"...At this rate, we're going to lose."
As if to confirm those grim words, shields clashed violently at the left stronghold, and the Razgrim soldiers were driven back in a cluster. Although their comrades immediately surged forward to fill the breach, the Eldran soldiers showed no signs of slowing down.
The right had already fallen, the center could not be reclaimed, and now crushing pressure was bearing down on their sole remaining bastion on the left. In a direct head-on clash, the opposition held the upper hand in both build and swordsmanship; even when two men managed to push back a single foe, another soldier stepped into the opening without the slightest hesitation.
What made matters worse was that the brute strength of the advancing line was only part of the problem. In the center, the towering Dolgan personally swung his blade to drive the front line forward, while Julius kept watch over the entire field from the rear, deploying the exact number of troops required wherever they were needed. On the left, Carnes refused to yield an inch of ground once taken, methodically restoring formation whenever his ranks grew ragged before pressing on once more.
And anchoring all three from behind was the head of the Four Knights, Percival.
The very instant our side attempted to concentrate troops toward the center—
"Julius, send fifteen to the right! Move no more than that! Leave the center to Dolgan!"
The Eldran army shifted the moment the order rang out. It was as if they had known what we were going to do well in advance.
"...They've read us again."
As frustration seeped into Lydia's voice, Raisa, who had been fighting slightly ahead, fell back for a brief moment.
"I've been thinking those four were a real pain for a while now. Are they the ones you mentioned?"
"They are my father's direct Four Knights...! Their head is Percival... but the remaining three are far more than just skilled swordsmen. Every single one of them can lead a unit, and there are multiple officers beneath them capable of taking over command at a moment's notice."
"Tough soldiers, a new head pops up the moment you crush one... and on top of that, they've got four massive brains pulling the strings, huh?...What a truly infuriating army."
Raisa offered a wry smile.
Around that time, at the rear of the Eldran army, Percival's lips curved upward ever so slightly as he observed the movements of the Razgrim forces.
"Has it been two months now? Well then... let us see what the young lady has learned out in the wider world."
Dolgan let out a hearty laugh at those words, while Julius merely shifted his gaze. Carnes said nothing, maintaining his relentless pressure on the left.
Even though their opponent was Lydia—someone who had once fought alongside them in the very same army—not a single one held back. If anything, all four seemed to relish the anticipation of seeing what the present Lydia would bring to bear.
Before such an opponent, the Razgrim soldiers' movements were gradually growing sluggish. The spirited shouts that had echoed at the start of the match had dwindled, and it took a labored breath just to stand back up after being shoved back.
Even those who had been shouting encouragement to their comrades were now entirely consumed with merely weathering the blows raining down before their eyes. Everything they attempted was shut down; whenever they managed to take down one foe, another stepped forward immediately. That endless grind wore down their spirits long before their bodies gave out.
"This is bad...! At this rate, their morale will truly break..."
"I know that! But if we stand around looking gloomy, it's really over... We still have the left! Hold the line!"
Tightening her grip on her sword, Raisa darted back toward the front lines.
◇
Watching from the noble seats, even I could tell the situation looked grim. House Eldran's banner had already been planted on the right, and our dark blue ranks in the center were being pushed back time and time again. To make matters worse, the enemy was now closing in on our sole remaining bastion on the left.
"Gwahaha! Splendid, keep pushing! There is no need to rush, just close the distance step by step!"
Beside me, the old man was cheering on the Eldran army at the top of his lungs. His daughter might be on our side, but he was still the head of House Eldran. Naturally, he wanted his own army to win.
"Damn it... Aren't your troops a little too strong, you old fossil?!"
The moment the Razgrim ranks were pushed back once more, Clarice's voice rang out from the row behind me.
"Geez...! Stand your ground right there! We haven't lost the left yet, have we?!"
Even Clarice, who usually left all military matters to Raisa and Lydia, was leaning over the railing today. Her fists were clenched as she glared down at the drill grounds in sheer frustration.
"We won all the way to the finals, didn't we?! It's downright infuriating to go out getting pushed around like this!"
Alecia had barely spoken a word for a while either. Her hands were tightly clasped in her lap, her eyes glued to the azure Silver Wolf banner.
I looked at the same banner.
We're still fine... I tried to tell myself. We might have lost the right, but the bell hasn't rung yet... We still have Raisa, and we have Lydia.
They were the ones who had defied all my expectations to win match after match up to this point. Just because they were being pushed back a little didn't mean they were going to lose right this second.
...That's right! We should still be fine!
Immediately after I told myself that, the dark blue ranks in the center fell back once more. Furthermore, the Eldran soldiers heading toward the left rapidly closed in on the Silver Wolf banner.
"Even the left...!"
Clarice's voice trembled.
—Wait a damn minute!...If they take that, we're really finished...!
Second place gets two hundred gold coins... First place gets five hundred. That's a difference of three hundred coins... I've calculated the medical bills and equipment repair costs over and over again. Even after all that, winning leaves us with plenty of gold... That's precisely why I told them that if they made it this far, they had to take first place no matter what.
Those three hundred coins were slipping right through my fingers at this very moment...!
With three hundred coins, I could buy all the booze and feast on all the meat I could ever want! Even after subtracting the share allocated to the domain, it would bring me that much closer to the life of decadence I've always dreamed of! And they're going to throw all that away and go home after coming within a single victory of it?!
...You've got to be kidding me!!
We won the first round! We won the second round, too! In the semifinals, we even crushed House Perkin, who took second place last year! I thought fourth place was plenty, but they went and shattered my expectations over and over, finally dragging themselves all the way to the finals!
...And they're going to lose at the very, very end? We're one win away! One more win, and it's five hundred gold coins, damn it!
The Eldran army surged forward again, and the Silver Wolf banner swayed violently. In that instant, everything that had been festering deep in my chest erupted all at once.
—Don't screw with me! Who the hell would let it end after coming this far?! That's my gold! My gold! My gold!! MY GOOOOOOLD!!!
Before I even realized it, I had already sprung to my feet and bolted.
"Vain?!"
Alecia looked back at me with a startled expression.
"Hey, Vain?!"
Clarice's voice flew at my back, but I had no time to answer. I dashed down the stairs of the noble seating area, sprinted through the corridor, and headed straight for the Grand Drill Grounds. The guards along the way stared in shock, but I didn't have a second to spare for them.
◇
Around that time, the Razgrim soldiers threw themselves forward again and again. If one man was overpowered, two stepped up to block; if their swordsmanship fell short, they locked shields together. Knowing that this very tenacity had carried them through to the semifinals, none of them had given up at first. Every time they were pushed back, they called out to one another and stepped forward once more.
"Push! We're taking the right back! We're bringing first place home to Lord Vain, aren't we?!"
Answering that call, several soldiers locked their shields and worked together to shove the Eldran troops back. When they finally managed to knock one man to the ground and attempted to press through the breach, another soldier stepped smoothly into the gap without an ounce of hesitation. He held his sword poised with steady breath, possessing a build virtually identical to the man they had just brought down.
It was the same story no matter how many times they tried. Deflecting a sword numbed their arms; clashing shields sent shocks reverberating through their shoulders. While their own breath grew increasingly ragged, fresh enemy troops stepped in the moment a tired soldier fell back, instantly sealing off the precious openings they had fought so hard to create.
"Damn it...! Are you alright?"
As another soldier adjusted his shield, he glanced to his side to see the comrade who had been loudly rallying everyone just moments ago resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"Yeah... I can still move. I can still fight."
Though he forced himself upright as he answered, the vigor from the opening moments of the battle was completely gone from his voice.
They pushed forward, only to be shoved back. Even when they dug their heels in and advanced once more, another enemy was there to halt them. Even when they managed to take down an enemy commander, there was no time to celebrate; someone right next to him would immediately bark out orders and reform their battle lines. While their own stamina was steadily draining, the wall before their eyes never grew any thinner.
Even so, no one ran. No one threw down their sword, and no one turned their back. However, the voices that had constantly shouted "Push them back!" and "We can still do this!" had somehow faded to near silence.
Soldiers who were supposed to be advancing to win were now entirely consumed with simply weathering the onslaught before them and preventing any further retreat.
"...Can we really win this?"
Someone muttered under his breath.
Perhaps he hadn't intended to sound so defeated. Even so, none of the men around him could immediately deny it. They had known before the battle began that the defending champions were formidable. Even so, having fought their way this far, they had genuinely believed they stood a chance.
Yet once blades crossed, the gap between them became painfully clear. In both physical stature and swordplay, the other side held the upper hand; even when they finally managed to take down one man, an identical soldier appeared from behind him. Even when they pressured a field commander, a replacement stepped up, with the Four Knights looming above them all.
"We fought so hard... to make it all the way here..."
The moment that bitter voice escaped, another wave of Eldran soldiers surged forward. The Razgrim soldiers reflexively raised their shields and tightened their grips on their swords. Yet the momentum they had possessed at the start was nowhere to be found.
To make matters worse, a fresh detachment of Eldran soldiers approached the left stronghold. Several soldiers unconsciously bit their lips at the sight.
No one dared say it aloud.
—Was it really impossible for us after all?
That suffocating atmosphere had begun to permeate the Razgrim army.
◇
By the time I finally reached the fence facing the drill grounds, the state of the soldiers up close was far worse than I had imagined. Some were breathing with their shoulders heaving, unable to take a step forward despite holding their shields aloft. Others hung their heads after being pushed back, virtually frozen in place.
What the hell are you doing?! You're the ones who fought and won your way here!
Without even pausing to catch my breath, I roared from the bottom of my lungs.
"Hey!! How long do you plan on staring at the dirt?! Get your heads up!"
The nearby soldiers turned to look at me in utter astonishment.
"...Lord Vain?"
As one man noticed, the word quickly rippled through the surrounding ranks. More and more men glanced back mid-fight, and further down the line, voices began shouting, "It's Lord Vain!!", "Lord Vain is here!!", and "Why is he down here?!"
"The enemy is strong? You knew that from the bloody start! They're the defending champions—of course they're not weak!"
I gripped the wooden fence tightly and projected my voice even louder.
"But listen to me! None of you were carried here by anyone else! You won the first round, the second round, and the semifinals with your own two hands to reach this stage!"
The light in the soldiers' eyes began to shift.
"To be honest, I never expected you to make it to the finals! But you won anyway! You shattered my expectations again and again, and you marched right in front of the defending champions on your own two feet!"
It was the absolute truth! So please...! Just shatter my expectations one more time! And bring those five hundred gold coins back to me without fail!
"So why the hell are you giving up at the very end just because of their name?! You've made it this far—don't you dare hang your heads looking like 'the enemy was too strong, so it couldn't be helped'!"
Several soldiers gritted their teeth and raised their lowered heads.
"The bell hasn't rung yet! If you can grip a sword, grip it! If you can stand, stand! If you can step forward, take just one more step! You've completely defied my predictions up to this point—so prove me wrong to the bitter end!! Dig your teeth in and don't you dare give up!! Take first place, and bring those five hundred gold coins back to me!!!"
◇
After his voice broke off, an odd silence hung over the battlefield for a fleeting moment. The soldiers had no idea what had driven Vain to sprint all the way down here. All they knew was that their master, who could have comfortably watched from the noble box, had gone out of his way to run to the edge of the drill grounds just to scream at them to hold their heads high. And he had remembered every single victory they had earned from the first round to the semifinals.
"...Lord Vain really was watching us come all this way."
Someone murmured.
"The bell hasn't rung yet...!"
Another soldier adjusted his grip on his shield.
However, the first one to surge forward wasn't one of the regular troops.
"...Master said to win."
Serena stepped forward, bolting ahead faster than anyone else.
"H-Hey?!"
Before Gash could stop her, Serena slipped between the Eldran soldiers. Parrying the first man's sword, she seized his arm, swept his legs to send him crashing to the ground, slipped inside the second man's shield, and drove the pommel of her sword straight into his stomach. She then swept the legs of a third man rushing in from the side and ducked low to effortlessly dodge the blade of another soldier closing in.
"Is that person really a regular soldier?!"
At the enemy's bewildered shout, Gash instinctively yelled back.
"Like hell she's a regular—wait, this is no time for that!"
Gash plunged in right behind Serena, and seeing his back, another soldier charged forward. When one moved, another followed. The soldiers who had been staring at the ground tightened their grips on their swords, banged their shields, and gradually found their voices once more.
"It's not over yet! Lord Vain came all the way down here for us!"
"How many times do you think we've proved Lord Vain wrong?! Let's do it one last time!"
"OOOOOOOOHHH!!"
This roar was rougher and far more desperate than the one at the start of the match. Yet it was unmistakably directed forward.
Hearing that roar, Raisa cast a single glance toward Vain standing at the edge of the drill grounds. A man who usually talked about nothing but money had run all the way down from the noble seats to tell them to win. Seeing that, there was no way in hell they could act like it was over.
"Hah... After an earful like that, there's no way we're going home looking like losers!"
Tightening her grip on her blade, she bellowed at all three hundred men.
"Did you hear him?! The boss ran all the way down here to tell us it's not over! So don't you dare act like you're done! Anyone who can stand, get up front! We're pushing those bastards back one more time!!"
"OOOOOOOOHHH!!"
Listening to that thunderous roar, Lydia took a deep, sharp breath. Something that hadn't returned no matter how many commands she gave had been pulled back by Vain from outside the battlefield. Two months ago, she never could have imagined her heart burning with passion over that man's words.
But now—she didn't want to lose. She wanted to fight to the very end alongside these soldiers and Raisa. And she wanted to bring victory back to Vain, who had sprinted all that way for them.
"Messenger! Relay to all units! It is not over yet! Raise your heads—we came here to win!"
Hearing the resounding responses, Lydia surveyed the battlefield once more. Percival knew how she thought. As long as she moved according to the orthodox tactics she had learned in Eldran, she would never be able to disrupt Dolgan, Julius, or Carnes.
In that case—there was no need to fight the way Eldran had taught her. Two months ago, such a thought would never have crossed her mind. But right now, she had Raisa standing beside her.
"...Raisa-dono."
"What is it?"
"...There is something I would like to try."
Raisa looked at Lydia's face and grinned, as if she had been waiting for those very words.
"With a look like that, it sounds like it's worth hearing."