Chapter 1195: Approaching Superhumans

The legion approaching Horna Village was clearly unusual.

All the soldiers were continuously sprinting at max speed. Normally, such a pace would render them too exhausted to fight, yet the soldiers didn’t appear the least bit tired.

It’s as if their brains were no longer capable of feeling pain or fatigue. Of course, their bodies should be worn down even if their brains don’t register it.

These soldiers had been physically modified into superhumans, even if the experiment wasn’t a complete success. Perhaps their exceptionally high physical endurance and regenerative abilities allowed them to manage.

In addition, approaching at full speed without any declaration of war is a pretty effective surprise attack. I bet they’ve destroyed many villages in this fashion.

Standing in front of such a force, the half-insectkin Quint shouted loudly.

「Halt! Who are you people? Identify yourselves!」

Considering the possibility that they might belong to a sub-organization of the Red Knights coming to aid Horna, Quint tried to engage in dialogue.

「I’ll consider you enemies if you refuse to respond!」

There was no reply to Quint’s question from the approaching force. All that could be heard was the heavy, echoing sound of thousands of soldiers running.

There was no longer any room for doubt.

「Tch! Didn’t even manage to buy us any time!」

Quint turned on her heel and hurried back to the village. Fran and I, who had been observing from the sky, cast land magic in response.

『Fran! Let’s go!』

「Nn!」

Great Wall for creating a massive defensive barrier. The primary purpose was to restrict the movements of our enemies rather than to block them out.

『This reminds me of our battles in the Beast Kingdom and Gordicia.』

「Nn!」

Our experience battling hordes of monsters came in handy. We created walls on the sides to funnel anyone approaching the village into a narrow passage, preventing the soldiers from spreading out.

That’s because our biggest worry was getting rushed down from all directions. As long as we only have to hold one point, the actual number of enemies doesn’t matter.

However, our enemies won’t necessarily act according to our expectations. We had tried a similar tactic against the antidemons in Gordicia, and they simply broke through our wall.

If these soldiers are smart enough to realize our plan, they’ll probably destroy our walls too, even if it takes longer.

Now, all that’s left is to see how they react…

「They’re squeezing in.」

『Which means these soldiers are dumber than antidemons.』

The legion went in a straight line through the corridor we constructed, just as planned. They were literally crushing each other as they attempted to force their way through.

They’ve probably been ordered to “run full speed toward the village” and “attack them when you arrive”, and that’s it. It seems they could not be given more detailed commands.

By my count, at least 100 just got trampled by their comrades.

I guess they’re considered disposable though.

「Master, Urushi, let’s go!」

『Right!』

「Woof!」

We aimed our magic at the concentrated enemy, and let it loose. There was no need to aim precisely; a few area-of-effect spells left nearly the entire vanguard of a thousand soldiers in shambles.

They’re certainly formidable, just not enough to get past us. I’d say they’re about as strong as orcs.

We would almost certainly achieve a complete victory at this rate, even against their overwhelming numbers. Well, things obviously weren’t going to be that easy…

Piiiiiiii!

「A whistle!」

「Woof!」

Fran and Urushi reacted to the sound of a whistle echoing through the battlefield. Following this, the soldiers’ movements changed significantly.

The legion stopped in their tracks, then began splitting off into two groups. They intended to bypass the Great Wall and attack from both sides.

That said, I won’t let them get through so easily. We created additional sections using Great Wall, further restricting their movements. Earthen walls blocked the soldiers’ path forward once again.

If the soldiers simply followed the walls, they would get lured back into the narrow corridor from before. This only goes to show the weakness of those who can’t make decisions for themselves.

That said, the commander of the legion would obviously give them another change of orders. We heard the sound of a whistle from somewhere again.

However, this sound never reached the soldiers.

We had invoked the wind spell Silence to block out all sounds over a wide area.

Just as planned, the soldiers could no longer hear the whistle.

『Perfect! Let’s take this chance to whittle away their numbers!』

（Nn!）

We went on to inflict major casualties to the legion, but it seems our enemy wasn’t going to let us continue for long.

「Mrgh.」

「You suspicious-looking knight! Are you the one interfering with my legion!?」

A peculiar-looking man ascended into the skies next to us. His head resembled a falcon’s, and he had wings reminiscent of birds of prey growing out of his back.

The birdkin-like man had plenty of mana, so he must be quite strong.

Fran was currently maintaining her disguise as Gray the righteous knight, since we didn’t want anyone to know she was here. Such would only increase the chance of Raydoss’s other forces coming to hunt us down.

We had Urushi covering himself in dark magic too, so no one would recognize him as a wolf.

Anyone looking at Fran would see a petite knight clad in gray armor, riding a beast cloaked in shadows. Meanwhile, I had transformed myself into a relatively plain longsword.

『You’re the one in charge of these soldiers? Who are you?』

「That’s my question, but fine, I’ll tell you! My name is “Bladehawk”, one of the legion commanders serving the East Conquest Duke!」