Chapter VIII
The sun low on his left and the enemy up front, Gazef could feel the horse's agitation in his legs. Even though the mount was trained to be a warhorse, or perhaps precisely because he was so trained, he'd picked up on the fact they were heading to their doom.
Only five opponents were visible, but they were spread out to surround the village. Because of that, the space between them was wide, but they must have been creating a perfect cage somehow.
In other words, a total trap. Step inside and the jaws of death would open.
Gazef knew that, but he was going to try to break through. That was the only option he had.
He had no chance of winning at range against casters. He did have archers and he was going to use them, but he feared that would be useless against magic shields their enemy surely had.
Fighting it as a siege would be ridiculous.
Maybe if they'd had a stone fortress with big thick walls it could be done, but wooden houses wouldn't do a thing to block most magic. One wrong move and the village would be burned down.
There was one last way, but he felt it was definitely the moral low road: fight inside the village so that Ainz got caught up in it, forcing him to help.
But if he was going to use a plan like that, his reason for coming to this village in the first place would be lost. Unlike most nobles in Re-Estize, he wanted to save the people, not abuse them. That's why he chose the thorny path.
"We'll attack the enemy to draw them out of their circle and flee to E-Rantel. We can't miss that chance!"
His men gave a spirited reply behind him, and he furrowed his brow.
How many of us will make it out of this alive?
It wasn't as if any of them were talent holders; they were all just what they seemed, but they had come up through Gazef's training and were the product of hard, unceasing work. It would be a shame to lose them all.
Gazef knew he was making a stupid move, but his men followed him anyway. He turned to shout an apology for getting them messed up in this, but when he saw their expressions, he swallowed every word.
They had proper warrior faces. Expressions full of determination to see this through despite knowing what lay in store. It wouldn't be right to apologize to men who decided to follow him despite the danger. He felt embarrassed, but his men peppered him with encouragement.
"Don't worry about it, Captain!"
"Yeah, we're here because we want to be! We're with you to the end!"
"Please allow us to protect our country, its people, and our friends!"
Gazef no longer had any words for them.
But for the enemy, oh yes he did.
He faced forward and howled, "We're gonna rip your guts out! Yaaaaaah!"
Gazef spurred his horse and was off and running.
His men followed. The horses galloped at full speed, kicking up dirt as they went across the plain straight as an arrow.
As he rode, Gazef took out his bow and nocked a real arrow. Rocking with his horse, he drew casually and let go. The arrow flew true and sunk into the head of a caster in front of them, or at least it seemed like it was going to, but then it bounced off as if the caster was wearing a solid helmet. The bizarre hardness had to be due to some kind of magic spell.
Tch! I knew these wouldn't do anything… If I had magic arrows, they'd work, but whining about things I don't have won't get me anywhere.
As far as Gazef knew, to penetrate magic that protected against projectiles, he needed an enchanted weapon. He didn't have one, so he gave up on shooting and put away his bow. The other archers in his company tried as well, but with no success.
But it apparently triggered the casters's reaction as they started replying with spells. Gazef braced himself mentally to resist, but just then his horse whinnied loudly, rearing back and pawing at the air with his hooves.
"Whoa! Easy, boy!" Gazef frantically pulled the reins in and leaned forward to grab hold of the horse's neck. That split-second action saved him from falling and showed to the hidden man curiously watching that Gazef was well above the ordinary people of this world.
Still, the sudden panic sent a chill down the spine of the Kingdom's best, but he managed to suppress it. He had more important things to worry about.
Breathing heavily, irregularly, Gazef spurred his horse, but he wouldn't budge. It was as if the creature had some other master who was more important than the one on top of him.
Psychic magic! they'd put a spell on my horse!
He dismounted, irritated with himself for failing to foresee such an obvious attack. His men rode carefully around him, parting to either side.
"Captain!" The riders at the tail end of the group slowed down and held out their hands. They meant to pull him up onto one of their horses.
But an angel bent on not letting him get away flew over faster. Gazef took aim and whipped out his sword.
A sturdy swing.
The strongest man in the Kingdom brandished his sword with a force that could cut through most things. It went deep into the angel's flesh, but still it wasn't enough to kill the summon.
The blood it coughed up dispersed as a puff of the same magical energy that made up its body.
"I'm fine! Turn around and charge through, make a run for it!"
After giving the order, he glared sharply at the angel that had gotten away. It was seriously wounded but was still raring for a fight and looking for an opening to attack him.
"I see."
Something had felt off when he'd brought his sword down, and he realized now what it had been. Some monsters took very little damage unless a weapon of a specific make was used. Angels had that power. That's why it'd been able to take that blow without falling.
"In this case…"
Gazef gathered power within him and yelled, "[Martial Art: Focus Battle Aura]".
Wait, what? The hell is a martial art?!
The man's blade began to glow faintly. Taking advantage of an opening, that angel brought down its crimson sword, but—
"You're too late!" To the strongest human warrior around, it was way too slow. His sword flew. This slice couldn't even be compared to the previous one—he ripped easily through the angel's body.
Its structure collapsed, and the angel melted into the air. The way its feathers glittered as they disappeared was like a captivating illusion.
If he weren't in such a hopeless situation, enveloped in the stench of blood, he might have marveled, but his focus was already elsewhere.
Gazef scanned to see where the next attack would come from, and a wry smile played across his face as the number of enemies had increased. In the couple of moments he'd taken his eyes off of the battlefield at large, the whole enemy had gathered, along with a lot many angels. It was clear that they'd achieved it by no ordinary means.
"Dammit, you can do anything with magic!"
He cursed the casters who could perform feats impossible for a warrior like they were trivialities, but calmly counted them and confirmed that it was the members who had been encircling the village and many more.
At least the village is no longer surrounded. Sir Gown, I'm counting on you.
His heart filled with joy for being able to save the lives, which had seemed beyond his grasp, but he remained on guard and stared down the enemy.
The sound of pounding hooves grew louder in Gazef's ears—his men had turned after surpassing the enemy and were charging back.
"I told them to run once the circle started contracting. Those idiots… I'm so damn proud of them…"
Gazef ran like the wind.
This was perhaps their biggest and only chance. Judging from the speed of the riders, their opponents would probably concentrate their magic on them to prevent them from getting closer. That would give Gazef the opportunity to turn this into a melee battle. That was the only thing he could do.
Many among his men's horses gave loud, desperate whinnies and threw their front legs into the air like his had. All of their riders fell and groaned. Then, the angels attacked.
His men and the angels were evenly matched in terms of strength, but when it came to basic and special abilities, humans were overwhelmingly inferior. As he expected, half of the angels ganged up on them. It wasn't only that: the spells the casters lobbed into the fray created a definite power gap.
One after another, his men fell to the ground.
Gazef ran, not even looking to confirm what he already knew.
His aim was the commanding priest. Not that he thought killing him would make them back down, but it was the only way he and his men could hope to survive. In response to his charge, more than thirty angels moved into his path. That proved what a serious threat they felt he was, but it didn't make him a bit happy.
"You're in my way!" He engaged the ace up his sleeve. The heat from his hand wrapped around his entire body. He flesh went beyond its limits as he achieved hero level. At the same time he simultaneously unleashed multiple martial arts which Oshikuru now thought were active skills.
He glared at the closest angels leaping for him:
"[Sixfold Slash of Light!]"
It was a martial art performed at a godly speed, over in a flash. One swing, six slashes. Nobody else in the new world could make that, it was his own move, a trump card that granted him victory over and over again.
It worked: six angels around him were cut in two and disintegrated into specks of light.
From the Theocracy's side came alarmed voices, while Gazef's men cheered.
His arm was prickling after using such a major art, but he was used to the pain it caused.
As if ordered to cut the cheering short, a new group of angels headed for him right away. One of them broke off and came swinging at Gazef.
"Instant Reflex!" The moment the angel's sword came down, the spell activated and Gazef moved in a blur. Before the angel's golden sword could rip through him, he dispatched the opponent with his. One blow and the creature was into specks of light.
Gazef's offensive didn't end there. "Flow Acceleration!" In fluid motions, he slashed through the angels coming toward him.
He took down another two angels after using a martial art.
Seeing their captain pull off feats that would be impossible for a normal person began to give the men hope that they could do it, that they could win.
But the theocracy wasn't about to allow that. Their taunts drowned out the hopeful aura.
"Superb. But that's all. Priests who've lost angels, summon the next! The rest, nombard Stronoff with magic!"
They'd been approaching hope but were plunged back into despair. "Not good," Gazef spat as he dispatched another angel. There were no more cheers even when he got a kill. His men all swung their swords with fretful looks on their faces.
Manpower, gear, experience, individual strength, on almost all accounts, they came up short, and now they had lost their main weapon, the hope that they'd manage to somehow win.
Gazef dodged the shiny swords that came down around him unconsciously and then hammered back at the enemy. He was definitely making angels disappear with each swing, but there were just too many, he couldn't advance any more.
He would have liked the help of his men, but magical weapons were necessary to cancel out the angels' defensive ability. Without being able to use a martial art like Focus Battle Aura and without magical weapons, even if they could hurt the angels, they couldn't do fatal damage. That was the greatest problem.
Gazef bit his bottom lip and just kept swinging.
How many times had he made the words death in one blow true? He even used Sixfold Slash of Light so many times he'd surpassed his previous record.
A warrior of Gazef's caliber could normally use six martial arts at once. With his last resort in effect, that went up to seven. He was using one to boost his strength, one to boost his mind, one to boost his magic resistance, one to temporarily enchant his weapon, and one when he attacked for a total of five.
The reason he wasn't reaching the limit was because using a strong art took the focus of multiple normal ones: Sixfold Slash of Light, in particular, took the concentration of three. Even Gazef only had two other strong arts, one that used all his focus and one that used the focus of four normal arts.
By making good use of his arts, he was able to easily defeat the angels. But they were only summons anyway. If he didn't take out the summoner, there would just be more summoned. Biding his time until his opponent ran out of mana was one strategy, but Gazef would probably be out of energy before that happened.
Indeed, his arms were starting to feel heavy and his heartbeat was becoming irregular. Instant Reflex would take his body thrown off-balance by the last attack and force it to return to attack stance. That made it possible for him to attack immediately, but the forced posture changes were a large burden on his body. Flow Acceleration temporarily increased the speed at which his nerves worked, so he could attack faster, but extreme exhaustion was mounting in his brain.
And on top of all that, he was using Sixfold Slash of Light. It was too big a burden on his flesh. But if he didn't use it, he'd be overtaken by the sheer numbers.
"As many as you got, bring 'em on! Your angels are nothing, you bastards!" The roar meant to overwhelm them froze the Slane Theocracy side for just a moment. Almost immediately, however, a composed voice broke the tension.
"Pay him no mind! The beast is just barking, trapped in his cage! Ignore it and keep chipping away at him! Just whatever you do, don't approach the beast. It has long claws. "
Gazef glared at the man with the scar. If he could take down that commander, the course of this battle would surely change immediately. The problem was all the angels blocking the way, plus a bigger angel at the man's side.
I'm too far. There's no way.
Nonetheless, he kept pushing.
"The beast is trying to break through the fence. Show him how futile that is!" The man's composed voice bothered him.
Even if he'd entered the hero realm, Gazef had specialized in martial arts for close combat, so he didn't have much of a chance at range. So what? That's the only path left to me, so I just have to take it. Strength returned to his eyes, and he set off running straight into the angels' crowd.
Their burning swords stabbed and slashed at him. Gazef countered instantly upon evading but he was suddenly assailed by a sharp pain, as if he'd taken a heavy blow to the gut.
Sensing the direction, he looked up and found a caster casting some kind of spell.
"If only you guys used healing magic like priests are supposed—" His words were drowned out by the shock waves that pummeled him to the ground.
He was confident that if there were fewer, even if they were invisible, he'd have been able to dodge them by sensing the atmosphere and watching his opponents' eyes. But when there were more than thirty, he couldn't handle them all. It was all he could do to shield his sword arm and face.
A pain so terrible it seemed like he'd never get up ran through his entire body. There were so many places that hurt that he couldn't tell where, specifically, he was injured.
"Gyaghh!" Unable to stand the taste of iron building in his throat, he coughed up fresh blood. The high viscosity caused it to string down his chin.
Gazef was still staggering from the round of invisible magic shock waves when the angels came at him with their swords. The blows he couldn't dodge hit his armor and were luckily repelled, but the shock that transferred through still hurt.
He swiped sideways at one angel, but it easily evaded his unbalanced attack.
His breathing was rough and his hands shook. The intense fatigue filling his entire body whispered that he should just lie down and rest.
"The hunt is in its final stage. Let's give the beast a final rest. Don't let up with your angels—take turns attacking!"
He tried to catch his breath, but all the angels surrounding him followed their commander's orders and came at him swinging. He dodged an attack coming from behind and blocked a thrust from the side with his sword. The jabs from flying angels overhead he took with the harder parts of his armor. He couldn't attack enough times to keep up with the ones he had to fend off.
The fatigue and his dwindling muscular strength made killing one angel per swing almost impossible at this point. He barely had enough energy to keep using martial arts.
His men were all defeated, mostly dead. The enemy was concentrating their attack on him. He couldn't break through their circle. He could sense death had sidled right up behind him.
A moment's negligence would find him on his knees, and he tried to put some fight into his body.
Then, shock waves pummeled him again as he frantically endured. His eyes swam. No! He put all his body and soul into his back and legs, but it was as if something somewhere had broken, the energy he could have sworn he was putting in seemed to leak out.
Suddenly he felt the prickle of meadow grass on his skin. That was proof he had fallen. He panicked and desperately tried to stand, but he couldn't. The encroaching angels' swords chanted death.
"You have lost, Stronoff," said the enemy commander's voice.
"I'm going to die", thoughtGazef himself.
Another voice in another mind said: Get back up. I know you still got it in you.
Gazef's muscular arms trembled like jelly, and he couldn't even lift his sword. But he couldn't give up. He clenched his teeth so hard they made a horrible grinding sound. He wasn't afraid to die. He knew that just as he had taken many lives along the way, one day he, too, would die in battle.
As Ainz said, he'd made enemies. Their hatred had turned into a blade that one day had to be thrust into his gut.
But he couldn't accept this attacking of multiple villages and killing of innocent people who had no way to fight back. All that just to trap him? That made him sick.
He couldn't stand losing his life to people like that. And he couldn't stand not being able to save himself.
"Grahhhhh! I won't go down that easily!" He screamed and gave his body all he had. Drooling a mix of spit and blood, he slowly got to his feet.
The determination of a man still standing despite not having the power to do so stand, caused all his enemies to unconsciously take a step back.
Yes! I knew you wouldn't give up, Gazef! You have the heart of a warrior!
"Ahhhhgh!" Just standing had Gazef out of breath, his head spinnning, his body feeling as heavy as lead. But he couldn't give up. It just wouldn't do.
"I'm captain of the Royal Select! I love and protect this country! I can't lose to bastards like you who would defile it!"
Gown will protect the villagers. So my job is just to take out as many of these guys as possible to reduce, even just a little bit, the chance that more people meet this fate.
He would protect the future of his country even in death… no matter what, I'll make your enemies suffe, my man. l swear it! That was Oshikuru's reaction.
Nigun begged to differ.
"It's precisely because you spout fantasies like that that you'll die here, Gazef Stronoff!
"You couldn't be more wrong, you piece of shit! It is you who'll die here! Then we'll bring you back, squeeze all information out of you and torture you until the end of time!"
The enemy commander taunted the defeated opponent once again.
"If only you had forsaken the people in this far borderland, this wouldn't have happened. You life is worth more than several thousand villagers' lives. Surely you must realize that! If you really loved your country, you would have left them to die."
"You and I…will never see eye to eye. Let's do this!"
"What do you plan to do in that state exactly? Quit your futile flailing and die quietly. I'll take pity on you and kill you painlessly."
"If you think… I can do nothing… why don't you come over here… and take my head? In this state… it should be pretty easy even for you, no?"
"Hmm. So you can still talk the talk, huh? You seem to want to fight, but do you stand a chance?"
Gazef just stared ahead, clasping his sword in trembling hands, focused on his hateful enemy even as his vision seemed about to blur. He was so focused on the caster he couldn't even see the angels surrounding him, ready to attack.
"…Such a pointless endeavor. You're just too foolish. After we kill you, we're going to kill the surviving villagers. All you've done is bought them more time to be tormented by fear."
"Heh… heh-heh … hahahahaha!," Gazef laughed in response, a grin spreading across his face.
"What's so funny?"
"Gah… The foolish one is you. There's someone in that village who is so much stronger than me. His power is so unfathomable I'm sure all of you won't be enough to take him down… There's… agh… there's no way you'll be able to kill the villagers he's protecting."
"Stronger than the kingdom's most powerful warrior? You think a bluff like that will work on me? That's the height of stupidity."
Ok, time's up. [Message] Ainz-san, switch with him ten seconds from now.
Gazef smiled faintly. What will he look like when he meets Ainz Ooal Gown? That thought would be a good souvenir for the next world.
Nigun commmanded: "Angels—"
His voice was interrupted by something cracking and exploded in mid-air, as if a lightning had struck out of nowhere
Gazef, about to make a run for it, prepared to die in the process, was almost as surprised as the enemy, then he heard a voice right next to him:
"Seems about time I swap in."
The scenery before Gazef changed. He was no longer on the crimson-dyed plain. He was in the corner of some kind of humble dwelling with a dirt floor.
His men were scattered around him and villagers were there, looking at him with concern.
"Wh-where am I…?"
"This is my house. Lord Ainz put a magic barrier on it."
"Headman…? I don't seem to see Sir Gown…"
"No, he was here up until a moment ago, but you appeared right where he was. It is as if you two exchanged places"
So it was your voice…
He remembered something and from a pocket he took out the wood piece the magic caster had given him. The little thing vanished while he was holding it.
Thank you, Ainz Ooal Gown. I leave everything to you.
The tension he'd been desperately trying to maintain went out of his body. He'd done everything he could do. The villagers rushed over to him as he collapsed to the ground.
The Six Scriptures… Even the kingdom's strongest warrior couldn't beat them. But no one thought Ainz Ooal Gown would lose.
They had already learned the guild's mantra: Ainz Ooal Gown knows no defeat.