5. Bread and Dagger (45)
Yuren and I escaped without interruption.
I don’t know if even the Snow Leopard Mine could sprint, but he had dozens of elves on his hands and shoulders. Of course, running on all fours was impossible.
In other words, it could not keep up with our speed.
I raised my voice to prevent more sacrifices.
“Retreat, retreat!”
It was a bewildering sound for the soldiers who were facing the weapon in the middle of the day. Especially for Yurdina-kun, it was inevitable.
The tide of war was leaning towards Yurdina, no matter who saw it.
The armament of the elves was not good, and to make matters worse, senior Elsie and the princess were holding out in the rear. Also, the existence of the saintess had a great influence on Yurdina-kun’s morale.
Even if you get injured, you can still survive.
That’s why I was sharing a more active battle. It wasn’t long before it seemed clear that the elves would be defeated.
But suddenly retreat.
Needless to say, I was the subject of the ignition, so I couldn’t just ignore it. The North respected the strong, and the heroic achievements I had accumulated soon became an authority.
However, the reaction of the elves was slightly different.
At first, they were taken aback, but soon they put on a determined expression. From then on, the elves’ offensive changed more aggressively.
It’s like I’m not wasting my life.
Some of the elves had their eyes wide open to the point of shouting.
“For liberation!”
It was obvious what that ‘liberation’ would be.
As the battle line faltered, I could spot Sir Alex, who was butchering the enemy at the forefront. His armor, like mine, was drenched in blood.
Pak, the old knight’s sword split the body of an elf soldier in half.
He silently endured the pouring blood as if he was used to it. He just said “Huu”, catching his breath, and wiped his blood-stained forehead.
Sir Alex’s seasoned eyes turned to me.
He too must have heard the commotion I caused.
“Boss, can you explain? Why should we turn our backs on those elves… … .”
“It is the enchantment of the Dark Church.”
At my one word, Sir Alex immediately shut up.
In fact, it wasn’t clear what kind of magic the elves used. However, as far as I know, the Dark Church was the only place where people sacrificed their lives for destruction.
Above all else, convincing Sir Alex was an urgent priority.
The expression ‘enchantment’ was a favorite expression of old, twisted knights. It was mainly used when our side was being pushed back by the opponent, but this tone was important.
we are thirteen
It meant that the war situation had changed due to an unknown force. Sir Alex was a brave northern knight, but not a stupid commander.
His hesitation was brief.
“Tsk,” he said, clicking his tongue.
“If we retreat, how far?”
“We only need to retreat to the military camp. From there, I will join the party supporting from the rear and slaughter the witch-using elf.”
“I will do as you say, Bocchan.”
Immediately afterwards, Sir Alex quietly raised his hand.
Then the sound of a horn was heard in the distance, and soon the soldiers gathered their ranks and began to withdraw gradually.
Sir Alex told me.
“In the North, the commander must always be with the soldiers.”
“I know… Let’s just do it with our friends. After all, if Sir Alex is seriously injured, the chain of command will collapse.”
It was something I was familiar with.
Sir Alex nodded with a somewhat hesitant expression. He knew in his head that he had to leave, but he seemed sad that he couldn’t struggle with us.
But there was no time left to complain.
Sir Alex immediately went back to the rear and summoned the party. As the soldiers pulled back the battle line step by step, Yuren and I took down the elven soldiers one after another.
They were the ones who would make a pincer attack when the Snow Leopard Mine came soon anyway.
It was best to reduce the number in advance.
It was fortunate that the party arrived earlier than the Snow Leopard Mine.
I couldn’t even tell them the details.
“The Mine is using powerful magic by sacrificing the Elf. So, if an elf is thrown, avoid it and support me from the rear.”
It couldn’t have been an insufficient explanation.
But it was also my best.
The group nodded their heads even though they had a bewildered look on their faces. I was so wary of snow leopard demons that Neris and Avian were standing next to me.
Senior Neris had a somewhat confused expression.
He was suddenly summoned to the forefront, and he had to show off his hidden skills. But now I had to borrow at least a cat’s hand.
Of course, he didn’t expect much help from Avian.
It was a battle with his own people in the first place, and it had been a long time since he had been blinded by the blood-stained scenery of the battlefield.
I just wanted to follow Neris-senpai well.
It was because if neither I nor Neris-senpai were around Avian, the necklace installed would activate and cause death.
It was right after I somehow managed to control the traffic.
“Humans!”
The screams of wounded beasts echoed across the battlefield.
The party confirmed the epicenter and hardened their complexion. The language is that of the intellect, but the body has the appearance of a witch beast, so it was only natural.
Those who made a contract with demons and evil spirits.
With this, it is safe to say that the relationship between the elves and the Dark Church was confirmed.
Regardless of whether or not, the Snow Leopard Mine continued to cry desperately.
“You drove us here! We were prepared to die here, but you gave us a more miserable life! So we will give our lives to set us free.”
“… … let’s go.”
At the same time I winked at Yuren and Neris-senpai, three shadows were torn apart.
The speed of the three people who were separated from each other was fierce. In particular, Yuren looked at Neris senior’s leg strength and admired it.
After all, Neris-senpai was already a mature expert.
It was then that the elves soared above the sky.
They had their eyes closed with a resigned expression. Looking at that parabola, the falling angle is me and the party behind me.
But we weren’t unprepared either.
“… … Rice, a banquet of stars!”
Perhaps it was because the aftereffects of the first murder hadn’t passed yet, his voice was somewhat stuttering.
Still, the effect was clear.
Dozens of light bullets lined up and immediately hit the flying elf. Every time that happened, seeing the corpse of the elf disintegrating horribly, he could feel the princess covering her mouth again.
I was sorry, but I couldn’t help it.
If you don’t want to lose your life, you have no choice but to take it.
I regretted bringing Princess Ilsun to this cold north. No matter how much the ‘me’ of the future would have meaning, the princess was still too young.
Apart from that, his performance was dazzling, though.
The corpse of the elf, hit by dozens of light bullets in succession, exploded. The aftermath alone made my body stagger for an instant.
If I had to receive that power in full force, how long would I be able to endure?
two rooms?
No, it might end in a single blow. I stepped out, sacrificing myself as much as I could.
Before we knew it, the distance between us and Snow Leopard Mine had decreased considerably.
As if they hadn’t given up yet, the elves were scattered in the air again.
Again, the number was two. It was a natural result since Mine only had two hands.
Then there was no need to worry.
Not only the princess, but senior Elsie were already on standby to intercept. No matter how fast the elf was thrown, the two women would be faster.
As if to prove my prediction, Your Highness’s two spears flew in a deep blue trajectory.
Pak, Pak.
As a skillful wizard, there was no waste. The two spears each aimed at one of the elves, and the electrocuted elves screamed and exploded.
Now, the distance to the snow leopard could be reduced to a couple of leaps.
But, as always, the battle couldn’t be that easy.
A terrifying amount of liquid was scattered around the exploding corpse of the elf.
One was transparent, the other dingy.
I panicked and had no choice but to step back. It was to the extent that he had to jump several short distances to get out of range.
Fortunately, I wasn’t in the middle of that range.
Neris-senpai and Yu-ren ended up in the middle of the scattering liquid. Between the puddles and the dark liquid, Yuren ran around and avoided them.
It was the same with senior Neris.
The identity of the two liquids was soon revealed.
Above the clear liquid, an ice pick began to shoot out.
It was an innumerable number. It was not a move that could be avoided by simply stepping out of the puddle.
Senior Neris chewed his lips and immediately kicked the air. He looked like a swan as he roamed among the slippery ice picks.
It was the same that Yuren was also intent on avoiding.
The black liquid was crackling and melting the ground. As a result, the puddle gradually widened, gradually eroding the place where Yuren stood.
I heard him swear.
Yes, it was.
It seemed that each elf had a different strength that they could produce by sacrificing themselves. And that kind of goes beyond just explosions.
It was a chilling fact down the spine.
If so, there was only one answer.