31. New Church!

31. New Church!

 

 

 

 

 

“Get over here, you goddamn bitch!!”

 

 

A chase.

At the very front, a red-haired woman was burning with fury.

 

The distance between her and Iliana was barely two hundred steps.

If she had a bow, it was a distance she could easily shoot and hit.

 

 

“Wow~ you’re really slow~ With your naked-like outfit and fiery personality… you’re even slow on your feet. What are you gonna do? Will you even be able to get married?”

“Eek! Shut up!”

 

 

Zhang Fei was falling for Iliana’s provocation without holding back.

 

Some of the knights began to sense something was amiss.

 

 

“General! Something’s fishy. If we keep going like this, we’ll reach the canyon… there’s no better place for an ambush!”

“What ambush?! Those bitches are just cowards running away!”

“No, that’s…”

 

Zhang Fei ignored the knights’ words and increased her speed.

Normally, she wouldn’t be this ignorant, but Iliana’s provocation had really hit home.

 

 

 

“Zhang Fei!! Stop!!”

“Zhang Fei-gong! Please stop!!”

 

 

 

 

Urgent voices were heard from behind.

 

 

It was Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Nobunaga.

 

 

 

Nobunaga was dispirited because of the Saintess’s absurd orders, but she quickly shook it off and ran at full speed.

If they continued the pursuit like this, it would truly be the downfall of the Holy Kingdom.

 

 

‘The battle lines are a mess and the location is bad. I absolutely have to stop this!!’

 

 

Liu Bei and Guan Yu seemed to have the same thought, as they were pacifying the excited soldiers, not just Zhang Fei, and shouting for them to return.

 

 

However, that only added to the confusion.

 

 

Some who listened to their words and came to their senses,

And others who still didn’t listen and continued to pursue, creating a complete mess.

 

 

This was a difficult situation in its own right.

 

 

 

“Ah… this isn’t going to work… Everyone’s ignoring me because the Saintess ordered it.”

 

 

Nobunaga despaired.

 

“Zhang Fei too… she’s already gone way ahead.”

 

Liu Bei also despaired.

Zhang Fei had already reached right in front of the canyon.

 

 

“…There’s still a way to just turn back now, what do you want to do?”

 

Nobunaga judged that the probability of entering that place and coming out alive was extremely low.

 

“Absolutely not! We decided that even though we were born at different times, we would die together!”

“…I guess so.”

 

 

The famous Oath of the Peach Garden.

Well, it’s not really famous, but Nobunaga knew about it.

The three sisters’ burning friendship.

It was something that could never be broken.

 

 

“…Even if I die, I’ll go. Hyah!”

 

 

In the end, Liu Bei rushed forward, and Guan Yu followed behind her.

 

 

“Princess…”

 

Katsuie was fidgeting, watching Nobunaga, who was hesitating.

Nagahide and Mitsuhide were the same.

 

 

“Hmph… it’s a waste for such lovely ladies to die here… but it can’t be helped, this is war.”

 

 

She put on a cold face.

 

 

“There’s no reason for us to die too. We’ve already lost five thousand soldiers. That’s enough. Let’s go back.”

 

She shook her head from side to side and turned her horse around.

She was going to do her best since she had come all this way, but the Saintess was too incompetent.

 

 

Of course, she understands since she’s a woman who’s never been involved in war her whole life, but it’s still too much.

 

“I think it’s a good choice.”

 

Nagahide comforted her from the side.

Katsuie was sobbing and shedding tears instead of Nobunaga.

 

 

“…Let’s go.”

 

 

With a heavy voice, Nobunaga and the five thousand soldiers of Owari began to retreat.

 

 

Fortunately, the group moving together to retreat was quite noticeable, so there were no collisions.

Only the gazes that seemed to see them as traitors or betrayers of the country were unsettling.

 

 

 

As they were going, they soon met the Saintess, who was chasing after the soldiers.

 

 

 

“…Nobunaga-gong?”

 

 

Cecilia understood the situation at once from looking at Nobunaga’s expression and formation.

 

 

“…Yes. You’re leaving too.”

“We’ve already lost five thousand soldiers. I think that’s enough.”

 

Nobunaga gave a brief bow and passed by the Saintesses.

The Saintess looked at them with a complicated expression, but in the end, she just let them go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About an hour after parting with the Saintess.

Nobunaga had no choice but to stop.

 

 

“…Damn it.”

“It was a double trap. Oh my…”

 

 

A curse word came out involuntarily.

 

 

A large army lined up before their eyes.

Judging from the fluttering flags, it was Ramias’s unit, one of Aran’s wives.

 

 

“…It seems like they solidified their position in the canyon, and when the Holy Army retreated, Ramias’s unit, which had returned in advance, blocked the retreat route and planned to devour us whole… We’ve been properly caught.”

 

 

Right.

An ambush doesn’t necessarily need a large army.

It just needs to ‘pretend’ to be a large army.

 

They shoot arrows, throw stones, roll boulders to inflict damage, then slaughter the bewildered soldiers. And they chase and kill the enemies who lose their will to fight and flee.

 

 

Those who have lost their will to fight are no longer soldiers, and those who are not soldiers are meaningless no matter how many they are.

 

 

That’s why an ambush doesn’t necessarily need to be a large army.

 

 

Iliana thought about that point and created a double trap.

 

She leads the knights and cavalry to charge, harasses the enemy camp, and retreats in a miserable state as if they had been defeated.

 

Even if they are experienced and know it’s a lure tactic, they usually get excited and follow when faced with that situation, but the Holy Army and the Saintesses are inexperienced rookies when it comes to war. At least Nobunaga and the others are a bit knowledgeable about strategy.

 

 

So they will definitely chase after them.

 

 

Some who are not excited will think about an ambush, and some of them will retreat.

 

 

So she had Ramias go around in advance to seize the rear of the Holy Army.

 

 

This way, they can annihilate all those who are fleeing + those who have chased after them.

 

 

“If I just ask them to let us go… they won’t listen, right?”

“Probably not…”

“Uwaaa! Princess, are we losing?! Or should I charge and wipe them all out??”

“Shut up, you idiot. Be quiet.”

“Ouch! Calling me an idiot is too much!”

“Then I’ll correct it to idiot moron.”

“It got worse?!”

 

 

‘At this rate, we’re completely screwed…’

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So you ran away after all, Nobunaga-ssi.”

 

Ramias said from a distance.

It sounded like she was right in front of them.

 

 

“Ran away? We’ve just finished all our work.”

“Eii~. Finished everything? We were pointing swords at each other, how could it be finished?”

 

Ramias, who makes you tense even while smiling innocently.

As expected, she has no intention of just letting them go.

 

 

“…Katsu, Hide, Jubei (Akechi Mitsuhide). From now on, when I signal, charge at full speed.”

“Charge…?”

“Ooh! I’ll blow them all away!”

“…Is it possible?”

“It’s best not to fight, but the enemy doesn’t seem to have any intention of that, so we have to break through and escape somehow.”

“But even if we get past here, Aran is there.”

“That’s… let’s think about it when we get there.”

 

A firm resolution.

Somehow, they will get past this place and survive!

 

 

‘It’s absurd to die here. If I die, Owari will be destroyed. I absolutely can’t let that happen.’

 

 

“Chaaarge!”

 

 

Following Nobunaga, who drew her sword and jumped out, the warriors, knights, and cavalry charged.

 

 

“Crush the enemy lines and escape this place!!”

 

-Ooh!

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The enemy is charging. Get ready.”

 

 

A gentle voice that didn’t suit the battlefield.

But it was like a death sentence.

 

 

Those who received her orders moved quickly to relay the commands, and the women holding guns came forward all at once and lined up as they had been trained.

 

Behind the gunners, groups of three dragged cannons, filling them with gunpowder.

 

 

 

“Gunners, aim!”

 

 

Chak.

 

 

“Fire!”

 

 

Tatatadang!

 

 

The gunners fired in unison.

With flashing sparks, they spewed out long trails of hazy smoke and scattered bullets.

 

 

The bullets, flying at tremendous speed, struck the horses, knights, and cavalry that were charging.

 

 

The horses collapsed and rolled on the ground with cries of “Heeheehing!”

The knights didn’t directly lose their lives thanks to their mana armor, but they fell from their horses due to the impact.

And the cavalry died as the parts they were hit by exploded.

 

 

 

“Wh-what…!”

 

 

Nobunaga was greatly shocked and almost stopped for a moment.

 

 

What on earth was that stick?

 

 

‘What the hell is that? It wasn’t a close-range weapon?’

 

 

 

-Heeheehing!

 

 

 

The horses began to tangle.

The formation became a mess.

The charge was shattered by the first volley.

 

“What is this…”

 

 

In the moment of surprise and hesitation.

The second volley began.

Something black flew as if it was being sprayed, and the flesh of horses and people exploded from all directions, scattering blood.

 

 

“Princess! This is…!”

“My lord!”

 

 

Something was wrong.

 

 

The appearance of an unknown new weapon brought chaos, and the soldiers, terrified, kept moving backward.

 

 

No, in the first place, the horses were frightened and ran backward.

 

Thanks to that, they got tangled with other soldiers who were charging, creating a complete disaster.

It was a situation that was impossible to deal with.

 

 

 

 

And…

 

 

 

 

Bang!

Pubeong!

 

 

Suddenly, with a tremendous roar, the ground exploded, and four or five soldiers nearby were torn to pieces and scattered in all directions.

 

 

Whether it was magic or something else.

 

Even a knight couldn’t survive if they were hit directly.

 

Nobunaga’s attempt to break through somehow was futilely crushed by the newly appeared weapons.