Tales of Leo Attiel ~Portrait of the Headless Prince~

Part 1

Hayden Swift had mobilised his troops.

During the night, rows of armour illuminated by the light from pine torches approached Mount Conscon in a scarlet wave. Near dawn, the first two hundred soldiers advanced to the foot of the mountain. The trumpets sounded, and battles cries welled up with so much force that they drowned out the instruments.

The temple side responded in kind. The warrior monks, who were gathered at the base of the mountain, hurriedly came into view. Arrows were shot, then came the sound of gunfire.

Allion’s side drew ever closer, raising their shields before them or using the cover of trees to protect themselves. Yet they did not push in any deeper than necessary.

Meanwhile, five hundred soldiers were making their way to the back of the mountain. This group did not raise any loud blast of trumpets. Instead, they approached stealthily. Once they were near the mountain, they put out their torches and stopped moving. They silently hid themselves low and, for a while, it was as though the five hundred men had transformed into a single beast, observing its prey from the cover of tall grass.

When the sky started to turn purple, a change occurred on Mount Conscon: a plume of smoke rose from its summit.

It was a beacon fire.

There had been no movement up until then, but even now, Allion’s soldiers showed neither surprise nor restlessness. After all, it was not an action taken by the temple, but by spies from their own side. The rows of armour rose as one.

As per arrangement, a man came to meet them in the grove of trees, a lantern in his hand. He was dressed like a warrior monk, but was actually one of the agents they had sent in, and he would be guiding them from there on. Since the beacon had been lit, it meant that the fighting had already begun on the other side of the mountain. Their unit at the back of it would used this opportunity to attack the temple from the rear.

Meanwhile, there was another person who watched the beacon from a forest that lay to the west of Mount Conscon.

Percy Leegan.

There was a small hill within the forest, at the summit of which a ship was anchored. On its hull was the crest of the Dytiann Alliance: the crossed swords of Saint Mars and the purple scarf that symbolised the lady Saint Brizanica. On the other side of the ship, the crest of the Sergaia Holy Rose Division was clear for all to see.

It was, of course, one of the ships sent by Dytiann as reinforcements for the temple. Arthur Causebulk, the division’s commander, and three hundred of his soldiers were on board.

At first, Percy had been unable to conceal his amazement at the sight of a ship that could carry that many people. In terms of speed and capacity for high-altitude flying, it was inferior to Atall’s twenty-men air carriers, but in terms of its overall size, it was nearly twice as large as them. It was practically on the same scale as seafaring warships.

– Ten days earlier, Arthur had set sail from Dytiann’s sphere of religious influence and, as Atall had requested, he had not headed due west, but had navigated along the circuitous northern route, in order to avoid urban areas as well as the territories of the vassal-lords, and so also to avoid causing anymore unwanted commotion.

It was a voyage that had the officers on Dytiann’s side store up a pile of complaints, since – it’s all because Atall’s ruling House is weak and cowardly that we have to put in unnecessary amounts of time and money. Ether, which was needed to keep ships afloat, was by no means a cheap commodity. Butt their commander, Arthur Causebulk, had a relaxed personality.

“Sightseeing from the sky is nice too,” he said, without a trace of irritation. “Isn’t this idyllic view of Atall just amazing? Oh, Sir Percy, come over here too. Come and see what your country looks like from the sky.”

He had taken a liking to Percy, whom Leo had sent to act as the ship’s pilot, and was always calling out to him. Not only that, he familiarly slung his arm around Percy’s shoulders, and seemed about to touch his hand. While maintaining an outwardly gentle demeanour, Percy Leegan inwardly felt a sense of impending crisis such as he had never experienced before.

Apart from that personal threat, the navigation itself went well, but now that they had crossed west of Atall’s border, they met with an unexpected impediment. Once the ship was moored by the riverside, Percy had ridden to the neighbouring villages to gather information, and had confirmed that the overall situation had not changed much since he himself had been fighting at the temple.

Soldiers from Allion appeared sporadically within the temple’s vicinity. It seemed increasingly unlikely that the base that Percy himself had once snatched away from them would have been left untouched.

“In the circumstances, it won’t be easy to bring the ship closer,” warned Percy.

Allion’s troops might have cannons, and there was a chance that they might have brought several with them on location. A large, slow-moving ship would become an easy target.

“In that case, should we continue on horseback?” Arthur asked with a reluctant expression.

“No,” Percy’s expression grew thoughtful. “We have information that Hayden, the commander, has returned to his troops. There’s a high chance that the enemy will begin a large-scale attack on the temple.”

He unrolled a map of the neighbourhood on the bridge.

“If the ship makes a large detour to the north and allows Allion’s troops to pass first, we could then thrust at them from the rear.”

Arthur’s officers did not look favourably impressed by Percy suggestion. There’s that rumour that Atall has withdraw its soldiers, so are we going to be the only ones fighting?

That thought showed on their faces, yet originally, it was Dytiann which had approached Atall with impassioned speeches about how they wished to send reinforcements to the temple, and how they were compelled to defend God’s teachings. Having come this far, they could hardly announce that, “no, us taking part in actual fighting is a completely different matter.”

Only Arthur’s eyes brightened like those of a child.

“Interesting. So with what you’re suggesting, even though Allion’s troops are planning to encircle the temple, they’ll end up being the ones attacked from behind, huh?”

Bishop Baal had emphasised that he must not “try to be a hero,” but it had been barely a year since Arthur had taken over the Sergaia Holy Rose Division from his father. Although he was twenty-seven, he had not yet taken part in a real battle. Which was why the higher-ups in Dytiann had judged that this mission would be good experience for him, and why they had entrusted him with newly-built ships when they had ordered his departure for the front – essentially, Dytiann’s take on the situation was that, at least until the next dispatch, things would not turn into a large-scale war of attrition.

Arthur did not find this in the least bit amusing. He was also displeased because it seemed that his own strength was really being made light of. Which was why he was greatly tempted by Percy’s strategy.

Besieged by an overwhelmingly large enemy force, the temple was in a precarious situation. And then, amidst the wails of grief and despair coming from countless monks and townspeople, Dytiann’s troops came rushing, their horses’ hooves dashing lightly across the ground. Charging in the lead, his silver armour gleaming, was none other than Arthur Causebulk!

Arthur ecstatically imagined a scene which was like something out of a heroic saga.

The result was that on his orders, the ship veered off its intended course and took a large detour to the north, and while keeping Conscon Temple within sight to its south, it positioned itself west of it. On the map, they found a dense forest about twenty kilometres west of the temple. When airships were sent to investigate, they found that there was a hill within it that would just about allow the air carrier to land and to set sail. They let down anchor there for the time being. A scouting party was sent out to check the surroundings.

– Five days later, they confirmed that Allion’s army had started making its advance, and was moving towards the foot of Mount Conscon.

“Now is a good time,” Arthur Causebulk left the bridge, looking exhilarated.

Not long after that, Percy confirmed that the beacon had been lit.

It was finally time to spring into action. He gave the order for his men to all grab their weapons.

The ship did not have extensive stables, so they had only taken a few horses with them, Arthur’s included, but it wouldn’t be a problem that they did not have many cavalrymen. Simply having Arthur galloping in the lead, brandishing Dytiann’s flag, would leave the enemy dumbstruck.

No, it wasn’t just the enemy: once they heard how he had heroically routed the enemy on the battlefield, his family and the older soldiers who had belonged to the division since his father’s time, and who usually spent their time nagging Arthur, would all be amazed.

At that moment, Percy, who had guided them to the temple and who was the first to have finished arming himself, appeared on deck.

“Sir Arthur, I pray that the fortunes of war be with you.”

“Oh? Aren’t you coming with us?”

“To tell you the truth, we were expecting something like this, and there are troops lying hidden west of Atall’s border. I will go and give them the order, and we will be following behind you.”

“I see. Atall is certainly shrewd,” Arthur was genuinely delighted.

Since Atall was launching into a military attack on Allion, it meant that they had given in to Dytiann’s threats. Bishop Baal would be pleased as well; even if, after this, they were to clash swords with Allion, the main battlefield would be either the temple or Atall. Dytiann would be able to send successive waves of soldiers to thwart Allion’s eastern ambitions without having to worry about seeing their country burn.

“Then see you later, on the battlefield.”

“Yeah, later, on the battlefield.”

With the help of a subordinate, Arthur donned his armour, placed a brand-new sword at his waist, and had his horse brought out from the onboard stable.

His men, over three hundred of them, had completed all their preparations. Outside the ship, they arrayed themselves in ranks, and Arthur rode before them.

It was early dawn. Although the forest was still dusky, the twinkle of stars was vanishing from the sky above.

The timing is perfect. Now then, the next step was to call out and to go charging out from the forest...

There was a whistling sound, a bit like the chirping of an insect.

A sentry holding a pine troch was the first to collapse. An arrow stood quivering in his neck.

The whistling sound was repeated again and again, and arrows pierced all around the troops’ surroundings.

“What!”

Just as Arthur cried out, an arrow struck the ground at his horse’s feet. The horse neighed loudly and reared upwards, its forelegs raised overhead. Arthur was almost shaken from the saddle, but managed to desperately hold on its neck.

“Grab your shields!”

“Enemies, enemies!”

The ranks of soldiers, which had only just assembled, fell into disarray as voices roared in jumbled confusion.

Enemies. Enemies, they say?

Both arms still wrapped around his horse’s neck, Arthur restlessly swept his gaze around his surroundings. He started: fire was burning right in front of him. Or no – as Arthur ran his eyes over one place after another, what he saw were lit flames that shone upon the armour of soldiers positioned throughout the forest.

Arthur, who had been planning on attacking the enemy from behind and leaving them dumbfounded ended up being the one struck dumb. Allion’s flag fluttered above the bowmen. In no time at all, Arthur and his group, with the air carrier at the centre, were surrounded. Among the soldiers, some attempted a counterattack, while others fled inside the ship.

However –

“Fire, fire! Kill every last one of those eastern savages who’ve come trampling into Allion’s territory!”

Just when the volley of arrows seemed to have ended, gunshot replaced them. Blood spurting, soldiers collapsed all around him, and Arthur Causebulk’s mind went blank.

“Young lord, my lord! Escape to the ship!”

When the vassal who struck his horse’s flank as he said that suddenly had his wide-open mouth pierced through by a bullet, Arthur didn’t even have the time to feel anything about it.

From a position overlooking the ship, Allion’s commander gazed down at Dytiann’s Sergaia Holy Rose Division, whose ranks had completely fallen apart.

That commander’s name was Claude Anglatt.

Part 2

Percy Leegan had the feeling that he had heard a gunshot behind him, and he turned to look back while on horseback.

He immediately brought his attention back to what was in front, however, and continued eastwards.

Percy was, of course, acting on Leo Attiel’s orders. Speaking of Leo, and although this hardly needs repeating at this point, he was the only one in Atall who intended to fight Allion. It is also an established fact that, compared to Allion, his military force was pitiful. Therefore, the reinforcements from Dytiann, which, taking the long-term view, was a country that was far more likely to prove dangerous to Allion than Atall was, should have been something of a godsend for Leo and his group at this time.

Yet Dytiann’s ship had been caught in a surprise attack, and Claude was the one commanding that offensive.

Percy, however, did not get his horse to slow down. This was all according to plan. And this was one of the things that Camus, the warrior monk from Conscon Temple, had so strongly objected to when Leo had confided his plans to them all.

When Percy had first heard it, he had not been able to repress a shudder. According to Leo:

“We will deliberately guide the reinforcements from Dytiann close to Sir Claude’s territory, and we will have him defeat them. Oh, and we need to tell him about it beforehand.”

“The important thing here is to make use of the fact that Dytiann trespassed onto Allion’s territory, and to manufacture the reality that Sir Claude defeated this ‘unexpected foreign enemy’ before they had time to do anything.”

With that, Claude Anglatt would become a hero who had protected Allion. At the same time, it would throw cold water over Dytiann’s enthusiasm, given that they were hoping to reap all the benefits without running any risk of injury to themselves.

“We’ll approach Sir Claude with the offer of leaving him that accomplishment,” Leo continued.

It was only natural that Camus should have objected. He had no kind feelings for Dytiann – that too has been said repeatedly. Nevertheless, pulling Dytiann in by pretending to be their allies while actually plotting to stab them in the back was something that he simply could not approve of.

Moreover, there was one other plan on top of that one that Camus was furiously opposed to.

One that went against loyalty. That went against justice. That went against God’s teachings.

Camus had boldly held forth on justice, exactly as though he was standing in for God in person, but when Leo had stood before him and demanded that Camus kill him, when he had gone as far as taking his own life hostage, he had gotten Camus to submit to the plan.

No, thought Percy Leegan as he rode his horse, back then, it wasn’t His Highness Leo Attiel that Camus was fighting. It was probably himself. The confrontation between the two of them was the embodiment of Camus’ inner conflict, as he was stuck between his god’s teachings and reality.

Although Camus was noticeably rough and wild in appearance, speech and conduct, his heart was actually delicate and easily wounded – although they had only been together a few months, Percy could tell that much about Camus.

In these past few months, Camus too had been through a number of experiences. Perhaps, if he had been the same as when Percy had first met him, he would have killed the prince – or, even if he hadn’t gone that far, he would have thrust those slender shoulders aside and would have run from the room, even at the risk of being injured, and afterwards, he would have made his way back alone to the temple, to die a heroic death.

– The teachings he followed were his ideal. Yet concrete ‘power’ was needed to put those teachings into practice. ‘Power’ to prevent one from being destroyed, from being denied, from being erased from this world.

Although Percy was not aware of it, Camus had constantly been caught up in that dilemma.

He had fallen to his knees in tears, and had consented to the plan. To defend his comrades and his god’s teachings, he had agreed to knowingly carry out actions that went against every one of his precepts. Back then, just how much pain had accompanied Camus’ decision?

Percy Leegan was completely unaware of it.

As he thought back to Camus while riding along right then, it was, in all honesty, a form of mental escape. It was, after all, Percy himself who had offered to guide Dytiann’s ship.

He had to ensure that Dytiann continued to believe that Atall as a whole had accepted their reinforcements. Although the House of Leegan, to which Percy belonged, was not particularly famous, it was nonetheless a family that had served as retainers to Atall for many generations. It was not without prestige. On top of that, it was a fact that he himself had gone to aid Conscon Temple. Just for that alone, Arthur Causebulk had trusted Percy.

Arthur, huh?

Just like Camus, Percy could not conceal his disgust for Dytiann’s current actions – but he did not hold any hatred towards Arthur himself. Although he had felt a previously unknown intimidation from him, Arthur seemed young for twenty-seven, and his smile was utterly guileless. In short, while it was true that Arthur was someone who would harm Atall, he was not particularly villainous and, as Percy continued his journey, he was conscious of a weight pressing down on his chest.

It wasn’t just Arthur. Every one of those soldiers was the same. There were even those that he had talked with on friendly terms. Young soldiers who had told him that ‘this is my first time going to the front,” and who had listened attentively to Percy’s stories about the fighting around Conscon Temple, as though anxious not to miss a single word. Percy could sympathise to an almost painful degree with their need to encourage themselves by hearing about the experiences of those who had already gone to war, and with their fervent anxiety about whether they would be able to achieve success, or whether they would simply die miserably.

Turning his back to where the massacre was taking place, Percy urged his horse onwards.

The sun was climbing in the sky.

At around the same time, five hundred of Allion’s soldiers swarmed up the mountain paths, guided by the spy.

The row of armour weaved its way upwards, looking like it was sewing stitches between the small groves of trees. Two turns before the main temple gates, they took a sidepath. Ahead of them, a hole opened up in the cliff.

It seemed that the faithful and the priests had spent several years burrowing into a natural cave. It was mainly used by the priests for meditation, but on the temple’s festival days, they sometimes held masses there which laymen could also attend.

By passing this way, they would apparently be taking a shortcut to the shrine on the summit.

The assault by Allion’s troops on the other side of the mountain was no doubt holding the attention of the warrior monks, since there was not a single one of them to be seen. Although the soldiers had made this detour just to be sure, there seemed to be barely anyone left at the main temple gates.

Allion’s side could tell that, everything is going according to plan.

In reality, however, they were the ones moving “according to plan.”

The one who had originally drafted these measures was Percy Leegan. This was before he had even met Lord Leo. When he had still been fighting at the temple and had thought of attacking the enemy headquarters, and before leaving to do so, he had imparted a plan to those of his men who would be remaining on the mountain.

They had made use of an enemy spy called Kenny. He was originally a marauder, and it was immediately obvious from his behaviour that he was also an agent working for Allion. The other side was probably using him because his clumsy actions were sure to attract attention, and so allow the other spies to move about more easily. Percy, however, deliberately pretended not to notice him, and had one of his subordinates approach Kenny.

Claiming that he himself was also a spy for Allion, the man fed Kenny false information and helped him escape from the mountain. This had all happened immediately after Allion had advised the temple to surrender. There was no doubt that they were planning an all-out assault, and Percy believed that if, on top of that, they received information that “the rear of the mountain is full of openings,” then they would definitely jump at the bait.

Percy had put these measures in place so that after enticing a large part of the enemy troops out from their headquarters, he and his men would be able to strike at their very heart. They had failed temporarily because of the unforeseen situation surrounding Lord Leo’s escape, and the mountain hunt that Allion had conducted because of it, yet these measures were still valid.

While Hayden, the commander, was away, Allion had still continued to sporadically send out soldiers in frontal attacks; their aim was probably to make sure that the temple’s gun batteries maintained fixed positions. Which also ensured that the unguarded gaps at the back of the mountain still remained, and which meant that they were certainly intending to attack from the rear at some point. Having realised as much, Percy suggested to Leo that they once more put his measures into practice, and Leo had agreed.

Allion was caught in the trap.

At the mouth of the cave, Allion’s soldiers reorganised their long line of troops. Their cheeks were flushed from anticipation at the savagery they would be enacting from there on. There was, after all, no greater joy than to trample triumphantly over an opponent defeated in war.

However, in their surroundings and at the top of the steep cliff, warrior monks were silently lying in ambush. Camus was acting as the linchpin; stifling his breathing, he watched what the enemy was doing while waiting impatiently for the moment to give the order. As soon as he raised his voice, the warrior monks would all rise as one to shoot their arrows and bullets; being literally caught off guard, Allion’s side would naturally escape into the cave.

But the story that there was a shortcut to the temple through the cave was a complete lie. They would immediately run into a wall. The monks would charge in after Allion’s soldiers, who would no longer be able to either advance or retreat.

That was the plan.

Having arrived at the steep cliff, the spy who had guided Allion – and who was, of course, a soldier employed by the Leegan family – softly started to make his escape. The soldiers who were exchanging ribald smiles were supposed to meet with the same fate as the troops from Dytiann immediately afterwards.

However –

“Oi,” a captain leading the troops called out to the spy. The man started and stopped.

Ever since the current king had taken the throne, Allion had been plunged into one war after another. And this captain had plenty of combat experience. Here, in front of the cave, some kind of instinct for danger had probably alerted him.

“I’ll give you a few men. Go run around the other side of the cave, just to be sure,” he ordered.

“Ay... n-no, but... if, by any chance, we were spotted by any of the warrior monks, it might compromise the surprise attack...”

“Doesn’t matter. Even if they do figure it out, the attack will still happen. And speaking of any chance, it’s more important to make sure there aren’t enemies lurking around.”

Concealed within the long grass, Camus watched the scene from a distance. Although he could not hear what was being said, a torch was pressed into the hands of the soldier who was pretending to be a spy, and some of Allion’s soldiers gathered to the side, so he could roughly guess the gist of it.

Camus was forced into a decision. If they found out that the cave was a dead end, then the plan would obviously fall through.

Should it be said that neither Percy nor Leo were able to anticipate such small, on-the-spot problems? They had wrongly assumed that the soldiers convinced of their victory would neglect to be cautious. This was the difference between theory and experience.

Still, the temple side, which had received the pair’s plan without working on the details, had also been inadequate and overly optimistic.

Seeing that the spy was hesitating, the Allian captain grew increasingly suspicious. He called up soldiers from the various platoons, and was preparing to give them the order to search the surroundings.

They could not wait any longer.

Damn! His eyebrows bristling like flames, Camus leapt to his feet.

“Shoot!”

“Disperse!”

Between him and the Allian captain, which one gave their order the fastest?

A storm of arrows and gunfire rained down on Allion’s soldiers. Screams and shrieks surged and got jumbled together, just as they had around Dytiann’s ship. It did not last for long however. The explosive show of force had sent Allion’s troops scattering in every direction, and from their various locations, they started returning fire with arrows and bullets of their own.

Camus clicked his tongue in annoyance. The events unfolding were clearly different from the plan. Even worse, because the temple did not have proper supplies, their bullets were already about to run out. They had been prepared to use their last remaining amunition to carry out this scheme, but the in the end, less than thirty enemy soldiers had been killed in the surprise attack.

Allion’s group was five hundred strong. Once they realised that the enemy no longer had any bullets, the situation was reversed, and they started pressing forward, swords and spears in hand, while those of their comrades who were armed with guns provided covering fire for them.

On the temple side, even while they continued to shoot with bow and arrows, the group armed with spears had rushed forward, making the first move.

The one nimbly running in the lead was Camus. With a single thrust of his spear, he sent the helmeted head of an Allian soldier flying. After which, he thrust again. A soldier who was jabbed through the neck jerkily fell back before collapsing. He was aiming for the captain through this series of surprise attacks but Allion wouldn’t simply let him do as he pleased.

Swords swung towards him in counterattack. As he repelled their blades with his spear, he shouted out at the top of his lungs,

“Push forward, push forward!”

There’s no other choice, he thought.

The only chance they would ever have was now, when the enemy was still getting their formations ready. They would push forward with numbers and momentum. Push, and push, and overwhelm them. Even if they couldn’t get the enemy to fear for their lives, their momentum would at least give them trouble...

There will be needless losses on their side. They need time to ready their formations.

Even a momentary weakness would be enough; then, Allion’s side would flee into the cave. If they could secure the entrance and exit, they would at least be able to gain time.

But gaining time was also what Camus and his group wanted to achieve.

The cave itself was a dead end, but from where they were, there were any number of ways to reach the summit. If they allowed Allion’s side to win here, then, just as Allion had planned, the temple would be caught in a pincer attack. Which was why they had to stop the enemy at all cost. If only Allion’s soldiers would escape into the cave, then they could restrain the location of the fighting to just the entrance, and Allion would not be able to make use of its numerical superiority.

And that was why they would push forward. Could only push forward.

Camus took the lead, brandishing his spear and encouraging his brethren. A wild and furious god, different from the one that he believed in, seemed to have completely seized hold of his body. The Allian soldiers who stood before him were far more experienced at war than he was, yet most of them were ready to run.

Responding to Camus’ impetus, the other monks lined up on either side of him, offering up prayers as they did so. Now that friend and foe were so close together, using firearms was no longer possible. Steel collided against steel as sparks flew.

Allion’s soldiers were on the verge of being overpowered by the force of momentum.

Compared to the warrior monks, who were determined to die here, they did not have the same deep attachment to this place. They had never expected the fighting to devolve into this kind of melee, and they were starting to lose their nerve.

“Withdraw,” the captain shouted. “For now, withdraw to the cave!”

Thank Heaven, Camus smiled.

He jabbed spear downwards towards an enemy soldier. He didn’t even know how many it had been anymore.

But at that moment, an intense shock ran across his thigh.

Huh?

He had repelled a sword which was swinging towards his face. The pain had come right after that.

Looking down, his right thigh had been cut, and blood was flowing. The still boyish face of the enemy soldier who had injured Camus’ leg could be seen from beneath his helmet.

“I’m called Randius!” He gave his name in a clear, sonorous voice.

Who the hell cares? Camus aimed to drive his spear straight into the youth’s throat, but he was easily parried.

“I pity you because of your youth. But even though I pity you, that had nothing to do with mercy. The best I can offer is having my spear finish you off in one go,” said Camus, then thrust his spear in attack once more.

But it missed again as his opponent lunged close. Camus hurriedly pulled back his spear to block the sword’s blade. It turned into a test of strength, but Camus, whose leg had been cut, could not use it to brace himself. In a complete reversal of what had happened earlier, he was now being pushed back through brute strength.

“Fool!” Camus yelled at the enemy who was so close to him. “Do you not understand God’s compassion? Resisting it just means that you will be thrown into the fires of hell as kindling. Make the sign of the cross before you die! If you do, even a dragon might pass through the eye of a needle, and the Gates of Heaven might open for you.”

As he was the one being pushed back, Camus’ words did not sound sane. And in fact, he was not in his right mind. Just a while earlier, his way of fighting had been fiercely terrifying. He had actually felt as though God had descended into his body to meet out justice.

Yet even for Camus, surpassing the abilities of a normal human in the way he had done took an extreme toll on his body and mind. And now that his momentum had been stopped, he was forced into awareness of his exhaustion and his injuries, and was being pushed back by an opponent who looked like a child.

Even so, Camus gritted his teeth and exerted all of his strength, but when Randius bent diagonally and Camus’ leg moved to follow him, Randius swept his own leg to knock him off balance.

Camus tumbled onto his back.

Randius raised his sword.

What?

Camus was almost light-headed as looked up at the sword. Now? he wondered. Did God want his life now?

No sooner had he thought that, than Randius staggered back with a jerk. His right shoulder guard had been blown off.

It had been hit by a bullet. The impact was too much for Randius’ posture, and he fell backwards.

When Camus instinctively looked back, he saw a smoking gun muzzle close by. And the one holding it was Sarah. He didn’t remember having his little sister join their unit, so it looked like she had decided to take part in the surprise attack entirely on her own. She had just fired the last remaining bullet.

“Ugh!”

Sending a look to his sister that expressed neither gratitude nor anger, Camus used his spear like a cane and lifted himself up to his feet. Dragging one leg behind him, he raced to where his comrades were still fighting bravely.

Part 3

Leo Attiel had shot three arrows to settle this battle.

The first arrow had led to the annihilation of Dytiann’s forces near Allion’s territory.

The second one was preventing the advance of five hundred of Allion’s soldiers who had been attempting to approach Conscon Temple from the rear.

While Percy and Camus were in charge of the first and second arrow respectively, Kuon was responsible for the third one.

He was guiding two hundred of the soldiers who had originally been serving under Nauma Laumarl, as well as a further hundred that Kuon himself had selected from the peasant militia. At Percy's suggestion, Kuon was also acting as their commanding officer.

“If you give him soldiers to lead, he will probably show a rapid transformation,” Percy had told Leo.

It was true that Percy had high hopes for Kuon’s future prospects, but actually, this was a case of Percy magnificently overdoing things in a bid to give Kuon – who seemed unsettled and liable to wander aimlessly to some other land once this fight was over – a sense of responsibility and of accomplishment, so as to convince him to stay in Atall.

The regular Atallese soldiers were naturally baffled by this decision, and there were some who had objected, but since it was a direct order from Lord Leo, they had no choice but to obey this boy before them. And depite all of that, the three hundred men that Kuon was leading actually held the key role in this battle around the temple.

Not long before dawn, they had marched along a certain mountain path. But not one on Mount Conscon. Nor was it a path up the hill where Dytiann had concealed their ship.

Travelling the steep and rugged mountain paths while fully armed was dizzyingly difficult, yet Kuon seemed unconcerned as he led his unit. This was not only because he had been born and raised in mountains, but also because he had already taken this route more than once.

Indeed, they were in Allion’s territory. They were south of Claude’s castle, in the area where Lord Leo had once fled to, and which Kuon and the others had penetrated to go and help him.

On top of that, fires were lit all along the way, so it was far different from the previous time, when he had been forced to move around stealthily, and Kuon was practically humming a tune as he went along the paths. Claude had placed those fires as a defence measure, yet currently, there was not a single soldier from Allion to be seen as Kuon and the others continued their way. That was all due to the secret conversation which had taken place between Leo and Claude shortly before the battle began.

The third time that Kuon had passed through these mountains was that very time when Leo had entered Allion, taking only Percy and Kuon with him, to meet with Claude. Back then, Leo had made one request to Claude:

“Please allow my soldiers to pass along the road that Percy and the others once used to for their planned attack.”

It was hardly surprising that Claude had then flown into a rage and ordered Leo to “leave!” It was virtually the same as saying that – we intend to attempt another attack on Allion’s headquarters, so Sir Claude, I would like you to look the other way. In other words, it was asking Claude to betray his country.

That, however, had been before he was informed Dytiann’s participation. 𝘧𝘳𝐞𝚎𝑤ℯ𝘣𝗻𝘰ѵℯl.c𝐨𝚖

When Claude was informed that the great eastern power will be intervening in this war, his expression turned grim. Thereupon, Leo had explained the self-same plan that Camus had once objected to.

“It seems that Dytiann’s army is going to come over by air carrier. If we can guide this ship, there is a very good chance that we will be able to offer you the entirety of their troops, Sir Claude.”

Who could guess just how great Claude Anglatt’s surprise had been? His entire face – which looked just like a bandit’s at first glance – was scrunched into a scowl while he sank deep into thought.

“...You’re a damned villain,” he cursed.

The situation surrounding the temple would turn into something huge if Dytiann joined the fray. It might turn into a drawn-out standoff as both sides entrenched themselves in their positions. On a personal level, because of Hayden’s dislike for him, Claude was under suspicion of being linked to the temple and to Atall, but he would be able to rack up considerable merit from stopping the unforeseen incursion of a foreign enemy.

What made Claude call Leo a “villain” was the way he had seized Allion’s weak point: while Dytiann’s intervention would undoubtedly be a problem for Allion, it would also, by all rights, be one for Atall as well. Yet Leo was breezily bringing it up as a ‘bargaining chip’, even though he was actually forcing Claude’s hand.

All of this explained that none of Claude's soldiers were stationed along the route that Kuon and his group were travelling. The excuse that would be given was that Claude “suspected that Dytiann was making its move,” and had thus taken “every available soldier” to go and stop the trespassing ship.

Kuon’s party was able to approach the enemy headquarters without anyone suspecting a thing. The watch fires, built in iron baskets, which were originally supposed to help guard against a surprise attack had, ironically, served as a guide for the attack corps.

By the time the sky had turned a light purple, the enemy fortress was before their eyes. Although for all that it could be called a fortress, being large in scale and having quite a few soldiers stationed there, it was just a hastily built construction. Since he had been in no position to request generous funding, Hayden had probably felt it was enough as long as it could house the soldiers and store the weapons and provisions.

Looking down at the fort beneath them might have been an almost nostalgic scene for Kuon. Back then, they had also gotten very close to it, but Claude’s soldiers had found them immediately afterwards. They didn’t need to worry about that now, though; there weren’t even any sentries around the fortress.

“...?”

Kuon creased his brow and made a movement like a dog sniffing at the air. Let alone not having any sentries, the fortress gave no sign of any kind of human presence.

– On this one point, Leo’s reading had been off.

The third arrow that he had shot was supposed to a lethal one, which would pierce Hayden Swift in the throat.

Hayden had sent out many of the soldiers to capture the temple, leaving no more than two hundred men at the headquarters. Since he needed to immobilise the temple’s artillery, he had also sent out all of his cannons. With defence being so fragile, if Kuon and his elite group had attacked that night, there was a very good chance that they would have been able to kill Hayden himself.

Perhaps fate was on the side of Allion’s commander: even though up until then, Hayden Swift had not once gone to the frontlines, earlier, after having sent out most of the soldiers and while it was still night, he had whimsically decided that: “I want the see the situation at the temple with my own two eyes.”

He had woken up virtually all of the remaining soldiers, who had all already gone to sleep, and, astride his own horse, he had personally left for the temple. The fortress was basically completely empty. The only ones left behind were the young servants who helped take care of Hayden and of the soldiers, and although there were a few who grabbed a spear in response to the surprise attack by Kuon’s group, they quickly realised that they were at a complete disadvantage, and readily surrendered.

Kuon gnashed his teeth; he had just lost the perfect opportunity to take the head of the enemy general.

But not only that – the unit that Hayden was leading was about to become a new player in the struggle at the temple, and there was a risk that it would turn into a threat from behind for Kuon’s companions.

Moreover, in this fight, Kuon’s arrow had been their greatest hope for overall victory. Even if they were able to drive several hundred soldiers away from the temple, it would hardly end in the complete routing of their opponents. Although any number of fights were sure to break out from here on, none of them would earn them anything more than a single, small-scale win.

Right, it was to settle things ‘from here on’ that Leo had given Kuon the strict order to “get Hayden at all cost, even if he’s the only one.”

The blood rushing to his head, Kuon grabbed hold of all of the horses which were left in the enemy stable and shouted, “We’re chasing after the enemy general!”

The soldiers had all been ordered to obey Kuon as they would Leo. And yet –

“Hold up,” one of the regular Atallese soldiers called out to him.

“What?” Kuon glared at him from atop his horse. The man had probably spoken because he hated having to follow some brat from the sticks.

The soldier’s plump, unshaven face broke out into a broad grin.

“Aren’t we going to set fire to the fortress, Captain, Sir?”

Fate.

Just a moment ago, I stated that fate might have been on Hayden Swift’s side. When the Heavens – I use ‘heavens’ here in a generic way, and it makes no difference to think of it as referring to the God of Heaven, to the myriad Spirits, to the Dragon Gods, they who are said to have inherited the wisdom of the ancients, or to any of the great beings that various people believe in – when, then, the Heavens look down, they are never a fair and impartial ally, and this time as well, they were inclined to grant Hayden just a little more luck than others.

At the same time as Hayden Swift was advancing on a position overlooking the temple from the north with a little under two hundred of his soldiers, Leo Attiel was also approaching the temple. After completing all sorts of preparations in Savan’s territory, Leo had vanished from Guinbar Castle.

I have already mentioned that he had built several encampments near the border and had billeted soldiers there, but I have not yet said that one of those was actually built a little further west of the others, and was actually across the border. Percy and Camus had chosen the location.

When they had been stationed in one of the villages at the foot of Mount Conscon, they had crushed a base belonging to the marauders who were attacking in that same neighbourhood. After that, they discovered another, then yet another of these bases, and Percy had used their relative positions to work out where the other enemy camps which were scattered around were situated. He had linked their various positions in a line which roughly enclosed Allion’s field of activities. And they had built that last encampment just beyond the line.

It was audaciously close to the temple. In othered words, it was only a stone’s throw away from Allion’s forces.

That was where Leo was. Kuon’s group had also previously been hidden there. While keeping an eye on the situation at the temple, they had spent a few days gathering soldiers from the other encampments and, when Leo decided that the time was right, he had sent Kuon to the north. And then, at a moment which was very close to what Leo had predicted from his various observations, the beacon had been lit on Mount Conscon.

Leo left the encampment with three hundred of the soldiers that he had summoned there. Given how many regular Atallese soldiers had joined Kuon’s unit, and taking into account that a hundred had been left under Nauma’s command to act as the rear-guard, most of his soldiers were from the peasant militia.

If Leo’s guess proved correct, those of Allion’s troops which had advanced to the foot of the mountain would currently be in the middle of fighting the temple’s forces, while Allion’s detached unit would have arrived at the other side. Leo intended to join in the former of those two fights.

Those in the most dangerous position in this battle were the ones who had to attract Allion’s attention. Because it was vital that they annihilate the detached force in one strike, all of the temple’s few remaining bullets had been given to the troop lying in ambush on the rear-side of the mountain.

Allion’s troops were similarly intending to attract the enemy’s attention so that it would be easier for their detached force to make its move. As such, they would not be intending to penetrate too deeply onto the mountain. However, if they realised that, “The enemy is weaker than ever before; they don't even have bullets or arrows anymore,” then they would no longer be cautious about their opponents, and they might decide that rather than drag things on, they should take them down in one go. And Leo would move into position to attack them from behind.

Hayden was moving to the exact same position to watch the temple fall. If both of their groups continued on their current trajectories, they would inevitably meet.

Both units had sent out scouts on horseback, but this was where Allion’s skill made a difference. The scouts that Leo despatched were, after all, simply amateurs. Allion’s party, on the other hand, noticed the presence of an enemy reconnaissance unit, and hid behind a clump of trees. Once the enemy scouts had passed them by, they made a rough guess of where the enemy unit probably was, before hurrying over there. After thoroughly observing that enemy force from a distance, they headed back.

The report reached Hayden at once. The enemy was Atall’s army – they had apparently openly been flying several flags of the principality. This in itself came as a surprise to him, but on top of that, there was information about a flag with the emblem of a cross that was flying so close to the others it was almost overlapping with them.

Leo Attiel!?

Hayden’s Swift’s eyes opened wide. There was no one else in Atall other than Leo who had a connection to the Cross Faith. The moment he was aware that Leo was on the battlefield, Hayden decided to destroy both him and his troop.

There was no definite proof that Lord Leo himself was part of the unit, but Atall, which had once denied sending reinforcements to the temple, had now brazenly crossed the border. There was no way Hayden was going to let them get away with it.

The surprise attack on the temple should already have begun. It would fall within the next few hours. Once the reinforcements lost their purpose, Atall would no doubt turn back and leave, so it wouldn’t be bad to catch them out before that happened.

You won’t be able to slip out of it with vague excuses anymore, Magrid – Hayden smiled from horseback.

Perhaps it was because of the excitement of experiencing combat from close up for the first time that his emotions were running wild. Hayden had the scouts lead the way, and ordered his men to advance more quickly. Most of them were on horseback.

Half an hour later, Leo Attiel’s unit was moving west along the river which flowed in the plain at the foot of Mount Conscon. They were about five or six kilometres away from the first of the temple’s main gates. When he though about how the fighting had surely begun on the mountain, Leo’s expression turned grim.

There were wooden houses in the area, so this had probably been a settlement which had been established to open up the forest by the riverbank. It seemed, however, that Allion’s raids had caused to villagers to flee either to some other area or to the temple, and there was no one to be seen. Only a few emaciated dogs were prowling around.

The mountains’ ridgeline was starting to turn white, the buildings’ shadows were slowly standing out from their dark surroundings. From the other side of the river came the sound of successive horses’ hooves. When Leo looked towards it out of reflex, he saw a group of armoured riders. There wasn’t even time to cry out.

In that moment where everything seemed to be holding its breath, the gazes of the commanders met.

If Leo Attiel was, of course, surprised, then Hayden Swift was too. But his startled eyes quickly gave way to a joyful expression.

“The prince is there,” he shouted out from horseback. “Those dogs from Atall are swarming around the leftover scraps! Get them, bring them down!”

The mounted group crossed the bridge. Leo and his party were in no position to bring that bridge down, but then in the first place, Leo was far too astounded to even think of doing so.

Hayden was here. Which meant that Kuon’s surprise attack had not been on time. On realising that Hayden was not at his headquarters, Leo thought the same thing as Kuon had. Even if the measures put in place at the temple succeeded and managed to drive Allion’s forces away for a while, given that Hayden was still there, that victory – paid for with so many sacrifices – would be for naught.

“Prince, please withdraw!”

Faster than Leo could recover his senses, the militiamen had put themselves at the ready to counterattack. They were full of zeal, and some of them were even rushing forward.

“Wait! Please wait!” Though Leo tried to stop them, he was too late.

Allion’s riders made nothing of the spear-wielding militiamen. Some of the soldiers’ long-handled halberds crushed through the farmers’ skulls, while the spearheads that other soldiers thrust downwards pierced through the craftsmen’s leather-clad chests.

Leo’s peasant-soldiers shuddered. Yet they did not flee. They stood firm in front of him, as though to halt the enemy onslaught. As they did so, those of the young men who had once been hunters quickly stepped forward and, while some of them kneeled in front and others stood behind, they nocked arrows to their bows and shot them. It was a movement they had learned through training, using the skill they had acquired through hunting every day. About five riders fell from their horses. Seizing that opportunity, the foot soldiers, whose unusually long-handled spears they had received from Leo, shouted out “Let’s go!”, and moved forward together.

As though his horse’s hooves were stitched to the ground, Leo could not move away. All he could see was red blood spurting.

The small houses were clustered around a narrow road, and now that their initial momentum had been halted, the enemy did not seem able to advance as easily as they had expected to. But now that it had turned into close combat, the difference in skill naturally became apparent. One after another, the militiamen had their arms sliced through, their legs pierced, or their heads cut off.

Leo’s head ached furiously.

The blood coursing to his brain was increasing the pressure beyond what it could bear, and it felt as though his head would explode at any moment. He was seized by the impulse to tear off his helmet and throw it away.

While he remained like that, Leo’s people, whom he loved, fell prey to the enemy’s swords and spears. Even so, he couldn’t think of anything. He couldn’t even feel anything.

“Please, please escape,” shouted one of the militiamen who stood closest to him. He almost looked like a child. “We’ll stay and protect you, so Prince, please hurry and escape!”

He was so close that when he opened his mouth wide, Leo could even see his two rows of teeth.

It was then that somebody whispered in Leo’s ear.

“Use fire.”

Leo started in surprise.

In that moment, Leo Attiel’s mind dredged up the information he needed from the books of tactics that he had read voraciously up until then. He snatched one of the torches that they used on their march from one of his men, and flung it towards one of the houses. He then grabbed another and repeated the action with the house opposite the first one, then again with the house behind it.

The soldiers who were standing on guard around the prince looked blank, but once he ordered them to “do it!”, they all started mimicking his actions. The area began to be engulfed in flames, and a hot wind blew against everyone there. Leo also gave swift instructions to those of the youths who had originally been carpenters, and they took their axes to the houses on either side.

“Pull back, pull back from here!” Leo ordered his companions who were still engaged in fighting, and he himself turned his horse back around to the way they had come.

As the prince ran, the militiamen followed. Without a second’s delay, Allion’s riders moved to do the same but, at that moment, the carpenters’ axes brought down a pillar.

The house’s structure had been a very simple one, so even when just a single pillar fell, the roof on either side of it collapsed onto the street. Smoke and flames crashed down, and Allion’s horses reared up. It seemed the flames would prevent them from advancing.

“Don’t let him escape!” Hayden shouted out from the rear. He himself sprang his horse onward; abandoning the idea of giving chase by going straight forward, he instead raced around to the side.

Leo too recklessly galloped forward.

“The enemy – no, Hayden’s target is you, and you alone,” that voice whispered once again.

“I know,” Leo replied, kicking his horse’s flanks. He hurried forward, even though it meant leaving his soldiers behind. Leo knew full well who it was who had been whispering to him since earlier.

There was no one there who could give him orders. No one other than he himself.

He urged his horse forward so as to pass through the south of the village.

The Heavens, however, seemed to have decided to continue favouring Hayden. An arrow shot by one of Allion’s soldiers struck Leo’s horse in the rump. This time, it was his mount which reared upwards, forelegs in the air, before toppling over sideways.

Leo was thrown off, and knocked his head hard. In that moment, his helmet came off, and tumbled along the side of the road.

The horse that Hayden Swift was riding kicked it away as it came thundering up towards him.