Chapter 110: Count Khalifa part 2
The negotiator they brought introduced himself as Ader. As I suspected, the name meant ‘viper’.
「Unusual name.」
「On the field, a moniker is often more convenient.」
Despite the ominous moniker, he had a plain face—neither handsome nor hulking. Easy to overlook—dangerous because of it.
「Your work last time was no small thing. You may not want a reward from us, but I’ll still pay you.」
I handed him a large gold coin.
「I also did it to get you to accept the prisoners, my lord. Thank you. If possible, I’d like to put this toward our travel home.」
「Do you want to earn another large coin?」
「Meaning?」
「Serve as envoy to Count Khalifa. You’ve heard—he’s closing on Gantz. You’ve seen our strength. We have a dragon too. I don’t intend to lose.」
「I know your prowess well, my lord.」
「I have the royal warrant for placing Gantz in my care for three years. I’ll show you the original. Take that to Khalifa and urge him to withdraw. He has no pretext to attack Gantz. Give him a detailed picture of Gantz’s current situation and hear his thinking.」
「Will it be safe?」
「Be frank about your status—you’re a survivor from Gantz’s army, and your comrades are under my control. He’ll need our intel; he won’t just kill Count Gantz’s subordinate on the spot. There’s risk, yes—but you’ll get another large coin if you go.」
A large gold coin is 100,000 guineas—two makes 200,000. Am I being too cheap asking him to risk his life for this amount? I felt I was being generous.
「That much just to be an envoy? I couldn’t ask for better. Leave it to me.」
Good. Smooth.
We gave Ader a horse and he galloped off toward Count Khalifa’s banners—tracked by Iris, so we could head off any accidents with monsters en route.
He was back sooner than expected.
「I met Count Khalifa. When I presented your letter and message, he proposed a parley on the hill outside town. Ten riders each on the crest, no more.」
「Tell him we accept. Ader, stay with us until the meeting’s done.」
「Yes, my lord.」
Once Ader carried back my assent, I formed our intercept line outside Gantz. Center: four squads with me, Dalshim, and Walter; behind us: Ria, Elna, Captain Heinz’s squad, and the volunteers. Left wing: three squads under Selena; right wing: three under Sharon. Gloria would circle overhead.
Elna voiced the obvious worry as we moved out.
「Are we not being lured out of the walls under the pretext of negotiations?」
「Maybe. But cowering behind stone from the outset puts us on the back foot. Even if we end up forting up, I’d rather meet them in the open once first.」
I’d worked the plan with Iris and Selena. Conclusion: annihilate them with the crossfire of Pulse Rifles. Numbers don’t disappear by wishing. Gantz’s walls are a strength—but a fight there constrains our battlespace around a point we must protect. So we’ll step out and use our rifles where they’re most efficient.
The Pulse Rifle—the apex of man-portable anti-personnel weapons in this world—works best on flat ground. Same elevation as the target, firing horizontally.
Guns have range, and from a wall we could rake them one-sidedly. But the pulse rifle’s main merit is penetration—one shot can wound or kill multiple men in a file. Bows can’t do that. To exploit this feature, you want horizontal fire—in the open. Firing down from crenels is one-sided, but our rifle range is long; in the field we can play distance to our favor just fine.
Count Khalifa’s eight hundred marched with an easy confidence. Not one big block—but four or five independent, organic bodies, moving as if one.
「That won’t be easy.」
Selena’s voice came back over comms.
「You think so too, Alan?」
「Yeah. This is nothing like Count Gantz’s mob. Khalifa, as a commander, is a monster.」
Morale and training were on another level. Our go-to pattern is to fix them in the center while both wings pinch—a killer formation, and today our only practical option.
But Khalifa’s layout looked like his wings could independently fix ours while his center punched through—and he had six maneuver elements. Our wings risked being flanked. Straight-up, it wasn’t favorable. We’d need a trump.
Sharon asked:
「If it kicks off—what’s the play?」
「As planned: pull Dalshim and Ria back from the rear, then hit from both wings. Keep the distance, crossfire with the Pulse Rifles. Don’t hesitate to use them. There are only eight hundred. Do not miss. They’re in tight order—our rounds will punch through cleanly. Make every round take at least one man. Don’t stop until their formation collapses. I’ll hold the center with a rifle myself.」
「Got it… though it feels wasteful on energy cartridges.」
Cautious means frugal—Sharon to a T. Selena is better at clean, decisive execution.
「If we get through this, we buy time to raise troops. If a fight’s unavoidable, this is the one to end here and now.」
「If possible, within four hundred rounds each.」
「If they break nicely, maybe—but don’t get cute. Don’t spare ammo today.」
「「Roger.」」
On standard output, a Pulse Rifle fires 1,000 rounds per cartridge. To date, they’ve used maybe fifty each. Both have nine hundred plus remaining in their first cartridge.
Meaning either one alone could wipe this force with just one cartridge if needed—let alone the two of them with support. If we turtled behind rifles, we wouldn’t lose. But it’s still too early to show all our cards. I’d rather end it without the rifles if possible.
I turned to Ader, who had rejoined us to the rear.
「Ader, link up with Elna’s unit and brief them. You’ve done well—take your reward from Elna.」
We’d arranged that in advance; and putting Elna forward was also to keep eyes off Ria. Elna, who’d felled Count Gantz, made a fine ‘visible lieutenant’.
「My lord… I’d like to stay by your side to the end, if possible.」
「You haven’t sworn to me. I won’t have you sit in on the parley.」
He fell silent.
「For your own honor as envoy: I won’t break faith with Count Khalifa. Still, talk may touch matters you shouldn’t hear.」
「Understood, my lord. If possible, I’d like to serve you.」
「I have to meet the count soon. We’ll speak later. Don’t expect lavish treatment—pay’s thin. Don’t be shocked.」
「As you wish!」
Sensing a chance to take service, Ader, grinning, ran to the rear where Ria and Elna held.
「Walter—your squad will come with me. We’re going up the hill. Dalshim, the line’s yours. If it turns to battle, we’ll fold into either wing. Your job is guarding Ria and Elna and falling back into Gantz.」
「Understood.」
「Let’s go, Walter.」
I reached the foot of the hill first and rode up. While I sorted my thoughts, Count Khalifa climbed at an unhurried pace with ten riders in tow.
「The Prime Minister called you ‘an adventurer who clawed his way up to a noble,’ but that’s off. I can see it. The man’s a poor judge of people.」
He was bald, with a moustache and a bit of a belly. He raked his eyes over me and said it, lofty as you please.
「Off how?」
「Your essence is soldier. A soldier who dabbled at adventuring on the side. Isn’t that right?」
A frighteningly keen read. I feel laid bare.
Don’t flinch. Assume the bluster’s just bluster.
I steadied myself and chose honesty.
「Sharp eye.」
「They say you’re from abroad. Not our neighbors, I think—the way you think as a fighting man is too alien. As if from another era.」
Fishing for my origin, huh? Sorry, but I don’t plan to give you any more information.
Thinking like that, I waved him off and changed the topic.
「So—what’s it going to be? If you disregard the royal warrant, I’m ready to fight.」
「Not today.」
He said it as if swatting a fly, and the tension leaked out of me.
「If we did, we’d just hurt each other and call it a draw—only the Prime Minister would gain. Not worth it.」
He isn’t wrong. Count Khalifa is a harder opponent than I’d budgeted for. With the pulse rifles we wouldn’t lose—but burning through weapons and men now won’t help us in the long run. If we wait, we’ll have time to recruit more soldiers. With the Great Demon Forest and Gantz in hand, both money and manpower would be easy to acquire. Time favors us.
「If you aren’t Burke’s ally… will you join me? I’ve seen a glimpse of your strength. I’m asking in earnest.」
「No.」
Instant shake of the head.
「I won’t bend my code as a warrior—no cause to. You can only see certain things as enemies. I’m not here to play nice. For now, I want a worthy foe to fight to the death. It’s been too long since a real war. Isn’t that what you want too?」
I can see his point. Spending every trick and stratagem against him would be… fun. A fight to probe my limits.
Even if it costs many soldiers’ lives. In fact, because lives were entrusted to us, a fight to the knife is what we need to grow. That kind of real combat experience is what we need most now—my gut says so.
Endless bullying and backroom deals rot an army. But pure attrition teaches nothing. You need a rival you can go all-out against.
And some opponents can’t be avoided—and shouldn’t be. If you don’t pass trials, you don’t become the real thing. It always comes down to whether you can set your jaw and accept it.
「True enough. If I’m going to fight to the death with someone, I’d rather it be someone I can respect.」
「Exactly.」
He nodded, grand and easy. Maybe… we understood each other.
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