Chapter 144: A Scene During the March
After rejoining my comrades, I savored the soup that Mika had skillfully prepared before I began narrating my firsthand account of everything I had witnessed concerning the golden-armored soldier. My comrades had seen the guy firsthand and knew that he had decimated the vanguard team. They took my words as the truth.
“So, does this mean the boss will have to fight that thing again?”
“In the meantime, leave the command to us.”
“We’ll handle the battle safely.”
When I informed them that Master and I would be facing that guy, Tigar and the others smiled and told me not to worry about them. Tigar and the others’ command abilities were excellent, and there was no need for concern.
Especially Asumi, who downplayed her skills, was, in fact, the most well-rounded among the four of us when it came to leadership. It was her unwavering command that kept her fellow Khan race members from being wiped out.
By the way, Tigar excelled in offense, Zald in defense, and I was skilled in ambush tactics. Our individual personalities were clearly reflected in our specialties.
“More importantly, big brother, can you really defeat such a monster?” Leo asked
“Hmm… It seems impossible. I tried to pierce his vital points deeply with my sword and even poured my poison heavily inside his body, but he didn’t die; he just went berserk. Even with the combined efforts of Master and Lady Altissia, we wouldn’t be able to kill him… Truly, a monstrous creature has emerged.”
“…I think our captain, who made a descendant of gods shed blood, is monstrous enough.”
As I answered Leo’s question while sipping on soup, Asumi’s mouth twitched before she uttered those words. I did have confidence in my strength, although I knew I couldn’t compare to master or Lady Altissia. However, I didn’t believe I was a monster.
But contrary to my thoughts, my comrades were nodding in agreement to her words. It seemed that Asumi wasn’t the only one with this opinion. Peering at Lappy sitting next to me, I noticed she was moving her head back and forth, appearing drowsy.
Lappy was the only one who would stand up for me in times like this, but… I didn’t intend to wake her up forcibly if she was tired. I swiftly finished the remaining contents of the soup in the bowl, handed it to Mika, and then carried Lappy on my back as I headed toward the tent the girls were using.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
The next morning, the Coalition Army started their march as planned. The news of the vanguard unit’s destruction couldn’t be concealed, and overall morale seemed to have taken a slight hit even before the full-scale battle began.
The pace of the march was considerably slower than when I was with the vanguard unit. It wasn’t a matter of morale but simply because of various supplies and equipment.
Among them were parts of weapons designed to breach the fortress’s sturdy outer walls. It was the weight of these components that slowed the progress of the carts. It would take several days to get within firing range of the fortress.
The members of the vanguard unit had managed to dash away at that distance in one go, but that was because they were elite warriors who could be called such even in defeat. They had sprinted through while enhancing their physical abilities through fighting spirit or spiritual power, mitigating their fatigue.
In the case of Master and Lady Altissia, they were doing something even more advanced. Lady Altesia wasn’t only using concealment spiritual arts. She had also applied spiritual arts to increase the speed of the horses she and my master were riding while reducing their fatigue.
I was confident in my ability to swim through the ground at high speed, but even though I could chase them until they stopped, I could never catch up with them. If Lady Altesia, riding her horse, was truly making an effort to flee, there was no way for me to catch up back then.
“…Looks like they’ve stopped ahead. Take a short break.”
“””Yeesss.”””
As we halted our advance, I instructed the special operations unit to take a break. My comrades were accustomed to this routine and promptly sat down on the ground.
Even with an army composed entirely of elite warriors, breaks were still necessary. Maintaining fighting spirit constantly would lead to exhaustion, and above all, the horses pulling the wagons required rest.
Beasts like Shuu and Apao, who had become demons, could endure longer periods of travel, but I had heard that creating demons based on beast souls mostly ended in failure. Fortunately, they were not mass-produced.
“Mika, how much of the allocated rations do we have left?”
“We have about ten days’ worth remaining.”
“I see. Then there’s no need to negotiate just yet.”
During our short break, I inquired with Mika about the remaining rations. Rations were not unlimited, and as we consumed them, they would inevitably diminish. We needed to request a resupply well before they were completely depleted.
During these negotiations, that man and his subordinate imperial soldiers wouldn’t lift a finger to help us. We had to handle everything from negotiations to procurement ourselves. If he considered us his weapons, he should have taken better care of our expendable resources.
These negotiations often proved to be difficult. Even within the Coalition Army, there were many who held disdain for demons. It was only natural that our rations were reduced more than required, and at times, they even found excuses to refuse resupply. This exchange was quite cumbersome, but it was an unavoidable task.
“I’m feeling depressed for the next few days… Oh, right.”
As I thought about being considered weapons by the Empire, I suddenly recalled something. So, I climbed onto the wagon pulled by Shuu and Apao, then slowly drew both of my twin swords from their scabbards.
Despite having battled the golden-armored soldier, there was not a single dent in the white and black swords. They were meticulously maintained, reflecting my face like mirrors.
“It’s always a mystery to me, though. Why are the boss’s swords so clean? I’ve never seen you taking care of them…”
Sharl, who was pregnant, looked at my swords with a curious expression. Her belly had grown considerably, and she might even give birth during this ongoing war. Well, if the siege dragged on, she’d undoubtedly go into labor on the battlefield.
It was a pity, but we, as demons, were obligated to fight. Demons didn’t even have the right to choose where to give birth. The only thing we could do was collectively cherish any children born among us.
“There are those who feel indebted to me. Though I may be the one who is always indebted to them.”
My twin swords received regular maintenance; this was a task undertaken by the Popi people, whom I had once rescued. Although they never showed themselves since then, it appeared that they were always nearby, silently tending to my swords each time I returned from the battlefield.
I wish I could thank them in person if they were indeed nearby. However, the Popi were a reclusive race, and they had been held captive by the Khan people. They still seemed wary of anyone other than themselves and never revealed themselves to me, making it impossible to express my gratitude directly.
“Oh, you mean the Popi race you mentioned before. But are they really here? I’ve been on this wagon for a while now, and I didn’t notice anyone,” Sharl said.
“They’re all skilled at concealment spiritual arts. They can even deceive the senses of demons.”
“Hmm…”
Sharl seemed skeptical about the Popi people’s existence. She couldn’t accept that she hadn’t noticed them at all, despite being present on the wagon all the time.
The Popi race’s mastery of concealment was unmatched, as they flawlessly restored my twin swords to their perfect condition without Sharl, who was on the wagon, noticing a thing. It might even be safe to say that their art surpassed Lady Altesia’s spiritual arts, whose horse vibrations were detected by me. Though she might get angry at me if she were to find out my thoughts, this was an undeniable truth.
I carefully sheathed my twin swords and placed them inside a barrel, where I stored them. I decided to leave a portion of today’s food as a gift for the Popi people. The rations would also disappear by the following day.
This was the utmost gratitude I could offer at the moment. Leeching off their kindness went against my principles.
After advising Sharl to take care of herself, I stepped down from the wagon and decided to see what the others were up to. Nearly everyone was sitting on the ground, taking a break, and chatting. There didn’t seem to be any signs of trauma similar to those of the survivors of the vanguard team.
The Special Operations Unit consisted of battle-hardened individuals who knew that dwelling on past battles would hinder their survival in the next. They had already prepared themselves for the next battlefield and switched their mindset accordingly.
However, the others in the vanguard team were no slouches either; they were elites, so they should know that. The golden-armored soldier had displayed such unreasonable strength that it could break even their spirits. Being ordered to fight against such opponent was almost laughable.
“Heh! Take this!”
“Ugh… This!”
While I was contemplating these thoughts, I heard the sound of energetic breathing that didn’t quite match a typical break. Curious, I followed the source of the voices and found Leo and Julius engaging in combat training with Lappy.
Both of them possessed formidable martial skills compared to children their age. However, they couldn’t hold a candle to Lappy, who could only be described as a prodigy. Lappy effortlessly deflected all their fierce attacks without breaking a sweat.
“Eiiy!”
“Ugh…!”
“Juliu… Ugh!”
Perhaps driven by his growing frustration at being unable to get in a strike, Julius recklessly lunged at Lappy, attempting to punch her. However, such a careless attack was never going to work on Lappy. She saw through it completely, evaded with ease, and countered with a kick to his face. Julius crumpled to the ground in agony.
Leo, momentarily distracted by Julius’s plight, soon realized he was facing Lappy. She wasn’t someone he could casually exchange blows with while keeping an eye on others. With Julius out of the fight, the tables had turned, and Leo found himself desperately trying to withstand Lappy’s relentless assault.
“Huh? Oh, it’s big brother,” Lappy said.
Although Lappy had been relentlessly attacking Leo, she stopped her assault upon seeing me and leaped over to my side. Her movements were as swift as ever, but I calmly caught her and placed her on my shoulder, her usual position.
She was in a good mood, and I patted her head once, then proceeded to help Leo stand up by taking his arm while kneeling beside him. In response, Leo smiled in a somewhat embarrassed manner.
“I must have looked pretty uncool, huh, big brother,” Leo said.
“I wouldn’t say uncool, but why are you training so hard? It’s a short break, so make sure to rest properly.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Big brother, you know, Leo and Julius want to become strong enough to beat the golden one you fought,” Lappy said.
“Oh, is that so?”
When Lappy revealed their goal, Leo scratched his head with a somewhat embarrassed expression. To have the will to defeat a descendants of the gods, the one who displayed overwhelming power that had broken the spirits of many formidable warriors—it was an astonishing display of inner strength.
It seemed like Lappy found it troublesome to be dragged into this, as she refused to leave my shoulder. Perhaps she didn’t want to be involved any further. While Lappy was strong, she didn’t seem as eager for strength as the two of them.
“Leo, we’re on a march right now. It’s better to conserve your energy as much as possible. It could be troublesome if you draw attention, and what good is all the training if you end up dead from exhaustion, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right, big brother.”
“But I understand your feelings. When we have some spare time, I’ll spar with you. How does that sound?”
“Not a problem at all! We’ll count on you when the time comes, big brother!”
“All right. Make sure to let Julius know when he wakes up.”
I could empathize with Leo and Julius’s determination to get stronger. Strength was necessary to fulfill my mission and survive, and I took pride in the fact that their determination wasn’t any less than mine. That’s why I couldn’t help but want to help them achieve their goals.
However, to make them stronger than the golden-armored soldier, I would need to become even stronger myself. I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of unease, wondering if I was bitten off more than I could chew, but I decided to take a break with the kids.
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TN: Leo shouldn’t be weaker than Lappy, since he didn’t use his sword or his ability. But I could be wrong; point is Lappy is stronger than most when it comes to bare handed combat, she can even win against adult demons.
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