Chapter 384 - Episode 376: The Battle of Fioluviki Gorge — Decisive Battle ⑤
Cavalry are the flowers of the battlefield, and in close-quarters combat, they are the unit that dominates the field. The reason for their strength lies in a destructive power and breakthrough capability that infantry can never hope to match.
The weight of a standard military horse varies by individual, but generally exceeds five hundred kilograms, and the Growth Lizards introduced for some military use in the Kingdom of Levrant are another hundred kilograms larger. When a knight clad in armor mounts one, the weight increases by nearly another hundred kilograms.
Even a single rider weighs between six hundred and eight hundred kilograms. When dozens of them gather and charge as a mass, it is like having buildings crash into you. There is no way for a human to stop it.
Of course, since horses, Growth Lizards, and the humans riding them are all creatures of flesh and blood, the defending side has countermeasures, such as picking them off with bows and arrows before they close in, or having heavy infantry form a wall of spears.
However, that only applies to open plains with good visibility, where the enemy cavalry can be seen approaching from a distance. Furthermore, in the case of the spear wall, it requires the courage of every single soldier to not flee upon seeing the charging cavalry, as well as high proficiency to form a formation without gaps and trust in the comrades standing beside them.
A motley crew of soldiers sharing nothing but ambition cannot stop a swarm of cavalry suddenly charging before their eyes. The cavalry unit of the Levrant Kingdom army, led by Marquis Hakkarainen, easily trampled the forces of the Kingdom of Virgo who were attempting to invade the fort.
Having crushed the lead group of the army, the cavalry unit spread out to the left and right, scattering the soldiers as they traced the enemy's front line.
"Do not let this chance slip! Follow me!"
Furthermore, into the gaps in the Kingdom of Virgo's forces carved out by the cavalry, the infantry led by the mounted Gabriel followed. Approximately six hundred soldiers, excluding the casualties and minimum rear support personnel, poured out from the fort's gate and fell upon the enemy.
"Die! Die!"
"You Virgo barbarians!"
"Get out of our country!"
Though an amateur army consisting largely of conscripts, they fought the invaders with morale bolstered by a firm determination to protect their homeland and families.
After they had surged forward, the gap that opened in the center of the four golems was filled by the two golems of Noein, who were the last to leave the gate, solidifying the defense.
"Your Majesty! It is dangerous here!"
"Please retreat further to the rear!"
In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, the royal guards surrounding Kaia urged their sovereign to move to ensure their safety.
However, Kaia, wearing a ferocious expression, shook off the arms of the guards trying to pull them away.
"The rear!? The enemy is behind us as well! It is the same even if we step back! In that case, we have no choice but to push through! We must take this fort and take the heads of Gabriel Levrant and Noein Arqvist!"
Then, raising a sword, Kaia shouted to the soldiers.
"Do not be afraid! Do not be deceived! The enemy is few! Their vigor is only for now! There is no way we can lose! Once we enter the fort, victory is ours! ...Gaziev!"
"Yes!"
General Gaziev, whose name had been called, raised his voice.
"Show me you can open a breach! Tear a hole in that line of golems!"
"As you wish! Guoooooooooh!"
Having received his master's order, Gaziev activated magic circles on both wrists and let out a roar.
Along with the activation of the magic circles, the muscles throughout Gaziev's body swelled. It was physical magic.
"You wooden dolls! I'll smash you to smithereens!"
Shouting with more spirit than ever before, Gaziev set his sights on one of the golems guarding the fort's gate in a semi-circular formation—the golem operated by Alain.
Against Gaziev, who charged in alone, Alain's golem vigorously swung down its assault shield. An attack that would have crushed an ordinary person into a lump of meat in an instant—Gaziev braced his entire body and caught it by raising both arms.
"Hah!? You've got to be kidding me!?"
Seeing this sight, Alain voiced his surprise, and Noein, who was operating a golem next to Alain, also reflexively wore an expression of astonishment.
There are few creatures capable of withstanding the monstrous strength of a golem. In the Archduchy of Arqvist, there were only stories told of a large Orc who once withstood a blow from one of Noein's golems. Even then, the golem at the time did not possess an assault shield, and the Orc had blocked the strike with a thick club rather than his own body.
To withstand a blow delivered by a golem's arm strength through a hard assault shield with a human body. No matter how much physical magic he had activated, it was a sight that left everyone who saw it dumbfounded.
"Deyaaaaah!"
Then, Gaziev grabbed the golem's arm, pulled it in, and threw it over his shoulder as if performing a shoulder throw.
The golem, two meters tall and carrying two metal assault shields—albeit made of lightweight jet-black steel—flew through the air and fell flat on its back on the ground. Furthermore, Gaziev used that momentum to pull the golem's arm and rip it out by force.
Having seized the assault shield from the golem's powerless arm, Gaziev swung it with both arms like a board, mowing down the Levrant Kingdom soldiers around him.
"Who's next!?"
As Gaziev shouted and turned toward the line of golems, the puppet mages including Noein froze with tense expressions. Alain was struggling to get the one-armed golem back up and could not return to the front line immediately.
An enemy whose physical strength rivaled that of a golem had obtained an assault shield. If they took a direct hit, further golem damage would be unavoidable, and moreover, golems controlled by magic cannot engage in technical melee combat like living humans. If they attacked carelessly, the damage would expand.
Despite Gaziev's provocation, however, Noein and the others did not move.
"Tch! This is why mages who rely on magic are so boring! Is there no one who will challenge—"
"I am right here!"
Interrupting Gaziev's words, the one who leaped out through the gaps between the golems was Baronet Yuri Granat.
While closing in on Gaziev with tremendous speed, Yuri threw the shield he held in his left hand at Gaziev.
Gaziev swung the assault shield to deflect it, but a swing of an assault shield too large for a human to hold inevitably becomes a wide motion. Into Gaziev's wide-open upper right arm, Yuri drove a sharp slash.
"Tch!"
However, Gaziev had activated physical magic that exerted monstrous strength comparable to a golem. Yuri's full-force strike hit Gaziev's arm directly, cutting through skin and flesh, but it was repelled without reaching the bone.
Gaziev swung the assault shield back after the initial strike, and Yuri leaped back to dodge it, putting distance between himself and Gaziev.
At that moment, a golem—the golem that had become Alain's one arm—stood up directly behind Gaziev. The golem slammed its entire body into Gaziev, and Gaziev, receiving an unexpected impact from behind, fell forward and dropped the assault shield.
"Presumptuous!"
However, Gaziev himself took no damage. Rolling on the ground and immediately standing up, he in turn delivered a body slam to the golem.
Compared to a human, a golem has longer and heavier arms, and in a state where it had lost one arm, its balance was poor. Alain's golem could not withstand Gaziev's body slam and fell on its back on the ground again.
Yuri did not miss the opening created in Gaziev during that exchange.
Throwing away his sword, Yuri drew the knife from his waist and approached Gaziev.
"Tch!"
Gaziev tried to strike down at Yuri, who was charging in with a low posture, but just before the attack landed, Yuri shifted his path sideways and delivered a flash of the knife as he dodged.
Next, Gaziev tried to catch Yuri by swinging his arm horizontally, but Yuri avoided that attack by rolling on the ground and swung the knife again near Gaziev's inner thigh.
He rolled right under Gaziev's crotch and stood up behind him.
"Scurrying about like a coward! What can you do with a knife like—"
The instant Gaziev looked back while hurling insults,
Fresh blood spurted from the inner side of his left upper arm and the inner thighs of both legs.
"What!?"
His astonishment at his own injuries was brief; having suddenly lost a large amount of blood, Gaziev's strength vanished and he fell to his knees.
Yuri, standing before Gaziev, looked down at Gaziev's face as the color drained from it. A jet-black knife was gripped in Yuri's hand.
"I see, you certainly have impressive magical skill. I have seen many battlefields, but this is the first time I have seen a user of physical magic capable of throwing a golem."
Gaziev still tried to seize Yuri, but his only unscathed right arm merely swung weakly, grasping at the air.
"But because of that, you relied too much on strength. With that kind of monstrous power, you likely thought you could oppose any opponent. Even if you took a few hits, your reinforced body likely repelled them. That is why you stopped honing your technique at a certain point... that is the cause of your defeat. This time, the circumstances were different."
As he spoke, Yuri turned his gaze toward the jet-black steel knife in his hand.
While jet-black steel resources were being allocated to the production of armor, shields, and assault shields for golems, this was a knife that Damian had made as a single prototype weapon and presented to Noein.
Noein had lent it to his aide, Yuri, thinking that Yuri would be more likely than himself to engage in melee combat.
It was a knife with a blade made of sturdy jet-black steel, meticulously sharpened for the sake of his master. Its sharpness was several levels superior to a normal knife. If one targeted the inner upper arms or thighs, which are considered particular weaknesses of the human body, it could slice through even the body of a physical magic user with rare talent.
This conclusion was proof of that. Gaziev looked at the black knife that had dealt him fatal wounds, and the light vanished from his eyes.
The stalwart wolf-man general collapsed to the earth, becoming a silent corpse.