It would be good to record an image orb and send it to Heinley.
If they were to broadcast the sight of the Crown Prince, who had strutted about wanting to fulfill the resurrected one's duty, getting miserably crushed before all the world? Could there be a more laughable sight?
Or they could accuse the Crown Prince of gathering troops under the pretense of monster subjugation, only to not actually engage in serious subjugation.
In truth, if they could frame this subjugation force as a sham and claim he was secretly siphoning elite soldiers to plot rebellion, that would also be quite good.
"You can record it well, right?"
"This much is no trouble at all. But where are you going?"
I had just handed the image orb to Xenon and was turning to head down the slope when I hesitated.
"Where? To fight."
"......With whom?"
"With the enemies?"
Xenon, who realized that the 'enemies' I pointed to meant the subjugation force, jumped up with a serious expression.
"It's dangerous!"
"I don't want to just rely on the Dullahans and let my guard down only to get hit from behind. Supporting from the rear with magic tools should be fine."
Anyway, once the Dullahans appeared, everyone's attention would focus that way.
I planned to show the terrified subjugation force a few appropriate wide-range magical attacks from the rear with magic tools.
It wasn't so much to defeat the subjugation force as it was to heighten their confusion.
When fighting the fearsome Dullahans, if fireballs suddenly flew from somewhere, they would be rattled.
This would maximize the fear regarding the Dullahans, and if they lost their will to fight, so much the better.
"Then move together with me."
"You need to record."
It was an important task, which was why I specifically entrusted it to him.
What I wanted wasn't simply holding an image orb and recording ordinarily. I wanted to capture the entire sight of Maxim's defeat from the air where the combat situation would be visible.
For that, Xenon's magical manipulation was necessary.
"Do you think I can't do other things just from manipulating one image orb?"
"I heard magic can only cast one thing at a time. You should focus on recording."
I had heard that magic was such a delicate task that one had to concentrate regardless of what was being cast.
That was why I told him to concentrate, but Xenon burst into empty laughter upon hearing my words.
"Lady Anelli doesn't know at all what it means to be the successor to the Magic Tower Lord."
That wasn't so much mocking me as it was expressing pure surprise at my ignorance.
Moreover, for some reason Xenon looked extremely pleased. For me, it was a change in mood whose context I couldn't grasp.
"It's fine. You'll know from now on."
I couldn't know what reason his mood was trending upward, but I decided to let it pass since it probably wasn't for a bad reason.
Seeing him speak so confidently, it seemed he wouldn't make mistakes.
And a short while later, I was able to clearly confirm Xenon's words.
* * *
Lizardmen were monsters with strong physiques and thick, rough skin.
Moreover, since they inhabited wetlands, they were considerably troublesome to deal with.
In addition, because of the poisonous plants growing around the wetlands, the subjugation force had to struggle before even reaching their habitat.
When they first recklessly advanced into this wetland, they inevitably had to pay the price for their recklessness. So this time they prepared for the poisonous plants and the sticky terrain.
'......Damn it.'
It did bother him that Lilia had chased after him like a hawk and nagged him, but Maxim tried hard to erase that matter from his head.
In truth, he felt like there was a thorn in his throat just from not being able to listen to Lilia's words.
He felt like he was making a very big mistake, and felt as if someone was reproaching him.
He felt that if he didn't hurry back and follow her words even now, something terrible would happen.
That was why he had always done so. He already knew that if he followed Lilia's words, his anxiety would vanish as if washed away.
But this time he didn't do that. Recently, impulses to fight against the anxiety kept surging up unexpectedly.
'Lilia is being oversensitive.'
Maxim checked the scout's report he was holding once more to shake off the uncomfortable emotions.
It gave him some relief, as if it served as evidence that his judgment was indeed correct.
How long had it been since he moved with his own conviction without relying on someone's advice?
In the Imperial Palace, he was busy attending to the Emperor's words, and for a while he couldn't move as he wished because he had to heed Lilia's prophecies.
This was a sensation from quite a long time ago. Though the still-rough emotions hadn't faded...... .
Maxim tried to comfort himself. Though the eldest son of Count Luezak's family had withdrawn, other families who heard the news had sent support troops. The Empire's brave nobles and soldiers were following Maxim.
"According to the report, only a few Lizardmen remain, and the Dullahan is also in a weakened state, so our brave subjugation force should be well able to handle it."
Moreover, this time they even brought mages along. Having learned from their first experience, they prepared thoroughly.
At Maxim's words, the young nobles standing beside him vied to praise his bravery and greatness.
"Beyond that hill lies our target!"
Maxim gripped his sword's hilt. They had already scouted the area with reconnaissance teams, so all that remained was to seize victory.
"Advance!"
A mere Dullahan—if he dragged its corpse and displayed it on the capital's walls, no one would ignore him again! It wouldn't be long before he saw Heinley strutting like that either.
Maxim's eyes gleamed as he gazed forward.
"Hm?"
A puzzled look crossed the eyes of Maxim, who had been full of spirit.
"What is that......?"
Beyond the sloping hillock, black shadows were wavering.
The bushes and trees made it hard to distinguish clearly, but they were definitely shadows. Strange to call them people, and yet to call them Lizardmen...... .
The Lizardmen habitat was still a bit further away, wasn't it?
The battle between Lizardmen and Dullahans definitely took place at the habitat, or so they said. Both sides suffered great damage from that, and they were said to be so weakened they wouldn't even notice scouts approaching.
So what on earth was that?
"A D-D-D-Dullahan!"
"Dullahan?"
A black horse raised its front legs high. Above it, heavy black armor and a dangling greatsword came into view. Also, the empty neck above.
"D-Don't be scared!"
Maxim, who had almost involuntarily stepped back, barely managed to grasp his reason. The Dullahan would be significantly drained from fighting the Lizardmen.
Maxim quickly signaled toward the mages. As事先 conveyed, the soldiers and knights adjusted their formation.
Yet even after doing so, they couldn't move an inch.
"Heek!"
Black energy slowly rose from the Dullahan descending the gentle slope. The energy spreading in all directions made skin crawl and chilled the back of the neck.
"The killing intent...... ."
Someone who had been frozen made a sound as they collapsed to the ground. The smell of urine also wafted from very close by.
The Dullahan was merely dangling its sword from atop its horse and slowly approaching, yet everyone was helplessly suppressed by the emitted killing intent.
Maxim, who was as overwhelmed by the killing intent as the others, grit his teeth. He squeezed his throat, which wouldn't produce sound, and barely shouted.
"It's just one!"
However, Maxim's shout was soon drowned out by someone's frightened muttering.
"T-There's another one over there!"
*Snort!*
The horse's rough snorting sound rang out among the quiet subjugation force. Beyond the hillock, shadows began increasing one by one.
Pitch-black Dullahans were revealing themselves one after another.
"Oh my god."
One of the trembling soldiers groaned, falling into shock.
The killing intent grew even thicker, and at some point, hazy fog began rising around them. The fog made the atmosphere turn even more eerie.
Whenever the pitch-black armor moved amidst the thick fog, the clattering friction sounds overlapped with the heavy hoofbeats.
From somewhere, a crow let out a long, chilling cry as it flew away.
"Oh God...... ."
As if someone's muttering full of despair became a signal, the horse of the Dullahan at the very front raised its front legs high.
The blade of the raised greatsword was gleaming sharply.
* * *
The battle developed into an even worse chaotic fight than expected.
This was because the Lizardmen, who had been attacked by Dullahans and developed deep grudges, launched a surprise attack from behind.
[Kieeek!]
If Xenon, who was with me in the rear, hadn't blown away the Lizardmen with magic, the Dullahans might have suffered a setback.
[These dirty intruders!]
"Aaaack!"
Thanks to the Lizardmen flying into the middle of the subjugation force and running wild in excitement, the situation became an utter mess.
*Crunch!*
The moment a soldier bit by the Lizardman's sharp teeth screamed, Palides's sword struck the Lizardman's nape.
*Thud!]
[Palides! Don't penetrate too deeply!]
At Nadav's warning, Palides's body, which had been about to spring forward, pulled far back.
The Dullahans didn't bother chasing if the subjugation force didn't come toward the hillock. It was as if they were protecting their own territory.
'This sight will make Maxim even more anxious.'
As evidence of that, Maxim still hadn't ordered a retreat. Because the Dullahan's swords weren't reaching him in the rear.
Xenon, while recording this scene in the image orb, cleverly used magic to veil the hillock where the Dullahans and I were with fog.
With appearance modification magic and invisibility magic not being enough, hiding in the fog meant that no matter how hard they tried, they probably wouldn't be able to see me.
To the subjugation force's eyes, wouldn't it look like fireballs and ice spikes suddenly popping out from thin air?
"W-We need God's protection!"
"Cursed creatures!"
"Aaah!"
Seeing them calling out for God here and there, it seemed my intention had hit the mark exactly, which was fortunate.
[Hahaha! I am the terrifying knight Zigor, who stands at the vanguard and bestows terror upon enemies!]
Zigor, who had been the first to appear as a Dullahan earlier, seemed quite excited about the fact that he got to stand at the vanguard as he wished.
Even Mori, who stood furthest back among the Dullahans, was calling Zigor worriedly, so one could tell how worked up he was.
'I only thought he was cute.'
It seemed it was time to admit that Zigor was indeed a small bird of prey that could bestow terrifying fear upon enemies.
I let out an empty laugh while still not losing tension and gazed straight ahead.
Screams, the smell of blood, a chaotic scene where swords and arrows and magic flew wildly.
The noble families that joined that subjugation force would regret today's choice for a long, long time.