3 bar menu

Chapter 237 Part 1

---

Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

---

A checkpoint further north of the Northern city of the Empire.
There, an old man who was the captain of the garrison, was sitting at the cockpit of a B-class Knight, staring north. That gaze of his was extremely stern.

(Damn, what an unpleasant sound)

Approaching him was a herd of large magical beasts, about thirty in number. They had emerged from the forest of spirits just a few moments ago.
These four-legged magical beasts, nearly fifteen meters tall, kicked the ground in groups.
The earth was being shaken by the massive beasts, and they were making a sound that could not be described as a rumble or a vibration.

(This checkpoint won’t be enough to stop them)

The garrison captain thought as he made his B-class Knight look backward.
At the end of his field of vision was a series of walls made of large stones piled up roughly together. The height is about two meters high.

(In the first place, it was only designed to block people and golem carriages from coming in and out of the city)

This wall, built in a rush, stretches long from east to west around the checkpoint, dividing the not-so-wide plain.

(Though it will be a different story if it were ten times taller)

After having that meaningless thoughts, the old garrison captain changed his focus as he made his B-class Knight look forward again.

(We’ll have to be patient until Her Excellency arrives. We may be outnumbered, but with an A-class Knight we should be able to manage it somehow)

What floated in his mind is the attractive, over revealing, strong-minded young beauty. The old garrison captain would like to get his hands on her at least once.
In order to make this dream come true, he must first get through this moment.

『We will handle this. In the meantime, please get the other Knights into position』

An external sound system echoed from behind him, and he could tell it was a young woman by the quality of her voice. When he turned around again, he saw Knights with white lily emblems on their shoulders.
The garrison Knights had been distributed along the wall and were currently gathering. These knights, on the other hand, seemed to be ready to move.

(Lily Knights huh? Thank god they’re here)

The Lily Knights is an international mercenary knight order. The one in front of him is one of one of their squad, the White Lily squad.
It consists of three B-class Knights and four C-class Knights. They had recently joined the imperial army and were on the border patrol.

『Sorry, please do!』

After receiving the reply from the old garrison captain, Lily Knights nodded and stepped forward.

『Horizontal formation! Shields up!』

A little further forward, the four C-class Knights line up in a horizontal line. They crouched on one knee and held up their shields.
Behind them, three B-class Knights poked their heads out from between the C-class Knights.

(These magic beasts… they must’ve been driven off)

In the center of the B-class Knight’s cockpit, a pale, short-cut woman thinks. Her bob-cut platinum blonde hair is adorned with a white flower hairpiece.
It doesn’t look good because it’s almost the same color as her hair, but it’s probably just her preference.

(Many birds took off from the Spirit Forest a while ago. I also heard a faint scream of a magical beast)

What appeared after all of those signs were the Capricorns. She had seen them before in the mountainous areas of the western part of the Empire, but they didn’t look ferocious.

(In that case, they shouldn’t have a clear intention to attack)

The captain with the white flower-shaped hair piece thought. They won’t get away with just injuries if they collide with more than thirty of these large type magic beasts.
It’s better to avoid unnecessary battles with things you don’t need to fight.

(We can’t let them get hurt, otherwise they’ll see us as the enemy. Let’s see if we can get them to turn to another direction)

After she organized her thoughts, she gave instructions to her subordinates via the external sound system.

『Use your wand. We will startle them and get them to turn towards the other way with sound magic』

With just those words, the members of the White Lily squad understood.

『Roger that, onee-sama!』

Probably having a similar experience in the past, they didn’t ask a single question.
The B-class Knights immediately handed the wand to the C-class Knights and received a replacement wand. Then, from between C-class Knight’s shields, they took a kneeling stance toward the magic beasts.

『Use the screaming arrows! Cover your ears, everyone!』

Hearing her words, the pilots and soldiers behind the White Lily squad put their hands over their ears.

『Here I go!』

Immediately after, a translucent arrow flies out from the captain’s wand. It flies past low above the heads of the magic beasts, emitting a loud sound like a scream.

(Ugh, it’s still ringing in my ears even after I covered my them)

It was loud enough to make even the old garrison captain behind them frown. It must be quite loud for the magical beasts.
And it wasn’t just the volume. The Doppler effect intensified the high-pitched sound as it approached, and then changed to a low-pitched sound as it passed by.

『Next!』

At the instruction of the captain, the vice-captain also shoots an arrow. The target and the sound were exactly the same, and the translucent arrows flew over the heads of the magic beasts and disappeared as if it blended into the air.
The magical beasts ducked their heads and turned their heads around.

『Last one!』

The third shot flew to the air, and then there was silence. Unlike earlier, the magical beasts had stopped moving toward the south.
The Capricorns sniffed and looked at each other next to each other. Some of them look around anxiously.

(Please… go back)

The onee-sama with the white flower-shaped hair piece watches at them without moving the slightest. The pressure of deciding whether to unleash another Screaming Arrow or switch to attack the magic beasts weighs on her.
Eventually, the Capricorns on the lead shook its head, turned around, and began to head back into the forest. The rest of the herd followed behind it.

(Thank goodness, it worked out somehow)

When she saw that they were already far enough, she lowered her wand. She looked at her subordinates and nodded to each other while letting out a breath of relief.

『Hee… Not bad at all. As expected of the captain of the Lily Knights』

When she turned around at the sound from the external sound system, she saw a crimson-colored Knight with its hand on its waist. Unlike the Lily Knights’ B-class Knights, its shoulders, chest, waist, and legs are bulging greatly.

(That’s A-class Knight for you. I wonder how many auxiliary magic circles they have to cram in to make it look like that)

The onee-sama with white flower-shaped hair piece was captivated by it.
Auxiliary magic circle is a mechanism that allows one to exert great power with little magic power. The effect was so great that if a pilot with the same rank rode it, a bunch of other B-class would still be no match for it.
A-class Knights are the dream Knights for pilots.

『Tell me the situation』

Urged by her employer, the mature Viscountess, the captain returned to her senses. She immediately fixed her expression and began to explain.

『So you are thinking that those magic beasts had been driven out of the forest?』

In the cockpit, the mature Viscountess bent one side of her mouth as she thought. It’s not a bad idea to hit the enemy’s defense line with a magical beast.
At that moment, the mature Viscountess suddenly sensed a movement at the edge of her A-class Knight’s vision. She then turned to look at the Spirit Forest with her A-class Knight.

「What’s with them? It seems as if they can’t go back into the forest」

The herd of magic beasts that were supposed to return was stomping around the outer edge of the forest. There seemed to be some kind of disturbance in there, as many birds could be seen dancing in the sky.

『Could it be that the ones who drive them out trying to push them back out again?』

The onee-sama with the white flower hairpiece nodded her head. As she stares at the Capricorns while preparing in case they went to attack again, the herd moved eastward along the outer edge of the Spirit Forest.
They can’t enter the forest, but they don’t want to come back here either. That was probably what they thought.

『Hmm, that way is the mountainous area on the border of the northern countries, huh. Well, since they look like goats, I guess they can handle mountainous areas.』

The mature Viscountess slightly frowned, thinking about her memories in the northern countries. But no one knew it since she was in the cockpit.
She waited until they were completely out of sight and called out to the old garrison captain behind her.

『You heard, didn’t you? Notify the imperial capital about what we talked just now』

The old garrison captain’s B-class Knight nodded and gestured to a nearby C-class Knight. As she looks over at them, the mature Viscountess thinks.

(Did they just want to get rid of those magic beasts and lure them to us while they’re at it? Or have they already grown impatient?)

She let out a small breath.

(Maybe this confrontation will be over soon)

She shifted her gaze to the distant Spirit Forest while considering the possibility of a full-scale invasion.

---