Chapter 213: The Flower Blooming Girl
***Arc 9 One Who Sent Off, Chapter 213 The Flower Blooming Girl***
――Jarea Gashea, or Iron Machine Soldier.
Covered in armor from head to toe, an unmanned weapon devoid of pain sensation.
They mowed down several soldiers with a single swing, and just like a mower in a grass field.
The soldiers referred to them as Grim Reapers.
After the fall of Kleinmere, the magic Empire that ruled the world for a long time, the production of mechanical dolls for battle in general was prohibited, but many Iron Machine Soldiers were kept in a dormant state in the historic ruins
It was said that the stability of Kleinmere's rule was due to its advanced magical research, but in reality, its foundation dates back to its predecessor, the Kingdom of Alberan.
It was not advanced magical research.
Much of Kleinmere's magical research was from excavation, and they gained their power by investigating the past.
Krische Christand, the first Alberinea who supported the reign of the demon king of Alberan, Kreschenta.
It was said that the roots of all modern magic and sorcery could be traced back to her.
Jarea Gashea was just one of them.
Her influence on the history of magic was significant, as could be seen from the fact that the name Alberinea was still used as the title of the highest-ranking mage.
While Kreschenta, who established systematic magical education and research facilities, Krische Christand was often praised for her military prowess however it was difficult to say if that was the truth.
Her extraordinary military exploits were first and foremost due to her overwhelming ability as a mage.
She appeared at a time when only primitive imaginary muscles and physical strengthening existed, and there was no doubt that she was a true calamity.
The outcome of the Five Great Nations War was decided solely by her individual presence.
"Don't worry about formation! Spread out!!"
The young centurion saw the giant soldiers tearing through the lines in front of him and decided to take action on his own.
A black giant that did not stop even after being pierced with arrows and spears.
He――Liberis immediately understood that the wall of battle lines was meaningless against this.
He knew that Gulshan had a beast called an elephant.
The giant in front of them was close to that.
The strength and armor to cut through a formation with just a single one.
He already understood that the opponent was clearly not human.
Liberis was born a commoner.
However, he had great talent and rose to the rank of centurion in three years.
The nobleman who impregnated his mother and abandoned her without taking responsibility for it――he had a desire for revenge against his father, but for now he was grateful to have that blood.
Even though he was faced with an unknown weapon, he did not become distraught, probably thanks to the sense of magical power surrounding him.
One Iron Giant.
This was probably to buy time until the enemy army, which had begun to set up in front of the Wulfenite Fortress Wall, could attack.
The operation was similar to that of elephant soldiers.
That was not their main mission. They were tools to disrupt and disintegrate the line.
"Those who are frightened fall back! That thing has incredible power. Don't engage forcefully! You will just die a dog's death. From one to ten, excluding new recruits, come to me! We'll take it down!"
The soldiers' confident voices echoed.
"Captain Codris! You'll be in charge of the new recruits for a while! We'll need their strength to prevent the enemy's real aim. Don't let them get hurt!"
"Yes sir!"
While everyone else was frightened by the iron giant, only Liberis remained calm.
But everyone trembled at the brave centurion's words.
The child-like young man who came to the battlefield as a soldier has now become the main pillar of the unit.
The naïve look has disappeared from his boyish face, and in its place was a fearless one.
Everyone now looked at him with respect.
"――It's probably that blue light. It's similar to the luminescence of a magic crystal. It seems spears and arrows can't penetrate it, but it's not without its weaknesses."
There was no proof.
But it was well worth a try.
That iron giant didn't even block attacks aimed at it.
Attack was the best defense, plain and simple.
The soldiers, who were not even magic possessors, were not to be feared.
However, when he blocked an attack, it was always an attack to the head.
Calmness in times of turmoil was the quality of a general.
Liberis certainly possessed it.
Surveying the faces of the ten squads he had gathered, Liberis spoke.
"It seems that the iron giant defends only against attacks to the head. So, it's safe to assume that the head is a vulnerable point. However, it's difficult for me alone to crush that area. ...Sorry, but――"
"Understood. Squad One will act as decoys!"
The first squad leader spoke with a laugh, followed by the other squad leaders.
Libiris stared at them in surprise before the first squad leader continued.
"Humph, we don't have a greenhorn like you to order us. I'll defend my right arm."
"Then I'll take the left arm."
Upon hearing the first squad leader's words, the second squad leader laughed and said.
Without waiting for Liberis's orders, the third and fourth squads took positions around the arms, and the fifth and sixth squads positioned themselves behind.
"...Sorry."
"What are you apologizing for? We don't die for you. We die for the squad, right?"
He nodded and saluted, echoing the words of the previous centurion.
"We're betting our life here. If you mess up, I'll punch you to the heavens."
"Understood. If that happens, I'll provide everyone with alcohol and women."
And he continued.
"Even if I survive, let's do it."
Liberis raised his fist, and they all responded.
Then the screams echoing from the front intensified.
The giant soldiers were easily breaking through the deadly wall that the centurions had built.
It was always a wall of flesh that prevented the enemy on the battlefield.
A moving wall using lives that should have been precious.
The battlefield was a mad place.
While killing a single person in the streets would cause a huge uproar, on the battlefield, human deaths were just numbers.
Even the commanders didn't think of death as death.
If the wall collapses, they will insult you and call you incompetent.
They denigrate the dead soldiers as incompetent and give them the next order in disgust.
They always looked at the battlefield as an increase or decrease in numbers.
――He wondered if that would happen to him someday as he rose through the ranks.
He shook his head as he pondered that.
He promised himself not to forget this scene of his subordinates before him.
Each one of them had a life.
If they had met in a different place, if they had lived in the same neighborhood, they might have been friends.
Maybe they become a fellow drinking buddy, an acquaintance they care about, or someone they hate and always fight with.
That's what life was like.
They were not numbers.
Every human being in this place was a separate life with a personality that should be recognized.
Some would die because of the order he gave.
He tightened the grip on his spear, understanding its weight.
Tearing through the battle lines, a black-clad giant appears.
In the shadow of the Wulfenite, the iron giant soldiers looked unusually intimidating.
Its black color seemed to float under the sky, which was mostly tinted with black indigo.
"Scatter!!!!"
Liberis shouted, and the ten squads moved simultaneously.
They jumped out, spears in hand, and circled around to the right, left, and rear of the Iron Giant.
Liberis waited for a beat and went straight at it.
"Ts――"
However, the iron giant's speed was faster than expected.
It easily crushed the distance of three and a half ken with one step, and swung the giant sword that was its right arm sideways.
Liberis leaped instinctively, but the giant soldier immediately swung its left arm from above.
He could see the future in which his skull was cut in half by a single sword in the air, along with his helmet.
He was fully prepared to die——
"——Not on my watch!"
——It was the first squad leader who attempted to ram the giant soldier from the side.
The giant soldier's posture slightly collapses and the arm trajectory deviates.
The giant sword struck Liberis' left arm, and the sword shattered the earth.
The first group leader even threw away his spear and clung to the giant soldier's right arm.
Literally sacrificing himself——but the giant soldier didn't care and slammed the first team leader's body into the ground with his arm.
And then, a strange scream.
The giant soldier stomps on the first squad leader's skull, shattering it.
Red blood flowers bloomed on the ground.
"F-follow the first squad leader!"
The second squad leader shouted.
The second squad leader shouted.
The giant soldier swung his arms, crushing the flesh of the soldiers, crushing their bones, and scattering their entrails.
About ten people were killed in an instant, but...
"I've caught you!! You guys!!"
One grabbed its leg.
One more took its right arm, which it had swung to kill the man, and another took the opposite arm.
One hit it from behind, pushing the giant soldier down.
Liberis endured the pain in his left arm, where his bones were shattered, and pulled out the sword from his waist.
"Now, commander!! Do it!!"
He steps in to respond to the screaming voice.
A monster that took the lives of brave men in an instant.
In my mind, he recalled what they looked like when they were alive, and while enduring the pain of losing consciousness, he gripped his sword and charged in.
He aimed for the head——smashing it with all his might and crushed its contents, helmet and all.
In his swinging hand, he held nothing but hatred.
"Eat this!?"
——They were nameless heroes.
Once this war was over, two honorary titles might have been given to the Century to preserve its name.
However, what flew in front of him was a small pot.
It was blue and emitted strong light.
What rang out was a merciless explosion.
Above, on the griffin.
Having thrown the hand-thrown Bonjara, she looked at the results and let her silver hair drag as she turned her gaze away.
The Bonjara exploded in front of the centurion's eyes.
After blowing up several soldiers who were covering Jaragasha along with the centurion, Jaragasha stood up, waving its hands in the air, and started laying waste to the enemy soldiers in the area with renewed vigor.
The dozens of men——Krische Christand was not interested in their noble beliefs or the fight for their lives.
With the ease of casually kicking away a pebble on the side of the road, their efforts and lives were brought to an end.
Everything about them was extremely trivial to Krische Christand.
She took lives as effortlessly as she breathed and felt no emotion about it.
Everything she desired was contained within that small estate.
Most things in the vast world around her were worthless, unimportant, like dust that fell in the corner of a room.
She loved peace, and she was good.
Her goodness was directed only to a very few.
If the circumstances had been different——if she had met them on the street, for example, they might have greeted each other.
If they had been doing business, she might have become their customer, smiled, and thanked each other.
She had no connection with such imaginings that might have been possible.
Necessary or unnecessary?
Useful or a hindrance?
Benefit or disadvantage?
She always thought simply.
That was the virtue of her purity, and that virtue made her a madman.
At the signal, she scattered the Bonjara.
The enemy's main camp was enveloped in blue light and destroyed.
She lowered the griffin, pulled out her curved sword, and jumped out.
She cut off the flesh from the necks of a few survivors and went to the enemy general.
Screaming something foul-mouthed, the man cursed at Krische.
She listened to it as if it was the sound of the wind and stepped in.
She easily dodged the strong sword that was being swung at her, scraped the flesh on his neck, and kicked him away.
She used her boot to crush the skull of the adjutant who was approaching her from the side.
Without paying any attention to anything, she had her subordinate cut off the enemy general's head and impaled it on the main banner.
Suppressing the words of victory from her subordinates, she soared into the sky once again on the griffin.
The army, whose main camp was destroyed, immediately began to lose control.
She looked at the enemy soldiers being killed in the midst of chaos and smiled.
Kill the commander by throwing a hand-thrown Bonjara as they continued to resist.
Occasionally, she would get down and cut off the flesh of their neck personally, turning them into pieces of meat with the spear she shot.
By the time the sun had set, the enemy soldiers began to flee, and naturally the cavalry was sent out to kill them with spears and swords from their backs.
Once everything was settled, she headed south this time.
The 30,000 enemy soldiers were also overwhelmed by the destruction of the main army.
Before they could declare their surrender, she had Jaragasha jump in.
It didn't matter whether it was disposed of or broken.
At least now she wouldn't need it for a while.
The moon screamed in the night sky.
The earth was lasciviously dyed with flesh.
It was the remnant of flesh that indicated the end of tens of thousands of lives.
Only one person, a girl, was smiling.
She watched the enemies' breath dwindle one by one, watched their life end, and she didn't feel a shred of guilt.
It was a cheerful smile as if she had completed a chore.
An innocent smile appeared on her face, like a child who has finished 'Helping' her parents.
"Ani-ue, so you survived."
"A-Aleha...?"
A few days later, in the Kurail Mountains north of Wulfenite.
A large-scale mountain hunt by the Alberan army was taking place.
Vynal Sarchenka's eyes widened as he saw his brother's face and his black armor for the first time in a while.
"W-why are you...in the kingdom?"
"Currently, I am working as a subordinate under Alberinea——Krische-sama. Waltza is also with me."
Aleha looked at Vynal with pity and indescribable eyes.
Vynal had a sloppy beard on his face, and it seemed that he had discarded his proud armor somewhere.
From his waist, hung a long sword——its elegant decoration clashed with his figure now only in a shirt and pants.
"How are your sister-in-law and Rachel doing?"
"Ah, ah...P-please. I had no choice. I had no choice but to sacrifice you for the sake of the Sarchenka family. Please, please, let me go...I don't want to make my wife and daughter sad."
Vynal knelt down to his knees and bowed his head.
Aleha looked down at him, his expression unchanged.
"I asked Krische-sama if it was impossible for me to read the records of Elsren. It seems that Ani-ue has bet a lot on this battle....The debt is quite large, right?"
"......ah"
Vynal looked up at him.
Aleha was expressionless.
"If I want to keep you alive, I'll take you prisoner——that's what I thought, but Sarchenka won't be able to afford to pay the ransom. My sister-in-law and Rachel will also be lost on the street. I don't want them to sell flowers."
Aleha pulled out his long sword and pointed its tip at Binal.
"...If you die, you will die in battle. Both of them will receive solace money. If they sell some of the family personal belongings, neither of them will have to live in poverty. Please accept it calmly. ——If you care about them, you have no choice but to die here.''
Vynal was stunned and looked at Aleha.
Then he smiled sarcastically.
"...Do you hold a grudge?"
"Somewhat"
"Me too...I was jealous of you."
Vynal said with an indescribable expression and lowered his eyes.
"I can't beat you with a sword. There's no point in running away. But please make it so that I fought bravely and died. I don't want them to know that I was killed when I ran away because I was desperate for my life.''
"...I'll do my best."
Aleha smiled bitterly and narrowed his eyes at him.
"I...I don't dislike that part of Ani-ue."
"Without real ability, it's nothing but a tragedy. This stupid appearance is the truth."
"I don't think so. As a husband and a father... at least I think you deserve respect now."
Aleha stood beside Vynal, whose face was bowed, and held his sword against the side of his neck.
"The memento sword will eventually reach the two of them in some form. Is there anything you want to say?"
"...It would be unnatural for a man who fought bravely and died to leave behind a word."
"Someday, in the kingdom of heaven"
"Ah...someday"
Aleha swung his long sword down and stabbed it.
A muffled scream——soon, Vynal's strength left him, and Aleha withdrew the sword.
Then he looked at the corpse.
A moment later, a man appeared from behind the grass.
It was Waltza.
"......Did you finish it?"
"Aah"
The two of them said nothing after that, and dug a hole in soft soil.
Burying the body carefully.
Then, holding the sword that had been left behind, the two of them start walking without speaking.
——It was said that it was a massacre.
A few days after the battle at Wulfenite, Alberan's army moved north and south.
They cooperated with the Arna Imperial Army and Garhka Army to wipe out the enemy, and out of more than 100,000 soldiers, only 3,000 were able to escape safely to Elsren.
This was the result of persistent "hunting."
The number of prisoners of war was less than 20,000——the War of the Five Great Powers ended, with the inferior Alberan side losing 10,000 deaths, while the invaders suffered nearly 200,000 deaths, an unprecedented crushing defeat in history.
The following year, the plains on the Wulfenite side were filled with beautiful flowers, but no one could describe them as beautiful——along with her smile on the battlefield, they were feared as Alberinea's flower garden.