Chapter 186 - Episode 180: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
"Listen, don't panic! Move the troops forward steadily! Do not neglect your vigilance of the surroundings! The enemy who scattered the blood may be planning something else!"
While being cut off from the front of the column, including King Cadne, by a suddenly appearing wall of fire, Viscount Tajinette was desperately trying to lead the soldiers as agitation spread among them.
It would have been one thing if it were just the scattering of blood, but the sudden eruption of explosive flames, with several soldiers burning to death while screaming their final agonies before their eyes, and the subsequent separation from the commander-in-chief, Count Ewald Rotfeld, made the situation dire.
They did not know how many enemy soldiers were in the forest, nor what their objective was. In this eerie situation, the soldiers seemed hesitant even to enter the forest, and it was taking time to send reinforcements forward by bypassing the wall of fire.
"...You lot! Take a wide detour through the forest and attack the enemy's main camp! Forget my guard. Bring me the head of the general!"
""As you wish!""
Viscount Tajinette gave this order to his direct guards. The thirty or so guards who received the order entered the forest without a moment's hesitation. They were the elite of the elite kept by Viscount Tajinette. Their resolve and courage were different from those of the other soldiers.
After watching them disappear into the forest ahead, Viscount Tajinette looked around.
"Calm down, it's just a bit of confusion spreading. The damage isn't significant; our superiority remains unshaken..."
Viscount Tajinette muttered in a low voice, as if convincing himself. That voice was drowned out by the new screams of the soldiers.
"Gyaaa, it's orcs!"
"And not just one or two!"
"Great Wolves over here!"
"Even a pack of Hobgoblins!"
"That's a Black Viper! What the hell is going on!"
Orcs, representative of dangerous monsters. Great Wolves, possessing both agility and strength. Hobgoblins, boasting strength and intelligence incomparable to goblins, whose danger increases when they swarm. Black Vipers, snake monsters with hard skin that resists blades and fangs with paralyzing venom.
Powerful monsters, said to dwell in the depths of the Bezel Great Forest, had surged forward in great numbers and begun attacking the soldiers.
Even with an army of 2,500, it would not end well when swarmed by dozens of monsters that were troublesome even individually. The monsters that leaped into the narrow column ran wild, and victims fell one after another.
"W-why so suddenly... The blood. Was the initial scattering of blood for this purpose!"
The scattering of blood, which had seemed like mere harassment, and the sudden gust of wind. Those were tactics to carry the scent of blood deep into the forest and lure the monsters.
The invasion force was still, for the time being, in a place called the depths of the Bezel Great Forest. While monster hunting had been carried out meticulously around the invasion route, monsters still swarmed once one entered slightly deeper into the forest.
To make matters worse, most monsters had a sensitive sense of smell. Having smelled such a concentrated scent of blood, and finding a massive amount of prey in the form of humans lined up in the direction of the smell—it was only natural they would dive in with glee.
"Excellency Tajinette! What should we do—gyaaaah!"
"Orders! Please give us orders—guaah!"
Soldiers who had fallen into a state of panic were eaten and killed by monsters while pleading for instructions.
"Curse you! Curse youuuu!"
Screaming, Viscount Tajinette unleashed the water magic 'Ice Bullet'. An icicle as thick as a human's waist struck one of the orcs, gouging out its head, neck, and shoulder.
"Mages, defeat the monsters individually! Soldiers, defend the mages to the death! Fight! Fight!"
Hearing Viscount Tajinette's voice, the Royal Mages attacked the monsters with their respective magics. The soldiers attempted to protect the mages and keep the monsters at bay.
It was fortunate that many of the Royal Mages had been positioned at the rear of the column. Under the intense magical attacks, the monsters fell one by one.
However, monsters continued to emerge from the depths of the forest.
The rear of Viscount Tajinette's invasion force plunged into a muddy melee with the horde of monsters.
.....
The rear units had been attacked by monsters and were said to be fully occupied dealing with them. Ewald realized only now that the blood scattered at the beginning was bait to gather monsters, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.
The number of soldiers who managed to merge by bypassing the wall of fire was slightly under 200. Combined with the units on this side, there were about 700.
(No, we can still sufficiently win...!)
The enemy's numbers were less than half, and judging by the movements of the crossbowmen earlier, many were likely peasant soldiers. There was no way they, with their assembly of elites, would lose.
"Charge!"
""Oooooh!""
As Ewald raised his voice, the soldiers leveled their spears or readied their swords and dashed toward the enemy all at once with a battle cry.
Perhaps seeing this, the crossbowmen who had been at the front of the enemy lines moved to the flanks and retreated... and those strange iron plates began to move forward.
"Ewald, what on earth is that?"
"...A great shield, perhaps?"
Looking like two triangular iron plates joined together, it resembled an arrowhead at first glance. There were seven in total. Looking closely, it seemed countless iron spikes were protruding from the plates.
Then, those iron plates began to accelerate rapidly forward.
"What!?"
Ewald let out an involuntary cry. The movement of the plates was far too fast. Even if humans were behind them, it would be two, at most three. Even for a large beastman, it should be impossible to lift iron plates of that apparent weight and run at such speed.
Yet, the plates charged in with the momentum of a human at full sprint. At that abnormal sight, the feet of the soldiers who had been charging stopped, and—
"Gufu!"
"Gyaaaah!"
"H-help—"
They were torn to shreds by the spike-covered plates, or their bodies were sliced open by the sharp joints of the plates, sent flying into the air, or crushed underneath them.
.....
"...Noein-sama, a report from Radley. He succeeded in luring monsters to the enemy's rear. It seems the rear has fallen into total chaos."
"That's good. Just as planned."
Hearing the words of Yuri, who had received the report from Radley via 'Far-Talk', Noein wore a fearless smile.
This was the middle of the Bezel Great Forest. Since the enemy was creating an invasion route, they likely hunted the surrounding monsters meticulously, but if one went so far as to use a 'Wind-Raiser' magic tool to spread the scent of a large amount of blood, even distant monsters would notice and gather.
Normally, they were threatening monsters, but that was the same for the enemy. By manipulating them to head toward the enemy, they became reliable allies for this one time.
"Also, regarding Radley and the others, it seems they will be late in returning here. Enemy soldiers persistently pursued them into the forest, and because the monster attack occurred there, they were caught in the chaos... He says there are no notable human casualties, but they are having trouble retreating."
"I see, well, it can't be helped... We'll hold out on our own."
Not being able to merge with the 40-man detachment for a while was a slight blow in terms of combat power, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Noein looked at the enemy who had launched a charge.
"Crossbow unit, retreat for now! Next is the Claymores' turn. Gustav, I'm counting on you!"
When Noein called out to the front of his own lines, Gustav, the captain of the Claymores, responded.
"Leave it to me, Noein-sama! Listen everyone, let's show them the results of our training! Show them the true power of golem users... Charge!"
At that signal, seven golems equipped with castle-breaking shields intercepted the enemy's charge. To increase breakthrough and killing power in melee combat, these castle-breaking shields had countless iron spikes attached to the surface of the plates.
Faced with the sight—which went beyond strange to eerie—of triangular iron plates covered in spikes charging at them, the momentum of the enemy's charge clearly slowed. The seven golems plunged in without mercy, blowing away or trampling the soldiers as they penetrated deep into the enemy lines.
Behind the path the golems ran, a road stained red with blood and flesh was created.
Having cut in to a certain extent, the golems cast aside their castle-breaking shields and began to rampage, swinging their limbs wildly. With the rampage of seven golems appearing from within mysterious iron plates, the enemy fell into total chaos.
.....
"Hey! Are those golems! Even so, why can they move at that speed! Golems are supposed to be capable of only sluggish movements!"
Beside Cadne, who was shouting furiously, Ewald recalled a report from the great war the year before last.
In a siege of a fortress zone, it was said that one of the enemy's forts was defended by abnormally fast golems. The golems before him were likely those.
But even so, there were too many. Seven golems rampaging with strength like that of orcs was no joke.
"Ewald! What should we do!"
"...Guard! Leave 20 to protect His Majesty, and the rest turn to deal with the golems! Mages, coordinate with the Guard to take down the golems! The remaining soldiers, ignore the golems and charge the enemy!"
Ignoring the confused shouting of Cadne for once, Ewald barked out orders. He deployed the Royal Mages who had been at the front of the column for Cadne's protection, as well as the soldiers of the Guard, to take down the enemy.
"Do not be deceived by the situation! If we defeat the enemy's puppet mage, the golems will stop! If we defeat the commander, the enemy will collapse! We can win! Goooo!"
""Uoooooh!""
Cadne's Guard surrounded the golems in squads, and the mages attempted to unleash their magic. The other soldiers continued their charge while letting out roars.