The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 277: Chapter 276: I Will Buy Us Time (3)



"Huh?"

The soldiers emerging from the siege towers were confronted with a situation they had never experienced before.

Boom!

Gillian was the first to leap into a siege tower, wielding his axes with ferocious intensity.

One by one, the knights followed him, storming into the siege towers.

Boom! Boom!

Screams erupted within the cramped confines of the siege towers as Desmond's soldiers fell prey to the sudden assault.

"Aaaaah!"

"What the hell is this?"

"Hold the line! Hold them off!"

The interior of the siege towers was much narrower than they had anticipated, forcing Desmond's soldiers into tight quarters.

Buzzing!

As the knights of Fenris moved, the bright light emanating from their armor flared brilliantly.

Using their enhanced strength and speed, they mercilessly slaughtered the soldiers packed tightly around them.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Their weapons moved so quickly they became a blur. Each swing decapitated heads and pierced bodies, leaving devastation in their wake.

At that moment, every knight of Fenris wielded power akin to a high-level knight. Even Desmond's elite soldiers couldn't withstand such force.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of their strikes reverberated through the siege towers, causing the very walls to shudder.

The Fenris knights fought with unrelenting intensity. Their mana surged wildly, saturating the air with its presence.

—"The first strike must be overwhelming. Only then can you break the enemy's momentum. Especially if we are outnumbered."

This was a lesson Ghislain had drilled into them during every training session. The knights remembered it well.

And now, they had to put that lesson into action.

'If we falter now, they will keep pouring in!'

The same thought consumed them all. Their enhanced strength came with a time limit, so they had to make the most of it while they could.

Their goal was to break the enemy's spirit and force them to retreat. If they failed, the enemy's reinforcements would only continue to flood in.

The knights fought with reckless abandon, throwing their lives on the line as they unleashed their full might.

Boom!

"Aaaaah!"

The soldiers of Desmond fell one after another, unable to react to the sudden ferocity of the attack.

This was the power of knights willing to sacrifice everything. With strength nearing that of high-level knights, the Fenris knights prevented even a single enemy from leaving the siege

towers.

Among them, Gillian stood out as the most fearsome.

Each siege tower housed close to ten knights, but Gillian was holding one tower by himself.

He was like a lion amidst a flock of sheep, tearing through his enemies with brutal efficiency. Crack!

Each swing of his axe cleaved through multiple bodies, and the sheer force of his strikes embedded his axe into the walls of the siege tower.

Boom! Boom!

Gillian's relentless assault caused the entire siege tower to tremble.

Even as the soldiers of Desmond scrambled to climb to the top, they were quickly annihilated.

"What, what is that monster?!"

"Push back! Push them back!"

"Damn it, get the knights up here!"

Gillian stood firm, blocking the stairs and slaughtering anyone who dared approach.

Desmond's strategy had been to send the siege towers forward first, allowing the soldiers inside to secure a foothold while scaling ladders would follow.

This meant that as long as the exits of the siege towers were blocked, the enemy had no way to attack.

In a narrow passage, a small number of powerful individuals could hold their ground. Gillian and the Fenris knights used this advantage to plug every opening.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Fenris were far from idle.

"Fire! Keep firing!"

From the highest points of the siege towers, Desmond's archers rained arrows down, attempting to suppress the Fenris soldiers.

But the Fenris troops were clad in full Galbanium plate armor. Even if they failed to block the

arrows with their shields, the armor protected them from significant harm.

Realizing the arrows posed little threat, the Fenris soldiers grew bolder in their

counterattacks.

Whoosh!

Fenris's archers returned fire, aiming for the tops of the siege towers.

"They're all wearing plate armor!"

"Our attacks aren't getting through!"

"Duck! Get down!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The archers atop the siege towers were thrown into disarray.

Simple arrows couldn't penetrate full plate armor. Without precise shots to vulnerable spots

like joints or necks, their efforts were futile.

One side faced certain death with every hit, while the other was nearly impervious. The

imbalance turned the tide in favor of Fenris.

By the time Desmond's soldiers began climbing the ladders, the archers atop the siege towers

had been nearly wiped out.

Yet, Desmond's forces pressed on undeterred.

"Climb! Overwhelm them with numbers!"

Responding to their commanders' cries, Desmond's soldiers roared and surged forward.

"Waaaaaaah!"

They swarmed up the ladders between the siege towers like ants.

"Hold the line!"

Gillian shouted, and some Fenris knights leaped out of the siege towers. Another knight

entered the one Gillian had been holding.

Half of the knights continued to block the exits of the siege towers, while the others intercepted the soldiers climbing the ladders.

Boom! Boom!

"Aaaaah!"

Even the climbing soldiers couldn't gain a foothold. Gillian, drenched in blood from head to

toe, relentlessly cut them down.

Unlike the knights, Gillian wore no special armor. He had already surpassed the limits that

such armor could offer, thanks to Ghislain's teachings.

While Gillian rampaged with unyielding ferocity, the other knights began to tire. The glow emanating from their armor dimmed noticeably.

'Damn it, my hands are shaking.'

'I'm running out of mana.'

'I can't hold out much longer.'

Much of their mana had been consumed defending against the initial magic barrage. Their

movements were visibly slowing.

Soon, they would collapse from exhaustion.

"Waaaaaaah!"

Yet the soldiers of Fenris filled in the gaps left by the faltering knights. Freed from the siege towers' suppression, they formed ranks and began pushing back the enemy.

Laughing heartily, Lucas stabbed his spear into an enemy and shouted.

"Haha! These bastards are actually doing pretty damn well!"

The Galbanium plate armor was proving its worth. Even Desmond's elite soldiers struggled to

penetrate it.

Buoyed by their superior equipment, Fenris's soldiers began to dominate the battlefield. Sensing the shift, dozens of Desmond's knights scaled the ladders and leaped onto the walls.

Clang!

"Ugh!"

One of Desmond's knights, channeling mana into his blade, slashed through a Fenris soldier's

armor, leaving a deep gash.

As the wounded soldier staggered, the knight moved in for the kill.

Boom! Gillian's axe flew through the air, splitting the knight's head in two before he could finish his

strike.

"Focus on the knights! Leave the soldiers for later!"

Gillian's roar echoed across the battlefield, rallying the Fenris knights to engage Desmond's

knights directly.

The clash was ferocious.

Buzzing-!

The Fenris knights' armor flared brightly once more, their mana surging to its limits.

'No point overthinking. Let's just die here today.'

Abandoning all thoughts of conservation, they poured everything into the fight.

Their mission had been to buy time, but that was no longer their concern.

The only thought in their minds now was to take down as many enemies as possible.

'If I'm going to die, I'm taking as many of you bastards with me as I can.'

Fueled by sheer desperation, the Fenris knights fought with a tenacity that left even

Desmond's knights shaken.

Boom!

"Damn it! What are these monsters?!"

Desmond's knights found themselves pushed back repeatedly, and many lost their lives in

quick succession.

Though they were elite, not all of them were high-level knights.

The power of the Fenris knights, enhanced by their armor to a level approaching high-ranking

knights, was insurmountable.

If Desmond's forces had been patient and taken their time, they could have won easily, but

none of them seemed to realize this. "More! Push harder! Leave no one alive!"

Gillian's face was like that of a demon, his eyes seemingly ablaze with fire.

'I have to hold on just a little longer and drive them back.'

He knew well that the power granted by the armor came with a time limit. Although the

duration had increased compared to before, he could feel that the limit was approaching.

But now was not the time to stop. Losing momentum in this first clash would render their presence meaningless.

'If we fall back now, it's over.'

If they faltered even once, the overwhelming army would descend upon them like a storm, leaving no chance to hold them back.

To delay even a little longer, they had to unleash their full strength and overpower the enemy

now. A strong initial showing would make the enemy more cautious in future engagements. "The more cautious they are, the more time it buys for the lord.' Stopping the enemy or defeating them outright wasn't possible. No matter how strong they

were, the sheer numbers of the enemy were insurmountable. The only thing they could do

was...

'Hold out until the lord arrives.'

With that resolve, Gillian continued to cut down his enemies.

"Hold strong! We can defend this!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, rallying the knights as he encouraged them. But amidst the

chaos, a sharp pain suddenly stabbed his side.

Thunk!

Turning his head, he saw one of Desmond's knights who had stealthily approached and

stabbed him with a sword. Despite the chaos of battle, the enemy had found an opening-a testament to their skill.

Gillian's lips twitched briefly.

The knight, convinced his attack had succeeded, twisted his mouth into a grin.

"Arrogant..."

Gillian immediately spun around, grabbing the knight's neck with a brutal grip.

"Guhhh!"

Crack!

That was the knight's last sound. Gillian, gripping the knight's neck, brought his axe down mercilessly, splitting the knight's head.

Gillian deliberately killed his enemies with even more brutality and savagery. Covered in

blood from head to toe, he rampaged like a feral beast, striking fear into Desmond's soldiers.

"Anyone who wants to die, come at me!"

BOOM!

Every step Gillian took with his axe in hand seemed to crack the ground beneath him. The mana-infused roar he let out felt like it could shatter the very air around him.

As Gillian advanced, Desmond's soldiers, whether knights or foot soldiers, hesitated and

backed away.

They stared at him in terror, as if looking at an insurmountable wall.

Gillian wasn't the only one. The knights in black armor were just as formidable. This

battlefield was filled with monsters.

"These... these monsters..."

"With only this many soldiers..."

"How could Fenris have such warriors..."

Desmond's forces let out hollow laughter. They couldn't believe it. Despite attacking with

overwhelming numbers, they were the ones being pushed back.

They hadn't expected Fenris to have so many powerful fighters, even beyond their count.

Even the soldiers, bolstered by their exceptional equipment, were fighting with skill nearing

that of low-level knights.

The Fenris army had a reputation for being formidable, and Desmond's soldiers had prepared

for a tough battle. They had steeled themselves for the challenge.

But this was beyond their imagination. This was no ordinary army. It was a force that

transcended reason.

Even Harold, watching the battle unfold from afar, was stunned.

'What... how... is this possible?'

He had committed 5,000 troops to this initial assault, intending to overwhelm the fortress in

a single strike.

Yet, his massive force had failed to breach the defenses. They hadn't even managed to inflict significant casualties on the enemy.

"This doesn't make any sense... Did Ghislain build an army like that?'

The ones clad in black armor were undoubtedly at the level of knights-at least mid-level in

skill.

Moreover, the soldiers were all equipped with full plate armor. This made it extremely

difficult for regular infantry to deal with them effectively.

To make matters worse, assuming that the enemy forces were all archers had been a mistake.

Their melee combat skills were also exceptional.

It was an army of merely 1,000, yet capable of contending against 10,000.

'I... really could have been killed by that bastard.'

A shiver ran down Harold's spine. Fenris had recently recruited a large force.

What if he had been even a little later?

Even if he had brought 100,000 soldiers, there was no guarantee he could have defeated

Ghislain.

Recruiting knights of that caliber was impressive enough, but the commander leading them

stood out even more.

He seemed to be on the same level as Viktor, who he had devoted his heart and soul to raising,

and who was aiming for the Northern First Sword... or maybe even higher.

His skill was remarkable, but his ferocity was unparalleled. His white hair, now dyed red with blood, symbolized his unrestrained, savage fighting style.

Such behavior was only possible for someone who had thrown their life away on the

battlefield.

Skilled personnel and soldiers equipped with powerful gear-when had Ghislain managed to

gather and train such forces?

Harold closed his eyes.

"This is fate. The heavens have blessed me.' Disregarding the Duke's orders and the balance with the Royalist faction, he had acted

recklessly. Such disregard for the future was uncharacteristic of him, but if he hadn't, he

would surely have been undone by that man.

'He's no mere upstart.'

After Viktor's loss, Harold had reluctantly acknowledged that Ghislain Perdium was both fortunate and capable. But even that assessment had been far too conservative. Ghislain wasn't just capable-he was a monster. A monster poised to overturn the kingdom. A

man with the depth of foresight and planning to build and prepare such a terrifying force.

Neither the Duchy nor Harold himself had truly understood who Ghislain was. That lack of understanding was why they had repeatedly fallen victim to him.

'It's fortunate...'

He felt fortunate to have realized it now. At least now he understood who Ghislain truly was.

What he was preparing for, and what he was waiting for.

'So that's it. That bastard was the one waiting for a civil war.'

No one knew exactly when a civil war would break out. That decision lay with the Duchy.

But if it were up to Ghislain, he would undoubtedly have initiated the war himself as soon as

his preparations were complete.

He would have aimed to swallow the North whole with this terrifying army.

'Enough. This war will end him.'

The troops in front of him were undoubtedly formidable, but they numbered only 1,000. Against overwhelming numbers, they would inevitably fall.

Having settled his thoughts and resolved himself, Harold raised his hand.

"Baron Hutton."

"Yes, my lord."

At Harold's call, a middle-aged man approached and offered a slight bow. He was Baron

Hutton, a vassal of Desmond, the lord of Hutton Barony, and a knight renowned for his exceptional skill. "Can you kill the enemy commander? The one who moves like a lion with a white mane?"

Baron Hutton narrowed his eyes and gazed at the walls. After a moment of studying Gillian's

movements, he gave a slight nod and said, "Consider it done."

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