How to Live as a Knight After the Ending
Chapter 263: Tirna Defense Force (2)

Osian's gaze turned to the sky.

He could see three airships of the District Defense Force's air force, and a girl riding a dragon crossing between them.

The witch who was dispatched was Alice Riddle.

She was one of the longtime members of the Witch Tea Party and a witch with outstanding combat ability.

Her wavy blonde hair, reaching down to her waist, fluttered in the wind.

The comfortable attire that refined the white apron and sky-blue based dress was practically Alice's symbol.

Alice held the reins in one hand and a sword in the other.

At last, reinforcements had arrived.

[Witch Tea Party] is one of the largest witch factions existing in Tirna.

They received enormous benefits from Tirna's city government in exchange for agreeing to use their witchcraft for the city government.

Considering witches as very unique high-level personnel, they don't move unless absolutely necessary.

The fact that such a large organization bears the light name of "tea party" proves that they are not in a position to be pushed around by the city government.

Most matters can be resolved internally by the city government, and witches don't particularly step forward.

However, the current situation was different.

A large-scale terrorist air raid happened in District 34 and the opponents were familiars of the great witch [Mother Goose], and other witches and familiars were also observed in the situation.

It was enough for [Witch Tea Party] to send someone.

Alice Riddle was riding a creature that looked like a large dragon.

With membranous wings, long neck, and tail, from afar it briefly resembled a wyvern, one of the dragon species, but upon closer inspection, it was very different.

Compared to a wyvern, it had fewer scales, a thinner body, and was smaller in size.

It was 'Jabberwock,' one of Alice Riddle's familiars.

-Grooooar!

Jabberwock let out a bizarre roar while flapping its wings.

Each time it did so, its body cut through the air and moved steadily forward.

The moving candy castle didn't stay still either.

Some of the gun ports attached to the castle walls aimed at Jabberwock and Alice.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Along with the sound of gunfire, various candies were shot.

While the projectiles visible to the naked eye looked like silly sweet shapes, these were lethal weapons that could lead to death just by touching them.

Alice swung the gleaming Vorpal Sword in her hand.

With just that, the incoming candy shells were precisely cut in half, creating colorful explosions in mid-air.

"My goodness, what is that?"

Lorraine, who was watching the scene through her scope, let out an exclamation.

The shells were cut in half even without being touched, even those far away.

Moreover, the attack area was strange. Normally when swinging a sword, the strike is delivered in a 'line.'

However, the sword Alice swung cut all the shells in half as if measured with a ruler, even those with oddly misaligned coordinates.

Everything within range was completely cut.

'So this is what it means to be a witch? To do such things with just a sword...No, there was someone else who could do that.'

Lorraine's gaze turned to Osian.

She thought there would be nothing more surprising after seeing him wear the Starlight Armor, but that wasn't the case.

Where did he get such a thing, wearing golden armor that blazed like the burning sun.

He even managed to strike that candy castle with it.

"This is truly a battle of superhumans. Really. Where and what is an ordinary gunner like me supposed to do?"

While complaining, she reloaded her divine bullets and provided covering fire to help Diolan.

Now wasn't the time to be swayed by futile emotions.

-Puhwaaaaak!

Jabberwock, which had gotten closer to the candy castle, spewed red flames from its mouth but the candy castle used defensive crackers to block Jabberwock's flames.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

As firecrackers burst from toy cannons, nets spread out.

Seeing the pink nets made of sticky bubblegum, Jabberwock made a sharp turn in mid-air but the bubblegum nets were persistent and succeeded in catching one of Jabberwock's wings.

While Jabberwock didn't crash, its nimble maneuverability was reduced by more than half.

Woooong───!!!

An unknown vibration sound covered the entire sky.

Lorraine unconsciously lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at the sight of a small dark cloud.

"What's that now?"

At first, she thought it was a dark cloud, but that wasn't it.

There was no way a dark cloud would make such regular, fine vibrating sounds.

It was a swarm of bees.

Billions of bees with orange and black stripes attacked Alice.

Simultaneously, the candy castle's bombardment, which had temporarily stopped, resumed.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

The candy castle no longer mercilessly dropped gift box bombs like before.

Instead, what poured down were even larger candies.

The candies that fell to the ground raised dust clouds and from within the dust clouds, giant silhouettes rose up.

When they straightened their crouched legs, they appeared to be about 3-4 meters tall.

Just because they were candies didn't mean they could be taken lightly. They all knew how vicious the items from this candy castle were, having experienced them firsthand.

"Oh no."

Lorraine also let out an exclamation.

A large cupcake with arms and legs had happened to land near her vicinity. Or should we say, landed.

The candy golem that stood up spotted Lorraine.

Not only was her position identified, but an enemy appeared right next to her, it was the worst situation for a sniper.

Lorraine withdrew her gun barrel that had been aimed at Solomon Grundy and threw herself sideways as a fist covered in whipped cream struck the spot where she had just been.

-Hisssss!

Whatever kind of whipped cream it was, the solid metal floor melted and became mushy.

Lorraine pulled out a sawed-off shotgun from her waist and fired at the golem.

The creature's body flinched, but that was all. Despite the shotgun's powerful stopping power, it wouldn't fall.

"Ah, this is troublesome."

Just as she was considering whether to retreat, help arrived.

[Get out of the way.]

At the sudden warning voice, Lorraine hastily retreated backward.

It was an instinctive judgment gained from long experience.

Lorraine soon realized her judgment was correct as hot flames engulfed the candy golem's body.

Despite thinking she had maintained a safe distance, Lorraine unconsciously frowned at the heat she could still feel.

The one who burned the candy golem, which had struggled before collapsing to the ground, was a soldier wearing a brass-colored power suit.

After confirming the surroundings, the power suit that had spewed flamethrowers from both hands sent a signal.

Along with heavy footsteps clanking, soldiers wearing similar suits appeared.

"District Defense Force?"

Steam suits are about 2.3m tall. They were weapons allowed only to armored soldiers belonging to the District Defense Force Army.

A mechanical voice came from inside the rugged helmet of the armored soldier who had saved Lorraine.

[I am Captain Brian of the District Defense Force. From here on, the District Defense Force Army will take over. Withdraw to a safe place.]

After unilaterally saying his piece, Captain Brian led his armored soldiers deeper into the battlefield.

-Groooo.

The candy golems that had landed on the ground saw the armored soldiers.

While the armored soldiers were big, the candy golems were much bigger.

Though one might feel pressured by the size difference, the armored soldiers didn't back down.

[Men. Protect Tirna.]

[For the city.]

[For freedom.]

Along with voices filled with firm conviction, the armored soldiers drew their guns.

Weighing over 30kg, they looked more like portable cannons than guns.

-Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

With each pull of the trigger, enormous shell casings fell in showers.

Along with the heavy gunfire, parts of the candy golems' bodies burst here and there.

"Wow, insane."

Lorraine, watching the scene, gaped.

Who wouldn't be thrilled by this sight? She was witnessing with her own eyes the actual combat of the District Defense Force she had only heard about.

Especially that large-caliber gun they were using looked very tempting. Just one pull of that trigger would fulfill all her wishes.

-Groooo!

But her contemplation couldn't last long because the candy golems launched their counterattack.

Created by witch's power, the candy golems withstood the bullets with hard biscuit shields on both arms.

Not only that, they were advancing one step at a time, making them essentially living tanks that only looked like candies.

When Captain Brian at the front extended both arms, flames containing flammable chemicals shot out in a straight line.

The candy shields, unable to withstand the intense heat, melted away, and the candy golems behind them couldn't escape damage either.

At that moment, some candy golems charged toward Captain Brian with thundering steps and quick movements but Captain Brian didn't even glance at them because he trusted his subordinates.

[Fall back! Creature of the evil witch!]

An armored soldier confronted the candy golem.

As the candy golem extended its burly arms, the armored soldier grabbed them both and entered a test of strength.

-Boom!

The armored soldier's legs sank about an inch into the ground. The golem had more pure strength.

The soldier's suit made creaking, precarious sounds. But the soldier neither groaned in pain nor cowered in fear.

[For the city!]

The soldier, shouting as if to engrave it in himself, increased his suit's output.

-Hisssss!

Bright white steam burst forcefully from the huge backpack attached to his back.

With the temporary increase in output, the golem's hands were pushed back.

The armored soldier then threw off the golem's arms and pulled out a close-combat weapon from his waist.

-Kiiing!

The chainsaw weapon roared loudly as it spun.

The armored soldier thrust the chainsaw weapon into the golem's stomach.

-Kwagagagak!

As the saw that had penetrated the golem's abdomen rotated, its contents sprayed everywhere.

The soldier then swung the chainsaw weapon upward in a big arc.

The golem, split in half from abdomen to crown, spread wide left and right as it collapsed.

Cream and cookie crumbs were stuck all over the armored soldier's suit.

If the opponent had been a living being rather than a golem made of candy, an unspeakably gruesome scene would have unfolded.

[Corporal O'Connell. How's your status?]

[I'm fine!]

[Don't let your guard down. Enemy reinforcements are coming.]

The District Defense Force tried to push the frontline with their momentum, but soldiers joined in from the enemy's side.

The soldiers fired guns from the rear, checking the armored soldiers. While not enough to penetrate the sturdy suits, they had sufficient stopping power.

Meanwhile, a huge roar echoed through the air.

-Kroaaak!

It was the cry of Alice's familiar, Jabberwock.

Unable to withstand the bee swarm's offensive, Jabberwock fell helplessly.

Alice escaped from Jabberwock and summoned a large bird wearing a hat to mount it.

It was 'Jubjub Bird,' another one of Alice Riddle's familiars.

Though smaller in size, Jubjub Bird, more agile than Jabberwock, flew quickly with countless bees pursuing behind.

The bee swarm attached themselves not only to Alice but also to the airships.

The airships' mana barriers tried to block the bees, but there were just too many.

The airships spewed incendiary shells, creating clouds of flame in the air. Meanwhile, the candy castle continued to attack the airships.

It was truly a situation reminiscent of war.

"Ah, this is really too much!"

Alice Riddle, focusing hard on evasive maneuvers while riding the Jubjub Bird, voiced her frustration at this unreasonable situation.

She had been dispatched because of a problem, but of all opponents, it had to be Mother Goose's familiars.

"And nobody told me they'd joined hands with Hansel and Gretel, the Queen Bee, and the Nutcracker!"

The candy castle of Hansel and Gretel was particularly problematic.

It was an aerial mobile fortress whose very existence matched the power of a nation's army.

Those insane twins had killed their birth mother and taken over her house, becoming historical maniacs.

Alice tried to resist somehow by swinging her Vorpal Sword, but there were far too many bees in the swarm.

Moreover, it was torture trying to dodge the bombardment from the candy castle that seemed to be keeping her in check.

If Jabberwock had been fine, it might have been different, but this wouldn't work.

'If I could just get close, I might be able to handle it with the Bandersnatch.'

They must have known this too, as they were trying to block her approach as much as possible.

It was at this moment, as she was considering whether to retreat and get more support from the Tea Party members.

-Flash!

Simultaneously with a massive light rising from the ground a huge golden pillar swept through part of the bee army.

A large hole was torn in the black cloud as the bees caught in the pillar of light vanished without leaving a trace.

"Who could that be?"

Alice's gaze, finally finding some breathing room, turned to the source of the light pillar.

The same was true for the armored battalion fighting against candy golems and toy soldiers on the ground.

[That's...]

They saw it.

A golden knight who carried a massive ring over three meters in diameter on his back, emanating heat that melted the surrounding earth.

Osian, carrying an even larger solar ring than before, had reached the maximum he could control at this moment.

In this moment, he was a living sun.