Chapter 58 : Second Clash (17)

Chapter 58: Second Clash (17)

Shatien was taken aback.

He had come to bring the men a late night snack, yet his subordinates lay dead and men in black clothes were loitering about.

Of course, Shatien was not the sort to stand there in a daze. He understood the situation instantly without even needing to think.

“Get back to the main line right now! I will hold them off.”

“P-Pardon?”

“Hurry!”

“U-Understood. Please stay safe, Centurion.”

At his shout, the soldier who had come with him scrambled around and sprinted back the way they had come.

The men in black, the intruders, had no intention of simply watching that happen.

“Damn it, we have been spotted!”

“Kill them all!”

The intruders raised their swords and charged at Shatien.

-Clang!

Seeing them rush in, Shatien did not stay still. He drew his sword at once and met their charge head on.

‘Damn it!’

His equipment was in the worst possible state.

He wore no armor at all. The only thing he had was the sword his master had left him.

Every single clash could turn into a fatal wound.

Yet.

-Zzzzing!

The drawn blade caught the moonlight and began to vibrate.

“?!”

It released a strange power.

Even Shatien, who held it, and the enemies rushing at him could sense it.

“W-What the?!”

Startled, the intruders flinched. It was the first time they had seen anything like it. Even so, they could not stop. They raised their swords again and swung at Shatien.

However,

-Slash!

-Clatter!

To their shock, Shatien’s moonlit blade began to slice through the intruders’ swords.

“?!?!”

“Gughhh!”

“T-This is insane…!”

The intruders who had charged in collapsed in an instant. One of them looked like a knight, yet the moment their blades met, his sword and even his body were cut clean through.

“…?!”

Because of that, Shatien stood there for a moment, stunned by his own display.

What kind of sword had his master given him?

A blade that seemed to show a will of its own and unleashed such power felt almost unbelievable.

“An enemy raid?!”

“Where is it! Where is the Centurion!”

At that moment he saw his men rushing up the stairs with torches in hand. Shatien hurriedly sheathed the sword again and shouted.

“I took care of this place! How are other places?”

“Huh? Other places?”

“If they launched an ambush, they would not just come here. They will have hit other places as well!”

“Ah…?”

Shatien quickly swept his gaze around. He finally noticed that the campfires along the top of the palisade had gone out at some point. The mercenaries who should have been standing watch were nowhere to be seen.

‘They have broken through the perimeter.’

Which meant the men who had rushed the rear gate were not all of them. They would have gone for the front gate as well, and they would also have climbed the walls.

‘What is the most urgent?’

Shatien recalled his previous infiltration. What had they done then? One likely answer came to mind.

‘They will have started fires. That way we become confused and find it harder to respond.’

They would probably avoid the storage area and set the outer parts ablaze. If they burned the depot, there would be no point in capturing it.

As expected,

-Fwoooosh!

Huge tongues of flame rose up from the far outer side of the barracks.

“Fire!”

“Put out the flames first!”

“Damn it. Get outside now! We are going to burn to death at this rate.”

The barracks turned into utter chaos. The mercenaries who should have been guarding the rear and front gates rushed off to fight the fire.

“Centurion!”

“Where are you? We brought them.”

However, some mercenaries were running in a different direction from those men. They were the mercenaries who had been under Shatien’s command since the previous battle.

“We have no idea what is happening. Everything is in confusion, Centurion.”

“Hurry, there is no time. The enemy has struck.”

“Yes, sir!”

The command came out of nowhere, yet the mercenaries voiced no complaints and asked no questions. The divine presence Shatien had shown them until now had earned absolute trust.

On top of that, unlike the other men, they were properly armed and not drunk at all. His constant warnings had finally paid off.

Of course there was still someone like Miles, who had ignored those warnings and kept drinking hard…

“Urgh. Shatien! What in the world is going on? The lads ran off, so I ran after them.”

Miles had somehow sobered up and, fully armed, was now standing at Shatien’s side.

His capacity for liquor was monstrous.

“The bastards broke their promise.”

“What? Nobles broke their word? Those proud blue bloods?”

Miles looked incredulous, and the mercenaries around them wore similar expressions. Even so, none of them argued. Nothing else could explain what was happening.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Give the orders, Centurion.”

Everyone stared at Shatien with heavy expectation in their eyes. They all relied on him, believed in him, and followed him. Shatien now felt the weight of that responsibility as something natural.

“The fire is not what matters most right now.”

“Then what is?”

“First we seal the rear gate! Then you will follow me to the front gate. That is where the danger is.”

Shatien pointed at the trusted subordinates who had followed him from the start and shouted. Through steady investment, he had raised both their skill and their gear to the level of decent heavy infantry.

‘I hope the investment pays off.’

Their equipment had practically come out of Shatien’s own purse. He had skimmed off supplies from the depot rewards he received for his achievements and lent them to these men.

Thanks to that, those solid sets of gear had inspired fierce loyalty in the mercenaries.

“Then we move out now!”

“What about me, Shatien?”

“Miles, you take command here. Everything is in chaos. You are the only one we can truly rely on.”

“Ahahaha! Fine. Leave it all to me.”

Miles let out a booming laugh at those words and shouted.

“Then Shatien, watch yourself!”

“You too, Miles.”

With that, Shatien ran toward the front gate with his men. He prayed he would not be too late. That was his one desperate wish.

* * *

Outside the supply depot, turmoil had erupted as well.

Baron Friedrand’s face was no longer just flushed, it looked ready to boil over.

“Why is that door still not open! And what is that cursed fire?”

Baron Lichten spoke up.

“Perhaps they failed?”

“Damn it!”

-Thud!

In a burst of anger, Baron Friedrand kicked a shield.

“…!?”

Baron Lichten and the knights all flinched. Baron Friedrand was known for his cool head and calm demeanor, so this was the first time they had seen him lose control like this.

That was how confused he felt.

‘Do I order a full assault or not?’

It was a decision he could make only once, and if he made it wrong, Baron Friedrand’s life could be ruined.

He might not only smear his father’s name, he could also lose all the prestige his house had built up.

Yet if he simply waited, he would only give the enemy time to prepare.

At that moment, his adjutant stepped forward.

It was the same adjutant who had advised him during the earlier raid.

“My lord, it may not be a failure. I told the sentries that if they were discovered, they must not retreat, but instead set fires to create confusion.”

“What?”

“I am sorry. It was my own idea, just in case. From the flames I see now, it seems they followed my suggestion. I will accept any punishment for exceeding my authority later.”

After hearing that explanation, Baron Friedrand could not help grinning widely.

He had thought everything was over, yet a path had appeared. Punishment? He deserved a reward instead. Once he understood the situation, his anger faded at once.

“No. You did excellently, Adjutant. Then all that remains is the full assault.”

Everything hinged on that one sentence.

Baron Lichten, startled, asked again. He had a very bad feeling about this attack. It felt as if something terrible would happen.

“Are you certain, Baron Friedrand?”

“Why? Do you have another idea?”

“N-No, but…”

Baron Lichten shut his mouth. Any right to speak he once had with Baron Friedrand had long since fallen away. It had not been some single big incident, only a gradual shift as they spent time together. Baron Friedrand wore a satisfied smile.

“Then we proceed as planned.”

-Shing.

His sword, full of moonlight, flashed with a cold gleam. The knights and Imperial soldiers who had been waiting silently looked at Baron Friedrand’s lips.

Feeling their eyes on him, Baron Friedrand gazed toward the supply depot in the distance. Even in the dark, he could see the filthy mercenaries’ banner flapping, lit by the moon.

He drew up the rage that boiled deep in his chest and roared.

“Brave soldiers of the Empire! Look upon those filthy mercenaries who trample our honor. Look upon the invaders’ banner flying over our base. Our precious supplies and our comrades are there. Today! We shall return all of it to His Imperial Majesty, to whom it rightfully belongs-!”

“Uwooooooh!”

At his speech, the Imperial soldiers’ morale erupted. Watching their reaction, Baron Friedrand swung his sword down and shouted.

“All units, full assault-!”

The Imperial soldiers rose from the forest as one and charged toward the supply depot.

* * *

“Hurry!”

“We are right behind you!”

“C-Centurion, just a little slower. Just a little! Huff, huff.”

Shatien ran along the top of the palisade with his mercenaries.

-Kang!

-Kakakang.

-Clang.

Harsh clashes of metal rang through the darkness. Far ahead, on top of the palisade, a tangled melee raged.

Although they were fewer in number, the intruders were not the ones being pushed back. It was the mercenaries who struggled. Knights in chainmail had somehow climbed the palisade and were cutting the mercenaries down.

Corpses of mercenaries lay scattered at their feet.

“Cut them all down!”

“They are drunk anyway. Do not fear them. Press the attack.”

The wall looked like it could fall at any moment. Shatien shouted and rushed in.

“Chaaarge! Save our comrades!”

“Waaaaah-!”

The heavily armed mercenaries sprinted along the palisade. Startled, the enemy turned and moved to block them.

-Smash!

-Clang!.

-Kang!

Mercenaries with shields and swords crashed into the Imperial soldiers.

-Clang.

-Kagakak.

-Kang.

In pure skill, the mercenaries were inferior, yet they had the advantage in equipment. With thick heavy armor and shields raised, even knights could not break through them easily. Of course, that did not mean Shatien’s men were able to overpower the intruders.

They faced knights, every one of them.

Even with better gear, that gap in ability could not be bridged so easily.

“Hyap-!”

That was why Shatien moved to the very front. He left his master’s heirloom sheathed and drew an ordinary longsword to fight the enemy.

-Shing!

His sword flashed and blood sprayed.

A knight tried to stand his ground, then soon crumpled under Shatien’s swordplay. At the same time, Shatien stood at the tip of the formation and blocked the knights’ strikes, protecting his comrades. Faced with that overwhelming display of skill, the intruders’ morale faltered.

In the end, the knight who seemed to be their commander made a decision.

“Damn it! Buy time somehow and get that gate open!”

“Yes, sir!”

‘What? Like I’ll let that happen.’

Hearing that, Shatien vaulted over a gap and rushed the commander. The knight who had led the assault flinched and hastily raised his sword.

“Do you know who I am!”

“A soon to be corpse?”

“You bastard! I will have your tongue cut out!”

Shatien slipped past his sideways thrust with ease. It was a sharp move, yet it no longer worked on him. Perhaps thanks to his bout with Ludwig, the knight’s swordplay now felt almost playful.

Instead, Shatien unleashed one devastating strike after another.

-Kang!

-Kakang. Crack.

Moonlight flashed like lightning and the knight’s hands grew frantic.

He tried desperately to defend, yet each of Shatien’s blows was so sharp that he could not even think of deflecting them.

Bewilderment flickered across the commander’s face.

“What is this…”

How could a man of this caliber be here? And in a mercenary company at that.

A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The invincible mercenary who had crushed Baron Ludwig.

“Do not tell me you are that Shatie…!”

Before he finished speaking,

-Clang!.

Their swords met with a violent clash.

In that instant, Shatien’s blade drove in mercilessly.

-Slaaash!

From the neck down to the opposite side of the abdomen.

The commander received a deep wound, spewed blood, and collapsed with a heavy thud.