Contrary to William’s declaration of victory, the following days carried on with the same dullness. A war that accomplish only exhausting both sides. The morale of the warriors was rapidly decreasing because of that. Missing Nikka and the Noir Guard on their side, Nehderks offensive capabilities decreased and they couldn’t make any progression in the war. Both Gilberto and Ywain were occupied with each other on their battles while William and Volf held each other back, constantly trying to catch each other. It was only the recently recovered Anatour that has been able of showing his brilliance in the war.
“Everything is going according to the plan.”
William showed a smile to the ones present there: Gilberto, Anzerm, Gregour and Karl. The many stale battles that have been endlessly continuing. The amount of sacrifices were huge, and so were the amount of sacrifices of the opposing side. It was because of that fact that victory was possible. The birth of a miracle was possible.
“It has been going like this for a while until now, but… will everything really go according to the plan?”
Gregour showed an uneasy expression. The others also had their own doubts regarding the plan. Was it really possible for the war to be won from that point? Of course William only had been able to receive the command of the army after they had agreed to his plan. But even so, doubts would still remain.
“The signs are evident. Except for the front Anatour’s troops are fighting, all the other front are either at evenness or greatly on our favor. Of course those results aren’t very surprising considering that we are are on the defense…. However, everything is going in accord to the preliminary stages of the plan.
Anzerm argu. It was necessary that they. Most of the doubts had already been explained in the by William at that day. It was a plan that was going to take very long to complete and that lacked the element of certainty. Gilberto and Anzerm were going to reject it at first, but Karl and Gregour supported the plan.
“It should be fine, I think. After all, even us the ones carrying out the plan are getting exhausted…. Their side are definitely the same.”
Karl said. Despite the small voice, his words had confidence. Gregour nodded in agreement.
“Other than that it would be Anatour’s return. They still haven’t noticed it yet because they are relying on Anatour’s charisma, but well, I’ll be very thankful to him if he continues dragging all the attention to himself like this.”
William’s smile deepened. Everything was going according to his plan. Not only that, it was going very smoothly. The absence of Nikka, the bad condition of the Noir Guard, and the blue army that suddenly became livened up again with the return of Anatour.
“Nothing more than a mercenary. You will be experiencing that fact yourself first-hand.”
Everything was going just as planned.
○
The first one to notice the irregularity was the greatly injured Nikka, who now was recovering from her wounds at the Nehderks’ base.
“..For some reason… It kinda feels like those glares have returned.”
One thing would be if that was the case just for Nikka since she had been overwhelmed by the strength of Anzerm and Gregour and was incapacitated for battle. However, the stares of the Nehderks soldiers were the same even for the other members of the Noir Guard that were commanding the other troops. Volf and Ywain didn’t put much thought on that, but the bad feeling Nikka had about it would still recur inside her heart.
“Those glares are just like the ones on first time we got together. It isn’t like they are looking down on us, but instead it sorta feels like rejection. Even though they were treating us as their saviors a while ago, you know….”
It wasn’t like there was any very noticeable change. However, the mood they were giving off was completely different. Their expectation on the Noir Guard disappeared, and now they had skeptic looks.
“Tch, let’s go talk to Volf about it. It’s not like I’m hurt to the point I can’t stand.”
Nikka carefully stood up.
“Ouch, ouch. Damn it. I’ll definitely kill that blockheaded boy and that “キモドロ” bastard.”(TL:Couldn’t find any hints on the meaning. Took me 1h searching on google -.-)
Leaving her tent, Nikka went to find Volf.
○
Nikka realised that her bad presentment was spot on the moment she found Volf .
“Are you retarded, you bastard!? We are going to win the war after just bit more, you know!? What kind of nonsense are you even spouting there!”
The one Volf was directing his anger to was the commander that used to be in place of Anatour when he was out of the field. Even though his position as the commander of the army changed with the recovery of Anatour, he was still a commander, the top of the cream.
“Then when are we going to win!? We have waited long enough. There were already many opportunities for us to win.! As if I’m going to leave the command to some incompetent mercenary that show no results!”
A vein popped up on Volf’s forehead. When Volf was about to swing his arm and give the commander a punch, both Ywain and Anatour intervened.
Looking at Volf’s attitude, the commander said.
“You rowdy bastard. I suppose that’s what there is to expect from someone of lowly birth like you. I don’t know what kind of luck you had to be able to bring the war back to our favor, but I wasn’t commanding the army at the time we were losing. It was all the [Crying Spear]’s fault at that time. I can do much better than him as long as I am the one at command. I have confidence I will.”
His unyielding posture was solidified. One couldn’t help but be surprised that Volf was able to let this be despite his anger. the commander wouldn’t even be of any comparison to Anatour in terms of individual strength. In addition, Anatour was also ahead in terms of military tactics, though the difference wasn’t that big since both were from the Nehderks army. Looking at it from an objective perspective, it would be impossible to consider such idiotic claims. However, logic wouldn’t go through the head of the commander so engrossed by status.
“I will be taking the command from now on. I am about to be fed up with your exotic tactics.”
“Wait. It was Rudolf-sama’s will to allow these people to have the command of the army. Are you going to ignore Rudolf-sama’s will?”
Anatour argued.
“All I’ve been told by Rainberka-sama was to become your substitute in commanding the army. I’ve been following the orders of those mercenaries until now just because of your urges, but in the end they didn’t raise any, and their vice-commander even fell into one of the enemy’s ploys and was heavily wounded. We can agree there isn’t any good reason for us to keep them telling us what to do.”
Hearing that, Nikka made a dejected look. She believed she had just held Volf and the others back because of that. The moment Volf heard those words, his expression turned into a cold one, just like the sand underneath is revealed when the tide lows..
“Alright. I’ll give the command back to you guys. Fight the way you want. We’ll be doing as we wish on our side too.”
Giving a short response, Volf turned around and was about to leave the place.
“Wait! I won’t allow you to do as you please. You are part of our Nerderks army. You must follow my or….”
The commander held his tongue in the middle of his speech. The reason for that was because of the great of killing intent coming the back of the man before his eyes.
“Let’s go, Ywain, Nikka.”
A presence that wouldn’t allow any qualms. Volf quickly left the place, followed by Ywain. Nikka did er best in trying to follow after them as she dragged herself on her feet, but because of her hurry, she ended up tripping on herself due to the unevenness of the ground.
“Be careful. You are still heavily injured. Don’t force yourself too much.”
Anatour put his spear aside and went to help Nikka stand up.
“So-sorry there.”
Nikka apologized. Nodding to her with a smile, Anatour shouldered Nikka without even giving a glance to his subordinates that were losing their heads over Anatour’s social status in regard to his actions, leaving the place soon after.
Contrary to William’s declaration of victory, the following days carried on with the same dullness. A war that accomplish only exhausting both sides. The morale of the warriors was rapidly decreasing because of that. Missing Nikka and the Noir Guard on their side, Nehderks offensive capabilities decreased and they couldn’t make any progression in the war. Both Gilberto and Ywain were occupied with each other on their battles while William and Volf held each other back, constantly trying to catch each other. It was only the recently recovered Anatour that has been able of showing his brilliance in the war.
“Everything is going according to the plan.”
William showed a smile to the ones present there: Gilberto, Anzerm, Gregour and Karl. The many stale battles that have been endlessly continuing. The amount of sacrifices were huge, and so were the amount of sacrifices of the opposing side. It was because of that fact that victory was possible. The birth of a miracle was possible.
“It has been going like this for a while until now, but… will everything really go according to the plan?”
Gregour showed an uneasy expression. The others also had their own doubts regarding the plan. Was it really possible for the war to be won from that point? Of course William only had been able to receive the command of the army after they had agreed to his plan. But even so, doubts would still remain.
“The signs are evident. Except for the front Anatour’s troops are fighting, all the other front are either at evenness or greatly on our favor. Of course those results aren’t very surprising considering that we are are on the defense…. However, everything is going in accord to the preliminary stages of the plan.
Anzerm argu. It was necessary that they. Most of the doubts had already been explained in the by William at that day. It was a plan that was going to take very long to complete and that lacked the element of certainty. Gilberto and Anzerm were going to reject it at first, but Karl and Gregour supported the plan.
“It should be fine, I think. After all, even us the ones carrying out the plan are getting exhausted…. Their side are definitely the same.”
Karl said. Despite the small voice, his words had confidence. Gregour nodded in agreement.
“Other than that it would be Anatour’s return. They still haven’t noticed it yet because they are relying on Anatour’s charisma, but well, I’ll be very thankful to him if he continues dragging all the attention to himself like this.”
William’s smile deepened. Everything was going according to his plan. Not only that, it was going very smoothly. The absence of Nikka, the bad condition of the Noir Guard, and the blue army that suddenly became livened up again with the return of Anatour.
“Nothing more than a mercenary. You will be experiencing that fact yourself first-hand.”
Everything was going just as planned.
○
The first one to notice the irregularity was the greatly injured Nikka, who now was recovering from her wounds at the Nehderks’ base.
“..For some reason… It kinda feels like those glares have returned.”
One thing would be if that was the case just for Nikka since she had been overwhelmed by the strength of Anzerm and Gregour and was incapacitated for battle. However, the stares of the Nehderks soldiers were the same even for the other members of the Noir Guard that were commanding the other troops. Volf and Ywain didn’t put much thought on that, but the bad feeling Nikka had about it would still recur inside her heart.
“Those glares are just like the ones on first time we got together. It isn’t like they are looking down on us, but instead it sorta feels like rejection. Even though they were treating us as their saviors a while ago, you know….”
It wasn’t like there was any very noticeable change. However, the mood they were giving off was completely different. Their expectation on the Noir Guard disappeared, and now they had skeptic looks.
“Tch, let’s go talk to Volf about it. It’s not like I’m hurt to the point I can’t stand.”
Nikka carefully stood up.
“Ouch, ouch. Damn it. I’ll definitely kill that blockheaded boy and that “キモドロ” bastard.”(TL:Couldn’t find any hints on the meaning. Took me 1h searching on google -.-)
Leaving her tent, Nikka went to find Volf.
○
Nikka realised that her bad presentment was spot on the moment she found Volf .
“Are you retarded, you bastard!? We are going to win the war after just bit more, you know!? What kind of nonsense are you even spouting there!”
The one Volf was directing his anger to was the commander that used to be in place of Anatour when he was out of the field. Even though his position as the commander of the army changed with the recovery of Anatour, he was still a commander, the top of the cream.
“Then when are we going to win!? We have waited long enough. There were already many opportunities for us to win.! As if I’m going to leave the command to some incompetent mercenary that show no results!”
A vein popped up on Volf’s forehead. When Volf was about to swing his arm and give the commander a punch, both Ywain and Anatour intervened.
Looking at Volf’s attitude, the commander said.
“You rowdy bastard. I suppose that’s what there is to expect from someone of lowly birth like you. I don’t know what kind of luck you had to be able to bring the war back to our favor, but I wasn’t commanding the army at the time we were losing. It was all the [Crying Spear]’s fault at that time. I can do much better than him as long as I am the one at command. I have confidence I will.”
His unyielding posture was solidified. One couldn’t help but be surprised that Volf was able to let this be despite his anger. the commander wouldn’t even be of any comparison to Anatour in terms of individual strength. In addition, Anatour was also ahead in terms of military tactics, though the difference wasn’t that big since both were from the Nehderks army. Looking at it from an objective perspective, it would be impossible to consider such idiotic claims. However, logic wouldn’t go through the head of the commander so engrossed by status.
“I will be taking the command from now on. I am about to be fed up with your exotic tactics.”
“Wait. It was Rudolf-sama’s will to allow these people to have the command of the army. Are you going to ignore Rudolf-sama’s will?”
Anatour argued.
“All I’ve been told by Rainberka-sama was to become your substitute in commanding the army. I’ve been following the orders of those mercenaries until now just because of your urges, but in the end they didn’t raise any, and their vice-commander even fell into one of the enemy’s ploys and was heavily wounded. We can agree there isn’t any good reason for us to keep them telling us what to do.”
Hearing that, Nikka made a dejected look. She believed she had just held Volf and the others back because of that. The moment Volf heard those words, his expression turned into a cold one, just like the sand underneath is revealed when the tide lows..
“Alright. I’ll give the command back to you guys. Fight the way you want. We’ll be doing as we wish on our side too.”
Giving a short response, Volf turned around and was about to leave the place.
“Wait! I won’t allow you to do as you please. You are part of our Nerderks army. You must follow my or….”
The commander held his tongue in the middle of his speech. The reason for that was because of the great of killing intent coming the back of the man before his eyes.
“Let’s go, Ywain, Nikka.”
A presence that wouldn’t allow any qualms. Volf quickly left the place, followed by Ywain. Nikka did er best in trying to follow after them as she dragged herself on her feet, but because of her hurry, she ended up tripping on herself due to the unevenness of the ground.
“Be careful. You are still heavily injured. Don’t force yourself too much.”
Anatour put his spear aside and went to help Nikka stand up.
“So-sorry there.”
Nikka apologized. Nodding to her with a smile, Anatour shouldered Nikka without even giving a glance to his subordinates that were losing their heads over Anatour’s social status in regard to his actions, leaving the place soon after.
