The moment he saw it, the commander kicked away his seat and rose to his feet.
“Why... Why on earth are they here?! What’s a royal knight doing showing up in a backwoods city like this?!”
Retightening his grip on the telescope that had nearly fallen out of his hands, the commander stared fixedly into it. His aide stood beside him, biting his lip.
“Does this mean that the Royal Knights have taken action? The only one who can order the Royal Knights is His Majesty himself. If so, then...”
“That’s what’s out of the question!” the commander barked. “Remember! For all intents and purposes, Legalisbelm is only monitored in the capital and the surrounding area. This unwritten rule is precisely why we acted in the first place! The Royal Knights are our kingdom’s mightiest military force—and thus they mustn’t be deployed lightly!”
So then just what were they looking at right now? It had just sprung an attack on the Fortress Bison squadron, running amok as it mowed down the Mechsteels like grass.
The commander’s fingers tightened around the telescope. Searching through his memory, he found his answer.
“Twin blades! And the way he fights! Don’t tell me... Don’t tell me that’s—!”
The commander knew—knew about the dual-blade-wielding man who’d once stood at the peak of the kingdom’s knights. He remembered him—remembered the knight who’d felled a dragon and had been given the second name of “Heavensripper” in honor of the way he had fought. And if that were the case, that meant they were up against the worst foe imaginable. There was no time left to hesitate.
“All troops are to retreat at once! At the same time, form a squadron to the rear and put them up against it! But give the soldiers careful instructions: They’re to accept any damages to their Mechsteels, but the Steelriders are to surrender past a certain point! Once we’re successful, we can free any captives!”
“Yessir...and what about the Tyrant Rhinos that charged into the city?”
“Bwa ha ha ha ha! It’s no use! That’s no ordinary royal knight they’re up against. He’s the former Top Knight of the Kingdom! The Dragonslayer! The famed Heavensripper! Those Tyrant Rhinos were obliterated a long time ago!”
As if smoldering with rage, the commander kicked the tea set beside him—along with the table it was on—away.
“Our defeat was set in stone the moment we went up against him. Now hurry! He’ll reach us if we just dawdle here!”
The aide’s expression was stern, but with no other options left, he followed the commander’s orders. It would be impossible to make a clean escape from a Lord Gryphon. Something had to be sacrificed to keep the problem from getting any worse.
What’s more, the commander hadn’t necessarily been wrong. If they were victorious in Legalisbelm, freeing captives would be an easy task. Even then, given that they’d now failed to secure their main objective in Anna Turris, it was also true that a faint cloud of darkness had now begun to hang over their future.
The large Mech-steed galloped away with the commander and his aide, who’d started the retreat themselves, riding inside. Sitting inside the carriage, the commander was busily interlocking and then loosening his fingers over and over.
“What’s the meaning of this...? If it really is the Heavensripper, then why is he in a place like this? Our target is Anna Turris... Could we have fallen into an ambush? But Lezamer was supposed to have driven him out...”
All sorts of possibilities darted across his mind. The situation had collapsed on them, so they’d put it back together and chosen the strategy that brought at least some benefit.
“I think I’ll leave a little something here for insurance, then. It’s a gift for you, straight from the heart! Enjoy it well, Watt Sears!”
Leaving a parting gift behind, the ruffians’ forces retreated.
And thus, the threat that had assailed Front-Edge City had passed.
The enemy soldiers that fought till the end were trampled before Lord Gryphon’s might, while the foes who fled after being put to rout were met with a follow-up attack from the hunters. The enemy had done a splendid job turning tail. Word had it that they hadn’t gotten the results they were hoping for.