“Listen, compatriots!”
At the head of the legion gathered to strike the eastern gate, Darish Flohim shouted in [N O V E L I G H T] a thunderous voice.
“The Lifret family has betrayed the kingdom. They dared to collude with the surviving traitors of the Plante family, intending to seize the World Tree we serve as their own!”
At those words, fiery emotions welled up in the eyes of the soldiers lined up before him.
It was anger.
They had heard about the Plante family for as long as they could remember.
Those who, despite being blessed more closely by the World Tree than anyone else, had been consumed by greater greed.
In the end, they had been expelled and erased, with their place taken by the Lifret family.
And yet, after so many years had passed, the Lifret were once again repeating the same mistakes.
“Listen. We are not raising a rebellion right now! This is judgment! This is the hammer of justice! We are punishing those who dared to make use of the World Tree as if it were theirs alone!”
Waaaah!
The inflamed roar echoed throughout the forest.
Darish looked on, satisfied, then pointed toward Serendel’s outer walls—
the highest barrier they had to break through.
“All forces, advance!”
The elves at the front, gripping their shields, marched forward in unison.
From atop the wall, the defenders stared down grimly.
“Don’t worry, everyone. This outer wall of Serendel has never once allowed an invasion.”
The commander at the eastern gate spoke calmly, steadying his frightened subordinates.
Indeed, Serendel’s wall was so solid that no intruder had ever breached it.
It had been built with the foresight of repelling not only external enemies but even their own kind, the elves themselves.
Elves, with their light and swift footwork, could leap over any wall with ease.
The “Forest Walk” unleashed by their finest warriors made them free of gravity’s hold.
Thanks to that, elves could run atop snow without leaving footprints, and even natural cliffs could be scaled using nothing but their feet.
As long as there was the slightest foothold, they could climb anywhere like mountain goats.
That was precisely why Serendel’s outer wall had been designed: its smooth surface offered not a single handhold.
Even with Forest Walk, there was no way to scale it.
“Ballista, fire!”
But of course, the attackers knew this as well.
Darish ordered the prepared ballistae to be fired.
Huge siege engines of wood launched massive bolts one after another.
Thud-thud-thunk!
The bolts flew and buried themselves in the wall, covering it like the spines of a hedgehog.
No one expected this to collapse the wall, nor to wipe out the defenders above.
But it was enough to create footholds to climb.
The elven warriors sprang upward, using the lodged bolts as steps, quickly racing up the wall.
The defenders had tried to block them from the moment the ballistae were loosed, using spirits and the power of nature, but they could not overcome their disadvantage in numbers.
Far more bolts lodged in the wall than were intercepted or destroyed.
Even the druids’ counterspells had little effect, as enemy druids answered in kind, negating them.
In no time, the warriors were atop the wall, clashing with the defenders in full battle.
* * *
“So, it has begun over there too.”
Though the western and eastern gates were far apart, the rumbling of great armies in motion was unmistakable even at this distance.
Since the Three Noble Families were assaulting the eastern gate, they had to strike at the western gate as well to throw their enemy into disarray.
“Patriarch, what are your orders? Say the word, and we shall move at once.”
Her retainers, who had stood at her side for so long, spoke together.
They were prepared to rush into the flames if Ambella commanded it.
Ambella, after finishing the cigar she held between her lips, shook her head.
“No need. Don’t send the soldiers.”
“What? Then do you mean to wait and see?”
“Of course not. Do you think I came here just to wave a placard in protest? Naturally, we’ll fight. That’s why I’m here.”
“In that case...”
“I’ll go alone.”
At Ambella’s words, her retainers’ expressions hardened.
But none tried to stop her or call her reckless.
Instead, they stepped back, as if in acceptance.
Vierno, standing nearby, could not understand.
“Patriarch Ambella, what are you planning? You don’t mean to climb the wall alone and open the gate from within, do you?”
“Patriarch Vierno, you know that’s impossible.”
“Then...”
“I simply mean to march straight up, smash the gate, and open it.”
“...”
“Why bother climbing over the wall just to open it from the inside?”
As she said this, Ambella extended her hand toward a retainer.
Prepared in advance, one of them dragged over a massive chest, groaning under the weight.
It resembled a coffin.
Vierno’s shock deepened when he saw what lay inside.
“A... greatsword?”
The weapon Ambella had brought was a blade so massive it was hard to imagine lifting it even with both hands.
The blade itself was more than half a meter wide and well over two meters long.
It looked like an oversized version of a claymore.
Ambella easily lifted it one-handed and swung it through the air.
It moved with surprising lightness, though the whistle of the blade cleaving the air was so vicious it made the skin crawl.
It was likely heavier than it appeared, not lighter.
“Hm. This will do.”
Muttering, Ambella strode off toward the western gate alone.
No one stopped her. No one dared.
The Dentis soldiers were bewildered, but the Burke soldiers remained unshaken.
In the end, Vierno Dentis followed after her and stood at her side.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“As I said, break down the gate and enter.”
“By yourself? Serendel’s outer gate cannot be broken so simply. It was woven from the oldest trees and roots, treated with special substances, then reinforced with spirits and magic. Even human tanks and steam golems couldn’t break through it.”
“I am neither a tank nor a steam golem.”
Ambella’s one remaining eye gleamed ferociously as she fixed her gaze on the gate.
“I am Ambella Burke. I am far stronger than such things.”
“That’s...”
“And you don’t seem very eager to stop me. For all your words, you intend to help, don’t you?”
“...I cannot just stand by and watch a comrade march off alone.”
At Vierno’s reluctant answer, Ambella burst into laughter.
“A comrade, is it? That’s a word I haven’t heard in a long time.”
“Even if we haven’t fought in the same battlefield, we’ve both fought to defend the forest.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. Dentis fought to protect the forest. And I’ve often thought... they say the Patriarch of Dentis is terrifying when battle is joined.”
“T-that was... in my younger, hot-blooded days... something I’d rather forget.”
“You jest well. But even a hundred years ago, you were no green youth. And to my eyes, you still seem full of fire.”
Vierno might deny it, but Ambella could see it.
Even now, as they drew closer to the gate, instead of fear he seemed to grow more exhilarated, his spirit rising.
“Still, to break the gate with just the two of us is...”
“Hm. Then let me put it this way.”
“What way?”
“If we don’t break it, our retainers, our soldiers, and the children who must guard this forest in the future will die or be wounded. Can you accept that?”
At that, Vierno’s expression hardened.
“...Then there’s no helping it.”
“Seems I’ve given you the perfect justification.”
By now, the two had entered the defenders’ attack range.
The commander of the western gate shouted out:
“Stop! Take another step and you’ll be deemed rebels, and we will strike!”
Ambella clicked her tongue.
“Look at this. Have they grown so soft from not fighting that they think we’ve come here for a stroll? They should have fired already instead of wasting time on warnings.”
Not that it would have stopped her anyway.
Ambella halted at a calculated distance.
With her single eye, she measured the range to the gate.
“Patriarch Ambella?”
“I see it. I didn’t come forward just for bravado.”
She readied the massive greatsword in her grip.
At the same time—
The muscles in both her arms swelled, and the air itself seemed to gather around her.
Crack.
Her grip tightened further around the hilt.
The ground beneath her trembled and sank as if crushed under weight.
“F-fire! Fire!”
Sensing something terrible, the commander gave the order.
Arrows rained down like a storm, blotting out the sky.
Ambella neither retreated nor raised a guard.
Because at her side, she had a comrade she could trust.
A mighty gust of wind tore through, scattering the arrows like leaves.
Though they had been imbued with the power of spirits, they were helpless against the stronger gale.
Ambella offered a smile of thanks in place of words, twisted her waist, and unleashed the strike.
From the ground through her legs, surging up her waist, through her shoulders and arms, into the blade—
The gathered force exploded outward.
Rip—
Without noise, without a roar, a rending sound echoed across the battlefield.
It was so clear, everyone heard it.
As though the world itself had snapped in two.
All eyes—defenders, neutral soldiers arrayed in ranks, everyone—
turned toward the western gate.
Across its center ran a slanting mark.
Following it, the gate slid apart, sliced with a razor’s edge.
“W-what...”
The commander of the western gate could not even form words.
What had just happened felt unreal.
The impregnable outer gate of Serendel had been cut down by a single elf.
No trick, no hidden mechanism.
She had simply walked forward and swung her sword once.
That was all.
And the gate was cleaved, a deep trench gouged into the earth where the blade had struck.
Could such a thing be possible? Was that Burke Patriarch truly an elf like them?
Even Vierno was struck dumb.
It was swordsmanship terrifying in its strength and precision.
“Whhew. It worked after all. But I must be getting old—if just that leaves my body aching.”
The one responsible for the unbelievable feat merely rolled her shoulders, groaning.
“What sort of swordsmanship was that?”
“Impressive, isn’t it? Beyond the forest, there are plenty who wield blades like that. That’s why they say the world is wide.”
“And who was it that...”
“A young swordsman, wandering the world back then. A very strong man. He had immense natural strength but couldn’t control it properly.”
“Such a human existed?”
“Yes. I taught him how to handle his strength. In return, I learned the technique of compressing and unleashing power—the very strike I just showed. I miss him.”
“If he was that skilled, surely he was a knight of some renown? Do you know his name?”
“Hmm? I never asked. I imagine he’s doing well somewhere. But that’s not what matters now.”
Ambella gestured toward the gaping gate.
“The path is open. Shall we go in?”
“Indeed.”
Vierno summoned a spirit and signaled the troops.
Snapping out of their daze at Ambella’s feat, they roared like thunder and charged the wall.
The soldiers defending the western gate could only stare, aghast, as the enemy poured in.
Now then. I’ve drawn all their attention. What will you do next?
Ambella’s single eye flicked to the figure of Ludger among the soldiers, his back hidden in the throng.