CH 268

About an hour before the fight with Thoria began. In the Glock Village, Ardis and the others had been preparing.

Equipping the hundred fifty people, splitting them into several groups, and naming a leader in each of them.

Consumables such as arrows and medicine, water for extinguishing fire, they had been gathering supplies here and there from the village.

As for Ardis, he’s walking around the village without participating in their preparation. Of course, it’s not like he’s slacking either.

He had been going around and changing the fences for fending off beasts to walls made from dirt and stone.

Watching the five-meter wall being created at an incredible pace, the people that don’t know Ardis well was shocked.

「Should we be helping? 」

「No, it’s better we rest to save in power. Ardis-san is…… well, it’s Ardis-san after all. 」

Ellenoa who asked in worry was responded by Kyrill with a given up expression. It took Ardis about thirty minutes to completely surround the whole Glock Village with walls.

「Oooh, that’s a magnificent wall. With this, won’t we be able to defend against the Thoria army easily? 」

「That’s still up for debate I think. Since it’s quickly made, it doesn’t have the toughness, in any case, dragging the fight for long is not beneficial.」

Ardis replied with a skeptical thinking. Even being humble, Ardis was doing something that would be extremely exhausting normally, making a wall that covers a village that five thousand people live in.

Although about a thousand people had left the village, and now only four thousand remain, it doesn’t mean the village will shrink.

Since their time is limited, only the looks was great, the toughness itself would not stand against an upper-grade spell.

For defensive walls, their basic function is to be tough, but since Ardis hasn’t been considering a defensive battle from the start, it didn’t matter.

If they prolonged the battle, the Thoria army might take out sieging weapons, and it would be a trouble for Glock Village that doesn’t even have any reinforcements.

The defensive wall is just for the sake of defending against surprise attack, Ardis insisted that they will be taking the initiative to attack.

Moore as well seemed to understand that, and only excluding fifty people for reserve guards, the other are focused for a frontal clash with the Thoria army.

The enemy including mercenaries are about a thousand men. On the other hand, the Glock Village excluding the guards will only have a hundred twenty-one people.

The difference in force was about eight to one. Despite having the advantage because they are on the defensive side, also, thinking about the fact they have the wall, they are still at a disadvantage.

However, at the very least, there wasn’t anyone around Ardis that seemed despaired. Eventually, the Thoria army showed themselves at the east of the village.

「It’s exactly the number that Sera said huh. 」

From on top of the wall, seeing the Thoria army, Ardis’s face turned sour. Seeing his displeased face, Kyrill who seemed to interpret it differently anxiously asked.

「Will we, win……? 」

「Nn? ……Yeah, no problem there. 」

Ardis reached out his hand towards Kyrill who was not that much different in height, and patted his head.

「Umm, please don’t treat me like a child……」

「My bad, my bad. 」

Seeing Kyrill’s face that seemed like inexplicable, Ardis once again faced back to the army.

The army was heading straight towards the Glock Village. However, now that they have reached just outside the range of arrows, they stopped moving.

Rather than preparing to attack, it seemed more correct to describe them a little confused and stopped walking.

Ardis understands them. After all, they probably thought they came to conquer a remote mining village as an easy target, however, their destination had walls like a fort.

It’s normal to be confused. Unlike the information they got before, the commanding general seemed really panicking at the sight that was unexpected.

「They’re not moving huh. 」

「Should I go and incite them? 」

Ardis asked Moore.

「Doing that purposefully is……」

There were weak objection and no one agreed.

「Their intention is us from the beginning. That’s why, it’s better to make the first move and take the initiative.」

In the end, the person that raised the idea himself, Ardis had taken up the role. Disregarding the worried voices from the surroundings, Ardis himself scaled over the wall and jumped down.

Floating himself just before landing on the ground for a moment, he started walking towards the Thoria army in leisure.

While seeing Ardis heading towards the Thoria army, Kain who was on top of the defensive wall commented.

「Is he really fine on his own? No matter how strong Ardis is, there’re too many enemies right? 」

Although he asked Moore, the one that answered was the female magician, Ellenoa from behind.

「I’m sure he’s fine. 」

Her voice was full of confidence.

「He had finished off a thousand cavalries of the Empire before already. As a witness to that, there’s no mistake he will be fine.」

Ellenoa who had gone for war as a student in the past was saved by Ardis. The overwhelming magic that she saw during then is still engraved in her eyes.

That’s why, she could watch Ardis go without a sliver of doubt. Hearing Ellenoa, Moore had a bitter smile.

「When I look at him, I realize I’m just a lowly human. 」

「That much? 」

Like Cain, Endory who is also Moore’s subordinate seemed skeptical.

Moore is one of the best swordsman in the Kingdom known by many. For them who has witnessed his strength in training and actual combat, they probably couldn’t trust their powerful superior saying so.

「What will captain do when facing Ardis in a war? 」

Although it was purely curiosity, Kain raised a scenario, and Moore immediately answered.

「I will be escaping to a safe place immediately, then think after that. 」

「I think the order is reversed though. 」

「So what. Reverse or not, there’s no meaning if you died without knowing why. 」

Moore seemingly didn’t think that it was shameful, rather, his expression was full of 『What nonsense are you spouting』.

Excluding Kyrill and Ellenoa who was strangely calm, the remaining people were all a little suspicious.

「Well, seeing is believing. 」

If Minerva is around, there would be another ally for him but, honestly speaking, Moore didn’t think too much about it.

Probably taking Moore’s words as a joke, there were quite a few people among the guards that laughed.

However, he is sure that their expression will soon freeze. In fact, everyone there knew soon that Moore’s words was not any joke.

Ardis walked slowly towards the Thoria army. Opposite of that, the Thoria army seemed to be moving in response as well.

Although hard to see from afar, the army seemed to spread out horizontally and few stepped front.

「Archers huh. 」

Someone of the guards said as the representative. It is a proper measure for an approaching enemy, and there was no one that didn’t understand their actions.

「Will he really be fine alone……」

Someone of the guards seemed anxious, and while under many gazes of enemies and allies, Ardis advanced with no hesitation.

Finally, their distance has reached to the point that he’s in range of their arrows. Thoria army released several hundreds of arrows in one go.

Flying through the greatest distance, the arrows like rain assaulted Ardis. However, the arrows that aimed for the maximum range did not hit accurately.

Most of the arrows landed somewhere further from Ardis, and despite that many arrows, there were only a few that landed on Ardis.

However, all of them were struck down by Ardis’s flying swords.

「Weeeew――, so cool! 」

「There’s more. 」

As if agreeing to those words, the Thoria army fired another volley. At the same timing, another several hundreds of arrows assaulted Ardis again.

Thanks to him getting closer, the accuracy on their arrows were getting better.

However, Ardis’s stride is still leisured, as if taking a walk on an empty field.

Same as before, the arrows that came his way were struck down. The three flying swords held by unseen hands were giving an illusion of three trusty escorts guarding Ardis.

「He’s continuing forward? 」

「No, doesn’t look like that’s the case. 」

Kyrill answered Moore in place of Ardis, and at that time, a gigantic fire pillar appeared in the middle of the most concentrated spot of the enemy army.

「Wow, so flashy. 」

There’s no need to say whose work it is. As the Thoria army panickily tried to spread out, Ardis’s explosion happened a second time.

「Ardis that guy, he’s not planning to clean all of them up right. 」

Moore who was frowning between his eyebrows was complaining at Ardis from afar.

In this fight, it’s not good to just win. There’s a need to impose a sense of danger to the people living there.

For that, Ardis must not overwhelm the enemy on his own, and there’s a need for the guards and the volunteers to obtain victory by themselves.

Although Moore’s words didn’t reach Ardis, he stopped at the second explosion, and then started walking again.

It seems like he’s intending to deal with the remaining directly.

「Good good, that’s fine. 」

While muttering towards the back figure that headed to the enemy on his own, Moore shouted towards the people from the wall.

「It’s time! Teach the people of Thoria that betrayed the Kingdom a lesson! 」

And so, the fight of the guards in the Glock Village and the Thoria army started.