"Uoooooh! Push, push, push! Use our superior numbers to drive them back!"
"Don't let them through! Hold the line! If we allow a central breakthrough, the whole formation will collapse!"
"Damn it, what happened to the nobles stationed in the vanguard?"
"Who knows? They were at the very front—those traitors are surely dead by now! Look out!"
"Uoooooh! I won't let you! I won't let this happen!"
"I will win! We will win! For His Highness Mercurio, we must win!"
"Long live His Highness Schuls! Long live His Highness Schuls! Long live His Highness Schuls!"
"Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die!"
"It's Mercurio's head! If we take the rebel prince's head, this war is over! Damn it, you're in the way—move!"
"Don't give me that! You think we'll let you kill the innocent His Highness Mercurio? If anyone's dying, it's Schuls and Cabajid! They're the ones responsible for this war!"
"You're the one who needs to shut your mouth! For mere dregs like you to speak His Highness Cabajid's name so casually is the height of insolence! Pay for that disrespect with your life!"
The center was likely the most violent theater of conflict in the struggle between the Mercurio Army and the Subjugation Army.
A seesaw battle had been unfolding there until a short while ago, but the stalemate had vanished. The Subjugation Army, having abruptly shifted its strategy, was now charging frantically, relying on the sheer power of their numbers to achieve a central breakthrough.
Everywhere on the battlefield, cries to bolster morale and shouts of abuse toward the enemy echoed.
However, no matter how much the Mercurio Army shouted to encourage themselves, there was no overcoming the difference in numbers.
The unit of the three nobles—those traitors who had been positioned as a shield on the front line of the center—had already been wiped out. They were annihilated in the literal sense of the word; the nobles themselves had been struck down and were no longer among the living.
The three nobles had fought desperately, for they absolutely did not want to die, but the disparity in numbers was not something that could be overcome by effort alone.
In the end, their subordinates were whittled away one by one until the nobles were left fighting while wailing in tears, only to have their lives snuffed out by the Subjugation Army soldiers.
Even if it was only because they didn't want to die, the three nobles had performed their role on the front line better than expected.
Theoreme's subordinate, who had been commanding the Disciplinary Unit from the rear, couldn't help but think that if they had served Mercurio faithfully without duplicity, they might have earned quite significant merit.
Nevertheless, the unit of the three nobles was eventually ground down and vanished.
As a result, the next force to receive the Subjugation Army's attack would be a genuine unit of the Mercurio Army.
The Disciplinary Unit that had been monitoring the three nobles' troops quickly pulled back, and the support unit moved forward to intercept the Subjugation Army unit attacking from the front.
While they held the line, the Disciplinary Unit that had retreated unleashed a volley of arrows toward the enemy's rear.
Since they had originally planned to fire upon the three nobles if they made any suspicious moves, they didn't need to change equipment; they could attack simply by falling back and forming up.
Organizing a formation was a task that usually delayed low-proficiency troops, but the Disciplinary Unit was highly trained, and it posed no problem at all.
Rather, the problem was...
"Hey, is it true that the Mobile Unit started fighting amongst themselves?"
"Yeah, apparently so. That's why the Subjugation Army's attack has been intensifying from where the Mobile Unit was stationed."
"What the... why the Mobile Unit? Those guys are basically the most elite in terms of pure strength, aren't they?"
"Who knows. But that's the Mobile Unit led by Captain Rei, you know? I can't imagine them being stupid enough to betray us."
"...True."
While drawing their bows wide and releasing arrows, the soldiers of the Disciplinary Unit exchanged words. What lay within those words was not suspicion toward the Mobile Unit, but rather doubt.
Normally, if soldiers heard that their allies had betrayed them, it was natural for some to become suspicious. However, although there was some uncertainty among these men, it was outweighed by their questions.
The primary reason for this was the existence known as Rei.
Anyone who knew of Rei understood that he wouldn't commit betrayal, no matter what kind of reward was offered. No matter how much money—even if he were given platinum coins—he wouldn't be able to spend them if he weren't alive.
And those who knew Rei's personality—or even those who didn't, but understood to some extent what kind of actions he had taken until now—were well aware that attempting to betray him was nothing short of a suicidal act.
Because of that, even if they were told that a significant number of the Mobile Unit had betrayed the cause and fought their own comrades, they couldn't truly believe it.
If anything, they felt more strongly that the Subjugation Army's side had plotted something and succeeded... which was, in fact, the case. After all, it was only those equipped with the wyvern leather armor who had been rampaging regardless of friend or foe.
It had, of course, been announced to everyone that the wyverns were materials Rei had stripped from the corpses of the dragon knights he defeated. Even if it hadn't been, many people had seen the members of the Mobile Unit performing the wyvern material stripping together, and above all, a fair number of people had been given the wyvern meat to eat.
If someone were going to set a trap, they wouldn't do something so blatant.
And above all...
"If Captain Rei were going to betray us, he wouldn't need to do something so tedious. He could just release a Flame Tornado from behind, or use that Overlord's Armor—was that what it's called? If he used that and just charged straight through, we wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it anyway."
"True enough."
Despite continuing to fire arrows, the men around the soldier who muttered that nodded in agreement.
"You lot! That's enough idle chatter! Anyway, just keep shooting and shooting to pin them down!"
Nodding at the captain's words, the soldiers stopped talking and continued to loose their arrows. Right now, they could still engage in such talk while firing, but on the front lines, their allies and the enemy units were clashing head-on. Considering that, the captain was indeed correct.
(That Water Dragon... since it vanished without causing almost any damage to us, I guess someone on our side must have defeated it... but I didn't think there were many people capable of defeating an A-rank adventurer.)
A soldier of the Disciplinary Unit thought to himself as he glanced toward the spot where the massive dragon composed of water had existed until moments ago.
However, there was indeed nothing there now, and the soldier decided that he would be scolded by the captain if he thought about unnecessary things, so he drew his bow back with all his might.
At the Mercurio Army main camp, Vihera suddenly appeared. She flashed a small smile at Theoreme, whose face was twisted in an expression of pure shock at the person she was carrying.
The sight of the usually calm and collected Theoreme looking so visibly stunned must have been amusing to her. Of course, any other observer would certainly have agreed with Theoreme's reaction.
For the person Vihera was carrying was Digma, the A-rank adventurer.
Under normal circumstances, most people recognized an A-rank adventurer as someone who had transcended humanity—an inhuman being. To see such a person being carried around so casually, it was only natural to be surprised.
Digma was completely unconscious, showing not even a twitch of movement. In other words, his consciousness had been taken by some means, and to those present, it was plain as day who had done it.
Still, just to be sure, one of the nobles spoke up fearfully.
"Lady Vihera, that person is surely..."
"Yes. Digma of the Water Dragon. An A-rank adventurer. I ran into him on the battlefield, so we fought."
"You... you fought... so casually..."
The noble muttered in a daze at Vihera's words.
It was only natural. Digma of the Water Dragon was famous even within the Bestia Empire as a highly skilled adventurer. His power was, of course, incomparable to an ordinary adventurer; he was not the kind of opponent one could just defeat and bring back like a souvenir.
"Part of it was that we were a good match. I specialize in individual combat, whereas Digma's style is more suited for fighting multiple opponents. It was a huge advantage to be able to drag him into my own pace. ...So, what should I do for now? Can I just leave him here?"
"That would be a problem," a noble replied immediately.
The others present also agreed with those words with all their heart, even if they didn't speak up. If an A-rank adventurer were left here so casually, there was no one in this place who could handle him.
The most capable person present besides Vihera was Theoreme, but even he did not have the confidence to deal with an A-rank adventurer... especially someone with the alias of 'Digma of the Water Dragon.'
"Well, even if you say that, we're gradually being pushed back as we speak, you know? Since Rei isn't moving, I can't exactly just sit around, can I?"
"That is true, but..."
They were managing for now, but it was a fact that they were being pushed back just as Vihera said. In particular, ever since the enemy had begun utilizing their superior numbers to attack with brute force, the damage to the Mercurio Army had been gradually increasing.
The only reason they were still holding out against a force four times their size was because the Mercurio Army's morale was extremely high, and they had famous combat assets like Rei, Vihera, and the White Rose Knight Order. In addition, they had first-class forces like the Beast Soldiers, the Mobile Unit, and Gurgast.
Even so, if the current situation continued, it was certain that some part of the battle line would eventually be overwhelmed, and if that happened, there was a danger that the entire army would collapse at once.
To prevent that, they had to push the enemy back somehow, and Vihera—who was highly famous, showed great leadership when commanding soldiers, and possessed high individual combat power—was perfect for the task.
Because she understood that, Vihera told those before her that she was returning to the battlefield.
However, even though they understood this, the people in the Mercurio Army main camp could not easily nod to Vihera's words. If Digma woke up and went on a rampage here, and Mercurio were struck down, they would lose the very symbol of this rebellion.
On the other hand, as Vihera said, there was a high possibility they would lose if things continued like this. Since Rei was not producing the expected results, it was also a fact that Vihera was the most reliable person they had at the moment.
"...I see. Then let's do this."
After pondering for a few seconds following the noble's words, Vihera laid Digma onto the ground and used a light Magic Impact Palm to deliver a shock.
"Geh—geho!"
Coughing from the magic power rampaging inside his body, Digma regained consciousness. Seeing this, the nobles opened their mouths with expressions of shock.
"Lady Vihera, why on earth would you do such a thing?!"
"You went through the trouble of knocking him out, only to bring him back to his senses!"
"Call the soldiers!"
"That won't be necessary," Vihera rejected the noble's shout to call for soldiers in a single word.
Knowing that she was being stared at by the surrounding nobles, she didn't care at all and spoke to Digma as he opened his eyes.
"Now then, you've regained consciousness. ...Do you understand your current situation?"
"I... I was... certainly fighting you... yes, I lost."
Raising his upper body and closing his eyes, Digma spoke as he recalled what happened before he lost consciousness, and Vihera nodded in return.
"That's right. And you were captured by me and became a prisoner."
At Vihera's words, Digma gave a small nod. He remembered losing, and the people before him were Vihera and her associates. In particular, he had met Theoreme, the man effectively running the Mercurio Army, several times as a fellow A-rank adventurer. Because of that, there was no way he could mistake the fact that he was in the Mercurio Army's camp.
"I'll guarantee your life. So, will you behave as a prisoner?"
"...Vihera, what about you?"
"I am one of the main forces of this Mercurio Army. Naturally, I'm going back to the battlefield. However, I can't exactly take you with me. So, I want you to stay quiet as a prisoner and not try anything strange."
At Vihera's words, which were blunt to the extreme, many of those watching the course of the conversation involuntarily gasped. The only ones who could watch this with a smile were Mercurio and perhaps a few others. Theoreme also didn't worry much, precisely because he had spoken with Digma several times and knew his personality.
Digma heard Vihera's words, thought for a few seconds, and then...
"I understand. I lost to you. Even though I could have been killed on the spot, you spared my life. Since that is the case, it is only natural that I follow your lead."
As Digma spoke so plainly, the people around him widened their eyes. They never expected him to agree to Vihera's terms so easily.
(Even if I were to fight Rei, I could fight him to my heart's content after this war is over.)
Digma's original goal was to fight Rei without restrictions. Though Noise had taken that role on this battlefield, there was a chance after the civil strife ended... he thought. Of course, there was also the fact that Vihera had spared his life.
"Is that so? Then I'll trust the words of the man who holds the alias of 'Digma of the Water Dragon.' Well then, I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, Vihera headed back toward the battlefield. Watching Vihera's voluptuous figure from behind as she walked away, Digma felt something inside his heart move with a "thump."