The battle between the Immortal Brigade vs. the One-Eyed Ogre Union Army took place exactly at noon.

　As I explained earlier, the difference in strength was roughly three times greater.
　Nine hundred to three hundred, if we fought normally, we wouldn't stand a chance at winning at first.

　No, if I stood on the front line and didn't mind the loss of the Immortal Brigade, I might be able to win.

　That's how confident I was in my own magical power, and I trusted the Immortal Brigade's men.

　But if they fought normally, the damage would be too much.
　Jace is a traitor.

　His subordinates also betrayed him by forgetting their debt to their leader, Cephiro, so there was no room for sympathy, but he didn't want the Immortal Brigade's men to die as much as possible.


　Giron, the petty and calculating orc chief strategist.
　Lilith, who is not a succubus but a slut.
　The cobolt taro, adorable as a puppy.


　They were all my best men, among other things.
　I hope they don't die if at all possible.

　In this turbulent world, it's a selfish way of saying that I'm the brigade commander of the Demon King's army, but that's my true feelings.

　However, warfare is not something that can be won by talking neatly about it.

　I decided to stand on the front lines to prevent my allies from being harmed as much as possible.




　The enemy forces were approaching from the front.
　Jace's troops are organized around goblins.

　Goblins are as weak as kobolds among demons, but Jace's army is different.

　In the first place, Jace himself can be considered a goblin lord, as he boasts the nickname of the one-eyed imp.

　Naturally, the goblins who serve the Lord are also fierce.

　Not only troop leaders, but also ordinary soldiers can be found among the higher species of goblins, hobgoblins.

　If they were to go head-to-head with our goblin troops, they would be crushed in the blink of an eye.

　But I won't do anything like that.
　I straddled my beloved horse and headed towards the enemy lines.

　The enemy probably never dreamed that I would charge into the field alone.
　They had formed a dense formation.

　The dense formation is a classic warfare technique used by the famous Alexander the Great in ancient times and swept the world, but it's not easy to operate.

　Maybe that guy from Jace was peeping at the battle the other day when I drove off the White Rose Knights.

　But he seems to think that if he concentrates his heavily armed soldiers in a dense group, he can create a dense formation by creating a spear line.

"You are really a shallow man.

　I let out a wry smile.

　The dense formation, the Phalanx, was a raging formation in ancient times, but it quickly disappeared after a certain weapon appeared.

　Those weapons were guns and cannons.

　The appearance of guns was particularly significant, and they gradually began to disappear along with the appearance of guns, and automatic rifles and mortars put a stop to the dense formation.

　There is no easier task than lobbing bullets and artillery rounds into a hardened enemy.

　If it's a gun, there's no need to aim, and if it's a cannon, as long as it's frozen in place, it's an all-out brawl.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have a "gun" or a "cannon" in this other world.

　--It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.


Firestorm.


　magic.

　If it were true, I'd like to hit him with the magic of Meteorite Falling (Meteorite Strike) like the Commander, but I can't shoot it yet.

　I can activate it precisely, but it requires a magic circle and a time-consuming chant.

　Also, I don't have the confidence to hit the exact point like Cephiro did.

　That's why I decided to strike the 《 Pillar of Flame》 magic.
The 《 Pillar of Fire》 is the higher level magic of the 《Fireball》.

If the Fireball is literally a magic that releases fireballs, then the Pillar of Fire is a magic that smashes a pillar of fire into the air.

　A huge pillar of fire rises at the targeted location.


''Guaaa!''


　The screams of the goblins wooded the battlefield.
　It was pathetic, but it was also a lesson of the battlefield.

　I won't go easy on you.

　The more I go easy on them, the more their lives are in danger.
　The smell of burning goblins can be felt over here.

　The smell is not much different from that of humans.
　It was unpleasant, but after years of being on the battlefield, you get used to it.

　I slaughtered the goblins that imitated our dense formation one by one.

　The goblins, or rather, the enemy commander, Jace, seemed to have realized the pointlessness of the dense formation even after all this time.

　He stopped the dense formation and spread out.

　This formation is not at all useless when the enemy has powerful sorcerers, but on the contrary, it is a drag.

　This is because the powerful firepower of the sorcerer is a substitute for cannons and mortars.

(Though there aren't many sorcerers in my class.)

　I'll be a little smug.　
　But it's not a good idea to be too smug and shoot your magic around.

　You see, I'm not here to...

'We deliberately lose while striking the enemy to the point of not being insulted.'

　Because that's what it's all about.

　I shouted loud enough for the enemy to hear.


"I'm out of magic. We have no choice but to pull back!


　After saying that, I dash back on my heels.

　I wonder if the enemy soldiers were relieved to see my back, or if they were insulted that I had no guts.

　I didn't really care either way, but I wanted them to give chase if possible.
　I let my beloved horse run and glanced backwards, over my back.

　Okay, the enemy is chasing me.

　Jace is still a short-tempered goblin after all.
　There's no way he's going to sit back and do nothing after getting beaten up this far.

　Jace.

Charge!　Charge!　You just have to charge in!　Anyone who shows his back to the enemy here, I'll cut him down!

　He snorted.

　The goblins also obeyed that order.

　I'm sure they are elite among the goblins, but they must be too afraid of Jace.
　Or maybe they trust him.

　And even though I've beaten them with my magic, the number of enemies is still high.
　Maybe they still have the will to fight.

''I'm afraid that's not the case.

　After letting that leak out, I drove my horse and replaced it with the troops behind me.
　The troops following us were organized around skeleton soldiers.

This is because we fight on the assumption that we will 'lose'.

　I have a feeling that I can't bear to kill a goblin or orc subordinate, but if it's a skeleton, that feeling is somewhat diminished.

　If you ask me, per Jiron.

But aren't you an immortal, Master Ike?　Doesn't your heart hurt?

　But fortunately, I was a human inside.

　I'm not even sure how I feel about a dead wreckage, even a magical creature that is already dead.

　-- I was just afraid that the mad alchemist (Matched Scientist) witch who had impatiently created a skeleton soldier was going to say something sarcastic.

　I can imagine her petulant comments after the war.

'Fool. You have no idea how troublesome it is to create a large number of skeleton soldiers.

　That's definitely what she would have done.

　However, if I can plead my case now, it's better than the death of another living demon.

　That's what it means.

''........Anyway, I hope you lose brilliantly.

　I reminded myself, and gave my orders to the skeleton soldiers.


　I retreated and the Jace Coalition Army regained its momentum.

　They beat up the Immortal Brigade organized around the skeleton soldiers one by one.

　Maybe it's because I beat them up so hard a while ago.
　If you hate Ike, you hate the skeletons too.

　Even the skeletons that can't even move anymore have been thoroughly destroyed.
　I'm sure they're quite satisfied with that.

　I watched from behind as Jace and the others carried out their one-sided slaughter.
　Watching them, Jiron, his face sweating profusely, said to me.

''Ah, Ike-sama, are you alright?''

What do you mean?

No, I was just freaking out that Jace guy was going to find out about our plan.

'Maybe they'll be fine at that rate. In the first place, it's more troublesome to completely beat those guys here and get away and be holed up in the city of Lowery. That city is one of the most fortified cities on the continent, you know.

Ha, I see the logic in that, but how does that fit in with intentionally losing?

　Giron asks back with a strange look on his face.
　I say, "You'll find out soon enough," and continue, "By the way, did you get the 'example' I asked the Commander for?

"By the way, did you receive that 'example' thing I asked the Commander for?

Yes, I just got it.

　That's Cephelo for you. He's very thorough in that area.

''Alright, if it's arrived, we can talk about it quickly. Tell the messenger to withdraw the Immortal Brigade.

　Giron immediately responds to the order.

'Even with this, you're going to make them retreat deliberately and miserably.

That's right.

But it's not so easy to be forced to lose.

　Giron let out a big sigh.

'Why?' When I asked, Giron said.

'Because our brigade has been unbeaten since it was formed. It's hard for them to run away from a brigade like that. It's hard for them to run away.

　I see, that's what you mean.
　You're right, and you can't help but laugh.

Well, it's all a part of the experience. There may be a time when you will lose. Just think of it as a rehearsal for that and be patient.

　I said, and watched from the rear as the brigade retreated.