Chapter 369: Everyone Can Hold Out, Right? (2)

The swordsmanship manual Ghislain had given Kaor in the past included techniques for dual-wielding. Surprisingly, it turned out to suit Kaor's fighting style quite well.

"Sure, it doesn't have the same satisfying impact, but the movement feels so much smoother."

Kaor's combat style had always ignored defense, focusing instead on striking his opponent's vital points with precision.

For him, dual-wielding added another attack route, making it an excellent technique. He felt like he'd been missing out by not knowing about it earlier.

Swinging his two swords faster than anyone else, Kaor cut down enemy soldiers at an incredible speed.

Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!

"What is this guy?!"

"Why is he so fast?!"

"This must be Count Fenris!"

To ordinary soldiers, Kaor's attacks were completely overwhelming. It wasn't surprising that they mistook him for Ghislain.

Under the dark night sky, blue lines of light streaked through the air as enemy heads fell one after another.

Kaor's eyes glimmered with a faint blue light, a result of his excessive mana use. He resembled a beast stalking its prey in the dark.

Thanks to Kaor's relentless assault, a path opened momentarily through the enemy's ranks.

"Hey! Jump down quickly! Use all your strength now!"

Kaor, however, didn't jump down himself. He stayed at the edge of the wall, swinging his swords wildly. His body was already drenched in blood.

Ziiing—!

The knights' armor activated simultaneously. Although hidden under their robes, bursts of light shone through the gaps.

The knights' movements became incomparably faster than before.

Boom! Boom!

"Aaaargh!"

The suddenly enhanced knights mowed down the surrounding soldiers in the blink of an eye. Clearing the path ahead, they leaped down from the wall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

'Break only one arm and survive.'

The knights, cushioning their fall with mana-enhanced bodies and using proper landing techniques, landed safely. But it wasn't over.

The enemy commander shouted as soon as he saw them.

"Stop them! Don't let them open the gate!"

The soldiers climbing the wall immediately turned back, rushing toward the gate.

Meanwhile, those already stationed on the wall hastily descended the stairs in a panic.

Kaor landed at the bottom of the wall and shouted.

"Hold them off! A few of you, come with me to open the gate!"

But instead of holding the line, every knight rushed to follow Kaor. Not a single one stayed behind to block the enemy.

"You idiots! You and you, follow me! The rest of you, block them! Block them! They're coming!"

Kaor, exasperated, had to assign specific knights to stay behind. Only then did the others reluctantly turn back with disappointed looks.

"Waaaaah!"

The soldiers charged forward, forcing the knights to grit their teeth and step up to intercept them.

The situation was even more dangerous than on the wall. The open space made it easier for the soldiers to surround them.

Boom! Boom!

When the two sides clashed, screams and sprays of blood filled the air. Some soldiers bypassed the knights and headed straight for the gate.

The knights quickly chased them down and killed them, but gaps inevitably formed in their defenses.

Even with the knights' superior skills, they couldn't hold back such overwhelming numbers.

Fortunately, while the knights temporarily held the soldiers at bay, Kaor and his team reached the gate. They quickly began turning the crank to lift the portcullis.

Creeeeak…

The portcullis began to rise, but soldiers evaded the knights and rushed toward them.

Kaor stepped forward, cutting down the approaching soldiers as he yelled.

"Open the gate, fast!"

Slice! Slice! Slice!

Kaor's swords danced with unprecedented agility. Having fought countless monsters, he had become a master of chaotic combat.

As Kaor held off the soldiers, the remaining knights finally managed to open the gate.

Thud!

Watching from a distance, Ghislain smiled and raised his hand.

"Everyone's improved a lot. Let's go."

Neigh!

Pulling on the reins, Ghislain urged black king forward. The horse let out a long cry, signaling the impending defeat of Baron Dacre's territory.

The black king, blending into the shadows, galloped swiftly. Behind it, Fenris' knights followed.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of galloping hooves shook the ground. Preoccupied with the Fenris Assault Corps, the Dacre forces failed to notice Ghislain and his knights approaching.

By the time they realized, it was too late.

The commanders of Dacre's forces turned pale as they saw the enemy closing in.

"Shut the gate! Close the gate now!"

A commander on the wall shouted desperately, but the soldiers were still tangled up with the Assault Corps.

Even those who reached the gate couldn't close it. They had to get past the red-haired man first, but no one could kill him.

It seemed like they might exhaust him soon, but the reinforcements were arriving faster than expected.

"What do we do?"

"We have to kill that guy."

"Hurry, attack him!"

The soldiers murmured nervously, hesitating to act.

The blood-covered man grinning savagely was terrifying.

He stood still, holding a sword in each hand, yet no one dared approach him.

Even bypassing him to shut the gate seemed impossible. They knew he wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Caught in their indecision, they froze until Ghislain, leading the charge, stretched out his hand.

Fwoosh!

Red mana spears materialized in mid-air. Dozens of spears flew over the gate, piercing through the enemy soldiers.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Aaargh!"

The soldiers hesitating near the gate were skewered on the spot.

"A mage! There's a mage!"

The soldiers screamed in panic, but their allied mage hadn't been seen in days.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Other soldiers noticed the enemy knights storming through the open gate.

Despite their superior numbers, they had failed to overwhelm even the smaller group of attackers.

Seeing the enemy forces pouring through the gate, the soldiers made a choice.

"The enemy is flooding in!"

"Run! We can't win!"

"This place is lost!"

At someone's shout, the soldiers turned and fled, some discarding their weapons to run faster.

But the Fenris knights were already upon them.

Boom!

"Aaargh!"

The soldiers, all infantry, had no chance against mounted knights.

As 350 knights charged through, hundreds of soldiers were trampled underfoot.

Rumors had long spread that raiders wouldn't spare anyone, even those who surrendered.

Terrified, the soldiers screamed and scattered in all directions.

Watching the slaughter, Kaor finally collapsed to the ground.

"Ugh! I'm exhausted! Did we really have to do all this?"

Though muttered to himself, everyone knew who he was addressing.

The other knights involved in the operation also slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

"Wow, today was brutal. This training is insane."

"It's been a while since I got injured."

"If we'd been a little slower, I'd have died today."

Despite their exhaustion, they lay on the ground, cursing and laughing.

They had survived, after all.

From the start, they believed they wouldn't fail. If it had been truly dangerous, their lord would have intervened.

Since Ghislain had called it training, it meant success was possible. Pushing them to their limits was just his way of training.

Clearing out the demoralized soldiers was easy. The Fenris knights, storming into the castle, swiftly dealt with the remaining enemies.

Most of the soldiers were killed, with only a few managing to escape.

"Waaaaah!"

"We won!"

"Time to loot again!"

The knights cheered and laughed. Those who hadn't been part of the Assault Corps couldn't have been happier.

As the revelry continued, Ghislain pointed to the gate and ordered, "Close the gate."

Everyone knew they were being pursued.

The knights quickly shut the gate and climbed the walls.

Before long, they saw countless torches approaching in the distance—a massive army sent by Marquis Rodrick and his vassals.

Their appearance so soon meant they had been monitoring the battle closely.

"They're really planning to trap and starve us out."

"More like making sure the lord can't escape."

"They're all here now. This won't be easy."

Forces approached from three directions.

Unlike the previous skirmishes, this army likely included a significant number of knights.

The enemy didn't attack immediately. Instead, they surrounded the castle, set up their camps, and waited.

Ghislain smirked as events unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.

"So, they plan to starve us out to weaken us?"

He was impressed by their strategy. Sacrificing a castle and 3,000 troops as bait was a bold move, befitting a grand lord of the kingdom.

"Check the castle's food supplies and search for any remaining officials."

Seeing no immediate threat of battle, Ghislain decided to focus on regrouping. The knights spread out to scour the castle thoroughly. After several hours, they dragged a few people back.

"Please, spare us!"

"We're innocent!"

"The lord and his close aides have already fled!"

Looking at the weeping officials, Ghislain asked, "When did they escape?"

"They… they fled three days ago, taking all the valuables with them."

"They left the soldiers behind?"

"Yes, that's right. Only the knights accompanied them."

"Then why did the soldiers stay and fight?"

One of the officials hesitated, glancing around nervously, before replying cautiously,

"The soldiers didn't know the lord had fled. It was kept an absolute secret."

"And you?"

"We… we stayed behind… to hold the line…."

"Be honest."

Ghislain's expression was unreadable, and the official lowered his head in surrender.

"We… We were planning to escape tomorrow. The food had already run out."

Ghislain turned to Gillian, who promptly reported,

"The food stores are empty. According to my findings, even tomorrow's rations were distributed to the soldiers. They likely would've fled in another day or two. There are no siege weapons left in the castle either."

Ghislain turned back to the officials and asked,

"What about the food for the people in the castle?"

"It's been mostly confiscated. Most of the residents have fled with the lord."

"Why would they follow someone like that?"

The official glanced at Ghislain nervously before explaining,

"There were rumors… that the 'Raider King' was coming to kill everyone…."

"The 'Raider King'?"

"Yes, that's the nickname you've earned."

Ghislain chuckled wryly at the remark. He had only acted as a raider king back in his territory as part of a charade, but he didn't expect to be genuinely called that in the west.

The other knights couldn't help but snicker as well, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Ghislain sighed and asked, "And they followed him just because of those rumors?"

"Those who refused were taken by force. The lord claimed it would be better to have more people when they eventually returned to the castle…."

Even while fleeing, the lord had the audacity to think of his future advantage. It was impressive in a way, though it was clear he acted on the belief that they would ultimately win.

"And the soldiers knew all this but still stayed?"

"The soldiers believed the rations were being stockpiled for battle. They also thought the residents had been safely evacuated."

Such cunning schemes. The lord had deliberately left his soldiers to die as bait, lying to them to keep them fighting until the end. The remaining officials likely stayed behind to placate the soldiers and manage their eventual escape.

Satisfied with the information, Ghislain nodded, and the knights dragged the officials away.

"W-wait! Please, spare us!"

Greedy as they were, they quickly caught on to their likely fate. Ghislain ignored their pleas and turned his gaze outward, looking beyond the castle walls.

"Hmm, everything's going as planned… I wonder when they'll make their move."

Kaor wiped blood from his face with a rag and spoke.

"We're going to fight eventually, right? You expected this from the start."

"Of course. This is the perfect opportunity to weaken them. Rarely does a chance come to kill so many without worrying about justification."

"Then why not rest a bit and attack at dawn? There's no food here anyway."

Ghislain shook his head.

"We wait until they attack."

"Why? Again?"

"To give the mercenaries more time to safely transport the loot."

"Ah!"

Ghislain had plundered seven territories already. While this eighth castle didn't hold much left to take, the earlier raids had yielded a significant haul. Moving all the loot required substantial manpower and time.

Mercenaries from across the region were rushing to help transport the goods, but they had only moved about half so far.

Looking at the enemy forces encamped outside, Ghislain smirked.

"To maximize our haul and ensure safety, we have to use this opportunity. Their attention is entirely focused on us."

The Marquis Rodrick's forces had ignored Ghislain's prior raids, allowing him to reach this point uncontested. They had wanted him to take the bait.

As a result, Ghislain had raided freely, while the mercenaries transported goods without interference. He had also instructed them to flee immediately if enemy forces appeared.

But with the enemy preoccupied here, the remaining loot was safe for now.

After organizing his thoughts, Ghislain turned to his knights and said,

"All right, everyone, let's take it easy for a while. Even without food, you can endure, right?"

His cheerful tone made the knights' faces darken with dismay.

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