The Plan (3)

From atop the barrier, Sylvain surveyed the monsters.

He didn't even need his telescope; his eyesight was enough to clearly see the approaching horde.

"...Those are them. The jet-black monsters."

Sylvain observed the black monsters with narrowed eyes.

Their color, their appearance—he had never seen anything like them before. Their ominous aura could be felt even from a distance, but that was the same for the other monsters from the Outside.

If Sylvain's intuition was correct, the danger posed by the black ones and the Outside monsters wouldn't be that different.

However.

'...What's that?'

Among the monsters, there were a few black ones mixed in. Whenever they touched another monster, the blackness spread across its body.

It was like pouring ink into the ocean, gradually expanding. As if it were an infection spreading through color.

'The black monsters... Rather than focusing on them individually, we need to pay attention to that infection phenomenon. We need to be cautious until we know what it is.'

Just as Sylvain finished his thought.

"Archers, deployment complete."

A knight approached and reported to Sylvain.

Sylvain nodded and looked around the barrier.

The formation that had always firmly defended this barrier. And the soldiers who had accumulated experience to match. The monster offensive that was about to begin, and the unexpected appearance of the black monsters. Despite all this, there was no wavering in the soldiers' eyes.

"They're not moving, sir. I was worried they might come pouring in before the Commander arrived."

When a soldier first discovered the black monsters, the knight was more concerned that the monsters would attack before he could report it to Sylvain.

But that didn't happen, and even now, with Sylvain and Enfer's arrival, the monsters were still just watching from afar.

He was relieved, but Sylvain shook his head.

"It would have been better if they had."

"Sir?"

"In a siege, if both sides aren't prepared, the attacking side is overwhelmingly disadvantaged."

It's often said that for an attack to succeed in a siege, the attacking force needs three times the number of troops as the defending side. And the preparations required are also more than three times greater.

"...But Commander, even with the barrier, fighting monsters isn't like a siege."

"That's right. Until now, it's just been a war of attrition. Many monsters and humans have died, but there's been no change in territory. The Outside monsters have intelligence but no leader. It's a wild space where they don't know when they might kill each other. The monsters that swarm towards the barrier are just a temporary alliance driven by their hatred and disgust towards humans."

After speaking, Sylvain focused his vision to examine the monsters more closely.

Indeed, there was nothing particularly different that he could see at the moment. Just a few who couldn't stand still and were stamping their feet or barking.

"If the monsters had attacked immediately without giving us time to prepare, we would have just had to respond accordingly. That's how it's always been. Even if our response was a little slow, the barrier would protect us, and the completed formation would annihilate the monsters in the meantime. But this time, it's the opposite."

"...Does that mean they're also preparing, giving us time to prepare?"

Sylvain nodded at the knight's question.

"Until now, they've just been trying to kill humans. As if they'd die for it. Many humans have died because of their viciousness and tenacity. And we've killed just as many monsters. Right here, with this barrier between us. But this battle... I have a different feeling."

Even as he spoke, Sylvain kept his gaze fixed on the front.

There was no change in what he could see, but he was seeing something beyond what his eyes could perceive.

Behind the wall of monsters filling his vision, there were even more monsters, unseen but filling the space. There was no doubt about it.

An overwhelming number of monsters, far greater than what he could see now, were piling up behind them. This strange preparation period was undoubtedly for that purpose.

"Could it be that this time, they're trying to 'win'?"

"We'll find out by watching."

At Sylvain's words, the knight's face hardened. Sylvain thought for a moment, then turned away from the scene beyond the barrier and started walking back.

"W-Where are you going?"

"I need to inform the Lord about this."

As he walked, Sylvain continued.

"This battle... It's probably beyond what I can handle."