Moon Blossom Asura - Chapter 3: Die Vibrantly on the Battlefield. It's Much Better Than Dying While Grasping at Straws.

“This is awful,” Yuruki muttered from the rooftop of a house.

“Hmm. I guess these guys’ strategy is to let the monsters fight in front and then surround and kill anyone that the monsters miss. It’s quite the gruesome strat, but it’s effective.” Asura and her group were wearing their usual black robes, along with quivers. They also had bows in their hands.

“Yeah, that’s not what I meant,” Yuruki said with a sigh.

“I think he was referring to the massacre that’s happening because of the monsters,” Marx remarked. “Can… We win?” Ina said. Murkus village was already in a tattered state. “Overrun.” Is a perfect word to describe the situation. “There’s no way. These mid-level monsters are way too strong.” Yuruki said.

Everyone in sight was torn apart by the claws and fangs of the monsters. A mid-level monster can be faster than humans and is a lot stronger than humans as well. But that’s about it. Asura thought.

“Just stick to the plan,” Asura said. “If we can’t do it then, I’ll take responsibility. And if we survive you can punch me afterwards. Hee hee. Right now the Arnia army is the bigger problem.” Judging from the sloppy mess down there. It’s safe to say that the Arnia army is not used to urban warfare.

“Right. Why didn’t they issue an evacuation order to the village.” Lumia asked. “So many villagers got caught up in this.” 

“Nah, Vice-Commander, I don’t think this was by accident. Look at those Terbae soldiers they’re killing the villagers with a smile on their faces,” Yuruki said. “I agree. Sick bastards.” Marx spat. 

“Well, that’s not our concern,” Asura said. “Come on, let’s get started we have the advantage here.” Just as she said this one of the monster tamer platoon was about to pass under them. No one bothered to look up. The same can be said of the Arnia army. They’re all novices when it comes to urban warfare, or perhaps they are just plain stupid. They don’t even consider being attacked from above. Well, to be fair in this world armies fight in large formations and open areas. So it can’t be helped. Asura thought.

“Don’t misunderstand the situation here guys. We’re in the superior position. So this time we go with, ‘Fire and Fire’.”

***

He was in command of one of the four monster-tamer platoons that were part of the Great Kingdom of Terbae’s army. The revolutionary idea of using monsters in battle was by the Great King himself. His platoon was using a mid-level monster. A black wolf-like creature. They gave him the name Piri. The Arnia army was completely overwhelmed by Piri’s speed and strength and had to retreat to Murkus village where large fields of tea leaves spread. These tea plantations in this village are a large source of income for the Kingdom of Arnia. Their mission is to burn them to deal economic damage. He felt a bit of disappointment since he enjoyed drinking this type of tea. But unfortunately, this is war. He set fire to the tea plantations and the houses of the villagers and he mercilessly cut down the Arnia soldiers and any villagers who couldn’t escape. Of course, many enemy soldiers were ripped apart by Piri’s claws as well. Murkus village is a large one. They came here to annihilate this village. Even now, they were walking around the village surrounded by burning houses, searching for any Arnia soldiers or villagers. They came here to annihilate the village, in other words, to wipe it off the map.

“Oh wow, with Piri around, Arnia’s soldiers are just trash, right Captain?” One of his men says with a smile. In total, he was in command of 4 men and one monster. The other three platoons have the same composition. All four of them make up a company. Before entering the village the great shield company also participated in the battle on the grassland. This was to prevent any attacks by arrows. However, since they were not needed for the battle inside the village, they went back first. The Arnia Kingdom’s army was a battalion in size, but he estimated that they already lost half their numbers, while they barely had scratches on them. So his platoon was more than enough to clean up.

“Arnia was never that strong to begin with, right? And with Piri-Chan over here, we’re unstoppable.” Another man said cheerfully. They’ve already achieved an overwhelming victory. This was just a mop-up operation. By the time the sun sets, Murkus village will be gone and they can return to their base and enjoy some rest.

“A petal?” Suddenly, pink petals started falling from above. There were a lot of them. 

“Did one of the impatient guys start celebrating early by throwing flowers?” 

“I’m not sure.” He picked up one of the petals with his hand. It was an ordinary petal. “Beautiful…” One of his men said this while looking up. Flower petals were scattered all over. One of the petals touched A man’s face, the next moment, his face exploded. Huh? What? Explosions? They were completely confused as blood and flesh splattered around. And then another man’s shoulder exploded, and he screamed. 

“It’s an attack! Don’t touch the petals! Run!” Not all of them were exploding. But they couldn’t tell which one will and which won’t. “Get out of Where these petals…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. An Arrow pierced his throat, and a moment later, countless arrows struck him. Now a corps, he dropped to the ground. His eyes were still open. 

The men who just lost their captain panicked and drew their swords, but they didn’t see an enemy. They swung their swords in the air hoping to find something. The swords started to explode and some of them started to scream as shrapnel pierced them. Arrows were still falling on them as if it was raining. Piri’s fur is hard enough to repel the arrows. The humans though weren’t so lucky. They were wearing light leather armour so they could keep up with Piri’s mobility. One by one, the men fell. Piri howled.

Hey, Piri. We’re as good as dead. Avenge us, will you? One of them thought. They didn’t know that after they died Piri immediately suffocated to death as well.

***

“You see, monsters aren’t anything to write home about,” Asura said from the roof of the house. “I never knew my [Water Prison] was this effective, it’s all thanks to you boss,” Marx said excitedly.

The [Water Prison] spell is Marx’s creation magic. it is not considered offensive magic. since all it does is generate water. However, if you use that water on an enemy’s face, They’ll suffocate. Using this method, the black wolf-like monster was choked to death.

“You don’t have to thank me, Marx. We’re fellow romantics about magic. I just showed you how to use it correctly, magic is a powerful weapon. If you know how to use it.” It was Asura, not Marx, who came up with the idea of using [Water Prison] this way. Using creation magic as an offensive spell that’s not something people with common sense can conceive. 

In this world. Magic can be split into four types: Attack, Support, Recovery, and Creation. On top of this mages can only use one attribute, and Marx can only use the Water attribute. Also, attributes cannot be changed later on except for unique attributes.

“The boss’s haphazard [Wild Dance] spell is beautiful, I’m I right?”

“Yuruki, do not describe it as haphazard”

“Why not?”

“No reason.” Asura shrugged. “I just don’t like it.”

“You mixed the offensive spell [Mine] with a creation spell [Wild Dance]. Nice work.” At Lumia’s praise, Asura smiled a little. “It’s boring to start off with [Flashbang], every time don’t you think? Though we can’t use anything but [Water Prison] for our finisher, it’s just way too convenient.”

“I’m deeply moved,” Marx said. “I, who is just a water mage, can defeat enemy commanders and monsters with my magic… I am really glad I became a soldier-mage. Even if my parents disowned me for it.”

Born into a family of warriors, Marx was constantly ridiculed for his worthless magic. So he used to train alone in secret.

“Still, I never thought we could beat a mid-level monster this easily,” Yuruki said.

“Right! It was super easy with my [Water Prison] as our trump card.” Marx said.  

“… Monsters die too… If they can’t breathe… Huh…” Ina said.

“Was this your first time fighting a monster?” Asura asked. In the past Asura and Lumia worked together to take down a mid-level monster.

“No, I’ve taken down when before when I was a knight, but it wasn’t this easy. Since we attacked it head-on,” Marx said.

“It’s me and Ina’s first time,” Yuruki said, and Ina nodded. 

“I see. Well, now you know it’s not such a difficult enemy, right?” When Asura asked this, Yuruki, Ina and Marx nodded. Lumia never even thought of a mid-level monster as a threat, so she stayed silent.

“Then, for training purposes, let’s split up into teams of two and three and hunt the remaining platoons,” Asura said.

“Okaaay. Who’s going with who?”

“Me and Lumia will take the blue section. The rest of you take the red section.”

“Hold up!” Yuruki shouted. “Isn’t that too much firepower on one side!?”

“We’re dead…” Ina said hanging her head.

“It would be difficult to take down monsters without both the boss and the vice commander.” Marx objected.

“Nah. You’re good on firepower, the three of you can handle it,” Asura said shrugging her shoulders. “Usually the command goes to Marx but since this is also training then… Yuruki, you command.”

“Me?” Yuruki yelped.

“…We’re dead…” Ina despaired.

“Yep, we’re dead.” Marx agreed.

“Boss, It’s not like I’m saying no, but… could you please reconsider.”

“No. Do it, Yuruki. Even if you’re not confident, if you fail in taking down the monsters then just go out with a bang. That’s an order.” Marx has experience commanding a platoon from his days as a knight. If this was a tough opponent, then Marx would take the lead, but these guys are perfect for training Yuruki.

“O-Okay…” Yuruki stammered. “Any other comments?” Asura asked, but no one said anything. “Good. Then let’s start this mission. Spread out!”

***

“This scene is just like the time we met isn’t it?” Asura said as she walked through the soon-to-be abandoned village of Murkus. Looking at the occasional body, she smiled. Did you guys die a vibrant death? Or did you just die? She thought to herself.

[TN: I think she’s basically addicted to the fight or flight response humans have.]

“It’s already been ten years huh…” Lumia muttered with nostalgia. “We went through a lot together. Master.” A house was burning with a crackling sound. the smell of blood mixed with the smell of burning wooden houses. The number of bodies was large, but it wouldn’t be called a hellscape. However, Asura enjoyed the scenery.

“It’s been a while since you’ve called me that. By the way, are we okay just walking around aimlessly? I thought magic soldiers were supposed to scout the area and make a preemptive strike?” Lumia asked. ” Didn’t I say this is training? If you and I were to make the first move, we would easily win. And it’s not guaranteed that we can always make the first move. So this time, we’ll let the enemy make the first strike.” Asura replied.

“You intend to let the enemy find us and attack us first?” Lumia asked back. “Yes. We’ll dig ourselves out of a hole, and then it’s the usual ‘Fire and Move’.” As soon as Asura finished saying this, a boy around 10 years old ran out of one of the burning houses. When he saw the two of them he tried to stop himself, but he slipped and fell on his butt. “Don’t worry. We’re with the Arnia army.” Lumia said smiling at the frightened boy. 

“To be precise, We’re mercenaries, but we won’t harm any villagers…”

“Help me! My mom and dad were killed! If the soldiers catch me, they’ll sell me to the West!” Before Asura could finish, the boy got up and hugged Lumia. 

“Hey! I found the kid! There are two women with next to him. Captain!”

“That’s good. They’re perfect for some extra pocket change.” A platoon of enemy soldiers along with a bear-like monster came out from behind the same house the boy ran out from. There were Five men and one monster.

“By ‘pocket change’ I guess he means human trafficking?” Asura pondered. “As I recall, slavery is legal in the western Ferzen region, right?” “That’s right.” The continent where Asura and her friends live is called Ferzenmark. In terms of size, it is slightly smaller than Europe. Ferzenmark is divided into three regions: West, Central, and East Ferzen. Incidentally, the Kingdom of Arnia is in the East Ferzen region. 

“Oh, Nice. They’re hot let’s have fun with them before we sell them.” One of the soldiers said.

“I want the silver-haired girl.”

“What are you gonna do with a kid like her? Normal people would go with the mature woman over here.”

“Idiot, I bet that silver-haired girl will feel great.” The men exchange this talk with vulgar smiles on their faces. Ah, I smell a battlefield. Asura thought. There’s always a unit like this one on a battlefield.

“New mission. Protect the boy and kill the enemy.” Asura said. “What are you saying!? That’s dangerous!? We should let him escape!”

“No, Don’t. We’ll use the kind for training. Don’t worry, no one will blame us if he dies.” 

“…Y-You…” Lumia gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.

“Besides, you want to see it, don’t you boy? You want to see us murder the ones that killed your parents?” Asura said with a dark smile. The boy flinched at first but then said. “I want to see it. If you can avenge them, I want to see it!” Saying this he stepped away from Lumia. “You heard him, Lumia. I won’t accept any objections. Now, Let’s get this party started,” Asura said turning her attention to the platoon. The men all had relaxed smiles on their faces. They were up against one woman and two children. They probably thought they couldn’t fight. So they’ll just easily catch them, rape them, then sell them, and be done with it. That’s what they thought.

“Ha ha, little girl, are you planning to fight? We’re the strongest monster…” He couldn’t finish, because Asura’s dagger was already in his throat. “Am good aren’t I?” Asura said with a mocking smile. “You little!” The strongest monster-taming platoon was furious.

————
That’s Chapter 3 enjoy

I plan on doing 5 chapters a week