Chapter 46
Chapter 46
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Mongrels' Battlefield (10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Epic of the Firebird’ ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Song of the Hawk’ Roar...
Boom!!!
I swung down the axe wrapped in flames, unleashing wind slashes.
It was a nice "fuck you" to the horde of doppelgangers peppering us with arrows.
"The vice-captain's cleared a path—!!"
"Damn it!! We can do this!! We can do it!!"
"This sword is no joke...!! It feels like it's swinging me instead!"
The soldiers were still buzzing with excitement, even though the battle had been going on for quite a while.
Of course, there was good reason for it.
"—Gahhh!!"
One soldier who couldn't block a doppelganger's attack in time.
He screamed, spraying blood everywhere.
Thud thud thud!
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Hand of Sacrifice’ Splat!
"V-Vice-captain?!"
"You okay?"
"Huh? Wha?! Y-Yeah! No way, Vice-captain—!"
"If you're fine, fight smart and stay alive. Take down one more!"
"Yes, sir!"
If any soldier got hurt, I'd rush over and heal them somehow.
The battle had enough leeway for that.
Though thanks to it, I'd taken way more damage from healing allies than from enemy attacks.
‘...Three dead.’
Still, there were three subordinates I couldn't save.
One of them was Downer, the guy I'd treated when he was in critical condition.
"Tch...!"
The longer the battle dragged on, the riskier it got.
I was fine, but my comrades were dying one by one.
More comrades I couldn't protect.
‘The rear guard..., still not here...?’
Roar...
Boom!!
I unleashed fiery slashes while glancing toward the back of the enemy lines.
The enemy numbers had already been cut by more than half.
Eloy's main force was way overdue.
Which meant.
‘They're leaving it all to us...!’
I grimaced and gripped my axe tighter.
Suuuuck.
I inhaled deeply, then bellowed across the entire battlefield.
"—Second Recon Unit!!! —Prioritize your lives above all!!!"
My voice boomed over the chaotic field, blanketing it in silence for a split second.
Everyone must have heard.
With that, I charged forward, axe in hand.
Ding!
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Silent Gale’ Whoosh—!!
Kraka ka ka kow!!
Riding the raging winds, I tore straight through the enemy's center in an instant.
There was one good thing about a battlefield compared to gladiator matches.
Facing an indeterminate horde meant most enemies in front of me were defenseless against my attacks.
Dozens of doppelganger heads had just flown.
"Trust the vice-captain and hold your positions—!!"
One subordinate finally realized what I was up to and shouted it.
It was his first time fighting with us, but he seemed like a veteran—quick on the uptake.
At his shout, the others echoed it and stopped advancing, focusing on defense.
Thud.
Meanwhile, I'd reached the enemy's dead center.
"□□□□■!!!"
"■□□■!!!"
"■■□□□■■!!!"
"What the hell are you yapping about...."
The hybrid doppelganger soldiers surrounded me, screeching as I burst into their midst on a gale.
Crunch, crunch.
And they began twisting their bodies, mimicking my form.
"Hoo..., time to end this fast."
Eloy had no intention of committing his main force from the rear.
He was leaving the recapture to the Second Recon Unit.
No point feeling resentful.
If anything, it was exactly what I'd hoped for.
‘Axe made from doppelganger bones..., time to test it...’
I poured mana into the axe.
And in one go, burned through a massive amount to activate every formula of the Quartet of the Wind.
Ding!
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Thread of the Wind’ ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Silent Gale’ ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Curtain of the Wind’ ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Skill: ‘Song of the Hawk’ Vwooooong—!!!
Bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz—!!!
The axe hummed, infused with raging winds and my mana.
Moments later.
A ferocious storm ravaged the doppelgangers' center.
It was even more erratic and violent than the one I'd unleashed against Ireila not long ago.
Boom!!!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That mongrel went and did it—!!"
Eloy, watching through his telescope, clenched his fist and shouted without thinking.
"In the gods' name..., i-is that really the work of a mongrel unit...?"
His subordinate wiped cold sweat, staring at the fierce storm tearing through the distant enemy camp.
Not through a telescope like Eloy, but he could still grasp the situation: the mongrel unit overwhelming the doppelganger army.
A mere 50 mongrel soldiers.
An outcome defying all elven common sense.
After all, mongrels with diluted hero blood couldn't possibly achieve something like this.
‘...That one's no ordinary mongrel.’
Eloy lowered his telescope, gazing gravely at the battlefield.
The Second Recon Unit had clearly been a suicide squad.
Yet this mongrel unit had made an enormous leap thanks to that one mongrel.
‘With him, maybe this war could end in a flash...’
Gulp...
Eloy, who'd lived his life with elven pride.
He'd never imagined pondering such potential in a mongrel.
"You there."
"Yes, General."
"Once things settle, bring that Number 17 mongrel to me."
"Understood."
Too valuable to leave as just another mongrel unit grunt.
Elf or not, Eloy had to acknowledge the talent.
He wanted to give support befitting that ability and push him to spread his wings.
This was the thought of one general, not an elf.
Just as Eloy turned to head back.
Clank, clank, clank.
"...Wh-who are you?!"
"Eek...!"
Sudden sounds of numerous armored footsteps.
And at their center, a beautiful elf man with golden hair and emerald eyes.
Eloy and his men hastily knelt.
"...I hear we've recaptured half the territory we lost."
"Yes!"
Pureblood elf noble.
Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front——Eldrian Silbaren.
Eloy bowed his head tensely at his words.
"A mongrel unit won the battle alone, I hear?"
"...Yes. That's correct."
"And the mongrel in it is a gift from my sister."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."
"Hm..."
Swish...
Eldrian turned away with a bored expression, flicking his cloak.
He raised his voice just loud enough for Eloy to hear as he walked off.
"Let me see that mongrel sometime."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "“Woooaaahhhh!!!”"
Right after the battle ended.
The elves' former territory, littered with doppelganger corpses, turned into a festival amid the mongrel soldiers' cheers.
"Vice-captain!! That was incredible!!"
"Never imagined a mongrel like you existed!! Vice-captain!!"
"Thank you...!! I survived because of you!!"
And I was at the center of it all.
‘This is embarrassing...’
Winning the battle was great, but they were hyping me up too much.
Not that it felt bad, honestly.
But this ticklish sensation wasn't entirely welcome.
Was awkwardness around praise a mongrel trait too...?
"Hahaha!! Come on, Vice-captain!! Don't be shy—say something to the lads!! You're the hero of this op!!"
"......Me?"
"What kinda question is that? Right, you lot!!"
"“Damn right!!”"
At Karlov's shout, the excited soldiers got even more riled up.
"Every time I thought I'd die from an attack, you came rushing in... Can't describe how reassuring that was...!!"
"Right!! You looked like the god of victory to us!!"
"Gotta be what divine blessing feels like!!"
"Truly grateful! Vice-captain!"
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ancestor ‘Eternal Teacher of the Fairies’ giggles at your sight. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ancestor ‘The Creating Mortal’ shakes their head with a smile. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ancestor ‘First King of the Beastkin’ grins, baring their teeth! The soldiers' reactions piled on with the ancestors', making my face heat up a bit.
Hard to respond.
Could I just brush it off?
"Uh, um..., well..."
Amid the cheers, I racked my brain for words.
And then.
I spotted someone flapping down from the sky.
"Wha...! An angel?!"
"Idiot...! It's a celestial wingkin!"
"No, but the ears..., fairykin...?"
"Hybrid, like that one we saw before."
Thanks to Ireila's arrival, the burdensome stares shifted to her.
She landed gracefully before me, wings fluttering elegantly.
"Ireila..., back again?"
"I got here six days ago."
"What...?"
"Arrived six days ago, but you looked busy, so I watched from afar."
"......"
Six days ago..., right.
When I was cranking out weapons and armor like mad for the soldiers.
"Appreciate the consideration, but... what's up? For the record, still not going back."
"Yeah, figured."
"......Then why'd you come?"
"Missed you?"
"......"
Ireila's innocent head-tilt left me speechless for a moment.
She'd tried to kill me, but her looks were straight-up angelic.
The sudden fastball had clogged my throat.
"Plus, Lady Elena kicked me out, saying bring you back no matter what."
"...Then just say that!"
"Missing you was true too?"
"......"
I felt the surrounding soldiers snickering.
At my glare, they snapped to attention.
‘Fine, perfect timing anyway—gotta treat the wounded.’
With Ireila here, mana overflowed.
If I used Hand of Sacrifice on the wounded and she topped me up.
We could save all 50, even if they were on death's door.
"Whatever, good timing. Help out while you're here?"
"Sure, but something first."
"......Something? Battle just ended."
"Still important."
"What's so important?"
The soldiers needed rest—they were beat.
What could be worth delaying that?
As I eyed Ireila curiously, she casually turned toward the distant forest beyond camp.
And said flatly.
"Commander-in-Chief...."
"What...?"
"Lord Eldrian's here."
"Huh...?"
Right then.
Clop clop clop—!!
Clank clank clank—.
Sounds of metal clashing and hooves echoed.
Soon, soldiers in full plate armor emerged from the forest, centered on a mounted man.
"Th-this...?!"
Karlov reacted first.
"You lot!! With me, now!!"
"Huh? Why..."
"You gonna make a pureblood noble come all this way? Move!!"
Stomp stomp stomp...!
Not knowing what was happening, I got swept up with Karlov and the soldiers toward the mounted man.
Moments later.
Before the haughty-looking man, we knelt on one knee and showed respect.
‘Like a general showed up or something...’
A pureblood noble—same rank as Elena, or higher.
For someone like me who saw Elena as an older sister figure, formalities didn't appeal much.
But right now, I was just a soldier on this front.
So I bowed my head silently.
Then the pureblood noble, Eldrian, spoke in a bored tone.
"Where's the mercenary my sister Elena sent me?"
He was calling for me.
"Right here."
I raised one hand and lifted my head.
Our eyes met.
"Ugh...?!"
He grimaced and pinched his nose.
......Ah, Male Pheromone.
Fresh off battle, it was probably extra potent.
Didn't feel like this would be a great first impression.