The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 280: Live Together, Die Together (3)

“Waaaaaah!”

Desmond’s forces no longer needed siege towers. They stormed into the fortress, facing no resistance. When the initial troops broke open the main gate, entry became even easier. Desmond's army flooded in, filling the wide fortress grounds and arranging themselves into formation.

Harold glared fiercely at the distant Fenris forces, his face twisted with anger.

“These worthless wretches have held me back until now. Capture them and tear them to pieces!”

The Fenris troops, anticipating a retreat if necessary, had formed their line near the opposite gate. Positioned between various buildings, they fortified themselves with a dense line of barricades, designed to hold off a large army even with their smaller numbers.

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“Waaaaaah!”

Desmond’s soldiers charged forward again like a tidal wave, knowing that arrows wouldn’t be particularly effective; instead, they used sheer numbers to push through.

Thud!

Gillian, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, stood at the front. He wielded a massive halberd, hoping to compensate for his weakened condition by maintaining distance.

He looked up at the sky for a moment. Dark clouds were beginning to gather, and the wind blew fiercely through the fortress, signaling the beginning of yet another battle.

“It’ll be a long night.”

Taking a deep breath, Gillian turned his gaze forward, his eyes filled with steely determination.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Sching!

At his command, the knights and soldiers of Fenris raised their spears in unison.

Clang!

Desmond’s forces clashed with Fenris’s, and just as in the first encounter, Fenris’s defensive line held strong.

“Aaaaargh!”

The front line of Desmond’s troops fell with little resistance—a predictable outcome.

Harold, who had experienced Fenris’s tenacity before, wasn’t caught off guard.

Schick!

As soldiers fell in the front, Desmond’s knights emerged from behind, slashing at Fenris soldiers, whose armor tore like paper under the knights’ mana-charged blades.

The galvanium armor was lightweight but not stronger than iron, unable to withstand the mana-infused blows.

Thud!

However, each time Gillian swung his halberd, the oncoming Desmond knights’ heads shattered under its force.

“This narrow path gives us the advantage! Hold the line as long as possible!”

Zzzing!

Fenris’s knights glowed as light shone through the gaps in their armor. After days of recovery, they fought with renewed ferocity.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gillian and the knights slaughtered Desmond’s forces as they entered their range, stopping every attempt to break through their formation. Even surprise attacks from Desmond’s side were no match for the Fenris soldiers’ discipline.

Magic from the rear of Desmond’s forces also failed to make much impact.

Zzzing!

With each flash of light from the knights’ enchanted armor, the incoming fireballs dissipated. Since Willow had fallen, the lower-circle mages’ spells had no effect on the Fenris troops.

Fenris’s archers, positioned behind the line, targeted Desmond’s forces. With the narrow passage held by Gillian and the knights, they focused on long-range attacks.

“Fire!”

Thwip!

At Gillian’s command, a hail of arrows flew toward the rear of Desmond’s forces.

“Aaaaargh!”

Cries of pain echoed, but Desmond’s soldiers didn’t suffer extensive losses. Following Harold’s orders, shield-bearers raised their large shields, protecting their allies.

The outcome would be determined in the melee where both sides’ frontlines clashed.

“Don’t lose heart! We can hold them!”

Unfazed by death, Gillian fought without restraint. He swung his halberd with lightning speed, cutting, stabbing, and cleaving his way through Desmond’s troops.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, his condition was far from normal. Each movement sent waves of pain through his body. Soon, Gillian was once again covered in blood—half from the enemy, half from his own reopened wounds.

“Urgh...”

But he gritted his teeth, refusing to stop. His eyes burned with intense killing intent, and his fighting spirit was as fierce as ever.

The knights around him fought with equal determination.

“Push forward!”

“Just a little more!”

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of screams and clashing weapons. Desmond’s army, meeting fierce resistance, attempted to use their numerical advantage.

“Encircle them! Surround them!”

Following the orders of their commanders, Desmond’s troops climbed nearby buildings, firing arrows and casting spells. Though these attacks didn’t cause major damage, they disrupted the Fenris formation.

Some troops circled around, aiming to strike Fenris’s rear.

But the Fenris soldiers weren’t about to let that happen.

“Suppress them!”

Fenris’s archers fired back, holding the advantage. Desmond’s soldiers, exposed on rooftops, were picked off one by one.

With their rear secure, Fenris’s frontline could focus solely on the enemies before them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The brutal clash continued as Fenris’s knights fought on, their armor stained red with blood. But the relentless assault from the overwhelming enemy forces wore them down, depleting their mana and strength.

As the Fenris knights visibly began to slow, it became clear to both sides that they were reaching their limit.

“This is it! Push harder!”

Sensing the Fenris forces weakening, Desmond’s troops surged forward.

The Fenris line began to falter and was slowly pushed back.

Seeing this, Gillian shouted another order.

“First row, fall back! Second row, step up!”

The knights in the front pulled back, and the fresh soldiers behind stepped forward, spears thrusting with incredible speed.

“Arrgh!”

Desmond’s front ranks crumbled in an instant. The Fenris formation swiftly reformed, reversing the momentum and pushing Desmond’s forces back.

They fought effectively, using both their equipment and the terrain to even the odds against the larger force.

“Rotate!”

Gillian efficiently rotated his troops, allowing tired knights to rest while fresh ones took their place. Thanks to his command at the front, they maintained their line.

At one point, the ground before the Fenris forces was so filled with Desmond’s fallen soldiers that it was hard to find a place to step.

Desmond’s troops, needing to clear their own dead to advance, were momentarily forced to pause, creating a brief lull in the battle.

Seeing Fenris soldiers still holding strong, some of Desmond’s men felt a chill of fear.

“They’re... they’re demons... a demon army...”

“How can so few hold out like this...?”

“Is every soldier in Fenris like that?”

Despite the relentless assault, they couldn’t break through. By now, the Fenris forces should have been exhausted, yet they still radiated fighting spirit.

Harold, watching from afar, felt both awe and rage.

“These bastards...”

Their resilience was astonishing. He knew they were strong, but he hadn’t expected them to hold this long.

Countless of his elite soldiers had died at the hands of these “lowly” fighters. If they continued like this, the casualties would be even greater before they finally subdued the Fenris troops.

Fenris’s advantageous equipment and strategic position had prevented him from capitalizing on his numerical superiority.

“Pull the soldiers back. We’ll reorganize the line. Bring Baron Hutton and Willow to the front, and deploy our strongest knights.”

Though both Hutton and Willow were injured, Harold had no other choice. Fenris’s frontline was too formidable, and he needed to match them with his best.

Harold admitted he had let his rage cloud his judgment, making him too impatient.

“Bring the trebuchets in closer, target their position, and scorch everything around them. Leave no place for them to hide.”

Rumble!

The trebuchets outside the fortress were moved forward.

Harold didn’t expect the trebuchets alone to wipe out the Fenris troops; they could simply relocate out of range. But by reducing everything to rubble, he hoped to make encircling them easier.

Just as the trebuchets were ready to fire, a soldier approached Harold with urgent news.

“Sir, the enemy... they’ve disappeared.”

“What?”

“They began retreating slowly, then opened the gate on the opposite side and fled.”

Gritting his teeth, Harold realized the truth. The enemy never intended to defend the fortress. They had only wanted to stall for time.

Harold took a deep, frustrated breath and asked, “What are the casualties?”

“We estimate about... three thousand dead so far.”

“...”

Harold looked up at the sky, which was beginning to lighten with the dawn.

The night-long battle had cost him three thousand elite troops. The Fenris forces were monstrous indeed.

He could understand it. With a hundred knights, such a feat wasn’t impossible, especially when they fought by blocking paths and controlling choke points.

Scanning the devastated fortress, Harold sighed. The structure was in ruins, barely recognizable as a fortress anymore.

It had been an important stronghold, yet capturing it had cost over three thousand men and precious time.

“I should have killed him long ago.”

All of this was because Ghislain had been left alive. The price for underestimating him had been painfully high.

“Haah...”

Closing his eyes, Harold tried to control his anger.

Though rage boiled within him, his target had already fled. Venting his fury now would only demoralize his troops.

It wasn’t too late. With the fortress secured, the road to Fenris Castle lay open. If he moved quickly and besieged the castle, he could still take Ghislain and his followers, finally satisfying his wrath.

Suppressing his emotions, Harold spoke in a low voice.

“We march immediately. Pack only the minimum supplies needed, and move out. The main force will advance first to encircle Fenris Castle. The engineers and supply units must catch up as quickly as possible.”

Though he knew his soldiers were exhausted, there was no choice. Rest could wait until they had Fenris Castle under siege.

Desmond’s forces quickly reorganized and set out toward Fenris Castle.

Following the road, they moved at a surprisingly fast pace for such a large army.

After two days of travel with no interruptions, they stopped briefly to set up camp.

It was then that they were hit by a sudden ambush.

“Ambush!”

Gillian and the knights who had slipped away from the fortress launched a surprise attack on Desmond’s camp.

Although Desmond’s elite soldiers had maintained a vigilant watch, the Fenris troops executed their attack with expert precision, swiftly killing a few soldiers before retreating into the darkness. Their hit-and-run tactics prevented the heavy, slower Desmond forces from pursuing.

Though Desmond’s forces successfully defended against the ambush, the skirmish took a toll, necessitating a pause to recover and reorganize.

“Clear the bodies!”

“Reform the scout and pursuit teams!”

“Report on remaining numbers!”

Commanders barked orders as they scrambled to restore order in the camp.

Once again, Desmond’s forces were forced to lose precious time because of Fenris’s hit-and-run tactics.

Harold ground his teeth, surveying the disorderly camp.

“Those bastards...”

He had thought Ghislain would be the only real nuisance in Fenris, given his reputation. But now he realized that Ghislain’s subordinates were equally troublesome.

Their relentless interference had slowed down his march, with his 30,000-strong army taking over two weeks to capture a single fortress and press forward.

There was still a considerable distance left to Fenris Castle, and along the way, the terrain offered plenty of cover for guerrilla tactics—forests, hills, and valleys where Fenris soldiers could hide.

“They really know how to play these games. It’s as if they’re defending their own backyard,” Harold muttered.

A nearby lieutenant responded, “At this rate, it’ll take us another two weeks just to reach the castle.”

“We can’t keep letting them dictate the pace. Increase the march speed,” Harold ordered, his gaze turning steely.

“That will make us more vulnerable to ambushes, and the soldiers’ stamina and morale will drop,” the lieutenant cautioned.

“Do it anyway. If the rats have nowhere to hide, they’ll have to come out eventually. We don’t have time.”

“...Understood, sir.”

Harold didn’t bother to hide the killing intent radiating from him.

“The enemy commander’s name is Gillian, isn’t it? I’ll make sure he dies alongside Ghislain, one way or another.”