Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 118

Chapter 118: The Battle of Leipzig
  Incidentally, the aforementioned rock doll is the prototype of the “Mechanical Doll” and the “Mechanical Magi” developed by the elves. A certain young lady of a lord’s family, who was trapped in the dimensional gap while crossing the parallel world’s wall, is also well-versed in it.
  
  Therefore, Aynst’s voice echoed in my mind through the communication lines adjusted for cooperation with the Zephyrus Domain forces. He commanded a total of twenty giant knights, marching alongside the Knight Kingdom’s forces.
  
  『Under the Knight King, there were twin elves, so you may already know, but the enemy’s main force is based on a lump of citrine attached to a knight frame, inhabited by an earth spirit.』
  
  『Ah, even if the formed natural mineral outer armor is somewhat brittle, they won’t stop until the core is crushed, right?』
  
  Adding that hindering their movements, such as destroying their limbs, is also effective, Eliza, the auburn-haired mage, added her words with an affirmative reply.
  
  『Since most of their bodies are composed of earth, lightning magic will be ineffective as it flows into the ground. Everyone, please be extremely careful.』
  
  『Well, I was prepared for the fact that it’s incompatible with my magic… I’m sorry, Onii-sama.』
  『Don’t worry about it, I’ll overwhelm them with my swordsmanship.』
  
  While Lloyd, who usually doesn’t get flustered, responded to his mage sister and created a world just for the two of them as usual… the distance between us and the enemy closed, and we entered the engagement zone with the enemy forces deployed on the south side of the core city.
  The giant golems, now clearly visible through the pseudo eyeballs, had several rock masses about 80cm in diameter floating in front of them, suggesting they were ready to intercept us.
  
  『Narrow the formation! Reduce speed!!』
  
  Wary of the earth-attribute magic bullet “Stone Bullet,” the veteran Knight Captain accelerated the Clawsolas L-type he piloted with his adopted daughter contrary to his own instructions, advancing their position just before entering the enemy’s range.
  
  As we carefully reached a point about 600m from the city walls of Leipzig, shoulder to shoulder with our allies, about thirty rock dolls, seemingly melee types, standing in the enemy’s vanguard responded. They thrust out their unbalanced arms, disproportionately thick compared to their bodies.
  
  “””Uoooo…Oooooh……”””
  『Everyone, get down!!』
  
  To counter the rock masses fired with a roar like the wind blowing through a cave, the Captain’s knight, kneeling quickly while applying the brakes like the other fellow knights, pressed his right palm against the ground.
  
  The moment it touched the ground, Fine’s specialty magic, “Stonehenge,” was activated. Multiple stone pillars instantly rose from the earth, forming a two-layered physical barrier that intercepted the initial volley of projectiles.
  
  『Whoa, heavy… They might break through.』
  『… I’ll fall back.』
  
  Dino, muttering briefly amidst the intense crashing sounds, disliked the idea of the reactive armor attached to his specialized shield exploding pointlessly. He retreated his crouched Guardia towards us.
  
  The Tsukigase siblings’ Begalta, which was dual sword-equipped and focused on evasion, relying solely on the alchemically made gauntlets on both arms of the knight for defense, followed suit. Two Svel F-types moved into the space in front of the Captain’s knight, who was unable to move due to maintaining the spell.
  
  Each of them held up a small shield connected to their left arm, shielding against the fragments of various sizes scattered from the second volley of rock masses aimed at the damaged sections.
  
  Naturally, the enemy’s attacks were not solely targeted at the Knight Kingdom. They were also directed at the Zephyrus Domain forces to our right, separated by a certain distance. Multiple mages were working together to construct a layered, semi-transparent floating barrier.
  
  Having glanced at that scene, I reaffirmed my belief that Fine, who was equivalent to several mages on her own, was a talented individual. Then, Aynst spoke through the communication line for cooperation.
  
  『We will return fire and shout a war cry. What do you say, Knight King?』
  『Understood, let’s join in.』
  
  『The attack has ceased. I will cancel the alchemical formula.』
  『Spread out and counterattack!!』
  
  The Knight Captain’s adopted daughter, who had been listening to the brief conversation, returned the mostly destroyed stone pillars to dust. At her adoptive father’s roared command, the knights, spreading out in a wedge formation, were about to activate their embedded magic… but four giant golems rapid-fired the rock masses they had seemingly used up but had actually saved.
  
  Apparently, someone had taken advantage of the slight gap as we were transitioning to offense and we were hit. From behind, the grating sound of armor being scraped and the sound of metal plates being crushed echoed.
  
  『No way… That can’t be true, Darvi!!』
  『Gah……u…………』
  
  From Kotono’s scream-like cry, I could tell that the pilots of the second Svel S-type knight had suffered fatal damage. However, it wasn’t a situation where I could turn around and confirm, so I forcibly swallowed down the various emotions that welled up in my chest.
  
  While harboring feelings that couldn’t be easily dismissed, I vibrated the diaphragm built into Belphegor’s external loudspeaker and gave the order to my subordinate giant knights, who were already in firing positions.
  
  『『All units, fire!!』』
  
  Judging from the voices flying around, it seemed that the commander of our allied forces, who had suffered casualties just like us, also shouted in anger. The knights equipped with projectile magic belonging to both camps reacted in a chain, activating the formulas they had been building up to the activation stage.
  
  Ignoring the numerous earthen masses rising from the ground to form a wall, perhaps the work of the few remaining mage types hiding behind the targeted enemies, the simultaneous attacks of wind, flames, and other multiple attributes that arrived one after another created a cloud of dust with a roaring sound.