It’s already been a week since we set up our main camp on Aria Plains. It was said that the Imperial army would be arriving soon but a lot of trouble among the Allied forces occurred.
Sigh, when other races gather in one place, discontent inevitably erupts. Elves and dwarves plus beastmen and wingmen. Then humans despised by the four races. Feuds between races that have been going on over a long period of time are not that easy to resolve after all.
“I can’t take it anymore! Please do something about the nightly banquet of the dwarves!”
“Screw off! We can’t live without alcohol! You guys who has been on retreat on the forest just won’t understand such good thing!”
General Luan and General Gril glared at each other at the meeting table. That alone would have been fine but when I looked next to me, General Jagi and General Hisan were also arguing.
“Can you please stop hurting my subordinates just for the sake of testing your skills? That’s why the beastmen are called the muscle-brain race!”
“I just wanted to see how many wingmen are capable of doing nothing but flying. I can’t let someone that powerless to protect the back of our Naji army you see.”
Meanwhile, Edner watched their argument with an expressionless face. He didn’t blink or move in the slightest. As expected of a knight from the Duke’s Imperial Guard. But when I listened closely, I heard some snoring. Looking closely, isn’t this just drawing eyes on his eyelids? Goodness!
“Wake up Edner!”
“Fua!?”
He fall out of his chair and he looked around nervously. Falling asleep during a fight…I don’t think we can beat the empire with this.
“Get your act together you guys!!”
I activated my dictatorship skill as I slammed the table. The meeting room then fell silent.
“An intense war with the Empire is about to begin yet the generals who should be in charge turned to be this pathetic!”
The five of them bowed their heads helplessly. I guess they know that too. They know but they just can’t stand it. Their wordless words reached me.
General Jagi looks up to me and speaks.
“Isn’t the reason why we are in discord like this is because you have no power as the supreme commander? If it were our king, the Beast King, this would never have happened.”
The others agreed with his words, saying things like, “If the queen took command”, and “If it was the King of the dwarves, something like this wouldn’t happen”.
The conclusion is that they don’t like the fact that I am the supreme commander.
Shifting blame is also a good point.
“All of you come out!”
I walked out of the Allied headquarters’ tent. The five others reluctantly came out after me.
Bah! Getting critized like this… it’s time to end being the “person who brings these people together”. Well, it’s a little late, but it’s better to clarify the exact power status here.
In the main camp, countless tents are lined up and each soldier is killing time by polishing their own weapons. Perhaps because the battle with the Empire is imminent, there is a tense atmosphere in the air. Everyone seems to be nervous because of it.
When we arrived at the square of the main camp, we were stared at by many soldiers.
“All five of you, come at me with the intention of defeating me.”
I turned around and spoke to the five generals. Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you sure? I’m pretty strong among the beastmen you know.”
General Jagi took a step forward, exuding a glittering ferocity.
Implicitly, he seems to be saying, “You won’t even know how you lose to me.”
“It doesn’t matter. Bring it on! I’ll give you the position of commander if you win.”
“Hooo-, that’s good. I’ve always thought that the beastmen should be the ones to lead the allied forces. I will be going against the Beast King’s orders but I’m sure he will understand that it was unavoidable.”
Jagi and I raised our fists and distanced ourselves from each other. Allied soldiers began to gather around us and started watching us. The soldiers of the Kingdom Army held their breath, and the soldiers of the Naji Army grinned.
“Here I come, Shinichi Tanaka.”
“Anytime.”
With a quick movement, Jagi throws a roundhouse kick at me. I narrowly avoided that kick. Seeing that, he shifted his movement to a back roundhouse kick. Once again, by a thin sliver of paper, I dodged his foot which seemed to be aiming for my neck, then he made another roundhouse kick. Every time I dodged his foot, his momentum increases due to centrifugal force.
As I continued to move backwards, I was looking for an opening.
“As expected, you can’t make a move! I don’t know how you managed to win over the beast king who hates humans, but, I already saw through your ability!”
Jagi seems to be good at kicking, he chases after me while spinning like a top. Actually, his legs are stronger than his arms. I’ll surely take some damage once I got hit.
Well, that is, if I got hit of course.
“Fuu!”
I brushed off his legs with my foot. Aside from the roundhouse kick, the back roundhouse kick will always leave his back an opening. As long as I get the timing right, it’s easy to throw him on the ground.
“Kuu-, It’s not over yet!”
Jagi, who has fallen, immediately tries to get back up. However, there is no way that I will do nothing and look at it in a daze. By quickly intertwining his legs with my own, I made a four-leg lock figure.
“A-A-aaaa- e-it huuurts!?”
“Kukuku, if you give up, I’ll let you go.”
“Gi-, give up! I give up!”
When I released Jagi, he showed a chagrined look. He must have imagined a heroic test of skill, like my fistfight with the Beast King. Unfortunately, if I did that, it’s a one-shot KO for someone of Jagi’s caliber. Now he just lose his face as a general. That is my least mercy.
“One of you is out. Hmm, what a hassle… then, all four of you can come at the same time!”
“S-Seriously? We are all generals you know?”
General Luan was shocked as sweat dripped from his forehead. The other three also had their hands on their weapons but they seemed to be hesitant to make a move. Well, unlike Jagi, they probably has a good eye for seeing through someone’s ability.
“If you don’t make a move, I’ll come at you from here.”
As soon as I start moving, the three of them drew their weapons and made a move.
First up is Hisan.
By spreading his wings, he quickly soared in the sky and then he swoops down with a spear. It’s a pretty good move that takes advantage of his characteristics as a winged man. However, the opening of such attack is too big. I grabbed the spear thrusting towards me with my bare hands and then I slammed the spear into the ground.
“Agghh!”
Hisan lost consciousness. He is the second person to retire.
Next, Gril made his move.
He swings his thick, sturdy axe sideways toward me. As expected, this attack also has many openings. I think I can take a nap just by doing the preliminary movements. I kicked his ax up from below and then I delivered a gouging like body blow to his abdomen that’s full of opening.
“Uguaa-”
As Gril fell to the ground, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Luan’s sword strike who aimed for that opening.
His specialized weapon is like a saber. The flexible and sharp tip targets my vital points with pinpoint precision. There was no need for me to dodge, I received his sharp thrust to my chest. The iron plate of the breastplate I am wearing was pierced and the tip of his sword stuck right above my heart. However, the saber could not pierce my skin. That’s right, the tip of his sword stopped on my skin.
“Damn it! So hard! Are you really a human!?”
I grabbed the sword and pulled Luan closer, then I made an uppercut on his chin. He was easily knocked out.
“Now then… the last one… uh-”
When I looked at Edner, he had his hands raised without drawing his sword. It’s a pose of surrender.
“Don’t you have any complaints about me being in charge?”
“No, none at all. We, the kingdom’s army, are in a position that needs help you see. I’m grateful and have nothing to complaint about. Besides, I don’t have the courage to fight you, who defeated the generals of the four races head-on.”
He’s an honest man. In addition, he is the one who observes the scene most. He was probably looking for a chance to win by having the four generals fight me first. It’s one thing to say that it’s typical for a human but I feel like this kind of person would survive on the battlefield.
I draw my sword, raise it to the sky, and declares: (Of course, the skill dictatorship is still in effect.)
“I tell all my soldiers! We are comrades who share the same will! We are warriors gathered to overthrow the empire and restore peace to the world! There may be differences in race, but, there is no difference in the spirit residing in us. We are here with the same pride in our hearts! Follow me! I will definitely show you our glory!”
The soldiers heard my words and with “woooo-”, they cheered. The power of my skill must have captured their hearts.
In an instant, the soldiers started shouting, “Homeless! Homeless!”. I burst out laughing in ecstasy.
“The Beast King appeared!”
I turned around when I heard the voices coming from the Naji army. Before I knew it, the Beast King was standing there with his arms crossed.
“It’s been a few weeks!”
“Yeah-. Well, Beast King seems to be doing well huh.”
We hugged each other. It’s like we’ve been best friends for years. But why is the Beast King in this place?
Before I could ask questions, the Beast King began to tell me about the situation.
“I was going to leave the fight against the Empire to the generals and Shinichi at first. However, somehow, my blood kept on boiling. I persuaded my wife and people then I rushed over here.”
“That’s a good thing! I too felt disappointed that the Beast King did not appear. If someone as powerful as the Beast King participates, this battle will be as good as won. Thank you for coming.”
I and the Beast King smiled at each other. It’s good to have friends who are equals.
“But, you are so strange Shinichi.”
While saying that, the Beast King looks over at the soldiers of the Allied Forces. Soldiers of different races were filled with fighting spirit through my encouragement.
“What is strange about me?”
“With such power comparable to a king, I can’t really believe that you are just an adventurer. Aren’t you really some kind of royalty?”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m just a Homeless guy. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Woosssh-.
A winged soldier swooped down from the sky. As soon as he landed, he got down on one knee in front of me and reported the information he had obtained from the reconnaissance.
“I’ve seen the Imperial army twenty kilometers from here, I think they’ll be here in a few hours!”
The Allied headquarters went abuzz. At last, the empire has arrived.
I immediately gave orders.
“Create a full army formation! Generals, do not advance until you receive instructions from me! ”
“““Yes!”””
Things get busy inside the headquarters. When I looked to the side, the Beast King was gone before I knew it. As soon as he returned, I noticed that the Beast King was equipped with Flame God’s Gauntlet as a weapon. Considering his ability and equipment, there’s probably no need to worry.
“Shinichi!”
Erna and the others also arrived. Just in case, the three of them will also fight. I don’t want to put them in danger but as adventurers, they won’t be able to do dangerous work if I keep saying things like that. That is why I plan to have them fight on the front lines together. Besides, it’s easier for me to help them if they stay close to me than for them to fight from a distance.
“Are all three of you ready?”
“Of course! I’ll engrave the name, Archmage Erna, on the Empire!”
“Yes, we’re good. Me and Freya-san have practiced a lot.”
“Hahaha, I am finally making my battlefield debut with Pero-sama. My heart is pounding with excitement you see!”
I ignored Freya who got too excited on her own. It looks like both Erna and Pero are fully prepared.
“Let’s go!”
We then set out to fight against the Empire.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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