First Battle

Training began the next day.

That said, since the village's men were also its labor force, they couldn't afford to only train. At best, they could devote early mornings and evenings to it.

The instructor was Carlos. Ria hadn't received training in group combat. Even including her previous life, it was merely knowledge in her head.

But as a knight, Carlos had experience subjugating bandits. Moreover, as a knight, he had experience leading soldiers in battle.

And even going by appearance, Carlos clearly looked like a knight from somewhere, giving him the presence to command the villagers' obedience.

"Even so, where did all these spears come from…?"

"Magic."

Carlos answered the village chief's question in a tone that brooked no argument. He was becoming similar to Ria in that regard.

The remaining five worked on strengthening the village's defenses.

They cleared the trees surrounding the small hill to improve visibility. Ria used the tree trunks as test cutting practice for her katana, slicing through ones as thick as her torso with ease. Gig also helped after switching to an axe, while Serge stored the cut lumber with space-time magic and transported it.

Lulu and Maal worked even further out, setting traps on the slopes leading to the village other than the main path. Maal, who had done hunting in her home village, drew from her memories, with the village's hunters adding their own refinements. Though they wouldn't be lethal, they would be enough to rob enemies of their fighting strength.

The cut lumber was used to reinforce the village's fence. Rather than reinforcement, it might be better to say they rebuilt it entirely. They drove the logs in deep enough that they wouldn't budge even if pulled, then sharpened the tips to prevent climbing.

"Hmm, it's good for testing the katana, but…"

Ria was dissatisfied. She still couldn't create a katana better than the very first Kotetsu she'd made, the one she'd personally held in her previous life. Even among Kotetsu blades, there should be ones with even sharper edges, yet she couldn't make those adjustments.

Still, it was a far finer blade than the one she'd gotten from the Ogre King. That much was to be expected from something called genesis magic.

After reinforcing the fence, they left small gaps which Serge filled in with earth wall magic. The strength wasn't much, but this would be enough to block arrows.

In the end though, the training was mostly meaningless.

Just two days later at midday, Ria sensed troops approaching from the distance.

One of her Gifts, the Divine Protection of the War God, included the ability to sense the presence of large numbers of soldiers. It was a true cheat that could prevent almost any surprise attack, but this was the first time it had proven useful.

"Serge, sound the alarm."

"Roger."

When Serge relayed the message using space magic, the villagers rang the alarm bell. The metal parts were also made by Ria's magic. The clanging bell prompted villagers in the fields to retreat within the earthen wall.

By the time enemy figures appeared at the top of the hill, the village had already established its complete defensive formation.

Every man who could fight held either a spear or a bow, clad in armor. Despite this being their first battle, there was no trace of fear on their faces.

(I see, so this is the power of the Gift…)

When she secretly used Identify magic, their abilities had increased across the board. The other effects were probably working as described in the Gift as well.

(My soldiers…)

A shiver ran through her as her blood stirred. Even knowing she might be sending them into mortal danger, she felt no guilt.

This was, fundamentally, their war. To maintain their dignity as human beings, to preserve their independence, they had to fight.

Watching from atop the lookout, a single horseman approached.

Maintaining a safe distance from the village, he began his speech.

Something about how this village had never paid taxes. That villagers would be conscripted as an alternative. That if they resisted, they would be punished for treason.

Knowing the real circumstances, Ria could only snort with contempt.

They had probably failed at their slave hunt and lost a large number of soldiers, and were now trying to fabricate some justification for it.

They tried to commandeer supplies and were resisted, so they exterminated the resistance. They lost soldiers in the process.

Whether such reasoning would actually save them from punishment was doubtful, but it seemed battle was unavoidable.

Now then, time to confirm the victory conditions.

The Cordova soldiers weren't trying to dominate this village as part of national policy.

At this point, they simply needed a scapegoat to save the battalion commander's own skin. In that case, she just needed to kill the commander. After that, the adjutant or other officers would withdraw the troops.

If they still didn't retreat, she would thoroughly slaughter every commander. Once only common soldiers remained, they would flee without anyone to lead them.

And one more important thing: minimize allied casualties.

If possible, don't let a single person be killed. That's why she made the long-handled spears and built the earthen wall. If even one person died, it would be difficult to be seen off with smiles.

"First, I'll start by killing the one with the loud voice…"

Ria created an enormous fireball and hurled it at the knight who was still continuing his speech.

The knight became a pillar of fire, and the battle began.

Arrows flew from Cordova's army, but the village was on high ground to begin with, and now had an earthen wall. Unless someone made a serious blunder, they wouldn't take any damage.

(Poor horse though…)

She felt no regret whatsoever about killing the person. Leaping down from the lookout, Ria bounded onto the earthen wall.

Cordova's arrows concentrated on the figure that suddenly appeared. But not a single one hit.

The wind, little by little, was deflecting their trajectories. It was Maal's spirit magic.

Cordova's soldiers climbed the slope toward the village. The defenders fired their few bows with careful aim. Some arrows bounced off armor, but several managed to reduce the enemy's numbers.

When the enemy soldiers gathered on the path, Serge's magic detonated. Excalibur, fired horizontally, sliced through the entire unit and left a massive scar in the ground.

With this, the enemy could no longer assault from the front. Avoiding the path, they spread out to both sides of the gate.

(It would have been trouble if the enemy had magicians, but at this rate it's an easy victory…)

Now it was just a matter of how little damage the villagers would take.

Ria kept her eyes fixed on the enemy's main camp.

From atop the lookout - just firing Exploding Fireballs. Simple work.

Peeking out from behind the large shield that had been prepared for him, Serge fired off his magic.

He dropped fireballs where people gathered in groups. Infantry shields and armor couldn't block flames. This was far more efficient than rapid-firing Excalibur.

"I've really gotten used to this, haven't I…"

He muttered. He truly had grown accustomed to killing people.

Originally, there wasn't much guilt in killing with magic. Holding memories of a previous life like Ria, yet being able to calmly kill people with weapons while feeling the resistance in your own hands—that was the abnormal thing.

Even so, there was still some guilt. Those soldiers were probably commoners gathered up, just like Serge had been. To kill them, he needed some kind of excuse.

Ria had given him orders.

She had told him to kill because it was an order.

All the responsibility was on her, she'd said. Even if it was just for appearances, even if it was just an excuse, it shouldered Serge's guilt for him.

And besides, this was a battle to protect. Not a war of aggression.

Like a self-defense force, protecting people living ordinary lives. For that, he could fight.

Serge didn't notice that he was also within the range of Ria's Gift.

Carlos and Gig each acted like non-commissioned officers, directing the defense to eliminate enemy soldiers trying to climb over the earthen wall.

Carlos shot down enemies who occasionally appeared over the wall with arrows. Gig found throwing stones to be more effective.

Maal was asking the wind to weaken the arrows' force, concentrating with all her might. Lulu was on standby for healing duty. She really wanted to use offensive magic, but Ria had forbidden it.

At any rate, they couldn't let their allies take damage.

Against an enemy force exceeding one thousand, that would be nothing short of a miracle.

But if it was Ria, it might be possible. They thought so.

Approximately nine hundred enemies spread out to surround the village.

The forces they had prepared numbered at best two hundred. And even those could hardly be called elite troops—just amateurs.

But morale was high.

On top of the natural determination to protect their own village, they were under the influence of Ria's Gift. If it came to a fight, they could probably hold their own.

But holding their own wasn't good enough.

They were vastly outnumbered. If enemies breached the village, casualties were certain. That couldn't be called victory.

So she would crush the head.

"Time to move out."

Getting off the earthen wall, she mounted Matsukaze, whom she'd prepared. Matsukaze was wearing horse armor. Though made from memory, it would serve well enough. To keep weight down, Ria herself wore her usual leather armor.

And charging alongside Ria would be Rudolph. Could ordinary soldiers stop a level 45 demon's power?

"Open the gate."

A villager hurriedly unfastened the makeshift bar. Then Ria rode out on Matsukaze.

A lone rider charging forth.

No, including Rudolph, one rider and one beast.

Rudolph led the way, his massive body sending soldiers flying. Cordova's soldiers were armed with standard pikes, but they lacked the stance to pierce through Rudolph's hide.

Behind him, Matsukaze galloped.

Ria held a long-handled cross spear, striking down soldiers who got in the way. Occasionally cavalry came at her, but none could exchange even a single blow with Ria.

Eventually, at the top of the hill, she could see the commander protected by infantry. Cordova's battalion commanders wore red cloaks, so she recognized him immediately.

Leaping over the wooden shields the infantry held, Ria arrived before the battalion commander.

What an expression he had. Surely encountering monsters on the battlefield was a common enough occurrence.

"Wh-who the hell are you!?"

"Who cares!"

Her spear flashed. The battalion commander's head went flying.

The surrounding knights, probably officers, had no time to react.

The battalion commander's body fell from his horse. Only then did they finally respond, raising their weapons toward Ria.

"The one responsible for the slave hunt is dead. Still want to continue?"

She spun her spear with a whoosh. Behind her, Rudolph was trampling the infantry.

Accompanied by a Hellhound, having struck down the commander in a single charge, and still just a young girl. Even with their visors lowered, she could tell by their voices.

"Just who are you!?"

The same question as the commander, this time from an older officer. Probably the adjutant. This time, Ria answered properly.

"A mercenary hired by the village. I have no intention of giving my name."

Feeling Ria's intimidation, even if the officers didn't step back, their horses were frightened. Riders could tell what their horses were feeling.

And this adjutant was a prudent man. Having accumulated years, he knew there were existences one shouldn't oppose.

"Sound the bells of retreat. We return to the garrison."

"That's better."

Ria wheeled her horse around and rode down the hill. This time, Rudolph followed behind.

The euphoria of racing through the battlefield faded. From the hilltop she had just left, bells rang in a steady rhythm.

The sound echoed across the entire battlefield, signaling the end of the fight.

Cordova's soldiers withdrew.

Among them, a single rider clad in black returned to the village.

Cheers erupted from within the village. While listening to them, the only thing on Ria's mind was whether any of her allies had died.