Like Looting, But Not Looting (1)
Like Looting, But Not Looting (1)
Ding ding ding! Ding ding ding! Ding ding ding!
The sharp sound of the emergency bell signaling an invasion.
The knights taking out mortars wore relaxed expressions.
Rebecca, holding a heavy machine gun, even yawned leisurely.
"Since Dvil went to raid the rear, I'll command the Mortar Knight Order in the meantime. Any officer with objections?"
"None."
"None."
"It's Piel's order, so even if you have a complaint, just follow."
"Ah, if it's Lieutenant Colonel Marshall's order, of course we must follow without question."
"I look forward to working with you."
Rebecca raised her binoculars and scanned the horizon.
"Let's see... Fifty Ancient Tree monsters approaching in a dispersed formation. We'll operate only two cannon knights. To conceal our artillery strength."
"Understood!"
"Deploy two mortars."
"Deploying!"
Meanwhile, through various efforts such as attempting to shoot down wyverns from 200 meters away, the combined artillery fire of the cannon knights and Rebecca had become increasingly proficient.
They were developing a method of forcing maximum firepower on the enemy with minimal shell expenditure.
"Prepare 250 kilos of flour!"
"Preparing!"
"250 kilos of flour" was the playful nickname for a 60mm shell.
The cannon knight who removed the safety pin let out a sigh unknowingly.
"With just one of these, an ordinary adult could eat for 300 meals."
"That's why these shells are so precious. Aim carefully without a single bit of waste."
The dispersed Ancient Tree Legion entered the firing range.
The two mortars alternately launched shells over the enemies' heads.
Rebecca precisely fired single aura bullets to detonate the shells at the height of maximum damage.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
With only two mortars.
They couldn't wipe them out refreshingly all at once.
However, within just a few minutes of starting the artillery fire, the entire Ancient Tree Legion was annihilated.
"Good. Even though they were dispersed, we succeeded in wiping them out with just 25 shells."
"Wouldn't it be better for us to fight with machetes against something of that level?"
Before Rebecca could even respond, a fellow knight scolded him from the side.
"How did you take Supply Officer Marshall's words? Unconditionally preempt with artillery fire, and engage in machete close combat only when absolutely necessary. From now on, this is our Ainshuvan Army's combat guideline."
Rebecca ejected a shell casing and spoke with a hint of arrogance.
"That's right. Piel can just give us more shells, but a dead knight can't be brought back to life."
Piel had issued a combat guideline that extremely avoided the expenditure of lives.
A value that was far too unfamiliar on the Ainshuvan Front.
"Though against just 50 of them, it didn't seem likely we'd have any casualties anyway."
"Of course Piel knows that. But he always told us to keep traps in mind, didn't he?"
This was a situation where it was 100% certain there were no traps.
Nevertheless, Rebecca faithfully followed the combat guideline Piel had established.
"The Elf Legion's offensive has drastically decreased again. You all feel it, don't you?"
"Yes. Coincidentally, it coincides with the point when the central region was plundered."
"Did they pull troops over there for that reason? Or is it that they want us to see it that way?"
"Supply Officer Marshall told us to keep all possibilities open and be suspicious."
Rebecca fixed her gaze far away on the endlessly stretching forest beyond the horizon.
The Forest of Life and Death.
A vast elf territory whose beginning and end are unknown.
All reconnaissance using flight magic had been neutralized so far.
There was no means to break through the offensive of flying monsters including wyverns and conduct reconnaissance.
"If it's my Piel, someday he'll be able to set it all ablaze and sweep it away cleanly..."
"My apologies, 4th Corps Commander-nim. But I absolutely cannot tolerate that expression just now."
"That's right. How is Marshall 'your' Marshall, Corps Commander-nim?"
Ignoring the knights' protests with one ear, Rebecca turned her gaze this time far to the south.
By now, the reinforcements should have arrived in the central region.
"Luna, I wonder if that girl is doing well?"
***
A settlement too small to be a city, too large to be a village.
A giant Ancient Tree Monster crawls up over the defensive wall made of piled stones.
"Oil! Pour the oil!"
"Throw the torches!"
The soldiers threw jars of oil, as precious as blood, and torches.
Instantly, the branches and leaves caught fire.
But as the Ancient Trees rubbed their branches widely against each other, the oxygen was cut off and the fire went out.
The soldiers were horrified.
"They're trees! They're supposed to burn! How the hell is this happening?"
"Bring more oil! More embers too!"
"There is none! We have no more left!"
The soldiers did not know.
That simple fire attacks using oil and torches were an outdated tactic long since countered by the Ancient Tree Legion.
If you poured in hundreds of times the quantity all at once, it might have an effect, but this village lacked the capacity for such a battle of firepower.
Crrrrumble!
Finally, the defensive wall could not withstand the weight of the Ancient Tree Legion and collapsed.
More than dozens of Ancient Trees poured into the village like a pack of jackals.
This kind of invasion was 'the first in their lives,' and the territory residents with no experience were unable to evacuate and wandered around in confusion.
Precisely at that moment when despair, screams, cries, lamentation, and frustration swallowed the village.
"Sweep them away!"
"Charge!"
Knights wearing military uniforms with a bizarre pattern (digital) leaped in wielding short swords.
As they madly pounded the Ancient Trees with aura-infused swords, they cut through the hard branches and trunks far too easily.
The astonishing thing was that no matter how much they moved, they showed no signs of fatigue at all.
Normally, if knights showed that level of activity, they would be panting from exhaustion.
They fought without a hint of tiredness until they felled the last Ancient Tree individual.
Just ten knights achieved victory without any damage against over dozens of Ancient Tree Legion individuals.
"Which knights are you...?"
"S-strange. Could knights originally fight that well for that long?"
"The knight I know gets exhausted quickly if he maintains an Aura Sword like that..."
Just then, a sharp girl's voice pierced the eardrums of the residents.
"Everyone listen! We are reinforcements dispatched from Ainshuvan!"
The residents buzzed in surprise.
Everyone knew that Ainshuvan was the frontline territory blocking the elf offensive.
Only then did they understand the astonishing skill they had just witnessed.
"Ainshuvan! Count Balckenhardt-nim has come to save us!"
"The youngest Swordmaster, that person has come for us...!"
"Ahh, no wonder they fought so well."
"It truly was like an army of gods in the myths."
Luna shouted in a ringing voice.
"This village lies on the elf infiltration route! Such attacks will continue in the future!"
It wasn't the truth. Luna had just arrived here and did not know the nearby terrain well.
But to these novice residents of war who had just barely escaped annihilation, it was a heart-sinking declaration.
"M-Mage-nim? Then what should we do?"
"Please save us! Do not abandon our village!"
"It can't be helped. We will assist your evacuation to a safe place. Everyone, pack up your household goods and come out. Don't just pack the important things—pack everything regardless of its bulk or weight!"
The residents hurriedly packed their belongings, terrified that they might be abandoned.
Luna cast Storage Warehouse Magic on them to conveniently aid transportation.
"Do not release the Storage Warehouse Magic until I give the order!"
"Oh my, thank you so much."
There are various restrictions such as being one-time use, time-limited, size-limited, type-limited, and carrying a random loss risk (low probability).
But it is a transportation magic optimized for the mass transport of cheap, heavy, bulky, low-value goods.
Thus, the residents who followed Luna and the knights soon joined residents from other villages in the same situation.
The residents were initially bewildered, but upon hearing that everyone had undergone the same ordeal and was evacuating, they once again felt great gratitude toward Luna and the knights.
"But doesn't Storage Warehouse Magic carry the risk of things inside disappearing?"
"The probability is low. And if such a thing happens, the knights said they would take responsibility and fully compensate for it."
"Oh...! I thought the Ainshuvan knights were only rough and scary, but they are truly merciful."
Almost every day, the number of residents joining the evacuation procession increased.
There was no problem with food.
When Luna took out rye (locally procured from nearby nobles' warehouses) from the Subspace Ring (sponsored by Viscount Corbel) that Piel gave her,
the mages turned the rye into dough, levitated it in the air, and delicately baked it into rye bread.
That astonishing skill soothed the hearts of the refugees who had lost their homes overnight.
"How can this be! How can you bake such bread with just a fire spell without even an oven?"
"There's not a single burnt spot! It's unbelievable!"
"Somehow, the northern nobles seem different."
It was a wondrous experience.
The common perception was that the north was a rough, barren, and impoverished military territory.
But the northern knights who saved the village were nothing like that image.
The US military digital pattern field uniforms they wore were more refined and luxurious than the military uniforms of any nobles.
The machetes had not chipped a single tooth despite repeated battles.
Every evening, the northern knights roasted large chunks of meat (sponsored by nearby nobles) over a bonfire and ate them.
The sight of each of them grabbing a whole hind leg of a cow and roasting it heartily shook the residents' hearts without mercy.
'Even if they're knights, they roast and eat a whole cow leg every evening on the battlefield?'
'Just how abundant is their food situation...'
'Even our lord's family can barely slaughter one cow a month or not even...'
The astonishing thing was that when little children peered around, the knights laughed heartily and gave each of them a fully roasted cow leg.
A single leg was enough quantity for dozens of children to feast.
It was common sense that meat was extremely precious, yet the knights gave it away to children without any hesitation.
***
Late at night.
Luna communicated with Piel via shortwave communication device at the scheduled regular report time.
"...We will soon send the first wave of rescued residents."
- Understood. We will dispatch troops accordingly to manage the reception.
"I will contact you during the next regular report."
- We are standing by 24 hours, so contact us at any time in an urgent situation.
"Yes, I'll remember that."
The communication ended, and Luna examined the composite communication device from all angles with wonder.
"How can we converse with a place hundreds of kilometers away? This magical device... just what is it..."
Remote communication magical devices do exist.
But their range is only around 200 meters; any farther and communication itself fails.
The price is also ruthlessly expensive, so they are deployed only by the royal family or great noble families for emergencies; normally, they just use messengers.
"You said the principle is that the sound is sent from here to the sky, and then the wind layer up high reflects it back to the surface..."
The concept of ultra-long-distance shortwave communication using ionospheric reflection was an unfamiliar concept difficult for Luna to comprehend.
"The wind layer high up..."
Luna looked up at the night sky holding the moonlight and murmured.
Something squirmed in her mind, an awareness that felt just barely graspable.
Suddenly, Piel's command came to mind.
'Keep in mind. What you must prioritize above all else is assisting the evacuation for the residents' safety.'
'Evacuation? Not conscription?'
'Ah-uh, conscription, you say. It is safe evacuation assistance. Be mindful of your word choice from now on.'
Piel wanted to move them as intact family units, village units, as much as possible.
If he were aiming to increase territory residents, it would be an extremely inefficient method.
Just conscripting young women would be the most efficient.
'Commander Luna, comfort is important. Moving them as village units as much as possible aids rapid adaptation. It is a cumbersome and difficult task, but I trust you will carry it out well.'
Luna recalled the reward for the mission that Piel had promised.
A happy smile naturally spread across her lips.
"The chocolate chiffon gluten-free cake is incredibly delicious too... but this time he said he would also let me eat something called a mint choco gluten-free cake."
Since the name itself sounded so incredibly delicious, Luna already yearned earnestly for that day.
***
"Uwaaak! You can't do this, you can't! Departing from the settlement is a capital crime that the lord-nim will not forgive!"
"What is that fellow saying? Who is he?"
"Commander Luna-nim, he is a low-ranking noble who acted as the village overseer. Though he seems closer to a commoner than a noble."
"You're also a conscription target, no, an evacuation target anyway. Drag him along."
"Uwaaaak! Please leave me be! My family lives in the city!"
"Don't worry. We're heading to that city now."
<Wind Mage Commander Luna>