Ch.331Breakthrough Preparation

Haschal wasn’t the only one who noticed the Werebeasts’ intentions.

Valdemar and Karl already knew, and even Leonore merely shrugged as if it were obvious.

Frider did scold me for not knowing, but I suspect she hadn’t noticed either.

I clearly saw her flinch when the reinforcements were mentioned.

Either way, this wasn’t a welcome development.

Right now, our forces had the advantage, so we could fight evenly even in unfavorable terrain, but if the enemy gained just four more Champions, the power balance would instantly flip.

“…Shouldn’t we retreat? Given the circumstances, I believe waiting for our soldiers to join us before engaging in a full-scale battle would be best.”

“No. We won’t retreat. While their forces are weakened, we must drive them out of this forest somehow. If these beasts reinforce and establish a foothold here, driving them out would be nearly impossible.”

Valdemar rejected Karl’s opinion.

I agreed with him.

As he said, forests were the ideal terrain for Werebeasts to operate in. If walls were to humans, forests were to Werebeasts.

We could handle them now because they were few in number and covered in wounds, but if they reinforced and began guerrilla ambushes, we’d suffer heavy casualties even with the Northern Army’s soldiers.

“Do you have a plan? Even if we try to drive them out, we’ll just get bogged down and worn out at this rate.”

Aingen, one of the Northern Army’s Masters, questioned Valdemar.

He was the knight who had fought against Abigeyl alongside Millia. I remembered him distinctly as a rare Master-level magic swordsman.

His magic wasn’t particularly impressive, but his casting speed was quite fast.

Probably because he learned it as a supplement to his swordsmanship rather than as his main skill.

As he demonstrated earlier, just channeling lightning through his sword could instantly electrocute an opponent.

“A plan… Yes, I do have one. If they’re using the forest to buy time, we have only one option.”

Valdemar turned his head to glare into the depths of the forest.

The sun had completely set, leaving nothing but darkness where one couldn’t see even a step ahead.

[We need to leave the forest.]

“We need to leave the forest.”

Hersella’s and Valdemar’s voices overlapped.

“We’ll march at maximum speed to exit the forest. Instead of directly engaging their attacks, we’ll maintain a defensive posture while continuing to move. Once we’re out of the forest, they’ll have no choice but to come out too. If they don’t, we’ll simply proceed to the northern wall and defeat their reinforcements first.”

It was certainly a reasonable strategy, regardless of its chances of success.

I wasn’t sure if we could safely exit the forest, but once we did, we would seize the initiative in battle.

Rurik and the Champions would have no choice but to deliberate. They’d have slim chances if they left the forest for a direct confrontation.

Yet if they remained in the forest while their reinforcements coming over the northern wall were defeated first, they’d be like rats in a trap.

“…Can we defeat their reinforcements with just our forces? We don’t know how many troops will come over the mountains.”

A knight cautiously asked.

He questioned whether a pursuit team of less than three hundred could annihilate the Werebeast reinforcements.

As he worried, the knights, who had numbered just over three hundred, had been reduced to about two hundred and fifty after several battles.

While the Werebeasts had suffered casualties too, it was an uneasy number to face proper reinforcements rather than Rurik’s retreating forces.

But well, I thought it might be possible.

I didn’t know how many reinforcements there would be, but Rurik wouldn’t be with them.

If they had someone of Rurik’s caliber, they would have deployed them in the siege.

No one but a fool would keep such forces idle. If there had been two Rurik-level fighters, I would have become beast food by now.

So regardless of how many reinforcements there were, stopping me would be impossible.

Champions? They’re not enough. Even Oleg could barely handle three or four Masters at most.

While an ordinary Hero might be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, that wouldn’t work against me.

I might not have been at the level of Hersella in her prime, but I too was a Hero specialized in fighting armies.

Tireless vigor. The power of Murder Karma that freely shifted between offense, defense, and transformation. Physical abilities exceeding ordinary pureblooded warriors even without Karma’s assistance.

Except for the heroic tale “Defying Fate,” all my powers were developed for slaughtering numerous weaker opponents rather than facing a single strong enemy.

Well, that makes sense.

Both the power of Murder Karma and my physical strength ultimately originated from Hersella.

Boss monsters are naturally good at mass slaughter.

“They’re just reserve forces. How could they compare to Rurik’s main force? With eleven Masters and the Knights of Light, subjugation won’t be difficult as long as Rurik is absent.”

Valdemar seemed to share my thoughts.

As the knight who had asked withdrew, satisfied, Valdemar continued with the main point.

“If they emerge from the forest, we’ll turn around and engage in a full-scale battle. Outside the forest, they won’t have the opportunity to retreat in an orderly fashion.”

That was undoubtedly true.

The Werebeasts had been able to retreat without major losses after their surprise attacks only because of the forest trees.

They created gaps by felling trees or even jumped from tree to tree, making it impossible for ordinary knights to pursue them.

Such tricks would be impossible in open terrain outside the forest.

While they might be able to flee by running faster than humans, they would have to accept significant casualties, unlike in the forest.

“We depart in ten minutes. Inform the knights.”

Having finished speaking, Valdemar sat down on a Werebeast corpse.

He too needed to rest, however briefly.

To break through the forest despite the Werebeasts’ interference, the Master-level forces, including him, would need to give their all.

—-

During the ten-minute break, knights replenished their strength by drinking potions or cutting pieces from horse carcasses to roast over torches, while the Northern Army’s Masters dispersed to gather their energy.

I sat on a tree stump, puffing smoke from my cigarette.

Smoking mana herbs in the north was frowned upon.

It essentially announced one’s position to Werebeasts through smoke, light, and smell.

Well, it didn’t matter now.

Our position had long been discovered. Unless they were blind, how could they not know?

Everyone was carrying torches, and the scent and noise of hundreds of people were overflowing.

That’s why no one cautioned me about smoking.

I knew when it was acceptable to smoke and when it wasn’t.

Frider might have grumbled about it, but she seemed busy at the moment. Just like Demian and Millia.

Millia was walking around collecting reusable arrows, while Frider was humming a tune as she cut claws and nails from Werebeast corpses.

I had no idea why she was collecting such things instead of resting quietly.

Demian was conversing with Aingen.

With his gestures and intense focus, it didn’t seem like casual small talk.

Well, having just reached Master level, he probably had many questions. I wasn’t sure why he was asking Aingen specifically.

Perhaps they had become friendly after fighting together?

—-

The reassembled knights had prepared to break through the forest as per Valdemar’s instructions.

A diamond-shaped formation, elongated vertically.

Master-level knights were positioned at the front, sides, and rear, while knights on the outer edges carried shields and torches instead of weapons.

Millia was positioned in the center of the formation due to her ability to attack from range as a Master.

I was also in the center for now, not knowing where Rurik might appear.

“We move out! Until we exit the forest, never stop moving! If you fall behind, death awaits!”

At Valdemar’s command from the front, the knights began to move in unison.

Not at full sprint, but much faster than a normal walk.

The moment the next engagement began, the Werebeasts would immediately understand our objective.

That’s when we would need to run at full speed.

The Werebeasts appeared again about thirty minutes later.

==============

Oleg, having arrived at the northern wall, sat on the ruins of the wall to catch his breath.

‘This is tough… But not much longer.’

Considering what lay ahead, he needed to rest even briefly.

Even with a Champion’s stamina, sprinting all the way here had been quite taxing.

The snow tiger’s yellow eyes turned toward the Sky Mountains looming behind him.

Beyond them lay their homeland, Baryachrus.