Ossan Saikyō Chapter 14 Part 16
The next morning, we finished breakfast before dawn and waited for the other side to arrive.
With nothing else to do, I brought up skill training with the young man I had spoken to yesterday. He seemed interested, so we decided to actually give it a try.
Although the young man was a high-ranked adventurer, he seemed to understand the usefulness of training dynamic vision and explosive power.
Other adventurers who had been watching also wanted to try it, so I let them have a go as well, and they seemed to respond positively.
I also took the opportunity to spread the word about dark metal-rod training(?), so perhaps the market price of dark metal might temporarily rise.
Despite the tension hanging over the camp before the battle, the adventurers themselves were remarkably calm. If this was also the effect of mental skills, then perhaps the excitement I felt toward the coming battle was also caused by a skill.
About one and a half koku (3 hours) after the sun began to rise, I could see a faint cloud of dust rising on the other side of the plain. It seemed the Royal Army had arrived.
They were said to number 30,000, and when I thought of them as an enemy I had to fight, I could understand just how overwhelming that number was.
The Royal Army stopped at an estimated distance of about 1 kilometer away and began arranging their formation. From a modern perspective, it felt like the perfect time to attack, but apparently there were customs for warfare unique to this world.
After a while, a group of around a 100 people came toward us. A similar group of about a 100 from our side also advanced, and I could see Marquis Raghantz’s ponytail among them, so apparently the commanders were going to formally announce themselves.
They were probably going to proclaim their respective claims to legitimacy or something along those lines.
“Those who refuse to submit to the rightful King, harbor rebellious intentions. Those who reject the King’s mercy harbor treacherous designs. Therefore, by Royal Command, we shall strike down Raghantz.”
“To strike down a usurper who claims the throne through unjust acts is the will of Heaven. Since we possess the bloodline of the rightful King, it is our duty as subjects to strike down the traitor.”
They loudly proclaimed such theatrical statements to each other, then simply returned to their respective camps.
Well, it should be starting soon.
Suppressing my eagerness, I moved to the front of the formation with the other adventurers.
“You’re Soushi, right? I’m counting on you.”
“If the undead come, I’ll draw them in with【Provoke】and take them down, but please handle any that I can’t draw in.”
I answered the young man and took《Indomitable Bastion》and my mace out of my【Item Box】.
Then the sound of drums echoed from the Royal Army’s camp.
In response, drums began sounding from the rear of the Marquis’ camp as well.
It was the signal that the battle was beginning.
Our army slowly began advancing.
Once we got close enough, there would probably be an exchange of arrows, but there should be one more event before that.
As our adventurer corps led the advance, a soldier in the front ranks of the Royal Army placed something resembling a board on the ground.
There was no doubt that it was a《Summoning Monolith》for summoning undead.
There appeared to be around a thousand soldiers in the front ranks. Even if each《Summoning Monolith》summoned only 10 undead, that alone would produce 10,000 undead.
What a ridiculous, underhanded tactic.
Just as I expected, the ground around the《Summoning Monoliths》bulged, and zombies, skeletons, Terror Knights, and other undead began emerging with a series of tremors.
The huge undead army, made up of both humanoid and beast-types, looked like it numbered around 10,000.
For just a moment, I wished Freynil were here, but I immediately reconsidered. There was no way I could let her participate in a battle between humans.
“They’re coming, Soushi.”
Just as the young man said, the undead suddenly began moving. The faster beast-type undead took the lead.
I ran forward while activating【Provoke】at full power. The beast-type zombies and skeletons all turned toward me at once. Behind me, I could hear the other adventurers draw a collective breath.
“OOOOOOH!”
The shout came naturally, but it was appropriate for raising morale.
“WOOOOOO!”
The beast-type undead came rushing toward me, howling strangely. I swung my mace sideways and unleashed【Shockwave】at full power.
With【Shockwave】now close to its maximum skill level, its range had extended to more than 20 meters.【Shockwave】spread outward in a fan, tearing up and blasting away the ground ahead of me.
Naturally, every undead caught within its range was smashed to pieces and blown away.
Every time I swung my mace, nearly a 100 undead disappeared from the battlefield. I slowly advanced while mowing down the pitiful desecrations.
Of course, many outside the range of【Provoke】continued advancing toward our formation, but the other adventurers were taking care of those.
Once the number of undead had been reduced to a third of the original, the Royal soldiers activated more《Summoning Monoliths》.
Another 10,000 undead appeared, but before my mace and【Shockwave】, they simply vanished like dust.
Once the additional undead had been reduced to less than half, I could see the Royal soldiers beginning to panic. They had probably intended to advance and fire arrows once the undead reached the enemy formation.
Now that their entire plan had been completely thwarted, it was only natural for them to become flustered.
More importantly, they must have realized that if I continued advancing like this, they would be the ones turned into minced meat instead of the undead.
In fact, the soldiers directly in front of me were slowly retreating with faces twisted in fear.
A group of soldiers dressed entirely in black emerged by pushing their way through those soldiers. They were undoubtedly the Special Forces, the former adventurer soldiers I had seen at the Guild in the Royal Capital.
There seemed to be around 200 of them.
They had probably noticed that there was an irregularity like me on the battlefield and had come out to deal with me. Some of them were even carrying enormous weapons that ordinary soldiers could never wield.
Around 30 of them began casting magic.
Spears of fire, ice, and rock came raining down on me like a meteor shower. But they could not even make《Indomitable Bastion》tremble.
Seeing me still standing unharmed after the magic struck, the Special Forces let out cries of astonishment.
Meanwhile, the undead continued swarming toward me, only to pile up as corpses across the plain at my hands. Once there were no more undead obstructing the way, there was nothing left between me and the Special Forces.
The distance was about a 10 meters.
Arrows fired by enemy archers bounced uselessly off the surface of my shield.
As I charged forward with my shield raised, the enemy frontliners spread out to surround me and tried to intercept me.
They had seen the power of【Shockwave】, so… do they really think they can withstand it themselves?
Thanks to【Speed】『+2』, I closed the distance in an instant, bringing almost the entire enemy adventurer corps within range.
What idiots. The rear ranks should have spread out more.
I unleashed【Shockwave】. Naturally, I used【Whiplash】to fire it rapidly.
Those who charged in with【Dash】, those preparing to cast magic, and those trying to fire arrows were all slammed by invisible energy walls and blown away.
They were somewhat sturdier than the undead, so perhaps the lucky ones would survive. Former adventurers were generally treated more harshly than ordinary criminals.
I had neither the obligation nor the time to feel sorry for them.
The enemy adventurer corps had completely disappeared from in front of me.
When I advanced even farther, the surrounding ordinary soldiers began fleeing with pale faces. Of course, they collided with the units behind them and plunged into a state of panic.
“Eeeek!? A monster’s coming!”
“Run! Get back, now!”
As I ran forward, screams rose from among the ordinary soldiers.
Calling me a “monster” was a little insulting. I was just a middle-aged man who happened to be a bit stronger than normal.
(E/N: "a bit stronger" X "monstrously stronger" ✓ 🤣)
Large numbers of soldiers retreated backward and sideways, desperately trying to get out of my path. Screams and shouts flew everywhere. It no longer resembled an army capable of fighting a battle.
I simply continued forward along the path the soldiers had opened for me.
Whenever I fired【Shockwave】, soldiers farther back who had no idea what was happening would collapse in terror and scatter in every direction.
Looking ahead, I could see a group about 200 meters away with around 200 cavalry soldiers.
Judging by the large flag flying above them, they were probably the unit of the Royal Army’s commander-in-chief.
I approached while the ordinary soldiers kept their distance. About a 100 Special Forces soldiers appeared in front of me. They were probably accompanying and guarding the commander-in-chief.
“What the hell are those guys, who went ahead, doing!?”
“There’s no way they were all wiped out by this one guy… Right!?”
They attacked me with magic, arrows, swords, and axes while shouting things like that, but I blew them all away and continued advancing.
I thought the cavalry would move, but apparently the horses had been frightened by【Shockwave】and fallen into a panic.
They ignored their riders’ commands, turning their heads and trying to get away from me, causing collisions among themselves.
Some knights were thrown from their horses and were struggling on the ground. Those who were particularly unlucky were kicked by the horses, leaving them in a terrible state.
Even though I had not directly done anything to them, the cavalry unit was already completely incapable of functioning as a unit.
Among the fallen knights was a man whose face I recognized from somewhere. It was the very image of the corrupt noble who had spat out those parting words in front of the Marquis’ residence.
Beside him, a pompous-looking man in his 50s was sitting helplessly on the ground. He was wearing an excessively flashy suit of armor, so he was probably the commander-in-chief of this army.
Perhaps he was some fairly powerful noble with his sycophant beside him.
A man stepped out in front of the two trembling men with his sword drawn. His armor was practical but impressive. He was around 40 and had the air of a battle-hardened veteran.
“O-Oh, General Durack! Quickly cut that man down! He’s a mere adventurer!”
The noble Commander-in-chief gave the order in a trembling voice.
So this was General Durack, the man I had heard about.
“Who are you?”
The General’s voice was calm.
He could remain composed in such an abnormal situation, so he really was a veteran, just as his appearance suggested.
From his bearing, he was clearly an Awakened, and there was no doubt that he had once been a high-ranked adventurer.
“I’m a B-Rank adventurer. I ended up cooperating with the Marquis because of how things turned out.”
“A man of your caliber is only B-Rank? Where did you come from? Surely you weren’t sent here from the northern Empire?”
“I’ve never even been to the Empire. I really just happened to be here.”
“Why do you side with the Marquis? Were you promised a noble title?”
“No. I simply want to leave this country. But His Majesty the King seems to be quite a troublesome person, so I had no choice but to join the Marquis’ army.”
“You truly mean that… it seems. I see. His Majesty’s actions have apparently caused a man of your caliber to become an enemy.”
When he said that, there seemed to be a strong trace of self-mockery in the General’s expression. He was probably the sort of loyal general who served a tyrant.
People like him would be needed after everything was over, so it would be troublesome if he died.
“Well, I’d rather not waste time letting you stall me, so please let me through.”
“Whether this is a stall or not, you’ll find out with your own body!”
The seasoned general attacked with【Dash】while simultaneously sending a slash flying toward me.
Apparently, he also possessed【Edge Lunge】and【Whiplash】.
He attacked me with constantly changing movements, but unfortunately, none of it was effective against an "overwhelming mass" attack.
“Gah…!”
With a single swing of my mace and【Shockwave】, the General’s body was blown about twenty meters away. I had held back somewhat, so he should still be alive.
“W-What…!? The General was defeated in one blow!?”
“W-Wait! I’m a Count! If you lay a hand on me, my entire faction will never forgive you…”
(E/N: Your entire faction talks crap behind your back, don't expect much, geezer.)
I tied up the two nobles who were shouting something or other with rope, hooked them onto the end of my mace, and lifted them up.
“I have captured the enemy commanders! If you value your lives, throw down your weapons and get down on the ground!”
(E/N: Holy mother of *****, just imagine this scene, lifting the commanders using a lump of massive metal… that reminds me of a painting of Thor, depicted as a giant in Norse myth, with naked mortals hanging from his massive hammer!)
There was no way I could possibly know what I was supposed to say at a time like this. I simply shouted whatever came to mind, and a soldier nearby cried out, “Eeeek!”
That cry spread through the ranks in an instant, and the soldiers began throwing down their weapons and dropping to their knees.
I see. Their morale really was frighteningly low.
If their King was an incompetent ruler who did not even feed his soldiers properly, there was no way they would throw away their lives fighting people from their own country.
No one could blame them.
When I happened to look over, the General was getting back to his feet. He looked around, saw the two nobles hanging limply down my mace, and then, with an oddly relieved expression, he knelt down himself.
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E/N:
What a conclusion to a fruitless battle, sword (strength) and pen don't seem unequal anymore!
Now I can unclench my butt 🤣!
Stay tuned!
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