Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 1 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 4===

Every tutelary fort in Japan was equipped with a water shrine.

Furthermore, almost every tutelary fort had an ifrit. The conscious will and avatar of this guardian deity was what was called a genie.

Hence, Sakuya's subpar condition would also cause Seiryuu's loss of performance.

Sakuya was currently at the top level of the nation-protecting keep at the Suruga tutelary fort.

More precisely, it was her projected image&mdash;the visual likeness of a young girl dressed as a shrine maiden.

The nation-protecting keep was forty meters tall. Ordinary towers would usually have an observation room at the top, but nation-protecting keeps ran contrary to that norm. The vast room at the top level was completely dark without any windows on the outer walls.

The flickering light from candles in the surroundings served to illuminate this interior space.

A magic circle was drawn on the floor of stone, identical in pattern with the seventy-meter magic circle on the ifrit Seiryuu's back. Sakuya's image was sitting on top of the magic circle.

"Naumaku sanmandabodanan beishiramandaya, sowaka. Naumakuarratannoutaratayaya, atakyarobotarayachishaya, baishiramandaya, makarajaya, yakyashachibataba, sototasoshitsurabarasowaka&mdash;"

To increase her noetic energy, the girl recited a mantra as though singing a song.

Sakuya's legs were stretched out and her sitting posture was not quite presentable. However, Sakuya's increased noetic energy took form in the air over the tutelary fort as the ifrit Seiryuu and even succeeded in deploying a noesis barrier.

The space surrounding the Suruga tutelary fort was twisting and shimmering like being seen through steaming hot air.

A "distortion" formed a physical barrier to block enemy attacks and invasions, this was the "noesis barrier." Simply by using waves of thought and turning them into physical power sufficient to defend a fortress, it was a noetic control technique of the highest rank.

Furthermore, there were ten-odd noetic officers sitting in meditation next to Sakuya.

Within the Tōkaidō provincial army, only noetic masters wore uniforms similar to monk's working clothes. To help control Seiryuu, they were focused on chanting mantras just like Sakuya.

"Crusades&mdash;One army approaching, ninety in number..."

Sakuya stopped reciting the mantra and reported the battle situation quietly.

Ninety flying British Legions had finally arrived before Seiryuu. The two sides were separated by four hundred meters, a distance where fighting could break out any moment.

The enemy's ninety Crusades stopped in the air, maintaining their spherical formation.

The front half of the Legions opened fire.

Naturally, they employed continuous fire. This wave of flashing light mercilessly barraged the noesis barrier surrounding the tutelary fort, shaking it violently through firepower and impact.

However, the firepower was insufficient to break through the castle walls of noetic energy.

Sakuya's principal image, Seiryuu, was in the air above the nation-protecting keep. Protected by the noesis barrier, there was no risk of getting shot.

"Meteorological decree, activate."

At Sakuya's command, Seiryuu roared from above the nation-protecting keep.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Thunderclouds instantly filled the sky and rained down lightning to attack the top dome of the enemy's spherical formation.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Suruga side also used continuous fire, attacking the ninety Crusades with a fierce lightning offensive&mdash;Unfortunately, they remained unharmed.

Clustered in a spherical formation, the Crusades were defended by the protective barrier's particles.

The denser a formation, the greater the defensive power of the particles. A meteorological decree did not have the firepower to breach a formation of ninety Legions.

"Stalemate... Maintain status quo for now."

Sakuya remained unfazed and continued to attack using the meteorological decree.

The current situation was proceeding according to Chevalier Akigase Rikka's battle plan as devised earlier.

Prior to Rikka's sortie, noetic officers had reported the presence of noetic waves from an unknown number of Legions in the east, probably lurking in the sea to evade noetic recon.

In response, Rikka had commanded them that in the event of an ambush, they must defend with everything they had until her return&mdash;

Rikka had issued these orders in consideration of Sakuya's subpar condition. Based on the current situation, Sakuya originally thought the plan would succeed, but before long, she sighed in disappointment.

"The paper tiger has been seen through."

The airborne Crusades stopped firing and changed formation.

Instead of using orderly formations such as squares or spheres, they were forming a rugby "scrum." Bending their postures down, the ninety Legions held onto one another's shoulders and waists to start accelerating forward!

Indeed, the enemy army intended to execute a scrum tackle.

As one unit, the ninety winged giant soldiers flew at high speed towards the noesis barrier.

Accelerating, accelerating, accelerating, accelerating. The ninety Legions' weight was multiplied by speed for a full-body impact, shaking the noesis barrier violently.

"...Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

Sakuya screamed.

Damage to the noesis barrier was transmitted to its creator, the ifrit Seiryuu. The aftershock also reached the avatar that was Sakuya's soul.

"Prediction. Can only endure one or two more collisions. Current situation unsustainable."

Sakuya slumped her shoulders sadly.

Thanks to Rikka consoling her this morning, she finally managed to return to her duties.

However, her subpar mental state had not improved. Genies were not simple beings and could not recover in a few short days. Activating noesis under such circumstances would not bring out their true power at all&mdash;

The Knight of Her Majesty who discerned this ought to be praised for keen vision.

Besides, the apparently barbaric yet simple tactic of "charging at high speed using ninety giants as one unit" did yield far greater impact than the continuous firing of rifles...


"It actually worked. Thank goodness."

Riding his wyvern flying mount, Lampard forced a smile.

Yesterday, Suruga's ifrit Seiryuu was clearly in poor condition. Seiryuu had currently strained to deploy a noesis barrier of unknown strength.

Struck by inspiration, Lampard decided to give it a try. He ordered his ninety Legions to charge with all their strength.

His maneuver inflicted unexpectedly heavy damage. The giant image of a blue dragon over the Suruga tutelary fort roared in pain behind the shimmering barrier. At this rate, it looked like a few more charges was all it would take to collapse the ifrit's materialization and the noesis barrier simultaneously.

Ultimately, ifrits were categorized as "conglomerates of powerful noesis."

Without a corporeal body, they were a type of "illusory" existence. Since a noesis barrier was formed by separating out a part of themselves to materialize, the barrier's collapse was equivalent to their own collapse.

"One more time, my men. I'm counting on you."

Lampard ordered his Crusades after ramming the noesis barrier.

Receiving Lampard's orders, the ninety Legions retreated a couple hundred meters nimbly while maintaining their packed formation and formed another scrum. Four of the Crusades left the cluster and came to their commander's side to serve as bodyguards.

"I don't want to disgrace myself with a serious failure in front of the Black Prince, so please make this an easy victory for me," muttered Lampard to himself.

The eighty-six Crusades were preparing to accelerate in a scrum formation when...

Dozens of blue Legions flew up from the ground.

On the mountainous region of the Suruga tutelary fort, there was a patch of greenery on a stepped hillside. These Legions had been hiding in various locations behind the stepped terrain.

"The enemy has prepared an ambush too!"

Naturally, this ambush consisted of Imperial Japan's Kamuys, numbering sixty-four in total.

The blue samurai charged swiftly at the packed formation of sixty-four Crusades. Instead of organizing themselves in a formation, the Kamuys spread themselves apart to soar the sky like birds of prey, intending to use their bayonets in close quarter combat.

"Prepare to engage!" Lampard also commanded instantly.

However, the Crusades had all put away their rifles on their backs in order to form a scrum.

They were unable to fire back immediately. Moreover, staying in a packed formation also hindered one another's evasion. The sixty-four Kamuys mercilessly attacked the immobilized Crusade army.

Swinging their blades, the blue samurai kept slicing the British Legions.

The Kamuys did not hang around the numerically superior Crusades after launching their surprise assault. After attacking, they scattered in all directions to engage in guerrilla tactics.

This momentary engagement inflicted mortal wounds on quite a few Crusades.

Twenty or so of them crashed down, having suffered stabs or slashes on their heads, necks or gaps in their armor. The eighty-six Crusades were down to sixty-five now.

The surviving British Legions hastily raised their bayonet rifles, preparing to strike back.

The sixty-four opposing Kamuys remained scattered, flying in the distance at low speed to observe the British army, biding their time for another chance to attack...

"Should we pursue? Or regroup for a frontal assault&mdash;" Lampard swiftly decided his next move.

Surveying this airspace, there were no signs of a commander leading the Kamuys. Supposing the enemy Chevalier was absent in the area rather than hiding, then he should pick a third option.

"Roar, my troops. War Cry!"

The Crusades under his command immediately obeyed.

Their fierce howling resounded across the entire Suruga. Furthermore, the howling sound boomed and echoed like thunder, persisting through time.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

This roaring of Legions was known as the War Cry.

The Legions released huge amounts of noise from beneath the masks on their faces, forming a unique song. Also, the War Cry had the effect of noetic disruption.

This time, the ones affected were the sixty-four newly arrived Kamuys.

Legions were controlled by the noetic waves of Chevaliers. Under noetic disruption, Legions become unable to receive noetic waves, thereby losing control.

The Kamuys crashed down one after another like mosquitoes that had been sprayed by pesticide.

Lampard's hunch turned out to be the correct. The enemy commander was absent after all. All a nearby Chevalier needed to do was send out noetic waves to cancel out the noetic disruption. It looked like victory was at hand&mdash;Not yet.

"Some of them are still hanging on. Japanese troops are truly persistent."

Thirty Kamuys remained in the air, flying unsteadily over the tutelary fort.

Lampard recalled the traits of Japanese Legions. Agile, diligent, brave&mdash;and loyal. Even when noetic wave reception was weakened, they continued to carry out their master's orders loyally.

"However, their defeat is only a matter of time."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

The Crusades' War Cry continued. At this rate, it would be trivial to strike down the remaining Kamuys.

Then all that remained would be to demolish the noesis barrier and take the tutelary fort...

Lampard was convinced of his victory.


Of the two Knights of Her Majesty invading today, both had a Chevalier Strength of around a hundred.

In truth, Akigase Rikka's Chevalier Strength was 154, higher than either of them. When she summoned ninety Kamuys to take on the vanguard Crusades, she still had a few dozen surplus. Conserving the remainder as a reserve unit, she had initially kept a hidden hand.

Experienced Chevaliers were able to summon Legions from some distance away.

Rikka had sent the remainder of her Kamuys to the tutelary fort to reinforce Sakuya's defense&mdash;

"The War Cry huh? Truly living up the name of the Knights of Her Majesty. He selected with such accuracy the tactic most unfavorable to my side."

Rikka clicked her tongue impatiently. She was still staying at the zone of reclaimed land on the coast of Suruga Bay.

Of the valiantly resisting British vanguard, only twenty Crusades to face off against Rikka. There were fifty-five Kamuys remaining in Rikka's unit. Both armies had taken up square formations and were exchanging fire from a slight distance. In a few more minutes, it would be Rikka's victory.

However, Rikka could hear a loud and ominous noise coming from the sky.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh&mdash;

The Kamuys sent to assist in the Suruga tutelary fort's defense were under the effects of noetic disruption and unable to receive Rikka's commands. Worst of all, the song was still in progress.

"Please, hang in there a while longer..."

Rikka sent noetic waves towards her subordinates in the distance, praying for them to fight to the very end.

Her noetic waves were very powerful and some of the Kamuys could still endure for a while, but one could not hope for a miracle. If only Sakuya was in prime condition, then there would be no need for her to divide her troops&mdash;

In a few minutes, Rikka would be able to rush back to the tutelary fort.

However, the problem was that her side could very well be wiped out during these few minutes.