The Battle Of Hedal And Modor (6)

Mounted on his steed Boleric, Seveldrun’s personal guard knights lined up in a horizontal formation. Seeing this, the Heavy Armored Knights gradually pulled back from the front line, forming a massive lateral formation.

Realizing the signature heavy-impact lateral formation was being set, Fjorland’s Guard Corps fought fiercely against the Norger, buying time until the formation was complete.

“Kill! Kill them!”

“Ugh, argh!”

“Guh!”

Axes flew, arrows rained, and spears pierced. Swords flashed, dancing amid the clash of steel. Shattered shield fragments embedded into flesh.

At the blood-soaked front line, the Guard Corps, despite heavy losses, clung tenaciously to the Norger, preventing them from disrupting the Heavy Armored Knights.

Catching his breath beside Olaf’s beheaded corpse, Oden frowned. The Guard Corps was falling to his Norger, but if earlier it was a defeat of strength, now it was a purposeful sacrifice. He saw it in the expressions of the fallen guards.

‘Is that why!’

The Heavy Armored Knights, stretched long. Having pulled back from the front, they were forming a two-row lateral formation around a giant figure at the center.

‘This isn’t good.’

A sense of unease rose behind Oden.

Taller by half a head than even Oden, large among the Norger, clad in full heavy armor—that man had to be Seveldrun.

The leader of the Heavy Armored Knights, unmatched in strength and combat across Nordenheim. A man of cautious nature, immune to deception, and skilled in tactics and strategy.

The strongest of Nordenheim’s four duchies, Fjorland’s might was said to stem largely from that man’s existence.

Clank!!!

At Seveldrun’s signal, the Heavy Armored Knights shielded themselves with studded shields larger than a man’s torso.

Clank!!!

Above the shields, the first row raised swords, axes, or maces. The second row thrust long lances between the first-row knights. Chains linked the horses’ shoes, locking their movements.

A formation like a giant wall of spears.

“What is that?”

Confusion seeped into Oden’s face. Bryld and the Skjaldmær unit, standing by him, trembled in fear at the Heavy Armored Knights’ formation.

‘They’ve dwindled.’

Seveldrun’s brow furrowed deeply.

Of the 400 Heavy Armored Knights, many were lost in fallen or defeated castles during this invasion. And now, in this battle on the Hedal-Modor plain, many more had died or been injured.

About 300 knights remained.

But the 30 personal guard knights rallied around him, and the two rows of knights forming the ‘moving fortress’ would surely turn the tide of battle.

A formation he’d devised, trained, and refined countless times. An invincible formation to reverse a battle’s momentum when tilted against them. But until now, they’d never been so disadvantaged, so it had never been tested in combat.

Conversely, neither enemies nor rival duchies’ soldiers had ever faced it.

“Go!”

At Seveldrun’s command, the massive mounted wall began to advance slowly. Its overwhelming presence and formation caused Norger warriors and unescaped Guard Corps soldiers to scatter in panic.

Those who couldn’t escape were skewered by long lances or trampled by massive hooves. Even if they dodged, the first row’s maces, axes, and swords felled them in sprays of blood.

Crushing all in its path, the formation advanced heavily. No matter how the Norger warriors struck, it neither yielded nor stopped. Those retreating, tripping over corpses, were crushed to death.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Spears flew and archers shot arrows from all directions. But the Heavy Armored Knights’ massive warhorses, clad in iron barding on face, chest, and legs, were barely threatened by spears or arrows.

The greater issue was the Guard Corps’ new movement. With the Heavy Armored Knights’ formation at the center, they formed a vast lateral line, their wings tightening around the Norger like an encirclement. Numerical superiority was reviving.

On this plain, the Norger lost 400, leaving about 2,600. The Fjorland army, with 1,000 in reserve at the castle, deployed 4,000 and lost about 800.

By results alone, the smaller Norger force, killing over twice as many Fjorlanders, could claim a great victory. But the cage-like defensive formation wouldn’t break, and the enemy’s morale surged again.

The Norger began to collapse rapidly. Swinging his massive poleaxe from horseback, crushing a Norger warrior’s head, Seveldrun clicked his tongue.

‘If Olaf’s lancers were here, we could’ve blocked their retreat and trapped them completely.’

Still, completing this formation mid-battle was near-miraculous, possible only because of Seveldrun.

Seveldrun gazed far off at a large man, surrounded by female warriors, staring back. Ornate jewelry, leather, and an immense presence.

‘That’s their barbarian leader, Oden.’

He pointed at Oden. The formation slowly pivoted toward him.

“Bryld, pull your unit back now. We can’t break through.”

Oden spoke, watching the massive slaughter and the slowly tightening wings. Bryld glared with defiance but, seeing the anger in his eyes, quickly bowed her head.

“Skjaldmær!”

Bryld raised her sword, shouted, and retreated from the front. The shield-bearing female warriors rushed after her.

Oden’s order was correct. In battle, especially one of this scale, each unit had its counters. For the Skjaldmær, piercing gaps with short swords and shields, that seamless formation was a death sentence.

“Lar! Hegel!”

At Oden’s call, two swift warriors, slaughtering the Guard Corps on both sides, rushed over. Oden spoke.

“We need to buy as much time as possible to pull back all units. You and your men may have to ascend to Valhalla first.”

The two warriors smiled at Oden’s grim command, clapping each other’s shoulders. The order was cruel, but to them, it was an honor.

“Finally free from Old Lady Heorn’s curses!”

“But missing that old hag’s mead is a shame. Still, Valhalla’s got better stuff.”

Listening to them, Oden bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry to send you first.”

“No, King Oden. This land will be ours, and we are the welcoming tide. Do not mind it.”

“Please tell our descendants of our deeds in this war.”

They left Oden, shouting to gather their men. Leading nearly ten each, they doused themselves in fish oil. A foul stench rose.

Soon, dried poisonous mushrooms and a brew of gerom flower and evening primrose roots, dulling pain and inducing hallucinations, were given to them. Hastily chewing the mushrooms and drinking the brew, their bodies began to burn.

“Set… set the fire.”

At Lar’s words, warriors lit the trembling twenty, their bodies soaked in fish oil, ablaze with flames.

“Aaaaaaaah!!!”

With a massive roar, the flaming warriors, clutching oil jars, charged toward Seveldrun and the Heavy Armored Knights. Fighting Norger warriors hastily retreated to avoid them.

The Fjorland army stared in horror. They hadn’t expected such desperate resistance. Even Seveldrun shuddered at the instinctive fear creeping up his spine.

“Stop them! Stop them!”

At a knight’s cry, spears, axes, and arrows flew. But to these maddened warriors, nothing was fearsome. Rather, with their bodies already burning, no other pain could touch them.

Some, with spears and arrows in knees and legs, collapsed and rolled. But their flaming bodies ignited the dry plain grass, and the oil jars they held spread fire everywhere, acting as kindling.

“…!!!”

Some pierced through flying spears and arrows, charging to the Heavy Armored Knights and throwing themselves onto lances. Oil jars exploded, flames erupting.

Not only the knights and Guard Corps were shocked; the warhorses, startled by the flames, halted. The animals’ instinctive fear of fire stopped the giant wall’s advance.

As flames spread, the formation’s center, controlling the whole, stopped, forcing the rest to halt. The dry grass-covered plain fueled the fire’s rapid spread, and black smoke engulfed the battlefield.

Realizing something major had struck Seveldrun’s side, the encircling wings hesitated. With their commander and the Heavy Armored Knights halted, chaos rippled through the formation.

“Push forward! Push! We’re fine here!”

Knights shouted and waved flags.

But in that brief chaos, Oden barely pulled the near-annihilated Norger back, hastily reforming their lines.

“Leave the center open, crush the encircling wings first.”

At his crisp order, the Norger, catching their breath, split to both sides, reforming the front line.

Seeing the tangled front, Seveldrun nodded.

“Unchain and disband the formation.”

The order was swiftly executed. At Seveldrun’s command, the knights, split left and right around him, began striking the Norger fighting the Guard Corps’ wings.

A tactic piling advantage upon advantage, Seveldrun, with only his personal guard, aimed his massive poleaxe at Oden.

But in that moment, injured or exhausted Norger warriors and Bryld’s unit rallied to shield Oden.

Facing them all with about thirty Heavy Armored Knights was daunting. Yet pulling the other knights or Guard Corps, eagerly slaughtering Norger, was also difficult.

“You’re lucky. But you won’t leave this battlefield alive, Oden.”

Seveldrun smiled, pointing to the hill behind Oden on the right.

Oden and his warriors turned.

The hill bore the banners of the Holy Cross and the Papal Holy Protector Knights.

Deputy Commander Ber Undingen, with 50 Holy Protector Knights and 150 Legion soldiers, a 200-strong dispatched force.

A day earlier, after seeing Shetil and Lloyd’s mangled corpses, Deputy Commander Ber sent an urgent report to the Papal Court and was racing to Hedal Castle with his troops. On the way, at this plain, he stumbled upon this massive battle.

At a glance, he saw both armies and the current situation.

His eyes turned to Oden and the Norger gathered around him.

“Go! Kill! In the Lord’s name, drive these heathens to hell!”

“Yes!”

“Do not forget! The Lord’s army knows only victory. Think of your necklaces, swords, spears, and the Holy Cross on your backs. Kill or be killed—there are only two paths!”

Drawing his sword and shouting, Ber spurred his horse down the slope. With a roar, the Papal force, in a wedge formation, surged toward Oden’s ranks.

And at the same time, Seveldrun and his personal guard advanced toward Oden.