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Operation: Liberate Southleaf Island – Part 03

“What is happening?!”

Philip hurried to the harbor and saw an empty port and a burning ship. Knights who had swum ashore gasped for breath as they delivered their report.

“W-We were attacked, and the ship was set on fire. There was a giant fireball. The other fishing boats fled to the open sea.”

Philip, nearing the age of forty, had served on various missions as a member of the Knights Templar. He understood the gravity of the situation. Sealing off the harbor would leave them with no escape route.

Philip grunted bitterly. “Those who can swim, rescue our drowning comrades! The rest, aid in the evacuation!”

“Yes, sir!”

Numerous mysteries remained, however. The townspeople faced the same lack of escape routes, and it should have been evident that reaching the mainland would be difficult with only small boats.

What was their objective?

“Captain! They’re attacking from—Ugh!”

Arrows whizzed through the air and struck the back of a knight delivering a report, but they failed to penetrate his armor and merely dealt a blow before deflecting off.

“They’re attacking from the rear!”

“Don’t panic!”

How were the recently disarmed Beastmen armed again? Why were the fishermen and adventurers acting in concert? Or were they acting independently? Questions after questions, but now was not the time for contemplation. Philip shifted his focus.

“The enemy lacks combat experience! Hold your ground and defend with your shields!” he ordered.

Approximately half of the knights had disarmed themselves, engaged in rescue operations, while the remaining thirty knights headed towards the adventurers. Knights with large shields charged forward, undeterred by the arrows raining upon them.

“Tch! Magic incoming!”

A new adventurer seemed to have assumed command. Elemental magic spells, such as flames and stone projectiles, were blocked by the knights’ large shields.

“Fools. The Knights Templar’s shields will not crumble under such attacks.” Philip gradually regained his composure.

“Are you all ready?!” An adventurer raised both axes, igniting a roar from the crowd.

“Chaaaaarge!”

The adventurers surged forward, diving into the maelstrom of battle. While the adventurers significantly outnumbered the knights, the latter possessed superior equipment. Their magnificent, high-quality armor easily deflected the adventurers’ chipped weapons.

“Shit! Master Gogo, our attacks aren’t working!”

“What?! Put more power into it, then!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Philip chuckled and sneered as he watched the bewildered adventurers. Hold the frontline, and as soon as their comrades were rescued, subdue the adventurers. The lives of dozens of Beastmen paled in comparison to the life of a single comrade—this was Philip’s genuine sentiment.

“Haaaaahhh!”

“Kuh…”

“This one’s trouble!”

However, a few skilled fighters stood out among the adventurers. The Beastman wielding hatchets, who assumed command, pushed the knights back with tremendous power. Despite their armor, he managed to inflict damage.

“Stand your ground! Surround him with three people!”

“Yes, sir!”

Following Philip’s orders, the knights reorganized and surrounded Gogo. Immediately, the Beastman found himself at a disadvantage.

“Seriously? Three against one?! I can see now how you can kill unarmed guild staff. You’re a bunch of cowards!”

“Don’t let him provoke you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Gogo grimaced; his attempt to disrupt the knights’ coordination failed. Gogo’s other party members, like Esrat, were divided by the knights and moved sluggishly.

The difference in their combat experience was showing. While the Knights Templar also engaged in monster hunting, their training primarily focused on human combat. On the other hand, adventurers had little experience fighting against their fellow humans.

Hikaru had suggested picking them off one by one, but it proved easier said than done.

“Hey, watch where you’re swinging that thing!”

“That’s my line!”

Even now, amidst the chaos, they were arguing because of a near friendly fire.

“Hmph, just an unruly mob. No need to even panic,” Philip snorted. “How’s the rescue situation?”

“Sir. Three individuals are unconscious, but we’ve pulled them all up.”

“The unarmed will provide assistance, while those equipped will join the battle.”

“Yes, sir!”

That should be it. Philip yawned, thinking there was no need for him to even participate.

“Oh, you seem quite relaxed!” Gogo smiled, as though reading Philip’s thoughts.

“Relaxed? Why, of course. Losing composure against lowly Beastmen is inconceivable for me.”

“Is that so?! I wanted to see the look on your face when you saw the burning ship!”

“…”

Veins bulged on Philip’s forehead. That was Philip’s sole blunder.

The ship was the property of the Knights Templar, bestowed upon them by the revered Pope. To lose it, especially to the hands of Beastmen, was nothing less than infuriating.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll end this myself,” Philip declared, stepping forward.

Gogo grinned. “Now we’re talking. Must be boring just watching alone, right? Oh, but you’re not the only one with friends.”

“What?”

Philip watched as a group of about ten figures approached.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Leading the charge was not a Beastman, but a human, the woman they had been searching for. The Deputy Leader of Einbiest.

“I am Jillarte!”

Sprinting like the wind, Jillarte maneuvered through the space in the Beastmen’s ranks and drew her sword right behind the knights surrounding Gogo. She then struck at the narrow openings in their armor. Blood spurted. Knights screamed as they jerked back.

“Deputy Leader of Einbiest and a fighter alongside the adventurers of Southleaf Island.”

Standing defiantly next to Gogo, her sharp gaze fixed on Philip, she made it clear that persuading her to join the knights’ cause was no easy matter.

---

“You embarrassed us!”

The nine Beastmen that Jillarte led were highly skilled fighters, on par with, if not surpassing, the knights. Without the latter’s superior equipment, these nine alone could have completely turned the tables.

The addition of the rescued knights would, at most, merely level the playing field. More and more wounded knights were being sent to the rear.

“Gaaahh!

“Hah!”

Gogo and Jillarte, in particular, were increasing the number of casualties among the knights, Gogo swinging his hatchets, and Jillarte striking with precision.

“Out of the way! Huh?!”

Gogo swiftly rolled to the side, dodging a strike from a long sword. “Phew.”

The blade hovered about twenty centimeters above the ground, but its strike was so powerful that it carved into the earth.

Philip, wielding a sword measuring about two meters in length, appeared on the scene.

“Lord Philip!”

“The Captain is joining the battle!”

The morale of the knights soared with Philip’s arrival.

“Oh, coming after me right off the bat, eh? You’ve got good eyes!”

“Wait, Gogo!”

Jillarte’s attempt to stop him was too late. Gogo swung his hatchets sideways, expecting to break the opponent’s blade with his heavier weapons. Common sense deemed his judgement as sound.

Philip didn’t directly block Gogo’s double axe attack. Instead, he thrust his longsword into the ground, using it as a pivot to spin his body in mid-air, then pulled the sword up, evading the hatchets. Gogo was left momentarily stunned by this acrobatic maneuver; it was unlike anything one would expect from someone in full armor.

“You’re wide open.”

“Ah—Guhh!”

Philip’s thrust aimed for Gogo’s heart, but it was deflected by an unknown projectile at the last moment. Gogo’s left shoulder was struck, blood spraying out.

“Who did that?!”

Philip quickly realized that someone had thrown some stone from afar, but couldn’t identify the culprit.

“You’re good!”

A mere shoulder wound did not incapacitate Gogo, but it certainly dulled his movement.

“We have to work together!” Jillarte suggested.

“Fine…!”

Gogo and Jillarte closed in from both sides.

“Mmgh…”

Philip evaded Gogo’s attacks and countered Jillarte’s dual swords with power and some extra effort.

Though the Theocracy of Bios was a nation steeped in prejudice and entrenched in its ideology, Philip earned the position of Captain of the Knights Templar’s 8th Division through his exceptional swordsmanship skill. He couldn’t overpower two opponents, but he managed to engage them simultaneously.

“Damn, this guy is strong!”

“Seems like amateur teamwork is not gonna cut it.”

“In that case, brute force is our only option!”

“I guess…”

Jillarte and Gogo struggled to break through, but Philip couldn’t shake off the earlier long-range attack. Another one of those and the deadlock would break. It was time to deploy all available forces and swiftly bring the battle to a conclusion.

“Those who can move, move! Take out the weaklings first!”

“Y-Yes, sir…”

But the response from Philip’s men was weak.

“What’s going on?!”

“C-Captain, the enemy’s number isn’t decreasing.”

“…What?”

Perplexed by the incomprehensible status report, Philip distanced himself from Jillarte and Gogo.

As he surveyed his surroundings, he noticed the number of knights dwindling while the adventurers remained unchanged. No. Most of them were bleeding, but they still brandished their weapons, swinging them with undiminished vigor.

“Wh-What is happening? Could they be Undead?!” Philip gasped.

“Of course not.” Jillarte smirked. “I’ve never heard of the Undead bleeding.”

She was already aware what was happening to the adventurers.

Thank you, Hikaru. And Paula.

Wounded adventurers had been discreetly transported out of the battlefield to be healed then returned to the battlefield. Only they could pull off such a feat.

Once adventurers realized they couldn’t die, they became formidable. The assurance of healing allowed them to brave a little bit of risk and launch reckless attacks. As a result, even the experienced Knights Templar found themselves struggling to fight back.

Philip groaned. “Focus everything on Gogo and Jillarte! If we take them down, their whole force will crumble!”

The knights ignored the enemies in front of them and charged toward Jillarte and Gogo.

“What the—”

Gogo realized the danger. Clad in heavy armor, the knights could withstand several attacks from the adventurers.

If Gogo and Jillarte fell, Philip would be unstoppable. Gogo panicked, as he was well aware how strong the Captain was.

“Look up,” Jillarte uttered casually, pointing to the sky.

Following her finger, the knights turned their gazes upward—and were rendered speechless.

An enormous white fireball, unlike anything they had ever seen before, was descending from above. It brought to the knights’ mind their burning ship. According to the knights who remained on the ship, it was a fireball that set it ablaze.

Shock and despair crept across the knights’ faces. Shock that these people would sacrifice their own comrades. Despair that they too would be consumed by the flames.

Knights screamed as the fireball swallowed them. Then, they realized something.

It wasn’t hot.

None of them knew it was a magic spell cast by combining Fire and Holy attributes. Such mastery of hybrid magic was rare, and invoking one was challenging.

Captain Philip, too, was caught by surprise. Despite that, he managed to parry the attacks from Gogo and Jillarte with his sword.

But it was a mistake to face them head-on. Overwhelmed by their combined strength, Philip’s sword snapped, and he was thrown backward.

The battle had been decided.

The knights found themselves surrounded by adventurers, with Jillarte and Gogo Zoro leading the charge. Disarmed and injured, the knights gradually retreated until they were cornered at the pier.