Chapter 171 - Battle (3)

The sun was at its peak, which signaled the start of the battle.

There were ten thousand soldiers in the Thern region.

Even the birds in the mountains held their breath.

Step, step.

The only audible sound was that of military boots stepping on the grassy plain. Spear-bearing soldiers kept watch over their surroundings, while those with shields remained on edge.

While the soldiers endlessly walked along the horizon, other soldiers that looked exactly like them were staring at them, holding their spears.

It was none other than Alfred’s Etherwether army, looking at them as if they were looking at a mirror.

An intense war was about to break out in the plain of Thern. The two armies met in a flat, large area, where there was no place to hide or escape.

This was the very ground where an inevitable battle of fate would unfold.

At the front of each army, each head of the Patrician Family stared at each other with determination, mounted on their military horses.

“They look about the same.”

Alfred estimated the number of the Shonan troops lined up in front of him.

There were around three thousand soldiers. He had brought more or less the same amount of soldiers.

‘Of course he’s brought as many soldiers as I have. If he hadn’t, there would’ve been a clear winner in close combat.’

Since both sides had agreed on five thousand soldiers, Alfred had expected that Eisen would have the same strategy as him. Therefore, he had brought three thousand infantry from his total of five thousand soldiers to the plain of Thern.

He had no intention of fighting recklessly just because they had prepared the same number of soldiers.

Alfred’s main goal was killing Eisen, but he also had an obligation to buy Arthus enough time to take over the palace.

“I request a duel from the commanders!” said Alfred.

“So do I!” Eisen shouted back at Alfred’s request.

A commander's duel was a one-on-one fight between representative commanders of each army before the close combat battle.

This was a very important duel, for if the representative commander emerged victorious, it would not only grant them an advantage over their enemy, but also boost the morale of their own troops.

“Limber!”

“Yes, Sir!”

As soon as the commander’s duel was accepted, Alfred called the name of the thousand-man commander that would participate in the duel first.

Standing at a height of two meters, Limber had been recognized as a genius, becoming a knight at a young age. Nevertheless, driven by greed, he had opted to enlist in Alfred's private army rather than remain a knight, aiming to ascend the ladder of success faster.

Eisen also shouted, determined that he wasn’t going to lose.

“Ryan!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Having an S-class mercenary background, Ryan had been hired for the former Shahatra subjugation, and was now a thousand-man commander, recognized within the Shonan army.

He was wearing dark gray colored armor. Similar to Eisen’s Bleakin, he pulled out two double-edged axes like two swords.

“Ohhh!”

Although it wasn’t certain if Ryan was more powerful than Limber, it was clear that both commanders were massive in size.

The reason why Eisen called Ryan was because he didn’t want to feel inferior to the size of Alfred’s thousand-man commander.

Thud! Thud!

The two walked up to each other with heavy footsteps and faced one another. They were both on edge, releasing a murderous aura.

The two had many things in common.

Limber was a commoner with a natural talent for being a knight, and Ryan was also a commoner with an S-class mercenary background.

This was a duel between two commoners who had both risen from a humble family.

With the pressure of being watched by six thousand men, both of them released a fierce aura, which made it clear that they were ready to fight.

“Begin.”

Honk!

They weren’t nobles, so there was no need for empty formalities and vanity.

No sooner had the horn signaled the start of the duel than the two giants clashed with their immense strength, just like two angry buffalos.

Clank!

The first bloodshed of the hounds began with their respective owner’s pride on the line.

* * *

Kamsadia was a thousand-man commander of the Shonan army. He was also a well-known mercenary who had passed the interview with the Shonan army, leading him to become a thousand-man commander.

He was the youngest among the thousand-man commanders, and the lowest in rank, but as young as he was, he was quite powerful.

Henry had entrusted the Thern gorge, located on the left side of the plain, solely to Kamsadia, with a generous amount of one thousand five hundred soldiers.

‘Tsk, I would be better off in close combat fighting.’

However, Kamsadia was a little disappointed because Henry had ordered him not to win the battle in the gorge, but just hold out for as long as possible.

Of course, that didn’t mean that defending the gorge was an easy task. If Kamsadia failed and the enemy took over the gorge, the Shonan army fighting in the plain would quickly be attacked from both sides. If this happened, the outcome of the Fief war was rather obvious.

Therefore, Kamsadia’s role in defending the area played a very important part in their strategy. Despite knowing this, Kamsadia still couldn't help but feel disappointed with the role Henry had assigned him.

The reason he had managed to become an S-class mercenary was not that he was an outstanding mercenary or incredibly clever, but because of his beast-like fighting skills.

He had expected to fight in close combat on the plain, but Henry had assigned him to a defense mission at the gorge.

‘Was his name Henry? That adviser, what is he thinking, placing me here?’

Kamsadia looked back on the strategy meeting that had been held not too long ago. Actually, it was not fitting to call it a meeting since Henry had come up with a plan all on his own, and he had assigned duties to all the thousand-man commanders, not Eisen.

As a result, some of the thousand-man commanders who didn’t know Henry’s reputation had tried to express their dissatisfaction. However, they had no choice but to put up with it because of Eisen.

‘I think he told me to rip this first?’

Henry had given him a generous amount of one thousand five hundred soldiers and two magical scrolls, but he hadn’t told Kamsadia what spells the scrolls contained. All Henry had told him was that the things in the scrolls would alleviate his concerns.

Before tearing the scroll, Kamsadia quietly sighed as he stared at the Thern gorge in front of him.

‘Dang, it sure is narrow.’

The Thern Gorge was naturally perfect for this occasion, allowing for fair battles to take place. The rocky walls were as thick as a mountain range, and the gap between the walls was only wide enough to fit about ten people.

Therefore, if their purpose was to just hold out, it was possible to defend the Thern gorge against their opponents with only a handful of soldiers.

Kamsadia tore the scroll and threw it on the ground just as Henry had ordered. Then, dense emerald-colored mana came out of the scroll just like fog.

“Whoa!”

Magic scrolls were a rare sight even for mercenaries, which was why Kamsadia was amazed at the magic being released from the scroll.

Fortunately, the Etherwether army had not arrived yet.

As soon as the strategy meeting had ended, Henry had ordered Kamsadia to head to the gorge with a small number of cavalry.

The scroll continued to release an emerald-colored fog.

The fog didn't disperse into the air, possibly due to its denseness, and instead settled at the bottom of the gorge like rainwater. At last, so much fog had gathered that it looked like a river.

“Ugh, what's that smell?”

Kamsadia covered his nose from the terrible stench coming from the fog.

Bubble, bubble.

“Huh?”

The settled fog quickly sank into the ground of the gorge, and the soil soon became mushy, ultimately turning into a viscous mass.

‘A swamp?’

It was certainly a swamp.

The magic scroll Henry had given to Kamsadia contained 5th-Circle magic called the Stinky Pit.

The swamp grew larger as the fog spread, and it soon became so large that no human could possibly cross it.

“Wow…!”

Kamsadia was speechless and in awe. He couldn't stop admiring the sight in front of him.

Even at first glance, one could tell the swamp was deep. It also smelled so bad that it could make one vomit.

It seemed like the nature of this swamp would easily deter any large army from advancing through it.

‘I’ll definitely be able to defend the gorge with this kind of swamp, but…’

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The swamp had become their strong ally, and yet, the more Kamsadia thought about how helpful this swamp was going to be, the more his suspicion grew.

‘I think five hundred soldiers would’ve been enough with this kind of swamp. So why did he give me one thousand five hundred?’

Three thousand soldiers had been placed in the battle of the plain, two hundred of the soldiers were responsible for providing food, clothing, and shelter to the others, and one thousand five hundred soldiers had been assigned to him.

That was a total of four thousand seven hundred soldiers.

There were now only three hundred soldiers remaining. Henry had said that he was going to take one thousand-man commander and three hundred soldiers to cover the highland on the right side of Thern.

‘I really can't understand this guy.’

However, Kamsadia believed that Henry would have a trump card just like the scroll he had given him, and since he didn’t tend to worry too much about things, he stopped thinking about it.

Honk!

Just then, the horn of the Etherwether army could be heard across the gorge.

Honk!

At the same time, the horns of the rest of the Eisen army could also be heard.

“Perfect timing.”

Kamsadia had arrived beforehand with the cavalry, so it was natural for the rest of them to arrive later.

After he checked that the swamp was working properly, Kamsadia turned his head to greet the other soldiers who had just arrived.

“Ah right, I almost forgot.”

Kamsadia took out another scroll.

Henry had given him two magic scrolls. One of them was called the Stinky Pit, and the other was unknown.

‘He told me to rip this after the first one.’

Henry had told him to tear the scrolls in order.

Kamsadia had torn the scroll for the Stinky Pit first, and now all that was left to do was to tear the second one.

He tore the second scroll and threw it on the ground again without hesitation. Of course, he threw the scroll far away just in case.

‘It wouldn't be good if something like a swamp appears again and I get stuck in it.’

Evidently, he didn’t want to die trapped in a swamp.

A black fog came out of the scroll.

Shhh…

‘It’s black?’

Kamsadia stared at it again with curiosity, but this time, the effects were very short.

Thud!

Thud! Thud!

“Huh?”

A massive, heavy-looking armor emerged from the black fog. Its color was pitch black, which made it easy for one to mistake it for charcoal soot if they didn’t look closely enough.

“Armor?”

It was certainly armor.

Out of curiosity, Kamsadai tried to get closer to the armor to get a better look.

Oong!

“...!”

Clank! Clank!

Clank!

However, the black armor suddenly rose into the air, and the armor pieces came together like a living creature, soon taking its full form.

The moment the helmet of the black armor was mounted on the body…!

Flash!

Red lights flashed from the empty eyes of the helmet.

‘What the…!’

It resembled a beast.

The armor released a murderous, warlike aura, which caused Kamsadia to unsheathe his sword, feeling instinctively threatened.

Clank!

The sharp sound of metal could be heard.

The black armor finally landed on the ground, showing off its imposing presence.

Thud…!

A dust cloud formed over the gorge.

“So it’s you that Henry has told me to deal with,” said the armor.

The black armor was none other than Hector.