"Charge!"
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
The foreign tribes who had swarmed across the river fell upon the Advance Force.
Charging forward with primitive weapons like stone axes and spears, these warriors were the Ogrekin, a fierce subgroup of the foreign tribes. With their crimson skin and horns protruding from their heads, the sub-humans charged with the unstoppable momentum of stampeding bulls.
"All units, intercept! Do not let a single one break through our line!"
The commander, Bareia Catreia, barked orders to his men. The front-line soldiers lowered their spears, bracing themselves to meet the Ogrekin's assault.
"Hmph!"
"Hah!"
As their ability to hurl weapons across the river had suggested, the Ogrekin possessed terrifying physical strength. However, the soldiers of the Aiwood Kingdom were not so easily bested. Reinforcing their bodies with mana, they managed to catch the heavy swings of the Ogrekin’s stone weapons.
"Guh...!"
"What incredible power...!"
Even with magical reinforcement, the Ogrekin still held the advantage in raw strength. Despite wielding superior steel, the kingdom’s soldiers found themselves being steadily driven back by the sheer force of the stone-wielding sub-humans.
"Our equipment is better and our numbers are superior... Is this truly the power of the Ogrekin?!"
"Lord Rest!"
"I’m on it... Thunderball!"
Urged by Dieble, Rest—who had been positioned in the rear under the protection of the soldiers—activated his magic. Orbs of lightning soared in high, upward arcs, clearing the heads of his allies to strike the foreign warriors beyond the front lines.
"Gyaaah!"
"Curse you, human sorcerer!"
Screams erupted from the Ogrekin ranks. Because his allies were locked in close combat, Rest couldn't utilize his most destructive spells, but the sudden flank attack delivered while they were preoccupied proved highly effective.
"Follow his lead!"
"Fire! Scatter the barbarians!"
Taking Rest’s attack as their signal, the other mages unleashed a barrage of support fire, carefully threading their spells to avoid friendly fire. Flames and lightning flashed across the field, igniting a series of explosions within the enemy’s formation.
"Now! Brave soldiers, crush them!"
As the enemies faltered under the magical onslaught, the spearmen surged forward to capitalize on the opening. Although they had been on the defensive at the start, the mages' intervention had successfully turned the tide.
"Guoh!"
"It’s the sorcerers! Kill them first!"
Realizing they were being pushed back, the Ogrekin shifted their focus to the mages in the rear. They attempted to force a breakthrough, trying to smash through the wall of soldiers to reach the spellcasters protected behind them.
"Break through! Once we finish the sorcerers, the rest are just small fry!"
"As if I’d let you."
"Gyaaah?!"
The torso of an Ogrekin attempting to force his way through was suddenly split open from shoulder to hip. The two-meter-tall giant was cut down in a single, lightning-fast stroke by the "Woman-hating Sword Saint," Wilhelm Lyubase.
"Who are you calling small fry? You oversized, thick-skulled primitives. Is your vision obscured because your heads are so far up in the clouds?"
"You..."
"Almacain Blade Dance Arts... Scattered Petals."
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!"
A flurry of slashes erupted from Lyubase’s blade. The Ogrekin in his immediate vicinity were shredded simultaneously, sending a mist of blood dancing through the air.
"They’re tough... but so what? They’re barely an improvement over the wooden dolls I use for practice."
Speaking with cold mockery, Lyubase cast a fleeting glance toward the rear.
"...That bastard."
Rest’s face twitched. With the chaos of the battlefield and the ranks of soldiers between them, nobody else would have noticed—but Lyubase had definitely been looking straight at him.
'I’ve cut down this many.'
'What about you? Are you just going to sit back and watch?'
He could almost hear Lyubase’s voice echoing the challenge. It was a blatant provocation. A competitive fire flared up within Rest, fueled by the arrogant attitude of his peer.
"I wonder why... I feel like I can’t afford to lose to you even more than I can't afford to lose to the enemy."
Rest braced his legs and leaped. He soared over ten meters into the air, looking down upon the entire battlefield from his vantage point in the sky.
"I just have to avoid hitting my own men, right? If I attack from up here, it’s a piece of cake!"
Countless lightning spheres manifested around Rest. It was a Multiple Activation of the same spell—a technique far simpler than coordinating different types of magic simultaneously.
"Fire!"
The lightning spheres swarmed toward the ground. He manifested them as quickly as he fired them, raining a deluge of thunder down upon the Ogrekin like a localized natural disaster.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"You... damn sorcerer... gwaaaaaaaaaah?!"
"Retreat! Fall back to the rear!"
Hammered by the relentless hail of Thunderballs, the Ogrekin finally broke and began to flee. As the opening skirmish drew to a close, Rest and his comrades had secured their first victory.