Chronicle Legion:Volume 2 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Knights of Britain

Part 1

"Hohohoho, when I heard there were signs of the Tōkaidō army mobilizing at Motosu, I did not believe it was necessary to rush back."

Riding gallantly on a white wyvern, the young man was the epitome of an aristocrat.

A silver-haired handsome man. The British military officer uniform looked neat and stylish on him, while his poise and comportment conveyed natural and effortless elegance.

"Fortunately, I changed my mind. It was worth it to rush back via transport aircraft and a wyvern. I finally have a chance to meet you."

The English aristocrat looked straight at Masatsugu.

His wyvern was hovering in the air, just like the two wyverns and all Legions on the Japanese side. However, his sharp gaze was fixed only on Masatsugu.

"I apologize for my previous rudeness. My name is Edward and many people call me the Black Prince."

A smile conveying some kind of certainty appeared on the handsome face of the aristocratic Resurrectee.

"Please do introduce yourself today."

"Tachibana Masatsugu."

"I have never heard this name before. May I ask when were you born in this country?"

"Sorry, I can't answer that," Masatsugu replied indifferently. Rather than giving him a cold shoulder on purpose, Masatsugu's inborn personality was to do things at his own pace. This naturally led to a lack of enthusiasm in his tone.

In contrast, Edward smiled cheerfully.

"I understand now! Until a few days ago, I had to live my days under an alias too. I presume the case is the same for you?"

Masatsugu glanced at his companions.

Hatsune, sitting on the Kurou Hougan's shoulder, and the three Chevaliers on a wyvern were listening to the Black Prince questioningly. They did not know that Masatsugu was a Resurrectee.

As for Princess Shiori's reaction...

She was riding the same wyvern with Masatsugu, staring intently at the Black Prince.

"Very well, what I am going to say next comes from a knight's desire for a duel between warriors, rather than being 'flippant' as my guardian spirit Morrigan worded it."

Ignoring the princess' gaze, Edward spoke openly, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you be so kind as to forgive my knights for the rudeness of standing in your way?"

"Whether we forgive them or not, you're still going to block us, right?"

"Hohohoho, you are certainly quick on the uptake. How splendid."

(...Prince. Fuji City and its vicinity, is not your stronghold. Your Chevalier Strength is down to 10%. Should I send, Sir Gary to converge with you?)

This was spoken through Morgan le Fay's noetic waves.

The giant eyeball, "Morgan's Eye," which Masatsugu and company had spotted overhead, was now watching over her smirking commander-in-chief.

Edward rejected her suggestion, "Isn't my uncle currently at the Fuji tutelary fort? Assign Gary to defense. Since Tachibana-dono has made a personal appearance, it is possible the Tōkaidō army might attempt a sneak attack."

(Affirmative.)

"Tachibana-dono... Shall we begin?"

His aristocratic voice almost sounded like an invitation to Masatsugu for a game of chess.

Edward pulled back on the wyvern's reins as one would a horse, distancing himself from Masatsugu's group. Despite the casual tone of his voice, the Black Prince was leaking powerful noesis from his body and soul.

After pulling back a hundred meters, he finally unleashed burgeoning noesis!

Shiori's body also glowed golden for a few seconds.

"Hatsune, take the three Chevaliers and land. I have called for reinforcements on the ground. Use their help to escape back to Suruga as quickly as possible."

"U-Understood. What about you and Onii-sama, Princess?"

"We will follow presently. No need to worry."

Shiori commanded solemnly, preventing Hatsune from asking further questions.

Hatsune hastily directed the Kurou Hougan Legion to descend, taking along the wyvern that was carrying the three Chevaliers.

They disappeared into the Tōkaidō mountain forest below.

With only Masatsugu remaining by her side, Shiori sighed.

"Princess, personally, I hope you will escape together with them."

"If you truly believe that I am of no use, I shall comply."

Having asked unwanted bystanders to leave, Shiori was now retorting nonchalantly to Masatsugu.

Her response brought a smile to Masatsugu's face.

Should one be impressed or exasperated? As a princess, Shiori had no desire to stay in the back ranks to be protected. After comparing Masatsugu and the enemy's combat strength, she made the call to "fight alongside him." She was going to draw upon all her talents to find a way out of the predicament.

This temperament did not suit a figurehead liege, but for a comrade for realizing ambition together, it was pretty good.

"Then please keep me company for now."

"Gladly!"

Unlike these pair of liege and retainer, Edward was making battle preparations of his own.

In a sonorous voice, he commanded the noesis he had released.

"Shame be to him who thinks ill of it. Gather upon my name of Edward the Black Prince to uphold knightly honor—My personal guard, the Order of the Garter!"

A pitch-black army appeared out of thin air next to Edward.

The Black Prince possessed superior Legions in the form of black Crusades while the Lionheart had his crimson knights. Edward's army numbered a round 100 here.

Chevaliers were only able to summon 10% of their limit when outside their stronghold.

In other words, summoning a hundred Legions here implied that Edward's true Chevalier Strength had exceeded 1000!

In contrast, Tachibana Masatsugu's army consisted of merely thirty. Not only was he facing a numerical disadvantage of more than three to one, but the enemy was also a famous military genius from English history. This battle was on a different league than the one just now.

Masatsugu kicked his wyvern lightly.

Understanding Masatsugu, the retainer beast retreated behind the Kanesadas.

Riding the same wyvern, the princess was leaning against Masatsugu's bosom. Her body was stiff from nervousness and fear.

One could hardly blame her. After all, this was her first battle.

However, the smart princess said bravely, "Masatsugu-sama, please do not worry about me. You have free rein!"

"Understood. In any case, I'll just go with the flow and do what's natural."

Masatsugu glanced secretly somewhere.

Hovering over there was a giant eyeball, seven or eight meters in diameter. Morgan le Fay's avatar was overlooking the battlefield.

Masatsugu whispered quietly, "Achieving the objective will require quite a lot of effort."

"...Then I shall inform you when a suitable opportunity arises," Shiori replied naturally, prompting Masatsugu to gaze at her.

Due to the emergency, Masatsugu did not explain his approach in detail, but the clever princess had deduced his thoughts from his gaze and the current circumstances.

It was also possibly due to their relationship of increasing intimacy in various ways.

Embarrassed by his gaze, Shiori blushed and turned her head away.

"Masatsugu-sama, the battle has begun!"

"Excuse me."

Masatsugu ordered his thirty Kanesadas to gather into a packed sphere.

A spherical formation was not particularly interesting, but it did offer defense in all directions. Incidentally, the katanas used at Fuji City earlier had all turned back into bayonet rifles.

The effects of Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada's Feat of Arms had vanished. Conversely, Edward suddenly activated his own!

"The nostalgic Battle of Crécy... It is time to relive that day's triumph. O Knights of the Garter, uphold England's pride and turn into archers!"

Of the hundred black knights, a change occurred to forty of them.

Their bayonet rifles turned into steel longbows, just as the Kanesadas could suddenly turn their weapons into the renowned blade, Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada.

"Archers back away. Remaining knights serve as vanguard!"

The Black Prince's Legions were called Knights of the Garter.

They followed their lord's orders and changed their formation.

In front of the forty archers, the remaining sixty Garter Knights formed a packed rectangular formation in an array of ten rows by six columns.

This closer-order formation was like a "wall in the sky."

The archers in the back were shielded by the sixty Legions in the vanguard.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The two Resurrectees gave the command simultaneously.

However, the actions taken by their respective soldiers were completely different.

In the packed sphere of the thirty Kanesadas, only the Legions on the front side fired their bayonet rifles.

The "wall in the sky" of the vanguard Garter Knights took on the barrage. However, they did not return fire, simply deploying a protective barrier to withstand the Kanesadas' shooting—

The British barrier neutralized all the heat beams from the Japanese side.

The archers at the back attacked on behalf of the unmoving "wall."

Nocking arrows of light onto the black longbows, they aimed upwards towards the sky. The released arrows traced out parabolic trajectories to attack the Kanesadas' spherical formation.

The British and the Japanese sides kept firing.

The bayonet rifles used by the thirty Kanesadas were able to fire ten beams per second.

In comparison, the British side's forty archers fired much slower. The whole process from nocking to releasing took at least five to ten seconds. The archers were highly skilled but the speed of modern fully automatic fire was overwhelming.

However.

"O-Our side is losing in the shootout!?"

"As suspected, the enemy's projectiles are stronger..."

Shiori was greatly surprised whereas Masatsugu nodded. They were watching the battle between Legions from behind. The arrows of light were piercing the armor and gigantic bodies of the thirty Kanesadas up ahead of them.

The Kanesada army's protective barrier completely failed to defend against the black English longbowmen's consecutive firing.

In contrast, the beams fired by the rifles could not hit any enemies. The protective barrier of the sixty Legions in the "wall in the sky" remained secure and impregnable.

"Well, I already knew they were no ordinary bows and arrows."

Last time in Suruga, Masatsugu was almost sniped by the same kind of bow and arrow.

Now, he was able to witness the firepower he had predicted back then.

After exchanging fire for a minute or two, the Kanesadas were desperately protecting their master, making use of their helmets and various armor to block the arrows or decrease their power.

However, the rain of arrows continued to fall mercilessly upon the Kanesadas.

Seven Kanesadas had already died, either shot in the vitals through gaps in their armor or succumbing to accumulated damage. These seven crashed down from the sky just like that.

"Do you see this, Tachibana-dono? This is the prided mode anglais formation of my House of Plantagenet—English longbow tactics! How will you respond to that!?"

"I see."

The Black Prince sounded like he was exhibiting a treasure. Masatsugu replied indifferently.

"So using bows for both offense and defense roles is this so-called English style."

Currently, Tachibana Masatsugu was over a hundred meters away from Edward.

Even so, Masatsugu knew what the other side was thinking. It was probably the same for Edward. In an encounter between first-rate chess players, simply looking at the situation on the board would be enough to read each other's minds without any need for redundant conversation.

As expert tacticians, Masatsugu and Edward were on such a level.

"Masatsugu-sama..."

"Looks like we have to give up on shooting."

Masatsugu gently embraced the worried Shiori.

The two of them were riding the same wyvern. The princess' light back and body weight was leaning against Masatsugu's bosom while she was holding his left hand tightly in her hands.

She was touching her trusted knight to relieve the fear and uncertainty in her heart.

"All men draw your swords. The blades will be your shields."

Feeling the princess' delicate body against him, Masatsugu issued a new command.

The rifles of the remaining twenty-three Kanesadas turned into Japanese swords again. They kept their swords vertically upright in front of their faces to guard their bodies' center line.

Namely, the vertical line passing through the forehead, the nose, the throat, the sternum, and the crotch.

Using the sword to guard the center meant that a slight movement of the wrist would be enough to parry arrows aimed at the face, the heart, or other vitals of the body.

The barrier-penetrating arrows were now blocked by Hijikata Toshizō's beloved sword.

"Hohohoho. Not a bad solution, but it is nowhere enough."

"You're right."

The Black Prince smiled while Tachibana Masatsugu remained expressionless.

The battle between Legions gradually intensified. The black archers continued to shoot repeatedly. Although the Kanesadas were using swords to guard their vitals near the center line, their bodies were still getting pierced by numerous arrows.

The most serious wounds were inflicted on the limbs, bleeding blue blood.

Ectoplasmic fluid was the energy source driving Legions. Excessive loss of ectoplasmic fluid would naturally stop movement. Another three Kanesadas fell from the sky due to excessive injuries.

At this rate, defeat was inevitable even if the rate of Legions dying had decreased.

"Charge the defending black knights. Make it quick."

Masatsugu ordered the Kanesadas whose numbers had decreased sharply to twenty.

The Kanesada army executed the command dutifully. Accelerating at the "wall in the sky" formed by the sixty Garter Knights, they unleashed Tennen Rishin Style swordsmanship—

Even with numerical superiority on their side, it was possible for normal Crusades to become careless and lose in this kind of situation.

However, the rifles vanished from the hands of the black knights in the "wall" ahead.

What took their place was a rectangular shield as tall as a Legion. Holding shields in both hands, the Garter Knights resisted the Shinsengumi's vicious swords.

The swordsmanship that had sliced through many a Crusade's armor could not cut through these shields!

"Shame be to him who thinks ill of it... My knights, you are protected by the insignia of the garter. Now raise your shields of justice to triump over evil!"

These were the holy words used by the Black Prince to invoke his Feat of Arms.

The short inscription of "Honi soit qui mal y pense," resembling Latin, and a cross appeared on each shield wielded by the Garter Knights.

"The power to block Hijikata Toshizō's sword... A Feat of Arms of the shield, huh?" Masatsugu muttered to himself while observing the battle from a distance.

The army of black knights were hiding behind shields. No matter how fierce, the moves of Tennen Rishin Style could not win so easily. Every free-flowing swing of the sword was deflected by a shield.

Also, while the Kanesadas were busy attacking the shield bearers...

The archers originally in the back had circled behind the army of katana-wielding Kanesadas.

Returning their longbows to bayonet rifles, they attacked the red-purple Japanese army from behind—in melee combat!

...Sandwiched front and back by the Garter Knights, the Kanesadas' defeat was sealed.

Succeeding in their pincer attack, the British Legions swung the blades of their bayonet rifles to slice, stab, skewer, and gouge the bodies of the Kanesadas.

A merciless massacre began.

"Masatsugu-sama... It is almost time..." Shiori whispered quietly at that moment.

The princess had been holding Masatsugu's hand silently the whole time, leaning against his chest. Her posture remained the same right now, but there was a kind of vibrancy in her voice that belonged to someone who had found a ray of hope.

Only nine red-purple Legions remained.

This number was sufficient. Masatsugu's cheek twitched in a smile.

"Howl, my men. The black knights are not your opponents."

Masatsugu's target was "Morgan's Eye" up high.

Compared to the super gigantic eyeball guarding the Fuji tutelary fort, this avatar was only one-tenth in size. Currently, it was watching the battlefield, bearing witness to Edward's battle.

"Take out that spirit. Do it."

The nine Kanesadas followed Masatsugu's orders and roared thunderously.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

This shouting of Legions was known as the War Cry.

The fierce roaring resounded all around. Using their mouths hidden behind their masks, the Legions emitted a unique howling sound.

The War Cry produced effects of noetic disruption and could cancel out electromagnetic radiation and noetic waves.

Previously, the British Crusades had used the same tactic in their attack on Suruga.

(—Prince, reporting. Enemy, starting noetic disruption. Avatar, cannot be sustained...)

The voice reported the situation in fragments. The hovering seven or eight-meter-diameter eyeball—Morgan le Fay's manifestation—slowly vanished.

Seeing his guardian spirit defeated, Edward praised, "Oh? You still managed to blow away Morrigan in an instant despite your unfavorable situation?"

"It worked in one shot precisely because of the unfavorable situation. Otherwise, a spirit of that level isn't going to present any openings."

Edward and Masatsugu muttered simultaneously as though having a face-to-face conversation.

Masatsugu had reasoned that using noetic disruption recklessly would not achieve much.

The enemy was a spirit of the strongest class on the British side. However, no matter how powerful a spirit, it would be only natural for her concentration to slip when seeing her master winning with an overwhelming advantage.

Even if not to the point of carelessness, there would undoubtedly be a decrease in focus.

Shiori had been increasing her senses as a noetic master, looking for an opening in the opponent.

As for Masatsugu—the moment before landing on the ground...

He first had the Kanesadas start a War Cry, then carrying the exhausted Shiori in his arms, he swiftly kicked his wyvern's side, ordering it to make a rapid descent.

The wyvern flapped its wings and landed in the mountain forest.

A giant white wolf was already waiting on the ground.

This was one of the Mibu wolves they had ridden to the Fuji River then dismissed back into the forest. Masatsugu quickly got off the wyvern and moved Shiori, who was unable to walk, to the Mibu wolf's back.

"We succeeded, Masatsugu-sama..."

"Yes, with that spirit gone, we won't need to worry about noetic tracking. Now we can escape deep into the mountains without having to watch our back."

Holding the feebly smiling Shiori in his arms, Masatsugu rode the Mibu wolf.

Once again, the two of them were riding the same retainer beast, except this time they were escaping on land. Hiding in the mountain forest was definitely better than flying in the air since their goal was to evade enemy pursuit.

Weaving through the trees in the mountain forest, the Mibu wolf raced as fast as the wind.

Needless to say, their destination was Suruga City.

"Thank you for your support, Princess. We couldn't have escaped otherwise."

"No... Without you in command, Masatsugu-sama, we would have been wiped out long ago... I should be the one to express gratitude..."

The brave princess had been sticking closely to Masatsugu for a reason.

While relieving her fear and uncertainty on one hand, she was also providing a small amount of ectoplasmic fluid to him through intimate contact on the other. In fact, the Garter Knights' fierce offensive had dealt a heavy blow to the Kanesadas, causing ectoplasmic fluid consumption to be much higher than usual..

Without Shiori's assistance, the Kanesadas might not have had the strength to unleash the final roar—

In any case, Masatsugu "went with the flow and did what was natural" and succeeded in upholding the principle of "escaping as quickly as possible from a battlefield of certain defeat."

"It looks like Tachibana-dono does not share the knightly ideal of putting up a manly fight. He fled with such speed and decisiveness."

On the saddle of his wvyern that was flapping its wings, Edward smiled wryly.

The last of the red-purple Legions had just been wiped out in front of his eyes.

Instantly killing nine survivors was a piece of cake. Only the Black Prince, his wyvern, and the Order of the Garter remained in the aerial battlefield.

"I could burn the whole mountain to conduct a search... but it is unlikely that he would loiter in the vicinity."

Edward looked down at the mountain forest, shrugging his shoulders.

He recalled the girl who was leaning against Tachibana Masatsugu's chest. He originally thought she was simply along the ride for some kind of reason and did not pay much attention to her—

"That girl has an air quite similar to Eleanor's. She seems to be well-versed in noetics too..."

The beautiful maiden's noble and pretty face and platinum blonde hair were very striking.

Edward decided he should investigate her background.

Tachibana Hatsune was running through the forest at full speed.

Of course, she was using a Mibu wolf to do the running, instead of running on foot.

The reinforcements Princess Shiori had mentioned before parting ways were a reference to this white mid-size retainer beast. A second Mibu wolf was carrying the three Chevaliers they had just rescued.

"I hope the princess and Onii-sama are fine..."

So far, there were no signs of the lady she served and the young man from her clan catching up.

Just as she was worrying about their safety, Hatsune sensed someone sneering behind her. She had some recollection of this very sarcastic voice.

Not too long ago, she had heard the same voice prior to activating the Feat of Arms—Kotouhihisshutsu.

...Hatsune had recalled how the voice offered to teach her a good plan. Then the principles to using that secret move had surfaced in her mind. In other words, Kurou Hougan Yoshitsune was giving advice again.

Hatsune focused to listen. Sure enough, the blue scroll appeared in her right hand.

"What's up, Yoshitsune-san?"

The scroll told her that her friends were out of danger... At least, that was the message Hatsune sensed.

"Really!? They still haven't shown up, and I was worried sick. This is great news!"

...Well, with that dead fish in charge, failure would come as a surprise.

"Are you talking about Onii-sama? Well, it's true that he's not a very lively person."

Talking to herself in front of a scroll was quite a bizarre scene.

However, Hatsune was not in the mood to make fun of herself, because she had learn a shocking truth without any mental preparation beforehand.

...That isn't what I meant. That man and I are the same. In other words, we were awakened from our deaths in the ancient past.

"Huh?"

Hatsune jumped in shock. Now, she really doubted whether her ears were hallucinating or not.

Part 2

(placeholder)

Part 3

(placeholder)

Part 4

(placeholder)

Part 5

(placeholder)

Back to Chapter 3

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 5