Chapter 154: Banzai
Metal gleamed dully in the sunlight.
It was a sword. A soldier of Wa, launched from his ship and hurtling through the air at tremendous speed, swung his blade, and blood sprayed.
“…What?”
But the blood came from two places rather than one.
The Friez soldier’s shoulder had been split open by the sword, yet for some reason blood also gushed from the Wa soldier’s arm.
“Body-enhancement magic…!”
It was a bizarre sight: both the attacker and his victim spraying blood. I immediately understood what had caused it.
And precisely because I understood, the madness of it sent a chill through me.
“That face and that mana! You must be Major General Willard, are you not?”
“Y-Yes! I am!”
Still shaken, I answered the question in the language of Wa.
“Remarkable… Hearing our mother tongue from the mouth of an actual westerner is a strange experience.”
“I’m sure I still speak it poorly. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“I would never demand perfection. We’ve come to assist you. May I assume that everyone not wearing the same uniform as Major General Willard is an enemy?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I was wearing the uniform of the Orline Imperial Navy.
Anyone wearing it was an ally, and anyone else an enemy. There was no mistake in that.
“Excellent! You heard him, men! The enemy stands before us! Show them the spirit of Wa!”
“OOOOOOOH!”
A little more than a dozen Wa soldiers who had learned flight magic had rushed to our aid.
They roared together.
“Banzai for His Majesty the Emperor!”
“BANZAI!”
With that cry, they charged the Friez soldiers.
“…I suppose the spirit is the same.”
That shout was far too familiar.
“W-What are these lunatics!?”
“…Honestly, even I’m a little disturbed.”
Neither the Orline nor the Friez soldiers had anticipated the arrival of troops from Wa.
The Friez soldiers lost formation in their shock at the howling, blood-soaked warriors of Wa. We shot them down.
“…Whatever else may be said, they saved us.”
We now held the numerical advantage.
As for skill… Well, the soldiers of Wa were doing something utterly outrageous, so perhaps it was fair to say that advantage belonged to us as well.
“We can win.”
At the very least, the wind of victory was now blowing in our favor.