321: The Burnt Oasis
The mop-up of the imperial capital was over rather quickly.
The neutralization of the outer wall defenders, the breaching of the outer and inner wall gates, the attack on the city, the breaching of the imperial castle’s main gate, the neutralization of the watchtowers—with all that done, all that was left were the fleeing populace and the confused soldiers.
Organized resistance had effectively ended.
The commander-class officers had probably been mostly taken out in the dragon attack, and the coordination between the Black Hound Barghests and the undead had given us an overwhelming advantage in the urban warfare of the half-ruined imperial capital. The only real resistance, inside the imperial castle, was a matter of time.
Rebecca’s impromptu undead… a wave of zombies… was a brutal tactic.
Rebecca turned and her crimson eyes met mine.
“…What is it?”
“No, I was just thinking that my subordinates are excellent.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, but did you think of something rude?”
She was sharp.
“How do you know that? But I was just… a little scared of how well you were doing.”
“It’s not that I know. It’s a hunch. …I’ve always thought that about you.” Rebecca smiled wryly.
“Really? I’m basically just a decoration.”
“That’s what a commander is. This expedition… and all the operations up to now… would not have been possible without you. …Though I don’t know if that was a good thing for you.”
I laughed.
“There is no good or bad. I’m just going to see it through to the end.”
The war had already begun. All a participant could do was to believe… no, to decide… that it was right. If you hesitated, your allies would die. Your comrades would die. If you stopped, nothing would be left.
Lital-sama and the dragons were resting in the shade of the outer wall.
Rebecca and I approached, and the dragon with the silver scales raised its long neck.
“Lital-sama! …You’ve worked hard.”
“Our… casualties?”
“The Black Hound Barghests are fine. The net change is not much. About thirty of the death knights. You know… how small a number that is on a battlefield of this scale.”
The survivors were now so strong that they could be called a disaster, even for an undead. And yet, numbers were a form of violence. I didn’t want a single one of them to die, but I knew… that was an impossible wish.
“Yes. We have lost eight.”
“…Eight?” Had that many been shot down?
“Some died after we had withdrawn. But the rest are not in any danger.”
Lital-sama’s scales, too, were slightly damaged, and her flank was scorched black.
“This? …There was one who, knowing that a flame was coming, did not flee, but unleashed a [Lightning] bolt. …An admirable foe.”
Lital-sama, noticing my gaze, explained and sighed.
“…But if you are safe, then that is enough. It was worth it, to lead the charge.”
“Without a doubt.” I nodded deeply.
If it had been a question of whether we could win, then we probably could have. But the Barghests and the death knights would have been more than halved… and even then, it might have been a battle that could have been called a success.
“But… all these forces, just for a rearguard? Even after losing their elite to the Sixth Army…”
“Because there is that much of a… difference in our national strength.”
The exact number of forces mobilized for this ‘expedition’ was unknown. Whether it was to confuse the information, or to inspire the army and the people… or whether they really didn’t know, the numbers were inconsistent. Perhaps even the humans didn’t know. But it was said to be between five hundred thousand and a million, and at most, two million.
But to actually send two million soldiers, even with magic, would be a logistical nightmare, so I thought it was probably less than that. The Holy Kingdom had once mobilized a hundred thousand militia, but that had been a suicide mission, where they were expected to loot and then die. I wasn’t sure how much the soldiers themselves had known, but that had been the case even with the shortest route, a direct attack over the Lital Mountains from the Holy Kingdom.
Most of the Sixth Army was undead, and with Aithys, the griffin rider, our marching speed was fast, even with me, the biggest liability. So, I was hoping that the humans’ marching speed would be surprisingly slow.
“…Can we… win against the humans?”
“That is the plan. War is not just about comparing forces.”
It also depended on how much time our own country had managed to buy.
…Numbers were strength. To take a single fortress like Litalside would be a light burden on their logistics. If they had concentrated all their forces on Litalside and made that the site of the decisive battle… we would have undoubtedly lost. If we had been unable to defend Litalside and had lost almost all of our forces, then we would have been plundered, one by one, and driven back, and then surely—we would have been cornered until the last one of us was gone.
That future was still a possible one. We had no information. We were in enemy territory, and our information was cut off. Had the second attack on Litalside begun? If they were planning to whittle down our forces with a series of skirmishes, then the battle would have already begun. If they were planning to break through with a concentrated force, then they might still be gathering.
“We will fight in our own country. We will fight on a battlefield that is advantageous to us. Without fatigue, without hunger—with everything we must protect behind us.”
We would give the humans none of that. That was the job of the Lord of Disease.
“…Yes. But we cannot participate in the coming battles in human territory. The search for the free dragons is not yet over, and many of us are wounded and are not in a condition to fight.”
“Of course. We have seen the full extent of the First Army’s power.”
Indeed, it had been a battle that had shown why the dragons were the strongest. The fact that the Dragon Knights, who had been twice their number, no longer existed on this earth… I really thought that my past self had done a good job.
“…How are you?”
Even with the Dragon Knights, it had been a fierce battle that Lital-sama had seemed to be able to handle, but she was not invincible. The fact that she looked tired was probably not just because she had lost her comrades. The offensive magic she had taken, the supersonic flight that was estimated to be at Mach speed, the forceful evasive maneuvers, the long-duration breath attack—or all of the above.
“If I rest for a while, I will be fine. I am not unscathed, but as I said, it is far better than to have you bear this wound.”
“Yes. …But please, rest well.”
“Yes. …But today’s battle has made me understand.” Lital-sama let out a long, deep sigh.
“The age of the dragons is over…”
“Lital-sama?”
“The sharpness of the arrows, the power of the offensive magic, are no longer what I know. As the leader of the First Army, I thought I knew, but… perhaps I had thought, somewhere in my heart, that if we were to get serious, there would be no enemy we could not defeat…”
“…Yes. Perhaps if the imperial capital had been at full strength…”
“Yes. If I were to lead this number of dragons, I could destroy it. We are a strong race. But our children are few, and they grow slowly. …If even one is killed, then that is our ‘loss’… we are a weak race.”
With Lital-sama’s power, it would be easy to just destroy. But if she were alone, she would probably succumb to the rain of arrows and offensive magic, and if she were to lead her kin as a shield, they would be scattered. The only victory condition for a dragon was a complete victory.
“…From here on, I will return to the search for my kin. I will be in time for the final battle. But I myself will probably not be able to stand on the battlefield. A wound of this degree will heal, but…”
“Yes. We cannot risk Lital-sama being shot down. The rest is our job.”
Lital-sama’s head drooped a little.
“To have power, and yet to be unable to fight… is a shame.”
“Today’s battle is enough. I will bring the ones you have protected back to our country. And when we have all ‘lost’…”
“Yes. In the name of a supreme commander of the Demon King’s army. …I will protect everything behind me.”
I was relieved that Lital-sama had nodded. I still didn’t know if we could ‘win’ in the decisive battle. And yet, even if the humans ‘won’ against us—they would then have to fight Lital-sama and the last dozen or so dragons who would be left to preserve the species. And if they were to try to kill every last citizen of Listrea, for a complete victory, then the people, led by a small rearguard, would take up their swords. The thought of making the children, who were too young to be on the battlefield, take up arms was infuriating, but by then, we would probably be dead.
“Then we will be on our way. Please, take care of yourself.”
“Lital-sama, the words of the knights. —‘If it weren’t for the dragons, half of us would have been dead.’ They were grateful. I—am also grateful.”
At the words of Rebecca and the death knights she had been entrusted with, Lital-sama seemed to smile.
“I just flew for my comrades. …Don’t die.”
“Yes.”
There were no absolutes on the battlefield. And yet, I had a responsibility to bring back the knights who had been protected by this person today.
So I nodded and, as a fellow supreme commander, we exchanged a smile—or something like it.
After parting with Lital-sama, as I was returning to the camp with Rebecca, I looked to the northwest. The distant Lital Mountains were hazy, but their snow-capped peaks were illuminated by the setting sun, and they appeared white.
Today, the capital of a nation that had worshipped a sun and fire god had fallen. The next enemy was the nation that had been built at the foot of that mountain, in the name of a single god.
If there was a god in this world—I would make them regret not acknowledging the existence of non-humans.
