Chapter 51 – Competitors
After leading the battle against the Pilgrim Knights to victory, I realized more clearly how heterogeneous the environment given to us was.
A few hours ago.
“…It’s okay. I don’t think there’s much point in further resistance. I’ll surrender. I’ll humbly admit defeat and leave this place.”
The captain of the Pilgrim Knights, who stood still with his sword for a long time, finally declared surrender with a face as if he had given up.
“That’s a wise decision. I won’t chase you anymore, so you guys have to cross the river first.”
“Bio thanking the victor for mercy.”
I had decided to accept his surrender, even considering the potential repercussions.
As a sign of respect for the honorable knight who is polite to the end.
“Ha! Really, the world is wide. Well, since we lost like this. Wandering around this interesting place with the rest of my subordinates…”
As befits the head of the Knights, which means pilgrims, I laughed at him, thinking of wandering somewhere.
—Hwaaaaa… !
The leader of the Pilgrim Knights, Sir Scott, along with his men, were swept away by the light and disappeared in an instant.
Without leaving any traces. As if it had never been here in the first place.
It was as if this mysterious space itself excluded the existence of the Pilgrim Knights.
Did His Majesty the Emperor think that those who declared surrender no longer needed to stay in the arena?
‘Should I call this harsh, or rather benevolent?’
In fact, it didn’t really matter either way.
What we need to do now is to keep moving forward.
After shaking his head and brushing away the meaningless thoughts. I patted her on the shoulder of her sub-captain, who had her eyes closed while leaning against me, waking her up.
She was the one who consumed a lot of her unique energy in this battle, and she had a lot of trouble maintaining her ice bridge until everyone crossed the river by mobilizing her image with all her might.
“Vice-captain Agnes, please wake up.”
“Yes…”
But anyway, anyway. Doesn’t he even feel ashamed in front of his subordinates?
In the midst of sighing at the sight of her not waking up.
The 3rd centurion, Sir Carl, spoke to me with an incomprehensible smile.
“Ah, why don’t you let me sleep a little longer.”
“You’re right.”
“Did you know that? Vice-captain has been such a ruffian since his days as a sergeant that most men wouldn’t dare to talk to him. He’s not the kind of person who would sit still like a calm cat.”
If that wasn’t enough, why don’t the centurions sitting around the river bank agree with him with happy faces?
By the looks of it, everyone seemed to be very relaxed, perhaps because they were drunk on their first win.
… It must have taken care of the wounded and made them rest for too long.
I got up first, and then the commanders followed suit.
“Huh… Huh?!”
“Stop getting up, get up.”
Rest was enough.
It wasn’t that I felt ashamed of the strange atmosphere, it was because I was already having trouble hanging out like this.
“It’s time for you guys to get up. The game is still in full swing. You can’t face the enemy in a defenseless state. As of now, tell all troops that you are resting and resuming your movement.”
“Yes!”
Just like that, the moment the centurions were about to move to gather their troops.
“Captain, and seniors. Isn’t something a little strange here?”
The question raised by the 5th Centurion, Kenneth, stopped everyone.
He was the youngest of the senior commanders, but he had a deep observational power and was unique in many ways, so he often stood out in unexpected ways.
“There are one or two oddities. If you find anything out of the ordinary, let me know.”
“Yes. First of all, no one is complaining of hunger even though it has been a long time since the fierce battle. And… The wounded are already healed.”
Both were reports that could never be overlooked.
If you are skilled enough to manifest an aura, you can consume the mana accumulated in your body and survive to some extent without eating.
However, it is normal for the half superhumans below it to feel hungry after completing vigorous movements.
Besides, what else does it mean that the wounded are all healed?
“Are you feeling better already?”
“Yes. I also suffered abrasions and fractures in battle, but it felt like the wounds healed strangely quickly, so I checked my men just in case, and they were all the same.”
It was an absurd sound. No matter how fast the knights recover, to think that their injuries healed during a break that lasted less than half a day.
It wasn’t even an undead army.
“Among the people whose limbs were cut off?
“Surprisingly, yes. Even those involved are perplexed.”
“…I understand. This is an important report indeed. I will listen carefully.”
It was so unbelievable that I checked it again and it was true.
“Hey, what kind of grace is this from His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Hey, do you know how the process of growing an arm goes? It doesn’t look very nice. There was a reason the temple told me to keep my eyes closed.”
“It’s a ghost’s way to wail. You’d better just give up on understanding.”
When the movement resumed, the injured, who at least numbered close to a hundred, were all walking behind me, chatting with each other.
It was a good thing rather than a particularly bad thing.
I couldn’t help but have a thought pop up in my head.
This space created by the authority of His Majesty looks like…
It seemed to be reminiscent of the legend of a tribe that was particularly vicious among the northern tribes.
‘Obviously their words… What did you call it?’
A paradise for crazy berserkers who don’t have to worry about anything other than endlessly repeating battles.
He probably would have gone crazy if he brought them here.
“That… Captain, you were rude earlier. The tension was relieved and the fatigue came rushing in…”
“No, never mind.”
“Umm, thank you. But where are we heading now?”
I blushed and gave an appropriate answer to the vice-captain’s question as he spoke to me.
In fact, the destination had already been decided.
“First of all… Let’s go down south like this. Wouldn’t a warm place be better than a cold place?”
Get out of the snowfield area and cross the river to reach the center of the Charitin Plain.
Except for the central area, where there is a huge iron mine and useful farmland, the surrounding terrain here is hostile to humans to the extent that it can be called fucking.
Like us, who escaped from the snowy field at the end of the north and are heading south, the rest of the finalists, who would have fallen somewhere else, are naturally flocking to the center in search of a place to rest.
As I moved from the lead, I contemplated on how to proceed with the rest of the finals.
‘If we assume that the other units also encountered the enemy as soon as we did, we should consider that the number has been reduced to less than half by now.’
The strategy of hiding somewhere and looking for an opportunity probably won’t work.
The forests to the south, the canyons to the east, and the mountains to the west all boast absurdly harsh environments.
So, in the end, everyone will end up in the same place.
In that case, it was necessary to arrive as early as possible and preoccupy the advantageous terrain.
* * *
Fortunately, unlike before, there were no passengers at the place I marked.
The river flows on the left side, so there is no need to be surrounded, and there is a small hill on the right side that can be conquered immediately, which serves as a suitable cover to secure the view and prepare for an unexpected long-range attack.
Naturally, a village was originally located in such a good terrain, but it seems that His Majesty’s authority did not create even buildings and people.
Being aware of the surrounding terrain in advance due to the experience of participating in the war is a huge advantage.
If I hadn’t known in advance, I wouldn’t have been able to come here right away.
“Captain! As a result of the reconnaissance, signs of the enemy are being observed in all directions!”
I received a report from the vice-captain who hurriedly rushed to the temporary camp where I had recklessly cut down nearby trees.
Did the troops sent to reconnoiter finally arrive?
“What kind of knights are they? They won’t be able to step out anyway, so there’s nothing to be in a hurry with. Let’s explain slowly and in detail.”
“Yes! That’s…”
According to the report, there were a total of four knights flocking to the center.
The Corvo Knights approaching from the eastern gorge.
It is said that the number of people has been reduced to less than half, as if they had fought a fierce battle on their way here. If so, it would be hard to see it as a real competitor.
Next comes the Temple Knights coming up from the forest to the south.
Their situation is a little better than the Corvo Knights, but the number is greatly reduced.
However, for some reason, it is said that they feel strangely intense anger from them, who are made up of faithful priests of the Celestial Church. What the hell was going on in the forest?
“And, finally, there are two knights who are making their public appearances in the west.”
“Two of them? Could it be that they formed an alliance with each other?”
“Yes. They say it looks like that.”
Listening to the story, the first thing to pay attention to was those from the west.
“Unity Knights and Frost Knights. Even so, they were considered strong contenders for the championship. Even during the course of the alliance, there was no conflict, and all forces were said to be intact.”
“It’s a big deal. We have to deal with the allied forces…”
I could guess what they were thinking.
First of all, hold hands and preserve each other’s forces.
Is it the intention of holding a de facto final match among ourselves after wiping out all competitors with overwhelming power?
It’s no longer possible to stay still like this.
