“Charge!”
The Amaranth Troop newly reformed with one thousand taemusas changed formation and amassed into a triangular formation.
A natural movement like water flowing and amassing.
At the head of the troop.
There was Roan.
Boom!
A explosive roar burst out every time the Travias Spear holding flame split the air.
The sharp spearhead drew lines onto the ground and created fissures.
Fwooosh!
From within those fissures, dark red flames erupted out.
“Kuak!”
“Ho, hot!”
Enemy soldiers turned into balls of flame and rolled on the ground.
At every place Roan went, at each spot he stabbed, fire blossomed.
At that moment, a resounding voice pierced through the flame and was heard.
“Roan Lancephil! Take my, Bud Daly’s spear!”
It was the Daly Troop’s commander and one who uncommonly used as a noble used a spear.
Spat!
Roan lightly dodged the spear aiming at and flying towards his side.
‘If he is Bud Daly, he’s the noble who followed Simon in the last life and got his head cut off.’
In this life, he was continuing his life a bit longer as Roan eliminated Simon.
Of course though, that too would meet its end today, with this very moment.
“Spear isn’t something to be used like that.”
Roan lightly spat out the words as if to berate him and twisted his wrist.
Pbat!
The spearhead blazing with flame disappeared without a trace and then appeared before Bud’s eyes.
A thrust fast enough to be difficult to chase with one’s eyes.
“Hph!”
Bud gasped deeply and bent his body back.
Fwoosh!
A flame brushed past behind his nose.
Siiiz!
“Kuuk!”
His helmet redly cooked and pressed down on his forehead and nose.
He felt a pain intense enough for his mind to turn faint.
His flesh turned mushy and pus flowed down.
The flame wavering along the Travias Spear was that hot and fierce.
“This much is useless!”
Bud forcibly screamed out as if he were mad.
Neeigh.
At that time, Roan’s warhorse neared tightly close.
The warhorses brushed each other’s sides and lined alongside.
A situation too close for both to use their spears.
‘He must plan to shorten the Travias Spear’s length!’
Bud inwardly surmised Roan’s intent and quickly flicked his wrist.
Chang!
With a clear metallic sound, a sharp dagger appeared from inside his wrist guard.
Bud planned to directly swing his arm and stamp down Roan’s forehead.
A chilling smile hanged on his mouth.
‘However brilliant a magic spear the Travias Spear is, it should take just as much time to shorten its le……’
The instant his thought reached about that point, his breath abruptly caught and his sight turned faint.
“Kuuk!”
A pain like his throat would rip off was felt.
Bud lowered his eyes and looked at the front of his chest.
“T, throat grab?”
Tips of his eyes sharply trembled as if he couldn’t believe it.
Rather than controlling the Travias Spear’s length, Roan instead skillfully extended his left hand, lightly deflected Bud’s dagger aside, and then directly grasped his throat.
Although it felt as if Roan had abruptly grabbed his throat from Bud’s position, in reality it was not such a simply trick.
Roan faintly smiled and spoke in a quiet voice as if to whisper.
“Not throat grabbed…… it is Reid Art of Fighting.”
The motion of simply extending a fist, the motion of grasping the throat, in everything the essence of the Reid Art of Fighting was held within.
Because of that, Bud who was rather famed knight had given up his throat without even understanding the situation.
“Gguruk.”
Bud writhed and rolled his eyes backwards.
A very painful sight.
Roan wished to quickly end that pain.
“Burn.”
Quietly chanted word.
Simultaneously, a dark red flame erupted from the left hand holding the neck.
Fwoosh!
The flame directly swallowed Bud’s head.
That closely brought to mind a hell fire.
Sss.
When the flame subsided, Bud’s head that originally should be there was visible no more.
Roan’s flame had exactly turned only his head into ashen dust.
It was a terrifying might.
“Hihick!”
“He, he isn’t a human!”
The Daly Troop’s knights and soldiers looked at Roan and screamed.
All were of looks of jerkily falling back in fear.
Obviously, the formation and lines that had been strong collapsed apart.
And the one thousand strong Amaranth Troop pounced on top of them.
“Charge!”
“Destroy the enemy troop!”
Amaranth Troop moved shockingly quickly and smoothly and slaughtered the Daly Troop’s soldiers.
There was not even a need for Roan to step up any further.
“My lord! The enemy army has been destroyed and are running!”
At the adjutant’s report, Roan quickly gave out a hand signal.
“Snap the enemy army’s flag! Take their troop flag and use it as a blanket for the horses.”
That from the start was Roan and the Amaranth Troop’s goal.
Right now, he was freely stirring up the battlefield as a detached force.
“Yes sir!”
Short and heavy answer.
The Amaranth Troop chased the fleeing Daly Troop, snapped off the enemy army’s flag pole, and stole their troop flag.
Vvuuuu!
Soon, a sound of horn signaling the destruction of the Daly Troop echoed across the battlefield.
Roan grasped his reins and studied the battlefield.
‘A hole opened up in the enemy’s right wing from the Daly Troop’s destruction.’
It was the desired result.
On the other hand, the center army which was the body and the left wing was still thick.
However, that side too was slowly being pushed back at the Lancephil Fief Regiment’s fierce attack led by Brian, Harrison, and Pierce.
‘I should split apart the bastards’ body.’
The next goal was decided.
Roan faintly smiled and powerfully raised his Travias Spear.
The Amaranth Troop was awaiting with its lines already reorganized for the next order.
“From the west to east! Pierce through the enemy center army! The next target is the Renji Troop led by Wilston Stark!”
“Yes sir! West to east! Pierce enemy center army! Wilston Stark! Renji Troop!”
The Amaranth Troop’s soldiers repeated back in one voice and then grasped their horse reins.
All were of appearance of tightly pressing their chests into the horses’ backs.
It was the moment for the gust-like charge to once again begin.
Roan once again stepped up to the vanguard and flashed a sharp light from his eyes.
“Let us burn the enemy army’s heart.”
The voice quietly pierced into the ears.
And soon, Roan pressed strength into his thighs and spurred his horse.
Pabat!
The warhorse kicked off the ground and began to race.
Behind it, Roan’s sonorous voice shook the battlefield.
“Charge!”
*****
“Just how did this happen, sir?”
“Isn’t this different than what you have said, sir?”
“Five castles including a fort and one key region has already fallen into the bastards’ hands!”
The headquarter was noisy with all sorts of shouts.
The commanders who wore full armors all directed looks of condemnation towards one person.
“Everyone please calm down.”
A soft voice.
The one who was receiving the stinging eyes was in fact Clay.
He looked at the various categories of reports and a map with complicated symbols drawn in above the table and formed a bitter smile.
The things the reports and the map meant was but one.
Rinse Liberation Army’s defeat.
‘This is rather beyond my expectation……’
Though he was laboriously smiling, Clay too becoming flustered was also the same.
Clay, with the war with the Lancephil Fief Regiment ahead of him, had completely grasped and prepared everything.
The number of soldiers, placements, formations, logistics, intelligence, enemy’s condition, predicted paths, and even the abilities and personalities of Roan and the warriors who followed him.
He meticulously checked and rechecked without a single bit remaining and weaved the perfect military strategy.
No, he thought he had weaved it.
But just one amongst the things he thought was perfect had plainly turned amiss.
‘Roan Lancephil, was he this strong?’
Only a bare few years had now passed since he had left his side.
Clay knew that Roan’s talent was only a little more outstanding a level than ordinary.
Of course, he also knew that he was a perversely hard worker and that an incomprehensible luck strongly followed him.
‘I mulled plentily of various matters and situations and surmised to how much his various abilities including might will have grown……’
The surmised result was the level of Royal Palace Knight Order praised as the topmost level amongst the Rinse Kingdom’s knights.
But Roan’s abilities he had shown in these first battles of the war wasn’t of just that level.
‘At the least Royal Palace Knight Captain, no, he became a powerhouse counted amongst the top three within the Rinse Kingdom.’
A growth that far surpassed Clay’s prediction.
‘To think I’ve made such a mistake……’There were two reasons why he, who was listening to news of Roan through the druids and the agents, had made such a large mistake.
Amongst them, the first was in fact the elves’ obstruction.
Though Clay still hadn’t noticed, Aily and the elves who followed her were making small chips on the intelligence druids gathered.
They had mixed fake intelligence within real intelligences or elaborately switched few intelligences.
Thanks to that, cracks were forming very slowly and little by little on the various results and plans Clay had predicted.
However, in truth the biggest reason Clay failed to properly predict Roan’s growth was.
‘I underestimated Roan Lancephil too much.’
It was because of his slight towards Roan that was laid deep within his heart.
He still believed Roan had greatly succeeded because his luck was good in comparison to his abilities.
‘It’s also because he has gotten good subordinates.’
But from this moment on, he had to throw away such complacent thoughts.
‘He is a much more outstanding a man than I thought.’
Clay acknowledged Roan’s abilities.
Now that he had acknowledged him, he couldn’t treat him carelessly.
“This is purely my mistake, sirs.”
Clay lowered his head towards the commanders who were still glaring at him.
An abrupt apology.
“Hmm. Well, then……”
“It is good since you’ve acknowledged that quickly, but……”
The numerous commanders could only step back with unsure expressions at the sight of him quickly acknowledging his mistake.
For a moment, an awkward mood flowed.
At that moment, Mills who was observing the situation asked in a calm voice.
“You do have a solution, yes?”
A question that precisely pick out the flow.
Clay made a faint smile.
“Of course, sir.”
He quickly answered and then pointed at the map with a tip of his finger.
“Roan Lancephil is currently staying in the McGinley Region, sirs. This place is a wide plain region without even a small hill. It is a place perfect for him to freely run and play around on.”
Sss.
His finger moved a little north.
“On the other hand, the terrain of the Newark Region at north is rough that it is an advantageous position to attempt ambushes, assault attacks. We plan to form a detached force and lure the Lancephil Fief Regiment into the Newark Region. At this place, we will deploy the knight order forces and……”
The moment his words reached about that point.
“To dig all sorts of traps and wait like a coward. Tch tch tch.”
A husky voice jumped out.
Clay stopped his words and looked towards the direction the voice was heard from.
The other commanders including Mills also did the same.
The gazes all turned towards once place.
“Certainly, minor kingdom people befit minor kingdom’s people.”
The owner of the voice was a young man of a giant stature.
Mills slightly creased his forehead.
“Viscount Heder Myers. Coward and a minor kingdom, sir? You’ve said too much.”
“Is it? Apologies. I’m inherently a type that can’t lie, you see.”
The young man of giant stature, Heder Myers widely opened his large mouth and burst out a laugh.
The expressions of many commanders excluding him, especially those of the nobles from Rinse Kingdom stiffly hardened.
‘Cowards.’
Heder inwardly sneered at the stinging glares pouring down on him.
He casually moved his steps and stood in front of Clay.
“Commander in Chief Clay. There’s no need to spin your head around so complicatedly.”
A pointlessly loud voice.
Heder lightly tapped his wide chest with his right hand.
“I’ll go to the McGinley Region.”
His eyes flashed with a horrible light.
“I”ll go and cut off Roan Lancephil or whatever called bastard’s head.”
A confident expression and voice.
Gulp.
Other commanders dryly swallowed with slightly tensed expressions.
On the other hand, Clay stared at Heder with calm eyes.
‘Bear Viscount Heder Myers.’
A noble and a knight of the Estia Empire he knew well of through rumors since long ago.
Originally, he himself should have taken the seat of Rinse Liberation Army’s Commander in Chief if looking with just the nobilities.
However, Heder yielded, no, dumped the Commander in Chief positions onto Mills and Clay saying he can’t freely fight if he take a job.
‘They say he’s a powerhouse who stands out amongst the Empire’s young nobles, no, even amongst knights.’
He was counted as one of the knights who had high probability of later becoming a swordmaster.
‘Hmm.’
Clay fell for a moment into his thought.
Although he was the Rinse Liberation Army’s Commander in Chief, he couldn’t openly disregard the demand of Heder who was an Estia Empire’s noble.
Furthermore.
‘I do also wish to see the skill of the empire’s knight at this chance.’
The inside of his head rapidly spun.
It was good too if Heder caught Roan, and there was nothing bad either even if he instead lost or got his head cut off.
‘The war is over if he wins, and my authority will become further stabilized if he loses.’
The noses of the Estia Empire commanders who had Heder at the head would become snapped.
Clay slowly nodded his head.
“That would be fine, sir. There would be nothing more to ask if you would do just so.”
The instant his words ended.
“Kuhahahaha! Alright! Alright!”
“Kuhahahaha! Alright! Alright!”
Heder burst out a crazed laugh.
An unusual light swayed in his eyes.
“They say Roan Lancephil’s old nickname was Crimson Ghost, right?”
A sharp pressure poured out.
“Kukuku. I’ll turn him into a real ghost.”
A confident look.
This day, the Estia Empire’s bear, Heder Myers led his knights and troop and marched to the McGinley Region.
It was the full-scale beginning of the war.
< Northern Expedition (2) > End.
