Chapter 64 - Episode 63: VS Bandits ②
"Damn it! What the hell is this territory! Wasn't it supposed to be just a tiny village!"
In the middle of farmland with nowhere to hide, the bandits at the front were cut down as they were targeted by a massive volley of arrows.
Gosling instinctively sliced away an arrow flying toward him and used the corpse of a nearby fallen subordinate as a shield.
No matter how he thought about it, this was wrong. This was supposed to be a small village with a population of around 200 people. And yet, judging by the momentum of the arrows, the enemy side had a force of archers on the scale of 50 people.
Furthermore, the arrows flying toward them were strange. They were extremely short compared to normal ones.
"Is the enemy some kind of fairy? Dammit!"
Irritated by the number of things that made no sense, Gosling cursed.
"B-Boss!"
"Yeah, you're alive."
Looking toward the voice, he saw his adjutant using a nearby corpse as a shield, just as Gosling was doing.
"I don't understand! What is this place!"
"Idiot, you think I know!"
"A-Anyway, we'll be wiped out at this rate! We should retreat—"
The next moment.
Just as a particularly loud "vwoom" sound sliced through the air, the adjutant's upper body was torn away, along with the corpse he had been using as a shield.
.....
"I-I hit it! Did you see that just now! Incredible power! It's incredible power! The body was split clean in half!"
"I get it, so calm down a bit..."
Damian, who had begun to make a huge fuss in front of the gate, was admonished by Yuri.
What Damian was wielding was a large-scale crossbow designed to be set on the ground rather than held. This, too, had been named "Ballista," after a warrior from a certain heroic tale.
Its arrow was as thick as a stake, and it required the strength of two large men to pull the string.
About a month ago, when there was still time to spare, Damian had made a prototype, which was suddenly deployed in actual combat this time, resulting in this splendid achievement.
"I mean, you could have just evacuated with the women, you know? Since you can't fight properly anyway."
"What are you talking about! On the memorable day when a weapon I developed is used in actual combat for the first time, there's no way I could miss it!"
"...I see."
Yuri replied with exasperation to the passionately speaking Damian.
Even as they exchanged words, the villagers stationed atop the wooden fence nocked and fired arrows one after another.
"Amazing, amazing! Bandits are dying left and right thanks to my crossbows! Everyone, keep it up! Do your best!"
Hearing the cheers of Damian, who was excited and waving his arms around, several archers stationed nearby continued to fire arrows while giving wry smiles.
Thus, while the bandits' movements were hindered by the rain of arrows, Noein once again sent the golems charging in, turning the battlefield into a scene of screams and agony.
If they stayed still in the shadow of corpses, they were beaten to death by the golems; if they abandoned the corpses they were using as shields and moved, they were exposed to the rain of arrows.
Meanwhile, the golems moved about nonchalantly even amidst the rain of arrows, running wild in the middle of the bandits.
None of the bandits had the leeway to set the golems on fire, and a one-sided slaughter by the golems unfolded.
Eventually, the bandits attempted to pull back as if they could no longer endure it. A man who seemed to be the leader was desperately screaming, "Don't fall back! Advance!" but most of the bandits ignored the orders and began to run, turning their backs.
"...It's about time for Bart and the others to make their move."
Almost simultaneously with Yuri's mutter, Bart's squad, who had leaped out from the forest, cut off the bandits' retreat.
Having witnessed this, Yuri spoke to the men who were waiting in front of the gate, holding swords, spears, and axes.
"We'll end this in one go with a pincer attack! We're moving out too!"
""Oh!" ""
.....
"The enemy is fleeing, alright, let's go!"
In the forest, further outside than the area around the highway where Noein and the bandits had passed, Bart, who had been lurking, led about 15 villagers out of the woods and blocked the bandits' path of retreat.
From the opposite side of the highway from Bart's group, another group of about 15 villagers led by Rick and Dant leaped out and surrounded the bandits.
The bandits, whose will to fight had been completely broken by the rain of arrows and the golems, wore expressions of despair upon seeing the enemy approaching from behind as well.
"Drop your weapons! If you surrender, we won't kill you! Drop your weapons and get on your knees!"
Not only Bart, but Rick, Dant, and the other villagers all shouted this in turn.
Hearing the words "we won't kill you," the bandits let go of their weapons as if competing with one another, knelt, and let out pleas for their lives.
Bart kicked those surrenderers in the solar plexus and punched them in the face, stripping them of their consciousness and ability to resist just to be sure.
The other villagers followed Bart's example, but unfortunately, they were not used to fighting.
It was quite charming how some hesitated to hit hard and only managed to make the bandits' noses bleed, while others hit heads so hard that one might think, Did that blow just kill him?
While Bart and the others were neutralizing the bandits, the rain of arrows stopped for a moment, and men flowed out from the gates of the capital with cheers of victory.
Led by powerful men such as Yuri, the carpenter Dmitri, and Noein's slave Zadrek, about 20 of the particularly sturdy men of the Arqvist territory charged in.
Having been at their limit just escaping the rampaging golems, the bandits who had continued to resist until the end collapsed completely under the final crushing assault.
.....
"B-Boss! Help meee—gyaaah!"
"Aah! It's no use! It's no useee!"
The elite subordinates who had been securing the perimeter were taken down one after another, and Gosling was certain of his defeat. Against such a small village, it was a complete and utter rout.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damnnn it!"
To end like this, in a place like this.
No joke. He would die only after dealing at least one blow to the enemies who had made fools of them.
Having decided this, Gosling set his sights on the opponent who had caused their defeat, the opponent he hated most in this battle—the puppet mage brat.
Aiming for the mage who, as usual, was protected in front of the gate by a woman and two male guards, Gosling activated a technique he only used in critical moments—Physical Magic.
Gosling's Physical Magic was incomplete. If he activated it, he could enhance his physical abilities for a few minutes, but once the magic wore off, the accumulated load would hit him all at once, leaving him too exhausted to move properly.
But since he was going to die here anyway, it didn't matter. As long as he could take down that mage brat, that was enough.
The moment Gosling willed it, his head flared with heat.
He kicked off the ground with explosive force and dashed toward the mage.
He punched away one enemy who tried to block his path, kicked away another who tried to interfere, and closed in on the mage.
"Dieee!"
Just as he screamed and tried to thrust his sword—he was kicked in the face by a woman who had leaped in front of him with terrifying speed.
He took the kick directly to the face, but relying on the physical abilities enhanced by magic, he braced his legs and managed to endure.
"Tch!"
The woman who stood in his way was a rabbit-person. The explosive power of a rabbit-person far exceeded that of an ordinary person. In terms of speed alone, she could likely compete on equal footing even with Gosling using Physical Magic.
Furthermore, the male guards on both sides—an ugly man and a man with sharp eyes—slashed at him.
"Damnnn it!"
Gosling exerted every bit of magic in his body, enhancing the effect of the Physical Magic to a level he had never experienced before.
He was struck by a pain that felt as if his brain were burning, and blood flowed from his nose, eyes, and ears, but he ignored it and activated the magic to its limit.
Swinging his sword at a speed that transcended common sense, he held his own against the three opponents—the two men on the sides and the woman in front.
"Let me kill him! Let me kill him! Let me kill himmmm!"
"—No."
To Gosling, who screamed with a face covered in blood and an expression like a demon, the rabbit-woman spoke coldly and unleashed a roundhouse kick.
Gosling dodged it and took a step back to create distance.
Above!
Suddenly, a voice echoed. Drawn by the voice that for some reason echoed directly inside his head, he instinctively looked up—but there was nothing there.
"Damn it!"
A trap.
The moment he thought that and looked back, Gosling's vision rotated.
The world turned upside down; looking down, he saw the sky, and looking up, he saw his own headless body.
And looking forward, there stood a large man with a shaved head and a beard.
The large man, in a posture having just swung his sword horizontally, had a slightly surprised expression, looking at him as if he had encountered an old acquaintance.
(Did I have an acquaintance like this?)
The final thought that floated through Gosling's mind was, surprisingly, such a carefree and trivial one.