"They're coming! They're coming! Don't flinch—never flinch! Don't let those monsters advance a step further!"
Desperate cries echoed across the battlefield.
But for the Subjugation Army Soldiers hearing those roars, their fighting spirit didn't surge. Instead, they were consumed by a frantic struggle just to suppress the rising tide of terror within.
It was only natural.
The beings currently bearing down on them did not look human in the slightest.
Had their attackers been regular Mercurio Army soldiers or even a standard Cavalry Unit, the fear likely wouldn't have been so paralyzing. But what approached them now was nothing so simple.
Visceral tentacles sprouted from torsos, scales layered over skin, and tails lashed behind them. Had it been only one of those traits, they might have been mistaken for beastmen or common humanoid monsters, but seeing multiple aberrations merged into single entities was a different story entirely.
One lumbered forward on legs resembling tree roots, thick, raw tentacles swaying from its back.
Another possessed the upper body of a Lizardman, yet its lower half stretched out into a long, serpentine coil.
There was a giant centipede topped with a grotesque human face.
A gorilla-like beast with green fur and clusters of massive eyes blinking across its entire frame.
A Giant Mantis with a swarm of tentacles lashing out from its carapace.
There were countless other forms present that defied description.
No soldier could gaze upon these abominations—the Beast Soldiers—as they marched straight toward them and not feel the chill of true dread. Indeed, it was a feat in itself that they hadn't fallen into a Panic State and fled the field immediately.
"Dammit, why are those monsters coming this way...?"
"Seriously. Those are the Beast Soldiers used in the Spring War, right? I heard His Highness Mercurio had his authority over them stripped away!"
"Now isn't the time for that! We can't let them break through here! Archers, fire!"
Following the commander's roar, a massive volley of arrows streaked from the rear.
However, in terms of pure combat ability, Beast Soldiers were far superior to human soldiers. They deftly evaded the incoming shafts, used tentacles or limbs to swat down those on target, or simply ignored them entirely, letting the projectiles slide off the thick mucus coating their bodies.
The volley, which should have been a preemptive strike to dampen the enemy's momentum, was neutralized with almost no effect. Worse yet, the sight caused the soldiers to lose heart, their morale plummeting as the impossible played out before them.
Then, the charging Beast Soldiers crashed headlong into the Subjugation Army's front lines.
"I won't let it end here! Everyone, spears! Use your spears! Kill these bast—"
The man directing his subordinates suddenly fell silent mid-shout.
A nearby soldier approached the commander to ask for orders or a change in formation, only to gasp in horror. Spreading before him was a corpse where the entire side of the head, from the Right Ear to the eyeball and across the temple, had been cleanly gouged out.
Brain matter spilled from the hollowed-out wound. The soldier involuntarily vomited on the spot. Even with his share of experience surviving bloody battlefields, the sight was gruesome enough to make him retch uncontrollably.
"Gueeehh... ugh... Why... why this... ughhh!"
On a battlefield, a man caught retching was nothing but an easy target.
"Die!"
A Beast Soldier man whose upper body was composed of stone like a Golem raised a heavy arm and swung it down. Normally, that stone limb would have pulverized the soldier's skull.
However, the Beast Soldier man tilted his head in confusion at the sight before him. He stared at his own arm—or rather, the fact that everything from the elbow down was simply gone.
"Huh? My arm..."
"You wretch who discarded your human form. Do not think you can kill my soldiers so easily!"
Along with those words, a single strike was unleashed, effortlessly cleaving through the stone torso. The Beast Soldier collapsed, spraying blood across the dirt as he sank into the earth.
"Do not flinch! They are merely those who fled into grotesque forms because they were too weak to stand as humans! There is no way the soldiers led by us... by this Pelfeel, will be defeated by such things! Stand! Level your weapons! This is the battle that will decide our future! For your families, your friends, and your lovers! Level your weapons!"
At Pelfeel's cry, the soldiers gripped their weapons with renewed strength. They fought on, spurred by the thought of what kind of future awaited them and their families if the Subjugation Army fell here.
"I won't lose... I won't lose!"
"Wooooooooh!"
"Take up your arms! If we lose this fight, we have no future!"
Calling out to one another, the soldiers stood their ground against the Beast Soldiers. While the Beast Soldiers were overwhelmingly superior in individual skill, the difference in numbers was its own kind of power. For quality to transcend quantity to that degree, one would need the extraordinary, world-bending strength of someone like Rei.
As a result, the Subjugation Army's side began to gradually push the Beast Soldiers back. At this rate, they might even be able to launch a counter-offensive against the Mercurio Army.
Pelfeel considered this while keeping a wary eye on the perimeter, when she suddenly turned her gaze toward the ground.
Before she realized it—truly, without her noticing when it had started—grass had begun to grow beneath them. Had it been spring or summer, she wouldn't have questioned it. Even in autumn, just after the end of summer, she might not have cared.
But it was now deep autumn, a season where snow would not be unexpected. In such a season, could lush, green grass sprout so suddenly?
Inside Pelfeel, her instincts whispered of danger.
"Everyone, the grass on the ground—"
Watch out.
The warning died in her throat, clearly too late.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Dammit, dammit! What is this?! Get it off me!"
"Shit! Break! Break, damn you! Why won't it—"
Screams, bewilderment, and frantic confusion rang in Pelfeel's ears. When she turned toward the source of the noise, an unbelievable sight met her eyes.
One man was being constricted by grass that had sprouted from the earth, bound so tightly he couldn't move. He panted, his face turning a deep shade of crimson as the blades snaked through the gaps in his armor to choke him.
Another had his entire body transfixed by a Tree Root growing from the earth, already dead.
Another was being swung through the air while restrained by thorn vines, screaming in agony as he collided with his comrades, the thorns piercing deep into his flesh.
"Is this...!? I see, Beast Soldiers!"
After a moment's hesitation, she immediately recalled the materials regarding Beast Soldiers she had been shown by Cabajid. It had been noted that among the Beast Soldiers, there were those who possessed the Ability to move underground or underwater, though they were rare.
The report had stated that those types had an extremely low ritual success rate and had been disposed of because they wouldn't follow the orders of Cabajid's subordinates, but...
(At least three types. Was that report a lie? I’ll need to have a long, quiet talk with the person who wrote it.)
Muttering inwardly, she approached the soldier being strangled by the grass and flashed her Longsword. With a single blow, she severed the vines stretching from the ground, then followed up with a flurry of strikes to cut the others.
"Gah... cough... Lady Pelfeel... you saved me."
Leaving the gasping soldier behind, she moved to liberate the others from the tree roots and thorn vines. However, Pelfeel could only attack the parts that extended above ground. She had no means of reaching the actual source—the opponents beneath the surface.
She tried having the soldiers pull on the severed vines and roots, but they only snapped partway through. The entities believed to be the Beast Soldiers underground refused to emerge.
Furthermore, the battle on the surface with the other monsters was far from over. Though the soldiers had shaken off their initial shock and were using their superior numbers to fight on nearly equal terms, their concentration wavered. They were constantly looking down, wondering when an attack would strike from beneath their feet.
Despite Pelfeel's frantic efforts, this front line fell into a grueling, near-even stalemate.
"Don't let them flank us! Show everyone that we are the Bestia Empire's Strongest Cavalry!"
In a different location from where Pelfeel's unit clashed with the Beast Soldiers, a different battle raged.
There, cavalry clashed against cavalry.
On one side was the Cavalry Unit directly under Schuls, famous for being the elite of the elite.
"Here we go! Everyone, show the beauty of the White Rose to this battlefield! We shall teach those who dare lay a hand on us that the thorns of a beautiful rose carry a fatal sting!"
On the other side was the White Rose Knight Order directly under Frizion, with its First Unit in the lead.
Both were among the Bestia Empire's most formidable mounted units, and a long-standing rivalry and friction existed between them. It was obvious that their meeting on the battlefield would result in nothing less than a fierce engagement.
"Fire!"
"Don't let them outdo us! Everyone, fire!"
Arrows and Magic were unleashed simultaneously from the rear of the Cavalry Unit directly under Schuls. As if in response, arrows and magic were similarly unleashed from the White Rose Knight Order Fifth Unit and Sixth Unit.
Arrows were intercepted by magic, and magic was countered by arrows. Even the stray shafts and spells that slipped through were batted away or sliced down by the weapons of the riders.
Since both groups were masters of their craft, landing a decisive blow was difficult. Riders with melee weapons split into units and moved rapidly, clashing steel, cutting into their opponents, or attempting to knock them from their horses.
Some units leveraged their mobility to move behind the enemy, but the opponents wouldn't allow it; they spread out to encircle the flankers. Seeing this, the flanking units shifted their point of penetration in an instant.
In the midst of such dizzying combat, Angela issued orders to each unit of the White Rose Knight Order in rapid succession.
"Second Unit and Third Unit, move conspicuously as if attempting to flank the enemy's rear. Fourth Unit, strike the flank of the units attempting to block them. Fifth Unit, provide support."
Following her rapid-fire instructions, the White Rose Knight Order moved with predatory grace.
"Whoa... there's no way we could jump into that mess."
"If we move into that storm carelessly, we'll just die."
"But it's amazing. They're going toe-to-toe with the Cavalrymen directly under His Highness Schuls, aren't they? And they're holding their own."
"Yeah. I knew they were strong, but honestly, I never imagined they were this good."
"Until this Civil Strife broke out, I actually thought the White Rose Knight Order was just for ceremonies."
"Ah... true. They did show up for a lot of festivals and parades, so that's not exactly wrong, is it?"
"If anything, it just means a ceremonial order was actually elite all along, right?"
"No, usually it's the other way around."
Those exchanging such words were the Infantry acting alongside the White Rose Knight Order.
Normally, they would have supported the knights' movements, but since the battle was expected to be between highly trained cavalry units, it was decided that poorly coordinated infantry would only cause casualties among their own allies. Thus, they observed the battle from a safe distance.
Of course, they weren't just watching; they also held the duty of ensuring no other enemy units launched a flanking maneuver to exploit the situation.
Despite their orders, they couldn't help but be mesmerized by the clash. The riders moved with a synchronization that could only be described as perfect. When the commander issued an order, the way they moved swiftly in accordance with it made the entire Cavalry Unit seem like a single living organism.
That was precisely why both the Subjugation Army and the Mercurio Army were refraining from interfering in this specific pocket of the war.
"It might be indiscreet to say, but I could watch this battle forever."
It was a casual remark muttered by one of the soldiers, but it voiced the thoughts of every man present. They knew, and could see, that lives were being taken at this very moment. Yet even so, seeing it from a distance, they couldn't help but be mesmerized by a battle that could truly be called artistic.