368

Episode 368 Can Everyone Hold On? (1)

"My Lord, it seems that the Marquis's forces have moved."

"They are coming in, surrounding this place."

"As you expected, it seems like they're going to settle things here."

Jiselle nodded after hearing the report from the knights who had gone out on reconnaissance.

Even though we've raided seven territories so far, the enemy hasn't even set up a defensive line, let alone properly pursuing us.

Even if the Marquis was lazy, he wasn't that stupid. If he was at that level, he wouldn't have been able to conquer the West in the first place.

As expected, it seemed like he was definitely preparing to catch me.

"How many have you figured out so far?"

The knights who had gone out on reconnaissance answered Giselle's questions without a moment's hesitation.

"The number of troops coming from the north is about 4,000. They are all infantry."

"The number of troops coming from the west is about 3,000. Half are cavalry, half are infantry."

"The army coming from the south is about 3,000 strong. It consists mainly of siege weapons, archers, and infantry."

The knights who had been with Jisel showed a completely different side from before. They were still rough around the edges like when they were mercenaries or unemployed, but when they went into battle, that kind of attitude completely disappeared.

Jiselle nodded and asked again.

"There are quite a lot of them this time. How fast?"

Gillian answered that.

"It's a distance that we could have already reached if we had made up our minds to it. It seems like we're deliberately slowing down our march and coming slowly. And we're continuing to use scouts to monitor this place."

At those words, Giselle narrowed her eyes.

If you plan on saving this territory, you can't come that slowly. The standard way is to run as fast as possible and attack with the castle's troops.

But it's said that he deliberately comes slowly.

"It looks like they're trying to isolate us."

I could guess what the opponent was aiming for. They were planning to give us bait, surround us for sure, and then lock us in the castle to weaken our power.

Jiselle turned her head and looked at the castle in the distance.

"Hmm, there are quite a lot this time."

When I focused my eyes, I saw soldiers standing densely along the walls.

There were already rumors about them, so the alert level had to be high.

Jiselle took out a booklet and flipped through it as she spoke.

"Let's see, Baron Dacre… … Roughly 3,000? There are hardly any knights."

What Giselle was looking at was a book containing information about the Marquisate of Rodrik and its surrounding territories.

Although there was information collected on our own within the territory, the information that Dominic of the Drake Mercenary Corps gave us was the most important.

They were originally based in the West, and since they did a lot of dirty work under the Marquis, they couldn't help but have a lot of information.

Jiselle put the book back in her bosom and continued speaking.

"There aren't many knights, but there are many soldiers, so everyone should exert some effort today. You have to step on this place to keep your head safe. We'll strike as soon as night falls. Got it?"

Gordon looked back and forth between Seong and Giselle and asked.

"What about the enemies coming to capture us now? It seems like they're trying to surround us. Wouldn't it be difficult if they come while we're fighting?"

The other knights also looked a little nervous. If ten thousand enemies surround you while fighting, it won't be easy even for a lord who is a master.

Even if you somehow win, most of the knights will die or be seriously injured from exhaustion.

But Jiselle smiled as if to tell her not to worry.

"Anyway, this is a place to throw bait. It's a tactic to trap us here. They won't attack us while we're fighting, for fear that we'll escape. Then, they'll play along for a bit and take advantage."

"oh...."

The knights also quickly understood what he meant, perhaps because they had been with Giselle for a long time.

"Indeed, if we want to catch the lord for sure, it would be best to lock him up and beat him."

"Then it would be most certain to surround it once it has properly entered the castle."

"Well, there's no way they'd come that far just to catch 400 looters. Is the lord your target after all?"

Unlike before, they are no longer stupid, at least in war.

Although he had not studied military science, his insight and intuition based on experience gained a lot from working with Giselle.

It would be a great strength in the coming war, because in a dangerous moment, the ability to discern which option is the most appropriate is important to save one's life.

Of course, there were still some shortcomings in everyday life, but all Giselle cared about was the ability to conduct war.

He nodded with a satisfied smile at the knights' growth.

"Yeah, they're trying to catch me, not you. They can't catch this body with the normal methods. At least throw them some bait like that. Ha, this is why being popular is tiring."

"… … ."

The knights looked a little uneasy.

'What is excessive self-consciousness…?'

'But I have nothing to say in rebuttal… … .'

'It would be nice to be famous… … . I want to become famous too… … .'

"What's going on? Why are you guys like that? Anyway, let's do what they want this time. Don't worry, we can beat them."

"yes!"

The knights soon put aside their worries and answered with strength. If the lord speaks so confidently, it means that they can definitely win.

Then you can just focus on fighting and looting like you have been doing so far.

"Let's make sure to tell it for sure today too."

"They say that the best feeling comes when you're eating something delicious."

"It's bigger here, so there'll be more hair."

Everyone was shaking their bodies with evil smiles.

I've acted out plundering in the territory many times, but this was my first time actually plundering. I felt it then, but everyone was perfectly suited to plundering.

Since they were small fiefdoms, there were hardly any knights or soldiers. It was so easy that it couldn't be fun.

As the knights were happily thinking that they could all attack together today, Jiselle gave a new order.

"This time we're going a little differently. The assault team will go and open the gate. 50 men will be dispatched."

Kaor was surprised by those words.

"No, why! We've been fighting together until now! There are three thousand people there?"

"If we all go and take it, the enemies will soon surround it, and then we'll lose the horses. The assault team will ride on horseback when the gate opens."

"So what if it gets taken away? There's probably more inside! And you can just take it back as soon as you capture it!"

"No. I can't leave Kongi behind."

At those words, the Black King laughed and swung his mane to the side in a cool manner.

"… … ."

Kaor looked at the Black King for a moment and then asked again.

"So… … because of the horses, I should take only 50 people and open the gate?"

"Yeah, it's also training. That's what the assault team does. You don't like it? If you don't like it, Gillian can go."

Gillian immediately nodded and answered.

"I'll go in and open it right away."

Then Kaor hurriedly changed his words.

"No! No! I'll go! I'll open that thing right away! Hey! Can you guys do it?"

At those words, the fifty knights who had been drafted into the Mad Dog Unit and the Assault Team let out a deep sigh.

'Oh, just send me some inspiration.'

'I'm really tired today.'

'If you're unlucky, you might get hurt or die?'

No matter how strong they are, fighting 3,000 soldiers is not easy. You have to kill as many enemies as possible in the beginning and open the gate.

Otherwise, you'll lose all your strength and fall down, then be trampled on.

In fact, as soon as the door opened, everyone could have gone together, leaving only a few people to bring the horses. However, Jiselle deliberately sent out a small group in turns to train them to use a little more strength.

As the sun began to set, Giselle, who had been resting, stood up and said.

"The sun has set. Go quickly and open it."

Then all the knights turned over the hoods of their robes.

From the beginning, Giselle had planned to attack and plunder in the middle of the night, and she had even dressed up accordingly.

Ss ...

Kaor's assault force approached the castle very quietly.

The knights had all been taught by Belinda how to hide their presence and move quietly.

Thanks to learning little by little whenever I had time, I was able to reach a level where I could fool ordinary people, although not as well as assassins.

Kaor was gnashing his teeth that he would one day repay Belinda for the shins she had been given every time she learned.

Kaor muttered as he approached the castle.

"Uh… … This time, I'm really going to get caught?"

The security posture was extremely tight as the methods they used had already been discovered.

Soldiers were standing guard as if they were surrounding a castle wall, and torches were placed here and there in front of the castle to brighten the view.

While the powerful like Giselle, Gillian, and Kaor can move in the shadows beneath the torches, most knights cannot do so.

Eventually, the soldiers standing on the wall who had good eyesight noticed the swaying black shadows.

"What, there's something! Something is coming!"

Then the other soldiers also became tense. They all raised their spears and prepared various defensive weapons to prevent the enemies from climbing the walls.

But before I could even try it, a hook was already hanging on the wall.

chin.

"Huh? Huh?"

The soldier closest to him was at a loss, his mind blank, and he didn't know what to do.

"Idiot! You have to clean it up!"

The veteran soldier next to him quickly approached the hook, but it was too late. Kaor grabbed the rope and quickly climbed up the wall.

He held his greatsword forward and smiled wickedly.

"This body, appears."

"The enemy has come!"

The soldiers shouted and immediately threw out their spears at the sight of Kaor smiling.

Kwaaang!

Kaor dodged the spear and immediately swung his greatsword.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

The soldiers blocking the way were killed in an instant. Kaor laughed again at the sight.

"As expected, a big weapon is the best for catching weaklings."

While he was giggling, shouts echoed from all directions.

"Catch him!"

"The enemy is one!"

All the soldiers standing guard rushed towards where Kaor had come from.

The sight of three thousand troops rushing in was quite a sight. But Kaor was not alone.

Chin! Chin! Chin!

Dozens of hooks were placed on the wall. Knights who still had difficulty climbing over the wall quickly climbed up the ropes.

"Wow!"

"Kill him!"

"There isn't much! We can stop it!"

The soldiers of Baron Daker's domain pushed forward, relying on their numbers. At first glance, there were only about fifty of them. There was no way that the thousands of soldiers here could stop them.

Kaoru shouted in a slightly urgent tone as he saw the number of soldiers rushing in.

"Let's go down right now! Move quickly!"

In order to go down, you must first clear out the soldiers in front. Kaor and the knights moved immediately.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fenris' knights killed dozens of enemies in an instant, but they did not advance very far.

Kaor gritted his teeth. He thought he could just go down the wall since it wasn't that wide, but he couldn't ignore the numbers.

Rather, because the walls were not wide, the soldiers were filled up faster.

Kaor muttered without realizing it.

"Wow… … . What should I do?"

The soldiers who had been waiting below continued to climb up the wall, but the front row was full, so they could not even approach Kaor and his group.

The soldiers were gathering so densely that they were approaching.

'Think. Think.'

No matter how much I think about it, the only thing that comes to mind is a charge.

No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't think of a way to get down quickly. Instead, Kaor, who was tired of thinking, thought of something else.

'Should I just kill all 3,000 people?'

That would be really cool, but I felt like it would be impossible no matter how strong I was.

Of course, with 50 knights and all their might, they could kill close to 2,000.

After that, they all die heroically.

I didn't want to die fighting so foolishly. I'd rather break through the guys blocking my way.

"Hey! Block the sides! The rest of you, let's break through with me!"

The Fenris knights were well-trained for combat. Half of the knights took up positions and began to block the enemies rushing in from the left and right.

Kaor threw his greatsword forward.

Kwaaang!

"Eww!"

Several soldiers fell at once. Kaor let out a deep breath as he saw this.

"Ugh… … . Now I really have no choice but to fight properly."

In fact, they had been fighting too comfortably up until now. They also knew very well why Jiselle had put them in this situation.

He agreed that this kind of tension is sometimes necessary to keep one's senses sharp.

Kaor drew out the two swords he had hanging from his waist.

Chaang!

Jisel ordered the Fenris knights to train in the use of all weapons. Kaor was focusing on dual swordsmanship among them.

It was all thanks to none other than Giselle's recommendation.

- You don't use a shield much anyway. You should also practice using two swords.

- Two swords? I'm not very good with my left hand.

- So you need to practice more. If you lose your right hand while fighting, do you just want to die?

― … … .

- And if you use two swords, your attack power will double. What do you think?

- oh....

Kaor nodded when he heard that. It sounded very plausible.

Come to think of it, didn't Gillian also carry two axes when hunting weaklings?

So, he thought that he had to get used to dual swordsmanship so that he wouldn't be outmatched by Gillian.

For that reason, thanks to taking his training quite seriously, Kaor was now quite familiar with the dual sword technique.

"Whaaaaaah! Kill me!"

Soldiers rushed in, filling the empty space.

Kaoru, who saw that sight, smiled and slightly turned the swords in his hands.

"Attack power doubled, let's go."

Scratch! Scratch!

Kaor's body moved like lightning and the two swords danced.