Chapter 17. Canibar Territory (5) Part-2

Their horse-like lower-bodies were wrapped in bardes. The rest of their bodies were also wrapped in thick armor pieces. Their long lances were aimed straight ahead.

It was the Centaurs' heavy-armed cavalry unit.

"Show them the Centaurs' greatness!"

"Woo-!"

The Centaurs shouted. Hekaron―who stood as the leader of the group―ran at full speed between the Minotaurs, wearing a helmet.

"Wedge-!"

"Woo-!"

"Full-speed charge-!"

"…?!"

Their spear blades pierced through the Holy Kingdom soldiers' bodies.

As dust was sent flying off the damp ground, they skillfully slaughtered the Holy Kingdom's soldiers who were scattered throughout the area.

Their spear blades were precise and accurate. They pierced through the soldiers' bodies completely and skewered them.

The buildings and other obstacles in the city didn't slow down the charge. Due to this, there was no escape for the soldiers because they could not match the Centaurs' speed.

The Centaurs possessed the best and most powerful cavalry technique in the continent.

"It's ridiculous! They are using cavalry in a city?!"

"Monsters!"

The Holy Kingdom's soldiers who were on the outer wall held up their bows and took aim.

Minotaurs couldn't go up on top of the outer wall due to their builds. And in the Centaurs' case, they could manage with their slightly less bulkier bodies, but their speed in getting up there would be incredibly slow. They would be easy targets if they tried to do this.

Their weakness was high walls.

"Die, you monsters!"

The heads of the soldiers―who were about to release their bowstrings to unleash their arrows―were suddenly hit by rocks, and bolts pierced their bodies.

The soldiers on the outer wall were startled and hurriedly looked to see where this new attack was coming from.

"Hihihihihi!"

While the soldiers had been distracted, the Gnoll scouting unit had silently and nimbly scaled the wall.

A Gnoll jumped on top of the wall and licked its hairy lips with its long tongue.

"W, when did they…?!"

The soldiers, who hadn't been able to sense them coming, screamed.

The Holy Knight who was protecting the area near the outer wall broke out in a cold sweat and stepped back.

'The monsters… The monsters are attacking! While having amazing equipment! On top of that, they're showing a high level of coordination!'

'And that's not all!'

Though the tactics they were using looked really simple, the monsters were definitely handling the situation correctly.

Breaking the external gate with Minotaurs and charging. Centaurs hunting the soldiers that were scattered around and out of formation. And for the soldiers on the outer wall whose attention had been diverted due to the other attacks, they ended up showing their backs to the scouts.

'… They move strategically!'

It was unprecedented. Nothing like this had ever been seen before. The demons who were supposedly stupid, ignorant, and knew nothing but their instincts were now using their brains.

They were carefully planning their moves.

"Oh… my God…! Oh my God…! Oh my God…!!!"

The Holy Knight was filled with fear.

'Wisdom' is a privilege only humans have! A gift God sent us and the only weapon physically-weak humans have! The demons can't have that weapon too!'

"This is blasphemy! How dare they try to outsmart humans!? Infantry! Gather up!"

The soldiers gathered up following the Holy Knight's command.

They fell into a formation in a narrow street between two buildings.

They blocked the enemy's retreat with a wall of shields. Spearmen were aiming their weapons forward, and behind it. At the back, archers pulled their bowstrings in unison.

"Ha, haha! They're demons no matter what! Do they think they can win against humans who have been ruling the continent for thousands of years?! No matter how powerful the Minotaurs are, how great the Centaurs' mobility is, even nimble Gnolls, do they think they can break through a human's formation! Bring Janus here right now! We're conquering the castle later! We need to sweep these monsters away first! We're going to attack from all directions and oust them!"

The Holy Knight glared at the demons.

"Okay, it's time for us to get in on the action too!"

The Goblin supply unit suddenly arrived.

The Goblins gathered up on top of the outer wall. They surveyed the entire region of the city. They thought carefully, imagined the places they couldn't see, and drew a battle array. They imitated the city's precise and exact terrain.

"Oy! If the map is done send it to each unit right away!""Oy! If the map is done send it to each unit right away!"

A Goblin looked at the formation the Holy Knight had created, with a telescope.

"… Left 39, right 38, 400 meters ahead at a 30-degree angle."

Another goblin, upon hearing these instructions, began using his flag to create signals to someone far outside the outer wall.

"… Oh, I see."

The signals were being directed toward the siege detachment waiting outside the outer wall.

They held up rocks beside them that were around half of the size of their bodies.

"From the external gate… if it's left 39, right 38, 400 meters ahead and at a 30-degree angle… would this be enough?"

Treos grabbed the rocks and threw them while spinning their bodies. The rocks spun like they had been launched with a huge catapult.

The projectiles smashed into the house right next to the crowded soldiers of the Holy Kingdom and crushed it.

"…"

The Holy Knight shut his mouth.

'Siege… weapon?'

'A siege weapon with amazing accuracy on top of that!'

"Error, fix the range! Left 37, right 38, 400 meters ahead at a 30-degree angle."

The soldiers turned pale as more rocks began being thrown at them.

The new volley of rocks dropped exactly in between the soldiers who were forming a line. The rocks didn't just harmlessly smash into the ground, however. They rolled on top of some of the soldiers and crushed them.

Thanks to that their formation also ended up being bent out of shape.

"D-damn it! Hurry, and ask for support!"

The Holy Knight realized right then that it was impossible to kill the monsters attacking him with only the troops that had been placed near the external gate. There weren't enough men.

'They're monsters! Real monsters! Devils! I can't believe that monsters like them learned how to use their heads!'

'God!'

As the Holy Knight fell into despair and looked ahead, more demons appeared from the external gate.

Orcs with red armor covering their whole bodies and various weapons in their hands and Ogres with huge builds right behind them.

The Orc heavy-armored infantry unit and the armored Ogre unit.

The muscles in the Holy Knight's eyes twitched. He stepped back as if he couldn't believe it.

Humans were physically weak. That was why they made equipment with their wisdom and used military strategies and formations.

On the contrary, the demons were strong, but since they didn't have wisdom their equipment was poor. They also didn't know how to use military strategies and tactics.

This absolute 'law' that had always held true had now been broken.

The demons now had equipment, well-trained troops, created formations, and came up with strategies.

'It's as if… they are replacing humans in this world.'

"This is a lie, right? Can anybody say that this is a nightmare?"

Before the Holy Knight finished speaking, Karakul landed in front of him. He had arrived so quickly that nobody was able to react in time to stop what was about to happen.

Karakul cut down the Holy Knight with his mace.

He had swung it as hard as he could, using both of his hands.

'Exploded' would be the appropriate word to describe the Holy Knight's fate.

An explosion of red mist occurred at the end of the mace and the ground was split apart from the impact.

Blood was splattered onto the faces and armor of the rest of the nearby soldiers in the broken formation.

The Holy Knight's body practically disappeared in an instant. Leaving behind only pieces of bloody meat.

"Sir Holy Knight…?"

The soldier slowly looked down at the 'lump of meat' laid out by the mace. It was twitching. The Holy Knight was completely unrecognizable.

"Eugh…eugh…eeeughh…!!"

The soldiers lost their morale at that moment.

Their weapons dropped to the ground as they gradually lost the strength in their hands.

Absent-mindedly, with their faces pale and filled with fear, they looked at their enemy with a hopeless gaze.

There was nothing more that they could do.

Karakul glared at the soldiers with an indifferent gaze.

"Kill them all."

The Orcs and Ogres let out a shriek at his words.

— Ω —