New Weapon Performance (3)
“Uwaaaah!”
The barbarians charged at the imperial troops. The shaman raised his staff and chanted a spell. A flow of energy swept over the barbarians.
Their bodies began to glow red, surging with vitality.
“Prepare for arrows and the shaman’s attacks!”
As the barbarians entered arrow range, they raised their shields overhead. Meanwhile, on the imperial side...
“Ready to fire!”
The archers nocked their arrows and aimed, while the matchlockmen shouldered their guns and took aim. The commander waited for the enemy to enter range.
“Fire!”
At the commander’s order, flames erupted from the muzzles of the matchlocks. At the same time, arrows loosed from the archers’ bows arced through the air.
-Thud. Thud-thud.
Most of the arrows embedded in the barbarians’ shields or bounced off. But unfortunately for them, their shields couldn’t withstand the matchlocks’ firepower.
“Graaah!” “Ugh...”
The front-line barbarians tumbled as they ran, but unlike before, the rest didn’t halt their charge. Meanwhile...
“Some kind of spell, huh.”
“No. I don’t sense the mana flow from spellcasting. It must be a new type of weapon.”
“I see.”
The great chieftain pondered the shaman’s response for a moment.
“If we take those guys out, we can stop our kin from dropping before they even clash.”
“Likely.”
“Hit them with your spells.”
Finishing his talk with the shaman, the great chieftain gripped his axe and leaped forward. The matchlockmen spotted him closing in fast.
“Fire!”
At the commander’s command, the matchlocks spat fire again. But the chieftain deflected the shots effortlessly with his aura-infused axe. As he closed the distance and leaped into the air toward the matchlockmen...
“Brace for attack!”
At the commander’s order, the soldiers surrounded the matchlockmen and raised their spears.
“Shit...”
Someone muttered a curse under their breath. The menacing glow of aura on the axe filled them with dread. The soldiers despaired, convinced they couldn’t stop him.
That was when it happened.
-Kiiing!
Others intercepted the great chieftain just as he was about to land amid the matchlockmen. Their swords blazed with brilliant light.
The empire’s knights had joined the fray.
“The knights!” “Damn, we’re saved!”
The imperial soldiers, sinking into despair, cheered at the sight of the knights.
“Matchlockmen, hold off the barbarians’ approach! Ready to fire!”
At the commander’s order, they refocused on their duty. Meanwhile, the knights squared off against the great chieftain.
“Superior-grade, huh.”
One knight muttered. They’d attacked in threes to finish him quickly, but could only hold him at bay.
“Hmph. Knights, eh.”
The chieftain snorted, spitting blood from his nose, and regripped his axe. The knights silently encircled him.
“Hup!”
-Clang!
One knight blocked the chieftain’s axe, and their battle began.
Meanwhile, the shaman cast a spell to aid his kin. With his incantation, flames gathered in the air, coalescing into a massive fireball that streaked toward the imperial lines.
But the fireball never disrupted their formation.
“Hm. Not bad.”
The mage, eyeing the fireball, chanted and swung her staff. It exploded midair and scattered.
“My turn next?”
The mage chanted again and swung her staff. Meteors rapidly formed in the sky and rained down on the barbarians.
Some struck home, but most were blocked by the shaman’s spells and shattered in the air.
“Fun.”
She’d exterminated beasts and sparred with other mages, but this was her first real battle. Thrilled by the rush, she licked her lips and prepared her next move.
Magic and shamanism clashed in the sky as the mage and shaman pitted their powers. But the contest didn’t last long.
“Shaman’s over there, I bet.”
A knight muttered, eyeing where the spells originated.
“Let’s go. Two should be enough.”
Another knight stretched as they charged toward the shaman.
“Knights! Block them from the shaman!”
Over thirty barbarians tried to stop them, but...
“You’re looking down on us too much.” “Urk...”
The knights dispatched them with ease.
“Where’s the shaman?” “...Looks like over there.”
The shaman, now at a distance, tried to block them with spells, but...
-Slash.
A knight closed the gap in a flash and swung his sword.
“Any more?” “...Let’s watch a bit longer.”
“Not a bad idea.”
They crouched and surveyed the battlefield.
“The tide’s already turned, hasn’t it?” “Seems so.”
The barbarians had clashed with the soldiers, but the mage’s spells massacred them unilaterally. The battle would end soon. The victor was already clear.
The great chieftain tried to rise, pressing against the ground, but his wounds were too severe; his strength failed him.
“Hoo.”
He sighed and looked around. He could tell at a glance how things had gone. The surviving kin were fleeing—and even they were falling soon after.
The empire had prepared more thoroughly than he’d thought. His misjudgment had led his people into a deathtrap.
“Impressive skill. A shame about your birth.”
A knight’s mutter reached him, but he lacked the strength to reply. The chieftain merely leaned on his axe haft to catch his breath.
1:3.
Outnumbered from the start. But even in a one-on-one, he doubted he could’ve beaten the knight. Their techniques were on another level. Brute force hadn’t been enough. Nibbled away bit by bit, he’d exhausted his stamina.
“With proper training, you could’ve grown so much more. What a pity.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“...Spare my kin.”
“What?”
At the knight’s question, the chieftain spoke again.
“...My fault. They just fought on my orders to survive. So spare my kin.”
“Damn, he’s cool.”
“That’s not fair.”
The knights scratched their heads for a moment. One stepped forward, sword in hand.
“We’ll consider it.”
“...”
The chieftain bowed his head.
...
“Shall we head back, then?”
“...Yeah.”
After returning, the knights sought out the commander to report.
“First, tally the casualties.”
At the commander’s order, the officers began assessing losses.
“1st Battalion casualties...wounded...current strength...”
“2nd Battalion...”
“3rd Battalion...”
Casualties were light.
“Good work. Thanks to your dedication, the empire’s citizens can live in peace. All but minimal guards are to rest until further orders.”
After ordering rest, cheers finally rose from the troops. The commander left them behind, returned to his post, and took his own break.
“Adjutant Kurin Maxon here. May I enter?”
“Come in.”
“...Scouts have found the barbarians’ base.”
The commander pondered briefly before replying.
“Warning’s been given. Leave them be; they’ll disband on their own.”
“Understood.”
Watching his adjutant leave, the commander sighed and turned to his paperwork.
The report on the clash with the barbarians reached army headquarters.
“Intriguing.”
“...So it seems.”
“They haven’t rusted yet, eh. Heh.”
The report included evaluations of the matchlocks.
“...This effective?”
“The exchange ratio is miraculous.”
“Negative on whether it works against knights, though.”
“Still, it’s definitively powerful against regular troops.”
“Wish we could try some in our unit.”
The officers took interest in the matchlocks after reading the report. They began submitting requests for distribution—which piled more work on a certain diligent citizen.
“Hey, Brown. Heard? Matchlocks got rave reviews in combat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The army’s singing their praises. You’ll be promoted in no time. Haha!”
“Haha...”
“And this is a request for more matchlocks.”
“7,000...units? Urgh...”
Cannons and now matchlocks. Good news, sure, but Brown couldn’t celebrate. Evaluations meant proportional workload.
The capital’s forges were already maxed out churning out cannons. Where was he supposed to get matchlocks?
“Ah...”
“Oh, and this is hush-hush.”
His team leader leaned in and whispered.
“The empire’s recognizing your merits with a commendation.”
“!”
“Keep it up! Haha!”
Brown’s workload jumped 200%.