Alicetia the Warlord (2)
My declaration of a duel was accepted without any trouble. The Foreign Minister looked like he wanted to say something, but I silenced him with a glare. Or rather, it was probably because my brother said that if they wanted me to take part in the subjugation, they should at least see what I was capable of.
The Bureau of Sealing’s talisman-users seemed doubtful of my strength. So, I was going to correct that misunderstanding.
“Listen, Alice. Don’t you dare overdo it, alright? You’ve got the subjugation coming up after this.”
“Of course. I’m a Sage, so it’s only natural that I’ll win.”
“You’re getting cocky again…”
Well, since we still had to ship out the Yamata no Orochi after this, I couldn’t afford to take too much damage. I was, after all, the main force.
And so, the duel was set to be a Shikigami Battle. The Land of Tranquility was the birthplace of shikigami. Totally an away game for me.
Still, no one on the Arland side thought I would lose.
The only shikigami I could use was Paper Knight. Its strength? So weak that it would struggle even against Ostland soldiers.
So why didn’t anyone think I’d lose? Because everyone from Arland knew my methods were absurdly unreasonable.
A large crowd had gathered on the plains outside the capital—not ordinary civilians, but high-ranking government officials. They must’ve been curious about my abilities… Should I even mention that the Emperor himself was disguised among them? The man’s way too light on his feet, seriously.
It was me alone versus a hundred of them. Why such a difference in numbers, you ask? Because it apparently took that many people to summon their most powerful shikigami. When I told them to go ahead, the Bureau of Sealing’s talisman-users frowned deeply.
By the way, even if I lost, I had no intention of handing over Alicia. The condition was that they would focus entirely on sealing the target. If I won, the condition was that they’d keep their mouths shut.
“Then, let us restate the rules. No attacks on the summoners themselves. There are no restrictions on the shikigami used. Any objections?”
“None.”
“... We have none either.”
“Then, begin the duel!”
I drew from my treasury using Quick Draw, pulling out a paper shaped like a human figure and tossing it. It immediately transformed into a translucent knight.
The Bureau of Sealing talisman-users frowned when they saw that. As expected of the birthplace of shikigami arts—they could instantly tell how weak Paper Knight was. I mean, it wasn’t even fully materialized. Honestly, when it came to talisman arts, I was third-rate at best.
Still, they didn’t underestimate me. They began chanting a long incantation. I, on the other hand, had my shikigami ready in seconds with a simple throw. That speed was my advantage. Not that I could attack before they finished—the rules forbade it.
“White Tiger Summon!”
After a few minutes, their chant ended, and the head priest, Genro, threw a beast-shaped paper talisman. It transformed into a great white tiger.
“This is one of our nation’s supreme shikigami!”
Out came a massive white tiger.
I was stunned—and looked over at Helios. He was on the verge of tears.
“... It’s stronger than my Helios.”
“Uwooooooooon!”
Helios burst into tears and ran away.
Mr. Coote, meanwhile, looked on with a mocking smirk that said, “Is that all?”
Then I looked back at Paper Knight. Yeah… normally, there was no chance of winning.
N—not that I was jealous or anything! It’s not like I was already thinking about analyzing that tiger, printing out a million copies, and retaking the Imperial Capital with them or anything!
Ah, right, the capital doesn’t even have its outer walls anymore—I blew them all up during the occupation. Guess I can’t play my Gan Ning reenactment now!
Alright, how about I rebuild the walls just so I can reenact Gan Ning’s raid properly, and then blow them up again after I take the city back? Perfect plan. Build and destroy—that’s the law of the universe. Even that muscle-bound alchemist said so. I can just “requisition” the building materials from somewhere in the Empire.
Anyway, I’ll think about that later. I can feel my brother’s eyes on me… He might’ve read my mind again. His siscon power keeps getting stronger—it’s honestly scary.
“Go, Paper Knight!”
At my command, Paper Knight charged forward. The white tiger lightly batted it with a paw, sending it rolling spectacularly across the ground. The moment it stopped, it reverted to paper form.
Geez, too weak! … Wait, that’s not right—way too weak!
“... That’s our victory.”
“The match isn’t over until all shikigami are gone.”
I used Quick Draw again, throwing ten sheets of paper. Ten Paper Knights appeared.
“Go.”
They rushed forward. Four were instantly annihilated, the rest managed to stab at the tiger with swords and spears, but it barely took any damage. Within five minutes, all were destroyed.
“Another victory for us.”
“Not yet.”
This time, I summoned a hundred. They charged again—lasted about thirty minutes this time, but were eventually wiped out. The tiger was barely scratched.
“No matter how many you summon, such weak shikigami will never defeat my White Tiger!”
“Then let’s move on to the next round.”
Now I summoned a thousand Paper Knights. The head priest and his talisman-users all paled.
“Everyone, together!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Genro’s command, the talisman-users began chanting. The White Tiger’s body started glowing with an aura. Ah, they were strengthening it. I couldn’t do that.
“All units—charge!”
The Paper Knights advanced in perfect formation, but the White Tiger tore through them with frightening speed. Within an hour, they were all destroyed. Too weak!
“Hmph.”
“You cannot win, no matter how many times you try!”
Genro declared confidently, certain of his victory.
But I had already finished analyzing it.
First off, that White Tiger wasn’t autonomous—it was being directly controlled by the summoners. And judging by how many of them were gasping for breath, the strain was enormous.
“Then let’s go with ten thousand this time.”
“......”
Genro and the talisman-users said nothing. They just trembled.
The battle that followed was quite the spectacle. The ten thousand Paper Knights lost again, but the White Tiger took heavy damage and its enhancements faded.
“Cough, cough… that’s… enough…”
All the talisman-users except Genro had collapsed unconscious. Even he looked utterly exhausted, barely staying upright through sheer willpower. Was the feedback from the shikigami’s damage really hitting them this hard?
“Then next—one hundred thousand.”
“......”
At that, Genro finally fell to his knees.
From my hands, countless paper figures fluttered down, transforming into Paper Knights.
“Go.”
At my command, the Paper Knights surged forward. The White Tiger, now slower due to the loss of controllers, was swallowed up by the wave in an instant. Direct control had become its downfall—the summoners no longer had the strength to maintain it.
Sure, the White Tiger was strong—probably even stronger than my Helios—but if it’s directly controlled, wearing down the summoners wins the battle easily.
Engulfed by the tide of Paper Knights, the White Tiger was lifted up and repeatedly stabbed with spears like some kind of victory parade float.
Okay… maybe I overdid it a little. The outermost Paper Knights didn’t even have anything to do. Still, they couldn’t be reused once deployed—they were disposable soldiers.
Leaving them idle would be a waste, so I ordered them to spread the gospel of Michael’s greatness through dance—by performing Thriller.
Thus, a surreal battle unfolded: the White Tiger being mobbed in the center while the outer ranks of Paper Knights danced Thriller. Even if they somehow turned the tables now, I still had over a hundred thousand left, so it was no problem.
Since Paper Knights were far too fragile, I hadn’t planned on using them in the Yamata no Orochi operation anyway. No harm in burning through them here.
They were disposable soldiers, printed en masse. I could replace all losses within a month or two. Even the Soviet Union’s “soldiers grown in fields” would be shocked—this was way more efficient.
“Battle over! Winner, Her Highness Alicetia!”
The White Tiger, unable to resist any further, vanished. The victorious Paper Knights raised their fingers triumphantly toward the sky.
I returned to my brother and the others.
“My total victory.”
I gave him a confident thumbs-up.
“I’ve always thought this, but you really don’t pull your punches, do you? Look at them—the people of Tranquility are pale as ghosts. You’ve scared them half to death.”
Well, that was partly the point—to make sure the Land of Tranquility didn’t betray the Central side by demonstrating my army’s power.
The important thing was to show just a fraction of what I had. The main force of my army wasn’t Paper Knights, but golems. And my talisman skills weren’t particularly good—anyone who saw a Paper Knight get one-shotted by the White Tiger could tell that.
The issue was scale. I had shown them that I could command this many shikigami at once.
With this, the Land of Tranquility would no longer underestimate Arland. A quick glance toward the Emperor showed him nodding in satisfaction, arms crossed. He was probably pleased—this served as pressure against the nobles (or court nobles, as they were called here) who were still skeptical about aligning with the Arland Kingdom. Otherwise, he could’ve stopped this duel by imperial decree.
It was a joint effort between me, who wanted to get this political mess over with quickly, and the Emperor, who wanted to silence the doubters. They now understood that Arland possessed at least this much power—and that this wasn’t even our main force. Those nobles wouldn’t be so quick to stir up trouble again.
In short, my absolute victory.
“A… W-warlod…” someone from the Land of Tranquility muttered in shock, though I didn’t catch who.
Alright then—next up is you, Yamata no Orochi.
What do you think about this chapter?
