Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki - Book 4: Chapter 6-2: The Forbidden Fruit

「Everyone, cover your ears and open your mouths halfway!」 I shouted with all my might. The metal cylinders that had collided with soldiers and shields rolled on the ground, and in the next moment, they exploded with a tremendous roar. The entire area was covered in dust and smoke. 「This is terrible.」 Moments before, the scene had been filled with soldiers, but now there was no one. Some had been mangled by the explosion, and countless metal fragments had pierced others. As far as I could see, there were corpses everywhere, and those who had survived were severely wounded or fatally injured. Even the Imperial soldiers more than a hundred meters away were kneeling and gasping in pain, as metal fragments had pierced their bodies. Even those without physical injuries were staggering in agony due to the deafening explosion. The damage extended beyond just humans. Trees had been uprooted, holes pockmarked the ground, and numerous metal fragments had embedded themselves in the sturdy walls. 「Cyril, what is this? It’s too powerful. It’s absurd how easily people are dying.」 Even Lucy was trembling in fear. It was the first time we had witnessed its power. The power was so overwhelming that we couldn’t conduct a test fire. 「This is a hand grenade, It’s a weapon that, as Lucy said, I’d rather not use on people.」 What I had created was a hand grenade. Inside the iron cylinder was a simple combination of a fuse ignited by extreme impact, a large amount of black powder, and countless small metal fragments. Upon the first explosion, it blew up a radius of about 20 meters, killing a significant number of people instantly. Furthermore, the metal fragments mixed with explosives scattered around 10 to 100 meters, and each one had the power of a gunshot, resulting in more casualties than the explosion itself. Twenty of these were thrown at evenly spaced intervals. There was no living creature that could withstand this. It was an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction. While it was challenging to use without causing self-harm, due to the need to keep the point of impact within 50 meters of the wall, in terms of defense, there was nothing more effective. The beauty of the hand grenade lay in its simple structure, making mass production easy. No maintenance was required either. Materials were readily available. There was an abundance of iron taken from the Empire. Gunpowder could be made with saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. Saltpeter could be produced with water and air, charcoal from burning wood, and sulfur from corpses. Since we only used it for defense, I intentionally designed it to not explode unless slammed into the ground with full force, making it safer. In an era where dense formations were prevalent, there was no weapon more cost-effective and efficient at killing people. 「Nettle, pursue them!」 The troops who had been held in reserve were frozen in place due to the situation. It was understandable. In an instant, over a hundred people had died, and more than twice that number were seriously injured. However, we didn’t show any mercy. The Empire’s soldiers believed they were safe as long as they didn’t advance, so they didn’t try to escape. We needed to correct that perception. 「Prepare the special arrows!」 Upon my command, arrows were fitted to crossbows. But these arrows were different from usual. They were slightly longer and had attachments at their tips. We attached small hand grenades to them. Normally, attaching something like this to an arrowhead would disrupt its aerodynamics, causing it to veer off course and significantly reducing its range due to increased air resistance. However, with the elf’s [Wind Shield] magic, even with such attachments, the arrows could aim for long distances without being affected by the wind. 「Fire!」 At my signal, the members of Nettle simultaneously released their arrows. The target was 100 meters away. When Nettle’s members got serious, arrows with hand grenades could reach up to 150 meters. These arrows hit the densely packed soldiers. Once again, multiple explosions rang out. The scale was smaller than before, but still, a dozen meters were blown away by the blast, and countless metal fragments scattered. In just one volley, nearly a hundred casualties occurred. Combining the attributes of elves, crossbows, and hand grenades created this astonishing tactic. The Imperial soldiers began to flee en masse. I picked up their voices on the wind. 「Run away!」 「There’s no way we can win against that!」 「Why are they reaching us from so far away!?」 「I don’t want to die like that!」 It was understandable. At any moment, we could blow up an area around the target, killing with deadly metal fragments scattered within dozens of meters. No one would approach us after witnessing this. Until now, we had only been attacking one person at a time. That gave the Imperial soldiers hope because they thought they were safe. But the combination of crossbows and hand grenades shattered even that hope. 「Don’t flee! Run, run, and break through the outer wall before they strike again!」 A passionate nobleman was shouting from behind. There was a considerable distance from here, and aiming for him was impossible. Despite the nobleman’s efforts, all the soldiers, except for a few, had started to flee. Only the elite guards remained. Why aren’t they fleeing? As I tilted my head, a group of well-dressed knights on horseback charged towards us. Were they waiting for reinforcements? The nobleman was smiling and trying to welcome the knights with open arms. 「Oh, reinforcements! We appreciate it.」 Then, in the next moment… 「He killed him?」 The man beheaded the nobleman. The surrounding soldiers tried to protest, but the other knights silenced them. The knight placed his sword on the ground, held the nobleman’s head in his hands, and slowly walked toward us. 「Listen, elves. This attack was not the Empire’s will. It was the unilateral action of Duke Florandy, who sought to redeem his own mistakes. The Empire had already decided to retrieve the iron equipment with gold coins.」 When the knight reached a position where his voice could be heard clearly, he shouted earnestly. His voice seemed sincere, and he conveyed a sense of regret. 「As proof of my sincerity, I have purged Duke Florandy. Please consider this. Can we negotiate again? I, an envoy from the Empire, Voldeck one of the Four Dukes, request an audience.」 「I am Cyril, representative of Erucy. Very well, we understand your position. The negotiations will take place in a room in Bell Erucy, this former Imperial supply base, which is now a village under Erucy’s control. You may bring only one companion.」 「Thank you. Elf Chief, I appreciate it.」 I felt a certain level of interest in his audacity but also increased caution. Above all, what caught my attention was that, despite his humility, the man had referred to me as the leader of the elves, not the leader of Erucy. This was undoubtedly an expression of his refusal to acknowledge the existence of the elven nation.