Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 2 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 2===

"Receiving such a severe wound... Looks like Onii-sama must be in a lot of pain."

Hatsune whispered anxiously.

She was currently at the nation-protecting keep in the heart of the Suruga tutelary fort. The nation-protecting keep was a forty-meter tall building of red brick. A round disk at the top was not a clock but a gigantic fengshui wheel.

Hatsune had accompanied Princess Shiori to the keep's ground floor hall.

Reconnaissance was mainly conducted by retainer beasts such as yatagarasus, Mibu wolves, and wyverns. The intelligence they gathered was collated here to serve as the basis for analysis and making judgment calls.

Inside the keep were many soldiers in charge of this as well as noetic officers.

What the retainer beasts observed on the battlefield was converted into video through noetic control and replayed at various locations in the hall. Now that she had become a Chevalier, Hatsune was entitled to ask the soldiers to report or explain information to her.

However, seeing everyone so busy, she felt uncomfortable adding to their workload as a newbie.

Fully mobilizing her eyes, ears, and brain, she sought to grasp the situation. In fact, she had already gained a holistic understanding.

...Tachibana Masatsugu was on the move with 203 Kanesadas, heading to the waters of Suruga Bay.

...The 150 Kamuys entrenched in Mount Satsuta were attacking the British army to support the Kanesadas' retreat.

...Leading 812 Escalibors, Richard the Lionheart had sent 200 to land on Mount Satsuta and attack the three Chevaliers' Kamuys, meanwhile leading the remaining 612 to continue the pursuit&mdash;

"Onii-sama's retreating army only has about two hundred while the pursuing Richard has six hundred. He's still outnumbered by three to one..."

Also, Masatsugu's target was Suruga.

He had ''decided in advance'' that regardless of the path taken, his final destination was the Suruga tutelary fort.

Akigase Rikka was also ready for battle to coordinate with his arrival.

Princess Shiori had summoned the genie Sakuya and carefully explained their battle plan.

"That is all. Is there anything you don't understand?"

"No... problem, Princess, Your Highness."

The princess was sitting in a chair. Her physical condition was still poor.

Dressed as a shrine maiden, a young girl was in front of Shiori. Featuring bangs cut uniformly at eyebrow height, eight or nine years old in appearance, she was the genie Sakuya's image.

The intangible image avoided making eye contact with Shiori.

"I am about to leave the nation-protecting keep. Send a pipe fox to ask me if you encounter any difficult decisions, and I will send you instant instructions."

"Understood... Please leave it, to me," Sakuya mustered a quiet voice to answer.

She looked quite adorable but compared to Britain's Morgan le Fay, she was far too unreliable. However, what truly surprised Hatsune was what the princess had said.

"Princess, you're leaving? Where to!?"

"I need to find Masatsugu-sama. He will be returning to Suruga soon. See me off, will you?"

"Yes ma'am."

Hatsune supported Shiori, who was unsteady on her feet, and they walked out of the nation-protecting keep.

Now that they were out of the genie's earshot, Hatsune voiced what she suspected.

"Onii-sama deliberately intercepted Richard away from the tutelary fort... Princess, it's because Sakuya isn't very reliable, right?"

Martial prowess alone was not enough to make a fine Chevalier.

Hatsune needed to learn tactics, strategic vision, and methods to handle troops as quickly as possible in order to become a full-fledged Chevalier. This was why she had shared her own deductions.

"That is one of the reasons, but according to my guess..." Shiori gave an unexpected answer. "It seems that Masatsugu-sama does not like to fight on either side of siege battles."

"Huh? But didn't he succeed in defending the Suruga tutelary fort last, and at Fuji City, he was also the one who suggested a raid on the enemy fort?"

The clever princess shook her head in disagreement with Hatsune's rebuttal.

"Being able to accomplish it and liking it are separate matters... Besides, in the case of sieges... He ought to have plenty of experience."

"Onii-sama mentioned this!?"

"No, it is simply imagination on my part."

"...Princess, don't tell me you've already guessed Onii-sama's identity?"

Shiori's confident tone did not sound like simple imagination.

Hatsune asked in doubt but Shiori simply smiled ambiguously and said, "I admit that a number of ideas have occurred to me, but I have neither concrete evidence nor a certain name. I will observe for while longer before I share my thoughts with you."

While they were chatting, a gigantic white wolf came over to them.

This was a Mibu wolf that Shiori had summoned using noetic control. The massive retainer beast, as large as a horse, lay down on the ground on its own initiative.

The princess was about to straddle the wolf but her footing was unsteady.

Shiori lurched, almost falling over backwards. Hatsune hastily caught her. Looking at the face of the lady she served, she noticed the princess' pallor and abnormally hot body temperature.

Shiori was suffering from a serious fever. As her personal lady-in-waiting and knight, Hatsune made a call.

"Princess, you need to stop overexerting yourself!"

"Nonsense, this is my own decision to make..."

"No, it's the doctor's decision. And in the absence of a doctor, I'm making the decision."

"N-No, I must hurry to assist Masatsugu-sama&mdash;"

"Don't worry! I know everything about what needs to be done to help Onii-sama!"

"Eh&mdash;?"

"Rest properly and leave it all to me, Princess!"

Stopping the surprised princess, Hatsune mounted the Mibu wolf's back instead.

She patted the wolf's white neck and it immediately stood up. Her orders were very simple.

"Find Onii-sama... Tachibana Masatsugu's scent and take me there. Princess, I'll be right back!"

"H-Hold on a moment. You know everything? No way!?"

Shiori collapsed and sat on the ground. Her physical strength had reached its limit.

Then mounted on a Mibu wolf, Hatsune rode gallantly to the battlefield.


When Legions flew at top speed to charge into enemy ranks&mdash;

They almost never fired their guns. When devoting all ectoplasmic fluid to an all-out charging attack, they used the impact to stab their bayonets into the enemies' bodies.

This was the kind of charge that Richard the Lionheart had revealed at Fuji City.

The impact of a full-powered charge was astounding, capable of inflicting critical damage upon the enemy army in one strike.

This tactic recreated the "cavalry charge" of ancient battlefields.

There are some who say that the cavalry charge was a masterpiece of the battlefield.

Masatsugu had no objections to that. Indeed, it was undoubtedly a very troublesome tactic.

Heavy knights or riders equipped with armor and chain mail, riding galloping warhorses to charge into enemy ranks, stabbing with the tips of their lances during the clash.

...When a horse was galloping, its speed, momentum, and weight were all added to the power of the charging attack.

The thrusting lance could easily pierce enemy soldiers. It was also impossible for the human body to withstand the trampling from a charging horse. Most terrifying of all, this type of charge was conducted by a great force of numbers, tens, hundreds, or thousands at once.

Struck by a cavalry charge, any army would suffer substantial casualties.

Throughout the ancient and medieval ages, heavy cavalry was equal in value to the "tank of recent modern invention"&mdash;

Although this was a common view, there was a caveat. The cavalry charge was also a tactic that was difficult to use correctly.

As living creatures, horses were unable to maintain a full gallop for long periods of time. They would tire quickly.

The first priority was to conserve the horses' strength and use it at the appropriate moment. Moreover, any obstacles preventing a straight path would also cause a charge to end in failure.

Besides, horses were exorbitantly expensive and costly to feed. Keeping horses was a laborious affair.

However, once all these difficulties were surmounted to successfully execute a cavalry charge&mdash;Its power was unparalleled.

When cavalry charged into the heart of enemy's ranks at a critical moment to defeat the enemy general and the main force, all that remained would be a disorderly mob.

Even against an enemy several times one's own numbers, it was easy to take care of the scattered rabble.

The ancient king of Macedon and pioneering genius of war, Alexander the Great, was also quite accomplished in such tactics...

"No wonder a guy like Richard loves to use it so much," remarked Masatsugu satirically.

After injuring his right flank, Masatsugu first headed south, in other words, towards Suruga Bay. The battlefield of Mount Satsuta was next to the sea and Masatsugu soon arrived over the water surface.

He was currently riding a wyvern, flying over the ocean at night.

The remaining 203 Kanesadas were flying in his surroundings.

The pain was gradually subsiding from his abdominal wound and the bleeding had stopped. A Resurrectee's body was evidently resilient to a supernatural degree.

"We are the dead who have risen up from our graves... Now that I think about it, this is only to be expected."

Masatsugu surmised that perhaps he had a constitution that would not die so easily.

However, his consciousness was undoubtedly fading. Once he reached his limit, he was probably going to pass out directly.

And the "not dead person" in full health was right behind him, chasing Masatsugu's army.

"Hahahaha. I am surprised you can endure that kind of wound for so long!"

Under the Lionheart's command, 612 Escalibors pursued relentlessly.

They were charging at full speed from behind, trying to end the battle in one go.

"Charge, my Escalibors! Allow the samurai of the orient to witness our knightly ways!"

The British Legions had formed a V-shaped wedge formation, the same one that Richard had exhibited at Fuji City, a formation specialized for the cavalry charge.

Its main function was to penetrate the enemy army with its sharp tip and tear apart their formation.

"What a hot-blooded guy. As soon as I fled, he chased in delight," muttered Masatsugu quietly.

Masatsugu the chased and Richard the chaser were both going at over 500 kilometers per hour. The two armies were separated by a hundred or so meters.

As retainer beasts, wyverns were actually incapable of reaching such seeds.

A "Kanesada phantom" had appeared around Masatsugu and his wyvern mount.

Reusing the technique of summoning a Legion and merging it with his body, Masatsugu used a Kanesada's flying ability to transport himself and the wyvern.

"Kukukuku! This is my first time too, to use this method to charge alongside my Escalibors... You are truly a delightful opponent, Tachibana!"

Richard was using the same technique to fly at extreme speed.

The legendary English king had summoned a red legion's phantom to transport his flying mount.

However, the overall speed of both armies had dropped.

The airborne melee battle had consumed a large amount of ectoplasmic fluid. Following that with a full-speed escape and pursuit, both the Japanese and the British forces were exhausted. All Legions were beginning to decrease in output.

"Hohohoho, your prided fleet-footed escape is slowing down."

"The same goes for you. The Lionheart's pursuit is nothing impressive either."

Separated by substantial distance, neither side could hear each other.

However, Masatsugu could guess what the Lionheart was thinking, more or less. He muttered to himself, delivering rebuttals to the imagined words of his enemy.

Masatsugu focused and prepared his next move for the enemy.

In a situation like this, Richard the Lionheart was definitely not a man who would hold back.

"My knights, thank you for enduring so far. I hereby bestow Coeur de Lion upon you all!"

"I knew it. He's using that move!"

The pursuing 612 Escalibors released a huge quantity of mystic power.

Sensing the release, Masatsugu noticed Richard activating the Feat of Arms&mdash;Coeur de Lion. Its effect was to ensure that his Legion would complete the charge even ignoring death&mdash;

So far, the Escalibors had consumed a lot of ectoplasmic fluid and their flying speed had clearly dropped.

But soon, their speed slowly increased... No, they had recovered their original speed. The Lionheart's Feat of Arms had enabled the British army to charge at peak condition.

In contrast, the Kanesadas' flying speed remained slow.

The balance was finally broken on the lead they had maintained so far in the chase.

Richard's army gradually closed in. Having escaped so far, the 203 Kanesadas were going to be caught within a few minutes, ending up in total extermination.

''All prior preparations'' would be in vain if they were to be caught.

Masatsugu hastily commanded, "Fire backwards!"

"Tsk, petty tricks!"

Masatsugu's army was originally flying while facing forwards.

Maintaining the same flying directionality and speed, the 203 Kanesadas turned around to fire. They continued to fly straight towards their destination except their bodies were facing backwards.

Of course, their rifles were aimed at the back&mdash;towards Richard's approaching army.

All the Kanesadas pulled their triggers.

The entire army directed continuous fire opposite to their flying direction. It was like stunt shooting.

The 612 British Legions closing in took on the gunfire in their wedge formation. The Kanesadas were aiming at the tip of the wedge.

...The purpose of this wave of continuous fire was not to inflict damage.

After all, blessed by Coeur de Lion's effects, they were effectively immortal until the charge was over.

However, continuous fire from the two hundred or so Kanesadas were able to suppress the charging Escalibors.

The dense curtain of gunfire worked. The wedge stopped closing in momentarily.

However, the distance to the enemy was still shrinking slowly.

The Lionheart's powerful noesis had pushed the Escalibors' strength and speed to the very maximum.

Fifty meters until the rampaging lions would catch them.

Forty meters, thirty meters, then at twenty meters&mdash;Masatsugu knew his plan was a success.

The nation-protecting keep of the Suruga tutelary fort was not far away.

...Initially, Masatsugu had retreated from the sky over Mount Satsuta then flew over Suruga Bay.

Once Richard invoked Coeur de Lion, Masatsugu turned towards Nihondaira where the Suruga tutelary fort was situated. ''He knew that the moment had arrived.''

Flying over the mountainous terrain of the military zone, Masatsugu returned to the tutelary fort at last.

"Scatter!"

"What!?"

At Masatsugu's order, the 203 Kanesadas scattered in different directions.

The Escalibors charging single-mindedly at full power did not stop. Neither were they able to stop. And right ahead in their path, a gigantic dragon was waiting for them.

It was the ifrit Seiryuu in charge of protecting the Suruga tutelary fort.