Chapter 180 : Chapter 180
Chapter 180
In a situation where any other unit but the Ellenhower army would have collapsed long ago, they maintained their formation as much as possible and responded well to the surprise attack.
The problem was that the enemy's momentum grew stronger as time passed. Their eyes were glistening with a kind of madness, and for a moment, there was something so chilling in their eyes that one would doubt if they were the same person.
“My liege… I think we need to withdraw the troops for now.”
As the melee continued and they were pushed back more and more, Jennings suggested a retreat. Ellenhower, however, thought about the damage that would follow in a retreat.
“…We retreat.”
It was an unavoidable situation. If they held out here, their troop losses would only grow larger.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Kuaaaaaah!”
The moment they decided to retreat, a soldier suddenly screamed from somewhere.
“My liege…!”
Hundreds of black-furred wolves burst out from the path of their retreat.
The wolves looked to be over 10 meters in size, and the soldiers, overwhelmed by their immense size and momentum, faltered and were bitten and killed on the spot.
The black wolves’ teeth were strong enough to pierce through solidly refined armor, and their claws tore through iron armor like paper.
“Where on earth did such monsters come from? The Somerset Knights, deal with those monster wolves!”
The knight order of the Ellenhower Duchy only had the name of Somerset. From the 1st Somerset Knights to the 3rd Somerset Knights, a total of 900 knights existed in the Somerset Domain.
While their individual skills were decent, their true strength was displayed when the knight orders moved as a group.
The organic movements, honed through grueling training, were the greatest strength of the Somerset Knights.
“Third rank, advance! First and second ranks, detour to the right! Fourth and fifth ranks, detour to the left!”
Following the commands of each commander without a moment's hesitation, they never looked back even if a comrade next to them died or was swept away. They only acted according to the orders given to them.
“All, slash!”
Weaving through the wolves, the knights’ swords swept across the black wolves’ legs. As those in the rear followed the path of the lead commander’s aura and cut through the same spot, the giant wolves’ legs were severed, and they collapsed on the spot.
“Turn!”
The knights who had dealt with a group of wolves quickly changed direction and once again jumped into the midst of the wolf pack.
Kwaaang!
With the roar of armor being torn apart here and there, knights tumbled to the ground, and just as many wolves also had their legs cut and collapsed to the ground.
In the midst of that hellish battle, a large number of the Ellenhower army escaped the battlefield.
“All, retreat!”
With the retreat of a certain number of troops completed, the order to retreat was given to the knights.
The knights withdrew from their positions in perfect order according to the retreat command. It was at that moment when the knights were retreating in a relatively stable manner.
Dududududududu.
The sound of warhorses' hooves suddenly shook the earth. Along with the sound of a large number of cavalry charging, a dust cloud rose around them, obscuring their vision.
Heeheeheeheeng!
Just as the horses were confused by the sudden cutoff of sound, several streaks of red aura shot up through the dust cloud.
“Keoheok!”
The last screams of knights falling were heard from here and there.
“Form up! Do not directly engage the aura!”
While the commanders were thoroughly in control, the dust cloud had already cleared.
“By Essus…!”
Where the cloud had cleared, over 30 knights lay fallen, their entire bodies mangled. The commanders, at the tragedy that had occurred in an instant, unwittingly cried out the name of Essus.
In front of them, who were cut as if their whole bodies had been torn apart, was a group of knights in black armor and black helmets, flashing red glints from under their helmets.
The group of about 300 knights was not intimidated at all even when facing over 900 knights.
On the contrary, the glint shining from their eyes shone even more intensely.
“Could it be…”
Viscount Jennings, looking at the suddenly appeared group of all-black knights, recalled a word that flashed through his mind.
“Death Knights…”
The knights of the devil, which he had only seen in books he had read somewhere.
Including the black wolves, things that should not have appeared in the human world were full before them.
“My liege…”
Ellenhower also knew what Viscount Jennings was trying to say. A retreat was difficult at this rate. If they were not careful, they might have to lose all their knights during the retreat.
“I will stay behind, my liege.”
Just then, Baron Soroman, who led the 3rd Somerset Knights, turned his horse's head towards the black knights and spoke.
“The 3rd Knights and I will stay behind and buy time. Your Liege, please join Count Karl. We are not enough on our own.”
“…”
Even at Soroman's words, who was prepared for death, Ellenhower could not easily open his mouth. How could he easily permit a subordinate to go to a place where he knew he would die?
“My liege, there is no time. Those things do not tire.”
“…Survive.”
“I will obey your command.”
Soroman smiled, and Ellenhower’s face was darker than ever.
“The 3rd Knights! Will block them with our lives!”
Their momentum and will, forged over a long time, allowed them to overcome their fear and stand before the enemy. And so, while the 3rd Somerset Knights blocked the enemy, the remaining knights and soldiers continued their retreat.
“Even if you die, you must not die!”
Soroman’s sword emitted a blue light and cut the neck of a Death Knight that was rushing in, raising a red aura.
‘They are not complete.’
They were different from the Death Knights of the past who had their own clear will.
“They are not complete Death Knights! Do not face their aura directly, move in groups of three!”
Even so, they were numerically inferior, but the military power of each Death Knight also seemed to vary greatly. They were not drawing out all their aura. The number of Death Knights emitting red aura was about 10.
“I’ll take five more of you with me!”
Soroman shouted and sent another head of a Death Knight emitting a red aura flying.
“Aim for the neck! Cut off their necks!”
The 3rd Somerset Knights did their best to cut the enemy’s necks until the very last moment. As long as they were blocking, the Jacques Marin army could never get past the 3rd Knights.
And so, while the Ellenhower army escaped safely, the 3rd Knights, down to the last man, buried their bodies in the gorge.
***
In fact, there had been no notable battles because the Somerset Domain had not been involved in any battles for a long time, but this battle had brought them too great a shock.
“…”
“It was an unavoidable situation… Everyone did their best… but the black wolf monsters and the Death Knights were something none of us could have predicted.”
In the leadership meeting, Ellenhower spoke to those present with a grave face. Who could have predicted it?
Moreover, the Jacques Marin army was in a situation where they had launched an attack on the Arthur Domain.
To predict the betrayal of the Ellenhower army and deploy an ambush on the path was something that made no sense from the start.
“Duke Jacques Marin must have also joined hands with the devil. It makes no sense for a human to mass-produce hundreds of Death Knights and command monster wolves.”
Everyone present agreed with Viscount Jennings' words. However, that did not mean that a clear solution on how they should move came out.
How they could deal with the numerous knights of death and the tireless troops, in addition to the monster wolves, was a very difficult question.
“Shouldn't we join Count Karl?”
For a moment, those present recalled my face. They didn't know if it was true, but if it was Count Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer, the Grand Sword Master who had appeared after hundreds of years, the agent of God who slays demons, the lighthouse and star that illuminates the world, he might be able to overcome this situation.
“Where is Lord Karl said to be coming from?”
Ellenhower rechecked the route he had agreed to join me on. Just then.
“My liege! Lord Karl has arrived!”
The news that the one they had been hoping for had arrived brought a small glimmer of hope to the grave faces of the Ellenhower army.
Thud. Thud.
A moment later, the Ellenhower army, seeing my figure entering the barracks, felt a strange and unknown emotion. It was a kind of relief. A vague belief that they could win just by being with him.
“You look a mess.”
“It turned out that way.”
The two of us looked at each other. Strange emotions overlapped between us. Various moments where they had walked the same path and then almost went different ways overlapped.
“Do you have a mind to become emperor?”
“I do. What about you?”
“I have no interest in things like being an emperor. You do a good job.”
“Hahahahahahaha. Yes, since you have no interest, I suppose I should.”
“How did you end up like this? The soldiers of Somerset are strong enough not to be easily defeated, even in my eyes.”
“Death Knights and magical beasts appeared.”
Death Knights and magical beasts. Was Duke Jacques Marin also related to the devil?
Elves, dwarves, Gremory, and Decarabia had all appeared. It wouldn't be strange for other things to appear.
“At this rate, I’ll meet a dragon soon.”
I heard in detail from Ellenhower about the recent battle.
“300 knights died to save us. We haven’t even been able to retrieve their bodies yet…”
An unprecedented venom appeared on Ellenhower’s face. He was a person who cherished his subordinates more than anyone else. It was imaginable how much he had whipped himself when he had to sacrifice them and withdraw his troops.
“An opportunity for revenge will come. First, let’s establish a strategy.”
That day, the leaders of the Ellenhower army and the leaders of the Arthur Domain gathered in the barracks.
“…Isn’t that General Bastien?”
“Why is Marquis Nigel on the battlefield…?”
The people present were shocked at the sight of the heroes of the past, who had become meritorious subjects and had now retired from the front lines, attending as my vassals.
Despite their shocked gazes, the two protagonists of the gazes continued to talk about future tactics at their seats with indifferent expressions.
“We will ignore them and aim for the main castle.”
“…?”
Everyone looked at the battle map with a questioning expression.
“This is the battlefield they want, and we don’t need to move as they wish. Through this place, we will fight on the battlefield we want.”
The place I marked on the map was a cliff terrain with a hollowed-out center. The gap between the cliff to get to the enemy camp and the cliff on this side was about 10m, but there was no bridge to connect that 10m.
Moreover, the Venida Gorge that I pointed to was a terrain where it was impossible to install a bridge or a crossing because of the strong winds that made it difficult for a person to even stand.
“There is no way to cross.”
“There is.”
Just then, a dwarf in my formation stood up and walked out in front of them.
“Here, there is a bridge and a passage connected by us dwarves.”
“…!”
Volka, the prince of Dertringen, informed them that there was a secret passage for the dwarves below the Venida Gorge. And that day, the Ellenhower army and the Arthur Domain army began to move towards Marin Castle.