Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 123

Chapter 123: I Want You to Experience What It’s Like to Be Given a Weapon Packed with the Romance of Engineers By Dino
  Although we were able to secure the autonomous magic core installed in the “Mechanical Magi” without destroying it, thanks to the opponent coincidentally shielding their chest with a buckler during the attack and defense, narrowing down our attack range, I can’t be happy considering the human casualties.
  
  Perhaps sensing my feelings, Revia, who pilots the Clawsolas with me, whispers in a caring tone.
  
  『I think we did what we could. It’s an extreme argument, but it’s unavoidable that people die in conflicts, and the self-righteousness of thinking we can save everyone is nothing but arrogance, Claude.』
  
  『Yeah, I know. I just want to be a “troubled Socrates.”』
  『Ugh, more difficult talk…』
  
  Unable to fully grasp the metaphorical expression of not being easily satisfied and wanting to strive for the best even if it’s impossible, a faint suspicion of “Was I just brushed off?” was transmitted through the nerve nodes of the artificial muscles connecting the Clawsolas and my body.
  
  If I looked back at the rear seat, her crimson eyes would probably be narrowed in suspicion.
  
  With a wry smile at the adorable, dissatisfied face that crossed my mind, I tried to add more words while focusing on the situation at the city’s south gate, about 400-500 meters away, waiting for the exchange between the accompanying mage and the surviving Zephyrus knights to end before they called out through the external loudspeaker.
  
  『Thank you for your assistance.』
  『Thanks to you, it seems we were able to save some lives.』
  
  Prompted by their words, which contained a bit of relief, I glanced at where the pseudo-eyeballs were focused and saw an attendant soldier in a maid-style military uniform, her forehead stained with blood, emerge from the airship.
  
  I moved my Clawsolas closer to the local Japanese black-haired girl who was limping towards us, listened to her report about Lady White Fox’s safety and the serious condition of one of the airship mages, and then brought my attention back to the battlefield.
  
  『Once again, I’m a spectator in the final stages…』
  『Ugh, my arms hurt. Can’t we partially shut off the sensory sharing?』
  
  Belphegor’s right arm, which was deeply slashed during a surprise attack, and my left arm, which I sacrificed to destroy the magic furnace of the winged Clawsolas, were covered in scabs from the crimson magic fluid. Although they had begun to self-repair, they were not in a condition to continue fighting.
  
  Having repelled the intelligent beings of the superior race belonging to the Hour of Ruin, I decided that I had fulfilled my minimum role and observed the scene unfolding at a slight distance from the cockpit.
  
  
  Due to the forced landing incident of the airship “Zeppelin Count” carrying the lord’s daughter, which forced the Zephyrus Domain forces to provide assistance, resulting in a decrease in their fighting strength, and the Knights’ desire to avoid excessive losses on foreign soil, the battle at the south gate, which had been in a stalemate, was also approaching its climax.
  
  Since the attendant’s winged Clawsolas took flight, the enemy’s giant golems had been following the lead of the two “Mechanical Dolls” called Aeon, who were in command, maneuvering to hold back the giant knight units of each camp, but…
  
  Undeterred by being slightly outnumbered, Lloyd, a silver-haired, blue-eyed knight, along with his younger sister mage, piloted a dual-sword Begalta, stepped over the recently destroyed rock golem, and broke the stalemate.
  
  『…I’ll have you return to the earth.』
  
  The dual-sword Clawsolas, sprinting in a low stance, approached the mage-type golem that had been holding back in a curved trajectory, dodging the spherical head’s mace swung in a half-rotation with a diagonal slide while also unleashing a longsword slash, severing the right arm made of natural ore.
  
  Continuing the slide, he twisted his upper body and planted his left fist, gripping a short iron sword, into the ground to change direction and stand up. Immediately circling around to the right side of the opponent with the missing arm, he thrust his sword, destroying the core inside the chest armor.
  
  『As expected of Onii-sama♪』
  
  Receiving Eleia’s praise, which he had heard several times today, he seemed pleased as he made his Clawsolas sidestep continuously, completely evading the several ore spears that shot out from the ground, closing the distance with the other mage-type golem on the Knights’ side of the battlefield.
  
  Entangling the magic silver wire anchor, shot from his left sleeve, with the war club that was raised in response, he shifted his weight backward and reeled in the wire, causing the targeted rock golem’s posture to collapse significantly.
  
  In contrast, supporting his weight with his left foot, which he had moved back a step, the Begalta of the Tsukigase siblings, who had quickly taken their next action, jumped into sword-fighting range and pierced the vital point with the tip of the blade thrust straight in a half-turned stance.
  
  『As expected, Onii-sama is amazing…』
  『Well, I’ve been losing to Claude recently.』
  
  Reprimanding his younger sister, who had spoken with deep emotion, he moved his Clawsolas away from the collapsing opponent towards the city walls. A white elf knight, noticing the unfavorable turn of events with a look of anxiety on his face, assigned one of his units to deal with them to prevent them from being attacked from the rear.
  
  Irritated by the worsening battle situation, but still, he made the “Mechanical Doll” step on the hastily attacking Gladius, a captured Clawsolas, and swung his longsword deeply while lowering his stance.
  
  The slash, leaving a trail of residual magic power, severed the giant knight’s glaive, and the returning blade further tore through the right flank to the chest.
  
  『That was careless, Ape-man.』
  
  『…Gah, uh…』
  『…Ugh.』
  
  Ignoring the dying gasps of the fatally wounded squires that leaked from the external loudspeaker, the knight with the morbidly pale skin raised the Aeon’s left knee and kicked the collapsing Clawsolas away.
  
  Immediately after, echoing the roar of the pilot enraged by the death of his comrades, a fellow knight to his left charged in a suicide attack.
  
  The pale, phosphorescent blade, thrust out to pierce through the shield and the chest, failed to unleash its full power and exploded, scattering fragments, the moment it pierced a few centimeters deep, caught in the detonation of the explosive reactive armor.
  
  『Reckless, non-human!!』
  『Guh, not necessarily!』
  
  Just before the thrust of the distorted one-handed sword, which had slipped under the left arm shield, could hit me directly, I intercepted it with a small floating barrier spell that I had prepared for instant activation, shattering it but neutralizing the kinetic energy.
  
  The power of the sword thrust was now negligible, but the 83mm armor-piercing high-explosive round, a special creation of a certain American engineer, fired from the grenade launcher attached to the base of one side of the blade, penetrated the abdominal armor and destroyed the magic furnace housed within the mechanical body.
  
  Sensing the internal pressure causing further damage and the rapid decline in physical strength, the white elf knight, making a decisive judgment, used a teleportation magic sealing stone without hesitation.
  
  Sensing its residue, Lise Feldt, the blonde, golden-eyed mage responsible for the power control of the modified Guardia Clawsolas, unconsciously relaxed her tension a little.
  
  『That was my first time firing it, but it has quite the penetrating power, Dino.』
  『The barrel is short, and the accuracy is non-existent, though…』
  
  Muttering a line that the Jax squad leader and the others who developed it would probably refute, saying it was just a romantic weapon after all, the blue-haired knight looked around at the changing situation.
  
  Like our forces, the Zephyrus Domain forces were also intensifying their offensive. Once Aynst forcefully defeated the commanding Clawsolas of the remaining rock golems, redeeming himself for the shame of being defeated by the multi-armed Clawsolas in the battle against Rigsia, the battle at the south gate ended in less than fifteen minutes.