“Aagh!”

“What the!”

The monsters gathered in the box – their numbers weren’t apparent when contained, but once spilled out, there was an overwhelming amount. Following orders to open multiple boxes at once, an incredible number crawled out.

Black creatures swarmed and crawled all over Heinz’s camp and barracks. The Heinz camp was completely covered in darkness by them.

The monsters fell to the ground and devoured the soil that had been piled to one side, growing larger and larger. In fact, it wasn’t just soil, but traces of Huran that had been scattered by Rowen’s forces. The monsters grew larger by consuming the spilled Huran. They spread out, filling the entire Heinz camp.

“What’s happening!”

“The monsters aren’t moving away!”

“Kill them all!”

Heinz soldiers began attacking the monsters that covered their camp with their swords.

A Divine Beast flying above the Heinz camp confirmed the situation. In the Rowen camp, Duke Khalid’s orders were given.

Once again, Huran began flying from the catapults. The Huran, propelled by the power of the Divine Beasts that Duke Khalid had moved, easily flew and struck the Heinz forces directly. Since all the Heinz soldiers had come out to attack the monsters covering the ground, the launched Huran this time hit the Heinz soldiers.

The Huran splattered and covered the soldiers’ bodies. Riding on the power of the Divine Beasts, the Huran was now clearly targeting the Heinz forces as it flew. Some fell to the ground and some fell onto the monsters.

“Aaagh!”

“Cut down the monsters!”

“Kill them all!”

The Heinz camp was in complete chaos. The monsters they had released were growing larger by consuming their ground, and now they began climbing up the bodies of soldiers hit by Huran. The monsters made crunching sounds as they chewed on the soldiers’ bodies along with the Huran. Crack.

“Aaaagh!”

Huran drew arcs in the sky as it flew. The new species of monsters that ate Huran went wild trying to consume it. They climbed onto the bodies of knights covered in Huran and ate their heads and arms. They crunched and chewed on the soldiers’ legs.

It was truly a horrific sight that one might only see in the underground depths where Vican’s light doesn’t reach. The monsters they had released to provoke another country had become monsters that devoured their own bodies.

Heinz soldiers beheaded their comrades to kill the growing monsters. They cut off their comrades’ arms, or their own legs, to remove the monsters.

The Rowen forces maintained their standby position in their camp. Only Kaiden saw and heard the horrific sights and sounds through the power of the Divine Beasts. Kaiden sat on his black horse, wearing armor and a helmet with his visor raised to reveal his eyes.

His blue eyes, gleaming even in the shadows, remained fixed on the distance without blinking. Knights of Heinz dying, covered in monsters. Screams and monster sounds. The sound of weapons.

As Kaiden took in the sight of the landscape covered in monsters and knights, he thought.

‘Catching monsters with monsters.’

And catching monster-like ones with monsters too.

Duke Khalid, with killing intent frozen in his deep blue eyes, lowered his helmet’s visor to cover his eyes.

* * *

When the monsters were killed and the situation in the Heinz camp was barely under control, they saw the approaching Rowen forces in full armor. A shadow gradually drawing closer from the opposite side of the plains. The green army was approaching, raising dust.

At the very front was a commander in all-black armor. Through the dust, the approaching black figure looked like the shadow of death itself moving closer.

Count Gent of the Heinz camp, who had been reorganizing his soldiers and dealing with monster corpses, ordered battle preparations. Standing at the front of the Heinz forces with loaded crossbows at the ready, he shouted toward the approaching Rowen army.

“You madmen! Is this something humans should do!”

Hearing the echoing voice, Kaiden thought inside his helmet: And what you did was fine?

But there was a different answer that really needed to be given. Kaiden raised his voice and shouted.

“Do you have proof we did it! Can Heinz control monsters!”

Using the very same protest that Heinz had made.

Count Gent, his face filled with rage, properly secured his helmet. He raised his hand high. The waiting Heinz soldiers prepared to charge immediately. Soldiers with loaded crossbows, and behind them the next wave of crossbowmen, infantry, and mounted Heinz cavalry were all in position, ready to attack the Rowen forces at any moment.

Count Gent’s hand dropped. The order was given. Drum beats rang out in quick succession. It was the order to advance.

Soldiers aiming crossbows ran at the front, followed by mounted Heinz knights. With bodies soaked in their comrades’ blood, these men who better deserved the title of warriors charged forward raising dust. To take revenge as warriors, revenge for their comrades.

Kaiden halted his horse and raised his hand. As he stopped, a short drum beat signaling halt sounded from the Rowen side. The movement of the Khalid Knights following behind Kaiden also stopped. Kaiden watched the approaching Heinz forces.

The front-line Heinz soldiers were running forward with aimed crossbows. The arrows fired from Heinz crossbows had tremendous destructive power. They were weapons that could pierce through chain mail. Fortunately, the current Kaiden knew how to deal with soldiers wielding those weapons.

While Heinz crossbows were powerful, they had shorter range than Rowen longbows and took time to reload. Therefore, archers needed to rapid-fire their arrows to attack before the crossbowmen could approach.

Of course, while longbows were useful in subjugating monsters in the north, they weren’t weapons used in battles between people. This was because attacking distant opponents with ranged weapons wasn’t knightly.

However, when facing Heinz who used crossbows, considering what was knightly or not was meaningless. From the perspective of a battlefield commander who needed to achieve victory by any means necessary, it wasn’t even worth considering. Originally, Heinz’s crossbows too were weapons developed to deal with monsters coming down from the Dorbas Mountains.

In any case, Kaiden had learned how to deal with those crossbows in his past life, losing soldiers as Rowen fell. He had prepared for this day by gathering all the archers from the north to Leonas and increasing their numbers.

But he couldn’t use that method now. Because that would make it a first strike. Since his catapulting of Huran was provocation, not attack.

Unable to take advantage of the insight gained from his past life, Kaiden waited for now. Rowen archers with aimed longbows were also standing by.

The Heinz forces, charging like enraged wolves, drew closer. It might have been an intimidating sight if they were enemies, but to Kaiden, it was a sight he had faced many times in anger.

Perhaps among those bastards would be them. In his memories of both past and future, the ones who had invaded Rowen’s capital and taken Dana.

Though that was now a non-existent event that could never happen, just the fact that such a memory resided in his mind meant these bastards deserved to die.

With Count Gent’s signal, the drum beats changed. The Heinz crossbowmen who had charged with fierce momentum stopped. As they raised their loaded crossbows, about to fire those lightning-like weapons.

Kaiden’s eyes flashed. This was the first strike he had been waiting for. Without sound or signal, Divine Beasts merged into a black stream and flew through the sky.

Whoosh!

The mass of Divine Beasts passed between the Rowen and Heinz forces like a majestic waterfall. Forming into a long body like a giant snake, they swallowed the flying crossbow bolts. The crossbow-wielding soldiers were also blown away. The arrows that could pierce armor shattered into fragments as they hit the Divine Beasts’ bodies. The earth was torn apart by the flow of Divine Beasts as if split open.

As the Heinz cavalry revealed below where the Divine Beasts had risen back to the sky murmured in confusion.

Placing his hand on his sword at his waist, Kaiden muttered.

“Come quickly to your death, you sons of bitches.”

The Khalid Duke’s sword was drawn. The fire order was given. Drum beats sounded.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Whoosh!

A black rain of arrows from the drawn Rowen longbows filled the view as they flew. The battle had begun.