Chapter 234 - Episode 227: Confusion ④
The bandit group charged in, spreading their formation to the left and right, but before that formation could fully expand, Viowulf filled the dead center in one go. He should have defeated well over half of them.
As Viowulf thought this, the voice of a territorial army soldier drowned out his thoughts once again.
"The enemy is charging all at once from the right! Over 30 people!"
"!"
Hearing the report, which sounded like a scream, Viowulf looked to the front right. Indeed, more than 30 enemy infantry were approaching from that direction.
It seemed the enemy had concentrated their troops on the left side of the formation and charged in while hiding them with horses. At this rate, the massive technique from earlier likely hadn't achieved as many results as he had hoped.
His own side was in a formation that spread left and right centered around Viowulf. On the right side, there were only about 10 people. This was bad.
"Kuh!"
Instinctively, Viowulf released magic—and blew the enemies approaching from the right into the air, along with the soil beneath their feet.
The ground swelled up as if an explosion had occurred underground, and the soil flew more than 5 meters above ground, taking the enemies who were directly above it along with it.
"Whoa..."
"Amazing..."
"Many of them shouldn't die even if they fall from that height. Finish them off."
Giving instructions to the soldiers who were dazed by the surreal sight, Viowulf looked to the left side this time.
There, only four or five bandits were engaging his allies. They were outnumbered and looked as if they would be wiped out at any moment.
Furthermore, more than ten enemies, seeing no chance of victory, were fleeing. If he let them escape, they would likely attack people somewhere else again. Thinking this, Viowulf pointed his hand toward them and launched several clumps of earth hardened into shapes as hard and sharp as spears.
The earth spears struck the fleeing bandits, piercing through their bodies depending on the distance and angle. However, since Viowulf could only generate and launch a few at a time, he was only able to take down about five people while they were within range. The others managed to escape, but it couldn't be helped.
After confirming that most of the enemies were defeated, he looked back toward the southwest and saw the soldiers under the command of the Chief Retainer advancing while shouting. It seemed they were also pushing forward, taking advantage of their numerical superiority.
With this, it was their victory.
"Uwaah!"
"He's still alive!"
At that moment, the peasant soldiers raised their voices.
When Viowulf instinctively looked back to the front—the man who seemed to be a skilled fighter and had stood at the head of the initial charge was crawling out from the soil. Because he had been at the front, he hadn't been covered in as much soil as the others and had apparently escaped on his own.
"Get back! I'll handle him!"
This man was clearly different from the other bandits who were just former peasants. It would be dangerous to let the peasant soldiers or young territorial army soldiers face him. Thinking this, Viowulf made the others step back and picked up a shield.
The man readied his sword and ran toward him. While holding the shield, Viowulf attempted to generate earth spears again—
"What!?"
The man released wind from his back, accelerating explosively as he charged. Apparently, he could use wind magic. It seemed the mage from the southwest wasn't the only one.
There was no time to generate earth spears. Instinctively, Viowulf threw the shield he was holding at the man.
"!!"
The man's eyes widened at Viowulf's action of throwing the shield, which could be his only weapon. It was likely too late to stop the charge. He instinctively protected himself with his left arm. Perhaps he didn't use his sword because he feared it would break.
The shield thrown by Viowulf collided with the man's left arm, and the man fell, spinning half a turn from the impact. That left arm was bent in an impossible direction.
Taking advantage of the momentary opening, Viowulf this time generated and launched an earth spear. Because he prioritized speed, he generated only one.
However, the man swung his sword with one hand and cut down the earth spear, which flew at a speed no different from a real spear throw. No matter how much it was hardened, it was earth after all. It could not win against a forged iron sword and broke easily, falling to the ground.
As it was, the man readied his sword with one hand and charged sharply.
However, Viowulf had already prepared to exercise magic, anticipating this. The previous earth spear was a decoy to buy time.
He timed it perfectly to make the ground collapse exactly where the man was about to plant his foot. Having lost his footing to step in, the man fell forward clumsily.
As if to bury the man's body, Viowulf generated and hardened earth in the air. The man instinctively created wind at his feet to try and escape the spot.
But Viowulf's magic was faster. While he wasn't buried alive, his lower body was completely buried.
"Guouuh!"
The man groaned. A giant hardened clump of earth had been dropped on him as if to crush him. His legs, hips, and stomach should have been crushed. He wouldn't be able to move anymore.
Before he knew it, the man had also dropped his sword. Viowulf ran to the man's side and kicked the sword away.
Whether he had resigned himself to his fate, the man looked up at Viowulf powerlessly. Perhaps because half his body was crushed, he seemed to be vomiting blood from his mouth.
"...This earth magic, you're that guy, aren't you? One of the heroes from the Great War four years ago. Did you say Baronet Rosbroke?"
"...Correct. Though I'm a Baron now. And you, are you a failed mercenary?"
"Yeah, from the southeast. I was struggling to eat, so I tried to head toward the northwest with some comrades, but we ran out of food and money along the way. Some bandit former-peasants called out to me, so I joined the attack on this village... but of all things, it's a hero's territory. Just my luck."
Complaining, the man spat out the blood in his mouth.
"...Even so, I was a proper mercenary once."
"I imagine. You're skilled enough to use magic. If the country hadn't become such a mess, you wouldn't have had trouble finding employers."
"Yeah. Until recently, I was employed by the House of Count Kivileft, but I got fired. Anyway, I just had no luck... cough, gobuf... I'm gonna die now. Hey, Lord Baron, can I ask one favor?"
"If it's something I can answer."
"I've got a kid. I didn't bring him here. A son, still eight years old. Please pick him up. I don't care if he's treated as a slave or whatever. I don't want him to die."
"...Very well. This is a kind of fate. I'll raise him and use him as a servant in my house. Where is the child?"
"Thanks... The place is two days from here..."
"...Hey."
Viowulf called out. There was no response. The man was dead.
The location of the boy was likely within a distance of two days from here, but even so, that spanned a radius of dozens of kilometers. There was no way to search for him.
"...You really had no luck. Neither you, nor your child."
Sighing, Viowulf spoke those words to the man's corpse.
"Your Excellency, I am glad you are safe."
At that point, the Chief Retainer approached on horseback. Viowulf looked back and answered.
"You too, Serjan. How did things turn out over there?"
"The enemy in the southwest was a small force of fewer than 20 people, and we have already killed them all... On our side, two territorial army soldiers and five peasants have died in battle. There are also more than 10 seriously injured."
Hearing the Chief Retainer's words, Viowulf closed his eyes for a few seconds and fell silent.
"I see... The enemy even had a mage. It couldn't be helped. You did well to keep the losses to that amount."
Opening his eyes, Viowulf offered words of appreciation to the Chief Retainer. In truth, in a unit consisting mostly of amateur peasants, wiping out an enemy that possessed a mage while only losing seven people was something that could not be easily achieved.
"Now, all that's left is the cleanup... The soldiers must be tired. For those who fought today, I shall provide dried meat from the lord's house storehouse, and a little alcohol as well."
Viowulf spoke in a deliberately bright voice, so that the men around him could hear.
They had spent suffocating days since the beginning of the year, and on top of that, many people from their own hometown had died today. The residents likely needed a little pleasure to clear their minds.