Chapter 69
Teigun Defense Battle ⑥
(Day 4 of War)
The
Impregnable Teigun
Translator : PolterGlast
The sun of fate rose
over Teigun.
Christoph and Claire
stood in the bell tower of the checkpoint.
"Are you
ready?"
"Everything is
set."
As if foretelling the
coming disaster, the morning sun on the mountains dyed the distant peaks
crimson, like fresh blood.
"Then, begin the
operation."
At Christoph's signal,
the flag bearer raised a yellow flag.
That flag was relayed
by several flag bearers, reaching Mary near the town of Teigun.
"It has
begun."
"Indeed. I wish
this would be the end of it."
Miseri replied to
Mary's words.
The two stood on the
outer wall of the town of Teigun, some distance from the checkpoint, by the dry
moat that surrounded it.
The dry moat, now
filled with water, held abundant snowmelt from Mount Teigun, maintaining its
rich water volume as the seasons changed from spring to summer to autumn.
※
"Those bastards,
they've even built a lookout in a place like that!"
Marquis Bradley
couldn't hide his surprise and terror at the attack from the lookout point,
which was in a place he had never imagined, on a cliff he thought was
unscalable.
From high above,
ceramic-like containers filled with oil, and bundles of burning straw were thrown
down one after another.
The nightmare of
yesterday resurfaced in his mind.
"Watch out for
fire! Evacuate from the oil's range!"
As if to say they
wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, the soldiers accurately evacuated from
the wall of fire.
But they didn't
realize that their movements were gradually being lured towards the
checkpoint...
"What's the
damage?"
"No one was
caught in the fire or fell due to confusion. However, the provisions we brought
here were burned."
"If this is the
case, we have no choice but to push forward and take the town by
assault..."
After discussing with
his strategist, Marquis Bradley made up his mind.
"All forces, now
launch an all-out attack on the checkpoint. Our retreat route is already gone!
Advance and seek life in the face of death. All forces, charge!"
With their backs
against the wall, the Marquis's resolute soldiers began charging towards the
checkpoint.
※
"They've come!
Flag bearer, raise the red flag to signal the start of battle!
Claire, I'll leave the
instructions for Sasha and Aira to you. Tell them to hold it back until the
last possible moment.
Everyone else, we will
defend this checkpoint to the death for a while!"
For Christoph, the
current assault was precisely the kind of attack he least wanted to face.
If it hadn't been for
Claire's proposal...
The space in front of
the checkpoint, beyond the narrow pass, was overflowing with enemy troops.
The arrows raining
down on the narrow pass's exit were furious, but if they charged through and
reached the checkpoint, the arrow attacks would visibly decrease.
This was because the
Self-Defense Corps' crossbows had their sights fixed on two locations: long-range
and the narrow pass exit.
"Once we reach
the checkpoint, the enemy's counterattack will be weaker than expected! We'll
take it down like this!"
Marquis Bradley,
shouting and encouraging his soldiers, and the soldiers attacking the
checkpoint, did not notice the low, rumbling sound coming from a distance, like
an earthquake.
※
"Sasha, Aira,
make the water wall as thick as possible! Don't lose to the water pressure, do
your best!"
At Claire's stern
words, two water walls were deployed in the space provided inside the
checkpoint, at the exit of the waterway.
The force of the muddy
torrent that flowed down the waterway's slope from the moat surrounding the
town of Teigun was tremendous.
The two continued to
deploy the water barrier with all their might.
And soon, Claire knew
that their limit would come.
"We are about to
open the checkpoint! Those in front of the checkpoint and in low positions,
evacuate immediately!"
At Claire's voice,
several people hastily evacuated to a safe position.
"You two, is it
about time?"
Neither Sasha nor Aira
had the luxury to reply; they could only grit their teeth and nod.
The water, contained
by the water wall, accumulated up to the height of the large gate installed at
the checkpoint, several times a person's height, and was still increasing.
"Open the
gate!"
Claire swung her hand
down as she shouted.
※
"The gate is
opening! One more push!"
Marquis Bradley
excitedly urged on his soldiers.
Indeed, the gate
gradually opened, and was pushed wider by the Marquis's soldiers who had
reached it.
The Marquis was
certain of his impending victory.
However, at that
moment, with a roar, the soldiers who had rushed into the gate were pushed back
as if blown away. Not just soldiers, but a huge amount of water accompanied
them.
The overflowing water
immediately spread across the plaza in front of the gate.
Because it spread
rapidly and widely, at first, it was only ankle-deep.
But the surging volume
of water continued to increase, now reaching above their knees.
There were several
reasons for this.
The space in front of
the checkpoint was slightly excavated overall, creating a vast but shallow
pool.
And on the valley
side, a low edge, below waist height, was built, allowing water to accumulate.
Furthermore, Sasha and
Aira, who had been holding back the water on the other side of the checkpoint,
were now deploying new water walls to surround the valley side beyond the
checkpoint as their next move.
The force of the water
did not stop and continued to increase.
Before they knew it,
it was as if a gigantic fan-shaped pool had been created in front of the
checkpoint.
"It's a water
attack! There are mages! Run from here!"
One soldier screamed
and started running towards the exit of the narrow pass.
But the exit of the
narrow pass was a path of arrow rain.
He and the group that
followed him fell, struck by multiple arrows.
And then, at that
moment, the water walls disappeared simultaneously.
Furthermore, with
Elan's power, the edge on the valley side also collapsed in an instant.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"W-we're being
swept away!"
"Help!"
The water that had
accumulated in the plaza in front of the checkpoint, finding a direction to
flow, rushed all at once towards the valley.
The soldiers, already
waist-deep in water, could not resist the current and were swept down to the
bottom of the valley one after another.
"Retreat!
Retreat!"
Soldiers who were on
the opposite cliff side or clinging to rocks and fortunately withstood the
current, began to run back towards the narrow pass from which they came.
But that was the
hunting ground for crossbows; even knowing that, there was no other escape
route...
"It's no use
anymore!"
Marquis Bradley's
spirit finally broke.
He decided to flee.
This time, about 1,500
men attacked the checkpoint.
Yet, over half were
swept away by the current and disappeared into the valley, or were caught in
the arrow rain at the narrow pass exit and lost their lives.
With great difficulty,
or rather, thanks to the surrounding soldiers acting as shields, he managed to
pass through the dangerous area at the narrow pass exit.
He reached the safe
zone behind the cliff, which was a blind spot from the checkpoint.
But even in the place
where he was hiding, an attack that hadn't been there before—a rain of arrows
fired in an arc—struck them.
They thought it would
be safe there...
The soldiers who had
finally escaped the dangerous zone were struck by the unexpected attack and
fell one after another.
"All forces,
retrea-..."
There, his words, or
rather, his world, ended.
Before he could finish
giving the retreat order, Marquis Bradley lost his life, struck by an arrow
fired by Christoph from the lookout post.
"The Marquis has
been killed! Run!"
From there, the
chaotic escape of the frantic soldiers began.
"Even on
horseback, we can't pass beyond this point. Leave the horses."
"Get out of the
way! There's no room for horses to pass! Get them out of the way!"
The bridge at the very
rear, the end of the Marquis's army, which had been destroyed, still did not
have a sufficiently excavated side path.
This was because many
of the personnel who were supposed to work on it had been moved to the front,
and they were burdened with over 500 wounded, more than five times the number
of uninjured soldiers.
The narrow passage
could have been passed by horses one by one if they took their time, but the
soldiers, who were rushing to retreat, certainly had no such leeway.
They were running
wildly on foot to the very rear.
Leaving behind many
wounded comrades and horses in the narrow pass.
A mere frontier baron,
and an insignificant small town in the furthest frontier. It was thought that
they could be easily taken with 3,000 troops.
Everyone thought so,
let their guard down, and took it lightly.
But due to the
unexpected series of attacks, their commander was killed, and they were routed
in a crushing defeat. The soldiers' fear had reached its peak.
The soldiers who were
waiting at the exit side of the corridor (Demon Realm side), including the
wounded who had been sent to the rear, and those waiting for good news, wanted
to cover their eyes at the tragic state of their routing comrades.
Fortunately, there was
a commander-class noble among the wounded who had been sent to the rear.
He immediately decided
to retreat, and with the chain of command still intact, he quickly turned the
army back and retreated to the border.
·
Rearguard: 100 men
·
Escaping Soldiers: Slightly over 200 men
·
Wounded already transported to rear: Slightly over 500
men
·
Wounded escaping: Slightly under 100 men
The commander, himself
wounded, was forced to lead the retreat and was aghast at the extent of the
damage.
He had lost 70% of the
3,000 men who had invaded, and Marquis Bradley, the commander-in-chief, had
been killed in action, along with all the other main commanders except himself.
With only 300 men, he
had to escort 600 wounded, pass through the dangerous edge of the Demon Realm,
and retreat to the border.
The commander, who had
been tasked with leading the defeated army by chance, felt dizzy at the
difficult situation he found himself in.
"Including
myself, how many of these can I safely lead back to His Highness's camp?"
His self-questioning
would later become a real problem that would drive him into a corner.
※
Teigun's checkpoint
was filled with shouts of joy.
"We won! We
really won!"
"We defended it!
We defended it!"
"Long live
Teigun!"
Through this defensive
battle in which they participated, the town of Teigun would later become famous
as an impregnable place, having achieved a complete victory against an enemy
army five times its size with only a few defending soldiers and residents.
·
The Unbreachable Town of Teigun
·
The Ironclad Town of Teigun
·
The Fortress City of Teigun
People praised Teigun
with such words.
This later became the
catalyst for an explosive increase in the number of settlers.
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