Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume6 Chapter6 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

Led by Ax, an army of over six thousand were marching on Eimen. They advanced smoothly without any attacks from the enemy. They had gone north of Lake Soma, crossed part of the highlands that obstructed the way northward and had passed through the Coldrin Hills while maintaining formation as a single large force.

Ax had arrived at the highway that overlooked Eimen to the west but, his expression as he rode his horse remained sombre.

''Are they planning to stall for time now, at the very last moment?''

He frequently sent out scouts however the provisions made against that were unusual. To Ax’s way of thinking, the enemy would undoubtedly line up their battle formation exclusively along the plain to the east of Eimen.

Since there was currently no trade being carried out and all available manpower in the city was serving as soldiers, the town wouldn’t be producing anything. As it had to serve as host to Garda’s hugely swollen army, there should not be many provisions left. In which case, Ax judged that the enemy would be averse to a siege war and would launch itself at them.

“Even a sorcerer can’t fill the stomach by magic.”

Six days after leaving Cherik. The distance remaining to Eimen would be covered in just half a day. Having pitched camp on a plateau, Ax was for now waiting for a move from the enemy and was fretting about whether they should attack in one swoop.

To the north, what had once been the pastures of Zer Tauran stretched out, green and lush.

''How did things go in Kadyne?''

Jagged mountains towered between these main troops and Kadyne, and as airships and military bases were scarce, there was no time to communicate with the detached force. In any case, the latter had not inherently been asked to capture Kadyne. They only had to keep the enemy troops stationed there in check.

''Do we distribute the troops and stir things up in Eimen? Or do we move the air carriers from the base and head to Zer Illias?''

Even though he solicited the opinions of the leading officers, they were largely the same as Ax’s and the two aforementioned plans were the only ones that came up. The pain of Ravan Dol’s absence pierced his heart.

However,

''The enemy is Garda''.

Ax would not underestimate the enemy. Ravan had also hammered the point in repeatedly that it was best to assume that information was being leaked to them.

“We will push forward with the entire army,” he decided. If the plan didn’t succeed, they could always overcome the opposition with numbers and speed. Ax sent a messenger to the air carrier base in the south to have them bring over two ships. He would place five hundred soldiers apiece on board each and intended to use them as a mobile force in case of emergency.

This was the decision made by the leader of the western alliance, Ax. Nor did Lasvius, who was accompanying him, object. Seeing his way of command up close, it appeared to him that the authority of the Bazgan House truly wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

When the air carriers arrived the next day, Ax advanced the camp still further and pressed towards Eimen. They took up position south of the highlands, but as ever there was no sign of enemy movement. Ax prudently sent out a reconnoitring party and investigated whether there was any attempt to circle from their flanks or at their rear, but it ended up being a waste of time.

“In that case, we can’t do anything but go for it.”

Preparing for the assault, Ax ordered the army to take a short respite. It was then that something unusual occurred.



The force that Bisham had been appointed commander-in-chief of was halfway through crossing the rugged mountains. They had gone by way of a path so narrow that even their breathing felt as though it were being constricted and, just when the sun started to go down, the vanguard, led by Orba, finally reached a road that was stable underfoot.

But as they drew closer to Eimen, Stan’s complexion as he rode his horse once more grew bad. No doubt he could feel the flow of ether. Which meant that a trap of sorcery once again lay ahead. Yet Orba deliberately drove his horse forward at a recklessly fast pace. Unlike in Kadyne, Eimen had enemy soldiers.

''In which case, in the end they’ll strike using armed force''.

As long as he understood that, that his opponents were humans wielding steel, then there were any number of ways to fight them.

Afterwards, he determinedly whipped his horse onwards. He was intent upon joining with Ax’s main forces before they fell into whatever trap the enemy had prepared. 

''Here…'' Ax must not be defeated, so he thought. Although far from perfect, that the west had somehow united to confront Garda was because that man was there. Basically, the descendants of Yasch Bazgan, the king of Zer Tauran, could be said to be at the root of that consciousness of being fellow countrymen that was peculiar to Zerdians.

Taking Ax as a whole, Orba did not think that he was a perfectly ideal king for the Zerdians. For a start, Orba didn’t believe that something like lineage had anything to do with having a talent for politics. But in the utter chaos of this situation, lineage had turned once more into a light. So that the people and the soldiers would turn their gaze in the same direction and embrace the same purpose in their hearts, it was necessary to have a leader acting as a guiding light and for that, blood might sometimes hold the most powerful and eloquent persuasive force – more so than the talents or the splendid speeches that would be handed down to posterity or the many other things that revealed a person’s greatness.

There was also the case of Helio’s Queen Marilène and Orba, as someone who had gotten involved with the strife within the Tauran region, felt it in his bones.

''If it loses Ax, the west will collapse. Even if a new leader emerges, there’ll be no point hoping for the same kind of solidarity as now. And in that case, winning against Garda will be impossible''.

They were approaching a gently-sloping hilly area from the other side of which they would be able to see Eimen and, just as they were drawing up to it,

“Look!”

Someone pointed to a spot in the sky. In the pale, indigo blue curtain of the sky there was a single point that was coloured an unnatural, dark black.

Everyone on that march could only be reminded of the apparitions in Kadyne.

Orba however sprung forward. His behaviour showed no hesitation and, as though guided by that, the soldiers also spurred their horses on.



Just as it had done in Kadyne, the sky suddenly became overcast. A sand-laden wind blew. At first, Ax wondered if it was the harbinger of a sandstorm. The wind, that cared not about staying in one place, blew with even greater force and the clouds covered the sun as though the sky over their heads had been painted black.

The first to signal their unease at this abnormal happening were the dragons. They let out high-pitched howls, frightening the horses. All around, these started raising their forelegs wildly, whinnying all the while and shaking the warriors off.

Ax covered his face with the cloak hanging from his back. That sand-laden wind was that fierce. They had temporarily moved the camp to a safe location and he wondered briefly if he should wait for the weather to recover.

The soldiers who were likewise protecting their faces from the sand all lifted their heads as one. Something could be heard coming from the sky. Ax too strained his ears.

When there was a sound like that of thousands, of tens of thousands of flying insects gathered together, how many people would notice that arrows were about to be shot?

“Scatter, scatter, scatter!” 

By the time the platoon leaders shouted out, it was too late. The bodies of several hundred soldiers had been pierced through and they collapsed noisily.

“What!” Without a moment’s delay, Ax pulled out his sword and cut down that arrows aimed at his head that rained incessantly down.

At the same time, the wind suddenly stopped.

Sand coiling into a whirlwind swirled through the empty sky and for a moment created a pale brown veil, but it cleared up before long and the soldiers of the western alliance saw a huge shadow hovering before them. It was as though a pitch black wall were blocking the way to Eimen however,

“Go!”

When a voice was emitted from its centre, the wall undulated, heaved and then spat out a group of horse riders. While Ax remained stunned, the wall itself transformed into an army corps that swooped in to attack.