Chapter 189 (1/2)

Chapter 189

Within the Togor Canyon, Morning

「They didn’t raid us at night . 」

Celia murmurs next to me .

「Their strength lies in holding us within a narrow landscape with their elite soldiers . They might have an advantage with their small numbers when conducting a night raid, but that gives us the opportunity to sneak some of our squads out of the canyon while they’re kept busy . 」

As Leopolt said, if they’re surrounded from the back and front, we just have to close in on them from all sides and press with our numbers . They would be finished, no matter how strong they are .

「We can’t detour nor can we set up a partial encirclement……」

「That’s probably why this place was chosen as the battlefield . 」

There is only one way through, and that is to break past them from the front .

Ever since the late morning sun shone its rays into the canyon, the enemy camp has been making a lot of noise .

「Heeey, Hardlett! The sun has risen!! Are we going to resume the battle or what!?」

Gildress bangs his sword against his s.h.i.+eld, making metallic cras.h.i.+ng sounds while shouting loudly .

He seems to be having lots of fun .

「Can’t we burn them with cannons or flaming arrows?」

「Celia, it was mentioned yesterday . If we were up against Magrado and their familiar box formation, we would have a field day shooting them, but these guys can move swiftly depending on the situation…… if we aren’t careful and send out our defenseless siege weapons to the front, we would get wiped out . 」

「Should we try the flaming arrows anyways?」

Leopolt gives a signal and then arrows tipped with fire are simultaneously loosed towards the enemy .

However, they only get blocked by their impenetrable s.h.i.+elds, and the flames which were caused by the arrows that fell to the ground were easily stomped out during the interval between volleys .

They don’t only move together as a box, each individual is extremely quick .

「Hardlett! It’s already summer, so we don’t need more warmth, you know? Wahahahaha!」

「And that’s the result……」

Gildress, who is standing at the front of his army, brushes away several flaming arrows and guffaws .

Eeei, he p.i.s.ses me off .

「There really is no other option than a frontal attack . 」

「Yes, the best solution is to use our ballistae and cannons to disrupt them – even though they won’t have the highest accuracy – and then ram our forces against them head-on . When it gets to the point where you have no choice but to fight under these conditions, you really don’t have much room for strategic depth . 」

So it’s a pretty bad situation with very few options available to us .

「There was never a chance for us to lose from the beginning, except we just need to worry about time . If we take too long, we would give the Atoroan army which escaped enough time to gather more forces, plus the nearby Poleis would start doubting why they opened a path for us when we’re struggling this much against a measly 100 people . 」

「So we have to push past…… don’t they have a weakness or something?」

「It’s not like there’s nothing…… but they’re not attached to a main force . That’s perfect for a brilliant plan like a frontal attack . 」

We just have to do it .

I brandish my spear .

「An all-out attack . We’ll get through by noon . 」

「「「Oooooh-!」」」

We were thoroughly beaten up yesterday but the morale of the soldiers somehow managed to recover .

Let’s bring them down quickly .

Sounds of explosions roar as the cannons fire their rounds .

The ballistae launches their large bolts as well .

Not many of them can be setup because of the topography and they need to be angled in a way that they wouldn’t hit any allies from the back .

Furthermore, the enemy only has 100 people, so we can’t expect many of the projectiles to hit their target, however there is still a chance that an attack which they can’t fend off with their s.h.i.+elds would lower morale, even if just a tiny bit .

「Charrgeeee–!!」

At that moment, the infantry charged forward with a squad of spearmen as the vanguard .

From what I saw yesterday, the infantry won’t be able to win in a clash on even terms .

In addition, only 20 of them can fight at a time…… they’re certainly going to be overwhelmed like that .

That’s why this time, the spearmen are in front to disrupt the enemy lines .

「Take that!」

Just before the tip of the spear reached the enemy, the very first line of enemies crouched low to the ground .

The spearheads pa.s.s the vanguards and collide with the s.h.i.+elds of the enemy soldiers in the second row .

Immediately after, the crouching enemies swing their s.h.i.+elds up to hit the spears from the bottom, causing the tips to point in the air .

「Crush them!」

Without any delay, the enemy closed the distance .

The spears are nothing but long sticks at this point .

The 20 men in front get cut down in an instant .

「Save the spearmen unit!」

「Kooiiyaa!」

The infantry unit hastily pushes forward, propping up their s.h.i.+elds to meet the enemy .

「This is ugly……」

As soon as the infantry collided with the enemy, the ally soldiers were pushed back as if they were sliding on top of ice .

「Did we hit something?」

「Aah, that was even lighter than a tackle from my daughter so I don’t know . 」

The Aless soldiers crack some jokes and laugh .

「Don’t falter! Continue charging! 4th and 6th units stand down, 7th unit step forward . 」

The severely beaten squads were pulled out and another squad was sent out in front to rush the enemy .

That new squad quickly gets defeated and retreats, although another squad quickly fills the hole .

The enemy is strong, creating piles of corpses from only the soldiers on our side .

However, there are times on the battlefield where flukes happen, and even veteran soldiers can be defeated after 10 attacks, no matter how shoddy those attacks were .

「Guo…… my King…… I’ll be heading there first!」

「Uugh…… Fufu, we were talking about a hundred each but I still only have ten defeated . The G.o.d of War in that realm would scold me!」

One enemy soldier collapses, and then another one falls over .

Once they were held back, even if only for a short time, the archers immediately rained arrows on them, turning the soldiers who couldn’t defend themselves into porcupines .

The enemy, who was as solid as a boulder and couldn’t be budged before, finally took steps backward .

「s.p.a.ce has been created from the enemy’s retreat . We can push forward all at once . 」

The enemy stepped back…… meaning they moved further up the hill .

And that means our allies can chase forward after them .

A ballistae can be setup in that gap which was left .

It’s taking all the enemy’s efforts to hold off our all-out attack so they shouldn’t have time to spare to rush in and destroy our bows .

「Fire!」

The barrage wasn’t something launched from the back just for intimidation purposes .

The ballistae were aimed carefully to take out the upper bodies of the large buff men, along with their s.h.i.+elds, and open a hole in their formation .

「Now, finish them off quickly!」

Seeing an opening in the enemy lines, our ally infantry charged in vigorously with ferocious war cries .

As it was before, only our allies who were getting defeated, but now it wasn’t as brutal as before .

The enemy appeared just a little bit fatigued and their movements dulled, letting our infantry make their way into the center of their battle ranks .

「It’s about time we settle this . 」

Celia has also regained her composure .

I feel somewhat torn right now . It’s true Gildress p.i.s.sed me off, but I don’t hate men like him .

Crus.h.i.+ng an enemy who challenged me with his military prowess…… it might seem like a natural way to deal with someone like that, but I still have some lingering feelings in my heart .

「We won!」

Just like Irijina said, the outcome of battle has been decided .

And for the cleanup afterwards…… .

「Not yet! Something like this won’t end us warriors of Aless!」

His crimson cloak flutters .

Then, close to 10 ally soldiers cry out and get flung backwards .

The muscular man stands boldly in front of his army which was getting torn apart, unafraid getting shot by arrows .

「What’s wrong, did you guys drop your b.a.l.l.s somewhere? Are the men from Aless really that weak!?」

It goes without saying who that loud booming voice belongs to . Gildress yells while slas.h.i.+ng at our soldiers .

He grabs the head of a spear and tosses the soldier aside, then slashes the shoulders of all soldiers who chose to clash with him, breaking their swords while he was at it too .

A front kick sends a soldier tumbling, causing that soldier’s head to snap and dangle against his own chest, as Gildress raises his blood-stained sword before howling like a beast .

「The Light of Aless…… it was said that the G.o.d of War gifted it to the first King . 」

「The G.o.d of War is watching over us . I can’t die an unsightly death . 」

I guess “The Light of Aless” is the name of the sword Gildress is holding .

There is a faint blue glow radiating from his sword – impossible for a weapon made of steel – which reminds me of my Dual Crater’s divine appearance .

「Advance, you warriors! Our only path lies before us!」

The numerically inferior enemies rallied and repelled our ally soldiers as they advanced forward .

Their numbers have decreased to almost half but one could not sense any fatigue in their charge as they ran down the hill, their terrifying momentum reminiscent of a rockslide .

「H-hey, this is dangerous!」

「B-block them…… there’s no way I can do that!」

The enemy no longer had any intention – or need for that matter – to get into any special formation .

All of the remaining enemy soldiers swung the swords and s.h.i.+elds in their hands and dashed forward at full speed, cutting down or knocking away any enemy in their path .

At that moment, a large bolt flew in a straight line directly at Gildress who was leading the charge, almost as if to save the collapsing allies .

「It hit!」

Irijina exclaimed in reaction .

「My King!」

「No need to worry!」

Gildress roared and leapt, straight towards the large bolt .

「I won’t be defeated by a toy like this!」

He twists his body in midair and slams the b.u.t.t of his sword against the speeding bolt .

Unable to withstand the blow, the oversized arrow snapped in half and the pieces fell to the bottom of the cliff .

That sight left both ally and enemy speechless .

Gildress sucked in a deep breath .

「This is Alessssss!!!」

「Uooooooh!!」

All the enemy soldiers roared in response to the King’s yell .

「C-can we win against something like that!?」「F-fall back and retreat!」

The men of Aless propelled themselves forward with their voices, as our allies slowly fell into a state of disorder, withdrawing almost in a state of panic .

The ballistae were abandoned…… since it was something which required several people to look after it, but the enemy soldiers easily picked it up with one hand and tossed it over the edge of the cliff .

……Those things were pretty expensive .

「The vanguard has collapsed! I can’t keep them under control!」

「We can’t continue the offensive if we retreat here . 」

Myla and Leopolt look at me .

There’s only one thing left to do, use the strongest force available to drive them back .

「Escort unit, follow me . We won’t let them do as they please anymore . 」

「Yessir!」

The strongest force in my army are the hand-picked heavy cavalry in the escort unit .

There is no real merit in mounting a horse and riding through all the current chaos, so everyone is on foot, but their equipment and skill are both several levels higher than regular infantry .

「Oooh! Something new has come out!」

「Let’s fight them, let’s fight!」

I lead my escort unit to the collapsing front lines and when we push through, the enemy stops their pursuit and faces us with beaming smiles .

These men, bulkier than the typical infantry, charge with their heavier and better equipment . Perhaps judging it to be a bad idea to collide head-on with the skirmishers, the enemy fall back slightly to form a horizontal formation with their s.h.i.+elds pushed out .

Loud metallic clashes resounded as both sides slammed into each other and then…… the escort unit was pushed back .

「Wahaha! That’s better than my daughter, but not better than my wife!」

「If you’d like, I can drill your a.s.s just like I do with my wife!」

「Can you still boast after this?」

I swing my spear with all my might at the enemy, using all the pent-up frustration from yesterday and today as an additional boost in power .

「Dowaa!」

The soldier who blocked my strike with his s.h.i.+eld flew sideways and fell off the side of the cliff .

「Ooh! Impressive!」

Even so, the enemy does not waver .

The next soldier comes at me with his sword without a moment’s delay .

「It really feels good to fight in person!」

I parry the man’s sword attack and meet the man’s s.h.i.+eld with a front kick .

Most men would be sent flying after that, but this man only loses balance slightly before quickly readying his sword again .

「This much is nothing!」

When I block his sword with the handle of my spear, the man swings his s.h.i.+eld at me almost as if he threw it, and then slashes at my thigh .

Those aren’t the movements of a mere soldier . All of them have the strength to be called heroes in other nations .

「Then how about this!?」

I evade his sword by a hair’s breadth and swing my spear down towards his head .

The man brings his s.h.i.+eld up to block, but is unable to do so completely and falls to his knees .

「The finis.h.i.+ng blow!」

I thrust my spear at the neck which finally comes into my line of sight, and after a splas.h.i.+ng of blood, the man collapses on the spot with an extra hole in his body .

「Not yet!」

I don’t have time to take a breather .

I avoid the next man’s sword and punch him in the face, yet he still doesn’t stop attacking even after blood drips down from his nose .

After the third clash, his left leg finally gets blown off, but the man doesn’t let go of his sword .

「A man of Aless won’t be defeated until his heart stops!」

「Eeei, how irritating!」

I pierce the man’s abdomen with my spear, pick him up and toss him over the cliff .

That finally makes it the third man defeated .

I realize that I am isolated in the center of the enemy .

Because the enemy is so resilient, none of the other soldiers had advanced, and even the escort unit was made to retreat .

I guess I’ll just whip my spear around as hard as I can and send some enemies flying .

「Ready!?」「Ooooh!」

The enemies around me quickly push their s.h.i.+elds forward and get into a defensive stance, so the four soldiers I sent flying were all unharmed and came running at me with their swords soon after .

「Aegir-sama! This guy-!」

Celia is being pushed around but somehow putting up a fight, although she can’t manage to find time to rush to my side .

「Seei!」

She skillfully finds an opening to stab the enemy soldier in the side of his body, but he doesn’t fall down .

「Why……」

「A weak attack like that won’t penetrate my muscles!」

Celia dodges the downward swing from the man’s sword, then hops backward and throws a few knives at the man in succession .

The enemy deflects the knives aimed at his vitals, and even though a few knives stabbed the man’s shoulder and stomach, they weren’t deep enough to stop him from moving .

To deliver the final blow, Irijina rushes in from the side and lops the man’s head off, and the enemy soldier finally collapses .