"There is nothing you can do. The other side consists of soldiers trained for combat. If you tried to resist before my arrival here, maybe you would already have been put to the sword."
Ainz tried to solace them, but he felt that his words were spoken in vain. Regardless of who did the consoling, it wouldn’t change the fact that the village found itself in an irredeemable disaster. One could only pray that time will heal all.
"Village chief, we don’t have time. In order to honor the intentions of Sir Knight-Captain, we must act quickly."
"Th-, then… Ainz-sama, what should we do?"
"… I will keep an eye on the situation, and when I see an opportunity to escape, I will protect everyone while they do so."
"I am always troubling Ainz-sama, this is truly…."
"…… Don’t worry. I have already made a promise to Sir Knight-Captain… For brevity’s sake, please gather all the villagers in a big house; then I will cast my defense magic on it."
Part 4
The horse’s excitement reverberated from its trotting hooves.
Even if it received training as a steed of war — no, because it was trained as a steed of war, it was especially perceptive as to when it was approaching the grounds of death.
There were only four or five enemies trying to surround the whole village. This meant that there was a huge gap between each one. If that was the case, shouldn't they have some sort of method to ensure that not even a mouse would escape from their net?
In other words, lethal traps might be somewhere in the vicinity.
All things considered, Gazef still decided to force his way through. No, considering the situation, this was the only option.
Upon gauging the distance between the enemy and himself, Gazef decided that a long-distance engagement would be extremely disadvantageous.
Defending here would be more foolish than simply charging ahead.
If he had an archer by his side this would be a completely different matter, but right now he had to avoid engaging the Magic Casters at long range.
It would’ve been marvelous if the houses were made of stone or if the village was a fortified city. But using wooden cottages to defend against magic attacks was a really bad idea. They might just as well burn along with the whole building.
There was only one idea left, but only a heretic would take it.
That was to let the village become a battlefield and force Ainz Ooal Gown to engage in combat.
But carrying out this plan that would completely destroy their original goal of protecting the villages. That was why Gazef was willing to fight under these dangerous circumstances:
"After engaging the enemy, immediately lure the encirclement net over here, then quickly retreat. Don't miss any opportunities."
Upon hearing the fierce replies behind him, Gazef furrowed his brows.
How many of them will survive this battle?
These men weren't stronger than any other humans, nor were they born with any superpowers. They were simply men training their hardest under Gazef's direction. To lose these men, the fruits of his meticulous labor and hard work, would be a pity.
Even if he decided to jump into danger, these men would still follow him willingly.
Gazef wanted to apologize to his subordinates for dragging them into this, but after turning his head and looking at their faces, he swallowed his words.
The expression of the soldiers behind him showed that they were ready to follow Gazef to hell under any circumstances.
His subordinates knew very well what dangers lay ahead; there was no need for any kind of apology. They said to Gazef, who was feeling ashamed:
"Don't worry about it, Captain!"
"Yeah, we came here by our own volition. We swore to fight alongside Captain!"
"Let us protect our country, both the people and our comrades!"
There was nothing left to say.
Gazef roared:
"Charge! Tear them into pieces!"
"Ohhhhhhhhhh!"
Gazef spurred his horse forward, his subordinates following. The whole force charged so fast and hard that they left a trail on the ground, as if an arrow had been shot from their original position.
The mounted Gazef picked up his bow and nocked an arrow.
Even if he wasn't steady, Gazef could still shoot as if he were standing on the ground. He released the arrow and it pierced the head of one of the Magic Casters in front of him — At least that was the way it looked like.
"Pah! Futile as expected. Maybe a magic arrow would penetrate, but… you don't have what you don't have and there's no point in whining about it either."
The arrow bounced off as if it had hit a sturdy helmet. This absurd degree of hardness was obviously caused by magic. Gazef knew the only way to penetrate a magical shield like that would be to use a magical weapon.
But since Gazef had no such weapons, he discarded this trait of thought immediately and put his bow away.
The Magic Casters started retaliating with magic.
Gazef marshaled all of his mental forces; he assumed a defensive stance in preparation to resist.
Suddenly — His steed neighed loudly; it raised its front pair of hooves and kicked violently.
Seizing the reins, Gazef leaned forward and hugged the neck of his horse, relying on his agility to prevent himself from falling off. He was able to stay calm despite the sudden event, but when he thought back on what could've happened a shiver ran down his back. There were more important things to think about in front of him.
Emotionally excited, Gazef was panting heavily, his breathing in chaos. He flogged the horse on its abdomen, but it didn't budge an inch. It was as if someone with higher authority than the person mounted on its back was giving it orders.
There could be only one reason for such abnormal behavior.
Mind Control magic.
The horse was targeted by this kind of magic. If Mind Control was casted on Gazef, he might resist; however, since the target was just a war horse and not a demonic beast there was no need to worry about it resisting.
Gazef felt irritated at himself for not realizing how the enemy indirectly attacked him.
He quickly jumped off his horse.
The subordinates behind him evaded him one after the other by veering past him on both sides.
"Captain!"
Most of his men approaching from the rear slowed down, trying to reach out in an attempt to haul Gazef onto their horses. But the Angels were faster, diving down from the air at high speed. Gazef brandished his sword at the Angels and suddenly flashed it once.
The sword strikes of the Kingdom’s strongest knight had enough power cleave a man apart with one strike. However, the Angel didn’t die even though it suffered heavy damage from the hit.
Blood sprayed into the air, but it immediately reverted back into Magic Power and disappeared.
"No need! Start the counter attack!"
After Gazef gives orders to his men, he glares at the angel who escaped with a piercing gaze. Even though the opponent was severely injured, it was still full of fighting spirit, trying to find a gap in Gazef’s defences.
"So it’s like this."
Gazef’s sword strokes felt off and he knew the reason for it. There were monsters with special abilities, as long as it was not hit by a weapon made of a specific material, it would substantially reduce the amount of damage it received. The angels apparently possessed this ability, which allowed them to survive such strong hits from Gazef.