Chapter 277

The Imperial Army was stretched out in a long line on the imperial road, which was just wide enough for two wagons to pass side by side.

‘We can’t fall into formation properly in these conditions.’

The knights hurriedly called their squires to at least put on their breastplates. The heavy infantry also gathered their necessary equipment and assembled around their direct commanders.

The marching column of the Imperial Army was thin and long, leaving them highly vulnerable to an ambush. The situation quickly turned for the worse. If they were attacked from the side in this state, they would collapse without even being able to form proper lines.

The well-trained Imperial Army gathered into small units without waiting for commands from their officers.

"Form a line and advance! We must hold out until our rear lines can fall into formation!" The senior officer shouted.

The professional heavy infantry quickly found their comrades and formed a defensive line in preparation for the imminent clash with the approaching barbarians.

"They got us good," Yanchinus muttered under his breath as he pulled on his horse’s reins and observed the situation.

The eyes of the emperor did not waver even when things took an unexpected turn.

‘The rain and the long column are delaying the command delivery. I have to trust my well-trained soldiers and field officers to adapt.’

Unified strategy and tactics have always been the strength of the Imperial Army, meaning that they were strong in organized battles but were no better in chaos than barbarians with the same armament.

‘They must have waited for the ground to become too muddy for us to use our cavalry.’

The terrain and situation were both thoroughly advantageous for the barbarians.

‘Fighting in the most favorable condition... they’re showing me the basics of combat.’

Yanchinus gave a wry smile.

"Quite bold of them to target me."

Although there were only a few heavy infantry, they maintained their formation and countered the incoming barbarians.

Crash!

Flesh and muscle tore apart and cries of pain erupted from all sides as weapons roughly clashed.

"

Oooooh!

"

The highly motivated warriors mercilessly ripped through the imperial infantry. The Imperial Army, unprepared for battle, couldn't fully respond to the attacks from the barbarians pouring in from all sides.

Clunk, clunk.

The army of Porcana formed proper lines and also advanced following the warriors at the forefront.

Porcana's army placed themselves in the center of the Porcana-Alliance army while the Alliance forces spread out to the sides, inducing skirmishes and acting as a separate unit.

Lightly armed imperial soldiers were the first to engage in battle. The belated crossbowmen fired arrows, but individual shots were not very effective.

"Timing is key for us, so don’t give them any time to get settled. Push them back at once!"

Urich pointed his sword forward as we walked calmly amidst the wave of warriors charging like a tide.

"

Hoo

."

The air heated up to the point where even the raindrops felt hot. Urich's breath trembled in the humid air. The warriors, gripping their weapons, jumped into the battlefield in their primal state, either naked or only clad in leather.

Squelch, squelch.

Urich threw off his shoes and walked barefoot through the mud as the mud clinging to the shoes grew heavier and more substantial.

Even the exhausted warriors summoned their spirits, knowing they had the advantage. They knew from experience to press the attack when in a favorable situation.

Creak, creak.

The crossbowmen of the Imperial Army struggled to reload in the rain as their crossbows became more sluggish and heavier than usual from being soaked.

Thwip!

They only managed to shoot three arrows at most before being attacked by the barbarians who hurled their axes as soon as their targets were in sight.

"

Kagh!

"

The axes flew in an arc, hitting the soldiers' heads and chests. The warriors swiftly retrieved the fallen axes and continued to charge forward.

As the wave of barbarians engulfed the Imperial Army, the imperial soldiers chose to abandon their isolated and separated comrades and gathered around the emperor instead.

Schring!

In the midst of the isolated imperial troops, a banner waved high.

"Soldiers, we can win this!"

Basha, who wasn’t even wearing armor, shouted. She wore only a cloth robe and held the flag high while reciting prayers.

"Lady Basha! It’s dangerous!"

The soldiers tried to stop her, but she refused to put the sun banner down.

"Lou will protect us as long as I am standing with you, and He will not let us be defeated by the barbarians!"

Basha's red-blonde hair fluttered wildly. She took a deep breath and led her soldiers to clash with the barbarian unit.

Basha was densely surrounded by the Imperial Army, among which were also capable knights assigned by the emperor who had excellent commanding abilities.

"Hold your shields together! They are nothing but wild beasts!"

Basha's guard knights raised their shields and led the soldiers. Even without armor, as long as they had shields and swords, they could hold their own. The imperial soldiers, with their overlapping shields, advanced step by step, fending off the swarming barbarians.

‘Is that where the emperor is?’

Urich looked at the tall sun banner where there was a noticeable concentration of soldiers forming a formation around it.

‘We can’t let the emperor get away.’

Among the collapsing imperial soldiers, there were a few groups who showed proper retaliation and were likely the unit commanded by the emperor.

“

Hup!”

Urich held his breath and swung his axe widely, tearing open the chest of an attacking soldier.

‘This soldier isn’t even properly armed.’

Urich looked at the soldier he just killed with a puzzled expression. This soldier wasn’t unarmed because he didn’t have time to arm himself; his clothes were dirty, and his body was so skinny that he didn't look like a soldier at all.

‘Is he a peasant soldier?’

He then noticed that some warriors were being killed by the haphazard swings of imperial conscripts, whose morale was supposed to be incredibly low.

"The conscripts are charging in a situation like this?"

Urich tilted his head at the unprecedented situation as he pulled his axe from the soldier's body.

‘We've succeeded in the surprise attack, so these conscripts should be running for their lives, not fighting back like this.’

Yet, the soldiers around him did not back down and kept fighting stubbornly.

“Urich, look at these bastards. They're coming at us like madmen. I swear they weren’t like this before, were they?”

A warrior ahead of Urich said, holding up the severed head of a soldier. His face, covered in blood, was smiling.

“They’re fighting back harder than before, that’s strange. I thought they’d be busy running away. Be careful not to die under their blind swings.”

Urich deflected a spear aimed at his neck and extended his front leg. The soldier was kicked into the air and then crashed into other soldiers.

Around Urich were some of the most notable warriors in the alliance who were at least a head warrior in their own tribe.

“Shit, I thought these bastards were supposed to be cowards.

Cough

.”

A warrior who had been leading the charge coughed blood as his intestines protruded out his back, tangled with the spearhead.

Urich looked beyond the bloody battlefield at the banner.

‘A banner with the sun on it.’

It wasn’t the emperor’s banner, but judging by the extraordinary resistance around it, it was possible that the emperor was there.

“

Ooooooh!

”

A soldier in only cloth armor ran toward Urich with all his strength behind his spear.

“What the hell are they fighting so hard for?”

In civilized armies, the morale and quality of the troops other than knights and professional soldiers were supposed to be low. Conscripts were merely used to fill numbers, so in a civilized army of twenty-thousand combat troops, less than half were actually combat-effective.

“

Aaaaah!

”

Urich heard a high-pitched voice that did not belong on the battlefield, almost like that of a prepubescent boy.

“A woman?”

Urich let out a hollow laugh when he saw a girl on horseback. Even Urich, who had been on countless battlefields over the years, found it an unusual sight.

This girl wasn’t built like Belrua, who could beat several men. No, she was just an average slender girl who, driven by desperation, shouted something to encourage the soldiers.

Many of the soldiers following Basha were from the lower classes.

“We will emerge victorious! The barbarians cannot lay their fingers on the children of Lou! The clouds will part, and the sun will rise!”

Basha's voice was almost hoarse.

Whoosh!

Basha was hit in the face by the spear thrown by a warrior who got close and fell backward off her horse.

“Lady Basha!”

The soldiers in the distance thought Basha was dead as it looked like her head had been pierced by the spear.

“

Ah

...”

Basha, lying on the ground, opened her eyes. Her cheek burned. The falling raindrops gradually ceased, and sunlight began to peek through the broken clouds.

“Basha!”

The guard knights grabbed Basha’s arms and shouted something. Basha, her ears ringing, stared blankly at the sky.

“Get up, Basha! We must retreat!”

The knights grabbed Basha and pulled her up on her feet. The ringing in her ears gradually faded, and the voices became clearer.

“L-Lou is watching over us. Just look over there, the sun is shining on us!”

Basha shouted with trembling lips as blood flowed down her jaw from the wound in her cheek.

"It’s time for us to retreat, Basha."

"There is no defeat for the Imperial Army! We’ve even reclaimed the northern fortresses! Gather the soldiers and tell them to follow me."

The soldiers cheered when they saw Basha standing back up using the flagpole as a staff as if she was rising from the dead.

Only her guard knight frowned and grabbed Basha's shoulder. He had fought alongside Basha on the battlefield several times, and she reminded him of his youngest sister, so he couldn't just leave her be.

"We are going to be surrounded soon, Basha. We need to retreat and reorganize our lines. Not even Lou can save us from the barbarian violence now."

The guard knight, who was trained in military strategy unlike the ignorant soldiers, saw the battle through a logical lens. He knew that morale alone couldn't win battles.

"What are you talking about, Sir Jorman! Lou has blessed us, and I just saw it with my own eyes! He saved me from what should have been certain death and whispered to me that this is our chance."

Basha shouted, spitting as she spoke. She fumbled at the guard’s waist and drew his sword.

"Charge! Victory is within reach! The barbarians will not take anything from us!"

Basha was unaware of defeat as she had won every battle she had led so far.

"Basha, we are going to lose and the poor soldiers who believe in and follow you will be torn to pieces by the barbarians. You will be captured alive, humiliated by the barbarians, and even in death, you will become their plaything. There will be no such thing as Lou’s embrace for such a death. That’s the fate we’re going to meet if you insist on your stubbornness."

The guard knight removed his helmet and looked into Basha's eyes. He genuinely worried about her and hoped she would find peace instead of being driven by anger and hatred.

"Nonsense!"

Basha tried to shake off the guard knight's hand but couldn't escape his strength as she was just a girl with no formal training.

"Look at the reality, Basha. Please. The saintly act is over. The only ones who believe that you are blessed by Lou are the foolish soldiers who simply believe what they want to believe, not the nobles and priests. We must save our own lives now."

Basha's face turned red on top of the blood trickling thickly from the spear wound on her cheek.

"T-that kind of attitude is precisely why we lost to the barbarians in the first place! It's why my village was burned! It's why the barbarians who killed my parents still run rampant! It's because of people like you who lack faith! Why don't you believe in Lou and fight to the end? We can win! I’m telling you that we can win!"

Basha kicked between the guard knight's legs. The knight, hastily armored only in his breastplate, let go of Basha due to the intense pain.

Neigh!

Basha mounted her horse and waved the banner high once again. Her soldiers were encouraged by the sight of her standing tall with blood dripping from her cheek. Even the soldiers who had been fleeing turned back at the sight of Basha's banner.

"Goddammit!"

The guard knight, having suppressed the pain, cursed as he looked at Basha advancing on her horse with the flagpole thrust forward.

He led the other knights to protect Basha, knowing that she wasn’t going to last a minute without them.

‘It is not Lou's grace that protects you, but our swords and shields...’

On the urgent battlefield, the girl’s eyes were too busy looking at the sunlight breaking through the dark clouds to see the knights running after her.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

‘...I’m going to do it.’

Basha's lips moved slightly.

"Basha!"

The guard knight shouted from behind, and Basha could not advance further. The barbarians, whom she thought she could break through, were solid, and the limbs of the soldiers fell to the ground as they were cut down without any meaning.

"

Hooo.

"

A giant warrior, covered in blood, emerged from the chaos. His axe and sword were already stained with the blood of dozens.

The flow of the air changed as the seemingly continuous favorable wind stopped. Perhaps the favorable wind had never blown and it was all just a hollow illusion.

Basha stared blankly at the man who strode over to her as he chopped down the charging imperial soldiers like logs. It was almost a surreal sight.

She finally understood what true divine blessing meant. Scars covered the man’s body from head to toe like tattoos, showing wounds that would have killed any other ordinary human. She knew that the man standing there survived because he was loved by the gods.

"Urich...."

Basha recalled the emperor's story.