Chapter 110 : Chapter 110
Chapter 110. Sometimes It's Necessary to Push Yourself
Six ships are coming.
One of them only carries supplies.
And the other five are carrying between 700 and 1,000 soldiers.
“At least 4,000.”
Perignon looked at me with a serious face.
It meant I should think about the numbers one more time.
He was acting this way because of what I had said.
‘Let's launch a surprise attack.’
The Uresra soldier with a full stomach generously provided useful information.
Where the leading ship would arrive, who was commanding this operation, how many troops were mobilized, and so on.
The power of a warm meal was truly great, as they say, there's no hero in hunger.
In any case, since we had plenty of useful information, I intended to use it to strike the enemy. We had to weaken them now for the sake of the future. But everyone was against it.
Especially Perignon.
“We only have 100 men.”
“They're not coming all at once.”
“Even so, this is not it. It's too dangerous.”
“It'll be less than clashing with 4,000 men at once, won't it?”
Perignon looked at Saint-Sard with pleading eyes.
“I also think it's too dangerous. Our objective was to figure out where the enemy's advance party was coming from. Since we've achieved our objective, let's go back.”
If they came out like this, I was at a disadvantage, so I needed to ask for help…
Rodrigo and Bethel avoided my gaze.
I might as well give up on getting any help.
“If we go back like this, we'll have to fight over 20,000 of them within a week. Don't forget that.”
“We can hold out at the barrier.”
“I think so too.”
At Perignon and Saint-Sard's answers, I felt a sense of stuffiness.
“How many have you faced at most?”
The two of them just blinked, as if they didn't know what I was asking.
“You must have a lot of combat experience, right? Tell me the scale, the scale.”
“I'm in search and reconnaissance, so I've only had squad-level combat.”
Since that was Saint-Sard's specialty, it couldn't be helped.
Then let's hear what the battalion commander, Perignon, had to say.
“It was about 800 men.”
I had expected that to some extent.
Even if he had a lot of combat experience, it would all be local battles that took place near the barrier.
“I've fought dozens of times, from 100 to 800 men. So you must go back as we say.”
My mouth was itching.
Fighting 100 men and fighting 1,000 men were completely different.
Not to mention 10,000 men.
‘To talk about experience in front of me, how absurd.’
But I couldn't say this out loud.
Even if I did, they wouldn't believe me.
“Your Highness.”
I held out my palm towards Perignon, who was trying to persuade me.
“If you want to go, go. I'm going to try something.”
“Your Highness!”
“If we just go back from here, we're opening up their supply route. Do you not know what that means?”
“……”
They must have been thinking of a time battle with the barrier as a shield.
But if we gave them a supply route, such a plan would be completely useless.
“If we drag this out, we'll lose.”
Will only 4,000 come? No. They would have sent more than 30,000.
“The Uresra bastards will keep sending reinforcements. We will keep dying. Who will lose hope and get tired, us? Or Uresra?”
Saint-Sard and Perignon bit their lips and lowered their heads.
They had covered up the clear despair with a faint hope of ‘what if’.
Maybe there would be a way if we went back?
Maybe Chris would give us an answer?
They must have thought things like that.
But reality was not like that.
‘Chris is not a god.’
He was having a headache because of the lack of troops, how could he turn around a disadvantageous situation?
That's why I was stepping up.
“If you want to win this war, if you want to win with little damage, it's necessary to push ourselves. No, we must push ourselves.”
Saint-Sard and Perignon let out long sighs.
It seemed they understood with their heads, but their hearts were not moved.
I understood.
The deaths of the soldiers they had been with must have come to mind.
He was a good commander.
But he was not a great commander.
‘Because he can't make the necessary decisions due to his attachments.’
Although he would pour all his strength into preventing people from dying.
“There's no time to hesitate, so let's get this sorted out.”
I grabbed Dawn.
For the sake of those who were hesitating.
***
Kkiiik.
The ship stopped as if it were stuck somewhere.
“Major!”
A soldier ran up onto the deck, out of breath.
The man standing on the deck watching the situation, Smiral Hailoska, turned his head.
The soldier stood in front of Smiral with a nervous face.
“We can't move because of the huge ice.”
“So?”
“If you give us some time, we will break the ice and go to our destination. The time required is…”
The soldier took out a small water bottle filled with a red liquid.
One of the five compartments was moving.
“One hour.”
“30 minutes.”
“……Yes? Th-thirty minutes, I-I understand.”
“Your answer is late.”
The soldier broke out in a cold sweat and replied, “I-I'm sorry.”
“What's the reason you need a whole hour?”
“Th-the ice is thick, so it will take a long time to break. All the unit members will go out and resolve it as quickly as possible.”
Smiral walked to the end of the deck.
The lower part of the ship was not visible due to the rough snowstorm.
“It will be difficult.”
He shook his head and threw himself off the ship.
“M-Major!”
The soldier grabbed the railing and looked at where Smiral had jumped.
A white snowstorm, something gray.
Smiral's figure could not be seen.
Kwagwang!
“Huh, huh?”
The sound of an explosion was heard, and the ship, which had not budged, shook greatly.
A moment later, Smiral came up onto the deck through the snowstorm.
“Major?”
“I've broken all the problematic ice. Move immediately.”
“Yes?”
Smiral looked at the soldier indifferently.
The soldier, who felt fear, moved quickly to convey Smiral's intentions.
“Row the oars!”
The soldiers' shouts.
The shaking ship moved forward little by little.
The sound of ice breaking, pagak, pagak, was heard without rest.
The snowstorm, which seemed to last forever, subsided.
The land they had been waiting for drew closer.
But…
Ping.
With a sharp sound that cut through the wind, the well-sailing ship stopped with a thud.
Smiral let out a long sigh.
He tried to check where the sound had stopped.
“Fire?”
A very small light at the bottom of the ship swayed precariously.
“Put out the fire!”
The soldiers, who had realized something was wrong, moved frantically.
The creaking sound of wood, the sound of feet hitting the ground, were mixed in a frenzy.
The soldiers shouted and tried their best to do something.
But nothing was being sorted out.
The commotion spread.
Smiral shook his head and headed for the bow.
It was to find the reason the ship had stopped from the front.
At that moment.
“It's a surprise attack!”
“Major! You must take cover!”
The soldiers running around on the deck looked up at the sky.
Hundreds of fire arrows were flying through the darkness.
“No need to make a fuss.”
Smiral drew the sword from his waist.
A green energy emanated from his entire body.
“I don't know what kind of bastard this is, but he's quite skilled.”
Smiral's eyes sparkled.
Kung!
A tree trunk sprouted from the sword that had pierced the deck.
The bare tree trunks became dozens, hundreds.
“Th-they're getting tangled.”
The trunks, which hugged each other, became a huge shield and completely covered the deck.
Pabababak.
The shield completely blocked the fire arrows.
Smiral snorted and stared at where the fire arrows had come from.
And he drew his sword and threw the huge wooden shield off the ship.
Kwagwagak!
Kuuung.
The chunk of ice that had been blocking the ship broke.
As if waiting for this, a larger number of arrows aimed for Smiral.
“What a waste.”
This time, he made a wooden pillar and collected all the floating arrows.
“Major! That was amazing!”
“As expected of the Major!”
“We will collect the arrows and return them as they are.”
All the soldiers on the deck drew their bows.
Smiral pointed beyond the subsiding snowstorm.
“Shoot without holding back.”
Fire arrows were shot towards the land.
As if not to be outdone, over a hundred arrows flew from the opposite side.
Hundreds of lights were scattered messily in the pitch-black sky.
They revealed what the darkness had hidden.
“Hmm?”
Smiral discovered a boy standing on the land.
The boy was holding a sword larger than his body and had a wicked smile.
For a moment, Smiral felt a chill.
He frowned.
‘It's been a while.’
A bone-chilling sensation.
It was similar to what he had felt when he had faced a red bear as a child.
“A little bear cub has come to catch us. Not knowing its place.”
Smiral drew a cruel smile.
***
He was a disgusting fellow.
“Wow, to do that alone…”
Bethel, who was watching in hiding, clicked his tongue.
He seemed envious, as he was showing off his tremendous prowess with the same power as him.
“Grow up diligently. That's how you do that.”
“How many Circles do you think he is?”
“I don't know. He's definitely not a 2nd Circle.”
“I have eyes too.”
I thought he didn't, since he talked a lot of nonsense.
“He must have filled up the 3rd Circle. He might even become a 4th Circle while fighting us?”
“Wow… this is crazy.”
I looked at Bethel. Stared.
“Why? It could be burdensome.”
“Feeling burdened doesn't mean you can do that, does it?”
“……I know that too.”
“Don't just know it, do it like that. Like that.”
Bethel wrinkled his nose and looked away.
He even grumbled about not being praised once.
“Everyone, three steps back.”
Following Perignon's words, the soldiers put away their bows and moved back.
Then, Saint-Sard raised his sword high.
Vooong!
A gust of wind blew, gathering the arrows that were cutting through the sky in one place.
Bethel swung his sword to create a wooden wall and collected the arrows that had lost their way without holding back.
“There's a limit with arrows.”
Perignon urged for the next move.
The enemy ship was getting closer.
The number of people on board was about 700.
He seemed anxious about facing them with 100 men.
“Rodrigo.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let's get ready.”
We have to burn them before they disembark.
Of course, that bastard standing on the deck won't just stand by and watch.
“70 men to the top of the hill. 30 men shoot arrows as they are now. And the knights will go below the ship and fight the bastards who jump off.”
Everyone looked at me.
Their eyes were asking what kind of operation that was. It also contained the meaning of protest, ‘The captain over there has blocked all the arrows we've shot so far!’
So, I pointed at the captain standing on the deck for them to see.
“That bastard will definitely jump off first.”
To get rid of us who were blocking the way, he would definitely do that.
“At that time, shoot arrows onto the deck. With fire arrows soaked in plenty of oil.”
The fire arrows we had shot so far were just a pretense of setting fire.
From now on, it had to be different.
Because we had to burn the ship and all the bastards on it.
“Wouldn't it be dangerous?”
I stared at Rodrigo, who had asked the question.
Everything was dangerous.
Not just war, but also living.
He was probably saying it out of concern for me, but from now on, he shouldn't.
Because it was a matter of morale.
“On the battlefield, even breathing is dangerous. From now on, don't say obvious things.”
“I'm sorry.”
“If you're sorry, then burn the ship. Burn it with all your strength.”
Rodrigo nodded. With the power of fire he had, he would be able to burn even a flame-retardant ship.
I took a deep breath and gripped Dawn.
“Don't worry about us, don't spare the arrows, just shoot.”
Perignon had a flustered look on his face.
“That's dangerous. Your Highness might get hit by mistake…”
“I won't.”
Because I would skillfully dodge them using mana.
If a knight couldn't even dodge a single arrow, he deserved to die with his head pierced.
“Knights, get ready.”
If it got a little closer, they would throw a bridge to disembark.
We had to break it then.
So that no one could get off.
Then the captain bastard would jump off.
Because he had to clear the blocked path.
‘Seeing him block arrows and all that on the deck, it's clear.’
He has an extraordinary sense of responsibility.
So he must have been in charge of the advance party among the advance party.
“Now! Go…”
Huh? What was that?
The ship stopped in the middle of the river.
It couldn't be because of ice or a reef.
Jjeojeojeok.
The shape of the bow began to collapse.
“You son of a bitch!”
To think they could transform a huge ship.
“Bethel! We have to stop that!”
The bow was turning into a bridge and extending towards the land.
Soldiers came out onto the deck and finished their preparations to run.
Before the bridge reached the land, before those things rushed in like a wave, we had to burn them all.
“Prepare to land!”
“Cut it off somehow!”
The bastards drew their fire arrows towards us.
We also drew our fire arrows to burn the bastards.
The clash of spear and shield had begun.