Chapter 58: The Counterattack Operation Part 2

The experience of having assaulted a fortress before has proven to be very useful. Because I knew about the enemies’ tactics, I also knew how to move accordingly.

Whenever the invading army soldiers drew closer to me, they refrained from shooting their flaming projectiles to avoid causing harm to their own troops. They instead used the weapons hidden within their armor, which required me to act quickly and strike before they could make any moves. Swiftly killing them before they could react was essential.

I could have used a sword, but I opted to use my sharp exoskeleton claws instead. I had learned how to handle a sword from Alexander, and Hatakeyama’s two swords were incredibly powerful. However, there were times when using my bare hands was more convenient. In fact, just a moment ago, I was able to pick up a weapon and throw it precisely because my hands were free.

“■■■■■!”

“■, ■■■■!”

I still couldn’t make out what the invading soldiers were saying, but it was clear that they were hurling insults at me. They charged at me with swords and spears in hand. I blocked one of the enemies strikes with my reinforced exoskeleton and lunged forward, extending my fingers like a spear, which penetrated the other party’s abdomen.

My fingers protruded from the back of the soldier’s armor, piercing through his body. After pulling my arm out of the soldier, whose strength was draining away, I disarmed him and hurled his weapon at the nearest soldier. Although the sword I threw was deflected by the latter’s armor, the soldier flinched involuntarily.

Seizing the opportunity, I struck with my tail, knocking the soldier off the outer wall. I didn’t poison him, but even if he survived the fall, he would be unable to return to the front lines.

As I mowed down the enemy soldiers and ascended the tower, I unleashed my claws and climbed up to the top to slaughter the soldiers stationed there. Since they were just ordinary soldiers, I easily gained control of the tower’s summit without much of a struggle.

(The white-armored soldiers… there seems to be only one on the wall in the direction where the main force is located. He is likely too busy handling the main force, so he won’t come here. Then, I’ll go in from the inside as well… What’s this?)

Wiping the blood off my hands on the sea of blood spilled by the invading army soldiers, I jumped off the tower to meet up with Tigar and the others. The moment I landed, I felt a slight vibration from the ground I touched. It wasn’t the sound of the Imperial Army’s marching. Something else was rapidly approaching from underground.

I placed both hands on the ground and laid flat to feel the vibration throughout my body. I succeeded in sensing a presence that was advancing from a considerable depth.

The presence stopped directly below the middle of the fortress and then began to rise rapidly. Despite there being only one presence, its power was quite strong, unmistakably that of a white-armored soldier.

In addition, I felt that this soldier was one level stronger than the two I had previously encountered. Facing this formidable opponent, I knew that I could be killed if I didn’t take the fight seriously. While the Demon Squad was a skilled group of warriors, I doubted that they could emerge victorious against this foe.

The presence that emerged on the ground was heading straight towards the gate that Tigar and the others were trying to open from the inside. While it was unlikely that they would be wiped out immediately if a battle broke out, it was certain that there would be casualties.

(I don’t want to be anywhere near a person with a strength that could potentially kill me, but this is an order. I can’t run away from it. Besides…. promises are meant to be kept)

I was willing to do whatever it took to survive and complete my mission, even if it meant doing something cowardly or underhanded. But I also wanted to honor the feelings of those who believed in me. So, I stood up, determined and ready.

Drawing my sword from my waist, I ran towards the gate along the inner wall. Soldiers appeared before me, trying to block my path, but I was not one to be stopped by such things. I put my defenses and the sharpness of my sword to the test as I pushed forward, slashing through everything in my way without being affected by the other parties’ attacks.

In this way, I broke through the enemy soldiers and made it to a position where I could see the gate. There, a fierce battle was raging.

Some of the Demon Squad members were swinging their weapons to destroy the metal gate, while others were covering for their companions by raising their shields or using defensive spiritual arts. The enemy soldiers were mercilessly firing metal fragments and flaming projectiles from a distance. Their attack was intense, and it looked like the demons’ defenses were about to collapse before the gate could be destroyed.

“Garururururu!”

“Woooooh!”

“■■■■!■■■■■■■!”

In the midst of the chaos, Tigar and Zald were holding back the owner of that strong presence, a white-armored soldier, with their combined efforts. It seemed that the white-armored soldier was the one who came from underground. Like the other white-armored soldiers, this one had a strong fighting spirit and spiritual power, but the shape of his armor was significantly different. That was because he had four arms.

To be more precise, there were arm-shaped parts on the back of his armor, and he could use them like his own arms. With a sword in each hand, the soldier deftly wielded his weapons, gaining the upper hand in his skirmish against Tigar and Zald with a swordsmanship technique that could be called a four-sword style.

(I can’t let them die. Alright, let’s do this.)

I flew towards the demon squad, rapidly increasing my spiritual power. Using my spiritual art, I created a thick, semicircular wall of sand between the demon squad and the enemy soldiers. 

From previous battles, I had learned that even shooting metal fragments could not penetrate this sand wall as they would be stopped midway. Similarly, the flaming projectiles from enemy attacks could only burst on the surface of the wall and were unable to create any openings. The sand wall effectively separated the enemy soldiers and the demon squad.

“Ah, it’s you….”

“Thanks for the help.”

Although the demons who were covering for their companions had sustained some injuries, thankfully, no one died. It seemed that I would be able to keep my promise.

I pointed the tip of my sword towards the gate and gestured with my actions, trying to convey that since I’m here now, they should join their friends in destroying the gate without bothering about defense. I was still unable to speak fluently, so I communicated through actions. Fortunately, the demons understood, and all those who were covering for their comrades joined them in destroying the gate.

After seeing that, I ascended to the top of the sand wall that I had created myself. Despite the continuous barrage of attacks from the enemy soldiers, the wall showed no signs of collapsing. Though a few sections had sustained damage from the exploding flaming projectiles, they could easily be repaired. It seemed as though my sand wall was impervious to attacks that lacked the necessary force to demolish it in one fell swoop.

While the enemy soldiers hurled metal fragments in my direction, I paid them no heed and ran along the length of the sand wall. Then, with a mighty leap, I descended upon the white-armored soldier with whom Tigar and Zald were currently engaged in combat.

“■, ■■■!”

He noticed me and backed away. As I landed, my heels sank a little into the ground. I pulled them out with a squelching sound and wielded both swords.

Tigar and Zald were coming to support me from behind, but I stopped them by wagging my tail left and right.  Instead, with the tip of my poisonous stinger, I gestured towards the enemy soldiers who were attempting to scale and breach the sand wall, having abandoned their fruitless efforts to break it with their weapons.

“Oh? What do you mean….”

“Tigar! Over there!”

Tigar was perplexed, not understanding what I was trying to convey, but Zald seemed to grasp the situation immediately. He pulled Tigar’s arm and charged into the midst of the enemy soldiers. The soldiers turned their attention to Tigar and Zald, intent on dealing with them before addressing the sand wall. With the two of them combined, the ordinary soldiers posed no threat and would most likely be easily dispatched.

Meanwhile, I focused my attention on the formidable opponent in front of me. With four arms swaying back and forth, he muttered something under his breath and directed his clear killing intent towards me. If he wanted a target, he should aim for me. In the meantime, the demon squad would demolish the gate.

Once that was done, the mission would be complete. If I survived until then, I would be the victor. If he managed to kill me before that, he would be the winner. It was a simple battle.

“■■! ■■! ■■! ■■! ■■■■■!” 

With his four arms in motion, the white-armored soldier swung at me. I countered by deflecting one sword strike with my right hand, blocking another with my left, and using my tail to bounce one off. Despite my efforts, the final sword strike landed on my shoulder, impossible to parry.

His swords were all high-quality and reinforced with spiritual power, and although they never managed to cut through one of Hatakeyama’s swords,  he did manage to shave off a bit of my shoulder exoskeleton, sending shards flying into my jaw.

Even though it was reinforced to the limit, he still managed to shave off some of my exoskeleton….to actually injure the exoskeleton I was so proud; as I expected, he’s quite strong. This is the first time I’ve been outmatched in terms of sheer power.

But there’s no need to be overly afraid. The exoskeleton is already starting to repair itself with my fighting spirit, and the blade haven’t reached the flesh inside. And there’s not as big a difference in strength between us as there was between me and Georg when I was first born.

I faced his four swords with my two swords and tail, but as expected, his swordsmanship was several levels above mine. I could barely defend myself, let alone counterattack, and his blades kept shaving off bits of my exoskeleton. Sparks flew and exoskeleton shards flew as the blades hit my shoulder, chest, waist, and legs.

(This is not good… I’ll be cut deeply sooner or later. What should I do? Damn it, if only I had four arms too… Wait arms?)

As I continued to parry and dodge, I pondered on what to do. Then, a sudden idea struck me. The enemy had four arms and was overwhelming me with their speed. So why not increase my own number of attacks?

In an instant, I boosted my spiritual power and conjured sand into the shape of two pincers. These pincers were like extensions of my arms and, as a former a beast, I was more accustomed to using them than my regular limbs. They felt natural and easy to wield.

“■■■! ■■■■■■!”

I controlled the floating sand pincers and sent them slicing towards the enemy’s elbows and knees. The enemy soldier grew irritated and swung his sword in response. Of course, these pincers were made from sand and hardened by spiritual power; hence, they were easily shattered by the enemy’s sharp sword attacks.

When I created the sand wall earlier, I had realized that while sand was brittle as a material, it was easy to repair and could be hardened to reduce the force of an impact. The scattered pincers quickly reassembled themselves, and I aimed them once again at the enemy’s legs. The enemy soldier lifted his leg in annoyance to avoid them.

In response, I swung my swords at the enemy. The black sword, crafted from my claws, embedded itself into the enemy’s sword. However, the white sword previously used by the holy knight was deflected, and my poisonous stinger was pushed back. It was a clash between the enemy’s four swords and my two swords, two claws, and one tail. The fight was evenly matched, but any kind of support would easily tip the balance.

“■■■■■!”

Then that support arrived for the enemy. A black armored soldier, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, emerged onto the scene and fired a large metal ball at me from a long, cylindrical-shaped weapon. The projectile traveled at an incredible speed and collided with my shoulder, causing a powerful impact that threw off my balance. Taking advantage of my momentary weakness, the enemy’s four swords attacked me from all directions.

I managed to block the swords approaching from three directions with my two swords and tail. However, I couldn’t block the remaining sword coming from below. The enemy’s sword ruthlessly sliced through my torso, cutting through my exoskeleton and flesh, causing bright red blood to spatter into the air.