“Did Schrantz hire mercenaries?!”
Count Filchner speculated that the sudden increase in enemy numbers might be due to mercenaries.
But Count Erce only chuckled.
“They’re underestimating us too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a deception.”
If the main force had come here, Nea would have known about it.
But Count Erce had received no such information.
“Most of those banners are probably just stuck in the ground. If they had hired mercenaries, they would have done so long ago. If that were the case, wouldn’t one of us have noticed?”
Mercenaries don’t fall from the sky or spring from the ground—they would have had to pass through the territories of the anti-Schrantz alliance.
“That foolish bear of Schrantz is treating us like fools!”
Count Erce shouted to his soldiers.
“Those cowardly and pathetic fools are trying to deceive us by pretending their main force is here and inflating their numbers! This is our chance to avenge the humiliation we’ve suffered at their hands!”
But the soldiers, whose morale had already hit rock bottom, didn’t seem to regain their spirit.
He drove the point home.
“I, Leon di Erce, promise great wealth and status to whoever captures their commander!”
Wealth and status.
Wealth was a given, but the chance for social advancement was also tempting.
“……”
“……”
But the camp was eerily quiet.
Despite the promise made in his name, the soldiers didn’t seem to trust him.
Embarrassed, Count Erce frowned and shouted.
“Show those cowardly and pathetic Schrantz bastards our might!”
The anti-Schrantz alliance began their advance.
—
* * *
—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of war drums echoed from the enemy camp, signaling their advance.
“Young Lord Hubert. The enemy is approaching.”
The enemy forces were advancing toward the mountain where Hubert was stationed.
At the foot of the mountain, ten infantrymen armed with spears and shields stood in formation.
Though they were bait, there was no fear on their faces.
Buuuuuu—!
With the signal to charge, the enemy cavalry launched their assault.
About 70 cavalrymen.
It was clear they had committed all their cavalry.
Their plan was to sweep away the defenders at the foot of the mountain in one go.
Watching them charge recklessly, Ian realized.
“They must have figured out it’s a deception.”
If they had believed there were 500 defenders, they wouldn’t have charged so carelessly.
Ian inwardly cheered, seeing his plan unfold as intended.
The charging cavalry came crashing in like a tidal wave.
But their charge was a grave mistake.
Neighhh—!
“Wha—?!”
The ground, softened by days of rain, had turned into a muddy swamp.
The cavalry, trying to build momentum to crash into the defenders, began to stumble as their horses lost footing in the mud.
Riders were thrown, some severely injured, others crushed under their own horses, and some even died instantly from broken necks.
Those who died instantly were the lucky ones.
The unlucky ones were trampled or crushed by the horses that followed.
“Now! Open fire on the enemy!”
The archers’ hands grew busy.
Ian also joined in, adding to the barrage.
While heavily armored cavalry could withstand arrows, the lighter cavalry turned into pillows, collapsing into the mud.
The sudden rain of arrows added to the chaos of the cavalry trapped in the mud.
Ian quietly glanced at Oswell.
Understanding his intent, Oswell pulled his helmet low and shouted.
“First unit, follow me!”
“Charge!”
Oswell, leading 50 soldiers, joined the defenders at the foot of the mountain and charged toward the cavalry struggling in the mud.
Already weighed down by heavy armor, the enemy cavalry, now stuck down in mud, couldn’t properly defend themselves against the Schrantz forces.
“W-what? Didn’t they say the main force wasn’t here?”
“What’s with these numbers?!”
The sudden appearance of 50 soldiers from the mountain startled the anti-Schrantz alliance.
They realized something was wrong, but they couldn’t stop their advance.
“Our cavalry is in danger! Rescue them! Charge! Anyone who retreats will be executed on the spot!”
“Damn it!”
“What kind of hell is this because of that stupid lord?!”
Forced to charge despite their fear, whether to forget their terror or out of sheer desperation, they roared as they pushed forward.
“Fire at the enemy infantry!”
Ian shifted his target from the cavalry struggling in the mud to the infantry charging behind them.
Dozens of arrows rained down on the enemy infantry, felling many, but they didn’t stop.
Driven by desperation, they charged forward.
Finally, the cavalry and infantry became entangled in the mud, creating a chaotic melee.
With the battle devolving into a close-quarters fight, it was no longer possible to continue firing arrows.
“Brother.”
Hubert called out to Ian.
“What?”
“Be careful.”
His eyes conveyed a silent plea for Ian to return safely.
Though the plan was proceeding smoothly, it was an incredibly dangerous operation.
“Do I look like I’m going to die? I plan to live long enough to paint the walls with my shit, so stop worrying about me and focus on your own task.”
Ian pulled his helmet low, just like Oswell, and shouted.
“Second unit, follow me! Charge!”
He led the charge, and another chaotic melee broke out, turning the battlefield into a muddy brawl.
“W-what are these guys?!”
“Why are they fighting so well?!”
Despite being outnumbered, the anti-Schrantz alliance began to suffer more casualties.
The Schrantz soldiers, battle-hardened from numerous engagements, excelled in the chaotic fight.
“Why are their armors so tough?!”
The equipment of the Schrantz forces also proved highly effective.
The high-quality iron from the settlements, forged by Olgrim, produced superior weapons and armor.
Unlike the enemy’s worn-out gear, the Schrantz soldiers were equipped with brand-new gear.
Made from high-quality iron and crafted by Olgrim, their equipment was far superior in defense, offense, and durability.
They were overcoming their numerical disadvantage with the quality of their soldiers and equipment.
And then.
Boom!
The anti-Schrantz alliance forces were further demoralized by the presence of a figure darting across the battlefield, accompanied by a sound akin to an explosion.
It was Ian, the knight wielding a blue sword.
“Come at me all at once if you’re so annoyed! This place will be your grave!”
His loud shouts and the distinctive colour of his blade made him impossible to miss on the battlefield.
“That’s the commander! Capture him!”
“Yeah, I’m the commander! Try and catch me if you can!”
“Young Lord Ian, the enemy’s attention is focused on you! Please be cautious!”
“Cautious? I need to raise my contribution now, so stop talking and take down one more enemy instead!”
Ian ignored the knights’ advice and continued to shout incomprehensibly.
With Oswell commanding the other soldiers, the remaining knights were left to guard Ian.
While Ian was wreaking havoc, the knights tasked with protecting him were having a miserable time.
‘Sir Oswell… what kind of life have you been living…?’
Does this man have ten lives or something?
Now they understood why the knights who fought alongside him always looked so exhausted.
“You bastard! Just as expected of a commoner-born knight, you fight cowardly and pathetically to the end! Face the blade of Allend Pol Lafron!”
A knight charged toward Ian.
Ian, seeing the knight charging at him with aura-clad sword, swung his own aura-clad blade in response.
Slice—!
[The effect of ‘Weapon Breaker’ has destroyed the enemy’s weapon.]
The effect of his weapon, which had a chance to destroy weaker weapons, activated, and Ian’s blade severed the knight’s head along with his sword.
The headless body collapsed forward with a heavy thud.
“Who was that?”
Of course, Ian, who had sent Dwayne in his place, had no idea who Allend was.
‘Who did he mistake me for?’
The knight had shouted something about him being a commoner-born knight.
Ian didn’t know who the knight had confused him with, but he didn’t care.
He wasn’t interested in the first place.
There were still many enemies in front of him to take down.
“Count Erce, shouldn’t we halt the battle and regroup our forces for a moment?”
As the battle dragged on, Count Filchner grew increasingly uneasy.
Despite their numerical advantage, the fight against Schrantz remained evenly matched.
Although Schrantz’s forces were gradually being pushed back, the anti-Schrantz alliance was suffering more casualties.
‘Is this the strength of Schrantz?’
Count Erce didn’t want to acknowledge Schrantz, but he had no choice.
Each of Schrantz’s soldiers was of a caliber that couldn’t be ignored.
The knights were even more formidable.
Each one was practically an elite.
There was a reason why Schrantz, despite its small territory, had never been defeated.
‘But if we absorb those forces intact…’
Our territory would gain a military advantage!
“No, we must see this through now.”
“Our losses are too heavy!”
Unlike Count Erce, the expressions of the other lords were growing increasingly grim.
They had sent almost all their forces into the charge, leaving only their personal guards behind.
Darion, in particular, looked pale.
With fewer troops than the others, each loss hit him harder.
Even if Schrantz’s forces were human and would eventually tire, allowing them to be annihilated…
The extent of the losses they would suffer was unimaginable.
“If that’s really their main force, then the infamous brat and the acting lord must be there. Even if they’re not, we must win at all costs!”
If they could annihilate the main force here, the territorial war would effectively be over.
Even if Ian wasn’t there, the forces defending the lord’s castle would be drastically reduced.
They would have no choice but to hole up in the castle and hold out.
“We can’t afford to delay any longer. If the enemy keeps stalling, we’ll be in trouble.”
Schrantz had been harassing them to buy time.
“If we don’t eliminate Schrantz for good this time, we’ll regret it for years to come.”
Count Filchner couldn’t argue with that.
Hadn’t it been said that Schrantz’s income was growing daily thanks to the settlements?
Even divided, it was more than Count Filchner’s current tax revenue.
Moreover, if they didn’t destroy Schrantz now, it would recover faster than anyone else.
The worst-case scenario would be Schrantz using its wealth to recover quickly and reverse the situation.
It could be them bowing their heads to Schrantz in the future, not the other way around.
They had to crush Schrantz while they still could.
‘We’ll have to endure some hardship for a while.’
Once they got through this difficult period, they would more than make up for the losses accumulated.
If not for that, Darion would have given up on the territorial war and gone home long ago, regardless of Schrantz’s downfall.
‘Just a little more.’
Schrantz was stronger than expected, so the losses would be greater than anticipated, but this was their chance to erase Schrantz from the map for good.
‘Just push a little harder!’
He could fulfill his family’s long-cherished wish.
The thought of achieving it with his own hands filled Count Erce with joy.
Then.
Thud thud thud thud—!
The sound of hooves and the ground trembling snapped Count Erce back to reality.
He turned his head toward the source of the noise and was horrified.
“Where did those bastards come from?!”
Another 50 Schrantz soldiers were charging toward the rear of the anti-Schrantz alliance forces, which were already involved in a chaotic melee.
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