153 - The Allied Forces' Counterattack
The battle in the Forest of Bewilderment had completely changed in nature. The cause was the siege weapons that the Allied Forces, led by Fumiya, had brought to the battlefield.
Thick arrows fired from dozens of ballistae were swallowed by the trees, and catapults rained stones down upon the forest. It did not matter how much damage the Demon King's Army hiding in the forest sustained. The Allied Forces simply continued to fire as many crossbows and stones as they could gather. An attack based on overwhelming quantity. They were putting the tactics Fumiya had devised into direct practice.
When the gathered crossbows and stones were nearly exhausted, they turned to fire. Fire arrows were launched from the ballistae, and fireballs made of bundled wood were hurled into the forest by the catapults. The Demon King's Army had no leeway to prevent this. While they were avoiding the initial attacks, the fire spread. The Demon King's Army was forced to abandon their first line of defense.
――Beyond the moat that had served as the Demon King's Army's first line of defense, the sound of remaining trees being cut down echoed here and there. Soldiers of the Allied Forces were working to establish a camp. They cut down obstructive trees and dug the earth to create trenches. Furthermore, they transported stone and timber from the rear to erect walls and build watchtowers. It was a far more substantial fortification than anything they had used until now.
"Once we have constructed a robust fortification, we move the siege weapons forward. Once that is done, we attack again."
Fumiya was explaining the fortification process he had ordered to the military executives. His expression was proud, as the strategy he had devised was succeeding.
"Are we to repeat this many times?"
General Gaston asked in response to Fumiya's explanation.
"Exactly. To win without allowing the enemy to attack. That's the plan."
"...I see. It is not necessarily a bad thing for the soldiers."
Constructing fortifications was heavy labor. Repeating it many times would lead to dissatisfaction among the soldiers. General Gaston had thought this, but then reconsidered that it was far better than actual combat, or being injured or losing one's life because of it.
"This also aligns with the basic strategy of overwhelming the enemy with quantity. It is the way to win a war against the Demon Race."
Fumiya spoke boastfully about the policy he had devised. He wondered how many times he had repeated this since the meeting began. However, Fumiya had a reason for repeating his boasting.
"I understand the basic strategy. Next, could you tell us the strategic objective?"
One of those reasons. Prince Babel of the Kingdom of Moscow, who was attending the meeting, asked a question.
"Strategic objective?"
"Since you are telling us to fight according to your country's tactics, I assume you will properly explain the entire operation, including the strategic objective?"
To execute the quantity-based operation Fumiya spoke of, manpower was required. For the time being, they needed workers for fortification and enough men to protect the siege weapons placed in the rear. The Allied Forces of the three kingdoms alone were insufficient in number, so they had requested support from other nations' armies.
"...The strategic objective is, of course, the annihilation of the Demon Race."
"Annihilation... is that something that can be realized in this battle?"
"I thought I was explaining the operation to realize exactly that?"
Fumiya was becoming slightly irritated by Prince Babel's negative tone. They were in a relationship where neither held any goodwill toward the other. The atmosphere would turn sour over the slightest thing.
"Ah, my apologies. I thought the operation explained was merely to drive the Demon Race deeper into the forest. So, if we continue this, the Demon Race can be annihilated, is that it?"
Prince Babel responded to Fumiya's irritation with sarcasm. He had won this exchange. But what had the Demon Race lost in this battle? There was a high possibility that they had simply retreated their positions without a single casualty.
"...If you are dissatisfied with my plan, would you like to explain a different one? If it is a good one, we will follow it."
Fumiya understood that as well. Being poked in that spot by Prince Babel made Fumiya even more displeased.
"I have none at the moment. That is why I am intending to follow your plan. Because I am intending to follow it, I am requesting an explanation of the operation as a whole."
If there had been a better plan, he would have already implemented it. Because there wasn't, he was listening to Fumiya's talk. Prince Babel put this into words without showing a hint of humility.
"...There is no need to explain the final stage of the operation right now, is there? With the Demon Race as the opponent, there is no telling how information might leak. We must be thorough with information secrecy."
Fumiya did not have an answer to Prince Babel's question. He glossed over it using a plausible reason. The exchange between the two was completely meaningless.
"My country has no objections. I intend to move my army immediately, so may I excuse myself?"
Considering that meaningless exchange a waste of time, Prince James of the Westerland Kingdom requested to leave. This was also a statement that belittled the three-nation alliance managing the meeting and its commander, Fumiya, but the reason was difficult to complain about.
"...Understood."
Fumiya was the one requesting cooperation. He refrained from displeasing the party that had agreed to respond.
"Then we shall also return to our own army."
Once Fumiya permitted the Westerland Kingdom to leave, Prince Babel also announced his return to his own army.
"...What do you intend to do about the operation?"
"Of course I will cooperate. If I had no intention to, I would not have come here."
"...Understood."
He had intended to cooperate from the start, yet he had complained about the plan. Fumiya judged that Prince Babel had simply been harassing him. He wasn't wrong. However, it was a fact that Fumiya's plan was not yet fully completed. Even if the current operation continued, the annihilation of the Demon Race could not be realized.
Still, the armies of the three great nations decided to cooperate and proceed with the operation. Though their relationships had worsened further.
◇◇◇
Whether the relationship could be called friendly or not, the fact that the three nations acted as one was a problem for the Demon King's Army. It wasn't that it was completely impossible to target and attack the weakest army, but it had become difficult. Fumiya had requested cooperation from the two nations, and they had accepted it because they understood this. The situation for the Demon King's Army was becoming even more severe.
Even so, the Demon King's Army chose an aggressive policy. They were in a situation where they had no choice, but it was the correct move. The attacks by the massive amount of siege weapons had not dealt damage to the Demon King's Army itself. However, the Allied Forces had suffered no damage either. If that continued, the Demon King's Army's basic tactic of using the Forest of Bewilderment as a stronghold to wear down the enemy would no longer work.
Early morning, before the dawn had fully broken――
"I did it! Let's go for the next one!"
Akemi shouted as she watched a catapult break with a creaking sound. The one who destroyed the catapult was Akemi's magic. The Demon King's Army had attempted a surprise attack with the goal of destroying the Allied Forces' long-range weapons.
Akemi shone in the morning sun. An incantation flowed from her lips.
"The enemy is coming! Strengthen the defense!"
Seeing several figures leaping out from the enemy lines, Kai gave orders. Kai and his comrades' role was to protect Akemi. They had to prevent the enemy from getting close to her.
Charging into the enemy lines was simply too dangerous. They had chosen to attack from a distance using powerful magic, but that didn't mean there was no risk. To destroy siege weapons, they had to close the distance to some extent.
The magic Akemi unleashed blew away the approaching enemies as it headed toward the enemy lines. However, the destruction of the second machine did not go as successfully.
"...It disappeared."
Akemi stood stunned by the unexpected result.
"Enemy magic! There are probably a considerable number of mages!"
Kai could perceive things that Akemi could not see or feel. Magic power had swelled within the enemy lines. From that, he judged that Akemi's magic had been neutralized.
"...Then, one more time! I won't lose this time!"
"No! The enemy's reaction is too fast! Let's retreat for now!"
To Akemi, who was about to start her incantation again, Kai proposed a retreat. Not only had Akemi's magic been neutralized, but Kai felt that the enemy's reaction to the surprise attack was too quick.
"There's still one left!?"
"Even so! Get back, quickly!"
"............"
"Hurry! If you don't retreat, our allies can't retreat either!"
They could not afford to let Akemi be killed. Her magic was one of the important weapons for fighting the Allied Forces.
"Don't get scattered! Fight together!"
The Allied Forces were assigning multiple people to a single member of the Demon Race. It wasn't a special tactic. It was a standard method when fighting the Demon Race. That meant such a way of fighting was effective against them.
In fact, the members of the Demon Race in the Demon King's Army were falling into the enemy's pace. They were trying to resist the enemy with their individual strength.
"...I'll..."
Seeing the situation, Akemi also realized it was not the time to be obsessed with destroying siege weapons. To help her allies, she thought about changing her target from objects to people.
"So get back! We'll handle the support for our allies!"
But Kai would not allow that either. The enemy's primary target should be Akemi. He believed he could not leave Akemi in a close-quarters combat situation, which was not her forte.
"But..."
The fact that her allies were exposing themselves to danger to protect her was unacceptable to Akemi. Her feelings wavered, and she remained motionless.
"Get on."
"Eh?"
Cecil, mounted on a horse, spoke to Akemi.
"Our fight for today is over. We're retreating before we get in the way."
"............"
"I'll put it differently. If you stay here any longer, you're in the way. Do you want to get your allies killed?"
"...I understand."
With Cecil's words, Akemi finally accepted the retreat. Grabbing Cecil's outstretched arm, she used the momentum to climb onto the horse's back. Just by being in a slightly higher position, perhaps partly due to a matter of feelings, she could see the surrounding situation clearly.
The allies were clearly at a disadvantage. The Demon King's Army was divided, and each group was fighting while surrounded by many. Kai's unit, which was the only one maintaining organized movement, was moving to break that situation, but it was not easy.
"...We lost this time."
The surprise attack failed. The result of this encounter was a defeat for the Demon King's Army.
"...Surely, that is a nature the Demon Race is born with."
"Eh?"
"Even though they must know that such a way of fighting is no good, they repeat the same thing over and over—no, for hundreds of years, perhaps even longer."
"...That might be true."
Throughout a history so long that it has been lost from the records of the Human Race, the Demon Race has continued to lose. Akemi thought it was a wonder they hadn't been wiped out. And yet, the Demon Race does not change. Akemi wondered if it was encoded in their genes.
"To win, we need a power strong enough to twist the very essence of the Demon Race. The real battle begins after that power returns."
"...You're right."
Akemi turned her gaze toward the same place Cecil was looking, deep within the Forest of Bewilderment. In a landscape of nothing but sprawling deep green, she couldn't tell where that person was. But that person was certainly there. They would definitely return in the not-too-distant future. Both of them, and indeed everyone in the Demon King's Army, believed that.
◇◇◇
Deep within the Forest of Bewilderment. A large hole gaped open on the slope of a mountain. Before the entrance of a deep cave, where the sunlight reaching the mouth could not reveal how far it extended, those people stood. Refined features, slender and toned bodies. Their long, pointed ears indicated that they were of the Elf Race.
The people of the Elf Race, who lived hidden within barriers and rarely showed themselves, had come to this place because an anomaly that could not be ignored had occurred. They were here to determine the cause and eliminate it if necessary.
The Elves directed their gaze into the depths of the cave. The cause of the anomaly should be in there.
"...Do you think you can probe the state of the inside of the cave?"
"The spirits are frightened and refuse to enter."
To the female Elf's question, the male beside her replied.
"Then we have no choice but to enter ourselves, do we?"
If the spirits were unable, they had no choice but to enter and verify it themselves. Even though she knew the male's answer contained a sense of refusal, the female replied thus.
"...I understand."
The female was in a position to give orders to the male. The male was in a position where he could not disobey those orders. Even in a place where the spirits—the source of power for Elves—refused to enter, he had no choice but to go if it was an order.
The male, joined by one other, headed toward the cave entrance. The Elf leading the way held a sword, while the one behind held a bow. The others watched with tense expressions. Soon, the two figures were swallowed by the darkness of the cave and disappeared from sight.
The time of silence――did not last very long.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"What happened!? Wh— You!?"
A voice conveying the anomaly echoed from inside the cave. However, the action the Elves took in response was merely to deploy around the entrance and ready their bows. No one attempted to enter the cave to rescue the two.
Another time of silence. The next thing to break that silence was not a human voice, but the sound of bowstrings and arrows flying through the air. Several arrows assaulted the figure emerging from the cave. They failed to reach their target.
"...I didn't know. Elves have such an aggressive nature... You are Elves, right?"
The figure who emerged from the cave, Ray, spoke with a slightly surprised expression.
"You... who are you?"
Their bows, which should be described as never missing, had all been knocked down by Ray. It was clear he was no ordinary person.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first? Or is that kind of exchange a waste of time. I'm the Demon King."
"What did you say?"
"...The Demon King. Did you hear me this time?"
Ray made an exaggerated face of exasperation. He was irritated by the Elf Race who had suddenly attacked him. Though it wasn't solely the Elves' fault that only negative emotions were welling up.
"Are you the culprit who has been disturbing our forest?"
The Elf Race also knew that the Demon King's Army was fighting the Human Race in this forest. But this way of speaking would once again stimulate Ray's emotions.
"...And?"
"We cannot forgive those who disturb the peace of the forest. Choose whether to die here or leave the forest."
"That line... say it to the Human Race, not me. The ones disturbing the peace are them."
"What?"
"Don't you get it? Then I'll put it simply. Go right now and slaughter all the humans. Then peace will return to the forest."
The "What?" was because they had no comeback. Knowing this, Ray changed his wording to something they couldn't respond to.
"............"
Just as Ray thought, the Elves could not respond. Far from a response, they became unable to say anything.
"Dealing with the Human Race and your problem are separate. Your sin is not just the conflict with the humans."
The female Elf threw them a lifeline.
"Did I do something?"
"You released the sealed miasma. Because of that, the spirits dwelling in the forest are frightened, and the beautiful nature is wavering."
This was the reason the Elves had gathered. The intensity of the miasma had increased, frightening the spirits. They had come to investigate the cause.
"...Even if that's true, why should I be complained to by you people?"
"We have a responsibility to protect this forest and nature. We cannot allow an existence like you to persist."
The Elf Race were the guardians of the spirits created by God to protect the nature of this world. Her words were not entirely wrong. However, whether that would reach Ray or whether Ray would accept it was a different story.
"...Then, I'll ask. Were you the ones who sealed the miasma?"
"What did you say?"
"Stop that response. The answer is only yes or no. Were you the ones who sealed the miasma? I'll tell you now, I already know the answer."
"............"
The answer was no. It was the Demon Race who had sealed the miasma.
"They sacrificed themselves to seal the miasma for hundreds of years. Were you planning to take that credit for yourselves? How appalling."
"...I said no such thing."
"Protecting the forest is your responsibility? When the humans ravaged the forest, when the members of the Demon Race living in the forest were attacked by those humans, what were you doing?"
They did nothing. They had simply shut themselves inside their barrier, waiting for the disaster to pass.
"...Our responsibility is to protect the nature of the forest."
"Don't use nature as an excuse. What you are protecting are your own lives. As long as you are protected, you feel nothing regardless of what else is sacrificed. That is the truth."
"You have no right to say such things to me."
The Elf Race only thought of their own self-preservation. Told this, they would never admit it was true. Her pride would not allow it.
"That's not true. Precisely because it is me, I can say it."
"Because it's you? I don't understand what you mean."
"...Within my heart, there is the lingering will of the person who sealed the miasma."
"Eh...?"
"Within my heart, there is the lingering will of the members of the Demon Race who were attacked by humans and could do nothing but die. In my heart! There is the heart of the Magic Beasts born and raised in this forest, creatures who had no choice but to live stained by impurity!"
"............"
"Their hearts are pleading! That your words are unforgivable! That it is unforgivable for you to speak of this forest so arrogantly!"
This forest did not belong to the Elf Race, but to every existence dwelling here. The Elves, who cast barriers and rejected everything other than themselves, were an incompatible existence even to those rejected beings.
"...Your words are your own. There is no proof that they are the truth. Furthermore, even if it were true, we cannot allow your existence."
She did not understand what the existence called Ray was. She could not perceive the beings dwelling within him.
"Then, it can't be helped. In order for me to live, I'll decide to destroy you."
"Do you think we will allow that! Come, try it!"
The female Elf ended up uttering a line that felt like a cliché. The conclusion was also a cliché.
The Elves tried to take combat stances, readying their swords and bows, but Ray moved far faster than that, cutting them down. The Elf Race, who were not naturally skilled in close-quarters combat and lacked combat experience, stood no chance against Ray.
"Magic! Attack with magic!"
The woman ordered them to switch their attacks to magic. She herself tried to attack Ray with magic, but...
"...Why!? Why!?"
The spirits would not listen to her. Frightened by Ray, and by the thing lurking within Ray, they refused to even approach.
"...In the end, you're the most arrogant one. So? Do you still want to fight?"
Placing his sword against the woman's nape from behind, Ray asked his question.
"............"
"The answer is affirmation or negation. I'll take silence as affirmation."
"...I won't fight."
"Why can you only speak in ways that irritate people? Shouldn't this be 'I surrender. Please forgive me'?"
"............"
The woman did not utter the words Ray spoke. She believed she could not say such humiliating words.
"Does this mean that... I should ravish you until you want to beg for forgiveness, and crush that pathetic pride to pieces?"
"............"
Silence again. But a slight trembling of her body expressed the woman's fear. He had succeeded in threatening her. That was all.
"I have no time to spend in such a wasteful manner. I'll spare your lives for now."
"...I have no intention of thanking you."
"Still defiant... but that's better. Thanks to that attitude, I don't think I'll regret it even if I slaughter you all."
"............"
"Do you think you'll be fine as long as you're inside the barrier? I don't know if that's actually the case... but I'd like a guide."
Searching through this vast Forest of Bewilderment would require considerable effort. Since it was likely a barrier that made one's very existence unknown, the possibility of not finding it while searching blindly was high.
"I will not do anything like betraying my comrades."
"Who said I'd let you? I won't do anything so tedious."
Then who would? The surviving Elves swore they would never betray their kind. It was doubtful whether they could maintain their silence under torture, but even torture was a hassle for Ray.
There were those Ray could make obey without torture. He didn't know if they could act as guides until he tried, but he felt that with his current self, he could do it.
An incantation flowed from Ray's lips. Those who reacted to that voice were...
"...T-That's impossible?"
"N-No way..."
Voices of surprise rose from all around. Those surprising them were the people who had been their comrades until just a moment ago. The corpses of the Elves killed by Ray.
The corpses stood up and gathered around Ray.
"Unlike the Demon Race, Elves leave corpses... Maybe creating an Elf unit is an option."
Ray said this while scanning his surroundings. Under that gaze, the Elves trembled. Some even collapsed on the spot in terror.
"...I'll give you one choice. If you don't want to die, and if you don't want to serve me as corpses, go to Nordende. I'll allow you to live in the mountains surrounding Nordende, so build your barrier there."
It was something he had been thinking about for a long time. He had given up because he had no means of contacting the Elf Race, but seeing their terrified state now, he thought that if he played it right, he could make them obey.
As a result, this threat succeeded. To be manipulated as corpses through necromancy was a terror to the Elves even greater than simply dying. It was something they could never accept.
It would take many years or decades, but a significant portion of the area surrounding Nordende would come to be protected by the Elves' barriers.