Chapter 221

Provocation

“Excuse me! The demon army appeared on the highway!”

“They’ve come… Thanks . ”

General Zasha, the commander of the third and now the fifth fort, nodded heavily to the messenger’s report .

On his burly body like a large rock, he was wearing armor that was a magical tool .

He was a handsome uncle with a rich beard .

“Then, Claire-san, Rei-san . May I leave it to you?”

“Yes, please do . ”

“We’ll try to lead them here somehow . ”

The demon army was now located just before the detour that had been mentioned at the countermeasures meeting .

If they take the northern course, things will become difficult for humanity .

We needed to get them to take the route to the fifth fortress no matter what it took .

“General, please start withdrawing troops from the fort as soon as movement of demons is observed . ”

“Hum . I’ll do that . ”

The Inferno was a magical weapon to destroy the demon army together with the fortress .

If anybody were at the fortress, they’d get mixed up in it .

It seems that the Inferno could be activated remotely, so it wasn’t necessary for soldiers to remain in the fortress .

If we succeeded in leading the demon army here, General Zasha would immediately withdraw from here .

“Then Rei, shall we go?”

“Yes . ”

Claire-sama and I were already prepared and waiting, so all we had to do was join up with the soldiers on-site .

Because we were some distance from there, we’d be sent there by an imperial magician who can use the wind teleportation magic .

Manaria-sama used that magic during the fight with me, but there aren’t many people who can use it .

It was clear how serious the empire was since they send such a valuable human resource here .

“Good luck . ”

“You too, general . ”

“We’re going . ”

◆◇◆◇◆

When we arrived there, the imperial army and the demon army were already facing each other .

Although no direct clashes had occurred yet, the situation felt explosive and it wouldn’t be strange if an actual battle broke out at any time .

“Claire-san, we’ve been waiting for you . My name is Dennis and I’m in charge of the frontline command . ”

“I’m Claire . This is my partner, Rei . How does the situation look?”

“A few hours ago the demon army appeared . Currently they took positions before the highway crossroads and we’re facing off . ”

“What’s the enemy’s strength?”

“Just from here we can see tens of thousands . We only have about three thousand troops at the frontline, so we should be able to hold up for a few hours under normal circumstances . ”

The role of this until was to lead the demon army, so they weren’t supposed to all-out engage the demon army .

“Who’s the enemy commander?”

“You can see one of Three Great Archdukes, Arist . He appears to be commanding the frontline . ”

“How convenient . Arist knows who I am . ”

“Please be careful not to get sniped, Claire-sama . ”

“Yes, please protect me, Rei . ”

We held hands tightly .

“I’ll leave five hundred soldiers to the both of you . We assembled people who can operate by themselves, so no command is necessary . You can act freely . ”

“Thank you . ”

“Can you ride a horse?”

“Yes, it’s fine . ”

There were horse riding classes both in Bauer and the empire, so not only Claire-sama who had been familiar with horses since her childhood, but also I could ride a horse too .

However, there was a world of difference between our skills .

“Then, I wish you good luck . ”

Seen off by Dennis-san, Claire-sama and I left the encampment .

“Claire-sama, are you nervous?”

“Yes, naturally . I have some experience with one-on-one battles, but this is my first time fighting among military forces . ”

“Our role is to appear and provoke demons, and only then we can move to the withdrawal route . Let’s focus on what we need to do . ”

“You have a point . ”

While I was having such a conversation on the horseback, the demons started to become clearly visible .

Small monsters were placed on the frontline .

They were goblins .

Behind them were slightly taller orcs with boar-like faces, and further behind I could see big monsters, ogres .

The demon army seemed to be made up from demi-human races .

Although those demons were called demi-humans for convenience, they were creatures clearly different from humans in reality .

Like water slimes they are monsters with magical stones cores and they disappear if that’s broken .

Well, there might be some smart individuals like our Relaire, but it was wartime now, so there was no way we could tame them individually .

“Now then… It seems they’ve at least become aware of us, but their reaction is lacking . ”

“So it would seem . ”

The demons seemed vigilant of a brigade-sided frontline battalion advancing .

They were vigilant, but that was all .

There were no hints of them trying to attack us .

“What should we, Claire-sama?”

“It’s simple . Let’s inform them that I am here . ”

Saying that, Claire-sama stepped forward a little .

“I am Claire François! The former Bauer noblewoman who is now in charge of this unit! Anybody who thinks they can take me on, please try!”

She introduced herself in a clear voice from the horseback .

The demons reacted dramatically .

Raising a roar like the Hate Cry, the demons suddenly seethed with anger and attacked without chaotically .

“Claire-sama, get down!”

“No, I can’t! Rei, spread pitfalls ahead!”

At Claire-sama’s instruction I immediately spread the earth attribute magic Pitfall ahead of us .

The monsters in front were pushed by their fellows from behind and fell into the holes one after another .

“Flames!”

Claire-sama created innumerable fire arrows at the same time and rained them into the pitfall .

Demons’ death throes resounded .

“Incredible…”

“So that’s the power of the revolutionary maiden…”

Voices of admiration rose from allies .

In the eyes of imperial soldiers who had to be good at magic, Claire-sama’s power looked particularly impressive .

“The second wave is coming!”

The demons made full use of their numbers and went forward while stepping over the corpses of their fellows .

Thanks to our provocation, the demon seemed to be completely frenzied .

“Claire-sama, it’s enough, right? Let’s begin withdrawing . ”

“Yes! But… It’s strange . ”

Claire-sama looked puzzled as she pulled on the reins to change the direction .

“What is?”

“I can’t see Arist . I was sure he’d come if we provoked him . ”

Certainly .

We heard that Arist was leading this unit, but there was no sign of him .

Of course, the leader doesn’t usually appear on the frontline, but that demon was a person who would enter the empire on his own .

It was a little strange he didn’t respond to Claire-sama’s introduction .

“There’s no use thinking about it now . ”

“You have a point there . ”

“We’re talking about him, so it’s not out of question that he’ll aim at you during retreat, Claire-sama . Please stay vigilant . ”

“Fufu, you don’t need to tell me that .

Claire-sama laughed boldly while riding the horse .

Yup, cool .

“Claire-sama . ”

“What is it?”

“I fell in love with you again . ”

“Bah…! W-What are you saying at such a time!? We’re in the middle of a battle!”

“Sure, but I felt like I had to say it!”

“… Jeez . ”

Claire-sama sulkily turned her face away .

Jeez, she sure is cute .

“Rei, you too . ”

“Eh?”

Claire-sama whispered something, but I couldn’t catch it .

“What is it, Claire-sama?”

“It’s nothing! Look, we’re about to join the frontline troops soon!”

“Yeees . ”