After we and the dwarves repelled the first and second waves of antidemons, there was nothing major left.
Only a few sporadic attacks by small groups. Within a few hours, the antidemons had completely disappeared.
We’ve probably hunted down the vast majority of antidemons in the area. Brunen, after consulting with the dwarves, ordered the soldiers to prepare for departure.
「We’re heading back soon. Get ready.」
「Are we leaving already?」
「Yeah, there won’t be any more antidemons around――」
「I have an urgent message!」
Just then, a man on a horse dashed into the camp. He seemed to be working for the administrative council.
He looked very panicked. Both the man and the horse were drenched in sweat, indicating that they had come here in a great hurry. Seeing this, the soldiers must have judged that it was an emergency situation.
The messenger was ushered in front of our commanders with almost no delays.
Brunen and Orfalve gathered again to hear his message.
Then, a few minutes later, Brunen gathered Fran and Hilt’s party to inform us as well.
There we learned the urgency of the situation.
「So you mean to say that the antidemons have formed a huge army a little further ahead?」
「Right, it seems that the army of Bashar made a big mistake.」
「Bashar!」
I never thought I’d hear that name here! Fran looked surprised too.
The kingdom of Bashar was the name of the enemy nation that teamed up with Murelia to attack the Beast Kingdom.
However, their invasion failed thanks to the efforts of Fran and her friends. Instead, they should have been on the receiving end of the Beast Kingdom’s counterattack……
「What? Fran, you know them?」
「Nn. The enemy of the Beast Kingdom.」
「Oh, you mean the country that challenged the Beast Kingdom last year and lost?」
「Yeah, them.」
The Beast King would never allow himself to be ridiculed like that, so I had assumed it might have already been annihilated…… But it seems they are still around.
Moreover, they have sent troops to fulfill the Gordician Duty. How can that country afford to do so when it is in danger of a counterattack by the Beast Kingdom?
When Fran mentioned the same thing, Brunen told us many things about the situation. He said that they had actually come here as a measure to save the country.
「It is internationally forbidden for other countries to attack a country that is currently deployed to fulfill its Gordician Duty. If anyone breaks this pact, all the neighboring countries will turn against them.」
Come to think of it, I heard a story like that before.
If countries are frequently attacked while sending soldiers to Gordicia, all countries will be reluctant to deploy their troops. After all, it would be exposing a weakness to their enemies.
In order to prevent such a situation, there seemed to be some kind of international treaty in place.
It is forbidden to wage war against a country that is deploying troops to Gordicia. Also, if there is a war going on, then a cease-fire must be made.
The Kingdom of Bashar luckily had its turn come around and decided to take advantage of it.
They managed to buy some time with the ceasefire, and were trying to either regroup their forces or negotiate with the beastmen.
However, using the Gordician Duty in name only may result in sanctions later on. They can’t just send a few dozen people and say that they have performed their duty.
Therefore, they had dispatched a thousand soldiers and showed a serious attitude toward hunting antidemons.
However, just being serious wasn’t enough to solve everything.
「Apparently, there were some problems with their training and morale.」
The war with the Beast Kingdom had taken a heavy toll on their knights and veteran soldiers. As a result, many of the soldiers this time were young recruits.
However, there was not the slightest bit of motivation among the new recruits that had been forcibly drafted. They also had very little in terms of experience and training. I imagine they all wanted to avoid doing anything dangerous so they could return home to their country in one piece.
And yet, their commanders seemed to be rearing for a fight. They were self-absorbed, thinking that they would show Bashar’s determination by achieving results.
The result was a lousy army led by incompetent commanders that gave reckless orders. Meanwhile the soldiers were weak and ran at the slightest hint of danger.
It couldn’t possible end well.
As expected, they failed to defend their assigned areas and were routed.
「And they were defeated in the worst way possible.」
「What do you mean?」
「The soldiers disobeyed orders and fled, causing damage to the dragonkin troops who they were cooperating with. Moreover, as the soldiers scattered in all directions, they lured in all the antidemons in the area.」
So Bashar’s soldiers became live bait, gathering more antidemons than necessary.
「Currently, nearly 20,000 antidemons have gathered. It would be too dangerous to leave them unattended, so we have decided to take them down.」
「I understand. So how will we fight them?」
Hilt asked calmly. She was not at all upset to hear that they are up against 20,000 antidemons. If we and the dwarves work together, we would be able to handle it.
I agree with her. In fact, I think the dwarves could even manage it on their own.
「The main force will be Snorabbit’s dwarven warriors in the front, but I must ask the adventurers to move freely to eliminate high-priority targets. It is a dangerous role, but I will be counting on your help.」
「That’s fine really, we did not have enough opportunities to train yet, so I’m even thankful.」
「Nn. No problem.」
「I can’t wait!」
Hilt, Fran, and Colbert were all smiling happily after being told to charge into an army of 20,000.
I was surprised to see Hilt happy, but I soon realized why. Hilt was no battle fanatic, but she was the type of person who would not cut corners for the sake of training.
Her eyes were focused on Phobos-kun, the only one who seemed scared.
I know you’re a Spartan, but you’re not going to send him into an army of 20,000 on a suicide mission, right?
「I heard there are other rescue teams coming too. Don’t cause any trouble, okay?」
「…? I know.」
「I’m counting on you.」
Why are you only giving Fran a warning? We’ve shown you over the last few days that she’s an extremely capable adventurer that listens to everything you say! It’s about time for you to stop thinking of her as a troublemaker!
