Chapter 168 - Episode 163: Overrun
The detachment that had broken through the earthen wall and charged into Karenu Village immediately formed a formation to prepare for combat.
At the front line, two of Noein's golems stood center, flanked on the left and right by Gustav's and Cecilia's golems. Behind them, twenty crossbowmen lined up in a semicircle, and immediately behind them, Radley and six particularly sturdy soldiers he had selected stood firm with spears; at the center of the formation stood Noein and the other golem users along with their direct guards.
The formation was completed in an instant, but by then, enemy soldiers who had been monitoring the village and those guarding the walls in other directions had gathered to confront them. The enemy soldiers who had been standing guard on the east side had also joined the ranks.
"The enemy is fast on their feet, isn't it?"
"Yes, as expected of a noble and his forces."
As Noein and Matilda exchanged these words inside the formation, a man who seemed to be the highest-ranking person present among the enemies, who had deployed themselves to surround Noein's detachment, stepped forward. Judging by his armor, he was likely a lower-ranking noble.
"I am Baronet Bellad Adrau! This village is already within the sphere of influence of the Kingdom's Southwest Faction! Withdraw immediately!"
Noein also stepped slightly forward from the center of the formation and responded to the man.
"I am Baronet Noein Arqvist. Karenu Village has been a village possessed by Baron Wikander since the beginning of its reclamation. You are the ones who should stop your unlawful occupation and return to the Southwest!"
Naturally, their claims were irreconcilable.
"Baronet Arqvist? ...I see. That Baron Wikander. He must have thought he couldn't win on his own and cried for help from another noble. The Northwest nobles are truly frail."
"And isn't your patron, who instigates lower nobles without fighting himself, just as bad?"
When Noein returned the sarcasm with a mocking tone, Baronet Adrau wore an expression as if he had chewed on a bitter bug.
"...Tch, this is pointless! I'll kick you out by force! Do it!"
"I'll return those same words to you. Ready!"
The two armies clashed upon their commanders' orders... however, the difference in power was stark between Noein's group, who possessed golems, and the Southwest noble's army, which consisted entirely of ordinary infantry.
"Damn it! How fast is this golem!"
"I can't believe that Baronet Arqvist himself came! And there are other skilled golem users too!"
While shouting such things, the enemy soldiers were blown away by the golems one after another. It seemed that following last year's war, Noein's existence had become somewhat famous even in the Southwest.
"This is a bit hard to fight,"
"It's actually quite difficult to hurt them with golems without killing them,"
Noein, manipulating the golems from the safest spot in the center of the formation, spoke nonchalantly to Gustav on his left. Perhaps because both he and Cecilia had realized the overwhelming strength of the golems during the previous charge, the tension they had felt initially seemed to have vanished.
The four golems were not exerting their full power, but even so, attacks carrying that much weight were a threat to humans. A soldier struck by an arm was sent flying several meters and collapsed on the ground; a soldier nudged by a foot slammed into the wall of a nearby civilian house and lost consciousness; the Southwest noble's soldiers were neutralized one by one.
"Tch! You insolent puppet users!"
Still, four golems rampaging with restraint could not stop dozens of enemies all at once. About fifteen people who slipped through the attacks charged forward. Among them was the aforementioned Baronet Adrau.
"Crossbow unit, ready!"
In response, the twenty crossbowmen acted upon Radley's order.
"What! A horizontal volley of crossbows at this distance!? Do you seriously intend to kill us!?"
The enemy side must have served in the war with the Kingdom of Lancel last year and witnessed the power of the crossbow. They were terrified that high-lethality crossbows were being brought out in a clash between domestic nobles, and that they were being aimed clearly with the intent to hit them, rather than as a threat.
"Cover your eyes! You'll go blind if you're hit!"
"Have you lost your mind!? Do you intend to turn this into a real war!?"
Radley called out to the enemy, but Baronet Adrau, unable to understand the meaning, shouted in agitation.
"I gave you a warning! Fire!"
"S-stop it!"
Whether they followed Radley's words or instinctively protected their vitals, a dozen or so enemies who raised their hands to protect their faces were assaulted by scatter-shot arrows.
A total of 140 scatter-shot arrows, each about the thickness of a thick needle, were fired in twenty shots with the string tension loosened to slow the initial velocity. Many of the arrows that scattered widely in front missed the enemies or were deflected by helmets and armor, but several still pierced unprotected, defenseless areas.
"Gah! What is this..."
"Damn it! That hurts!"
The enemies, who had likely imagined being pierced through by a crossbow, were bewildered or cursed at the unexpectedly mundane pain of tiny arrows sticking into various parts of their bodies.
Baronet Adrau, who took arrows in his left leg, left arm, and unfortunately his cheek, glared at Noein with a bitter face.
"Is this a prank? Don't mess with me! Hey, you lot! Those who dared to mock... lranla? Something's wrong... uretoshimo..."
Gradually, his speech became slurred, he dropped the shield in his left hand to the ground, and Baronet Adrau fell to his left knee. The other enemy soldiers also became incapable of combat as the parts where they were hit by arrows became paralyzed, causing them to drop their weapons or collapse.
"M-my hand is numb and won't move!"
"I can't stand! What is this, I can't put any strength into it!"
Watching this, Noein muttered softly.
"The match is decided... Radley, let's knock them unconscious just in case. Otherwise, they'll still be able to move their parts that aren't paralyzed."
"Understood. Alright you lot, you heard him, let's do this."
Nodding at Noein's instruction, Radley approached Baronet Adrau and the others, leading the spear-bearing soldiers.
At that moment,
"Kh... Uoooooh!"
"!? Crap, physical magic!"
Baronet Adrau, who should have been unable to stand properly with one arm and one leg paralyzed, stood up with a battle cry and dashed forward with explosive momentum. He seemed to be forcing his body to move with magical power.
Radley, who ran from a slightly distant position to stop Baronet Adrau as he approached Noein at tremendous speed, missed him by a single step.
The Baronet blew away about two crossbowmen standing in his way and leaped forward, swinging his fist toward Noein.
"Noein-sama!"
Baronet Adrau instinctively blocked Matilda's roundhouse kick, which stepped in front of him, with the arm he had been swinging.
A kick from a beastman's combat boot would have broken the arm of an ordinary person, but Baronet Adrau withstood it completely, landing a few steps back without falling from the recoil of being kicked away.
"Tch! A mere beastman—"
The Baronet, who likely intended to continue by calling her arrogant, was blown away by a golem tackling him from a blind spot before he could finish the sentence. He slammed into the wall of a stone civilian house that happened to be in the direction he was thrown, bounced off violently, and rolled back.
The golem that had shoved the Baronet was Cecilia's.
"D-did I kill that person...?"
"It's fine, if he's using physical magic, he won't die from just that. Good job... Sorry Noein-sama, I let my guard down. This was my failure."
Radley, who had rushed back to the center of the formation, reassured Cecilia while bowing his head to Noein with a solemn expression.
"It's okay, I didn't know he was a user of physical magic, and I didn't think magic could temporarily overcome paralysis... It's an unexpected weakness of 'Angel's Honey'."
In the battle against the orcs last year, reports had indicated that the orcs had resisted 'Angel's Honey' to some extent, likely because they possessed magic stones in their bodies. Noein thought that the Baronet's current resistance worked on the same principle.
"I'll check if he's been neutralized. If he's awake, I'll strip away his resistance for real this time."
"Yeah, please do."
Radley approached Baronet Adrau, who remained collapsed on the ground.
"...Orolre, hihyona..."
"You're still conscious? You're something else, aren't you?"
Seeing Baronet Adrau, who had taken scatter-shot arrows, Matilda's kick, and a golem's charge, and whose physical magic enhancement seemed to have already worn off, yet was still glaring while spitting out grudges, Radley muttered in a voice of exasperation.
Radley prided himself on having an exceptionally sturdy body, but this man was quite something as well. If they had fought properly, he would have been a very troublesome enemy.
"The numbness in your body will disappear in an hour or two, so don't worry. Sleep until the battle is over."
As Radley spoke, he struck Baronet Adrau in the face with the butt of his spear, and this time, the Baronet finally let go of consciousness.