238th Chapter: Deception, Encirclement, Annihilation. (2)
Thud thud thud thud!
Zvalter, at the forefront, had his sword stained a vibrant blue. Having mastered the Mana Circulation Method that Ghislaine had bestowed upon him, he unleashed far greater and more intense mana than before.
His hair billowed like a wild beast’s mane, reflecting off his shining silver armor, and his awe-inspiring expression paired with vibrant, electrifying eyes, complemented by a magnificently groomed beard from the morning.
At this moment, Zvalter and his followers resembled wolves galloping through the north.
“Charge!”
Whaaaaaaa!
When Zvalter shouted, everyone following erupted in cheers. The sheer volume of their screams shook the very ground beneath them.
‘I can do it! I can do it! I absolutely must!’
Zvalter gritted his teeth, his heart racing fiercely.
How long had it been since his heart raced like this?
Against the barbarians, he had always opted for a defensive strategy to minimize damage. Sure, there had been times he chased retreating foes, but never before had he ventured outside the fortress when the enemy charged.
Thud thud thud thud!
With Zvalter leading the charge, all of Perdium’s knights and cavalry were dispatched. That wasn’t all; every troop in the fortress, including archers, followed close behind.
The sight stunned the barbarians. They had never faced an enemy like this and had no idea how to respond.
“W-what the hell? What’s going on here? Why are there still so many troops left?!”
“Wasn’t the main force already deployed?”
“Throw away the ladders! We’ll fight them head-on like this!”
They were oblivious to the fact that Ghislaine had recently joined the knights with new recruits. They thought the recently active troops must just be those who had stayed at the Northern Fortress.
In this absurd situation where troops that shouldn’t have been present were now visible, the barbarians’ spirits began to wane.
But the great warriors soon burst into laughter. Looking back, it was actually a good thing for them.
“We have far more numbers anyway! This is great! Just push them down!”
It was a far better situation than fighting while sticking close to the fortress. The odds were greater than anticipated, but not enough to frighten them.
The total number of soldiers emerging from the Northern Fortress was barely over a thousand. In contrast, the assembled warriors here numbered over five thousand.
These were folks who had survived the harsh North. For them to be scared before battle was the utmost humiliation.
But now, facing such a disparity in numbers? Being frightened was synonymous with lacking the qualifications of a warrior.
“Those guys are weaklings!”
“Let’s smash all their heads in!”
“The Northern Fortress will meet its end today!”
The roars of the rugged warriors echoed everywhere.
“Oooooooooo!”
With their spirits regained, fierce killing intent began to radiate from the eyes of the barbarians.
In response to the great warriors’ shouts, the warriors’ roars erupted. It was a massive and overwhelming sound that overshadowed the Perdium army’s cheers.
As he glared at the bolstered warriors, Zvalter shouted loudly.
“Break through!”
Boom!
The knights at the forefront of the Perdium Army swiftly charged through the ranks of the barbarians. Thanks to their enhanced Mana Circulation Method, the barbarian formation crumbled easily.
However, the barbarians, being accustomed to cavalry, weren’t intimidated by the knights’ charge.
Great Warriors shouted loudly from all around.
“Let’s go! Let’s remind those weaklings of our terror once more!”
For them, there were no developing spear tactics or strategies against cavalry. Such things were for weak humans to worry about.
Cavalry tactics were ultimately intended to minimize the damage to allies.
As always, the barbarians made active use of their bodies.
“Everyone, stick together!”
“Ooooooh!”
“The blessing of the great warrior is with us!”
The warriors launched themselves at the incoming cavalry. Without fear of being trampled, they swung their axes toward the horses’ ankles.
Neighhh!
Horses fell, and the barbarians tumbled onto the battlefield, catching the falling knights as they went.
Those who charge forward without fearing death are not easy to handle. The true strength of the barbarians shone through in such chaotic battles.
With their opponents recklessly charging in, the cavalry found it hard to gather their strength.
“Grrr!”
Zvalter gritted his teeth.
“I can’t be overwhelmed by momentum.”
He knew all too well the frenzied battle spirit of the barbarians. That’s why he had avoided direct confrontations with large armies thus far.
“Urrgh!”
“Die, you bastard!”
“Let’s finish this today!”
Luckily, the Perdium Army’s fighting spirit matched that of the barbarians. Memories of past defeats had brewed a potent anger, and along with Ghislaine, they charged forward, breaking through the tribes and raising their morale.
Everyone clenched their teeth and clashed with the barbarians.
The barbarian warriors relied on their numbers, continually throwing themselves into battle. Engrossed in the heat of the fight, they showed no fear even when comrades fell next to them.
“Keep pushing forward!”
“We’ll show our terror to the weaklings of the kingdom!”
“Northland wolves! You shall die here today!”
The barbarians charged with terrifying faces, swinging their axes as if they felt no fear at all.
Neither side was willing to step back, fueled by the emotions of the past.
In the early stages, the tide of battle clearly favored Perdium. Thanks to their formation and a successful preemptive strike, their casualties weren’t as severe as those of their opponents.
But the barbarians rushed in as though it didn’t matter if they perished. With their overwhelming numbers, the Perdium soldiers gradually found themselves crushed under the barbarians’ madness.
Boom!
“Grrr!”
One barbarian pounced on a mounted knight. Knight Skoban barely managed to pull the reins to avoid an attack and immediately swung his sword in retaliation.
“Damn, is this really how it’s supposed to be? Can we win like this? The numbers are just too uneven!”
It was a plan concocted by the Grand Duke and that Claude guy, but no matter how he thought about it, it felt absurd. To abandon the fortress and fight outside?
For a moment, resentment welled up, but he shook it off. Honestly, it was the Grand Duke, so there must be some other scheme in play.
Though it felt nagging to overlook it, he couldn’t deny the fun he’d had traveling with Ghislaine these past few days.
“I am also a knight of Perdium!”
He couldn’t forget his fallen comrades. He couldn’t forgive the barbarians who constantly tormented their territory.
If he gave his all to make the plan succeed, he could kill all the barbarian scum. The Grand Duke had sworn that it would happen, so it must be true.
Skoban decided to trust the Grand Duke once more.
“Uaaaaaah!”
He shouted repeatedly, encouraging himself while swinging his sword.
He managed to strike down several of the relentless barbarians attacking him.
But as the saying goes, numbers matter, and ultimately, he was pushed off his horse by a barbarian who exploited a momentary gap.
Like there was nothing missing, he was ultimately pushed off his horse by a barbarian who seized a brief opening.
“Guh!”
Caw! Caw!
As soon as he fell, several barbarian warriors rushed in and drove their axes into Skoban’s body. However, Skoban exploded with the power of mana at that moment, blocking all the attacks.
Swoosh!
Then he sprang up and decapitated all the warriors clinging to him.
Looking down at the sprawling corpses, he couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
‘This crazy mana circulation method almost killed me while training… But thanks to it, I’m alive now.’
The downside was the reduced duration, but the ability to unleash tremendous power instantaneously was undoubtedly useful. Once again, he managed to survive the ambush by killing the barbarians in one go.
Slash!
“Hah, hah…”
Skoban, who had been cutting down the charging barbarians, looked around with tired eyes.
The tension felt on the battlefield was beyond imagination. Even moving the same way made him several times more fatigued than usual.
Yet Skoban kept slicing through the barbarians, even exploding mana. It was odd that he wasn’t getting tired.
“Hah, hah…”
His legs began to feel heavy. The heat from the enemy’s bloodied body made it feel like he was suffocating.
‘I need to get out of here.’
The assault tactic had already lost its effectiveness. He had broken through the front line, but the number of remaining enemies was simply too high. Since the opponent was fiercely closing in, they couldn’t penetrate deep into their ranks.
‘Blocking the cavalry charge with my body. They’re really relentless bastards.’
He had to move to the side now. Cavalry could not exert their power well in such chaotic situations.
The cavalry had already retreated to the side after the initial clash, as soon as their path was blocked. The knights had intentionally stayed back to secure a safe retreat.
As if reading Skoban’s mind, Zvalter’s voice boomed at just the right moment.
“Now move to the side! Knights, hurry up and retreat! Quickly!”
Skoban moved, cutting down the barbarian warriors alongside the knights.
He just wanted to collapse and rest, but he gritted his teeth and endured. He had just begun to get stronger and wanted to live, so dying here would be unjust.
‘That bastard Ricardo is so lucky!’
He’s popular with women and always lives like a playboy. He’s probably napping at the Forest of Monsters fortress right now.
Thinking that made Skoban’s blood boil.
‘I absolutely won’t die! No, I can’t die!’
The moment he thought of that annoying face, strength he didn’t have surged within him. Fueled by jealousy, he swung his sword fervently as he moved.
“Shield! Quickly form a defensive line!”
At Zvalter’s shout, the following shield soldiers began to create a defensive line. The soldiers were holding massive, thick shields, unlike usual.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the space where the knights and cavalry had retreated, a long wall of shields was set up before he knew it.
“Wooooooh!”
The barbarians let out a roar of victory upon seeing that. If they were going to hold it like this, they might as well stay in the fortress; what was the point of coming out?
They charged even more wildly.
Though they took heavy blows in the beginning, it was okay. They still had the overwhelming numerical advantage. In fact, that sacrifice fueled the fervor of the barbarians.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The warriors’ axes ruthlessly struck the shields.
Perdium’s shield soldiers gritted their teeth and held out against the fierce onslaught. They focused solely on defense, without thrusting their spears between the shields.
“Hahaha! Finally scared, are you?”
“That’s how weaklings behave!”
“Since you’ve come out, you might as well offer your neck!”
The barbarians became even more arrogant, trying to climb over the shields.
The spearmen behind the shield soldiers thrust their spears to deal with those who were trying to get through, but the barbarians kept throwing themselves in relentlessly.
This was the fear of the barbarian warriors. Once their eyes turned, they didn’t look around.
It was the fear of the warriors. Once their eyes turned wild, they would not look around.
So they did not know.
That the ranks of the Shield Soldiers were gradually growing longer beside them.
And Zvalter seemed to hold his breath and let his eyes shine as if waiting for something.
‘The formation is complete… but the offensive turned faster than expected.’
Originally, they were supposed to fight a bit longer before forming the ranks. However, they could not afford to drag out the time due to the madness of the barbarians rushing in like crazy.
If they had delayed any longer, the damage to the knights and cavalry would have been greater.
Now, they had to endure while blocking with their shields.
‘Hurry… hurry… it won’t be long before we can’t hold out.’
Contrary to Zvalter’s anxious heart, the barbarian attacks grew fiercer. Believing they had the upper hand, they moved without restraint.
The number of the Perdium Army was far fewer than that of the barbarians. If they only focused on blocking, they would eventually be broken through.
Now, the attack was solely coming from the barbarians. Apart from intercepting the occasional incoming enemy, the Perdium Army focused entirely on defense.
Kaang! Kaang!
“Ooooh!”
“Victory is ours!”
“Push! Push harder!”
The barbarians, intoxicated by the heat of the battlefield and the massive roar, did not hear.
Dududududu!
The sound of hooves pounding the ground echoed loudly.
Zvalter twitched his eyebrows when he noticed someone approaching from a distance.
The awaited individuals were not coming, and only one person was riding fast towards them.
‘What is this…? Why?’
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
With every swing of the axe, the heat of the shields shook. The ordinary soldiers could no longer hold up against the half-crazed assaults of the barbarians.
While Zvalter encouraged his soldiers with words, he couldn’t take his eyes off the approaching figure. His face was full of confusion.
‘What’s happening? Why? Why has he come alone?’
It was true that the operation had progressed faster than expected. So he tried to grit his teeth and hold on somehow.
But as if it had been anticipated, the promised ally also appeared sooner than expected.
The problem was that it was just one person.
Dududududu!
The barbarians at the back, sensing something was coming quickly, turned their heads.
They spotted a single person charging towards them at incredible speed and screamed out.
“Enemy! An enemy has appeared from behind!”
“What? Just one?”
“Is he crazy? Is he really charging at us alone?”
A slight commotion broke out in the rear of the barbarian ranks.
However, the barbarians who were directly clashing with the Perdium Army in the front did not care. Their sole interest was in breaking the defensive line. If something arose, there would be a signal from the back.
But no signal was sent from behind. They thought it was nothing significant.
Who would fear a single person charging? Such a warrior did not exist here.
Only a few warriors in the far rear turned to face the approaching threat with axes in hand. Handling one person would not be an issue for them at all.
However, those who turned around widened their eyes upon seeing the oncoming figure.
Dududududu!
With every blink, the figure drew closer and closer.
“What, what is that? Why is he so fast? Is that even possible?”
A skill that could only be achieved by fully bonding with the horse and pulling its strength to the limit. Even the barbarians, who had lived their lives on horseback, were stunned by the horsemanship.
As the figure rushed closer, Zvalter recognized the features from a distance and shouted loudly.
“Ghislaine―!”
The one charging with shining red eyes was Ghislaine. As he drew up his mana, the spear in his hand began to turn bright red.
Soon, a cruel smile blossomed on Ghislaine’s face.
“I’m coming, Father.”
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