407

Episode 407 Let's start hunting. (3)

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

Marquis Rodrik, who was covered in dust from his hasty escape, still had an indignant expression on his face.

"Eeeeeeeee… … . I, the one who was supposed to be the king of this kingdom! I, am having to run away in such a pitiful way!"

It still felt like a dream. Where had all his armies gone that shook the heavens and the earth?

I still can't understand how they fought and how they were defeated.

"You idiots! You pathetic bastards! You lost all those troops without doing anything to them!"

Even as he fled, Marquis Rodrik was busy cursing his subordinate generals.

Tennant, who was standing next to him, had nothing to say, since he had planned most of the operations himself.

However, the reason they lost was largely because Marquis Rodrik rushed the operation too quickly and did not properly review the plan. It was not a matter of one person being held responsible.

It's just that all of Rodrik's vassals were inferior to the Fenrisians.

"You useless kids! Are you saying we got defeated like this by those worthless guys?"

Only Marquis Rodrik, who did not know this, continued to curse his own side. The vassals only had bitter expressions on their faces as they listened to the curses.

They were able to escape quite a distance, perhaps because they abandoned the wizards and moved only with cavalry.

The Ferdium army that had been chasing them also gave up on pursuing them and disappeared from sight at some point.

Tennant stopped his troops and spoke to Marquis Rodrik.

"I'll take a short break and go."

"Do as you wish."

"Even if it's uncomfortable, please bear with it for a little while. There are not a few soldiers with 5,000 men, so if you lead them alone, the prince's faction will welcome you warmly. They are in a very unfortunate situation right now."

"Five thousand… … . You're saying five thousand… … . The Marquis of Branford will laugh at me."

Marquis Rodrik looked quite haggard, as if he had lost all his strength from cursing. It seemed as if he had lost all his motivation due to the unbelievable reality.

Since I hadn't prepared anything properly, I just sat on the floor to rest.

Marquis Rodrik spoke in a weak voice.

"I'm hungry. Bring me something to eat."

"… … ."

"What are you doing? Don't tell me to hurry and bring you something to eat."

"… … I didn't bring anything separately."

"What? Are you telling me to go to the capital while starving?"

"Once we leave Fenris' territory, I plan to ask the other lords for some food."

"Ugh… … These useless things!"

Marquis Rodrik became angry again.

Eating was his favorite pastime. But now he was being chased around without even anything to eat.

I couldn't help but feel angry at my own shabby appearance.

"Bring me some water!"

Fortunately, we each carried a bag of water, so we were able to get it to them right away.

"Whew!"

Marquis Rodrik gagged as he drank water from a leather pouch. He had always drunk only magically purified water, so he felt like he was going to die after drinking this smelly water.

"You can't even drink water properly! Are you saying that I have been running the estate with these guys all this time?"

Marquis Rodrik threw down the water bottle and swore again.

The expressions on the faces of the vassals who were being nitpicked became increasingly worse.

Marquis Rodrik, who had been swearing loudly, exhaled and raised his head. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

"Why is there such a bad luck with a crow flying around?"

A crow was circling in the sky. Everyone else looked up and looked at the crow.

"You idiot!"

"Did that crow just swear?"

Marquis Rodrik, who was already sensitive to swearing, became angry again.

Others seemed to have heard it too, but it didn't make sense for a crow to talk.

"Tea, I think it's a mistake."

"There's no way a crow can talk."

"We must have misheard."

But Marquis Rodrik persisted in his questioning.

"Everyone heard the same thing, isn't it strange! If not the crow, then who? Who just cursed at me? Was it you?"

"Oh, no!"

"Then who cursed at me! I'll kill them all!"

Any semblance of him as the strongest man in the West had completely disappeared from him.

In times of defeat like now, the leader's ability is more important than usual. However, the actions of Marquis Rodrik now were so ugly that they made even the existing loyalty wan.

Tennant, who found it difficult to look at the sight, turned his head. Then he stopped when he felt a strange feeling in the distance.

'dust....'

Although it may not be visible to others, Tennant, considered one of the best in the West, noticed a faint dust spreading far away.

He squinted his eyes and looked a little closer. He had to check if it was a natural phenomenon or an artificial one.

I watched for a while, but the dust did not settle. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed artificial.

He put his ear to the floor and focused his mana.

Doo doo doo doo doo… … .

A sound like the ground is shaking can be heard from far away.

He jumped up and looked in that direction again.

'This is not the direction we came from.'

The Ferdium Army isn't chasing us. They can't come from that direction.

That means there must be another enemy.

"Everyone get on your horses! Let's get moving! The enemy is coming!"

At those words, the knights and cavalry quickly remounted their horses.

Even Marquis Rodrik, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face, was forced to ride a horse.

"Oh, I can't see anything. What's going on?"

"The enemy is coming!"

"Even if you can't see anything? Isn't there nothing around you?"

"Let's go right away! Bring the Marquis!"

There was no time for argument. When Tennant grabbed the reins, Rodrik's men gasped.

"omg!"

"Hey, you're the real enemy!"

"Fenris' army has appeared!"

Fenris's banners were flying above the heads of the enemies who had appeared. Fenris' cavalry approached at a terrifying speed.

"Move with all your might! You can dodge it!"

Tennant shouted, drawing his sword. Rodrik's cavalrymen also pulled hard on their reins and prepared to charge.

"let's go!"

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Rodrik's army moved. Fenris' army was fast, but they were still quite far away, so it seemed like they could easily avoid a collision and escape.

"Run faster! We have to shake it off somehow!"

Tennant gritted his teeth. If they continue to collide like this, they will end up hitting each other in the side. If the distance gets any closer, they will have no choice but to fight.

He glanced to the side. There was still plenty of distance.

'That's it! I can barely keep up with Humi!'

As I was thinking that, suddenly the figures of those in the lead caught my eye.

'Elf?'

The moment he accurately recognized his opponent, all of the Fenris soldiers who were running towards him pulled out their bows.

"Cavalry! Run faster!"

A rain of arrows rained down on the terrified Rodrik army as they fled.

Paaaaah!

Rodrik's army fled without any preparation for the cavalry attack, as they all thought they were trapped in the Silverlight Fortress.

So, I had no choice but to be helpless against the flying arrows.

Pubbubububububu!

"Eww!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The soldiers and horses that had been hit by arrows fell to the ground. Those running beside and behind also fell together.

In an instant, the middle ranks became a mess.

Lumina, the elf at the forefront of Fenris' army, raised her hands and clenched her fists.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

Then, the Fenris army all turned around and started chasing after Rodrik's army.

When she picked up her bow again, everyone picked up their bows as well.

Paaaaah!

The arrows continued to fire relentlessly at Rodrik's army. The middle and rear ranks of Rodrik's army, fleeing, had no choice but to take the arrows fired by the cavalry archers.

"Eww!"

"Don't stop! Run no matter what!"

"We have to get out of here!"

However, thanks to Tennant's quick thinking, a significant number of Rodrik's troops were able to escape the battlefield.

Lumina followed along, leading the cavalry, then slowly slowed down.

"Stop. It's too late to catch up anyway. Take care of the living horses first. We'll take the rest as prisoners."

She gave the order blandly.

They say they are the strongest in the West, so it seems there is someone quite capable. They quickly noticed our approach and moved.

'If the enemy had moved just a little bit later, they would have easily captured Marquis Rodrik.'

It was a bit disappointing, but since she didn't have much empathy, I was able to let her go easily.

"Still, it really is here, just as the General said."

Currently, Giselle and Claude were using Dark to quickly communicate.

This was because Giselle split Dark's consciousness into as many parts as possible and scattered them in all directions. A huge amount of mana was consumed, but Giselle didn't care.

Because all threats to this war had already disappeared.

Rodrik's army, which had hurriedly left the battlefield, slowed down after confirming that there was no pursuit.

"Ugh, ugh… … Where on earth did the enemy come from?"

Tennant spoke to Marquis Rodrik, who was breathing heavily.

"The Elf Cavalry is a unit stationed at Silverlight. It seems they were sent from there."

"Eeeeek! That's why we should have taken over that place!"

If we had taken Silverlight, we could have taken all those elves. Our enemies would not have dared to act so arrogantly.

That made me even more angry and resentful.

"Now that we've shaken off the pursuit, let's take a break."

"It's still a danger zone. I think it would be best to move without stopping until we get past the northern border."

"Isn't there anyone who will come looking for me anymore?"

The Ferdium Army and Silverlight's pursuers were also shaken off. Earl Fenris was still in the west, so there was no one left to pursue them.

Tennant shook his head, though.

"We have no food and have already lost another thousand men. It would be better to get out of the north as soon as possible."

"Okay… … . Okay, I understand."

Marquis Rodrik nodded and obediently followed Tennant's words. He could have really died a moment ago, but thanks to Tennant, he was alive.

Covered in dust and looking like defeated soldiers, they moved towards the capital again.

Soon their advance came to a halt.

"Hmm… … It's a valley."

Tennant frowned slightly. This is the fastest way to get out of the North.

The problem is ambushes. If there is an ambush inside the canyon, it will cause great damage.

There was no time to send out reconnaissance missions. It would take too long to search the valley and bring back news.

While Tennant was pondering, Marquis Rodrik said:

"Let's just go into the canyon."

"Your Majesty… … The valley is dangerous… … ."

"The pursuers from Silverlight just arrived. If they were to ambush us in the canyon, wouldn't they have surrounded us before then?"

"Umm… … ."

It made sense. If Silverlight had sent troops here to ambush them, they would have caught up to them by then.

The cavalry archers we had met earlier were clearly the troops that Silverlight had sent the fastest.

"Okay, I'll just go through the canyon."

Marquis Rodrik smiled triumphantly at Tennant's words, for he believed that his judgment was more accurate and superior than that of others.

Still, I moved cautiously just in case. But nothing happened until I passed the middle of the canyon.

Everyone moved around a little more relaxed and comfortable.

"Hahaha, you idiots. If I had chased you, I would have set up an ambush here in advance instead of sending the cavalry there."

Marquis Rodrik smiled haughtily. As expected, the Fenrisians were lucky to win, if they had fought properly, they would have been no match for them.

As I thought about that, I got angry and became hot again.

"Damn it! I'm going to invade this North again someday and kill everyone… … ."

"Wow!"

Marquis Rodrik's soliloquy was interrupted by a loud shout.

"What, what is it!"

All of Rodrik's men were confused, as troops suddenly appeared from both sides of the canyon.

Soon someone muttered at the sight of the newly appeared army.

"P, Fenris Mercenaries… … ."

The flag that was waving was that of the Fenris Mercenaries, not the flag of the Fenris Territory. It was a separate group from the territory's army, but they were still on the same side.

Seeing them, Lord Rodrik became lost in thought.

"Why are they here… … ."

"How long have you been here!"

As they were panicking, someone from the mercenary group shouted loudly.

"Shoot!"

Paaaaah!

Thousands of arrows began to rain down on Rodrik's army.

"Eww!"

"Run forward!"

"We must break through the valley!"

When attacked in a narrow valley, it became more difficult to evade than before. Rodrik's army had no choice but to give up fighting and start running.

"Run quickly! Run quickly!"

Tennant dragged the stunned Marquis Rodrigues away, shouting until his throat was hoarse.

If we weren't careful, we could have all been wiped out in the valley.

"Crunch!"

Tennant gritted his teeth as he ran. There was also a path leading down from above at the exit of the canyon.

There, a large number of mercenaries poured down to block the road.

At their head were the Drake mercenaries from the West.

"Kill Marquis Rodrique!"

The shouts of Dominic, the leader of the Drake mercenary group, echoed through the canyon.

"Wow!"

The mercenaries advanced toward the running Rodrik army, shouting.

Tennant also drew his sword and shouted loudly.

"Break through!"

I have no intention of fighting. There is no use fighting in this narrow valley. If I'm not careful, Marquis Rodrik will die.

Kaang! Kaaang! Kaang!

Tennant, living up to his reputation as the best swordsman in the West, advanced through the mercenaries. His horsemanship was also considered to be the best in the West.

Marquis Rodrik and several of his vassals followed closely behind him.

"Marquis Rodrique!"

Dominic chased them with his eyes ablaze, but he was stopped by the knights and soldiers who followed Tennant.

"Get out of the way!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dominic, who met Jiselle and gained much better mana training and swordsmanship than before, was able to train using the mana concentration circle based on the abundant runestones.

He slew Rodrik's knights and soldiers with his skills that were stronger than before.

"It's time to avenge my brothers!"

As Dominic shouted, the others in the Drake mercenary group shouted back.

"It's time to avenge my brothers!"

The sound was so loud that it seemed as if the canyon was going to burst. Naturally, Marquis Rodrik, who was running away, could hear it too.

"Those cheap and insignificant mercenaries dare to attack me!"

The Drake mercenary group had given him a justification for this war. But now that he was being chased by them, his clothes were about to burst.

"Tenant! Tenant! Do you really think I should run away from those mercenaries?"

"… … ."

Tennant did not respond to Marquis Rodrik's shouts. The priority right now was to get out of here.

But Marquis Rodrik's heart was not like that.

"Tenant! Kill those wretched bastards right now!"

As Marquis Rodrik continued to struggle, Tennant suddenly turned around with an angry expression and threw his sword.

Phew!

"Eek!"

Marquis Rodrik was so startled that he almost fell off his horse.

The one struck by Tennant's sword was a knight guarding Marquis Rodrik, who was about to stab Marquis Rodrik with his sword.

"Grrrr… … ."

The knight fell from his horse with his throat half cut off.

Tennant said, tightening his grip on the reins again.

"Your Majesty, for now you must concentrate only on escaping."

"Oh, I see."

Marquis Rodrik answered in a timid voice. Even his knights were betraying him. Now he realized that his life was truly in danger.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Thanks to Tennant's efforts, the lead force of Rodrik's army was barely able to escape the canyon.

But from behind, screams continued to be heard.

"Eww!"

"Save me!"

"Surrender! I surrender!"

The Drake mercenary group, which had been building up anger for a long time, showed no mercy at all.

In the end, Rodrik's army suffered losses close to annihilation.

"Marquis Rodrique!"

Dominic, who had completely trampled Rodrik's army, shouted loudly and chased after the Marquis. The Drake mercenary group was also with him.

It was almost as if they were determined to capture and kill Marquis Rodrik by any means necessary.

Tennant ignored everything and just ran. Marquis Rodrik was now busy following him without saying a word and sweating profusely.

But they soon had to stop talking.

Not long after we emerged from the valley, another army was stationed ahead.

The number of troops lined up in a long line appeared to be at least 10,000 at first glance.

Tennant, looking at the person standing at the front, muttered with a serious expression.

"We've already arrived in the North… … ."

A man riding a black horse, with a spear hanging down, and smiling more leisurely than anyone else.

Earl Fenris, known as the strongest man in the North, was blocking the canyon.