The Governor wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the soldiers once again. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words to speak. With unease and discomfort, he shifted his gaze back to the horizon. The creatures were now closer than before, and their outlines, their forms, became even clearer.
The governor realized that countless lifeless eyes were fixated on him, unaware of what they might be thinking.
"U-Uwaaaahhhh!!?"
Immediately after, the governor let out a panicked scream and rushed down the stairs of the gate. He continued descending all the way to the castle fence and then ran towards the governor's office at the center of the town. He fled. He ran with all his might, abandoning everything. It was a desperate sprint, without even glancing sideways. It was almost comically desperate.
"Haaah!?"
Murasaki watched in astonishment as the governor abandoned his responsibilities as a commander, deserted his subordinates, and ran away, discarding all sense of pride. Tamaki was equally stunned, as were the soldiers who had been left behind nearby.
Except for Shirowakamaru, who calmly observed the scene with a cold gaze. He seemed to have anticipated it, wearing a faintly disdainful smile... However, the governor's actions had shocked and disappointed the majority of those present, and for a while, a heavy silence dominated the scene.
"...! Miss MurasakiMurasaki-dono, based on the military regulations, I request permission to assume command!"
The army commander was the first to grasp the situation and shouted his offer to Murasaki.
The commander's words were not irresponsible. According to the Clause 7 of the 66 Articles of the Shijou Ritsuryo military regulations currently enforced in Fusō-kuni, when the lord or county governor is unable to exercise command, particularly in a battle against youkai, the army commander had the authority to delegate command to authorized exorcists recognized by the imperial court.
The army commander, with limited knowledge and understanding of youkai forces, especially when facing a large army of youkai, made a judgment based on that understanding. At least, it allowed the commander to legally transfer the responsibilities of command to Murasaki.
"Ah... Y-Yes! Everyone, ready your bows and arrows! Do not fire until I give the command, understood?"
"Everyone, are you understood? As the acting commander, ready your bows and arrows!"
Murasaki, understanding the content and meaning of the commander's statement a moment later, immediately gave orders to the unsettled soldiers who were in disarray due to the fleeing of their commander. The soldiers were perplexed by the commands of a young girl who was younger than themselves, but if Murasaki shouted with a thunderous voice, ten times louder than the commander's voice, they reflexively assumed the firing position.
"Miss MurasakiMurasaki-sama, it is dangerous. Please put on your helmet (Kabuto)..."
"It's fine. I can't be seen as a coward here!"
Yona, the maid accompanying her, quietly approached and offered her a helmet, but Murasaki refused. She knew that wearing heavy armor here would only further unsettle the soldiers. Murasaki drew her sword from her waist.
"Those who flee! I will cut them down! So, fight!! If you run away, the town and its people behind us will be trampled upon!"
The young girl suppressed her inner tension and fear as she shouted, boldly declaring her leadership.
"D*mn it, d*mn it!"
"We'll do it. Sh*t, we might as well!"
In response to Murasaki's declaration and the orders of a young girl younger than themselves, the soldiers cursed. They cursed, but they didn't attempt to flee. Despite the imminent danger, they prepared themselves.
The soldiers understood. Above all else, they had no choice but to fight. Unlike the governor, who had no attachment to the place he was dispatched to, the majority of the soldiers hailed from Hieda County, specifically from the capital. Even without Murasaki explicitly pointing out the meaning of their fleeing, they understood it.
That's why they readied themselves. Bows, crossbows, and arrows were lined up, strings were drawn, and their aim was set. The enemy was already approaching within three hundred paces.
"Still nothing?! Can't we shoot yet?!"
"Hurry, give the order...!!"
In the face of the horrid horde of monsters advancing like an avalanche, it was mentally taxing for those who aimed and waited, keeping their gaze fixed, without looking away. It was not only about the life and death of their own family and comrades but also because the enemy was monster. It was different from being cut down by a sword or pierced by arrows. The soldiers murmured, almost pleading, for the next command to come.
And when the distance closed to two hundred steps, finally, the words they longed for resounded.
"Now! Release!!"
"Release!"
Murasaki's command, echoed by the army commander in an even louder voice, was immediately followed by the sound of numerous arrowheads cutting through the air as they were released from the Yumi bows and crossbows.
Yumi bows were not something anyone could handle without training, and crossbows were expensive and had complex mechanisms, making it difficult to amass a large number of them. As a result, only about one-third of the gathered soldiers could be considered archers, and the total number of arrows released was a little over a hundred. Furthermore, a fraction of those arrows missed their mark or bounced off the thick carapaces and skin of the youkai. Still, a dozen or so of the advancing monsters were struck in vital spots or felled by multiple arrows.
...And for a swarm of nearly a thousand youkai, it was a small number.
"Load the next round quickly! Keep shooting as soon as you have arrows!"
"Prepare the stones!"
Murasaki and the commander shouted. They ordered, and the archers on the castle ramparts began shooting arrows relentlessly with their bows and crossbows.
"Throw the stones!"
As they closed in on a distance of less than a hundred steps from the castle ramparts, the commander called out to the soldiers positioned behind the fortifications. Over a hundred soldiers started hurling stones one after another using slings. The stones, about the size of a baby's fist, were propelled by centrifugal force and fell under the pull of gravity.
'Giii!?'
'Shaa!'
Never underestimate the power of stones. Falling at high speeds, they could injure even small youkai with softer carapaces. Depending on where they hit, they could tear limbs apart.
Still, stopping the onslaught of the monsters was no easy task. The wave of insects trampled over fallen comrades without hesitation and advanced towards the town as if it were only natural.
"Now! Thrust!"
As Shirowakamaru whispered softly, it burst out of the ground. Countless needles were aimed at the charging insects in the front line. The insects, unable to stop their momentum, jumped into the bed of needles and were impaled, bringing an end to their lives.
They were needle hedgehogs. Simplified shikigami, the size of a cow, concealed underground, leaped out together from the ground just before the walls, carrying mountains of swords on their backs. There were more than twenty needle hedgehogs in sight. The surprise attack from the hidden group and the sharp needle mountains hindered the advance of the youkai that closely followed. They stumbled, creating an opportunity.
"Now!"
With Murasaki's shout, dozens of arrows were released. The momentarily halted youkai were swiftly brought down by the rain of arrows.
'Crrk...!'
'Squeak...!'
But it was impossible to stop all the youkai. Some agile and small youkai slipped through the gaps between its comrades and shikigami, approaching the wall. Several soldiers hurriedly shot arrows, but their speed made them impossible to hit. And the infiltrating insects, as they neared the capital walls... collided with an invisible boundaries and turned to ashes.
"Ignore the small fry! The boundary can purify them if they're that insignificant!"
Murasaki spurred them on. After all, Hieda County, located directly above the spiritual veins, had a weak exorcism boundary surrounding the town. There was no need to lift a finger against lower-ranking small youkai. Murasaki shouted to aim for the bigger ones.
"Ohh!"
"There it is! Take down that giant centipede!"
The soldiers, too, brightened their faces at the effectiveness of Hieda County's boundary, which they witnessed for the first time. Although they understood it theoretically, seeing the power of the boundary firsthand was a new experience for them. They realized they were being protected, and their morale rose. They could shoot more accurately and with composure. Attacks concentrated on the centipede youkai among the charred carapaces, obstructed by the boundary.
Murasaki's strategy was indeed effective. However... she also understood that it was nothing more than a falsehood to temporarily ease the minds of the soldiers.
Still, the youkai that looked like a centipede, squirming and making loud noises, got hit by many arrows. Its blue blood flowed, and it eventually fell down. The soldiers who successfully brought down this large enemy cheered together.
"We did it! Hahaha, take that, you monster! You got what you—"
However, the words of the soldier who raised his crossbow and laughed heartily did not last. Right after, his head was swiftly torn off by "it," which leaped at high speed. Blood sprayed from the severed neck as the soldier's body crumbled to the ground.
"What!?"
"What's...!?"
The shocked soldiers turned their gaze to the scene. They saw the figure that tore apart their comrade's neck and took it away. And it was a flea.
"Huh?"
The soldiers were dumbfounded. It was a flea youkai, about the size of a kemari ball, with its whole body charred and trembling legs, barely clinging to life, its head buried in the ground.
"No way. A flea!? Did it cross the boundary? And what the hell was that just now!?"
Voices rang out in disbelief at the fact that such a tiny flea managed to kill their comrade and breach the boundary. But in a way, it might not have been so surprising.
The flea's jumping ability was tremendous compared to its own body size. It could jump up to sixty times its body length. The flea youkai broke through the boundary with incredible speed, resembling a cannonball, smashing the soldiers in its path.
Of course, the flea was just a small youkai, and it was a one-way ticket for its suicide attack. But it was a lowly insect with no intelligence or wisdom to speak of. It had no trace of hesitation, driven solely by its instincts.
...And the flea youkai was not alone.
