Chapter 375
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Northern Front ⑫ The Shield of Gaia
Translator : PolterGlast
By the time the Third Army led by Gail
confronted the people, and the three hundred individuals equipped with
monstrous large shields had lined up, the fanatical believers were closing in
to about 300 m away from them. Even in such a situation, the believers did not
waver at all, and continued to slowly advance forward. And when they reached a
distance where they could confirm each other's faces, the men advancing at the
front each slowly began to hum a song praising God. That voice was eerily low,
as if they were stepping forward one step at a time in time with the song,
gradually driving Gail and his men into a corner. Seeing that state, the
men who were originally sturdier and more experienced in battle than them
couldn't help but feel an indescribable terror.
「 Even so, it's a creepy song. To me,
it only sounds like a funeral…… no, a cursed song. 」
「 Right…… but they don't hold
weapons. If it's a test of strength, there's no way you guys would be outdone,
right? 」
「 Well yeah, and even the singing is
still cute compared to how awful it is when the Boss sings drunk at the tavern.
」
「 Shut up! What part of my singing is
creepy! 」
By making light talk, they were overcoming their fear and
trying to maintain their mental balance somehow.
「 Even so, Boss, is it really okay
for you to take off the armor you received from His Majesty? 」
What Lars was referring to was the armor made using Klimt's
scales, said to be the strongest, which Takuhir had given to key
personnel in the previous war. But this time, Gail had intentionally
taken it off and joined their great shield unit.
「 You idiot! With heavy equipment,
it'd be difficult to handle this large shield, wouldn't it! 」
「 Hahaha, the Boss is surprisingly
shy too. 」
Lars
understood painfully well the feelings of Gail, who answered so while
being shy. Despite boasting tremendous defensive power, Klimt's armor is
extremely light and easy to handle, boasting defensive power superior to full
plate armor in performance, yet its appearance and weight are not much
different from light armor. Therefore, his circumstances were different from
the others, like Lars and his team who had changed into leather armor
because they disliked heavy equipment and wanted to freely handle the large
shields. However, Gail didn't think it was good for only himself to be
in a safe position, and intended to face danger with the same equipment and the
same risk as those around him. Precisely because he is such a commander, many
fellow laborers adored him, and when he became a soldier, they volunteered as
soldiers following him.
『 That
being said, the Boss is an irreplaceable commander and a Mage. Unlike us, there
is no replacement. 』 Thinking so, Lars lined up his shield next to Gail,
intending to become a substitute if anything happened.
「 Here they come! You bastards, get
fired up! 」
And…… exactly as Gail's instructions, suppression
shells launched from catapults began to land before their eyes. Matching that, Gail,
who was on the absolute front line, exercised Wind Magic and began sending
wind.
※
『 Has
it begun…… 』
Reim, who was
participating in the march mingled with the people, muttered in his heart, and
with slow movements so as not to stand out, took out the hood hanging at his
waist and began to cover his nose and mouth to hide them. Before his eyes, the
suppression shells that landed grandly slightly in front of the men advancing
ahead scattered the powder packed inside, which rode the wind and began
covering the group.
「 Wh- What is this? Ah-choo! 」 「 F-Flinch…… h-ha, ah-choo! 」 「 Ha, hi…… ah-choo! 」
Everyone stayed on the spot and stopped moving. The man
claiming to be a Bishop, who was on the platform made on the wagon in the
center of them, was also repeatedly sneezing while gagging, in a situation where
it was unknown what he was saying.
「 Tch, useless guys. It can't be
helped…… do it! 」
When a single man mingled among the people gave a signal,
dozens of arrows attacked the people.
「 Guh, why arrows? 」 「 We don't have weapons…… 」
Raising their voices, dozens of people fell all at once.
「 Look! They shot arrows at us! This
is their way of doing things! At us, who are conducting a march dedicated to
God, refusing to fight without holding weapons! Say everyone, is it fine to be
hindered by devils here and stop God's will? 」
「 We can't forgive them. What a
terrible thing to do. 」 「
They are devils, hindering us. 」 「 We won't let them hinder the march dedicated to God. 」 「 Everyone, get them! For our comrades! 」 「 Break through this highway, and we will save the people of
this country! 」
Those responding to that man's voice were also the ones who
had accompanied them claiming to be their escorts, wearing swords at their
waists which they originally shouldn't possess. As if answering the man who
gave the signal, the people began to raise voices of anger.
『 Damn
it, they'd go that far! 』 Reim inadvertently clicked his tongue, and issued instructions
to his comrades to resort to 'strong measures'. Thinking calmly, the arrows
flew from behind, and were not fired by Gail and the others. They hid
behind the human wall of comrades and fired them secretly.
「 Everyone, calm down! The arrows
came from behind! From inside our column! Don't erupt, we are conducting a
march dedicated to God, aren't we! 」
Reim's shouts
only echoed emptily. Frightened by fear and turned into a mob, they started
running all at once toward where their hateful opponents lay in wait.
※
「 Here they come! Don't get pushed
through. If we can hold out, we've got another move to make. Show
them what you're made of, you bastards!」
At the end of the highway where Gail and the others
had readied their large shields, the people who had turned into a mob violently
clashed. But…… Originally, both sides were supposed to be blown away with a
fierce impact sound, and screams were supposed to echo…… But what resonated
there was a soft, low impact sound, and only the spirited voices of the
soldiers supporting the shields. Compared to normal large shields, their
shields, which were many times thicker, acted as cushions absorbing the impact
and caught the mob.
Those shields had covers placed over the normal shields, and
those covers were abnormally swollen and had thickness. Large pockets were sewn
onto the covers in many tiers, and inside them, cotton, clothing, and the like
were fully stuffed, making them swell greatly. This was exactly the non-lethal,
non-injurious shield devised by Gail, and hastily manufactured by the
sewing factory lines in Gaia operating at full capacity, which would
later be praised as the Shield of Gaia.
「 Calm down! We have no intention of
hurting you. 」
「 Don't
mess with us, what are you saying after killing our comrades! 」 「 We didn't do anything. Calm down and step back! 」 「 We didn't hold weapons, just to God…… despite that! 」
Fruitless exchanges continued in various places. Among them,
there were those who noticed that the soldiers of the Demon Territory
Dukedom were equipped with mysterious shields so they themselves wouldn't
get hurt, but they were pushed in by those in the rear ranks surging forward
one after another, and could only raise screams.
『 This
is bad…… in this situation they won't lend an ear. With this…… 』
While desperately pushing them back, Gail's anxiety grew regarding the
plan Alexis had contrived ahead. But…… there was no way to stop that
flow.
※
On the front lines, the people surged forward, and the
offense and defense with those standing in the way holding the Shields of
Gaia continued. Seeing that, Aura made a decision.
「 It's not the situation we
envisioned, but it might become an opportunity for Commander Gail to
pull his unit back. I will begin persuading them from now on. 」
Along with her words, the sound of a large bell echoed
throughout the area. This bell was not one normally used in the Kyle Kingdom, but
something made by former people of the Imperial
Kingdom living in the city of Ishtar to resemble a bell in a church
in their motherland. The sound of that bell echoed loudly by a Sound Mage, and for an instant, the mob
also stopped in their tracks.
「 My compatriots, those who praise
Goddess Ishtar, I beg of you, please listen. I am Aura, who once
served as a Divine
Messenger governing the wind in the Istoria
Imperial Kingdom, and participated in the war with the Kyle Kingdom alongside
many soldiers. 」
「Divine
Messenger-sama? 」 Uttering those words uniformly, the mob stood petrified on
the spot.
「 Is the path to God you believe in
and advance on truly correct? Is your march something that will become the
salvation of the people living in this country? Please reconsider the
instructions to do so, and the words that sound pleasant to you. You still have
the opportunity to correct the mistake I once made. 」
When everyone began to listen to Aura's words,
several voices erupted within the crowd.
「 Don't be fooled! Just now she said
she's a Divine
Messenger of the Imperial King! They are the Divine
Messengers led by the Imperial King who made
us suffer so much! 」
「 That's right! They are the
atrocious Imperial King and his minions! 」
A part of Aura's words was conveniently snipped, and
she was tripped up. Once again, hostility began to spread like ripples within
the crowd.
「 In the first place, Divine
Messenger-samas would never speak to us
directly! She is a fake prepared by the atrocious Demon King! 」
「 That's right! Don't be fooled by a
fake! 」
Once again the crowd bared their hostility, and each began to
shout. What was unfortunate at this time was that the opponents were not
soldiers. If it were soldiers, especially longbow soldiers, everyone knew the
Wind Mage Aura, and worshipped her equally to God as an Emissary. But
the opponents were mere territory residents who didn't even know Aura's
name.
Once again the crowd applied pressure toward the shields,
and those in the front row were pushed out strongly.
※
「 Gah! 」
Unable to resist the flow, a woman who was pushed out to the
absolute front row before she knew it, violently clashed into the lined-up
shields. Moreover, unluckily, she struck her head on the corner of a gap where
the shields were linked.
「 Oh no, switch! 」 「 Mother! 」
Simultaneously as two voices echoed, the crowd surged aiming
for Gail, who jumped out to protect that woman, and crushed them. Among
them was also a boy who jumped out raising a screaming voice.
「 BOSS! 」
Lars, who was right nearby, shrieked. In the chest of Gail, who stepped forward as if to protect the fallen woman, a dagger pierced deeply, breaking through his leather armor, and his clothes instantly began to be dyed crimson.
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