Chapter 206 - Thud-Thud-Bam(3)

The beginning of tactics is understanding what weapons you have.

In this regard, both Enkrid and Krais were faithful to the basics of tactics.

Audin, being large, was always noticeable on the battlefield.

If Audin caused a ruckus on the battlefield, could the enemy just ignore him?

He was the visible threat, the one who destroyed siege weapons. Surely, they'd be desperate to capture and kill him.

He was the perfect distraction, with the best possible size and timing.

"Audin."

"Yes, brother. Leave it to me."

Enkrid left the long explanation to Krais.

The core of the plan was simple.

If Audin went out in broad daylight, everyone would be too busy focusing on him.

The idea was to make a commotion in the east and then strike from the west.

"Haha, this will be fun, Brother Krais."

Audin, after hearing the full explanation, laughed heartily. He might be surrounded and beaten to death if things went wrong, but if he was afraid of that, he wouldn't be in a crazy unit like this.

On the third day of the battle, Enkrid wanted to show the 'Bam' in the operation.

Ah, of course, the knife he would strike with would likely make a 'thwack,' not a 'thunk.'

Enkrid explained his strategy to Krais, and Krais cocked his head and then spoke.

"What nonsense is that?"

His tone was extremely rude, so Enkrid smacked him on the back of the head.

Thwack.

It seemed to have been a bit forceful because Krais's head shook violently.

Like a weeble, Krais quickly straightened his head and spoke.

"I get the gist. Thunk and bam."

"Yeah, thunk and bam."

Dunbakel, who had been listening to their conversation, privately questioned their mental state.

'What kind of nonsense is that?'

But she wasn't in a position to intervene, so she kept quiet.

After all, wasn't she an uninvited guest?

She could only watch and wait, clueless.

In reality, whenever something happened, they'd take the small leopard instead of her.

It could have made her feel pathetic, but—

"Grrr."

The leopard didn't even look at her. It seemed too busy grooming its claws.

The disregard was oddly comforting.

More than anything...

'Is this like a flower garden?'

Despite their insane minds, they were all good-looking, too.

Starting with Enkrid, then Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Kraiss, they were like flowers gathered together, each with their own unique style.

Dunbakel herself didn't exactly care for appearances, but isn't it true that food that looks good tastes better?

And they did look good.

She didn't want to leave the flower garden. She wanted to stay.

If she wanted to survive here, though, she would have to work harder to prove her worth.

"I'll go with you."

Dunbakel said, making up her mind. She meant she would accompany Audin.

"Want to? Go ahead," Enkrid replied nonchalantly. He figured it wouldn't be a problem as long as she stuck close to Audin.

And soon, the operation began.

Sneaking out of the city wasn't difficult.

"What do you think of the Gilpin Guild? They've secretly made at least three escape tunnels."

The enemy had surrounded the city walls, making it hard to get out through the opposite gate.

There were scouts patrolling that area too.

And they were mounted scouts.

It was hard to catch them since they were on horseback, but they were easy to spot.

In that case, they just needed to sneak out.

After removing a few stones from the south gate, a small hole—half a tunnel—appeared.

The problem was...

"It's narrow, brother."

 Audin was as big as a bear, this hole was too small for him.

The religious zealot soldier had to crouch sideways just to get out of the small gate.

"Well, this wasn't expected."

Gilpin, who had been guiding them, responded.

"Widen it."

Enkrid gave a simple answer. If it's too narrow, just widen it.

"Well, this might not be an escape tunnel… it could also be an easy path for the enemy to get in," the bald-headed Gilpin muttered. Everything he said was true.

"We just need to make sure they don't come anywhere near the walls."

Enkrid replied. It wasn't a particularly grand plan, but Krais, who had been listening, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

That's right. If done properly, the enemy wouldn't be able to get near the walls.

This is how the flow of the battle is going.

The Border Guard was a fortified city, but since it didn't have a moat, the defensive strength of the walls wasn't necessarily high.

There were many watchtowers, so arrows could be fired in abundance.

'But that's not enough.'

What if they charge with shields raised? How would they stop them?

Arrows alone wouldn't be sufficient.

Pouring oil or hot water over them, or throwing stones, also had its limits.

What if ladders started appearing everywhere? If the numbers are overwhelming, the walls will crumble in an instant. The advantage of the walls would be lost.

It would be vulnerable to siege weapons like mangonels or trebuchets.

Even if they brought siege towers, there would be no way to stop them.

This is why moats were so important.

It's not for nothing that they dig trenches and fill them with water in front of the gates.

Even though the smell might be unpleasant from lack of proper maintenance, just having a moat makes defending the castle much easier.

Then add some traps.

'And use strategies for breaking down the outer walls too.'

This was instinctive. Just as Enkrid loses himself when he sees a sword, Krais had the habit of imagining the worst-case scenario and finding the best way to block it.

Before long, Krais was thinking about the construction of the castle and its defensive structures, shaking his head as if to clear the thoughts.

Anyway, this time, they would make sure the enemy couldn't even approach the walls.

That was enough.

"Are you bringing back bread again?"

This was a question aimed at Enkrid, who was leaving through the widened hole.

Thanks to Audin, Enkrid was leaving with his head bowed. He turned back, still in that posture.

To his surprise, Krais, who had always been anxious, was looking at him with a bright expression.

"We'll see."

That was his greeting. After exiting, Enkrid looked into the distance and saw smoke cutting through the sky.

The enemy, for some reason, was still lighting the fires in their ovens. What was that about? Confidence, perhaps?

"As the Lord said, sometimes it gets lonely in his kingdom."

Audin recited a prayer. It was a straightforward prayer.

It meant he was willing to send a few souls to the Lord. In other words, he was planning to beat a few people senseless to knock on the gates of heaven.

"Take it easy. Being too conspicuous will cause problems."

Enkrid reminded him of their goal.

"Don't worry, brother. I was once recognized as a person who neither overdid nor lacked anything."

Was that true?

It didn't sound like something the person who always demanded excessive training would say.

"Your gaze is disrespectful, brother."

Even someone of that size had some awareness. Enkrid nodded and said.

"I'm going."

Jaxen followed Enkrid, and Audin moved with Dunbakel.

Today, Rem and Ragna were absent.

It was enough to move with a small group.

"Are you leaving me behind? Me? Just me? Leaving me here?"

Rem had a fit, but when it came to moving without drawing attention, wasn't Jaxen the best?

Esther didn't stop and followed as well.

"Grr."

Hidden among the underbrush beneath the castle wall, they looked on as the leopard let out a small cry.

The leopard, who hadn't been seen for several days, now seemed more lively than ever.

"Jaxenn."

"We'll sync up. I'll mute the sounds and eliminate our presence. We'll walk to the target location."

What was Jaxen's nickname among Rem and the surrounding team members—'the sneaky wildcat.'

It wasn't for nothing they called him that.

Even Rem, who usually didn't care about things, said Jaxen's presence couldn't be read if he didn't want it to be.

Jaxenn demonstrated his skills.

He silenced his footsteps and used the terrain's bushes and contours to move. When rocks appeared along the way, he would sit behind them.

As Jaxen sat behind the rock, only about twenty steps away, Martai's scout group passed by. However, as planned, he went unnoticed and was able to make it to a point where he could observe the rear supply base.

Having perfectly grasped the surrounding terrain and taken the scouts' intentions into account, he moved silently, every step considered.

'Move over, assassin.'

Enkrid thought as he took his position in the tree.

On either side of him, Esther and Jaxen were watching the supply base.

Now, it was time to wait for the commotion.

***

Greg, the captain of the 1st Battalion under Olf, was a man who could certainly be called a fierce warrior.

He was a shock trooper, leading his unit with sheer strength.

What is a shock trooper? It's the unit that leads the charge, the front line.

"The bear bastard who destroyed our siege weapons is here!"

The cry of a messenger reached Greg's ears.

The massive figure who destroyed the mangonel.

It was impressive. That kind of strength seemed almost inhuman.

So, is strength everything? Does it determine the outcome of a battle?

Nonsense!

The outcome of a fight is never that easily decided.

Now, how did it happen?

Did the gates open? No, that wasn't it.

The city was still surrounded. The scout parties had been moving without a pause. If something like that had happened, they would have known right away.

'Did they sneak out?'

Just because the city was surrounded didn't mean there was no way out.

Being brave doesn't mean being foolish. Greg realized the enemy's intentions.

They had snuck out and been caught.

'They're targeting the supply line again!'

Attacking the supply route repeatedly was their only way of survival.

The 2nd Battalion commander, Zimmer, had said it himself.

"If we just surround and hold, we'll win. The warmonger can only do what's obvious. We won't fall for it twice."

Zimmer had gritted his teeth in frustration.

They had sent out a small group of soldiers to try and deal with the big one, but there was a limit to what could be sent out. For a situation that required a small strike force, they couldn't afford to send someone that capable to the rear.

Greg moved forward with certainty.

It was, of course, a mistake.

Audin had been moving in the front to draw attention.

"Brothers, are you on your way to greet the Lord?"

While talking nonsense, Audin swung his fists at the approaching enemy soldiers.

The punch looked heavy and dull. The enemy soldiers probably thought they could just avoid it.

It was that slow.

In fact, the more threatening figure was the beast-woman swinging a scimitar next to him.

The white hair flying in the wind showed she was no ordinary warrior.

So? Without being a knight, isn't it nearly impossible to overcome a numerical disadvantage?

Immediately, Greg's shock unit moved.

The armed infantry charged with spears and shields.

This was Martai's pride—its shock troops.

Relatively light armor, large shields covering half of the body, and infantry armed with spears.

Troops focused on the charge.

"There's a lot of them!"

Dunbakel shouted. Audin sized them up.

About forty to fifty soldiers.

It would be fine to clash with them. Only fifty soldiers after all.

Just avoid the long spears and charge in. Gain distance first and land a powerful blow.

No need for Balaf-style wrestling, just a straightforward strike would break the formation of some of the enemy troops.

After that, it would be easy to jump into the enemy ranks. The long spears would be more of a hindrance than anything.

Naturally, the enemy would try to press him down with their shields, but that was futile.

He would push them aside and break them one by one.

But Audin didn't do that.

He deflected the approaching spears with the back of his hand, dodged, and slowly swung his heavy fists.

Occasionally, he picked up stones from the ground and threw them.

Whoosh!

Thud!

A rock struck a shield, shattering into fragments that scattered in all directions.

"Just a dumb brute with strength!" one of the enemy infantry yelled. That was exactly what Audin wanted them to think.

'Exactly as planned.'

Drawing attention and creating a false sense of security.

Before they left, Krais had emphasized this sixteen times.

"Don't kill them all. You need to match the pace and come back."

'I'm no barbarian, brother.'

Audin followed Krais's instructions.

The intent was obvious. The enemy was underestimating them, so they would use that to their advantage.

Audin had years of combat experience before coming here.

Reading the intentions of his brother was easy.

"Are you going to fight while hiding behind your shields, brothers?"

Audin deliberately spoke with an angry expression.

"You're just a lump relying on brute strength!"

One of Greg's company commanders shouted. He thought that if he kept tightening the pressure on the enemy, they would eventually break.

A commotion broke out.

The rocks Audin occasionally threw could have been fatal.

Most importantly, if the enemy got caught by that monstrous strength, it wouldn't end well.

The enemy soldiers didn't close the distance recklessly, only thrusting their spears.

Audin was faithfully playing his role—creating chaos in the front and being a noticeable figure. Naturally, all eyes were on him.

That was enough.

Enkrid once again raided the supply base.

At the same time, he wanted to confirm something that was bothering him.

"Jaxen. Circle around the back of the supply base and check where the enemy soldiers are gathered, see what their formation is like."

Jaxen didn't answer but blinked his eyes.

'Me? Really? Do I have to do this?'

He had a talent for communicating so clearly with just his eyes.

"Just do it."

Enkrid pushed him. As he had realized long ago, these men listened to their orders more than he expected.

"Fine."

Though he seemed indifferent, Jaxen moved as instructed, and Enkrid patted Esther's head as he spoke.

"Want some bread?"

It was just the two of them raiding the supply base. The enemy had prepared an ambush, but Enkrid, with his sharp senses, detected it and broke through with sheer force.

Instead of killing everyone, they lightly stepped around, set fire to a few tents, and stole some bread.

Audin was causing a ruckus up front. The enemy's defenses were tougher than before, but that was all.

Audin was creating a scene.

The guards' attention was subtly drawn to the front.

Thanks to that, the mission was much easier.

Seeing that, Jaxen began sneaking behind the enemy soldiers.

Since he was already moving.

"Esther, let's go."

Enkrid, while at it, destroyed a few of the furnaces.

"You bastard!"

An enemy soldier shouted, clearly the commander.

'Should I kill him?'

Enkrid briefly considered it but decided against it. If he fought properly, it would only make the enemy more alert.

Instead, Enkrid darted away again, hitting and running. He had done it several times when facing weaker opponents, but this time it was much easier.

Audin had drawn attention for him.

His skills had improved since then.

Esther's condition was excellent as well.

The leopard had proven quite useful.

"Grrawr!"

With a chilling roar, the leopard would break enemy soldiers' shins or claw at them, all while moving incredibly swiftly.

'Her skills have improved too.'

Enkrid thought to himself.

On the way back, Enkrid naturally observed the movements of the soldiers he had just faced. He remembered, recalled, and reflected on it.

There was something to learn from this.

No, it was only natural to learn.

The part that troubled him would be clarified by Jaxen.

So...

'We've got some room to breathe.'

Enkrid returned to his original mindset.

With the sword and training, and considering the path ahead, the road of discipline continued.