Chapter 105 : The Mercenary Bureau’s First Request (19)
Chapter 105: The Mercenary Bureau’s First Request (19)
-Step, step, step, step.
-Rumbleeeee.
Hundreds of mercenaries and heavy wagons crossed the northern plains.
The merchant group led by Branch Manager Marhen was heading toward Holsten under the escort of the Black Raven Mercenary Company.
Having already passed Osulheim, they were scheduled to arrive in Holsten before long.
“Thanks to you, we have made it here safely. Thank you, Centurion Jenga.”
“Ahem. It is nothing. It is all in a day’s work. Ahem.”
They had been ambushed by bandit groups several times on the way here.
It was truly a tiresome place.
Branch Manager Marhen also knew well that the spirit of this place was unique since he was born and raised in the north, but it had not been this severe.
It must have been a disaster created by the recent continuous famine and the indifference of the nobles.
‘It is unfortunate, but it cannot be helped….’
This place was closer to the wild.
Unlike the imperial situation below the central region, which was heavily influenced by religion, the north was a place where people were still contending with barbarians.
Northern people were rough, and far from showing mercy to the powerless weak, it was a place busy with despising them.
A place where you die if you are weak.
Rather, the culture here was one where helping others was seen as originating from a weak mind and was used as a weakness to exploit.
“But Centurion. Just how long are those bandits going to keep following us?”
“Hmm…. I am not sure myself, Branch Manager Marhen. But what is there to worry about. They are just bandits. Hahahaha.”
Bandits on horseback repeatedly appeared and disappeared.
Centurion Jenga was inwardly anxious at those unsettling movements.
It was a different inner feeling from what he had boldly told Branch Manager Marhen.
‘I had heard news that communication between northern bandits has become frequent recently….’
Just because they were mercenaries did not mean they did not collect information.
Especially given the nature of mercenaries working in various places, they were more sensitive to small, low level rumors.
And the content obtained through them was that something…. something was happening in the north.
Rumors that at some point bandit attacks had decreased and they were gathering somewhere.
To dismiss it as just a groundless rumor, the movements of the bandit groups were not ordinary after actually moving to the north.
When anxiety was revealed on Centurion Jenga’s expression, Branch Manager Marhen asked cautiously.
“Shall we try running the guild’s information network? The state of the north is unusual so it might be inaccurate, but still, we have many branches laid out so we can find out information relatively quickly.”
“Mm. No. They are just bandits anyway, are they not. We are the Black Raven Mercenary Company, Branch Manager Marhen. Ahem.”
“Hoho. Of course I don't doubt the skills of the Black Raven Mercenary Company. Alright. I will leave it to you then, Centurion Jenga.”
“Hehehe. Trust me.”
Of course he had spoken boastfully like that, but it was not as if he was not anxious.
Centurion Jenga was feeling an ill omen at the abnormal movements of the bandit groups.
As if….
‘They are herding us.’
Like predators eyeing prey, they were moving as if herding them for a hunt.
In any case, it meant they were moving organized.
If a fight broke out, it would not be easy.
‘No. We have got the pike phalanx!!’
Steadying his wavering heart, Centurion Jenga sharpened his focus.
Jenga was the centurion who had most actively followed Shatien’s footsteps exactly after deciding to take Shatien’s route.
Although he could not lend out heavy armor like Shatien, he had changed all the spears to dense pikes.
Some people cursed him as a guy with no pride, but Centurion Jenga did not think so.
‘Hmph, where do these guys come from, unable to read the times. Tsk tsk.’
Why would he be heavily used by Captain Mordo despite being called Greedy Jenga?
It was because he read the flow well.
‘Let us believe. Not in myself, but in Shatien’s skill. If it is the phalanx that man created, it boasts the strongest defensive power for infantry.’
Thinking so, Centurion Jenga hurriedly sent out scouting parties to the surroundings.
He kept getting an ill omen that the bandit rascals were definitely going to start something.
And such ill omens always hit the mark unluckily.
-Waaaaaaah-!
-Rumbleeeeee!
“.....?!”
Suddenly, an enormous dust cloud began to rise in billows far away. And leaving that behind, a messenger came riding like crazy.
“Ce, Centurion! The enemy! The enemy, the bandit rascals are swarming in!!”
* * *
He had had his doubts, but it was real.
Centurion Jenga found it absurd. To think they would actually move and attack so organized. The bigger problem was the number.
‘What… hundreds of bandits made of cavalry???’
He knew well that the north was a great grassland region with many horses. But it was a bit much for mere bandit rascals to form cavalry like this.
‘This is truly absurd.’
But he could not just stand there blankly. Centurion Jenga quickly took command of the mercenaries.
“Pike unit to the front!!! According to the sacred contract, we protect the merchant group on the name of the mercenary company-!”
At Centurion Jenga’s shout, the mercenaries only then snapped out of it. The pikemen who had rushed forward set their spears to prepare for the impact.
It was to stop the lead of the bandit cavalry.
-Hyaaaaaah!
-Rumbleeee!
Over thirty cavalrymen came running, kicking up thick dust. It was a number unbelievable for a vanguard of bandits.
But fortunately, Centurion Jenga soon realized that it was a bluff.
“Ha! Look at their equipment! They are nothing but beggars.”
Once they were close enough to identify faces, he was able to see their true state.
The weapons in their hands were plausible, but the protective gear they were wearing was truly pathetic. Decisively, the horses they were riding were pack horses.
Not proper warhorses, but pack horses dragged haphazardly from some stable.
‘I will show those rascals absolute hell.’
Centurion Jenga gave a smirk. A pike phalanx could not be broken through with mere cavalry like that. Rather, they would be crushed miserably.
“Everyone, there is no need to be scared. It is not proper equipment. They are even pack horses!! If you are going to be scared of guys like that, go farm instead, you country bumpkins!!”
It was a shout typical of Centurion Jenga, but the mercenaries reacted immediately nonetheless.
They had been training like crazy in the meantime anyway. How unfair would it be to collapse against a cavalry charge on such insignificant pack horses.
Even an inexperienced recruit could predict the result of the engagement.
But there were always exceptions.
“Turn the horses’ heads!”
“Split left and right and strike!”
The bandit cavalry, who he had thought would charge straight into the pike phalanx, suddenly split left and right. And projectiles flew in from all sides.
-Swoosh!
The projectiles that cut through the air stuck into the mercenaries’ bodies. Armor that had not been reinforced was easily penetrated, and the formation collapsed in places.
Screams were heard here and there.
The excited bandits let out mocking laughs.
“Ahahahaha!”
“Keep holding those slow-ass spears. You stupid rascals.”
“You are just saying 'please beat me up'. Just like those stupid beasts over there.”
The bandit cavalry kept mocking them like that as they brushed past the left and right.
“Damn it!”
“Just one guy! If just one guy slips up. I will wreck you!”
The mercenaries only waited for the bandit cavalry to make a mistake. How strong could the discipline of bandit cavalry be? It was certain they would turn their eyes and rush in if they showed even a bit of weakness.
But those rascals were vicious.
‘T-These crazy rascals?’
The horsemanship of the bandit cavalry was better than expected. Those rascals used both arms freely while controlling the speed and direction of the horses at will.
No one fell even though the horses were dangerously close.
‘To think they would have this much skill.’
Centurion Jenga felt like he had suffered a setback. To operate cavalry so delicately only to throw javelins from a distance!
He was furious, but he could not just stand there and take it.
Was he not also a centurion full of veteran experience who had been through all sorts of things?
Centurion Jenga quickly ordered the mercenaries.
“Reform the line immediately. We are forming a phalanx again. Reorganize into a square phalanx!!”
“Square phalanx!!!”
“Move quickly!!”
Only then did the mercenaries move their bodies hurriedly and form a square phalanx on all sides. It was the square pike phalanx that Shatien had made sure they trained for.
When the pikes shot up densely like a hedgehog on all sides, only then did the bandit cavalry fail to approach easily.
When there was only a front, they could just avoid the front, turn to the side, and throw, but it was hard to approach easily when sharp edges were sticking out on all sides.
Moreover, throwing javelins while standing still without receiving acceleration was a useless act that was worse than not doing it.
By this point, the bandit knights had to give up eventually.
“Damn it! Those rascals are not fools either.”
“Retreat! Return to the main body!!”
Eventually, the bandit cavalry who had lost momentum turned their horses’ heads and began to retreat quickly to the rear.
The mercenaries who had blocked the first attack let out a sigh of relief, but Centurion Jenga could not.
“Scout!! Is the scout alive?”
Centurion Jenga hurriedly looked for a scout. It was certain those rascals were a vanguard for seizing the initiative.
And sure enough.
“Whoaaaaa-!”
“Kill those rascals!!! We push through just like this!”
Other bandit cavalry were moving behind the fleeing bandit cavalry. As if the previous one had literally been a skirmish, the number was more than double.
Over 100 bandit cavalry were swarming in.
“T-The scout died during the engagement a moment ago. Centurion!”
“Oh god dammit!”
He had to request reinforcements from Holsten. And a scout was the perfect person for that role.
The only ones skilled enough to ride a horse far away right now were himself and the dead scout.
Centurion Jenga was at his wit’s end. How were they supposed to block that many rascals by themselves.
Just then, Branch Manager Marhen’s voice pierced Centurion Jenga’s ear.
“Centurion Jenga! Do you not need reinforcements?”
“Ah, Branch Manager Marhen… I would like to, but besides me there is no one who knows how to ride a horse… Ah wait! There is!”
A light realization flashed through Centurion Jenga’s mind.
The guild. There were plenty of people among the guild members who knew how to ride a horse.
Moreover, most of them were safe thanks to the protection of the pike phalanx.
“I will send guild members.”
“Thank you. I am counting on you. Branch Manager Marhen.”
What a state to be in, requesting help from the subject he was supposed to protect. But it was not a situation where he could be choosy. Soon two merchants rode off quickly on horses.
A few bandits followed, but it was not enough for wretched pack horses to catch up to the merchants’ horses.
Eventually, the messengers sent by the guild safely broke through the encirclement and slipped away leisurely.
“Everyone hold on a little longer! Reinforcements will come!”
Centurion Jenga shouted like that while looking at the lunging bandits.
It will be fine.
At the very least, this pike phalanx’s defensive power was fantastic.