***Arc 8 One Who Spread Death, Chapter 198 One Who Spread Death***
Before noon――Keithriton military camp.
“......From now on, Mia should have both her arms and legs tied up when she sleeps.”
"Ooh, that's a great idea――"
"You idiot, don't even joke about it! K-Krische-sama, I'll do my best from now on..."
"Krische've already asked Mia to be careful about this 57 times. It’s the so-called lip service. Mia, you understand?"
*humph humph* Krische crossed her arms and glared at Mia from above Gururun.
Then she looked at Kalua.
"Kalua, since you usually live together, so you should do something about it. Starting today, you will officially be the head of Kurofuyo's special task force leader cum Mia's sleeping advisor."
"Eh...? You know Usa-chan, there are some things in this world that you can't do anything about..."
“Kalua, shut up.”
Mia glared at Kalua and sighed.
Why did she become at such disadvantage because of the accident that happened while she was sleeping.
It was truly unreasonable.
She cursed her own body.
With this, it was confirmed that Krische’s nagging would be repeated at every opportunity for the rest of the day.
"Sigh...Even though I thought Krische-sama’s mood would become better after eating."
"...I can hear you, Mia."
“Ah, ah no, it was just a figure of speech and not…”
“Is Mia trying to use a figure of speech treat Krische like a kid and Gururun?”
"Now, now, Usa-chan, look, this is delicious bread. Oh, bread with slits, stuffed with sausage and cheese..."
Kahlua quickly took out a sandwich from the snack set she received in the basket and shook it from side to side as if to show it off to Krische.
Krische sullenly jumped down and took it, opening her small mouth and nibbled at it.
The sausage packed with the flavor of the meat, and the cheese still warm and soft, with a strong salty taste.
However, by sandwiching it between bread, the strong flavor was reduced――it was a simple, hearty, yet extremely delicious dish.
Krische nodded, saying it wasn't bad, and bit into it, while Gururun looked at it with some kind of expectation and interest.
"Gururun is a gllutton. If you eats that much, you'll get fat."
When Krische tried to hide the bread, Gururun let out a miserable ‘gururu’ voice.
Krische who saw that weny ‘muu’, and cut it into a quarter and threw it in front of Gururun.
Gururun let out a happy ‘gururu’ voice and chomp it down.
"...Really. You can't anymore snack okay."
Kalua looked at Gururun who was in a good mood with an indescribable expression as she watched Krische jump on Gururun while nibling on her bread and pat her on the side.
She couldn’t believe that the monster with which she fought to the death last night was the same creature.
Of course, she was aware of the achievement of this ‘big meow meow’ named Gururun, but she still felt like she had drawn the short end of the stick.
When Kahlua averted her gaze while sighing, the female general, Tekrea Lemin, appeared from beside her on horseback.
"...Alberinea"
"Ah, good morning...afternoon? Hmm...it's been a while, General Lemin."
"Long time no see"
Even though she didn’t her helmet, she was in armor. The situation was no longer that of a great danger, but it was probably just her nature.
Looking at the Suiko with a slightly nervous look on her face, she dismounted from her horse and saluted Krische――the adjutant next to her, Milcarz, followed suit.
Krische returned the favor by pointing her thumb at her chest while still riding on Gururun, Mia and Kalua also saluted.
"Keith said to send his thanks. He said General Lemin helped him hunt the remnants, which made things a lot easier."
"Ha. I only fulfilled my natural responsibility, Alberinea."
When Tekrea said so, Krische smiled happily while swaying her silver hair like two tails.
She ignored the Suiko who was sitting there, and when Tekrea looked at her up close like this, she still looked like an adorable girl.
The inside of her cloak was a one-piece dress, which probably made her look unsuitable for the battlefield.
“Putting aside General Keithriton, to be honest, General Lemin full of hole or rather...hmm, Krische had some concerns, but General Lemin performed better than Krische expected. Krische thought there would be some damage, but it's less severe than Krische imagined, it's not a bad result."
However, her words were very direct and clear.
Her words seem to show concern, but that concern also couldn’t be felt.
Kalua and Mia looked at Krische exasperated, but Tekrea didn't seem to mind.
She knew that she didn't really have any malicious intent. She had heard similar words many times in meetings.
Rather, it should be taken as a compliment.
"Ha. However, I lost one corps commander under my command, and I realized how inexperienced I was. It was only with the help of Assistant Marshal Farren and General Keithriton that I was able to avoid making any further mistakes. ...From now on, I will train and study harder."
When Tekrea says that, she looked into Krische's eyes.
"There's not even a need to compare it to Alberinea's accomplishments. ...This feat of achievement was splendid."
"Hmm...for Krische it was quite lacking though."
Krische crossed her troubled and patted the Suiko on the shoulder.
Midoriya starts walking, and Tekre follows, pulling the horse reins with her hand.
"Some escaped huh..."
"That said, this is more than enough results. It can be considered that this invasion by Elderant had been completely defeated."
In one night, Elderant’s army of 120,000 soldiers was destroyed.
At the very least, only the Arkaz army deployed in the north was able to retreat in an organized manner.
Even that army's main camp was attacked by Krische while they were retreating, and they lost their rear in the pursuit, and it was a stalemate.
Now they have no choice but to run away.
"Krische goal was not to defeat them, but to wipe out the entire army. A considerable number of enemy soldiers escaped to the north."
‘Krische should have brought more Bonjara’, Krische said pouting her mouth looking a little.
In one night, she destroyed two armies and forced the remaining one into a state where they were unable to continue fighting, and it still wasn't good enough for her.
Tekrea was looking at this fight based on whether they could win or not, but their thinking was fundamentally different.
She was assuming victory and then choosing the outcome.
"Krische'll leave the cleaning up to General Keithriton and General Lemin."
The Alberinea army had been given an order to not accept the surrender of enemy soldiers until dawn――a battle of annihilation.
True to her words, she must have intended to kill all 120,000 within the night if possible.
For the postwar period.
"For the sake of peace in the west, it is of great significance to whittle down the enemy forces here. Please don't let your guard down."
She was extremely ruthless and had no compassion for enemy soldiers.
To her, it was just a number.
"Depending on both of your requests, Krische is hesitated if Krische should little longer and help out but..."
No matter how small the number, the number of enemy soldiers who died last night would exceed 50,000.
She heard that soldiers who lost their will to fight and those who deserted were relentlessly killed.
The situation was so cruel――some troops even deliberately sent surrendered enemy soldiers to Tekrea.
Alberinea's order that poke holes in the Holy Spirit Covenant was not without reason――but Tekrea who was powerless had no words to condemn her.
Her choice was at least correct and effective in terms of national defense and justified as a military personnel.
"No......Please leave the rest of the work to me and General Keithriton. It's not worth bothering Alberinea."
Therefore, those were the only words that she could utter.
Tekrea believed that there should be noble principles on the battlefield.
There was a line somewhere that must not be crossed.
She didn’t think it's wrong. Both herself and her.
That's why Tekrea only did what she could at her own discretion.
"Ehehe, I see. Then Krische'll leave it to you."
"...Ha. As planned, Alberinea will be with Assistant Marshal Faren?"
“Right...”
Krische heard those words and clutched the pouch hanging around her neck with great care.
"……just"
"...?"
And she relaxed her cheeks happily.
“Krische will parted here for a while and went east through the royal city, right.”
As he turned my back on the enemy general and returned to the main camp from the right wing, an enemy corps appeared from the south――the right flank.
It was a large-scale enemy flank attack.
Ledo was first forced to make a choice there.
Should he ignore it and return to the main camp?
1000 hunting squad led by Ledo――Without support, the right wing would be destroyed.
Abnormalities at the headquarters could not be ignored.
But, this surprise attack on the right should not be ignored.
――The situation was chaotic. The overall situation was not clear.
At the very least for Ledo who was in the frontline, there was no way for him to know that Meeklea had already collapsed, and that an army-sized army was approaching from the south.
There was no doubt that the main camp had been attacked by surprise, but Ledo thought that this was just a surprise attack by a small number of elite ambush soldiers.
He never dreamed that the situation was already at the limit.
The only composition in his mind was Veeze's army against Keithriton army.
If he were infer from that, what would be even more terrifying than the surprise attack on the main camp would be the destruction of the right wing and the frontal breakthrough of Keithriton army.
‘hg..., the main camp includes Shelna, Zuren and the others, and Zigret-sama! We will support the retreat of the right wing and move into guerrilla action to prevent the enemy from breaking through!!’
As a field commander, his judgment was correct.
In response to the words of the brave captain Ledo, who ignored his personal feelings, the Veeze hunting party fought with all their might.
Without their efforts, Veeze’s right wing would have been destroyed in a single breath.
However, what was approaching from the flank on the right wing was the kingdom's most elite――the second corps of Kolkis Argand, under the direct control of Alberinea.
They fought through the civil war, defeated Gulshan head on, and their morale level was at its peak.
A corps that would have overwhelmed Veeze’s right wing even if it had attacked head on.
The flank attack caused by this attack was extremely difficult to withstand.
Already under a fierce attack from the front by Keithriton's army, Ledo and the others’s efforts were in vain.
‘You're very powerful. I think you endured quite well, but...are you the commander of the guerrilla force?’
‘...’
What broke through that defense was the blood-stained silver tiger armor.
It was a monster whose body was made entirely of steel and could easily swing a large spear that looked like an iron club.
He was far superior to the current Ledo, and he led elite men――at least they weren't easy opponents to fight with a tattered hunting squad.
‘Ledo, as Kanalua’s Chief Warrior, I sincerely thank you. ...But that's enough. The right wing can't stand it anymore. You guys go to Shelna-sama.’
‘But――’
‘Warrior of Kanalua! Never let go of the blade and fight without fear of death!! Our blood and bravery will surely be passed down into the future!! Arcand!!’
‘HA!!”
The Right Wing――Kanalua’s Chief Warrior personally leads his elite to the enemy general.
Ledo had no choice but to turn his back on them.
It was only then that he understood the situation.
Obviously, their color was different from the Keithriton army they were fighting with.
There was an army completely different from Keithriton’s army on this battlefield.
Enough time had passed.
However, there was no sign that Meeklea in the south had moved to support them.
He had heard a report from Kanalua’s Chief Warrior that they had been attacked.
There was no follow-up, and cold sweat ran down his back.
――When he passed through the forest and arrived at the main camp, it was already occupied by the enemy.
The camp is in disarray, and Elderant soldiers were lying on the ground――it looked so one-sided that it's hard to believe that a battle had taken place.
At least no corpses of enemy soldiers were visible.
'Shoot the enemy coming out of the forest! Fagran, form a wide line of battle against the forest, and we'll flank them that way!’
The enemy number in the thousands, or 5,000 if it were a single corps.
At the very least, Redo and his men, who were still in a state of exhaustion――the hunting squad numbered less than 500, but they were not able to do anything about it, and Ledo and the others proceeded north through the forest.
No matter what, he knew that they had lost this battle.
The main camp has collapsed, the center had lost control, and the left would likely be the same.
Veeze’s army was destroyed, and the forest was filled with deserters running north.
Veeze’s army in the forest is caught in the east and west, with the enemy coming from the south――the only place they could escape was to the north.
Ledo realized that this was no longer a rescue of the main force, but a mere rout.
Still, he just prayed for Sherna's safety and inspired his troops.
Zuren was also in the main camp. He knew that Sherna was stronger than anyone else.
At least, she would have survived――that's what he thought, and he went to the north.
As he proceeded through the center rear, he found countless corpses with arrows sticking out of them.
The hunting squad left behind at the main camp was also mixed in there.
Were they pursued while fleeing the main camp?
Even so, it was so one-sided that there was no sign of a battle.
Everyone had been killed by a single arrow, and broken trees could be seen.
They were heading northeast from the main camp――Kirs, the left wing.
Ignoring the soldiers who were running straight north, Ledo headed there with the hunting squad.
After seeing the headless corpse of Zigret, the head priest, he leaves his subordinates behind.
He didn't even care that the branches and leaves were hurting his face,
"ah……"
――and.
She spent some time in Keithriton's large tent reporting and discussing the damage caused by this battle.
Krische was in a good mood from beginning to end.
The loss was only one corps commander, and the loss of soldiers was less than 10,000 against enemy twice their number.
Although there was some attrition, considering that the battle started with a ratio of 63,000 to 120,000, the damage was negligible.
It can be said that the gradual retreat strategy led by Eluga, which avoided direct combat as much as possible, and Felworth's command worked well together, and considering that they were able to eliminate nearly two-thirds of the enemy soldiers, it was a great victory without any complaint.
"――Generally speaking, there are no problems, and that's about all to report on each other's situation for now. Skeleton, ehehe, thank you once again for your hard work."
"Yes, Krische-sama too. However, you arrived rather early, and thanks to that, we had less loss."
"It's because Skeleton did his best. Skeletons always live up to Krische expectations."
When she grabbed Eluga's hand, she shook it happily, and Eluga also seemed happy, distorting his evil appearance.
It looked like a scene between a beautiful girl and a good-natured old man, but his evil face was wicked no matter what.
Female General Tekrea resisted the urge to back away and stood in place.
Eluga's adjutant Quinez and Mia looked into her eyes, sensing that they somehow understood her.
What could be called a mysterious friendship existed there.
" General Keithriton and General Lemin too, thankyou your hard work. Krische will join up with Skeleton as planned, and from now on, Krische will leave it to you to hunt down the remnants and liberate the occupied city."
“...Certainly”
"General Keithriton and the other should cooperate with Arna in the north. It will be useful for hunting the remnants, and the enemy will be Elderant soldiers. If we don't remove it as much as possible, we'll be troubled by bandit after the war, so be careful.''
Krische said troubledly.
“It seems that many undelivered villages have been burned down, so please do something about that as well. It seems that many like that happened, and if you think that it was because Hilkintos neglected to protect the people, it feels kind of sad that they were left alone.''
Felworth looked surprised at those words and stared at Krische.
Krische tilted her head and Felworth smiled bitterly.
"No, it was a little surprising. If that's the case, then of course."
"...? Well, that's fine, but... Kreschenta wants a speedy recovery and stability, so even if you do it randomly it will probably meet Kreschenta’s wish."
"Yes ma’am. Acknowledged"
Felworth saluted, looking slightly happy, and Tekrea followed suit.
Krische nodded, took a sip of the sweet tea, and turned her attention back to Eluga.
“Skeleton will go north and then east with the Ojii-sama and Meow Meow. It will be a long journey, so please marched in a reasonable hurry…”
“Yes.… How is the current situation in the East?”
There was an information blockade in the kingdom, and Eluga and the others did not know information about other regions.
Krische said that it seemed to be doing a little better than expected, and smiled.
“Gulshan obediently surrendered and the problem was temporarily resolved, so General Garhka and the others are heading east from the south.”
East turned out to be better than originally planned.
Originally, Dougleen was planning to take the opportunity to head east while liberating the southern part of the kingdom with the intact central army, but with Gulshan surrendering, the problem was temporarily resolved.
Dougleen and the central generals left a minimum number of troops in the south and began pressing on Elsren from the southeast.
At least 40,000 troops. Since Arna's army was located in the Sea of Trees in the northeast of the kingdom, they had enough troops to discourage Elsren.
Elsren was under pressure from the north and south.
"It looks like this one is over as well. Krische don't know the details of the situation over there, but since it's General Verreich, Krische’s sure it'll be fine."
Krische said that.
Wolfeneit in particular was a strong fortified city, and was led by Nozan, who had been highly regarded since the civil war.
With him at the helm, even Krische didn’t see any problems with the defensive battle.
"...Right. In that situation, Verreich would be able to handle it well. The way he fought the other day――he can now be said to be the best general in the kingdom, excluding Krische-sama."
Felworth nodded.
He was too good a man to have been a mere corps commander in the first place.
"Christand, me, and His Highness――"
At the word ‘His Highness’, Krische furrowed her eyebrows and said, ‘Excuse me’, and smiled bitterly.
"...Krische told you not to say that in front of Krische, geez."
Krische spoke while puffing out his cheeks, while Eluga next to her patted Krische on the head, troubled.
"My apologies. I didn't mean any harm."
"...Well, it’s fine though."
Tekrea, who didn’t know much about the situation, looked at her lieutenant's eyes in confusion, as Krische who said that while pouting was exactly what a child would do.
Kalua's expression hardened a little, and Mia silently pulled her hand.
The two of them quietly looked at each other and went back to normal.
"Well, in any case... everyone who knew him thought he should become a general. If Garhka were to join him, I would feel at ease."
"I agree with you. Even though we can't say we have enough troops, they are originally the strongest of the three sides. General Gokhals and General Riekles are not bad...I don't think they are lacking. Although they are facing the most difficult opponent."
Elsren was the most well-equipped of the three kingdoms, and its generals were also excellent.
And above all, they were a strong cavalryman from a nomadic tribe.
Putting aside defensive battles, if it were a decisive battle on the plains where the opponent could make full use of their mobility, even if they had superior military strength, it would be quite dangerous to confront Elsren head-on.
Thet had also told Dougleen in advance not to act on his own and to keep the pressure on them.
"Well, General Verreich is both tough and flexible, so long as it's a defensive battle, there's no danger. Krische-sama must be tired from all the hard work. Please take this opportunity to rest a little."
"...Ehehe, yes."
Eluga said this, and Krische looked embarrassed and held her reddened cheeks with both hands.
Seeing this, Tekrea asked as she recalled.
"...Now that you mention it, Alberinea will be heading east via the royal capital right."
"Yes, Krische have to report to Selene and Kreschenta, have a meeting with General Verreich in advance, and do a lot of other things...Well, while Krische is at it, Krische think Krische’ll go to the estate for a little while...and help around the house."
Looking at Krische who shyly said that, Eluga distorted his evil appearance and smiled bitterly.
“With this results, there is no one who will blame Krische-sama for taking a little break. In fact, Krische-sama needs a break. It will take some time for the army to get to the other side. Until then, take it easy. Also, I would also like to have some of Krische-sama and Bery-san’s cooking.”
"Yes, Bery also said that we'll have a party after the war is over, so Krische'll invite Skeleton too. When Krische get back, Bery and Krische will think about various things."
The girl smiled happily.
――Those who appeared around Shelna Wese were not just elites.
The black-armored century led by Alberinea.
She had heard rumors that they were elite, but she could not imagined it.
The elite that Sherna had brought ahead of her was seventeen.
All of them were magic possessors that could keep up with her footsteps, and they were all capable of surviving against ten people.
However, they were up against over 200 people――the fact that they were magic possessors was not an advantage.
How did they catch up in such a short time?
How did they complete the siege?
The answer was right in front of them.
“......!”
The speed and power of the spear was impossible for a mere spear thrower.
Even as she saw this, Shelna turned her body into a whirlwind.
She had exceeded the limits of human perception――even the flow of time had been changed to something slower.
Twisting and turning, she dodged seven of the spears aimed at her as if dancing, and grabbed one of them.
With a single step, she took the power of the spear as her own and turned it into centrifugal force.
The three arrows that were approaching her were snapped off by the spear she had grabbed.
The elite led by Shelna were easily able to defeat a mere surprise attack, but this was no mere surprise attack.
The elite that should have been 17 men were reduced to less than 10 in that instant, and only 7 remained.
Aaron's escort was also half destroyed――and the Suiko had reaped even more of them.
The main camp, which should have had 150 men, had only 73 remaining around it.
Shelna immediately understood that this would not be a battle..
"S-Shelna-sama, run away!"
Zuren shouted.
Rationally she knew it was right.
However, there was a moment of hesitation, and emotion affected her actions,
"Kuh!"
She quickly dodged the blade that swung at her from the edge of her field of vision, right beside her.
Sharp and fast. She instantly understood that it was no ordinary swordsman.
That was why she reads the next attack and takes another half step backward.
At that moment, it was swung from a downswing to a upswing――a high-speed up-and-down double slash that was not even linked.
While avoiding it, Shelna flicked the sword from the side with the hilt of the spear and lowered herself.
Twisting at the waist, what Shelna fired from the back was a roaring right heel.
However, the girls’s beautiful face was a just a sun away.
The backward kick struck nothing.
She instantly jumped back and up into the tree. She opened a distance from the man in black armor.
"...I didn't expect you to be able to evade this. I heard that you had an extraordinary swordsmanship, and you certainly looks like a force to be reckoned with."
The man laughed.
He was not someone to be defeated easily, especially in this situation.
In this moment, only half from half survived. There was no time to think.
“Please go!! Shelna-sama!!”
Zuren's words echoed.
Zuren screamed as his left arm was injured he swung a large spear with only his right arm.
“You must survive!!”
"Zuren!"
She heard the flapping of a griffin's wings above her head.
"Gah...!?"
The spear pierced the giant body of the warrior directly below his shoulders.
The Griffin cavalryman who jumped down from above let go of the spear that had pierced Zuren and pulled out her curved sword.
Just like the man before her, most of the familiar faces had disappeared.
"..."
She jumped into the forest without looking back.
Trying not to think about the magnitude of what she lost in an instant, she dodged the arrows and javelins from behind, and moved forward using the trees and bushes as a shield.
No one could catch up with Shelna, who grew up using the forest as her playground.
That should have been the case, but there was one exception.
Something that easily followed Shelna as she ran.
Even without looking, she could tell what it was that was trying to block Shelna's escape by tearing down the trees.
If it was just a Suiko, there would be no problem.
The time when she was afraid of a Suiko was a thing of the past――Shelna felt no fear to Suiko.
She was simply afraid of the being it carried.
A small meadow that formed between the trees and the gap in the forest.
Dancing in front of her from the side was a gigantic tiger, eight shaku tall at the shoulders, with silver hair.
――Purple eyes shining in the starlight.
"Geez, you shouldn’t tun you know, what such a troublesome person. Krische'll have to scold Aleha too later."
Just as her appearance looked, she had an angry face like that of a young girl's.
Even when dealing with Shelna, she didn't seem nervous or wary at all.
She jumps off the Suiko and spun Aaron's curved sword in her hands.
"...As a General of Veeze, I surrender."
She couldn’t win. She couldn’t escape.
Shelna already understood.
Whether she fights or runs away, she would probably be killed by this girl.
"Krische can't recognize it. Look, it's already a moonless night and visibility is poor in the forest."
The girl showed her surroundings and smiled.
“Moreover, the soldiers of the Elderant army are of poor quality, slaughtering non-combatants, and the chain of command is unclear... There is a risk that our soldiers will suffer unnecessary damage due to the ceasefire after surrender. As the commander of Alberan's army, Krische refuses."
Please die peacefully, the girl told her.
She had a lovely smile like a girl's, and that was why she looked so mad.
But somehow, she could understand it.
No matter what she said, the girl was going to kill her.
The way she calmly kills people――the girl resembled her in some way.
"...There's someone I really want to live and meet."
"Hehe, what a strange coincidence. Krische too."
The girl was surely a person who couldn’t understand other people's pain.
"But because of you guys, doing such stupid things Krische need to be in a place like this. Krische is really unhappy..."
Even though she was smiling, her purple eyes seemed devoid of any emotion, inorganic.
However, Shelna could understand the certain murderous intent that was reflected there.
"...That's why Krische'll kill all the bad people so that something like this can never happen again. If Krische do that, there will be peace around Krische... ...Krische will be able to do things that are much more enjoyable."
At some point, Shelna realized that she herself was distorted.
She was happy because she had people who supported her.
She was sure she would become happier eventually.
――But it ended today.
"Krische ended idle talking huh."
She smiled happily.
She was like Shelna who had caused countless deaths.
She also, one who spread death.
Shelna would be killed for what the girl desired, just as Shelna had killed many for what she desired.
This was because she was much more pure and strong than Shelna.
"Goodbye"
The distance was 6 ken――the step was too smooth.
Footwork and acceleration that embody Shelna's ideals.
Her whole body spins around and she threw Aaron's curved sword.
The power of that blade could be understood even in such a slow time, where not even a sound could be heard.
An ordinary opponent would have died in that one move. they would have lost.
But Sherna stepped in and thrust her right hand into the whirlwind.
Avoiding the high-speed spinning blade, she gripped the hilt and leaned into its centrifugal force.
Then, using the rotation, she swung the spear in her left hand in a wide arc.
This girl, Alberinea, would easily dodge it. ――No, wrong.
A fast spear couldn’t even disturb her.
She instantly let go of the spear, which had lost its weight.
Without even looking, she noticed that the spear was cut off from the middle of the body.
Her body turns to the right by centrifugal force――her back pointing at the girl.
Would she make it in time? No, she wouldn’t make it.
At this rate, the girl's blade would reach her faster than Shelna could cut her down with her curved sword.
She instantly switched and swung her right leg around her left leg.
The heel using centrifugal force cuts through the wind, but there is no sensation when she swung through.
In the first place, the girl was already not there.
"hg..."
――She realized that at once and threw her head back.
What she saw was the right blade twisting around like a spinning top and being swung.
The girl was approaching from behind.
As if in pursuit of the curved sword in Sherna's grasp, Alberinea had slipped into the blind her spot circling around the spiral drawn by Shelna.
She avoided it by just a hair's breadth,
"……ah"
――But the blade to her left continued to tear her white throat.
A momentary impact hit her from above her cuirass, and her body fell onto the grass.
"Muu, that's too shallow. You shouldn’t dodge, geez. It'll just hurt, okay?"
"Hg, ah..."
Her blood was pouring out and she couldn't breathe.
She grabbed the throat and almost fall to her knees, but she withstood, stood up and kicked and rolled.
Amidst her pain, his smiling face appeared in her mind.
His slightly shy and blunt face overlapped with the purple glow.
"sh, ...e, o"
Shelna murmured――Krische pressed down on her body, stomping on her breastplate.
Then, she slashed the head of the enemy general who was muttering something, and jumped back to avoid her blood.
"Hmm, Krische thought it would be a little easier to kill you but"
‘Krische is still lacking’, she said, placing the “light one” on her right hip, as if troubled.
She used corpse's pants to clean the dirt on the “heavy one”.
The sound had stopped on the enemy's left wing headquarters a little further away, the battle must have ended there as well.
"Krische, the enemy general is..."
Mia appeared from the forest and was about to say something, but when she saw the corpse of the female general besides Krische, she understood.
"It’s over. She was a bit nimble and troublesome. Mia, please show it appropriately. That left wing main camp is the route of the routed soldiers, so it's perfect."
"Eh..."
"Ah, okay, okay, I'll do it now."
Kahlua looked at Mia, who seemed to hate it from the bottom of her heart, and looked at the dead face exasperated.
She squinted her eyes as she saw ther= tears rising there.
"She's a beauty, what a waste....Well, in a way, it's better that Usa-chan killed her."
Her fingers closed her eyes, and she carried the large curved sword on her shoulder.
And swung it down to her neck.
Veeze’s left wing illuminated by bonfires――Kirs main camp.
All of Kirs soldiers had already fled.
There were no living humans there.
In their place were countless corpses, some with missing heads.
"……No...way"
And when Ledo saw the flags of Kirs lined up there, he was stunned fell to his knees.
The men of the hunting squad who managed to catch up with Ledo were speechless and dropped their swords.
The flag that was standing there had many heads stuck in it.
The head of Aron Chirus, who Ledo hated from the bottom of his heart.
The head of the hunting squad member who he spent many years together.
The head of the respected head priest, Zigret.
The head of his best friend, Zuren.
――And, the chestnut-colored hair.
"...Shell...na."
It was the head of the person Ledo loved more than anyone else, Shelna Veeze.
***Arc 8 One Who Spread Death, Chapter 198 One Who Spread Death***
Before noon――Keithriton military camp.
“......From now on, Mia should have both her arms and legs tied up when she sleeps.”
"Ooh, that's a great idea――"
"You idiot, don't even joke about it! K-Krische-sama, I'll do my best from now on..."
"Krische've already asked Mia to be careful about this 57 times. It’s the so-called lip service. Mia, you understand?"
*humph humph* Krische crossed her arms and glared at Mia from above Gururun.
Then she looked at Kalua.
"Kalua, since you usually live together, so you should do something about it. Starting today, you will officially be the head of Kurofuyo's special task force leader cum Mia's sleeping advisor."
"Eh...? You know Usa-chan, there are some things in this world that you can't do anything about..."
“Kalua, shut up.”
Mia glared at Kalua and sighed.
Why did she become at such disadvantage because of the accident that happened while she was sleeping.
It was truly unreasonable.
She cursed her own body.
With this, it was confirmed that Krische’s nagging would be repeated at every opportunity for the rest of the day.
"Sigh...Even though I thought Krische-sama’s mood would become better after eating."
"...I can hear you, Mia."
“Ah, ah no, it was just a figure of speech and not…”
“Is Mia trying to use a figure of speech treat Krische like a kid and Gururun?”
"Now, now, Usa-chan, look, this is delicious bread. Oh, bread with slits, stuffed with sausage and cheese..."
Kahlua quickly took out a sandwich from the snack set she received in the basket and shook it from side to side as if to show it off to Krische.
Krische sullenly jumped down and took it, opening her small mouth and nibbled at it.
The sausage packed with the flavor of the meat, and the cheese still warm and soft, with a strong salty taste.
However, by sandwiching it between bread, the strong flavor was reduced――it was a simple, hearty, yet extremely delicious dish.
Krische nodded, saying it wasn't bad, and bit into it, while Gururun looked at it with some kind of expectation and interest.
"Gururun is a gllutton. If you eats that much, you'll get fat."
When Krische tried to hide the bread, Gururun let out a miserable ‘gururu’ voice.
Krische who saw that weny ‘muu’, and cut it into a quarter and threw it in front of Gururun.
Gururun let out a happy ‘gururu’ voice and chomp it down.
"...Really. You can't anymore snack okay."
Kalua looked at Gururun who was in a good mood with an indescribable expression as she watched Krische jump on Gururun while nibling on her bread and pat her on the side.
She couldn’t believe that the monster with which she fought to the death last night was the same creature.
Of course, she was aware of the achievement of this ‘big meow meow’ named Gururun, but she still felt like she had drawn the short end of the stick.
When Kahlua averted her gaze while sighing, the female general, Tekrea Lemin, appeared from beside her on horseback.
"...Alberinea"
"Ah, good morning...afternoon? Hmm...it's been a while, General Lemin."
"Long time no see"
Even though she didn’t her helmet, she was in armor. The situation was no longer that of a great danger, but it was probably just her nature.
Looking at the Suiko with a slightly nervous look on her face, she dismounted from her horse and saluted Krische――the adjutant next to her, Milcarz, followed suit.
Krische returned the favor by pointing her thumb at her chest while still riding on Gururun, Mia and Kalua also saluted.
"Keith said to send his thanks. He said General Lemin helped him hunt the remnants, which made things a lot easier."
"Ha. I only fulfilled my natural responsibility, Alberinea."
When Tekrea said so, Krische smiled happily while swaying her silver hair like two tails.
She ignored the Suiko who was sitting there, and when Tekrea looked at her up close like this, she still looked like an adorable girl.
The inside of her cloak was a one-piece dress, which probably made her look unsuitable for the battlefield.
“Putting aside General Keithriton, to be honest, General Lemin full of hole or rather...hmm, Krische had some concerns, but General Lemin performed better than Krische expected. Krische thought there would be some damage, but it's less severe than Krische imagined, it's not a bad result."
However, her words were very direct and clear.
Her words seem to show concern, but that concern also couldn’t be felt.
Kalua and Mia looked at Krische exasperated, but Tekrea didn't seem to mind.
She knew that she didn't really have any malicious intent. She had heard similar words many times in meetings.
Rather, it should be taken as a compliment.
"Ha. However, I lost one corps commander under my command, and I realized how inexperienced I was. It was only with the help of Assistant Marshal Farren and General Keithriton that I was able to avoid making any further mistakes. ...From now on, I will train and study harder."
When Tekrea says that, she looked into Krische's eyes.
"There's not even a need to compare it to Alberinea's accomplishments. ...This feat of achievement was splendid."
"Hmm...for Krische it was quite lacking though."
Krische crossed her troubled and patted the Suiko on the shoulder.
Midoriya starts walking, and Tekre follows, pulling the horse reins with her hand.
"Some escaped huh..."
"That said, this is more than enough results. It can be considered that this invasion by Elderant had been completely defeated."
In one night, Elderant’s army of 120,000 soldiers was destroyed.
At the very least, only the Arkaz army deployed in the north was able to retreat in an organized manner.
Even that army's main camp was attacked by Krische while they were retreating, and they lost their rear in the pursuit, and it was a stalemate.
Now they have no choice but to run away.
"Krische goal was not to defeat them, but to wipe out the entire army. A considerable number of enemy soldiers escaped to the north."
‘Krische should have brought more Bonjara’, Krische said pouting her mouth looking a little.
In one night, she destroyed two armies and forced the remaining one into a state where they were unable to continue fighting, and it still wasn't good enough for her.
Tekrea was looking at this fight based on whether they could win or not, but their thinking was fundamentally different.
She was assuming victory and then choosing the outcome.
"Krische'll leave the cleaning up to General Keithriton and General Lemin."
The Alberinea army had been given an order to not accept the surrender of enemy soldiers until dawn――a battle of annihilation.
True to her words, she must have intended to kill all 120,000 within the night if possible.
For the postwar period.
"For the sake of peace in the west, it is of great significance to whittle down the enemy forces here. Please don't let your guard down."
She was extremely ruthless and had no compassion for enemy soldiers.
To her, it was just a number.
"Depending on both of your requests, Krische is hesitated if Krische should little longer and help out but..."
No matter how small the number, the number of enemy soldiers who died last night would exceed 50,000.
She heard that soldiers who lost their will to fight and those who deserted were relentlessly killed.
The situation was so cruel――some troops even deliberately sent surrendered enemy soldiers to Tekrea.
Alberinea's order that poke holes in the Holy Spirit Covenant was not without reason――but Tekrea who was powerless had no words to condemn her.
Her choice was at least correct and effective in terms of national defense and justified as a military personnel.
"No......Please leave the rest of the work to me and General Keithriton. It's not worth bothering Alberinea."
Therefore, those were the only words that she could utter.
Tekrea believed that there should be noble principles on the battlefield.
There was a line somewhere that must not be crossed.
She didn’t think it's wrong. Both herself and her.
That's why Tekrea only did what she could at her own discretion.
"Ehehe, I see. Then Krische'll leave it to you."
"...Ha. As planned, Alberinea will be with Assistant Marshal Faren?"
“Right...”
Krische heard those words and clutched the pouch hanging around her neck with great care.
"……just"
"...?"
And she relaxed her cheeks happily.
“Krische will parted here for a while and went east through the royal city, right.”
As he turned my back on the enemy general and returned to the main camp from the right wing, an enemy corps appeared from the south――the right flank.
It was a large-scale enemy flank attack.
Ledo was first forced to make a choice there.
Should he ignore it and return to the main camp?
1000 hunting squad led by Ledo――Without support, the right wing would be destroyed.
Abnormalities at the headquarters could not be ignored.
But, this surprise attack on the right should not be ignored.
――The situation was chaotic. The overall situation was not clear.
At the very least for Ledo who was in the frontline, there was no way for him to know that Meeklea had already collapsed, and that an army-sized army was approaching from the south.
There was no doubt that the main camp had been attacked by surprise, but Ledo thought that this was just a surprise attack by a small number of elite ambush soldiers.
He never dreamed that the situation was already at the limit.
The only composition in his mind was Veeze's army against Keithriton army.
If he were infer from that, what would be even more terrifying than the surprise attack on the main camp would be the destruction of the right wing and the frontal breakthrough of Keithriton army.
‘hg..., the main camp includes Shelna, Zuren and the others, and Zigret-sama! We will support the retreat of the right wing and move into guerrilla action to prevent the enemy from breaking through!!’
As a field commander, his judgment was correct.
In response to the words of the brave captain Ledo, who ignored his personal feelings, the Veeze hunting party fought with all their might.
Without their efforts, Veeze’s right wing would have been destroyed in a single breath.
However, what was approaching from the flank on the right wing was the kingdom's most elite――the second corps of Kolkis Argand, under the direct control of Alberinea.
They fought through the civil war, defeated Gulshan head on, and their morale level was at its peak.
A corps that would have overwhelmed Veeze’s right wing even if it had attacked head on.
The flank attack caused by this attack was extremely difficult to withstand.
Already under a fierce attack from the front by Keithriton's army, Ledo and the others’s efforts were in vain.
‘You're very powerful. I think you endured quite well, but...are you the commander of the guerrilla force?’
‘...’
What broke through that defense was the blood-stained silver tiger armor.
It was a monster whose body was made entirely of steel and could easily swing a large spear that looked like an iron club.
He was far superior to the current Ledo, and he led elite men――at least they weren't easy opponents to fight with a tattered hunting squad.
‘Ledo, as Kanalua’s Chief Warrior, I sincerely thank you. ...But that's enough. The right wing can't stand it anymore. You guys go to Shelna-sama.’
‘But――’
‘Warrior of Kanalua! Never let go of the blade and fight without fear of death!! Our blood and bravery will surely be passed down into the future!! Arcand!!’
‘HA!!”
The Right Wing――Kanalua’s Chief Warrior personally leads his elite to the enemy general.
Ledo had no choice but to turn his back on them.
It was only then that he understood the situation.
Obviously, their color was different from the Keithriton army they were fighting with.
There was an army completely different from Keithriton’s army on this battlefield.
Enough time had passed.
However, there was no sign that Meeklea in the south had moved to support them.
He had heard a report from Kanalua’s Chief Warrior that they had been attacked.
There was no follow-up, and cold sweat ran down his back.
――When he passed through the forest and arrived at the main camp, it was already occupied by the enemy.
The camp is in disarray, and Elderant soldiers were lying on the ground――it looked so one-sided that it's hard to believe that a battle had taken place.
At least no corpses of enemy soldiers were visible.
'Shoot the enemy coming out of the forest! Fagran, form a wide line of battle against the forest, and we'll flank them that way!’
The enemy number in the thousands, or 5,000 if it were a single corps.
At the very least, Redo and his men, who were still in a state of exhaustion――the hunting squad numbered less than 500, but they were not able to do anything about it, and Ledo and the others proceeded north through the forest.
No matter what, he knew that they had lost this battle.
The main camp has collapsed, the center had lost control, and the left would likely be the same.
Veeze’s army was destroyed, and the forest was filled with deserters running north.
Veeze’s army in the forest is caught in the east and west, with the enemy coming from the south――the only place they could escape was to the north.
Ledo realized that this was no longer a rescue of the main force, but a mere rout.
Still, he just prayed for Sherna's safety and inspired his troops.
Zuren was also in the main camp. He knew that Sherna was stronger than anyone else.
At least, she would have survived――that's what he thought, and he went to the north.
As he proceeded through the center rear, he found countless corpses with arrows sticking out of them.
The hunting squad left behind at the main camp was also mixed in there.
Were they pursued while fleeing the main camp?
Even so, it was so one-sided that there was no sign of a battle.
Everyone had been killed by a single arrow, and broken trees could be seen.
They were heading northeast from the main camp――Kirs, the left wing.
Ignoring the soldiers who were running straight north, Ledo headed there with the hunting squad.
After seeing the headless corpse of Zigret, the head priest, he leaves his subordinates behind.
He didn't even care that the branches and leaves were hurting his face,
"ah……"
――and.
She spent some time in Keithriton's large tent reporting and discussing the damage caused by this battle.
Krische was in a good mood from beginning to end.
The loss was only one corps commander, and the loss of soldiers was less than 10,000 against enemy twice their number.
Although there was some attrition, considering that the battle started with a ratio of 63,000 to 120,000, the damage was negligible.
It can be said that the gradual retreat strategy led by Eluga, which avoided direct combat as much as possible, and Felworth's command worked well together, and considering that they were able to eliminate nearly two-thirds of the enemy soldiers, it was a great victory without any complaint.
"――Generally speaking, there are no problems, and that's about all to report on each other's situation for now. Skeleton, ehehe, thank you once again for your hard work."
"Yes, Krische-sama too. However, you arrived rather early, and thanks to that, we had less loss."
"It's because Skeleton did his best. Skeletons always live up to Krische expectations."
When she grabbed Eluga's hand, she shook it happily, and Eluga also seemed happy, distorting his evil appearance.
It looked like a scene between a beautiful girl and a good-natured old man, but his evil face was wicked no matter what.
Female General Tekrea resisted the urge to back away and stood in place.
Eluga's adjutant Quinez and Mia looked into her eyes, sensing that they somehow understood her.
What could be called a mysterious friendship existed there.
" General Keithriton and General Lemin too, thankyou your hard work. Krische will join up with Skeleton as planned, and from now on, Krische will leave it to you to hunt down the remnants and liberate the occupied city."
“...Certainly”
"General Keithriton and the other should cooperate with Arna in the north. It will be useful for hunting the remnants, and the enemy will be Elderant soldiers. If we don't remove it as much as possible, we'll be troubled by bandit after the war, so be careful.''
Krische said troubledly.
“It seems that many undelivered villages have been burned down, so please do something about that as well. It seems that many like that happened, and if you think that it was because Hilkintos neglected to protect the people, it feels kind of sad that they were left alone.''
Felworth looked surprised at those words and stared at Krische.
Krische tilted her head and Felworth smiled bitterly.
"No, it was a little surprising. If that's the case, then of course."
"...? Well, that's fine, but... Kreschenta wants a speedy recovery and stability, so even if you do it randomly it will probably meet Kreschenta’s wish."
"Yes ma’am. Acknowledged"
Felworth saluted, looking slightly happy, and Tekrea followed suit.
Krische nodded, took a sip of the sweet tea, and turned her attention back to Eluga.
“Skeleton will go north and then east with the Ojii-sama and Meow Meow. It will be a long journey, so please marched in a reasonable hurry…”
“Yes.… How is the current situation in the East?”
There was an information blockade in the kingdom, and Eluga and the others did not know information about other regions.
Krische said that it seemed to be doing a little better than expected, and smiled.
“Gulshan obediently surrendered and the problem was temporarily resolved, so General Garhka and the others are heading east from the south.”
East turned out to be better than originally planned.
Originally, Dougleen was planning to take the opportunity to head east while liberating the southern part of the kingdom with the intact central army, but with Gulshan surrendering, the problem was temporarily resolved.
Dougleen and the central generals left a minimum number of troops in the south and began pressing on Elsren from the southeast.
At least 40,000 troops. Since Arna's army was located in the Sea of Trees in the northeast of the kingdom, they had enough troops to discourage Elsren.
Elsren was under pressure from the north and south.
"It looks like this one is over as well. Krische don't know the details of the situation over there, but since it's General Verreich, Krische’s sure it'll be fine."
Krische said that.
Wolfeneit in particular was a strong fortified city, and was led by Nozan, who had been highly regarded since the civil war.
With him at the helm, even Krische didn’t see any problems with the defensive battle.
"...Right. In that situation, Verreich would be able to handle it well. The way he fought the other day――he can now be said to be the best general in the kingdom, excluding Krische-sama."
Felworth nodded.
He was too good a man to have been a mere corps commander in the first place.
"Christand, me, and His Highness――"
At the word ‘His Highness’, Krische furrowed her eyebrows and said, ‘Excuse me’, and smiled bitterly.
"...Krische told you not to say that in front of Krische, geez."
Krische spoke while puffing out his cheeks, while Eluga next to her patted Krische on the head, troubled.
"My apologies. I didn't mean any harm."
"...Well, it’s fine though."
Tekrea, who didn’t know much about the situation, looked at her lieutenant's eyes in confusion, as Krische who said that while pouting was exactly what a child would do.
Kalua's expression hardened a little, and Mia silently pulled her hand.
The two of them quietly looked at each other and went back to normal.
"Well, in any case... everyone who knew him thought he should become a general. If Garhka were to join him, I would feel at ease."
"I agree with you. Even though we can't say we have enough troops, they are originally the strongest of the three sides. General Gokhals and General Riekles are not bad...I don't think they are lacking. Although they are facing the most difficult opponent."
Elsren was the most well-equipped of the three kingdoms, and its generals were also excellent.
And above all, they were a strong cavalryman from a nomadic tribe.
Putting aside defensive battles, if it were a decisive battle on the plains where the opponent could make full use of their mobility, even if they had superior military strength, it would be quite dangerous to confront Elsren head-on.
Thet had also told Dougleen in advance not to act on his own and to keep the pressure on them.
"Well, General Verreich is both tough and flexible, so long as it's a defensive battle, there's no danger. Krische-sama must be tired from all the hard work. Please take this opportunity to rest a little."
"...Ehehe, yes."
Eluga said this, and Krische looked embarrassed and held her reddened cheeks with both hands.
Seeing this, Tekrea asked as she recalled.
"...Now that you mention it, Alberinea will be heading east via the royal capital right."
"Yes, Krische have to report to Selene and Kreschenta, have a meeting with General Verreich in advance, and do a lot of other things...Well, while Krische is at it, Krische think Krische’ll go to the estate for a little while...and help around the house."
Looking at Krische who shyly said that, Eluga distorted his evil appearance and smiled bitterly.
“With this results, there is no one who will blame Krische-sama for taking a little break. In fact, Krische-sama needs a break. It will take some time for the army to get to the other side. Until then, take it easy. Also, I would also like to have some of Krische-sama and Bery-san’s cooking.”
"Yes, Bery also said that we'll have a party after the war is over, so Krische'll invite Skeleton too. When Krische get back, Bery and Krische will think about various things."
The girl smiled happily.
――Those who appeared around Shelna Wese were not just elites.
The black-armored century led by Alberinea.
She had heard rumors that they were elite, but she could not imagined it.
The elite that Sherna had brought ahead of her was seventeen.
All of them were magic possessors that could keep up with her footsteps, and they were all capable of surviving against ten people.
However, they were up against over 200 people――the fact that they were magic possessors was not an advantage.
How did they catch up in such a short time?
How did they complete the siege?
The answer was right in front of them.
“......!”
The speed and power of the spear was impossible for a mere spear thrower.
Even as she saw this, Shelna turned her body into a whirlwind.
She had exceeded the limits of human perception――even the flow of time had been changed to something slower.
Twisting and turning, she dodged seven of the spears aimed at her as if dancing, and grabbed one of them.
With a single step, she took the power of the spear as her own and turned it into centrifugal force.
The three arrows that were approaching her were snapped off by the spear she had grabbed.
The elite led by Shelna were easily able to defeat a mere surprise attack, but this was no mere surprise attack.
The elite that should have been 17 men were reduced to less than 10 in that instant, and only 7 remained.
Aaron's escort was also half destroyed――and the Suiko had reaped even more of them.
The main camp, which should have had 150 men, had only 73 remaining around it.
Shelna immediately understood that this would not be a battle..
"S-Shelna-sama, run away!"
Zuren shouted.
Rationally she knew it was right.
However, there was a moment of hesitation, and emotion affected her actions,
"Kuh!"
She quickly dodged the blade that swung at her from the edge of her field of vision, right beside her.
Sharp and fast. She instantly understood that it was no ordinary swordsman.
That was why she reads the next attack and takes another half step backward.
At that moment, it was swung from a downswing to a upswing――a high-speed up-and-down double slash that was not even linked.
While avoiding it, Shelna flicked the sword from the side with the hilt of the spear and lowered herself.
Twisting at the waist, what Shelna fired from the back was a roaring right heel.
However, the girls’s beautiful face was a just a sun away.
The backward kick struck nothing.
She instantly jumped back and up into the tree. She opened a distance from the man in black armor.
"...I didn't expect you to be able to evade this. I heard that you had an extraordinary swordsmanship, and you certainly looks like a force to be reckoned with."
The man laughed.
He was not someone to be defeated easily, especially in this situation.
In this moment, only half from half survived. There was no time to think.
“Please go!! Shelna-sama!!”
Zuren's words echoed.
Zuren screamed as his left arm was injured he swung a large spear with only his right arm.
“You must survive!!”
"Zuren!"
She heard the flapping of a griffin's wings above her head.
"Gah...!?"
The spear pierced the giant body of the warrior directly below his shoulders.
The Griffin cavalryman who jumped down from above let go of the spear that had pierced Zuren and pulled out her curved sword.
Just like the man before her, most of the familiar faces had disappeared.
"..."
She jumped into the forest without looking back.
Trying not to think about the magnitude of what she lost in an instant, she dodged the arrows and javelins from behind, and moved forward using the trees and bushes as a shield.
No one could catch up with Shelna, who grew up using the forest as her playground.
That should have been the case, but there was one exception.
Something that easily followed Shelna as she ran.
Even without looking, she could tell what it was that was trying to block Shelna's escape by tearing down the trees.
If it was just a Suiko, there would be no problem.
The time when she was afraid of a Suiko was a thing of the past――Shelna felt no fear to Suiko.
She was simply afraid of the being it carried.
A small meadow that formed between the trees and the gap in the forest.
Dancing in front of her from the side was a gigantic tiger, eight shaku tall at the shoulders, with silver hair.
――Purple eyes shining in the starlight.
"Geez, you shouldn’t tun you know, what such a troublesome person. Krische'll have to scold Aleha too later."
Just as her appearance looked, she had an angry face like that of a young girl's.
Even when dealing with Shelna, she didn't seem nervous or wary at all.
She jumps off the Suiko and spun Aaron's curved sword in her hands.
"...As a General of Veeze, I surrender."
She couldn’t win. She couldn’t escape.
Shelna already understood.
Whether she fights or runs away, she would probably be killed by this girl.
"Krische can't recognize it. Look, it's already a moonless night and visibility is poor in the forest."
The girl showed her surroundings and smiled.
“Moreover, the soldiers of the Elderant army are of poor quality, slaughtering non-combatants, and the chain of command is unclear... There is a risk that our soldiers will suffer unnecessary damage due to the ceasefire after surrender. As the commander of Alberan's army, Krische refuses."
Please die peacefully, the girl told her.
She had a lovely smile like a girl's, and that was why she looked so mad.
But somehow, she could understand it.
No matter what she said, the girl was going to kill her.
The way she calmly kills people――the girl resembled her in some way.
"...There's someone I really want to live and meet."
"Hehe, what a strange coincidence. Krische too."
The girl was surely a person who couldn’t understand other people's pain.
"But because of you guys, doing such stupid things Krische need to be in a place like this. Krische is really unhappy..."
Even though she was smiling, her purple eyes seemed devoid of any emotion, inorganic.
However, Shelna could understand the certain murderous intent that was reflected there.
"...That's why Krische'll kill all the bad people so that something like this can never happen again. If Krische do that, there will be peace around Krische... ...Krische will be able to do things that are much more enjoyable."
At some point, Shelna realized that she herself was distorted.
She was happy because she had people who supported her.
She was sure she would become happier eventually.
――But it ended today.
"Krische ended idle talking huh."
She smiled happily.
She was like Shelna who had caused countless deaths.
She also, one who spread death.
Shelna would be killed for what the girl desired, just as Shelna had killed many for what she desired.
This was because she was much more pure and strong than Shelna.
"Goodbye"
The distance was 6 ken――the step was too smooth.
Footwork and acceleration that embody Shelna's ideals.
Her whole body spins around and she threw Aaron's curved sword.
The power of that blade could be understood even in such a slow time, where not even a sound could be heard.
An ordinary opponent would have died in that one move. they would have lost.
But Sherna stepped in and thrust her right hand into the whirlwind.
Avoiding the high-speed spinning blade, she gripped the hilt and leaned into its centrifugal force.
Then, using the rotation, she swung the spear in her left hand in a wide arc.
This girl, Alberinea, would easily dodge it. ――No, wrong.
A fast spear couldn’t even disturb her.
She instantly let go of the spear, which had lost its weight.
Without even looking, she noticed that the spear was cut off from the middle of the body.
Her body turns to the right by centrifugal force――her back pointing at the girl.
Would she make it in time? No, she wouldn’t make it.
At this rate, the girl's blade would reach her faster than Shelna could cut her down with her curved sword.
She instantly switched and swung her right leg around her left leg.
The heel using centrifugal force cuts through the wind, but there is no sensation when she swung through.
In the first place, the girl was already not there.
"hg..."
――She realized that at once and threw her head back.
What she saw was the right blade twisting around like a spinning top and being swung.
The girl was approaching from behind.
As if in pursuit of the curved sword in Sherna's grasp, Alberinea had slipped into the blind her spot circling around the spiral drawn by Shelna.
She avoided it by just a hair's breadth,
"……ah"
――But the blade to her left continued to tear her white throat.
A momentary impact hit her from above her cuirass, and her body fell onto the grass.
"Muu, that's too shallow. You shouldn’t dodge, geez. It'll just hurt, okay?"
"Hg, ah..."
Her blood was pouring out and she couldn't breathe.
She grabbed the throat and almost fall to her knees, but she withstood, stood up and kicked and rolled.
Amidst her pain, his smiling face appeared in her mind.
His slightly shy and blunt face overlapped with the purple glow.
"sh, ...e, o"
Shelna murmured――Krische pressed down on her body, stomping on her breastplate.
Then, she slashed the head of the enemy general who was muttering something, and jumped back to avoid her blood.
"Hmm, Krische thought it would be a little easier to kill you but"
‘Krische is still lacking’, she said, placing the “light one” on her right hip, as if troubled.
She used corpse's pants to clean the dirt on the “heavy one”.
The sound had stopped on the enemy's left wing headquarters a little further away, the battle must have ended there as well.
"Krische, the enemy general is..."
Mia appeared from the forest and was about to say something, but when she saw the corpse of the female general besides Krische, she understood.
"It’s over. She was a bit nimble and troublesome. Mia, please show it appropriately. That left wing main camp is the route of the routed soldiers, so it's perfect."
"Eh..."
"Ah, okay, okay, I'll do it now."
Kahlua looked at Mia, who seemed to hate it from the bottom of her heart, and looked at the dead face exasperated.
She squinted her eyes as she saw ther= tears rising there.
"She's a beauty, what a waste....Well, in a way, it's better that Usa-chan killed her."
Her fingers closed her eyes, and she carried the large curved sword on her shoulder.
And swung it down to her neck.
Veeze’s left wing illuminated by bonfires――Kirs main camp.
All of Kirs soldiers had already fled.
There were no living humans there.
In their place were countless corpses, some with missing heads.
"……No...way"
And when Ledo saw the flags of Kirs lined up there, he was stunned fell to his knees.
The men of the hunting squad who managed to catch up with Ledo were speechless and dropped their swords.
The flag that was standing there had many heads stuck in it.
The head of Aron Chirus, who Ledo hated from the bottom of his heart.
The head of the hunting squad member who he spent many years together.
The head of the respected head priest, Zigret.
The head of his best friend, Zuren.
――And, the chestnut-colored hair.
"...Shell...na."
It was the head of the person Ledo loved more than anyone else, Shelna Veeze.
