Chapter 36: Chapter 34: Eight Minutes to Victory
Almost an hour had already passed since the crow and its army launched their offensive.
Thanks to the efforts of the knights and soldiers, they'd yet to enter the city. However, as an increasing number of forces collapsed with every passing minute, the Bilberrian army was gradually being pushed back and the humans' stamina waned. They started losing focus and morale dropped. How could they remain brave when they saw their comrades drop like flies, especially when victory was impossible? The outcome had been obvious before the battle had even started. The forces that had been stationed in the capital were far from enough to drive away the crow's army.
The best they could do was buy the capital more time...but would there even be a point? They'd sent word to the saint's castle over an hour ago. By now, the news would've reached King Aiz and the saint's guard. But how long would they need to wait before the reinforcements sent by the king reached them? A Stil's bird took around one hour to fly from the capital to the saint's castle. Even if they were to run the entire way, the reinforcements would need time to arrive. They couldn't possibly be faster than a bird.
Even if their comrades miraculously made it in an hour, would they be able to hold out until then? The first sixty minutes had been hell. How were they supposed to do it all over again? It was impossible; they'd done everything they could. They'd die in vain if they stayed here.
The logical choice seemed obvious here: they ought to flee so they could survive and team up with the reinforcements.
And yet, they didn't budge.
The crow was growing increasingly flustered. "Why...?"
Their advantage was overwhelming! It couldn't think of a single way in which the human army was superior to theirs. The monsters ruled over the battlefield. They were pushing them back, slaughtering them unilaterally. So why weren't they running away?!
The victor had been decided before the battle even started. Humans were foolish, sure, but they weren't that stupid. They had to have understood this too.
While the crow had led its army here with the goal of annihilating every single knight and soldier in the city, its plan involved going after the runaway soldiers after they inevitably broke formation. Considering the difference in strength between the two armies, that was the logical course of action. The humans should have fled. It didn't make sense from a strategic standpoint. It was obviously better for the Bilberrian army to regroup with the reinforcements first before trying to retake the city.
Even without taking military strategy into consideration, their survival instincts should've pushed them to flee. So why weren't they?!
"Are humans truly that stupid?" the archmonster wondered out loud.
It couldn't understand their reasoning, and that was making it restless.
The crow had two goals: One, to annihilate the Bilberrian army. Two, to invade the capital before Ellize could arrive. It needed the helpless citizens to become Ellize's shackles.
However, that second objective had yet to be completed. The humans' defeat was already clear, but they wouldn't run away!
"Why won't they run?!" the crow asked again.
"We've been running away long enough! We're done running!" a knight screamed, answering the archmonster's question.
That man wasn't a member of Ellize's guard; he was simply part of the crowd of knights and soldiers. He was powerless to fight an archmonster. After all, he was just like his fallen comrades—an unremarkable man. He was no hero, and his name wouldn't make it into the history books. He'd die just as he'd lived—a nameless knight.
And yet, he and the mass of other such nameless knights and soldiers were still standing up to the archmonster. They'd managed to delay its plan.
"When I was a kid, I ran away like a coward after wetting my pants at the mere sight of monsters. I was so scared that I didn't even go back for my family—I simply ran. I only remembered them when I was already far away. Everyone else around me did the same. We knew no help would come, so we ran away. We didn't have any other option," the nameless knight screamed, thrusting his sword into the body of the monster that'd just leaped at him.
The man was about to collapse. His armor was falling apart, his sword was cracked, and one of his arms hung limply against his body. The flesh had been torn to pieces, and it looked like his arm would come off at any point.
"Ten years ago, I left my village behind and ran away when the monsters attacked," another nameless knight continued. "I wanted to die! I wanted to atone for my cowardice! I didn't know what else to do! I had no hope better days would come!"
Some things simply couldn't be changed. No matter how hard they fought, sometimes, there was no hope. In such cases, the best they could do was cut their losses. So they would run away. They would bring whoever they could with them and flee, crying and cursing their helplessness.
After becoming knights, they'd ran away countless times too. They'd turned their backs on the people who needed them, repeating to themselves that they were only following orders—that they had no other choice. All of them had gone through such trials. Up until seven years ago—when Ellize changed everything—such occurrences were far from rare.
Soldiers couldn't be sacrificed to save a small village, so massacres occurred on an almost daily basis. Up until seven years ago, humanity was on the run. People were so scared that they closed their eyes, covered their ears, and pretended not to notice the suffering of others. They were desperate to save themselves, even if it meant leaving behind their families and friends.
"But now, things are different!" the knight screamed, even as a wolf monster sunk its fangs into his arm. He didn't hesitate to plunge his sword right through his arm to kill the beast, continuing to swing his sword around with his other limb.
Another knight joined in, yelling to find the courage to continue fighting, "He's right! As long as we buy enough time, she will come! You monsters will never know how much stronger her presence makes us! You'll never understand how her existence fills our hearts with joy! Running away isn't our only option anymore! We'll fight to live!"
Someone had once said that Ellize didn't need knights—well, these men all agreed. They'd said that the knights and soldiers didn't make a difference. It was the same whether they were here or not. They couldn't argue with that; it was true.
Ellize didn't need anyone's protection. She was strong enough to protect herself. The knights were supposed to be her shield, but she didn't need a shield. As long as Ellize was on the battlefield, knights made no difference. They could've just as well gone home. Regardless, the knights were proud to call themselves knights.
"Idiots... Are you humans all morons?!" the crow cried.
"We are!"
"How can you be so foolish?"
"We have no idea!"
"Idiots! You're all idiots! Clinging to someone who may not even come!" the crow sneered.
"We didn't used to have anyone or anything to cling to!" another nameless knight exclaimed.
If they held on, Ellize might make it in time. No one knew whether she would or not, but the possibility filled their hearts with hope. No, Ellize would come. She'd definitely come and defeat all these monsters! No beast could ever understand the inspiration she provided.
Still, even Ellize—the greatest saint in history—wasn't omniscient and omnipotent. She was only one person, and like every else, there were limits to what she could accomplish. She couldn't conveniently teleport herself from the saint's castle to the capital. She'd need some time to arrive...perhaps too much time.
That was precisely why the knights and soldiers were here. Their role was to make sure the witch wouldn't defeat the saint. If they allowed the monsters to breach the city walls and attack the people, it'd still count as Ellize's loss, regardless of whether she killed all the monsters afterward. It was up to them to prevent that.
They were here to fill in the gaps when Ellize was away. They'd hold on until she arrived and carve the path to her victory. They wouldn't allow the witch to triumph over the saint. That was their very raison d'être.
If they managed to stay standing until Ellize arrived, it was their win—humanity's win. For that purpose, they'd do everything in their power—no, they'd go beyond their limits.
"We won't let Lady Ellize lose to you! That's why we're here! That's why we fight!"
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The nameless knights and soldiers were well aware that this battlefield would be their grave, but they no longer cared. They rushed toward the monsters.
These people weren't heroes. None of them were. History wouldn't remember their names. At most, the tales of this fight would be passed down and they'd be known as "the valiant warriors who gave their lives to protect the capital." The songs and the books wouldn't even mention how many of them had passed today.
However, this did nothing to erase their pride. They didn't need their names to be remembered in order to fight. They'd decided not to show any weakness in the face of the enemy. They marched forward, stepping over the corpses of their friends and enemies alike. They wouldn't look back. They wouldn't falter. They were ready to give their lives if it meant buying one more minute—one more second—for their saint.
The knights who'd lost both their arms held their swords in their mouths, but they continued to march regardless. Those who'd lost their legs clung to the monsters, mustering every last drop of strength they had. Meanwhile, those who'd lost their weapons didn't hesitate to use their teeth to tear off the monsters' flesh. They continued to bite down into the monsters' necks, ignoring the pain of their teeth shattering and falling out.
"What's wrong, monsters?! Come at us! You don't scare us! Even despair doesn't scare us anymore! We're here! We're alive! The knights and the soldiers of the Bilberry Kingdom are still standing! The saint's shields are still standing!"
All of them had suffered injuries—terrible ones, at that—but they were still standing.
Being a knight was hardly a glorious position. No one cared if they were to die "honorably" in battle. The world wouldn't change. They were but specks of dust in the vast world. Sure, people were quick to laud the knights and soldiers' "brave" sacrifices, but what weight did these words carry? None at all. Most of the time, their deaths were utterly pointless—honorable in name only.
Knights were the swords and shields of the saint, but they were also her substitutes. They were to give up their lives for the saint to survive—in other words, so that she wouldn't be defeated. In the end, knights existed to be sacrificed. No amount of flowery words would change this harsh truth.
All of the knights present were aware of that fact, but that wouldn't erase their hope. It wouldn't stop them from pushing forward. If her very own shields didn't believe in the saint, who would?
And so they fought. They knew full well that they'd die in vain, but that didn't matter. They believed in the saint, and they would leave this world with a smile on their lips.
The same went for the soldiers, even if they couldn't compare to knights. They fought, believing the saint would come for them. Some of them were people who'd aspired to become knights, but had failed. Others didn't know any other way of life. Some had basically been forced to join the army to fulfill their duty as nobles. Others, still, were conscripts—peasants who'd been given a weapon and sent to the battlefield without so much as a day of training.
They were quite literally a bunch of extras, brought together to make up the numbers.
This mishmash of an army had always run away when faced with difficulties, and no one had ever expected anything else from them. They weren't prepared for battle. As soon as the first line was broken, the others would get scared, break the formation, and run away. The monsters would simply have to run after them to devour them. Even if they'd stayed put, they were bound to be killed eventually—and for what purpose? So they'd pick the most logical option and run away to protect their own lives and see the faces of their loved ones again. Their survival instinct would kick in, and they'd picked the path with the highest chance of survival.
They had no hope, nothing to believe in. So how could they have endured?
Everything was different now. They were able to repress their instincts and silence their fears. They were prepared to put everything on the line to accomplish their duty.
It wasn't like their fright had somehow disappeared. They were scared of dying, and terribly so. Some of them were so terrified that they couldn't hold their bladders anymore. Still, they refused to give up. They continued to step over the dead bodies of their comrades and hold their ground, slowing the monsters' advance.
It was all because they were finally able to believe in something. The world was full of hope now, so they wouldn't run away, even if it meant they'd die in vain. Even if their lifeless bodies were to pile up, that was fine. Their sacrifice might win another second, and that one second might be the last one the saint needed to arrive.
I don't need honor, one of the soldiers quietly whispered in his heart. He kicked up the sword one of his dead comrades had been holding and sent it flying. Then, he leaped up to it and used it as a stepping stone, aiming for a monster's head and stabbing it right into its brain. I don't need glory either. I don't have any regrets. I'll entrust everything I have to the future.
He'd left his family in the capital to set foot onto the battlefield. He strongly believed that Ellize would bring about another world—one where neither the witch nor monsters existed. Then no one would have to live in fear of being attacked by monsters out of the blue. No one would have to cry and huddle together for warmth as their bodies shivered from starvation. No one would have to steal from their neighbors or kill their friends over food.
If it meant his family would get to live in such a world, he wouldn't have any regrets even if he died here.
Our gravestones don't need any engraving. Our names don't need to be remembered.
He was fine being remembered as one of the people who rose to the occasion and supported Ellize. All he wanted was for his family and his lover to become one of the happy families living in the peaceful world Ellize created. That would make everything worth it. That'd be more than enough for him to rest in peace. Even if, in the future, people mocked them for their useless sacrifices—
"Even if people laugh at us... Even if they call us useless, we—"
One of the nameless knights looked up to the sky, and the corners of his mouth immediately curled up into a smile despite his exhaustion. He could see the light—her light—rapidly approaching.
She's here... She came for us!
Their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.
Even if none of us could have changed a thing, even if my sacrifice was pointless... Our sacrifice, our battle wasn't in vain.
Now that he knew that, he could finally pass in peace...
"We won... Humanity won this battle!" one nameless knight screamed, carrying with him the feelings of all of those who'd passed on already.
Right as he said those words, a pillar of light fell from the sky.
Ellize had only needed eight minutes to reach the capital after she'd heard of the attack. Eight short minutes. That time had been won by her shields.
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