The Battleground
The Battleground.
The place that drew the attention of every power player on the continent simply because it lay at its very center.
A place where human blood formed rivers, ownerless weapons paved the earth, and corpses piled into mountains.
A place where, even if one managed to claim it, they would have to spend every waking moment worrying about the next invasion.
"So, for starters, we need to think about who's going to guard it."
"We haven't even gotten close yet, and you're already worrying about that...?"
"Um... since we're obviously going to succeed anyway, is there really any need to worry about it...?"
"Ooh, Charbun. What's this? Are you saying we can take the Battleground with our eyes closed or something?"
At Jane's words, Charbun flinched in surprise and frantically waved his hands.
In the middle of their banter, Zaraxia, who had been lost in thought, suddenly raised his hand.
"I will guard it."
"...Huh? You?"
"Yes. Traveling like this has made me realize that constant moving doesn't really suit my temperament. I think I'd prefer to stay at the base and wait for everyone to return."
"...Can you handle it? You did nothing but get beat up when you sparred with Belgard."
"Of course he can!"
Roan answered on his behalf.
"...Such blind faith is almost terrifying..."
"Indeed. Though, I suppose Zaraxia might actually do quite well."
Zaraxia and Roan's antics.
Jane's deadpan retorts.
Followed by the chatter between Belgard and Charbun.
The road to the Battleground.
The party's demeanor was no different from usual.
...Until the Battleground finally came into view.
"...It reeks of copper."
"It's the smell of blood. I've smelled it plenty of times, but... I've never encountered a scent this thick."
"It seems there is a stench of rot mixed in as well."
"Um... you know, back when I was offered as a sacrifice? The smell of congealed, rotting blood was exactly like this."
Each of them chimed in.
The lighthearted, chatty atmosphere vanished instantly.
A battlefield where one had to trample over the corpses of their comrades just to swing their sword one more time.
Already, the clashing of steel against steel, accompanied by screams and desperate shrieks, seemed to echo in their ears.
I never had a reason to set foot on this land in my past life, but this is worse than I thought.
Even if they claimed it, cleaning up this mess was going to take a considerable amount of time.
"Well... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Is everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded.
"Die! Just die already!!"
"N-No...!"
"Ugh! Fireball!!"
Welcoming them as they entered was a dense fog of blood and deafening roars echoing from every direction.
Every second brought the sound of flesh being sliced; every second brought the sound of something collapsing to the earth.
Unable to bear it any longer, Belgard clamped a hand over her mouth.
"This is too... cruel..."
Though she had witnessed death multiple times, she seemed entirely unaccustomed to this kind of endless, meaningless slaughter.
"A-Are we... do we have to charge in there and... cut those people down as well? I... I don't think I can..."
It was going to be difficult for her.
She couldn't even finish her sentence, her lips trembling in guilt for voicing her hesitation.
Jane, who would usually have scolded her, merely observed the situation in silence.
"No!"
Roan shouted, his voice cutting through the din directly into their ears.
"There's no need to do anything so reckless! I don't particularly feel like getting my hands drenched in blood today either!"
That was a lie.
If his comrades hadn't shown any hesitation, he would have slaughtered everyone on this field.
But under these circumstances, the plan had to change.
I need to minimize casualties while displaying overwhelming power...
Roan's gaze naturally drifted toward the other two.
The two who would display that very dominance.
"Jane. Belgard."
He called their names.
Clang! Clang!
Faint replies returned amid the clashing of steel.
"Get ready. You two are going to play the most important roles here."
Roan pointed at Belgard.
"Use your dark energy to suck up all this blood mist."
Then, he pointed at Jane.
"And Jane, you conjure a flame hot enough to completely incinerate the mass Belgard gathers."
A swift command.
And swift compliance.
There was no need for further explanation.
This was the mutual understanding they had forged after surviving countless trials together.
"But! It might take a little time! I'm still not fully used to this..."
"It'll take me a bit too. The stench and the noise are making it hard to concentrate."
They each had their difficulties, but Roan had already accounted for that.
"Charbun!"
"Y-Yes!?"
"We're going to buy time until these two are ready! You can do that, right?"
Buy time.
In other words, block every single attack headed their way.
Could he do it?
"Y-Yes... Yes, sir!"
Even if he couldn't, he had to.
Because it was a request from his savior.
Because it was a direct order from the man who had saved his life.
Because he had to do what he was capable of.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Shouting as if firing a signal flare, Roan charged forward, shield raised.
—BOOM!!!
A juggernaut advancing toward the heart of the Battleground.
People were swept aside as if space itself were splitting around him.
"W-What is that...?!"
"What's with that insane momentum...?!"
"Where did they come from?! The Holy State?! The Kingdom?!"
"Rear guard! Fire arrows and magic at them!"
A few managed to swing their swords and loose arrows, but they couldn't inflict any meaningful damage against that overwhelming momentum.
The desperate attacks of those struggling to survive on the Battleground merely fizzled out harmlessly.
"M-Master Roan!!"
Charbun followed him, his voice trembling with fear.
His characteristically massive build and bare upper torso caught the retinas of the bewildered hunters.
"It's that guy! Target him!!"
"Panicking like that on a battlefield? Get skewered!"
—Swoosh! Thud! Thud!
Three crossbow bolts flew through the air.
Expertly aimed to intercept his path, they pierced straight through Charbun's shoulder.
"Ugh...!"
A sickening, piercing pain.
But Charbun did not fall.
Instead, he ran even more proudly behind Roan, as if to show off his resilience.
—Squish, crackle...
The muscles around the wound squirmed, filling the punctured flesh.
The archer's jaw dropped as he watched the muscles forcibly eject the bolt heads and restore the shoulder to its original state.
"W-What kind of monster is that...?"
"A priest...? No, that's impossible... Even with a priest, you can't regenerate at that speed..."
Shock gripped their hands, causing them to hesitate.
Seizing the opening, Roan's party charged forward once more like a runaway train.
"W-Wait... They're heading for the center! They're going straight to the heart of the Battleground! Stop them!"
"Damn it...! No! Block them!! Block them, you idiots!"
"If we let them through, our heads are rolling!! Don't you want to live a little longer?!"
Genuinely panicked, soldiers from all factions and formations threw themselves forward to block their path.
Come to think of it, the situation at the center was slightly different from the brutal battlefield surrounding it.
Unlike the outer areas littered with corpses and drenched in blood, the immediate surroundings here were relatively clean.
The powerful auras occasionally pulsing from the center allowed Roan to deduce the identities of those fighting there.
As if I care!
"Alright! We're almost there! Start concentrating once we hit the center! Ready?"
"...I've already figured out what spell to use."
"Me too. I'm practicing it right now... so it should be fine."
There was no stopping Roan's party.
Tearing through the crimson encirclement in an instant, he breached the center.
And standing there...
—Clang...!
Clatter... clank...
Creeeak...
...were individuals of distinct and formidable presence.
A gladiator with striking shoulder pauldrons adorned in crimson and gold, wielding a massive greatsword.
A paladin clad in near-white silver full plate armor, equipped with a mace and a tower shield.
A lightly armored magic knight, sword in one hand and magic gathering in the other.
And various others.
"Ugh... they look incredibly strong. There aren't many of them, but the pressure they're emitting is on a whole different level..."
Roan replied to the hesitating Charbun.
"They must be the strongest champions sent by each nation. Since this is the center, they deployed their absolute best."
Even if they had pushed through the outer soldiers with brute force, they couldn't do the same here.
These were people brimming with pride and genuine skill, so they would have to face them whether they liked it or not.
"...A new faction?"
"They don't look particularly strong."
Every single word was laced with disdain.
Having been cut off from the outside world by the ongoing battle, they seemed to look down on Roan's party.
"Dumbasses."
Then, one of them spoke.
The gladiator, dragging his greatsword along the ground, sneered openly.
"You might have lived if you stayed outside! Yet you crawl in here just to commit suicide!! I'll polish my blade with your shredded flesh!!"
CRASH!!
Drunk on blood, the gladiator lunged forward, his footfalls shaking the very earth.
"Die, you insects!!"
A massive blade sliced across the battlefield.
It tore through the air with a deafening roar, hurtling forward as if promising a clean decapitation.
It carried a momentum that even Charbun's rapid regeneration would struggle to survive.
"Charbun! Duck!"
Roan shouted.
He stepped in front of Charbun, who had ducked reflexively.
His body was small compared to the iron-clad knights or the massive half-breeds.
Yet, with that small frame, he met the colossal comet head-on.
—BOOM!!!!
A deafening explosion that seemed to turn the entire world white.
A shockwave swept over everyone.
"Ugh...!"
"C-Concentrate..."
Though their focus wavered for a fraction of a second, they managed to maintain their composure.
The smug expressions of those muttering things like "He's dead" or "Time to clean up the rest" instantly froze.
Because the sight revealed as the dust cleared was entirely different from what they had anticipated.
The man they assumed would be sliced in half was still standing firm.
Instead, it was the gladiator who lay face-down on the ground, his momentum completely shattered.
"Ugh... Argh..."
Groaning in pain, the gladiator had the distinct emblem of Roan's shield imprinted on his cheek.
It seemed Roan hadn't just deflected the blow, but had smashed his shield directly into the man's face.
"This is impossible..."
"What... That madman got taken down just like that?"
Dismay etched itself into everyone's minds.
The pathetic party they had dismissed as mere outsiders had transformed into highly dangerous threats in the blink of an eye.
"ᚦᛁᚱᛃᚨᛚ ᚨᚾᚨ..."
An iron wall of a shield and a regenerating monster.
From between them, the sound of a chanted incantation echoed.
It was a magical chant that none of the mages present had ever heard before.
With the source of the chant as the epicenter, the surrounding blood mist slowly began to converge into a single point.
"Ugh... Is it because of that magic...? The surrounding air is..."
"...No, it looks like that priestess is doing something."
Erian Belgard.
The dark matter flowing from her hands was slowly stripping away the crimson hue of the surrounding air.
Each member of Roan's party excelled in their own distinct way.
The usurpation of the Battleground was proceeding smoothly.