Published: January 12, 2026
Although they lost most of their Wyverns, the soldiers of the Yelinetta Kingdom turned around and marched the entire army toward us.
“All right! We’re retreating! Bring back the carriage shields! Since the ballistae are still functional, aim for the Wyverns while retreating!”
After giving those orders, Ort couldn’t help but speak up.
“We’re retreating? If we just dealt with the Wyverns, we’d probably win, right?”
Ort’s words made not only the other adventurers but even the former villagers now serving in the knight order look at me with similar expressions. Til and Dee seemed to understand my reasoning and said nothing.
“I told you from the start. Our biggest goal is for no one to die and for all of us to return. Facing that massive force, we’ll be wiped out. Even if we win, we’ll be left in tatters. Anyone who wants to die can stay behind, but I’m going back, okay? Anyone want to die?”
When I asked, everyone shook their heads simultaneously. Their honesty made me smile as I raised one hand.
“Then retreat! The highway is wide, so line up the carriages in a row and have the knight order protect the sides! Adventurers, please act as skirmishers! Oh, the ballistae and archers on the carriages will attack, so don’t move around too much!”
At my words, everyone sprang into action. Each armored carriage quickly returned to its original formation, deploying only the ballistae and aiming them backward. Some carried rapid-fire mechanical bows, ready to shoot enemies approaching close through the windows.
Furthermore, some cavalry had mechanical bow units riding along with bows in hand, and the puppet controlled by Arte returned from the city walls.
“The challenge is probably to keep them from getting too close,” I muttered inside the moving carriage as we began to retreat. Kamushin poked his head out of the window and spoke.
“They’re almost here! The ballistae don’t seem to be hitting many Wyverns!”
“Are they zigzagging in flight? Then let’s tell the ballista operators to predict their movement and fire rapidly. As for the enemy front approaching, let’s leave that to Arte.”
After I said this, Arte stuck her head out the window and looked back as she replied.
“Understood. I will handle the rear defense.”
With a determined tone, Arte muttered softly while channeling mana.
Immediately, her puppet, which had been perched atop the carriage, floated down lightly and darted backward like the wind. As it pushed off the ground, the puppet quickly shrank in size while Arte watched with a serious expression.
The puppet ran straight into the advancing enemy vanguard, swinging its arm.
Though it only swung a sword horizontally, the enemy soldiers who blocked it with their shields were knocked backward, tumbling and dragging two or three others down with them.
Then, taking advantage of the momentum, it slashed with a greatsword, leaving several enemy soldiers bleeding heavily and collapsed on the ground.
The puppet plunged alone into the enemy ranks and disappeared from sight. Even though we couldn’t see it, the soldiers’ amazed shouts, angry yells, screams, and loud crashing noises echoed.
The enemy’s march clearly slowed.
“All right! Ballistae and mechanical bow units, open fire! Now that they’ve stopped moving, this is our chance!”
I quickly gave the order, and the sparsely shot arrows suddenly flew all at once.
Thanks to the power of the rapid-fire mechanical bows, arrows rained down like a storm.
“Let’s run! Full speed retreat! Mechanical bow units, reload your next shots!”
A loud response came to my order. Yes, full of energy. Run, run!
“Cavalry incoming!”
“Let’s leave it to Dee and the others.”
“Oh, they’re down instantly.”
“Of course.”
Til and Kamushin narrated the situation like a live broadcast, but Dee and the adventurers surrounding us were impenetrable.
Meanwhile, the mechanical bows finished reloading, and the tide quickly turned in our favor.
“Arte, can you cut down the trees on the left side toward the highway?”