Arc 7, Chapter 98 – “The Pleiades Battalion”

Arc 7 Chapter 97#rezero #リゼロ pic.twitter.com/o5fYJKVMdS

— ☆witchy☆ (@witchcultist) January 6, 2023

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Machine Translated By:

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This an edited Machine Translation, which has been checked by at least one Japanese-English Human Translator for quality using feedback from the machine translators and prooferaders. This may have a quality dip in accuracy, therefore, if you read this chapter you must take into consideration the tradeoffs between speed and quality.

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――The Kingdom of Lugunica. The Vollachian Empire. The Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. The Kararagi City-States.

Each of these nations, commonly referred to as the Four Great Countries, had developed its own culture, which was tailored to its land; Most notable amongst them, were the pro-dragon mentality of the Kingdom of Lugunica and the Spirit-focused creed of the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. The Four Great Countries had taken different paths, as if by design.

This was true not only in terms of national customs and culture, but also in terms of the quality of their “warriors”.

In the Vollachian Empire, “magic” had hardly developed at all.

Whether people were within its borders or not mattered naught, as the Gates that people possessed, and other prerequisites of that ilk, differed in nothing from those possessed by those of another countries. But compared to Lugunica and Kararagi, the Empire lagged far behind the others in this area.

The Empire, however, did not take that fact to heart.

Of course, falling behind other countries in any field was not welcome, but the fact that the field of magic was not developed meant that other fields had been developed instead.

Compared to the technological prowess of the Kararagi City-States, the Spiritual Arts and Curse Arts of the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, and the magical disciplines of the Kingdom of Lugunica, the Vollachian Empire excelled in the martial arts.

???: [Sometimes it’s faster to just swoop in and hit them than to use magic, right?]

And, while this not-Spiritual Arts User-like statement was one that ought not be espoused by one such person, the gist of the general attitude towards magic in the Vollachian Empire was more-or-less that.

Though it was a highly misunderstood fact, the kind that had gone unwritten in any books at that, the use of Mana in the human body was not only limited to casting magic.

No small number of martial arts techniques had their foundation in the use of Mana, in the same way it was used in Spirit Arts, Curse Arts, and in the activation of some Meteors.

It was perfectly natural for an elite warrior, especially, to use Mana to strengthen his own body.

Supposing an occasion where one possessing unnatural physical abilities were to be compared to an ordinary person, the trick would lay in the handling of the Mana that circulated within the body――a technique called the Flow Method, which was done consciously.

However――,

???: [Cha-cha-cha-cha!]

With a thump, only one foot touched the ground, and in an instant the distance closed by a dozen meters.

Tracking the figure, from the perspective of a bystander, would seem as if time had been stolen, given its extraordinary body movements. But that was no optical illusion, nor was there present an anomaly in said bystander’s eyes.

The anomaly was none other than the blue-haired boy running through the battlefield.

Following the explanation given immediately before, the boy’s sprinting, which effortlessly transcended human limitations, was without a doubt brought about by the Flow Method. However, there was no caveat to the boy’s young age and sharp good looks; no record of the days spent learning such techniques was present, apparently.

In the world, beings of the sort were seldom seen. ――Beings who were born unknowingly exercising the Flow Method, which was even said to be the pinnacle of martial arts, beings that left those shackled by the natural order in the dust.

Running down the hillside in a single breath, the boy plunged into the battlefield in search of the honor of being the vanguard.

Although――,

Blue-Haired Boy: [If the battle’s already begun, the honor of being the vanguard isn’t there, but let’s not fret about the details!]

Intruding upon the battlefield hailing from the western lands, he gazed at the great army surrounding the star-shaped ramparts in the distance. The long, slit eyes of the boy were blazing, moist with excitement unthinkable in a battlefield where grief and joy alternated.

A being that went into battle without proper footwear, without armor or a helmet, without a cause of any kind―― a barbaric act that could be seen as hostile by those inside and by those outside the walls both; by those who wished to protect the current Empire, and by those who wanted to destroy it.

However――,

Blue-Haired Boy: [The high level of ambition is a point worthy of note. With or without it, the appeal of your speech that flows from your mouth changes. It’s just――]

???: [Who the!?]

Small groups dressed in red gear and crude armor, each composed of dozens of people clearly hostile to one another, were engaged in skirmishes. The young boy, unconnected to either, intruded; a soldier wielding a sword cried out.

‘Twas an admirably clear tone of voice, holding a mixture of anger, frustration, excitement, but fighting spirit prevailed. It was a clever move, one which incited caution towards someone who had intruded on the battlefield.

Blue-Haired Boy: [――But it’s fatally slow!]

???: [Kah!]

Shouting had been the right choice, but stopping and asking their identity had been a misstep.

The right choice would be to assume any being who appeared on the battlefield without revealing his or her allegiance to be an enemy. The soldier should not have stopped at only alerting his surroundings, he ought to have attacked with his sword upon hearing that voice.

Still, the enemy was faster, and if needed, ten or twenty other faults could be pointed out.

Blue-Haired Boy: [Oh, and if what you just said was a line that came out because you didn’t ask my affiliation, but because you had no idea who I was, then, sorry for being too lightning-fast, I’d say.]

Behind the boy babbling nonstop, a soldier opening his eyes wide collapsed onto the ground. As they passed each other, the former had driven his hand akin to a sharp blade into the other’s neck. The boy had expected himself to be capable of chopping the soldier’s head off, but the blow had not been powerful enough.

Shaking and swinging his arms around, he twisted his head as he felt that something was off after all.

Blue-Haired Boy: [It’s so frustrating when you feel able to do something, but actually aren’t. Not that I have any plans to mix up my ideals and wishes with what’s realistically feasible. Well, if I accidentally let him die, I’m going to sink in the Boss’s estimation, so let’s call that a good result!]

Immediately after shaking off his uncertainty so brusquely, the laughing boy’s figure turned into a blur.

A moment later, he avoided a sword strike descending on his position, and the back of the boy’s zori hit the soldier’s face from the side, launching him in the opposite direction [1]. Furthermore, the boy leapt off the soldier as he kicked him, and landing amidst the group who was tailing the soldier, he delivered a single blow to a vital point of each one of them before disengaging―― Rather, taking the opportunity as he withdrew,  he slipped right into a group nearby, cutting off the consciousness of another five or so. All had happened in the blink of an eye.

Both the follow-up and the main objective were a criminal act to bereave the surrounding soldiers of their time.

In other words, the mastery of this boy over his own body was beyond human comprehension and could not be pursued with raw strength―― one could call it the ultimate lineage of martial arts developed in the Vollachian Empire.

Of course, it was not so easy for anyone to analyze such a situation on the battlefield, or to swallow the fact that a child twelve or thirteen years of age could be capable of such a thing.

Above anything else――,

Blue-Haired Boy: [――Tactless.]

???: [――――]

Blue-Haired Boy: [It’s tactless to try to undermine the skill and good looks of a star actor during his performance. On stage, nothing more is needed than to be admired, to enthrall and captivate. Of course, if I were to ascend to the stage in the same way, I’d have to assert a more flamboyant appearance by means of an opponent… worthy of it.]

The group gasped at the boy frowning down upon his surroundings, as he stood in the middle of the Imperial Soldiers slowly becoming discouraged.

The soldiers on both sides were supposed to be clashing weapons and fighting for their lives, yet were overwhelmed by the boy’s presence, bereaved not only of their time, but their very lives.

Blue-Haired Boy: [Hmmm, the blessing of an actor…]

Was to bereave others of their lives. The boy got a certain satisfaction from that realization.

As the boy was savoring this sense of accomplishment, among the numerous defeated soldiers bereft of their time that were opposing the Imperial Soldiers, was one poorly-armed warrior who opened his mouth with a “You”,

Soldier: [Where’s this guy from? Is he one of ours?]

Blue-Haired Boy: [Hmm, hmmhmm, whose side am I on? That’s quite a good question from you. What do you think I am? Friend or foe?]

Soldier: [――――]

The warrior clammed up once he had his question returned with another question delivered in such a “I can’t be bothered” fashion. The boy’s smile deepened at this, shaking his head, letting out “No, no”,

Blue-Haired Boy: [I wasn’t teasing you. I was just thinking about it seriously, too. I’m constantly thinking about that stuff. I didn’t really listen to the Boss, so I don’t really know who’s on my side.]

Soldier: [Huh?]

Blue-Haired Boy: [So for now, I’m just going to act as the herald of justice for both sides.]

The warrior widened his eyes with amazement, then his startled face became a horizontal blur, and in the moment subsequent to that, he was flipped over onto the ground.

The smirking boy’s figure vanished into thin air, and this time he sneakily intruded into a group of warriors who had been fighting the Imperial Soldiers he had just defeated, and vigorously he beat them all down.

As the blue hair danced, as the sound of sharp strikes seemingly echoed through the air, the consciousnesses of the warriors were erased without as much as a bitter cry. This violence, was just like a storm―― No, it was like,

???: [A Blue Thunderbolt…]

Blue-Haired Boy: [Oh, marvelous. That’s precisely the alias I was thinking of calling myself, too.]

The warrior, who spilled a breath snatched in shock, was rendered unconscious after the end of that sentence.

It was the Vollachian way to respond to both friendly and hostile attitudes with equal violence―― yet, this savagery would probably even make the Emperor of this country raise his eyebrows.

But no one was capable of stopping the boy.

Yet it remained absolutely the correct thing to do according to the way of the Empire.

???: [OOOOOOOOOOOOOHH――!]

Belayed did the warriors respond to the threat posed by that small whirlwind of a boy.

No longer were there any distinctions between Imperial Soldiers and rebels, but everyone was united in the thought of stopping that boy. It was, in a sense, the scene of a great achievement, that of stopping a civil war single-handedly, if only in this small space.

However, the steeled resolve of these heroes was not met with a peaceful answer.

Lean back to avoid the blade. Dance backwards to avoid fist strikes. Slip between the legs to avoid axe blows. Dodge arrows, dodge spears, dodge fangs, dodge shields, avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid, duck, duck, duck, duck, evade, evade, evade, evade, dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge――.

???: [Without any weapon…]

Blue-Haired Boy: [Yeah, that’s quite a predicament. I’d like to embellish my highlight poses by showing off my skills with a weapon rather than with my bare hands, but I don’t want to use something half-baked either. After all, the best only know the best. Ah, look at me sounding like the Boss.]

???: [Bosu…?]

Blue-Haired Boy: [Right. ――He’s our, the Pleiades Battalion’s, leader!]

The boy’s smile grew deeper as he boasted, effortlessly dodging the killing intent and hostility being hurled at him. The unfamiliar words uttered by the boy’s mouth filled the warriors with a sense of inexplicable fear.

Any of them were supposed to have been willing to risk their own lives in the battle to decide the course of this Empire.

Nevertheless, they did not know the affiliation of the boy toying with them, the limit to his strength, the true meaning of his words and deeds, or anything else.

Even though they did not know what was going on, everything seemed to be going as per the boy’s wishes――.

――The next moment, a tremendous war cry was heard, hailing from the direction of some hills in the far distance.

Who could blame the warriors for shuddering with a “Hk――”? Similar turmoil and confusion spread to the other warriors as well.

Hence, the smile on the boy’s mouth became larger, not because he was mocking the frightened state of the warriors, but due to something more straightforward.

Blue-Haired Boy: [Well, thus concludes the first climax, Boss. ――Make sure to finish it off flamboyantly.]

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At this point, it is necessary to mention a very unfortunate fact about “magic”.

It would be an issue different from the one described previously, that of the Vollachian Empire having only developed physical martial arts and the Flow Method, rather than having developed magical techniques.

Amidst the six magic attributes in which the magic system of the world was divided, Yin Magic and Yang Magic had only a few wielders, but the neglect they suffered was justified by reasons other than their study being difficult.

Manipulating temperature, the Fire attribute produced flames and even ice.

Interfering with an organism’s life force, the Water attribute facilitated the healing of wounds and illnesses, saving lives.

Arranging the environment by interfering with the atmosphere, the Wind attribute was able to even secure habitable areas in inhospitable regions.

Manipulating the earth’s power, the Earth attribute could fertilize as well as starve out the land.

Compared to each of those attributes, the usage of which could be clearly envisioned, the Yin and Yang attributes were basically thought of as effects that either enhanced or hampered the performance of one’s body.

While technically a misconception, the fact that such an image had taken hold was a major factor as to why the development of magic of the Yin and Yang attributes was so lacking.

And albeit surprising, the one that still possessed a reputation for being especially out of place and useless was the Yang attribute―― which held the power to enhance people’s capabilities.

Knowing the primary effects of Yang Magic, many may be tempted to question the assessment it received.

However, the more one attempted to take advantage of the features of Yang Magic, the bigger and more unavoidable its problems became.

For example, when it came down to performance on the battlefield, those who enhanced their physical abilities via Yang Magic would suffer complete defeat by the enemy, in most cases.

The reason was simple. They could not handle their own enhanced bodies at all, they were unable to demonstrate their strength whatsoever; it was as if they were in control of someone else’s body.

Enhancing one’s abilities could perhaps be summed up as strengthening the five senses, such as eyesight and hearing; enhancing physical abilities, such as arm and leg strength; and strengthening defenses, such as increasing bone and muscle density.

However, warriors would always train their own bodies, would always take to the battlefield with a complete grasp on their own skills.

As for those targeted by Yang Magic, they would discard their normal selves and head to the battlefield in a new body donning enhanced specs. As a result, many of them would perish without achieving anything.

The problem went even further, as the efficacy of Yang Magic was greatly affected by the skill of the caster themselves, as well as their physical and mental condition that day.

Even if a warrior who had been subjected to Yang Magic were able to adapt to his enhanced body, there was no guarantee that the same enhancement being performed by the same caster on the very next day would be as effective.

Yang Magic was not expected to improve one’s ability to fight consistently; on the contrary, it was recognized as a flaw that prevented one from demonstrating one’s usual abilities in adequate fashion. ――This, was the reason why Yang Magic had been neglected.

In the past, the Vollachian Empire had also focused its attention on the power of magic, and it’d had an Emperor who had intended to amass the most powerful army. The Thirty-First Emperor of the Vollachian Empire, Murkia Vollachia, had planned to utilize Yang Magic to turn a powerful army into an even more powerful one.

Taking into account the aforementioned shortcomings, he had enlisted Yang Magic users into his powerful army, training them so that their enhanced state would become their natural state, and then went into actual battle.

However, the results that had unfolded had been disastrous; the powerful army became dependent on the enhancements, being defeated before any Yang Magic could be applied. The skills of the casters, so essential they were, varied; and being unable to function in a cohesive fashion, the army had been sent packing by forces superior in numbers. Even the Emperor’s life had been in jeopardy.

The war finally concluded when Viva the Dissector, a close ally of the then-Emperor of Vollachia, ended the enemy leader. But because of this colossal defeat, Murkia Vollachia was engraved into history with an ignominious alias, “The Emperor of the Great Defeat”.

Because of this precedent, the value of Yang Magic, and thus the value of magic as a whole, was reduced in Vollachia, leading to the spread of the idea that mastery of martial arts was the mark of a strong soldier.

This had not changed to this day, and Vincent Vollachia, with all his wisdom, had dismissed the use of Yang Magic in group battles as something that dispensed consideration.

In fact, given a user of Yang Magic was only capable of enhancing one target at a time, the deployment of an army that required a plurality of soldiers working in unison was a pipe dream.

Therefore, Yin Magic had remained as a means of harassment, in the sense that it inflicted unusual physical effects on the enemy, but magic had declined in the Vollachian Empire―― even in other countries, Yang Magic was considered a cursed practice that was seldom used barring for self-enhancement.

――However, as with everything, there were exceptions. 

???: [Let’s do it, you guys――!!]

With a large inhale, the boy’s voice, still shrill, was raised in the hills off to the distant west of the battlefield.

With the boy at their heart, the warriors who spread out atop the hill―― a band of no fewer than several thousand people raised their flag, one after the other, for the sake of expressing the unity and will of the group. 

A symbol of a will to fight that must never subside, one of the large flags was also held aloft beside the boy by a man whose body was covered in tattoos, accompanied by a gray lizardman, and a man with a dull appearance that yet contained a dignified look in his eyes.

Depicted on the hoisted flag, recognizable even from a distance, was an emblem with the shape of a star.

It was not the crest of one’s family nor the national emblem, but merely the proof of where their hearts lay; a declaration of war of that kind, and naught else.

The group assembled was a diverse one―― without exaggeration, it was composed of many races.

Even within Vollachia, where a gargantuan number of species lived and coexisted, there were few relationships consisting of cooperation across racial boundaries. One of the few exceptions which had been able to function as a city was the Demon City of Chaosflame, and even during the siege of the Imperial Capital, there had been no semblance of cooperation among the rebels.

And yet, this group was different.

One could look at it as if they were merely working together for the sake of the same goal. However, that alone would not be able to gather them under a flag to demonstrate their collective will. 

It was not that they possessed the same goals, rather, they possessed a shared will. 

Hence why this group―― Nay, why the Pleiades Battalion, was capable of serving as a trump card.

Spearheading those banners and the comrades he had gathered, a boy of black hair―― Natsuki Subaru, exclaimed.

Subaru: [――WE, ARE THE STRONGEST!!]

Pleiades: [STRONGEST! STRONGEST!! STRONGEST――!!!]

A war cry was raised in unison, thundering throughout the sky, as tremendous fighting spirit spread through the battlefield like tongues of flame.

Beatrice, embraced within Subaru’s arms as he yelled, covered her ears, staring bewildered. Likewise, Louis also jumped onto Subaru, though only those two young girls were surprised.

Subaru: [――WE, ARE INVINCIBLE!!]

Pleiades: [INVINCIBLE! INVINCIBLE!! INVINCIBLE――!!!]

Hiain, Weitz, Idra, Gustav, Orson’s group, Old Man Null, Rex, Milzac, Kashew, Moizo, Deeroy, Creegkin, Codroe, Phenmelle, Jawsrough, Tanza; each one of them roared loudly.

The ground quaked as they stamped their feet upon the soil, the quaking beckoning further quaking, as they roused their fighting spirit.

The recesses of his chest were burning. 

That burning, burning, oh so burning, promising, irresistible something, coursed through the entirety of his body.

Letting that burning, promising, irresistible something ride off his tongue――,

Subaru: [――OHHHHHHHHHHH INEVITABLE FAAAAAAAATE!!]

Pleiades: [BRING IT ON! BRING IT ON!! BRING IT ONNNNNNN――!!!]

The group bellowed in unison, and all of their eyes turned to the fore, to the battlefield at the foot of the hill.

And then――,

Subaru: [――Here we go.]

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The sensation of the sky, of the ground, of the world shaking was felt by everyone on the battlefield at that moment.

Among those who could not treat it as somebody else’s problem, were those on the western ramparts who would come to meet the flag-bearing groups running down the hillside from head-on―― in other words, the Imperial Soldiers that had been ordered to defend the fourth bastion, which was closest to said posse.

???: [But――]

Not giving in to their fighting spirit, Imperial General Second-Class Gudda Dialmo, the Tiger Hunter, held his ground.

For a moment, they had been overwhelmed by the sudden appearance and high morale of the opposition, but the Imperial Soldiers subordinate to the Tiger Hunter, were not so wet behind the ears as to be overwhelmed by loose cannons of the sort, however.

Above all, the wear and tear on Gudda and his men was almost minimal as far as this battlefield was concerned.

A tremendous siege had been laid against the Imperial Capital, but the harsh attacks made against the other bastions had brought on almost no effects on this fourth bastion.

Without a doubt, that was Olbart Dunkelkenn’s achievement, who reigned as the guardian of the fourth bastion. It could be called a demonstration of the Vicious Old Man’s capabilities.

???: [In the first place, it’s a good idea ta cut off the opponent’s legs before they even make it here. Basic rule of warfare’s ta sever everythin’ ya can’t fight without, be it water or weapons.]

The Vicious Old Man described the reason why the enemy’s offensive was overwhelmingly weak compared to other bastions with cruelty such that it sent chills down the spines of the troops imagining the horror of not being on the same side as him.

However, even Olbart had been forced to rush to another bastion to fulfil his role of protecting the Imperial Capital, as it was about to be broken through.

Therefore, the fourth bastion was currently lacking the power of the Divine Generals, the greatest strength of the Empire.

Olbart’s legacy, his trained superhuman shinobi, were needed to deal with the Flying Dragon Squadron that had appeared from the sky in the same direction the approaching army hailed from, the west.

Since they did not possess any ranged weapons, the shinobi’s techniques were their only means of defending themselves against the Flying Dragon Squadron.

And in regards to the group fiercely rushing in――,

Gudda: [――I’ll deal with you with all my soul!]

With these words, Gudda Dialmo stared at the enemy in front of him, carrying the signature armament of the Tiger Hunter―― two metal clubs, each weighing nearly a hundred kilograms.

Gudda’s alias was attributed to the fact that, back when he was still a General Third-Class, he had decimated a group of tigerpeople who were tyrannizing the country, taking the head of the enemy leader who had killed the General Second-Class previously in command.

As a result of that heroic fight to the death, the muscular body of the over two-meter-tall Gudda was scarred from head to belly with white marks left by tiger claws, so he came to be known as the “Tiger Hunter” after word of that fierce battle had spread.

Gudda’s will to fight had remained unshaken even as his army was on the verge of collapse after its General had been killed.

Henceforth, why should he be afraid of being outnumbered, with the heavy burden that laid at his back?

Gudda: [We’ll take you on!]

With a yell like a cannon firing, Gudda’s huge body kicked off the ground and closed in on the enemy horde.

Following Gudda’s lead, his subordinates, each carrying their weapons of choice, rushed toward the star-bearing flag looming from the west.

Gudda: [――That one.]

As his own feet brought him closer to the moment of the groups’ clash, Gudda strained his eyes, focusing on the vanguard of the enemy―― in front of the group that was causing the ground to rumble, was present a red Galewind Horse charging in.

What had caught his attention was the man pulling the reins of the Galewind Horse―― Nay, that was false. The man was merely a reinsman, rather, what had warranted his attention was the small figure the man riding on the Galewind Horse carried.

A black-haired boy holding a girl in his arms was looking straight at them with his dark eyes.

In that moment, the only thought passing through Gudda’s mind was that the boy was neither running ahead nor deviating from his position, but was charging forward as if it were natural for him to be in that position.

A boy of black hair and black eyes, just like the black-haired Crown Prince in the rumor that had been spread since before the start of the war.

Gudda: [――Hk!]

Gudda killed off the thought by clenching his molars, focusing on what he must do.

Taking advantage of a ridiculous rumor, the rebels had prepared a large number of black-haired Crown Princes and challenged the Imperial Capital to a decisive battle, foolishly so. Therefore, the Generals who had been tasked with defending the Capital―― or rather, all the troops, Privates and Generals alike, had made up their minds.

The authenticity of the black-haired child is of no concern. ――There is but one Emperor we ought to look up to.

Gudda: [――You damned traitors, stabbing our Emperor Vincent Vollachia in the back!!]

Dual-wielding his two heavy metal clubs, Gudda roared like a tiger, symbol of what he hunted as per his name, and drew nearer to the boy charging at the front of the pack.

At the front, was a boy riding a red Galewind Horse whom the rebels were following.

Being a General himself, Gudda wished to crush the enemy’s fighting spirit with a single blow by mowing them all down, so he did. The impact of the strike was so tremendous that it would cause fragile eardrums to explode.

Gudda’s thick arms also felt a satisfying feedback, but his eyes widened.

The black-haired boy was supposed to have been crushed together with the Galewind Horse, but what the metal clubs had perceived was neither the boy, nor the Galewind Horse he was riding――,

???: [I have to protect Schwartz, as it is now my duty as the official.]

With a body larger than his Gudda’s own, with four thick, strong arms, he held a large shield in his hand, which he used to directly block the blow―― or rather, both blows from Gudda’s metal clubs.

Gudda’s throat choked up at the sight, one that was astonishing even taking into account the physical capabilities of the Multi-Arm Tribe.

Slipping into that momentary delay――,

???: [And… it’s my job to beat up Schwartz’s enemies…!]

Gudda: [——Hk!]

The voice, hushed yet courageous, and filled with a strong sense of pride and honor, had its owner pummel Gudda in the torso, launching the latter’s massive body into the sky.

The man who Gudda had seen strike him as he let out a “Gah” donned tattoos all over his body and wielded a large two-handed hammer.

He was well-trained. But with his physique and amateurish movements, how could he have―― No, the correct thing to question was not merely what had happened to his own body.

Rebels: [OOORAAAAHH——!!!]

Gudda, who had taken the lead, was blown away, and the clashes between the rebels and Imperial Soldiers continued afterwards.

Even if Gudda’s head were to be chopped off, he had trained his men well enough so that they would not lose their will to fight. It was precisely because of this pride that they could hardly believe their own eyes.

All at once, before they could even mount a decent resistance, the Imperial Soldiers were utterly crushed and pulverized by the offense of the oncoming rebel horde.

The sight was so shocking that Gudda’s entire body was filled with an indignation greater than the one he had felt back when he had witnessed the head of his General crushed to bits right before his eyes――,

Gudda: [――This is absurd.]

And so, the battle-hardened General let out a hoarse breath at an utterly incomprehensible sight.

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――As with everything, there were exceptions.

The sole exception was the Pleiades Battalion, a threatening group of amateurs that had crushed the mighty General that was Gudda Dialmo, and the strong warriors he had trained.

They possessed not techniques they had practiced, they possessed not fine armaments, they possessed not even a firm cause.

All they possessed was a really, really strong will to unite, and a vow to themselves that they would not back down no matter what.

And that was precisely the kind of thing that made the Pleiades Battalion an extraordinary group of people.

Recall the lengthy lecture on the shortcomings of Yang Magic.

Its use, which depended on the skill of the caster and the number of people, would often disrupt people’s coordination, being labelled as foolish as it had earned the former Emperor the stigmatic moniker of “The Emperor of the Great Defeat”. Even Vincent Vollachia, who was proclaimed as a wise Emperor, had quickly abandoned the idea of utilizing it at the consideration stage.

But what if, hypothetically, something like it was possible?

Hundreds, or even thousands of troops, in their entirety, being given a uniform enhancement of the same effectiveness? And yet, none of them suffering from the gap between their original fighting ability and the skill level of their strengthened selves?

And the key to that being the lack of a need to have the number of Yang Magic users being the same as the number of troops? ――If such dreamlike or miraculous conditions were met, would it not be feasible?

It was a pipe dream that Vincent Vollachia would laugh at and discard, were he to hear of it.

A group of incidental coincidences that would even be said to be possible only in this time of war, in this situation, in this circumstance.

Only those who accepted Natsuki Subaru―― or rather, “Natsuki Schwartz”, as the center of themselves, those who sincerely thought of him as their comrade, those who sincerely believed in him as their companion, would be able to achieve a miracle.

――The strengthening effect of the Yang Magic would be applied to each of the individuals Subaru shared the effect of Cor Leonis with; that was, all of the allies who worked alongside him.

The power of the Little King, originally intended to share wounds and burdens, would now be abused; the power which the King alone could not handle fully, would now be handled together with the comrades that supported him.

Hence, the Pleiades Battalion――,

Subaru: [――I love you, all of you!!]

The thousands of “non-combatants” who traveled with Natsuki Subaru were transformed into an army of warriors, beginning to lay waste to every battlefield in this battle for the Imperial Capital.

 

 

[1] – A Zōri is a traditional kind of Japanese footwear, resembling a sandal. More information here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zori