Arc 4 Chapter 17 : Battle of Sarisa

[Adrien PoV]

After marching for four hours, we finally arrived in the vicinity of the Small City of Sarisa.

The continuous ringing of bells echoed from the direction of the city.

It seemed to be an emergency signal, warning the citizens that the enemy had approached.

Once we reached the outskirts of the city, General Melisandru did not immediately order the attack. He wanted to give the soldiers time to rest and instructed the support units to set up our tents first.

I stood at the front, observing the city we would be conquering today.

The complete absence of city walls meant we wouldn't have to go through the trouble of destroying them with a Golem.

Half an hour later, the Wizards from the Bombardment Unit had moved into position and begun preparing to fulfill their task: firing magical projectiles to weaken the enemy's defenses.

They stopped approximately eight hundred meters from the city.

The Wizards then raised their hands slightly toward the sky, directing them toward Sarisa.

"Viteza!"

The Wizards began chanting their spells.

The hands they had raised started glowing green.

This was magic that increased the speed of the magical projectiles they fired.

"Putere!"

Next, a strange vapor began to emanate from their hands as they activated another spell—one that increased the power of their magical projectiles.

"Maximize Magic—Falling Star Moon!"

The Mana they had accumulated in their hands shot toward Sarisa.

Not long afterward, the sound of explosions echoed from the direction of the city.

Combining three different spells like that was incredibly difficult.

Only Veteran Wizards were capable of accomplishing such a feat.

"Viteza!"

The Wizards began chanting again, continuing their bombardment of Sarisa.

Meanwhile, all the Infantry Units had formed orderly ranks, preparing to assault the city once the Wizards of the Bombardment Unit had nearly exhausted their Mana.

I was positioned at the front of the First Infantry Unit, waiting for the order to mobilize the troops under my command.

General Melisandru then walked before us all and stopped in the center, facing the entire army that was about to launch the assault.

"My brothers!"

His voice rang across the battlefield.

"We stand here today in the territory of the enemy we have come to face, putting our lives on the line so that our beloved nation may prosper and develop far beyond what it has achieved before!"

The General had begun his pre-battle speech, clearly intending to raise the soldiers' morale.

"We have answered the call to war from our ally—the Republic of Venetia, which has agreed to invest in our kingdom, creating countless new jobs for the people of Draconia and opening trade routes for our merchants, thereby easing the economic burdens they currently bear!"

For the first time, the General explained to the soldiers why our nation had chosen to participate in this war.

I supposed it was only natural.

If soldiers understood why they were being asked to fight in enemy territory so far from their homes, their morale would undoubtedly be much higher.

At the very least, they would know they were fighting for the prosperity of their own nation rather than serving as tools for someone else's ambitions.

"If we win this war, there is no doubt that our kingdom will become richer, more prosperous, and more prosperous than ever before—no longer a nation that is constantly looked down upon by the Empire!"

General Melisandru raised his clenched fist toward the sky.

"Yeeaahhh!"

"Yeeaahhh!"

The soldiers roared, their voices shaking the battlefield as their spirits burned brighter.

"First Infantry Unit! Second! Third! Fourth! Fifth! Sixth! And Seventh!"

General Melisandru called out every Infantry Unit that would participate in the assault.

"Take that city and defeat our enemies!"

The moment the order to attack was issued, every Infantry commander—including myself—began signaling their troops to advance.

"Forward! March!"

I stepped forward, followed by the soldiers under my command.

The Wizards' bombardment finally ceased when the army was approximately five hundred meters from Sarisa.

I could see the enemy archers beginning to fire upon us.

"Shield formation!"

I gave the order to my troops.

They immediately raised their shields, protecting themselves from the rain of arrows falling from the sky.

As for myself, I activated Iron Body to ensure my body would not be injured.

—Tok! Tok! Tok! Tok!

The sound of arrows striking the shields of my soldiers echoed through the formation.

But their attack did not stop there.

A massive fireball fired by an enemy Wizard was hurtling toward us.

I gathered Mana into my right hand, lowered my stance, and focused my eyes on the incoming fireball.

My right hand began to glow.

My attack was ready.

"Galaxy Impact!"

I threw a punch toward the fireball, even though it was still some distance away from us.

However, suddenly—

BOOM!

The fireball exploded in midair shortly after I threw my punch.

"Uooohhh! Lord Adrien really is amazing!"

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"You destroyed that fireball from all the way over here with a punch!"

The soldiers under my command began praising my display.

I turned around and smiled at them.

"Heh! Don't celebrate just yet! We still have to conquer that city before we can celebrate our victory!"

We continued advancing without stopping, despite being attacked by thousands of arrows and dozens of magical projectiles.

Before long, we finally reached the outskirts of the city.

I immediately ordered my troops to spread out and drive back the Imperial forces.

"Spread out and surround them from multiple sides!"

Seeing our forces flooding into the city, the enemy archers began retreating.

"Attack them! Don't let them escape!" shouted another Infantry Unit commander.

We did not pursue the retreating enemy forces.

Our objective was to reach the food storage buildings located in the western part of the city.

However, getting there would not be easy.

Numerous archers were hiding on top of the city's buildings, raining arrows down upon our troops.

"Lord Adrien! We won't be able to advance if they keep shooting at us like this!"

One of the Squad Captains from the Infantry Unit under my command voiced his concern.

He was absolutely right.

If we continued forcing our way forward without dealing with those archers, our casualties would only continue to increase.

"Bring ten to twenty Knights here," I ordered him. "Tell them we're facing heavy resistance on the way to the city's food storage area."

"Understood, Lord Adrien."

After my subordinate left, I stared at the archers attacking us from the rooftops.

—Crack!

I clenched my fingers, preparing myself to strike them and relieve some of the pressure being placed on my Infantry Unit.

"Time to have some fun and slaughter these people."

After muttering those words, I activated Accel and leapt high into the air using Axio.

"...."

"...."

The archers looked shocked when I suddenly appeared before them.

"You've been having fun shooting at my soldiers from up here, huh!?"

I shot toward the archers.

They panicked and hurriedly drew their swords.

But I was faster.

I began beating them down with my bare hands, strengthening my body with Temper.

"R-Run! He's too strong!"

Hee~ There's no way I'm letting you run.

I caught the leg of one of the archers who was attempting to leap from the building.

"Do you really want to fly!?" I asked him.

He simply shook his head repeatedly in response.

"I'll help you fly if that's what you want!"

I spun my body around before throwing the archer high into the air with tremendous force.

"To infinity and beyond!"

The archer flew so far that he disappeared from my sight.

Yet his miserable screams could still be heard from where I stood.

I turned to the side and saw several Knights from our forces had already arrived, hunting down the archers stationed on the other rooftops.

"Advance! Their archers have been neutralized!"

The Infantry Unit resumed its advance toward the food storage area.

Looking around, the city that had been peaceful only moments ago was now engulfed in flames and chaos, filled with the sounds of battle.

The other Infantry Units also seemed to have begun driving back the enemy forces defending the city.

However, approximately eight hundred meters ahead of us, I could see enemy Infantry beginning to construct a barricade, blocking the road leading toward the food storage area.

I could also vaguely make out several enemy Knights and Wizards stationed there.

"This won't be an easy fight..." I muttered with a smile as I looked at the situation ahead.

"But that's exactly what makes this war more interesting."

I activated Accel once again, leapt forward, and closed the distance toward the Imperial Knights who had just appeared in this area.

I approached three Knights standing in the middle of the city street.

They noticed my arrival and immediately activated Accel and Temper, strengthening their bodies and increasing their reaction speed.

The three Knights attacked me simultaneously.

Yet their movements were still incredibly easy for me to read.

I didn't want to remain on the defensive forever, so I decided to counterattack.

"Crescent Slash!"

One of the enemy Knights launched a horizontal slash at me.

I ducked beneath it, causing the blade to miss everything except a single strand of my hair.

"Take this! Phantom Impact!"

I threw a punch toward his stomach.

However, the Knight managed to evade it and jumped backward to create some distance.

"Your punch looks powerful! But with speed like that, you'll never be able to touch me!" the Knight shouted.

I merely smiled at his boasting.

He still hadn't realized that he had already lost.

—CRASH!

The Knight suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach in agony.

"Arrrghhhhh!"

Blood poured from his mouth.

Cold sweat covered his face, while the armor he wore began cracking and breaking apart.

"Helmeppo! What happened to you!?"

I didn't waste any time.

I immediately targeted his companion, who had let his guard down while watching the Knight I had just defeated.

"Never take your eyes off your enemy! Liger Bomb!"

I punched him directly in the face.

His head burst apart as though I had smashed a turtle shell.

"...."

The remaining Knight was stunned that I had killed his companion with a single attack.

He then steeled himself and charged at me, coating his sword in the wind element to sharpen its cutting power.

"Take this, bastard! Typhoon Slash!"

He thrust his sword toward a gap in my armor.

But I deliberately chose not to evade.

"Man of Steel..."

—CLANG!

A spark erupted as his sword struck my body.

Yet the attack had absolutely no effect on me.

"Huh!? H-How is that possible!?"

The Knight panicked upon realizing that his attack had done nothing.

I grabbed him around the waist with both hands and spun his body around until his head was positioned downward.

Then I leapt into the air using Sartaxio.

"N-No, no! Let me go! Don't kill me here!"

The Knight began begging for his life as he realized death was approaching.

I locked his head between my legs.

Then both of us plummeted toward the ground at tremendous speed.

"Hell Drop!"

We crashed into the ground with tremendous force.

The man died instantly, his head striking the ground first.

I released his limp body and looked toward the enemy Knights surrounding the area.

"Is there no one stronger!?" I shouted at them, trying to crush their morale.

"Is this really all the Imperial Knights are capable of!?"

The enemy Knights began retreating after realizing they had been thoroughly defeated in this area.

They all fled toward the food storage area.

Tch.

Cowards.

"Don't let them escape! Move quickly, Infantry Unit!"

The soldiers under my command resumed their advance without any resistance, heading toward the food storage area.

To be honest, capturing this city had been far too easy.

It was foolish of me to think I would get to experience a fierce battle in some remote corner of the Empire.

[Raul PoV]

The enemy forces began retreating slowly, just as we had planned.

They had no idea they were walking straight into the trap we had prepared around the food storage area.

At present, hundreds of soldiers—including myself—were hiding inside the buildings surrounding the food storage area.

The Infantry Unit was positioned inside the buildings, while the Archery Unit was concealed on the rooftops, waiting for the signal.

"Retreat! Retreat! We can't fight them!"

The voices of our Knights could be heard as they deliberately retreated, luring the enemy forces deeper into our trap.

"Don't let them escape! Chase them and attack!"

Before long, the enemy forces could be seen entering the storage area.

We had to wait until every one of them had entered before slaughtering them all.

On the other side, our Wizards seemed ready to activate their spells.

Three...

Two...

One...

"Earth Wall Ultima!"

"Earth Wall Ultima!"

Suddenly, enormous walls rose from the ground, sealing off the entire food storage area and trapping the Draconian forces inside.

"Archers, fire!"

Hundreds of our archers revealed themselves on the rooftops and began firing arrows down at the Draconian soldiers below.

"Damn it! It's a trap! Get out of here!"

"We can't! These enormous walls are blocking us!"

The trapped Draconian forces panicked.

They had no idea what to do except wait helplessly beneath the rain of arrows.

However, I noticed that one of the buildings occupied by our archers had begun coming under attack from Draconian Knights.

At the same time, enemy Infantry began breaking into the building where our archers were stationed.

"Protect our archers!" one of the Knights shouted. "Infantry, get out there as well and eliminate anyone trying to enter the archers' buildings!"

All the soldiers in the area began pouring out to engage the enemy.

That included me and the unit under my command.

I leapt forward and grabbed a rope hanging from one of the buildings.

My body swung through the air toward one of the archer buildings that had begun to be overrun by enemy troops.

I landed in the street.

Five Draconian soldiers noticed my arrival and immediately approached, drawing their swords.

"Die, you Aragonian dogs!" one of the five soldiers shouted as he launched a horizontal slash at me.

I ducked beneath the attack, then swung my sword diagonally toward his leg.

The blade severed it cleanly.

A horrifying scream escaped his mouth.

"Dammit!"

Two of his companions charged at me, both launching diagonal slashes from below.

I leapt forward and performed a rolling maneuver, slipping between their attacks.

Then I twisted my body and slashed across both of their necks.

Seeing three of their companions killed in an instant, the two remaining soldiers turned around and began fleeing from me.

Just as I was about to chase them, I sensed something falling toward the place where I stood.

I immediately leapt backward, narrowly avoiding whatever was about to land there.

—CRASSSH!

A moment later, I saw someone land heavily in front of me.

His body was enormous, and his armor was covered in the blood of Imperial Aragonian soldiers.

"Black eyes... black hair... and such a thick killing aura..." the man muttered.

Then he smiled at me.

"Are you the one they call the Ghost of Cataluna?"

"The Ghost of Cataluna?" I repeated, questioning the nickname he had just mentioned.

"That's the nickname you've been given after slaughtering twenty of our Knights in that cornfield last night," he explained.

Ah.

I understood now.

It seemed I had caught the attention of the elite soldiers of the Kingdom of Draconia.

"You are Adrien Ionescu—the Rampage of the Kingdom of Draconia—the former member of the elite Bolgarev force, renowned throughout your kingdom."

Hearing me identify him, he laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! I'm quite flattered that a warrior from another country knows who I am."

No.

This wasn't the time to laugh.

This man was strong.

I wasn't even certain I could defeat him without using my abilities to their fullest.

"Enough with the pleasantries! Let's have some fun in the middle of this chaos!"

The massive man activated Accel.

Then he shot toward me.