On top of the hill overlooking the battle from Redwing Kingdom's side…

…Boooom!…

An entire infantry unit that was charging the queen's grenadiers suddenly disintegrates in a chain of violent, magic reactions.

「What?…」

Cycelia utters out with her shocked emerald eyes wide open, staring at the armored men cartwheeling through the air, only to plummet on the ground and be strewn across the field.

「…Straf, what was that?」

She asks, staring at Straf with an unnerved face. The chattering officers beside them are now completely silent, watching the dust clear.

「What's the bell tower back in the capital for, Lia?」

Straf nonchalantly asks back, smirking.

「…What?」

Cycelia blinks at him, confused by the question.

Snap snap snap.

Straf snaps his fingers rapidly in front of her face.

「Wake up, Lia… What's the bell tower for? What purpose does it serve?」

He asks again, spreading his hands with a shrug of his shoulders.

「…It's… It's to let everyone know what time of day it is.」

She replies, lightly shaking her head in confusion with her brows furrowed.

Snap.

「Right! It's a loud sound to let everyone know what time of day it is. And that…」

Straf nods, snapping his fingers as he points at her somewhat frightened, confused face. He then points his hand at the distant battlefield below.

「…Was a loud sound to let King Dipshit know that he lost and it's time to surrender.」

He shrugs and places his fists on his hips. The grenadiers are advancing towards the enemy, and the rest of the officers seems to have regain their composure as well, and are pressing the advantage with the momentum gained from the use of IEDs. Terrifying screams of torment come from below, only faintly audible over the unintelligible orders being shouted. The army advances towards the frozen enemy with the grenadiers at the lead, ahead of other formations.

「What… What if he doesn't, Straf?」

Cycelia asks in a hesitant, almost fearful tone as she watches her troops jump over the mangled corpses and the survivors about to join the rest.

「Don't worry, they have at least two more throws of these, maybe more if some of them are bad at following orders.」

Straf nonchalantly shrugs again. She briefly glances at his bored face with great concern on hers, and nods, turning her eyes back to the battle.

「Right…」

Cycelia says quietly with a nervous, tight-lipped grimace as she curls her lips and clutches tighter onto her sword.

《…What are you doing!?!》

Athea's screaming voice echoes in Straf's head, making him roll his eyes.

「What does it look like? Winning.」

He looks up at the gray sky with his mouth aslant, spreading his hands. Cycelia briefly furrows his brows, staring at him with her emerald eyes.

《You are using explosives for a war!? You bastard! You complete and utter bastard!》

「Yes, yes… I am become death and whatnot… What do you want from me, you udder bimbo?」

Straf asks with his fists on his hips, scrunching his mouth to the side.

《How dare you!? You ruined everything forever!》

Athea continues screaming into Straf's mind with her voice breaking into a higher pitch.

「Thank you very much…」

He grins, spreading his hands with a shrug. Cycelia watches on, listening to his monologue with the sky.

《This can't be easy on him either. I'm sorry, Straf…》

She turns her green eyes away, lowering them to the grass at her feet.

《This is cheating! You used your otherworld knowledge to gain advantage over these people!》

Athea screams in an indignant tone.

「Now, as much as I'd like to be able to say「It's thanks to my cheat power!」…」

Straf rolls his eyes again, smirking.

「…I only used what I already had available to me here. No gunpowder. I am very, very, terribly and extremely sorry…」

He says, and bows his head low down to his knees.

「…For absolutely nothing at all!」

《Khhkkkk!…》

Straf adds, chuckling as he grins up at the sky with his head still at his knee level.

「…No, seriously… Did you really expect nobody would figure that out? The old man at the Academy, and even one o' the mustachios knew!」

He straightens out, spreading his arms with a mildly amused, incredulous expression on his face.

《But they didn't weaponize it!》

「Well excuuuuuse me for being the first. Everyone already had one and one, don't blame me for showing everyone what a two looks like.」

Straf scoffs at Athea's screaming voice, replying with his fists on his hips, then shrugs and turns his eyes back to the battlefield.

The grenadiers run up to the very hesitant, terrified infantry of Telas Kingdom, almost reaching throwing distance. Their enemy advances at a sluggish pace, one hesitant step, a pause, then another. If not for the officer screaming at them from behind the ranks with his already hoarse voice, it's likely they would not advance another step at all. The queen's grenadiers stop, and both of the officers are shouting orders at their men. The grenadiers put their fingers into the pull rings when an IED suddenly flies across the distance between the units and lands a few paces away from the enemy infantry.

「What the fuck?…」

Straf utters out in a displeased tone, throwing his hand up and pointing it at the IED on the ground.

「…That idiot didn't unpin it-」

He remarks, throwing his hand up again and returning it to his hip in a fist. The infantry formation opposing the grenadiers instantly breaks and turns away from the rectangular box on the grass, screaming in terror as they flee, ignoring the officer and his shouting. The Telas Kingdom officer glances at the grenadiers with his teeth clenched, then runs after his men. One soldier breaks the grenadiers' ranks to run up to the IED on the grass, picks it up, then returns to formation. Straf watches the whole scene with his brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and his mouth slightly open in disbelief.

「…Fucking combat psychology.」

Straf utters out in disbelief, shaking his head.

「Huh?」

Cycelia tilts her head, blinking at Straf's frustrated face and his scrunched mouth.

「Turns out soldiers really don't like killing other soldiers. They'll miss on purpose to pretend they're fighting, so that they can have a clear conscience or whatever…」

He explains and lets out a frustrated sigh. The grenadiers advance towards the enemy, now threatening the flanks of other units while Rat Hunters and the supporting infantry follows.

「…Now that they know how easily they can wipe the floor with the enemy, they want to cut them some slack… And worse yet, it seems to be working.」

Straf adds with his mouth aslant, shrugging his shoulders as he watches the grenadiers repeat the maneuver in a more organized fashion. Four IEDs fly towards the enemy's new position, all still pinned, and land on the grass right at their feet. The enemy abandons their position once again, fleeing for their lives further towards the friendly units while an officer chasing them desperately tries to rally them. The grenadiers advance, pick up their IEDs, then turn to face the exposed enemy flanks. As the Rat Hunters advance, the enemy unit backpedals to avoid engagement with their flanks exposed.

The battlefield as a whole shifts towards King Telas, with the queen's troops rapidly advancing towards his fortified encampment.

「…Man, I didn't have to deal with this in RTS games… I think?」

He rubs his chin, furrowing his brows as he glances up and aside at the gray sky.

「Tsk… Well, dead or alive, I don't really care. If it works, it works…」

Straf clicks his tongue and rubs the back of his head with a mildly frustrated expression on his face.

「Officers, phase three! Go!」

He turns his attention to the officers, who are just now thawing from their shock. They glance at each other, then return powerful nods.

「Yes minister!」「At once!」「Right away!」

They salute, and run down the hill towards the wagons and the men.

「…What's your plan, Straf?」

Cycelia looks at Straf's face with her worried emerald eyes.

「Maneuver warfare.」

He bluntly replies as he meets her gaze, then turns his attention back to the battlefield. Though still cohesive as a unit, the infantry in the Rat Hunters' way runs from a singular IED thrown their way.

…Boom!…

It briefly shines incandescent white and a magical reaction within rips it apart, sending fragments flying everywhere. Some of the shattered nails hit the fleeing infantry, bouncing off their armor. A few of the unlucky soldiers are hit in the exposed limbs, limping and hopping on one leg briefly as they're left behind, before running back into the formation. The Rat Hunters advance, claiming their enemies' old position on the battlefield. Soldiers of Telas Kingdom continue getting pushed back, though there are no more casualties after the initial charge.

The officers down the hill behind Straf and Cycelia shout some orders, and the wagons roll out. Dragon cultists at the foot of the hill watch the perimeter closely…

…

At the same time, on the battlefield below…

「This is fucked up, William!… This is fucked up! Did you hear them scream!? That's fucked up!-」

「Julius! Shut up! Focus!」

The young man panics loudly, his voice echoing in his matte white full helm. William shouts back at him from his side as they are advancing towards the enemy.

「…This is what war is like, Julius! You signed up for this, I didn't! Now focus! At this rate, we'll make our way to the mages without fighting!」

William adds as they hold their shields up towards the enemy.

「Here comes another one of those!…」

Julius exclaims as he sees an IED thrown towards the enemy. They wait, and wait, and wait. Nothing happens while the enemy infantry retreats.

「…Another fake, huh?」

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

William glances the grenadiers' way while matching their pace.

Toot-toot toot toot-toot!… Toot-toot too toot-toot!

「All uuuunits… Chaaaaarrrrgeeeeeee!」

A voice from rear shouts after a bugle signal. The Rat Hunters, grenadiers, and all infantry formations supporting them begin running towards the enemy infantry.

As Julius clenches his teeth in anticipation of a melee, to his surprise, the enemy in front of them drop their weapons and turn to flee. Their banner is discarded onto the grassy field, and the officer is quickly left behind as the unit completely loses cohesion and disperses into a forest in the distance. When the neighboring infantry sees that their flank has been abandoned, they too decide that the battle has been lost, throw their weapons and shields away, and begin fleeing. William and Julius briefly lower their shields as their shoulders slump.

「…Did we win?」

Julius asks in a surprised tone, looking at William through the slit in his helmet.

「First Rat Hunters! Charge towards the hill!」

The officer shouts from behind. The unit begins to move again.

「…Not yet! Here comes the worst part! Don't die, Julius!」

William shouts a reply as they charge towards the encampment at the hill and the unprotected mages while the cohesion of the entire enemy army begins to slowly unfold.

「That's my line! I thought you were dead last time!」

Julius clutches onto his sword as he runs shoulder to shoulder with the rest towards the robed men on the hill's slope.

The mages point their palms at the unit, visibly chanting something. The entire battlefield seems to fade out and go silent as William and Julius focus on their enemy above. The incline makes the already heavy armor even harder to move in, and their charge slows to a mere hurried jog while the two stare at the men and women ahead with nervous eyes. The mages shout something. A small ball of fire forms in front of their palms then swells in size to roughly the size of a basketball or a watermelon, then flies straight at the Rat Hunters.

「Oh shit!-」

William exclaims through his clenched teeth as the blazing spheres hurl through the air towards them.

「Incoming!」「Fireball!」「Cover!」

William and the rest of the men drop down to the grass, trying to make themselves as small as possible. Julius is the only one left standing, looking around in confused panic.

Ffwoooop! Ffffwooop- Fwooopfwoooopfwoopfwoop!

Most of the fireballs sail just above their backs then splash on the foot of the hill and the grass behind them, spilling flames everywhere on the path back down.

「Eh?-」

As Julius turns his armored face forward, he notices a fireball closing in right for his chest.

Ffffwwwwwwwoop-

「Julius!-」

William raises his gaze in the same split-second, only to see the fireball fly towards Julius, who screams as he drops down and starts wildly flailing his limbs around on the grass.

「Aaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaa aaaaaaa!…Aa?」

「Julius! Where's the fire!?」

William jumps up to his knees and rushes over to Julius, searching for where he might be burning.

「…There aren't any?」

Julius replies, sounding almost confused while looking down at the still faintly glowing, slightly warm cuirass on himself.

「But I saw you get hit-!」

William shouts just a moment before his head perks up.

「…The armor.」

「What?」

Julius asks, further confused as he picks his sword back up off the grass. William and the rest of the unit begin picking themselves up.

「Get up! Quick! Let's fuck them up, Julius!」

He pulls Julius up by his arm, then drags him towards the mages as he runs up the hill.

「Let's go, Julius! Fuck them up! Fuckin' kill 'em!」

William screams, pointing his sword at the mages while charging towards them. They begin chanting again.

「Hrraaaaaaaaaaaaaarggggh!!…」

He lets out a war cry through his full helm while the officer and the rest of the Rat Hunters behind them are recovering from the attack. While the mages initially continue casting, some of them lose their nerve at the sight and vicious sound of the charging men, and turn to flee. The rest of the mages get distracted by some of them abandoning their ranks, and soon the entire formation begins to break. The small group loses cohesion and disperses down the other side of the hill. Unarmored and only dressed in robes, Julius and William stand no chance of ever catching up to them.

「…Haaaaah… Haaaah… Fuck 'em… Let 'em run, Julius…」

William slows down as the two reach the flatter area of the hill, then stops to catch his breath. Their officer barks out more orders, and the rest of the Rat Hunters quickly catches up.

「…Now we won… I think.」

Thunk.

He adds as he straightens out and gives Julius a rough pat on the back. The battle continues below, and the king's fortified camp lies before them…

…

Around the same time, in the Telas Kingdom camp on the hill opposite of the battlefield.

A middle-aged man in ornate armor is standing on top of the dirt fortifications, surrounded by guards while a man stands by his side. Both are watching the battle unfold.

「Grrrrgghnnn… Why aren't those idiots winning!? The orders are simple! Just fight them! Stop running! What are the officers doing!?」

King Telas shouts after gritting his teeth as his army gets pushed back with very little resistance. He notices heavy infantry in off-white armor crest his camp's hill.

「Your highness, perhaps it would be a good idea to retreat-」

The captain of the royal guard leans in to his shoulder.

「The mages will handle them!」

He interrupts the man with a dismissing wave of his hand, focused on the battle below rather than the one nearby.

「…Stop running and fight them, you cowards! They can't win if you just swarm them!」

The king shouts at the men below, far, far too distant to hear him, and grits his teeth again. When he glances at the mages, he finds them fleeing.

「What!?- Those cowards! Those damned cowards!…」

He curses at the fleeing group of mages. The man leans in again.

「Your highness… Perhaps now it would be wise?」

He says with his head lowered, pointing his hand at the horses tied to a post within the camp.

「Tsk… Fine. Abandon the camp! We're returning to the capital!…」

King Telas exclaims as he cautiously slides down the fortifications into the camp, and stomps towards the horses. The guards scramble to mount up while the captain follows him.

「…Can't believe this! Cowardice and sloth losing me a perfectly winnable battle! They'll likely siege the capital now!…」

He continues grumbling as the captain helps him mount up to his armored horse, then quickly moves to mount up on his own.

「…We'll have to wait for relief from the forces that were cut off, and for one of the counts to organize the defense! We could have just solved it here!」

King Telas shakes his armored head and whips his horse towards the rear exit out of the camp. Some of the guards ride out first as a protective screen, then the king and the captain of the guard in the middle, with some of the guards trailing behind them to secure the rear, abandoning the camp entirely. They ride down the hill towards the road and bypass a forest on the way to the capital…

…

Half an hour later, nearby the remaining bridge over the Nahr…

…Clopclopclop!… Clopclopclop!… Clopclopclop!…

King Telas and his guards gallop towards the bridge, leaving the battle far behind.

「Unbelievable… Just unbelievable! If I had a few good men, I would have won this!…」

The king continues grumbling loudly as he rides down the turning road towards the bridge.

When the forest by their side clears, they notice an entire unit of Redwing Kindom's spearmen in the way of the path across.

「Wha-!?」

「…Neeiiiighhhhh!」

The horses whine when they abruptly slide to a stop.

「What is the meaning of this!? This is nowhere near the battle-!」

The king shouts, clenching his teeth in anger. His eyes widen at a sudden realization.

「…Is this why our forces were equal!? They had reserves!?」

He screams in anger. The captain of the guard rides up to his side.

「Your highness, we shouldn't stay here. The footmen won't be able to give pursuit, but their cavalry may follow. We might be able to make it down the Nahr and-」

The man explains, but his explanation is interrupted when the guards notice movement amidst the trees. More infantry emerges from the treeline ahead.

「Return!…」

The captain shouts an order at the guards and spins his horse around, trotting in place.

「…Your highness, we need to leave!」

He shouts towards the king in an urgent tone and whips the horse, heading down the road back. The entire escort makes only a few paces back before stopping again.

「Khhhhkh!…」

King Telas grits his teeth in anger when he sees more spearmen behind them, blocking the way back. At the same time, infantry emerges from the trees on both sides.

「Surrender!」「Drop your weapons and surrender!」「Surrender or die!」

The infantrymen scream at King Telas and his guards, pointing their spears at them as they cautiously draw closer.

「Dismount and surrender!」「Get off! Drop your weapons!」

「Your majesty, what do we do?…」

The captain of the guard asks while the soldiers of the Redwing Kingdom surrounding them continue shouting. The king looks around with his teeth clenched.

「…We could try breaking out, but it's unlikely we'll make it even if we all charge into them, your highness. What do we do? It's your choice.」

He adds, gripping onto his sword while the horses backpedal closer to each other to form a circle.

「…Men! Drop your weapons!」

King Telas shouts an order, clenching his reins in his fists. He swings his armored leg over his saddle and steps down from his horse.

Clang!… Clank! Clang-clang! Clank!…

The guards begin throwing their weapons down on the road and dismounting with him, raising their gauntlets above their helmets.

The enemy soldiers let out cheers and hurry towards them, then scoop the weapons off the floor and away.

「Get rope and tie these guys up! Dibs on one armor!… Get a wagon for the king!」

One of the soldiers shouts, waving his arm in the air towards the rest with a huge grin on his face.

「Hey! No dibs! We play cards for each set!」

Someone in the crowd shouts back, and a handful of the infantrymen jog into the forest while the rest keeps the guards and the king under control…