I point towards the advancing demon troops. Seeing the royal guard gathering around our flag, the Demon King’s army has also started to respond.
“This isn’t good. We can’t hold them off.”
Deputy Captain Burns growls, raising his shield. Indeed, we don’t even have a hundred soldiers, not enough to push back the fifty-strong Demon King’s army.
“Romelia! Take the flag and retreat! We’ll rebuild the defensive line further back!”
Despite earlier refusing to follow my orders, Deputy Captain Burns now tells me to retreat and take command. But that won’t work.
“No, we can’t. This is our final line of defense.”
I declare with resolute determination.
“I will not retreat, not a single step. Defend this flag and stop those enemies.”
I stand before the flag, drawing my slender sword and plunging it into the ground.
“What did you say?!”
Deputy Captain Burns shouts again. But there’s nowhere left to retreat.
Despite the dire situation, I manage to gather soldiers and start rebuilding the defensive line. Our only chance of victory is to strengthen and consolidate this line.
Abandoning Deputy Captain Burns and the soldiers gathered around the flag would guarantee defeat. We cannot retreat even a single step.
“Listen up! The girl behind us isn’t running away. Don’t even think about retreating before her!”
Deputy Captain Burns yells, his voice a mix of anger and laughter.
I grip the hilt of my sword, using it as a staff, and stare ahead.
The fifty-strong unit of the Demon King’s army charges towards the flag behind me. Shloh, Merill, and Rhett are too far away to return in time. No other reinforcements are nearby for the first time in three years. My survival rests in the hands of men whose names I don’t even know.
…It’s been a while since I faced such a test.
I lick my dry lips in nervous anticipation.
On the battlefield, moments like this sometimes arise. Strategies and tactics become meaningless, and all you can rely on are luck and the soldiers’ valiant efforts.
What’s crucial here isn’t the strength of the soldiers. It’s the test of my capability as a commander.
If I retreat even a single step, the defensive line will surely collapse. But if I stand firm, showing unyielding resolve, there’s a slim chance of survival.
I grip the sword tightly and drive it deeper into the ground.
“They’re coming!”
Deputy Captain Burns announces the enemy’s approach, raising his shield. The Demon King’s army charges in a solid mass, aiming to crush our defensive line and shatter the flag in one blow.
At Burns’ command, the royal guard soldiers brace themselves, shields aligned. The fifty-strong demon unit slams into them.
The royal guard soldiers stand united, absorbing the powerful charge of the Demon King’s forces,
but the overwhelming strength gradually forces the line back. The demons know that toppling the flag guarantees their victory, and they repeatedly launch battering assaults.
“Romelia, run! We can’t hold them!”
Deputy Captain Burns, leading the defense, shouts as the line is pushed back, nearing the flag where I stand.
But we must hold out just a little longer.
“Deputy Captain Burns! Hold them off for a count of twenty!”
“Huh? What are you saying?!”
“Just do it! Count to twenty. Hold them off until then. Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!”
“Fine, damn it! Everyone, push back!”
Though confused, Deputy Captain Burns rallies the soldiers.
But even as I count, the defensive line continues to retreat. By the time I reach ten, the enemy is almost upon me.
The demon soldiers surge forward, aiming to crush me and the flag behind.
A demon thrusts a bloodstained spear through a gap in the line, targeting me.
The spearhead, stained with blood, nears my face. I grip my sword buried in the ground, staring wide-eyed at the spear aimed at me.
Just as the spear tip touches my hair, it suddenly halts.
Deputy Captain Burns had grabbed the spear, stopping it. With a swift motion, he decapitates the demon with his sword.
Burns’ valorous efforts exemplify the royal guard’s spirit, but as I count to three, two more demons attack him, and at two, a third demon tackles him.
Burns struggles to fend off the attacks but is overwhelmed when a fourth demon joins in, and he falls.
“Romelia!”
Pinned by four demons, Burns cries out. One demon steps over the fallen deputy captain and approaches me, having breached the defensive line.
The demon soldier, having lost his helmet in the battle, bleeds from his face and arms but still wields a bloodied sword, enough to kill me.
Yet I hold my ground, gripping my sword planted in the earth, not retreating an inch.
There was no need to retreat. I sigh in relief.
We made it in time.
A massive iron blade pierces the demon’s head, slicing through from his right ear to his left cheek. With a powerful thrust, the demon’s head and jaw are torn apart.
The one who saved me and pierced the head of the soldier of the demon king’s army was a huge spear.
A mounted knight in full armor appears from the left, wielding a lance to save me and impale the demon soldier.
Thirty more knights charge in from behind, launching a flanking attack on the demon unit. The surprise assault leaves the Demon King’s soldiers defenseless, and they fall.
I knew the royal guard cavalry would come, following the flag. They arrived just in time.
“Burns, are you alright?!”
The knight who saved me sweeps his lance, clearing the demons off Deputy Captain Burns.
“Sergei!”
Burns calls out the name of his rescuer as he rises. They seem to know each other.
“Sir Sergei, thank you for your assistance.”
I pull my sword from the ground and approach Sergei to express my gratitude.
“I am indeed Sergei, vice-captain of the Kosta Centurion. You must be Lady Romelia. I saw the flag and came here. What is the situation?”
Sergei demands an explanation.
“General Günes is dead. His final order was to raise the kingdom’s flag. That’s why we are here, rebuilding the defensive line.”
I turn to see the crimson flag still fluttering.
“Deputy Captain Burns, the tide has turned. Advance the defensive line.”
“Advance? With this force?”
Deputy Captain Burns looks around in shock at my command.
Around the flag are about thirty cavalry and eighty infantry. It’s not much.
“Now is our chance. Though few, the enemy is also diminished.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
The Demon King’s army facing us numbers four hundred regular soldiers and three hundred giant troops under Garios.
Of those giants, one hundred are held in reserve, inactive, while the hundred who advanced with Garios are held back by Glen and Hans.
The remaining hundred are scattered across the battlefield, leaving about forty in the center. A total of four hundred and forty. However, in rebuilding the defensive line, we’ve already taken down nearly a hundred demons.
Of course, the royal guard’s losses are higher, but advancing the line will gather more soldiers.
“Understood. Everyone, prepare to advance! Form ranks! Move quickly!”
Deputy Captain Burns orders.
“Burns, are you really going to follow a woman’s orders?”
Sergei grumbles to Burns.
“In this situation, we have no choice. We can’t command over a hundred soldiers alone.”
“Damn it! So, what should I do?”
Sergei growls in frustration.
“Vice-captain Sergei, you will deal with the giant troops.”
I spoke to Vice Captain Sergei while surveying the battlefield.
On the battlefield, friend and foe were intermingled, but among them, the demons with exceptional physiques were wreaking havoc. These were the giant soldiers, composed of demons with extraordinary large bodies, who served as Garios’s limbs.
The royal guard, their formation broken by Garios, was struggling against these giant soldiers.
But just as we lacked formation, so did the Demon King’s army. Being strong individually, the giant soldiers fought their enemies before them in a disorganized manner. This was carelessness and arrogance born from their battle-crazed nature.
“If we concentrate our forces, the giant soldiers will coordinate. Before that happens, we’ll defeat them one by one.”
“I see. Burns and his men will be the shield, and we’ll be the spear.”
Vice Captain Sergei nodded at my explanation.
“Ah, Shloh, Meril, Rett. You’re back. You’ll join me in the cavalry.”
“W-wait. You intend to come too?”
As I mounted the horse Shloh had procured, I gave the order, surprising Vice Captain Sergei.
“Yes, don’t worry. I’m good with horses. Now, let’s go.”
Without waiting for Vice Captain Sergei’s response, I kicked the horse’s flank.
“Oh well, can’t be helped. All of you, follow me!”
Vice Captain Sergei led thirty cavalry soldiers, following behind me.
“Hey, your commander’s a bit odd, isn’t she?”
Vice Captain Sergei grumbled to Shloh.
“It’s always like this. You’ll get used to it.”
“Is it always this way? You guys have it tough.”
“Yes, we never have a dull moment.”
Hearing Shloh and Sergei’s conversation, I felt somewhat dissatisfied, but there was no time for complaints. We had to cut through the battlefield, gather allies, and defeat the giant soldiers.
It would probably succeed. However…
I looked up at the sky.
The enemy still had an ace up their sleeve. And I had no means to prevent it. All I could do was leave it to chance.
From here on, the battle would intensify even further.
I steeled myself for the fierce battle that lay just ahead.
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