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Chapter

238: Deception, Encirclement, Annihilation. (2)

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

At the forefront, Zvalter’s sword turned a brilliant blue. Having mastered the Mana Circulation Method passed down by Ghislaine, he now radiated a much larger and more intense mana than before.

With hair flowing like a beast’s mane, shining silver armor, a countenance filled with dignity, and eyes brimming with vitality, joined by his magnificently groomed beard from this morning—Zvalter and those following him resembled wolves charging through the North.

“Charge!”

Waaaaah!

As Zvalter shouted, everyone following him let out a battle cry. Their voices were so powerful that the ground seemed to shake merely from their roar.

‘I can do this! I can! I must do it!’

Zvalter ground his teeth. His heart raced violently.

How long has it been since my heart thumped like this?

In previous encounters with barbarians, he had always adopted a defensive strategy to minimize damage. There hadn’t been a single instance when he had ventured outside the fortress while enemies charged at him like this.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Leading the charge, all the knights and cavalry of Perdium were deployed. But it didn’t stop there. Every available force from the fortress, including archers, followed closely behind.

The barbarians were understandably taken aback. Such a sight had never occurred before, leaving them unsure of how to respond.

“What, what is this? What’s happening? Why are there still so many troops remaining?”

“Wasn’t the main force already deployed?”

“Quickly abandon the ladders! We’ll fight them head-on!”

They hadn’t realized that Ghislaine had recently joined the knights with new recruits. Instead, they thought the forces recently active were merely a few from those who normally stayed at the Northern Fortress.

Faced with the bizarre appearance of troops they didn’t expect, the morale of the barbarians dropped significantly.

However, the Great Warriors couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Thinking it through, this was actually to their advantage.

“We vastly outnumber them anyway! This is great! Just push them down!”

This was a far better situation than fighting by the fortress. The numbers were greater than anticipated, but not enough to instill fear.

The forces coming out of the Northern Fortress totaled just over a thousand. In contrast, the assembled warriors here exceeded five thousand.

These were survivors from the rough North. Losing their nerve before a battle would be an enormous humiliation for them.

But now, with such a disparity in troop numbers? Becoming frightened meant they didn’t qualify as warriors.

“Those guys are weaklings!”

“Let’s smash their heads in!”

“The Northern Fortress will fall today!”

The fierce shouts of the warriors echoed all around.

“Oooooooooooo!”

As the barbarians regained their composure, intense bloodlust began to emanate from their eyes.

Responding to the Great Warriors’ cries, the roar of the warriors erupted. It was a massive, overwhelming sound that drowned out Perdium’s battle cries.

With a glare aimed at the determined warriors, Zvalter shouted loudly.

“Break through!”

Bang!

At the front lines, the knights of Perdium swiftly broke through the ranks of barbarians. Thanks to the change in the Mana Circulation Method and their newfound strength, the formation of the barbarians crumbled easily.

However, the barbarians, being accustomed to cavalry, weren’t easily daunted by the knights’ charge.

Great Warriors shouted out loud from various places.

“Let’s go! We’ll remind those weaklings of our terror once again!”

They had no tactics specifically designed to counter cavalry. Such tactics were for weak humans preparing for battle.

Cavalry tactics, after all, were meant to minimize damage to one’s own side.

As always, the barbarians fully committed their bodies.

“Everyone, stick together!”

“Oooooooooo!”

“With the blessing of the great warrior on our side!”

The warriors leapt towards the oncoming cavalry. Without fear of being trampled, they brandished their axes aiming for the horses’ ankles.

Neigh!

Horses fell, and the barbarians grabbed hold of the falling knights, rolling around the battlefield.

Those unafraid of death aren’t easy to face. The true strength of the barbarians revealed itself in such chaotic melee.

With the opponents throwing themselves recklessly, the cavalry struggled to maintain their strength.

“Ugh!”

Zvalter gritted his teeth.

‘We can’t be intimidated by their spirit.’

He understood the frenzied will to fight possessed by the barbarians. That’s why he had always avoided large-scale clashes until now.

“Grrr!”

“Die, you bastard!”

“Let’s finish this today!”

Fortunately, the Perdium troops were not inferior in spirit to the barbarians. Having been poisoned by the memories of previous defeats, they were fired up and fighting alongside Ghislaine, breaking the barbarian tribes while their morale soared.

Everyone clenched their teeth and faced the barbarians.

The barbarian warriors continued to throw themselves against the Perdium troops, trusting in their numbers. They were so caught up in the heat of battle that they felt no fear, even as a comrade fell beside them.

“Keep pushing!”

“We’ll show those weaklings of the kingdom our terror!”

“Wolves of the North! You will die here today!”

The barbarians charged in with fierce faces, brandishing their axes, seemingly devoid of fear.

Both sides were unwilling to step back, driven by the emotions built up over time.

In the early stages of the battle, the momentum was clearly in favor of Perdium. Thanks to their successful preemptive strike in formation, they hadn’t sustained too many casualties compared to the enemy.

However, the barbarians threw themselves into the fray as if they didn’t care if they were wiped out. Plus, with their overwhelming numbers, Perdium’s soldiers began to be overpowered by the barbarians’ frenzy.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

One barbarian collided with the mounted knight’s body. Sir Skoban tightened the reins, barely dodging the attack, and immediately swung his sword in retaliation.

‘Damn, is this really right? Are we going to win? The numbers are just too uneven!’

It was a plan concocted by the Grand Duke and that Claude guy, yet it felt absurd no matter how he thought about it. To fight outside the fortress like this.

He felt a moment of resentment, but shook it off. It was the Grand Duke’s plan, so surely there was some other scheme in play.

He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling, but he couldn’t deny that he had enjoyed the days spent fighting alongside Ghislaine.

‘I am a knight of Perdium!’

He could not forget his fallen comrades. He could not forgive the barbarians who had always troubled his territory.

If he gave it his all, they would surely be able to wipe out all the barbarians. The Grand Duke had asserted that, so that must be the case.

Skoban decided to place his trust in the Grand Duke once again.

“Uaaaaaaaaah!”

He shouted loudly, motivating himself as he swung his sword.

He knocked out several rushing barbarians, but as the saying goes, numbers matter, and ultimately, he found himself pushed off his horse by a fleeting barbarian.

“Ugh!”

Clang! Clang!

As soon as he fell from his horse, several barbarian warriors dashed up and struck him with their axes. However, in a moment of desperation, Skoban unleashed the power of mana, blocking all the attacks.

Wham!

He then sprang back up and swiftly beheaded the warriors who had latched onto him.

Gazing down at the scattered corpses, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

‘This crazy Mana Circulation Method felt like it would kill me during training…but it saved my life now.’

While the drawback was diminished stamina, the ability to unleash tremendous power momentarily was certainly very useful. Thanks to the barbarian slaughter, he had survived the ambush.

Slice!

“Haah, haah…”

After cutting down the oncoming barbarians again, Skoban surveyed his surroundings with tired eyes.

The tension experienced when stepping onto the battlefield was beyond imagination. Even though he moved the same way, he felt several times more fatigued.

Yet Skoban continued to cut down barbarians and exploded his mana. If anything, it was almost strange for him not to be exhausted.

“Haah, haah…”

His legs began to feel heavy. The warmth of enemy blood covering him felt suffocating.

‘It’s time to retreat.’

The charge tactic had already lost its strength. They had broken the vanguard, but there were simply too many remaining enemies. As the opposition fiercely closed in, they couldn’t push through to the depth of the formation.

‘Blocking all the cavalry charges with my body. They’re definitely a pain in the ass.’

It was time to slip away. Cavalry couldn’t exert their true strength in such a chaotic situation.

Already, the cavalry had sidestepped after their first clash, immediately retreating to maintain a safer route. The knights had intentionally stayed behind to secure their withdrawal.

As if reading Skoban’s mind, Zvalter’s voice rang out loudly at the perfect moment.

“Now, slip to the side! Knights, retreat quickly! Now!”

Skoban, alongside the surrounding knights, began to slice through the barbarian warriors as they moved.

Though he wished to simply collapse to rest, he gritted his teeth and held on. Having just gotten stronger and feeling better, it would be unfair to die here.

‘That Ricardo bastard is lucky!’

He gets along well with women and always lives like a carefree slacker. Right now, he’s probably taking a nap at the Forest of Monsters fortress.

At that thought, Skoban felt a rush of blood to his head.

‘I absolutely can’t die! No, I won’t die!’

As that annoying face flashed through his mind, he felt a surge of strength he didn’t know he had. With jealousy fueling him, he fervently swung his sword.

“Shield! Quickly make a defensive line!”

At Zvalter’s shout, the following shield soldiers began to form a defensive line. The soldiers held colossal and thick shields, differing from their usual ones.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Before he knew it, a long wall of shields had been erected in the place where knights and cavalry had retreated.

“Uooooooooo!”

The barbarians saw this and let out a roar of victory. If they were going to defend like that, why even come out of the fortress?

They became more ferocious in their assault.

Although they had suffered a significant blow at the start, it was okay. They still vastly outnumbered the Perdium forces. If anything, the sacrifices only fueled the fervor of the barbarians.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The warriors’ axes ruthlessly struck the shields.

The shield soldiers of Perdium gritted their teeth and endured the fierce assault. They poured their effort solely into defense, not allowing a spear to poke through between the shields.

“Ha ha ha! Finally frightened, huh?”

“Such actions are typical of weaklings!”

“Now that you’ve come out, just surrender your necks!”

The barbarians, gathering even more morale, attempted to breach past the shields.

The spearmen behind the shield soldiers pierced the advancing ones, but the barbarians never held back and kept charging.

This was the terrifying nature of barbarian warriors. Once they lost their cool, they disregarded their surroundings.

And so, they remained oblivious.

The ranks of shield soldiers were gradually extending sideways.

Meanwhile, Zvalter appeared to be waiting for something, holding his breath with bright eyes.

‘The formation’s been completed… But the onslaught has shifted faster than expected.’

Originally, they should have fought a bit longer before forming up. But they couldn’t afford to delay any further against the frenzied rush of the barbarians.

Delaying further would only lead to increasing casualties among the knights and cavalry.

Now, they had to hold on by blocking with their shields.

‘Come on… come on… It won’t be easy to hold out for long.’

Despite Zvalter’s anxious heart, the barbarian attacks grew fiercer. Believing they had the upper hand, they charged forward even more recklessly.

The total forces of Perdium were vastly outnumbered by the barbarians. Just defending would eventually lead to them being broken.

Now, the attack came solely from the barbarians. The Perdium troops were focused on defense, except for intercepting the few that made it through.

Clang! Clang!

“Oooooooooo!”

“Victory is ours!”

“Push! Keep pushing!”

In the heat of battle and amidst the massive roars, the barbarians failed to hear.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The sound of hooves stomping the ground reverberated strongly.

Zvalter, realizing someone was approaching from afar, twitched his eyebrows.

The reinforcements he had been waiting for were late; only one person, riding swiftly, was approaching.

‘What is this…? Why?’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each time the axe came down, the heat of the shields shook. The common soldiers could hardly hold out against the now half-rabid barbarian onslaught.

While encouraging his soldiers with words, Zvalter could not take his eyes off the approaching figure. Confusion filled his gaze.

‘What is going on? Why? Why has he come alone?’

It was true that the operation had moved along more swiftly than expected. So, he tried to push through and endure however he could.

Yet as though predictive of what was to come, the promised figure appeared, sooner than expected.

Albeit, it was problematic that it was only one person.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Feeling something rapidly approaching, the barbarian forces at the rear turned their heads.

They spotted a singular figure rushing towards them at incredible speed and yelled out.

“Enemy! An enemy has appeared from the back!”

“What? It’s just one person?”

“Is he insane? Charging at us alone?”

A minor commotion erupted among the rear ranks of the barbarians.

However, the barbarians currently facing Perdium did not pay any attention. They were solely focused on breaking through the defensive line. If a problem arose, they would receive a signal from behind.

But no signals were sent from the rear. They thought it was nothing significant.

Who would fear a single person’s charge? Such a warrior did not exist here.

A few warriors at the very back merely turned to face the incoming figure with their axes. They had no problem taking down just one person.

However, those who turned around widened their eyes upon seeing the incoming opponent.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Every blink brought the opponent’s figure closer.

“What, what is that? Why is he so fast? Is that even possible?”

One must be able to meld with the horse and push its strength to the limit to achieve such a feat. Even the barbarians who had lived their lives on horseback were astonished by such horsemanship.

In the blink of an eye, Zvalter recognized the features of the approaching figure and shouted.

“Ghislaine—!”

With red eyes shining, the swiftly approaching figure was Ghislaine. As he summoned his mana, the spear in his hand began to turn a deep crimson.

Soon, a cruel smile blossomed on Ghislaine’s face.

“I’m coming, Father.”

 

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