The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 281: Chapter 280: Living Together, Dying Together (3)



"Waahhhhh!"

The Desmond forces no longer needed siege towers. Without any resistance, they quickly pushed into the fortress.

Once the first unit breached the gates and opened them, the rest poured in more easily. They flooded into the vast fortress, filling it to capacity as they began forming their ranks. Harold's expression turned savage as he glared at the Fenris forces in the distance.

"Those wretched fools held us up for so long. Capture them and tear them apart!"

The Fenris forces had positioned themselves near the opposite gate, ready to retreat at any

moment.

They had fortified their position between several buildings, waiting in formation. In front of them stood tightly packed barricades to prepare for close combat.

The barricades would allow a smaller force to hold off a larger one.

"Waahhhhh!"

The Desmond forces roared again, surging forward like a tidal wave. Knowing that arrows would be ineffective, they simply used their numbers to overwhelm.

Thud!

At the front stood Gillian, his body wrapped in bandages. He held a massive halberd.

His poor condition meant he intended to make the most of the reach advantage.

Gillian glanced briefly at the sky.

Dark clouds were beginning to obscure the sky. A fierce wind blew through the fortress, signaling the start of battle once more.

"It's going to be a long night."

Taking a deep breath, Gillian looked straight ahead. His eyes burned with resolute determination.

"Get ready."

Clatter!

At Gillian's command, the Fenris knights and soldiers raised their spears in unison. Boom!

The spears of the Desmond and Fenris forces clashed. As in the first battle, the Fenris forces' defense was overwhelming.

"Arghhh!"

The vanguard of the Desmond army fell easily. It was an inevitable outcome.

Harold, having already fought the Fenris forces once, was well aware of their capabilities. Shing!

As the soldiers at the front fell, the Desmond knights emerged from behind, swinging their swords.

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard, the Fenris soldiers' armor tore apart like paper.

Galbanium armor was lightweight but no stronger than steel. It couldn't withstand the mana- infused blades of the knights.

Boom!

But whenever Gillian swung his halberd, the approaching Desmond knights were struck down, their heads split open.

"In these narrow passages, we have the advantage! Hold your ground as long as possible!" Vwooom-!

Light burst forth from the gaps in the Fenris knights' armor. After days of recovery, they fought with a frenzy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gillian and the knights mercilessly cut down the advancing Desmond forces within their range. Even the surprise attacks from Desmond's knights met the same fate.

No one could break through the Fenris forces' line.

Even the magic launched from the Desmond army's rear had little effect.

Vwooom-!

Whenever light flashed from the Fenris knights' armor, incoming fireballs dissipated harmlessly.

With Willow incapacitated, low-circle magic was useless against them.

In the rear, the Fenris soldiers, with bows drawn, targeted the Desmond forces. Thanks to Gillian and the knights holding the narrow passage, they could focus on ranged attacks instead of close combat.

"Fire!"

Thwip!

At Gillian's shout, a volley of arrows rained down on the Desmond rear.

"Arghhh!"

Screams erupted, but the damage wasn't severe.

Following Harold's orders, shield bearers had raised large shields to protect their allies.

Ultimately, the battle's outcome hinged on the clash between the front lines of both armies. "Do not falter! Hold your ground!"

Unafraid of death, Gillian fought without reservation. His halberd swept through the air like the wind, slashing, cleaving, and stabbing enemy after enemy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

But his body was far from normal. The more he moved, the more unbearable pain wracked

him.

Before long, Gillian's body was drenched in blood. Half of it was from his enemies, and the other half was his own, from wounds reopening.

"Urgh...!"

Even so, he gritted his teeth and didn't stop attacking. His eyes still burned with fierce intent,

his aura radiating determination and bravery.

The knights, inspired by Gillian, fought with equal ferocity.

"Arghhh!"

"Push forward!"

"Just a little more!"

The battlefield was filled with chaotic noise. Screams and the clashing of weapons were

unending.

Faced with such intense resistance, the Desmond forces tried to use their numerical

advantage.

"Encircle them! Encircle them!"

Following the commanders' orders, Desmond soldiers climbed nearby buildings and began

shooting arrows and casting spells.

While they couldn't inflict significant damage, they aimed to destabilize the formation

through accumulated pressure.

Some troops maneuvered to attack the Fenris forces from the rear.

But the Fenris forces weren't idle spectators.

"Counter them!"

Fenris archers had a clear advantage. The Desmond forces on the buildings fell without

achieving much, unable to put sufficient pressure on the Fenris soldiers.

Thanks to their rear guard's efforts, the Fenris front line could focus entirely on the enemies

before them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fenris knights' crimson-stained armor reflected the brutal nature of the battle.

Still, holding off the advancing army became increasingly difficult. Mana and stamina were

steadily depleting.

The Fenris knights' movements visibly slowed. Both sides could see that exhaustion was

setting in.

"Now! Push harder!"

Sensing weakness, the Desmond forces pressed forward with renewed vigor.

The Fenris line faltered and began to retreat.

Seeing this, Gillian shouted again.

"First line, fall back! Second line, forward!"

The knights in the front fell back, while fresh knights moved forward and attacked with

incredible speed.

Swish-swish-swish!

"Arghhh!"

The Desmond vanguard crumbled in an instant. The Fenris forces swiftly reformed their

ranks, and the tide turned, forcing the Desmond forces to retreat.

The Fenris forces fought with remarkable efficiency.

Using their equipment and terrain, they held their own against the overwhelming army.

"Switch out!"

Whenever a knight showed signs of fatigue, Gillian rotated them out. This was only possible because he held the line at the very front.

At some point, the ground before the Fenris line was littered with Desmond corpses, making

it impossible to move without stepping on them.

To advance, the Desmond forces had to clear their fallen, which momentarily halted the

fighting.

Seeing the steadfast Fenris forces, fear began to creep into the hearts of the Desmond

soldiers.

"They're monsters... a devil's army..."

"How are they holding us off with so few men...?"

"Is Fenris full of people like this?"

No matter how they pressed, the line wouldn't break. After such prolonged fighting, they

should have collapsed from exhaustion, but their resolve remained unbroken.

Harold, too, felt a mix of awe and rage as he looked at the Fenris forces.

"These bastards..."

Their skill was beyond belief. He had known they were strong, but he hadn't expected them to

endure this long.

So many of his proud elite soldiers had fallen to those wretched fools. At this rate, the losses would only increase until every last one of them was subdued.

The enemy's superior equipment and favorable position had nullified the advantage of

numbers.

"Pull the soldiers back. We'll reorganize the ranks. Summon Baron Hutton and Willow, and place the strongest knights at the front."

Baron Hutton and Willow were injured, but there was no choice. If the enemy's front line was

this formidable, they had to respond in kind.

Of course, Harold didn't plan to engage them head-on without strategy. He admitted to himself that his anger had blinded him, causing him to act hastily.

"Adjust the catapults to target those rats. Reduce everything around them to rubble, leaving

them nowhere to hide."

Rumble!

The catapults outside the fortress moved closer.

Harold didn't expect to kill the Fenris forces outright with the catapults. The enemy could always move to another location outside their range.

But if everything around them was destroyed, surrounding them would become much easier.

As the catapults were being readied and the attack prepared to resume, a soldier approached

Harold.

"The enemy... has disappeared."

"What?"

"They seemed to retreat slowly at first, but then opened the gate on the opposite side of the

fortress and fled."

Grit.

Harold clenched his teeth. The enemy had never intended to defend the fortress. It had always

been about stalling for time.

Letting out a long, seething breath, Harold asked.

"Casualties?"

"Approximately... 3,000 soldiers have died so far."

|| ||

Harold tilted his head back slightly, looking up at the sky.

The dark night was now giving way to the faint light of dawn.

Between the first skirmish and the battle through the night, he had lost 3,000 elite troops.

The enemy was truly monstrous.

It was understandable. If all 100 of their knights were fighting, such results weren't

impossible.

Especially when fighting defensively in a bottleneck like this.

He surveyed the surroundings. The fortress had been reduced to ruins, barely deserving to be

called one anymore.

While it was a strategically important point, capturing it had cost him over 3,000 troops and

valuable time.

'I should have killed him sooner.'

All of this was because Ghislain had been allowed to live.

From the moment Ghislain interfered with his plans, he should have done whatever it took to

eliminate him. Harold had underestimated him, and the cost of that mistake was steep and

bitter.

"Haah..."

Harold closed his eyes, trying to calm his emotions.

His rage boiled within him, nearly unbearable, but the enemy was already gone. Losing his

temper now would only unsettle the soldiers.

It wasn't too late. Now that the fortress was secured, a direct road led to Fenris Castle.

He needed to move quickly and seize the lord's castle. Once Ghislain and his followers were butchered, all his anger would be resolved.

Suppressing his emotions with effort, Harold spoke in a low voice.

"We depart immediately. Take only the minimum rations and march. The main force will

move ahead to encircle Fenris Castle, while the engineers and supply units follow as quickly

as possible."

The soldiers were undoubtedly exhausted, but there was no choice. Rest would have to wait until Fenris Castle was under siege.

The Desmond forces swiftly reorganized and began moving toward Fenris Castle.

Traveling along the road, their large army moved at an impressive pace.

After two days of uninterrupted travel, they set up camp for a brief rest.

That's when they were suddenly attacked.

"Ambush!"

Gillian and his knights, who had escaped the fortress, launched a surprise attack on the

Desmond army's camp.

The well-trained Desmond soldiers weren't lax in their vigilance. They quickly responded to

the intruders with the discipline they had been taught. However, the Fenris forces killed a few weaker soldiers and retreated immediately. Being a

large and cumbersome army, the Desmond forces couldn't easily pursue the small, nimble

group.

Although they had effectively repelled the attack, the aftermath wasn't over. Fighting meant

they needed time to recover and reorganize.

"Clear the bodies!"

"Reorganize the scouts and pursuit units!" "Report remaining troop numbers!"

Commanders shouted orders from all directions, trying to restore order to the camp.

Once again, the Desmond forces lost precious time due to the Fenris forces' ambush.

Harold ground his teeth as he looked at the chaotic campsite.

"Those bastards again..."

He had thought the only real nuisance in the Fenris territory was Ghislain. The man's history

of cunning moves was well-known.

But he hadn't expected even his subordinates to be such a thorn in his side.

Because of them, the march had slowed considerably. Over 15 days had already been spent

capturing one fortress and advancing.

And Fenris Castle was still a considerable distance away. Between here and there lay plenty of

forests and mountains where the Fenris forces could hide.

"These rats are playing games on their home turf, are they?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

At Harold's words, his adjutant responded. "At this rate, it will take over two weeks just to reach the castle."

"We can't keep letting them dictate the pace. Increase the marching speed."

"But... increasing the pace will weaken our ability to respond to ambushes and significantly

drain the soldiers' stamina and morale."

Harold glared at his adjutant with piercing eyes.

"Do it anyway. If the rats have nowhere to hide, they'll eventually come out. We don't have

time to waste."

"...Understood."

Harold didn't bother hiding the killing intent boiling within him.

"The enemy commander's name is Gillian, isn't it? I'll make sure to chew him alongside

Ghislain."

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