Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

"Lord Schwarzer! Did you hear the latest orders?"

"Fight the monsters while letting our troops retreat...... right? But..."

Due replied, but stared vacantly after blowing away the enemy.

Almost immediately, a new enemy appeared and Due, with a renewed will to fight, thrust his weapon outwards again.

Elisha shared the same frustration as him. The new enemy was not undead. It was not even monsters. It was soldiers from the St. Gallen army.

"Get outta the way, Arquell army!"

There were many soldiers like this who lost their cool out of panic and came at them like that. Further adding to her headache, some enemies were yelling,

"Know some shame! Joining hands with monsters to achieve victory?"

There were some who were quick to assume that Arquell had summoned monsters. Who knows what would happen if many others continued to rant like this in a heated battlefield. It was quite possible that their comrades, Arquell soldiers, would be disturbed by such claims and refuse orders from their superiors. That’s why, Elisha and Due slew those who were trying to bring about confusion as soon as they opened their mouths.

"...... I see. It seems that the instructions you just received must be difficult to execute."

"Ahhh, dammit!"

While having a frivolous talk, they eradicated the enemies around them, whether they were monsters or St. Gallen soldiers. They were trying to prioritise killing the monsters, but it couldn’t be helped if the other side came to attack them.

Uni mentioned that Tullius was planning to have a ceasefire with the enemy forces, but it seems like it had not been made official yet…… it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

"It's terrible. ...... Gah, piece of shit! No matter how many times I hack and slash, they are all rotting corpses or panicking small fries! Cut it out, dammit!"

"Yeah. I totally agree!"

Every time Elisha's sword slices through the air and Due's powerful sword swung, enemies, living or dead, scatter. How long do they have to continue fighting like this to protect their retreating comrades?

As the heaps and piles of corpses and ex-corpses began to accumulate around them, something changed.

—Thud.

A heavy sound like the footsteps of a giant echoed from the Arquell army camp behind them.

It was as if several large fires had been lit at the same time.

The strange phenomenon caused the St. Gallen soldiers to pause for a moment, ignoring the lifeless zombies.

"What's that......?"

Elisha turned around curiously and rolled her eyes.

Twenty metres to the rear. A huge shadow was standing on the earthen wall.

It had thick limbs and a hunched physique. It has no head above its shoulders initially, but a head quickly grew out of a stump on its neck. The human-like being looked like a child made with clay. Yet, the scale of this being was magnitudes away from a clay toy.

Mud golem.

These were large monsters created with earth by expert mages.

However, the one they were witnessing currently was at least a size larger than what Elisha knew of regular ones.

It was standing 5 metres above the ground.

"Sir Tullius……"

'Slave-killer'. 'Man-eating snake'. The man who became a count after his brother's downfall. A monster suspected of involvement in a number of conspiracies. A heretical alchemist known for his appalling experiments on the human body. The one who persuaded the people to become soldiers to fight this hellish battle.

Tullius Shernan Oubeniel.

The man had holed himself up in the main camp concentrating on commanding the army through Uni. He finally got up to enter the stage. The sight of the exploding flames from the large golem was him flaunting his figure to the battlefield, as though he was an actor on stage.

He looked around, took out a trumpet-shaped device from his clothes and started using it. Instantly, an ear-splittingly high-pitched squeal rang out.

"......all of you who are fighting on this battlefield! Can you hear my voice?"

Tullius’ voice was magnified several times over.

Perhaps that was the effect of the trumpet device. It was a way to amplify his voice to project it further. Elisha, who had a vague idea of the principle did not stir but others who did not understand it or were distracted by battle might have been taken aback.

Ignoring those who were confused at his voice, Tullius continued to speak.

"I am Tullius Shernan Oubeniel, Count of Volden from the Kingdom of Arquell. I speak to you all as a representative of the kingdom. As you all know, a powerful army of monsters has appeared where we are fighting. The common enemy of mankind, monsters!"

The man's tone was stiff and tense. Those who did not know the reputation of this man might be misled into thinking he was simply a weak young man with a strong sense of justice advocating against the threat of monsters.

"My kingdom, Kingdom of Arquell, have unfortunately been caught in hostilities with the Federation of St. Gallen and have caused this bloody battlefield! However! A threat befalls us all…… Are we going to sit on stands and not do anything about the monsters that come striking at us!?"

If it were possible, Elisha thought, Tullius would have wanted this situation to continue developing. Just before the monsters invaded, the frontlines of Arquell were on the verge of collapse. It was certainly possible for St. Gallen to have been victorious then. Although St. Gallen might have to make camp and rest for the night before that.

"—I strongly believe that is not the case! Even if we have different allegiances, there is no reason to deny that we are all humans. That’s why, in order to stand against the monsters, we need to put our hands together. Let us stop fighting amongst ourselves!"

Tullius' solo performance reached its climax.

He continued to raise his voice and disgustingly so, had tears trickling down his cheeks.

"What is the most important thing as a person born into this world? To live our lives in peace, free from worries. Nothing is more important than this. That's what I believe! If these words have touched your heart even a little, please take my hand. Let's fight the threat and win our futures together! ......I propose a ceasefire to the army of the Federation of St. Gallen!"

"Ceasefire?"

"You mean you're going to stop fighting?"

Ceasefire.

The first to react to these words were the soldiers of the Kingdom of Arquell, who were retreating after their defeats in the trenches. Ninety percent of them were peasants who had been hurriedly sent out for this battle. They neither liked fighting nor were good at it. They were just people who took up arms because the enemy was attacking. They would gladly agree to stop the war in order to fight off the monsters.

On the other hand, what about St. Gallen?

"W-we've come this far and a ceasefire......?"

"Certainly there are monsters...... but."

They were the perpetrators who declared war, and at the same time launched a surprise attack. Now that they have made their moves, they were not able to back down so easily. Moreover, if this ceasefire were to lead to a truce, they would be subject to unfavourable terms. In addition to being the side that started the war, the land they managed to conquer was only the frontier region just east of Volden. There was no hope for negotiations advantageous for St. Gallen. Wouldn’t St. Gallen greed break down any chance of peace talks?

(Seems like 70% of success.)

Elisha guessed. If the commander of the St. Gallen army was a rational person, he would first accept the ceasefire. After all, they had to put up a joint front against the monsters. Being the aggressor army and then continuing to attack without paying attention to the common enemy of humanity would give them a bad reputation. Even though Elisha was often criticised for her lack of political sense, she understood that this was a scandal that would greatly hinder postwar diplomacy. So, the rational decision here would be to take the ceasefire. Whether this ceasefire is temporary or whether it leads to the halting of the entire battle in Volden depends on the intentions and the skill of Tullius, who initiated it.

But the problem was the vigour and emotions of the soldiers on the other side. On Arquell’s side, the Imperial Guards and Due were on the field, but the rest of them were weaklings lacking in training. Were St. Gallen soldiers willing to accept the ceasefire? What about those that lost their comrades and were driven by vengeance?

And if the commander is a short-tempered person, he might use the attack on the monsters as an opportunity to launch an all-out attack. He would guide the monsters towards Elisha and Due to block their movements and strike the Arquell army in the meantime. The best time to do this was now, when the commander-in-chief, Tullius, just came forward to call for a ceasefire. Idiots who cared not for what happens after a war might think this way.