Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 2 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

Edward the Black Prince had started his illustrious career of glorious victories at the mere age of sixteen.

That victory went down in history as the Battle of Crécy. Even today at the end of the twentieth century, it remained very well-known to war researchers.

The year 1346 CE was part of the European Middle Ages familiar to everyone.

To Edward, it was a nostalgic time of his adolescent past.

Fully educated as befitted an English prince, he honed his martial prowess and noble character as a knight, and raised his skills as a general through life on and off the battlefield&mdash;Those were the times.

Back then, England and France were at war.

This was the early stage of the so-called "Hundred Years' War." At the village of Crécy in French territory, a great battle took place to determine the fates of both nations.

The English army numbered ten thousand while the French army had forty thousand...

However, the English still won an overwhelming victory at Crécy. At the time, the English forces were headed by Edward's father, King Edward III of England (both father and son shared the same name, making it easy to mix them up).

King Edward organized his forces into three divisions to engage the French army.

Crown Prince Edward led one of the divisions and was extremely instrumental to the victory.

This battle was the prelude to a legend. The heroic saga of the young and famous general, Prince Edward, would reach its pinnacle at the ''Battle of Poitiers'' that took place ten years after Crécy.

This time as the commander-in-chief, Edward led an army of six thousand to take on a French army of thirty thousand.

The disparity in numbers was even more unfavorable than at the Battle of Crécy. Nevertheless, Edward won an equally splendid victory and even managed to capture King John II of France.

Holding the French king hostage, England profited from both a  handsome ransom and an advantage in diplomatic negotiations.

Furthermore, the Anglo-French war would drag on until 1453, long after Edward had ''passed away in sickness''. The "maiden savior of France" who appeared towards the end was precisely Jeanne d'Arc.

Then time continued to march on, leading to the year 1998&mdash;


"From what I hear, that lady named Jeanne is quite popular in the modern world," said the "Black Prince" who had been reborn in the world.

In accordance with prior agreements, he would cast away the temporary alias of "Sir Black Knight" today.

"However, as an Englishman... I would like to take this chance to let everyone know that I, Edward, was in no way inferior."

This was the morning before he set off to conquer Hakone Checkpoint.

Early in the morning, he had sortied from the Fuji tutelary fort near the sacred mountain of Fuji, then marched east to assault Hakone Checkpoint&mdash;

Currently, Edweard was riding on a wyvern's back, soaring leisurely through the sky over Hakone.

In just a few short hours, he had defeated all Japanese forces in the Hakone tutelary forts. With victory firmly in his hands, he was in a very laid back mood.

The enemy consisted of five hundred Kamuys, the blue samurai of Imperial Japan.

The thousand black Legions fighting under Edward's command were Garter Knights, a superior variant of the British mainstay of the Crusade.

Edward's army had set up their formation in the sky over the vast Lake Ashi.

The four tutelary forts were respectively positioned north, east, south, and west of the lake. The first tutelary fort in the east was defended by the ifrit Seiryuu, the second tutelary fort in the south had Suzaku, the third tutelary fort in the west had Byakko, and the fourth tutelary fort in the north had Genbu. The united set of four guardian deities fought vigorously to resist the British invasion.

Unfortunately, they were ultimately no match against the thousand Knights of the Garter led by the Black Prince.

Edward's Chevalier Strength was 1256 and he summoned a full thousand to attack.

"Knights of the Garter, you have fought well. I, Edward, applaud your valor!"

Edward praised the black knights that were in formation over Lake Ashi.

Normally, the British Empire's mainstay Legion, the Crusade, was white in coloring. Edward's troops were ''pitch-black'' all over.

During the Middle Ages, Edward himself had roamed battlefields while clad in black armor.

That was how the nickname of the Black Prince came about. It was also why every Legion under his command was a black knight.

"Speaking of which, I never thought I would have a chance to fight in the Far East..."

Sharing his poignant thoughts, he looked at his prided knights.

Currently, these Legions were demonstrating his signature formation in the clear blue sky. First of all, three hundred of the thousand Legions had turned into ''archers'' and ascended in altitude.

These archers were not equipped with the standard Legion weapon of the bayonet rifle.

All three hundred archers were wielding ''longbows''. This was the new weapon granted to them by Edward's prided special ability, the Feat of Arms&mdash;Archers of Crécy.

Indeed, it was just like how the Chevalier at the Suruga tutelary fort had bestowed ''Japanese swords'' to his subordinates.

Furthermore, Edward's wyvern mount was flying gracefully, a kilometer away from his prided knights. He had determined there was no need for him to be commanding the army at the forefront.

"In the past, I have won glorious victories at the hill of Crécy and the land of Poitiers. Let the world know that Japan has now joined this list... My fate has truly been unpredictable."

After increasing their elevation, the three hundred archers remained in their position in the sky.

They were roughly four hundred meters above the surface of Lake Ashi. The remaining seven hundred Garter Knights encircled the archers.

However, their altitude was a hundred meters lower than the archers.

This situation was very similar to "setting up archers on a hill in advance while concentrating cavalry at the base to defend the entire hill."

Edward was very good at this type of "mode anglais" formation.

"Prince, there appears, to be remnants."

"Oh?"

Edward heard a warning in his ear.

There was a small doll sitting on Edward's shoulder. A young girl's voice came from its mouth.

The doll was a blonde girl dressed in a sailor outfit, small in size yet extremely intricate in construction. Possessing it was the genie Morrigan of the British armed forces.

Edward himself had also noticed the noesis. He looked at the direction he had detected it.

...South of Lake Ashi, there was a location named Hakone Pass.

Located was Hakone's second tutelary fort, a stronghold with star-shaped fortification walls, known in Imperial Japan as "Goryōkaku Fortress" style.

From the second tutelary fort, thirty-two Japanese Legions, the Kamuys, flew into the sky.

They were targeting the thousand Garter Knights in formation over Lake Ashi...

"This type of offensive is known as 'kamikaze' in Japan, isn't it?"

"Looks like it."

The commander and the genie's conversation ended here.

Unfazed, Edward had his wyvern descend. Flying swiftly over the surface of Lake Ashi, he went northeast.

In the water near the coast here was a red torii.

It was supposed to be the entrance to a Japanese Shinto shrine&mdash;Hakone Shrine&mdash;and a famous symbol.

When Edward spotted it earlier, he was drawn to the torii's exotic appeal and had decided to have a good look later.

The Black Prince was already impatient to go sightseeing. A battle erupted overhead.

...The thirty-two blue Kamuys charged in full force at the British Empire's black army.

...The Garter Knights in charge of interception was a team of roughly a hundred, on standby at low altitude.

...The two sides exchanged fire with their bayonet rifles.

...However, the archers also drew their bows at the same time. These three hundred black knights had set up their formation higher in the sky to overlook all of Hakone. The steel longbows in their left hands were extremely large, almost longer than the eight-meter height of Legions.

...Next, an arrow of light appeared simultaneously in each of the three hundred archers' right hands.

...The Kamuys locked in a shootout with the black knights at low altitude&mdash;i.e. the Kamuys whose advance was impeded&mdash;became the targets of the pitch-black archers firing in full force from a higher position.

...Like a shower of rain, the arrows of light mercilessly pierced the thirty-two Kamuys.

...Against the English arrows, the blue Japanese troop's protective barriers were as weak as paper.

...In merely a minute or two, the remnants of the Hakone defense force were all wiped out&mdash;

"There is no fun in fighting excessively weak enemies."

Edward muttered to himself, watching Imperial Japan' Legions die loyally.

He had effortlessly conquered the impregnable Hakone Checkpoint.

This was an amazing feat of victory, but Edward found little glory in it. He had simply led his army to attack the Hakone defense force, defeating them in a frontal assault, that was all.

It was merely a victory of brute force, relying on Chevalier Strength and elite troops.

Having demonstrated the capability of defeating an enemy army six times bigger than his own, the Black Prince would be embarrassed to brag about such a small victory...

As his thoughts reached this point, the legendary prince smiled wryly and said, "No, it was all thanks to God's blessing and the soldiers' valor that total victory was achieved. I must now praise my knights for their glorious efforts and suppress my desire for a contest of strategy."

Edward refreshed his mindset and said to the little girl spirit's simulacrum on his shoulder, "Morrigan, could you perform a search for me?"

"Please state."

"I heard that Hakone has been a popular spa area since ancient times. I'd like like to try a Japanese hot spring to erase the fatigue brought upon by battle. Help me find the hot spring with the best reputation."

"Understood. However."

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes. I would rather not, participate in...  mixed bathing again."

"Hold on a second there. I swear upon my life that I am not a man who relies on a position of authority to make playthings out of young maidens. Besides, don't forget your body is a doll!"

"Objection. We high-level spirits, also have, human rights, more or less."

"Well, excuse me. Let me be clear with you. If anyone asked me if I preferred older or younger women, I definitely prefer older ladies!"

"I, see."

While Edward and his subordinate were chattering inconsequentially...

His wyvern mount was flying close to the surface of Lake Ashi. Instantly, the Black Prince keenly sensed noesis. There was faint but acute bloodlust aiming at his head.

"Please."

Edward issued a simple order.

Immediately, a Garter Knight appeared next to the flying wyvern.

From the coast of Lake Ashi flew an incoming rifle bullet. The deadly projectile fired from a sniper's rifle was blocked by the British Legion's armor.

The black Legion retaliated using its bayonet rifle.

The flash of light blasted away the mixed tenant building on the lakeside, preventing the enemy from ever following up the attack again.

Presumably, the shooter was part of Hakone's defense force and a very experienced sniper at that.

"Delighted to see me all alone, huh? ...What a mistake. Sniping never works against a powerful Chevalier."

Edward had not sensed any bloodlust or noesis until the last second.

Furthermore, the enemy had fired an accurate headshot at a flying target from across a windy lake surface.

These points added up to show that an outstanding sniper was at work. Even so, the enemy already made a mistake the moment they thought sniping would work against a Chevalier of Edward's caliber. Had the target been a Japanese Chevalier lacking in practical combat experience or greenhorns among the British knights, the story would be different...

Even if Edward was enjoying his sightseeing and looked very relaxed, instantly returning to a battlefield mindset was not difficult. That was the kind of man he was.

Also of note, the Charter of Chivalry laid down many rules forbidding armed forces from attacking civilian structures. However, civilian structures used for military objectives were considered exceptions, which was why the retaliatory shot just now was totally legitimate.

"Oh right, that katana-using Chevalier I saw at Suruga last time... He demonstrated the same ability too."

A few days ago, Edward had come across "a man that was undoubtedly a strong foe."

Recalling that brief encounter, Edward grinned fearlessly. Apart from that man, Generalissimo Caesar was going to come to Japan from the Eastern Roman Empire eventually too.

Indeed, true war had hardly begun. This was only the prelude.