again.
What was wielded was a blue dragon sword with a blade as thick as the axe that was played - what an unusual and high-profile Medium to hold it.
"You are......"
Looking at the person who interrupted him, the man whose Medium was protected, who could surely have killed him, moved his lips in disapproval.
The man who interrupted him - a one-armed man with a jet-black helmet that hid his face - said, "Sorry to interrupt your good mood,"
"I thought it was the worst place to be, but it's always darkest under the candlestick. It's so dark, it's a real problem."
"----"
Quietly, caution dwells in the posture of the man who has come to finish off the non-combatant.
However, this was not the stance of a lioness who would not let up even against a rabbit, but that of a hunter who is wary of a rabbit disguised as something else.
And then--,
"The darkness is too much to handle. After all, you can't even see the stars."
So he announced his participation.