CHAPTER 17: WHAT I’VE ALWAYS DONE

"My archers, give them hell!" Eunice instructed.

On her command, all the archers present among the troops raised their bows and drew their arrows.

In unison, they released the string of their bows, launching hundreds of arrows toward the upcoming army.

However, while it was true that they were archers, it wasn’t all there was to it. Just like everything else in this world, they also were aided with magic and used it to further enhance their archery.

The sky above them suddenly lit up with hundreds of fireballs gliding across the sky as the arrows they had shot lit up.

Traveling across the battlefield, they crashed into the ground on the other side, piercing through the bodies and skulls of the opposing soldiers.

Although the situation wasn’t much different for the other side either.

Rondalf’s army had also shot their arrows, and they were hitting their targets and killing the troops on Eunice’s side as well.

She was able to see this, but couldn’t do anything about it. It was inevitable after all.

In a war like this, the losses are bound to be on both sides. Hence all she could do was make the enemy bleed more than her in order to "win".

The distance between the two armies was soon reduced to none as the troops collided.

The knights engaged each other in a battle of swords aided with magic to enhance their physical strength, while the mages and archers provided them with support.

As the battle unfolded on the ground, Allen was a bit far away from it all.

Still within the boundaries, he was wandering alone trying to come up with a plan and deciding how to deal with the situation at hand.

"Menu," he said, and a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.

[GENESIS SYSTEM – CORE MENU]

[STATS]

[WEAPONS]

[AMMO]

[SHOP]

[ARMORY]

[QUESTS]

"Ammo," he said after taking a good look at the menu screen.

[GENESIS SYSTEM – AMMO STORE]

[CURRENTLY AVAILABLE -]

[---9MM ROUNDS---]

[Cost: 0.7 CP per round.]

[How many would you like to purchase?]

"50 Rounds," Allen replied.

[Understood.]

[The total cost would be 35 CP. Approve purchase?]

"Yes," he said.

[Purchase successful. 50 9mm rounds have been added to the armory!]

With that, the screen before his eyes dissolved into thin air, as if it was never there to begin with.

At least I have some room to breathe now, Allen thought internally.

Things have gotten out of hand so fast. I mean, what the fuck even is this? Like why?! Why did you motherfuckers have to start fighting right when I was there? Weren’t they locked in a stalemate for a long time?!

He cursed internally, being salty over the situation he had been caught in.

After all, it was never his plan to find himself in the middle of a war. He just wanted to learn a bit about this world so he could survive.

But now things had taken a sudden turn and he had to deal with it.

Sigh. Calm down. Crashing out isn’t going to do anything. Let’s see what I can do right now.

Try to escape from here and go back the way I came from? No, that’s pretty much impossible.

There’s no telling where the enemy’s forces would attack from and the security around the camp would have increased as well.

Then what? Should I listen to that guy’s advice and hide in a safe place? Well... I can do that, but it doesn’t really seem like the best option.

I’ve no way of knowing how strong both sides are, so if these guys end up losing I can be captured as a prisoner of war.

Hmm... then what?

Allen was lost in thought as he kept walking. He could stay where he was, but he’d end up deciding that it wasn’t a great idea to stay in place.

As he was walking, his eyes fell on a group of knights who were clad in full armor and were on their way to the frontlines.

He kept looking at them for a few seconds before a realization washed over his mind.

What the fuck am I doing here wasting my time? he thought to himself.

It’s not even a question of what I should do. It’s so obvious. I should be doing what I have always done! I have the chance to get the front seat to watch not only a medieval style war but also a fantasy one!

There’s no reason to be wandering around here!

A visible smile appeared on his face and all the worries he had were washed over in a corner. He felt like a weight had been lifted.

He had no reason to change himself just because the world around him had changed. He could do what he had always done.

Hence with that thought in his mind, he fastened his pace and followed the knights to the front lines. Of course, he was sneaky enough to not get caught.

***

On the other side of the battlefield, near the borders of Rondalf’s military outpost, the second wave of the troops was about to storm in and join the rest.

"Come on, all of you get your gear fast. We’re going to go in five minutes!" a man screamed, most likely a captain screaming orders at his soldiers as they prepared for what was to come.

"Sigh, this is reckless," one of the soldiers said.

His name was Heath. He used to be a knight for his country before, but now he worked under Rondalf to fight on the side of the highlanders.

He was fairly built, with brown hair and a beard. One could take a guess that he was probably in his mid-thirties.

"I know. I don’t know what the hell that bastard is thinking. Announcing that we’re going to attack out of nowhere like that," another knight replied. He was Heath’s friend, Dustin.

"What do you think is going to be the outcome of this? I mean, we already had to retreat for like three times. I doubt this time it’ll go any different," Dustin said as he tightened the armor around his legs.

"I don’t know," Heath replied, taking his sword out of its sheath and giving it a polish with a rugged cloth.

"I just want to get this done with quickly. I’m getting sick of these empty and dead fields. It’s been god knows how long since I ate bread that didn’t feel like chewing rocks," he added.

"Haha, you’re right about that," Dustin chuckled.

"Anyways, let’s go. Motherfucking Captain would make our ears bleed if we delay too much," he said, offering Heath a hand who was crouching down.