by Kasugamaru
The tiger-riders are a male and a female. The male appears to be in charge, but judging from the way the familiars gather, the female must be the Apostle. Even from this distance, the splendor of their outfits is obvious. I see, I see.
“You gotta be kidding me. That runt took out a fort on her own?”
“The famed Seabed is a tall male. He’s nothing like that.”
“I don’t know their accolades, but I am certain they are one Blade of the elven Apostles, the Trileaves. My, how grand.”
The greatest fortune is always followed by the greatest misfortune. Perhaps the events of last night altered our fate heavily—or was something else at work? Either way, it’s clear that things have taken a dramatic turn. And things aren’t going to be getting better any time soon.
“I’m dispersing the soldiers. There’s no point in attempting a display of power.”
“Indeed. Let us instead show how weak we are. I shall leave negotiations to you.”
“Should we not send out an alert?”
“There are eyes in the sky. Word would not reach anyone until night, anyway.”
“No need to panic, I suppose. If it comes to it, we can always bring Lady Kuroi into the fort.”
“If worst comes to worst, you mean.”
“Worst, huh? I think we are far past that.”
“Truly, truly. The worst is a bitter drink we are used to drinking, just as we are accustomed to sleeping on hard bedding.”
“Keh! This is ridiculous. Just you watch, you cursed long-ears. I’ll burn you all to a crisp!” Well, I must focus on descending this perilous ladder. Lord Willow is leading the troops, while Odysson evacuates the commoners. As for me, I excitedly make for the east gate where the elves are gathering. I lick my lips and smile, rocking my head comically.
Oh! No wonder it seemed so bright this way. There she is, our Lady Kuroi, standing by our crimson banner, resiliently flying atop the crumbled town hall. Black streams of her hair entwine with the sea of crimson, a symbol of our protection. Upon her back, a great presence rides. Behold, people! God is above us! We are on the verge of the first strike in the great war that will engulf this land, the human revolution. And I shall humbly sing of its gravity, its majesty!
“Why, what have we here? Rulers of this shining world and mediators of nature, lords of creation, scholar of magic’s secrets, holders of ears as beautiful as pure white orchids! It is our honor to welcome you from the verdant east as guests in our desolate lands.” Heh, that stopped them. Even the falcons have paused. Excellent.
I ripped that excessive welcome from an official document, however. It’s proof that here there are people who know of diplomacy. To put it even more simply, it’s a warning to these creatures that if they let their guard down just because this is the Frontier, there will be problems later. Can’t ignore that, can you? If things get big enough, I expect the vampires to the west... Heh heh heh... Even that fearsome, monstrous lizard of yours will hear of this. You wouldn’t want that, would you? After all, you swore not to invade human lands unprovoked.
“Your welcome is accepted.” The male tiger-rider approaches. He’s dressed in a blue and gray battle outfit and equipped with a long, white bamboo flask and a short staff of ancient wood. No quiver. I assume he is a close-quarters water mage. His appearance is that of a middle-aged human, expressionless yet powerful. The picture of a self-made man.
“State your name.”
“I am Felipo, head priest of the frontier.”
“I am Second Commander Arcsem.”
“It is my honor to make your acquaintance.” I lower my head respectfully to hide my glee. An opening already. The elves send an Apostle, yet her second-in-command is a mid-level officer. What an unfavorable comparison. Such an odd composition. And yet, 600 leaves is about right for a mid-level officer. That is, if the mid-level officer in question was in charge.
So, were they not able to amass a large enough force? If so, that would be a weakness to exploit. Or were all of their high-ranking officers busy? That is also something we can exploit. Perhaps, even, the Apostle was an unexpected addition? Urgency and forcefulness can be exploited, too. Whatever the case—it could even be multiple things—their already chaotic chain of command is on the razor’s edge. How wonderful!
“The Ewlogond Republic’s Council had decreed that our army be dispatched. Prepare a place for us.” Hah! Trying to force your way through with authority, huh? What an elven decision. The word Ewlogond is supposed to have a ring of ‘absolute justice’ or something... What a farce.
“I’m afraid I must decline.” The middle-aged second-in-command’s eyebrow twitches.
“What?”
“I said, I’m afraid I must decline.”
“Explain yourself.”
“We have just suffered an attack by monsters, my good sir. Great fortune allowed us to repel them, but as you can see, our fences are toppled, homes are destroyed, and we must live covered in dust and rubble. There are still bodies for us to find, and the footsteps of monsters lurking about for a meal still echo. There is just no way for us to accommodate your arrival...” Let’s see just how much the heron and lizard were able to scout yesterday. I mustn’t instigate anything until I know for sure.
“Prepare a place for us. And bring out the leader of this land.” He insists, huh? I see. So they know quite a bit. At least, it’s certain they know there’s no fighting left and that we are rebuilding our forces. They just need permission to invade our walls.
“Oh, what misfortune! It truly pains me, but I cannot do what you ask of me. To insist is...” This is a good chance to confirm their numbers. 600 leaves, was it? I wretchedly wring my hands. Oh-hoh! Not everyone has the same number of arrows. They must have exhausted them somewhere. Each platoon and squad has shared amongst each other.
“Oh, the monster attack was massive, not to mention savage and brutal!” In other words, they’ve already been in a battle—a limited and low-risk battle where only some soldiers had to fire their arrows.
“Desperate battle after desperate battle have left us with many dead soldiers and civilians. Our leader, the Frontier Army Captain, was also gravely wounded in a battle with a troll—” For example, a battle where a few soldiers were instructed to smoke out some monsters. Then, once they had rounded up the incited swarm, perhaps someone had cast the spell Madness. This caused the monsters to go berserk, leaving the forest to stumble right onto human land. Let’s call it a monster tidal wave—the normal chaos of a monster attack is amplified on a massive scale. But this is all within expectations. It’s more a matter of how much proof I can get.
“After a long night of attempting to patch him up, he passed away before dawn. It is truly regrettable.”
“Lies. Is that not the captain over there?”
“Oh! That is the acting Frontier Army Captain.” Ah-hah. So their scouting started the day after the attack. It also only extends to the outside of buildings. “He is normally our Minister of War, so as you can see he takes well to directing our remaining soldiers. He would of course come to greet you, but in this state of emergency he deemed it better to prevent any monster rats from scuttling underfoot and causing you any distress.” Hmm. So he knows the effects of the monster tidal wave, but it would seem this was not a meticulously thought-out plan. It was, ultimately, only the action of a mid-ranking officer.
“Hey, Arcsem!” Oh? What have we here? A younger voice? “How much longer? I’m sleepy. Can you get this over with already?”
“Your Grace, I am a little busy.”
“Aww!” Your Grace. The elven system of government is not based on lineage, so this is a title that can only refer to an Apostle. Her appearance, like her voice, is that of a young girl’s. Her outfit is extravagant, with lots of flowing cloth. In her hand she holds a folding fan, but no weapons to speak of. I assume she is a wind mage. So this is one who has been given a special blessing from a Guardian God... An elven Apostle.
“The beasts h
unger as well. Hurry it up.”
“...Priest, enough with the formalities. Bring us food.” Hah! So it’s a short-term plan and your supply trains are unreliable, eh? I see, I see. I swear, I will use every last ounce of silver in my tongue to wrest as much information as possible from them. Everything has been as I suspected—from the execution of the monster tidal wave that went as planned, to the unplanned situation they find themselves in now.
“Right away.” What fortune! There are so many openings for me to take advantage of. I have to work very hard to keep myself from skipping with joy.
10 About Elves in DDR / The Dragon Warrior Watches for Danger in an Unknown Land
I give my body unto Him.
I give my life for Him,
so that I may please Him.
-DDR Stream Part 7-
People who do unassisted speedruns of giant RPGs are, in my opinion, a type of philosopher. They are enlightened.
Anyway! PotatoStarch here. I’ve run into a bit of trouble. I’m unable to use hyper mode to speed up time. Hmm. The event is still ongoing so I guess there’s no problem, but I can’t even skip sleeping times. What? You want me to do a stream of watching Kuroi’s sleeping face? Okay, that one was a joke.
But really, stuff like this is what makes streaming bittersweet. Like lemonade? Or maybe chocolate? While I’m still energetic, I can steadily up my stats, and when I’m feeling tired I should have been able to just let things play out in observation mode.
By the way, things have taken a pretty interesting turn. It’s quite the shocking, mysterious turn, too. Maybe this thing is bugged...
Ahem. So, it turns out the monsters were sent by the elves. Their forces number 600 elven troops and 400 familiars, for a total of 1,000 fighters. This is a formation the elves could use in unconventional warfare against the vampires. They have a reasonable number of troops, and their numbers make hiding, attacking, and running easier.
Part of the use of this frontier battle is to lure out their enemy. The strategy is to come to inspect the ruins of the Frontier before sieging and annihilating us. An army of a thousand could easily suppress one or two hundred.
But what is this? Why is this? There’s an Apostle among their ranks! This is no place for her. There’s a big difference between one’s own territory and someone else’s. I mean, Apostles are the strongest job. They’re the trump cards for each race. Normally, the elves have three and the vampires have three. There’s a hard limit on them, so it’s not possible to have any more. It’s part of the reason both sides are evenly matched. But now in this deluxe playthrough, the humans have their own special girl.
So what’s an Apostle doing in human lands with a small force? Not to mention this particular elven Apostle’s appearance is beyond bizarre. It’s Sakiel! Sakiel, guys! She’s the Vermillion Flower of the Trileaves and the only little girl character! She was second place on the official site’s popularity poll! Well, stats-wise she’s the weakest of all the Apostles and she can only use Summon and Call magic.
But she’s not someone you can afford to leave out of a battle with demons. She’s what you’d call defensively oriented. So to see her here... It just makes even less sense. And where’s her servant? That scary-looking older girl... There she is, up in the sky camouflaged with a white cloak. That’s the elves’ best flying unit for you.
Her name is Fleilyu, the Falcon. As servant to Apostle Sakiel, Angel of Ten Thousand Bells, she’s the character that many players speak of as “it’s game over if she spots you,” a.k.a. Sudden Death Girl. If she’s up there watching for enemies, does that mean this mysterious event is going to turn into a limited scale war? If that’s what this army is for, then I guess I can understand why Sakiel is here... Nope! It’s Sakiel, after all.
Is some big player about to appear? Since there are no demons... A vampire Apostle? Nah, no way. If that actually happened, the humans would be so screwed. Wiped out, in fact. The best I can think of is a mid-scale battle. I hope it’s that.
Then, are the elves laying a trap or will the vampires bring it to them? Either way, the frontier is guaranteed to be collateral damage. The humans are totally screwed. Oh! The elven army is entering the frontier. Things look fairly orderly, but there’s no avoiding trouble in this power dynamic. We did kill their scout familiars last night, after all.
Time to get ahead of this!
-Dragon Warrior Fleilyu I-
I was seen.
Just now, something was looking at me. A gaze struck my body like an arrow... No, pierced it, like an invisible, silent, and fearsome spear.
I should lose altitude. Carefully. Weave through the air. Alighting on the unmoving ground, I can finally tell for sure. My body is shaking. This has never happened before. Even in my battles with demons, I remained proud and true.
This is dangerous. Something extremely dangerous lurks here. It’s not a vampire, either. Those creatures are nocturnal and essentially powerless against a sun-filled sky. I would never be afraid of them.
But this danger... It must be related to a demon. If that is the case, perhaps there is a secret hidden in the land itself. The humans have only recently started to settle here. There could be something buried underground that they are unaware of, melted into the darkness.
Say, perhaps, an ancient demon that was sealed away here in a war from the Old World. The legends often speak of an undead king’s curse. If that is the case, I can understand the Council’s emergency decision.
I must return to Lady Sakiel’s side. I must tighten my watch. I must be as a moonless night, even during the day.
“Where are you going, Dragon Warrior? This is not your post.”
“S-Second Commander Arcsem.”
“Sit among the clouds in case the bloodsuckers attack. That is your duty.” What a pain. Has he been watching me?
“My duty is to guard Her Grace the Dragon Commander. Let me through.”
“I cannot. We have not detected any sort of threat at present. Return to your post.”
“Detected? It’ll be too late once you do!”
“Do not speak so unclearly. It does not suit your rank, Falcon.” Damn him. I had taken his stubbornness into account, but there is a clear edge to his tone. This situation is against his will. Originally, this was to be an expedition to draw out and destroy the vampires, in which he would have been able to use his strength and talents to their full potential. As a Second Commander, such an opportunity would be almost worth killing for.
“Don’t forget, I have the right to command on this mission. I will have you obey my orders, Dragon Warrior.” His argument is stubborn and sound. The Council decided to change our duty and assigned us a scouting mission. As a result, his carefully raised platoon is being used as disposable bodyguards for Lady Sakiel.
“Fly, and do your best to find the bloodsuckers before they do anything terrible.”
“Her Grace is in that building, correct?”
“You won’t obey, then? Well—”
“Know your place, or find out the hard way. Her Grace’s safety is more valuable and precious than all of your lives, honor, and anything else you can think of combined. If you continue to bar my way, you will experience the Falcon firsthand.” Back off, Second Commander Arcsem. I can sympathize with feeling regret over being swept aside, but being patient in the face of such adversity is something to be proud of. You are a water mage. If you reach for the water canister at your waist... Good. That’s a good boy.
“...At the end of the second floor.”
“You have my gratitude.” That attitude. Those footsteps. I’d thought him a calmer man, but he’s surprisingly passionate. Perhaps that is how much he is risking with this mission.
Not good. I shouldn’t have left Lady Sakiel’s side.
The security is passable. Soldiers line the street, wind falcons sit atop the roof, frogs and lizards lurk beneath the rubble, and silver leopards lie in wait inside buildings. No openings. However, it is only a human-made building.
I simply cannot relax around painted wood walls.
“Oh? Fleilyu, you’re back?”
“Yes, I requested to serve at Your Grace’s side... Erm, what are you doing?” Her loveliness knows no bounds. Clinging to the window in the back of the room, she looks much like a rainfrog.
“I was looking at the humans.”
“The humans?”
“I can see a group of whelplings. Five or six, I believe.” She beckons me over to the windowsill. Ah, so she can see the side of the well. A crowd of human children are gathered about.
“They’re drawing water with that bucket.”
“Hee hee! It’s a game, actually. A water game. I like such things, so I can tell.” That water is extracted from the ground without ever coming into contact with the wind. In other words, it is not suitable for our magic. This would not be a good location for a base.
“Hm? What are they doing with the beasts?”
“Oh, they are giving the silver leopards water.” We should be fine in terms of supplies. The horses and cattle are in enclosed spaces, so they cannot wander off.
“And feeding them.” Human children, their favorite food, are plentiful here.
11 The Sorcerer Chants and Confirms the Direction of Humanity’s War
I am human.
Thus I struggle, fight, and defeat my enemies.
So that I may live as a human.
-Sorcerer Odysson III-
“You pieces of shit!” Three. They killed three of them. Three brave, excellent soldiers. Cold-heartedly.
“Ugh, another dirty one appears.”
“He smells weird, too. I can only stand young humans.”
“Nah, it’s gotta be females. It’s a different feel when their teeth sink into them.”
Three long-ears and four silver leopards. This is ridiculous. You’d need a hundred to equal me. Three leaves? I’d play with them nice and slow before killing them. Leave this to me. I, Odysson, will avenge you. And I swear to save the children you protected. I will not let them die!