Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 88

Chapter 88: More Haste, Less Speed; Wait, and the Sea Route Will Have Fair Weather
  『Well, we need to hurry up a little…』
  『Hmm, but we’re taking the detour, remember?』
  
  As Revia pointed out from the back seat, compared to the Zephyrus Domain forces heading straight for the plains of the war zone, we, who were planning a surprise attack from the flank, would have to travel a longer distance.
  
  In addition, even though the trees in the parallel world’s forests are naturally spaced out to avoid being crushed by the giant creatures that inhabit them, the terrain is still undeniably difficult to navigate.
  
  『Whoa!』
  『Eek!?』
  
  As expected, the panicked voices of the newly appointed knight and mage could be heard through the telepathy device from the rear of the formation. When I turned the Belphegor, clad in its knight-specific outerwear, to look, I saw Clawsolas Unit 3, who had tripped on a tree root and lost its balance.
  
  It managed to regain its footing, but depending on how it had fallen, it could have led to a disaster, potentially involving the accompanying maintenance crew and transport soldiers.
  
  Faced with a situation that could have resulted in casualties, the meticulous Vice-Captain, while feigning composure, snapped.
  
  “You… Get out of there immediately. I’ll fix it myself.”
  
  『Eep! I’m sorry, Raizes-sama.』
  『Huh? Me too?』
  
  Moreover, the mage’s seemingly indignant remark echoed from the external loudspeakers on the Clawsolas’s shoulders and legs. “Shouldn’t the person in charge of magic control be held responsible for tripping?” she muttered quietly.
  
  Taking advantage of the silence that fell after this perfectly reasonable opinion, I interjected from the side, taking the place of the Knight Commander, who had decided to observe the situation.
  
  『Save the details for when we make camp. We’re on the march now.』
  “If King Claude says so, I’ll comply. But I will impose some sort of penalty.”
  
  『… Xenos-danchou, if it’s too harsh, can I ask you to adjust it?』
  『Haha, leave it to me.』
  
  Hearing his hearty laughter, which indicated that this was business as usual, I muted my own Clawsolas’s external loudspeaker and turned back to the north, hoping that he would act as a check on the overly strict Vice-Captain.
  
  At that moment, the thought, “It would be so embarrassing if the Knight King tripped here,” suddenly crossed my mind, traveling through the nerve nodes embedded in the Clawsolas’s artificial muscles and flowing to Revia, who was also in the cockpit.
  
  『Ugh, that’s not funny. And don’t drag me into it!』
  『Hey, hey, don’t be so cold. We’re in this together, even when we get scolded, right?』
  
  I made a lighthearted remark to the red-haired girl, who seemed worried, but it was out of the question to lose soldiers who were following me here. If I crushed them and caused any casualties, I wouldn’t be able to face their families back home.
  
  Perhaps the other knights had the same thoughts, as Dino’s modified Guardia, which was acting as a scout, and Kotono’s Svel S-type Unit 1, which was in the middle guard, slowed down.
  
  ‘Well, let’s just say it’s a good way to stay focused.’
  
  From that perspective, I forcibly concluded that Raizes’s scolding had been effective. As I continued to walk my Clawsolas, bathed in the sunlight filtering through the canopy of branches, the modified Guardia raised one hand.
  
  As the members of the expeditionary force stopped moving, Dino’s voice echoed from the external loudspeaker, its volume appropriately adjusted, after receiving reports from the scout pairs who had been scattered around.
  
  『As Lady Nina advised, we’ve spotted a large number of medium to large monsters ahead.』
  『Because it’s their habitat, we can deceive the enemy, but we also need to be careful.』
  
  Following the blue-haired knight, who spoke more politely than usual, perhaps because he was addressing a large number of people, Lise, his Clawsolas’s dedicated mage, added her opinion, and Raizes nodded in agreement.
  
  “Magical beasts with some intelligence won’t attack a unit of giant knights, but… unfortunately, there are also magic insects driven by instinct.”
  
  True to the Vice-Captain’s warning that we should never let our guard down, after we entered the dangerous area, we encountered nothing but insects, such as the Glow Mantis, a praying mantis about 8 meters tall, and the Big Hopper, a smaller locust.
  
  Even now, Kotono and Ilia were complaining in exasperation as they used the auxiliary short swords to peel off the locusts that had clung to the waist of the Svel S-type.
  
  『It doesn’t have to trace even these sensations so accurately…』
  『Ugh, I hate insects. They’re so squishy.』
  
  Ignoring the girls’ complaints, which seemed to stem from the sensory sharing with their Clawsolas, we continued to protect the foot soldiers as we traversed the depths of the forest for about an hour and a half. The surrounding scenery subtly changed.
  
  After advancing a little further, we were able to emerge into a shallower area on the other side. Taking into account the setting sun, we began to set up camp.
  
  
  At the same time, the Rigsia and Aidos joint brigade, which had also avoided marching in the dark, was in the midst of preparing for camp. The young officer, who was exempt from chores as a Clawsolas pilot, sat on a folding stool and gazed absently at the soldiers of his own territory bustling about.
  
  “Want a drink?”
  “Yeah, I’ll take it.”
  
  Leonardo took the leather canteen offered by Elnea, the mage girl standing beside him, took a sip, and muttered as if to himself,
  
  “I still don’t see a clear cause, but I do have a personal grudge for my subordinates who were killed.”
  “Hmm, you shouldn’t dwell on that.”
  
  “I know, I know. Maybe I just want a reason to fight fellow Imperial soldiers.”
  
  Since the raid on Zephyrus Domain a few months ago, which was carried out to assassinate Nina Valer, also known as the White Fox, the situation had progressed beyond his control, to the point of no return. It had now taken on the appearance of a civil war.