Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Volume 4

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World Light Novel #4

by Kei Sazane, Ao Nekonabe (Illustrator), Jan Cash (Translator)

A SECRET NEVER TO BE TOLD...
To rest and recuperate from their set of life-threatening missions, Unit 907 is finally granted a much-needed break. And what better place to spend time off than at a distant resort where they can lounge in their bathing suits 24-7? Against all odds, the trip is going according to plan...until Iska bumps into a certain witch who instantly reminds him of Alice. In fact, it feels all too familiar when she demands he come to Nebulis-for reasons she simply cannot reveal. And she isn't the only one with a hidden motive: Alice has arrived to investigate why her sister has been spying on Iska...for months.

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 2018

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. I did miss Alice more than I thought I would, but Sisbel was alright. Iska and company are generally a fun read. Putting them all together with some twists in the world made for an entertaining volume that built up and leaves plenty of room for additional books.

I'll certainly be looking out for volume 5 as I whittle down my stack of to-reads.

[Pablo García · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more this light novel series evolves, the less interesting it becomes. This fourth volume starts with a beach resort vacation. Apparently the war that has lasted for centuries is not a priority for the main characters or the supporting characters.
I do not see good banter between Iska and Alice, they do not have a positive relationship. Alice for some lack of emotional intelligence by the author is always getting naked in front of Iska. This time, to show a variety of swim suits.
It seems that Alice is not enough (Mismis, Nene, Rin) as female characters to be around Iska, that the author introduces the youngest princess of the Nebulis Sovereignty (third Princess). Another counterproductive competition (jealous rivalry) starts with Alice and Sisbell.
I guess the author wanted a harem opposites-attract-forbidden-love romatic comedy? I just wish that they would get their stories straight from the beginning so that readers like me, can skip them.

[Rumi]

Finally reached the anime.

The only difference between my opinion in the anime and the light novel in this book is sisbell character. I respect her so much and loved her character as well. In the anime I didn’t give her a second thought. Everyone says it becomes harem-ish and disliking it already. But i’m the opposite. The thing i like from this author is how good he is at character interactions and building relationship. More than the power related stuff and fights. ( but he is getting better at it )

I never expected him to make me like iska with someone else and see a big possibility as well. He really did great job.

[Ray Rappisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are really heating up with the addition of Sisbell and the shadiness of Elletear. I enjoy the goofy stuff like the vacation and the very end with Alice and Iska, but when Mismis’s astral power arrives to save Jhin, we’ll you just added a star to this review. I’m hoping to see more of this!

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it more than volume 2 for sure, probably more than volume 3 as well, but still not quite on par with volume 1. But still good.

I like that Nene and Jhin had their moments to shine, esp since they did things Iska could not do (Jhin would've beaten Lord Mask if Mask hadn't gotten lucky and could probably shoot and defeat the machine Iska couldn't, while Nene's mechanical firepower was better than Iska at defeating the machine).

I also like that they tied a lot of previous plot points from previous volumes while hinting at what's to come in the future: the imprisoned girl that Iska freed and finally reunites with, Mismis becoming a witch coming to the forefront as a significant issue, Lord Mask the villain from volume 2 taking action, and then there's sinister stuff like the Empire experimenting on witches it seems and how Salinger is probably going to attack the palace again.

My biggest disappointment is that Alice and Iska didn't get more scenes together, but his interactions with Sisbell did make up for it a bit, and I think the volume as a whole also did a better job showing unit 907's skill, esp Nene/Jhin, and I even appreciated Mismis' powers being shown a bit more (magic suppression?).

Looking forward to volume 5, but at this point, I don't rank this series as highly as I'd hope when starting and reading volume 1. It's still enjoyable, but it doesn't focus enough on the star crossed enemy-lovers romance trope that I had wanted it to focus on as much. But its still my favorite trope, and the series is still mostly enjoyable, albeit they do repeat a lot of things from previous volumes. But overall still pretty enjoyable a work as a whole.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth volume in the series centers around Alice's sister Sisbell. We learn more about Sisbell's astral power and her motivations to become Queen. Sisbell wants to track down Iska to be her ally, and both clash in a nice resort country while Iska and his team are on a much needed vacation. The inclusion of Sisbell gives the story some more depth and intrigue, but I will say that it makes the novel feel more "harem-ish" with both Alice and Sisbell vying for Iska's attention, albeit in different ways. I am not sure I enjoyed that as much, and have a feeling it's going to get all love-triangle-type-weird in subsequent volumes. But the book has some good things - world is well done, the conflict is getting more intrigue, the characters overpowered, fun tidbits, and a good fight/action towards the end. Hoping for more Iska and Alice interactions in the next novel, and that the action and intrigue continues.