Chapter 361 - Before the Approaching Battle
“The Sacrament army is drawing near.”
That’s what the report said.
It’s calculated that they will clash with our side in about half a day.
Preparations for the battle are already almost complete.
Now, so to speak, we are in a state close to the final adjustments before the battle.
I was in my barracks, dressed in my new Fly King outfit.
The army of Mira, now together with the mixed army led by Cattleya Stramius……
It now calls itself the “G.o.ddess Subjugation Alliance”.
There were two people who were the actual Supreme Commanders in the chain of command.
Mad Emperor.
Cattleya.
“As for how the Heroes will move———— I leave it to you, Touka. If you tell me, I will give them such instructions.”
I have been given the authority to move them at my discretion.
Incidentally, Nyantan has been incorporated into Faraway Country’s group.
Well, in her case, it would be better if she stayed with Nyaki.
So, we, the Fly King Squadron, are still in a guerilla unit-like position.
[From what I’ve heard in the reports, it seems like it would be a fairly large-scale battle———— but is it safe to say that we’re still gonna be reserve units?]
Asking this was the nearby Takao Hijiri.
Next to her is her twin sister, Takao Itsuki.
Both of them are dressed in Fly Knight outfits.
Since we were inside my barracks, they had their masks off.
[We want to keep the Takao Sisters’ survival hidden as much as possible.]
However, Itsuki gave out a subtle, undecided response.
[……Putting aside the variables and individual concerns for the moment, how about we sort things out with pure combat capabilities? First of all, our greatest combat force would unmistakably be Sogou, right?]
[I agree with that.]
[Then, just below her———-]
[In terms of pure combat ability, I suppose that would be Seras-san.]
[Come to think of it, I heard that you two had a light spar with swords while on the road after we left Urza?]
[Yes.]
“Hmmm”, Itsuki put a hand on her chin, a complicated expression on her face.
[Even though she was using that Origin Regalia of hers, I never expected Elder Sis to lose that simply…….]
[She even used Origin Regalia huh? ……Ahh.]
I get now what was going on.
[I wanted to grasp Seras-san’s true abilities with my own skin. Yes, and then I thought…… in this army, the only one who seems to have a chance of standing against Sogou-san in a one-on-one battle as a pure individual combatant is probably her.]
Briefly it may be, Hijiri breathes out a sigh of admiration.
[As expected, starting with swordsmanship, true martial talent is that sort of thing. I thought that kind of realm was unique to Sogou-san but……]
[And so, we have two figureheads (kanban) at the top, Sogou and Seras huh.]
[In other words…… They’re signboard girls (kanban musume) huh.]
[……Your thoughts are quite off there, Itsuki.]
(T/N: Signboard girls/kanban musume are pretty girls who attract customers inside their shop.)
A deadpan tsukkomi from Hijiri.
Is she just being true to her character or she’s joking along with her twin sister?
To be honest, I’m not really sure.
In any case, based on a previous conversation with Seras———-
Sogou Ayaka on offense.
Seras Ashrain on defense.
That was how things turned out.
[Other than them……]
The top two are prominent, but there are also others who are very strong.
Gio Shadowblade.
Mad Emperor.
These two are also reliable as individual combat forces.
However, the two of them also act as commanders.
Therefore, they may not be able to devote all their attention to one-on-one combat.
[Then there’s Qir and Gratora from the Faraway Country, along with Armia who will be catching up later…… and Nyaki’s sister, Nyantan Kikeepat. As for the others, I guess you could also count Black Dragon Knight’s Gus Dornfedt.]
Incidentally……
I———– The Fly King has annihilated the Black Dragon Knights led by the Five Dragon Warriors in the past.
It had apparently turned out that they had been crushed by the Former Ashinto members, the Fly King Squadron.
……Well, from the impression I got when we met a little while ago, they didn’t seem to harbor much ill will towards me.
[As for the Dragonslayer, I guess it would be difficult for him to fight in that state……]
The Deity Loqierra had also lost a considerable amount of her power.
“Sorry. Fighting in my current state would be impossible for me.”
—-or so she said.
Munin can also fight, but her combat abilities aren’t that high.
Thereupon, Itsuki seemed to have thought of something.
[What about that Queen?]
[According to what I heard from Seras, she has a fair understanding of martial arts. However, she doesn’t feel like she herself is gonna fight.]
I guess the Queen is probably more of a commander.
The same goes with Liese, holding a strategist position, but with a low individual combat prowess.
Hijiri looked in the direction where Sogou and our other cla.s.smates were.
[When it comes to the Heroes who seem capable of fighting against the Divine Servants, our options are quite limited as well.]
[Right.]
[Excluding those I mentioned earlier———– Asagi-san’s group seems capable of defeating an opponent much stronger than them but……]
[They did defeat the Exiled Emperor before. It’s just, putting aside talking about whether Asagi is an ally or an enemy, Asagi’s unique skill seems to be too dependent on the situation.]
Much like my fighting style, unless Asagi can successfully connect her skill, it would be difficult for their group to defeat an opponent stronger than them.
Yes.
For example……
He may unexpectedly be heading our way.
However, it would be dangerous to rely on his joining up with us at the moment.
Relying on an uncertain combat force is too much of a gamble.
[The other Heroes are also getting stronger but……]
Among our cla.s.smates aside from Sogou and Takao Sisters, there are also B-Cla.s.s Heroes.
However, the difference in their strength when compared to Sogou is too great.
In a group battle, they should provide sufficient combat strength.
The same goes for Mira’s Brilliant Squadron and Demi-Human corps.
Other than that, there are also Faraway Country’s various units and the monsters.
The same applies to the army corps making up the former mixed army.
If you look at them as a collective, they are a large force.
Putting her hand on her cheek, Hijiri tilted her head a bit.
[You think so?]
While Hijiri looked surprised, Itsuki……
[Elder Sis being the Cla.s.s Prez huh…… Yeah, I get what you mean……]
———–With a gentle, absent-minded smile on her face, she looked relaxed and lost in her delusions.
……Seriously, this younger twin sure likes her elder sister huh.
Since I wasn’t able to write as much as I had planned (and I may not have polished it enough this time), I hope to write and update the rest of what I originally planned tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (Sept. 16 or 17) at around 9:00 pm.
(Note: I did a little more polishing after the update.)
I think my headache is much better than it was in August, although I still need pain relievers on many days (Thank you for your messages of concern, and for providing various information regarding headaches. Your continued support is greatly appreciated).
Also, I haven’t written my thanks for the four reviews I received after the final chapter of the Last Arc’s first section.
Once again, thank you very much.