Chapter 233: I Can’t Live Being Trampled On (2)

"What's that? Who are those bastards?"

The barbarians chuckled as they saw the army charging toward them from behind. There appeared to be around three or four hundred of them—a decent number.

But what did that matter?

Here, six tribes had joined forces, bringing together over 2,000 warriors.

Though their horses were left some distance away because of the siege, they felt no fear.

If it came down to it, they could just fight like men with their bare hands.

They had fought other tribes in this manner countless times before, so they were completely unafraid.

"Raise your axes! Let's kill those bastards first!"

"A head-on fight is even better! Hahaha!"

"Today is a festival of blood!"

"Uwooooooh!"

The barbarians roared, raising their fighting spirit once again. Large-scale battles on open plains were their preferred way to fight.

As the cheering barbarians prepared, Ghislain smirked.

This was exactly the kind of fight he loved the most.

Ghislain's eyes began to glow red, and the spear in his hand started to radiate with red mana.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The horse Ghislain was riding surged forward, its speed accelerating. The distance between him and the knights following behind grew larger and larger.

A red streak of light.

There was no better way to describe him at this moment.

Ghislain said nothing. He simply became a streak of light, charging straight into the midst of the barbarians.

Boom!

"Uaaaagh!"

The barbarians, who had been bracing themselves to block with their bodies, were torn apart in an instant, their flesh scattering in every direction.

Even in his previous life, the Mercenary King's initial charge was something that even the continent's seven strongest warriors hesitated to face head-on.

Die, or flee.

For the enemies of the Mercenary King, those were the only two options.

Slash, slash, slash, slash!

Ghislain charged straight through the barbarian ranks, splitting their army in half.

Crushed by his overwhelming force, the barbarians hesitated to make a move. As they scrambled in confusion, the Fenris knights stormed in behind him.

Boom!

"Gaaaah! Who are these guys?"

"Since when were there people like this at the northern fortress?"

"Where the hell did they come from?"

The barbarians were stunned, almost out of their wits. The ones who followed behind all wielded spears radiating blue mana.

Hundreds of knights? This was absurd. Never, in all the battles fought at the northern fortress, had such a force of knights ever appeared.

"Our numbers are still greater! Everyone, swarm them! Swarm them now!"

At the shouts of the great warriors, the barbarians overcame their fear of death and charged again. The characteristic ferocity of the barbarians began to manifest everywhere.

"Die!"

The knights' charge slowed under the barbarians' relentless assault. But even at a reduced pace, the knights, wielding mana, had no difficulty dealing with the warriors.

Moreover, among them were individuals of exceptional skill.

Thud, thud, thud!

Every time Ghislain swung his spear, barbarians died without even knowing how they had been struck, their heads pierced clean through.

Crash! Boom!

Gillian and Kaor also slaughtered barbarians in droves, throwing the battlefield into complete chaos.

Kaor decapitated a barbarian and laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! Old man! Today I'll kill more than you!"

"...."

Gillian ignored Kaor's taunts, deeming it a waste of time to exchange words with him.

"Uaaaagh!"

As the knights continued their rampage, the barbarian warriors screamed endlessly, their ranks falling into disarray.

"Gaaaah! Don't retreat!"

"Hold the line, no matter what!"

"We can win this!"

At the great warriors' shouts, the barbarians gritted their teeth and swarmed the knights again. But it wasn't just the Fenris knights they were up against.

Seeing the barbarians' formation collapse, Zwalter shouted loudly.

"Open the gates!"

Thud!

"Waaaaaah!"

The knights and soldiers of Perdium roared as they charged out of the fortress. At that moment, their morale had never been higher.

What had been a hopeless standoff had completely turned around with Ghislain's arrival.

"Gaaaaah!"

With the Perdium forces joining in, the barbarians were now being attacked from both front and rear, falling one by one. There was no way they could properly respond to such a sudden onslaught.

The Perdium soldiers, energized, fought with all their might, squeezing out strength they didn't know they had. The most elated of them all was Skovan, captain of the Forest Guard.

"Die! Die! You bastard!"

Having returned to Perdium to deliver reports and supplies, he had been unlucky enough to get caught in the barbarian invasion.

He had cursed his bad luck, but with the situation now, his thoughts had changed.

'This is so satisfying!'

The people of the North harbored deep-seated resentment against the barbarians. For the people of Perdium, that hatred was on another level.

Having lost countless comrades and villagers to the barbarians, and living in constant suffering, their hatred was only natural.

During sieges, they could barely hold out defensively. Never before had they had the chance to slaughter barbarians on such a large scale. Even when they killed a few raiders, it was always just a temporary reprieve.

But to finally have such a cathartic moment!

Although this wasn't a true open-field battle, and they had emerged only with Ghislain's help during a siege, they were still able to vent their frustrations on the barbarians.

'If only we could just wipe them all out from the start.'

Most of the Perdium soldiers thought similarly, but they knew it was impossible. Perdium had to conserve its forces and could never afford such recklessness.

For now, this would have to suffice.

"Retreat, retreat!"

"Scatter, scatter!"

Even the ferocious barbarians couldn't resist under these circumstances. As some began to flee to save their lives, their already chaotic formation collapsed entirely.

The knights and soldiers of Fenris and Perdium gritted their teeth, chasing the barbarians to kill as many as possible.

By the time the area around the fortress was piled with corpses and the sun was setting, Zwalter shouted.

"Stop! It's over! No need to pursue further!"

Other than the few barbarians who managed to escape, none were left alive.

The Perdium forces had no intention of taking prisoners, and the barbarians had no intention of surrendering.

The animosity between them, built up over countless years of conflict, ran too deep.

"Waaaaaah!"

"We won!"

"The Young Lord has come!"

The Perdium forces finally let out a triumphant cheer. It was nothing like the helpless endurance they had shown while watching the barbarians retreat earlier.

Having dealt near-total destruction to the combined forces of six nearby tribes, they had every reason to celebrate.

Zwalter, overjoyed, approached Ghislain.

"Ghislain! What is going on? How did you come so suddenly?"

Ghislain smiled back as he greeted Zwalter.

"This is the time when the barbarians are most active. With the famine, I was certain they would grow even bolder."

"Indeed, you came at the perfect time. Thanks to you, we've achieved a great victory. I was even considering asking for your help."

Perdium's limited forces were always stretched thin when the barbarians united.

Though such occasions had been rare, the severe famine had driven the barbarians to act desperately, exposing Perdium's vulnerabilities.

Zwalter suddenly remembered something and quickly added.

"We can't rest just yet. Their raiding parties have already infiltrated the kingdom. Other villages are in danger. We must move quickly and save the celebrations for later."

The barbarians who had attacked the fortress were meant to pin down Perdium's forces while their raiding parties completed their work.

Those raiding parties, small in number but highly mobile, had likely already begun plundering several villages.

Ghislain nodded, fully aware of the situation.

"Let's move immediately. I will divide my forces and act swiftly."

"Let's do that. I'll bring you an updated map."

Though everyone was utterly exhausted from the battle, they moved without complaint.

They all knew that any delay would mean more suffering for the defenseless villagers.

Ghislain spread out the map as soon as he received it and pointed to several locations.

"Gillian, Kaor, each of you take a hundred knights and head here. The raiding has likely already begun, so you must hurry."

"Understood."

"Leave it to me. I'll crush them all."

Gillian and Kaor immediately departed from the fortress, while Zwalter and Randolph also divided their forces and moved out.

Time was running out. They needed to reach the villages before the barbarians razed them to the ground.

Zwalter clenched his teeth as he rode.

'We might already be too late….'

The barbarians who had attacked here had fulfilled their role. Because of them, the Perdium forces were pinned down and delayed for far too long.

Still, it was fortunate that they could move now. If Ghislain hadn't arrived, they wouldn't even have had this chance.

Zwalter repeatedly urged his knights and soldiers as they rode.

"Let's go! Let's save the people!"

***

"Hahahaha!"

"It's been a while since we raided like this!"

"What's this? These bastards have some food stockpiled!"

The barbarians roared with laughter as they set a northern village ablaze. They hadn't expected much from a small village like this, but there was more food stored here than they anticipated.

It was the very food Zwalter had distributed.

He hadn't hoarded the provisions Ghislain had given him.

He made sure to distribute them to the people of Perdium's territory, and even secretly sent supplies to nearby villages in other territories. He did this so they could build the strength to resist the barbarians.

For Zwalter, defending against the barbarians was his responsibility. Even if the villages weren't part of his territory, if it meant countering the barbarians, he believed Perdium should provide support.

This was why, despite being mocked as the "fool of the North," Zwalter was deeply respected by the people.

But this time, the barbarians had come prepared to bear significant losses. Normally, such raiding parties would have been intercepted by fortress patrols, but Perdium was tied down now.

And so, the barbarians freely killed people and savored their first raid in a long while.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Please spare us!"

"At least spare the children!"

Screams echoed endlessly between the burning buildings.

The village's militia had already been wiped out, leaving no one to stop the barbarians.

The barbarians let out victorious cheers, fully unleashing their madness.

"Hahaha! Everything here is ours now!"

"Those Northern fools can't even move right now!"

"I heard those idiots are always ignored by the other lords. Why do they try so hard when no one helps them? Stupid bastards! Hahaha!"

"Alright, kill all the women and rape all the men!"

The barbarians turned to look at the one who had shouted in excitement.

"Hey, you…"

"A-ah, no! I just said that without thinking…."

An awkward silence passed for a moment, but they soon shrugged it off and resumed enjoying their rare celebration.

They scoured the village, determined to kill every last person.

Creak!

The barbarians, searching every house, stumbled upon a boy trembling in fear, holding his little sibling tightly.

"Hahaha, so there were some cuties hiding here?"

A barbarian warrior grinned, baring his yellowed teeth.

Wearing a terrifying skull-shaped helmet and holding a blood-soaked axe, he was a horrifying sight. The boy, his voice trembling, pleaded.

"P-please spare me."

"Heeheeheehee!"

The barbarian only let out a grotesque laugh. The boy, on the verge of tears, pleaded again.

"P-please, at least spare my sibling."

"Kehihihi!"

Once again, the barbarian let out an eerie laugh as he approached the boy.

Step. Step.

The boy trembled, tears streaming down his face. The barbarian's footsteps sounded like the approach of death itself.

'Goddess, please… please help us.'

Unable to bear the terror, the boy shut his eyes. Thinking he was about to die with his sibling, he could hardly breathe.

Step. Step.

'Please, someone… anyone… please….'

Step. Step.

"Kihihihi—?"

Thud!

Crash!

There was the sound of something collapsing. The footsteps stopped.

Puzzled by the sudden silence, the boy slowly opened his eyes.

The barbarian who had been approaching him lay dead, his skull pierced clean through.

Standing in the doorway was a man holding a bloodstained spear.

He was dressed differently from the barbarians. The boy instinctively knew this man was an enemy of the barbarians.

The house was dim, and the man's face was obscured by shadow. Only the glow of the flames engulfing the village highlighted his silhouette.

Yet, the man's red eyes gleamed brightly even in the darkness.

In a trembling voice, the boy asked, "W-who are you?"

After a brief pause, the man replied in a firm voice.

"Ghislain Perdium. The one who will protect you from now on."

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