[Adrien PoV]
After walking for four hours, we finally arrived at the outskirts of the small town of Sarisa. The sound of bells clanging incessantly echoed from the town—likely an emergency signal to alert them that the enemy had approached.
Upon reaching the vicinity, General Melisandru did not immediately order an attack; he wanted to rest the troops and commanded the support units to set up tents first.
I stood at the front, scouting the town we were to conquer today. The absence of city walls meant we wouldn't have to bother destroying them with Golems.
Half an hour passed, and the sorcerers of the Bombardment Unit moved forward to perform their duty: firing magical projectiles to weaken the enemy's defenses. They halted at a distance of about 800 meters. Then, the sorcerers extended their arms slightly upward, aiming toward the town.
"Viteza!"
As they began chanting, their extended hands emitted a green glow. This was magic designed to increase the velocity of their projectiles.
"Putere!"
Next, steam began to rise from their hands as they activated magic to enhance the destructive power of their spells.
"Maximize Magic—Falling Star Moon!"
The mana gathered in their hands streaked toward Sarisa. Moments later, the roar of explosions thundered from the town. Combining three different spells like that is difficult; only a Veteran Wizard is capable of it.
"Viteza!"
The sorcerers chanted again to continue the bombardment.
On the other side, all Infantry units had lined up neatly, preparing to launch the assault once the Bombardment Unit exhausted their mana. I stood at the head of the First Infantry Unit, awaiting the order to mobilize.
General Melisandru walked before us and stopped in the center, facing the entire invasion force.
"My brothers, we stand here in enemy territory, risking our lives so that our beloved motherland may prosper and grow far beyond what it was before," General Melisandru began, delivering a pre-battle speech to boost morale.
"We are here to answer the call of our ally, the Venetian Republic, which has agreed to invest in our nation—opening new jobs for the people of Draconia and establishing trade routes for our businessmen to ease their economic burdens."
For the first time, the General explained the specific reason for our participation in this war to the soldiers. I suppose it's only natural; if soldiers know why they are fighting in a foreign land far from home, their morale improves. At least they know they are fighting for their own country's prosperity, not just as tools for someone else's ambition.
"If we win this war, it is certain our country will be far wealthier, more prosperous, and more successful than ever before—no longer looked down upon by the Empire!" General Melisandru shouted, raising a clenched fist.
"Yeaaahh!"
"Yeaaahh!"
The soldiers roared, their spirits ignited.
"First Infantry Unit! Second! Third! Fourth! Fifth! Sixth! And Seventh!" General Melisandru called out every unit participating in the strike. "Seize the city and defeat our enemies!"
The moment the order was given, all unit leaders, including myself, signaled the advance.
"Forward, march!"
I stepped forward, followed by the sea of troops behind me. The sorcerers' bombardment finally ceased when we were about 500 meters from Sarisa. I could see their archers starting to fire upon us.
"Testudo formation!" I commanded.
They raised their shields to protect themselves from the rain of arrows falling from the sky. Meanwhile, I activated Iron Body magic to ensure my own safety.
— Thok! Tok! Tok!
The sound of arrows thumping against shields echoed through the ranks. But their attack didn't stop there. A massive fireball launched by an enemy sorcerer was hurtling toward us.
I gathered mana in my right hand, settled into a stance, and focused my gaze on the incoming flame. My hand began to glow; my strike was ready.
"Galaxy Impact!"
I threw a punch toward the fireball, even though it was still far away. Suddenly, the fireball exploded in mid-air shortly after my punch connected with the air.
"Uooohhh! Master Adrien is incredible!"
"You destroyed that fireball from a distance with your fist!"
The soldiers began praising my feat. I looked back and smirked. "Heh! Don't get happy yet! We still have to take the town before we celebrate!"
We moved relentlessly despite the thousands of arrows and dozens of magical strikes. Before long, we reached the outskirts. I ordered my men to spread out and push the Imperial forces back.
"Spread out and flank them from all sides!"
Seeing our forces flooding the town, the enemy archers began to retreat.
"Attack them! Don't let them escape!" another Infantry leader shouted.
We didn't join the pursuit of the retreating troops. Our specific task was to reach the food storage buildings in the western part of the city. However, the path there wasn't easy. Many archers were hiding atop the city buildings, raining arrows down on us.
"Master Adrien, we won't be able to advance if they keep pinning us down like this!" a squad captain shouted.
He was right. If we forced our way forward without dealing with those archers, casualties would skyrocket.
"Call ten to twenty Knights here," I told him. "Tell them we've encountered heavy resistance on the way to the granaries."
"Understood, Master Adrien."
As my subordinate left, I glared at the archers on the rooftops.
— Crack!
I cracked my knuckles, preparing to break their pressure on my unit. "Time to go to work and slaughter these people."
Activating Accel magic, I leaped high onto a building using Axio magic.
"...."
"...."
The archers looked shocked as I suddenly appeared before them.
"Having fun shooting my men from up here, are you?"
I dashed toward them. They panicked, scrambling to draw their swords, but I was faster. I began pummeling them with my hands, reinforced by Temper magic.
"R-run! He's too strong!"
Hee~ As if I'd let you run. I grabbed the leg of an archer trying to jump off the building.
"Do you really want to fly that badly?" I asked.
He just shook his head frantically.
"I'll help you fly if that's what you want!" I spun my body and hurled the archer violently into the air. "To infinity and beyond!"
The archer flew so far he vanished from sight, though his pitiful scream could still be heard. Turning, I saw several of our Knights had arrived, hunting down archers on other rooftops.
"Advance! Their archers have been neutralized!"
The infantry resumed their march toward the storage area. Looking around, the once peaceful town was now burning, filled with the chaotic sounds of battle.
Furthermore, it seemed other Infantry units had begun pushing back the enemy forces defending the town. However, about 800 meters ahead, enemy infantry began forming a barricade to block the path to the granaries. I could faintly see several enemy Knights and Sorcerers among them.
"This won't be an easy fight..." I muttered, smiling. "But that's what makes this war interesting."
Re-activating Accel, I leaped toward the Imperial knights. I approached three of them on the street. They noticed me and activated their own Accel and Temper magic to boost their reactions.
The three Knights attacked simultaneously, but their movements were easy to read. Not wanting to be pinned down, I countered.
"Crescent Slash!"
One enemy launched a horizontal swing. I ducked; the blade only nipped a single strand of my hair.
"Feel this! Phantom Impact!"
I threw a punch at his gut. The knight managed to dodge, leaping back to maintain distance.
"Your punch looks heavy! But with that speed, you won't touch me!" he shouted.
I simply smiled. He didn't realize he had already lost.
— Brak!
The knight suddenly collapsed, clutching his stomach in agony.
"Arrrghhhhh!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth, and cold sweat drenched his face. The armor he wore began to crack and shatter.
"Helmeppo! What happened to you!?"
I didn't waste a second, targeting his comrade who was distracted by the fallen knight.
"Never take your eyes off the enemy! Liger Bomb!"
I punched him in the face so hard his head shattered like a turtle's shell.
"...."
The last remaining comrade was terrified that I could kill a knight in a single blow. He summoned his courage, coating his sword in wind elements to sharpen it.
"Take this, you bastard! Typhoon Slash!"
He lunged, aiming for a gap in my armor, but I purposefully didn't dodge.
"Man of Steel..."
— Clang!
Sparks flew as his sword struck my body. The attack did absolutely nothing.
"Huh!? H-how!?" The knight panicked as he realized his strike had failed.
I grabbed his waist, flipped him upside down, and leaped into the air using Sartaxio magic.
"N-no, no! Let me go! Don't kill me here!" The knight began begging for mercy as death approached.
I locked his head with my legs, and we plummeted toward the ground at high speed.
"Hell Drop!"
We slammed into the earth. The man died instantly as his head took the brunt of the impact. I tossed aside his limp body and glared at the surrounding enemy Knights.
"Is there no one stronger!?" I roared, trying to break their spirit. "Is this all the Knights of the Empire are capable of!?"
The enemy knights began to retreat, realizing they were utterly outmatched in this sector. They all fled toward the food storage area.
Tch, cowards.
"Don't let them escape! Move out, Infantry!"
The troops I led resumed their march toward the granaries without further obstruction. Honestly, taking this city was too easy. It was foolish of me to think I'd find a fierce battle in the outskirts of the Empire.
***
[Raul PoV]
Our forces began a slow retreat as planned. The enemy would have no idea they were walking straight into the trap we had set at the food storage area.
Currently, I and hundreds of other soldiers were hiding in the buildings surrounding the storage area. The Infantry were inside the buildings, while the archers were on the roofs, waiting for the signal.
"Fall back! Fall back! We can't hold them!"
Shouts came from our knights, who were feigning a retreat to lure the enemy perfectly into the trap.
"Don't let them go! Chase them down!"
Before long, the enemy forces were seen entering the storage square. We had to wait for them to fully enter to slaughter them all. On the other side, the sorcerers were ready to activate their magic.
Three...
Two...
One...
"Earth Wall Ultima!"
"Earth Wall Ultima!"
Suddenly, giant walls erupted, sealing off the entire storage area and trapping the Draconia Kingdom forces inside.
"Archers, loose!"
Hundreds of our archers revealed themselves on the rooftops, raining arrows down on the trapped Draconian soldiers.
"Damn it! It's a trap! Get out of here!"
"We can't! These walls are blocking us!"
The trapped enemy soldiers were in a panic. They didn't know what to do except wait for the rain of arrows to kill them. However, I saw one of the buildings occupied by our archers being attacked by Draconian Knights. Additionally, enemy Infantry began breaching the buildings where our archers were positioned.
"Protect the archers!" one Knight shouted. "Infantry, move out and finish off anyone trying to enter the buildings!"
Our hidden forces began to emerge and engage the enemy, including myself and the unit I lead. I jumped and grabbed a rope hanging from a building, swinging toward one of the archer positions being breached.
Landing on the street, I saw five Draconian soldiers notice my arrival. They drew their swords and rushed me.
"Die, you Aragon dogs!" one of them shouted, launching a horizontal slash.
I ducked to avoid it and delivered a diagonal slash to his leg, severing it. A harrowing scream escaped his lips.
"You bastard!"
Two of his comrades lunged at me, both performing upward diagonal slashes. I performed a forward roll to dodge their blades, then spun in a circle, slashing both their throats.
Seeing three of their comrades killed in an instant, the remaining two turned and fled. As I was about to chase them, I felt something falling toward where I stood. I quickly leaped backward to avoid whatever was about to hit me.
— CRASSSH!
A man landed heavily before me. His body was massive, and his armor was stained with the blood of Aragon soldiers.
"Black eyes, black hair, with an incredibly thick killing aura..." the man muttered, then smiled at me. "Are you the one they call the Ghost of Cataluna?"
"Ghost of Cataluna?" I repeated, questioning the name he used.
"That's your nickname for slaughtering twenty of our Knights in that cornfield last night," he revealed.
Ah, I see now. It seems I've attracted the attention of the Draconia Kingdom's elite.
"You are Adrien Ionescu—'The Rampage' of the Draconia Kingdom. A former member of the Bolgarev Elite Force, famous in your country."
Hearing me recognize him, he laughed loudly. "Hahaha! I'm quite flattered a fighter from another land knows me!"
No, this isn't the time for laughter. This man is strong. I'm not even sure I can defeat him without using my full power.
"Enough small talk! Let's have some fun in this chaos!"
The large man activated Accel magic and lunged toward me.