Ch.223Raid

The fire is always right.

Beyond the ancient era of close combat with spears, swords, and arrows crossing, even in modern warfare with artillery and missiles, fire attacks remain one of the most effective means of assault. Today was no exception. Oil and fire once again proved their worth to the world.

The encampment lit up like daylight. Hundreds of tents blazed fiercely, regardless of whether their occupants were inside or not. The heat was so intense it could be felt even from here.

“Fire! They’ve set fire to everything! Run!”

“It’s a sea of flames everywhere! Where can we go? What were the sentries doing?”

As expected, the voices of confused enemies rang out clearly.

As for the sentries, I’d killed them all. They neglected their duties, so they couldn’t really complain about dying.

“Damn it! This path is blocked too! Let’s go right!”

“Get on the horses! We need to escape from here first…!”

The enemies scattered in all directions in confusion.

A far cry from the bravery they’d shown during the day. Understandable, really. There’s a big difference between a warrior’s death charging toward the enemy and a dog’s death fleeing from flames.

Either way, I couldn’t let them mount their horses.

“Assault team! Prepare to charge! The rest continue providing cover from here!”

After giving orders to my knights, I poured water over my head and covered my nose and mouth with a dampened cloth.

The plan was to charge in, disrupt the enemy camp, and strike their key facilities… but looking again, there was a slight problem.

[You’re going to jump into that inferno? Trusting only a pouch of water? I always knew you were insane, but this is truly madness.]

Hersella muttered in disbelief.

Hmm… it does seem crazy even to me. It’s burning better than I expected.

Perhaps it’s because of the grassy plains and the wooden and cloth barracks.

From the wall, it might look like a furnace hundreds of meters wide.

What are the chances of entering that inferno and coming out unharmed? Even the knights were reluctant.

“Couldn’t we just continue with the fire attack, sir? No matter how you look at it, that place is…”

If even Nigel was saying this, perhaps I should reconsider…?

No, no. I can’t back down.

“Fire alone lacks decisive power. While they’re in confusion, we need to reduce their numbers as much as possible.”

If they regain order and attempt a breakthrough, we have no way to stop them.

With knights scattered in four directions, fewer than fifty knights—wearing only breastplates and without horses—cannot stop a force of over a thousand.

Far from stopping them, we might be completely annihilated.

So, even if we end up half-roasted, we need to directly disrupt the enemy.

– Shing!

Drawing my sword, I looked at the knights lined up behind me.

Some hesitated, intimidated by the flames.

Others poured water over their heads with grim expressions.

“I will fight!”

I shouted loudly toward them.

All the knights’ gazes focused on me.

“Assault team, what will you do? If you’re afraid, you may stay behind. Even for knights, as humans, it’s natural to fear a pit of fire! I won’t call it dishonorable or shameful!”

It was irony.

If the commander says he’ll fight but you stay behind because you’re afraid of fire, that is indeed shameful dishonor.

“But remember! The Empire’s citizens are dying in the flames of civil war even now! We must annihilate these enemies as quickly as possible and save as many people as we can. Hasn’t that opportunity presented itself right before us?”

I pointed my sword toward the enemy camp.

Durandal, the Sword of Patience, emitted a cold light. The knights stared at the silver-blue blade as if entranced.

“What is a knight’s duty? Do you still remember the oath you took?”

“Fight without fear! We shall be humanity’s bulwark!”

The assault team knights responded in unison, drawing their weapons.

Nigel too raised his spear with a shout. His eyes sparkled with firm resolve.

“Yes, if you remember, then charge! The time has come to prove that resolve! Fight for humanity!”

I turned and ran.

Toward the blazing encampment of the White Banner. Facing the heat-filled wind head-on.

“For humanity!”

“Follow Lord Median! Charge!”

With spirited shouts, dozens of knights followed behind me.

Their fighting spirit blazed like the flames ahead.

—-

[You certainly know how to incite knights. I’ve always known you had a way with words,]

Hersella let out a hollow laugh, as if in admiration.

‘What, are you going to mock me as usual?’

[No. That’s a valuable quality for a commander. Be proud of it and continue to hone and develop it. It will always serve you well.]

It was a more generous assessment than I expected. That’s unusual. I thought she’d mock me for being like a con artist.

“The Empire’s men are coming!”

That was the end of our leisurely conversation.

While frantically fleeing the flames, a White Banner soldier spotted us by chance and shouted.

Without breaking my running momentum, I drew a dagger from my waist and threw it.

The flash that pierced through the flames struck the man’s throat.

“Continue the charge! The primary targets are the horses! First, seize the horses and mount them! Kill all other horses, and disrupt the enemy to prevent them from regrouping!”

“Yes, sir!”

Together with the knights, we plunged into the flames.

Inside the camp was utter chaos.

Flames everywhere, black smoke swirling like a vortex making it difficult to see even a foot ahead.

Barracks with burned frames collapsed with a crash, scattering ashes and dust.

“The enemy is coming! We must stop them!”

“Horses! Get on the horses! We need to get out of here first…!”

The smell of burning leather, cloth, flesh, and oil stung my nose, and the mixed screams of beasts and humans created an indecipherable noise that hurt my ears.

White Banner. Ka’har’s elite infantry had forgotten all discipline and command in the face of this sudden disaster, jumping around like monkeys with their tails on fire.

Thrashing about in these flames was nothing short of suicidal.

Sure enough, the ground everywhere was covered with people who had collapsed from smoke inhalation. Flames covered their backs.

It was a very pleasing sight.

I hadn’t expected them to become such a disorganized rabble.

“Knights who can speak the Eastern language, shout to increase the confusion! Ah, only male knights!”

Nigel, who had taken a deep breath to shout, was left with his mouth hanging open.

Well, it can’t be helped, since most Ka’har warriors are men.

A woman’s voice wouldn’t be useful here.

“Retreat for now! We must fight where the flames can’t reach us! Let’s go west!”

“The west is already blocked! North! We must go north!”

“Scatter! Move in small groups! If we stay together, we’ll all burn to death!”

The knights shouted in unison, spreading false information.

Units that had charged in from other directions seemed to have noticed my order, as shouts soon spread throughout the entire encampment.

Now, it would be impossible to quell the chaos with orders from afar.

Even if the White Banner warriors tried to calm their troops, they could at best control only the soldiers immediately around them.

If we cut down those leaders, the two thousand White Banner troops would collapse helplessly like beasts without heads.

—-

Except for the sauna-like heat, fighting against them was incredibly easy.

The enemy soldiers were split into groups of only dozens as they tried to escape the flames, and such numbers couldn’t stop a knight’s charge.

A curved blade swung in desperation was blocked by a longsword and lost its force pathetically, followed by a flowing counterattack that sent a head flying.

Just twenty men. There was no one who could stop the footsteps of those twenty.

The knights advanced, crushing the enemies relentlessly like lightning splitting dry dead trees.

Soldiers charging on horseback were actually welcome opponents.

Unless they kept their distance and shot arrows, by charging in like this, they were simply donating a horse.

Daggers thrown by Nigel and me pierced through the cavalry and unseated them.

While the warhorse panicked after losing its rider, nearby knights quickly grabbed the reins and mounted.

The moisture in our cloaks had already dried up, but it wasn’t a problem.

Water pouches were coming to us on their own.

“Wet yourselves with enemy blood! It will protect you for a while!”

I swung my sword toward an approaching enemy.

A flashing blue light cut through the enemy’s waist.

The severed upper body rolled on the ground, and the scattered entrails sizzled on a pool of oil.

Blood spurting like a fountain soaked my entire body.

Before long, the twenty-two-man assault team had become eighteen mounted knights.

A moment of silence for the four knights who had been roasted.

“Nigel! I’m transferring command to you. Target the warriors! Prioritize those trying to command! Don’t forget to change horses when they reach their limit! I’m going to meet the enemy commander!”

“You must return safely! Understood?”

Nigel shouted urgently. In the past, she would have tried to stop me because it was dangerous, but it seemed she was gradually adapting to my recklessness.

“When have I ever failed to return? Don’t worry and wait!”

After giving her a light smile, I whipped the reins.

The captured warhorse startled and began to gallop.

The tent of the enemy leader, Amin, was clearly visible in the distance.

—-

I rode in a straight line toward Amin’s tent.

“The Empire’s knight is targeting Lord Amin!”

“Stop him! Knock him off his horse!”

White Banner soldiers who realized my target rushed at me. Both mounted ones and those running on the ground.

Perhaps because I was wearing a cloak over my head, they didn’t seem to recognize me yet.

I spurred my horse and raised Durandal.

“Die!”

A diagonal slash. The blue blade shattered the enemy’s curved sword like glass and continued forward.

The lower half of the warrior, cut in two, stained the enemy’s saddle red.

“Hah!”

I grabbed a cavalry spear aimed at my solar plexus with Frosting.

“Wh-what?!”

The leather strap securing the saddle was torn away helplessly, and the warrior who had thrust the spear was pulled toward me.

Durandal swept across his neck. The lifeless body crashed to the ground.

“What strength…! Is this the Empire’s Champion? No, could it be…!”

The momentum of the enemies blocking my way faltered and wavered. A clear opening. The excited warhorse advanced relentlessly.

Durandal emitted a blue light, and a dark red energy entwined around the cavalry spear in my left hand.

“Get out of my way!”

Spear and sword swept around like a storm. Blood poured down like heavy rain, and severed and crushed bodies soared into the air.

I couldn’t display skills like Havar’s, but my horsemanship was sufficient to break through these kinds of enemies.

“It’s Haschal! The whore’s daughter, the traitor Haschal has appeared!”

[Those bastards!]

Hersella had another fit.

…She’s surprisingly sensitive about insults to her mother, this woman.