Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The White Fox’s First Battle and Visual Range Combat
  Meanwhile, the Zephyrus Domain’s forces, ready to intercept, had already taken up their positions. Slightly behind them, a small, modified airship, designed for combat, floated serenely.
  
  Standing by the window in the cramped cabin, Nina idly played with her glossy dark brown hair as she gazed out at the entrance of the forest zone about 4 km to the west. She had embarked on this expedition to boost the morale of her troops.
  
  The shallower parts of the forest were the hunting grounds of the hunters based in the small city of Begnitz. However, venturing deeper in meant encountering medium-sized magical beasts like the Ferm Cougar, and even the occasional large-sized Avarus, a massive serpent.
  
  “It’s quite a difficult terrain, but will that Mr. Bushido… I mean, His Majesty the Knight King, be alright?”
  
  “You don’t have to rephrase it. His essence is probably that of a samurai, after all.”
  
  Recalling how the young female attendant who had cautiously addressed her was of Aius Imperial birth with Japanese ancestry, and had been deeply impressed by Claude in his military uniform, wielding the cursed forged blade “Shiranui,” the domain’s Lady declared that she could be called whatever she liked.
  
  Facing the girl with Rare Human blood who blushed slightly in embarrassment, Nina briefly appeared to ponder before smiling nonchalantly.
  
  “Well, it’ll be fine. According to Technician Jax and the others’ reports, he seems to be strong to the point of almost not being human anymore… Could it be that he’s linked to the giant knight through nerve nodes and has been affected by the Magic Furnace?”
  
  “Experienced giant knight pilots are improving their physical abilities in their own bodies” was an intriguing report that her Knight Captain, Aynst, had submitted. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable on the front lines of the three western territories.
  
  However, she hadn’t heard anything about dodging bullets in succession or deflecting fireballs cast by battlefield-ready mages with a blade.
  
  ‘Hmm, could it be that several elements from accumulated training organically combine, and once a certain threshold is crossed, it leads to an awakening…’
  
  Even in the realm of academia, it’s not uncommon to reach a higher level by arranging objective facts discovered during trial and error on the way.
  
  Nina couldn’t clarify whether this could also occur in the physical realm, though a sliver of doubt remained. It was a matter outside her expertise.
  
  “Sigh, in conclusion, it’s pointless to think about it.”
  
  “Um…”
  “Don’t mind me, it was just a monologue.”
  
  Having been lost in thought for a bit, Nina offered a word to the attendant who had become idle before trying to return her attention to the window. Just then, the sight of a scout turning around from peering through binoculars on the bridge caught her eye.
  
  “Giant knight silhouettes resembling a Rigsia and Aidos Territory formation have been confirmed at a distance of approximately 32-36 km. If they, like us, have left their other troops behind and advanced only with the giant knights, they will enter the engagement zone in less than half an hour.”
  
  “Thank you. I doubt they want to suffer reckless human casualties either. I believe the battle between the giant knights will decide the victor, and the accompanying troops, whose primary objective is to seize the city, will be put on standby along the way.”
  
  Extending her pale, delicate hand, Nina received the binoculars from the scout, whose family had been hunters for generations, and peered through them. However, she could only make out the enemy forces as a cluster of small dots, her eyesight having deteriorated from compiling research materials.
  
  Secretly lamenting that she was indeed unsuited for taking direct command in battle, she gave instructions to the territorial soldier stationed before the Telepathy Device to share information with the ground forces whose field of vision was even narrower than the airship’s due to the horizon.
  
  “Inform Aynst of the distance between us and the enemy, and the estimated time until contact.”
  “Understood. Connecting the communication line to the Knight Captain.”
  
  “Scout, can you estimate the number of enemy giant knights?”
  “I’ll try, but first, about that…”
  
  Returning the scout’s tool, which she had been absentmindedly holding, and instructing him to continue reporting, she took her seat in the chair that had been installed when the interior was modified.
  
  As the tension in the air heightened, even the renowned White Fox seemed to be rushing into her first battle. With a distance of about 10 km still remaining, she ordered the two mages in charge of power control to construct layered barrier magic.
  
  In this world, visual range combat was the norm. The effective magic range of a giant knight, considering accuracy, was only about 1 km. The mages, who had been unreasonably asked to maintain an advanced spell formula for a long time, froze.
  
  “Um, it’s very difficult to say this, but it’s actually dangerous.”
  “If our concentration breaks for even a moment, it could backfire. Let’s keep it in the activation phase.”
  
  “…I’m sorry, I’m not well-versed in magic.”
  
  Even if she recognized magic as a type of algorithm, unless she could handle it herself, her understanding of the dangers in unexpected situations remained shallow.
  
  Just as she sighed, thinking it wouldn’t work, the scout’s report, focused on the enemy giant knights’ movements, interrupted her conversation with the mages.
  
  “The enemy forces have stopped at a distance of about 5-6 km.”
  “Just in time for the pseudo eyeballs of the giant knights to see each other somewhat clearly… visually?”
  
  Nina, resting her chin on her hand, cut off her words and reconsidered the possibility of long-range shooting that she had been worried about earlier. But before she could give a warning, a flash of purple lightning erupted.
  
  Of the giant knights forming ranks below in front of them, two Clawsolas Modified Type units exploded with a roar, their shields shattered. A Begalta diagonally behind them also crashed.
  
  『”T-The Magic Furnace is damaged… It’s no good, I’m making an emergency stop!”』
  『”D*mn it, the debris hit a bad spot!”』
  
  While the remaining knights who had been left behind cursed, having been eliminated early in the battle, and their comrades were shaken by the setback, several members of the dispatched unit, who had fought various Aberrations on the front lines, narrowed their eyes sharply.
  
  『”To be able to shoot from that distance, that’s truly impressive.”』
  『”Yes, I’d like to take that back to the western territories. I wonder how many lives it could save.”』
  
  『”You guys, get a hold of yourselves! We’ll return the favor for the two they killed!”』
  『”Knight Captain, the order…”』
  
  Aynst’s Begalta L-Type Modified, urged on by the seasoned veterans, nodded and barked orders through the mounted external speaker.
  
  『”It’s unlikely they can fire continuously with that power, and we’ll be shot if we just sit here. So, we’ll charge while shifting into a wedge formation! Don’t face the enemy giant knights head-on!!”』
  
  『『”Uoooooh!”』』
  
  With a spirited war cry, over twenty Zephyrus giant knights charged as one, heading straight for the waiting mixed brigade of Rigsia.