Tiamat, Baze, Hieronymus, and I volunteered to join Earl Agamemnon’s army. I was sure that the Earl didn’t account for F-rank adventurers being of much use, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted all hands on deck. Every grain of sand towards tipping the scale. Then, I told the Murdock troupe to leave Mostail.
“There’s no point in running if the city is to fall. With our slow pace, we wouldn’t get far anyway.”
Mister Murdock rejected the suggestion. I didn’t try to convince him any further. He was absolutely right, and running from the city in no way guaranteed their safety. If monsters decided to go around the city and chase after them, they would be done for.
“Besides, there’s no time left to run.”
“Yep. The bad boys are marching in, full force.”
Tiamat and Baze pointed out the monsters’ movement, sensing the situation. Of course, I didn’t have such instincts.
“They’re sick of the attrition, it seems. They must intend to break through the walls, ready to lose a portion of their army,” Hieronymus explained, like a military strategist.
This baron made sure he played all of the cool roles. Acknowledging his comment, I turned to Tiamat.
“How do you feel, Tia?”
“In this form, I doubt I can take care of all of them.”
In other words, she would have turned all of them to ash if she were in her dragon form.
“Baze and I will cause a distraction, while Earl Agamemnon’s men will push them out of the city. That seems like the rational course of action.”
“I think rationality has fled the country.”
She just claimed to be able to stop a monster army of eight thousand in their tracks, with just the two of them, both still in human form. This dragon princess.
“Can I be of any assistance?” Hieronymus asked.
“No need. You will protect Eiji. Without me, he wouldn’t even be able to best Eily.”
“Aye aye, lady commander.” Hieronymus bowed ceremoniously.
My pride? What’s that? I certainly didn’t expect to regain any here.
“Earl, it seems the enemy is on the move,” I said.
“What... are you...?”
Earl Agamemnon stared back, dumbfounded. No duh. The troupe of traveling performers that could not have come at a worse time just refused to leave a worn-torn city and began plotting like they had a chance. I couldn’t blame him for thinking we were nuts.
“We’ll distract them to make an opening. At the right time, you and your men have to finish them off.”
“What are you...”
“Earl Agamemnon. Mister Eiji and Miss Tiamat are Hermits,” Mister Murdock chimed in.
Thank you. Oh, thank you. I thought I was going to be forced to say it myself. Given the Japanese consider humility a virtue, that would have been an embarrassing experience. Very embarrassing.
“Excuse us, we’re going to climb on top of the city wall.”
The wall that contained Mostail was about three meters high. It looked pretty sturdy, but it was no fort. Just a thick wall, with no equipment to fend off enemies nor archers’ stations atop it. Tiamat, Baze, and Hieronymus followed me... as well as the Murdock troupe, for some reason.
They carried drums, gongs, and other instruments with them. Then I realized their plan. They were an improv troupe, after all. They planned to accompany our heroism with music. The old storyteller was even warming up his throat, rubbing it with his hand.
“Mister Murdock? This is real war.”
“Is there such a thing as fake war, Mister Eiji?”
The troupe leader grinned.
The gong blared through the air. Four silhouettes stood atop the city walls with the steady beat of heavy drums in the background.
“Hear ye, hear ye!”
The storyteller’s voice rang. From how we were standing, it must have appeared like I was the one talking.
“You filth who dare desecrate this city, blessed by the Hermits!”
There that old man went with his nonsense. We had just arrived at Mostail moments ago. What blessing was there to give?
“If you fear the wrath of the heavens above! Cower while you can!”
He kept going, throwing all sorts of things across the field. Of course, the monster army didn’t falter. An ominous cloud began to rush towards us from the southeast. Even though I was just told that there were eight thousand of them, I couldn’t see their numbers in person. To be honest, I was terrified.
“I’ll go right.”
“Then I’ll go left.”
The dragon and the Fenrir beside me made their plans cheerfully. So casual, like they were going for a little stroll.
The gong rang again. The next instant, a bright light tore through a chunk of the monster army! It was Tiamat’s Laser Breath. How did she fire that in her human form?! Before I could ask that question—
“Long-range weapon out of the blue? Girl, you’re scary!”
Baze leapt, kicking off of the city wall and traveling over a hundred meters before landing in the middle of the enemies. He tore through the writhing goblins like he was mowing the lawn.
The troupe began playing some heroic music. The curtains were raised on our feast of blood and destruction.
“That can be scary in its own way.” Tiamat smiled. “I’m off as well. Be a good boy, Eiji.”
“Be careful.”
With a light peck on my cheek, she jumped off of the wall. I guess jumping down three meters was nowhere near dangerous for these two.
The monster army was slammed into the depths of chaos...
“Baze the Star Breaker and Tiamat the Dragon Princess. The Hermits’ sword. The Hermits’ shield.”
...accompanied by the storyteller’s song. Before I knew it, many residents of the city had climbed the wall to cheer on Tiamat and Baze. Wait a minute. These people were solemn and depressed a minute ago.
“Lord Eiji. The enemy will break soon. An opportune timing.”
Hieronymus ceremoniously gave me his advice, standing beside me. The monsters struggled to regain their formations to no avail. Baze tore apart any defensive formation they tried to take, and Tiamat blew through any concentrated attack formation with her Laser Breath. They were trampling those monsters. With a nod, I shouted from the bottom of my gut:
“Open da gates!”
Urr. A little Hokkaido dialect came out. Still, my meaning didn’t seem lost, as the city gates opened with a rumble. Lined up behind it were Earl Agamemnon’s soldiers, 450 of them in all. They were hurt and exhausted, but their eyes burned bright with fighting spirit.
“Behold! The brave warriors charge!” continued the storyteller.
He was explaining even the obvious stuff because not every person in the city was able to see it happen. This was the same in their usual performances, where they didn’t have a proper theater or stage to perform on. In order to make sure everyone in the audience knew what was happening, they had to employ a little over-narration. The gong rang furiously as the music climaxed.
“Charge!”
With the earl’s call his army ran out, as fast as a loosed arrow. Horseshoes tore through and flattened the monsters. Bravely, Earl Agamemnon himself was leading the charge. At this point, something came up beside him: a Fenrir, his brimming white fur blowing in the wind. Before he even had the chance to wonder if the Fenrir was an enemy, the earl was on its back.
“A hero is chosen! By Baze the Fenrir, Hermits’ Sword!”
The people roared in response to the storyteller’s declaration. Riding Baze, Earl Agamemnon kept shouting for his army to charge, swinging his longsword while engulfed in the crowd’s excitement. He was the hero, no doubt about it. The earl’s army, almost too energized, charged even faster.