Courage (2)
“That’s the Prode banner! Harryford’s reinforcements have arrived!”
A soldier on the watchtower shouted at the top of his lungs. Even at a glance, the force approaching was massive.
“Really? Thank the heavens. They’re not too late.”
“I’m telling you. You can see them clear as day over there.”
A soldier on the wall let out a long breath of relief and ran to find his superior.
For days now, reports had come in that monsters were massing around the Kenipra Gate. Reinforcements had been promised, but no one had been sure they would actually come. The soldiers of Kenipra had steeled themselves for a fight to the death regardless. And now, at last, help had arrived.
“We can win this battle.”
A light of hope seemed to kindle in the soldiers’ eyes.
Look at him, all fired up.
The watchtower soldier watching him smiled with quiet satisfaction.
We’re going to live.
He fixed his gaze on the distant Prode army. Banners marked with each unit’s crest fluttered in the wind.
Just as Lord Veritati said—they mobilized the whole army. There’s even the Magic Tower’s banner. And… what’s that?
A particular emblem caught his eye: a crown, a lion, and a horse.
“Wha—!”
His jaw dropped so wide he nearly dislocated it.
“R-royalty?”
As the soldier had seen, the composition of the relief force was anything but ordinary. Alongside the Prode army and the Magic Tower’s mages rode none other than Prince Romiu himself.
“Your Highness, the fortress ahead is Kenipra Castle. Viscount Hugo Bacler governs the territory.”
“I see. We arrived earlier than I expected.”
Romiu, who until now had scarcely set foot outside the royal palace, was practically buzzing with excitement.
So that’s Prode’s breakwater.
Kenipra Castle—the fortress that shielded Prode from the Peer Mountains—stood right before his eyes.
“Brother. Could you at least try to hide your emotions?”
A sharp, cutting voice sliced through Romiu’s thoughts.
“W-when did I show any emotion?”
“You’re doing it right now.”
A woman with the platinum-blond hair that marked the Prode royal line—swept up high—glared at him. She was Princess Sernel of Prode.
Having been upstaged by Romiu at the State Council, she had insisted on joining this expedition. Alberto had refused, citing the danger. It was Orlando who had spoken up for her, arguing that royalty needed to appear in person to soothe Kenipra’s seething public sentiment—and offering to personally guard the princess at all times. Sensing Orlando’s designs, Alberto had added Romiu to the expedition as well.
“Sernel, think again. This is a battlefield. I worry you’ll be hurt.”
“So only you get to earn glory here? Do you really think I’ll just stand by and watch?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant. I only…”
“You’re stammering again. Please, for once, remember the dignity of the royal house.”
Romiu exhaled a long sigh.
“Fine. Just stop snapping at me. And I won’t stop you from distinguishing yourself—so stay glued to Lord Cheddleton’s side.”
“Huh? O-okay.”
Romiu’s unexpected compliance left Sernel flustered.
It’s him. Ever since he met that man, he’s been like this.
Sernel was still seething at the thought of Ellen’s face when a voice rang out.
“Hugo Bacler, guardian of Kenipra, greets the future of Prode.”
Hearing that royalty rode with the reinforcements, Hugo and Kenipra’s principal officers had come out to receive them.
“Well met. You have labored hard to protect Prode from the monsters.”
“I have merely done my duty.”
Romiu spoke with a surprisingly solemn gravity. Standing behind Hugo, Ellen smiled faintly at the sight.
Not bad at all.
Romiu’s face brightened the moment he spotted Ellen, but with so many eyes upon them, they exchanged formal greetings as protocol demanded.
“You must be weary from the journey. Please, come inside. I will arrange a briefing on our present situation.”
At Hugo’s words, Romiu nodded.
“Monsters are currently massing roughly two days’ march from here. We hold the defensive position, but the Kenipra Gate is not a fortified wall in the conventional sense. That makes it difficult to exploit the advantages of defense.”
The lord’s council chamber held the representatives of each force, along with Orlando, Sernel, and Romiu. According to Hugo’s report, the situation was grim. Not hopeless—but heavy losses on their side were all but inevitable.
“We ought to raise a palisade here and fashion something like a wall. This relief force includes a fair number of Magic Assistants; with their help, we could put one up without much trouble.”
Orlando traced a line across the map with mana as he spoke.
“That does sound wise. It would minimize casualties among our own troops.”
Sernel agreed at once. At the words of the two most influential figures in the expedition, the unit representatives nodded along. Three among them, however, did not move.
Building favorable terrain against an attack was textbook defensive strategy.
But it probably won’t work.
A palisade was exactly what Hugo had already considered. In fact, with Ellen and Doyle’s help, he had already raised one. The problem was the frenzied large-class monsters mixed among the enemy. Under ordinary circumstances it might have held—but a single swing of an axe from a monster whose strength had been massively enhanced snapped the timber like twigs.
They haven’t seen it themselves, so they wouldn’t know.
Hugo, reading Ellen’s unspoken thought, gave a small nod. He would speak up himself.
“We also…”
Hugo began to confess their earlier failure.
“Lord Cheddleton’s suggestion has merit, but I’ve heard the opposing monsters are frenzied and possess strength beyond imagination.”
It was Romiu—one of those who had not nodded—who cut Hugo off. Orlando’s eyes sharpened.
“That is correct.”
“If large-class monsters are among them, I doubt a palisade will hold. What about this instead?”
He pointed to the Kane River—the waterway north of the Kenipra Gate, formed by streams flowing down from the Peer Mountains.
“Have the mages divert the channel here and dig a moat in front of the Kenipra Gate. Fortunately, we have plenty of mages with the expedition; temporarily rerouting a watercourse should be within their means.”
Romiu gauged the scale of the river drawn on the map.
“It won’t stop the large monsters, but it should be deep enough to drown the smaller ones. That alone would make them far easier to deal with.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
It was Ellen who applauded.
“To grasp the situation so precisely without having seen it yourself—truly impressive, Your Highness.”
Romiu looked sheepish at the praise. He was a bookworm who had read nearly every volume in the royal library, and from those pages he had drawn a great deal of wisdom. Until now, he had simply lacked the courage to speak it. That courage had begun to take root thanks to Ellen.
“We already attempted a palisade and failed. A moat, however—we never even considered it. The chances of success are more than worth trying.”
Hugo threw his weight behind Romiu as well. The prince was unaccustomed to such warm reception, but he found he did not mind it in the least.
“What do the rest of you think?”
Romiu always asked for the opinions around him. Ordinarily it was a habit born of hesitation and deference. This time, the question carried real conviction.
“An excellent strategy.”
“We would never have imagined it ourselves.”
“I am of the same mind.”
When even Orlando finally inclined his head, Romiu’s expression brightened.
Sernel seized Orlando’s collar and yanked. He looked equally put-upon and gave a tiny shake of his head.
He’s telling me to wait?
Sernel fretted. By the plan she had laid with Orlando and several other nobles, she was supposed to have been distinguishing herself since the State Council. This expedition had been meant to prove Romiu’s incompetence. Somehow, only his abilities kept shining instead.
Orlando—I can’t just trust that man alone. I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.
Once a woman of cool, clear judgment, she was beginning to lose her reason to anxiety.
Construction of the moat before the Kenipra Gate proceeded with remarkable speed. They diverted a channel from the Kane River all the way to the gate, covered the trench with earth and timber, and dammed the upstream end so the water would not yet flow.
Ellen had reported that humans stood behind the monsters. Hearing that, Romiu proposed camouflaging the moat. The plan was simple: wait until the monsters charged, then breach the dam and complete the moat at the last possible moment.
Grrr.
Kraaang!
Chree—chrrrk!
And the moment to breach that dam was drawing near. Red-eyed monsters appeared before the gate. Goblins and orcs, trolls—and further back, even ogres.
“Are those ogres at the rear?”
“They look even more deranged than usual.”
“We can survive this… right?”
Tension knotted every muscle of the gate soldiers. Just facing the horde was enough to bring out a cold sweat; the sheer presence of the monster host was that overwhelming. As though under command, they held formation and advanced steadily on the gate.
“Now.”
Romiu looked to Ellen as he spoke.
Fweeee—
BOOM.
A signal flare streaked into the sky and burst in a brilliant flash. From the brightness and the report, it would be visible from a considerable distance.
The monsters paid the flare no mind. Forest Worms, armored in thick carapaces, led the van and shielded the horde, making long-range attacks impossible. Their advance was somewhat slow, yet methodical and relentless—almost like a human army.
“Just a little farther.”
The defenders waited for them to come closer still, waited for them to step onto the trap they had dug.
Sssshk.
Skreee—
Kyaaaak!
The Forest Worms and the goblins pressed tight behind them suddenly plummeted into the earth. Blades and spearpoints, waiting edge-up, punched through their bodies. The monsters following behind faltered at the sudden calamity.
Rumble—rumble—
Then came a sound that shook the ground itself. A vast wall of water came roaring in.
Whoooosh—
The flood filled the pits where the creatures had fallen. These were not monsters that could breathe underwater. Unable to draw air, they thrashed and clawed for the surface—but the swords and spears lodged throughout their bodies held them fast.
“Waaaah!”
“This is what humans can do!”
“Don’t you dare underestimate human ingenuity!”
Soldiers thrust their fists into the air and cheered.
“Good. They walked right into it.”
Romiu clenched his fist as well. He had been anxious whether a strategy born of pure theory would hold up in actual combat. Only now, seeing the result with his own eyes, could he finally breathe easy.
“The Forest Worms that shielded their front are gone! Pour arrows and magic into them!”
Hugo’s command rang out. Soldiers who had been crouched behind the temporary palisade rose into view. Without hesitation they loosed their arrows, Magic Assistants lending support to the assault. A black rain of shafts thick enough to blot the sky hammered into the monster ranks. With the Forest Worms gone, every volley found goblins and orcs instead.
Kiiik!
Chreee—chrik!
Then the commander-class monsters—bound by both frenzy magic and mind-control magic—stepped forward. The surviving Forest Worms stretched their massive bodies lengthwise, forming living bridges across the moat. Given their bulk, the spans were substantial. Creatures bearing crude shields took the lead and began to cross, and the rest of the horde followed in turn.
“Hah… I’d only heard the stories, but the monsters really are cooperating.”
“I can scarcely believe it even seeing it.”
The mages watching from the rear clicked their tongues. Everyone else shared their reaction.
“At this rate, I’d like to get a look at whoever’s behind them.”
Romiu scratched his head.
“As it happens, I’ve already set Argon on the investigation. We should have good news soon.”
“If you say so, Remi, that puts me at ease. By the way—I don’t see Marquis Cheddleton.”
At Romiu’s remark, Ellen glanced around. As the Magic Tower’s representative, Orlando commanded the Tower’s dispatched forces. Yet he was nowhere to be seen.
Romiu’s faction may be weak, but abandoning the battlefield is still going too far.
Even if it became a problem later, he could always wriggle free by citing a mage’s independence and specialized duties.
Rrrrumble.
At that very moment, a massive wall of earth surged up along the length of the moat. In an instant the monsters were split in two—those who had already crossed, and those still stranded on the far side.
“Now!”
A sharp voice cut across the moat. When Romiu identified its owner, his jaw nearly hit the ground.
“Th-that’s—Sernel!”
What are those two suddenly doing?
Ellen, too, could not hide his shock. From a small copse flanking the gate, Sernel, Orlando, and a cluster of mages burst into the open. Every one of those mages was a practitioner of considerable rank.
“From here on, we destroy them piecemeal.”
At Sernel’s command, the mages began to chant.