The Princess of War

by Hyougetsu

  “There’s thirty men approaching from the east! Old man Vodd said they look like mercenaries!”

  So the attack on the west side is a diversion. Or so you want me to think, right, Eleora? Well, you won’t fool me again. Eleora’s lack of troops meant she’d often used bluffs to win her battles. But if the attack on the western wall truly was a bluff, then she would have waited until the east gate had been breached to blow it up. I knew she had some kind of magical radio, so coordinating her attacks should have been easy. The fact that she’d blown up both gates at once meant that she didn’t want too many troops gathering at the west gate either. It was obvious the real diversion would end up being at the east gate. Airia stooped down and asked the canine messenger, “Is it only mercenaries they’ve sent to the east gate?”

  “Yes, ma’am! There’s no knights or... mage whatever corps! That’s what Vodd said!”

  He stumbled over his words a little, but the messenger got all the pertinent information across. Airia put on the breastplate and cape one of her attendants brought her and turned to me.

  “I doubt the mercenaries are her main force.”

  “I agree completely, Lady Airia.”

  Meraldia’s mercenaries weren’t all that strong. The region hadn’t seen war in decades, so most of their battles had been against bandits, or wild monsters. In large-scale battles, they were even more useless than foot soldiers.

  “The real assault will come from the west. Tell my werewolves to head there.”

  I’d spent a lot of time studying Eleora’s strategies. She preferred launching multiple feints, then landing a decisive blow once the enemy was in disarray.

  West of Ryunheit was a forest that residents often harvested firewood from. It was also where I’d concealed my bone spears long ago. Since they were no longer stationed there, it could easily be used to hide a small force. Right now, my highest priority was protecting Airia. Master was off being our scout, so she was the only important person left in the city.

  “Sir Wengen, have the city garrison protect the old district. I need your men to protect the citizens and Lady Airia.”

  Wengen got to his feet and saluted.

  “As you command, Lord Veight.”

  I then howled to the werewolves in the city and had them gather at my position.

  “The enemy will be aiming for the old district. If you clump together you’ll just make yourselves targets for their special weapons, so move in your squads of four, and ambush anyone you see. Just do as we trained!”

  Everyone nodded. Fahn, Jerrick, Monza, the Garney brothers, Hamaam, and Vodd were all accounted for. Actually, wait, where’s Vodd? Just as I thought that, Vodd shambled over, still in his werewolf form.

  “Sorry I’m late. I wanted to keep an eye on the east gate, just in case.”

  “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. I was worried you might have been killed.”

  Vodd may have been a retired mercenary with more experience than any of us, but he was still getting old. He grinned, his white fur bristling.

  “What’s wrong, Vodd?”

  “Oh, I’m just happy we finally get to hunt again.”

  The other werewolves grinned as well. I had forgotten how much they loved fighting. That was the only side of them I couldn’t understand. It reminded me that I was the only one among us who was actually human on the inside. But right now, their love for battle was going to prove an asset. I cast a new spell on the werewolves, one I’d just learned from Master a few days ago. It was a slightly altered version of the arrow warding spell I’d used in Zaria. This one deflected magic instead of arrows.

  “Listen up, this spell will block one magical attack of any kind, no matter what.”

  “How does a spell that blocks spells work, bro?”

  “You know, it like, makes the two magics neutralize or something...”

  The Garney brothers were struggling to grasp the implications, so I simplified my explanation.

  “The enemy can shoot magic arrows at you, and my spell will block a single one of them. If you get hit once, retreat immediately. Am I understood?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Holy crap, cast it on us five more times then!”

  No matter how many times I cast it, it’ll only work once.

  Once I was done casting protective magic on everyone, we sprinted toward the new district where the breach had occurred.

  “Oh yeah, who’s on Veight duty today?” Jerrick asked.

  “My squad,” Monza replied, raising her hand with a smile. To be honest, I want to confront Eleora alone, but I guess a single squad should be fine.

  “Alright, Monza’s squad, follow me! Everyone else, disperse!”

  At my command, the 13 remaining squads scattered, leaving only Monza’s with me. The western half of the town had become my werewolves’ hunting ground.

  The new district of Ryunheit was a place that had been built to let humans and demons live together, but it was also a bulwark that protected the old district. I’d made sure that watchtowers and ambush points had been built all along the road toward the old district. If Eleora’s men wanted to get to Airia, they’d have to get through a pack of bloodthirsty werewolves and an army of Garsh’s mohawked marines.

  Already, Beluza’s landing force had engaged the enemy at various points in order to halt their advance. While Eleora’s mage corps had the advantage when it came to firepower, Grizz had 500 men under his command. Furthermore, his strategy of gradually retreating to lure enemies into ambush points was working perfectly.

  Together with Monza’s squad, I detoured around the main battlefield and headed for the west gate. My guess was Eleora had hidden somewhere in the forest. As I was rounding a corner, I suddenly ran into a group of enemies.

  “Ah!?”

  The soldiers yelped in surprise when they spotted us. It seemed they’d been thinking the same thing as me, and had tried to detour around the battlefield to get to the old district. We’d sensed them coming before they’d spotted us, but there was still a bit of distance separating us.

  “Chaaaarge!” Monza shouted. She was willing to take a hit in order to wipe out the enemy. I dashed forward as well to support her, and the soldiers took aim with their pseudo-guns. They fired a wide-area volley to make sure we didn’t avoid the shots. As expected, despite our best efforts to slip through the volley both Monza and I—the two leading the charge—took a hit. We couldn’t afford to take another.

  Blast Canes were like medieval muskets. They could only fire in the direction they were pointing. The enemy had split into two rows, with the back row standing and the front row squatting. It was the back row who’d shot just now. They were currently recharging their weapons’ mana. The front row still hadn’t fired, but at this distance, they couldn’t keep up with my magic-enhanced movements. I zigzagged my way toward them in an unpredictable path, staying out of their guns’ line of fire. However, the moment they realized they couldn’t catch me, half the soldiers in the front row changed targets to Monza. Shit. She’s not as fast as me. The magic warding spell I’d cast on her had already worn off. I could see the mana gathering in the Blast Canes’ barrels. If one of those hit Monza, she’d die. I wouldn’t reach the enemy line in time, and there wasn’t enough time to cast magic either.

  “Monza!”

  With a yell, I threw myself in front of her.

  “Hyaah!?”

  Monza yelped and came to a halt just as the enemy fired. I couldn’t dodge, so I took the bullets head-on. This is going to hurt. But I was constantly casting high-level regenerative magic on myself. As long as I didn’t die instantly, I’d be fine. I needn’t have worried though, since it appeared I was completely unhurt.

  “Huh?”

  I scooped up Monza, who’d transformed back to her human form from the shock, and turned back toward the soldiers. Did their guns misfire? I didn’t have time to ponder the cause, since the back line had finished reloading, and unleashed their next volle
y. Bullets made of light moved too fast for me to dodge once they’d been fired, so there was nothing I could do.

  But for some reason, I came out of this barrage unhurt as well. In fact, I felt more invigorated than before, and my mana had been replenished. Casting protective spells on 56 people had taken quite a bit out of me, but now I was overflowing with mana. I had no idea why, but there was one thing I was sure of. I was absorbing the mana the Blast Canes fired.

  “Get back, all of you! I’ll handle this!”

  I left Monza in the hands of her squad. For demons, an order from someone stronger than them was absolute. Though they looked worried about me, they reluctantly backed off. After making sure they were a safe distance away, I turned and glared at the enemy. There were five men squatting in the front row, and five standing in the back.

  “Captain, our Blast Canes don’t work on him!”

  “Don’t falter! If he’s a living creature, then there’s a way to kill him! Keep shooting!”

  An idle thought hit me as I heard their exchange. I had felt something similar when I’d touched the Werewolf Slayer and destroyed the enchantment on it. Could it be that I can absorb mana just like Master? That ritual when she crossed the final threshold might have affected me too. Interesting... Once this battle was over, I decided I would try a few experiments and report my findings to Master. While I was lost in thought, the soldiers unleashed another volley.

  “Fire!”

  Bullets of light slammed into me one after another. Yep, they’re definitely restoring my mana. That really hit the spot. Not in the way you guys were hoping though. Not only did the enemy’s powerful Blast Canes not work on me, they helped restore my mana instead. Feeling like an idiot for ever being afraid of them, I started laughing. I advanced slowly, knowing Rolmund’s soldiers were no longer a threat.

  “C-Captain! He’s—”

  “Back row, continue firing! Front row, draw your swords!”

  Hey, time out! Magic attacks were ineffective against me, but physical ones still hurt as much as always. I sped up and closed the gap between us in an instant. Playtime was over.

  “Y-You monster!”

  “Uwaaaaaaah!”

  The members of the mage corps were clearly unused to using their short swords. Their swordsmanship was nothing like the lightning fast strokes Wengen’s soldiers could unleash. To my enhanced kinetic vision, it looked like they were swinging their swords through molasses. I hit the five frontline soldiers with weak jabs, making sure not to kill them. They dropped to the ground, unconscious. I then dispatched the back row, basking in the bullets they showered me with. I might have accidentally broken a few of their bones, but I could patch that up later once the battle was over.

  “I’m finished. Tie them up.”

  Monza and the others hurried back over.

  “Whoa... Boss, you’re insane. I can’t believe you did that.”

  “To be honest, neither can I?”

  “Haha, really?”

  Laughing, Monza skillfully bound the soldiers with rope. Once she was done, she looked up at me and said bashfully, “Thanks for protecting me, boss. And sorry for slowing you down.”

  “What’re you apologizing for? Of course I’d protect you.”

  “Ehehe, really?”

  She’d already managed to calm down, despite having been this close to death seconds ago. What a strong girl.

  “Looks like you’re doing just fine. Mind if I leave these guys to you?”

  “Huh? I can’t leave you, boss! Fahn’ll scold my ears off if I do...”

  I just waved my hand dismissively and said, “Those guys are valuable negotiation tools. Plus we can get a lot of information out of them. Don’t kill them.”

  Without waiting for a reply, I ran off. Perfect, now I can move freely.

  * * * *

  —The Rolmund Army’s Miscalculation—

  The Rolmund soldiers who had infiltrated Ryunheit’s western districts were currently experiencing hell.

  “Shukein’s squad was eliminated! Lekoi, support the survivors!”

  “Dammit, more werewolves!?”

  “Our Blast Canes don’t affect them! And we’re running out of mana!”

  Sheltering inside a half-built building was the Rolmund Army 209th mage corps’ sniper battalion. Of the 20 elites that made up the battalion, half were dead or wounded. Warrant Officer Natalia, who’d been keeping an eye on the rear window, turned to the battalion sergeant and shouted, “Human soldiers approaching! Their numbers are unknown!”

  “Move our snipers to that side! Have them use wide-volley fire to—”

  The sergeant cut off halfway. There was a dull thud, and his body fell to the ground Looking up, the remaining soldiers realized two werewolves had snuck in through the roof. They hurriedly trained their Blast Canes upward.

  “Too slow.”

  “Bro, there’s another one over there.”

  The soldiers were too panicked to register the fact that the werewolves were speaking in human tongue.

  “Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

  “This plan’s doomed, run!”

  How many of us were defeated? How many of us escaped? Natalia thought to herself. Her thoughts were a mess. She shouldered her Blast Cane and pounded down the main street, back toward the gates.

  “Woohooo, it’s a girl!”

  “Oi, don’t kill her! Capture her alive!”

  “Watch out for that weapon of hers! Be careful chasing her down!”

  A group of rough-looking men started chasing after her.

  “Bastards!” Natalia whirled in the direction of the voices and took aim with her Blast Cane. But just then, two werewolves popped out from the ruins of a crumbling house. Their fur was bright red, and they were covered in blood. “Eeek!”

  Natalia turned her back to the werewolves and ran.

  “Haah, haah, haah, haaah...”

  It hurt to breathe. She was beginning to regret slacking on her physical training. She’d been appointed to the sniper battalion because of her large mana reserves and excellent focus, but her stamina was sorely lacking. When I get back, I’m going to do some serious training! If I get back, that is...

  The streets of Ryunheit were deathly quiet. Occasionally, a werewolf’s howl pierced the silence, but there were no sounds of combat. Natalia had been so focused on running that she hadn’t realized she’d escaped the battlefield. She knew she’d likely be reprimanded for leaving her post. But right now she didn’t care. She was just glad to still be alive. Stopping to catch her breath, she leaned on her elongated, sniper-use Blast Cane as if it were an actual cane. Misuse of her weapon was also grounds for punishment.

  My battalion’s been decimated. Are the other battalions doing alright? The rings that served as communicators were only given to battalion sergeants, so Natalia had no way to contact anyone else. Once she’d calmed down a little bit, Natalia squatted down in pain.

  “Ugh... Owwww...”

  She’d bumped into quite a few things during her frantic escape, and her shoulders and legs ached. Plus, because of how often she’d fired her Blast Cane, she was drained of both stamina and mana. Just as she was about to sit down to rest, a young man appeared from a nearby alleyway. Judging by his clothes and demeanor, he was a civilian. He turned to her with a smile and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Feeling a little embarrassed, Natalia replied, “Sorry, but I seem to have suffered a few injuries during the fighting. Is there anywhere I could rest for...”

  Natalia trailed off, suddenly realizing something. This isn’t right. If he’s a civilian, shouldn’t he have evacuated? Natalia pointed her Blast Cane at him and shouted, “S-Stop right there! Are you really human!?”

  “Nope.”

  With that, the man transformed into a large black werewolf.

  “KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Natalia shrieked. She fired, and the werewolf didn’t even try to dodge her bullet of light. It hit him square in the chest, but he didn’t fall. In fact, he looked
completely unhurt.

  “H-Huh!? Waaaaaah!”

  She fired another round. And another. And another. Natalia’s Blast Cane had been loaded with plenty of mana in case it too had been needed in destroying the gate. Her shots weren’t lacking in power, yet the werewolf refused to go down.

  Finally, her Blast Cane ran out of mana. Natalia herself was completely drained as well. The black werewolf casually strolled forward and asked again, “What’s wrong?”

  His tone was as gentle as before, but it was what caused Natalia to finally snap.

  “UWAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

  She gripped her Blast Cane in both hands and swung it at the werewolf like a staff. He easily blocked her desperate swing and grinned at her, baring his fangs. It’s over. I can’t beat him. Following the rules of the Rolmund Army, Natalia unsheathed the dagger at her waist and attempted to cut her throat with it. The werewolf then shouted in a panicked voice, “Whoa!? Wait, stop, you idiot!”

  Natalia felt something grab onto her shoulders, and suddenly she couldn’t move. Her legs no longer capable of supporting her, she crumpled to the ground. By the time she realized the werewolf had cast a spell on her, all the muscles in her body relaxed of their own volition.

  “Princess... Save... me...”

  She tried to shout, but her consciousness faded away too fast. The last thing she heard before slipping into the darkness was the werewolf’s chuckle.

  “Fufu, don’t worry. You’ll get to meet your precious princess soon enough.”

  Despairing, Natalia lost consciousness.

  Around the same time, the mercenaries assaulting Ryunheit’s east gate had slowed their advance. Not only was their mission this time exceedingly dangerous, but they’d been forbidden from pillaging the city. It was hardly worth it. Still, they’d been paid for this job, so they knew they had to do it, otherwise potential employers wouldn’t trust them. One of the younger mercenaries rested his sword in his hands and sighed.

  “I’m scared of attacking the demon capital...”