Interlude – Part 1

Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Part

---

Part 1

　Lifelia Calendar, Year 165 February 24──
　The Kingdom Army of 110,000 confronted the Gelmedo Empire’s army of 40,000
　The location was the Gultaria Plains, which was in between Royal Capital Sevenwall and the Eastern Fortress City Kenston.
　About three hundred years ago, this was a place where numerous battles had been fought, and it was known as an ancient battlefield.
　Decaying armor and skeletons were scattered about here and there.
　The pairs of hollow eyes that were in the crushed skulls looked as if they were beckoning them to be the next corpses lying next to them.
　It was a place where even veterans with long military service would turn taciturn from the eeriness.
　If Diablo were at this place, he probably would have expressed a different impression though──
“They also existed in the MMORPG Cross Reverie, the ancient battlefields. Limited-time ranking events were held……Since it would compete with the war results of entire parties, it was really harsh on solo players……well, I won though.”

　The one who opened hostilities first, was the Lifelia Kingdom Army.

「Fire!!」
　At the same time as the commander’s order, large-sized Summoned Beasts raised their howls.
　They were creatures like Gore Salamanders, which were the superior variety of Salamander, Red Hydras, and Devil Eyes.
　It was a bombardment made by species with especially high firepower, even among the Summoned Beasts that exceeded level 60. It was a volley where even the heavily equipped foot soldiers were getting burned.
　However, the soldiers of the Gelmedo Empire readied their large shields, and advanced through the flames.
　The Magicians of the Lifelia Kingdom Army were astonished.
「How could this be!!」
「Charge!」
　The Gelmedo Imperial Army came running.
「UOOOOOO!!」
「Don’t be pushed back!」
　Even on the Lifelia Kingdom Army’s side, the commanding officer of the front line gave the order to the soldiers with a loud voice.
　The difference in equipment was unexpectedly large.
　The Imperial soldiers possessed sorcery devices──spears that would tear through just from touching the enemy, and shields that would nullify attacks that were received.
　The Lifelia Kingdom also had such arms, but they were extremely valuable articles. Only a special few were able to hold them.
　The difference in equipment clearly appeared in the state of the war.
　Bad news was being brought one after another to the Lifelia Kingdom Army headquarters.
「Your Majesty! Our allies, they are being routed!」
「Impossible……」
　To think that they would be this overwhelmed.
　The Lifelia King──Darush Sandros went limp and experienced a feeling as if his vision was distorting.
　If he weren’t sitting in a chair, he might have crumbled down right there.
「Uugh……Someone! Anyone! Push them back! Someone that can kill even one of the Empire’s generals, and turn this war situation around……isn’t there a hero like that around!?」
　Darush looked around to his staff officers.
　They dropped their gazes so that their eyes wouldn’t meet with his.
「Uugh……」
　He hounded one of his generals.
「Answer me, why! The Lifelia Kingdom has fought against Demon Kings many times! The Empire might be strong, but they can’t be as strong as a Demon King, right!?」
「……To state my own thoughts……The Demonic Beings mobilize in small numbers. They also don’t form formations. Compared to that, the Imperial Army is also more experienced.」
「Are my soldiers just a disorderly crowd!?」
「If, if it were a Hero, then maybe……」
　Hearing those words said in desperation, Darush suddenly realized.
「That is it! Hero Allen! Where is the Royal Palace Chivalric Order!? Where is Noa!?」
「Duke Gibun has taken the Royal Palace Chivalric Order, and has already gone to the front line.」
「What……?」
「The enemy army has Magimatic Sols, and those cannot be damaged with normal arms. Unless those that possess arms that are able to pierce their barriers fight, it will be nothing more than a one-sided trampling. And so, Duke Gibun had brought the Royal Palace Chivalric Order out from the beginning, that is what has been said.」
「……Indeed, he did say such a thing but.」
「It is going just as the strategy that His Majesty had chosen had said.」
　The staff officers made indescribable faces.
　Just what was their war council that took a long time for?
　It was nothing but yelling, and he didn’t understand anything about the actual tactics──Darush was a king that was self-aware that he himself was a decoration.
　It was fine in peacetimes, but he would be completely unreliable in wartimes.
　Darush hung his head down.
「Then……having put our trump card in, it has already turned out like this? The Lifelia Kingdom, was that weak?」
　Despite arranging a number of soldiers that was several times larger than theirs, do think that they would be overwhelmed.
　The staff officers looked at each other.
　This was no longer the time to be leisurely submerged in sorrow.
　The front line collapsed.
　They had no pieces that could overturn the war situation.
　In that case, they needed to withdraw.
　If they are late in their escape, the enemy soldiers will close in on their headquarters. They had chills down their spine, thinking “won’t imperial soldiers charge in at any moment now”.
　However, the sounds of war were still distant.
「……What is going on right now?」
　Hearing someone’s mutter, another staff officer expressed a faint smile.
「S, surely, the imperial soldiers are exhausted as well, right? After all, we have more than twice the soldiers they have.」
「So the kingdom soldiers are holding out. Yosh! If we make good use of our advantage in numbers, we might still be able to overturn this war situa」
「Rearrange the fighting power immediately!」
　Overlapping the voices of the staff officers that suddenly livened up, there were shouts.
　There was also a heavy metallic sound that they had never heard before.
「Who is there!?」
　Darush shouted.
　Immediately following that──
　The heavily equipped foot soldiers that surrounded their headquarters were blown away like dead leaves.
「Gohaah!?」
　What appeared beyond the crowd of people, was a gigantic suit of steel armor.
　It’s outer shell was painted yellow.
　It held a sword in both of its hands.
　A high-pitched voice that sounded like a child’s resounded through the area.
『Ahaha! I found the King.』
　The pilot of the Magimatic Sol, Tuaha──was a young Lamia girl extoled as the ace of their army corps.
　The guard knights went in front of the Lifelia King.
「As if we would let you get near His Majesty!」
　They readied their spears.
　The yellow Magimatic Sol crossed the swords in both of her hands.
『It’s pointless, it’s pointless! My Elrenos can’t be stopped with something like that. It’s a checkmate♪』
　The gigantic swords were swung.
　The fresh blood of the knights scattered through the air.
　Darush screamed.

「You, you are being rude!! I am the Lifelia King! The King who rules over the Races!」

『Oh, really.』
　Without any hesitation, Tuaha created the image of swinging down her swords in her mind.
　Wrapped around the head of her body, the superfine terminal that reached as far in as her brain transmitted that image to the mech suit even faster than a nerve pulse.
　The armor of sorcery instantly, faithfully, and accurately executed the will of its operator.
　Taking its two gigantic swords to both of Darush’s shoulders──
　It struck them.
　It was all too fast……
　The Lifelia crown, fell to the ground.
　Bright red blood dampened the earth.
　Darush Sandros was turned into a slab of meat.
　The yellow Magimatic Sol swung away the blood on its swords.
『Andー it’s done♪』
「U……uugh……」
　The blood fell onto the staff officers that couldn’t do anything but watch in the surroundings.
　Tuaha turned her gaze to them.
『Come to think of it, what was I supposed to do with the rest of them again? Erm……Ahーahー, Aira? I’m done over here but, what should I do?』
　A static noise could be overheard.
　It sounded as if she were talking to someone.
　Tuaha’s voice that was responding could be heard clearly.
『Eh, Saya’s in danger!? Geez, what the heck is she doing～. Got it, I’ll head back there right away!』
　Ignoring the surrounding staff officers, the Magimatic Sol turned its back to them.
　An officer burning with vengeance for the king fought against it but……
「Damn you!」
『You’re in the way!』
　He had the tables turned on him quite easily.
　Seeing off the back of the Magimatic Sol as it left, one of the staff officers crumbled down from his knees.
　His sword fell out of his hand.
「It’s done for……The Lifelia Kingdom……is already……done for……」
　The king that was turned into a slab of meat.
　Even with their elite heavily equipped foot soldiers lined up, the Magimatic Sols of the Empire pushed onward as if they were going through a field.
　A staff officer muttered with some sobbing mixed in.
「Ugh……uuu……Even when we fought against the Demon King Army, it wasn’t this one-sided……」

---

Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Part