Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

To me, this is just another bandit hunt I’ve experienced countless times before.

There were times when the knights were outnumbered, and times when we were ambushed during the march. Those battles were fought with full preparation by the bandits, who had threatened their clients to get information and aimed to crush the knight order.

But I defeated them all.

I believe it was all due to highly trained soldiers and the selection of the best formations and tactics.

In other words, I take pride in my command—it's that excellent, genius-level, and top-notch.

Yet now, I want to follow Lord Van’s command.

It’s surprising. Even under the command of the corps leader Stradale, I would think I could lead better myself.

“…No, that’s not it.”

It’s precisely because Lord Van has repeatedly defied my expectations that I want to experience his command up close.

Realizing this, a smile naturally spread across my face.

“Hahaha! Interesting! Now, let’s see how this goes! This will be a spectacle!”

Laughing, I climbed the stairs, looking at the frightened faces of the villagers manning the ballistae, patting the backs of those who were hesitant, and then gazing down the highway.

Because it’s a frontier, there are no obstacles—just a clear, open road. Those villagers must have spotted the bandit group appearing quite far off and raised the alarm. They would make excellent scouts.

After all, only now can I clearly recognize the group running toward us as savage bandits.

The savage bandits were running in a disorganized, rough manner. Some were even shouting with open mouths, waving swords overhead.

“…Hm, they’re running?”

That sight made me tilt my head in confusion. Then, Lord Van’s voice echoed from behind.

“What do you think—!?”

Laughing at Lord Van’s usual calm tone, I obediently reported the situation like a regular soldier.

“The number is between fifty and one hundred! They’re still a few hundred meters away! But strangely, the bandits are running at full speed toward us! By the time they arrive, they’ll be exhausted and fall to the ground!”

Upon receiving this, Lord Van paused for a second or two before replying.

“Got it—! Do you think the bandits might be chased by something—?”

He said something along those lines.

I see. That would explain their full sprint. It likely means they were spotted by the patrolling knight order or something similar.

As I was thinking this and focusing my gaze, a nearby villager suddenly shouted, “Ah!”

“What is it?”

When I asked, the villager pointed behind the bandits. Although the dust cloud made it hard to see clearly, they seemed to have noticed something.

“A tail! I saw a tail!”

“…A tail?”

The information was too fragmented, and I could only tilt my head in confusion. But I had to check again.

Looking behind the bandits running spread out in about five loose rows…

The dust cloud still made it hard to see, but soon voices from other villagers also called out as if they had discovered something.

What’s with this village? Do they all have exceptionally sharp eyesight?

“That’s an armored lizard!”

“And not just one or two of them!”

Upon hearing that shout, I frowned.

This is the worst. The most dreaded foes for this village have appeared.

I quickly turned my head and shouted at Lord Van, who was on the ground behind us.

“Lord Van! It seems the ones driving the bandits on are a pack of armored lizards! Ordinary weapons can’t even hurt armored lizards within their usual visible range!”

At that, Lord Van’s face seemed to darken slightly.

It’s understandable. In this village, the only magic users who can fight are the Espada and that adventurer’s daughter. And the adventurers have gone out to gather supplies.

Even without magic users, a knight order equipped with armor and heavy gear could suppress the armored lizards’ movements and strike their weak spots, like the belly, to defeat them.

But that’s not something the villagers can do or should do.

As for me, even wearing the heaviest armor, I can barely handle two lizards alone. My subordinates would need at least two per lizard.