--Let's go win this thing. Listen to me, this is my last order.

　Without taking his eyes off the enemy soldiers, he clutched the hilt of his treasure sword with both hands and said. Strangely enough, my open lips felt much heavier. My throat rumbled.

We will now make a raid on the enemy camp with only the vanguard assault troops. We won't keep step with the main army.

　As I said that I would give the signal for the assault, I took a moment to look around.

　I looked around for a moment to see the faces and eyes of the assault troops. I couldn't see all of them, but just the ones around me, some with hardened eyes, some with stupidly open lips. No one seemed to be smiling cheerfully.

　Nor should they. This is like a suicide mission.

　They're not in step with the main army. That is to say, with only a few dozen assault troops in the vicinity, they are going to bite the belly of the Daishonin army, which is still outnumbered.

　If we charge so far away from the main army, even if the enemy army is shaking the front line, we will not be able to avoid heavy damage. At the end of that charge, the word "annihilation" looms coldly.

　I'm sure that the soldiers are now filled with anxiety about death and distrust of me. After all, they're hunting down the Great Patriarch's army right now. No wonder they wondered why they had to do such a foolish thing.

　I look again at the battlefield ahead. The crumbling enemy soldiers were beginning to hold their iron spears lazily, as if to lure you in. His eyes tightened.

I don't want to force you to go along. But the enemy has plenty of energy left. If we don't crush it now, everyone dies. Everyone and everything dies.

　I didn't go into detail, and I didn't have time to explain. And who could say? And who could have said, "There will be infiltrators ahead, so sacrifice on behalf of the main army.

　The entire Monstrance army could no longer stop moving forward, let alone retreating or even stopping. And the enemy is probably planning to skewer the allied soldiers who are advancing badly.

　It is no longer possible to survive it without any damage. The world is not that kind.

　Therefore, we need to keep the damage to a minimum. In order to do so, we have to expose the enemy's plan first. I need to be the first to step forward and become the target of their skewering.

　Then I'll have no choice but to be that target.

　Ambushes are useful because their existence is not known. If the main army is not harmed by the ambush, I will trust that they will force their way in. This is my limit. There's only so much I can do. I've thought about what Kalia would do, what Mattia would do, a few times. I can only do what I can do.

　Then I'll do my best.

"We'll draw out the enemy's strength. "We'll draw out what's left of the enemy, and the main army will kill them. That's better. It's much better than everyone dying.

　As I said that. I took a step forward, holding my treasure sword in front of my right shoulder. At the same time, I saw some of the soldiers stepping forward as if they were following me.

　It was not as if all the soldiers were not following. It seems that some of them were taken in by my words.

　At the same time as I was resting, the tendrils of self-loathing threatened to choke me to death. How many people do I have to kill to make me feel better? For a moment, just a moment, I lowered my eyes. I thrust my canine teeth hard into my lips.

　The next time I looked up, I could see nothing but the enemy army ahead. It's strange, I'm going to do something stupid now, but I'm strangely lucid.

　What to do is simple. Just go forward, cut through the enemy, and finally eat the iron with my own flesh. That's all you need to do. There was no trace of regret in my mind.

I've heard from the start that it's a job that's easy to die for, but are you willing to die for Master Lugis?

　A man holding a spear said right next to me. I couldn't see his face, but his voice was so raspy that I thought he had crushed his throat somewhere. He must have had a lot to drink last night. A soldier on the front line should have been given that kind of money.

It's no use. It's much better that way. It's a lot better than doing nothing.

　And with that. Another swing of the blade. Purple lines and iron intertwined, and after a moment of joining, they ended with the iron being cut in two. The sword shone as if it were neighing with joy.

　I could see a lot of blood splattering from the crushed heads of the enemy soldiers, coating the ground with makeup.

　To tell you the truth, Saint Mattia and Largd-Anne had told me that as a hero, all I needed was to be on the battlefield.

　--Your death is the most dangerous thing. Please be a hero and a symbol of morale.

　I think Mattia said something like that.



　It may be a good argument. When the hero, the symbol of the battlefield, dies, morale drops and the soldiers become weak. Just being visible and shouting at the top of one's lungs may have the effect of boosting morale.

　But that's not the hero I know. Not the hero I longed for with all my heart.

　The hero is the one who walks stronger than anyone else, who is more enthusiastic than anyone else, and who can make decisions more easily than anyone else. Even if it's a decision that could cost you your life.

　He takes another step forward. Slightly, faster.

"Master Lugis. I have only one request.

　The man with the raspy voice said. The words he said seemed to be trying to be easygoing, but his voice was still somewhat firm. There are not many people who can speak in a light tone when they are about to throw their lives away. Even suicidal people don't go that easy.

　I nodded slightly in response to the man, and listened. The rattle of the man's voice struck my ears, coming through even in a battlefield full of savage voices.

I was born a poor farmer. I was born a poor farmer. I was born a poor farmer and I'd like to try my hand at being a little better.

　His cheeks twisted into a toothy smile. It's common for soldiers to make jokes to distract themselves on the battlefield. But it's rare for a soldier to say something like that when the time comes.

　I'll talk to Mattia all I want, he said, and quickened his pace. It's no longer just a slow march, but a forced assault on the enemy lines.

　My heart leaps, my cheeks twist. My heart races, my cheeks twist. The situation around me is telling me to die, and it even seems like the best thing to do.

　But even in the midst of all this, I can't seem to give up or pray. Only a single impassioned emotion was floating in my heart.

　Ah, the horizon of my longing is here. Thinking back, I hadn't changed since I was a barbarian, adventurer, and fool, as Kalia had once told me.

　--Now, let's go be the hero of the story. The image you have longed for and longed for is just around the corner.

From now on, we will break through the enemy's center and make a frontal assault on the enemy's main camp. If you want to die, do it after I'm dead. I'll be the first one in front, the first one to die.

　And with that, he let out a savage cry instead of a signal. The purple lightning stroked the hollow, making the blood boil. The Great Sacred Church's soldiers flinched slightly as their assault speed clearly changed.

　Yes, just a little. Just a little bit. If the enemy thinks it was unexpected, so be it. As long as it results in breaking through the enemy lines, penetrating the main camp, and luring out the sleepers.

　Even if you end up with a body that cannot speak.