Meryl frowned and gripped her left arm with her right hand. Her left arm was missing, the sleeve swaying empty.
It was a wound from these three years of battle. Meryl had lost her left arm. Shloh next to her had a prosthetic leg, and Rhett had lost both wrists, now equipped with prosthetic hands.
Ideally, they would receive pensions and train soldiers in the rear, but Shloh and the others refused to leave the battlefield, following me with their prosthetics.
“Lady Romelia, we can still fight. Please, give us a soldier’s duty.”
Rhett, with his prosthetic hands, knelt and pleaded. I knew his prosthetics were always ready for battle.
“No, it’s not possible.”
I shook my head at Rhett’s plea.
“But! We—”
Shloh tried to argue, but I silenced him with a cold look.
My gaze made them back down.
“Captain Rome.”
Al, who had watched the entire exchange, spoke to me, but I silenced him with a glare.
I understood what Shloh and Al wanted to say. They wanted to die as soldiers. As a Captain, I might have to give them a place to die.
But that was a soldier’s way of thinking, a man’s way of thinking.
No matter how much they wished for it, I wouldn’t grant them an easy death.
“Let’s move. There’s a small stream up ahead. We’ll take a short break there. Make sure the horses drink plenty and refill the canteens. After that, we’ll leave Balad Forest.”
“What will we do after leaving the forest? We still need to buy another day, right?”
Al asked about our next move.
Originally, we planned to wait for the Demon King’s army in the Semedo Desert Wilderness, just beyond Balad Forest, and ambush them. But now we were about to be caught. We needed to find a way to buy another day, but a direct confrontation would lead to defeat.
“Then, let’s go on a little tour of the ruins.”
My words made Al and Ray exchange glances.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Leading the Demon King’s Special Reconnaissance Unit, named after him, Geldova advanced through the forest with five hundred infantry in bronze armor, pursuing a woman named Romelia.
There were no cavalry due to tactical reasons, and Geldova himself walked with his troops.
It wasn’t a dignified sight, but he was used to it.
Since being freed from Dalian Prison, Geldova had wreaked havoc on five countries using Gyami’s infiltration tactics. Lionel Kingdom was their sixth target.
Geldova moved lightly. Truthfully, he liked the infiltration tactics Gyami devised.
It was infuriating to admit, but Geldova had burned nearly a hundred villages and killed over ten thousand humans in previous battles. Despite the significant damage inflicted on human countries, Geldova’s troops had suffered minimal losses. It was a major achievement.
Relentlessly avoiding direct combat with enemy forces and attacking defenseless rear areas. It was akin to banditry, but it was an efficient strategy. Moreover, toying with large armies with a small force suited Geldova’s preferences and felt satisfying.
And fortunately, they had found the woman with a bounty on her head, Romelia.
According to the initial plan, they were not supposed to fight the bounty target directly if found; instead, Gyami would devise an alternate strategy.
However, the opponent was a woman. There was no need to wait for reinforcements. Besides, if Geldova took her head, the reward would double. He wanted to use the bounty to reward his soldiers.
“General Geldova,”
a scout hurried over to the advancing Geldova.
“Well, were they here as expected?” Geldova asked.
“Yes, just as you predicted, the humans have set up an encirclement against us. However, it’s not yet complete. We have one more day,”
the scout replied as anticipated.
The unit commanded by the woman named Geldova, which had attacked with three hundred cavalry, was now in retreat. At first glance, her actions seemed tactless, but Geldova knew they were trying to lure him. If they continued like this, they would be trapped between enemy forces and annihilated if they scattered to escape.
Therefore, Geldova quickened the march, sending raiding parties repeatedly to slow down the enemy, buying a day’s time.
Geldova took out the map Gyami had provided and reviewed the surrounding terrain again.
According to the map, they would soon leave the forest and enter a rocky wilderness.
The humans likely planned to complete their encirclement in this wilderness and launch a pincer attack. But they caught up before the encirclement was complete.
With the initial plan in shambles, the humans would probably try to gain distance by riding through the wilderness. But the narrow paths through the rugged terrain were unsuitable for cavalry.
Catching up with cavalry on foot was challenging, but if they drove them into the narrow paths, they could catch up.
Confident in his victory, Geldova and his soldiers emerged from the forest.
But what Geldova saw wasn’t the backs of fleeing enemies on horseback but humans climbing the rocky mountain.
“Huh? What is that?”
Geldova looked at the peak where the humans were climbing.
At the top of the rocky mountain, stones were piled up, forming what seemed to be a fort. But Gyami’s map didn’t indicate any fort there.
“General Geldova!”
a scout who had been tracking the enemy ran up to Geldova.
“What is that fort?” Geldova asked.
“It appears to be an old ruin,”
the scout, who had been scouting the surroundings, quickly answered.
“A ruin, huh? So there are no stationed troops?”
“Yes, there’s no sign of people. It seems to be very old.”
“I see, they intend to buy time here,”
Geldova nodded, listening to the scout’s report.
They probably wanted to avoid the disadvantage of fighting in narrow paths, which worked out well for Geldova too.
Geldova’s unit had spearmen and archers but no cavalry. Chasing fleeing enemies was risky in terms of mobility. However, if they were holed up in a fort, that disadvantage disappeared. Geldova’s unit didn’t have siege weapons, but for a ruin, they weren’t necessary.
Geldova gazed at the rocky mountain and the fort.
The fort seemed quite sturdy. A large tower stood in the center, overseeing the entire wilderness. The rear north side was a steep cliff, making it difficult to approach. The west side was steep and hard to climb. The front south and the east slopes seemed gentle and easy to climb, which was a trap. The defenders could concentrate their forces on the south and east.
Attacking the fort without a plan would lead to unnecessary casualties. The fort was designed to whittle down attacking forces while defending.
But that was only if the fort was in perfect condition.
Being abandoned for who knows how long, the gate’s doors were rotted away, the west wall was crumbling, and the east wall was full of holes. They could attack from any side.
The enemy was trying to block the doorless gate and the holes in the walls with fallen stones and pillars, but it was a futile effort. There was no reason to wait for them to finish.
“Alright, you lot, we’re attacking the fort. Whoever takes the woman’s head will be rewarded. Work hard!”
Geldova motivated his troops. Hearing about the reward, the soldiers laughed, baring their fangs.
The formation for the siege was quickly set, soldiers lined up with shields, and archers aimed at the fort.
Geldova himself moved with a small group to a position with a good view of the front and east side. As Geldova’s troops prepared, the fort also started to move. Soldiers in blue armor led archers on the walls. In the open gate, soldiers in red armor held spears.
On the central tower of the fort, a woman in white armor, guarded by three soldiers, was visible. She must be Geldova, the bounty target.
Geldova looked at the woman standing on the tower. She looked back at him. It seemed she would command from the tower, giving her a good view of all three sides.
“Interesting, she plans to challenge me with her command skills!”
Geldova grinned, baring his fangs.
“Fine. Show them the power of our legion! Forward, one hundred to the front!”
At Geldova’s command, a hundred soldiers in the front line advanced with their shields.
As they moved forward, the archers on the wall fired arrows. Many arrows rained down. Some soldiers were pierced and fell, but most were blocked by shields, keeping losses minimal.
“Archers, three volleys, fire!” Geldova ordered.
The archers in the rear fired at the fort. But as the blue-armored knight on the wall swung his spear, a sudden gust of wind diverted nearly all the arrows.
The soldiers advancing towards the gate braved the arrows and wind, reaching the gate. But as they tried to enter, flames erupted from the open gate, burning the soldiers.
“Curse it, magic!”
Geldova growled at the sudden wind and flames from the gate.
He knew there were magic soldiers among the enemy, though there were only two. But they were powerful.
Geldova’s unit had no magic soldiers. Gyami had taken them. If they had magic soldiers, they could use different tactics, but there was no point in lamenting what they lacked.
“Don’t falter! Magic can’t be used repeatedly. Overwhelm them with numbers!”
Geldba cries out to his men.
“One hundred to the west! Climb the crumbled wall! Thirty to the east! Attack the hole on the southern side! Twenty more to the east! Attack the northern hole! Another ten to the east! Pretend to attack the northern hole, then move along the wall and climb the northern side!”
Geldova planned to make a broad attack from the west as a diversion, while focusing on the east, and sending soldiers around to the north.
The woman on the tower could see their movements, but once they reached the walls, she couldn’t see the soldiers’ actions. They wouldn’t expect an attack from the north, thinking it was safe.
Following Geldova’s orders, attacks began from the west, followed shortly by the east.
The humans had spread their forces to the south and west, with fewer soldiers on the east. However, they had enough to guard the holes.
Geldova’s soldiers near the eastern wall moved along the wall as directed, heading north.
The poll is open again, please vote!!!
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
