31 – I’ve Seen This a Lot in *Hitomi*

“Hold the Line!!”

“Fear not death!! Our families die if we retreat here!! Hold the line, no matter what!!”

The situation in the kingdom’s east was dire.

Even with Esther Tristy’s predictions pinpointing the curse’s apex, the time to respond had proved woefully insufficient.

Amidst the clash of cold steel and the roar of cannons, Craig Raymond urged his horse forward, towards the captain of the Iron Lion Knights.

“Captain, the situation is grim. Reports indicate the second defense line of the Richter territory has fallen. Lord Anke Richter urgently requests our aid.”

At Craig’s report, Oscar gripped his sword tighter, his expression grave.

The Iron Lion Knights were presently deployed to the Argento Dominion under His Majesty’s command.

The knights, each worth a hundred men, tirelessly repelled the offensive, sweeping across the battlefield.

However, the sheer overwhelming numbers, crashing like a tidal wave, were tipping the scales in favor of the demonic forces.

‘This is bad… If we abandon our post here, Argento is certain to fall.’

The Argento Dominion was the kingdom’s breadbasket.

His Majesty had ordered Argento be defended above all other locations in the kingdom’s east, a crucial stronghold that could not be lost.

Should Argento fall, even if they somehow managed to weather the curse, the kingdom would face a crippling food shortage.

“I regret to say Lord Richter, that reinforcement is impossible.”

“Then, what about dispatching a squad of select knights?”

Oscar shook his head.

“Every single knight is a precious asset at this time. Until the offensive subsides, we mustn’t dilute our forces.”

The foundation of strategy was to remain united.

To disperse their strength in the face of such a dire situation could lead to misfortune, causing them to fail in defending against an attack they otherwise could have.

The tale of the large army that split into two to surround and eradicate a bandit gang, only to be decimated in detail by the gang leader who discovered their plan, was a well-known cautionary tale within Justina.

“Understood…”

Oscar and Craig concluded their conversation and plunged back into the fray.

The horde was endless.

Though the ground was already paved with countless corpses, the vile demonic beings continued to appear, struggling with all their might to breach the defenses.

The thought of enduring this grueling, horrific war of attrition for another month sent a wave of dizziness through him.

The Iron Lion Knights were rigorously trained and specialized in killing, but the soldiers defending the territories were not.

Of the soldiers visible on the battlefield right now, 70% of them were merely commoners, living their daily lives.

Blacksmiths, tailors, farmers, and more—individuals whose lives had been far removed from war.

Each time one of these individuals fell, fighting desperately for their families and homelands, Oscar felt a simultaneous surge of grief and fury.

Someday, if he were to reach Pandemonium, beyond the eastern front, he would bring down their king with his own two hands, without fail.

“Commander, three colossal demons have manifested simultaneously!”

Oscar clicked his tongue, gazing at the gargantuan figures looming in the distance.

“Fall back the infantry, knights forward to draw their attention! And request immediate bombardment from the Flame Magic Tower!”

“Yes, sir!”

Despite the prospect of bombs raining down on their heads, the knights’ eyes remained unwavering.

They had already resigned themselves to death on this battlefield.

Just as the knights were about to charge into the writhing mass of demons,

Vrooom—

The Hell Tank’s raw engine roar reverberated across the warzone.

“There’s no need for that!! Hwahahaha!!”

The knights heard the boisterous laughter of the Crimson Magic Tower Lord.

Erphos, like a tank commander, stood exposed atop the Hell Tank, issuing firing orders to the crew.

“Target those mega-demons! Fire!”

The Hell Tank’s infernal cannon unleashed a fiery barrage.

KABoooM—!!

With a deafening explosion, the giants fell one after another.

The sheer destructive force had turned them into headless corpses, quite literally.

Both the knights and the demons struggled to comprehend the spectacle unfolding before them.

“Keep firing!!”

For the demons, whose momentum had faltered, the coaxial machine gun spewed countless magical bullets.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Witnessing the demons fall amidst shrieks of agony, the knights and soldiers could only stare in stunned disbelief.

“Hwahahaha!! What the hell is this Hell Tank?! I can feel my body heating up, damn it!!”

Oscar’s eyes widened at the arrival of this unexpected savior.

Shouldn’t the Magic Tower Lord be in his office, working tirelessly to suppress the Insanity Curse? What in the world was he doing atop that bizarre mint-green contraption?

“Lord Erphos!”

“Oscar Leonhardt. It’s been a while.”

“Shouldn’t you be busy issuing commands from the Magic Tower? What brings you here? And what exactly is that… weapon?”

“Your curious nature remains unchanged.”

Erphos offered a wry smile.

And to his question, he responded with a hearty explanation.

“Because the tasks facing our Red Magetower have lessened considerably.”

“And what might that mean…”

“Haniel Tristi and Esther Tristi have wrought a miracle!”

Erphüs slapped the hull of the Helltank.

“Oscar, listen well. This Helltank, designed by Haniel Tristi… is an astonishing invention, thirty times more effective than the existing Steamtanks! It can stand against any demon, large, medium, or small, and these peculiar wheels allow it to traverse even the most treacherous terrain!”

He launched into a sudden, enthusiastic exposition on the Helltank’s merits.

“The Mythril alloy, its hardening properties removed and its mana storage maximized… do you even comprehend what a feat of engineering this is!? The most remarkable thing is the power source. Though the process is tedious, purifying the tainted mana lingering in the corpses of dead demons to create a core that replenishes the spent mana…it’s truly revolutionary! And Esther Tristi forged this incredible invention in a mere three weeks. Isn’t that amazing!?”

Oscar grasped, at the very least, that this Helltank was something truly special.

*This potent invention… the product of that genius boy and his sister, working together…*

Haniel Tristi.

Before her illness, she was considered to possess the same potential for Transcendence as Etilla Bedford.

According to the investigation, Haniel, like Esther, was a child born to Porto’s second wife.

A brother and sister truly blessed with talent.

“With this wondrous invention, we’ll more than manage this extreme point. We can redirect resources and personnel originally slated for the east to other regions.”

This meant the plan wouldn’t deviate much from its initial form, and Erphüs, barring unforeseen circumstances, could rampage on the battlefield as he pleased.

Even if the Helltank was absurdly powerful, Oscar still felt uneasy about the head of the Magetower being on the front lines.

Of course, considering Erphüs’s epithet, ‘Slaughtering Sorcerer’, it was to be expected that Erphüs would want to join the fight as long as the circumstances allowed.

Still, an opportunity arose.

“Erphüs-nim, could you safeguard Argento?”

“Because of Richter?”

“Yes, the situation is…unfavorable.”

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t be able to leave his post, but the arrival of Erphüs and the Helltank had shifted the balance.

Oscar was about to order the knights to prepare for a swift journey to Richter, but Erphüs stopped him, waving off the knights.

“A Helltank has already reached the Richter territory. That should be sufficient support.”

Instead, Erphüs asked them to assist in gathering the corpses of the demons and refining them into fuel for the Helltank.

Oscar gazed at Erphüs’s confident expression, and finally nodded.

“Helltank…”

Despite its unrefined appearance, the Helltank was a weapon that could turn the tide of battle.

Unleashing barrages of hellfire and mana bullets, it minced hordes of demons in an instant.

‘If this weapon were mass-produced and deployed to the Eastern Front….’

It could tilt the stagnant tide of war in Justina’s favor.

For the first time in ages, his heart beat with a pleasant thrill.

‘The Kingdom of Justina must never let Tristi’s talents slip through their fingers. Especially Esther Tristi—she must be secured at all costs.’

Oscar intended, after all this was done, to urge His Majesty to meet Esther Tristi as soon as possible.

He sheathed his sword and, alongside his knights, strode toward the corpses of the demons.

*

I had discovered a fatal flaw in the Hell Tank.

『The hatch almost snapped shut due to excessive mana reaction, it seems. I’ll fix it as soon as I can.』

“Ah, wait, my waist is stuck…!!”

I stared at Etilla, wedged tight in the tank’s entrance.

She flailed her legs, grunting and struggling.

What sort of situation is this, even?