Episode 20

The battle started quite abruptly. The enemies charged at them as soon as dawn broke, as if they had been waiting.

The unit of the battle was the mercenary group. Since mercenaries could hardly distinguish their allies from their foes, they fought based on their group leaders. Herera’s side wore red armbands, while Wiergang’s side wore white ones, making it not too difficult to distinguish between them.

“Don’t fall back—, if we fall back, think of it as if we’re all over—!”

Allen with the red armband perfectly prepared for the enemy’s charge.

The first row of four created a wall with tower shields, behind them, the two at the ends of the second row held spears, and the two at the ends of the third row were skilled with swords and axes. The two in the rear were the experienced and skilled veterans, Old Dog Kalisman and Captain Aiden. Given the wide area they were responsible for, they had to be skilled.

The first row blocks the enemy with shields while thrusting spears through the gaps, while the second and third rows deal with enemies coming from the sides and back.

Among all the groups, including the Herera and Wiergang groups, the Allen-Mercenary Group was the only one that fought with such systematic formation and tactics.

After all, in the eastern region, charging headlong was considered brave, and these groups weren’t very professional mercenaries to begin with, so they weren’t meticulous about tactics. They just fought in whatever way they could, showcasing their own strengths. In reality, this was less about the mercenaries’ abilities and more about the capability of their leader.

…And, the effectiveness of the tactics Allen employed was clearly visible to the eye.

“Stab with the spear—! Thrust it wildly through the gaps—! And push with the shield at the same time——!!”

The first row blocked the enemy with tower shields lined up like a wall, and at the signal, they slightly opened a gap for spears to thrust through, vigorously jabbing at the enemies. The moment the enemies were stabbed by the spears, they pushed them away with their shields to create space and waited for the next opponent.

Enemies who came around the shield were dealt with by the second and third rows. Kalisman and Aiden, especially, who were seasoned with experience, slashed and struck the enemies indiscriminately, true to their long-term contracts.

“It’s not over until it’s over—! Never let your guard down—! Never get distracted—! You’re doing well now—! Keep it up—!”

Group Leader Allen continuously encouraged his members. He quickly scanned the surroundings when he had a brief moment to catch his breath. The situation still seemed evenly matched.

And then, not too far away, a massive explosion was heard. It was undoubtedly magic.

In fact, magic, especially on a battlefield, was nothing short of a double-edged sword.

The destructive power of magic was certainly stronger than any other attack, but at the same time, it attracted the attention of enemies. Of course, it might be different if one was heavily protected, but it was obvious that being safely protected in this situation was not easy.

‘…Isn’t this a bit dangerous?’

Allen was slightly worried about Jumbo Jugs safety. Not because of a moral high ground, but because the situation of the battle was at stake.

Given the significant impact a magician could have on a war, the safety of Jumbo Jugs Elena was very important to them. Therefore, it would be right to prevent her from leaving the battlefield if possible.

“Keep formation and move to the right—!”

Just then, the enemies were also moving towards the direction of the noise. Even if they were ignorant about tactics, they knew they had to deal with the magician quickly.

Naturally, as the enemies gathered, the attacks on Allen-Mercenary Group became fiercer. Of course, tactically, they had the upper hand, but it was not easy to overcome the absolute difference in numbers. Having already fought with several mercenary groups and exhausted much of their stamina, they were gasping for breath.

Fortunately, the Allen-Mercenary Group was gradually becoming a symbol of fear for the opponents, so the reckless charging had somewhat decreased. The leaders, who were mercenaries with nothing to boast of but their experiences of wildly slashing at people or monsters, had nothing to counter the tactics presented by the Allen-Mercenary Group. The number of mercenaries who simply charged and fell dead was so high it was hard to count.

“Damn it, you cowards—! Come out and fight fair and square—!!”

The leaders cursed at those who cowardly hid behind shields and fought, but Allen didn’t even blink at such provocations. Negotiating with money would have been more effective….

The Allen-Mercenary Group finally reached near Elena. Naturally, the Roakin-Mercenary Group, temporarily led by her, was fiercely fighting the enemies. Jumbo Jugs Elena was giving orders while being protected by her subordinates, but… honestly, it was questionable how effective that was.

Soon, the Allen-Mercenary Group also got involved in the fight. As the members’ stamina started to run low, some mistakes began to occur that hadn’t before, but even considering that, their performance was still impressive.

“Just hold on a little longer—! We have to hold on—!”

That was all Allen could now say.

We must hold on.

Until one of them falls.

In fact, the leadership of the Wiergang group had already assessed the enemy’s strength and anticipated that they would overwhelmingly win this battle. That’s why the second son of Count Wiergang, who secretly adored Elena, had personally come out to suggest that they surrender. …Which of course had failed.

But when it came down to it, the course of the battle was far different from what was expected. The second son of the count leading the Wiergang group, Eindolph, was extremely confused about how things had turned out this way. It seemed like they were pushing forward, but in the end, there was no progress. Instead, the death toll continued to rise.

Eindolph, who was skilled in swordsmanship, did his best by cutting down enemies himself, but still, the situation did not turn around.

In the midst of this, he encountered a mercenary group. …No, to be precise, it was because his allies were too scared to attack them, creating a gap that he ended up entering.

He already saw that numerous corpses were scattered around the opposing mercenary group. …However, it seemed that the opponents had no casualties.

The opposing group, like a wall, stood immobile with their shields raised, staring them down. There was no fear in their eyes. ‘Come and you die—’, that was all. Even Eindolph felt a chill run down his spine from that intimidation.

‘…That, is impenetrable.’

He was certain of it the moment he saw them. …However, he also being a noble from the east, was nothing but a corpse without his pride. He was displeased with himself for having such a loser’s thought. Retreating without even trying was worse than being a loser; it was cowardice.

“What are you doing?! Attack now! Break through that–!!”

When Eindolph screamed furiously, only then did a few reluctantly rush in. But the result was as expected.

The moment the weapons wielded by the two mercenaries who charged were blocked by the shield with a bang, the gap in the shield suddenly opened slightly, and a spear that popped out from there stabbed their chests and bellies repeatedly. With a scream, the two fell to the ground, and now there were none who truly wanted to rush in.

The shield closed tightly, and they quietly waited for their opponent again, as if urging them to come at them.

‘…So this was it. It was because of them…!’

Only then did Eindolph realize why the battle, which should have already been won, had been dragging on. It was because a not insignificant number of mercenaries had died at the hands of that mysterious mercenary group.

…And as the battle continued, the damage would inevitably spiral out of control.

“This, damn it…!”

It was his misjudgment. A critical mistake made from being too complacent.

“…Retreat——!”

Eindolph clenched his teeth so hard they almost cracked from frustration, but it couldn’t be helped. The enemies were already on the rise, and they were on the decline. If the battle continued like this, they would suffer irreversible damage.

They had been hit by an unexpectedly powerful blow. It was extremely shameful, but they needed to retreat and reorganize to prepare for what was to come.

Upon hearing the order to retreat, the mercenaries of Wiergang turned and fled as if they had been waiting for it. Nothing had to be said; they too felt that the momentum had shifted. The moment they hesitated to charge out of fear of the enemy, the outcome was practically decided.

With tails between their legs, the fleeing Wiergang group was met with cheers from the Herera group. Despite both sides suffering considerable damage, a victory was still a victory. The surviving mercenaries of Herera roared wildly, reveling in their triumph.

Even Elena, whose face had grown slightly gaunt from a powerful spell, had joy light up her face. She lifted her staff high, responding to her subordinates’ cheers.

‘Honestly, it was a bit dizzying when far more enemies rushed at us than expected…, but we still won.’

A hard-earned first victory.

However, the smile of victory did not last long.

It was the last courtesy for the dead.