Chapter 021 - Knight
The warm spring was over, and the scorching hot summer had arrived. This sizzling hot summer was much better than the humid summers of j.a.pan. However, because of the temperature was higher than j.a.pan’s summers, you’ll need to be careful of dehydration.
Then, summer pa.s.sed and it was now autumn. The temperature had fallen, and the air felt more pleasant. It was also the rainy season, so rain poured down occasionally and soaked the dried up land.
Even though winter was coming soon, weeds were still growing spa.r.s.ely on the land.
On one day particular day...
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” A loud sound suddenly resounded throughout the town.
“What is it?!” I woke up hurriedly from my carefree afternoon nap which I had taken with my back against Catherine.
Chaos happened within just a moment, but my mind understood the situation immediately.
The gong which I had installed on top of the town’s stone walls was struck many times. The gong was. .h.i.t once to inform everyone of the time, but if it was. .h.i.t numerous times, then...
“Fujiwara-sama! Fujiwara-sama!” Along with the voice of someone yelling was the sound of the gate being rapped on multiple times.
The voice didn’t seem to belong to Jiharu, but another person instead. In other words, it was a situation of great emergency, so much so that Jiharu had to send someone over to pa.s.s the message rather than come personally.
Even the usually laidback Catherine had lifted her neck upon sensing the unusual crisis.
“What happened?!” I demanded.
I had a premonition, but I tried to shake off that idea as I questioned the person beyond the gate.
“It’s the humans! There’s a human army up north!” The person reported quickly.
When I heard this, I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. What I was afraid of had occurred.
A human army. In other words, the armed forces of the Kingdom of Sandra have finally arrived.
“What’s their position?!” I pressed.
“It was reported that they saw a cloud of dust in the distance from the hill!” The person replied.
Since Frost left, I had come up with the worst case scenario, and made preparations for it, such as having a watchtower for surveillance built on the hill several kilometers up north.
“Get everyone to evacuate into the town! I will go to the north gate immediately!” I ordered roughly.
I don’t have the time to afford to use polite speech anymore.
I quickly changed into my combat uniform, and purchased bows and arrows which I placed on the truck’s carrier. Once that was done, I climbed into the truck seat and left for the north gate.
Even from afar, I could see the residents of the town gathering one after another at the north gate. However, theirs numbers were far from the entire population.
“Make way!” Someone helpfully announced.
The truck advanced through the path formed by the crowd around the north gate.
“Ooh, it is a truck!”
“As long as we have Fujiwara-sama’s truck, then the humans...”
The people murmured amongst themselves as they gazed at the vehicle.
The truck that I drove had become some sort of symbol to them. When they first arrived, they feared this truck. They were afraid of such a huge beast, and had worshipped it. That was the reason why the townspeople felt a sense of security when they saw the figure of the truck.
After I parked the truck behind the north gate, I alighted from it and opened the carrier.
“There are bows and arrows here! Those who can use them should take them!”
Most of them were people who had lived in a world unrelated to farming. Except for the Goblin tribe who mainly lived off trading with humans, using a bow was as easy as a handshake to everyone else .
“The Wolf tribe and I will be by the north gate! The Bird tribe, the Leopard tribe, the Deer tribe, and the Kobold tribe should station themselves at the west gate! The east gate will be guarded by the Boar tribe, the Cat tribe and the Racc.o.o.n tribe while the Goblin tribe will be in charge of the supplies! Those who have fast feet should act as messengers! As soon as the camels enter the town with all residents, close the gate! Afterwards, n.o.body should move until I give further orders!” I instructed everyone without hesitation.
Everyone moved according to my orders without delay since I’ve already trained them during summer. That was why we could move around without any big confusion.
I climbed up the stone wall. In the distance, a thin cloud of rising dust could be seen. Their marching speed was faster than my expectations. Even through the binoculars, it didn’t differ much from looking at them with naked eyes. At most, the cloud of dust just looked a little bigger.
“Is there anyone here who can estimate how many people can create a cloud of dust of that size?” I asked.
“About 300 to 500 cavalrymen!” Someone from the Wolf tribe answered the question immediately.
“300 to 500 cavalrymen, huh...” I muttered while looking at the backpack that I’ve put at the side.
It was packed with all the bullets that I had in my possession.
Before long, the news of all the tribesmen safely entering the town arrived one after another from each of the gates. It was the same with the Wolf tribe too, and Jiharu had arrived next to me.
Then, the enemy force arrived. From a distance of about 300 meters away, the enemy cavalry was lined up intimidatingly. They numbered around 500. All of them wore silver armors that shone brilliantly. The figures of 500 cavalrymen forming a line looked spectacular, just like in the movies.
Then, one man stepped forward from their ranks. With that, some of the wolfmen pulled their bows to the limit, already preparing to shoot him.
“Wait! Don’t shoot before I give any orders!” I yelled quickly.
The Wolf tribe was the tribe which I had a.s.sociated with longest. That was why I had them here, since we could support each other the best.
“We are the Red Dragon Knights from the Kingdom of Sandra! This land belongs to the kingdom! Thus, the town built on this land belongs to the kingdom as well! Surrender the town now!” The man shouted haughtily, completely without shame.
It was an arrogant demand which was the very proof that they looked down on us.
Of course, I couldn’t possibly accept such a demand. This land and the town were mine.
“You don’t live on this land, but we do! Therefore, this land is ours! This town was built by us! Therefore this town is ours too!” I hollered as loudly as I could.
I don’t have any intentions of handing anything over. Following me, the Wolf tribe also shouted at the enemy.
“That’s right!”
“Get out!”
“Can’t you see that the strongest knights of the Kingdom of Sandra, the Red Dragon Knights, are before you?! If you won’t surrender, we will annihilate all of you!” The man yelled, utterly furious.
[ED: Lmao, you can try. We’ll see what happens.]
But, my response did not change.
“I will say it again no matter how many times I have to repeat myself! This land is where we live! Leave immediately!” I shouted.
“You will regret this!” The man roared in anger.
Seeing that his demand wasn’t fulfilled, he signalled the cavalry and left. As soon as he did, the Wolf tribe became noisy.
“Oi, that’s!?”
“They... They are still there!”
The cause of the clamouring was off in the distance.
“Fu-Fujiwara-sama! A cloud of dust can be seen behind them! The numbers are too many to be counted! Those are not supply troops! They’re reinforcements!” Jiharu reported while trembling in fear.
[TL: Me: look at enemy cl.u.s.tered together at distance, open Town Data, purchase RPG, shoot at them when they are near.]
[ED: Agreed. Honestly, this MC…]
In the distance, a cloud of dust was spread out, low at the sides.
‘Of course.’ I thought to myself.
If Frost had told them, then the enemy would know that this town was surrounded by a stone wall. They wouldn’t be able to siege the place with just the cavalry. Perhaps those were part of the infantry.
“Please calm down. It’s not the time to panic yet.” I stated coolly.
I calmed myself down first. First, I need to judge the situation calmly.
That man from a while ago called his corps the Red Dragon Knights. If I were to trust the story that Frost had told me, there are 4 powerful Knight Orders in the Kingdom of Sandra - the Red Dragons, Azure Dragons, Yellow Dragons, and Green Dragons. The Knight Orders seemed to have been named after the 4 ancient dragons, and the Red Dragon Knights was one of them.
It was a Knight Order of venerable origins, so the person to lead them must be of an irreplaceable rank amongst the n.o.bility. That one general who commands over the entire Knight Order... He must be somewhere within the troops.
Moreover, the cavalry troops that were sent here before must have only experienced chasing the beastmen tribes away without fighting. They must have thought that as long as they lined up and barked out demands, things would resolve itself, and the beastmen would surrender automatically. So, the person leading these troops may have wanted to gain an easy merit for themselves.
However, did they ever think that this time, things would end without having to fight as well?
Of course, there is no way I would allow it. But, I wanted to avoid a siege war as much as possible. Then, the only way out was to settle things before the infantry arrives.
I have decided on what steps I have to take. No, it has long been decided. Even though there was a slight difference, the general order of actions are still within my plans.
I unfastened the strap of the rifle from my shoulder. However, my heart beat suddenly sped up.
The thing I will do now. It is obviously an act of murder. When I thought so, a cold shiver ran up my spine. It felt something like being made to stand on high grounds without a proper foothold or lifeline. Even now, my hands and feet feel like they’re trembling hard.
But, I need to do it. I had thought that such a time will come one day. The moment of me killing someone, I’ve already simulated it in my mind many times.
I took a kneeling position to shoot.
I flicked the safety switch, and changed it to rapid fire mode. As for the target, I pointed it towards the man who had asked us to surrender. He had just returned to make a report. He would thus be heading to the place where the commander leading the Knight Order was stationed.
My eyes spotted the enemy general. He was the only young warrior who had taken off his helmet inside the formation. Knowing that the place was outside the range of arrows, he stood as the vanguard of the troop.
I took aim, and pulled the trigger.
*Tatan! *Tatan! Two ear-numbing, continuous shots cut through the wasteland.
Along with it, the beastmen twitched in reflex.
It was possible to shoot rapid fire with this rifle, however I had a reason to shoot only twice. It was due to the recoil when I shot the gun which made the barrel swing upwards. If I only shot twice, it would result in less slippage, and still hit the target. However when a third bullet was shot, the barrel would be shaken way off upwards. So far, it had never hit the target when I practiced it. Therefore, I only shot twice.
But, the man who fell victim to the two bullets was the one standing next to the presumed general. The surrounding horses started neighing and bucking, and the cavalrymen panicked in the ensuing confusion.
After the recoil, I aimed at them again, and pulled the trigger again. The one who collapsed was yet another wrong target.
Whenever the sound echoed, someone fell down. The situation within the enemy ranks degenerated as terror spiked. Furthermore, at the echo of the fourth explosive sound, the enemy general was struck down.
But, it was not the end yet. He might not have died yet. The sound of the rifle firing resounded another 6 times.
4 bullets pierced through the earth’s surface, but the two remaining bullets caused flowers of blood to bloom from the enemy general’s body.
Then, the enemy finally noticed. Everyone around the general became victims. Naturally, the soldiers started to distance themselves from the commander.
I put the rifle down and stood up to look at the enemy general through a pair of binoculars.
He didn’t seem even twitch at all, and his arms have been blown off too.
He was dead. I concluded so. A burning sensation was rising up from my stomach.
I forcefully gulped it down, and picked up my rifle again.
One person dismounted from his horse and approached the enemy general. I shot him without hesitation.
I could only feel coldness in my heart.
Since the enemy general had died, he could no longer return to his hometown. All that’s left was for his corpse to be abandoned here.
An unknown offensive ploy resulting in the cruel death of the enemy general. That was my strategy.
Tempting the enemies to retreat, and restraining their way of proceeding southwards afterwards was my first card. Of course, there were other cards up my sleeves as well.
Within my line of vision was another person approaching the enemy general again, so I shot him down.
Thus, the enemy cavalry finally retreated.