Surviving a Harsh Fantasy with Cheat Items (WN)

「Ugh… I was careless…」

Even someone as powerful as Governor Sardival cannot predict what will happen on the battlefield, where sudden events can unfold.

He had prepared for this, wearing a mithril chainmail under his robe. It was supposed to protect him from magic attacks and stray arrows. Even the orichalcum blade hadn’t been able to pierce the mithril entirely.

That preparation was his saving grace—luck was still on his side.

「Cough!」

「Governor!」

Blood spilled from his mouth. It seemed his internal organs had been damaged.

No, perhaps luck wasn’t on his side after all. This was the result of his own miscalculation. He placed his hand on the hilt of the holy sword lodged in his chest and slowly pulled it out.

With searing pain overwhelming him, blood gushed from his chest. For the orichalcum blade to inflict this much damage, even after piercing mithril… It truly was a weapon worthy of its legendary status.

After casting a healing spell on his chest to stop the bleeding, Sardival, supported by Hydra, slowly stood up, a pained smile crossing his face. 「For someone like me, who planned every detail… to be cornered like this, as expected of a heroine…」

This was the price for being lured by the prospect of reclaiming his lost honor by breaking the holy sword and killing the female hero. He thought he had drawn out Louise by using that golden-haired knight as bait, but in the end, it was Sardival who had been drawn out by the orichalcum sword.

Who was truly trapped in whose snare?

Sardival chuckled bitterly at the irony.

「Heh… Haha… But this is far from over. Know that my secret weapon has only just begun.」

Despite his pale face from the blood loss, Sardival slowly retreated from the hill, supported by Hydra.

「Of course, Governor Sardival. The battle has only just begun.」

「Have the dragons taken down the female hero yet?」

Sardival asked, though he already sensed the answer from the look on Hydra’s face.

「I’m afraid… no, my apologies.」

Even with his blurred vision, the battlefield was clear to Sardival. The seven dragons were being effortlessly cut down, like fragile twigs in the wind. Though they were obeying Hydra’s commands, the outcome was inevitable.

It was a pitiful sight. The mighty dragons, unable to even land a blow on the enemy, were being sliced apart as they attempted to strike with claws and fangs. Their futility was evident.

The dragon breath, feared by all, was useless against Louise, who had long honed her resistance to such attacks. The beasts, once terror incarnate, were now nothing more than prey, cut down with ease.

「It matters not. After all, that is the power of the legendary hero.」

This was the price Sardival paid for underestimating his foe. Even after breaking the orichalcum greatsword, the dragon-slaying heroine was far stronger than he had imagined.

The dragons would fall. No, they had already been expended. But in doing so, they had bought precious time.

「Don’t think you’ve won just yet.」

There were still moves to make. The game wasn’t over. Outside the capital of Presidio, there were two armies totaling twenty thousand. Inside, another ten thousand awaited. And at the harbor, the fleet remained untouched.

With all of this, countless traps and strategies would soon descend upon the female hero. No matter how superhuman she may be, her strength wasn’t infinite.

All he needed to do was keep her fighting, keep her wearing down. Eventually, exhaustion would catch up, and when it did—she would fall.

Now, everything was in place.

With a single motion from Governor Sardival, the deadly trap would have been sprung.

He gained enough distance, raised his hand—

「All forces! Aim for the hero—」

—but that hand never fell.

A gunshot echoed through the battlefield.

In that instant, a bullet pierced through Sardival’s skull, wiping out not only his life but the carefully laid plans of certain victory.

「Governor! Governor Sardival!!」

With a twisted smile still on his lips, his arm limp at his side, Governor Sardival breathed his last in Hydra’s arms.

He died, never knowing who the true hero was, mistaking Louise for the real one until the very end.

※※※

「As expected of Master!」 「Yes, yes!」

「Well, Louise probably could’ve handled it alone, but I’m glad we were able to help.」

I, Sawatari Takeru, had crossed the sea to the New Continent, using a flying dragon out of concern for Barland and the others. I was also bored after being stuck on Antil Island for so long.

Unlike Ria, Louise didn’t have the dragon maids to protect her. And Clementine… well, I had a bad feeling she’d cause trouble, so I snuck over here without telling anyone.

When I scouted the volunteer army’s camp attacking the capital, Suzanne and Claudia found me, so they ended up becoming my guards again after a long while. Still, I was glad I came.

Clementine had been taken hostage, and Louise had to rescue her alone. So, I quickly took up a hidden position on a hill with my black stealth robe (it’s been a while since I used the wandering black marksman, Drift Gunner—though I’m sure some have forgotten about it by now), waiting for a chance to snipe with my magic rifle.

「Hmm, I guess there’s no need to kill the woman. There are demoness in the demon army too, huh? Makes things tricky.」

Through the sniper scope, I saw not only the enemy governor but also a woman dressed in some bizarre bondage outfit for a battlefield. Killing women… yeah, not my strong suit.

I decided to shift my sights and start shooting the commanding officers of the archery units targeting Louise. When thousands of well-coordinated archers focus their fire, they become a real threat—not to be underestimated.

Fortunately, with their supreme commander dead, the enemy forces seemed to be in disarray. As the archers began firing, the volunteer army’s muskets and cannons roared to life, and the chaotic battle ensued.

「It looks like Louise-sama made it safely back to our camp.」

「Yeah, I’m relieved. You two can head back to Louise now.」

「No, we will…」 「…protect Master.」

The two stood on either side of me, pistols ready.

「Well, alright. It’s been a while since we fought together. Let’s make the most of it and go wild one more time.」

「Yes!」 「With pleasure!」

With Suzanne and Claudia by my side, I ran towards the enemy commanders. At the same time, Barland’s infantry charged forward, and the fierce battle at the gates of the capital, Presidio, began, with both armies clashing in a brutal melee.

※※※

「The Governor has been killed? This must be some kind of mistake!」

「No, Vice Commander Bihan, there is no mistake. 」 「What are your orders?」

Despite the urgency, Bihan, who had made it this far through loyalty and obedience, found himself at a loss. He had felt a certain satisfaction in being promoted to commander after Gibbon’s death, but without the Governor’s guidance, he lacked the confidence to command the army.

「Hmm, wait.」

「Should we silence the news of the Governor’s death to avoid panic among the troops?」

「No, they say he died right in front of the soldiers. It’s too late for that.」

「Then what do we do?」

The knights under Bihan’s command began voicing their opinions one after another. Listening to them only added to Bihan’s confusion.

「Vice-Commander Bihan. No, Acting Governor.」

It was Bal, the leader of the knights, who addressed him in a firm tone.

「Acting Governor? Me?」

「With both Commander Gibbon and Governor Sardival dead, who else could it be? Stand firm, Acting Governor Bihan. The rebel army is already upon us!」

「Y-Yes, you’re right.」

「At present, the units are acting independently, and we cannot rely on the hastily recruited city militia. You must take command as Acting Governor and unite the army with the Presidio Knights at the core.」

As Bal gave his speech, a messenger arrived, out of breath.

「Urgent report!」

「What is it?」

「Lord Delisio Ilman has declared himself Acting Governor. Commander Bihan, you are also to follow his command.」

「That’s ridiculous!」

It wasn’t Bihan who raised his voice in protest, but Bal.

「Delisio is nothing more than a fellow Commander like us! How can he claim to be Acting Governor?」

The messenger, caught off guard by the rebuke, stammered.

「Lord Delisio is from one of the Three Great Demon Nobles, and he says Governor Sardival entrusted him with the city’s defense directly…」

「That’s unacceptable!」

Bal was furious, and the other knight Commanders shared his anger.

「That’s right! Delisio cannot be Acting Governor!」

「Commander Bihan is the rightful next Governor!」

Delisio had always looked down on his fellow knights, using his noble status as an excuse, and thus lacked popularity within the order. In fact, he was disliked by many, not just within the knights.

In the rapidly expanding demon army, most of the commanders and captains were commoners. Governor Sardival had deliberately promoted many common-born officers to emphasize meritocracy, which only deepened the divide.

「Commander Bihan, make your decision!」

「The 20,000 troops outside and all of us here stand with you. We should order Delisio to fall under your command instead.」

No matter how noble Delisio’s lineage, Bihan had no desire to be subjugated by a young commander who had been his subordinate just moments ago. Pressured by the demands of his senior knights, Bihan made his decision.

「V-Very well. I will inform Delisio of our stance. As for the command of the troops outside…」

And so, with 20,000 rebels at the gates, the demon army, having lost all their beasts, found themselves divided between the forces inside and out, with no unified leadership. From that moment, the balance tipped in favor of the volunteer forces, who still had their muskets and cannons at the ready.

※※※

「The front gate of the capital has been breached.」

「Bihan’s forces outside the city have been completely destroyed. They were overwhelmed by the enemy and failed to suppress the local militia’s uprising. The survivors have scattered.」

「The first wall has fallen.」

「The enemy is already advancing on the second of the three walls. Acting Governor Delisio, your orders!」

In the central castle of the provincial capital, Presidio, once the White Palace of the Holy Abysspania Kingdom, Delisio sat on the throne, seething.

He wanted to gloat over the defeat of Bihan, his former superior who had ignored his orders, but the enemy had advanced far too quickly, even breaching the inner defenses of the supposedly impregnable city.

Presidio was a fortified city with triple walls and numerous bastions, guarded by 10,000 soldiers. Unlike the ragtag militia outside, these were all veteran soldiers of the demon army.

Yet, despite their formidable defenses, unbelievable reports of losses kept coming in. Delisio could not fathom how a mere rabble of militia could break through the regular army’s defenses.

The city had wells and enough provisions to last for a year, and yet the walls were falling one after another. On the map before him, markers showing the city’s defenses crumbled rapidly.

「The enemy is too fast. The city’s defensive network, which was supposed to be impenetrable, is falling too quickly. Why is this happening?!」

Delisio’s desperate question was met with silence. His subordinates glanced nervously at one another before one of them timidly suggested,

「Perhaps we should consider a retreat…」

「F-Fool!」

The situation was so dire that part of Delisio wanted to abandon everything and flee. As a bat-winged demon who could use flight magic, his chances of escape were high.

But if he lost the city, it would be impossible to hold the province of Linmon. Worse, returning to the demon capital, Laurentite, in disgrace would mean a lifetime of ridicule and shame.

No, if word got out that he had forcibly taken command and then lost, he would be forced into a humiliating retirement—an existence worse than death for someone as proud as Delisio. The head of the Ilman family could not tolerate defeat.

「Why… why has it come to this?」

It was a question he had repeated countless times that day, and no answer ever came.

If things had come to this, his only option was to fortify the remaining defenses and construct a final line of defense… But as Delisio considered this, an explosion echoed from the castle entrance, followed by screams.

「What is going on?!」

There had been no report of the enemy breaching the last city wall, yet from the entrance emerged a black-robed man and two young female knights.

「Who are you…?」

Delisio’s challenge was met not with words but with gunfire. His attendants on either side were swiftly shot down.

It was some kind of fire-spitting weapon. The earlier explosion must have been caused by a similar device. But the iron tubes Delisio knew took time to reload—nothing like the speed and lethality of this weapon!

In an instant, Delisio understood. This man was responsible for the fall of the city’s defenses.

The strange black-robed figure pointed his weapon at Delisio.

「Out of ammo.」

The man muttered. It seemed no more shots would be fired. Fortune had not abandoned Delisio Ilman just yet.

「How dare you!」

Delisio drew his treasured sword and lunged at the intruder.

Using flight magic to enhance his leap, he struck with blinding speed. The black-robed man before him should have been swiftly cut down.

But it was Delisio who found himself cleaved in two, sword and all. The blue-white blade in the man’s hand shimmered with overwhelming power.

「So, you’re the …」

In his final moments, Delisio realized the truth: this man, not the female knight, was the hero. A truth he could never communicate to anyone. With bitter regret, Delisio collapsed into his own blood, dead.

「That should take care of the enemy command center, right?」

Sawatari Takeru, the man who had just stormed the throne room, surveyed the silent chamber littered with bodies, the result of grenades and gunfire. If the commander had holed up in a more secure location, things might have been trickier, but placing the headquarters in such an obvious palace was almost laughably easy.

「It appears so.」 「Master, it seems the cleanup is complete.」

「Good. Let’s leave the occupation to Barland and his men and retreat before the enemy soldiers realize what’s happened.」

Thanks to Takeru’s strategy of targeting the enemy’s chain of command, the Abysspanian Liberation Army’s operation to reclaim the provincial capital was moving swiftly.

※※※

Hydra glanced back and saw smoke rising from the city of Presidio. The supposedly impregnable fortress city, said to withstand sieges for a year, was… falling.

She had been caught in the chaos while carrying the remains of the late governor. Initially, she had tried to protect his body, but eventually, even that became impossible.

Now, survival was all that mattered. In the heat of the battle, she began to question why she was even protecting the dead governor. When he had been alive, he had been important to her because he had raised her status. But now? A corpse held no value.

With a grimace, Hydra discarded the body. She had no desire to end up like him. Her beloved dragons had all been slain by that female hero. She didn’t want to die. That was all she could think about.

「A beast tamer without any beasts…」

How pitiful she had become. Covered in mud, exhausted from running, she no longer knew where she was.

Hydra was skilled at using her magic to conceal herself with clouds and mist. It was ironic that such a talent was now saving her life, but all that mattered now was getting away. Away from the enemy.

Eventually, she stumbled upon a dense thicket, and there, she saw something unexpected.

「Areh? A wyvern?」

It had a saddle—clearly someone’s mount. But the demon army no longer had any beasts.

「Who cares?」

As long as she could ride it, she could escape. She could survive.

「Good girl… fly. Head north!」

When it came to commanding beasts, no one surpassed Hydra. The unfamiliar wyvern responded to her commands with a soft cry of ‘Kerrr’ flapping its wings as it soared into the sky.

Someone shouted from below, but Hydra paid them no mind. Clinging to the wyvern’s saddle for dear life, she finally exhaled in relief.

「The castle’s burning.」

From above, she could see the white towers of Presidio’s castle in flames. The triple-layered walls had been breached, the city center had fallen, and the enemy had already reached the port. The city was lost.

Hydra began to wonder what she could still do. Then it struck her: the fire-spitting tubes. The new weapons. The governors had never reported these developments to the Great Demon King.

She was the only one who had witnessed the new weapons and fought against the hero. This knowledge—this experience—would surely be invaluable to the Demon Lord.

Perhaps, with this, she could regain her standing.

Yes, if she could make it to the demon capital of Laurentite, she still had a chance…

For now, all she wanted was to sleep. Commanding the unusually docile wyvern to continue north, Hydra closed her eyes.