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Chapter 11: Battle of Pyrrhus IV – Conclusion

With a signal from Elranief, chieftain of the Elves, the Elven magic was unleashed.

Three blazing red fireballs struck the leading cavalry and exploded.

A split-second boom echoed, like my eardrums had been torn apart.

The blast’s light blinded me, plunging my vision into darkness for an instant.

From the front row, shield-bearers caught in the shockwave groaned in agony.

「Uwoooaaahh!」

「Gh…!」

「You’re kidding!」

The explosions from the magic Elranief and the others unleashed blew the front cavalry clear off the ground.

The horses behind stumbled and fell, becoming obstacles for those coming from the rear.

The cavalry’s momentum came to a complete stop.

「Target the dense clusters with magic! Archers, aim for the retreating cavalry!」

Elranief issued her ruthless commands without hesitation.

A series of explosions rang out.

Those of us in the front row ducked our heads, and I raised an arm to shield my face.

More magic bombarded the tightly packed enemy cavalry, while archers picked off those trying to flee sideways with merciless precision.

—Slaughter.

That’s the word that came to mind.

The Elves’ way of fighting was quite brutal.

Right before my eyes, cavalrymen were torn apart by magic, turned into ground meat.

And yet… I didn’t feel any revulsion. On the contrary, my heart pounded with anticipation, eager for my turn to come.

Are these really my feelings?

Or is my personality being dragged along by the memories of Gaia, the boy whose life I inherited?

As I pondered that, I rubbed my fingers together in preparation.

My turn was coming soon…

「Gaia! That’s the last of the magic!」

Elranief declared the end of the magical bombardment.

I glanced toward Uncle Athos standing beside me. He gave a firm nod, his expression solemn.

I took a deep breath, then shouted an order with a voice louder than I thought possible.

「Let’s go! Barbar Mercenaries, charge!」

「「「「「UWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!」」」」」

We of the Barbar Mercenary force launched a charge against the enemy cavalry.

「Pull the cavalrymen off their horses!」

「Finish off any survivors!」

With momentum on our side, the soldiers shouted with high spirits.

Uncle Athos quickly stepped in to keep things focused.

「Don’t get cocky! The enemy still has strength left! Make sure you finish them off!」

Leading the charge was Rosso, chieftain of the Great Lizard Tribe.

Despite his huge frame, he moved with surprising agility as he closed in on the enemy cavalry.

A cavalryman thrust a long spear from atop his horse, but Rosso twisted his body swiftly to dodge it, grabbed the rider by the waist,

「Come on! Get off your high horse! I’ll play with you!」

The cavalryman lost balance and fell. Rosso immediately finished him off.

I slipped past Rosso, heading straight for the enemy cavalry’s commander.

By using the skill 『Sma-ho!』 with its zoomed-in display, I could clearly see where their commander was.

「Hey! Gaia! You’re rushing in too far!」

Rosso’s voice called from behind.

But I ignored it and shouted back at him.

「Rosso! Follow me! We’re taking down the enemy commander!」

「Heh! Keep dreaming!」

It might be reckless, but the cavalry’s in chaos, this is our chance!

I closed the distance all at once.

「××××××」

「×××!」

The enemy soldiers around me were shouting something.

The moment I wished I understood what they were saying, a data download began.

The enemy’s language was being installed into my brain.

Wincing from the headache, I pushed forward. Eventually, the fog lifted from my mind.

I could hear the enemy’s words loud and clear.

「Flank them from the side!」

「No good! There’s are archers, if we try, we’ll be picked off!」

「Damn it aaaall!」

「Fall back!」

Like hell I’ll let you run!

I pointed my sword at the bearded commander and called out.

「Hey! You there, with the beard! I’m Gaia, commander of the Barbar Mercenaries! Face me in single combat!」

「What!?」

「Or are you scared? In that case, I’ll let you go! Run away with your tail between your legs!」

「You little punk! How dare you…!」

The enemy commander fell right into my provocation.

Face red with rage, he tried to charge, but the chaos still hadn’t subsided, he had no room to maneuver his horse.

He awkwardly maneuvered through the tight space.

「Gaia! Can you handle him?」

「Rosso! Watch my back!」

「Yeah, yeah! Don’t die on me!」

I left my back to Rosso and focused solely on the enemy commander.

He skillfully wielded his spear in the cramped space, thrusting it at my face from horseback.

「Sh!」

I dodged, but the tip sliced open my left cheek.

Pain exploded across my face, but the enemy didn’t let up.

I twisted and slid my body left and right, narrowly dodging the next attacks.

(This guy’s… stronger than I thought!)

Cold sweat ran down my back from the intensity and sharpness of incoming attacks as I tried to think of my next move.

He had the high ground from horseback, and he was an adult, I was just a kid on foot.

With those differences in height and reach, I’d never win in a straight fight.

(Wait a moment…!)

I came up with a crazy plan.

But it’s all I’ve got!

From dodging his spear, I switched to deflecting with my sword in my right hand.

We exchanged two, three blows, then being outmatched in power, my sword ended up flung wide.

I raised my left arm to shield my face, leaving my torso wide open.

「I’ve got you now, brat!」

The enemy yelled in triumph and drove his spear into my side.

「Gah!」

Blood gushed from my mouth as I endured the searing pain, barely staying conscious.

I dropped my sword and grabbed the enemy’s right arm with both hands.

「Got ya…」

「Wha…!?」

Like a judo throw, I twisted my body, dragging the enemy down as I fell.

「No way!?」

The spear snapped inside me, my insides churned violently.

At this point, I couldn’t even feel the pain, it was beyond that now.

My body must’ve been in a really bad state.

But just a little more…

Beneath me lay the enemy commander, eyes wide, his face contorted in shock.

「You brat… are you trying a suicide attack!?」

「Nope. No way.」

Smoke began to rise from my body.

With a sizzling sound, my wounds started regenerating.

I grabbed the broken spear embedded in my abdomen and yanked it out, gripping it tightly in both hands.

「I’ll tell you something. My body regenerates. So this wasn’t suicidal at alll.」

「What!?」

「You’re the only one dying here!」

With all my strength, I plunged the broken spear into his throat.

「Ghh…! Guh…!」

The enemy gurgled and spat blood from his mouth.

「No hard feelings. I’ve got nothing against you. But if I’m gonna make it big, I need your head.」

His eyes went out of focus as he searched for me, hands grasping at the air.

His body convulsed, then stopped moving altogether.

My strength drained from my limbs, and I collapsed.

「Gaia! You okay, damn it!?」

Rosso of the Great Lizard Tribe rushed over.

But I was too out of breath to reply.

「You did it, right!? You actually did it!?」

「Haa… haa… Yeah… I did it…」

「Come on! Get up! Declare our victory!」

Supported by Rosso, I managed to stand.

Holding the broken spear that finished off the enemy commander high above my head, I shouted.

「I took down the enemy commander! Gaia of the Barbar Mercenaries took him down!」

I shouted it twice, switching languages so both allies and enemies would understand.

My cry rang out across the battlefield, cheers from allies, despair from the enemy.

「Gaia did it!」

「Press the attack!」

「Take their heads!」

「The commander’s dead!」

「No way!? That brat!?」

「Retreat! Retreat!」

The remaining cavalry turned tail.

And the now-depleted enemy cavalry was pursued by the Empire’s cavalry.

One of the Empire’s gilded knights rode past me, giving a formal salute and calling out.

「Well done! Leave the rest to us!」

With cavalry flanking them from behind, the enemy’s formation crumbled.

Then the Imperial infantry pushed forward, and after about an hour, the Kingdom of Algeas was in full retreat.