kscans

Chapter 69 - The Last Forest and the Little Person

"Spread out. Harass the enemy with hit and run attacks. Use the space, don't get caught."

Ouu. With a roar, the Marquis's knights formed a wide battle line. They avoided a dense formation and charged into the Frontier army with speed. Avoiding a frontal assault, they sliced into the tightly packed Frontier army from an angle, swinging their swords and spears at anyone they could reach. After a flurry of attacks, they would disengage as the enemy fought back, only to charge in again. Their numbers turned against them, the Frontier army was thrown into confusion by the several hundred horsemen moving freely, unable to capitalize on their numerical superiority. The Marquis's knights maintained an exquisite distance, never too close and never too far, preventing the use of area of effect magic. Their constant movement as single riders also made them difficult targets for archers. They charged into the flanks of engaged soldiers, stirring up the Frontier army, which was moving as a larger force, just as they pleased.

Their blades dulled as they were forced to charge into close quarters where they risked friendly fire. The Marquis's knights cut down one hesitating Frontier knight after another.

"This is great. Just swing and you'll hit something. We'll take as many of them with us as we can."

With his sword at the ready, the commander of the Marquis's knights wove through the gaps in the Frontier army, tearing through them like a raging fire. He never stopped to face them, he just charged through. That alone was enough to inflict injuries on many Frontier knights. Even knights in full plate armor could not escape unscathed when struck with such ferocious speed. If they were lucky, they were knocked from their horses. If not, the seams of their armor were torn open, and fresh blood splattered all around.

Romel was momentarily dismayed by the one sided battle, but he quickly rallied his troops.

"Stop them. Form a wall in their path. They are single riders, that's all you need to do. Surround them tightly."

At his command, the movements of the Frontier knights changed. It seemed the chaotic battle, which they had not anticipated after expecting a straightforward fight, had made them all a little hot headed. Following Romel's instructions, the Frontier army began to encircle the marauding Marquis's knights within their ranks. At this point, they were finally able to leverage their superior numbers and began to cut down the Marquis's knights one after another. Until now, they had only been able to exploit the confusion of the Frontier army. Once Frontier had recovered, it was impossible for them to simply charge through. Moreover, the Marquis's knights, who had been moving as single riders, had been forced to maintain high speeds, and were now considerably fatigued.

"Tch. If they had just panicked a little longer, we would have been fine. I guess that's not how it works."

Hissing these words with disgust, the commander of the Marquis's knights looked up at the sky. In his line of sight, a bee carrying a little girl was circling. Perhaps startled by the sudden battle, it moved back and forth as if looking for a place to set the girl down.

The Frontier army's eyes were glued to the charging knights, and they hadn't noticed the bee.

"Don't let it land. The moment it tries, we charge."

This was the reason for their single rider tactics.

Normally, they should have divided their forces into several squads, but they were severely lacking in numbers. Therefore, the commander decided that their only option was to disrupt the battlefield with a surprise tactic that would sow confusion in the enemy ranks.

It worked, and they succeeded in creating a chaotic battle. They wanted to shape the battlefield according to the bee's movements and, if possible, recapture the Golden King and rendezvous with the Ansbackh Marquis.

It was a gamble with very low odds, but if there was even a slim chance of success, he would not give up.

Just as he steeled his resolve to charge again, the deafening sound of hooves reached the commander's ears. He turned and looked behind him with an expression of disbelief. There, an enormous army flew the banners of Castrato, and at its head, on one of the charging horses, was the figure of the Ansbackh Marquis.

"Reinforcements... Reinforcements have arrived."

The commander of the Marquis's knights raised both fists and screamed. Inspired by his cry, the roars of his men joined in, and the tide of battle, which the Frontier army had held, was reversed.

"Don't use magic. We don't know where Chihiro is."

Romel screamed in a voice of anguish, like a final cry. But they were hopelessly outnumbered. Without the ability to use area of effect magic, the Frontier forces were at an overwhelming disadvantage.

Reacting to Romel's voice, Pochiko-san lowered her altitude. But the sharp eyed Marquis's knights spotted her and rushed in, creating a new battlefront right there. As if following their lead, the vanguard of the Castrato army also charged in. Pushed back by the fierce momentum, the Frontier army's formation crumbled. Seeing this, the bee immediately ascended again. Romel and Dolphen were protected by the Little Person Squad's guardian frogs. They, wrapped in protective wards, were unharmed.

"Are you alright?"

Harold, who was always at Romel's side, called out as he fended off the surging enemies. He too was accompanied by a guardian frog. Thus, he acted as a literal human shield, blocking the enemy's attacks. His burning red hair was a mess, and his white armor was stained crimson with the splattered blood of his enemies.

He was the very image of a fierce god.

The rage that poured from him, so intense it seemed to warp the space around him, overwhelmed the Castrato soldiers he faced. But without being able to use offensive magic, even the formidable Frontier army was helpless against the sheer force of numbers.

While defending with magic, they were slowly but surely being cornered.

With momentum on their side, the enemy force of over ten thousand surged toward the Frontier army as if this was their one chance. The guardian bees fought valiantly, but with the enemy's numbers, a few dozen bees were a drop in the ocean. The one saving grace was the wide protective range of the guardian frogs. The same protective barrier they had received on their way to Kilfan was able to cover all the Frontier soldiers in the vanguard. But even that could not hold back the sheer force of numbers.

"Chihiro... what should I do?"

Something rushed past Romel, whose face was twisted in anguish. As he snapped to attention, he saw them passing one after another on his left and right. They were frogs of various sizes. And high above, even more bees were flying. Dozens, hundreds. In a moment, the battlefield was filled with monsters.

"What is happening...?"

An especially large shadow circled above Romel, who stared as if witnessing the impossible. The shadow gathered the wind around it and landed before his eyes.

It was a familiar monster. A man sized bee.

"Queen...?"

No, that wasn't right. He could tell even from behind. She was not the Queen. It was impossible for another bee of this size to exist, yet he could declare with certainty that this was someone else.

Familiarity was a frightening thing. Romel was surprised at himself for being able to distinguish between the Queen and Pochiko-san.

The Castrato army stirred loudly at the sudden appearance of a horde of monsters. In this day and age, with magic having long since vanished from other countries, most of them had probably only heard stories of the monsters that now existed only in the borderlands or in Frontier.

Someone called out to Romel, whose eyes were captivated by the swarming monsters, oblivious to the army that had appeared behind them.

"Are you the commander of the Frontier army? I am Marcello von Flawers. I have come to your aid at the King's request. Is the Golden King safe?"

Sudden reinforcements.

Still bewildered, Romel listened as Marcello briefly explained. The Castrato army was frozen in place, not moving an inch before the swarm of monsters.

It seemed the request had come from the Queen. The bees were connected to the Queen through their thoughts. Sensing the little person's predicament, the Queen had sent a request for aid to Molt. However, being monsters, they were not familiar with the geography. They had even asked the little person to guide them to Molt's forest before. So Molt sent one of his children to a nearby farming village to ask for a human guide.

Ever since the little person's visit, the villagers had been taking good care of the forest as they were taught, thinning the trees and expanding the reforested areas. The farmland had also increased, and Molt had instructed his children to help, creating a watering hole near the fields and building a very good relationship. Therefore, when the children visited, someone from the village would always come to the forest. Some of them could even read, allowing them to communicate with Molt. Molt had been expecting the same this time, but to his surprise, it was Prince Marcello who appeared in the forest. He had heard from a spy that the Castrato army was deploying soldiers near Frontier and had brought his own army in case things escalated. Flawers, located to the northeast of Frontier, could reach the border faster than the Frontier capital by cutting across the wilderness.

Upon hearing this, Molt asked Prince Marcello to add his children, along with the next generation he had received from the Queen, to his reinforcements, and explained that the little person was already in peril.

And so, Merda's daughter, who had been raising a new family in Molt's forest, came with the Flawers army, carrying the frogs.

"It takes two days to get here from Flawers if we cut across the wilderness. I am glad we made it in time."

At Prince Marcello's elegant smile, Romel let out an unconcealed sigh of relief. He was truly grateful for the deep bond between their masters.

"We will now repay the debt of gratitude for saving the forest of Flawers."

As if a horde of monsters wasn't threatening enough, now the Flawers army had arrived, over ten thousand strong. One could only admire the mobility that allowed them to move such a large number of soldiers.

Frontier, which had relied on magic technology, had a predisposition for small, elite forces, and proved surprisingly fragile when magic could not be used. They had no intention of losing, whether the enemy had ten thousand or twenty thousand. But that was only if they could use magic.

Now the tables were turned.

With the arrival of unexpected reinforcements, the battlefield reached a stalemate. Would they decide the victor here, or would they move to negotiations? Either way, they had to get the little person back.

As Romel and Prince Marcello stared down the Castrato army, they noticed a strange gesture from their opponents.

Several of them would occasionally glance up at the sky.

What on earth was it?

Following their gaze, the two looked up and saw Pochiko-san, anxiously circling with a little girl in her arms.

The next moment, their eyes widened in disbelief, and Romel's roar echoed across the battlefield.

Wherever she went, the little person was never far from turmoil.

Drifting in a dreamlike state, the little person heard Romel's scream from afar.

Let us offer a prayer for the royal duke, whose worries know no end.