At Mile's frantic signal, the Nanomachines changed the image.
"T-that was crazy..." (Mile)
Then, Mile began to breathe heavily and panting.
"Ah, the August Academy's emblem flag. Leading the way is... M-Mariette-chan?" (Mile)
"What is it? Are you an acquaintance of Saint Mariette-sama?" (Glenn)
Glenn asked in surprise.
"Ah, yes. ...Is Mariette-chan famous?" (Mile)
"The Saint Mariette is extremely famous in the temple and in the healing magic industry. Of course, she is also famous among the general public. Apparently, she healed serious injuries for free, and she is quite well-known among the hunters..." (Glenn)
"Teacher! This power that you bestowed upon me was meant for today! I will do my best to protect everything in this world!" (Mariette)
"...So, this guy is also related to you..." (Glenn)
Glenn slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
"Hahaha... Be careful, okay? Take care of your life, let's go..." (Glenn)
"Ah, it looks like the Hunter Guild coalition forces over there. Tiriza-san, Felicia-san, Raoh-san, and the Guild Master who recommended me to the training school..." (Mile)
"It's Laura, you know!"
And behind them was a group of orphans led by Veil, her classmate at the Hunter's Training School. They were probably rear support personnel. Clinging to Veil was a girl who looked familiar.
"I hope you're well, Mavis!"
"Master!" (Mavis)
Master Ladimar, the owner of the Ladimar dojo of swordsmanship, and all of his students.
"I told you, rely on your senior disciples... With all that flashy advertising across the continent, Ladimar-style swordsmanship will be able to make a big leap forward. I'll have to pay the advertising fee. ...How about we pay with our lives! Wahahaha!"
"Master, my fellow disciples..." (Mavis)
The remaining troops of the Count Austin's army, led by her younger brother, who was in charge of looking after the territory. The Royal Guard, led by Princess Eltreia, whom Mavis saved. The Baron Army, led by the Scorching Hot Man, Kelvin—Certainly, that place was also on the border with the Empire. And many other familiar faces—Blacksmiths, grooms, cooks, shop assistants, scribes, shepherds, town thugs—People from all sorts of professions and age groups, one after the other....
"Ah, that is..." (Mile)
A wyvern carrying a young girl soared above the volunteer army. The underside of its right wing bore the royal emblem, and the underside of its left wing bore the territory emblem.
"Lobreth and Chelsea-chan..." (Mile)
"They're publicizing to neighboring countries that their territory can use flying dragons to distinguish friend from foe, and that they've openly provided a hidden weapon as a military force... The lord there always gets the maximum results with the minimum chips..." (Mavis)
"That's impressive..." (Pauline)
Mavis and Pauline muttered this with expressions that made it unclear whether they were amazed or impressed.
"Battle is all about numbers, aniki!" (Mile)
"Who's this 'aniki'?!" (Reina)
—They could win. Even though the majority of the people were ordinary people, the majority of the enemies were goblins, kobolds, horned rabbits, and so on. High-ranking monsters were only a small part of the total. And in terms of teamwork and tactics, they were far superior. Even if it's a battle of 100,000 against 100,000, it didn't mean that there were 100,000 one-on-one battles taking place at the same time. Only a small proportion were actually fighting at a time. They would support the front line, and those who became tired or injured could quickly be sent to the rear and their replacements would be sent forward. They would lure some of the enemy deep into their own ranks and then beat them down with overwhelming numbers. Even if they were new species of orcs or ogres, they would not be able to withstand being beaten up by dozens of them using long-range weapons and magic. Even if they could only use basic life magic, it was possible to defeat monsters if they used it properly.
When a man fought with the determination to die, he could unleash unexpected strength. And if the enemy was a monster attacking them with the intent of killing them and their precious families, they would have no qualms or remorse. The euphoria of being on the battlefield. The desperate act of defiance to mask the fear—And then, the smell of blood consumes me into madness. Even those who had only ever killed insects and mice up until now had quickly transformed into full-fledged berserkers.
Mile and her group went down the hill. Then they headed to where the dimensional rift would appear. Followed by a crowd of people. Soon, a passage to hell would open...
[Dimensional quake detected. Dimensional corridor forming. Dimensional penetration, five, four, three, two, one, now!!] (Nano)
Clink!!
The space several hundred meters in front of Mile and the others splitted vertically, and the tear rapidly spread to the left and right, forming a large circle—
"When viewed from the side it looks like a flat board with no thickness, but when viewed from the front it looks like a tunnel..." (Mile)
Yes, exactly what could be called a tunnel to another dimension had been formed. And from among them—
"Here they come! The enemy's main force, their vanguard!" (Mile)
Leading the way were Horned Rabbits and Kobolds. Was it a countermeasure against traps, or had they not thought about it at all and the fastest species just rushed out first? However, the main forces could not face such an enemy. They must conserve their few main forces and pit them against a formidable enemy.
"Horned Rabbits, Kobolds, and Goblins, only take care of the ones that are getting in the way! Send the rest to the back! Trust your allies in the rear!"
Someone was giving orders, probably a military officer or a veteran hunter. By "take care," it meant that you didn't have to worry about finishing them off. In a melee, there was no time to finish off an enemy. It was dangerous to take advantage of such an opportunity. In a battle where the objective was clear, there was no need to allocate resources to unnecessary things.
Because the monsters would gather and spurt out, fighting near the rift would be impossible, and no matter how elite your party was, they would be crushed and wiped out. They couldn't afford to waste their precious fighting power like that. So, the fight was fought at a distance.
The monsters were approaching. And—
"Engage!!"
The battle had begun....
The allied formation had a two-layered structure with depth. The first layer was for those who made their living from fighting, or had high combat abilities, such as the military, mercenaries, hunters with C-rank and above, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and so on—These were the people who had gathered at the foot of the hill.
The second layer was made up of volunteers from the general public—They are inexperienced in fighting. There are a few exceptions, though—Each one acted as a thick wall, blocking out monsters.
The group led by Crimson Vow were positioned at the front edge of the first layer, along with elves, dwarves, beastfolk, high-ranking hunters, and experienced soldiers. The others were surrounding them. The elites were aiming for the big catch, while the others surrounding them were in charge of eliminating the smaller fry. This was to prevent the elite troops from being distracted by small fry, and to minimize exhaustion until they faced the monsters of B-rank and above later.
On the front edge, except for those that get in the way, monsters below C-rank were allowed through and the people on the first floor were tasked with attacking them. Behind them, the only ones allowed to pass to the second floor were worn-out C-rank monsters and those below D-rank. There was no way they could let any healthy C-ranks through.
However, if the people at the front edge of the first floor let too many monsters passed through, it would be a heavy burden on the soldiers, hunters, and other combat personnel waiting behind them, so Mile and the others decided to use magic attacks to confuse the monsters and disrupt their flow. There was a big difference in the burden on the first floor between a group of monsters charging at you without any interference and a group of monsters being scattered and disorganized by magic attacks before them, weakening their momentum, and being injured so that they came flying in different directions.
Thud, thud, thud!
Mavis and Mile, positioned at the front of the first layer, along with the frontline warriors, cut down the monsters heading towards them. No matter how much they tried to conserve their strength, they had no choice but to deal with anything that came at them head on. The surrounding magicians scattered explosive and needle type area attack magic over a wide area in front of them—Although it was merely a light attack, conserving their strength for defeating their main targets, monsters of B-rank or above, it was still effective, as they were all elite troops.
After that, the combatant forces in the rear had torn them apart, and the civilians deployed in the wilderness—the volunteer army, using their numbers to their advantage, beat them up.
Even if the monsters outnumbered each other overall, it only mattered that in the very few places where the fighting was actually taking place, that was, at the points of contact between allies and enemies, the human side's numbers were superior for that moment. The means to achieve this was through wisdom and strategy—That's what they call "tactics"...