「Fire the arrows」
「Huh?」
「I’m telling you to shoot that monster!」
The captain angrily responded to his adjutant, who could not comprehend such a bizarre order.
「But, we will hit our own if we fire now」
「I don’t care. If we don’t bring it down, even more will die」
「…Understood」
Curtly replying, the Adjutant offered a prayer and ordered the bowmen to fire.
The arrows, much to the pride of their bowmen, flew tightly together.
Without waiting for the result, the captain began issuing orders to the remaining soldiers.
They were to dismantle the structures blocking the roads and attack the enemy from behind.
He had thus sent a hundred men on this quest.
「No matter how strong he may be, no one can fight this many men」
Ordering the another volley of arrows, the captain was sure of his victory.
A rain of arrows entered Hifumi’s view.
「Too few. They won’t hit」
Taking but a single step away, arrows landed around Hifumi.
A few soldiers around him were hit, and wallowed in agony.
Those who could still move he disposed of; those who were fatally injured he ignored.
He decapitated those who were hit in the shoulder, and then noticed that the enemy’s commander was ordering his men to clear the roads.
「So they had finally begun」
And after briefly cutting down a few more Vichy soldiers, Hifumi confirmed that a hundred men had gone off to clear the roads and smiled.
「So the slaughter finally beings? Come, be a man!」
A flash.
Seeing Hifumi decapitate five more men, even the trained soldiers stopped motionless.
Though he was drenched in their blood, he nonetheless pulled out a paper to wipe the blood from his katana, and, after doing so, sheathed it.
「Guess I should clean up a bit」
Darkness spread from Hifumi’s shadow and swallowed the earth around him. Hifumi use his darkness magic to dispose of the corposes.
Vichy soldiers were terrified, although it had no effect on them—you can’t store away a living thing.
With Hifumi in the center of a sea of darkness, the myriad corpses sunk and disappeared.
As if the battle had never happened.
「Now then, I’m going to go get your captain’s head. Do try to stop me please.」
At some point the katana on Hifumi’s waist was replaced with a 130 cm long pole.
「It’s my first time using this weapon. Surely you won’t resent me for not killing you quickly?」
They would probably resent him no matter how he killed him; the few soldiers who remained now had their heads smashed in. As before, they just kept on dying.
But unlike before, Hifumi was slowly walking forward even as he continued to slay countless men.
「Come on, keep the line. Ready your blades… Oh?」
A second rain of arrows has come.
Hifumi twisted the end of the pole, and a chain dangled out from within it.
With all their men firing in unison, there far more arrows this time.
And while Hifumi was deflecting the arrows with the chain and approaching the Vichy captain, distant screams reached his ears.
Although the blockade was made of a durable material, if many people were to press on it, surely it would eventually fall.
The same occurred, and many soldiers started heading towards the main.
The first among them were the youngest, those unaccustomed to war.
And after a few steps the ground beneath their feet disappeared only to reveal iron and wooden pikes.
Unable to so much as scream their bodies were pierced, and those who fell on top of them rendered fatal their wounds.
Those who screamed were those who fell on top of the young.
This crafty trap was placed past every blockade, and the number of wounded and dead only increased.
Even if they were to take another route, they would only fall prey to another trap.
Surely the number of dead would only number in the dozens, but the objective was not to kill but to stop their advance.
The soldiers who stopped before the traps were welcomed by a volley of spears flying towards them.
The soldiers were close enough that the spears needed not arch in their path, and many were pierced as a result.
Hifumi’s guard appeared from deep within the buildings, as they use the spear-thrower to slaughter Vichy men.
There were few such spear-throwers, so those empty handed followed with bows and arrows.
The roads were narrow, and Hifumi’s guards were far; they could leisurely snipe away at Vichy soldiers. Even more lives were quickly extinguished.
As for the captain, with messengers coming at him to report of ever increasing casualties, and the sight of Hifumi approaching, caused him to lose any remaining composure.
Without waiting for an order, the adjutant commanded all remaining troops to attack the approaching monster. Yet he could not expect many to gather.
And wielding a bizarre staff with chains, a man continued to approach while creating more and more corpses behind him.
「At this rate…」
The adjutant wanted to command the forces to retreat but then he glanced over the captain.
Would this power-hungry man be able to approve of that decision? Withdrawing now would close the door on his career. But otherwise all would die. Should he withdraw troops even if it means being court-martialed? The adjutant hesitated.
The weapon Hifumi wielded, is a traditional Japanese martial arts weapon from the staff-family: the Chigiriki (Promise Tree). Normally it is made of wood, but it had to be made of metal so as to withstand Hifumi’s strength.
With its length coming up to his chest, this weapon which is also sometimes called the Chigirki (Chest-cutting Tree), has a chain attached to the end of it and a weight attached to the chain. It is like a Japanese chain flail.
The weapon has its perks and demerits, and is rather hard to use; and although it’s not Hifumi’s specialty, the weapon does allow for a great variety of attacks if you were to mix in Jojutsu* while using it.
* A form of martial art using a cane staff.
For example, crushing somebody’s throat and then stepping on their chest so as to stop their heart; or breaking their jaw, forcing them on their knees in tears, and smashing in their heads.
Leaving corpses even more deformed than when he was using a blade, Hifumi hastened his pace towards a gathering of soldiers.
This massacre has yet to end.
「Captain, we must retreat」
「A single man… Are you telling me we lost to a single man!?」
Scolding his man, the captain desperately asked anyone to kill Hifumi, but the adjutant only sighed.
And after taking a few steps away from the captain, the adjutant called out to nearby soldiers and made preparations to leave Rhone. Captain in his haste did not notice it; but Hifumi did.
The departure of thirty men created an opening.
The captain left understaffed and unprotected, Hifumi charged in
「W-wha.. th…?」
The captain never even had the chance to draw his blade. By the time he noticed he was abandoned, it was too late.
「Die」
With but a single word, Hifumi wrapped the chain around the captain’s neck and brought him down from the horse.
Struggle the captain as he might, he could do naught until Hifumi’s finger pierce through his eye.
When Hifumi withdrew his hand, the captain (corpse) looked rather amusing.
Seeing their captain killed, the soldiers completely lost their will to fight, and began edging back.
「Your general is dead」
Of course, they would abandon the corpse.
「If you want to run, now would be the
time? Desperately run back to your masters and tell them what had happened here. That’s if they believe you of course」
Fearing the smile on Hifumi’s face, the Vichy soldiers scattered like baby spiders before a predator.
They abandoned their weapons and the wounded too.
Hifumi calmly wandered the field, disposing of any wounded, while his guard was busy burying the bodies.
Those who had recently joined his guard were throwing up with lifeless eyes, while those who had already worked with Hifumi meticulously continued their tasks.
Origa and Alyssa, after issuing the troops orders, rushed over to Hifumi.
After looking at his appearance, Hifumi’s face had a bitter smile on it as he wondered how he’d wash all the gore off. He continued to take deep breaths even as he put away the Chigiriki into his dark storage.
The blood-stained main road soon welcomed a bloody sunset.
With less than a hundred men, Hifumi’s guards utterly crushed a force many times larger—in but three days such rumors reached the capital, and the bars were filled with songs of praise for the “Knight of the Slender Sword.”
Having witnessed these revelries in the guild, Kasha, who came there to get her quest reward, wandered into the moon-lit street.
She left of her own free will; as an adventurer her life made an about turn and she was rather well off. She also sick of killing people, was satisfied with her life as a freewoman, dined in fancy and expensive restaurants, and even went out to buy herself a new weapon.
Even so, she occasionally missed Origa.
To her surprise, she rarely thought of Hifumi, but when she did, she would remember his face when he ordered a man to die for her revenge.
When she returned to her room, she turned on the magic tool Hifumi gave her.
Within the four-corners of her small inn room, she collapsed on the bed, feelings of loneliness overcoming her.
「It’s not like I’m in love or anything…」
That line only increased her despair.
Perhaps she was mistaken. Perhaps she should have stayed with Hifumi and Origa. Or, perhaps she should have forced Origa to come with her, even if by force.
As many thoughts and regrets filled her mind, she heard someone knock on the door.
「…Who is it?」
She grabbed a sword and asked.
In response, she heard a familiar feminine voice.
「It’s Pajo. There’s something we need to discuss」
「? Why are you here?」
In response to being let in, Pajo flashed an elegant smile.
「It’s not that hard to find where you live. I am a knight in charge of protecting this city, after all」
「My, my, how impressive. Now then, what do you need from me?」
As there were no chairs, they sat on the bed and spoke without looking each other in the eyes.
「There’s a request for you coming from the Crown」
「The Crown? What could the Crown from a simple adventurer?」
Wouldn’t it be better to make a request of the guild, she asked, but Pajo only smiled.
「This is something only you can do」
Without any reservation, Pajo made a single request of her.
「Could you monitor Hifumi-san for us?」
Kasha was silent, and merely blankly stared at Pajo. The smile on her face has long turned serious, and cold, gold eyes stared straight at Kasha.
Chapter 35: Celebrity
After once again rearranging the defense at the national border, Hifumi withdrew to Fokalore. letting the soldiers rest while the spear throwers were repaired and improved.
According to Hifumi’s prognosis, if Vichy was really raising an army, they’d need around a month before they arrive.
Even just rallying the troops split up in order to protect all their cities would take a considerable amount of time, and since there isn’t a clear head of the state, there will be disputes regarding who gets to be in command.
Hifumi thought about attacking Vichy while they were slowly assembling their army, but he was busy enough with governing Fokalore. A couple of city-states situated within Vichy, but close to Orsongrande, had shown up to show their allegiance to Hifumi, and it was necessary for him to deal with them.
“Even if they come here, we can’t unconditionally accept them. We’ll soon be continuing our war with Vichy, so any specific exchanges will have to wait until after that.”
“Understood. I’ll convey that to the messengers.”
Origa was the one who interacted with the messengers.
Hifumi could’ve done it as well, but as there were many things to think about, Origa was temporarily given that role. They can decide what to do after the war is over.
“I don’t have the ability to be a politician to begin with. I’m glad I decided to train those civil official slaves ahead of time. If I were to try and gather people now, there wouldn’t be any time to sleep.”
After seeing Origa off, he stretched out on the reception sofa.
“Hifumi.”
Alyssa called out, having smoothly entered the slightly opened door.
Although it’s really a breach of etiquette, there wasn’t any need to hold back, as Hifumi was already aware of her presence. They had been conducting spy training for a while now though, in order to make her able to slip in and out soundlessly.
“I heard the metallic sound of the door, so you fail.”
Since Hifumi’s very strict when grading, Alyssa had yet to receive a passing grade.
“Th-that aside, you’ve got a visitor.”
“Who?”
“Well… It’s Kasha.”
So she came. Without letting Alyssa see, Hifumi sneered.
“Ehh, the talk about your endeavors have reached the capital. How you repelled Vichy’s army without any losses.”
“Aah, I see.”
After being let through to the reception, Kasha was sitting down, face to face with Hifumi, but the conversation wasn’t continuing.
Within the heavy atmosphere, Hifumi was observing the quiet Kasha as if he could see through her.
“…… So?”
「 Well… Er… 」
As she became flustered, there was a knock on the door, and Origa entered.
“Alyssa told me there was a visitor…”
Discovering Kasha, Origa instinctively stopped, and she quickly lost the smile on her face.
“So you’re here. Take a seat.”
Hifumi deliberately didn’t mention in what seat, nor make any hand gestures.
As Origa unhesitatingly chose to sit down next to Hifumi, Kasha showed a hint of sadness.
“So, what’s your business, coming here?”
“W-well, you see… I’m quite limited working alone as an adventurer, and partnering up with someone else now feels a bit…”
“After receiving such a big favor and selfishly leaving, you think Hifumi will let you back again?”
“Uuu…”
Hifumi was listening to their exchange in silence. If it kept going as it currently was, it would just end with Origa one-sidedly throwing accusations at Kasha, who would end up being chased away. It’s about time to give her some timely help.
“Well, ‘accept those who comes to you, and don’t chase those who leave’, they say. I don’t really mind employing you again. We’re lacking manpower, after all.”
“Hifumi!”
Seeing Hifumi approve as if nothing had happened, Origa clung to him to protest, but Hifumi put his hand on hers to calm her down.
“Your workload has increased considerably. If it’s an acquaintance whose abilities you know, it should be easier to divide the workload, wouldn’t it? Besides, there’s also the next battle. I don’t want to work you too hard.”
“Hifumi…”
With Hifumi showing concern for her, as well as holding her hand, Origa blushed.
What an easy to understand person, Hifumi thought, while Kas
ha raised some suspicions about him, saying such transparent words.
“Well, I won’t reinstate you in the territorial army. Having someone who left just to later return giving orders would be a bitter pill to swallow, right?”
Even if it’s like this, we’ve got to take things like the morale into consideration, Hifumi said with a smile.
“For the moment, I’ll have you be my guard and secretary, so please give me a hand. A room in this mansion will be prepared for you.”
“T-thank you. I’ll do my best, so please take care of me.”
“Right. There is plenty of work to be done, so work hard.”
Calling the maid, Hifumi ordered her to show Kasha her room, before leaving the room with Origa.
“It’s important to meet the other side’s expectations to some extent, at least.”
Although Origa didn’t understand what Hifumi meant, she did understand that his actions were backed up with confidence in something, so she didn’t say anything else.
The news about the annihilation of the pursuit unit from Vichy was quickly relayed to the central committee from the city accepting one of the fleeing soldiers.
Hearing the news, the committee members who gathered in order to deal with the situation stayed calm.
From the news they’ve collected about Hifumi, it wasn’t a mystery about that they were repelled as the pursuing soldiers only numbered 300. They were, however, dissatisfied with the loss of soldiers due to them fooling around.
“It was a miscalculation by the appointed commanding officer. But it’s pointless to place the blame on a dead man.”
“But we now know what weapons they’re using, so isn’t it fine thinking of this as reconnaissance for the upcoming all-out recapture operation?”
“After all, it’s just some troops gathered from small cities. They’re able to pursue, but aren’t good enough to have serve a purpose on a real battlefield.”
Even before Debold came as an envoy, Vichy had decided to resist with force, so everyone calmly accepted that they were going to fight.
“At any rate, that new viscount… Hifumi, was it? That man is dangerous.”
“If you look at it from the other side, if that Hifumi dies, won’t we stop Orsongrande?”
“But, the letter was signed by princess Imeraria, was it not?”
Amongst them, there were a couple who had seen princess Imeraria in the past. She had given them the impression of a girl unrelated to politics, and kind towards the populace. But these chains of events in Orsongrande have been sending mixed signals.
Summoned Slaughterer - Book 2 Page 14