[Another Viewpoint] The Other Side

[Arte]

“Hey, girl! We’re in trouble! There’s a big army heading this way!”

“I see it! The wyvern’s gone, I presume?”

That was the last of them! The last one just now!

“It’s not a good idea to go head-to-head with a bunch of knights, right?”

As I listened to the reports and voices of the adventurers, I put my hand on my chest to hold my heart, which was beating like a fast bell.

When I looked up, I could see the soldiers of Jiernetta’s army looming over my field of vision, hear their shouts that made me want to cover my ears, and hear their assaults like earth tremors.

“We intercept Jiernetta’s army! ballista, the mechanical bow will be the key to the attack, so everyone else, please hold your shields up and defend yourselves!”

“Ooooooooooooo!”

When I give the order, a wild voice comes back to me.

Everyone follows my words and acts accordingly. I am truly grateful.

“Arte-sama. We’ll use magic to stop them, won’t we?”

Pluriel-san confirms. I nodded and looked at the enemy forces coming toward us.

“Can you freeze their feet? Maybe we can make them immobilized on the spot…”

“The range is limited, but only in the front here. But if that many people collide with us, we’ll be crushed in no time.”

“Please, if you could just slow them down, even just a little bit…!”

Pluriel-san nodded with a troubled look on her face as she bowed her head and asked for help.

“Like Van-sama, the impression of nobility is constantly changing these days.”

Muttering something small, Pluriel-san turned back to Ortho-san and the others.

“Everyone, let’s move in an effort to stall them. No matter how you look at it, we’ll lose if we let them get too close.”

“If our bow and arrow can reach them, so can theirs! There’s a limit to how far we can stall them!”

“…If only we brought Espada-dono with us…”

“Don’t be silly.”

Perhaps out of anxiety, all the adventurers are preparing themselves in a frenzy.

After all, I am not like Van-sama. I don’t know enough about fighting, and I can’t even stop my trembling legs.

If that is the case, I must at least do everything I can.

“Ortho-san! Please be responsible for directing!”

“That’s great, but what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to the front!”

“What?”

I took my gaze away from Ortho-san’s astonished voice and looked up at the carriage in the center of the room. A man belonging to Van-sama’s mechanical archery team is seated in the coach.

“The doll, please!”

“Yes, we will prepare it! Which one?”

The man said with a smile and turned around, opening the wall of the carriage.

In the back there is a doll made of Mithril, but it consumes a lot of magic power. It is not possible to fight for a long time.

The wood block dolls in iron and Mithril armor lined up next to them can be moved for a long time. It may be a bit messy, but if you work hard, you may be able to move two dolls at the same time.

“I’ll move these two dolls! Weapons should be as long as possible!”

“Two dolls? They should be equipped with a long sword, then…”

“Thank you very much!”

I hurriedly expressed my gratitude to the surprised man, and then I performed the magic.

The two dolls started to move, and although their movements were slightly more awkward than usual, they managed to grasp the swords, stand up, and get out of the carriage.

“Please take care of them.”

When I called out to the dolls, they both held their swords up in front of them like knights and bowed.

The man who had returned to the governor’s seat looked at them with a stunned look on his face.

I am embarrassed. He saw me speaking with the puppet I manipulate. I am aware of my face turning red.

“I’m off!”

I turn around quickly and run with the puppet.

At once, I went to the front row and stood in a place where I could see the battlefield clearly.

“Miss Arte!”

Ortho-san quickly came running to my side. His eyes immediately turned to the dolls standing behind me.

“So these are the ones who are going to the front?”

“Yes!”

I replied and moved the dolls. The dolls, swords at the ready, ran and split to the left and right, disappearing into the enemy army.

“Knock out the enemy, silver knight pair, Aventa-doll!”

The infantrymen, advancing with their large shields at the ready, assumed that the enemy was a group of sorcerers and exuded a sense of tension.

Clashes between infantrymen are terrifying, but to be attacked from a distance by advanced magic is even more terrifying. Infantry, archers, and cavalry all survive if they are not careful, and if they are lucky.

But magic is different. If you are attacked by a high level of fire magic, you will surely be burned to death.

Whether you can reach the enemy’s throat or not will really depend on luck.

Therefore, the infantrymen were trembling with extreme tension as they attacked the enemy reinforcements on the hill. This was especially so after they had just seen their flying dragon get hit by a single blow.

One of the infantrymen, however, was surprised to see an unexpected sight.

“…They’re coming at us alone!”

“Don’t tell me they’re coming alone, without horses?”

“Is he a decoy?”

Bewildered, the soldiers all readied their shields and spears at the same time. One of the commanders could not believe his eyes, but he immediately raised one hand and sent out an order.

“Foolish to challenge a battle alone! The vanguard troops, thrust them with spears! The rear guard, be on the lookout for archers and sorcery! This is a plan to stall us!”

The soldiers rush to move in response to their commander’s order. Indeed, if they did not know the situation, they would think the two silver-armored knights were decoys.

The two prominent knights would make an out-of-the-ordinary charge, and when they were confused and stopped moving, they would use magic to greatly reduce their numbers.

That is normal.

What actually happened, however, was even more unexpected.

The moment they collided with the wall of infantry holding spears, it was the infantry with heavy shields that were cruelly blown away.

It was as if a castle-breaking hammer or other siege weapon had collided with them at high speed with a violent impact and roar. And the soldiers in armor being blown away like a joke.

The incredible scene that occurred almost simultaneously on both sides of Jiernetta’s army brought the army to a complete halt.

“Wait, stop!”

“What about the sorcerers?”

The commanders were trying their best to stop the silver knights who were tearing through the ranks, but the soldiers were not prepared for this.

They thrust their spears into the line, but the spears, which were supposed to have pierced the line with certainty, snapped off halfway through their hilts. The silver knight’s shield was also cut in half when he tried to stop the knight with his great sword.

“It’s a monster!”

“Damn it! It’s coming this way!”

“Move aside! How am I supposed to stop that thing?”

One of the commanders was sweating coldly and biting his teeth as the battlefield echoed with screams that did not seem to be in the middle of a war.

“…This is not war. It’s just a slaughterhouse. And by just two people…”

The moment he uttered these words, a violent sound similar to the sound of the wind breaking and the earth shaking echoed through the air, and a hole appeared in the commander’s chest. It didn’t matter whether he had armor or not, nothing. Like a needle poking through paper, the commander died after a hole was easily punched through his body.

The soldiers’ will to fight was instantly lost when they saw the corpse fall powerlessly from the horse.

“Damn it! I’m getting out of here!”

“Don’t push me, you idiot!”

“Get back, you bastard!”

By the time the screams and exclamations began to mix with cursing and yelling, Jiernetta’s army was no longer functioning as an army.

Seeing this, the group led by Arte switched the magic, mechanical bows, and ballista they were using to stall them to attack.

The silver knights, who were running through the enemy in all directions and cleaving enemy soldiers, were joined by long-range attacks, and Jiernetta’s army completely collapsed.

As Jiernetta’s army scattered and fled, a loud cheer echoed from the hilltop.