Chapter 191. Decoy (1)

“Wait a moment, Direct Lineage Member.”

Damastes’s words drew the attention of those around.

“I didn’t mishear you just now, did I? You said you’d make the enemy’s front line temporarily fall back?”

“That’s right.”

He stared straight at Enoch and asked.

“It’s hard for a dull mind like mine to understand. What do you mean?”

Dull, he said. I almost snorted.

It was clear that Damastes, a veteran, was reading the flow of this battlefield better than anyone.

If anything, it was my fault for being too vague in my explanation. After all, such magical beasts were not something one could easily encounter in the Empire, ‘at least not yet’.

“It’s simple.”

I calmly continued.

“First, the reason the enemy leader appeared on the battlefield with a royal guard in tow is to solidify their victory.”

“I had suspected as much. That’s probably it.”

“Then, thinking in reverse.”

I looked him straight in the eye and said.

“What if, as soon as it reveals itself, our freelancer corps suddenly seizes the momentum?”

“Ha, now I’m starting to get it.”

Damastes gave a savage grin.

“From its perspective, you’re saying it will judge that we’re still hiding something?”

“Yes. Therefore, we need to overwhelm this battle situation, at least temporarily.”

“Aiming for a retreat like that, isn’t it a gamble?”

“I won’t deny it.”

At my answer, Damastes cupped his chin with his palm and gave a twisted smile.

“Heheh. You’re insane. They said you were the direct lineage of the main house of combat magic. Are all Elsyde’s like this?”

“…….”

“But, yes. In this crazy situation, I suppose there are no other gambles to take but something like that.”

At Damastes’s mutterings, the surrounding freelancers also began to show signs of agreement one by one.

“W-well, that’s true.”

“We have no information on the enemy. We have nothing to lose.”

Just then, April, beside me, asked.

“But, Direct Lineage Member. Is that really possible?”

“April. What do you mean?”

She checked the scope of the sniper rifle she held down at her side and calmly shrugged.

“Well, we’ve been pushed back this whole time, haven’t we? And now you’re suddenly telling us to win, can we really do it?”

Of course, the fact that a plan was needed to turn the concept into reality was something everyone who wasn't a fool would agree on.

And naturally, I hadn't irresponsibly thrown out such words without any plan of my own.

“There is a way.”

I slowly raised my head.

“We’re going to split the enemy into two.”

“What?”

In an instant, the eyes of the freelancers looking this way widened. Damastes asked with a puzzled expression.

“Split that many enemies in two? Is that possible?”

“Yes. My squad and I will do it.”

Damastes, at least, nodded his head first.

“If we can split the enemy in half as you say, their formation will temporarily collapse, creating an opening. Are you saying we should aim for that moment to annihilate them?”

“Good that you catch on quick.”

At the conversation between me and Damastes, the other freelancers exchanged glances among themselves a few times.

“If it's really possible just as he says….”

“Yeah. It certainly isn't without some merit….”

My squad itself was the basis for their persuasion.

A squad with one 10th-rank and two 11th-rank mages. And if that wasn't enough, it included a healer from The Order and a veteran freelancer.

Even if it was temporary, that should be enough to earn their trust.

On top of that, perhaps because my squad had been helping the freelancers earlier, some of them were even showing subtle signs of welcome.

As I had expected, for a while, the silent approvals of many freelancers followed one after another.

“Heheh, so in the end, if we don't want to die, we have to squeeze out every last bit of strength we have. I like this kind of request.”

Finally, Damastes, who had been pondering for a moment, also chuckled and rested his axe on the ground.

“Alright, Direct Lineage Member. We’ll defend until the enemy is split in two. And after they’re split, we counterattack. This should be enough.”

“Yes.”

The communication system was already a mess for some unknown reason, but for freelancers with abundant combat experience, it should be possible to grasp the enemy’s movements and counterattack.

All that was left was to wait for the time to counterattack.

Just then, screams and shouts were heard from afar.

The freelancers who had been forming the front line at the very forefront were yelling as they engaged in battle.

“The enemy is close, do something, quick!”

“Damn it, all communications are dead!”

The freelancers, who had confirmed the enemies closing in on them by the moment, exchanged glances and gritted their teeth.

“Anyway, we have to do something for now. Let’s first scatter to the sides and rebuild the formation.”

“Yeah, let’s stick to the plan for now. No matter what happens, we have to stop them here. Scatter!!”

Right after they had discussed their brief plan.

The freelancers scattered in unison, crossing the plains of the battlefield where orange flames flickered here and there.

Magic circles rotated in the air around them, as they launched a desperate defensive battle against the enemy’s forces.

“We’re moving too.”

Watching them, I turned back and spoke to the squad members gathered in one place.

“We have to stop the enemy leader for now.”

Then, looking back at the girls waiting for instructions, I calmly focused on one of them.

The Dragoon soldier gripping her lance, her long hair fluttering in the night wind. It was Alicia.

“Alicia, move with me. I need you.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Alicia flinched and lifted the lance she had been resting on the ground.

Judging by how her clear blue eyes were sparkling with pure light, it seemed she had been lost in thought during the conversation between us and the freelancers just now.

Well, that might be just like her.

After all, it was a conversation that might have been related to her actions in the original story.

“Direct Lineage Member, I am ready!”

After confirming that Alicia had quickly assumed a combat stance as instructed, I turned my head to the side.

And there, seeing the girl in a nun’s habit with bright orange hair, I added.

“And Lily, sorry, but I’ll need to borrow your hands.”

“Y-yes? Me?”

Startled, Lily clutched her magic gear tightly with both hands. Her reaction showed she hadn't expected to be called upon here.

“B-but I’m not much help in combat….”

I nodded.

“I know. There’s a plan.”

After seeming restless for a moment, Lily took a deep breath and nodded with a determined look in her eyes.

***

The advance of the magical beasts was slow but thorough.

The ground was covered with a green haze of light from the magical beasts, along with a dust storm that colored the darkness.

“Crazy, retreat! Fall back to the third line!”

“We need supplies, we’re retreating! Cover me!”

Faced with the advance of the magical beasts that crushed everything in their path, the freelancers could only engage as much as possible and repeatedly retreat.

And in the midst of that urgent retreat, stragglers were naturally and steadily being created.

“H-help me! My leg! I’ve injured my leg!”

A freelancer, bleeding from his forehead and leg, sat on the ground and stretched out his hand, crying out desperately.

However, with even their communicators not working, his voice did not reach his distant comrades.

To make matters worse, the legion of magical beasts was already closing in on him from behind, moment by moment.

The freelancer clenched his fist and muttered.

“D-damn it. To die like this… ughhh!”

But in that moment, his vision inverted as if he was being sucked in at an incredible speed, and he realized someone had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and was dragging him away.

“You’re in the way. Hurry up and get out of the way!”

The figure that grabbed the injured freelancer and cut across was a beast-kin girl with a red tail and ears.

It was Sirocco.

However, right after she had transported the freelancer to the rear, the guard magical beasts that had been lurking around the leader-class one instantly charged at her.

Immediately, Sirocco spun her body, a trajectory wrapped in red light was swung sharply, and in one strike, a dozen magical beasts were shattered.

Sirocco ran as she was, handing the injured person to another freelancer who was fleeing ahead of her, and shouted.

“Hurry and run! I’m going to hunt that thing!”

But as Sirocco turned her head after setting down the freelancer, another magical beast, a dozen meters in size, charged from her side.

“……!”

Just as she was about to evade, she hesitated for a moment to protect the freelancers behind her, and when she realized she couldn't dodge this attack.

The huge shoulder of the magical beast that had charged fiercely, shaking the ground, collided with Sirocco like a truck.

In an instant, her slender body was swept up in the impact and thrown far back.

“Ugh!”

Sirocco, who lost control of her body and spun several times while cutting through the air, slid a long way on the ground before crashing into a rotten tree on a hill behind her.

The tree, which took the full impact of Sirocco being thrown well over a hundred meters, exploded on contact.

KUUUUUUUNG!!

Deep within the dust that exploded with a roar.

Sirocco, who had fallen on top of the tree that had served as a cushion by shattering into pieces, lay with her arms spread wide, staring blankly at the sky.

The vast starry sky, hidden by clouds that drifted like the Milky Way in the night sky, was clearly reflected in her ruby-like eyes. It was a starlight that twinkled faintly, like an unreachable ideal.

“……It’s no use after all.”

Sirocco quietly opened her lips.

She couldn't even get close to the leader's royal guard.

She desperately wanted to ignore all those small-fry magical beasts and rush to the leader, but every time, other people in the middle of a fight got in her way.

Looking at the starry sky, Sirocco murmured quietly.

“……But if I leave them, they’ll all die.”

Yes, it was the same during the tribe’s hunts.

The reason Sirocco was always alone was because of that.

As always, if she hunted the dangerous magical beasts first, ahead of everyone else, the tribe's warriors would arrive late.

But that way was the best.

If the strongest person stepped up, no one would get hurt. That’s why she always needed strength.

Sirocco opened her lips and muttered softly.

“He probably wouldn’t like it if everyone died, just like me.”

For some reason, she knew it from the first time they met.

So, if she got stronger, kicked all the magical beasts here away in one cool shot, and got praised by him, she would surely feel good.

Thinking that, Sirocco blinked for a moment. She could smell a familiar scent from somewhere.

“You’re covered in dust.”

Following that, a very familiar voice was heard.

“You……!”

Lifting her head all the way up, she saw a black-haired boy with a black cloth bag on his back slowly walking towards her.

Sirocco, who had been staring at him with her head tilted back for a while, muttered with a slightly sullen look, her ears on top of her head drooping powerlessly.

“What, are you here to laugh at me?”

“No.”

At the sudden denial, Sirocco’s eyes widened slightly as Enoch slowly stopped in front of her.

“But I saw everything on my way here.”

“W-what?”

“For someone who ran off alone without listening to orders, you were quite dedicated to rescuing those around you.”

Enoch glanced in the direction of the freelancers Sirocco had saved and added quietly.

“You did well with that, Sirocco.”

“……!!”

In an instant, as the dark clouds parted and Sirocco’s eyes were revealed in the starlight, they widened dramatically, and soon, a bright smile spread across her white cheeks as she exclaimed.

“Hmph, what’s this. You know me well!”

Enoch stared at Sirocco, who seemed to be in a much better mood than before, and asked.

“It looked like you took a hard fall. Are you hurt?”

“I-I’m fine!!”

Sirocco perked up her ears as if to say she was fine and shot up from her spot. But in that moment, she lost balance on one leg and staggered.

“Agh!”

Blood dripped onto the ground where Sirocco had moved. Judging by the amount of bleeding, it seemed like a light scratch.

“You’re injured.”

I approached the slightly staggering Sirocco and snatched her slender wrist. Then, right there, I wrapped my arm around Sirocco’s thin waist.

“H-hmph…….”

Ignoring Sirocco's pale cheeks turning red, as if she was embarrassed to be supported, I gently sat her down on the ground and turned my head.

“Lily, if you please.”

“Y-yes!!”

Lily, who had followed behind, quickly knelt down and began to heal Sirocco.

Sirocco, as if she was still embarrassed to be treated like that, turned her head to the side while sitting down.

“Sirocco, this time, listen to me.”

I calmly opened my mouth.

“Huh?”

Sirocco, her ears perking up, turned her head to the side and met my eyes. I spoke slowly.

“You and I are going to split the enemy unit in two.”

“……How?”

The wolf ears on top of her head perked up once.

“You know well that the enemies are sensitive to the smell of blood.”

“Yeah, the magical beasts around our tribe were like that too. So, you’re planning to lure them using that?”

Sirocco quietly looked up at me and asked back.

“But you know? There are already a lot of people around who are bleeding from fighting.”

Sirocco looked over the tragic battlefield once and asked worriedly.

“Can we really lure them that easily with the smell of blood?”

I nodded and held out my arm.

“Perhaps, this will be the way.”

“Huh? Your arm?”

I nodded.

To be precise, the blood of Elsyde flowing within it.

In the original story, the magical beasts created by Tantalus had tracked the direct lineage of Elsyde. If so, it wasn't difficult to deduce the reason why that was possible.

“If these magical beasts are Tantalus’s experimental subjects, they might definitely react to the smell of my blood.”

“Hmph, how do you know that?”

At Sirocco’s words, I looked up at the sky.

“There’s no proof. It's just a gamble.”

It was just as I said.

At this point, five years before the original story, where everything was uncertain, it was something I couldn't be rashly certain about.

However, if I knew the actions that the experimental magical beasts showed in the original story, it was certainly a gamble worth taking.

The only question was whether Sirocco would be convinced.

But just as I was preparing a suitable excuse, Sirocco stared at me, wagged her tail once, and declared with a bright smile.

“Yeah! If you say so, then it must be so!”

It was a smile as pure and bright as the starlight in the night sky.

Unconsciously captivated by that smile, I slowly nodded. The well-crafted reasoning and persuasion I had prepared were unnecessary for Sirocco.

Realizing anew that in the midst of this battlefield, this smile filled with her trust was enough, I gave a faint smile.

Then there was no need to drag things out.

I raised my head and took in the scene of the massive magical beasts advancing, filling the horizon.

Then, I slowly picked up a sharp piece of rock that had fallen on the ground and raised my arm.

“I’ll explain the plan.”

From now on, it was time for the counterattack.

But before that, there was something that absolutely had to be done.

Tak.

Sure enough, a slender, white hand snatched my wrist. At that cool touch, I slowly turned my head.

“……Lien.”

The maid who was always one step behind, protecting his body.

Lien’s blue-silver eyes, staring at me, were quietly emitting light.