The Piper Knight
The Piper Knight
After spending nearly a week poking around the rear of the Demon King's Army near Levien with the hastily-formed wyvern airborne unit, their mission success rate had been astonishingly high, even to a layman like me.
This was the result of several reasons and conditions working in combination. The enemy failed to recognize how they differed from typical wyvern knights, so their response was delayed. Some were prematurely terrified, assuming they were standard wyvern knights. Others didn't anticipate that people would jump from wyverns, so they excessively prepared only anti-air defenses. Truly, all sorts of things worked in their favor.
But among all those conditions, the most astounding thing was that every single wyvern in this airborne unit was defective.
For a wyvern knight, the wyvern's physique is just as important as the ability of the mounted magic knight. However, since they are born as living creatures, wyverns inevitably have individual differences. Just as one manages a top-tier warhorse from head to hoof, wyverns are classified through strict procedures into combat wyverns for wyvern knights and transport wyverns. Roughly speaking, I understood them to be categorized by muscle strength, intelligence, endurance, speed, and size.
In other words, any wyvern that failed to achieve a passing mark in these five categories for any reason was judged as 'defective' and unsuitable as a combat wyvern. And the creatures here were ones that had failed to get a passing score in two, or at most, three categories.
Muscle strength, endurance, and size.
Because their muscular endurance was lacking, they couldn't endure the weight of the armor wyverns had to wear for long. Unlike combat wyverns that were kept to a size capable of carrying almost one person to reduce their target profile and increase mobility, these were larger creatures. However, their speed alone had passed, so when they flew without armor, they showed movements far swifter and more agile than typical combat wyverns.
Comparing it roughly to what I saw and experienced during the orc gate incident, I'd estimate they were about 1.5 times faster than standard wyvern knights. And that difference, which would be negligible to wyvern knights who must pursue perfection, came as a tremendous advantage to us.
It proved useful not only when attempting an assault, but also while keeping watch around supply units when split into two squads for raiding. Being able to fly fast meant covering more distance in the same time, and it also meant being able to flee quickly.
-Fweee! Fweet! Fweet!
One long, two short. The whistles resounding from the sky warned us, busy burning supplies, that an enemy main force was approaching. In case someone couldn't hear, knights sporadically blew whistles in response, like a call-and-answer. Amidst them, I also whistled to summon my wyvern, which was waiting in the sky.
Amusingly, this had now become a signal for rapid communication. They say that at first, the Demonfolk who only reacted to me, calling me the Piper Knight, gave us the nickname 'Piper Unit'.
-Fweeeee!
My wyvern flew in as if it had been waiting, and the other wyverns circling the sky like crows followed behind it to the ground. Perhaps because the airborne unit had been relentlessly sweeping through detected supply units, rotating day and night without regard for shift changes, their wyverns seemed to regard my wyvern almost as their leader.
Come to think of it, I decided to raise it, so I needed to give it a name. I'd simply forgotten, since it just followed me automatically whenever I whistled.
"The remaining supplies!"
"Leave them! We're bolting!"
The Demon King's Army wasn't foolish either. Only a few had thoroughly prepared their rear units for the possibility of being raided, but the units who had been hit were rapidly growing accustomed to our surprise attacks. The reinforcements, which wouldn't come for a long time even after we'd destroyed supplies, began arriving within an hour after a signal flare went up. Now, it had reached the point where we had to wrap things up within twenty minutes of a flare going off.
They'd clearly started operating something like a quick-reaction force. And they were selecting capable individuals for it.
The airborne knights weren't weak, but since they'd trounced the enemy so much these past few days, we couldn't know what level of hand those determined to catch us had prepared. So we chose the option of definitely playing it safe.
Fortunately, the knights mounted their wyverns and spurred them on without a moment's hesitation. Thanks to that, we managed to escape the encirclement in time and safely dodged things like ice arrows and fireballs that flew at us, narrowly missing the back of our heads.
"Their response is getting faster and faster!"
"Honestly, we ran around too wildly! The Brigade Commander said he knows and plans to revise the plan!"
"The good days are over!"
Though they'd just come from a tough fight, at the knight's lament meant to shift the atmosphere, everyone laughed, regardless of who said it first.
In fact, today was the last operation I would be participating in. Everything done so far was said to be a kind of consolidation effort to prevent the enemy from encircling and attacking Levien. I only knew that the main force was far busier than us flying around in the rear. Whether Alt Brigade Commander achieved his desired outcome through our efforts, I would soon find out.
Lately, we had been moving so hastily—camping, raiding, returning to the Levien Margraviate, and then sleeping so deeply it could be called a coma—that few people knew the detailed situation. I just vaguely assumed things were going well, using the deepening cheers and smiles of those who greeted us each day as an indicator.
"While it's good that no one got injured and limped around during the operation, our mission isn't over until we return! Stay vigilant!"
A squad leader who felt joy at successive mission successes without becoming arrogant was truly reassuring. They'd experienced almost no mission failures, so their shoulders could've easily gotten stiff with pride, but it was good that these guys lacked that.
"Speaking of which, this is your last flight with Sir Ega, isn't it! We must have a drink when we return!"
"You're saying you'll crack open a bottle in Levien, which hasn't even been fully secured yet?"
"Who would dare stop the Demon King's Army's nightmare, the Piper Unit, from drinking a toast after their final operation!"
"Wouldn't the Brigade Commander stop us!"
"Ah, damn, that's a bit much!"
Of course, aside from their shoulders not being stiff with pride, they seemed a little lacking in tension, but they had every right to be.
The battles fought by the airborne unit in just under a week numbered around twenty.
That wasn't the combined total for all five squads; it was the sortie count per squad. So they'd been fighting practically non-stop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They hadn't been just training; they'd been pushed this hard in real combat. So even if they were half-asleep, the moment they heard a sword being drawn, they'd snap into a waking state, so a bit of slack wasn't something they paid attention to anymore. The squad leader, knowing this better than anyone, hadn't said 'don't relax your vigilance' but rather 'stay vigilant'.
"Anyway, once we return, it's vacation until the next operation, isn't it! I believe we've earned the right to a bit of luxury!"
"Say that in front of the Brigade Commander! Neither I nor Sir Ega have heard anything about that separately!"
Amidst the squad leader's reply and laughter-mixed jeers, the flight continued smoothly. We passed the occasionally visible battle lines, and even before the sun completely set, we safely arrived in Levien.
Seeing the city—where the defensive lines, which had stretched right up to the city gates just a few days ago, had now been pushed out that far—looking less like a fortress waging war and more like a city regaining its vitality, it felt like coming home.
With that alone, my tightly-strung nerves began to ease. As the walls and the city gradually drew closer, the soldiers' cheers and acclamations grew louder as well.
This was an unavoidable reaction, since rumors of the Piper Unit's vicious rear attacks had spread far and wide. Even reinforcements from other cities were now at the point of waving and cheering when they saw us. Receiving such a welcome, we briefly circled the city's airspace before landing at a temporary station.
It wasn't really to enjoy the attention; it was a routine that started because we'd barely land, and if an attack came a split second later, taking off and flying up again was bothersome. Though they said the defensive lines had been pushed back considerably, as we targeted the enemy's rear, the Demon King's Army attempted similar things via land routes, so unexpectedly, there had been quite a few cases where we sortied again like that.
While marveling at the newly added supplies and non-combat personnel that appeared every time we landed, wyvern handlers dispatched from the capital took the reins of the wyverns we'd ridden with practiced movements and spoke.
"You've worked hard. Alt Brigade Commander left word saying to rest after submitting your reports."
"The Brigade Commander did?"
"Yes. He also said that since it's wartime, he cannot permit excessive drinking, but he allows one glass of wine each."
He truly saw right through the knights' inner thoughts, perhaps because he'd climbed up from the bottom himself. Apart from the knights' complaints erupting behind him, the squad leader and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Because we vaguely understood what it meant that the Brigade Commander, who had never once permitted drinking, was now allowing even just a single glass. The squad leader, having sent the other knights to the tavern identified by the handler, stroked the stubble sprouting on his chin and said.
"Honestly, I never imagined this recapture operation would go so smoothly. It was worth flying around on little sleep."
"We can't be certain of victory yet... but I agree."
"You've worked hard. It's thanks to Sir Ega."
"It's thanks to everyone's efforts and the Royal Family's decision."
While the fact that they'd breached the outer fortress in two days and the hastily-formed airborne unit had achieved meaningful results played a part, it felt like the kingdom having prepared all measures in earnest and acting the moment the opportunity arose had truly driven the nail in. So it was a sincere answer, in its own way.
The current Levien Margraviate was bustling and moving frantically with troops, merchants, and laborers flooding in from every city.
The walls that had been destroyed by magic were quickly restored with the help of mages and dwarves, and the hammering of carpenters continued ceaselessly among the streets and buildings collapsed by the street fighting. It went without saying that all this was thanks to the Royal Family's bold decision.
It was an excellent result, except for the fact that its aftermath had left Ragnis, as the person responsible for the city, suffering under a mountain of paperwork and sporting very dark circles under her eyes.
It was probably because I hadn't looked in a mirror, but my own dark circles must have been no joke either. The squad leader next to me was the same.
"Finally, I can get a proper rest."
"I'm not waking up tomorrow."
After exchanging light jokes, we headed to the inner fortress to write our reports, if only a little sooner.
Perhaps because we'd become aware that we were one step away from reclaiming the city, our steps felt much lighter than usual.