Sometimes Reckless Is the Answer
Ten minutes before the match began.
Raon smiled as he looked at the yellow flag planted at the Light Wind Squad's base.
This brings back memories.
The sight of that flag carried him back to his trainee days, when they had fought a team battle against the trainees of the Sixth Training Ground.
That pointy-eared bastard told you a day in advance back then too, did he not?
Wrath snickered like a child.
He did. He did, but…
Raon frowned and glanced back at Rimer.
This time he's competing himself, so why tell us only a day beforehand?
Back then it had been trainee versus trainee, so maybe Rimer had kept it quiet for the fun of it. This time, though, he was fighting too—and he had still sprung the news on them with a single day's notice. It was almost impressive how absurd that was.
"Aaah-haahm."
Rimer yawned, smoothing down hair that stuck up from sleeping in. When their eyes met, he grinned and cocked his chin to one side.
"What? Never seen a handsome elf before?"
"…No."
Raon let out a short sigh and gestured to the Light Wind Squad.
"Fall in."
They gathered around the flag, a faint manic gleam ringing their eyes.
"I've already mapped the entire urban layout. I'll sketch it on the ground, so…"
He had just begun to draw up a plan from the terrain he had surveyed when the earth heaved, and the walls and buildings of the Urban Combat Training Ground started to move.
The Urban Combat Training Ground will now be reconfigured to ensure a fair battle.
Referee Harrison's voice rolled out over the dust that shook the entire district and the enormous surge of mana beneath it.
The urban combat between the Light Wind Squad and the Iron Battle Squad begins now!
Thirty seconds later, Harrison's voice sounded again, and the walls and buildings that had been shifting at random slammed to a halt with a heavy thud.
"They moved everything again from where it was a minute ago?"
Burren frowned at the training ground, where the dust had yet to settle.
"Even monkeys fall from trees, huh? Didn't see this one coming, did you?"
Marta looked up at Raon and smirked.
"Guess we'll have to map the terrain all over again."
"No. It's fine."
Raon shook his head as he drew a map on the ground.
"I already accounted for the terrain changing."
"You accounted for that?"
Burren's mouth fell open.
"I figured there was a chance it would shift one more time."
Once he had confirmed that the mechanisms inside the training ground could move, he had also predicted how the buildings and walls would rearrange themselves.
The Iron Battle Squad wouldn't know this new layout any better than they did. If he opened the Sense of Frost Flowers and read the terrain, they would actually be in a better position than before.
"Hmph."
Marta scowled and turned her back on him.
"Boring."
"Whose side are you even on?"
Raon let out a dry laugh and opened the Sense of Frost Flowers at full strength. A sensation like his skin stretching without end washed over him, and everything around him came flooding in.
"Raon."
He was working outward from the nearest streets, mapping the urban terrain, when Rimer raised a hand.
"I'm going to go scout."
"What? Scout?"
Raon narrowed his eyes at him.
There's no way this man would volunteer for reconnaissance…
Napping in the rear because it was too much trouble—that, he could believe. Offering to scout ahead himself sent a chill down Raon's spine.
"No. I'll go. The squad leader doesn't head out on recon."
"Don't you know me? Leading by example—that's what this Rimer is all about!"
"That 'leading by example' is more than covered by you taking on the Iron Battle Squad's two vice-leaders."
Rimer had to face both vice-leaders. He could not be allowed to wander off.
"Don't worry about it. Just sit tight and wait for the man who's about to become a division commander."
Rimer gave a vigorous wave and sprang up onto a building whose wall had collapsed.
"Wait a second—"
"I'll be right back."
Before anyone could stop him, Rimer became a green wind and raced east.
"What's gotten into the squad leader? Think he's sorry for springing the match on us so late?"
"Not a chance. He just took the wrong medicine."
Burren scoffed. Marta snorted.
"He's sick."
Runaan nodded with a vacant look in her eyes.
"Maybe he thinks this is a dream?"
"He might've bet his entire fortune on us."
"Ah, that's it! It's a gamble!"
The rest of the Light Wind Squad piled on with theories about Rimer's uncharacteristic behavior. Not one of them was flattering.
This King has a feeling that pointy-eared bastard is about to cause trouble.
I can feel it too.
They could not afford to lose that man.
If Rimer failed to take on the two vice-leaders, the entire plan would unravel. Raon wanted to chase after him, but it was already done. Right now, the correct move was to lock in a plan as fast as possible.
Using what the Sense of Frost Flowers had given him, Raon sketched the urban terrain on the ground.
"Gather up. I'll explain the operation. The road on the right is the widest, so Team One will…"
He was calling the Light Wind Squad back in and walking them through the terrain and the plan when the sound of Harrison clearing his throat carried across the field.
W-wait. Don't tell me…
Iron Battle Squad Vice-Leader Ores — OUT OF COMBAT!
The news that landed was the opposite of the dread pounding in his chest. Ores, the Iron Battle Squad's second vice-leader, had been eliminated.
"Ohh! What was that?!"
"It's the squad leader!"
"Is the squad leader actually doing his job for once?"
"The sun's going to rise in the west tomorrow!"
"Yeaaaaaah!"
"Rimer! Rimer! Rimer!"
The Light Wind Squad roared so loud the madness in their eyes almost burned away, cheering Rimer's feat.
Huh? Pointy-Ears actually did some work?
"He took down a vice-leader? The squad leader did?"
Raon and Wrath both let out stunned breaths—but Harrison was not finished.
Light Wind Squad Leader Rimer — UNABLE TO CONTINUE!
"……"
The instant that voice fell, every smiling swordsman shut their mouth at once.
The same thought rose in Raon's mind—and in every mind in the Light Wind Squad.
That damn elf forfeited on purpose…
Trevin Zieghart, leader of the Iron Battle Squad, scowled down at Rimer, who had plopped himself in front of a collapsed wall.
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"About what?"
Rimer shrugged, his expression as peaceful as if he were enjoying afternoon tea.
"Why did you forfeit the moment you knocked Ores out?!"
The man had ambushed Ores from behind while he was out on reconnaissance, put him under, then walked over here and immediately surrendered. Trevin had been ready for a fight. The whole thing was so ridiculous it made the preparation feel like a joke.
"I got tired."
Rimer let out a long sigh and shook his head weakly.
"I'm getting old. My joints ache. I can't fight for long."
"You don't look tired in the slightest."
Trevin bit down on his lip.
Something about him was different from before.
The energy Rimer had used when he struck Ores had not been wind alone. Something far more vicious had ridden on his blade.
"What are you after?"
"All I'm after is money?"
"Cut the crap!"
"It's true. Don't worry about me—just move according to your plan. Hurry up and go smash the Light Wind Squad while they're panicking."
Rimer waved him off, telling him to charge this instant.
"Haa…"
Trevin exhaled slowly.
What is this?
He had drafted countless plans to counter the Light Wind Squad's movements, but he had never imagined a situation like this. He could not get a read on why Rimer had forfeited at all.
"What are you waiting for? I said go catch the Light Wind Squad already!"
Rimer stamped his feet, insisting they were going to be late.
"Nnh…"
Trevin clenched his jaw as he watched Rimer squirm.
He could not grasp the situation, which meant he could not issue a single order. His chest felt packed tight, as if he had swallowed a stone.
"S-Squad Leader. You must not trust that man!"
"He's the one they call a swindler. He definitely has something up his sleeve!"
"Hasn't he always been good for a lie?"
The Iron Battle Squad's swordsmen glared at Rimer, certain there had to be another reason.
"Ah, this is infuriating! There isn't! If you hit them now, you have the advantage!"
Rimer thumped his own chest, his mouth twisting.
"Lord Rimer. The eliminated are not permitted to keep talking like this."
One of the assistant referees approached and covered Rimer's mouth.
"You dimwitted bastards! Go already! Go beat those kids down! This is not the time to be careful— mmph!"
He was still shouting at them to charge the Light Wind Squad as the assistant referee dragged him away.
"Kh…"
Trevin bit his lip as he watched Rimer get hauled off.
I don't understand it.
The more he looked, the less that insane elf's words and actions made any sense. The Iron Battle Squad's swordsmen swallowed dryly, unease crawling through the ranks.
This is definitely a trap…
The Light Wind Squad was not some pack that just charged in on brute strength. They would have a specific plan—and no matter how hard he thought, he could not see what it was.
"S-Squad Leader? What if we tried a charge?"
First Vice-Leader Camang stepped up and floated the idea of going in.
"No. He definitely has an angle. Start with reconnaissance."
Trevin ordered a handful of scouts rather than an all-out assault.
As long as I don't go down, and they don't take the flag, we cannot lose.
Avoid those two things, and defeat was impossible.
"Each team's scouts will split in the directions I assign and…"
He issued orders to his swordsmen and wiped the cold sweat running down his brow.
Damn it…
It felt like sinking into a swamp he could not even see.
Adis Sefia lowered the telescope, his jaw slack.
"W-what on earth is going on? Why did the Light Wind Squad's leader suddenly forfeit…"
They had just started cheering because Rimer had dropped a swordsman who looked like an Iron Battle Squad officer—and then, instead of running or fighting, the elf had thrown up a hand and shouted that he surrendered. He had not even looked tired. Why he had given up the fight was beyond Adis entirely.
"Haa…"
Glenn clenched his fist so tightly the palm went white.
"It would seem that elf no longer wishes to live."
"Ah…"
At that dry voice, Adis swallowed.
"E-even so, he is a renowned swordsman who was once called Zieghart's Light Sword. Surely he has something in mind?"
"He has a head on his shoulders, so of course he has something in mind. However…"
Glenn turned his gaze on Adis. A fury like fire lived in those red pupils.
"That kind of stunt only earns him a beating. And a beating so thorough he will wish he were dead."
His fingers twitched, as if he wanted to storm down there and thrash Rimer on the spot.
"I-I see."
Adis offered an awkward smile and lifted the telescope again, turning it toward the Iron Battle Squad.
Even after Rimer's forfeit, they had not moved at once. They had sent out a handful of scouts and were only reading the field.
"Hm? Why isn't the Iron Battle Squad moving? If they went in now, they could lock in the advantage."
Glenn looked down at Iron Battle Squad Leader Trevin and clicked his tongue.
"Because he thinks too much."
"Thinks too much…"
"The Iron Battle Squad's leader has been excessively cautious since he was a child, and he thinks everything through to the end. Rimer's little stunt has startled him so badly he cannot make a proper decision."
"Ah—so because the Light Sword charged in without a thought…"
Adis clapped his hands, understanding at last.
"Precisely. This situation would not have been in any plan the Iron Battle Squad's leader prepared in advance, so he is panicking and trying to gather information first."
Glenn narrowed his eyes at Trevin, who was chewing on a fingernail.
He still has not corrected that flaw.
Trevin possessed outstanding skill, focus, and endurance—but there were times, like now, when that excess of caution became a liability.
If he had simply thought, Well, that's Rimer being Rimer, and charged in boldly, he could have opened the battle from a commanding position.
"Thanks to that…"
Glenn's gaze shifted to the western terrain, where the Light Wind Squad stood.
"It seems those children have been handed a rather interesting opportunity."
Keh-heh-heh-heh-heh!
Wrath burst out laughing, his round little arms flailing.
Forfeiting on purpose—that pointy-eared bastard is always completely insane!
He went on about how this was exactly why he liked Rimer from time to time.
Be quiet.
Raon shoved the noisy Wrath aside, his brow furrowed.
I can see exactly what that idiot squad leader was thinking.
Rimer could have dropped the Iron Battle Squad's second vice-leader, Ores, and come back. He had forfeited on purpose.
And the reason is to make us suffer.
He had clearly manufactured a brutal uphill fight as revenge for all the times he had been cheerfully stomped into the dirt.
If we'd fought as planned, we would have won.
Aside from Raon having to face Trevin Zieghart himself, everything else would have been straightforward.
If Rimer had taken the two vice-leaders as planned, if they had taken the Four Clouds Pill, and if the Light Wind Squad—half out of their minds—had then rolled over the Iron Battle Squad, this battle would not have been difficult.
But Rimer had dealt with only one vice-leader and vanished, and the entire situation had flipped. If the Iron Battle Squad came running right now, the numerical advantage and the gap in high-level fighters would make this an extremely ugly fight.
"So what are we going to do?"
Burren came over with a heavy sigh.
"What do you mean, what? We leave that man out of it and beat them ourselves!"
Marta answered for him.
"Let's go."
Runaan drew her sword as if none of this were a problem.
"W-we're doomed! We're really doomed! We don't stand a chance!"
Watching humans despair is always such a delight.
Dorian clutched his head and sank to the ground. Wrath grinned beside him.
"Everyone, hold still for a second."
Raon flicked a knuckle against both Dorian's and Wrath's heads, then walked forward. He spread the Sense of Frost Flowers until the drain on his aura was severe, and examined the eastern formation.
They're not coming?
With the mountain named Rimer gone, he had expected the Iron Battle Squad's swordsmen to come in at full force. They were not moving.
No—they are moving. But…
Far too few of them.
The Iron Battle Squad was advancing from three directions, three swordsmen each, and they were moving extremely slowly.
Don't tell me—reconnaissance?
There was no other reason for swordsmen to creep like that unless they were scouting.
Raon tracked their movement, his eyes narrowing.
Why send scouts instead of charging in at once… ah.
The moment he put together why they would send reconnaissance with Trevin's personality, the fog in his head cleared.
The Iron Battle Squad is just as thrown by this as we are.
If the opposing commander suddenly appeared, dropped one vice-leader, and forfeited, anyone would be stunned. Trevin Zieghart was a cautious man to begin with, so of course he had frozen the main force and sent scouts instead.
He's rating me very highly.
True to that cautious nature, Trevin was giving the name Raon Zieghart an enormous amount of weight.
There's more than enough here to use.
Raon gestured the Light Wind Squad in and laid out everything he had just pieced together.
"Th-that's how it works?"
"That damn squad leader's insanity actually turned into a plan…"
"Then we just charge them?"
Burren let out a hollow laugh. Marta grinned as if a weight had lifted. Runaan fidgeted with her sword, apparently eager to fight and go home.
"That's right."
Raon nodded at Runaan.
"This is a chance to turn the pressure back on them."
If they moved in a way that shattered Trevin's predictions, the other side would panic and sit still again. That much was certain.
"I'll hit First Vice-Leader Camang by surprise with a throwing dagger. After that, we match teams as originally planned and—"
"Wait."
Marta raised a hand. A rare composure sat in her eyes.
"That vice-leader. Can I take him?"
"You can't."
Raon shook his head. He acknowledged Marta's talent, but at her current level, facing a Master who had already crossed that wall was impossible.
"Then what if I join in?"
"I want in too."
Burren and Runaan each stepped forward, pushing their faces in.
"You two—why are you inserting yourselves?!"
"He said you couldn't do it alone."
"Right. Marta's weak."
"Shut up!"
Raon watched the three of them snarl at each other and nodded.
That could work.
One or two would be a stretch, but three of them could hold. This was a match, not a fight to the death—in a way, it was an opportunity.
"Let's go."
Raon drew an unsharpened throwing dagger and smiled.
"Time to show them that simple and reckless is best."
Eastern Iron Battle Squad formation.
The swordsmen who had gone out on reconnaissance came sprinting back, faces tight with urgency.
"S-Squad Leader!"
"The Light Wind Squad is coming. B-but…"
They glanced behind them and swallowed.
"They have no formation at all. They're charging in like a swarm of rats."
"I…"
Trevin Zieghart bit his lip and nodded.
"I know."
Through the sensory net he had spread wide, he could feel the Light Wind Squad pouring forward like beasts, without rule or order.
What are you thinking, Raon Zieghart?
That was not the only thing that unsettled him. Among the Light Wind swordsmen's presence, he could not feel Raon. The boy was clearly moving on his own.
"W-what should we do?"
"Harden the defense."
Trevin let out a rough breath and told them to be ready to raise the sword formation at any moment.
I have to close off every angle they could win from.
There were two things Raon might be after: the flag at the heart of the formation, and Trevin himself. Protect those two properly, and no matter what they tried, defeat was impossible.
"Here they come!"
Trevin followed First Vice-Leader Camang's pointing finger, and there was the Light Wind Squad, tearing across the ground. Bright yellow madness ringed their eyes. They were not running. They were coming on exactly like mad dogs.
"Not a Light Wind at all. Mad dogs, the lot of them."
Trevin frowned and raised his hand.
"Form up!"
"Form up!"
At his shout, the Iron Battle Squad began to work their formation. In the sliver of an instant when the swordsmen's aura gathered toward the center, a throwing dagger flared red-hot from the darkness behind a wall.
"I knew it!"
Trevin's eyes lit as he found Raon throwing the blade.
That is no ordinary throwing dagger!
It was fast and silent—and a monstrous amount of force was packed inside it.
I wasn't his real target.
He ignored the daggers screaming toward his own heart and throat and snapped his gaze to First Vice-Leader Camang.
"Camang! Heart and throat! Use your secret art and block them!"
"Yes, sir!"
Camang did not doubt the order for a heartbeat. He poured his strongest technique into the oncoming daggers.
A thunderous blast erupted.
The power loaded into the throwing daggers drove Camang's legs into the earth up to the ankles—but with a proper defense in place, he took no serious damage.
Good!
Trevin confirmed Camang was safe, then struck aside a dagger that had come close enough to graze his skin. Because he had been watching for it, shedding the force on the blade was not difficult.
"Re-form the—"
"Ghak!"
"Keuk!"
"Aaaagh!"
He was about to issue the next order when screams burst from inside the Iron Battle Squad. Three team leaders had gone down, clutching their vital points.
"Don't tell me…"
"That 'don't tell me' is exactly right."
A chilling voice rode in with the words, and Raon Zieghart's sword came crashing down.
A ferocious sphere of flame coiled at the tip of the blade crushed the earth and stopped the Black Iron Sword Formation from completing.
"Think too much and it becomes poison. Sometimes simple and reckless is the right answer."
Raon stood with his blade locked against Trevin's, a cold smile on his face.
At their master's call, a savage madness flared in the Light Wind swordsmen's eyes.