25. Chapter 25
The Four-Countries Alliance, which continued to make good progress due to the overwhelming force difference, began to show a decline on their momentums.
The Jaff Cavalry Battalion belonging to the Highserk Empire army was in a maneuver battle against the main force of the Craist Kingdom. Relentlessly attacked the side, rear, and protruding troops. Although Craist had more troops, they were having a hard time, since the cavalry was moving at high speed so it wasn’t easy to catch them.
The cavalry’s pursuit by the Order of Reharzen had some results, but sometimes the knights were invited to the pursuit, and sometimes they suffered painful damage due to the fishing tactic. If Craist soldiers were moving forward without following the instruction of soldiers of Ferrius and Myard, who were familiar with the local geography, they wouldn’t be able to keep their marching speed.
In addition, thorough destruction of highways and bridges, intentional landslides by earth-attribute magic were carried out on mountain passes and roads, such tactics to delay their movement was being carried out.
The progress of the soldiers of Liberitoa Trade Federation was also completely stopped at the Refn mine. The Liberitoa Trade Federation, which sent 7,000 soldiers to push against a battalion of enemies, suffered far more damage than expected.
With 1200 dead and 2000 injured, the enemies were still holding the mine and still alive. The fire by a small number of people at night was also serious, and the soldiers of the Liberitoa Trade Federation were starting to develop a fear of fire.
Emrid, who belonged to the infantry unit of the Liberitoa Trade Federation, his lips and throat were dry due to tension. Emrid was a company commander with 250 troops from his homeland, and the information he had was abundant compared to mere infantry.
He hadn’t given exact numbers of causalities to the others to prevent demoralization, but a whole company had already been sacrificed in a defense facility with walls and fortified towers that Emrid’s Company was trying to capture. His predecessor company commander was seriously injured and was carried to the back.
In addition to the Highserk army, the mountainous terrain was certainly a challenge, but what Emrid most worried about was a soldier who manipulated a fire called, 《Fire of Hell Gate》.
No one knew his name, but he was for sure a user of skill 《Demon Fire》, which was said to have atrocious power and cause widespread damage. He manipulated the clingy blue fire and strong winds, causing fatal damage to the area with packed troops.
In fact, the platoon that was on the offensive suffered 21 deaths and 14 serious and minor injuries in a single battle, and was now thinking about reorganization. Among the corpses was the Platoon Commander. As a Platoon Commander, he should be good at manipulating mana and should be able to withstand a little high temperature than other ordinary foot soldiers, but the reality was that he had been turned into a dying bonfire that illuminated the battlefield.
Since then, considering what had happened, they abandoned the thought of pushing the attack and changed the attack method to slowly strangling and killing. Emrid took the lead and dug a trench in a winding manner.
That way, they steadily approached the wall, and finally, Emrid’s Company was in time for a mass assault.
In front of the total attack, the soldiers sprinkle water on their bodies as a measure against 《Demon Fire》. Some even smeared mud all over their bodies.
No one laughed at the soldiers in mud, who had started to look like crazy people, as they saw their colleagues get burned to death, instead, more and more smeared their bodies with mud as well. To tell the truth, Emrid himself wanted to get rid of the mud, but as the commander, it was important for him to be an example of his comrades.
“Begin the attack!!”
The short orders propagated in a blink of an eye, the entire company flooding toward the walls.
Throwing was started at the soldiers overflowing from the trench. Slightly later, an ice lance and lump of earth, knocked down the soldiers.
Still, only a few soldiers fell. The soldiers had already reached the bottom of the wall and hung a ladder. The fierce resistance by the Highserk so far was like a lie.
Emrid thought that he might be able to attack and take the mine today, but he felt like his skin was tingling and hurriedly turned to a corner of the ramparts.
At the place where the soldiers were trying to enter, the hot air spread around, and just like that, a blue flame blew out.
“Re-retreat!!”
Those who climbed the ladder quickly rolled down, and hid behind a shield or trench.
“Stop the attack, go back to the trench!!”
Some who were climbing the ramparts literally chose to jump down, and escaped instant death, but four or five soldiers were still prey to the flames.
“Don’t move! Throw the soil quickly!!”
“That Demon Fire user bastard, Damn you!”
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The curse of a soldier who literally had a fire in his ass didn’t stop. Even so, the response was quicker than it was initially, and the damage was kept to a minimum.
Emrid jumped off the ladder, held the edge of the armor of a soldier with broken legs, dragged him with all his strength, and slid into the trench.
“Don’t he care about his surroundings!!?”
Until now, 《Demon Fire》had been aimed at the soldiers under the wall, but just now, the man even burned the ramparts he needed to protect.
The total attack was temporarily suspended as the fire was rising one after another in the ramparts.
There, Emrid felt uncomfortable. After all, it was too daring. Emrid, who had crawled around, noticed the true nature of the discomfort.
“… F*cking bastard, we’ll go back to the wall now. Moveee!!”
In the water, Emrid grabbed the unburned ladder and ran alone into the wall.
“Commander Emrid!?”
The voices of his subordinates confirming his intentions echoed, but they immediately followed their superior.
Emrid was ready and climbed the ladder at a high speed. There was still suffocating steam in the ramparts, but there was no figure.
“Those bastards, were slowly retreating their soldiers. They purposely burned everywhere as they retreat.”
Emrid kicked up a helmet that had been abandoned on the ground. Still, there was only a commander who commanded the company at a young age, and he gave orders to his subordinates one after another.
“The first platoon shall extinguish the fire, the second and third platoons shall be on the lookout. Do not raise the injured to the wall passage. There is a risk of counterattack. The fourth platoon and the rest shall send some scouts to patrol the area, I want to know what’s in front.”
The orders given were transmitted top-down, and the soldiers concentrated on their work. Albeit the delay, one of the key points had fallen. Still, Emrid wasn’t feeling well.
The scouts returned in about 30 minutes, and Emrid’s face, which received the report, became bitter as if he had eaten a worm.
“The enemy built an encampment not far. It was a complex one that combined trench and a quite deep empty moat.”
Emrid looked up at the sky, thinking about what he was afraid of. After the enemy used the wall as much as possible, they simply abandoned it and built an encampment in the back. While he was focusing on how to deal with the 《Demon Fire》 and other magic attacks the enemies were retreating their soldiers one after another.
Entrapped in deception, Emrid cursed his stupidity and was overwhelmed by the dexterity of the Highserk army. He couldn’t even say or express it.
He could only think that this was why a war against Highserk Empire wasn’t worth it.
Unlike the areas in Craist and Ferrius, it was a land that couldn’t be detoured, so they must cross the mine. Considering the damage and effort in the future, Emrid got even dizzy.
Emrid spun words to tell his subordinates and himself.
“Don’t be upset. After all, it’s a temporary encampment. The time for it is limited. It doesn’t have the height and robustness of a castle wall.”
《Demon Fire》 was used over a wide area of the wall. Considering the amount of mana consumed, it could only be used for a very limited time. It could be said that now would be the best time to attack.
Another company was waiting behind, but due to the development in the mine, instead of Emrid’s Company, which painstakingly dropped the ramparts, the other company would be the one to lead the attack, and they should be able to bring down the temporary encampment.
The problem was that although there were differences in the quality of the defense, there might be multiple temporary encampments. Emrid sympathized with the company in charge of the attack. Perhaps, more people wouldn’t be able to get the roasted meat through their throat for a while.