The fierce battle between General Tilly and Chris IV’s army raged on.
At first, it seemed that General Tilly’s strategy had been forcing Chris IV’s forces to retreat. However, as time passed, it became increasingly unclear how the battle between the two factions would unfold.
Despite the unfavorable situation, the Northern warriors wielded their weapons without a care for their lives.
Chris IV, commanding them, exhibited an unimaginable bravery, repeatedly rallying a cavalry that threatened to scatter and launching counterattacks against General Tilly’s forces.
“You wretched vermin!”
“Don’t underestimate the strength of the Northern warriors, Tilly! I, the Mage Elsa, will take your head today!”
“I am the great Northern warrior, Olaf! Don’t think you can easily bring me down!”
With each clash,
General Tilly was relentlessly targeted by the renowned warriors from the North. Although these challengers were continuously crushed by Tilly’s overwhelming power, the series of battles with these formidable opponents gradually drained his magical energy.
After several encounters between their armies,
With each passing moment, casualties on both sides increased like a rolling snowball, and the unimaginable losses began to instill a deeper anxiety in Tilly’s heart.
‘No… Normally, when the situation is dire, morale should drop and forces flee or scatter, right? Why are they still so spirited in this unfavorable situation?’
Despite being practically surrounded, Chris IV’s forces showed no signs of retreat, wielding their weapons relentlessly.
Tilly was well aware that the Northern warriors thrived on the thrill of battle.
However, he never expected that they would go as far as to go berserk even as death approached them.
Tilly’s forces were managing to defeat enemies thanks to a somewhat advantageous position, but the number of comrades falling was no small matter.
Moreover, there were places in the formation where the Imperial Army was pushed back under the relentless offensive of the Northern army, leading to an increasingly tangled situation.
‘This is bad… If the battle continues like this, even if we win, the losses will be too great. A Pyrrhic victory… At such an inopportune time, it might lead to a result worse than defeat.’
Though this war was important, the emperor’s forces he led shouldn’t be wiped out here.
Even if they defeated Chris IV here, enemies of the Empire still lurked in every direction.
To the west, Lorend was acting suspiciously, and the Franz Kingdom posed another significant problem.
Adding to that were Bohemia and the Heretic Alliance.
Despite having many remaining enemies to confront, Tilly and the Imperial Army were exhausting their strength here, causing the wrinkles on his face to deepen with time.
“General! They’re charging again!”
“Damn it! Hold them off! Block their breakthrough and take Chris IV’s head!”
Once more, Chris IV led his cavalry into the fray. Although the infantry power was superior here, the cavalry posed a greater threat, making it a considerable struggle for Tilly.
As he worked hard to repel yet another wave of attackers, many casualties arose within Tilly’s forces.
Then…
“Wow!!!”
“Charge! Sweep away all the Northern savages!”
“Wait… General, look there! Over there!”
“Whoa..! It’s them!”
The sudden roar from the side drew Tilly’s attention, and joy flickered across his face for a moment.
He could see Valenshtein’s flag and his soldiers clearly before him.
As they stormed into the field where fierce blood was being shed, the battle, which had been relatively balanced, swung dramatically in an instant.
“General Tilly! We have come to help!”
“Valenshtein! I didn’t expect you to arrive like this!”
Tilly had never held a favorable view of Valenshtein before. He was a figure whose abilities were unproven and had only received the rank of general based on his immense wealth that allowed him to raise numerous soldiers.
In effect, he had bought his position with money, making it hard for the archetypal warrior Tilly to regard him kindly.
However, at this moment, Tilly genuinely felt grateful to Valenshtein.
“What happened to Mansfeld’s forces?”
“Don’t worry! That mercenary band is no longer a threat to the Empire. The only ones left are those barbarians.”
Valenshtein claimed he had easily crushed Mansfeld and come to reinforce. Tilly, though surprised, quickly decided to focus on the battle before him.
“Understood. Then lend me your strength and let’s clean up these barbarians right here.”
“Yes, General!”
—
“Damn it! What are those guys? What is that Mansfeld doing to let them come this far?!”
Chris IV’s voice erupted with anger as he watched the enemy reinforcements arrive. Although the situation was dire, he had been managing to hold his ground, but the added reinforcements from the enemy were like a fatal blow.
“Lord! It’s not possible anymore! If we stay like this, we will really be annihilated!”
“There are too many reinforcements! Further fighting is impossible!”
“Grrr!”
Leading the battle with the courage of the Northern warriors who feared no death, Chris IV knew that even he could only shine when there was some hope in his strategy.
Above all, while Chris IV was a warrior, he was also a lord ruling a region.
If he and his soldiers were brutally massacred here, the repercussions would inevitably fall on the common people.
Unlike the warriors who only needed to focus on the enemies before them, he had far too many considerations weighing on him.
In the end, filled with deep anger, Chris IV had no choice but to make a difficult decision.
“…We retreat… And make sure to draw him out so we can escape.”
“Ah.. Understood, Lord!”
Following Chris IV’s direction, the commander hurried to issue commands.
Witnessing this, Chris IV felt a sting of bitterness as he hung his head.
‘Originally, I intended to use this moment to cut off the enemy’s throat… And now, it ends like this… My ambition… The dream of building the Mark Kingdom is fading…’
—
With Valenshtein’s arrival, Chris IV’s forces began breaking down, losing their momentum.
The formerly fierce frontlines turned around, and the Imperial Army started enthusiastically pushing back the enemy.
“Crush them!”
“Don’t let a single barbarian who invaded our Empire escape!”
As victory became visible, the shouts of generals rang out from all around.
At this rate, Chris IV’s army would soon be annihilated, and the Imperial Army would again be able to proudly wave the flag of victory.
And observing this situation, Valenshtein and General Tilly instinctively began contemplating their next actions.
‘After defeating Chris IV here, we should march north immediately.’
‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to finally deal with Mark, who has been a nuisance to the Empire. Merging might be a stretch, but at least, we should engrain the Empire’s terror into the minds of those barbarians.’
Thus, with thoughts of schooling those audacious enough to provoke the Empire, Valenshtein and Tilly readied for the final strike against their enemies.
However…
– BANG!!!!!
“Grahhh!!!”
“!!”
“What… What is that?”
In the next moment, a sudden explosion echoed alongside the agonizing screams of their allies.
And simultaneously…
White paper began to flutter everywhere.
The faces of the two generals stiffened in shock.
Then, realizing they were feeling confident about victory, the two finally recognized the truth.
Their enemies still had one final trump card left.
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