Ch 47

From the top of a huge tree, Tristan skillfully sent out a signal after confirming there was a giant thorny lizard and an oturibomber far away. Bors and Bedivere, who were under the tree, headed to their respective positions upon receiving the signal. Mordred approached the target using concealment techniques. Once he was close to the prey, Tristan blew a whistle emitting mana waves, not sound, signaling the start of the operation.

“ -!”

Bedivere, who was farthest away from the prey, blew up gunpowder to create a roaring sound.

Boom-!

The prey was startled by the loud noise and began to run in the opposite direction of the explosion. There was a valley in the direction the prey was running, where Bors was waiting above to drop a large rock at Tristan's signal.

"Kieeeck~!"

When the giant thorny lizard was hit by the rock falling from above its head, it screamed and released the spines on its legs, according to its survival instinct. The spines, each containing mana, were deeply embedded in the cliff. When the spines finally retracted, Mordred, who was stealthily in pursuit, swung his sword right away to begin the ambush.

Slice!

Without any means of defending itself, the lizard was decapitated by Mordred's sword and died. With the hunt successfully completed, the knights all made their way to the valley from their respective positions and gathered to dismantle the monsters' corpses.

"As expected, it's easy to hunt with many people." said Mordred with a satisfied grin.

Bedivere smiled and raised his fist as Mordred shook the blood from his sword. "Well done, Mordred."

"Oh something like this is no trouble at all!"

Mordred smiled viciously, bumping fists with Bedivere. Bedivere used the same dorm room, so he was one of the knights Mordred was closest to in the Round Table.

"As expected of a hunter, your timing was good, Tristan," Bors said.

Tristan smiled, pulling out a spine stuck in the face of the cliff. "Well, the plan was good. Oh! As Mordred said, this would be good to use as an arrow."

The spines were light, strong, and held mana well, so it was the best material for arrowheads.

"Now, if you're done dismantling, let's head to the next place right away. Tristan, take the lead." commanded Bedivere.

Tristan smiled playfully and hoisted the bag packed with the by-products over his shoulder. "Yeap! What's next up?"

"After joining up with Lionel’s team at P23, we’ll clean up a colony controlled by an orc general at P47. They say there’s about ten-thousand of them."

"All right! I’ll take the fastest route! Follow me, everyone!"

Tristan took the lead without hesitation, now accustomed to the Alps. It was an ordinary hot summer day, long after they had arrived at the ancient castle.

* * *

Around late summer, months after arriving at the ancient castle, Arietta spoke bitterly as she scanned a report on the situation of the frontline. "This is too much. Did you go and have a good time by yourself?"

Mordred, who had returned from monster subjugation as usual, chuckled. "If someone had heard me, they’d think I was just out playing! Ah~! I'm exhausted from working~!"

Arietta grew even more grumpy at Mordred's sly reply. "Hmph! Don’t tell such an obvious lie. No matter what you say, your face says you enjoyed it."

As Arietta pointed out, Mordred's face looked refreshed, and he had a big smile across his face.

"No, the Alps have a different feel than Olympus Forest."

Compared to monsters in Olympus Forest, there weren’t as many types of monsters in the Alps. Even creatures of the same species were much weaker in the Alps, but the feeling of hunting them was different because they moved in groups. There were no creatures that formed such large groups in Olympus Forest, except for deer and a few other species. The ecology of Olympus Forest was unique in that forming groups was never advantageous for survival. Usually, when animals formed a group, they did so to hunt more effectively, or to defend against being hunted. However, because the beasts of Olympus Forest were so strong, they naturally were more hostile and couldn’t recklessly form groups. Even for dragons, fearsome creatures that even Crows had to hunt carefully, a species of rabbit known as “dragon killers” was its natural enemy in Olympus Forest. When a dragon encountered a dragon killer, the dragon killer would emit a deadly poison gas, killing any dragon within a few kilometers in an instant. However, a dragon killer’s venom wasn’t so deadly to other creatures, and it was sometimes hunted by ogres. The ecosystem was tightly woven like a net, making it easier to be caught by natural enemies if in a group. There was even a risk of total group extermination. Therefore, it was only possible for a small number of species that didn’t have a deadly natural enemy, like deer, to form groups.

After hearing Mordred's explanation, Arietta was shocked. “Is Olympus Forest some kind of hell?"

“Ayy, what do you mean hell? People live there too. Oh, thank you for the tea, attendant sir."

Mordred thanked Euss, sat comfortably on the sofa, and sipped on his tea. Then he heard a knock outside.

Knock knock knock!

"Holy Princess, it is a Caradoc. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Come in."

As Caradoc came inside, Arietta sipped her tea and asked, "What brings you here?"

"There was an urgent report from the western front. They said that a number of what appeared to be Giant warriors were found in an enemy camp. They aren’t in full swing yet, but it seems they will come before autumn comes."

For wars in the North, summer was the best time for soldiers to be active. The climate in the North was too cold to move troops in winter, and because they had to plow fields and sow in spring and harvest in autumn, those weren’t good times to wage war. Even in the summer, farmers still had to cultivate their fields, but not enough that they couldn’t mobilize soldiers. Therefore, most of the fighting in the northern continent took place in the summertime.

"I think we should send an additional Round Table knight."

Knights of the Round Table had already been dispatched to the front. However, the front was very wide, so if the enemy attempted to penetrate one area with full force, the scattered knights wouldn’t be able to hold the line.

"We’ll send one. Who would be good...” said Caradoc, trailing off.

Arietta thought for a while then grinned. "I don't think it would be a bad idea for me to go myself, both to boost morale and to audit the command, but what do you think, Sir?"

Caradoc smiled bitterly. "… That's a good excuse. So good that there is no reason to oppose it."

The next Holy Queen visiting the dangerous front to raise the morale of the soldiers was not a bad idea. Plus, it was Arietta's job anyway to make sure that the command was working well. If it had been last year, Caradoc would have contemplated it further, but now that Arietta had Mordred as her escort, she would be safe even in the middle of the battlefield, let alone the front line.

"Then it is decided. Tell Sir Merlin as well, Sir Caradoc." said Arietta, raising her eyebrows when she spoke Merlin’s name.

"Haha, I understand. I will persuade him. All I need now is for you to select the knights who will go to the front."

* * *

Riding Merlin’s horse, Arietta led the Knights of the Round Table across the mountain range and headed for the western front at a rapid pace. If they were on ordinary horses, they wouldn’t have made it, but the combination of its chimera power and Merlin’s magic made the impossible possible. They stopped on a high hill overlooking the battlefield.

"Iya, that thing in the distance, is that perhaps… a wheat field?" Mordred asked, dumbfounded.

Arietta replied irritably, "It's not ‘perhaps’ a wheat field, it is one."

The area that Mordred saw was now occupied by the Giant tribe’s nation. The front was constantly being pushed back or forward, and right now the territory of the Holy Kingdom had been pushed back. The green wheat field Mordred saw in the distance had been the territory of the Holy Kingdom seven years ago.

"Is that country out of its mind? Why are they growing crops in front of our noses like that?”

Mordred had a point. Even putting aside the fact that they were in the highlands, it didn’t make sense to put a field in an active battlefield. It was even more crazy because it was the Holy Kingdom that was pushed back, not the other way around.

"When I first saw it, I thought the same thing as you, but they probably couldn't help it. Other areas they hold don’t have soil to make such fields, so they have no choice but to farm where they can."

"No, but that whole field could be burned up with a single magic bombardment..."

Percival chuckled at Mordred's words. "You’re right. In fact, half of what that field produces will probably end up burned by our military’s magic and won’t be harvested. Nevertheless, the enemy has no choice but to farm steadily. The land of the North Continent that the Giant tribe settled is one of the most barren places in the world."

Mordred looked even more puzzled. "Didn't the enemy make a strategic mistake? Rather, shouldn’t they make friends with the Holy Kingdom to import food and invade other countries instead?"

He felt it would have been much more efficient to make enemies with a different, weaker nation, instead of making an enemy of a battle race like the Holy tribe.

Arietta nodded in understanding. "In a situation like now, where things have become antagonistic, you’d be right. But that wasn't the case just before the beginning of the war. Several factors led to them choosing to hit the south rather than the north. The trends of the time are sometimes inevitable."

The current state of the war was the result of multiple complicated factors such as record-level droughts, changing dynamics between neighboring countries, diplomatic failures, and misjudgments of the ruling class. Of course, the biggest reason must have been that the fertile land of the Holy Kingdom seemed the most attractive. Historically, when land exchanged hands instantly and war occurred due to absurd reasons, it was usually the result of an accumulation of uncontrollable forces.

"Now then, first, to the command center where the commander in charge of the Western Front is...”

Smoke began to rise from the army barracks as Arietta spoke. Seeing this, she shouted out to the knights while casting support magic on them with the power of the Holy tribe.

"It's an ambush! We have to rescue our troops!" she shouted.

Percival led the horses to the front and shouted, “Circle formation! Agravain and Lionel on both ends! Gwalchavad and Mordred concentrate on the escort from the center!"

Under Percival's command, the knights rode their horses and took their formation in an orderly fashion. If Arietta had been an ordinary princess, she would have considered abandoning her ally's barracks and fleeing to safety, but she had received all the essence of the Holy tribe. There was no danger to her unless there was a Giant king among the enemy troops about to ambush the camp.

In formation, the Round Table knights charged quickly. As they approached the military camp, they could see the battle in closer detail.

"There are not many opponents! Annihilate them in one go!"

They were still in the rear region of the allied front line. If there were a large number of enemy troops, they would have believed that the frontline had collapsed. There were so few enemy troops, however, that they seemed to be a surprise unit sent in to create a disturbance behind the front lines. The ambushing enemy soldiers were flustered when surprise attacked from the rear by the Knights of the Round Table on horseback. The enemy tried to counter, but they were quickly overpowered by the much stronger and more skilled knights. The battle was over quickly.

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The commander of the troops stepped up to welcome the knights. "T-thank you! You saved us."

The commander approached Percival, a familiar face, and greeted him, but Percival was not in the mind to receive greetings.

"The enemy's movements are faster than expected. Did you send a message to the command center for assistance?" asked Percival.

"Yes? Oh! Yes! I sent it as soon as the ambush began."

Caradoc clicked his tongue.