The one-sided barrage of naval artillery comes to an end, just as Jean had predicted. The Valkia Imperial Army appears from an unexpected direction.

“I thought the reinforcements were late, but it seems we’ve been outmaneuvered. They must have marched around us,” he says.

If they had come straight from their current position, the Valkia Empire should have appeared from the southwest. However, they had marched from the east instead, putting us in a pincer position.

“Well, I had considered this possibility too. Ideally, I wanted to stick with Plan A, but we have no choice. We’ll split the army into two groups.”

The division of the army was extreme—essentially just the Musou Iron Cavalry Brigade and everyone else. When I pointed this out to Jean, he responded,

“You can’t expect us to make a detailed formation in the middle of battle.”

He was right, and I couldn’t argue with that.

The regular Federal Army continued their assault on the now significantly weakened Ryuber Army, while our Musou Iron Cavalry Brigade prepared to confront the Valkia Army advancing from the east.

“Yamato 180, turn! Target the main guns at the Valkia Imperial Fleet in the east! Musou Iron Cavalry Brigade’s Magicraft units, prepare for melee combat after the naval bombardment. We’re going to hit them hard!”

It’s easy to say, but we’re at a severe disadvantage in terms of sheer numbers. Even for the elite Musou Iron Cavalry Brigade’s Magicraft units, this won’t be an easy fight.

“Yuta, at this rate, there’s too much of a difference in strength. We need you to fire the Four Elements Cannon from above before the melee starts.”

Of course. Fighting head-on with this disparity in forces would be too much. I took off in the Arleo II and immediately began preparations for the Four Elements Cannon.

Since it’s not a weapon that can be fired repeatedly in a short time, I had to choose the target carefully. I asked Feri to analyze and pinpoint the most effective spot for maximum impact with a single shot. However, the enemy noticed the Arleo II in the sky and began attacking. But the Valkia Empire’s long-range artillery was neither accurate nor powerful enough to pose a real threat to the Arleo II, so I ignored it and continued to aim.

“Target locked. Firing preparations complete. Commencing spell incantation—Ludia Core, access—initiating spell ‘Agni Gradia,’ initiating linked incantation for spell ‘Earth Titan,’ initiating linked incantation for spell ‘Sea Triton,’ initiating linked incantation for spell ‘Zeus Weapon’—initiating simultaneous incantation for spell ‘Heroic Boost’—target range selected, position corrected, aiming completed—Four Elements Cannon, ready to fire—”

“All right, fire the Four Elements Cannon!”

A blinding explosion of light engulfs the Valkia Imperial Army. The enemy noticed the attack and deployed shields, but most of their Magicraft units couldn’t withstand the destructive power of the Four Elements Cannon and were annihilated.

With that single strike aimed at their densest formation, at least several thousand enemy units were rendered inoperative.