Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 231: Breaking Formation (04)

---This Chapter is written using Licia's POV---

As we had predicted, Hamperlon's army came to reconquer the territory they lost, hoping to push back our army with the entirety of their available forces, an army numbering in the thousands.

From the walls, I looked down at the fields ahead where Hamperlon set up their camp.

I had to admit, it was impressive.

Sure, we also had a massive force on our side. We were fewer in number, but not by much.

However, that's not exactly what impressed me.

The speed at which they worked, what they achieved in so little time, and their discipline... Those were all remarkable, and on a level Terith's army couldn't hope to match.

Even a war amateur like me could see that we lacked their professionalism.

...This was a given.

As a nation, they conquered every neighbour until they met the barrier known as Terith, a land equally as big, and an opponent they couldn't take lightly.

But for every battle a soldier of ours has fought, we can imagine theirs to have fought at least twice as many.

And that was not all.

There was a decisive difference in equipment. A clear indicator of their intentions and how their nation operated for the last few years.

The most noteworthy example was the distinct gleaming silver color coating the weapons and armors of some knights.

Even from such a long distance, the way they were polished and reflected the light made it clear what material was used.

Weapons made of Mythril, one of the best and rarest metals.

Even a chipped blade would be worthy of a kingdom's vault and treated like a national treasure.

Before I met Miwen, when I was a B-rank adventurer in my old world, I would have had to work for years to afford a single sword like that, and even then, I'd have to be lucky enough to find one.

Yet, many men on their side brandished them as if they were just another weapon. That alone was a chilling statement.

And no one was more affected by it than the girl next to me...

The girl whose homeland was taken to forge the weapons they now use to take more.

Mia: "..."

Her silence worried me.

Her sharp eyes were completely focused on the enemy.

Claire: "Hmph. Melts all the same."

In her own way, Claire tried to be considerate and uplift her a little.

But in that moment, words alone wouldn't be enough to comfort Mia.

Her heart was filled with so much hatred...

Seeing this, I walked up behind her and gently placed my hands on her shoulders. It was all I could do.

Not to prevent her from jumping or acting recklessly, but to tell her I was there to support her.

Although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about her dashing at them alone...

Licia: "...Claire, since you have more experience, how do you think Terith will fare?"

Claire: "Without us... I would give this castle a week to fall. The little defensive measures built before this place wouldn't amount to much, so Hamperlon's army would probably have Terith on the run. All the progress would be lost in... A matter of days."

That's... Worse than I thought.

Perhaps we should've spent more time preparing instead of advancing like this....

Claire: "You've been dutifully reporting to Miwen, right? What did he say about this?"

I wouldn't go as far as to say dutifully, but..

Licia: "Yeah. He said it's fine to engage, but we shouldn't kill or capture the prince yet."

Mia: "Huh!? Why!?"

Licia: "...He wants to push him to the edge. It's... punishment."

According to him...

Even though this will result in the suffering of so many innocent people, he won't be satisfied if Hamperlon doesn't pay for what they did accordingly...

It's-

Claire: "What about you, though?"

Mia: "...I share his feelings."

Right.

It's easy to forget since so much happened, but... Everything up until now was a facade.

The only reason this war exists is that Miwen and Mia want revenge.

Every tactic and objective... They are secondary. What they are after is not just the defeat of this nation, but its utter downfall. It's annihilation...

We left the walls a little after to hold a last council to decide how to tackle this situation.

Everyone shared their opinion, but... Their enthusiasm clouded their eyes.

Even Claire's voice couldn't reach them. She had lost a lot of support after failing to take this castle by herself.

Thus, Gullard couldn't openly follow her suggestion...

He did his best to maneuver through it, and after a lengthy discussion, it was decided that we should make the most use of our army.

The plan was to concentrate our mages and archers on the walls, using the castle's defenses to their advantage.

The rest of the army was to head out and face Hamperlon's forces.

If we didn't allow them to focus on sieging and reduced their numbers while using our advantageous position, they would probably be forced to retreat, fearing the Evretis' army reinforcement or being encircled.

And so, as their army approached, Claire launched our opening move from up on the walls.

A flame circle appeared above the marching men.

Their mages made little effort to destroy it, thinking nothing much of such a simple-looking spell.

However, all the magic thrown at it was instantly dissipated as a pillar of flames descended from it, big enough to engulf half of the frontline.

It was fantastic how little resistance their magic put up, and it seemed to all of us that she was about to inflict massive casualties on them, but...

One of their knights, completely clad in black armor, lifted his lance to the sky, and in that moment, streams of water defied gravity and attacked the sky, meeting the flame pillar head-on.

Those streams were very similar to the ones we had seen previously when attacking this place, and since we had not met the water mage responsible for it, chances were, this guy was the one behind it.

Suffice it to say, this provoked Claire. Her head was hanging low, and she-

Lifted it, flashing a confident smirk.

Claire: "...So that not even ashes remain!"

She added a new line to her chant.

Six new, smaller fire circles surrounded the first one.

Their mages, now understanding what they were dealing with, hurriedly prepared to defend, but it was too late.

This wasn't a new spell. She was just adding a new step to an already cast one...

It's not something a person should be able to do, and I had never heard of it.

If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would doubt this had truly happened, but... What more can I say? With her fire magic, such things are like second nature...

Anticipating their doom, the soldiers on our side charged forward.

However, when the flame pillars should have descended, with a wave of the black armored knight's lance, they were redirected, attacking the initial flame pillar, and allowing their men to charge too.

Licia: "His Gift...?"

I reached this conclusion because this last "spell" wasn't imbued with any element, and it was a tad too quick for its magnitude, even if he had a higher level than us... But... It still felt odd.

My heart told me something was wrong with him, but before I could say anything, my worst predictions came true.

Mia, standing by my side, was trembling. The moment I noticed it, it was already too late. She jumped from the wall and joined the charging army.

Claire shouted something about the black knight, and did like Mia.

With no options and not wanting to let the two be by themselves, I also joined the fray.

Immediately, I realized the difference between a soldier and an adventurer.

I had no time to think or calculate. I couldn't discern friend from foe, and had to assume that whatever was in front of me was an enemy.

I saw blades slashing one or two times before falling to the ground alongside their master, arrowheads flying past everyone, hitting some while scraping others.

Not to mention all the magic...

The frontline couldn't prepare spells, even a single line of chant took more time than a warrior had, so waves of formless magic hit everyone...

Most was not strong enough to knock anyone out, but it added too much unpredictability.

??????: "You're mine-"

Those dumb enough to raise their voices became the easiest targets, perforated by anyone whose attention was grabbed.

Yet, silence did not prevail. The crash of the swords, the explosion of magic, the screams, the movement... Everything piled up, and as the battle progressed, it became harder and harder to discern and filter what was useful information...

The only way I found to survive was to coat myself in my own magic and hope that whatever came my way was not strong enough to pierce it, or at the very least, didn't get enough chances.

That was when I noticed a man clad in mythril armor raising his sword against me.

I was the one who wandered into his way, having just deflected another person, but thanks to that armor, I had no doubts in my mind about his identity, and of his power.

As the sword approached me, I launched myself against him.

His arm extended more than mine, so it should've been his victory, but... I was counting on it and used magic to extend the reach of my sword, creating an extended ice blade and piercing his neck.

Before his body hit the ground, men came from various directions to avenge him.

I knew I couldn't move out of the way in time or block them all, so... From the ice blade still on his neck, I sprawled multiple ice spikes in all directions, cutting down those who charged at me and leaving behind a flower-like ice formation.

Then, wind blades came in my direction, and a water puddle formed beneath my feet.

I launched myself upwards, creating an ice pillar to use as a platform. Believing everything in front of me to be an enemy, I quickly cast a hail of ice needles.

On a high ground like that, I was definitely going to catch too much attention, so I didn't waste any time before jumping out of it, back to what I could only assume were our own men.

Working as a shield, the ice pillar gave me a precious second to breathe and regain my thoughts.

I looked around... But I couldn't tell anything apart.

How the hell would I find the girls?

What if-

Licia: "...!"

Suddenly, I saw a bunch of Snow White Wolves joining the fight.

We had encountered, and... killed a few of them before, but...

This number had to mean Mia summoned her tribe.

Which also meant she was in trouble.

...If I used our telepathic link, there was a chance I'd distract her in a crucial moment.

And I didn't have enough time to think, so... I just got up and joined the fight again.

I was worried about both of them, so I frantically rushed forward.

Considering the personalities of the two of them... The further I got, the better chance I had of finding them.

This also meant I was at risk myself, having to fight while surrounded at all times...

Even though I had seen the enemy formation from above before, now that I was on the ground, it was hard to tell which way I should go or what was happening, so I decided on a direction and went for it.

Unfortunately, the one I found was not Mia.

Claire: "...Tsk."

For a moment, I thought about leaving her be.

Claire was maybe the strongest among all three of us. She was also the most used to war.

A woman like her would probably not fall into a battlefield like this, while Mia, on the other hand, was currently being driven by rage and hate, which could've blinded her and put her in a bad situation.

However, when I saw Claire fall to her knees as the man in the black armor overpowered her, all thoughts left my mind, and I acted on pure instinct.

Before he could reach her, I threw myself, charging with my sword to pierce his sides, but...

Instead of meeting his armor, I felt my sword bounce back, like it had hit an invisible wall.

I couldn't waste any time, so while fixing my stance, I created a thick block of ice in front of Claire, protecting her from his blade.

Using this opportunity, Claire imbued her sword with fire, and her next slash managed to get past his defense, hitting his head.

This, however, wasn't enough to knock the man down.

But she knew it, and continued her attack by jumping on the ice block and swinging against him.

I also extended a spike from the ice block, below Claire, to hopefully pierce his stomach, but it was to no avail.

The block... Broke.

And Claire fell in front of him.

He was prepared to take her neck, but for some reason, Claire wasn't moving out of the way.

My only hope to stop him was to engage directly...

I used the ice shards on the ground to attack him, and tried again to force him back with my sword.

This time, there was no wall to protect him, but instead, the jet streams rose from the ground, hitting me, launching me backwards, and preventing me from seeing what happened.

Then suddenly, Claire jumped in my direction, coated in flames, and she got through his water magic.

Soldiers were still dying all around us, but somehow, Claire found time to speak.

Claire: "...Gravity. Water. And something I can't describe. I counted three. Two should at the very least be Gifts."

With the invisible wall I hit, at least three.

Three different Gifts, maybe more...

The list of people who could do that in this world was extremely short.

And knowing he served Hamperlon, a single name came to my mind.

The name of a General so strong that even Melissa feared him.

A man who should have been dead.

Licia: "Normyu?"

Claire: "Look out!"

I was just... A few moments behind.

Had Claire not pushed me away, I would have lost my head there and then.

But when his sword hit the ground after his largest swing, we saw another one of his powers.

Like an illusion, his body had divided into three, multiplying his swing and affecting a much wider area.

Unfortunately, Claire was not quick enough to get out unscathed.

Blood was pouring out of her arm, as a portion of it had been sliced off.

Quickly, she used her fire magic to cauterize her wound.

Claire: "Shit... Gonna need your help with this one."

...

I sprang forth a bunch of spikes from the ground, forcing the black knight to jump back.

That gave me enough time to ask the most pressing question.

Licia: "You know where Mia is?"

Claire: "Yes. Before I could even say anything, she jumped at that white knight. There."

I couldn't see much of it, however... Mia had entered her Beast Form alongside some of her tribesmen.

And yet... One after the other, I saw their warriors being knocked down or killed by the knight in white.

What was most intriguing, however, was that he did not carry a sword or a lance.

He was fighting bare-handed and still winning against Mia and the others...

Maybe her rage had really blinded her, but... I was even more confused now.

It was unusual for Mia to act this way. More than rage, it was like she was fighting with desperation... Or frustration...

Claire: "Here he comes!"

Licia: "Yes!"

Our opponent, the black knight, didn't speak a word, nor did he seem to care about facing two of us instead of just one.

His attacks were strong, capable of pushing both Claire and me back whenever we clashed.

However, it wasn't all about strength.

With our coordination, we should have been able to hit him multiple times from different angles... Except that we always got blocked by something.

An increase in gravity makes us slower.

That wall, that bounced back our attacks.

His ability to briefly multiply himself...

It was all working against us.

It felt hopeless...

Licia: "How much mana do you have left?"

Claire: "20%... ish... You?"

I didn't have time to respond.

His ability was pretty good, and when he focused on me, I had to give my all to not lose.

Then... He managed to hit Claire again, who fell to the ground.

To protect her, I rushed to her side and created a small dome around us, feeding it mana constantly.

Claire: "Shit... What is this...?"

Black spots had formed around her wounded arm, all of them causing blood to pour out...

And worse... It seemed like they were spreading...

Claire: "Tsk. No choice then."

She was about to cut her own arm, so I...

I panicked.

Not knowing what to do and unable to see a way to win, I put all of my strength into my arm, knowing any less than that wouldn't be enough to knock her down instantly.

I then grabbed her unconscious body and fled from this battle, casting as much magic as I could to distract the black knight.

I froze the ground around me as I created a small ice blade beneath my feet to skate away.

I couldn't leave the field completely though... Not without Mia.

When I reached her, she was in a similar deplorable state.

Looking exhausted, her body was filled with injuries and bleeding cuts.

I could tell that even standing took out a lot of her remaining energy.

Licia: "Call your tribe back! We're retreating!"

Even after seeing how much of a bad idea this was, I shouted, against my better judgment.

Mia: "I... I can't! She-"

Licia: "It was an order! Do it, or I'm knocking you out too!"

I didn't have time to be diplomatic.

As soon as I was close enough to her, I was going to grab and bring her out of there, no matter her opinion.

Thankfully, she listened to me and started running away too.

After Mia disengaged, the white knight killed several men, and I did not dare to look back and see what the black knight was doing.

When I passed by Gullard, I saw him commanding the man to retreat.

I had not noticed it, but... By the time we left, almost everyone in the field was an enemy.

Our mages did their best to protect the castle, but it was as Claire predicted...

No... It was even worse...

We couldn't count on Claire to contest the black knight.

Mia was completely out of it, and I didn't have the luxury to talk with her.

So it was up to me to do something...

...From up on the walls, I looked at the army charging and attacking the magic dome our mages managed to manifest.

Then, I called someone.

Agatha: "Licia? Do you need-"

Licia: "Bring me as many mana potions as you can. The strongest ones."

Agatha: "Huh? Wha-"

Licia: "Just do it. We don't have much time."

Agatha entered the Kingdom following my orders, and I started chanting.

I don't know many spells. As someone who fights on the frontlines, I rarely have the opportunity to chant, and I believe the flexible nature of formless magic blends better with my own fighting style.

However... There is one...

Licia: "May the world freeze underneath the never-ending cold. May my power become an edge of eternal frost. The Ice Crystals of Arkydia rampage!"

My spell froze the field ahead of us. Every single soldier outside the castle was caught in it.

Then, a wave of cold air was sent from my body.

It was met by water streams of the black knight, crashing and dissipating.

I poured more of my mana into it.

All that I had remaining.

The ice crystals started to manifest. The wind became colder, faster, and stronger.

It was still not strong enough to overpower them, especially with their mages preparing their own chants, but... Agatha came back with a bag full of potions.

Before she said a word, I started drinking one.

I had kept just enough mana to not suffer from mana depletion, and then...

Licia: "May the world freeze underneath the never-ending cold. May my power become an edge of eternal frost. The Ice Crystals of Arkydia rampage!"

Agatha: "What are you doing!? That's not-"

Yes...

Putting all of my mana into a spell, by itself, is dangerous.

The limit on the output is unconscious. The body is not meant to release that much mana all at once...

It felt like every cell of my body was on fire.

And that was only about 30% of my total mana.

After replenishing it completely, only to release it all...

My head hurt. My body was exhausted.

Even though I was doing my best to maintain control, ice spikes started sprawling from my own skin, cutting... shattering...

But the results were undeniable.

I won against his jet streams... And the mages...

Well...

Licia: "May the world freeze underneath the never-ending cold. May my power become an edge of eternal frost. The Ice Crystals of Arkydia rampage!"

Agatha: "...Stop! You're bleeding! You are going to-"

Oh... so that's what the warm feeling was...

My eyes... I could barely see anymore, but I still felt tears coming from them...

I thought it was weird since I wasn't feeling like crying...

So it was blood, huh?

Since my eyes were not working properly anymore, and my legs were starting to fail, I knew I only had one more in me.

Unfortunately... I sense an equal amount of mana resisting my attack.

I couldn't tell what it was, but...

My spikes had killed a bunch of men on the battlefield.

I had advanced a little, so...

Just one more...

To protect the girls...

Licia: "...May the world freeze underneath the never-ending cold... May my power become an edge of eternal frost. May my blood fuel The Red Ice Crystals of Arkydia... Sprawl forth!"

Agatha: "Blood magic? No, what's-"

Finally... The crystals had reached far enough...

This should be-

No...

I felt dismay take over my heart...

Even though I couldn't see it anymore... The attack had stopped just short... They still had enough power to resist...

Licia: "Another one..."

Agatha: "I can't. I will not help you-"

I extended my hands, searching for the bag, but Agatha had placed it somewhere else, so... I used magic to sense it...

Thankfully, she is pretty weak, so I could snatch it no matter how much she tried to resist.

I gulped it down in one go, and...

Licia: "...May the world-"

Mia: "Freeze...".

Licia: "Ughn!?"

Mia: "...underneath the never-ending cold. May my power become an edge of eternal frost. The Ice Crystals of Arkydia rampage!"

After all this time... I still can't protect one girl properly...

Pathetic...

I felt as if a thousand needles were piercing my organs... The blood that once came from my eyes has now left my mouth and all the cuts made by the internal spikes.

My consciousness started to fade. I had no strength left.

But before my body abandoned me... I had to make sure...

[Licia: Miwen, I'm sorry.]

Then, everything went black.