<Author’s Notes>

Although a little late, I hope you will continue to support us this year.

<Yasu Tomohiro POV>

I stared into the distance at the approaching Sacraments.

My heart was pounding heavily.

———–Yeah, I’m scared.

Before the battle at the Anti-Demon White Castle, I didn’t feel this way.

If anything, I was more excited back then.

And…… I wasn’t able to see anything clearly.

Now, I’m stronger than I was then.

But for some reason, I’m so much more terrified now.

It was the same when I fought those giant apes.

[……………………..]

The soldiers lined up on the ramparts caught my eye.

Are they not scared?

They all look so calm.

Maybe it’s because they’re trained.

As I wondered, I overheard a conversation nearby.

[……Before I left home, my kid said something.]

[Hm?]

[He said, “I’m not scared”.]

[Hehh, gutsy kid you’ve got there.]

[No, that’s not it…… That’s not it.]

[What did he say?]

[He said, “It’s okay because Dad’s going to protect us”.]

[……I see.]

[Ever since surviving that last battle against the Demon Emperor’s Army…… the way my kid looks at me has changed. He looks at me with admiration now, like he looks up to me……]

[Same here…… My wife, I mean.]

[The one who’s always nagging you?]

[Yeah…… But ever since that last fight, she’s been a little kinder, you could say……]

[……Well, I guess we’ve both gotta survive this one too, huh?]

[Yeah.]

[……………………….]

The soldier talking about his kid suddenly lowered his face.

He leaned on his spear as though using it to support himself.

It looked like he might collapse if he let go even a little.

He was sobbing.

[——–Fghh…… Guh…… I don’t want to die…… I’m scared…… I’m so scared……]

[O- Oi…… I get it, but, y’know…… You gotta think of the morale……]

The other soldier looked around nervously.

Thereupon……

[It’s fine.]

Another soldier who had been listening placed a hand on the sobbing soldier’s shoulder.

[……We’re all the same. Everyone’s scared. I’m scared too. But we still fight——— right?]

[Sniff…… Yeah…… If we lose here, my kid will die, right……? So…… I’ll do it…… Sniff…… I’ll fight……]

The other soldiers reacted in various ways.

Some gave wry, yet gentle smiles.

Some were moved to tears.

Some kept their expressions stoic but seemed to have steeled their resolve……

[…………………..]

So that’s how it is.

Everyone is scared.

It’s not just me who feels this way……

That’s right.

It’s not strange to feel fear.

Something like this———- would scare anyone.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been gripped by a certain feeling.

When compared to others, am I the most worthless person in the world?

Sometimes, such a thought strikes me out of nowhere.

Even now, it hits me, like an attack.

It feels like everyone else is living their lives better than I am.

Like I’m the only one in this world with such flawed feelings.

Like I’m the only one doing something fundamentally wrong with how I live.

Somehow———- just barely scraping by.

Even when I find people who seem like kindred spirits, they always seem to manage.

Even though we’re in the same country———–

It felt as though everyone else was from another nation entirely.

And so———–

“Am I the only one truly feeling fear here?”

That thought crept into my mind.

(But…… That might not be the case.)

I lowered my gaze to my hands.

Then I looked again at the soldiers.

I could see it.

Now———– more than before.

I could see the “faces” of the others around me.

Thinking I was the only one———–

That was probably because I couldn’t see anything but myself.

[Fear’s not all bad.]

At that moment, Rinji spoke up.

[Feeling scared means you’re facing it, without running away.]

[Facing it……]

For instance, with horror movies.

“I wasn’t scared.”

“I don’t get what was supposed to be scary.”

I used to think people who felt that way were stronger at heart.

Even after being summoned to this world.

Coming to a different world——— gaining extraordinary powers.

I thought the ones who faced battles without fear were the true “heroes”.

Rinji continued.

[You’re scared because you’re confronting it head-on.]

[——————–]

“That’s why……”, Rinji continued.

[Having the courage not to run from that fear———– that’s what real bravery is.]

……Ahh, I see.

That, too, is another form of “hero”.

Even when they held resolve and determination———- the feeling of “fear” remains, lingering somewhere deep inside.

It was the same when I fought those golden-eyed apes.

(But……)

I wonder why?

A soft smile unconsciously spread across my face.

(Even if I’m scared, it’s okay.)

I can fight with this “fear” in my heart.

I tightened my expression once more.

[……This battle.]

I firmly locked my gaze onto the approaching Sacraments.

[To protect everyone————- I’ll throw everything I have.]

▽

The Sacraments began to reveal their individual forms from the white mass.

Their ranks spread out sideways.

Far behind the formation, a vast army continued.

At the very least, it could be estimated that there were no fewer than 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers.

As Rinji said, that’s something quite clear even when looking from here.

On the walls, the magical artillery and archers were preparing to intercept.

Even the bowguns, configured for placement, were being cranked up.

Rinji narrowed his eyes.

[They’ve prepared…… a trebuchet huh.]

[Not just a trebuchet.]

[Lili.]

Before I knew it, Lili of the Drunken Sword Party had joined us.

She motioned toward the Sacraments, which was raising a cloud of dust.

[They’ve brought siege towers too. They probably didn’t bring them directly from Alion; they likely assembled them on the move as they got closer to the Capital.]

[That…… rather large cart over there?]

[It might be tough for regular humans…… but they’ve got tireless Sacraments over there, and they even have some Sacraments that are many times larger than humans. Carrying and assembling the parts doesn’t work the same way as it would for us.]

Siege towers———- also called siege turrets, as their name suggests, are siege weapons.

Normally, soldiers climb the wall with ladders.

But with a siege tower, it’s easier to send soldiers to the top of high walls.

Back in my original world, I had seen movies and manga make use of such weapons.

Rinji scratched his head.

[I don’t want to think about it…… but the thought of that massive army crowding onto this wall……]

[It’s not just siege towers…… They might have brought weapons and horses from the fortresses and strongholds like Magnar along the way.]

There were half-horse Sacraments, but there are also Sacraments riding regular horses.

Of course, they were armed.

Lili spoke.

[These Sacraments…… They seem smarter than when we were commanding them. They’ve probably gained more abilities.]

“They were once limited to simpler orders.”, she added.

At that moment,

[PREPARE FOR ATTAAAAAACK————–!]

The command was given, and the war horn sounded.

The vibrations, almost like a small tremor, reached us.

The battle was truly drawing near.

[According to the Queen and the Saintess’ plan, it seems we’re not going to strike out, but instead, we’re focusing on defense and observing the enemy’s movements. The gates are also sealed with rocks from the inside, so for now, the battering rams shouldn’t be able to break through but——————]

[……! Here they come!]

Suddenly, the activity on the walls grew frantic.

The Sacraments hadn’t yet reached the range for Attack Magic or arrows, but we, too, saw “it”.

Before we knew it,

Everyone was looking up at the sky.

And above the walls, something square like a box easily passed over.

Everyone was looking up.

Lili’s eyes widened.

[———–What the hell is that?!]

The use of trebuchets had been anticipated.

The walls were strong enough to withstand all kinds of destruction.

It had also been expected that the enemy might try making use of projectiles that “cross over the wall” like stones.

But what was thrown, landing inside the First Guardian Wall, was a box made of what appeared to be metal.

Its size was roughly equivalent to a medium-sized room.

We moved and peered inside the First Guardian Wall.

Bam!

With a loud sound, one side of the box opened.

From inside……

[Are those…… Sacraments inside……?!]

Yes, Sacraments were packed inside the box.

However, it seemed that quite a few of them had been crushed to death by the impact when they fell.

But not all of them.

Lili gritted her teeth.

[Guh…… A plan forcibly made because they’re Sacraments huh.]

If it had been humans, it would have been nearly impossible to execute.

A normal soldier would have been crushed into a mess inside the box.

Or perhaps those were Sacraments specially adjusted for this purpose.

Still, the number of Sacraments inside wasn’t that many.

It seemed many had died from the impact when they landed.

Our forces near the Second Guardian Wall could easily wipe them out.

However, this situation———— being attacked from behind, was enough to disrupt concentration.

“We’ve been breached.”

Somehow, it makes it so that feeling creeps inside our mind.

It spread like panic among the soldiers on the walls, lingering there.

Then……

[One box at a time is bad enough…… but if they keep throwing them in like this, we’re in trouble.]

It didn’t matter if the Sacraments inside were crushed to death.

The enemy could keep doing this.

In fact,

[H- Here they come again————-!]

One of the soldiers shouted.

The boxes containing Sacraments were being thrown one after another.

Some of them,

Fwoosh!

Were intercepted by the Sacred Eye in mid-air because they were too high up.

But the enemy didn’t care. They kept throwing them.

And in addition, large rocks were being hurled in as well.

This kind of regular stone-throwing had been anticipated in advance.

That was why there were few people inside the First Guardian Wall’s position right now.

So, the damage from the stones was minimal.

[Even so…… Psychologically, it feels like we’re being overwhelmed. And…… if those rocks hit the soldiers on the walls, they’ll be crushed.]

“We can’t move, yet we’re being attacked from a distance without retaliation.”

Indeed, it was mentally exhausting.

The regular stones were a nasty element, too.

Our forces near the Second Guardian Wall were slow to react.

Yes……

If they tried to eliminate the Sacraments inside the wall, they risked being crushed by falling rocks.

It was no surprise that it was difficult to advance psychologically.

And then———-

Boom!

The soldiers’ eyes widened.

[W- What is that……?! An explosion?!]

It must have been a magic tool.

Or perhaps something that used gunpowder, if such a thing existed here.

One of the wooden boxes that had been thrown collided with a building and exploded.

Rinji clicked his tongue.

[That makes it even harder for our forces near the Second Guardian Wall to move out……]

The knight commanding the area near the wall where we were stationed turned toward the enemy army.

He muttered with frustration,

[Guh…… our trebuchet can’t reach that distance……]

There were trebuchets set up inside the First Guardian Wall and along the top of the wall.

However, the range of our trebuchets didn’t match that of the enemy’s.

As could be seen from the box, the enemy could hurl larger rocks.

Then……

[Ah!]

A soldier on the opposite side, facing the outside of the First Guardian Wall, pointed and shouted.

We turned our attention toward it.

Massive Sacraments, one after another, began carrying shallow baskets on their shoulders.

Inside the baskets———– once again, Sacraments were packed in.

[I see…… before using their siege tower or ladders to send them up the wall, they intend to have those huge Sacraments cling to the wall and clear a “path” on top of the walls.]

Rinji’s words caused Lili to frown in frustration.

[If that’s the case, they can skip the process of climbing the wall…… And if they secure the top of the wall and create a “path”, it’ll make it easier to send the follow-up forces through the siege towers and ladders.]

Moreover, we would have to split our forces to deal with the Sacraments that breached earlier, which meant diverting some of our wall forces.

[So they’re trying to shut down our defensive tactics…… where we attempt to reduce the number of enemies climbing the wall as much as possible.]

Looking around, I could see that the soldiers on the wall were starting to get anxious.

The commanding knights tried to calm them down, shouting orders to maintain their composure.

During the previous grand invasion of the Great Demon Emperor, many of the elite soldiers from all the nations had fallen.

Well-trained soldiers had died in large numbers.

“The ones left here…… their training is probably lower than that of the troops from the grand invasion.”

I recalled hearing such a thing.

Some of them were even civilian militia, poorly trained for battle.

The troops on the eastern wall had relatively high numbers of well-trained Magnar soldiers.

But even then, our numbers were simply not enough.

And to make up for the lack of numbers, a significant number of poorly trained soldiers had been added.

It wasn’t surprising, then, that some of them were starting to lose their composure.

Even so, they were still here.

They still gathered here.

To protect what was important.

No one could blame them.

As for me personally, I felt nothing but gratitude towards them———-

“I don’t want to die……”

I remembered the man I had heard sobbing earlier on the wall.

Because the Sacraments had stopped moving while attacking from a distance, the Sacrament army was currently halted.

As I watched the enemy’s long, horizontally aligned formation, I turned to Rinji and spoke.

[If they get closer, I might be able to handle those huge Sacraments and siege weapons with my flames.]

[Your flames are powerful after all…… I’ll leave them to you, Tomohiro.]

“However……”, I added.

[The number I can handle is limited.]

Rinji looked at me in confusion.

[Huh?]

The enemy’s army was spread out horizontally.

If they clung to the wall, how much could I move around on top of it?

How long would it take for me to move?

How much area could I cover?

In that case…… ————

[………………..]

As a thought crossed my mind, I gulped.

Then, I spoke.

[Could you…… get confirmation on whether I’m allowed to leave through the gate and charge at them?]

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