Rune Troopers Vol 1 Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.1
RUNE TROOPERS VOLUME 1 PART 1 OF CHAPTER 4

The Inheritance Empire’s plan to capture Sei road with a southern attack using mixed forces was continuing as planned. The highest possible level of command one could take, the 4th level shogun, had an expression of great composure.

Currently, the castle close to the main road is being strained. The Inheritance Empire planned to block out any escape routes for Mariisua’s n.o.bles and monarch, not letting a single one escape.

Mariisua most likely did not calculate that they would be attacked the following day after accepting the declaration of war. And they shouldn’t have thought about the castle being under siege like this. Combined with all the bases being attacked, at a minimum, the castle should probably be captured by sunset.

The 4th level shougun Rihyalda Von Adora stared at the fires cropping up at the Sei road castle while she heard the slight resistance the enemy mustered, and this made her
optimistic. Rihyalda was a princess general from the n.o.bility of the western side of the empire. She was only 25 years old.

Though it is on the front lines of battle in a meritocracy, she was young. With skin so pale you could almost see through it, she had shoulder-length silver hair that would s.h.i.+ne in the sun. If she weren’t wearing her jet black armor, one could almost mistake her for a saint with the beauty she held.

“Report!”

She thought a shadow may have appeared, and then a giant dragon landed in front of her eyes. The skin of the unique dragon from the north would blend in with snow, so it was a freeze dragon.

The ability to take the castle by surprise on the first day of war can be attributed to the permission to mobilize the dragon knights from their nation and to no other squad.

Again, their fighting gives the troops much boost in morale. This was mainly because of the ice and snow dragon knight unit’s power and the black fire dragon knight unit’s power, or 2 dragon knight units were added to join the fight this time. Against such a weak and small nation like Mariisua, it could be said it was overkill.

“What is it?”

Rihyalda faced the dragon knight probably around the same age as her father and asked in a sharp voice. The destruction of the castle and city were dependent on all the dragon knights. The question she put forward was about reprimanding them leaving their post.

“Hurriedly, I would deign to let you know something.”

The veteran dragon knight was shaking.

“What?”

“…Near the castle in Sei road, a black dragon of the black dragon knights was killed!”

“Wha-?!”

A rare, sagacious expression resounded on Rihyalda’s face. The surrounding aides who had heard did the same at once.

“Even if it is the enemy’s base, to think that Mariisua has a knight unit capable of defeating a black dragon is…”

Rihyalda made a grim expression. 
But, this was a battlefield. Plenty of unexpected situations will happen. One shouldn’t get fl.u.s.tered.

“Well, about that…”

“What, spit it out.”

“…The black dragon was taken out by only one person.”

“One person!?”

Rihyalda and company were in astonishment. For a dragon to be defeated by one person was, realistically, impossible. It was not so simple for an attack or magic to get past a dragon’s scales.

A black dragon has been defeated in the past, but that was in an ambush by the enemy’s military with 3 knight units and 2 magic units fighting carefully.

A dragon which won’t be defeated by anything less than that, b

eing defeated by a single person… There shouldn’t be this much reserve force in sneak-attacked, confused Mariisua.

“That wasn’t you incorrectly perceiving the event?”

There was nothing else she could think of to explain what happened. On the battlefield, unreliable information and rumors can fly about.

“There is no mistake. Even if it would cost me my life, this is the state of affairs. The man wore odd clothes with a green and brown mixed pattern, carried a large log-looking cylinder on his shoulder, and I think he recited some sort of spell, and then the dragon exploded to pieces.”

“Impossible!”

Rihyalda started to laugh at the impossible nonsense she had heard. But, the head of the dragon knights giving her the report was curious. Trampling over his story to that degree might make her foolish.

This dragon knight and those around him are well trusted, experienced veterans. Frankly, he had no reason to twist a story into a lie. In her heart, she half believed but half doubted him, but in the end, she believes her subordinates.

“What does our war situation look like after losing the dragon?”

“Though half of the castle is under our control, the fallen dragon and such an enemy strength may cause a stalemate. Currently, in order to capture the castle, we should have the 500 soldiers we’ve deployed gather in the castle.”

The loss of the dragon hurts, but there is no damage done to the objective. There’s enough military force, in spades.

“I see. Good job on the report. You may go. Hurry and prepare the soldiers for an offensive attack.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Once again, his dragon fluttered off, and as a freeze dragon, it left a cold breeze when it set off to fly. In the middle of such a favorable war situation, a small disaster coming about gave Rihyalda a bad feeling.

But, as a military person of the empire’s forces, to have a feeling of worry come out would be unforgivable. If the current situation goes smoothly, then she can think about it later: she corrected her thinking.

“Could this be quite the bother…?”

A hoa.r.s.e voice reached her ears. Annoyed, she turned around and the mage dispatched from her nation made an eerie smile.

…His name was Genful, according to her memory. The man looking back at her was a reinforcement to the dragon knights, and he ordered the barrier troops. If it were someone of high social standing, it would be a different story, but normally having those off the battlefield like those barrier troops to voice their  opinions after listening to a problem given in a report is most disliked by the military people of the Inheritance Empire.

With his age, where he’s from, and his social status not being clearly known, this man with only a t.i.tle emerged in the middle of the military people.  There’s not even a particular reason that the barrier troop needs a mage over them. There must have been a different reason for him coming here.

“Oh no, this is nothing to worry yourself over, Mr. Barrier Troops Commander. It is still unconfirmed information, and the first part of the plan went exactly as desired, and we will move forward without delay.”

“That would be excellent.”

Rihyalda softly clicked her tongue at the figure returning to a hastily made tent behind her. In this provocation, the little uneasiness she felt to the report earlier disappeared. She once again turned her piercing eyes onto the battlefield.