Chapter 67
Teigun Defense Battle ④
(Day 3 of War)
The
Advancing Death Soldiers
Translator : PolterGlast
The fires within the
corridor, which had been burning in various places, finally died down, and the
chaos began to subside.
"..."
Marquis Bradley was
speechless, faced with the horrific situation and unexpected damage.
Just a moment ago, he
had thought victory would be easy.
But due to the enemy's
unexpected tactics, nearly 500 of his soldiers had either been burned by flames
or disappeared down the cliff, never to return.
Furthermore, over 300
wounded soldiers, including those with severe burns, broken bones from being
kicked by horses, and those trampled and unable to stand, were almost all
incapacitated.
Marquis Bradley was
bewildered by the damage, which was greater than he had imagined.
"We've only just
entered the corridor, and we haven't even defeated a single enemy soldier. Yet,
what damage! At this rate, I won't be able to face His Highness
Glorious..."
"Repair the
bridge and secure the path and retreat route immediately!"
They had been
enveloped in an unknown terror. Staying here, they didn't know when that fiery
trap would strike again.
In this inescapable
death trap, being engulfed in flames meant certain death.
And the high
possibility of other vicious traps also urged them on.
"Get out of this
accursed place quickly, now!"
To rebuild the bridge,
the area was rocky and lacked wood or materials.
Even dismantling the
baggage wagons didn't provide nearly enough materials.
As a desperate
measure, they began to excavate the rocky ground with their swords as shovels.
However, digging through the hard rocky ground in shifts was extremely
difficult, and furthermore, the narrow foothold limited the number of people
who could work.
After several hours,
with the impatient Marquis watching, they managed to create a narrow side path
on the cliff face near the moat. This was the best they could do.
The Marquis ordered
the remaining rearguard to continue securing the passage, sent the wounded to
the rear, and proceeded with the remaining force of just under 2,000 soldiers
through the narrow side path.
"You commoners!
You shall feel my wrath!"
Almost all the cavalry
had left their horses behind midway. They had not yet excavated a path wide
enough for horses to safely pass.
The Marquis and his
cavalry did not even consider staying in their previous location until a path
wide enough for horses was excavated.
If they were attacked
in the same way again, what would happen if the horses panicked then...? The
anticipated nightmare drove the Marquis and his men to rush forward, abandoning
their horses if necessary.
They could not afford
to suffer any more fatal blows from those vicious traps.
That was the only
thought in their minds.
"Heh heh, the
checkpoint is just beyond this cliff."
"With this army,
those guys are surely all dead."
"Finally, we'll
get to see them suffer."
The Marquis did not
think highly of these three men sent under the guise of guides.
Their vulgar demeanor
and the fact that they were clearly bandits went against the Marquis's pride.
And now that they had
reached the checkpoint, their role was over.
Having suffered
unexpected losses, the Marquis's patience was reaching its limit.
"Do it!"
At the Marquis's
signal, three swords were swept horizontally.
Their heads and bodies
would never be reunited.
Finally, one
unpleasant matter had been resolved, and the Marquis regained his composure.
"All forces,
quickly reorganize your formations!
Infantry, charge at
full speed towards the checkpoint as soon as you see it! Archers, support the
infantry from the rear and eliminate the archers at the checkpoint!
Cavalry (though
without horses now) will stand by as reserves.
Reorganize our
formation in order of assault, and charge as soon as completed."
※
At a position
overlooking the narrow pass of the corridor, the cliff had been carved out with
the help of earth mages, and a long staircase leading from the top of the
checkpoint had been installed. On the slope extending widely from the corridor
was a lookout point, where a part of the cliff had been leveled.
This was also one of
the facilities that the earth mages had painstakingly created.
"Is it about
time...?"
Christoph muttered as
he secretly overlooked their movements from the lookout point.
From the lookout
point, he could see everything from the invading army being engulfed in flames
in the corridor and falling into great confusion, to their subsequent
movements.
From his position on
the protruding elevated lookout, he could survey the entire winding and
blind-spot-filled corridor from above.
Christoph ordered the
flag bearer and instructed them to prepare for narrow pass firing.
The checkpoint was
built at a corner where the narrow pass of the corridor suddenly widened,
glaring at the exit of the narrow pass.
Up until that point,
the path had been less than 10 m wide in narrow sections, but it suddenly
widened to 100 m. In front of the checkpoint, there was enough space for an
army to deploy to some extent.
Demon Realm Side
Checkpoint Schematic
->↓ValleyValleyValleyValleyValley
->↑Cliff↘︎★★★ValleyValleyValleyValleyValleyValley
->↑CliffCliffCliffCliff★★★ValleyValleyValleyValleyValley
->☆↑Cliff CliffCliff
Checkpoint
↗︎CliffCliffCliff CliffCliff Checkpoint
↗︎Cliff CliffCliff Checkpoint
Valley Bridg Cliff ▲ CliffCliffCliff Checkpoint
↑Cliff CliffCliff Checkpoint
↗︎Cliff CliffCliffCliffCliffCliffCliff
↑: Narrow pass of the corridor and the Marquis's army's
route
Bridge: Collapsed
bridge at the front
★: Crossbow fixed sniping position (mid-range)
☆: Crossbow fixed sniping position (long-range)
▲: Corridor lookout point
At the widest point of
the widened path, a strong gate and checkpoint firmly blocked the exit of the
corridor.
Having finally exited
the corridor and seeing the open space before him and the checkpoint beyond,
the Marquis signaled to attack.
"All forces,
crush the checkpoint! Charge!"
The infantry, holding
their shields, charged at full speed, and nearly 500 men quickly approached
directly beneath the checkpoint.
In the rear, near the
exit of the corridor, 400 archers nocked their arrows and rained them down upon
the top of the checkpoint.
"Is this the end
of their tricks? I will thoroughly crush them!"
The moment the Marquis
uttered these words, an incredible number of counter-arrows, like a storm,
struck the archers who were deployed in a column in the rear near the corridor
exit and firing arrows towards the checkpoint.
The Marquis's archers,
unable to hide behind cover, were struck directly by the arrows and fell one
after another.
The moment the archers
fell and the others faltered, the archers of the Solis Baron's army leaned out
from the checkpoint and began firing.
The Marquis's
soldiers, who had just reached the gate and were trying to climb up, were shot
down one after another.
The arrows had
tremendous force, easily piercing through shields and light infantry armor.
"Why are there so
many soldiers?! That can't be... it's absurd!"
Ignoring the screaming
Marquis, arrows continued to storm down from the checkpoint in a second and
third volley onto the Marquis's archers.
The arrows fired from
the enemy archers defending the checkpoint did not stop.
When the bodies of
nearly 300 Imperial Army archers piled up near the corridor exit, the Marquis
temporarily withdrew his army to a position out of sight of the checkpoint.
He had withdrawn his
army, but they had no safe rear area.
The baggage train,
which was supposed to provide supplies, was still at the very rear, stranded
beyond the collapsed bridge.
"Should we
retreat...?"
The Marquis's heart
wavered.
He had lost nearly
one-third of his entire army, and in addition, many of his wounded were
incapacitated, leaving him with effectively only slightly more than half his
force.
The isolated baggage
train at the very rear, with its provisions and supplies, and the 300 soldiers
guarding it, were still needed as military strength.
They had managed to
hand-carry the most urgently needed supplies by transporting them through the
narrow excavated passage.
The wounded soldiers
had also been transported to the safe rear and were receiving treatment.
In shifts with the
wounded, 200 uninjured soldiers were called from the isolated rearguard to join
the main force.
Now, at the very rear,
waiting, were 100 soldiers guarding the baggage train and over 500 wounded.
The enemy, the Solis
Baron's army, had gone silent after the previous checkpoint attack and showed
no signs of pursuit.
Originally, they had
predicted that the defending force would be at most about 100 men, possibly
even fewer.
Intelligence gathered
beforehand had also provided similar information.
However, the actual
number of enemy troops seemed to be around 500, or perhaps even more.
He had not heard such
a story.
But... in attacking a
checkpoint defended by 500 men, he still had the necessary three times the
defending force at hand.
Marquis Bradley was
troubled.
If he were to retreat
disgracefully here, having only lost a large number of soldiers, the
Marquisate's honor would be in tatters.
If he still had the
strength to attack, why would he retreat?
If he were accused of
that later, he would have no way to defend himself.
Marquis Bradley raised
his head with a new resolve.
"By the honor of
the Marquisate... I cannot retreat here!
All forces! Become
death-defying soldiers and take the checkpoint. Wait for it."
There was no longer
any hint of underestimating the enemy army.
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