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Volume 1 Chapter 5 Part 7

The stone walls have crumbled in several places. This was to be expected, since as a hastily constructed fort which was made in preparation for this battle, its construction was simple and not very sturdy.

 

「I did not think it was going to last long anyway, but still…」

 

The power of the heavy knights of Waldrind was overwhelming. However, since their holy energy heavy crossbow bolts were using the power of the Crest in order to power themselves up, it probably means that the heavy knights will not be able to fire too many of them in rapid succession, so even if it seemed like a fool’s endeavor, there was still meaning in making them use up their most powerful attacks.

 

Arrow attacks continued toward the fort. Each time, the stone walls and the rocks on the foundation of the fort was crumbling a bit more.

 

「Everyone withdraw! Go back to the main gate and wait for Siluca’s orders. 」

 

「W-What about  you, Aishela? 」

 

Captain Grak asked her with a terribly slow and rough voice, as if he was having a hard time moving his mouth properly.

 

「This is a fortress that has been named after me, so I cannot allow myself to simply leave it without defending it properly first. I think I am just going to go on a rampage here for a bit. 」

 

「No way! That’s too much even for you! 」

「Are you going to just throw your life away? 」

 

Other mercenaries also raised their voices in protest to Aishela’s reckless plan.

 

「Well damn, you have seen right through me… 」

 

Aishela summoned the smile back onto her face.

 

「Anyway, you guys should go and evacuate as soon as possible. This place is not going to last much longer. 」

 

The mercenaries all looked at each other, left the fort, and went down the path along the ridge of the mountain. From there, they went down the steep slope along the cliff. Their destination was a fort protecting the main gate of the castle.

 

Just then, the fortress screamed and crumbled from its rocky foundation after it was hit by another salvo of the bolts from the heavy crossbows infused with the holy energy.

 

Aishela was caught up in the collapse, but she deftly jumped over falling fragments of the stone walls and boulders, landing on the ground without being crushed by any of the pieces of the rubble. Even if she were to fall from a really high place, her legs infused with the power of her Arts would perfectly absorb the force of the impact without causing any harm to her. The surrounding area was filled with smoke, so much so that she could not even open her eyes to properly survey her surroundings… but Aishela knew what she should be expecting, so she pulled the mask portion of her feathered helm down below her eyes and she moved forward, and when the smoke finally disappeared, the heavy knights of Waldrind were right in front of her.

They didn’t seem to expect that she was going to come to them, and so they were not even prepared to defend themselves properly.

 

Aishela dove straight into the enemy’s ranks, swinging her weapon from side to side. The enemies were tough, but Aishela’s attacks managed to break through their armor and cut through their bodies. Even the heavy knights of Waldrind themselves were confused about what was happening right now, and once they realized that they are not going to be able to move any further because of her, they started retreating to a safe distance.

 

After she rampaged a while, Aishela chose the right moment and prepared to make a big leap backwards, intending to retreat to the safety of the castle gate. However, when she was in the air, the heavy knights aimed their crossbows at her and fired them. Most of the shots missed her by a hair’s width, but one of them managed to hit her right in the chest and penetrate her armor. Aishela felt a shockwave that took her breath away spread out across her entire body, as well as the sensation of the lukewarm liquid overflowing all the way from the back of her throat.

 

(This is… bad…)

 

The last thing that Aishela was able to think about before she collapsed was that she must have been fatally wounded just now.

 

「….!!! AISHELA!!! 」

 

Siluca gasped audibly and rushed over to Aishela’s side, because she was actually watching the entire thing unfolding from the fort near the castle’s main gate.

 

「Well… looks like this is the end of the line for me… I will be going on ahead first… but you don’t have to follow me… Siluca…」

After Aishela vomited a large amount of blood, she was repeatedly coming and going between losing consciousness and staying awake.

 

「I-It’s okay, I… I am going to heal you right… now…」

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Siluca was saying all of that dumbfoundedly as she had a nearby soldier help her remove Aishela’s armor. But when she saw the actual wound after she tear her clothes underneath, Siluca felt nothing but despair.

 

Her right lung is completely collapsed and, and a large amount of the blood vessels around her chest appear to be damaged as well, so at this rate it will not be long before she dies of blood loss. That wound was the kind that a simple first-aid treatment would not be able to fix, and if she were to give her the full treatment that she needed right now, she would have to focus all of her attention on it, but there was no way that Siluca could do it right now, since she had to assume the military command over the battle from now on.

 

(I am sorry, I am so sorry, Aishela…)

 

Siluca was trying her best to keep her tears from overflowing. It was natural for people to die on the battlefield, and she knew that. She was also aware that she should not allow even something as serious as a death of a relative to cloud her judgement at such a crucial time. Getting upset and losing her cool was the last thing she wanted right now.

 

Siluca suppressed her emotions and ordered soldiers near her to carry Aishela to the main castle, but then…

 

「I will heal her. 」

 

Saying that, Priscilla, the priestess of the Order of the Crest came towards them. On her right hand, a white-colored Crest has already emerged.

 

「Can you do it? 」

 

Siluca asked Priscilla.

Some of the blessings coming from the Crests allowed for the curing of injuries and illnesses. However, only those with compassionate hearts could use such blessings, which explains why not many Lords possessed such abilities. But since Priscilla was a priestess, then it is most likely that healing people with her Crest was her specialty.

 

「I will try to do my best. 」

 

Priscilla nodded and put her hand on Aishela’s wound.

 

「Please… 」

Unlike the life magic used by Mages, the healing power of the Crests embodies the power and the will to restore things to how they should be. It is said that if a capable person continues to use such a power, they are going to be able to achieve a perfect body regeneration, and ultimately, it is even said that it is possible for them to bring the lost soul back to its body and revive it, and such a feat could definitely be called the greatest of miracles.

 

「God, give me strength in this time of need… 」

 

Priscilla closes her eyes as she prayed, and a pure white light emanated from her hands.

 

Siluca also wanted to pray together with her just now, but he suppressed her desire to do so, and turned her attention to the fighting around them instead. She saw that thanks to Aishela’s rampage, the heavy knights of Waldrind were disorganize and began to retreat because they were unsure of what they should be doing, but after they calmed down and assessed the situation again, they were trying to get back on their feet and launched an attack once more.

 

「A heavy crossbow for a heavy crossbow it is then. 」

 

As a part of the preparations for the battle, Siluca had ordered two heavy crossbows to be mounted on the towers that were build to the left and to the right of the main gate of the castle. The methods of making and using such weapons are also taught at the Magic University’s Red Faculty classes.

 

Siluca ordered the heavy crossbows to fire. A pair of bolts was shot at high speed, and one of the heavy knights was hit in the chest and blown backwards. The other one missed its target and pierced the ground. When they took notice of that, Waldrind’s knights also launched a counterattack by firing bolts from their own heavy crossbows.