Additionally, the monsters parted to each side to make way for the next opponent. A figure clad in pure-white armor appeared and slowly opened their demonic eyes. The newcomer was smaller than an ogre but had the air of a warrior as they cracked their neck in anticipation of the fight.
It was Demon Arms Kartina, who had once fought to destroy the united front. Her armor had changed from black to white, but her extraordinary destructive power remained unchanged. Even Toru, a complete stranger to battle, felt the burning tension in the air and understood one thing: no mere human could hope to stand against this being.
Doula, the leader, shouted valiantly from the middle of the formation. Her battle cry made it clear they were fighting for their lives, making their training even more meaningful.
“Diamond! Diamond formation! Now!”
“Aye!”
The formation transformed after she gave the order, and they repositioned themselves into a sharp triangle. It appeared they meant for this formation to withstand a charge, but would it hold? That question was answered mere seconds later.
Unfortunately, the formation immediately crumpled from the front. The layered barrier shattered into dust, adorning the battlefield with its fragile beauty. The shield, considered an iron wall before, dispersed like trash scattered into the air. Screams were audible from a distance, and the sight made the thoughts of even trained soldiers seize for a moment due to what had happened next. After a short delay, Kartina’s impact rang throughout the battlefield like a thunderous roar. There was no way they could defend against something flying at them faster than the speed of sound.
All this happened in vain, and Kartina walked forward with heavy steps. The sight of Zera’s team flying from the pressure radiating from her body alone was like watching a bird of prey shred a snake from head to tail. I didn’t doubt that everyone wondered if this really was just a training session. The cries for help and angry shouts were just like those of the battlefield in the ancient labyrinth. Beside me, I heard a baffled “No way!” But this intensity was what gave the training meaning and significance.
“Bring it in! Soldiers! Crush her!”
Even among the chaos of battle, Doula’s resounding voice reached the warriors, galvanizing their spirits. The men who were curled up and bleeding on the ground rose again, shield in hand, bloodlust blazing in their eyes. Each battle in which Doula took command had a major characteristic: they always had a turning point when the battle reached a certain phase. And now, the ground rumbled as countless shields loomed toward Kartina from both sides. This action seemed like a desperate measure at first glance, but the fighters moved with coordination. Clearly, the thought of defeat hadn’t even crossed their minds.
Kartina gestured as if she was thinking for a moment, then her body shifted. Two resounding booms followed, shock waves created from how she broke the sound barrier. None of the countless shields around her flew, and they continued to close in on her.
“So they left some barriers here,” she muttered, noting the reinforcements from the bluish-white walls.
The large man clinging to her neck from behind, Zera, wasn’t much of a threat to her. He slammed his sword against her, but it failed to damage her armor. More importantly, she couldn’t help but wonder about those seemingly precoordinated movements from earlier.
But it didn’t take long for her to find out why. The main unit under Doula retreated to either side; then a horsewoman arrived, the horse letting out a shrill, crazed neigh. It was Puseri, clad in her twilight armor on horseback. She pointed her spear directly at Kartina, a pitch-black aura emanating from her entire body. No one had ever escaped unharmed once she had set her sights on someone.
The soldiers from earlier used their shields to set up walls on either side of Kartina as if to prevent her from escaping, but there was no time for her to pay them any mind. Puseri charged toward Kartina, her twilight hair streaming behind her, the rumbling of her horse’s hooves like rolling thunder.
Just then, I heard Marie’s voice beside me. “Oh, this looks like the tactic we always use.”
“When fighting quick monsters, you need to prevent them from escaping first. They made Kartina dive deep into the diamond formation, leaving just a long, straight line. I’ll bet Puseri’s pleased, but it looks like there’s more to their plan,” I replied. The “tactic we always use” she’d mentioned referred to how we controlled terrain to shift the battle in our favor. The tactic had endless benefits, such as making the battle a lot easier, taking some stress off of us, and making the enemy uncomfortable.
Kartina suddenly had a spear driven into her body, which folded in half and flew back like a bullet fired from a pistol. But it was far from a critical blow since the spear had only pierced a few centimeters into her.
Zera, who was bleeding profusely, was key to their next move. He persistently clung on to Kartina and smiled dauntlessly as she swung him around.
“I’ll go easy on ya, so shut up and eat it! Blade Blast!”
He tightened his hand into a fist, summoning many bloodred blades. At that moment, he had activated the power of the Thousand house, a bloodline of warriors tempered in perpetual battle. The horrifying sound of the red blades piercing into Kartina echoed in her body as they raged violently inside her.
The troops had decided to take a break from the battle. As they carted off the injured for treatment, Kartina went over the mock battle with the others and complimented them for staying fluid with their tactics. It seemed the training session was incredibly rigorous. Some men lay on the ground without removing their armor as monsters, like ogres, grunted beside them.
Some soldiers shot me hateful glares for slacking off or jealous looks for walking around with an elf girl, but I wished they would cut me some slack. I was showing our guest around, and a kid like me was only getting in their way. But I was glad it gave me an excuse not to join them if I was being honest.
Toru must have felt like we were taking him behind the scenes for a movie or something. Naturally, the people here had facial features and physiques that differed greatly from Japanese people, and there were real weapons everywhere. I understood how he felt as he sighed repeatedly.
“Levels and skills can greatly increase a person’s physical abilities, as you can see,” I explained. “I’m sure you want to get stronger like them, right?”
“What? Why?” he asked, confused. “Though I still can’t believe what I just saw. Those are monsters over there, right? They were absolutely incredible in battle. I’m pretty sure they’d do well, even if they went against the army.”
I was surprised that he was still going on about that. He was in a dream world, so I had expected him to be fired up and shout, “I’m gonna beat ’em all!” Or something like that. Besides, I didn’t think the soldiers stood a chance against modern weaponry. Their protective power was certainly strong, but it wasn’t something they could keep active at all times. That meant they wouldn’t be able to deal with sniping from a distance, and they would also have to counter the threat of a constant barrage of bullets from automatic rifles. My mind had gone there, but Toru was going in a different direction.
“It’s true that they’re inferior in a lot of ways. Mobility, firepower, and the number of soldiers in their ranks. But imagine what would happen if you gave them modern weapons. That Kartina person seemed like she was holding back.”
He was more observant than I thought. Marie, who held the black cat in her arms, had the same surprised look as me. Hesitantly, I asked him, “You really sound like you want Japan invaded.”
“Hm? Ah, well, the idea of an unknown force sounds pretty exciting. Plus, that would give me a good excuse to use my PTO. Oh, I’m a government employee. So I’d probably have to work anyway.” He chuckled, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. I didn’t realize he had such dangerous ideas.
As our conversation ended, we arrived at where Kartina and Doula were talking. Seeing the commander in the earlier battle and the woman rampaging against her team having a friendly conversation was strange.
Doula turned to me with a mug, her red hair flowing around with her movement. She then said, “You’re late. Don’t worry, the afternoon training session is when the real fun begins.” Even as she smiled, her invitation made my stomach hurt. I must have had a terribly grim look. She stared at me for some time, then laughed out loud. “I’m joking. I’m not so insensitive that I’d get in the way of your date. Oh, who’s this? Your older brother, maybe?”
“I guess we look alike because we both have black hair,” I said. “This is Toru, and... Uh, I guess he’s something like an older brother. He just arrived today.” I had answered that way since I didn’t want to go into detail on where he had come from. Toru looked a bit surprised but said nothing. He nodded, which I assumed was due to him playing along until I soon learned it was for a different reason.
“I have no idea what you two are saying,” he said.
“Oh, right. I forgot that we use a common language that you don’t speak. Just leave the introductions to me and don’t worry about it for now.”
Toru had gotten used to Marie and Wridra, likely assuming everyone knew how to speak Japanese. Though, I suspected the floor master Shirley could understand him too.
Doula and Kartina focused on me as I dwelled in my thoughts momentarily. I couldn’t just stand there in silence and had to ensure Toru properly greeted his higher-ups. I decided to give them a quick introduction.
“He just arrived here recently and doesn’t speak our language much. He’s no fighter, but if you see him around, I would appreciate it if you’d be good to him.”