WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
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◈ The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore ◈
Chapter 65: I've Wanted to Do That for a Long Time
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Day 4 of the expedition.
Naturally, the deeper they pushed toward the center, the more the air clung to them like something sticky.
The ash grew thicker, and mutated magical beasts kept attacking their route.
But the expedition's morale was already soaring high.
“Kuahaha! Buraltak! I've already cracked more than twenty magical beast skulls!”
“I've passed thirty, Bellutak!”
The vanguard's efforts in clearing the path stood out.
As the Vanguard Commander, it was a delight to watch.
The barbarian brothers, Bellutak and Buraltak, were berserkers who had cast aside fear.
They had even made a bet over who could kill more magical beasts.
Black Knight Bagot was always behind them.
Whenever his black iron greatsword swung, huge magical beasts were split in half and sent tumbling to the ground.
“I'll cover your blind spots! Be careful!”
The vanguard could charge about so recklessly because Lucia supported them perfectly from behind.
Precise magic struck exactly where it was needed. Swift sword strikes left no openings.
Lucia perfectly filled every gap in the vanguard, doubling the front line's destructive power.
Slice!
A silver trail cut through the air from within the mist.
Whenever Luna's energy flashed, magical beasts' heads fell like wheat at harvest.
Movements that eliminated needless exhaustion.
Footwork that slipped through chaotic battles like a feather.
Restrained killing intent that severed only the enemy's breath.
If one had to name the most outstanding member of the vanguard, it was undoubtedly Selena.
She had accumulated countless real combat experiences, including her deployment in the north.
Had my sister been alive in my first life, she would have long since surpassed the rank of Swordmaster.
Whoosh.
I sheathed my sword and looked around.
The magical beasts that had been rushing at us like waves suddenly stopped.
No moving magical beasts remained nearby. At most, there were only death spasms.
In the desolate scene reeking of blood, the soldiers lowered their weapons.
“Phew. I suppose that's it for today.”
It was Lucia, who had come up beside me. Her face was streaked with blood.
I took out a handkerchief and offered it to her. Her round ruby-colored eyes stared at me.
“It's part of being a gentleman.”
“Uh... It does feel a little out of place on a battlefield...?”
Even as she said that, she accepted the handkerchief.
Wipe. Wipe.
Lucia wiped the blood from her cheek.
Then she looked at the handkerchief and tilted her head.
“The embroidery is pretty clumsy. It doesn't seem like something you made yourself, Young Lord.”
“Celine made it for me. It was a birthday present.”
“Ah, no wonder I thought it was so cute. This black cat is adorable.”
“It's a Black Lion. The Black Lion is the symbol of Cardenos.”
“...Sorry.”
Someone approached us in the meantime.
Selena was wiping the blood from her sword with a cloth.
“You really are the Hero of the North, Sister. We would have been in real trouble without you.”
It was a fairly sincere compliment.
Selena's gaze briefly slid toward me.
Only for a moment. Then she went back to wiping her blade.
Before long, the scouts who had gone ahead returned to the main force.
For some reason, Ariel, who led them, looked pale as a sheet.
“Commander. Beyond that point, there aren't even any magical beast droppings or tracks. And...”
Ariel swallowed dryly.
“There was a dense pheromone mixed into the air. Just as you said, I think it's a domination pheromone. Just smelling it feels like the Fear of a high-ranking magical beast is...”
“It seems we've entered the boss's territory.”
I had already thought it was about time.
There were four bosses in the Ashen Forest.
To reach the center, we had to pass through one of their territories.
Once we reached the center, dealing with the remaining bosses would be easy.
After establishing a base, defending it, and focusing on purification work, they would naturally weaken.
What mattered was the fierce battle with the boss magical beast that would soon begin.
The thing people often mentioned in the north, a magical beast wave.
Just as the name implied, vicious mutated magical beasts would pour in from every direction like a tidal wave.
There could be thousands. Perhaps even ten thousand.
I wasn't afraid. I'd already faced far worse.
“Gather the commanders of every unit.”
* * *
Inside the command tent erected at the center of the main force.
Until I spoke, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Around the conference table sat Hendrickson, Julian, Ariel, Selena, and Lucia.
The Holy Sword Keeper stood in the corner of the tent with arms crossed, maintaining a heavy silence.
The centurions also sat in silence.
A tactical map was spread across the center of the table.
Tension filled Ariel's voice as she pointed at it.
“The strange presence in the air is growing stronger. It isn't ash or demonic energy. It's the pheromone of a specific magical beast.”
It smelled sweet, yet rotten, like sulfur.
The commanders had already heard the explanation of the domination pheromone.
Outside the tent, some soldiers with weak mental fortitude were suffering from headaches and panic.
The Fear of a high-ranking magical beast was weighing on their minds through scent alone.
I added to Ariel's explanation.
“We have entered the boss's territory. Since it has noticed the intruders, it will be gathering the magical beasts nearby.”
The commanders' expressions hardened.
Even Swordmaster Hendrickson's face darkened grimly.
A pack of beasts driven only by instinct was not frightening.
But a pack controlled by a boss was no different from a disaster.
“Even suppressing the magical beasts' instincts has its limits. Now that they've smelled living flesh, it won't be able to control them forever. So...”
I quietly looked down at the map and declared, “The full assault will come tonight.”
Sharp intakes of breath sounded throughout the tent.
In the heavy atmosphere, I turned to Selena.
“You're the only one here who has experienced a magical beast wave recently, Sister. How did you handle it then?”
Selena uncrossed her arms and spoke.
“Usually, we formed a defensive line with a cliff or lake behind us. Blocking the rear and holding off only the enemies in front was the best option. We also used terrain to lure them into narrow passages.”
Selena's eyes swept over the tactical map.
“But right now, we are on an open plain with nothing around us. Facing magical beasts rushing in from every direction is madness. Following the usual doctrine will only lead to our annihilation.”
The air inside the tent froze.
A few centurions turned white.
Thunk!
I drove a dagger into the center of the map.
“If there is no terrain to put at our backs, we simply make our own walls.”
The commanders' wavering gazes all turned toward me.
“Julian. Bring in every supply wagon and link them into a circle. Use all the chains and ropes we have to bind them together. We will build a wagon-circle formation.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Even a magical beast wave cannot break through a circular wall of wagons in one go. They will inevitably bottleneck. The shield units only need to block the gaps between the wagons. That will reduce stamina consumption to a minimum.”
“Then what will you and the vanguard do, Commander?”
I answered Lucia's question immediately.
“The vanguard and I will wait at the center of the circular formation. From the center, the travel distance is shortest in every direction. If one side becomes the most dangerous, we will rush there at once, then return to the center.”
It was the best strategy available to the mobile vanguard while surrounded on all sides, a somewhat flexible interior-lines strategy.
“There is only one way to survive a magical beast wave. We must hold our ground without collapsing inside the walls we build.”
Every commander nodded without objection.
I took in the faces of the commanders filling the tent one by one.
The fear and despair that had been on their faces moments ago were gone, replaced by firm resolve.
“Prepare as if this will be our final assault.”
If we got through this without major losses, we would have secured the road to the heart of the forest.
* * *
“Pull! Tighten those chains!”
“Close up the shield wall! Don't leave any gaps!”
The outskirts of the main force had become a fortress construction site.
Dozens of heavy supply wagons were linked into a vast circle, with chains tightly binding the gaps between them.
Wedges had been driven under every wagon wheel to keep them from being pushed back.
Behind them, mercenaries layered shields together to form an ironclad barrier.
“Deploy the warding scrolls!”
At Julian's shout, the soldiers pulled out the prepared parchment scrolls.
Shhhhhh!
Bluish light spread over the shields filling the gaps between the wagons.
That was not all.
The engineer captain and artisans tore up the ground around the formation with their bare hands, setting traps.
“This could pass for a siege defense.”
Hendrickson clicked his tongue as he inspected every corner of the formation.
They had built a flexible camp fortress from supply wagons.
And they had done it in a single day.
Even Hendrickson, who had experienced countless battlefields over several decades, had never seen anything like it.
“Commander! Shield Unit One is ready!”
“Shield Unit Three! Formation complete!”
Astin stood at the center and surveyed the surroundings.
A wall of steel and magic fitted together without a single gap.
Yet the mercenaries with weak mental fortitude trembled all over. It was the effect of the unseen Fear.
“Good work. All units, hold your positions and wait.”
By then, a full moon had risen overhead.
Branches on every side stretched long black shadows.
Not a single magical beast cry could be heard. It was the calm before the storm.
Only the soldiers' rough breathing echoed within the massive formation.
Rumble!
A massive tremor shook the ground beneath the soldiers' feet.
Grrrraaaah!
Monstrous cries began echoing through the thick night and mist.
Astin turned his head.
Lucia knelt on one knee, both hands pressed to the ground.
Mana spread in ripples from her fingertips, which had become one with the earth.
It was a detection spell that scanned for living presences within range through the ground.
“...”
Cold sweat gathered on Lucia's forehead.
Her face had already gone white as paper. Her slender shoulders curled inward.
Lucia slowly opened her eyes. Her dry lips moved.
“The number of magical beasts detected within range has passed twenty thousand. No, it is still increasing even now.”
The magical beasts outnumbered the expedition by more than two to one.
At those words, the soldiers nearby stopped breathing.
“T-Twenty thousand...?”
“That can't be true. How can there be twice as many magical beasts as us?!”
Clang!
A spear slipped from one soldier's hand and clattered to the ground.
Rattle, rattle.
The hands gripping weapons trembled like aspen leaves.
Some stumbled backward and fell onto the dirt, while the mercenaries holding iron shields gasped for breath.
The once-solid shield wall creaked as if teeth had been knocked out of it.
“That much, huh.”
Astin's voice cut through the soldiers.
“Each person only needs to do the work of two.”
Astin's muttering reached the soldiers' ears.
A joke in a situation like this?
No, was he serious?
Leaving the stunned soldiers behind, Astin turned his gaze toward the gathered members of the vanguard.
“The vanguard will do the work of ten men each. If you can't, kill yourselves.”
“Yes!!!”
Their booming reply rang in every direction.
They had answered happily the moment they were told to die.
The soldiers clicked their tongues, all thinking the same thing.
Neither their commander nor the vanguard was in their right mind.
Jenkinson of the vanguard bluntly said to the soldiers, “Don't let them break through. Think of it as your own asshole and plug it.”
Smack!
Jenkinson's face suddenly jerked forward. He rubbed the back of his neck and shot Astin a sideways look.
“You say you want to become a knight. Is that how a knight speaks?”
“...My apologies.”
“Bring me twenty magical beast heads. If you can't, forget becoming a knight. I'll use you as a human shield.”
Step.
At the sound of someone approaching, Astin glanced to the side.
Selena was staring at him through slightly narrowed eyes.
“What is it, Sister?”
“Astin, you are moving with me no matter what.”
“...Pardon?”
“Don't leave my side. I've said it.”
As if to prove her words, Selena stuck right beside him.
Astin's expression twisted strangely.
Why is my sister being so overprotective?
Living two lives really did change things.
Besides, who was going to save whom?
Whooom!
Red-gold Solar coated Astin's raised sword.
At the same time, silver Luna began gathering around Selena's sword.
Astin's gaze fixed on her blade.
“Sister, isn't it possible that I might be the one to save you instead?”
“...”
“If that happens, grant me one favor.”
Selena, who had only been watching him, quietly spoke.
“What favor?”
“Abandon that worthless Luna and switch to Sun Rings. That is all.”
Selena's gaze shifted to her own sword. Dazzling moonlight flowed over its blade.
“If I save you...”
“Then I will grant you one favor as well. Anything.”
Selena would probably ask for something difficult.
“Even if you tell me to give up the position of head of the house, I will.”
Of course, Selena would never ask that. She would win it with her own hands.
Just as expected, Selena's brow furrowed slightly.
“I don't want that.”
“If you want, I can wait on you from now on. This life you saved, I'll devote it to you.”
“Don't joke around. This isn't the mood for it.”
Tap.
Selena's gauntlet struck Astin's breastplate. Astin grinned.
“I am not joking. I mean it. I'll grant you anything, so just tell me.”
Selena's silver eyes narrowed.
She pulled back the fist that had rested against Astin's breastplate.
“Spring will be here soon.”
“...Yes. I suppose it will?”
Astin tilted his head at the unexpected words.
Why was she suddenly talking about spring? It wasn't as though she had become sentimental.
Wondering what she meant, Astin could not take his eyes off her face.
“You, me, and Celine.”
Selena loosely gripped her sword hilt as her gaze drifted away.
“I want the three of us to go see the flowers bloom together.”
Astin's mouth fell slightly open.
Selena glanced at his stunned profile and smiled faintly.
“I've wanted to do that for a long time.”
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