Chapter 52 : Second Clash (11)

Chapter 52: Second Clash (11)

Two thousand Imperial soldiers advanced toward the supply depot.

-Clank, clank.

Counting the knights and their retainers together, their number reached nearly fifty.

On an open plain, their might was enough to be called invincible. Every time they moved, their chainmail caught the sunlight and rang with a heavy metallic sound. The infantry following behind them were no less well equipped. Each of them wore a good gambeson and had a sword at the waist and a spear in hand.

“We’ll arrive if we go a little farther. But Baron Friedrand,”

“What is it.”

“Have you heard anything about Baron Ludwig? If he has any remnants left, taking them in would give us quite a decent force don’t you think?”

“Indeed, now that I think about it, you are right!”

It was a reasonable suggestion.

No matter how advantageous things seemed, this was still a siege. The more soldiers they had, the better. In particular, the retainers and troops under Ludwig were famous for their quality. Even if they were broken remnants, absorbing them would still be a considerable help.

However, their expectations soon collapsed.

-Neighhhh.

The scout who had ridden ahead swung down from his horse. He was the one sent to look for Baron Ludwig.

The scout approached Baron Friedrand with his face stiff.

“My lord! We found Baron Ludwig’s party, but…”

“What’s the matter? Did something go amiss?”

“I-I think you had better see it with your own eyes.”

“?”

At the scout’s words, Baron Friedrand led the Imperial army into the forest. When they went in a bit deeper, they saw a group of men lying on the bare ground in the middle of the woods, groaning. The two barons dismounted and clicked their tongues.

“They are in a terrible state.”

“Indeed. What a sight.”

Up close, the appearance of the routed men was even more miserable than they had imagined.

“Huh, just what in the world…?!”

As Baron Friedrand clicked his tongue and looked over the defeated soldiers, his eyes went wide. He had spotted a familiar face among the men sprawled on the ground.

“Baron… Ludwig?”

“…This isn’t good.”

Baron Ludwig, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, sat leaning against a tree stump, his voice so weak he sounded near death. His wounds seemed quite severe, and his face was ghostly pale.

“…”

Baron Lichten could not find any words either. They had heard he had been defeated, but they had never even imagined Baron Ludwig would look like this.

“Did you take a potion?”

“We were retreating… So I took it too late. I lost too much blood before that, so now I look like this pitiful mess.”

Baron Ludwig spoke in a bitter tone.

“Good grief. What on earth happened? It is truly hard to believe you ended up like this.”

“Did Count Bellua have a knight hidden on that side? I heard the count has an excellent knight under him.”

Several guesses were tossed around, but all of them were wrong. Ludwig shook his head.

“This was a work done by a mercenary.”

“???”

He had been beaten by a mercenary?

By a mere mercenary? Everyone stared at Ludwig with expressions that said they found that impossible to accept.

“It is the truth. I grew careless, and this is what happened.”

“Even so, a knight of your level?”

“Heh. That fellow had skills on par with a decent knight at the very least. Baron Friedrand. At minimum he was at champion level.”

At that, Friedrand and Lichten clicked their tongues. They thought Baron Ludwig was making excuses.

What mercenary could possibly have the skills of a champion. If he did, he would serve under a noble, not live as some common mercenary. Clearly he had underestimated his opponent and lost in some ridiculous fashion, just as he said.

He must be too ashamed to admit it plainly, so he dressed it up like this.

“Tsk. Your wounds must really be severe.”

“Indeed. Baron Friedrand. We should let him rest now. Let us assign some men and have him recuperate properly.”

“…”

“That would be the best course. Baron Lichten. I… doubt this sight does our soldiers any good.”

Sure enough, the Imperial soldiers were murmuring and beginning to waver.

Baron Friedrand frowned.

‘He’s not helping at all in many ways.’

It was a late regret, but there was nothing to be done.

A famed allied knight lying here, badly wounded and looking weak? Nothing stoked fear in the soldiers more than that.

Baron Friedrand hurriedly climbed back onto his horse. Given the situation, bringing Baron Ludwig back to the front line was impossible.

“Ahem. Then we will be on our way. The enemy is coming along this road, so either retreat to the rear or hide and lie in wait.”

It was a rather insulting instruction, but Ludwig silently nodded.

A defeated man had no right to speak.

“…Be careful. I did give that man a mortal wound, but there is no certainty. If he is alive, you will need several knights to finish the job properly.”

‘Tsk. His mind and spirit must have grown terribly weak.’

To suggest a combined attack to an honorable knight. It was an absurd proposal.

Even so, Baron Friedrand did not feel contempt for the man before him. If the champion of the southeast spoke like this, how great a shock must he have suffered?

“I will leave the supplies you need in a cart. Use them well.”

“Thank you.”

Baron Friedrand turned his horse and led the Imperial army forward once more.

Those who were left behind had their own tasks to face. There was work to be done going forward. Then, a question suddenly occurred to him.

‘A mercenary at champion level?’

Even if Ludwig praised his foe to hide his shame, that man clearly had some ability. If they stripped away the exaggeration, then at the very least he was on the level of a knight.

In that case, just how formidable was the captain of the mercenary company that commanded such a man? If talent of that caliber followed under him.

‘Captain Mordo, was it?’

Baron Friedrand thought that once this war ended, he should quietly reach out and make contact.

-Whoa, whoa.

-Neighhhh!

With such thoughts in mind, it was not long before the Imperial army under Baron Friedrand arrived at the supply depot.

On the steep hill, they could see a sparsely dug moat and rows of sharp wooden stakes. It seemed the enemy had reinforced the defenses in the meantime.

“The fools played some silly tricks, Baron Friedrand.”

“Indeed. This will not be easy.”

“Would it not be better to let the men rest a bit? In their current state, they look too exhausted to push through.”

“Hmmm.”

Time was pressing, yet the soldiers’ morale had clearly hit rock bottom. On top of that, their stamina was badly drained by the long forced march, so it would be difficult for them to easily break through the palisade. Baron Lichten’s suggestion had merit.

“Very well. However, there may be a surprise attack, so we will conduct a thorough reconnaissance first, then decide.”

“Understood.”

To guard against a surprise raid, they scattered scouts in all directions. They checked the mounds and moats where troops might hide, but there were no signs of an ambush.

“It seems I was being overly cautious.”

“Not at all. That was the right call. We have to prepare thoroughly. Do we not? Haha.”

“With you gilding my name like that, my face flushes on its own. Hahaha. Then let us have the soldiers rest well for now. Tomorrow we will feed them properly, then fight a decisive battle.”

Speaking so, Baron Friedrand and Baron Lichten arranged for the men to have a hearty meal in preparation for the next day’s battle, and set only the minimum number of guards.

Soon the camp was shaking with loud snores.

But that choice turned out to be a complete blunder.

-Rumbleeee.

In the darkness, the sound of horse hooves came to greet them.

* * *

Under cover of night, the gate of the palisade swung open.

What slipped out was a mere thirty cavalry.

-Swish.

At the front of the riders, Shatien wore his usual longsword on his back and held a long cavalry lance in his hands.

Following Shatien’s lead, the mercenaries on horseback behind him all lowered their lances.

-Dugudugudugu!

The cavalry closed the distance.

The Imperial camp did not even have a proper gate. All they had were rough makeshift fences with gaps here and there, left half finished.

“Everyone will die if we stop charging, so do not stop your horses!”

“Understood, Shatien!”

“We will stay right on your tail.”

The purpose of this operation was not to inflict direct casualties, but to build up exhaustion through terror and confusion. There was no need to obsess over any personal merit for killing enemies.

“We are almost there!”

“I see it! Charrrge! We are going to punch straight through them!”

As he watched the Imperial camp draw closer, Shatien shouted with a booming voice. The mercenaries behind him answered with their own battle cries.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“Charge!”

“T-The enemy is here!”

“The mercenaries launched a surprise attack. Everyone get up!”

-Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

The sentries who noticed them too late rang the alarm bell, but Shatien’s cavalry had already plunged deep into the camp.

-Crash!

-Crack!

The lances, the same kind used by knights, skewered several soldiers who had still been awake without mercy.

“Aghhhhh-!”

“Gugh.”

Even if you formed a tight square and held together, a lance charge was something you might barely withstand.

The Imperial soldiers toppled without any chance to resist, spraying blood into the air.

Of course, there was still a price to pay.

“Damn. These are useless now.”

Every lance shattered in a single clash. Clicking his tongue, Shatien immediately drew the sword on his back.

“No one fell off, correct?!”

“No, Centurion!”

“Good. Then wreak as much havoc as you can and we’ll pull back safely!”

Shatien said so and spurred his horse toward the Imperial soldiers charging at him head on.

“D-Die!”

“Hup!”

A shout filled with killing intent rang out.

Shatien braced his feet in the stirrups and thrust with his sword. The blow carried the full weight of a charging horse!

-Slash.

In that instant, an Imperial soldier’s body split open with a rip and a spray of bright red blood shot into the air.

“H-Huhhhhh?!”

“W-What kind of monster is that!”

“We can’t fight something like that. L-Let’s retreat.”

The Imperial troops around them fell into panic at the sight. At that moment, a group of soldiers emerged from the darkness.

“Advance the unit!”

“Yes, sir!”

In the distance, they could see tightly formed ranks of soldiers marching in a square. There were no gaps at all in that formation. Shatien was slightly taken aback.

‘Already?’

Their reaction was quick.

They truly were the Imperial army.

Of course, that did not mean Shatien would be foolish enough to slam his cavalry straight into that square.

“We avoid them. This way. Follow my lead!”

“Yes, Centurion!”

Shatien slyly picked out only the spots where they had not yet formed ranks and rampaged through them. The enraged enemy officers screamed themselves hoarse, but it did no good.

On the contrary,

-Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!

From the darkness, bolts flew toward the source of the shouting. They rained down on the Imperial soldiers. It was friendly fire.

“Kgh! M-My back.”

“Bolts are coming in from behind us!”

“You idiots! Aim properly.”

“Cease fire! Cease fire! That is our side. I said it’s our side, you fools!”

Watching the chaos, Shatien curled his lips into a grin.

‘It’s as my master said.’

At night, the ones who could inflict the greatest damage were small cavalry units with high mobility.

Indeed, it was exactly so.

The Imperial camp had been turned into a complete wasteland. Corpses lay scattered across the ground, and fallen campfires had caught the tents and were consuming them in flames.

It was, in every sense, a flawless night raid.

“Good! Now set the camp ablaze and pull out! This is enough.”

Of course, for the Imperial army, it was nothing less than hell.