Chapter 373: Let’s See Each Other Again Soon. (3)

The Rodrick army panicked upon realizing they were surrounded.

"We, we've been surrounded?"

"Block them! Hurry, block them!"

"Form ranks properly!"

The commanders shouted, but the Rodrick soldiers, paralyzed by the fear of being surrounded, couldn't move effectively.

Despite vastly outnumbering their opponents, they believed they had already lost.

They had struggled to capture just 400 enemies. Now, with their forces encircled, their minds froze in terror.

Boom!

"Arghhhh!"

The mercenaries plunged into the Rodrick forces. While their charge wasn't as destructive as the knights', their momentum and morale were equally fierce.

Dominic swung his sword with unmatched fervor, shouting.

"Time to avenge our brothers!"

Though the mercenaries from other regions may not have shared the same sentiments, those from the Drake Mercenary Corps mirrored Dominic's emotions.

'It's finally starting!'

Dominic's heart felt like it would burst. He hadn't expected the opportunity to fight the Rodrick army to come so soon.

It was a chance to avenge the oppression and slaughter of their families.

'Who would've thought our lord had such a power.'

In truth, neither Dominic nor the mercenaries had known about this battle. They had been focused solely on transporting resources as ordered by Ghislain.

Then, an unusual raven appeared and began speaking.

— Hey, Dominic.

— "What the—! Who's there? What is this?"

— Gather all the mercenaries and head to Castle Dacre immediately. A battle is about to begin. This is an order from my master, Count Fenris.

— "A raven… talking?"

At first, he was so startled he almost cut it down with his sword. The raven flapped its wings in panic, shouting.

— Show respect as you would to your lord! You insolent fool!

— "…Who the hell are you?"

— My name is Dark. Just think of me as a spirit sent by the master. Now, stop asking questions and gather all the forces in the west. Head to Castle Dacre. The Rodrick army has 20,000 troops besieging the castle.

— "How can I trust you?"

Dominic knew the lord had gone to Castle Dacre but found it hard to trust this mysterious creature.

The raven, as if anticipating this response, continued.

— Should I recite that collection of yours for everyone to hear? Let's start with the lord's…

— "Whoa, whoa! Hold on, stop!"

The thought of his prized possessions being revealed in public horrified Dominic. He almost struck the raven in earnest.

While the close members of the Drake Mercenary Corps were aware of his eccentricities, there were mercenaries from other regions present.

Dominic had built his authority and charisma to unite the mercenaries. He couldn't afford to have his private affairs exposed.

The raven smirked smugly, a very arrogant bird indeed.

— I'll explain the master's plan. Divide your forces and surround the enemy on three sides. Once the Fenris knights charge and create chaos, launch a joint assault. Got it?

— "Fine, fine… But we'll need to delay moving the supplies…"

— That's fine. You can take whatever you can carry on the way back. Move quickly; we don't know when the enemy will attack.

Dominic couldn't entirely dismiss the raven's words, but he couldn't fully trust it either.

Being experienced, Dominic gathered the mercenaries while sending scouts to investigate near Castle Dacre.

— "It's true. The Rodrick army is besieging Castle Dacre."

— "Damn it! Move quickly!"

The raven's words had been accurate. They didn't know when the siege would begin, so they had to act fast.

As a seasoned mercenary leader, Dominic was adept at organizing and mobilizing forces. Thanks to his efforts, the mercenaries moved swiftly.

Dark confirmed the approaching mercenaries and informed Ghislain, allowing him to confidently launch his attack first.

— "Well done, Dark. This is handier than I expected."

Using Dark, Ghislain could swiftly gather information about the battlefield and communicate instantly with allies within a certain range.

In other words, he now had a new set of eyes and a communication system for managing the battlefield.

Dominic and the Drake Mercenary Corps fought with a burning desire for revenge against the Marquis Rodrick.

"Leave no one alive!"

"This is our chance to weaken the marquis's power!"

"Fight without hesitation! Our fallen comrades are watching us from above!"

The Rodrick soldiers couldn't withstand the mercenaries' fervor.

"Arghhhh!"

One by one, the Rodrick soldiers fell in despair.

When fear takes hold, clear judgment becomes impossible. The Rodrick soldiers, overwhelmed by panic, believed they were surrounded by a force equal to their own.

"Get it together! Counterattack!"

"We outnumber them!"

"We can hold out even if we're surrounded!"

Some commanders shouted, but their voices barely reached the soldiers.

Even Howard, the commander-in-chief, was tied up with Ghislain, leaving no one to properly control the Rodrick forces.

Still, their sheer numbers prevented them from collapsing instantly. The longer the fight dragged on, the more the Fenris side would suffer.

This was why Ghislain had decided to unleash his full power.

Boom!

As Ghislain, surrounded by dark red energy, swung his spear, the bodies and weapons of the charging knights shattered.

The force was entirely different from before.

The knights attacking in succession were so startled that they stopped their horses.

"Not coming? Then I'll come to you."

The Black King surged forward in an instant, and the knights raised their weapons.

Boom!

"Urgh!"

But before they could lift their arms, Ghislain's spear had already severed their necks.

Fwoosh!

Dozens of dark red energy spears materialized around Ghislain. He no longer intended to conserve mana.

Shwoom!

The mana spears shot out in all directions. The nearest knights were pierced instantly.

The knights further away dared not even try to block them, choosing instead to evade. Some succeeded in stopping the spears, but only because they had already lost much of their force after tearing through allies.

Ghislain laughed as he watched.

"It's not that I'm weak."

The first time he used this technique in battle, his opponent had been Delmud, who had blocked dozens of spears with a mere gesture.

That had made him doubt the effectiveness of the skill. But now, he realized it wasn't the technique that was weak—it was simply that Delmud had been exceptionally strong. Against ordinary knights, it worked perfectly.

— Master! This is consuming mana too quickly! You'll faint again! 

Dark cried out urgently.

To Dark, Ghislain's overexertion seemed unnecessary when victory was only a matter of time.

But Ghislain shook his head at Dark's protest.

"I always say this."

As his spear swept through the air, knights' heads fell with every swing.

"I will finish it before it's a problem."

Boom!

With all his power unleashed, Ghislain became unstoppable, and the Rodrick knights couldn't even approach him.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The mana spears following Ghislain tore through the battlefield.

Some knights gritted their teeth and tried to attack Ghislain by targeting Black King, hoping to dismount him.

Thud!

"What the hell…?"

The knight who struck the Black King cursed at the strange sensation in his hands. It felt as though he had hit something dense and soft, like a padded object.

The knight's attack, unsurprisingly, had no effect. Instead, before he could even pull back his spear, his head was shattered.

Boom! Boom!

The knights charging at Ghislain fell one by one. Howard realized once again that he had been mistaken.

"This… this is the true power of a Master…"

What he had witnessed earlier had already seemed miraculous. Facing nearly a hundred knights alone, Howard thought that level of ability was what defined a Master.

But that was a grave misconception. The knights here weren't enough. Even with knights of higher rank, it would barely suffice to contain him.

Boom!

"Arghhhh!"

The Rodrick knights were helplessly overwhelmed. Howard saw the red-eyed demon charging straight toward him.

'I… I have to stop him…'

Though his mind commanded him, his body refused to move. Howard, a high-level knight, was more stunned than the others.

Ironically, it was precisely because of his higher skill level. He could perceive the heights Ghislain had reached, and the sheer force of it left him in awe.

"Arghhhh!"

Yet, true to his rank, Howard quickly regained his senses and thrust his spear toward Ghislain.

Even as he struck, Howard himself didn't believe it would land. It was a futile act, driven purely by terror.

Ghislain spoke softly to him.

"An attack without conviction will never reach its target."

"Ah…"

Thud!

Howard gained enlightenment in the moment his head was crushed.

It was an obvious truth. No enemy would fall to a half-hearted attack born of fear.

He should have staked his life and fought with every ounce of strength he had.

This was the difference in willpower.

And because of that difference, Howard fell far more easily than his skill would have suggested.

Thud.

The remaining knights froze at the sight, unable to move.

"Sir Howard is dead."

"A high-level knight, just like that…"

"There's no stopping him…"

In war, one of the decisive factors for victory or defeat is the survival of the commander. And the commander of the Rodrick army had just died.

The knights realized that even if they combined their strength, they couldn't stop Ghislain.

They also understood that Ghislain had been holding back his power until now.

Still shrouded in crimson smoke, Ghislain turned his horse and shouted.

"The enemy's commander-in-chief is dead!"

"Victory!"

The Fenris forces roared in response, their cheers thundering across the battlefield. They shouted even louder, intentionally aiming to crush the enemy's morale.

Swish.

Ghislain pointed his spear at the remaining knights. The Rodrick knights hesitated and stepped back. The surrounding soldiers, seeing this, also retreated with them.

"Shall we continue?"

Boom!

Ghislain charged again, cutting down the knights nearest to him.

"Run!"

One knight shouted and immediately turned his horse to flee.

For a knight to abandon the battlefield was to forfeit his honor. But no one criticized him.

The other knights were too busy fleeing themselves.

"The knights are retreating!"

"Let's run too!"

"Retreat! It's over!"

The Rodrick army, which still had half its forces remaining, began collapsing in an instant.

Ghislain quickly scanned the battlefield.

Even though the army was crumbling, their numbers still far exceeded his own. He could kill them all, but his forces might tire in the process. There were better ways to make the marquisate suffer.

Ghislain raised his voice and shouted.

"Throw down your weapons and flee, and you will be spared!"

It was a signal that the war was over. The Fenris forces echoed his words.

"Throw down your weapons and flee, and you will be spared!"

The message resounded across the battlefield multiple times. Every soldier in the Rodrick army heard it clearly.

"Arghhhh!"

"Run!"

"We surrender! We surrender!"

Once an army collapses, its numbers mean nothing. The Rodrick forces threw down their weapons and scattered in all directions like ants.

None of them would return to the marquis household. In the resource-rich West, there was no reason to keep such deserters alive.

Punishing them now would ensure that soldiers in future battles fought with greater determination.

The Rodrick army, suffering over 10,000 casualties, dissolved completely.

Ghislain watched the scattering soldiers with a smirk.

"Become bold bandits and raiders."

An army unable to return home had few options. To survive, they would inevitably turn to pillaging.

After all, they were never loyal to their lords to begin with.

"Weak lords will lose everything."

The vassal lords of the marquis weren't known for their strength. Worse, they operated with an extremely limited number of soldiers due to policy constraints.

It wouldn't be easy for them to fend off the scattered raiders.

In short, Ghislain had sparked internal strife in the West without lifting a finger.

Now back to his original state, Ghislain raised his spear and shouted.

"We have won!"

A short and simple declaration. But it was enough.

"Victory!"

"We won!"

"The Rodrick army wasn't that tough after all!"

Dominic and the Drake Mercenary Corps, overjoyed at exacting even a small measure of revenge, cheered louder than anyone else.

The other mercenaries, who had joined with some trepidation, were awestruck by Ghislain's overwhelming strength.

There are many ways to lead mercenaries. But the most admired leaders among them are always the strongest ones.

And Ghislain had shown strength more than sufficient to captivate his mercenaries.

"Our captain is the best!"

The mercenaries roared, chanting Ghislain's name. After this battle, their trust in him grew stronger.

And the news of this victory would spread, reaching other mercenaries.

Ghislain smiled at the cheers. There's no better way to unite mercenaries than by proving one's strength.

Bit by bit, he would bring them all together.

"Now, let's gather the spoils and head back! Let's not get too greedy this time!"

The weapons and armor from the fallen soldiers alone were substantial. They wouldn't be able to carry it all, especially since some estates hadn't yet delivered all their resources.

Leading his forces quickly to claim the remaining supplies and return was the priority.

As the knights and mercenaries cleaned up the battlefield, Ghislain turned his gaze toward the direction of the Marquis Rodrick.

'Let's see each other again soon, Marquis Rodrick. Next time, I'll make sure to end it.'

The fight with the Marquis Rodrick was just beginning.

[T/L: Please support me and read 385 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]