The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring

Chapter 21: Fiend

Around the time that the heat of summer had reached its peak, Grohl, the Viceroy of Coimbra, sent out his manifesto to all of the peoples of the empire, at the same time declaring war on Bahar. The contents of his manifesto were as follows:

One point: in a cowardly plan, Amil has incited rebels. Amil’s sins can in no way be forgiven.

One point: had Amil been a noble with any hint of shame, he would have already apologised, but on top of approving of his own sins, he had the audacity to end it all by proclaiming that he would undergo the ceremony of the rising sun. This is conclusively unforgivable.

One point: Amil is excessively increasing military might in times of peace, repeatedly taking provocative actions against Coimbra, justifying his inhumane ambitions with his military might, for he will not listen to the voice of justice in the face of his schemes.

One point: His Imperial Majesty has been concerned over Amil’s actions for some time, and has recently raised his voice against his traitorous despotism.

One point: Amil’s sinful ways are not something that can be overlooked as he is unworthy of being one of the great Sun Emperor Bergis’ descendants.

One point: we the people of Coimbra have sent a declaration of war to the villain Amil with the intent of tearing out the root of evil in the empire. Those who wish to oppose the villains with us should take action immediately.

Grohl departed from the Coimbran capital city of Madress with the majority of his armed forces, proceeding east along the Kanan highway, leaving only five thousand men behind. A total of fifty thousand regular soldiers and temporary conscripts were mobilized; seemingly all of Coimbra’s war potential. Their discipline and training was not of particularly high quality, but they remained formidable in terms of sheer numbers. Leue took command of the fleet, and had already departed to screen for Baharan warships, particularly caution towards the enemy fleet docked in Ribeldam. Coimbran movements were primarily over land in an attempt to respect Ribeldam neutrality.

Grohl raised a hand as Elgar saw them off with a concerned expression from the castle walls. The garrison left behind consisted primarily of old soldiers, and the injured or sick. Perius was tentatively in charge of them, but they were unlikely to have to fight; a so-called decorative post. Grohl reluctantly turned his horse around, and began to speak with Wilm, who was beside him.

“Wilm, have the manifestos been sent to each province without issue?”

“Yes sir. We sent them on swift horses and so the viceroys should be receiving them around now. Your intentions have surely been circulated, Lord Grohl. The law of justice is on our side.”

“What are Ribeldam’s movements?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. They are remaining neutral as per the agreement.”

“All right, we’ll set that aside for now. First and foremost, we must assault Carness, and push into Baharan territory. The first battle will likely be the most crucial.”

“Please entrust that task to us. While we’re defeating the lords of Bahar, you can advance on the capital city of Vesta. Already, some of us have completed our plans. If we can prove our might by taking Carness, the rest of the operation should proceed even more smoothly.”

“As expected of Wilm. Now that I think about it, you’ve been with me for a long time, and the burdens have only piled up, haven’t they? I’m sorry, but can you lend me your power this time too?”

“You flatter me. I, Wilm, consider myself lucky to serve you.”

“Right… then I’ll be depending on you.”

Wilm’s words had caused Grohl to be overcome with emotions. Then he pointed to Gaddis’ troops at the front.

“Haha, it looks promising. Even that Gaddis is going all out. He probably hopes to clear his shame at Rockbell in one strike.”

“Sir Gaddis also made his resolve after hearing your address. To fight desperately, that is.”

“That’s really good. The will of heaven had given up on me until now, but it seems that I’ve been blessed with good retainers.”

Grohl laughed in high spirits as he gazed at the vanguard. Gaddis’ troops were parading pompously at the head of the fifty thousand Coimbrans. The scales emblazened on the banners flapped in the wind in a magnificent spectacle. Behind him the many supplies for the army were accompanied by the siege equipment that would get its first taste of the war by taking Carness. The majority of it had been supplied by the friendly provinces of Gemb and Giv. His grand army was unable to move particularly quickly, but Grohl had decided that it wasn’t much of a problem.

When the declaration arrives, Amil will probably be shaken, but it’s already too late for him.

For the ceremony of the rising sun, he would have to gather all of his soldiers to display for the empire. According to his spies, Amil was currently gathering nobles and merchants to prepare for the ceremony. Though it was highly irritating, it also happened to be a favourable situation this time. He was most likely going to turn around with his entire force when he heard about the crisis, but that too was futile. It would take two months to get from the imperial capital of Firuth to the Baharan capital of Vesta regardless of how much he hurried, even if all of the troops he took to the capital were elite. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that their planning had bought them three months, and three months were probably enough. Defeating the Baharan nobles and taking the city of Vesta would be easy. All they had to do was remain calm once that had been accomplished. Rushing needed to be avoided; that, and being repelled by an inferior force. There were still many who believed in the myth of weak Coimbran soldiers.

Because they could not aim to defeat all of the Baharan lords defending the province in a single battle, it was important that they steadily strengthen their positions and advance carefully until they had completely destroyed Amil’s holdings. Such was their current strategy.

“The Sun God has finally come to my aid. Amil’s honour will collapse with his feet swept out from under him, and any talk of him as crown prince will vanish. Even if he recklessly attacks, he will be destroyed!”

Fighting troops exhausted from forced marching was as easy as taking candy from a baby. However Amil fell, he could not prevent Grohl’s victory.

If he had apologised a little, I might have forgiven him, but it’s too late now. Resign yourself to your fate, Amil!

Wiping his sweat, Grohl roared as he began galloping down the highway, his shocked guard following along.

“This is the war in which we bring the hammer of justice down on Amil! I’ll grant any wishes of those who distinguish themselves, regardless of social standing!”

Having encouraged the troops, they raised excited cheers. Morale was high, and justice was on their side. After the image of Sarah’s face in critical condition floated through his mind, Grohl published his sword and answered the soldiers’ call. The Coimbran advance had begun.

Easily forcing their way through the border defences that had been erected, the Coimbran army set out for fort Carness. The fort dated back to before the unification, and its defencive capabilities had remained firm to the present day, though the current garrison numbered less than one thousand as the main Baharan force was in the imperial capital. Sending away the envoy from the fortress, Grohl ordered an assault.

“Carness is famed for its strength, but it will in no way stop us. Let them know Coimbra’s might!”

Of the glorious vanguard, the first wave of the siege was led by Major General Gaddis in an attempt to redeem himself. It numbered ten thousand strong. For the moment, they would watch as they sent out their battering ram to attack the gate, but as many of the units had seen no real combat, when the time came for them to go forth, many became indecisive. Being shot at from the ramparts, they devolved into pandemonium. After several repeated attempts, Gaddis finally committed the main body of his force to the attack, besieging the tower.

The siege unit’s second division had their soldiers lined up on standby, serving under Commander of One Thousand Dirk, who, in combination with the other commanders of one thousand, headed around eight thousand men in what could be considered a sort of rear guard. Grohl had wanted to put his beloved Noel in the vanguard, but had been denied as suddenly inserting a newcomer into Gaddis’ force would have been an insult to the Coimbran army. All of the officers had agreed with Wilm, so Grohl had nodded his ascent to leave it to Gaddis, but it had been three days since he first began the attack and no progress had been made. The first division’s men had become fatigued and exhausted. Grohl too, was almost out of patience.

“Still, the enemy is rather persistent. I thought it would be decided today, too.”

Noel responded to what Cynthia had muttered with a sour expression, “If their goal is to buy time, they’ll stick it out to the end. They’re probably a suicide corps.”

“Suicide corps?”

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“That’s right. If they can buy a little time here, that’s surely a good thing. See, isn’t there some proverb from somewhere that goes: time is money?”

For some reason Noel had put her glasses on and was speaking as if she knew what she was talking about. Had Cynthia been unaware of her true character, she might have mistaken her for a knowledgeable female staff officer. Unfortunately, Cynthia did know her true character, and it was truly disappointing.

“Good, eh? Do you know what the enemy is planning?”

“Nope, I have no idea. I wonder why?”

Cynthia was taken aback for a moment by how indifferent Noel appeared, but quickly returned to her senses. It was the usual state of affairs, so if she paid it any mind, she would find the sun quickly setting. Above all, they were in the middle of a battle.

“I feel foolish for even asking.”

“Ahaha, that’s for sure.”

“Don’t you say it!”

Cynthia struck her once, apparently almost knocking Noel’s glasses off, causing Noel company start laughing a bit. Cynthia coughed to reprove them for their lack of tension, and turned again to speak to Noel.

“By the way, why are you wearing your glasses?”

“Because it’ll probably be fine if I don’t have to fight yet. I thought I’d highlight my intelligence from time to time, you see.”

Hearing that, the soldiers could not help but burst fully into laughter. An intelligent person would never say something like that. Cynthia’s irrational fear that Noel wouldn’t be able to lead troops finally came to an end. It wouldn’t be strange to be looked down on as a female commander, but Noel had properly brought her unit together. It was mostly comprised of the rather wild White Ant Bloc, but they properly listened to orders. Cynthia had been through so much trouble at first that even this small victory was worthy of celebration, though she had been caught up in the mood and wouldn’t compliment it for the time being.

“You know what you wanted to now, so put on a helmet. Some arrows might even reach us here!”

“Mmmh, but it’s too hot, and it’ll get all stuffy, so I thought I might not need it. And, also, I can bathe in the light of the sun, so my mood is good. On that note, glasses don’t really get in the way.”

Noel rather irritatingly pushed up the glasses that were sliding off. It was true that the summer sun was strong and hot. There was no end to her sweat no matter how much she wiped and wiped. The experience of wearing a helmet in a prolonged battle at that time of year was torturous. Of course Cynthia wouldn’t hear it from any of the conscripts. Their helmets were low quality leather, their weapons were mass produced swords and spears, and the rest of their armour followed a ‘less is more’ philosophy.

“But, that’s still better than death. If you dislike helmets that much, at least put on this armoured headband. Hey, don’t move!”

“Ehh, but I don’t need it… hey, wait…”

Restraining Noel as she struggled, Cynthia wound an iron plated headband around her head. It wasn’t a very reliable piece of armour, but it could at least prevent a lethal blow between the eyes.

“There we go. Yup, I think it suits you.”

“Yeah, but I can’t seem to calm down, so I’ll only partially thank you. I’ll use this carefully. My treasures have increased again.”

“You don’t have to treasure it, consider your own life first.”

“Ahaha, this is a war, so don’t say anything impossible.”

Noel confirmed the position of the headband while smiling wryly. Equipped were: her glasses, the armoured headband, light armour in which she could freely move, the warhammer at her waist on which her hand was resting, and in her other hand was her jet black bident. All that was rather different from what the usual soldier wore, and her characteristic red hair worked together with it to make her highly likely to draw attention on the battlefield; a feat which would make her easy to target by the enemy.

Barbas muttered from behind Noel, his eye affixed to a spyglass, “Captain Noel, seems like this time ain’t no good either. They get close but keep shrinkin’ back.”

Cynthia received a spyglass of her own from her aide, and took a look for herself.

“Was that not enough? Why don’t they just climb the walls?”

“Isn’t it that they don’t want to die? That being said, of course the defence is strong near the gate. Well, the enemy lies in wait, so no matter where we attack from, we’ll take losses.”

The soldiers sent to take the gate were battering it with a ram, but it had fallen into a completely disastrous state. Boiling oil poured down from holes above it, and fire arrows rained down on top of that. Those who ran were mercilessly killed by arrows from the defenders atop the walls. As for the group that were scaling the walls, they too had made no progress. Naturally the vanguard was made up of low ranking soldiers, so there was a severe lack of troops with enough of a will to fight. The ladders that they had made were nailed down by arrows from above.

Major General Gaddis, in charge of the assault, likely couldn’t do much to help the situation, and, either way, his disposition backfired on him when he was faced with danger. All orders of total assault aside, they were supposed to avoid major casualties in the early battles, and the goal was to break the enemy morale along with the gates. There was even a chance that an ambush lay just outside the castle, as, from time to time, smoke signals rose up from the castle. Each time it happened, Gaddis recalled his troops with a horn, and arrayed in a defencive position. The books of Coimbran strategems advised against aggressive assaults on fortresses, and instead recommended carefully surrounding them. Though that was a tried and true tactic, it would not guarantee when the castle would fall. That aside, Cynthia didn’t have a good sense as a commander. Planning room theory, and actual fighting were two separate things.

“Hey, a total assault has been ordered, so why are we only sending small groups? We keep retreating too.”

“He likely wants to minimize casualties. I think there’s a lot of pressure on him to open the gate.”

“If one man dies, send ten; if ten men die, send one hundred; if one hundred die, send one thousand; and continue the attack. Isn’t that just the basics of a total assault?”

Noel tilted her head as if she was puzzled to the core.

“That’s because nobody wants to die. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to be hesitant. There’s nobody dumb enough to go when you tell them to die.”

“But, it seems like plenty are dying now.”

“No… well, yeah, that’s true.”

“It’s kind of like… they’re unwilling, eh? I don’t feel any will to attack. Could it be that they don’t want it to fall!?”

“What lunacy. This is an important first battle, and it isn’t unreasonable for Major General Gaddis to be cautious.”

“Yup, that’s true.”

Noel had entered yes-man mode.

“Also, please don’t say things that’ll become trouble. Not only that, there are those who are jealous of your rapid success. Don’t increase your enemies.”

Noel didn’t seem like she cared, but Cynthia could hear vile talk about her from all over. There were some who would even mock her as they walked by. All of them were of the Wilm clique as Noel had gained their attention. Cynthia could warn those of a lower status than herself, but couldn’t do anything about those who were higher.

“There’re lots of people slandering me behind my back after all. Isn’t it great that Riglette says it to my face!”

Smiling at Riglette, an incredible tut could be heard.

“Sir Cynthia, should we not ignore foolish words?”

Muddling her words, Cynthia didn’t say much, but, “Y-yes.”

“Also, and this is from the previous conversation, but there is nobody experienced in siege warfare in our Coimbran army. It would not be strange for that to be why Major General Gaddis is hesitating. It is true that continuing the siege brings us closer to the day that they surrender. I’m sure that the major general has similar intentions. They are merely some sky-for-brains girl, and a white haired monkey, so we need to think for ourselves.”

Riglette’s lips arched downwards, and she shot a quick glance at Barbas.

“You bastard, are you talking about me and the captain!?”

“I wonder. If you had some knowledge of anything, it might surely not be the case. I’m sure that a monkey, or even Captain Noel, could understand.”

Riglette brushed it off as if it was someone else’s problem. Barbas loaded his glare with hatred, but rather than flinching, Riglette returned the stare. It was sufficiently dangerous that if Noel hadn’t been there, they would have likely tried to kill each other.

“Captain, should I do this bitch in? I know, let’s use her as a shield to advance, and have her sing instead of usin’ the bugles.”

“Try it if you can. Ahh, your thoughts are so savage and truly disgusting. Oh and please, do shut your mouth for me, thank you. I might faint.”

“Okay, that’s enough playing around for now.”

Noel planted her bident on the ground, overbearingly disrupting their dispute. The force of the interruption caused the two of them to become silent.

“Barbas, Riglette, it’s no good if we’re confused. I don’t want to die pointlessly, or have to drag our allies around, either, for that matter.”

“M-my apologies.”

“Ha, I don’t remember doing anything worth apologising over. First off, if it’s the great Captain Noel that Coimbra is so proud of, wouldn’t you go to the front lines without any confusion at all?”

Riglette attempted to provoke her with a backhanded compliment. She was always like that, but Cynthia had a hard time getting used to that way of speaking. Even in normal conversation, her sarcasm and disagreeableness combined with her particularly self depreciating style to cause Cynthia to leave with a negative impression of her. Noel was the bigger person for not paying any attention to it.

Crossing her arms, and in a deadpan manner —though the look she gave the fort gave off a murderous aura that was similar to the one that Cynthia had felt when she had first met her—, Noel gave her orders, “Riglette, when I give the signal, blow the attack signal on your bugle. After that, you may relieve the assault force with archers. Barbas, you take the White Ant Bloc with the ladders. I’ll go in first, so just follow me.”

“Y-you really want to take the vanguard? It’s not just your head that’s lacking, but your eyes too! You’ll die to an arrow in the front!”

“Captain, this fool girl’s right. It’s too dangerous. So, I’ll go first…”

“Ahaha, you’re so big, you’ll be a pincushion before you get to the top. I’m pretty fast, you know. I’ll be up there in one go, take their commander, and if I kick those pesky archers about, the castle’s as good as ours. That’s how it is, right?”

“W-wait, Noel! You are forbidden from stealing the march! Follow the pace, and attack when Commander of One Thousand Dirk commands! We can’t just push forward ourselves!”

Cynthia desperately tried to reign her in, but Noel wasn’t having any of it.

“If I match pace with everyone, the fort won’t fall. I don’t want to just watch our allies foolishly die. Don’t you agree, Cynthia?”

Cynthia puzzled over it. She understood what Noel was saying, but it was clearly a violation of orders. While that was certainly the case, at the battle of Kanan highway, they had saved the viceroy’s life by disobeying orders. Furthermore, Noel’s martial prowess was undeniable. Cynthia considered agreeing with Noel this time.

The viceroy ordered a general assault to take the fortress, so it isn’t really a violation of orders. In that case, it could somehow work out…? Hmm.

Cynthia’s thoughts cleared up as she pondered carefully. Noel’s White Ant Bloc numbered five hundred, and they could meet up with remaining conscripts to add up to seven hundred, while Cynthia commanded one thousand regular troops. A total of 1 700 men could be enough for a breakthrough.

“All right, then I’m coming too. At this rate it won’t fall within a week. If our entrance is delayed, taking Vesta will only be a dream.”

“That’s great. This time will surely be a success too. We haven’t lost once when working with Cynthia.”

Noel gave a heartfelt smile, and, at that time, the sound of a low trumpet blast reverberated across the battlefield. It signaled the retreat of the first assault wave, and the war drums of Commander of One Thousand Dirk’s corps began to thunder. They had to move before Gaddis’ men had left.

“Ahhh, we’d finally made up our minds, but it turned out to be pointless. Well, we wouldn’t have been following the pace of the operation, so we’d have probably angered somebody anyway.”

“I’m a little relieved. Starting an attack on one’s own is a grave violation of orders!”

“Ahaha, you say that a lot.”

Noel lifted her bident from the ground, flourished it overhead, and pointed it at the castle.

“Shall we go then? Noel corps, advance!!”

“Yes sir!!”

“We too, advance! Immediately assault Carness! Don’t fall behind the members of Noel corps!”

Not wanting to lose, Cynthia raised her voice, and ordered the attack to begin.

In the Baharan military fortress Carness, the thousand men defending the castle were led by Commander of One Thousand Hoslo. Though he was 58 years old, he was in good health, and above all, his heroic loyalty had been even recognised by Amil himself. When he had heard of the mission to defend the fort unto death, his face had flushed with excitement and he had volunteered for the task. Willingness to go to one’s death was of the utmost importance to such a heroic mission. The soldiers of the defence were all veteran, and their morale was high. After kicking aside Grohl’s request for surrender, they had doggedly repelled the assailing army that was ten times their number. For three days the siege had already continued, and it would not be surprising if the fortress was to fall before another day had passed.

Fighting with a bow in his hand, Hoslo raised his gruff voice angrily, “Endure, endure, endure! If we can buy time here, Lord Amil’s victory will slowly become unshakable! Let us gladly sacrifice ourselves for this goal!”

“Captain Hoslo, we’re making the history of the glorious Empire of the Sun! You’ve killed so many traitors by yourself. It’s only for a moment, but you’ve protected this place for a long time! Let’s show those traitors how we proudly publish the three sabre banner!”

His aide inspired the men with the flag of Bahar: three crossed sabres, of three varied sizes. It signified how men and women of all ages would take up the sword in the event of a war. The ultimate example of which, lauded in their proud military history, was their brave soldiers’ resistance of the empire of the sun until the very end.

“Die, traitors!!”

Hoslo released the bowstring that he had pulled taut, shooting a Coimbran soldier in the head as he reached the gate. The enemy seemed to be trying to replace their burnt husk of a battering ram with a new one, but their movements were dull.

“Concentrate your arrows near the gate!”

“Loose the arrows!!”

A chaotic storm of arrows rained down from above the bent backs of the Coimbran soldiers. The battering ram another wall between them and the gate. As far as Hoslo could see, the enemy soldiers were not brave enough to risk their lives clearing a path. In a battle, training and supplies were important, but what was more fundamentally valuable was the maintenance of high morale. There were various methods of raising morale, but Hoslo subscribed to the line of thought that put his own life at risk with the rest of the men. Mere words could not move men’s hearts. Actions would cause people to follow. That was what Hoslo believed.

It’s already been three days of siege. Our orders were to hold out for at least three days. Let’s show the viceroy that we can exceed his expectations.

The morale was so unusually high that they had beheaded the messenger entreating their surrender. For a commander, that was truly magnificent; however, there was no one who would criticize them for feeling that only doing as much as they had to.

These are all old soldiers, but it would be good if they could be saved. Even if they don’t know it, they are helping us walk towards a glorious future under Lord Amil.

Just as Hoslo was about to inform his aide of his intentions, he heard an ear piercing scream to his right. Hoslo quickly turned his gaze to the sound, eyes meeting the sight of a soldier pinned to the inner wall. Trailing from the man who had been pierced by a black spear was a copious amount of blood along with his miserable viscera. An instant later, the body was wrapped in flames at the sound of something clicking into place. The soldiers’ movements were slightly dulled by the scent of burning flesh. He wondered how it had caught fire without a fire arrow, unable to comprehend the mechanism.

“W-what just…”

“Lord Hoslo, the enemy’s second wave is attacking! One group is rushing…”

Just as he heard the sound of a loud bugle from the grounds before the castle, the head of the soldier who had reported to him exploded. The one who had splattered the blood and brains of the man was an enemy soldier drenched in blood holding a warhammer the length of a longsword in her hands.

“Commander of One Hundred Noel of the Coimbran army was the first on the walls. I did it!”

The young woman introduced herself with a smile. She wore an armoured headband and her body had been dyed red as if she had recently bathed in blood, producing something to the effect of an oddly seductive crimson radiance.

“Kill this one quickly! Don’t let them flood the walls!”

Some soldiers tried to push the ladder off the wall with their spears. The woman who named herself Noel smoothly slipped the spears, and, with perfect timing, struck them down with her warhammer, not giving them enough time to scream. His aide immediately drew his bow, and Noel threw her warhammer at him without hesitation. It was thrown with such force that it crushed his aide’s skull, and she continued in that way to cut a swath through his party.

“You’ve done a number on my subordinates, you bastard! I’ll never forgive you!”

“You’ve killed lots of my allies, so I’m just returning the favour. This is a war after all.”

She responded as if they were having a chat as she plucked the black bident from the wall. Holding it, she began to overwhelm all those who targeted her. With a resolute gaze, Hoslo tossed aside his bow, unsheathing his beloved sabre. He had to kill that woman quickly. If they took a single part of the wall, the men’s resolve would begin to waver. Even a small gap could become fatal. All the more so when the defending army was small. Raising morale that had already dropped was the most difficult art, so he had to nip the problem in the bud.

“You’re quite gallant for a Coimbran soldier, but it seems like it’ll even be difficult for a skilled soldier to take down a girl like you. It seems your fame was well earned!”

As he spoke, the monsters of operation dawn came to mind; she reminded him of the Rebecca of the black sun cavalry. Despite being a woman, she had monstrous battle prowess that awed the Baharan soldiers. Furthermore, calmly controlling those monsters, there was even more monstrous Falid, the memory of whom caused Hoslo’s back to stiffen. Hoslo was experiencing the same feeling at the moment. In the game of life and death, there was no distinction between men and women, and his prior words had only been self encouragement.

“We’re fighting, though, so gender has nothing to do with this. Of course, it’s not like age, appearance, or race do either. What’s important is the issue of killing or being killed.”

“That’s right, it’s just as you say!!”

Noel thrust her bident into a gap in an instant which Hoslo met in a heartbeat, advancing. The advantage of the spear was its long range, and aggressively pressing in could bring out the weakness of its length. Hoslo’s target was Noel’s torso. He pulled out the stops of his hesitation, aiming his attack above her armour. Noel forcibly knocked the blade aside from the place where the point of the sword would have reached her chest with her gauntlet.

“I’m not done!”

Unphased, he brought his sword around for another slash. This time, the attack aimed at her shoulder was intercepted by the two prongs of her bident. Noel showed her prowess by her ability to so fluidly wield the large polearm. She truly held fearsome physical strength. Hoslo loaded strength into both arms, pushing the spear, gritting his teeth as he prepared to take Noel’s head.

“I’ll kill you right here! You must die for Bahar!”

“Hey, don’t you feel like surrendering? It’d end without taking much more time, though. I’d like to talk about all sorts of things, too.”

“Nonsense! Who would surrender to you bastard traitors!?”

“But you know, I think that at this rate all of your precious companions will meet a horrible fate.”

Noel seemed to be testing him.

“Silence, our victory will not be shaken! For that purpose, we will gladly become the cornerstones of Bahar!”

“How can you be so sure of victory even though Bahar is empty? What a wonder.”

“That’s because destruction awaits traitors!”

“Ahaha, you can’t fool me. The truth is, this was all engineered to lure the whole Coimbran army out, wasn’t it? Right?”

Noel’s white teeth were visible when she smiled.

As Hoslo was lost for words, Noel continued, “Making a show of going to the capital, aren’t the nobles turning around on the way? Was it some Bergis guy who came up with this showy thing? You’re recreating the exploits of the empire of the sun, under the guise of becoming the crown prince, right?”

“I, I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”

“Well, no, if you’re not going to surrender no matter what, taking any more time would be a waste. If we destroy all the roads and fields, the nobles in hiding will come out in a panic.”

“W-what are you…”

“Bahar’s flag symbolises how everyone will take up the sword, right? That means we’ll have to kill any resistance, be it from men or women, and regardless of age. Yup, it’s a war, so it can’t be helped.”

“Y-you monster, no… you fiend! As if a bastard like you could lay waste to Bahar!!”

As Hoslo was about to press his sword with all of his hatred, a sharp pain ran through his abdomen. Confirming that it seemed he was going to lose consciousness, Noel’s left fist slammed into his solar plexus. The impact was ferocious, even through his armour. Nearly unbelievably, Hoslo endured, with one hand on his sword.

“Ghhhh, y-you fiend…”

Hoslo was bent double in pain. In the instant that he heard something ominously swirling overhead, his consciousness began to rapidly fade.

The final thing he heard was, “Haven’t I been called that before? Either way, ‘fiend’ is actually kind of cool if you think about it. You know, I like playing tag. After all, you can play it as much as you want.”

Before he could hear the last of it, Hoslo’s head fell heavily to the floor.