LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 18 - Refugees and Thieves (4)
In my chambers, the Captain of the Knights of Axel came to my office and held out a piece of paper.
“My lord, a report from the messenger.”On the paper I took, a letter was written.
[Dear Great Lord,
This is chief of the village Hobion. Our village has been captured by the Black Wolves and we have been taken hostage. We are 82 people in total, 21 of whom are children.
Please take pity on us and save us.]
Eric asked Axel with a frown,
“Have you read this?” “Yes, my lord. It’s a trap. They’ll try to kill you if you leave.” “That’s what I think.”Axel sealed his lips and sighed.
“I don’t like it, but I’d suggest conscripting a large force of the estates’ people and then proceeding to exterminate them.”A safe method, but also a useless one.
The Black Wolves would flee as soon as we set out with a large enlisted force.
And then take another town hostage. It’s a waste of money and time.
”No more recruitment. Use other methods.” “Anything we do is risky at this point.”I’ve thought of other options. Using the barrel trick, making myself the bait, and so on, but I didn’t think they’d catch on.
‘Well, if he’s a knight, the trick won’t work, so we might as well go the straightforward route.’
After much deliberation, I instructed Axel to organize the raiding party. It’s a squad of knights and enlisted men. This time, we’re going all out.
The mountain village of Hobion has been taken over by the Black Wolves.
“Move quickly, we’re running out of time!”The bandits are rushing the villagers. They’re reinforcing the village’s wooden fences and digging traps underneath.
The chief of Hobion grinds his teeth as he hauls wood.
‘Bastards, they’re just as ragged as my people, just as we are!’
He couldn’t understand why they had taken over his village, a poor place where rye and oats were the basic food.
Moreover, the residents were often enslaved and beaten by the bandits. The number of injured people was already over ten.
‘If I only know this would happen, I would have tried to resist…’
He knew that if he resisted, they would all be wiped out, but he couldn’t bear it if he kept quiet.
The village chief clicked his tongue and shook his head.
He wished that Eric, of Marseille, the lord blessed by the gods, would come and kill all these bandits.
But then one of the bandits pointed to the sky.
“Boss, there’s a pigeon from the lord’s castle.”It was equipped with a marker, never gets lost and flies exactly to the marked map of its destination.
Thanks to this, the pigeon was able to deliver the news safely from the castle to this village.
As the bandit tries to untie the letter from the pigeon’s ankle, Anton came and asked him.
“What does it say?” “The lord has set out with knights and soldiers. Pierre is not with them, and Axel, the knight leader, is in the lead.” “Hahaha, now the lord of this land will be in my hands!”The leader of the bandits doesn’t seem to mind that he’s going to cut the lord’s head off.
But neither the bandits around him nor the villagers think to stop him.
With fist clenched and laughing loudly, Anton turned to his men and said,
“Get ready, everyone, the battle is about to begin.” “Yes, sir!”Even a lord would be helpless against a siege in a village. If the marauders wore him down, they would have a chance to cut his throat.
Anton’s fist trembled slightly in expectation of a lord’s death at his hands.
The thought of slitting Eric’s throat and returning to Dijon with his gold.
But Anton was not alone in his delusions.
We left the castle and camped for two days before reaching the village of Hobion.
“Phew, it’s a long way, a village with no transportation.”I grumbled as my legs hurt.
While my men set up camp, I stared at the wooden fence surrounding the village, trying to measure the enemy’s defense.
“They’ve built a strong defense. This is going to be tough.”I needed the advice of someone who had fought through fences and obstacles.
“Get Raul.”The soldier ran to find him.
Of all my men, he’s the one with the most combat experience, so I decided to asked his opinion first.
“My lord, you asked for me?”I asked Raul, pointing at the wooden fence,
“Do you think we can break through and rush in to that?” “Not with this number of men. We need more troops.”He jabbed a finger at the bottom of the wooden fence.
“There’s a trap at the bottom. If we don’t fill it, it’s impossible to get over the fence.” “And if we do clear it?” “It’s still hard. There’s probably an emplacement wall behind the wooden fence, or they’ve propped it up with logs, and it’s hard enough to break through it with four or five times the power of a soldier.”In other words, it’s a siege.
An ordinary mountain village has become a castle in a field.
Then someone climbed over the village’s wooden fence. I looked at him and noticed that he was an intermediate Sword Expert.
I pointed at him and told Raoul,
“He must be the boss.” “Hmm. He’s in a higher level than me.” “Can you tell?To recognize a difference in skill, one must be skilled in the use of mana. It requires an experienced knight of Sword Expert rank or higher.
Raul gestured with his hands,
“It’s pretty much like this.”As geniuses often say.
I recognized it, but I couldn’t help but smirk at his words.
“Why are you still an advanced Sword User?” “I guess.” “Because you don’t train. Look at Martin. He trains all the time, and he’s better than you.” “Sir Martin is a genius.”As far as I’m concerned, they’re the same.
Martin’s flaw was lack of application, and Raul’s flaw was laziness.
If they were on the same level, they would be effective together.
“Raul, when you return to the manor, you will be trained by Sir Pierre.” “Hmph! I don’t like it. Sir Pierre beats people.” “You grow from being beaten.” “Where did you learn to talk like such a stinky old man?”Old man, you say?
Somehow I knew. It really does stink.
When he was sniffing my clothes.
The bandit leader at the top of the tree shouted,
“I am Anton, leader of the Black Wolves, and I challenge you to a fight!”Martin and Axel heard it and came to protect me.
Anton, who spotted me from their position, jumped down and ran towards me.
Based on the speed, it looked like he would get to me a few seconds faster than Martin and Axel.
“Raul, take this one.”He grabbed the hammer and pulled the auror up.
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch it again as many times as I can.” “Oh, no. Martin and Axel will interfere.”As soon as he finished speaking, Anton, who had reached the ground, drew his longsword and charged.
— Bam!The hammer struck once, and Raul instantly jumped back.
At the same time, they both attacked Anton with their weapons.
— Clang!Three swords of equal skill clashed, the sound of blades sharpening.
Anton smiled,
“My name is Anton. What are your names?” “I’m Ax—” “My name is Martin, you wretch, and are you not ashamed to be a knight!”Even from the corner of my eye, I could see Axel sulking slightly at being cut off.
But Martin was beyond outraged at the idea of a knight stealing.
“Boys. Go back to learning how to hold a sword. You suck!” — Thud!Anton, who had just over-released his auror and knocked Martin and Axel’s swords away, charged straight at me.
“You lord of bastard, give me your head!” “Come on, come on.”I quickly drew my Soul Reaper and swung it, striking a chain of blows.
Clank, clank, clank—Anton was shocked as I followed up with a parry and a blade butt.
“You, Eric, are quite a swordsman.”said Anton.
“I’m offended to be praised by a lowly bandit.” “What?”At that moment, Martin and Axel charged at him again, causing him to step back.
“Enough with the talking, you arrogant lord. Get over the fence. Thwack—!”Anton slowly stepped back, and when he got a little distance, he rushed back to the wooden fence.
When Martin was sure it was safe, he came up to me.
“My lord, are you all right?”I waved a hand at the man’s loud voice.
“Better than that, do you think you can beat him?” “Of course, sir. Next time, I’ll cut his head off.”Martin talks like that all the time, and it doesn’t help when I need objective judgment, like now.
Glancing at Knight Commander Axel.
“Looks like that Anton guy got away with it. If he’d jumped us with an Auror and gone straight into the fray, one of us would have been badly hurt.” “I wasn’t letting him off the hook. The moment either of us got hurt, his head would have been blown off. It’s hard to go one-on-one.”Raul and I are outmatched, but it’s still four on one.
That means Anton’s not risking his life.
“My lord, why don’t you call for more troops now?” “That’s fine, we’ll attack tomorrow at first light. Inform the knights and soldiers.” “Yes, my lord.”That’s the great thing about Axel. No matter what you tell him, he doesn’t complain.
Raul took up the hammer and said,
“I’ll lead the charge, I’ll use this hammer to break the wooden fence.” “No. I’ll take the lead.”I said.
“What?”I smirked at the knights, who wondered what I meant.
Only Axel knew my intentions and asked,
“Are you going to build that great beast?”He was referring to the golem I’d formed. Axel must have been quite impressed with my golem and was looking forward to bringing it out.
“I see. If I make a golem out of that wooden fence, the obstacles will be gone.” “You mean you’re going to go all the way to the fence yourself? That’s risky… I’ll do my best to block it.Axel said it was risky, but he didn’t bother to stop me.
After all, it seemed like a good idea from his perspective.
Early the next morning.
Smoke from the cooking of breakfast rises from everywhere.
The men were eating breakfast before going into battle.
Raul, a former fighter, marveled at the sight,
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”There’s a myth in this world that fighting on a full stomach makes a person lighter. It’s a myth, of course, and has no basis in reality.
“Fighting isn’t a short battle, you need to eat something to last for hours, don’t you think?” “Well, if you’re hungry, you won’t last long.” “Yeah. Eat a lot of meat.”Part of me wants to give them protein supplements and vitamin drinks.
Anyway, after eating, the group checked their gear and lined up.
And then, as I stood in front of them, ready to charge.
The villagers climbed up the wooden fence. Their hands are tied together in a multi-weave. Martin was horrified at the sight.
“My lord, those bastards are using the villagers as shields!” “I see them, Martin, relax.”I turn around quickly to look at the raiding party.
Most of the soldiers are furious. No one wants an innocent villager pierced by their own spear. The soldiers can’t hide their hesitation.
‘This is troubling.’
We have to decide whether to attack or give up and turn back.
‘But if we pull back, sentiment may turn pessimistic. We must charge, even if it means taking some casualties.’
I turned to Axel and ordered,
“Lord Axel, change the formation to a wedge! We’re going through the main gate!” “Huh? Yes, my lord!”Axel had a moment of doubt, for the main gate of the village of Hobion looked incredibly sturdy.
Of course, I would be able to break through it if I used my golem formation, but there are knightly armies on the other side.
A single point charge at the gate could easily get my head blown off.
At the head of the line would be myself, Raul, Martin, and Axel.
They need to protect me while I form the golem at the front gate.
“Prepare to charge!” “Prepare to charge! Prepare to charge!”The chanting soldiers’ voices echoed loudly.
“First, I will form a Golem and send it on a charge, then follow it!” “Yes, my lord!”And I placed my hand on the bare ground.
“Golem formation.” Crackle—A large golem formed in the center of the battlefield.