“Alnoa! Enemy attack inbound!”
Upon hearing Brusch’s scream, Al began giving orders to his troops. “Cecilia, deploy a magic shield! Feena, target the cavalry once the enemy attack has been deflected! Sharon, break through any opening you find!” His voice carried across the battlefield with the help of a wind spell.
“Understood!” they shouted in unison.
Having dealt with that issue, Al quietly began evaluating their situation. Being a king was not an easy job for Al, especially as of late. He’d spent more nights awake than he would have liked to admit. At the very least, he didn’t want his soldiers to feel the weight of his position. Considering that many of them had just been liberated, he didn’t want to put more strain on them than they’d endured as slaves. Therefore, his current battalion consisted of a couple dozen soldiers and the Divas.
“I was happy about the lack of abominations, but to see that they’ve sent in their veteran troops, not to mention that monstrous siege engine... What the hell is the Empire planning!?”
Althos may have been a weak country in a strategically poor location just a short time ago, but it now housed four Divas. Each one was capable of handling well over a thousand soldiers on her own, so the Empire’s attacks boggled Al’s mind. Even if they sent five thousand soldiers and a trebuchet, leaving so much as a dent in Althos’s defenses would prove difficult.
Are they trying to use these battles as practice for fighting Althos and the Divas?
“I’m happy we’ve gotten stronger, though...” Al murmured to himself, so quietly that his words didn’t even reach his bodyguard, Kanon. But his tranquil thoughts were interrupted by the fierce sounds of battle.
Wham! Boom! Clang!
“You think these pebbles can hurt me, do you!?”
Sharon deflected one boulder after another as the enemy’s trebuchet flung them her way. While it was an easy feat for a Diva, her accuracy in returning their crude gifts spoke volumes about her strength. The cavalry and infantry watched without so much as a peep.
“Wrahhhh!” Sharon took that chance to break through the cavalry.
“Sharon, stop! You’re going too far in!”
Despite knowing the futility of his actions, Al prepared to ride out after Sharon, but—
“Ah! Look out!”
Someone flew by him, moving faster than the wind. It was Kanon. A boulder from the trebuchet was hurtling his way, and he didn’t have time to react. Kanon stared directly at the incoming boulder and jumped toward it with tremendous force.
“Hyahhh!”
By the time her battle cry was over, she had already sheathed her blade. She had pulverized the boulder in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, she hadn’t considered that the rubble she created would stay its course.
“Ah!”
A fist-sized rock hit Al on the head with a dull thud.
“Al!”
Al barely caught her shout before his consciousness slipped away.