Rune Troopers: Self-Defense Forces Adventure - Chapter 4: In the Midst of War (Part 7)
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- Rune Troopers: Self-Defense Forces Adventure
- Chapter 4: In the Midst of War (Part 7)
Recoil and gunfire echoed through the steeple.
The soldier holding the flag flipped over in place with the impact. He then stared dumbfounded at the flag he was holding.
The flag had been shot through the middle of the pole and snapped off.
“How about this!”
Ichinose shouted as he pulled the kong.
“I’m impressed with your skills from the arcade! Ichinose!”
Ichinose was slapped on the back and involuntarily stared at Lalona beside him.
She was beaming and looked genuinely happy.
“Whatever. Who’s next?”
“There! The Magic Knights are preparing an attack spell!”
“Roger!”
****
Following Lalona’s instruction, Ichinose readied his sniper rifle.
“Everyone draw your swords! Arrange the Formation!”
In front of Richarda’s eyes, the army that had surrounded the castle was setting up a siege formation.
The elite from the Imperial Army. In addition to this, two Dragon Knights Order were waiting in the sky above.
Generally, it was presumed that a single Dragon Knights Order was equivalent to 10,000 elite soldiers. If this was the case, their forces would easily exceed 20,000 elite soldiers.
Common sense told her that they have nothing to lose. However…
“Report! Six front-line Commanding Knight Captains and two Knight Commanders have been killed in action! The flag has been lost! The unit is in a state of disarray!”
Richarda’s common sense was overturned when she heard the battle report. She gritted her teeth at the unexpected resistance and heavy losses during the final stretch.
“Hand the command to the adjutant and continue the attack.”
“That–, the officers who took over command and the flag were hit one after the other by invisible arrows.”
“Invisible arrows!”
She was ashamed of herself for being so relieved at the initial report that stated the capture proceeding well.
The march suddenly came to a halt just as they were about to reach the main castle. Even her ears could hear that dry sound as she advanced her camp to the very edge of the castle.
Her men, covered in blood, were being carried out of the castle one after another. Most of them could not be healed in time even with the Healing Magic of the Military Priests.
They were constantly saying that they had been hit by ‘Invisible Arrows.’ Those who tried to approach the group wearing strange and never seen before clothes were pulverized to pieces by fire magic.
“I thought that the Dragon Knights would turn into a casualty like the Black Dragon…” Richarda was a cautious General.
The dragon, because of its huge size, would fall prey to the magic that defeated the Black Dragon, so she refrained from sending the Dragon Knights into the front lines.
In addition, her inability to grasp the reality of the mysterious enemy also resulted in an error in judgment. She tried her best to remain calm and reflected on the current incomprehensible situation.
“Who in the world are these guys? The magic that slew the Black Dragon with a single blow, the invisible arrows, the flying insects that are out of this world.”
Her question was one that no one present could answer.
It was said that this war would end in half a day with such force. And Richarda was confident of that. It should have been insignificant, even among the many battles fought in the history of the Empire.
“Reorganize the troops quickly. Rally the Dragon Knights.”
“Roger!”
She handed out orders to her subordinates. But even as she did so, she made unanswerable assumptions in her head.
“Marysea, have you made a pact with the Demon King of the Underworld?”
Richarda did not think that Marysea herself had gained any power. There were no signs or information of such a power.
If this was the case, it meant that there was something else – in other words, Marysea had gained some kind of special presence on her side. It was a half-baked theory.
“The door to the Underworld was supposed to have been sealed during the War of Succession.” The man’s voice was grating on her ears.
How long had he been there?
“I am aware. But if not that, then what is happening? Something is wrong with this battle.”
“With regards to that, I have no idea, General.”
“Then stay back!”
An enraged Richarda glared at Genfur. That was when it happened–
“Report, General!”
The cry of a subordinate sounded.
“What’s going on?”
When she turned around, all her men were gazing towards the sea, stunned. Even the wounded soldiers.
The sea was dyed red in color, illuminated by the flames of the burning city.
There on the scarlet sea, ‘something’ could be seen floating.
“What is that?!”
It was an existence that people in this world would never see. It was impossible to understand that the entity was the battleship belonging to the nation of Japan, which existed in a world that would never ntersect.
The hull, shimmering red in the reflection of the flames of the capital, told Richarda that it was a ship that existed for the purpose of war.
‘Hmph! I see, you called for help.’ That was what Richarda intuitively judged.
The existence of the mysterious tribe or the deformed mercenaries, whatever their true identity was, did not matter at this time.
As a General of the Empire that was pursuing the road to promotion, there was only one thing to determine in this situation: whether the entity in front of them was an enemy or not.
Judging from the situation, that odd-shaped ship was probably the enemy.
“Have the Dragon Knights assembled?”
She asked the Old General beside her.
“Hai! Almost all of the Black Dragon Knights, the Ice and Snow Dragon Knights have assembled.”
“The strategy has changed. All the Dragon Knights Order must sink that ship.”
“But, General–”
“It’s no longer safe to deploy forces against them one after another. We’ll finish them off at once!”
The Dragon Knights Order were waiting for them and they were the first to depart. The Dragon Knights reacted sharply to the sound.
“Ride out!”
“Raise the flag!”
The sound of the horns excited dozens of dragons that were resting with their wings. The roars of the fierce dragons paralyzed the land.
Noble dragons who found joy in battle flapped their wings in search of their enemies.
A battle that transcended time and space was about to begin.