The Strategist Knows Everything - Volume 3 Chapter 2
Part III: The Imperial State Edition
Chapter 2: Defensive Battle (3)
Translated by: Hiro02
Edited by: SevenTails
There is a word called ‘Musou’ (TN: 無双 or Musō means peerless or unparalleled). According to its meaning, it refers to a person who is so good that no one else stands a chance against him or her. However, perhaps due to the influence of video games, today’s young people consider it as the ability of a few to overwhelm the many. Well, I was also one of those young people.
Now, why did I think of such a thing? Because of the spectacle, which was unfolding before my eyes, deserved to be described as ‘Musou.’
The four of them were very fierce fighters who have achieved a combat strength of over ninety. Even now, they were improving their combat power even more due to the battlefield. I thought I had taken that into account when I was assessing the four of them.
“Is this a substantial improvement?” I asked as I watched the one-sided situation unfolding in front of me. Yet, all I could see is the one-sidedness of the situation. I couldn’t see what everyone was doing.
Because everyone was moving around so intensely, I couldn’t keep up looking at them as a whole, so I decided to keep an eye on each one individually.
First was Mikana, who stood out the most. She had already slaughtered more than seventy enemy soldiers. I knew it because Mikana was counting them accurately.
When she wasn’t surrounded by enemies, she was aiming and shooting arrows at soldiers who were climbing the ladder with their shields above their heads. Soldiers targeted by Mikana, unless cowardly enough to hide behind their shields, seemed to be caught in the gaps and their lives were cut short. The reason I said ‘seems’ was because I couldn’t see the scene from my position on the ladder. My judgment was based on Mikana’s numbers. The number updated every time she shot an arrow.
What surprised me was that Mikana even overpowered the soldiers who had climbed up. Although she was an archer, she was also strong in close quarters.
She was even dealing with three enemy soldiers who were climbing up the wall. The reason why Mikana was so strong at close quarters, or rather, close combat, was because the enemy attacks never managed to hit her.
She slid next to an opponent who was slashing his sword at her, stabbing him in the throat with an arrow. Then, she would pull out her arrow and escape from two others, dodging their attacks.
The two enemies instantly tried to close the distance between them and Mikana, but she rushed forward, closing the distance and catching them off guard.
One of them hesitated, while the other thrust their sword forward in desperation. Mikana easily dodged it and moved into the bosom of the enemy soldier who thrust the sword, making it impossible for the other to attack.
The enemy soldier, who had just been caught too close, threw away the sword that made him disadvantageous and challenged Mikana with his bare hands; but Mikana’s movements were faster.
She leaped and kicked the enemy soldier in the jaw. She then slashed the throat of the enemy soldier with an arrow, who was almost knocked unconscious by the kick.
After dealing with that soldier, she lowered her stance and moved towards the last one. The last enemy held his sword up high and tried to intercept Mikana, but she turned sideways as the sword swung down.
Should I call it a sideways somersault? As she did it, she entangled the enemy soldier’s arms with her legs while being in midair, dropping him to the ground.
The enemy soldier, who was entangled, slammed into the ground and opened his eyes in surprise, but that soon turned to fear of death.
As soon as she landed, Mikana readied her bow and drew an arrow. With her legs restraining his arms, there was no way for the enemy soldier to avoid her.
The arrow was released and it went through his throat. Mikana, perhaps as to save on arrows, pulled it back and began to look around to shoot another enemy.
In stark contrast to Mikana was Roy. Roy had defeated all of his enemies head-on and used a single sword at that.
Captain Ars once described Roy’s sword as a rigid sword. It clearly fit the description.
“Oraaa!!”
Roy swung out from his side with all his might, easily blowing away the enemy soldiers and dropping them outside the fort.
“Fifty-seven!”
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t count the drops, okay?”
“Why the hell not?!”
“You don’t even know if you’ve killed them properly, do you?”
“Ha~a? What a pain in the ass! Well, whatever. If I do it right, then you won’t have any complaints! Fifty-seven!”
While chatting with Captain Ars, Roy killed an enemy soldier with a right-handed strike.
Roy’s body size is not much different from mine. Yet, he overwhelmed his enemies because he uses his entire body in his swordsmanship to fight. Roy’s sword, which was focused on destructive power, starts slower than Captain Ars’, but once it starts moving, it is overwhelmingly fast and powerful.
He swung his sword down to intercept the enemy soldiers coming towards him. Roy’s sword sliced through the enemy easily, snapping the sword that the enemy soldier tried to hold on to.
“Fifty-eight! Next!”
“Hmm. The little boy from Veris is getting carried away.”
A large man stood in front of Roy.
Judging from the reaction of the people around him, he must be a man of high rank. Even in the face of this man, Roy remained his usual self.
“The 8th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guards.”
“I didn’t hear you!”
Roy slashed across the side of the large man who had tried to state his affiliation.
“I am Roy, a commander of the Nox 5th Unit. Remember that!”
Roy looked around while sending the kneeling man’s head flying.
“Now fifty-nine. Next!”
“Ara~ara? You haven’t reached sixty yet?” Erica provoked Roy when she heard Roy’s number.
“Mm? Unlike you, Erica nee-chan, I choose my targets!”
“The game is about the number of enemies you slaughter. Whether they’re weak or strong, one is still one.”
While saying that, Erika skillfully used her whip to hunt down the enemy soldiers.
A whip that moved freely while the three strong fighters rampaged at will was a deadly combination. This was especially true when the whip was covered in flames and had a high level of attacking power.
Enemies who were frightened by the momentum of Mikana and the other three and enemies who were observing the situation were Erica’s targets. The enemy soldiers were unable to avoid or even react to the whip that came from a complete blind spot.
Erica’s whip pierced their throat and ripped through their body, so failing to notice it would be a fatal mistake. Well, it’s a good thing that I noticed it.
“It’s useless.”
The flaming whip that Erica wielded could easily cut through the swords it hit. It was impossible to even catch it.
“Sixty-seven. At this rate, we won’t be able to stop Mikana’s solo run, will we?”
“No, no, no, the four of you have already killed over two hundred people, so don’t increase your momentum anymore.”
“What? Are they scared of our strength? We’re not even close to being serious yet. Especially the Captain of the 1st Unit.”
With that, Erica turned her gaze to Captain Ars. I was caught up in their words and also looked at Captain Ars, but he was utterly unremarkable.
The speed at which he could cut through enemy soldiers is extraordinary, but the number of enemies he has killed was the lowest, probably because he has kept his movements to a bare minimum.
“I rarely make it easier for you guys to fight.”
“Well, it’s certainly unusual.”
Captain Ars was basically a belligerent fighter. He often serves as the spearhead and is probably the most successful among the Nox commanders. However, if you ask him whether or not he was a reckless brute, he would probably say no.
Captain Ars had an excellent eye for discerning. It was his main weapon and the reason why he could get through a brawl full of enemy soldiers.
He didn’t perform the flashy moves of Mikana and Roy. He used the minimum amount of movement to attack the vital points and slaughter the enemy.
It was a very efficient way of killing. His movements were so refined that the enemy soldiers weren’t able to react even though they were right in front of him. Not only was he fast, but he was also hard to read.
The enemies that Captain Ars was targeting were the ones that were trying to get around Roy and Mikana’s blind spots. Since Captain Ars rarely moved from the center and covered their blind spots, the enemies who tried to go around inevitably came into contact with him and were killed instantly.
In this kind of group battle, combat power wasn’t the only thing that counted. Many other factors come into play, such as fighting style and weapons. Captain Ars’ method of trying to defeat the enemy with as little effort as possible would be effective in the long run.
As if to prove it, Roy and Mikana, who had been moving too much, have started to slow down their momentum a bit.
“Didn’t I tell you that you were going too fast?”
“That’s none of your business…”
“You’re so stubborn. Well, you and Roy should get some rest. Now it’s my time to take over.”
The moment he said that to Mikana, Captain Ars’ figure disappeared from my sight. No, it looked like he just vanished.
He appeared behind the enemy soldiers. I wondered when he got there. And when did he slit the throat of the enemy soldier? Even though I was watching closely, I couldn’t see him at all.
“Fifty-five, fifty-six. Come on, come on, bring it on!”
The swords on Captain Ars’ left and right hands reflected the sun’s rays and glowed dully. The enemy soldiers’ movements came to a halt as they realized how dangerous Captain Ars was when he suddenly started moving.
They must have realized that they would be cut down if they moved, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to stay still.
“How about I come to you then?”
Captain Ars slightly rotated both of his swords and, using his power, instantly closed the gap on the enemy’s neck. The enemy soldiers began to scramble to respond to Captain Ars’ move, but it was too late.
Captain Ars instantly sliced through the dozen or so people who were there. The enemy soldiers could not even react and fell in a spray of blood.
“Well, that’s sixty-six. I’m going to push you all away at once!”
That’s Captain Ars for you, but I didn’t have any intention of continuing this restricted fight for a long time. Our objective was to buy time, and once we achieved that, there was no need to force the four of them to fight.
When I saw that Frezberg, who was waiting in the sky above the fort, started to move, I told Erica to get rid of the wall of fire.
“From here on, the second act begins.”
■■■
Once the wall of flames dispelled, the imperial troops lined up in an orderly fashion. They were somewhat disturbed by the sight of all the Albion corpses caused by the four of them. Although the number of corpses was somewhat small because Captain Ars and Roy were kicking them out of the fort.
“Soldiers of the Albion Army! Do you understand how fragile and minute the justice of an army that can’t even defeat a mere four people is? I’ll tell you in your way exactly why you couldn’t defeat them! It is because we are the ones who wield justice!” I told them as I raised my fan wide open.
To be honest, justice didn’t have anything to do with it, but I was saying that to raise the morale on the Imperial side.
“Proud soldiers of the Albion Army! There is no need to listen to the words of the enemy! The enemy is a murderer! There is no such thing as justice!”
“Our justice is to end the war! That is it! We don’t care how much blood we have to shed to do it! If we can bring a quick end to a war that may last for decades in the future… we will gladly become slaughterers!!!”
I said it as if I was repeating Dick’s words. It wasn’t a fake feeling. In order to end the war that may continue, if force was necessary to end it, it will be used, and if blood must be shed, I would not hesitate to.
For the sake of our future children and for those who were fighting reluctantly, I’ll fight for it to stop. It may sound far from justice but righteousness is about keeping people alive. I guess that my path to keep people alive in the future can be called justice.
Well, in the end, it’s only self-justification.
“To that justice, we, the Imperial Kingdom, stand! Oh, Imperial Army! This is not a battle to just protect the Empire anymore! This is a battle to protect its future! Your children! The people you love! This is a battle to ensure that your children and loved ones can live in peace! Do not fear anything! We, the alliance of… Empire and Veris will win!” Fio added to my words. Good timing.
The battle of words was completely in our favour. The momentum of Albion’s army was beginning to dwindle. It meant that even the 8,000 of the Imperial Army would be able to fight on even terms with the 30,000.
The Imperial Army readied their bows and a large number of arrows were released. Among them, there was also some Renketsu magic, and the Albion army, which had only been preoccupied with us, would not be able to respond instantly.
“All four of you. I’m going back. I will join up with the sorcerers that Fio will be sending over.”
“I can still do it, can’t I?”
“I’ll prepare for my turn. For now, I’m going back. We’ll be hindering the Imperial Army’s movements here.”
It would be inappropriate for us to be in the middle of the frontlines of the Imperial Army. Any irregularity in a group divides the group into individuals. It makes the group less cohesive.
We can’t interfere with the organized defence that Fio is leading. We can’t push forward again until we’ve consulted with Fio.
Besides, this was no longer a localized battle as it was before. Rather than staying in the same place and fighting, it would be better for us to keep an eye on things from a distance and go to the aid of those in danger.
“Damn it. I can’t complain.”
“Thank you for being so understanding. How about you guys?”
“No problem.”
“Me, too.”
Finally, I looked at Mikana.
Mikana had no objection to retreating so that she could replenish her arrows. Just like I thought.
“I can still go on…”
“Yes, yes. I know that. It’s not like you’re leaving the battlefield, so you don’t have to be so puffed up about it.” I said while letting out a chuckle, she looked so grumpy. Then I pulled Mikana, who didn’t want to move backward at once.