Chapter 81 Shaar’s resolution (1/2)
Chapter 81 Shaar’s resolution
Translator: Tchu
Editor: Kidyeon
On the distant main road, a group of shadows, one after another, appeared and walked down the path in pairs or in small groups. The road went straight through the middle of the wilderness, but it seemed as if there were at least a thousand of them.
From the uniform point of view, these people wore Byzantine styled armor, but most of them were badly-damaged. There were some guys that weren’t even wearing shoes, armor, or even a robe, and walked half naked just had a pair of underwear to cover them. These feeble people walked toward them absentmindedly and depressedly, like stray dogs. Most of the men were wounded, and their clothes were covered with bloodstains. Many of them were either supporting each other or limping, and had a miserable appearance!
After a while, some warhorses finally appeared in the distance, but only the two at the front were mounted. All the horses behind them had no riders, and even the knights that were riding them looked extremely weak. One of the knights was already lying on his horse, and it couldn’t be determined from afar whether he was still alive or not.
The rider very soon passed the defeated troops, and arrived first in front of the camp entrance. The guarding officers however didn’t open the door, but stood at the observation platform while staring sternly down below. The archers on both sides were also still holding their bows and arrows, ready to shoot them at any moment while aiming below.
“Who are you?! Report your status! Otherwise, we will shoot to kill!!”
The knight on the left who was riding on a horse wore a broken light armor, his whole face was covered in blood, and had an arrow still sticking out the back of his left shoulder! With a hoarse voice that could barely speak, he said with a weeping voice: “I am the 9th Army scout battalion Sergeant! This is our battalion officer, Captain Ross. He was seriously injured!! The 9th Army was almost completely annihilated! The Odins launched a surprise again on our camp! Our general led the Praetorian Guards and all of our men of the scout cavalry in camp, to cover the back in order to allow the remnants to evacuate. The general died in battle! Only the two of us managed to come out!”
After finished this sentence, he exhausted his strength at last and fell down from his horse. After landing on the ground, he took out a badge with trembling hands, but was unable to utter another word.
The garrison officer was an experienced veteran soldier, and didn’t immediately order his men to open the door. Continuing to stare at the two people below, he whispered: “Don’t open the gate and remain vigilant!”
After giving the orders, he jumped down from the observation platform and landed outside the wall. Keeping a hand on his sword hilt, he went towards the man on the ground and took a look at the badge. Only when he took a look at the other dying officer on the horse by raising his messy hair, did his expression finally change greatly!
“Battalion Captain Ross? I know you! We drank together! You, you ……”
That dying officer who was lying on the horse finally reluctantly opened his eyes and swept over the person in front of him. His lips shivered a bit and tears started to flow down from the corner of his eyes.
“Dead ……Everyone is dead ……9th ……The 9th Army is dead……2nd, the 2nd Army is also ……Also dead ……it’s, it’s Ha, Hasting. Odins, outflanked ……outflanked us ……surprise attack ……”
When he finished the last sentence, blood gushed out of his mouth and he stopped breathing!
The garrison officer’s expression immediately distorted as he turned around and shouted: “Open the gate! Quickly open the gate!! Medical officer!! Call a medical officer! Immediately!!!”
When the camp gate opened, these defeated soldiers who were stricken with panic finally obtained a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation and started to madly flood towards the gate.
With a solemn face, the garrison officer clenched his teeth and grabbed a subordinate next to him: “You will immediately lead a team and search the vicinity! Bring back the routed troop……but simultaneously stay alert! If you run into the enemy, don’t make contact, and immediately return and report it!!”
The officer then immediately gave several other orders, before fiercely rushing towards the main tent.
The news of defeat was like a dark cloud, and spread throughout the entire camp in just a few moments!
The 2nd Army who was positioned in the middle and the 9th Army who was placed in the east were both defeated! The Odin Empire’s most renowned general, and the Byzantine Army’s biggest nightmare, the Lord of War Hasting outflanked them and launched a surprise-attack with his forces. In just a few days, he broke through the 2nd and the 9th Army, and chased them down for 200 miles, while beheading innumerable men. Right now, his whereabouts were unknown!!
※※※
Although the special envoy was sent by the military in order to observe the war, many people were well aware of the fact that this Sir Bonfret came to the frontline to play a bit and get an easy achievement out of it. When the main force set out north for battle, this respected knight remained in a camp several hundred miles away at the rear. What sort of “observer” would that be?