Chapter 100
"You men, move out!"
Al, leading the unit, pulled on the reins and raised his spear. His horse reared and neighed before racing straight toward the slope. Deputy Commander Ray followed without delay.
The slope was so steep that it could hardly be called anything but a cliff. Even so, the soldiers followed without hesitation.
Giving themselves over to their horses, they rushed straight down the cliffside and reached the rear of the enemy formation.
The enemy headquarters noticed the detachment that had appeared behind them, but gave them no time to shift into a defensive formation. Al and Ray drove their horses like the wind and fell upon the guards protecting the enemy headquarters.
The two of them cut through the heavily armored royal guard ants as easily as paper and closed in on the palanquin carrying the King Ant.
"Got you!"
A spear decorated with red cloth caught the King Ant by the neck. But just before the spearhead pierced it, a massive poleaxe knocked the spear away.
The one wielding the poleaxe was the King Ant himself, still seated in the palanquin.
He cast aside the royal scepter and, while seated, wielded the poleaxe to intercept the spear.
"Let's do this!"
Al swung his spear, unleashing a flurry of thrusts like red meteors. But the King Ant parried every one with masterful poleaxe technique, then twisted away and leaped down from the palanquin.
"Heh."
Al smiled at the sight of the King Ant. Its movements were impressive enough, but its full body, hidden by the palanquin, was enormous.
Ordinary royal guard ants were only somewhat larger than humans, but the giant body wrapped in loose clothing stood over two meters tall, possessing an awe-inspiring stature that seemed to reach the heavens. Even the massive poleaxe in one hand looked small.
"You certainly live up to the name King Ant."
Despite that massive body, the King Ant moved with remarkable agility and wielded its poleaxe expertly, bringing a combative smile to Al's face.
"Al, we don't have time to play around."
Ray called out from behind him. If they took too long, the units separated from the main force would notice something was wrong and return. If that happened, fifty cavalrymen would be wiped out in an instant.
"I know. You deal with those over there."
Al called back to Ray behind him. Two royal guard ants stood in Ray's way.
These two also carried themselves differently from the other ants. Royal guard ants wore armor, but it was usually no more than leather armor or crude breastplates. These two, however, were covered from head to toe in full plate armor; with helmets, they would have looked like human knights from a distance.
But what set them apart most of all was the way they stood with their spears ready, and the killing intent that made the skin prickle.
"Equipment stolen from some knight, I see. These two are royal guards—and perhaps candidates to become the next King Ant."
Ray readied his spear from horseback and faced them.
The King Ant facing Al swung its poleaxe casually with one hand.
The poleaxe, swung as lightly as a slender branch, swept through several nearby soldier ants, crushing and cleaving them as it came.
Al swung his spear with both arms and intercepted the poleaxe. The clash rang across the battlefield, and the force drove Al and his horse backward.
The King Ant swung the poleaxe again, as though brushing away tiny insects.
The roaring poleaxe slammed into the earth, carrying several nearby soldier ants with it and smashing apart the palanquin the King Ant had been riding in. Al blocked with his spear and knocked it aside, but he was forced entirely onto the defensive and could not find an opening to attack.
"Al!"
Ray cried out at the King Ant's monstrous strength, but he could not go to Al's aid.
Two blades came rushing toward Ray. He hastily thrust out his spear and knocked them away, but another barrage immediately followed, leaving him on the defensive as well.
The two armored royal guard ants before Ray moved like mirror images of each other, swinging their spears in a relentless combination. One spearhead grazed Ray's cheek.
"Ray-kun, want a hand?"
Seeing the royal guard ants' sharp spearwork, Al teased him lightly.
"You want me to switch with you, don't you?"
As a line of blood trickled down his cheek, Ray glanced at Al over his shoulder.
"Screw you. I thought I'd finally found an enemy with some real bite."
Al readied his spear and unleashed a sweeping slash.
The King Ant tried to casually brush it aside with its poleaxe, but the weapon that could shatter the earth was knocked away. The King Ant, absolutely confident in its own strength, moved its mandibles in astonishment.
The King Ant fixed its gaze on Al, widened its stance, and gripped the poleaxe with both hands for the first time.
The poleaxe, swung with the strength of its entire body, roared as it came for Al, only to be knocked away by the spear.
"What? Is that your full strength? You're strong, sure, but not as strong as Otto—and, more importantly..."
Al maneuvered his horse and thrust with his spear. The King Ant countered with its poleaxe, but their weapons were knocked aside, their strength apparently equal.
The King Ant tried to swing its poleaxe again, but Al's spear shot forward first, forcing it to defend.
"You're too slow."
With every thrust, Al's spear grew faster, giving the King Ant no chance to counterattack.
The King Ant desperately continued to parry, but Al's spear accelerated further and further. At last, it broke through the poleaxe's defense and pierced the King Ant's cloth-covered chest.
Meanwhile, Ray was still engaged with the two royal guard ants; three spears crossed and scattered fierce sparks.
As Ray sped up, he knocked away the spears rushing toward him, but the royal guard ants crossed their weapons to block. The ant on the left held down Ray's spear while the one on the right flicked its spear upward at him.
Ray pulled back his spear and deflected the approaching blade, but the right antfolk's deflected spear spun as though to entangle Ray's weapon, while the left royal guard ant seized the opening and attacked his torso.
Ray reversed his spear to block the blow aimed at his torso, but another barrage followed, forcing him onto the defensive.
"Not bad. I don't know how you learned it, but that's proper spear technique."
Ray was genuinely impressed by the royal guard ants' spearwork.
They were not merely swinging the weapons in their hands around at random. Their movements, which sought to pin down their opponent in response to that opponent's actions, followed a coherent system.
There could hardly have been anyone to teach spear technique to monsters. They had probably learned by imitation, or devised it themselves through trial and error.
"Your teamwork isn't bad either. But it's not as good as our twins'."
Ray thrust his spear from a right-sided stance. The two ants spun their spears in an attempt to entangle it, but Ray's spear rotated along with the movement that sought to draw it in.
Just when it seemed to turn right, it turned left instead. When the royal guard ants rotated their spears right, Ray rotated his to match, taking the high line over their weapons. The two ants spun their spears faster in an attempt to catch up, but Ray only increased the speed of his own spear's rotation.
His spearwork no longer merely matched the antfolk's movements. The spearhead moved ahead of them, tracing complex curves.
The two royal guard ants tried to catch up with the spear, but their own weapons got in each other's way and brought their movements to a halt.
Ray did not miss the momentary opening. He thrust between the spears, sliding through the gap, and drove the point into the left elbow of the royal guard ant on the right.
The royal guard ant on the left thrust its spear, but Ray's spear spun, its decorative cloth whipping around like a living snake and wrapping around the antfolk's weapon, locking it in place.
Ray crossed the spears, then, as he unwound the cloth, knocked the ant's spear downward. The recoil sent his own spear snapping upward, and he slashed open the antfolk's right armpit.
With an elbow and an armpit pierced, the two antfolk dropped their spears, then sank to their knees and placed their hands on the ground, seemingly unable to endure the pain.
Ray's spear shot toward the antfolk's head.
Al's red spear caught the King Ant in the chest, while Ray's blue spear flew toward the royal guard ant. It was the perfect chance to deliver a killing blow, but Al's spear, which had surpassed even the King Ant's monstrous strength, was knocked away with a shrill clang, while Ray's perfectly precise spear veered wide. They had missed their golden opportunity.
"Wha—"
The two men cried out in shock at the same time.
Beneath the King Ant's slashed clothing, shining armor was visible.
When the King Ant tore away its clothes, crystals that gleamed like diamonds covered the black exoskeleton beneath them like armor.
Meanwhile, when Ray looked down at his horse's feet, he saw that only one patch of the dry earth had turned into mud.
The horse's feet had sunk into the mire, disrupting Ray's exquisite spearwork. But when he looked around, there was no other mud anywhere, and it had not been there until moments ago.
The King Ant raised its poleaxe, spread its mandibles, and shouted.
A sound like glass scraping against glass rang across the battlefield. Then the crystal armor covering its body began to grow as though it were alive.
It spread over the King Ant's exposed arms and head, eventually covering its entire body down to the tips of its fingers.
The two royal guard ants with their hands on the ground also spread their mandibles and shouted something. The mud spread across the dry earth like a stain, swallowing the horses' feet and eating into the surrounding ground.
The horses struggled to escape, but the mud clung to their legs, making it difficult to break free.
The mire's sudden appearance alongside the diamond-like armor was bizarre, but both men realized what had caused it.
"Magic?"
Al murmured softly.