“Chargeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Kill them, kill them alllllllllllll!”
The subhumans who had crossed the river were attacking the advance party.
Rushing in with primitive weapons like stone axes and stone spears were those known as the ‘Ogre Clan’ among the subhumans.
Red-skinned, horned subhumans charged like raging bulls.
“All troops, intercept! Don’t let a single soldier through to the rear!”
The commander, Bareya Cattleya, barked orders at the soldiers.
The soldiers positioned at the front readied their spears, intercepting the onrushing ogres.
“Hmph!”
“Haaah!”
As evidenced by their ability to hurl weapons across the river to the fort, the ogres possessed terrifying strength.
However, the soldiers of the Aiwood Kingdom were not to be outdone.
They enhanced their bodies with Magical Power, withstanding the stone weapons swung down by the ogres.
“Gu…!”
“What power…!”
However, even with their bodies enhanced, the ogres seemed to have the upper hand in power.
The soldiers, who should have had iron weapons, were being pushed back by the ogres wielding stone weapons.
“We should have the advantage in weapon quality and number of soldiers… So this is the Ogre Clan!”
“Rest-dono!”
“I know… 【Thunder Ball】!”
Prompted by Dibble, Rest, who was in the rear being protected by the soldiers, activated his magic.
A sphere of lightning flew in an upward arc, striking the subhumans beyond the soldiers.
“Gyaah!”
“Damn you, human sorcerer!”
A scream rose from the ogres.
He couldn’t cast too powerful a spell with allies nearby, but the interruption in the midst of the soldiers’ clash was effective enough.
“Keep it up!”
“Fire! Scatter the subhumans!”
Taking Rest’s attack as a signal, the other Magicians also unleashed covering fire, careful not to hit their own comrades.
Flames and lightning flashed, causing multiple explosions in the enemy ranks.
“Now’s our chance! Brave soldiers, crush the subhumans!”
The soldiers with spears pressed the attack against the enemies who had been shaken by the magic.
Although they had been pushed back at the start, the tide had turned thanks to the Magicians’ covering fire.
“Guoh!”
“Sorcerers! Kill them!”
Having been pushed back, the ogres’ target shifted to the Magicians in the rear.
They were desperately trying to break through the wall of soldiers and reach the Magicians being protected in the back.
“Force your way through! Once we take out the sorcerers, the rest are just small fries!”
“Like I’ll let you.”
“Gyaah!?”
The torso of the ogre, who was trying to force his way through, was slashed diagonally.
It was Wilhelm Lübesse, the ‘Sword Saint Who Dislikes Women,’ who had cut down the two-meter hulking frame with a lightning-like strike.
“Who are you calling small fries? You subhuman blockhead. Can’t you see what’s below you because of your hulking frame?”
“You bi…”
“Almacain Sword Dance Technique…『Sankage』”
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Multiple slashes were unleashed from Lübesse’s sword.
The surrounding ogres were cut down in one fell swoop, and a cloud of blood mist danced on the battlefield.
“Tough… but so what? It’s only a little better than the wooden training dummies.”
While saying this mockingly, Lübesse glanced back for a moment.
“………… Bastard.”
Rest’s face twitched.
No one probably noticed because there were many soldiers between them… but Lübesse was definitely looking at Rest.
‘I’ve cut down this many.’
‘What about you? Are you just going to watch from the back?’
Rest felt like he could hear Lübesse’s voice.
He was being invited. He was being provoked.
A competitive spirit welled up within him at the attitude of his impudent colleague.
“I wonder why… but I feel like I can’t lose to you more than I can’t lose to the enemy.”
Rest put strength into his legs and leaped high into the air.
He soared over a dozen meters into the sky, looking down on the battlefield from above.
“All I have to do is not hit our own guys, right? It’s easy enough to attack from above like this!”
Countless Thunder Balls appeared around Rest.
It was the same Multi-Casting Magic. A much simpler technique than using multiple spells at the same time.
“Fire!”
The Thunder Balls rushed towards the enemy.
He fired and created, fired and created… showering the ogres with a massive amount of lightning like a natural disaster.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“This sorcerer… guwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
“Retreat! Fall back!”
The ogres, struck by the rain of Thunder Balls, couldn’t stand it and began to retreat.
The opening skirmish came to an end, and Rest and his comrades had achieved a temporary victory.