Ch.547547. Their Stroke of Luck (2)

The allied forces of the viscounts never stopped their advance.

They knew it. All the most threatening troops that could destroy the viscounty had left the territory. Even those two famous Masters were absent from the barony now.

Just a few remaining standing troops and mercenaries bound by gold coins were all that defended the territory.

By their common sense, nothing seemed more certain than the fact that their elite forces could easily capture the barony. So when they entered the forest surrounding the barony, something unexpected happened.

Whoosh─!

“Ah…!”

An arrow flew and struck the ground right at the feet of the scout leading the vanguard.

If it had flown just 10cm further, the arrow would have pierced his foot instead of the hard earth. The soldier felt a chill run down his spine at this realization.

All the scouts with him raised their alertness.

Shing!

Some drew their sharp swords while others hurriedly nocked arrows to their bowstrings.

Preparing to attack in all directions except the rear where their allies were, they exchanged words.

“Seems like there’s an ambush hiding. They’re warning us not to come any further or they’ll shoot indiscriminately.”

“…They say the Baron and Baroness excel at archery. To shoot an arrow so precisely in front of one’s foot—I suspect the baron’s archers have been influenced by them and are skilled with the bow as well.”

“That may be true. But don’t forget. Unless they’re archers of that caliber, bowmen are merely prey for knights.”

The scout who first drew upon his mana pushed the youngest scout.

“Report to the main force. Tell them the baron’s ambush is hiding in this forest.”

“Yes, sir!”

An ambush meant that unknown traps could be hidden in this forest.

The main force, which should become a great wave striking the walls and sweeping through the barony, needed to avoid taking damage from the start.

As one soldier began running back to report this fact to the main force, the silent forest finally erupted in chaos.

“…Arrows! Everyone, raise shields or take cover!”

A rain of arrows shot rapidly from the front.

The arrows, literally falling like rain in an instant, had greater speed and power than expected.

Clang─!

The small iron buckler worn on the left arm vibrated through the arm as an arrow struck it, creating a resonance of metal against metal.

“The arrows are stronger than expected, everyone draw upon your mana!”

The vanguard scouts were no snot-nosed rookies.

They were all intermediate knights who had advanced beyond the beginner level and received salaries from their houses.

Their swordsmanship and abilities wouldn’t allow them to fall helplessly to attacks of this level.

As rough mana began to envelop the scout’s body, granting superhuman reflexes and strength…

Bang─!

“What…!”

Despite being on high alert with eyes wide open…

The arrow shot by an enemy who had somehow approached close range was different from the previous ones.

“Magic…!”

No, more precisely, the fierce attack imbued with spirit magic was so powerful that…

Slashing it directly with a sword couldn’t guarantee certain evasion.

Tzzzzz─!

She tried to deflect the arrow with her buckler.

“Damn it…!”

As the arrowhead traced a path across the buckler, it not only caused severe damage where it grazed but also created sharp wind blades from the unreleased magic, slicing her left arm.

Bang─!

The arrow flew past her and embedded itself in a tree. When it exploded into a gale, shattering everything around it, she swallowed a curse.

“Crazy bitches…! How the hell can a single arrow…!”

Imbuing an arrow with such perfect mana was no easy feat.

Moreover, with the Baron and Baroness absent, there shouldn’t be anyone in the barony capable of shooting arrows of this caliber.

“…Are there elves hiding here too?!”

Having witnessed something that made no sense unless elves were involved, she…

“Never turn your back to the archers! Either hold out until reinforcements arrive, or close the distance and win the fight directly!”

She began concentrating mana in her lower body.

At least in her judgment, if everyone focused solely on holding their positions and defending in this battle, the enemy’s blood-heated onslaught would become unstoppably fierce.

She needed to break their momentum once.

“Those who will sweep the battlefield with me, follow me!”

Swoosh─!

The scout leaped forward with tremendous leg strength.

Only then could she see the enemies hiding high in the trees.

“Where do you—!”

As she fiercely parried the sword of a woman who had glided through the air in an instant…

“Urgh…!”

She realized that a cold, sharp polearm had pierced her back.

Even as blood poured out, she kept staring at the enemies until she finally realized.

“Th-that’s.”

Long ears.

Women possessing beauty so exceptional it seemed selfish.

Moreover, those accompanied by beings that looked like materialized small children were…

“…I knew they were elves.”

They were unmistakably elves to anyone who saw them.

After the sword that had pierced her heart was withdrawn, in her cooling body and fading consciousness, she thought:

It would take much longer than expected to break through the forest.

* * *

“Baron Karpel has prepared something interesting.”

As if the baron hadn’t emptied his territory for nothing, he had hidden such an ambush.

And not just ordinary elves, but skilled warrior elves, which had temporarily slowed the legion’s advance.

After killing all the scouts and firing spirit magic at the main force before fleeing, the elves’ actions caused irritation that manifested as nervous agitation.

“Ready to advance again! Lord Viscount, please give the order!”

“We march toward Baron Karpel again. We’ve been delayed longer than expected, so increase the marching speed.”

“As you command!”

It was regrettable that the condition of the common soldiers who were to stand at the front line had already deteriorated significantly.

But even if one wanted to be fully prepared, one couldn’t postpone what needed to be done.

‘Elves—’

Advancing while conscious of the elves who had likely crawled back into the baron’s territory…

Like the baron’s forces before them, they all gathered in front of the wide farmland where the barony’s walls were visible.

Having trampled the crops carefully grown by the tenant farmers under their hard armored boots, they were now busy preparing for the siege.

“Listen! You all have the elixir provided by Viscount Akion’s house, correct?”

All eyes naturally turned to a knight who shouted.

“As you’ve already been told! When attacked by the enemy! When too frightened to move! When climbing the walls! Whatever the situation, when you’re most desperate, taking the elixir will open a new path for you!”

The elixir that Viscount Akion had distributed even to common soldiers.

This black pill had an ominous smell and color.

“The elixir will save you once in a crisis, so those who don’t wish to die, never forget your elixir!”

Even in a battle where victory was predetermined…

The unpredictable battlefield might guarantee the victory of the group, but not the survival of each individual.

Particularly, one soldier assigned to climb the walls knew well that the nice-sounding “wall assault team” was really just meant to be a meat shield.

“So this will save my life, huh.”

Touching the elixir carefully tucked in her bosom, she tried to calm her breathing and her strongly beating heart.

From the start, she would have to be among the first to run across the field where arrows and magic would rain down, place ladders against the walls, and climb up.

She decided to swallow the elixir as soon as the battle began.

After making this small resolution…

“All forces! Begin the siege!”

With Viscount Akion’s shout…

Crunch!

As she bit into the elixir with her molars, she immediately felt her body undergo a dramatic change.

“Ah—”

Her heart began to beat wildly.

Beyond the strange sensation of overflowing power, she felt a sense of omnipotence, as if she had gained a level of strength one step above what she could normally possess.

With newfound confidence that she could succeed, she began to feel ecstasy at her changing body condition.

“Aaaah!!”

And so, laughing as she began running madly toward the walls, her appearance…

To others, looked no different from a Demonkin—a madwoman who had sold her soul to Magia and demons, a betrayer of humanity—causing everyone to hesitate briefly before taking the elixir.

“Ugh…! My thigh…! My thigh…! Elixir! Someone give me an elixir…!”

“It hurts… I don’t want to die…!”

Soldiers who were hit by arrows shot from the wall archers and were rolling on the ground began taking the elixir one by one.

And consequently…

“Crazy bastards. What makes them smile like that?”

“…They don’t lose their smiles even as they die. Surely the viscount’s side has done something.”

A legion of madmen who had forgotten the fear of death descended upon the barony.

Watching from atop his warhorse as the mad legion charged forward, obsessed with victory regardless of bodily harm…

Viscount Akion simply smiled and thought:

“As expected.”

Imperial goods were on a different level from those of the kingdom.