Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria - Volume 16 - Chapter 5

ACT 5 

“How dull.” 

Utgarda rested her cheek against her hand. A bored sigh escaped her lips. 

Her army had already been locked in a staring contest with the Steel Clan Army for an entire fortnight now. She had passed the first few days of the standoff by torturing the remaining members of the Tiger Clan Army, but she quickly tired of that diversion. 

For Utgarda, the days since had been a battle against boredom. It was a living hell for her. The only reason she had chosen not to act despite her intense boredom was because she understood that making a move would result in disastrous losses to her forces. Although Utgarda was well known for her impulsiveness and short temper, she was capable of restraining herself when the occasion called for it. 

“We would have expected them to respond by now...” 

She looked intently in the Steel Clan Army’s direction. 

Boredom was the thing she hated more than anything in the world. Of course, she had already taken steps of her own to try to change the situation. 

“But not a peep from them. We would have figured the insults to the þjóðann would have had the desired effect.” 

Utgarda raised her hands to the sky in exasperation, sighing with a shrug of her shoulders. 

“Perhaps it was too obvious.” 

Of course, Utgarda herself knew that her scheme was unlikely to succeed, but she had hoped that even if she couldn’t get the officers to move, she might at least have gotten some rank and file soldiers to take the bait. 

Utgarda believed that information was, at times, more precious than rare jewels, which was why her information-gathering techniques were incredibly thorough—both inside and outside of her territory. 

Suoh-Yuuto, the þjóðann, was well known for being a benevolent ruler. He was a man who went to great lengths to increase the standard of living for his people, and he was extremely popular among his subjects. Many among them practically worshiped him. 

A constant stream of insults and disrespect leveled at the þjóðann, while perhaps ineffective at forcing the þjóðann himself to respond, would enrage some of those under his command and force them into a rash offensive. Yet, despite her efforts, there was no sign of any response even after two weeks of constant abuse. It seemed this scheme wasn’t going to work. Suoh-Yuuto had trained his dogs well. 

“Then, time for another—” 

“A report to Her Majesty...” 

As she began to think up alternatives, a soldier breathlessly entered her tent. While Utgarda felt a flash of irritation at having a mere soldier interrupt her thoughts, curiosity and her self-control as a general won out over that ire. 

“What is it?” 

“The Steel Clan Army has started advancing in our direction.” 

“Oh?” 

Utgarda’s lips twisted into a sadistic smile. It seemed they’d finally taken the bait. She supposed that Suoh-Yuuto had been unable to restrain the anger of those serving under him any longer. 

“How hard it must be to be a king beloved by all. That love ultimately becomes a curse...” Utgarda said with a look of pity. 

Of course, it was all an act. Internally, she was ecstatic. 

“Not yet. It’s still too early.” 

She had long been hoping for this moment to arrive. Overwhelmed by the urge to order her entire army to charge, Utgarda tightly gripped her knee and fought back the orders that almost spilled from her lips. The Steel Clan would escape if she attacked now. 

She needed to wait. 

Wait and draw the enemy closer. 

“Hurry... Hurry already.” 

Like an asp waiting for her prey to approach, Utgarda held out patiently for the right moment. 

Fwoosh! Whoosh! Fwip! 

“They’re here!” 

Countless arrows rained down from the enemy’s lines. The screech of the arrows cutting through the air announced that the battle had begun. 

“Yes, now! All forces charge! Crush the enemy!” 

Utgarda stood up and shouted her orders, pointing her whip at the enemy. The initial skirmish had come to an end. Utgarda’s orders signaled the start of the real clash between the two armies.

“Ngh...” 

Several minutes after the battle had started, Utgarda chewed on her thumbnail in frustration. It wasn’t a particularly dignified action for a self-proclaimed “empress” to take, but there was no one in the Silk Clan who could chastise her for her lack of grace. 

“Blast it! What is that doddering fool Rhyton doing?!” She shouted, throwing a tantrum. 

Rhyton was a Silk Clan general who was considered to be one of its greatest. She had honored him with command of her front-line troops because of the reputation he had garnered, but despite that, the Silk Clan Army was being pushed back on all fronts. 

Even though she had ordered her forces to charge, the Steel Clan Army had easily blunted their momentum, further compounding Utgarda’s irritation. 

“Pitiful. Why are all of Our children so incompetent?” 

Unable to contain her anger any longer, she lashed her whip repeatedly at the ground below. The retainers who had been nearby all fell silent, trembling in terror. They understood that if they said something now, they were likely to draw the brunt of her anger and be tortured for their trouble. All they could do was batten down the hatches until the storm had passed. It was best to let sleeping dogs lie. Unfortunately for Utgarda’s subordinates, the Þrymr was a rabid dog, capable of biting anyone at any moment. Even when left alone, she would lash out in anger. 

“Why are you silent?! Of what use are those heads and mouths of yours?! At least be useful for once and provide a solution to this problem!” 

Fwip! Her whip lashed through the air and struck a retainer in the face as she raised her voice in irritation. She was unconcerned with who her lashes landed upon, so long as she had an outlet for her anger. The one struck by her lash could only curse his misfortune. 

“B-Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, if I may speak up. Our reinforcements on the right and left flanks should soon appear. Once they do, we should be able to start turning the tide of the battle.” 

“We are already well aware of that!” 

Fwoosh! Crack! 

With a shout of anger, Utgarda cracked her whip against the one retainer who had mustered the courage to comment on the situation. At the same time, in her mind, she agreed with his observation. There was nothing fair about her behavior. However, she believed that, as someone who ruled over the masses, she couldn’t afford to follow the recommendations of one of her followers so readily. It would harm her authority as a ruler. She needed to claim all of the credit for any accomplishments for herself. Otherwise, what was the point of leading the army in person? 

“Hrmph. Fine.” 

Utgarda drew back her whip and coiled it, returning it to her hip as she sat back down, somewhat calmer than earlier. It seemed that she had been satisfied by being able to vent her anger at her subordinates. Once again, she felt that it was best to unleash her anger on others instead of letting it build up internally. It let her quickly and efficiently express her frustrations, after all. To her, that was pretty much the only way for these incompetent buffoons to be of any use. Utgarda sincerely believed they should be grateful that she was making use of them at all as targets for her rage. Her arrogance knew no bounds, and it was her heartfelt belief that the heavens and earth were hers to command. 

“...Mm. Those long spears are a nuisance,” Utgarda reluctantly admitted, a sour expression upon her features. 

The Tiger Clan troops had described them to her previously, but her first impression was that such long spears were too long for precise handling and would be of no use in combat. They were even targets of her derisive laughter. In actual combat, however, they were extraordinarily troublesome weapons to deal with. When gathered in close formation, there was no way to break through the wall of spear points. 

“As troublesome as they may be, it is well known that things of such extreme strength often have similarly extreme weaknesses—if you know how to find them.” 

The length of the spears and the tight concentration of the formations they were used in likely made maneuvering extremely difficult. The spears were only useful because they were used in closely packed formations. Once the battle devolved into a close melee of individual soldier against individual soldier, there were few weapons as needlessly cumbersome as those long spears. 

“Heh, fine, enjoy your advantage for now. It only makes it all the sweeter to see their despair when they go from the edge of victory to utter defeat once surrounded.” 

Utgarda pictured that moment, and she chuckled with dark malice. 

... 

... 

But no matter how long she waited, neither of her flanking units appeared on the battlefield. 

“Blast it! What are those fools Logi and Huginn doing?!” 

Utgarda once again let out a scream of frustration. She willed herself to continue to wait, but the soldiers still didn’t appear. There wasn’t even the faintest sign of their presence. It was clear something had happened that she was gravely uninformed about.

“Oh damn, this isn’t good! They’ve completely outflanked us!” 

Logi couldn’t hide his panic as his forces were suddenly attacked from behind. Logi was an Einherjar and the man reputed to be the greatest individual warrior in the Silk Clan. In particular, he was known for his ability to lead charges, which was why Utgarda had chosen him to lead the right wing of the Silk Clan Army. Even he couldn’t have anticipated this sudden attack against his forces. 

“Tch, where in the blazes did they come from?!” 

Standing between the Steel Clan Army and the Silk Clan were the Þrymheimr Mountains, one of the Three Great Mountain Ranges that made up the Roof of Yggdrasil. Even if it was summer and there wasn’t any snow upon the mountains, foreign soldiers unfamiliar with the territory shouldn’t have been able to cross them. The reality, however, was that the enemy was here, and they were attacking his forces. Logi couldn’t understand what was happening. 

Similarly, Huginn, placed in charge of the left wing of the Silk Clan Army, was caught completely flat-footed at the sudden, impossible attack by enemy forces. In contrast to Logi, Huginn wasn’t known for his individual fighting abilities, but he was a man chosen to lead his unit because of his cunning. He was well known for being a flexible tactician who could adapt to whatever situation he found himself in. But even for him, this attack by the Steel Clan’s forces could only be described as a bolt out of the blue. 

“They’ve come over the Galdhøpiggen Mountains?! Impossible...” 

The Galdhøpiggen Mountains were the mountain range that divided the Tiger and Shield Clans. It wasn’t a place that a large army could pass over. Any army that tried should have been struck down by the wrath of the gods. But there was no point denying the reality of his situation. 

“The magic tricks of Suoh-Yuuto, god of war, huh?” 

His name was known even in the distant lands of Jötunheimr. He used strange magics to make the impossible possible. The rumors even stated he wasn’t a man, but a servant of the gods. Huginn the arch-realist and pragmatist wasn’t one to believe such rumors; however, under these circumstances, magic was the only way to explain what had happened.

Several days before the battle, the Steel Clan Army’s leadership had held a war council. 

“Go over the mountains?!” 

Upon hearing Yuuto’s proposal, Felicia let out a cry of shock and turned to look at the mountains behind her. The Þrymheimr Mountains towered over them, stretching upward into the heavens. While Felicia was perhaps the most fervent of Yuuto’s followers, even she felt climbing over those mountains would be a difficult task. 

“Yeah. I came up with it looking at your choker made of álfkipfer,” Yuuto said with deadly earnestness. 

The word Álf—the sound that fairies make—came from the same root word as the name of the Alps, which had brought to mind Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps, one of the most celebrated military accomplishments in ancient warfare. 

“I was able to cross them, but I don’t think ordinary soldiers can do the same,” Kristina responded, a measure of doubt present in her voice. She followed up with a dry laugh. 

Given that she had actually made the crossing herself, her words held a great deal of conviction. 

“Well, yeah, we still need to determine if it’s even possible. But, we shouldn’t dismiss it as impossible before we try.” 

Brainstorming was an important method of resolving all kinds of issues. Many individuals and corporations had incorporated brainstorming sessions as a way of coming up with novel solutions to problems. The biggest characteristic of brainstorming sessions was to avoid concluding the feasibility of an idea when proposing it. That was because drawing preconceived conclusions restricted the number of potential ideas. The reality was that even ideas that appeared impossible could actually be accomplished once they were proposed and investigated. 

“The conditions are there to make it possible. First of all, we’re in the middle of summer.” 

That meant that snow would only be present on the highest peaks. Even Yuuto had no intention of doing anything as difficult as sending his troops on a forced march through the snow. There was a good chance they could find paths that didn’t have any snow on them at this time of year. 

“Secondly, many of the clans among our ranks, including the Wolf Clan, hail from mountainous areas.” 

“...Oh, yes, that’s true.” 

Felicia nodded in agreement after a moment’s thought. 

The Claw, Ash, and Fang Clans were originally affiliated clans of the Wolf Clan, and all of them were based out of the Bifröst region, which was surrounded by the Three Great Mountain Ranges. There would be a fair number of soldiers among their ranks that had experience with working in mountainous terrain. As for the Mountain Dog Clan, their soldiers were born and bred mountain men who made their home in the northern Álfheimr region, from the base to the mid-mountain areas of the Himinbjörg Mountains. It was one of their strengths as an army, and it would be a shame not to make use of it. 

“Thirdly, and this was the deciding factor for me, but there’s a hunter that made his home among those mountains among the prisoners we’d taken. It seems he’s got quite the grudge against the Silk Clan, and he’s volunteered to help guide our forces.” 

“Hrm... It sounds like he’d know of relatively easy-to-pass areas and game trails,” Kristina said, her curiosity piqued. 

The mountains of this region were almost completely untouched by man. It was a totally undeveloped region, and there were almost no paths worthy of the name. Since mountains and forests were extremely easy to get lost in and treacherous to travel, they often claimed the soldiers who tried to cross them. It was easy to imagine that an advance across such mountains would be much easier with a guide who knew the area well. 

“Finally, he knows how to deal with altitude sickness.” 

“Altitude sickness...? That’s the headaches and nausea that comes with climbing too high into the mountains, yes?” 

“Yeah, that’s the one.” 

Yuuto pointed at Felicia when she made her observation. She was familiar with altitude sickness, having grown up near the Three Great Mountain Ranges. 

“Our traditions tell us to avoid intruding upon the forbidden peaks of the mountains. The gods curse those who step into those areas. Even among the Wolf Clan, there’s at least one person that’s cursed by the gods every few years.” 

“Ah, yeah, figured it’d be something like that.” 

Yuuto chuckled, shoulders trembling as he held back a guffaw. 

It was said that the ancient Greeks believed Mount Olympus to be the home of the gods and avoided climbing it because they believed the gods would punish mortals who stepped into their realm. 

This was an age where the gods were a part of daily life. After all, there were even Einherjars who had been granted powers by the gods. It seemed as though the people of Yggdrasil held similar beliefs to the ancient Greeks. 

“Then that’s what they’ll think of the mountains as well.” 

Yuuto quirked his lips into a grin. 

It may not bear repeating, but war required catching the opponent off guard. The more implausible the tactic, the likelier it was to catch the enemy off guard. That was a tough lesson that Yuuto had learned from his painful defeat at Nobunaga’s hand.

“This way, boss. It gets a bit steep here, can you handle it?” 

“Hrmph. Not a problem.” 

Fundinn, the patriarch of the Mountain Dog Clan and commander of the Þrymheimr Mountains division, bared his canines in a grin at the guide’s question. 

He wasn’t bluffing. Despite climbing a steep trail, his footing was light, and he showed absolutely no sign of fatigue. That was the same for the Mountain Dog Clan soldiers following in his wake. Their ease in being in mountainous terrain was completely natural. The Mountain Dog Clan was a clan that lived in the mountains, rarely coming down to the lowlands. The only time they ever left their mountains was to sell wild herbs, medicinal plants, and the hides and meat of the animals they caught on the mountains. There was no reason that they’d find such a leisurely advance across the mountains taxing. 

“We’re fine, but we have members of the other clans with us. It’s perhaps time to take a rest,” Fundinn said with an exasperated shrug. 

While he wanted to keep pressing forward, Yuuto had strictly ordered him to take it slowly, letting their bodies adapt to the altitude with frequent rest stops along the way. Yuuto had gone so far as to give the odd orders to hold in place and have Fundinn’s men do some exercises along the way once they were more than halfway up the mountains. Fundinn was honestly perplexed by those orders, but they were the words of the great reginarch that had already accomplished countless magnificent feats. He had no intention of disregarding his orders. 

“Heh, but this is a treat.” 

Although he had ordered the men to rest, Fundinn himself wasn’t quite able to contain his excitement and had begun to whirl his arms in circles. 

Fundinn had turned thirty-three this year. He was at his peak as a warrior, where his enthusiasm and physical abilities were still near their prime but were reinforced with the insights garnered through experience. He was also an Einherjar, and both his physical abilities and skills as a warrior were first-rate. However, while he had produced solid results in his battles up to this point, he had yet to accomplish anything of particular note as a warrior. 

“Father’s gone to the trouble of putting me in charge. I need to produce results worthy of his trust.” 

His voice was firm, and there was a great deal of conviction in his tone. 

The Mountain Dog Clan was a small clan with perhaps two thousand members among their ranks. The only reason that he, as the patriarch of such a minuscule clan, was still considered part of the senior leadership of the Steel Clan—even though the Steel Clan now had multiple powerful clans among its ranks—was because he and his clan had been with the Steel Clan from the beginning. If he didn’t prove himself here, there was the possibility he’d be demoted from the senior leadership to the subordinate ranks. That was more than a good enough reason for him to be so motivated.

“Sniff, sniff. Yup, this way. The enemy’s getting closer.” 

“Impressive sense of smell,” Kristina said with a mix of exasperation and admiration as Hildegard pointed the path forward with her nose. 

While Kristina’s tone wasn’t as friendly as it was with Albertina and Ephelia, she still seemed more fond of Hildegard than she was of most others. When Yuuto had his audience with Nobunaga at Stórk, they had been dragged into a bit of trouble, and because they were close in age—not to mention that Hildegard was also a perfect target for Kristina’s teasing—they’d grown a bit closer. 

“Heh, this is easy peasy if we just follow their scent.” 

“Like a dog, mm?” 

“Not a dog! A wolf!” 

As soon as she caught earshot of Kristina’s comment, Hildegard barked out a correction. Hildegard had yet to realize, however, that her reaction was exactly what Kristina was hoping for and was what prompted further teasing. 

“All kidding aside, your powers as Úlfhéðinn are as useful as ever.” 

That was Kristina’s honest opinion of Hildegard’s abilities. 

She knew that Hildegard had a sense of smell and hearing that was equal to a wolf’s, but she hadn’t realized that Hildegard also had an equally impressive sense of direction. The reason Hildegard had been assigned to serve as a guide to the Galdhøpiggen Mountains unit led by the Claw Clan patriarch Botvid was because of those abilities. Unlike the Þrymheimr Mountains force, there wasn’t an appropriate local guide to lead them. It was for that reason that Kristina and Hildegard, with their scouting abilities, had been chosen to lead them. In practice, their abilities, particularly Hildegard’s wolf-like physical abilities, seemed to show their true strength among the mountains, and their advance through the mountains had been smooth, with no major problems along the way. 

“Quite useful. Perhaps you’d like to join my Vindálfs? I’d put you to better use.” 

“No way. You’re clearly planning to run me ragged.” 

“Yes, but that’ll provide more opportunities to prove your mettle.” 

“Erm...” 

Hildegard fell silent as she had no response to Kristina’s remark. After all, opportunities to prove herself were what Hildegard wanted above all else. Of course, Hildegard was now a company commander in the Múspell Unit and the Leader of Subordinates of the Panther Clan, but her ambitions were for a position much higher than that. Put simply, she wanted Yuuto’s chalice. To obtain that, she needed more accomplishments to her name. 

“And, honestly, I feel like I could make better use of your abilities than Big Sister Sigrún. I think quite highly of you, you know?” 

Hildegard was always being lectured and chided by Sigrún, so there was something pleasant about being told by someone that they thought highly of her. There was also an odd glint in Kristina’s eye. 

“As proof, I’m even willing to offer you the position of my Second.” 

“Your Second?!” 

“Yes. Those who control information control the world. Those are Father’s words. As Second-in-Command of the Vindálfs, you could reign over the shadows in the Steel Clan.” 

“‘Reign over’?!” 

Hildegard’s eyes gleamed with interest as she repeated Kristina’s words. It was clear she was waffling over whether or not to take the offer. 

Kristina quirked her lips into a smile as she felt she was one push away from convincing Hildegard. However... 

“Hmm... Gah! I... I refuse your offer! I have no intention of serving under anyone other than His Majesty and Mother Rún!” Hildegard cried out, shaking her head intently, as though trying to convince herself. 

It seemed she had returned to her senses, reminded at the last moment of her loyalty to Sigrún. 

“Besides, I can’t trust anything that comes out of your mouth, you vixen!” 

“Oh! That hurts. Please believe me.” 

“Not convincing at all!” 

“Well, fine. It was entertaining while it lasted.” 

“Now you’re telling the truth, but I honestly didn’t want to learn that!” 

“Heh, you really are adorable. I like you, Hilda.” 

“Hrmph! I don’t like you at all!” 

“My, my, a pity. How painful to be spurned by you.” 

Kristina chuckled, her expression a sharp contrast to her words of disappointment. 

They continued their advance, Kristina teasing Hildegard mercilessly along the way. Once they’d progressed a certain distance... 

“Hold. I sense a large number of people ahead.” 

Hildegard held out her hand to the side, stopping the force’s advance. Upon hearing Hildegard’s comment, Kristina focused on her senses, sensing the presence that Hildegard mentioned. 

“Yes, they’re there.” 

“Mm, about four or five thousand.” 

“You can tell in that much detail? Are you sure you don’t want to work for me?” 

There weren’t many people with a greater ability to detect enemies than Kristina. She really found herself wanting Hildegard for her Vindálfs. 

“Not a chance.” 

But Hildegard’s answer made her feelings on the matter clear. Alas, Kristina’s love was doomed to be unrequited. 

“Looks like you’ve found an amusing friend, Kris.” 

“Oh, Father. How are you feeling?” 

Kristina turned around, chuckling. The man she turned to face wasn’t her sworn father, Yuuto, but rather her birth father, Botvid, who had been placed in command of the Galdhøpiggen Mountains division. 

“Haha, it was a bit taxing, but it was a leisurely little hike. Not a problem.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. It would be an embarrassment to the Claw Clan if you were useless when it mattered.” 

“As harsh as ever.” 

“Of course, it’s a clan that will eventually be mine, after all. I can’t have you ruining our name.” 

“Hah! I’m glad to hear that.” 

Botvid laughed at his daughter’s casual remark. 

While Botvid was seen as a cunning opponent, often described by both friend and foe alike as an adder or old fox, he was relatively sweet to his own daughters. 

“Has Fundinn arrived safely at his staging area?” 

“He has a guide, and he’s been told to take measures against altitude sickness, so he should be fine,” Kristina answered casually. 

While they could easily check using her radio, the distance was such that it was at the very edge of its range. 

“Then the only thing we can do is trust him and wait.” 

Botvid nodded and took a seat. 

Yes, all that was left to do was wait. It was three days later that the signal came, telling them that the battle had started.

Such were the events that led to the present battle between the Steel Clan and Silk Clan armies. 

“Blast! Where are Logi and Huginn?!” 

Utgarda threw a tantrum as she waited with the main body of the Silk Clan Army. Of course, part of it was because the forces she’d assigned to the right and left wings showed no sign of appearing from the mountains, but a great deal of her irritation came from the fact that her own forces were being pressed back by the Steel Clan Army’s long spears. 

She was a woman whose ego reached into the heavens. She couldn’t stand the thought that she was losing. 

“Damn, damn, damn!” 

Her anger was at such a peak that she cursed loudly, not caring how undignified her words were, as she lashed her whip repeatedly at the ground. Her retainers could only watch her, trembling in fear. 

“They’ll wish they’d died if they survive this battle. They’ll be demoted... No, they’ll be executed! We’ll lop off their heads and put them, as well as the heads of their kin, on display in front of the gates!” 

The words made her retainers tremble even further. No matter how cruel, she would do whatever she declared she would do. That was what made Utgarda so terrifying. 

“Messenger from Lord Logi!” 

“A messenger?! If he has the time to send one, then he should be attacking!” 

She snarled at the messenger who appeared before her, venting her anger at him. The messenger froze in fear at the sheer fury in her voice. That, too, simply made Utgarda even angrier. 

“Damn you! Speak! What is it?!” 

While Utgarda meant every word she had spat at the messenger, she also wanted to know what the messenger was here to say. She wanted—no, needed—to know what was happening. As the Silk Clan’s supreme commander, she wanted that information more than anyone. 

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! Currently, Lord Logi’s forces on the right wing are engaged with an enemy that suddenly appeared to his rear. They’re currently being pressed and aren’t able to move!” 

“What?! An enemy?! Where did they come from?!” 

“I-It seems... That they crossed the Þrymheimr Mountains...” 

“How?! That’s impossible!” Utgarda snarled as she glanced at the mountains that loomed above her to her right. 

The Þrymheimr Mountains had areas that were regarded as holy and untouchable by mortals. It wasn’t clear that it was actually caused by the gods, but it was well known that those who stepped into those areas grew sick. On occasion, some would die once they entered those places. It was madness to cross such mountains. Even if they were able to cross them, the soldiers would be useless by the end of their journey. Be that as it may, though, what was currently unfolding was that the Silk Clan’s soldiers were being pressed by this surprise Steel Clan attack. 

“Message from Lord Huginn!” 

“What? Have they been attacked as well?!” 

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! Impressive insight, Your Majesty!” 

“Silence!” 

“Guh?!” 

The messenger tried to flatter her despite his shock and received a full lash of Utgarda’s whip against his face for his trouble. She was fully aware that he wasn’t trying to mock her, but flattery, when she’d been thoroughly caught flat-footed by the enemy, sounded less like praise and more like mockery. The man deserved his punishment, the incompetent and insensitive clod! 

“Raaah!” 

“Gah!” 

Still angry, Utgarda lashed out again, her whip landing against the messenger’s back as he huddled in a fetal position. 

She lashed out again. And again. 

“Graah... Urrgh... F-Forgive me... Forgive me... Please forgive me...” 

The messenger was curled up in a ball, his voice trembling as he begged for mercy. Watching him squirm settled Utgarda’s fury, and she regained some of her composure. 

“Phew... All of you are useless. It seems We have to lead the fight ourselves. Bring the palanquin!” Utgarda called out sharply as she stood up. 

Her palanquin was a custom design made especially for her. As it appeared atop its specially assigned mount, Utgarda quirked her lips up in a grin. 

“We should have used this to begin with.” 

If she had deployed this weapon at the start, she would have obliterated the Steel Clan Army regardless of what they had tried in front of the mountain pass. She would have been spared all these days of boredom. 

Of course, creating this weapon wasn’t a simple matter. It took quite a bit of time, effort, and wealth. She had kept these forces in reserve because she wanted to avoid any losses that could serve as obstacles to her conquest of the rest of Yggdrasil. That had been a miscalculation on her part. How frustrating. 

“Heh, this gives a good view of the enemy.” 

Climbing atop her palanquin, Utgarda looked down at the scene before her, and her expression shifted to a pleased smile. Her belief in her victory, the despair the enemy would feel when faced with this weapon—those things washed away every last bit of disappointment that had been festering in her heart. With a look of triumphant glee, Utgarda raised her voice to issue her command. 

“Skrýmirs! Follow us! It’s time to trample the enemy underfoot!”

“Push! Puuush! It’s time to finish this!” 

Yuuto let out a cry loud enough to strain his throat. A general’s shouts helped urge on his men. 

The two flanking wings of the enemy’s army were caught dealing with the forces he’d sent over the mountains, while the main body of his army was overwhelming the enemy’s main body thanks to their phalanxes. Yuuto saw an opportunity for victory and made his move. 

“Seems Lord Fundinn and Lord Botvid have done well,” Felicia noted. 

“Yeah, it must have been hard, but they’ve done their jobs,” Yuuto responded. 

“Heh, it might not have been that difficult thanks to your altitude sickness measures, Big Brother. If anything, a standard march might have been harder on them.” 

Felicia chuckled. 

“Well, sure, I guess.” Yuuto shrugged with a dry laugh. 

Altitude sickness generally described the effects of the oxygen deprivation that manifested at elevations above twenty-four hundred meters. If they kept their climbing below five hundred meters of altitude per day and took proper precautions to adapt to the elevation, even those with a low adaptability to low oxygen environments could avoid the symptoms of altitude sickness. Of course, no one in this era considered such a slow, leisurely advance to be an option. Because of that fact, no one had discovered this was a viable method to cope with altitude sickness until this point. 

“Well, it was a long while ago, but I’m glad I remembered it.” 

The Wolf Clan, where Yuuto had first served as patriarch, had made its home in lands that were surrounded by the Three Great Mountain Ranges. He had looked up methods to deal with altitude sickness just in case he had to take his armies over those mountains, but because he hadn’t needed to do so, the plans had been locked away in the recesses of his memory. Yuuto would never have imagined it would be useful at this late point. 

“All right, it’s about time. Rún! You ready?!” 

“Yes, whenever you wish!” 

Sigrún’s confident voice came back sharply from the other end of the radio. 

She had accomplished countless great feats by this point. She was the person Yuuto trusted most upon the battlefield. Yuuto’s lips curved up into a smile at the thought of deploying her forces. 

“Very well! Charge! Teach them to fear your Múspells!” 

“Yes, Father!” 

She closed the line with her answer, and a moment later, the sound of countless hooves thundered on the battlefield. 

The Múspells had made their move—The Hammer and Anvil Strategy. 

It was Yuuto’s winning tactic, one he had employed since his days leading the Wolf Clan. It utilized the impregnable defenses of the phalanxes to hold down the enemy’s main force and used the speed of Sigrún’s Múspell Unit to flank them. 

Facing phalanxes for the first time, without their reinforcements from their flanks no less, the enemy was clearly on the back foot. Even the cautious Yuuto felt he was on the verge of victory and had started to relax when... His radio transceiver activated with an unpleasant rasp. 

“Father!” 

“What is it, Rún?!” 

Yuuto tensed when he heard the strain in Sigrún’s voice. Sigrún rarely allowed her tension to come through in her tone. The fact that it was so audible made Yuuto realize the situation was dire. 

“They’ve brought out their secret weapon! The horses won’t move out of fear!” 

“What?!” 

Yuuto furrowed his brow in surprise. 

It was true that horses are, by nature, timid animals, but these were trained cavalry mounts, drilled to charge into enemy formations. The horses used by the Múspell Unit were trained not to cower against the enemy. What could possibly make them so afraid they wouldn’t move? 

“What’s there? Just what is their secret weap... No, wait, I can see them from here.” 

Yuuto’s voice was also tense. 

The objects that appeared in his line of sight were enough to send a tremble of fear through him, even though he had experienced countless battlefields by this point. 

They were big. Enormous, in fact. 

Yuuto remembered being intimidated by the size of a horse the first time he saw one, but these animals were so much larger than horses that he could feel their presence even from this distance. Size was, on its own, a strength. 

A flick of one of the animal’s gray snouts knocked over the heavily-armed infantry as though they were bowling pins. It was the first time since his battles with Steinþórr, the Dólgþrasir, that he’d seen his phalangites shoved aside so easily. There were thirty of those monsters arrayed in a line charging into his army. He found himself at a loss for how to respond. 

“War elephants... Damn, I never would have expected those...” 

Yuuto’s cheek twitched as he let out a dry laugh. 

War elephants were, as their name implied, elephants trained for war. The domestication of elephants had supposedly started in the Indus Valley around 2000 BCE. They had initially been used as beasts of burden for agriculture, making use of their overwhelming strength, but by around 1100 BCE, they had started to be used in battle. 

Utgarda’s use of war elephants was several centuries early, especially when considering Yggdrasil’s current technology level, but that was yet another example of her remarkable creativity and talent as a commander. 

“Dammit, talk about coming out of nowhere.” 

Yuuto spat out the words bitterly. 

The Silk Clan was a clan very distant from those in the regions that closely surrounded the Steel Clan’s sphere of influence. The Steel Clan had also had tight restrictions on the amount of time they could spend gathering information on the Silk Clan. Kristina wasn’t omnipotent or omniscient either. 

He understood all those things. At least, his mind understood those things. However, faced with the reality of war elephants bearing down upon his forces, Yuuto couldn’t help but utter complaints under his breath.

“Bahahahaha!” 

On her palanquin atop her Skrýmir, Utgarda flapped her feet happily as the elephant tore through the enemy lines. The phalangites that had been pushing back the Silk Clan Army cowered in fear at the approaching Skrýmirs and were being easily shoved aside at the animals’ charge. This was the most entertaining sight she’d ever seen. She felt all of her built-up frustration fizzling away as she watched it unfold. 

“Weak! So weak, Steel Clan! Is that all you’ve got, eh?” 

She laughed mockingly, gleefully gazing down at the enemy. 

Even a war god was no match for her brilliance. The ranks of the war god’s army were scattering in the face of her secret weapon. Utgarda basked in a sense of omnipotence, feeling that she, not Suoh-Yuuto, was worthy of being considered a god of war. 

“Hah, such overwhelming power! To have come up with such a weapon... Our brilliance frightens even Us!” 

She offered heartfelt praise for her own genius. 

The first thing that made the war elephants so powerful was the sheer weight of their charge. They were able to crush enemy infantry underfoot and brush them aside. The enemy lines that had been so hard to break earlier were collapsing under the weight of her Skrýmirs. It was an overwhelming display of strength. 

Next up were the arrows being unloaded from atop the giant bodies. The archers mounted upon the Skrýmirs had the advantage of height. They were able to see their targets clearly while remaining difficult to hit in return, and their height also gave them greater range. There was, perhaps, no better platform for archers. 

The volleys of arrows being unleashed from atop the Skrýmirs sent the Steel Clan Army’s soldiers into a panic. 

“Chariots are the greatest weapon? The heroes of the battlefield?!” 

That was true of the last age. It was no longer the case now. 

“So this is the Steel Clan’s ultimate cavalry unit, the Múspells?! These pitiful whelps unable to move at the sight of Our Skrýmirs? Hah! They’re so pathetic it’s worthy of mockery! Bahahahaha!” 

Utgarda wasn’t simply snorting with derision, she was breaking out into full-fledged laughter. She had known the war elephants were powerful, but this battle hardened her conviction. There was no way that she could have believed otherwise. Her Skrýmirs were the ultimate force on the battlefield. 

“Suoh-Yuuto! Your forces will be crushed, and you’ll be dragged before Us!” 

“Dammit... What am I supposed to do against something like that...?” 

While there was still quite a bit of distance between his current position and the advancing elephants, Yuuto felt despair as he watched the elephants wreak havoc. The Steel Clan Army soldiers that were gathered near their legs looked like toy soldiers as the elephants knocked them down. It may have perhaps been inappropriate gallows humor, but he couldn’t help but think that the elephants made his men look like mere fleas in their presence. 

“Big Brother, if things continue like this...” 

“I’m well aware!” 

Yuuto promptly responded to Felicia’s heartrending remark, but he couldn’t hide the anxiety welling up in his voice. That was how dire the situation was at that moment. 

Though Yuuto had seen elephants countless times at the zoo, the Steel Clan soldiers were seeing elephants for the first time. Something so unimaginably large was bearing down on them at full tilt. Not only that, but arrows were raining down from atop those elephants as they charged. 

A combination of their daily training, the strict military discipline that had been drilled into them, and their trust in Yuuto as a leader somehow kept the Steel Clan soldiers from breaking. They were miraculously maintaining their discipline and morale in the face of these overwhelming beasts of war, but they were clearly on the back foot, confused as to how to handle this novel opponent. Yuuto could easily imagine the panic that was swelling among the ranks. He needed to deal with it as quickly as possible. 

“Tch. If only we had our tetsuhau with us.” 

Yuuto clicked his tongue in frustration. 

Elephants were animals, so they would have been frightened by the loud bangs of tetsuhau. However, much to their misfortune, the main body of Yuuto’s army had none available to them. They had already been running short on gunpowder due to their recent string of battles, and the small number of tetsuhau the army had brought with them on this campaign had been distributed to the forces sent to deal with the flanking enemies. He had made the decision because they were the perfect weapon for an ambush. His decision wasn’t a mistake, particularly given what he had known at the time, but it was still painful not to have them on hand at the moment. 

“...My phone doesn’t get a signal here, either.” 

He took out his trusty smartphone and peered at the screen, but the signal strength icon was crossed out. That went without saying—he hadn’t brought the divine mirror, after all. Even if he had, because the moon wasn’t in the sky, he wouldn’t have been able to connect to anything with it. 

“Tch. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve looked up how to deal with war elephants, too.” 

It was too late for regrets. This situation was something even Yuuto hadn’t foreseen. No matter how much he dug through his memory, he couldn’t find any reference to war elephants. 

What should he do? What could he do? Should he withdraw his forces for now and regroup? 

However, if the Flame Clan managed to fix their food shortages, he wouldn’t be able to keep his forces here in the east. At this rate, though... 

Just as Yuuto was about to fall into a mental labyrinth of his own making, a dry knocking noise rang out. Yuuto’s elbow had apparently hit something, bringing him back to his senses. 

“Mm?” 

His gaze turned in the direction of the object, and he chuckled self-deprecatingly. 

“Hah... ‘The commander of an army must be able to stay level-headed in any and all circumstances,’ was it? Sounds about right,” Yuuto said to himself, trying to regain his composure and steel himself for what he needed to do. He placed his hand upon the hilt of the sword that now adorned his hip. This sword had once belonged to Skáviðr; he now wore it as a tribute to his departed friend. It seemed Skáviðr had come to him from Valhalla. Even death couldn’t stop him from serving his lord. 

Of course, that noise was probably just a coincidence, but Yuuto felt certain that Skáviðr was speaking to him. After all, if Skáviðr was watching, he couldn’t very well embarrass himself in front of him. The moment he thought about Skáviðr’s presence, he felt the choppy waters of his heart calm. 

“Yeah. If I can’t deal with this myself, then I certainly can’t beat Oda Nobunaga.” 

Yuuto nodded to himself and put his smartphone away. 

Nobunaga had repeatedly shown that he was capable of making moves that Yuuto had no way of anticipating in their most recent battle. If they were to face off again, Yuuto knew it was likely he would find himself in an unanticipated situation. He couldn’t very well go around searching for responses in a situation where he needed to make a decision within seconds. Of course, it was still important to build up his knowledge beforehand, but he couldn’t rely solely upon being able to do that. He wouldn’t be able to defeat the monster that was Oda Nobunaga without the ability to think on his feet and adapt to whatever situation he faced. He had no option but to contemplate the matter and come up with a solution on his own. After all, Yuuto was the supreme commander of the Steel Clan Army. 

“In... And out... Now, what to do...” 

He cleared his mind with a deep breath and focused on his thoughts. The moment he did so, the sounds of the battle grew distant. The shouts of the soldiers, the clashes of the weapons, the rumble of the ground—while he could still hear those sounds, they felt far away. He felt something familiar—something warm—brush at his heart. It was at that moment that images began appearing in his head. 

First came the photograph of the terrain that Kristina’s subordinate had taken earlier. Then countless banners indicating his forces appeared upon that picture. The banners of the enemy forces also appeared on the field. It was an image he had formed using the combination of reports from the messengers, the known advance speed of his forces, and his own experiences of battle. 

While Yuuto himself had no way of knowing this fact, he had an extremely accurate mental map of the current battlefield. Of course, that didn’t mean he grasped the positions with complete accuracy, but the differences between his mental map and reality were small—minor rounding errors at best. He had a remarkable level of understanding of the battlefield. 

The reason it was difficult to command soldiers in battle was that understanding the relative positions of allies and enemies from the ground was an immensely challenging task. The ability to watch over the positions of his forces from above was a remarkable tool to have at his disposal. It was the kind of information that every commander wanted, but it was also the kind of information that was the hardest for a commander to get their hands on. 

“Rún is... There. Rún! Pull back for now and circle further back around the enemy! If you get away from the elephants, you should be able to use your horses!” He shouted into the radio, which prompted a puzzled reply from Sigrún. 

“...Oh! Th-That’s true. You’re right, Father. I can’t believe I didn’t...” 

If the horses were useless around elephants because they were frightened by them, then the first thing to do was to get the horses away from them. It seemed an obvious response at first glance. However, when faced with an unknown situation, particularly one that involved life and death, people tended to find their minds going blank, leaving them unable to reach even the most basic and obvious of solutions. Even the ordinarily unflappable Sigrún was no exception to this rule. The sheer psychological impact of seeing war elephants for the first time was huge, even for her. 

“Claes Company, Alrekr Company, Gale Company, step to the left a hundred paces. Thír Company, Erna Company, Hrönn Company, one hundred paces to the right!” 

Yuuto continued to issue rapid-fire orders to the various companies under his command. Felicia initially stared in open-mouthed shock at the sheer precision of his orders, but she quickly began to see what he was trying to accomplish. 

“A-Amazing...” 

The charging war elephants passed through the spaces between the companies. Like the phalanxes, the war elephants weren’t able to execute quick changes in direction. Having lost the targets they were supposed to crush, the elephant riders hurriedly tried to turn their elephants, but it took them time to respond to the events unfolding before them. They probably weren’t used to controlling them in battle just yet, either. 

Yuuto wasn’t the kind of man to miss an opening like that. 

“Right, the elephants have stopped. Use the opportunity to strike at their legs!” 

Quickly after Yuuto issued his orders, the soldiers began to swarm the war elephants. Even their short brush with the Skrýmir was enough to teach them how much of a danger they represented. They wouldn’t get another opportunity to deal with them. Their fear of the elephants drove them forward. No matter how thick an elephant’s legs and no matter how tough their hides, even they couldn’t withstand the simultaneous attacks of dozens of long spears assaulting them. Thunderous thuds echoed across the battlefield. It was the sound of the Skrýmirs collapsing under the weight of the attacks. 

“There!” 

Yuuto made a fist in triumph. 

Of course, he had no way of knowing, but this had been the method that Scipio Africanus, the supreme commander of the Roman Army at the Battle of Zama, had used to defeat Hannibal’s eighty Skrýmirs. The difference, however, was that Scipio Africanus had been aware of the fact that Hannibal had war elephants and had prepared his units in advance. Yuuto hadn’t known anything about them, nor had he trained his units to deal with them. He had come up with this solution on the fly, moving his infantry companies to deal with the elephants. 

“Oh my... For you to be able to command your forces with such finesse is truly stunning, Big Brother. It’s as if you’re moving them like you would your own arms or legs—no, perhaps even as precisely as moving your fingertips! If I knew no better, I would say that you were able to see the battlefield from above!” 

Although Felicia understood just how great Yuuto’s abilities as a tactician were, she could only stare in shock at the sheer precision of his tactical maneuvers. 

Her observation was, in a sense, correct, however. Yuuto was viewing the battlefield from above—something that should have been impossible for a field commander on the ground. In a way, it seemed similar to the powers of Hárbarth, the patriarch of the Spear Clan, but it was a completely different beast. 

Among elite basketball and soccer players, there were rare examples of players who had a sense of spatial awareness that made it seem as though they were watching the game from above. There was a TV show experiment where a famous soccer player demonstrated that he had an accurate grasp of where every player was on the pitch. Of course, it went without saying that no matter how talented the individual was—given that they were human in the end—they couldn’t literally see the ground from the sky. 

However, some players had such a precise grasp of the events unfolding that the only possible way to explain it was that they did indeed see games from above. They were able to do so because of their ability to process information. They constantly gathered information as things changed around them, combined it with modeling of tactics and individual behavior, running speed, and other variables they grasped from sheer experience. They then processed that information through subconscious calculations and created extremely precise mental maps of the area around them. 

Yuuto was doing the same thing. This was a skill that he had developed through his intense experiences on the battlefield over his teens—the stage in someone’s life when these experiences most shaped and contributed to a person’s growth. 

“It’s probably thanks to Rífa.” 

Yuuto gently touched near his left eye and smiled nostalgically. He too grasped his own rapid growth. Felicia’s eyes widened with surprise. 

“Could it be... That your abilities as an Einherjar have manifested?! But wait, aren’t your powers sealed because of the Gleipnirs...?” 

“Yeah, they’re still sealed.” 

The most that Yuuto could do with his sealed twin runes was have a vague sense of the flow of ásmegin. When he had looked inside himself with that grasp of his ásmegin, he saw that the immense ásmegin within him was still restrained under countless layers of chains. 

“That said, the little strength that seeped out of the seals gave me the push I needed.” 

Yuuto glanced at his palm and clenched his hand into a fist, as though grasping at something. 

Yuuto hypothesized that an Einherjar’s abilities were innate skills that were already present within an individual that had been brought out and enhanced through the strange power of álfkipfer. That meant that this power was something that had been in Yuuto all along and had been nurtured by his experiences to date. The talent had always been there. It had been the push from his late wife, Sigrdrífa, that had caused it to blossom. Yuuto gazed up at the clear blue sky and spoke as though addressing his departed wife. 

“Thanks, Rífa... I’ve received the gift that you left for me.”

“No way! This isn’t happening! It’s just not feasible! This is impossible! Utterly imposssssible!” 

The Silk Clan Þrymr Utgarda, sat atop her beloved elephant, was tearing out her hair as though she had gone completely mad and was repeatedly screaming to herself. The unflappable confidence that had survived all of her previous setbacks on the battlefield had been shattered, and she was in a complete panic. It was, in a way, understandable. 

“Our Skrýmirs... Our Skrýmirs... All lost?!” 

As she had just made very clear, it shouldn’t have been possible. 

She had been prepared to lose at least one or two elephants. Even if she had lost five, she probably would have been able to sourly accept her losses, but her mind steadfastly refused to accept the fact that every single one of her Skrýmirs had been wiped out. 

But that wasn’t all. The Steel Clan Army had regrouped and was now charging at the Silk Clan Army. The Steel Clan forces, evidently having rallied themselves by defeating the dreaded Skrýmirs, seemed to have even more momentum than earlier. The cavalry units that she thought had fled from the battlefield in fear of the Skrýmirs had regrouped and were now attacking her rear flank. The Silk Clan Army had suddenly found itself on the brink of defeat. 

“Why?! WHY?! WHHHHY?!” 

Utgarda couldn’t understand what had just happened. The Steel Clan Army had clearly been in utter chaos after encountering elephants for the first time and had very much been on the back foot. Their soldiers had been but a step away from breaking and fleeing in an unorganized rabble, or so it had appeared. That was the only way she could have interpreted the events that had occurred until now. 

Almost as if to spite her for her overconfidence, the Steel Clan Army had suddenly divided their companies, letting the elephants pass through, and they had slain the elephants as they struggled to change direction. That chain of events was exactly what had happened, and what Utgarda herself had witnessed, but she still couldn’t believe what she had seen. 

First of all, it shouldn’t have been possible for someone to come up with such a precise method to deal with the Skrýmirs so quickly. The Steel Clan Army had never seen them before! 

On top of that, she couldn’t believe that soldiers who were facing giant monsters that were crushing their allies underfoot and sweeping them aside with their trunks could maintain their discipline. The panic the Skrýmirs sowed in their wake should have reduced the Steel Clan’s soldiers to little more than a confused mass of bodies. 

To Utgarda, people were all weak, fragile things. When people were driven to the very edge of their fear, and especially when they were faced with imminent death, they spiraled into panicked despair. That was how people were supposed to behave in Utgarda’s world. She couldn’t even imagine how to develop the discipline and trust among her soldiers that they would have needed to maintain their composure in the face of certain death. 

“Is he truly a god of war...?!” 

Utgarda’s body began to tremble, and her teeth clattered as she shuddered. This was the first time in her life that she, herself, felt fear. 

“Th-Th-There’s no way to w-w-win against him!” 

Utgarda let out a shrill note of despair, her voice trembling with fear. This was the first time she had been thoroughly routed by someone superior to her in power, and the experience had broken her spirit. 

Yuuto and Nobunaga had been tempered by their experiences, having suffered countless setbacks and disappointments in their lives. They would have reacted quite differently from Utgarda, redoubling their efforts and bouncing back from their defeats with renewed energy. But Utgarda had overwhelmed her opponents to this point, relying almost entirely on her natural talents, never being tested in the process. Whatever she wanted to accomplish, she had accomplished with ease. It just came naturally to her. She had never faced any notable setbacks in her life, nor had she ever faced crushing disappointment, which made her all too vulnerable when faced with the reality of her own shortcomings. 

“R-Re... Re... Re...” 

She found it difficult to form the words. Her mouth was dry, her tongue felt leaden. Her heart was beating wildly, and she clutched at her chest in discomfort. Utgarda hadn’t exerted herself, but she found it hard to breathe. No matter how much air she gulped down, she still felt short of breath. The color had drained from her face, her lips had turned purple, and her face twitched as it froze in a rictus of fear. There was no trace of her usual haughty beauty. Still, she somehow drew herself together just long enough to shout out her orders. 

“Re-Re-Retreat! RETREAT!”

“Father, one of those gray monsters is leaving the battlefield. It has an elaborate palanquin on its back. I believe that’s Utgarda, the enemy patriarch.” 

Sigrún’s report came through the radio around the time that the tide had turned completely in the Steel Clan Army’s favor and the battle was all but decided. It was about the right timing for the enemy’s supreme commander to flee. It seemed to Yuuto that panic was rapidly spreading through the enemy ranks. It was likely the result of the enemy’s supreme commander leaving the field. This was a perfect opportunity. 

“Right then, let’s pursu—” 

The words died in Yuuto’s mouth as he tried to issue the order to pursue. He recalled the last time he had ordered a pursuit. His forces had pursued the retreating Flame Clan Army, walking straight into Nobunaga’s trap. His misjudgment had cost Skáviðr his life. While Yuuto was well aware that winning and losing were both parts of a general’s life, and he had learned to accept it over the years, the loss of one of his most trusted subordinates had left a lasting trauma on his psyche. The wound was still fresh, and it was far from healed. The fact that the Silk Clan Army had used a feint retreat in the initial skirmish played into his hesitation. Yuuto felt his pulse quicken and sweat beaded on his brow. 

“B-Big Brother?! What’s wrong?!” 

Noticing Yuuto’s sudden change, Felicia called over to him in concern. 

Yuuto clutched at his chest, his breathing labored. He was afraid; he was deathly afraid of the possibility that a misjudgment here might result in losing another member of his sworn family. Just a brief reminder of what had happened was enough to trigger a panic attack. 

However, pursuit battles were the moments in which armies could turn a close victory into a complete rout. It was no exaggeration to say that without pursuing and destroying the enemy, a battle couldn’t truly be described as won. If he didn’t overcome his trauma, there was no future for him or his people. Yuuto tightly gripped the hilt of the sword at his hip and let out a deep breath. He flexed his stomach muscles, and with sheer force of will subdued the fear threatening to take over his body. 

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” 

With that, Yuuto smiled at Felicia. 

The physical symptoms of his anxiety quickly subsided, as though it had never happened at all. He once again focused on his mental map and returned to his realm. Now that he had entered that realm once, he had grasped the secret to entering that mindset at will. 

He saw the territory in his head again. All of his unnecessary thoughts faded away, and he felt his senses sharpen. He placed himself into a state of intense concentration. In the sports world, this state of mind was often referred to as being “in the zone.” Sigrún’s “Realm of Godspeed” was based on the same principles. 

“There’s quite a bit of confusion and fear in the enemy’s voices and expressions. The circumstances, the number of soldiers, the terrain... Yes, there’s basically no chance of this being a feint,” Yuuto murmured, as though to himself, checking over the information he gathered. 

His new ability didn’t just allow him to see the battlefield from above. That was simply an effect that accompanied his new power. What his ability actually provided was a massive increase in his ability to gather information through his sharpened senses and a means to rapidly process and analyze it due to his improved concentration. Yuuto could now pick up even the smallest bits of information that others might miss, add it to his current analysis, and come up with a more precise and accurate solution to the situation at hand. 

Increasing the amount of information at his disposal vastly increased the accuracy of his conclusions. It was like how a pyramid could be taller based on how large the surface area of its foundation was. In essence, the abilities that Yuuto had honed through years of experience had now been massively boosted thanks to being in the zone. 

“Very well! Pursue them, Rún! Don’t let them go! We’ll follow after you!” 

Overcoming his trauma, Yuuto issued his orders. There wasn’t a trace of fear or doubt in his voice. He stated his order with total conviction.

“Sniff... Why...? Why must We go through this?!” 

Utgarda hid under a blanket in the cargo section of an officer’s chariot, muttering to herself with tears in her eyes. She had quickly switched to the chariot from her Skrýmir’s palanquin soon after departing the battlefield. A Skrýmir was far too conspicuous, making it a perfect target for the enemy. Being atop a Skrýmir was just asking for the enemy to come after her, cutting off any chance of retreat. Her Skrýmir was her precious companion, one she had adored since its birth, but it wasn’t more important to her than her life. 

She had placed a decoy upon the Skrýmir’s palanquin. That should at least buy her a bit of time. She planned to use that time to escape. Although the defeat had shattered her calm and confidence, she still had her innate cunning working in her favor. 

“Hurry! Faster!” Utgarda shrilly urged on her chariot driver. 

While she had bought time with her decoy, there was no guarantee of escape. The Steel Clan had their cavalry units, after all. She had mocked them when her victory seemed certain, but they were the greatest threat to her at the moment. 

It went without saying, but cavalry units were fast. They were by far the fastest military units in Yggdrasil. Utgarda found herself glancing back in worry, fearful that she’d soon see the enemy appear to her rear. She felt a rising panic at the prospect of their approach. 

“We’re going as fast as we can! Any faster and the horses won’t last!” 

“Do it anyway! All we need to do is get to the nearest fortress! Run the horses to the ground if that’s what it takes!” 

Caught up with her own survival, Utgarda screeched out the orders. She didn’t want to die. That was the thing she wanted to avoid most. All that was on her mind was her survival. 

“...Eep!” 

Utgarda shrank back with a tremble of fear as she heard the sound she most dreaded. Distant at first, it steadily grew in volume as the source of that sound approached. It was the steady drum of hoofbeats; it was the rumbling beat of cavalry mounts galloping against the hard earth. 

“N-No! That’s the sound of our chariots! That’s what it has to be!” She said aloud to herself. 

She understood the situation in her heart. She covered herself with her blanket and hoped against hope that her observation was true. 

She hesitantly peeked out from the blanket. The first thing she saw was a glint of silver. 

“The M-Mánagarmr?!” 

It was the worst possible sight that she could have imagined. She saw the silver hair of the Steel Clan’s greatest huntress—the hound that had taken countless heads of the Steel Clan’s vanquished enemies. Utgarda herself was an Einherjar, and with her immense innate talent, she was confident in her abilities in battle. Had it been an ordinary cavalry trooper chasing her, she would have immediately taken them down herself, but under the circumstances, she had no intention of facing up against the woman who was reputed to be the greatest warrior in Yggdrasil. Further, there were over a hundred troopers following in Sigrún’s wake. In comparison, Utgarda’s honor guard consisted of a dozen or so chariots. There was no chance that her forces could win. 

“Blast! That’s why We told you to hurry!” 

“Th-There’s nothing that I could have...” 

“Curse you! You are no longer needed! Out of Our way!” 

“Huh?! Nooo!” 

Utgarda shoved the driver off the chariot and took the reins herself. The chariot was substantially lighter, having shed the weight of a grown man. With that weight reduction, she figured her chariot should move much faster. This was no time for half-measures. 

“You lot! Kill that silver-haired dog! Hold back the pursuit! You’ll have whatever your heart desires if you do!” 

Utgarda shouted encouragement to her escort. As members of her honor guard, the warriors in the chariots around her were skilled in their own right, but they were too badly outnumbered to make a difference. She had no expectations of them slaying the Mánagarmr. Utgarda was only trying to buy time for her own escape. However, her hopes were dashed in the blink of an eye. 

“Screw that!” 

“I’m going to surrender!” 

“I’m done!” 

Her escort immediately lost the will to fight and began tossing aside their weapons. Utgarda had certainly deserved that fate. She had indulged herself as a tyrant. It had been an everyday occurrence for her to lash out with her whip against her subordinates to vent her frustration. She had, at times, killed family members and friends of her subordinates on a whim. Just now, in fact, Utgarda had tossed aside her driver to save her own skin and was trying to flee using her subordinates as a shield. What sense of loyalty could anyone feel to a woman like that? The Oath of the Chalice was absolute in Yggdrasil, but even that had its limits. As the scene played out, the terrifying silver-maned wolf rapidly closed the distance with Utgarda. 

“Hah! You have no support, it seems! Far different from Father! The decoy on your palanquin surrendered without a fight and described your chariot and the direction you fled in!” 

As she mocked the Silk Clan patriarch, the silver wolf threw the spear in her hand. The spear found its way into one of the chariot’s wheels and forcefully stopped its spin. The other wheel continued to turn. The unbalanced chariot immediately flipped over, throwing Utgarda to the ground. 

“Guh!” 

She somehow managed to roll and break her fall, but losing her chariot was a heavy blow. There was no way she could escape from this many mounted troopers on foot. 

What to do? What to do? What to do? 

The same words played repeatedly through Utgarda’s mind as the silver wolf dismounted. She drew the odd-looking blade on her hip and approached Utgarda on foot. 

“Heh, I’ve been waiting for this moment.” 

With that comment, the silver wolf’s features took on a frighteningly cold smile. Her voice was filled with an unmistakable fury. 

“Your insults toward Father went too far,” the silver wolf continued, a bone-chilling edge to her voice. 

For a moment, Utgarda had no idea what she was talking about, but then it hit her. She remembered what she had done. She had sent her soldiers to shout every imaginable insult at Suoh-Yuuto in an attempt to lure out the Steel Clan. She had been frustrated at the fact that it seemed to have no effect, but she was now learning that it had angered Suoh-Yuuto’s children immensely. How could things possibly get any worse? 

“Duel me. I swore that I’d kill you by my own hand.” 

The silver wolf took up a combat stance, her sword in hand. A heartbeat later, the wolf had closed the distance. 

“Ahh!” 

Utgarda reacted by drawing the sword on her hip to block the wolf’s slash. The blow was heavy. 

Just as Utgarda’s resolve had been broken by the sheer weight of the wolf’s blow, she heard the unpleasant ring of rending metal. 

“Wh-Whaat?!” 

Utgarda jumped back in panic. Her sword had a sharp crack running along its length. 

“Wha?! Impossible!” Utgarda yelped. “What is that weapon?! For it to be superior in strength to the metal of the gods... What was that sword made out of?!” 

As far as Utgarda was aware, smelted iron was superior in strength to star metal. But despite that, her blade had cracked with a single blow. Utgarda’s sword was a masterpiece that had been crafted by the Silk Clan’s greatest swordsmith, but even it would only last another two or three blows against the wolf’s blade. 

That wasn’t all, though... 

The silver wolf wielding the blade had breathtaking skill with her sword. With just one exchange, Utgarda had realized the sheer gulf in their skill. She couldn’t possibly win. There was no way she could defeat a monster like this. Every fiber of her being screamed out that fact to her. 

“It’s over.” 

“S-Stay away!” 

Utgarda tossed aside her sword and drew the whip from her hip. In practiced hands, a whip’s lash was substantially faster than a sword, but the silver wolf easily avoided that whip lash. Utgarda knew it was over at that moment. She was facing an unbeatable monster. Utgarda couldn’t see any hope of victory. 

The goddesses of fate were fickle. They often punished those who deserved glory and rewarded those who deserved punishment. Such things were relatively common. This very moment was yet another example of that: Utgarda’s lash had landed upon the horse from her abandoned chariot. Shocked at the sudden pain to its face, the enraged horse charged at the silver wolf. 

“Wha?!” 

It seemed this turn of events caught even the silver wolf by surprise, and her eyes went wide with shock. Still, she was a warrior whose name was feared throughout Yggdrasil. She leaped to the side and avoided the charging horse. 

“Ugh, damn!” 

While the silver wolf’s body had avoided the charging horse, her sword wasn’t so lucky, and it flew into the air as the horse’s hooves shoved it aside. Utgarda’s lips twisted into a malicious grin. 

“Bahahaha! It seems the gods love Us after all!” 

She couldn’t come to any other conclusion. It was an amazing opportunity. She drew back her whip to attack... 

...which was when her luck ran out. Utgarda should have used this opportunity to jump on the horse and run. If she had, she might have been able to escape. Utgarda had made a gross misjudgment. She had no chance even against the disarmed silver wolf. 

“Wha?! She disap...guh!” 

A moment after the silver wolf vanished from her line of sight, a hand grabbed her by the throat. Something then caught Utgarda’s leg, and she collapsed to the ground. 

“To waste such a golden opportunity... You truly are nothing compared to Father.” 

As she heard the words of disdain, Utgarda felt the grip on her throat tighten. In a panic, she tried to peel the hand from her throat with both hands, but the grip didn’t loosen. She was going to die. The silver wolf was going to kill her here. The realization unleashed a flood of emotions from Utgarda. 

“H-H-Heeeelp! Please don’t kill me!” 

Tears flooded from her eyes as she sobbed in a panic, all traces of her dignity long gone. The evil tyrant was nowhere to be found. All of her pride—all of her self-confidence—had completely vanished. All that remained was a pathetic woman who trembled in the face of her impending death. 

“I can’t brea... Help! Please! Have mercy!... I-I’ll do anything!” 

Utgarda continued to beg for her life, even as she struggled to breathe. However, her opponent wasn’t one to be lulled into granting mercy from such pleas. Even as she pleaded for her life, the grip on Utgarda’s throat grew stronger. 

“Gah... Sto... Can’t... Plea...” 

Her consciousness began to slip away, and her voice grew ragged. Just as she was nearing her limit and the darkness approached... 

“Mm? Wha?!” 

The silver wolf let out a cry of surprise. 

“She’s wet herself?!” The silver wolf spat out sourly. 

Now that the wolf mentioned it, Utgarda indeed felt a warmth around her crotch. Though, with her consciousness slipping away, she couldn’t understand what it meant. All she understood... 

“Dammit, you brought her to mind... Tch. I don’t feel like killing you anymore.” 

...was that the hand that had been squeezing her throat had suddenly relaxed. 

However, it wasn’t an easy matter to recover from being choked nearly to death. Utgarda’s consciousness fell away, and she was engulfed in darkness.

“So, you’re the Silk Clan patriarch Utgarda.” 

Yuuto rested his cheek against his palm and looked down at the young woman that the Múspells had hauled into the tent. She wasn’t much different in age from him. At a glance, she appeared to be a beautiful woman. She had a cold, chiseled beauty, rather than cute or pretty features. However, perhaps it was his own preconception of her, but he couldn’t help but feel her expression dripped with sadism and malice. 

“Eep!” 

Utgarda let out a soft yelp, her body tensing. Yuuto looked skeptically at her, thinking for a moment it was an act to draw sympathy, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Utgarda was trembling. She was clearly afraid. 

“P-Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!” 

He almost felt pity for her as she shrilly repeated the words like a mantra. 

The woman before him didn’t look anything like the woman who had put down a rebellion, conquered a neighboring clan, and had nearly had Yuuto’s own Steel Clan Army on the ropes. She also looked nothing like the arrogant tyrant he had heard her described as. He had put on an air of intimidation to make sure she wouldn’t underestimate him, but her appearance had been anticlimactic, to say the least. 

“I-I’ll do anything. You can have the knowledge of iron-smelting, elephant rearing, and silk manufacturing. S-So p-please... J-Just... Please, have mercy.” 

“Sigh...” 

Yuuto couldn’t help but let out a sigh of exasperation. All of the items that Utgarda had offered to teach him were state secrets for the Silk Clan. To offer them out before Yuuto had said anything at all... Utgarda was clearly a complete amateur at negotiation. 

“U-Um... Oh! I know! H-How about the women of my clan?! Th-They have supple skin and are known for their beauty! You can have as many... As many hundreds as you wish!” 

She was evidently very frightened by Yuuto’s sigh, and she blabbed onward, offering further concessions. No doubt the offer came from taking Yuuto’s reputation as a womanizer at face value. He found the fact somewhat irritating, but he didn’t really have any standing to deny it, so he let it go for the moment. 

“So, the rumors of you only caring for yourself were true, huh?” Yuuto said with heartfelt contempt, the only reaction he could muster being a dry laugh. 

Utgarda made no effort to sacrifice anything herself, offering her clan and her people up instead without a moment’s hesitation. She was a contemptible example of a patriarch. Utgarda was the complete opposite of Linnea, the woman who had tried to do everything in her power, including offering herself as a sacrifice, for the sake of her clan and her people. 

“What a disappointment.” Yuuto sighed again, incredibly disappointed with the woman in front of him. 

The reports had stated the Silk Clan patriarch was an extremely capable individual, and he had felt that his experience in facing off against her on the battlefield had only confirmed those reports. While she was an excessively tyrannical ruler and could only be described as a malicious person, there was a part of being a ruler that required the ability to be ruthless when necessary. He had hoped that had been part of her character. The malice was there, but there was nothing else of worth about this woman. 

“Eep! I-I’m an Einherjar and one of the great ones chosen by the gods! No doubt I will be of great use to you compared to the ordinary sort! I’m not like those useless incompetents! I-I-I will do anything you ask! If you wish me to lick your feet, I’ll do so! So please, please! Spare my life!” 

Frightened by Yuuto’s cold stare, she gazed up pleadingly at him, before bowing her head and rubbing it against the floor in a cry for mercy. She valued her own life above all else. 

Of course, the same could be said for Yuuto. He had no intention of denying that he put value in his own life. That’s what it meant to be human. Even so, he wanted people to have some sense of dignity—some sense of pride. He couldn’t trust a person like Utgarda, someone who would so easily offer to sell out the people of her clan, or even her clan as a whole. And without that trust, she was of no use to him. Yuuto had no way of knowing this, but those had been the very words that Utgarda had used to coolly dismiss Þjazi, the Tiger Clan traitor. 

“Ah, I see. This girl’s got no dedication to anything.” 

The words came to him like a divine revelation. He remembered that Sigrún had said something similar to him when he first came to Yggdrasil. He recalled being angry at the time, but now he understood what she meant. Yuuto wanted to believe he wasn’t nearly as bad as Utgarda, but in either case, there was no way he could use a person like this. 

“Remember this, lad. What separates success and failure, life and death, isn’t brains, brawn, power, or wealth. Those are all simply tools. What matters in the end is the strength of will to see your goals through to the end, no matter what happens.” 

He remembered those words well—the words of his late sworn father, Fárbauti. He agreed with those words. The woman, no, the girl before him, didn’t have that strength of will. 

“If I never knew failure, and if everything had gone as I’d hoped... Perhaps I would have ended up like her.” 

Yuuto thought back to the boy he had been and couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. This girl could have been him. The least he could do was give her an opportunity to change. He had made his decision. 

“Fine. I’ll spare your life.” 

“T-Truly?! Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!” 

Utgarda’s features, which until now had been pale with dread, quickly brightened as she looked up at him with relief. Learning that she’d live was apparently a great relief to her. 

“But all I’m sparing is your life. Starting today... You’re a slave. Hopefully, you learn what it was like to be on the receiving end of your tyranny.” 

“Huh?! N-No! A slave...?!” 

The moment she learned she wouldn’t die, her pride had started to reassert itself. It was clear from her expression that she wanted to avoid slavery at all costs. She had been born as a patriarch’s daughter, had been spoiled from birth, and she had indulged herself with luxuries since becoming Þrymr. No doubt she felt she wouldn’t be able to stand the life of a slave. That was exactly why Yuuto felt it was the right step to take, though. 

“This is a settled matter,” Yuuto said bluntly, the finality clear in his voice. 

Hitting rock bottom was often what was needed for addicts, such as gambling addicts and alcoholics, to seek recovery. By hitting rock bottom, it motivated the individual to improve their situation and make changes to themselves. In fact, many believed that experience was a prerequisite for recovering from an addiction. Yuuto felt that Utgarda needed a similar experience. He had no way of knowing whether Utgarda would break upon hitting rock bottom or if she would take it as an opportunity to fix what was wrong with her. 

The ball was completely in Utgarda’s court. He could watch over her for a few years and decide what to do with her after. He had nothing else to say to her. 

Yuuto stood up and declared sharply, “Right! Time to liberate the Tiger Clan capital of Gastropnir!”