Chapter 144: A Scene During the March

Chapter 144: A Scene During the March

After rejoining my comrades, I savored the soup that Mika had skillfully prepared before I began narrating my firsthand account of everything I had witnessed concerning the golden-armored soldier. My comrades had seen the guy firsthand and knew that he had decimated the vanguard team. They took my words as the truth.

“So, does this mean the boss will have to fight that thing again?”

“In the meantime, leave the command to us.”

“We’ll handle the battle safely.”

When I informed them that Master and I would be facing that guy, Tigar and the others smiled and told me not to worry about them. Tigar and the others’ command abilities were excellent, and there was no need for concern.

Especially Asumi, who downplayed her skills, was, in fact, the most well-rounded among the four of us when it came to leadership. It was her unwavering command that kept her fellow Khan race members from being wiped out.

By the way, Tigar excelled in offense, Zald in defense, and I was skilled in ambush tactics. Our individual personalities were clearly reflected in our specialties.

“More importantly, big brother, can you really defeat such a monster?” Leo asked

“Hmm... It seems impossible. I tried to pierce his vital points deeply with my sword and even poured my poison heavily inside his body, but he didn’t die; he just went berserk. Even with the combined efforts of Master and Lady Altissia, we wouldn’t be able to kill him... Truly, a monstrous creature has emerged.”

“...I think our captain, who made a descendant of gods shed blood, is monstrous enough.”

As I answered Leo’s question while sipping on soup, Asumi’s mouth twitched before she uttered those words. I did have confidence in my strength, although I knew I couldn’t compare to master or Lady Altissia. However, I didn’t believe I was a monster.

But contrary to my thoughts, my comrades were nodding in agreement to her words. It seemed that Asumi wasn’t the only one with this opinion. Peering at Lappy sitting next to me, I noticed she was moving her head back and forth, appearing drowsy.

Lappy was the only one who would stand up for me in times like this, but... I didn’t intend to wake her up forcibly if she was tired. I swiftly finished the remaining contents of the soup in the bowl, handed it to Mika, and then carried Lappy on my back as I headed toward the tent the girls were using.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

The next morning, the Coalition Army started their march as planned. The news of the vanguard unit’s destruction couldn’t be concealed, and overall morale seemed to have taken a slight hit even before the full-scale battle began.

The pace of the march was considerably slower than when I was with the vanguard unit. It wasn’t a matter of morale but simply because of various supplies and equipment.

Among them were parts of weapons designed to breach the fortress’s sturdy outer walls. It was the weight of these components that slowed the progress of the carts. It would take several days to get within firing range of the fortress.

The members of the vanguard unit had managed to dash away at that distance in one go, but that was because they were elite warriors who could be called such even in defeat. They had sprinted through while enhancing their physical abilities through fighting spirit or spiritual power, mitigating their fatigue.

In the case of Master and Lady Altissia, they were doing something even more advanced. Lady Altesia wasn’t only using concealment spiritual arts. She had also applied spiritual arts to increase the speed of the horses she and my master were riding while reducing their fatigue.

I was confident in my ability to swim through the ground at high speed, but even though I could chase them until they stopped, I could never catch up with them. If Lady Altesia, riding her horse, was truly making an effort to flee, there was no way for me to catch up back then.

“...Looks like they’ve stopped ahead. Take a short break.”

“””Yeesss.”””

As we halted our advance, I instructed the special operations unit to take a break. My comrades were accustomed to this routine and promptly sat down on the ground.

Even with an army composed entirely of elite warriors, breaks were still necessary. Maintaining fighting spirit constantly would lead to exhaustion, and above all, the horses pulling the wagons required rest.

Beasts like Shuu and Apao, who had become demons, could endure longer periods of travel, but I had heard that creating demons based on beast souls mostly ended in failure. Fortunately, they were not mass-produced.

“Mika, how much of the allocated rations do we have left?”

While I was contemplating these thoughts, I heard the sound of energetic breathing that didn’t quite match a typical break. Curious, I followed the source of the voices and found Leo and Julius engaging in combat training with Lappy.

Both of them possessed formidable martial skills compared to children their age. However, they couldn’t hold a candle to Lappy, who could only be described as a prodigy. Lappy effortlessly deflected all their fierce attacks without breaking a sweat.

“Eiiy!”

“Ugh...!”

“Juliu... Ugh!”

Perhaps driven by his growing frustration at being unable to get in a strike, Julius recklessly lunged at Lappy, attempting to punch her. However, such a careless attack was never going to work on Lappy. She saw through it completely, evaded with ease, and countered with a kick to his face. Julius crumpled to the ground in agony.

Leo, momentarily distracted by Julius’s plight, soon realized he was facing Lappy. She wasn’t someone he could casually exchange blows with while keeping an eye on others. With Julius out of the fight, the tables had turned, and Leo found himself desperately trying to withstand Lappy’s relentless assault.

“Huh? Oh, it’s big brother,” Lappy said.

Although Lappy had been relentlessly attacking Leo, she stopped her assault upon seeing me and leaped over to my side. Her movements were as swift as ever, but I calmly caught her and placed her on my shoulder, her usual position.

She was in a good mood, and I patted her head once, then proceeded to help Leo stand up by taking his arm while kneeling beside him. In response, Leo smiled in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

“I must have looked pretty uncool, huh, big brother,” Leo said.

“I wouldn’t say uncool, but why are you training so hard? It’s a short break, so make sure to rest properly.”

“Yeah, but...”

“Big brother, you know, Leo and Julius want to become strong enough to beat the golden one you fought,” Lappy said.

“Oh, is that so?”

When Lappy revealed their goal, Leo scratched his head with a somewhat embarrassed expression. To have the will to defeat a descendants of the gods, the one who displayed overwhelming power that had broken the spirits of many formidable warriors—it was an astonishing display of inner strength.

It seemed like Lappy found it troublesome to be dragged into this, as she refused to leave my shoulder. Perhaps she didn’t want to be involved any further. While Lappy was strong, she didn’t seem as eager for strength as the two of them.

“Leo, we’re on a march right now. It’s better to conserve your energy as much as possible. It could be troublesome if you draw attention, and what good is all the training if you end up dead from exhaustion, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right, big brother.”

“But I understand your feelings. When we have some spare time, I’ll spar with you. How does that sound?”

“Not a problem at all! We’ll count on you when the time comes, big brother!”

“All right. Make sure to let Julius know when he wakes up.”

I could empathize with Leo and Julius’s determination to get stronger. Strength was necessary to fulfill my mission and survive, and I took pride in the fact that their determination wasn’t any less than mine. That’s why I couldn’t help but want to help them achieve their goals.

However, to make them stronger than the golden-armored soldier, I would need to become even stronger myself. I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of unease, wondering if I was bitten off more than I could chew, but I decided to take a break with the kids.

***************

TN: Leo shouldn’t be weaker than Lappy, since he didn’t use his sword or his ability. But I could be wrong; point is Lappy is stronger than most when it comes to bare handed combat, she can even win against adult demons.