Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 41

(Seraph’s Perspective)

At my command, Luka used earth magic. Because of that, the Imperial soldiers died, and Luka was blamed for murder.

I felt sad.

Even though it was indirect, I had caused someone to die.

“We’ve spotted the target village!! Anyone who finds gold or women in the village gets them first!! Do whatever you want—kill or spare them!!”

The moment I heard those words from the Imperial soldiers, I gave Luka the order. I couldn’t forgive words that would hurt my beloved family or the villagers.

When I gave the order and saw the Imperial soldiers fall into the abyss, I felt a moment of satisfaction. But afterward, a wave of discomfort and sadness overwhelmed me.

I don’t remember much after that. I think Sir David was talking with the captain of the kingdom’s cavalry about many things.

Sir David placed his hand on my shoulder. That hand was warm, and it felt like it slowly melted my frozen heart. I even wished he would stay like that forever.

The kingdom’s cavalry took on the remaining Imperial soldiers. First, they sent a thousand infantry through the southern gate, moving toward the Imperial soldiers who had lost command and were stuck.

I watched everything through a gap in the village wall.

The Imperial soldiers seemed unsure whether to fight or not after seeing the number of infantry.

Then, making up their minds, the Imperial soldiers got on their horses and charged at the kingdom’s infantry that had come out of the southern gate. The cavalry captain—he said his name, but I forgot it—waited until the enemy cavalry got close enough to clash with the infantry. At the perfect moment, he sent out the other thousand cavalrymen hidden inside the village walls.

The Imperial cavalry charging at the infantry saw the new cavalry appear and immediately realized the huge difference in strength. The Imperial soldiers tried to turn back. But only the front line of their cavalry managed to do that—the rear didn’t understand what was happening and crashed into their own troops. The army split between retreating and attacking, causing confusion. They had moved too close to the infantry when they advanced earlier, so when they tried to retreat, they were attacked from behind. Then the kingdom’s cavalry joined the battle. Out of about 1,000 Imperial soldiers, around 800 were defeated at once.

The remaining 200 ran away. Most likely, they retreated toward the army planning to attack the small city of Barmuller.

The kingdom’s cavalry and infantry returned to Noonan Village. The villagers and some adventurers who happened to be staying in the village welcomed them back.

The village turned into a festival-like scene.

“Well done!!”

“Wooooooaaaahhh!!!”

“Thank you!!”

“Dah-hah-hah-hah!!”

“That’s the kingdom of Schmar’s cavalry for you!!”

Even the adventurers were whistling loudly. In the middle of all this, I felt like I was being left behind.

Sir David, Lady Laura, and Mom probably weren’t relaxed yet either.

That’s because there’s still a chance that Barmuller might fall to Margrave Burlington.

Now we can only leave things to Jeanne, Mr. Albert, and the others.

With empty feelings, I looked up at the sky dyed in the colors of the sunset.

───────────

(Imperial Four Knights – Thomas Wade’s Perspective)

Because of the wide grassland, the sky felt much closer. Unlike the wasteland, this place was a bit damp. In front of us were soldiers from the small city of Barmuller—about 10,000 of them.

—So they chose hand-to-hand combat instead of staying behind the walls…
—It’s probably a plan to save the villagers of Noonan, buy time for reinforcements, and use long-range weapons…

I could even see the catapults from a distance. This was a battle against former Six Generals member Robert Zappa. I couldn’t help but feel excited. I had heard that he had stopped many invasions led by the previous Four Knights member before me.

If possible, I’d like to fight him just one-on-one, without Lord Burlington’s plan. But this time, I’ll stick to the mission properly.

Both armies spread wide. Our imperial army placed cavalry on both wings and infantry in the center. To distract the catapults, we first sent forward both wings of our cavalry to start fighting with the kingdom’s left and right sides. If I joined one of those fights, the enemy’s center infantry would be forced to move. When that happens, we’ll send forward our central infantry, and the battle should swing in our favor.

But if the enemy places their magic unit on either wing—or concentrates them on one side—things could get messy. If they’re on my side, it’s fine. If not, the cavalry we send out could be wiped out.

—But that’s okay…

It will be night soon. The kingdom is waiting for Lord Burlington’s reinforcements—just like we are. So we can’t win too much, or we’ll give it away. But we also can’t lose too much, or they’ll find it strange.

That’s why I didn’t tell my troops the backup plan in case the magic unit appeared. I just told the whole army the main plan I mentioned earlier.