Banreung Expedition (4)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠“H-help! What are you all doing?!”

The panicked dwarf shouted at the villagers. The villagers were armed with pitchforks, sickles, and rake-spears, but they were terrified by the might of Azadine’s group, who had swept away the blunderbuss soldiers in an instant, and did not dare step forward.

“Shut up.”

Azadine struck down the dwarf captain, who was urging the villagers to join the fight, with the Blue Executioner.

The dwarf platoon leader’s head split open and fresh blood splattered. The villagers watching that sight threw down their weapons.

“W-we surrender!”

“We did nothing. The dwarves threatened us with weapons, so what were we supposed to do?”

“Then everyone throw away your weapons and stand there.”

Azadine did not hide his anger as he called them to stand. Then he split them in half and questioned them separately.

“Where did these dwarf bastards come from?”

“They… came from the northeast.”

“Who is in charge? How many are in their gang? How many troops do they have?”

Azadine divided the residents of the relay village into two groups and questioned them, then also questioned the captured dwarf blunderbuss shooters and dwarf sorcerers, confirming that everyone’s answers matched.

Dwarven Arrow was officially a criminal organization. However, perhaps because they feared losing their drug manufacturing source, they had brought in forces beyond what a mere criminal organization could handle and spread them all across the area.

However, because they did not know where Azadine’s group would come from, they had scattered their forces across several places, so there were not many personnel deployed at each point.

“Good. We will defeat them all to the last.”

“What will you do with the prisoners? If we leave them behind, defeating them in detail will be difficult, will it not?”

Zebec, who had come with Azadine, asked.

“What is your recommendation, Sir Zebec?”

“My recommendation is….”

“To kill them.”

Bernard spoke instead of Zebec.

“Even if we keep them alive, they will only expose our numbers and movements. It would be best to kill them.”

“…….”

Zebec was left speechless after hearing Bernard’s words. In truth, that was rational.

They said they had no choice because the dwarves had threatened them, but they were residents of the Banreung Kingdom.

Fundamentally, this was a place where one could not live without cooperating with Dwarven Arrow, and if they were left alone, they would somehow hand information about Azadine’s group over to Dwarven Arrow.

However, Azadine’s group did not have enough people to drag them around as prisoners. They had struck first with overwhelming destructive power and ruined the enemy, but Azadine’s group numbered fewer than ten because of the numerical limit on the pass.

The number permitted by the pass was five. Even including those who insisted they would not be caught and followed Azadine, there were only seven at most.

“That is strategically correct. However, Bernard. I am a Hospitaller. Killing those who have surrendered is something I cannot do.”

“Then what will you do? Will you use them as soldiers?”

“I will use another method.”

Azadine gave an order to the villagers.

“In two hours from now, raise convincing smoke. Make smoke as though the entire village is burning and lure the other bastards in.”

“Yes?”

“Raise enough smoke to make it feel like the village is burning. Within two hours. Two hours from now, the smoke must be visible from ten leagues around this area. If smoke does not rise, then I will come back and punish you.”

“…….”

From now on, they would have to gather a great deal of firewood, and if necessary, strip the roofs off their houses and burn the shingles and thatch to create convincing smoke.

Telling them to produce smoke visible from ten leagues around in only two hours was a harsh demand.

Of course, it was far better than being massacred.

“You had better start preparing now. If you do not light the fires, I will drag all of you away and make you do forced labor. We will tie up the survivors and leave them behind.”

Azadine left those words, tied up and hung the dwarf blunderbuss troops, and left the place with his subordinates.

“Wh-what should we do?”

The villagers were flustered.

“Ugh. This is like a shrimp’s back bursting in a fight between whales. We have to do it, what else! There are trees everywhere nearby, so start by making some fires and bring in firewood! If that does not work, we will have to burn some of the roofs we have.”

“The roofs?”

“Yes. Think of it as replacing the roofs while we are at it!”

The villagers busily prepared to light fires.

“Oh my. They have begun moving.”

One dwarf sorcerer opened his eyes.

Just as Azadine and the Aragasa used the Foresight-Bird Spell or the Emperor’s Voice to scout their surroundings, the dwarf sorcerers of Banreung scouted their surroundings with the magic of Earth Resonance.

By using this magic, they could hear the sound of blunderbuss fire much faster and more accurately than through air transmission. Human voices could not shake the ground much, so they could not detect them, but they could distinguish the noise and vibrations of humans fighting.

“There was a battle on this side. Judging by how quickly the noise subsided…”

The dwarf sorcerer analyzed the sound he had heard through Earth Resonance and spoke.

“It seems the unit in the village has been annihilated.”

“What? A platoon of blunderbusses was waiting there. How many troops did he bring?”

At that moment, one dwarf among them spat and stood up. It was Chashan, who had escaped after being captured by Azadine.

“I told you not to underestimate that bastard, didn’t I? He is the man who defeated the Chadra Five Ogres and rose rapidly. On top of that, he is of the Messenger Clan!”

“Boss.”

“Now that we know the enemies’ location, gather all our forces! If we do not sweep them away at once, we will be the ones defeated. Hey, Earthkeeper. Where are they now?”

The dwarf sorcerer called Earthkeeper cast the Earth Resonance spell, placed his head against the ground, and listened.

“I-I do not know.”

“What? What do you mean, you do not know? They must be moving, right? You cannot even find that?”

But Chashan’s brothers and cousins stopped Chashan.

“Instead of blaming Earthkeeper, we should think of something else, Brother.”

“That is right. Selim is there. Could they be coming on something like hippogriffs?”

“Flying over on hippogriffs? That is excellent. Let them come!”

If Azadine’s group came riding hippogriffs, it would be something the dwarves would welcome.

Flying through the sky made them perfect targets for blunderbusses.

No matter how impressive a hippogriff was, it could not break through a net of fire built by blunderbusses. If they were subjected to concentrated fire, the hippogriff or the rider hanging onto its back would inevitably fall helplessly.

However, their current location was the Chadra-Banreung Ridge, with many forests, mountains, and hills, so visibility could not be called good.

Since flying enemies could launch a surprise attack at any moment, their confidence was somewhat excessive.

Chashan’s brothers desperately reminded him of that point.

“First, we need to gather our forces. If Azadine’s group has started moving, scattering our troops itself is a foolish act.”

To capture the merchant group Azadine operated, the Dwarven Arrow forces had divided their troops and placed them in nearby villages and along various roadways.

But now that Azadine was personally moving for revenge, they had to gather their troops. However, Chashan had been so distracted by torturing the merchants out of vengeance that he had neglected to gather his forces.

It was clearly Chashan’s fault, and Chashan himself knew it.

“Ah.”

At that moment, Earthkeeper flinched in surprise.

“I hear sound.”

“You hear it? Location?”

“…They are in combat.”

“In combat?”

“Yes. They have gone north and are fighting.”

“…….”

What Earthkeeper meant was clear. Azadine was defeating the scattered troops in detail.

“That is too fast, isn’t it? And seeing as they are moving without ground vibrations, they are riding hippogriffs. But how?”

“It seems someone among them knows us well. They appear to be using flying beasts to avoid ground vibrations, then dismounting to fight when they engage.”

There was someone in Azadine’s group who knew the dwarves’ magic system well. In reality, their prediction was true. Since Bernard, who had studied at Banreung Academy, was serving as Azadine’s advisor, the dwarves’ abilities and combat methods were already clearly known to Azadine.

Chashan also knew that fact, but he had not considered it at all. He might have been able to become a successful gang boss, but he had far too many disqualifying flaws to serve as a military commander on the battlefield or the leader of a force beyond that.

“Kh….”

The gazes around him were sharp. Chashan, who had already been humiliated by Azadine several times, trembled as he felt his prestige falling to the ground.

“This is no time for this. Gather all forces in front of the Sandokar Corridor Gate!”

The Sandokar Corridor Gate. It was the Banreung Kingdom’s foremost gate, capable of blocking all roads leading from the Kingdom of Arangi and the Rescue Knights Order’s territory.

It was also the place that had served as the beginning of the Banreung Kingdom’s fortress defense line during the Plum Blossom War between the Banreung Kingdom and the Kingdom of Arangi.

“We have greater numbers, so can we not just all rush at the enemy and fight?”

It might have sounded like a foolish thing to say, but these mafiosi, who had abundant dwarf sorcerer resources, could make a large number of troops move organically.

The strategy of avoiding those who were trying to defeat them in detail and surrounding them might sound like armchair theory from a deskbound person who did not know practical affairs, but for the dwarves of Banreung, it was a strategy they could actually realize.

“No. That will not work against that bastard Azadine.”

Chashan shook his head. He hated Azadine enough to chew every single piece of his flesh, but he never ignored his abilities.

“Gather everyone at the Sandokar Corridor Gate!”