1283: Side - Blood Maiden Knight Captain Roza

「Captain Roza! Our right flank is being pushed back!」

「Send in the Dusk Rain Knights!」

「Roger!」

The location was just outside of the capital city.

We were locked in a fierce battle with the fiends at an outpost located about 200 meters from the eastern wall of the capital.

For a while now, we’ve had an endless torrent of fiends flooding out of the royal castle. It seems something incredibly dangerous was sealed underneath our castle, and not even the captains of the Red Knights were informed of it.

The appearance of these fiends meant the seal was falling apart.

We’ve already evacuated most of the civilians. I would have preferred to save everyone, but I think at least half managed to escape.

Meanwhile, we stayed behind as the rear guard. The outpost originally intended to repel invaders was ironically now holding back the fiends from leaving the capital.

We must buy time so His Majesty and the Chancellor can escape.

That said, the fiends seemed to be constantly growing in numbers, as well as in strength.

At this rate, it won’t be long until they breach our defensive line.

「If only the other captains were here…」

「Hypotheticals aren’t going to save us, so no whining!」

「S-Sorry…」

The young Cardinal Flag knight who I had working as a messenger muttered some words of weakness.

It wasn’t only my subordinates fighting here. Many members from the Cardinal Flag, Dusk Rain, Carmine Flame, and Red Sword Knights were cooperating with the Blood Maiden Knights for this operation.

The Cardinal Flag and Carmine Flame Knights were in complete disarray with the loss of their captain and several officers, so I called them together. Wasting our forces was not an option in this national crisis.

The captains of the Red Sword and Dusk Rain Knights had gone missing along with many of their members, causing confusion in their chain of command. Thus, I had them join us temporarily.

As for the Vermilion Eye Knights, I honestly have no idea where they are or what they are doing. All of their members were pretty capable from their captain all the way down to the privates, so they should be fine… Rather, I’m much more worried about our own safety.

At the start the incident, we only saw infrequent spawns of goblins and orcs. But after that, the fiends began rapidly increasing in number, with minotaurs joining the fray. Now we found ourselves dealing with multiple stronger fiends cloaked in sinister auras.

I had been handling the more powerful enemies myself, but their frequency was gradually increasing.

At this rate, we’ll soon reach our limit——

「Captain! G-Gigantic fiend approaching!」

「I see it! Let me handle it!」

「Roger!」

Is that truly a minotaur? If so, the vicious aura it’s emitting is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard of.

「But I can do it!」

I activated my relic, the Blood Maiden, and covered the fiend in a red mist.

The minotaur began trembling and screaming. With it frozen in place, we had the perfect opening.

「Go!」

「「「Roger!」」」

The Red Knights launched a simultaneous attack and felled the minotaur.

My Blood Maiden was originally a weapon for combating vampires, so it works against other fiends as well. That’s how we managed to hold the line for so long, but…

「Next is twenty evil-boosted orcs!」

「Tch!」

This is bad, there are simply too many. We’ll be overwhelmed sooner or later.

It’s only been about twenty minutes since His Majesty and the Chancellor escaped. I need to grab the fiends’ attention, especially since they’ve likely broken through the capital’s other gates as well.

「Hold the line! I’ll head to the front!」

「Roger!」

「Gather up and deploy anyone with a bow!」

「Understood!」

One step outside the outpost, and I found myself in a chaotic brawl with the gigantic orcs. I need to hurry.

Once our lines are thrown into disarray, I won’t be able to use the red mist without harming our allies. Only the Blood Maiden Knights have been immunized, so the knights from other division would be killed alongside the fiends.

「Guah!」

「You pig! Let go of my subordinates!」

「Buoooh!」

I punch a orc to save one of my subordinates about to be devoured. It should have been enough to instantly kill a regular orc, but this one was only pushed back.

They really are no ordinary fiends. The evil energy must be giving them huge enhancements.

I had no choice but to inject them with red mist directly from my gauntlet, defeating them one by one. In the meanwhile, however, it seems we’ve reached the limit.

Boom!

「C-Captain! They’ve breached the gate! There must be a mage-type fiend!」

「We have no other choice then… Everyone escape through the gate on the opposite side! Starting with the younger knights!」

「Roger!」

The narrow passages within the outpost would limit our ability to cooperate. I might be able to manage on my own, but fighting here would be suicide to the other knights.

We have no choice but to regroup outside and reform our lines once we escape. My subordinates immediately sprung into action, retreating from the outpost. Unfortunately though, the fiends were one step ahead.

「Gyaaah!」

「T-They’ve got us surrounded!」

I heard dozens of screams echoing from the opposite side of the outpost. The enemy had been lying in wait there all along.

Yet I couldn’t rush to their aid.

「Bwuuuh!」

「Grooooh!」

「More of them!」

Two fiends stepped in front of me, and both were covered in a dense aura of evil, even more powerful than the minotaur from earlier.

In fact, the aura was so dense that I couldn’t even identify their species properly. My intuition was telling me that they might even be stronger than me.

Meanwhile, the screams of my subordinates continued incessantly.

I had resolved myself for this moment, but it seems this is where I meet my end. Getting crushed to death by some random fiends that popped out of nowhere? Certainly not what I had in mind.

That said, one of you will be coming with me.

「And I pick you——」

Crash!

「Gyaaaooh!」

「Gyeeeh!」

「Eh?」

W-What just happened? Suddenly, a giant suit of silver armor fell down through the ceiling of the outpost, crushing the fiend on the right! C-Could this truly be the legendary Warmech? I-It really exists!

This was followed by a bolt of black lightning, and before I knew it, the head of the fiend on the left was gone.

「You okay?」

「Y-You…!」

My savior from certain death was none other than the black reaper who had taken the lives of so many comrades.

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