Chapter 59 - All Units, Prepare for Battle and Advance!
All Units, Prepare for Battle and Advance!
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: All Units, Prepare for Battle and Advance!
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Right after Andrew chased after the high-ranking vampire, Diaz and I instead increased our speed even further.
We both felt it instinctively.
That vampire Andrew was pursuing was by no means weak.
And besides—
“The witch who cuts through dimensions still hasn’t shown herself at all.”
Despite how wildly Diaz and I were rampaging about, Ledeia had yet to reveal herself.
If it were a one-on-one situation, I could leave everything to Andrew without worry.
But still.
There was an unmistakable sense of unease lingering somewhere.
If we quickly cleaned up this area first and then chased after Andrew—
“Sir Rohan!”
Just as I was thinking that we should hurry up and move.
Diaz shouted.
She was looking outside.
I followed her gaze and turned my head.
Through the gap in the collapsed castle wall—
“They arrived sooner than expected.”
The follow-up force led by Count Gargant had come into view.
It was a fairly large force, so I had thought it would take more time.
But it seemed they had marched at a much faster pace than anticipated.
That said, from outside, even with a hole in the wall, they wouldn’t be able to see inside.
They wouldn’t be able to see us fighting like this either.
Because of the dimensional veil Ledeia had put in place.
From their perspective, all they could see was the eerily quiet Mollen Castle.
We had entered while expecting to be attacked from the start, knowing the situation wouldn’t be easy.
But for them, it was obvious they would be quite startled by vampires suddenly flying at them.
No matter how loudly I shouted, they wouldn’t hear it anyway.
So I gave Diaz an order.
“Secure the area around the collapsed wall! Our allies will panic the moment they set foot inside, so buy them at least some time to respond to the situation!”
“Yes! Understood!”
Having grasped my intent exactly, Diaz immediately leapt into action, sweeping away the vampires near the entrance.
I, too, dealt with the last remaining catapult.
Slash!
Just as I was about to join Diaz—
Rrrrrrk.
The sound of wheels rolling suddenly came from somewhere.
I turned my head.
“They had another one hidden?”
A catapult the enemies had concealed inside the building was being brought out.
Damn it! There’s no way I can reach it before they fire…!
It felt like I had taken a solid hit.
I had never calculated that they would have hidden something like that.
Worse still, it was already fully loaded.
The vampires pushing the catapult forward were wearing greasy smiles.
***
“Kuhahahaha! We weren’t just going to take it lying down!”
“It’s already too late! Kehahaha!”
Before I could even get close, one of them, with the bowstring drawn taut, slashed down with his claws.
Maybe because of the intense tension.
The movement looked like it was happening in slow motion.
In that fleeting instant.
I rolled my eyes, scanning my surroundings.
Just as they said, it was already too late to reach it and stop it directly.
“From here… if I can time it just right…!”
Matching the timing precisely using nothing but instinct was nearly impossible.
Especially in midair.
But I didn’t have the luxury of thinking it through.
Because in that moment, the vampire’s claws were severing the catapult’s bowstring.
Snap.
And then—
Thoom!
The catapult fired toward the follow-up force that was approaching, completely unaware.
I jammed my left hand into a gap in the castle wall.
Grrrrrk!
I pulled myself up with all my strength—
Whoosh!
I leapt into the air.
The stone fired from the catapult on my right and I were rapidly closing in on each other.
Perhaps thanks to my third eye, my sharpened senses barely managed to line up the timing.
“Got it!”
The rock aligned perfectly right in front of me.
I extended my arm and swung my sword.
Slash!
The rock split cleanly in two, veering left and right as it flew a little farther beyond the veil—
Then it lost its momentum and crashed to the ground.
KWAANG! KUUUNG…!
With two heavy impacts, I saw the shocked faces of the follow-up troops, startled by the sudden appearance of the rocks.
“W-What? A rock suddenly…?”
“Was that a catapult attack? Why would a catapult fire at us from inside the castle?!”
“What on earth is going on…?”
They all seemed startled, but no one was injured.
Among them, the quick-witted Count Gargant examined the cut surface of the rock and realized it was my handiwork.
“Could it be… Sir Rohan…?”
There was no point answering when it was obvious he couldn’t hear me, so I turned away.
The vampires who had dared to annoy me by pulling out a hidden catapult seemed to realize just how displeased I was.
Their faces turned pale.
If they knew I would get this annoyed, why did they do it?
It seemed they only understood once they suffered for it.
“W-Wait!”
“Stop! Grrr!”
“S-Spare me—!”
I swung my left arm down as if striking and snapped my fingers.
KWA-KRAAANG! CRACK!
A blindingly thick bolt of lightning slammed into the ground.
“KEEEEK!”
“KYAaaaah!”
“Grrrk…! KIEEEEK!”
Along with the three vampires, the catapult was reduced to ashes.
At that moment—
“Sir Rohan?!”
Count Gargant called out to me again.
Wondering what it was, I turned toward him.
And then something astonishing happened.
My eyes met those of Count Gargant—outside the veil.
At first, I thought I must be mistaken.
But no matter how I looked at it, that wasn’t the case.
I shifted my gaze around, examining the dimensional veil.
That was when it happened.
I couldn’t help but be shocked.
At the tip of my sword—
Slice.
“…!”
The veil had been cut.
***
I raised my voice through the torn dimensional veil.
“All units, prepare for battle and advance!”
Most of the soldiers wore expressions that showed they had no idea what was happening—
Until two men shouted, snapping them back to their senses.
Those two were Count Gargant, who trusted me completely, and Inquisitor Jephron.
“All forces, prepare for battle!”
“From this moment on, we shall purge all evil that stands in our way!”
As the commanders leading the follow-up force—
The knights snapped to attention, drew their swords, raised their shields, and fully armed themselves.
“Advance!”
At the command of Count Gargant, the supreme commander, the combined follow-up force of the Valtras Kingdom’s knights and the Grand Cathedral’s holy knights charged forward with shields raised.
The moment they entered the dimensional veil—
They were confused at first.
Just as expected.
Outside, there hadn’t been so much as an ant in sight.
Inside, however, vampires filled the area in every direction.
Thanks to Diaz having secured a position in advance, the unit avoided collapsing into total chaos.
I also descended, carving out more space for the troops to push through.
Slash! Slash!
As I cut down vampires, Count Gargant and Inquisitor Jephron moved up beside me.
“What in the world is all this?”
“Aren’t these vampires?”
I answered without stopping my sword.
“I’ll explain as we move! There are more enemies than expected!”
“So it seems.”
“Do you have archers?”
“Archers? The holy knights don’t have many, but our side has plenty.”
“Good. We’ll have to break through while clearing this area. One of our allies drew the enemy’s attention to open a path. He’s probably fighting them alone right now.”
“Then we must support him at once. Let’s move!”
Like the veteran commander he was, Count Gargant maneuvered the large force with remarkable efficiency.
Inquisitor Jephron followed him without objection.
As a result, the combined force of holy knights and royal knights moved almost as a single body.
As we advanced, I explained everything I knew.
After hearing it all, Count Gargant shook his head in disbelief.
“Count Mollen… To think he would bring things to this point. Dragging not only a mad witch but even vampires into the sacred Valtras Kingdom…!”
***
“Huff… huff…!”
Andrew rolled sideways to evade and dropped to one knee.
Blood-formed spears were embedded in the ground where he had just been.
If he hadn’t dodged in time, he would have been skewered.
But he hadn’t avoided everything so far.
His right shoulder had already taken a hit, blood streaming down.
His face had been struck several times—his left eye was swollen shut, and blood was flowing from his nose.
The arm holding his sword trembled violently and wouldn’t rise.
His swollen eyelid obstructed his vision, and the nosebleed made breathing difficult.
“None of my attacks are working… and defending is hellishly hard…!”
Even when he mustered all his strength and swung his sword at what seemed like the perfect moment, the enemy would turn into a bat and escape.
And the instant Andrew exposed himself to attack—
The enemy’s counterstrike came flying in.
And the witch Ledeia still hadn’t even joined the battle.
Only the pale high-ranking vampire—Count Mollen—was fighting.
Andrew realized that this was the absolute limit of his abilities.
And at the same time—
“So this is my grave.”
He sensed death approaching.
He had already lost a considerable amount of blood.
The floor, stained red, was entirely his own.
Meanwhile, Count Mollen and Count Soleon still looked completely relaxed.
“It’s about time we finish this. Don’t you agree, Count Mollen?”
“Indeed.”
The two closed in on Andrew from both sides.
They appeared to stroll casually, but there wasn’t a single opening in their movements.
Andrew knew this because he had been fighting them the whole time.
He ground his teeth silently.
Fine. I admit I can’t win. But still…!
I’ll take at least one of you with me!
Killing intent filled his eyes.
Andrew prepared for his final strike, determined to make this place his grave.
Just then—
The two counts who had been approaching suddenly stopped.
Andrew frowned.
They had been just moments away from finishing him.
Did they notice?
He had hidden his killing intent as much as possible and waited for the moment.
If they had seen through it, things would get troublesome.
He might fail—
But then.
Something about the atmosphere felt strange.
Andrew realized it half a beat too late.
“Even that witch… what is she looking at?”
Now that he thought about it, everyone’s gaze was fixed in the same direction.
Behind him.
Andrew finally turned around.
And there—
Something utterly impossible was happening.
Sssshk!
A dimensional veil was being cut—not by magic, but by a physical weapon: a sword.
“Did you wait long?”
At that voice, the witch gasped in shock.
“M-My dimensional veil… cut?! That’s impossible… that can’t happen…!”
There, smiling at him—
Stood Rohan.