Chapter 14: The Archpriestess’ March

When Alexis awoke, Mitsuha told him that they were in her homeland. Their medical technology was highly advanced, and he would be on his way to recovery so long as he obeyed the doctor’s gestures. She added that she would be back in a few days, and they would return to the kingdom once he had healed. Relieved, he went back to sleep.

Mitsuha herself had already gotten the bolt in her shoulder removed and the wound stitched up. According to medical personnel, it would recover completely without leaving a scar. She had been delighted to hear it.

All mercenaries had been given urgent summons, even those who were on vacation. Mitsuha had assured them they were welcome to opt out of the job, but still wondered how many of the 59 members would participate.

By now, everyone was preparing for battle. Some checked the condition of weapons and vehicles, others worked on securing more ammo. There was a decent quantity in reserve, but considering the amount this job would require, they decided to buy more just to be safe.

Mitsuha found some time to explain the kind of forces they were going up against. She mentioned that orcs were most likely too tough to go down with just one handgun bullet, and that ogres and beyond would probably survive barrages from handguns, SMGs, and perhaps even 5.56mm assault rifles.

I haven’t fought any myself, so this is just a guess based on what Sven’s crew told me.

The mercenaries knew they were traveling to another world. Mitsuha’s visits and behavior up until now were strange enough, but the way she had showed up this time left no room for doubt. Most of them had readily accepted the fact, and no one really questioned her about it.

Just like Sven and his people, they respect their employer’s privacy. Must be a merc thing.

◇ ◇ ◇

At five o’clock in the morning, about a day and a half after Mitsuha had appeared in the rec room, 57 mercenaries stood in formation outside the vehicle garages.

At the front of them all stood Mitsuha, wearing a white dress and a gun belt. There was a 93R on her right side, and since her left arm was still incapacitated, she didn’t have her usual dagger and revolver. Instead, she carried several spare magazines. Though her left arm was tied up in a sling, she could still move her hand and use it to reload.

She raised her right hand. Everyone fell silent and waited.

“Gentlemen, it’s time for war! There are twenty thousand of them and fifty-eight of us! No doubt, this is going to be a dangerous mission. However, your rewards will be gold, honor, recognition, and the people’s eternal gratitude.

“In war, each side claims to be the righteous one, but they’re all the same. There’s no justice. They fight over money and power, and the ones who suffer are always the little people. But not this time! Our mission is to defend the capital’s innocents from an enemy that not only broke a treaty, but invaded the country with a horde of monsters!”

She paused. Her eyes swept across their faces before she continued.

“I say that in this fight, we ARE the true justice!”

“YEEEAAAAAHHH!”

The mercenaries’ roar was deafening.

“I’m going to step away for ten minutes. Anyone who doesn’t want to fight, leave now. Those who stay are going with me to the battlefield. I have faith in your courage.” Mitsuha then walked off the platform and into a nearby building.

Ten minutes later, all 57 mercenaries were still lined up and ready to go. Two people remained absent from the group, but only because they were on vacation far, far away.

“To the vehicles!” Mitsuha shouted.

“You sure are somethin’, li’l lady,” the captain remarked breathlessly.

The start of her speech had merely been a rewording of the ad for Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition, but the captain, unaware of this fact, was moved by her knack for leadership.

Wolfgang was in possession of a great number of vehicles: lightweight armored vehicles, jeeps with mounted machine guns, tarp-covered trucks... and “God”.

“God” was the one thing Wolfgang had unwavering faith in.

Once, when their group was still small and nameless, they had been hired to fight in battle. Their employer—a government’s military—had used them as the rear guard. They hadn’t had the power or position to protest, but they knew no one would sacrifice their own to cover a couple of mercenaries. Military soldiers had always looked down on them. After all, while they may have chosen to fight and sacrifice themselves for their country, mercenaries’ one true allegiance was to their paychecks... or so the soldiers believed.

From the soldiers’ perspective, it was entirely possible that these dishonorable dogs would quickly turn and become their enemies if the opposition offered them better wages. As long as they remained allies, however, the mercenaries wouldn’t fight the soldiers, and they needn’t bat an eye at mercenary deaths. In fact, the mercs should have been honored to die as the soldiers’ shields—they were on a grand mission, after all. This was the kind of mentality that had led the military to use mercs as bait and fodder while they themselves retreated.

With no transport trucks or even lightweight armored vehicles, the mercenaries had quickly been chased down by the rebel soldiers. But just when they had accepted their impending demise, “God” had descended upon them.

It was a half-track that had been abandoned after becoming lodged atop a large boulder. Mounted on the vehicle was an out-of-date, 20mm autocannon. The desperate mercenaries had examined it and soon discovered they could turn on the engine by tinkering with the electrical systems. As it turned out, the artillery had still been fully functional.

They had taken down the half-track, stashed it behind the rock, and ambushed the rebel soldiers pursuing them. The 20mm autocannon had roared something fierce as it delivered its divine punishment. Not even trucks or LAVs had been able to withstand the wrath of the exploding 20mm shells.

In the end, the mercenaries had survived. They had then poured great funds and effort in order to resurrect the beast. This beast had crushed and devoured its foes, a metallic incarnate of the once-great dire wolf. It had served as their wolfish fangs, and became the namesake of their crew, “Wolfgang”. These events had occurred so long ago that the current captain hadn’t yet been known as “Captain”, but rather as “Young’un”.

Been a while since we got to use God, the captain thought. His gaze wandered over to Mitsuha. And this time, we’ve even got one of his angels. He felt certain of their victory.

A few seconds later, the people in the yard disappeared, and a gentle breeze was all that filled the void.

◇ ◇ ◇

As he had been ordered, a soldier was keeping watch over the royal palace’s inner courtyard. By now, he had lost track of time.

What’s the point of watching this place? he thought, his eyelids drooping. The enemies are outside the capital, right? It’s gonna be morning... soon...

Just before sleep overtook him, there was a rapid shift in the air. He opened his eyes, and standing before him was a great pack of strange, angular beasts. A girl in a white dress was riding one of them.

“Wolfgang’s here!” Her voice echoed across the palace grounds.

Upon hearing the news, Marquis Eiblinger and the other noble officers hurried to the inner courtyard. They gawked at Mitsuha, who had gone from poking out of the hatch of an LAV to kneeling on top of it.

Mitsuha winced. This is hard on my knees.

“Everyone, assume your positions! We’re going to move through the capital’s main gate at dawn and destroy the enemy. Lord Eiblinger, you stay in the city and protect the gates. I’ll be sending you some support.”

“Huh?!”

Leaving the dumbfounded nobles behind, the wolves went to their posts. As part of the plan, a group of six mercenaries was dispatched to three of the four city gates, the exception being the main gate to the south. They drove around to supply each gate’s forces with equipment, machine guns, and grenade launchers.

Once everyone was sufficiently armed, the vehicles converged at the palace gates, passed through, and halted at the main gate. Their sounds roused the townsfolk, who trickled out to see what was happening.

“Cut the engines!” Mitsuha shouted once they had arrived, wireless microphone in hand. Her booming voice was soon the only sound in the capital.

“Everyone! I love this country!”

No one in Wolfgang knew the local language, so they had no clue as to she was saying. She was grateful for that.

“I’m telling you, I love this country. I love this city! I love the people living in it! To protect you all, I’ll stain my hands with the blood of our enemies.

“Wolfgang, move out!”

The last part had been in English, so the mercs turned on the engines again and began their advance.

“Open the gate!” she ordered.

The guards could hardly refuse, so they quickly did as she told them. The army of vehicles slowly passed through the gate and left the city. Mitsuha’s white dress danced in the wind.

“Ohh, goodness! It’s the march of the Lightnin’ Archpriestess!” someone marveled.

“You know her, old man Leiden?!” a young man asked him.

“Yes... When the third princess was bein’ attacked by scoundrels in an alley, that girl brought her lightnin’ down upon ’em! Said her name’s the ‘Lightnin’ Archpriestess’! I saws it all from behind a wall!”

“An archpriestesss?”

“Lightning Archpriestess...”

“The Lightning Archpriestess is going to battle for us!”

The murmurs grew louder, and word spread. Soon, they grew into joyous cries.

“Praise the Archpriestess!”

“All hail the Lightning Archpriestess!”

“We can’t see nothin’ from here! Let’s climb up on the wall!”

I think I hear something disturbing behind me, Mitsuha thought, feeling an uncomfortable tingle in her spine. I’m just imagining it, right? Yup, I’ve gotta be. I can’t hear you! Lalala!

She tried to cover her ears, but unfortunately, she couldn’t lift her left arm. At the very least, no one in Wolfgang understood nor cared about the gossip.

Whew, even this cloud’s got a silver lining!

◇ ◇ ◇

The enemy—the Imperial Army—had set up makeshift front-line headquarters within view of the capital. As dawn broke, the supreme commander of the invasion stood to order the start of the attack. However, he immediately lost his composure upon seeing what was happening down below.

“They’re opening the main gate?”

Their operation was supposed to be a siege. The Imperial Army had already gone over the plans again and again; the capital’s forces should have had no other option than to try and hold their ground until reinforcements arrived a few days later. The kingdom had no knowledge of the Empire’s secret weapon, so they likely believed they would survive the assault.

Surely they aren’t stupid enough to try and fight us out in the open, are they? the commander wondered.

Such a strategy might have been feasible if some agent of the kingdom had assassinated the commander, but it was otherwise impossible. As he contemplated their intentions, a series of shapes came through the gates, advancing a short distance before stopping at once. Then, the gates closed once more.

“What in the world are those?”

What had emerged from the gates appeared vaguely like carriages without horses.

Are they being pushed by people? Or are they just throwaways to buy time? Is the enemy here to negotiate? I don’t intend to let them waste our time, but it’s common etiquette to make an attempt.

“It’s a negotiation. Go. And make it quick,” he ordered.

“As you wish!” The noble responsible for such matters quickly prepared himself, mounted his horse, and galloped off.

“Welp, someone’s coming,” said Mitsuha. “Snipers, prepare to fire. Your target is the mounted enemy soldier.” She had sent the order through a microphone at her throat, which was wirelessly delivered to the snipers waiting on the walls.

The rider stopped about a hundred yards before the vehicles and raised his voice.

“I am a noble of the venerable Aldar Empire, Count Tristan von Lotz! Currently, we—”

“Shoot him.”

BAAANG!

The rider toppled off his horse.

“How dare you... You harmed a messenger?! Do you know anything about honor and pride, you barbarians?!” The enemy commander flushed with rage.

Suddenly, Mitsuha’s voice came through a set of speakers, reaching all 20,000 Imperial soldiers, and perhaps even every corner of the capital.

“You! Honorless, prideless dogs of the empire!”

“Wh-What?!” Upon hearing his own words redirected toward him, the commander began to shake.

Mitsuha continued her verbal assault. “You broke the treaty, snuck into this country with the help of some traitors, joined hands with monsters, and killed civilians on your way here. Glorified bandits like you have no right to talk about honor or pride!

“God is angry. No matter how courageously you fight or what kind of deeds you do here, you Imperial dogs will not go to His side! Hell is where you all belong!”

The commander wanted to bark back, but no matter how hard he shouted, he couldn’t speak over the girl. While her voice reached all of his soldiers, his could only be heard by those close to him. He clenched his teeth in impotent frustration.

Mitsuha, on the other hand, was just getting started.

“Wanna know why I’m right? Because I said so! Now, feel the wrath of the one true God!” She switched back to her throat mic. “Machine gun one! Ten o’clock to two o’clock, mow them down in five seconds! Fire!”

The order was given, and the execution came soon after.

BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BANG!

These were loud, thunderous sounds the soldiers had never heard before, and what followed was the complete, brutal destruction of dozens of their brothers-in-arms. Bodies were torn apart, spraying flesh and gore in all directions.

“AAAAAAAHHHH!”

Hell truly did exist in this world.

“Wh-What? What’s happening...?” The imperial commander was at a loss. Neither his heart nor his mind could keep up with the violent reality that had opened up before him.

“Li’l lady, seems like each monster’s got somebody handlin’ it,” noted the captain.

“Pick them off one by one.”

“You got it.”

BANG, BANG, BAAANG!

More shots cracked across the field.

The commander snapped back to his senses and began shelling out orders. “Attack! Make the monsters charge! Hurry up and crush them! Follow them up with recruits!”

However, his forces didn’t budge.

“What’s the matter with you?! Hurry! What if that attack comes again?!”

“C-Commander, all the officers in charge of the monsters are down!”

“What?!”

Our men toiled for ages, learning how to communicate with those monsters through gestures and sounds. They were irreplaceable... invaluable. We had casualty after casualty, but they refused to give up. Us having the monsters on our side was the result of literal blood, sweat, and tears. And now they die here, without achieving anything?!

“All right, everyone, leave your vehicles and set up arms!” Mitsuha ordered.

Every mercenary, save for those manning mounted weapons, exited their vehicles, spread out, and readied their lightweight, stationary machine guns. The others prepared the assault rifles and rocket launchers they had on hand.

“Force the monsters to come to the forefront! We’ll overwhelm them once we have the momentum! Make the new recruits come out too, but remember, they’re just expendable farmers!

“Light machine gunners, you harass the monsters, but don’t outright attack them or the conscripts unless they charge! Then join the mercs manning assault rifles and aim for the real soldiers!”

“Huh? We’re not doin’ the monsters?” asked the captain.

“Nope. We’ll make them think they’ve been duped, so they never trust humans again. Then we chase them back to the empire. Maybe monsters from this territory will join them too... Eat a lot of their soldiers on your way back, my lovelies!

“Then all those conscripted farmers will be terrified, and they’ll turn on the empire out of hatred. They’ll make sure no one is ever forced to ally with the empire again.”

“Li’l lady, can I say somethin’?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“You’re freakin’ me out!”

BANG!

B-B-B-BANG!

B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG!

Gunshots claimed the lives of enemy soldiers one after another: the ones giving orders, the well-armored, and the ones on horseback. Losing those in the middle of the leadership pyramid was especially damaging, since they could no longer control the army.

The farmers, who carried nothing but cheap spears, refused to move forward. As for the monsters, they had seen their leaders fall one by one, and the smell of impending danger fueled their desire to flee back home.

Naturally, this fight was not just a matter of killing 20,000 soldiers; causing them to turn tail and retreat was just as effective. Even in wars back on Earth, it was rare that most people on the losing side died. A battle where even half an army was killed in action would be considered catastrophic. In fact, defeat often came once a side had lost about a third of its forces.

It was for this reason that Mitsuha had chosen to target the career soldiers; they were the meat of the army and the only ones who had a solid handle on what they were doing.

Mitsuha found herself wondering if there were mercenaries among the professionals. If so... whoopsie. Sorry, fellas. You had a chance to make some money in this war, but now you’re gonna get shot down just because you have better gear and fight better than peasants.

Hmm, I wonder if Sven’s crew got hired too. They probably feel lucky that they’re getting paid without really having to fight. Maybe you’ll make even more in the chase that’s gonna happen afterward.

Anyway, the enemy commander’s doin’ a solid job holding his people together, but I feel like more and more of them are retreating, and—What the hell is that?!

“They’re here! Now we can fight back!” the empire’s commander shouted, looking upward.

Above him, darkening the morning sky, was a swarm of wyverns. 36 of them, to be exact.

As he gazed upon the creatures, he thought of what a struggle it had been to raise them. A good number of soldiers had been killed during attempts to steal wyvern eggs, but a few had eventually succeeded, and the incubation process began. The first round of hatchings failed, with the young dying prematurely, which led the army to sacrifice additional soldiers to steal more eggs.

One man had even lost his life to a healthy juvenile. The thing had eaten him.

This majestic achievement is the result of hundreds of sacrifices and decades of work! The riders and wyverns are now united as one—these are the world’s first flying riders!

The men mounted on wyverns wielded swords and pikes for close combat as well as javelins for ranged attacks, making them a formidable force. They could easily rain down spears upon the enemies, then fly behind the gates to fight them with swords, spears, and even the wyvern’s powerful claws and beaks, making it easy to force open the gates and let the rest of the army inside.

It’s beautiful, the commander thought, bliss bubbling up within him. Ohh, how blessed am I to see this moment with my own two eyes!

Mitsuha’s voice abruptly cut through his excitement. “God! It’s your turn!”

“Roger!”

B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG!

“Huh...?”

Seconds.

It had taken mere seconds to eradicate twenty-some years’ worth of funds, bodies, and labor. The first flying forces of this world were reduced to nothing more than chunks of airborne flesh.

The enemy commander collapsed, his eyes filling with tears. Our battle is just beginning; I know that. But I lost my superiors, my subordinates, my academy classmates, and even my cousin in order to create this wyvern army. All that, and it was torn to shreds in just a few moments. Forgive me, but allow me to mourn for a moment...

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

The ground shook as something appeared from behind them.

“What are you doing, you pathetic creatures?”

Dragons had come.

Ancient dragons, to be precise, and there were three of them. These beings had intelligence far beyond that of mankind and the ability to expel magic breath. They were the very reason behind the empire’s absurd invasion.

◇ ◇ ◇

He was born in Dragon Valley 328 years ago. Dragons had a terribly low birth rate, so he was spoiled and treated like a child for quite a long time. That ended when a baby girl was born, followed by another boy. These two were now 127 and 76 years old, respectively.

They had been the first dragons born in over 200 years, so the new pair had brought immense joy to the rest of their village. The oldest of the three was pleased that he was no longer being babied and enjoyed acting as a big brother to the two fledglings.

No new children were born after these two, and the other dragons seemed to take it for granted that they would be mates. The two of them were aware of this, especially the girl, Lewlieu. Girls were always the first to mature, after all.

The older male dragon hadn’t objected. I can always get with that older girl with the cute scales, or the one who has that perfect tail, or any of the others. I’ll be fine, he’d thought.

Now, the younger boy, T’elli, had recently caught a certain sickness common among young dragons—the “I am a strong, wise, ancient dragon. I shall go out into the world and guide these fools” sickness.

He’s adorable, the older boy had thought. And since he respects me like a big brother, I guess I should show him a good time.

Whenever anyone wanted to play around with humans, this strange, cranky old dragon from the mountain cave would yell his head off. He was all, “Don’t mess with humans!” and “Don’t lay a hand on them!”. He died not too long ago, though, so he won’t be a problem anymore.

Nowadays, dragons could do whatever they liked without fear of reprimand. They could gift power to a single country, laughing as the humans got carried away and used their power in odd ways. Or the dragons could just secretly manipulate several nations at once, reveling in the feeling of cross-species domination.

I wanted to try games like that when I was a kid, but that pile of scales would never shut up about it. Plus, all the dragons close to my age were girls, and none of them would’ve joined in. No, I don’t have the sickness, I just want to try this kind of stuff.

And so, he had decided to invite T’elli to play. Lewlieu had also insisted on tagging along, much to his delight.

His grand idea had been to teach a couple of monster words to an ambitious human country, then just sit back and watch things unfold.

Things aren’t going too well right now. Seriously, how did they mess up right at the beginning? It’s really a bore if you can’t take this capital, you powerless, pathetic creatures. How are T’elli and Lewlieu supposed to have fun? All right. I’ll help them get things started, at least. I’ll just crush this bunch, then destroy the gate with my breath.

◇ ◇ ◇

Whoa, we’ve got a big one! thought Mitsuha. Three big ones, actually, but one’s bigger than the others. He can speak, so I’ll try to make contact. Oh, don’t worry. I’ve experienced tons of first contacts through movies, anime, and sci-fi novels. Think of it as research material. I can handle this!

“Good morning to you, Mr. Dragon. Wonderful day we’re having.”

“Nonsense. It’s not wonderful, and it’s all because of you. Just let yourselves be crushed already.”

This exchange was enough for Mitsuha to realize talking to him was meaningless. Well, he is on the enemy side, I guess.

Following the failure in communication, she tried shooting him.

B-B-BANG, B-B-BANG!

“What is that supposed to be?”

Doesn’t hurt at all, huh? Okay.

“I’ll do it!” piped one of the smaller dragons.

Oh, so I’m just practice for the babies, huh? Damn, this brings back bad memories... Makes my arm throb. But I guess a youngling will be easier to handle, at least.

“Just the two of us now, huh?”

Wait, what am I saying? This ain’t an arranged marriage meeting!

The large dragon had backed up a bit, and there was a second small dragon beside him. Before Mitsuha could concern herself with that one, however, she had to take care of the one in front of her.

“Hey, wanna talk?”

“Die.”

Guess not.

“Fire the assault rifles!”

B-B-B-B-BANG!

“Is that the same thing as before? Well, it doesn’t hurt me at all!”

I can tell from your eyes that it does. Assault rifles pack way more of a punch than a pistol. And these aren’t your usual 5.56mm bullets; they’re 7.62mm. Is your skin more sensitive than the big dragon’s?

“All weapons, prepare to fire. Light weapons, fire.”

Mitsuha wanted to reserve their most powerful weapons for later. She also wanted to find out which of them worked best against dragons, just in case she ever dealt with another one.

I’ll use this little dragon’s cluelessness and ego to find out their weaknesses.

B-B-B-B-BANG!

“O-Owch! Owie, owie, owie!”

For a moment, Mitsuha thought she had taken him down, but soon realized he was simply sore.

Are dragons weak to pain? Is it because they don’t feel much of it in their lives or because this one’s just a kid?

Wait, did he use dragon language? The pain was so bad it made him speak in his mother tongue, huh? Ah, wait, that’s not all. Apparently, I picked up monster words from the adult dragon. So, they know languages besides human.

She had tried a polite approach, especially considering they were dragons, the famed mythical beasts of yore. But she’d grown tired of doing so already, as well as this whole affair, so she decided to just finish them off. She needed to make sure to end it before any of them could retaliate.

Mitsuha scanned her forces and mentally confirmed that everyone was ready to fire. That’s the captain’s people for ya!

“Heavy machine guns, fire!”

B-B-B-B-BANG!

“RAAAAAGHHHHH!”

The young dragon roared in pain as his scales flew off and bullets ate through his thick skin, sending flesh and gore into the air.

The other dragons were frozen in place.

They probably didn’t expect humans to be able to hurt a dragon. Of course they wouldn’t know how to react.

“D-DAmn yOoUuu!” The wounded dragon’s face was so warped with pain and fury that he seemed to have gone mad. He opened his jaw wide and began to inhale.

Yep. We all know what he’s doing!

“Fire an RPG into its mouth!”

FWOOM FWOOM FWOOM!

The RPG-27 sounded off as three rockets escaped the one-time use, anti-tank weapon and zoomed toward the dragon’s maw. Only one made it inside; the others exploded on his jaw and skull.

The juvenile collapsed, causing tremors in the earth around him.

“T’ELLIIIIIII!” Overcome by rage and despair, the other young dragon charged at Mitsuha.

“God, lend me your streeength!” she shouted.

B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG!

The 20mm autocannon roared, causing the second dragon to grind to a halt in the dirt beside the first.

Their companion was shell-shocked, unable to move. The two smaller dragons gushed from their wounds as they began to crawl, inching their marred bodies closer together. Once within reach, they extended their forelegs toward one another and touched them together in an intimate gesture. Shortly after, they stopped moving for all eternity.

“Ahh! Aaahhh! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” The adult dragon shook out of his stupor, growing frantic.

“Ahh, aaahhhh, Lewlieu, T’elliiii! They’re dead! They’re both dead!” he wailed in the dragons’ tongue. Mitsuha was the only one who understood him. “They were the first children in two hundred years! They were like a brother and sister to me! It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have brought them into this stupid game! Aaaahhhh!”

After crying for a while, the dragon realized that the 20mm autocannon—the hand of God—the heavy machine guns, and several RPG-27s were aimed right at him.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

No way! I’m gonna die! These things I thought were so puny are gonna kill me, an ancient dragon! EEEEEK!

The dragon ran away with all his power, trampling and tossing humans aside in the process. Once sure he was far enough away from the death-dealing machines, he took to the skies and escaped straight to Dragon Valley.