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The left high ground.
Having deciphered the intentions of the Caliper Army, Fisher Partin immediately tried to leave the battlefield.
“I must go save Barret quickly!”
He intended to leave it to his subordinates and depart, but Delvadova, sensing his plan, shouted, “Capture him! He must not escape under any circumstances!”
Delvadova knew it well. If Fischer managed to slip away too soon, the plan was likely to fail, and even if the plan had already succeeded, Alz would be in danger.
“He’s the one I can’t let live!”
Delvadova danced with malice.
He pushed himself to approach Fischer by any means necessary.
“Argh!”
“This pest!”
Fischer was infuriated to the core by the persistent nuisance. He believed he would be caught if he continued like this. Instead, he resolved to swiftly deal with this place.
“You arrogant lot, all of you die──!”
Fischer brandished his sword with a fierce look. He focused solely on taking his opponent’s life, regardless of whether he himself got injured.
In the process, he was cut on the thigh and wounded on the forearm, but he succeeded in killing a considerable number of Delvadova’s subordinates and stabbing a sword into Delvadova’s right chest.
“Gah!?”
Delvadova collapsed, vomiting blood.
The area fell silent at Fischer’s demonstration of power.
“Hah…! Hah…! Come forth, those who wish to die! I’ll kill you with a single thrust of my spear!”
He turned his youthful gaze towards the officers.
“Eek!?”
Joshua and Denny, overwhelmed, sank to the ground. Even Casper’s legs were trembling.
They had come to realize by now.
That the opponent before them was someone they dared not confront. Had Delvadova and his subordinates not fought for their lives, they would have been dead by now.
“T-T-This can’t be….”
The shock felt by Luan Chase, in particular, was immense. He had believed his martial arts had reached a high level.
Thinking that with his talent in martial arts and innate qualities of a victor, Fischer would eventually become nothing more than an obstacle kneeling before him.
It was a great misconception that shattered his belief in strength and justice.
As the fear of death flooded in like a tidal wave.
“Ah!”
Despair washed over Luan as he realized he had been gutted. When Fischer looked down at him like an insect, his spirit could no longer hold.
“aaah──!”
He fled in a panic.
Casper’s group was no different. If there was a slight difference, it was that they didn’t even consider fleeing properly.
“W-Wade! Do something! Please!”
“Wade! What are you doing!”
Joshua and Denny urged.
Casper’s mind was also at its limit.
“Wade? You’re Wade?”
When Fischer’s gaze fell on him, Casper was frozen like a frog facing a snake, unable to move a muscle.
As Fischer’s gaze pierced him, he began to tremble uncontrollably.
He could barely muster a word.
“N-No, no, I’m not Wade! I-I’m just pretending to be him…!”
“Hmph.”
Fischer snorted. He deemed him not even worth dealing with.
He was cold-blooded.
“If you thought you could reach me, you were wrong. I am the finest marksman in the West. Those scoundrels from the continent are no match for me!”
His outburst caused both the cadets and Calipha’s soldiers to lose their composure.
With Delvadova already fallen, the soldiers were terrified, and Joshua and Danyan were on the verge of wetting themselves.
“Hmph.”
Fisher chuckled with satisfaction.
Even if he were to retreat now, the battlefield wouldn’t crumble. In fact, the Calipha’s army might even retreat.
“There’s no time to waste. We must hurry and rescue Barret…!”
But then, it happened.
Thunk! A sharp pain shot through his calf.
Delvadova, who had been lying down, had picked up a fragment of his broken sword with his bare hands and stabbed Fisher in the calf.
“Don’t… let him… get away…!”
Delvadova spat out a cry mixed with blood.
“Don’t be afraid, everyone, fight…!”
“This…!”
Thwack! Fisher’s expression contorted in anger as he smashed Delvadova’s head with the lower end of his spear.
“Gah…! Follow the General! Attack!”
“Do not forgive the savages from the West!”
The Calipha’s army, tears in their eyes, burning with vengeance.
Fisher wanted to kill every one of them in this place, but time was running out.
“Lieutenant, hold the line. I’ll rescue Barret and be right back!”
“Yes!”
And so, Fisher headed towards the location of Alsga alone.
◈ ◈ ◈
Meanwhile, at the mansion of the Saleon family in Alpensard.
It was a modest mansion, merely a temporary residence purchased by Erina to make it easier for her to attend the academy.
Erina was receiving Estelle at this mansion.
“It’s been a while, Estelle.”
“Yes…”
Estelle couldn’t relax her expression. Ever since hearing the news of Calipha’s army engaging in battle with the Western forces, she had been consumed by an uncontrollable anxiety.
She needed someone to confide in to soothe her worries, but her father, Rutger, was preoccupied with governing due to Olaf’s sudden disappearance, leaving her with no time to spare.
So, she had asked her friend Beril to visit Alpensard on her behalf to meet Erina.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know much except that I might have to join the battle.”
The supply routes were cut off, and the intelligence network was momentarily severed.
Estelle’s expression darkened.
“Do you think Alsga will be safe?”
“According to the continental treaty, if any cadets are captured, they are to be released without ransom. So…”
“But our foes are Western savages. Do you really think they’ll honor the treaty…?”
“Stay strong. Alsga won’t perish in a place like this. He’ll return as nonchalantly as always, with an indifferent expression on his face.”
“Ah…!”
Estelle choked up.
Erina let out a small sigh and gently hugged Estelle, who was sitting beside her.
“Are you that worried?”
“….”
“Don’t worry too much. He came back even during the Chimera War. This war isn’t as dangerous as back then.”
The situation was clearly better than during the Chimera War.
However, Estelle felt a primal unease. It was a different level of fear compared to back then.
“I don’t know why I feel like this. My heart is pounding so much…!”
“You probably can’t sleep. Stay here and rest. There are plenty of rooms. Joan! Show her to a room.”
Estelle, looking gloomy, left the reception room.
Despite trying to encourage her to stay strong, Erina was equally troubled.
She tried to control her emotions by fidgeting with the fan, but with a crack! an alien sound, the fan’s rib broke.
“Have I used it for too long…?”
Even so, she had no intention of discarding it.
It was a fan given by Als at that time.
Although she felt anxious that the fan broke at such a moment, she forced herself to believe it was just superstition and tried to fix her expression.
***
Having taken down the enemy commander, I had planned to withdraw immediately. The risk of being isolated was too high if the enemy caught wind of my presence here.
However, the unexpected abundance of enemy guards caused a delay.
It was only a short distance away from escaping.
A chill running through my body.
“You…!”
Suddenly, Gehan appeared, glaring at me.
He glanced at me, then at the neck of the captured enemy commander Barret, which Delas had taken care of.
“You’ve done well. Barret is the most favored servant of Lady Hanneman. The price for taking his life will be paid with all of your lives.”
Even his thick-skinned mercenaries were taken aback by his intimidation.
“Le-Leader. This man is the one who…!”
“That’s right. According to the confession of a prisoner we captured earlier, he seems to be called Fisher Partin. A dragon or a phoenix of Hanne’s. Seems like he’s quite skilled.”
Delas said, gripping his weapon tightly.
“Leader, if we don’t deal with them, we might not be able to escape.”
“It seems so.”
On his way here, he must have called for reinforcements, as around 70 troops were following him.
I tried to find another way out, but he didn’t give me an opportunity.
“Kill them all!”
Fisher charged at me in rage, focusing solely on me.
And thus, the melee began.
With Fisher recklessly attacking, if the other soldiers died too quickly, I had no choice but to engage him one-on-one.
“Ha!”
Swish, swish, swish, swish! Thrusts aimed at my vital points. I concentrated on using both my sword and spear for defense.
The sharpness has definitely dulled compared to before!
Both he and Delvadova General seemed to have struggled, with wounds all over his body, appearing uncomfortable in movement.
Moreover, the spear technique he wields is indeed….
Undoubtedly.
Garandryu spear technique.
It was when I was young and sought a spear master.
My father tried to find a renowned Garandryu spear master continentally, but due to their strict etiquette and high self-esteem, he couldn’t find one.
Thanks to that, I met Master Ilya, which turned out to be a good outcome, but I still had an interest in Garandryu since then.
Alse, who only dealt with a single spear in the game, was likely to have used Garandryu spear technique.
As a child, I vaguely tried to follow the game’s story, so I wanted to know about Garandryu as well.
When I asked about it, the master said,
[Then, let me show you once.]
While saying that, the master demonstrated the Garandryu spear technique to me personally.
The level was definitely not light. Although not deep, he seemed to know everything about the movements.
When I asked about it, the master said it was their secret.
[In fact, Garandryu spear technique branched off from our Chester school 50 years ago. Now, both we and Garandryu have taken different paths, but…]
[Why did it happen?]
[There are some complicated reasons. I’ll tell you when the time comes.]
Anyway, through the master, I was able to grasp some knowledge about Garandryu.
The guy in front of me is a master of Garandryu spear technique, so I had to do my best to see how far I could go.
Swish! Fisher swung the spear grandly. I knew what that movement meant.
“Pretending to swing the spear and then thrusting!”
Swiftly dodging the attack, I closed the distance and wielded the sword in my left hand.
As Fisher moved back to avoid this attack.
“I got you!”
I intercepted Fisher’s spear with my sword, crossing the weapons.
“Chester School’s Bi Gi. Il Wol Hap!”
Opposite to Il Wol Hap, which intercepts the opponent’s attack and seizes the weapon, this technique involved directly seizing the opponent’s weapon to disarm them.
“Once I take the spear away…!”
However, swiftly withdrawing, Fisher pulled out a dagger from his waist and hurled it towards me.
A dagger flying towards my heart. I had to abandon the technique and deflect it.
From Noble mtl dot com
Seeing my astonishment, Fisher sneered.
“How did you know? You seem to know about our Garandryu just like us. Do you think we Chester School don’t know about Garandryu?”
“Guh…!”
“Too bad, but tricks won’t work, greenhorn!”
He intensified his attacks even more.
I hurried to defend.
“Damn, I have a hidden move, but no chance to use it!”
I had to endure another 30 exchanges. Wounds began to appear on my body.
Dilas, who had never seen this before, shouted, “Agent! Help the commander!”
“Haa! Haa! I got it!”
Agent, who was blocking the enemy soldiers, immediately rushed towards Fisher.
“You punks, back off!”
Swish swish swish! Fisher seemed to handle it lightly, but Agent dodged the spear skillfully and then with a swift movement! Gripping the sword tightly with both hands, he pushed Fisher back with all his might.
Splat! Fisher was pushed back. He managed to defend himself, but due to the impact, a wound on his cheek burst, and drops of blood trickled down.
“hehehe! How does it taste!”
“…!”
Fisher’s expression hardened. Even though Agent’s strength was said to be below mine, it was at the level of Luan Chase.
It was enough to be a burden for an opponent with low stamina.
I felt a glimmer of hope.
“Alright, Agent! Let’s match our skills!”
“Understood, honorable commander!”
As Agent partially intercepted the opponent’s attacks, allowing me to catch my breath, I carefully waited for the perfect timing to strike.
‘Time is running out.’
Currently, with the subordinates fighting well, I could focus only on Fisher, but I couldn’t predict when more enemy soldiers might come pouring in.
Due to the lack of a command structure, I wasn’t able to pay attention to that, but that would be for a short while.
One somewhat fortunate aspect was that the opponent wasn’t considering using time to their advantage. Maybe they were not planning to finish things off now, as they were not paying attention to their surroundings.
And then, finally, an opportunity arose.
The trigger was when one of our soldiers aimed a crossbow at Fisher’s back and shot a bolt.
“Hmph!”
Sensing danger, Fisher lowered his head to dodge the bolt.
The bolt was heading towards my face.
“Whoa!?”
Just in time, I moved my head to the side to narrowly avoid it. The bolt grazed past my neck.
While our movements and Fisher’s were slowed down, Agent seized the opportunity.
“Hyaaah!”
A sword swung towards Fisher’s neck as he was bending down.
Fisher drew another dagger from his waist to block, but the dagger couldn’t withstand Agent’s strength. It broke with a snap! and cut into Fisher’s chest.
Originally aimed at the neck, the attack hit the chest due to the blocked dagger.
Blood spurted out.
“Krooooth!”
Seething with rage, Fisher swung his spear fiercely towards Agent.
“Argh!?”
With a thud! Struck on the side, Agent tumbled haphazardly and was impaled on a tree. Perhaps a rib broke, piercing his lung as blood gushed out.
“Now’s the time!”
Seizing the opportunity created by the swing, I plunged into the enemy’s embrace.
And aimed straight for the neck, but the enemy’s recovery speed was too fast. He quickly adjusted his grip on the spear and aimed for my head.
“Darn it!”
I changed my plan because there was a high chance of it turning into a mutual annihilation.
Clang! After blocking the opponent’s attack with a grand flourish, I used the recoil to slip to the right.
In the process, I rotated my body and forcefully pulled the sword in my left hand.
And then, swish! The opponent’s left arm was cut off from just above the elbow along the path of the sword.