“Ah… somehow, it’s all settled. Alright, let’s retreat while we can.”
After holding off yet another charge with the firing of the rifle unit, we were finally ready to leave the School of the Gods.
I raised my voice atop the iron spider to give the retreat orders. Although we were a ragtag volunteer force, the professional gendarmerie members took the initiative to command, allowing for a reasonably smooth retreat.
“That was close, wasn’t it?”
Simon, who was at the back of the unit, murmured while listening to the battle cries of the Crusaders coming from the School of the Gods.
Those we defeated were either the greedy ones who had come ahead of us or just small reconnaissance units.
The School of the Gods has a vast area and can accommodate many soldiers, and its buildings are sturdy. They likely brought a large army to secure it as an emergency forward command post.
The main force of the Crusaders entered through the eastern main gate, but those flowing in from the direction of the Academy District must also exceed ten thousand in total.
During the Fifth Galahad War, the Crusaders were led by Count Bergunt, a noble of the Sinclair Republic. It seems this time as well, the structure is centered around Sinclair nobles.
If that’s the case, the Crusaders currently invading Spada must be competing to achieve merit among the participating nobles. While it doesn’t seem there is much coordination among them, a considerable number are advancing based on their individual judgments, making it difficult to respond under these inadequately fortified circumstances.
The group that occupied the School of the Gods will likely stay there for a while, but another group may come attacking.
“Please, let there not be a large army…”
Sure enough, Simon’s wish reached the heavens.
After that, we only encountered sporadic battles, successfully reaching the Second Barrier.
Since Simon was at the end of the line riding the iron spider, the fleeing civilians also arrived safely here.
However, the scene before the gate of the Second Barrier, crowded with people, was unusual.
“What’s with all these people!? We need to get inside quickly!”
“Young master, it looks like there’s a commotion at the gate. This might lead to—”
“What? Could it possibly…”
As he thought this, Simon pushed through the crowd to reach the gate.
Ahead of him, although the gates were not closed, iron bars had been lowered, sealing off the gate.
“What are you doing? Close the gate, quickly!”
“The enemy is right in front of us! Hurry up!!”
“But we can’t just shut out this many evacuees…”
“If we let so many people in, the enemy will come rushing in!”
“Hey, you! State your name! I’ll take this complaint directly to the Royal Castle!”
“My mansion is just over there! What if the enemy breaks in? Can you take responsibility for that!!”
On the other side of the iron bars, a hellish scene distinct from the battlefield was unfolding.
The residents of the noble district are, as the name indicates, nobles.
While there are only a few who possess titles and territories, there are elite officials working at the Royal Castle and prominent merchants who have established businesses here. They are all individuals of higher status or position, clearly distinct from mere commoners.
And now, they were loudly demanding to completely close the gates and exclude the evacuees.
It was clear that they lived near the Second Barrier. They dressed relatively well, and some were seen accompanied by attendants or slaves. They could not bear the thought of a battlefield around their neighborhood. Moreover, the idea of the enemy breaking through the gates and rushing in was unacceptable.
While one could understand their feelings of unease, however…
“Please, open the gate. There is still time to accommodate everyone here!”
“Hey, who do you think you are?”
“You damn elf brat, stop talking nonsense!”
“Don’t open it! Absolutely do not open it!!”
“Oh, how scary, how frightening! Please close the gate quickly!!”
With bared teeth, they hurled insults.
However, Simon had no intention of trying to convince them. Those who had become emotional were no different from excited beasts.
“Is the Spada Army going to abandon the fleeing civilians? Is such an order truly being given!!”
Thus, Simon appealed to the guards defending the gate.
The armored squad leader who had been repeatedly bombarded by the residents’ demands to “close the gate.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to decide whether to close or open the gate.”
“But you’re the squad leader, aren’t you?!”
“The leader has long since gone to assist the Royal Castle! The deputy leader and experienced members have all responded to calls for reinforcements! I’m just a small squad leader… I don’t even know what to do.”
“But some people were already let in, right? Didn’t the president of the Mordred Weapon Trading Company bring people in first?”
Looking around, since they were nowhere to be seen, it was assumed they had already evacuated via teleportation.
If Mordred were here, he would have fought through the gate without question.
“Yeah, that’s right. He brought quite a few people. By the time we started letting them in, this commotion erupted.”
The fact that they were allowed to escape first had unexpectedly backfired.
With a considerable group arriving all at once, the local residents’ anxiety had likely ballooned.
“Even so, it’s unforgivable to shut out those who have evacuated.”
“Then give me an official order! If it will quiet them down, I can open the gate right now!”
That sob story came from the guard squad leader. His face, visible behind the helmet, appeared very young. He was likely still in his teens.
The guards he led looked no different from the students of the School of the Gods. Probably a rookie unit that would struggle with sudden combat.
One might want to criticize the judgment of leaving only inexperienced soldiers behind, but with the enemy closing in on the Royal Castle, it might be a natural decision for Spada soldiers to abandon a gate that had not yet revealed the enemy and rush to the battlefield.
“…Please listen. Right now, you are the only one who can open this gate and save many of the people of Spada. If they are left to die, you will regret it for the rest of your life. But if you open the gate, we will fight here together.”
“Ugh, that…”
Calmly pointed out, the squad leader’s youth was visibly wavering.
No one here was giving orders. He had to make the decision himself.
“Hey! Don’t say whatever you want, you brat!!”
“We’re nobles! Isn’t it natural for commoners to protect nobles in battle?”
“You all should go somewhere else! You’re causing a nuisance by gathering here!”
“Hey, don’t open it! Everything will be your responsibility! Do you understand, huh!?”
With no sense of shame or decorum, they shouted for their own safety, stopping the squad leader’s decision.
In reality, their status was likely higher than his.
Living in such a location near the Second Barrier, even a genuine lord with a title would merely be a baron with a small rural territory, but they held much greater position and influence than the rookie guards. If they were to reveal their anger, it would easily destroy his future.
Even without that, faced with such a situation and pressed, it would be impossible to maintain calm judgment or resolve. He was still far too young for that.
Surely, if they didn’t silence them somehow, there was no other way out.
As he attempted to wield the “Thunderbird” strapped to his back, he hesitated. Resorting to force was truly a last resort. He wanted to believe there was still a little more time.
“I am Simon Friedrich Baldier. The fourth son of the Baldier Family, one of the four great nobles of Spada. I will take responsibility. Please open the gate.”
“Wha, what? The Baldier Family…?”
“That’s a lie! It must be a lie!”
“Talking nonsense. To claim to be a noble, how disgraceful for a commoner!”
“How cowardly of you to tell such an obvious lie!”
“It’s true. I have my guild card.”
Simon’s guild card was issued by the Academy District branch of the Spada Adventurer Guild.
While the adventurer guild is known for its lenient registration, there is no way they could allow someone to register under the name of a great noble of their own land.
Having the name “Baldier” engraved on a guild card issued by the Spada Adventurer Guild was more than sufficient evidence that he truly belonged to that lineage.
“Are you really a young master of the Baldier Family…?”
“That phrasing rubs me the wrong way.”
“Hey! Don’t fall for this! That’s probably a fake anyway!”
“This foolish young man should be more resolute in the denial!”
“Ugh, I can’t trust these unreliable individuals with this gate! I’ll close it myself, get out of the way this instant!!”
Finally, perhaps due to the limits of his patience being reached or seeing the squad leader starting to believe Simon’s claim, a man from the residents’ group stepped forward.
In his hand, he brandished an elaborately decorated saber. Behind him, others similarly armed followed.
“Drawing weapons is a foolish act.”
I can’t believe I held back.
Overcoming rage with exasperation, Simon firmly resolved to use the “Thunderbird.”
Just as he aimed at the advancing man’s feet, ready to push aside the flustered squad leader through the iron bars, a voice rang out clearly amid the chaos.
“—Open the gate.”
Even in this tumultuous moment, the resonant voice of a woman commanded attention.
Even in a state of excitement, there was an undeniable sense of oppression from her presence, which was perhaps a kind of magic itself.
From beyond the residents trying to close the gate, a knight clad in shimmering silver armor appeared on horseback.
No, it was not just a knight. The dark elf woman dressed in pure white magician’s robes was not merely a knight but one worthy of leading.
“I command you in the name of Sophia Sirius Percival. Open the gate at once and save our kin.”
“Y-yes! Understood, Lord Percival!!”
The squad leader, who had struggled in anguish, instantly replied loudly and sprang into action.
Of course. An overwhelming “order” had been given from a superior who could provide justification to everyone. Yes, soldiers follow orders. Therefore, if it is an officially issued order, it will be executed promptly.
The complaints of the nearby residents? They were inconsequential.
They were responding to a request from a head of the four great nobles of Spada, the Percival family. If anyone wanted to stop this, they would need to bring a fellow noble of equal stature or even the King himself.
“Ah, ahh…”
“Wait, don’t open the gate…”
Surely, those who lived in the noble district had no ignorance of the faces of the great noble family heads.
With Sophia present on the scene, they lost all right to voice objections.
No one would dare to openly criticize the head of a great noble family. Such an act would see them cut down before they could be assaulted by the approaching enemy. Indeed, if one were to incur the ire of “The Snowstorm War Goddess” Sophia, renowned for her powerful ice magic, they would likely be transformed into an ice statue and shattered.
Once she gave the order to open the gate, there could be no resistance.
Yet, as residents continued to glance back at the opening gate with lingering reluctance, Sophia cast a cold glance upon them from her mount.
“To gather here bearing weapons is a commendable spirit. You wish to protect this place? Then, fight with me against the invaders with full force.”
What had been happening here was clear at a glance.
There was no time to specifically reprimand them.
Sophia simply communicated to them that only those willing to fight should remain.
“Ugh, th-this is…”
“I have children; I must evacuate them quickly!”
“That’s right, let’s evacuate to the royal castle immediately!”
“Hey, you drew your sword, so stay here and fight!”
“Hah, don’t be ridiculous! Are you planning to run away by yourself, you coward who came out without a weapon!?”
The men who had been so fired up hurriedly threw down their weapons and fled. Those who had no intention of picking up arms from the start, merely shouting complaints from a safe distance, began to run away as well.
They had finally realized that this place was about to turn into a battlefield.
“Haah… I’m grateful, thank you, Director.”
“We are not strangers. I’d prefer you not to speak so formally.”
“Then let’s go with Sophia-san.”
With a wry smile, Simon said.
It was after the battle that he learned that the mysterious adventurer, Sophia, who had temporarily teamed up with him as his escort for the Fifth Galahad War, was actually Director Sophia.
It seemed she had returned to her director duties after the war, and their adventuring activities together had completely ceased… but right now, there was no better support than her.
After all, power is what you should have.
Though Simon thought the regime controlled by Lily through brainwashing was terrible, he now felt a little inclined to support it. Long live Your Majesty the Queen.
“I apologize for being late; things got busy on my end as well. Thank you for bringing the students this far.”
“It was just a matter of circumstance.”
The reason Sophia had come such a distance was originally to head to the School of the Gods.
It is genuinely admirable that a high-ranking noble, who has a mansion near the royal castle in the noble district, would go out of her way to come to the dangerous School of the Gods.
“The Crusaders have already taken over the School of the Gods. I believe enemies will soon be pressing here as well.”
“Unfortunately, we cannot expect reinforcements from this side. The eastern side is being overwhelmed by the enemy’s momentum, and the second barrier is on the verge of being breached. Even if we evacuate to the royal castle, safety cannot be guaranteed.”
“It’s alright, we’ll teleport from that monolith to Pandemonium. We just need to buy time until everyone here can teleport.”
“I see… it’s Lily’s country, after all. For now, we have no choice but to rely on her help.”
Simon was extremely anxious about whether the evacuated people of Spada could maintain their free will… but still, he believed that it was far better than being massacred by the Crusaders, and he had no choice but to recommend teleporting for evacuation.
“We’ll hold the line at this gate. Sophia-san, can you assist?”
“Of course. Let’s regroup as a team. It reminds me of the Fifth Galahad War.”
Accompanied by a graceful smile from Sophia, Simon took his position to defend the poorly guarded gate, which was left with only the rookie guard unit.
This time, the gate was firmly closed.
There were no longer any Spada people rushing in. Those living in the academy district hopefully had evacuated within the confines of the second barrier.
Listening to the sounds of battle echoing from the direction of the royal castle, Simon and the temporary defense force stared intently at the now-quiet gate.
“… They’re coming.”
Before long, bonfires lit up on the other side of the street. The same scene he had seen at the School of the Gods. The Crusaders were attacking.
However, knowing there was a solid barrier here, the Crusaders didn’t send a few eager ones to charge only to gather their numbers and come properly.
A massive army threatening to fill the main street. Even this was likely just a small part of their vanguard.
“————Fire!!”
Thus, the battle began.
Having engaged in a skirmish at the main gate of the School of the Gods, the students wielding crow rifles were somewhat composed enough to shoot.
On top of the tightly closed gate. Arranged along the ramparts, they unleashed a preemptive strike at the Crusader archers lined up hundreds of meters away, utilizing their firepower and range.
They probably hadn’t expected the enemy’s fire to come this far. The lined-up archers began to fall one after another… but unfortunately, the numbers were just too different.
The bodies of allies served as shields, and the many archers who could not reach their bullets released a volley of arrows into the night sky.
“Arrows incoming! Shields up!!”
The riflemen, lying down behind the barriers, were defended by the shield-bearing gendarmerie and guards who worked to cover them.
After hearing the sound of arrows striking the shields, they resumed firing.
While few in number, they were equipped with guns on the ramparts. There was no way they could lose a shootout against mere archers using bows and arrows.
Perhaps realizing that their range was not advantageous, the archers began to retreat down the street or take cover in nearby buildings, replaced by a group armed with spears advancing forward.
“Still going for a classic infantry charge, I see.”
But there were far more enemies than those he faced at the School of the Gods.
In the front row was a group carrying large logs. Following them were several groups wielding long ladders.
Siege machines made of logs for breaking down castle gates and ladders to scale the walls. Just the bare minimum in siege equipment.
If they could only bring out something of that level, then the enemy’s fighting strength was just about manageable.
“Riflemen, keep shooting using your range. Leaving the elimination of close enemies to the magician squad.”
That said, since they were launching an infantry charge in large numbers, they would have to initiate crossfire with the machine guns as well. It was likely only a few would be able to get close enough to engage through the hellish hail of bullets.
Thus, a scene similar to what they had seen in Alsace and the earlier School of the Gods was playing out again.
The infantry fell one after another to the crossfire without a fight.
Even so, the enemy continued to rush in one after another. The overwhelming violence of numbers.
“… This is bad, they’re spreading too much on the left and right.”
Instead of insisting on breaking through the gate, units were starting to follow ladders from slightly separated spots on both sides.
While still few in number, Simon’s group was managing to maintain their firepower because they were gathered together.
However, if they allowed the enemies attacking from both sides to spread out, the risk of their firepower dropping to the point where they could no longer stop a mere infantry charge was high.
At the same time, leaving the enemies climbing up from the sides unattended would be tantamount to breaching the barrier.
They had no choice but to disperse their units to deal with the situation.
“Zack, take ten men and deal with the ones on the right! Gendarmerie Captain, please handle the left side!”
“Understood, young master.”
“Got it, I’ll take charge.”
They had no choice but to leave it to them. One was a former thug, and the other seemed like an old-timer who had never seen a gun until today.
However, Zack understood the characteristics of the rifle, and the Gendarmerie captain had the command ability to lead people in battle on the field. They had to entrust it to those who had even the slightest possibility of doing something.
“Finally, it seems the magician squad is coming out as well.”
“… Sophia-san, please do your best.”
“Ah, it’s your request, after all. I’ll do my best to help you.”
Sophia, the overwhelming powerhouse of this temporary defense team, was the only one who could suppress the enemy’s magician squad all on her own.
Given she was a former Rank 5, no, still an active Rank 5 capable person, such feats were possible.
However, even with such unreasonable demands, Simon and the others still had to continue firing at the overwhelmingly numerous enemy infantry.
“How can they keep coming… How can they not stop…”
How long had it been since the battle began?
Realizing the sky was faintly brightening, it felt as if a nightmare of a night was about to dawn.
Yet the scene before them was like an unending nightmare.
Even while falling to one-sided gunfire, Crusader soldiers kept rushing in one after another.
Their numbers increased, and stronger foes began to appear as well.
Following the magician units, a group of heavily armored heavy cavalry finally began to show up.
This is bad; it would be difficult for the machine guns to stop heavy cavalry. The ammunition for those machine guns was also about to run out.
With an incredible rate of fire preventing enemies from approaching, it was only natural that they were consuming a lot of rounds.
“What about evacuation…”
The evacuation by teleportation was still not over.
The first group brought had already completed their teleportation, but chaos was spreading in the noble district protected by the second barrier as it was being attacked by the Crusaders. Consequently, many people were now rushing in after hearing about the teleportation evacuation in front of the gate from somewhere.
If they broke through here, a catastrophic disaster was assured. The phrase trapped with nowhere to fall back was literally this.
Thud—
It felt as if the barrier shook.
No, it was not just a mere sensation. Simon quickly realized.
Because he knew well the huge presence shaking the ground. Its size and its threat.
“Ah… they’ve even brought out Taurus…”
The ancient siege weapon, “Taurus.”
In the present day, it should be called the Ancient Golem, a massive humanoid of steel. Deployed in actual combat by the Crusaders during the Fifth Galahad War, it was the ultimate siege weapon that had burrowed a massive hole in the grand walls of Galahad Fortress.
Even the Galahad Fortress, equipped with Spada’s strongest forces, was in such disarray.
In this place, which only had a makeshift defense unit, there was no way they could stop the steel giant that had been revived since ancient times.
“It truly has reached the limit now…”
With the current fighting strength, there was no hope of victory no matter how hard they struggled. Even buying time would be impossible.
He understood. Yet, the thought of watching the many people gathered in the square die now sent shivers through Simon.
He was just an ordinary alchemist, not a proud Spada knight or anything, and he felt no obligation or duty to carry the lives of so many.
He had done everything he could. He had done his best. He could proudly say he had fought enough.
But still, he couldn’t save them. There was no way to accept the cruel outcome of countless sacrifices.
However, regardless of personal feelings, Taurus continued to approach, making heavy steps, steadily drawing closer. To trample the resisting Spada people.
“This place is done for; retreat—”
As he bore under the unbearable thoughts, he spoke up.
There was no need to endure.
There was no need to accept.
A cruel ending. An unreasonable fate.
He felt as if he were told to scatter all such things and carve out a path to live—
“————‘Void Cannon’.”
Taurus took a large step forward and suddenly halted.
It lifted its short, stocky legs, assuming an unstable stance as it balanced on one leg. The step it intended to take stopped, or rather, was stopped, causing its massive steel body to tilt slowly.
Taurus, which had its core for movement completely ‘erased’, came to an abrupt stop, and as its hefty body collapsed, a single black shadow dashed beneath it.
Thud! Boom boom boom boom!!
The overwhelmingly heavy ancient machine fell with a grand crash, engulfing buildings with it. With a rumble and thunderous noise, it suddenly sent a thick cloud of dust up into the pre-dawn sky that was now faintly lit.
Against the backdrop of the catastrophic smoke, the black shadow made its way straight toward the gate.
Riding on a pitch-black steed, he was dressed in ominous black armor like the king of hell’s demons.
With his black hair blowing in the wind, his mismatched black and red eyes met Simon, whose smile was brightening atop the gate.
“————Ah, I’m glad you’re safe. I’ve come to help.”
The night dawned.
However, the nightmare had not ended. No, it was about to begin. The nightmare for the Crusaders.
Thus, the “Black Nightmare Berserker” arrived in the capital Spada.