Fly the Flag of Fire!

"What do you mean! How could the Royal Army be in such a place!

"What were the troops on the sentry doing!? They would be out from 10,000!

"Hi there...... why don't you ask for reinforcements. Get your horses out of here..."

"Stupid! Don't even know the size of the enemy!

It is Oiva who hears the hustle and bustle of the Imperial soldiers as she lays her luggage on the bed. Blood spattered in my abdomen penetrated all the way under my clothes, and that's what's been drying me out. Paris and tickling. While I sincerely apologized to someone who was strangled to blood by the murdered statement, that's why I asked you to spare me plain vengeance.

(I don't mean as a corpse, I wonder if I can scratch it. This guy)

With a thin eye, Oiva scratched her belly subtly. I can hold my hands and belly to someone as soon as I can. The sound of manipulation of the kacha cha and the knife continued, followed by the feeling of being given bandages and cloths. Small and earful, "Patience me, Captain. Not yet," my voice dropped. Slowly express your dissatisfaction with your nose.

This is one of several front-line fortifications of the Imperial Army, in the northwest of the plain of the disaster. Surrounded by walls and cut into squares, the sky was still blue and clear, in the hustle and bustle courtyard and Oiva was even forgiving. I'm tired of the day after day of force. Only itching bothers me.

"Damn! That the enemy is a cavalry!? What an enemy!

"Apparently you're pretending to be on your side. The Two Hundred Eight Light Cavalry Battalion is missing..."

"No way it's a betrayal!? Where are the troops on the patrol now!

"Don't talk lightly about betrayal and such! Still an officer, sir!

The confusion in the fort seems to be more than expected...... Oiva hummed her nose and led to the lower half of her face being covered with cloth. Reflect that he might have done it to. But I don't think we'll have a choice. “Troops on the Patrol” would mean two units destroyed by the SS, and a self-admired Oiva who worked full battle for the second unit.

Destroy two units in the first line. Whether that alone is a hellish battle power, the Lord of Oiva is still running to gain beyond it. We've already broken the third unit. Oiva and the others are not involved in that victory, but they are here now by hitchhiking that victory.

"Again, it really... wasn't torn into a Royal Army unit..."

"Don't be paranoid. The main force in the Royal Army is the south, right? There will only be an example gathering unit to the north!

"No, but wasn't that a formation around the center?

"Um, yeah. So you're saying there was another unit?

It is Oiva, who neither hearkens away, nor thinks that he will do it, nor receives them both in his ear and roars in his chest. I have trouble with Marco's words because they are both good and bad.

Within the Kingdom of Asuria there is a wide network of intelligence by the Everian Empire, to which the Church cooperates. Words about the SS proved it. This time, the SS is spreading rumors to the Imperial side ahead of the launch. It's a rumor about the Marquis of Uliharsilla and the Knights of the Sword Horn. It does not include the SS formation or the situation of not getting a friendly army. I don't know if it even communicated about the departure dates, but there's no doubt that information about the SS was being circulated. That's what Oiva decided.

And laugh damned under the cloth. This makes me laugh even deeper when it's just fine to hide my expression.

Oiva also bravely waved her sword for a second battle...... After it was over, the SS proceeded south and placed themselves near the center of the plain of the crash. A wooden fence was built, a horse riding stop lined up, and an empty moat was dug. Perhaps that's when the troops led by Oiva were the bravest. I think there are a lot of funny people out there, Oiva.

When we picked up the heavy units and finished replenishing them, the SS started their operations here in three parts.

For one thing, it is a northward march by a light cavalry led by Kuster. Once again, we will head west into the northern part of the plain and break into the vicinity of imperial territory. The third battle has also identified its opponent troops and requires them to defeat doubling enemies. Though arguably the most dangerous task force, Marco naturally went along there, and that brought something like confidence in the whole operation to Oiva and others.

One is a standby mission by the Accelli and Yarucco teams. It is the role of staying within the ranks and not flourishing bonfires and military flags to strongly impress the presence of the Third Princess SS of the Kingdom of Asuria on its surroundings. This is also intended to aid the retreat of the heavy forces, but above all has a larger aspect as a gauge of strength. Indicates that the entire SS is an abdominal cumulation of defensive combat there. That hides the existence of a separate unit.

Hidden are Kuster and the other light cavalry... Oiva and the rest of the SWAT.

Yes, the last task force is about the Oiva squad, all of them putting together Imperial Army uniforms. It's a “patrol unit" and a snatch from them, and now Oiva and the others are garrisoning in the fort as wounded and separated soldiers. If the disorder surrounding the fort makes such a detachment possible.

It was Marco's chaos.

Both WWI and WWII, which fought as SS, have let quite a few escape with the intent of destroying enemy soldiers. Only miscellaneous soldiers. Not a single officer has let him escape. It was scattered widely and then directed toward one fort. Oiva and the others mingled with it and headed west. Instead, he was even a discrete soldier's guide.

And it was WWIII that stopped it. He kicked the infantry and pushed the miscellaneous soldiers in by chasing them close to the fort. The fort was ravaged by mayhem. The chain of command wasn't anything either. The entire fort is scattered with dust and blood odor because of the large number of wounded soldiers. I don't even have time to check on the troops. Somehow enemies are approaching the fort, and they say it's a cavalry. I threatened to be attacked at once.

So Oiva is fighting itching for swallowing. The fact that he was transported in a luggage truck because of his prominent stature was also swallowing. Moreover, since the troopers who carried them devised a position to place them, on the immediate side, the officers of the fort began to stand and talk. It is a very laughable situation if you can laugh.

(I wonder how far we can see, our general. I don't like this... I don't like this!

Gufri, and finally Oiva, whose voice leaked. After being sharply tucked in his abdomen, he vomited blood, but his jaw was raised as if. It's a procedure to avoid blood clogging your throat and suffocating. This crew in the wind, like Oiva's nurse, is actually good with arms. Treating wounded soldiers on the battlefield as a matter of urgency… and killing enemy soldiers as a matter of urgency.

The alarm rang.

A voice echoed from above the walls announcing an enemy attack. The blurring became more and more, and there was a mixture of roar and scream. Oiva can't help but feel sympathy. As far as this fort goes, I heard many Imperial soldiers as they were rocked by their luggage. Some saw the disguised blood paste and made worrying voices, and others leaked that they would not die until they returned to their families. Everyone was one person, and everyone had a routine.

But a soldier. Oiva is cutting through there.

Soldiers are sadder. The life and death are far too harsh. Life is tested as loose as a falling leaf shaken by the waters of the river, dictated by the generals of the allies, dictated by the soldiers of the enemy. Everyone is the same and nothing special. A battlefield is a place where you risk your life and death.

That's why...... and Oiva did her hand to the sword she was laying under her body. I glance through the sheath to the pattern and tangle my fingers in it wrapped in cloth. That's all I'm willing to do is light up my chest. That's what it means for a person to take a steel blade. The hardness that cannot be found in the flesh merges with the body and mind, sharpens the mind and makes the spirit have heat.

Once (once) it stood, now just don't think through it.

"Fire. Ah! Fire! Fire!

Someone screamed. Orange blows up from the people in the barracks and smoke comes in. Something seems to have burned hard even near Oiva. Sparks danced to sight with the scent of oil. Here we go!

Get up and pull the knife out.

Step in and take a knife.

The neck of an Imperial Army officer standing on his feet danced into the universe. Slash the man like a deputy down deep from the roots of his neck to his belly with a knife to return. Trying to kill one more, I discovered a cut sticking out of the man's throat. It is Oiva who sees a covert resemblance to herself where her jaw has risen due to the impact. The crew who stabbed him is still good with their arms.

"Fire. Ah!! You can't do this fort anymore!!

So Oiva barked, slashing and throwing away one Imperial soldier after the other, who took his weapon in all places. Some are old. Some are young. Some men and some women. But if you chose to fight with a weapon in your hand, there is no difference in being tested here and there. Slash. Slash, slash, run. Blood and fire are red, fighting as the smell of iron rust and the smell of burning drifts tangibly intangible. I will do everything in my power to war.

Now that one of the Oivas has opened the gate, this fort will be destroyed.

I saw Kuster rushing in ahead of me. Kick the bewildered Imperial soldiers and instantly dominate the courtyard. While keeping an eye on the way that horse runs, Oiva rushes into the fort building. The identification of enemy allies is a red string wrapped around the wrist and a hand signal. Slash what you face, leave what you run away from. And set fire to it. There are those running around with pine lights in their hands. You must also have oil. They are the soldiers of the arsonists.

"Fire. Ah!! I can't do this anymore! This fort is going to burn!!

Oiva shouted at the first glance. Soon he snorts with the soldiers who had gathered around him and runs to the fort's stables. There the crew had already equipped the horses, and Oiva and the others crossed them one after the other.

"Hey, go from the guy who's ready! Our last job is to get home alive!

In this fort, where black smoke and heat from the fire were dominating, we no longer saw any imperial soldiers trying to fight Oiva and the others. No one wants to burn to death. In this period everyone has to run to live. For there is no man in the flames but he that desireth it.

Oiva also made the horses run again. The relentless arson is transforming the fort into a sea of fire. It is Oiva who thinks "they have done too much," but also thinks "they can't possibly be late for escape". I broke through the heat and jumped out of the fort.

There was Marco.

It is on horseback following ninety nine horsemen of red cloth, illuminated by the colour of the flames, yet not moving in sight of the fort. I tried to speak up about what was waiting for me, but Oiva couldn't say a word.

There was no expression on Marco's face.

So Oiva realized for the first time. that Marco always had a variety of expressions on his face. Many smile. Even if it wasn't, I had a quiet eye for someone or somewhere, and I didn't let that cool atmosphere get disturbed where I was before. It gave me a sense of depth as a transcendence.

How about that? I could not feel any color, depth or strength in Marco today.

It's like a broken sword. If any rare treasure knife or care was unleashed in the rain, the years would erode that body, eventually swallowing the sharp, glowing and everything. There was a degeneration there that breathed despair, as if it were on the way, as if something honorable were to be lost.

Oiva moved the horse forward. I saw Marco's face. I have a blue eye under my knotted black hair, and those eyes now only show flames and they don't blink. There was no light emitted from within. It seemed to be burning.

"... Hey, Marco"

called. It had the sound of calling to the distant.

"Hey, Marco. Can you hear me? It's Marco, hey...... Marco!

As she gradually strengthened her voice, Oiva exposed herself loudly in front of Marco. With the great fire of the fort on his back, he engulfed the boy he rode into the shadows. The flames swept out in his eyes, and only a lonely blue colour remained. It looked like a statue. Oiva calls. It was not an act of contemplation.

"Marco! The operation's over, but it's not over yet, is it? You don't understand, do you?

Finally, I reached out and grabbed my shoulder. Unexpectedly still luxurious, just grab it without shaking it. I wanted to tell you something from my hand. I believed it was something to pass on.

"Hey, Marco! Come back here! You're gonna leave us!?

That was Oiva herself, a word that didn't make sense. But it was true. He took an oath to Marco and Marco headed ahead… he was the one who began his life on some distant journey. I can't go back to knowing the fulfillment. I don't want to go back. Oiva was unwilling to go back to those days when she slept infidelly with alcohol in her hand. So I overlapped the words strongly.

"I guess not yet!? Marco, it shouldn't be! I haven't!!

The repeated unintelligible meaning, like shouting, did seem to have affected the boy, however. The blink continuously lit the blue eye. The expression returned to my face. The slightly open lips tightened and created a grin.

"... sorry, I was dreaming a little. Looks like he was hit by a flaming fever."

It was Marco. Everything came back by the way, and there Marco, 13, was smiling. I was happy, but at the same time there was confusion. Oiva was under the illusion that she had spent a great deal of time.

"Come on, let's run. It's not over yet."

Turning the horse's head east, he began to run. Run with flaming heat on your back. Run even if it cools away. Yes, the operation is not over yet. If we stay here, we'll just wait for death. Oiva looked behind her back with Chira. The fort, which gradually gets farther away, looks like a bonfire during the day. Smoke is rising high and high.

... Thus ends the first formation of the Third Princess SS of the Kingdom of Asuria.

A huge battle had now been waged on the plains of the plague where the war had just begun. That was so immense that neither the Kingdom of Asuria nor the Everian Empire could respond immediately. Common sense refused to believe. The facts in front of me were only insane to take them as they were. It was unusual.

Destroy 10,000 of the three Imperial Regiments.

More than 1,800 prisoners.

More than 2,900 captured military horses.

Most of the products caught.

And...... the destruction of the Imperial Army Northern Front Line Fort.

At a time when the results were tangible, the two countries would have a big shock and thunderbolt. The name of the Third Princess SS of the Kingdom of Asuria is engraved in history. The awesomeness of that first formation will roar future generations of historians and twist their necks at the same time. I wondered how that was possible. I wondered if that was really possible. Historians don't know much about the truth. Terrible.

Marco had only taken his name to the last seat of the SS at this time. The commander is only an accessory, and the commander of the detachment is Kuster. There were just two names in tactical history and military records too, and the truth about Marco was never specified.

Still, his martial name will be known. Because the boy on the border who dedicated himself to the princess, a weak crown 13-year-old, fought through to the end as one of the horsemen of the Light Cavalry Squad. Because he is one of only a thousand and five hundred rides across the plain and into the Empire's fortress. Not to mention the fact that that is publicly a first line is awesome. Known in a way far from the appearance of truth, Marco gained fame.

But among those who lived the same times and breathed the same battlefield air...... There are those who perceive discord and begin to realize something. The first person to become one in the Everian Empire said his name was Terencio Barcelo. The rank is Lieutenant Colonel of the Imperial Army. Led by a light cavalry thousand and five hundred rides.

The man was known by the alias "Black Snake”.