The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations - Chapter 290
Chapter 290 – Break Through Them! (4)
As soon as Kaor and the knights in the Shadow Mountains received Ghislain’s summoning order, they dragged the hunters bound by contract and rushed to Fenris Estate.
Some stubborn ones initially refused to go, but under the firm persuasion of Kaor, the “King of Ironcliff,” they quickly changed their minds.
With the Kingdom of Turian guaranteeing Ghislain’s contract, the hunters, who had nowhere else to go, had no option to escape.
The other knights were reassigned to the knightly order and moved with Ghislain, while Kaor was tasked with leading the hunters to protect the mages.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Screeeee!
“Aaaagh!”
The cavalry of Desmond’s forces, unaccustomed to fighting hunters, faltered and fell one after another under the sudden onslaught.
“Ha! These guys are easier than monsters!”
To these hunters, cavalry was nothing more than oversized monsters with four legs.
Moreover, these were monsters that only knew how to charge in a straight line.
For hunters used to battling creatures with bizarre and unpredictable body structures, dealing with cavalry was not particularly challenging.
“Ah! One got through!”
Of course, it was impossible to block all of the thousand cavalrymen. Some managed to break through the disorganized ranks of the hunters and charged directly at the mages.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Vanessa, who was casting a spell with one hand extended into the air, turned her head toward the charging cavalry. She reached out her free hand toward them.
“Earth Wall.”
Rumble!
A wall of earth shot up in an instant. The charging cavalry of Desmond collided headfirst with the wall.
Boom! Crash! Boom!
“Aaaagh!”
Screeeee!
Horses struck by the powerful impact screamed and fell. Some cavalrymen crashed through the wall and were thrown to the ground.
Those following were forced to halt their charge abruptly.
Seeing this, Kaor shouted in alarm.
“You idiots! Protect the mages! This isn’t monster hunting!”
Kaor, who had been showing off until now, hurriedly charged in and began cutting down the cavalry. Only then did the other hunters reorganize into a double line and block the remaining cavalry.
“Damn… That was close.”
Kaor wiped the cold sweat from his brow. If the mages had been injured especially Vanessa Ghislain would not have spared him or the hunters.
Worse still, if such a thing had happened, it wouldn’t just be about facing Ghislain’s wrath; they might have lost the war altogether and been forced to flee.
Meanwhile, as Vanessa’s focus wavered briefly while fending off the cavalry, spells began raining down towards Desmond’s camp.
Vanessa turned swiftly and dispelled the incoming magic, but some spells had already landed, striking Fenris’ forces.
Though these were low-circle spells that armor deflected with minimal damage, the continued assault posed a significant risk.
“Tch!”
Vanessa retaliated by casting a wide-area attack spell on Desmond’s camp.
She didn’t expect it to succeed, knowing the enemy had a 6th-circle mage. The spell was merely a distraction, an attempt to draw the opposing mages’ attention to herself, even at great cost.
“Cough!”
Vanessa began coughing up blood, not only from her nose but now from her mouth as well. Still, she gritted her teeth and endured.
In the meantime, the hunters quickly charged at the cavalry hesitating behind the earthen wall. Unable to dodge in time, the cavalry were dragged into a chaotic melee with the hunters.
This was a battle that clearly favored the hunters. They thrived in disorganized, brawling combat.
Boom! Boom!
“Die, you bastards!”
“Urgh!”
The cavalry fought desperately from atop their mounts, but the restricted movement made them increasingly vulnerable.
Working in teams, the hunters coordinated their attacks and relentlessly swung their serrated blades, overwhelming the cavalry.
“Hahaha! I’m invincible!”
Among them, the standout was undoubtedly Kaor. Displaying even greater prowess than before, he mowed down cavalry with reckless abandon.
“Damn it! Who is this guy?”
“Wasn’t their main force supposed to have charged forward?”
“Kill this one first!”
Kaor laughed with satisfaction as the enemy converged on him.
“Oh, coming to stop me, are you? Excellent! Bring it on!”
Kaor fought with renewed vigor, thrilled by the attention he was receiving. Though they were enemies, he relished the spotlight.
The more Kaor rampaged, the fewer cavalry managed to break through to other areas, making it easier for the hunters to handle the fight.
Among the hunters, a slightly youthful-looking man slashed at the legs of a horse. As the horse toppled, he immediately raised his sword and struck down the rider.
Slash!
A clean, precise strike. This was Arel, who had followed Ghislain to Fenris Estate out of gratitude for saving his life.
“Hah…”
Arel took a deep breath and gripped his sword tightly once more.
Having only undergone basic training, he wasn’t permitted to join the cavalry. Instead, he was assigned to protect the mages under Kaor’s lead.
To grow stronger, he had been diligently building his stamina and participating in training. Though still lacking in many areas, his determination to defend the estate was second to none.
“I can’t let something like that happen again.”
He vividly remembered the time when savages raided his village, leaving countless dead and the town in ruins. He never wanted to relive such a nightmare.
His younger brother, who was intelligent, had begun studying administrative tasks. Now, Fenris had become a second home to Arel- one he was determined to protect.
“Hup!”
Arel swung his sword tirelessly. Though tension stiffened his muscles and fatigue set in quickly, he never let his focus waver.
Precision in every swing of the blade, no matter the situation this was the first lesson Ghislain had taught him.
Kaor stroked his chin as he observed Arel’s precise movements.
“Ho… Not bad for a greenhorn. Reminds me of my younger self. I must have trained just as hard back then.”
Of course, that was a lie. When he was Arel’s age, Kaor spent most of his time drinking and fooling around rather than training.
As Kaor chuckled to himself, self-indulgently basking in his imagined past, the hunters steadily thinned out the cavalry.
Thanks to their efforts, Desmond’s cavalry couldn’t reach the mages. The surviving riders were now fleeing in a frantic rush, either rejoining other forces or retreating from the battlefield entirely.
When some hunters instinctively gave chase to the fleeing cavalry, Kaor bellowed at them.
“Don’t chase them! I said don’t chase them, you fools!”
The hunters quickly came to their senses, regrouping around the mages and staying on alert. Once the situation seemed under control, Kaor approached Arel.
“Hey, greenhorn. Not bad out there.”
“Thank you!”
“You saw me fighting, right? What’d you think?”
“It was incredible!”
To Arel, Kaor was nothing short of amazing. He had single-handedly slaughtered dozens of cavalrymen, how could such skill not be enviable?
Grinning smugly, Kaor asked another question.
“Between me and the old man, who do you think is stronger?”
Arel hesitated, turning his head slightly to avoid answering. Kaor, however, moved to maintain eye contact and pressed him again.
“Who’s stronger?”
Arel turned his head in the other direction, but Kaor’s face followed him persistently.
“Who?”
It was childish so childish that it was almost maddening but ignoring him wasn’t an option. Finally, Arel gave in to reality.
“I think… you’re stronger, Sir Kaor.”
“Hahaha! Of course, I am! The old man’s already been carted off because he’s injured, hasn’t he? That’s what happens to the weak. Hahaha!”
Gillain and the injured had long since left the battlefield. They were likely receiving treatment from Piote and the attendants at a temporary camp farther away.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Emerson, who had been chasing the horse archers, glanced at the now-calm rear of Fenris’ forces and frowned.
“It failed.”
For a moment, he had hoped the spells from their camp would disrupt the enemy’s focus. But it seemed it had only briefly unsettled them.
“I need to decide.”
Should he continue chasing the horse archers or target the mages?
After a brief deliberation, Emerson turned his focus forward.
The horse archers were persistently firing arrows at Desmond’s forces while evading the cavalry. They were, without a doubt, the perfect unit for harassment.
If they weren’t dealt with, his forces would continue to be led around by the nose. However…
“The mages must be dealt with first.”
Despite having Willow, a 6th-circle mage, in their ranks, Desmond’s forces couldn’t mount a proper magical offense because they were too focused on countering the enemy.
If Fenris’ mages were neutralized, the tide of battle would turn instantly. After all, the presence of mages was one of the reasons the horse archers were so effective.
There was no need to waste time being dragged around by the archers.
Having decided to prioritize the mages, Emerson knew he couldn’t head straight for them. If he allowed the horse archers free rein, they would regroup and assist the central Fenris forces.
First, he had to drive the archers farther away from the main battlefield.
“Push harder!”
Emerson shouted as he urged his horse onward. However, the horse archers were fast too fast to be herded as he intended.
Despite wearing full armor, which should have been heavy, their mobility remained exceptional. And their horses, brimming with energy, seemed unmatched in strength and stamina.
The larger Fenris force didn’t engage directly with the cavalry archers. Instead, they shot arrows while dodging and fleeing. Predicting their movements and steering them was the only option left.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
“Just a little closer!”
Relying on his extensive experience, Emerson gradually adjusted his path, anticipating the movement of the cavalry archers.
As a seasoned cavalry commander with years of service, Emerson steadily closed the distance and began to catch up with Fenris’ archers.
At the rear of the fleeing archers, Ascon frequently glanced back and yelled.
“Hey, damn it! Run faster! I’m gonna die here!”
The enemy pursued them with terrifying speed. He needed to escape quickly, but his horse lagged suspiciously behind the others.
His mount was moving so leisurely that it seemed to be out for a stroll, dropping him far behind the group.
“Damn it! Move! Please, damn it!”
No amount of cursing sped up the horse. At this rate, he would be the first to die.
Gritting his teeth, Ascon finally raised his bow.
“Guess I’ll just have to deal with that bastard first.”
Turning his body, he spotted the leader at the front of the pursuing group.
Desmond’s cavalry lacked full plate armor like Fenris. Their commander, like the rest of the cavalry, wore chainmail and a helmet with a small gap for the eyes.
If he could hit that small opening, he could kill the commander in one shot.
Elves, known for their exceptional archery skills, could strike even the tiniest target with precision, drawing on the power of nature.
Creak…
Ascon drew his bowstring, focusing intently. His body swayed with the gallop of the horse, but it didn’t matter. The arrow would ride the wind and hit its mark.
This was a feat only elves could achieve a devastatingly precise shot, albeit requiring a little more time to aim.
“I can feel the wind.”
His senses aligned with the natural flow, guiding him. Now, the wind told him he could pierce the commander’s face with a single shot.
“Ride the wind.”
Wham!
Emerson, chasing from behind, instinctively raised his shield as a glint of light flashed toward him.
Swish!
The arrow soared through the air, carried by the wind, before vanishing into the sky.
“Damn it, missed again,” Ascon muttered.
His horse snorted, baring its teeth in what looked like amusement as it continued its leisurely gallop.
Emerson, watching the arrow disappear into the heavens, scowled furiously.
“Such insolence!”
It was an insult. No cavalry archer would be so inept.
The slow pace, the deliberately poor aim, it was clear this fool was mocking him.
In the middle of such an intense battle, the thought of being toyed with was enraging.
Emerson ground his teeth in frustration.
“I’ll kill him no matter what.”
He needed to push the archers further and then turn to crush the mages.
The battlefield grew even more intense. Both sides fought fiercely to break the other, yet neither could land a decisive blow.
Fenris’ forces had superior individual skills but were vastly outnumbered. Desmond’s army endured with sheer numbers but couldn’t seize the initiative.
Both sides aimed to eliminate the other’s mages to shift the battle’s tide.
However, the prolonged fight increasingly disadvantaged Fenris. Even now, their position was tenuous. If not for Ghislain’s efforts, the battle might have already turned against them.
Boom! Boom!
Ghislain, with glowing red eyes, wielded his spear like a force of nature.
The endless tide of Desmond’s heavy infantry couldn’t withstand his onslaught.
Shields and armor shattered, corpses piled up, and spears flew in from every direction, seeking openings to strike.
“Aaaagh! This monster!”
“Knights, stop him first!”
“Stop him! He’s targeting Lord Willow!”
Despite the frantic cries echoing across the battlefield, no one could halt Ghislain’s steady advance.
Surrounding and containing him proved impossible, as Fenris knights and soldiers fought fiercely behind him, protecting his flanks with formidable defenses.
Rumble!
Ghislain began to feel the strain on his body. The closer he approached the mages, the tougher the opposition became, with knights and soldiers resisting with fierce determination.
“Just a little more.”
He only needed to break through a few more defensive lines to reach the mage’s throat.
Boom! Boom!
Wherever Ghislain and the Black King advanced, enemies were flung aside, leaving a trail of devastation. Together, they were like demons ruling the battlefield.
As Desmond’s defensive line crumbled helplessly, a thunderous shout rang out.
“Make way!”
Swoosh!
The forces fighting Ghislain abruptly fell back, creating space.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
A group of knights clad in silver armor, mounted on horseback, appeared. They carried halberds with axe blades gleaming in the light.
At the forefront, a knight named Roness bellowed.
“Kill the Count of Fenris!”
Desmond’s Personal Guard, their elite knights, charged directly at Ghislain.