Chapter 75: They’re Quite the Bunch. (2)
Whoosh!
Bang!
A small firework exploded near the east gate of Perdium Castle.
“Let’s move!”
The cavalry unit waiting nearby rushed forward at high speed upon confirming the signal.
The Perdium troops must have noticed that firework as well.
They needed to capture the east gate and hold it before the enemy arrived.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
As the cavalry galloped, the infantry waiting behind followed suit.
There was a significant speed difference, but as long as the cavalry entered the castle first, the infantry could join the fight later.
The commander of the cavalry, dashing toward the castle gate, suddenly shrank back as a strange sense of unease washed over him.
“What’s going on? Why is it so quiet?”
The castle gate ahead, flickering with torches, was clearly wide open.
But there was no sign of anyone fighting near the gate.
“Did the traitors and knights subdue all the soldiers? Even if they’re just regular soldiers, this is too quick?”
Perdium would mostly rely on soldiers for defense, given the lack of knights.
If infiltrating knights had subdued them quickly, that wouldn’t be strange. But…
“There’s something off about this.”
His experience built from battles so far gnawed at his instincts.
“Should I pull back the troops?”
As he neared the gate, cold sweat began to trickle down his spine, sending shivers throughout his body.
“No, I still have to go.”
The signal had been given, and the gate was open—there was no way he could hold back now.
If he pulled his troops back out of fear, the knights inside would succeed in the operation and end up dead.
He was a soldier, and he had to move according to plan, even if it was dangerous.
Thud thud thud thud!
The cavalry approached the gate in an instant.
“There are only a few infiltrators. It’s natural for it to be quiet. Let’s go in. In…….”
He steadied his mind while riding and suddenly glanced back at the gate again.
A chill ran down his spine.
The gently glowing red of that gate looked like the mouth of a demon.
If he went in, he’d definitely die.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The cavalry commander decided to trust his instincts.
The moment he turned his horse around.
Swish!
Crash!
An axe flew in from somewhere and lodged itself in his neck.
The cavalry commander fell from his horse.
Neigh!
The horse, now without a rider, veered off and halted, rearing up on its front legs.
A few of those following the commander couldn’t stop in time and collided into him.
Thud! Crash! Bang!
“There’s something here! It’s a trap! It’s a trap!”
“Ahhh! What’s happening?!”
“Turn around! Retreat as we came!”
The front line collapsed into chaos, but the remaining soldiers followed the final command and began to flee.
Following the last order, I turned and started to flee.
Ghislaine, who had thrown an axe from within the castle, licked his lips, seemingly disappointed.
“Certainly, their skills are considerable. It’s a shame the trap wasn’t perfect since I rushed it.”
I had planned to lure everyone inside to kill them, but in my haste, the trap didn’t pan out.
It seemed the enemy commander noticed the opening.
But it didn’t matter. I could catch them even without traps.
“Let’s go!”
Ghislaine shouted as he mounted his horse. Hundreds of cavalry followed him.
Thud thud thud thud!
Ghislaine’s cavalry burst through the castle gate, charging at the panicking enemies.
BANG!
“Uaaaagh!”
After quickly dispatching the remaining cavalry, Ghislaine turned toward the approaching infantry.
The infantry commander had already sensed something was wrong and changed direction.
If the enemies noticed the ambush, they shouldn’t approach anymore.
“Run! If you get caught, you’ll die! I said run!”
The commander urged the soldiers on, desperately sprinting forward.
However, the more troops there were, the harder it was to change direction for the soldiers who were already sprinting with all their might.
“What sharp-eyed folks! Catch them!”
Thud thud thud thud!
With a cruel smile, Ghislaine spurred his horse on. The mercenaries didn’t lag behind him.
In the end, the infantry was caught.
BANG!
“Uaaaagh!”
“Block them! Stop them!”
“Some of you hold them off!”
Those already fleeing couldn’t possibly defend properly.
Ghislaine and the mercenaries began to wreak havoc, like wolves diving into a flock.
*
Meanwhile, Viktor was moving his troops, oblivious to the slaughter occurring in the rear of the infantry.
He focused on the eastern gate from a distance and, upon confirming the signal, shouted in triumph.
“It’s a success! Half of you follow me, the other half attack Perdium Castle!”
Our main forces were attacking the southern gate of Perdium.
Viktor led half of the troops he had separated toward the open eastern gate.
The other half was moving to hold off the Perdium forces clustered at the southern gate.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The response from Perdium’s troops was fairly quick. Zvalter and Randolf led the soldiers back to the ramparts.
But it took a while to notice Viktor’s half of the army circumventing them in the night.
“My Lord! The enemy forces are moving toward the eastern gate!”
“What? Randolf! Take half the troops and support them right away!”
Randolf hurriedly moved half his troops to the eastern gate, following Zvalter’s orders.
It was a move Viktor had already anticipated.
“Heh heh heh, it’s useless. You’re all finished now.”
The eastern gate was already a chaotic battlefield with the troops he had sent in advance.
With Viktor’s forces added to the fray, Perdium Castle would surely fall.
They could fight back with street battles, but the disparity in numbers would lead to their inevitable defeat.
Viktor was confident.
“Come on! Hurry up! Tonight, we’ll sleep inside the castle!”
A thousand remaining cavalry followed him at a rush. The soldiers strained to keep up.
No matter how small and shabby, a castle is still a castle.
Leading a large army around would naturally take time.
“We’re almost there! Hurry… Huh?”
As Viktor was moving diligently, he faced an absurd sight.
“The main force! We’re saved!”
“Help! Hurry!”
“Over here! This way! Come quickly!”
From afar, the soldiers of his ally were rushing over, their formation in complete disarray.
The chaos was running amok up to tenfold.
Viktor stared blankly at them, frozen in shock.
Not knowing what was happening, he couldn’t give any orders for a response.
“Everyone retreat! Fall back!”
Ghislaine, who was slaughtering the rear of the infantry, spotted Viktor’s main force in the distance and immediately turned her horse around, shouting loudly.
“Wahahahaha!”
“I couldn’t even sleep because of you guys!”
“But it was fun!”
The mercenaries laughed heartily and quickly fled after Ghislaine.
As Viktor regained his senses, he erupted in rage, shouting.
“Chase them! Chase that guy!”
Thud thud thud thud!
The cavalry unit raced hard after Ghislaine.
However, their speed was hampered by scattered allied infantry who were also fleeing.
By the time they managed to catch up, Ghislaine and the mercenaries were already entering the castle gate.
The commander of the pursuing cavalry unit shouted loudly.
“Charge! We can catch up!”
It seemed like they could make it in before the gate fully closed if they collided.
With the main force following behind, they only needed to buy a little time.
Thud thud thud thud!
As the cavalry unit pushed themselves to the limit in a sprint, the mercenaries desperately entered the castle.
“Hey, you piss pants! Get out of the way!”
“Hurry up! They’re catching up!”
“Let me in first!”
In their fear, they collided and chaos ensued as they entered.
Creeeak.
Just in time, all the mercenaries made it in as the castle gate began to close.
Viktor’s cavalry lowered their bodies and raised their spears.
“Just a little more!”
It was a close call, but it seemed like they would reach it before the bars came down.
“I’ll break through!”
Just as the leading cavalry unit reached the castle gate…
Swoosh!
A massive rain of arrows started pouring down from the castle wall.
Thwack thwack thwack!
“Uaaagh!”
The cavalry began to fall, hit by the storm of arrows.
Bam! Bam!
The soldiers who followed couldn’t slow down and tumbled over the bodies in a jumbled heap.
From atop the castle wall, Skoban joyfully shouted.
“Fire! Keep firing! Just fire! Shoot them all!”
The gate guards of the east gate and the boundary troops led by Skoban kept firing arrows without rest.
Thanks to Ghislaine’s summons, they were able to respond quickly.
“We’ll help too! Fire!”
The reinforcements led by Randolf, who arrived shortly after, also began to provide cover fire upon seeing the scene.
Boom!
Meanwhile, the castle gate had completely closed, and the bars came down.
At this point, unless the knights who could manipulate mana stepped in, it couldn’t be breached in one go.
The remaining cavalry had no choice but to turn back to the main force.
Watching the pathetic return of the cavalry, Viktor exploded in anger.
“Uaaagh! Damn those bastards!”
He had been caught in his own trap. The little insider he had was unreachable.
Adding up the casualties from the stationed cavalry and infantry, it exceeded three hundred.
Like rain lightly soaking clothes, the damage was accumulating gradually.
“Let’s head back!”
In the end, he returned to his position.
Cheers of victory rang out once more from Perdium. Viktor gritted his teeth as he heard them.
Randolf hurriedly pushed through the jubilant soldiers of Perdium and rushed to Ghislaine.
“Grand Duke! What’s going on? How did you hold them off!”
He had rushed over, having heard that the east gate was in trouble, only to find heaps of enemy corpses.
Moreover, the advancing enemies had all turned back.
Randolf couldn’t understand what kind of magic the enemy had cast with such minimal personnel.
“It’s nothing special. It seems the enemy got a bit clever, but they fell for my trap.”
“That’s not it. It seems the enemy has put some thought into this, and I’ve caught onto it.”
Ghislaine briefly explained the captured knights and Viktor’s scheme.
Randolf looked bewildered.
“Wow, again…?”
Once could be a coincidence. But can a coincidence really happen twice?
The Ghislaine Randolf knew was definitely not the type to detect enemy plots.
If anything, he was more ignorant than Randolf, certainly not clever.
“Ahem, it seems the Grand Duke has changed a little.”
Just a little while ago, Ghislaine really annoyed him.
He had even felt the urge to smack him a few times.
But every time Perdium was in danger, Ghislaine had been active, so those thoughts faded away.
Feeling awkward, Randolf stepped aside and reported the situation to Zvalter.
“Heh, Ghislaine blocked it with that personnel, huh?”
No wonder he hadn’t seen Ghislaine and the mercenaries; they must have moved toward the east gate first.
“That’s a relief. Really a relief.”
If the battle against the supply unit came from instinctual senses, this situation definitely required knowledge of strategy and tactics.
Just thinking about how this war would have turned out without Ghislaine was terrifying.
It could have ended in one fell swoop upon first encounter.
Zvalter felt overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of his troublesome son growing through war.
Now Ghislaine was an indispensable commander for the territory.
“To figure out the enemy’s scheme and turn it against them… Did he study strategy? Heh, good thing he entrusted his education to Belinda…”
Randolf interrupted Zvalter seriously.
“There’s no way he studied anything. Do you know how ignorant the Grand Duke is? He’s probably even more ignorant than me.”
Zvalter pouted.
Even if he was a troublemaker, one doesn’t feel great hearing their kid insulted.
Especially when compared to Randolf.
Seeing his expression, Randolf scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Zvalter chuckled and waved his hand.
“Well, he’s always been the type to do things his own way, so he must have had his own methods. For now, let him rest. Let the soldiers have a good rest too.”
Deciding to ask the curious questions later, Zvalter set about organizing the troops.
They needed to rest a bit to endure the battles that would continue tomorrow.
*
While Randolf was reporting to Zvalter, Ghislaine dispersed the mercenaries and headed somewhere alone.
A cruel smile appeared on his lips.
“Viktor! You’ve come, huh!”
He learned who the enemy commander was through the captured knights.
Count Harold Desmond’s sword, Swordmaster Viktor.
He was someone he had encountered when waging war against the Ruthania Kingdom.
The guy had managed to withstand dozens of exchanges with Ghislaine, who was one of the seven strongest on the continent, making him quite notable.
In the end, Ghislaine had split him in two, but he remembered the name because it was a worthy opponent.
“This is an opportunity.”
A very good chance to take off the head of someone who would become a hindrance in the future.
That guy would lose his life here before he could even properly grow.
“Sending that treasured pawn here.”
Perhaps he wanted him to gain real battle experience and earn some achievements.
If Ghislaine weren’t here, Count Desmond would have gotten exactly what he desired…
“You’ve made a mistake, Harold.”
Ghislaine exuded a devilish smile, radiating a deadly aura.
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