Retreat Strategy

「All righty, then. Time to retreat. Deena is your problem. I won't bother with this case from here on out. Now, run!」

Doriachi ordered a few soldiers to drag Deena away with them. They could've tied her up and left her behind to her certain death, but they didn't. It showed just how soft this country was. j.a.pan wasn't much different, however. Even if someone committed ma.s.s murder, as long as they dropped their weapon and showed they would not resist, they'd get arrested and undergo trial. The authorities wouldn't kill the culprit no questions asked.

「In the end, I couldn't do anything.」Luke said, frustration in his voice.

He felt irritated that Hikaru, who came from the same place as him, played an active role, while he did nothing.

Hikaru shot down a dragon, repelled monsters with his revolver, and worked with Doriachi to minimize the effects of the monster invasion. That was what they all saw and knew. But what they didn't know—since he didn't mention it—was he was the one who took back control of the central bell tower and rang it. To prioritize the evacuation of the citizens, he went for the bell tower first, and not the battlefield.

「I saw the priest heal soldiers. Sounds good enough, if you ask me.」

「But I—」

「You're here as the priest's guard. If he's safe, that means you've succeeded in your mission.」

Hikaru heaved a sigh. Luke didn't seem satisfied.

「It's fine. You will have your moment.」

「What?」

「Monsters aren't only coming from the north, but from east and west as well. Although not as bad as here, a fair amount of monsters should've entered the city. The harbor should be a battlefield right now.」

「What? Really?!」

「Yeah, so go. Now.」

「Got it! Are you all ready?! We're headed to the harbor! Protect the priest at all costs!」

Hikaru heaved another sigh as he watched Luke go. He understood his feelings, but he wished the knight would stick to his actual duties instead.

「You good?」

「Yeah… Just surprised the guy can be hotblooded. Anyway, Star Face, can you please fire a huge one?」

「I can, but I might not be able to walk after this.」

「Don't worry. I'll take responsibility.」

「Okay, then.」

Lavia readied her staff with a smile on her face.

『Run! Big one coming!』Hikaru yelled.

Surrounded by soldiers, the king started running. The rebels followed as well.

Light particles appeared as Lavia started chanting her spell. Only Hikaru, Lavia, Paula and her bodyguards were left.

「Flower Face, got a sec?」

「O-Of course.」

Hikaru whispered into Paula's ears.

「Are you sure about this?」

「You know how powerful Stealth is. In fact, I'm worried about what would happen from here on out, so please go with them.」

「Okay! Promise me we'll meet again.」

「Of course.」

「Are you sure?」

「Well, I don't plan on dying here.」

「Yes, of course.」

Seemingly relieved, Paula broke into a run. Galixon and his men followed her in a hurry. Only Lavia and Hikaru remained behind. They could handle themselves. All they had to do now was save time.

「Flame Gospel!」

Monsters had climbed to the top of wall, and two Yamamaneki rose to their feet. Lavia put strength into her spellcasting to give momentum to the fireball. A ball of flames, twice as big as a minivan, appeared from the magic circle, and surged forward with incredible speed.

Lavia swung her staff from left to right, and the flames burned the top of the wall. Then, the metal staff cracked. The flames died out, but the spell managed to push the enemies back temporarily.

「Unfortunately, we'll have to leave the staff behind.」

The staff was made by Leniwood back in Pond. It provided stamina, but it couldn't handle Lavia's power.

「I need you to summon a Flame Wall as wide as possible. Can you do it?」

「I… I can… I'll… do it.」

Also a basic spell like Fire Breath, Flame Wall's length and duration depended on the amount of mana poured into the spell. Hikaru and Lavia left the open s.p.a.ce and fell back to the entrance of the city, making sure the monsters saw them.

「Flame Wall!」

As Lavia's chant ended, a wall of flames, far taller than Hikaru, appeared, blocking the path. Lavia, all out of mana, staggered, and Hikaru caught her.

「All right. Time for us to leave.」Hikaru said as he carried Lavia in his arms and started running.

「Let's get away from here, Princess.」

「Yes, onward.」

Lavia seemed to be struggling, but she was having fun. However, Hikaru wasn't heading to the harbor. After putting enough distance between them and the monsters, the enemy finally broke through the wall of flames. Paula and the bodyguards were gone from sight at this point. Hikaru made sure the monsters saw them before he changed directions, heading towards the east.

「Come on, now. Food's here. Make sure you follow us!」

He wanted to lead the monsters away from the harbor as much as possible. Only Hikaru, a master of Stealth, could do this.

Shouts erupted from the harbor. Soldiers were fighting several animal-type monsters.

『What's going on with the line of defense up north?! They haven't retreated yet?!』

『N-Not yet, it seems.』

『d.a.m.n it… How long do we have to wait?!』

『Gin!』Dolan called from the edge of the s.h.i.+p.『The s.h.i.+ps carrying the citizens have left! They're headed straight for the western seas!』

『Got it!』

Gin was fighting against monsters with other soldiers on the harbor. It was his original post—a kind of field foreman, not a company commander.

Their mission was to defend the s.h.i.+p to their last breath. They were waiting for their comrades, who were fighting Yamamaneki on the northern walls, and escape together. Only the fast s.h.i.+p was left behind. They were expecting more than a hundred people to arrive, and as such there were only very few personnel left behind to defend.

『More enemies spotted!』

『Oh, s.h.i.+t. Did they break through the western wall?!』

Luckily, no monsters were coming from the eastern side. Grucel's expedition squad's s.h.i.+ps were anch.o.r.ed on that side. Besides the long-range blast cannons, the s.h.i.+ps were also equipped with short-range ones, which they used to annihilate monsters near the wall.

The monsters must have realized that people were on the s.h.i.+ps and headed there instead, away from the wall.

The western side, on the other hand, was unmanned. Monsters must have either destroyed the wall or climbed over it.

『s.h.i.+t… I hope those guys are okay. They better not be all dead!』

They could only hold for so long. Gin and the soldiers would need time to board the s.h.i.+p too. Waiting for their comrades that were not coming and then getting wiped out would be too terrible. Feeling impatient, Gin gripped his sword tight and cut the head off of a wolf monster.

『Look!』A voice came from above.

Grucel stood on the deck of a huge wars.h.i.+p. It was the biggest one among the fleet, its deck higher than the rest.

The commander placed his fist on his chest, a gesture of respect. Blast cannons were lined up around him. With a loud bang, the blast cannons all spewed fire. Sh.e.l.ls rained down on the monsters at the harbor.

Monsters receiving direct hits were ripped to shreds, while others screeched as the gale engulfed them. The bombardment hit warehouses and office buildings as well, making holes on the walls. Some shook violently and collapsed.

Clouds of dust rose. Piles of rubble prevented the monsters from advancing.

『Now that's what I'm talking about. Nothing beats Dream Maker's most powerful weapon.』

Grucel didn't so much as twitch his brow, still keeping the gesture. The blast cannons were reloaded as the wars.h.i.+p pa.s.sed by. The commander carried the responsibility of leading the fleet towards the west. He wanted to stay at the king's side. But he had to push his feelings aside desperately to carry out his task.

『Lord Grucel's going to destroy the monsters on the west flank. All we have to do is deal with the leftovers!』

Gin expected Grucel to use up all their ammunition. What they needed to do was enter discussions with Vireocean, not start a war. Ammunition was unnecessary. Instead, they would use all of it here to kill as many monsters as possible to increase the chances of Doriachi making it to the s.h.i.+p safely.

『We will welcome His Majesty!』Gin shouted.

Soldiers yelled in response. They raised their weapons, gripping them tight. Bombardment from the blast cannons killed the faltering monsters. The wars.h.i.+p was sailing away. The blast cannons spewed fire.

Around the same time, soldiers retreating to the harbor spotted a monster up ahead—a boar about two meters tall.

『Enemy spotted!』

『Kill it!』

While a threat on its own, the boar stood no chance against over a hundred soldiers. They took it down in no time at all.

『Run straight for the harbor!』

『Oh man. The meat looks delicious.』

『We don't have time to dress the meat.』

They encountered a few more monsters after that, but they overpowered them with numbers all the same. Paula and the priest healed the injured. Now they just had to save their stamina to make it to the harbor.

The city was as still as death. The bells had stopped ringing a while ago. It was safe to a.s.sume the citizens had evacuated successfully.

『There! I see the docks!』

Even the most trained soldiers were drenched in sweat and running out of breath. Paula, completely exhausted, had to be carried on the backs of Galixon and the other bodyguards. Noticing the atmosphere was brightening, she lifted her head. She could see a s.h.i.+p two hundred meters ahead.

「Finally…」

The line of defense was still standing. Soldiers were in the middle of a battle, but it looked like they could get on board the s.h.i.+p without any problem. Paula felt so relieved that her body went limp.

「What…?」

Everything went dark all of a sudden. Paula quickly realized it was a shadow.

「Whaaaat?!」

Flapping its wings, the creature descended between them and the harbor. The earth shook as it landed, and a blast of wind swept through the land. It was just that ma.s.sive.

A dragon covered in silver scales.