Chapter 284 - Episode 277: War of Attrition ③
While fierce combat unfolded in the narrow pass, the soldiers of the Western Army were also fighting bravely on the hills that formed the left and right sides of that pass.
Among them, the forces deployed on the left hill had been increased more than before, consisting of three hundred infantry, one hundred archers and Crossbow sniper units, with Baronet Adrau as the commander. Since the Rosbroke territorial army led by Viowulf was also included here, the actual combat power was greater than the numbers suggested.
Even so, the enemies attacking the hill numbered as many as three thousand from three legions. It could by no means be called an easy fight.
"It's no use! Retreat!"
"You idiot! Don't back down yet! Stop the enemy even if you die! Otherwise, the main force will be annihilated!"
The one who shouted, as if lecturing the soldier who had voiced his weakness and all the soldiers around him, was Radley.
If the hill units were bypassed, the Crossbowmen striking the flank of the narrow pass from the hill, the main camp in the rear, and further back, the wounded, doctors, stable hands, clergy, and other military personnel—every single person of the Western Army would be exposed to danger. There were even girls among the military personnel. They absolutely could not let the hill fall.
"Die, you bastards!"
Radley thrust his spear into the throat of a Betumia tiger-man who was two heads taller than himself, and with the momentum of pulling it out, he swung it, striking an enemy attacking from the side with the butt of the spear. He thrust the spear into the stomach of the enemy soldier, whose facial bones had been crushed and who was reeling backward, delivering the finishing blow.
Then, spotting a soldier nearby desperately parrying attacks from numerous enemies alone, he ran to provide cover.
In another part of the battlefield, Baronet Adrau, who coordinated the hill units, was also fighting bravely at the front.
"Come as many as you want! Try and break through if you can! I'll slaughter every last one of you!"
Shouting while strengthening his entire body with physical magic, he brought his sword down on an enemy soldier who had closed in. The enemy soldier was cleaved in one stroke from the right shoulder to the left armpit, cutting through both spine and ribs, and his upper body slid off the cut and fell to the ground, dead.
At that moment, a battle-axe was swung from a blind spot. The axe, aimed to sever Baronet Adrau's left arm, struck his upper arm; although it tore through the Baronet's flesh, it stopped against the bone, which had been toughened by magic.
"N-no way..."
Baronet Adrau turned around and grabbed the neck of the dwarf Betumia soldier, who stood stunned while still gripping the axe.
"Drop dead!"
As the Baronet said this, he delivered a headbutt, causing the Betumia soldier's face to cave in.
"Who's next to be killed! Come on!"
Without paying any mind to the wound on his arm, Baronet Adrau began searching for new prey.
While a brutal melee was unfolding on the ground like this, the sniper units of the Arqvist territorial army picked off the enemy from the trees.
"Damn, there's no end to them... they're swarming like insects."
Rick fired his Crossbow while cursing in a low voice. Since the enemy's numbers were so vast, even if his aim was somewhat rough, he would hit someone. If he was lucky, he could paralyze two people simultaneously with a single shot.
However, there were fewer than ten people, including Rick, who possessed sniper Crossbows. Even combining them with archers from other territories, the number was only around one hundred. It would never end if they tried to defeat the enemy one by one in such a painstaking manner.
"...! Whoops!"
Perhaps because he had stayed in one place for too long, his hiding position was discovered, and an arrow was fired by an enemy archer. Rick tilted his upper body just in time, and the arrow pierced the trunk immediately behind where his head had been a moment ago.
As it was, Rick leaned his body and fell downward.
Though he was in a tree, the height was at most a few meters above ground, and furthermore, for times like this, he had positioned himself where there were bushes below to act as a cushion. The impact of the fall was absorbed by the bushes, and Rick, who rolled across the ground and stood up quickly, ran to find the next place to hide.
"The main force has completed its retreat! We're pulling back too!"
"Don't run away in a panic! Retreat slowly while holding the enemy back!"
While running, Rick heard the voices of Baronet Adrau and Radley shouting instructions to those around them.
Even though they were told to hold them back, the enemy's numbers were still like a joke. Rick wondered if it would really be that simple—and just then, the ground erupted where a unit of the enemy was currently advancing.
The one who caused that eruption was Baron Viowulf Rosbroke. Having conserved his strength until now to cover the retreat of the hill units, Viowulf—protected by his territorial army, including Chief Retainer Serjan—unleashed his magic fully toward the enemy.
He collapsed the ground at the base of a large tree, knocking the entire tree over. Betumia soldiers were crushed beneath it, and those who weren't were forced to detour around the massive trunk.
Toward the enemy unit approaching from the front, he lifted the ground before him and threw it. Becoming a tsunami of earth, it buried the group of Betumia soldiers alive.
After executing several such grand techniques, his magical power eventually neared depletion. While enduring dizziness, Viowulf took a small bottle from his breast pocket.
"...I'm just getting started."
It was a magic potion that could instantly restore magical power upon drinking. The effect was immense, but in exchange, it was an item so expensive that a single bottle would blow away several years of a commoner's annual income.
Moreover, because a large amount of magical power was forced into the body, the burden on the drinker was great. It could be used at most once a day. It was that much of a potent drug.
Still, Viowulf believed that this was the moment to push himself.
Forcing his magical power to recover, Viowulf gazed at the enemy once more.
"Defend the hill! Do not let the enemy through, even if it takes everything you've got! If the Western Army falls, there is no future for the Rosbroke Baronate either!"
"""Yes!!"""
Serjan and the soldiers of the Rosbroke territorial army responded to Viowulf's call.
.....
"Don't be pushed back! Push them back instead! Push!"
In the middle of the gruesome battlefield, Noein's thin shout encouraging the soldiers was drowned out by the clamor.
The fierce battle in the narrow pass was still continuing. Golems and infantry solidified the front to prevent the enemy's advance, and Crossbowmen attacked from the flanking hills, but even so, the Betumia soldiers surged forward one after another.
Noein and the others had already finished retreating to the planned point, and they could not go back any further. If they retreated, the non-combatants in the rear would be exposed to danger.
"Lord Noein, the soldiers and the golem users are exhausted. We won't hold out much longer at this rate."
"I know... but for now, we just have to do our best, even if it means dying."
To the words of Chief Retainer Yuri, who saw the reality, Noein replied with a twist of the corner of his mouth. It was a smile containing self-derision, as he, despite being the general, had no choice but to tell his subordinate that he was out of options.
The enemy could rotate the soldiers at the front as much as they wanted, but it didn't work that way for Noein's side. Dead and wounded continued to emerge, and the battle line gradually thinned, increasing the burden on each individual soldier.
"...! Damn it! Hey, send over a spare!"
"Here... this is the last one!"
A golem burst into flames after taking a direct hit from fire magic launched from the enemy army. Alain, who had been controlling it, cursed and caused a spare golem, which had already been transported to the front line, to stand up.
Due to the daily battles and attacks from enemy mages, many golems had been damaged. The spares had just run out. It would be another week before more spares arrived from the Arqvist territory.
"Don't let them break through! You are the Guard! You are the elite chosen from the territorial army!"
Pence shouted at the Guard soldiers surrounding Noein.
The lord's direct Guard, selected from the Arqvist territorial army based on ability and loyalty, boasted certain strength because they had undergone rigorous mercenary-style training from Yuri and Pence.
However, their number was only about ten, and currently, two were missing to serve as Gustav's escort. There was a limit to how much they could compensate for being outnumbered through sheer spirit.
"Damn it! This is bad!"
The Guard soldiers, who had been fighting in the front row without any rest, had more than one or two wounds. Their physical strength was at its limit. Finally, a gap opened in that defensive line, and about three Betumia soldiers broke through.
Unluckily, Yuri was in a slightly distant position to support the battle line that had slackened when Alain momentarily stepped away. The only person acting as Noein's direct guard was Matilda.
"Lord Noein!"
Matilda stood in front to shield Noein, bracing her round shield and taking a posture with one leg as an axis, ready to launch a kick at any moment.
Noein also drew his dagger, his last means of self-defense, and steeled himself to trade lives with the enemy at close range—
"I won't let you!"
A voice was heard from behind Noein, and a figure leaped out, colliding with one of the Betumia soldiers.
The pushed soldier collided with the soldier next to him, and both fell; the soldier who had leaped out pierced both of them together with a sword, delivering the finishing blow.
The remaining one was flustered by the sudden turn of events and looked away, at which point he took Matilda's kick to the neck, and his neck bone broke from that single blow, killing him instantly.
More soldiers appeared in a stream from behind and lined up with the Guard. Those soldiers were wearing the armor of the Arqvist territorial army.
"Your Excellency, are you safe?"
A particularly large soldier, who had delivered the finishing blows to the two Betumia soldiers, looked back toward Noein.
"D-Dant!? What about the Ballista unit!?"
"As long as they just keep firing without retreating, officers are unnecessary. One loader is enough for two machines. Therefore, with the permission of the Chief of Staff, I have come to support the battle line!"
"...Thank you, you saved me."
To Dant, who grinned with a face that still bore scars from several years ago, Noein responded with a smile.
Dant turned back to the front and joined the Guard's battle line protecting Noein. His position was exactly next to Pence.
"...Dant, you look like an angel to me."
"If there were an angel as rugged as this, even God would cry."
Responding to Pence's banter with banter of his own, Dant aligned his sword with his.