Ch.690Defeat

“Now! Fire at will! Aim for their flanks!”

What greeted the Ka’har siege unit breaking through the city gate was the Empire’s defensive formation packed tightly in the passageways and alleys, wooden stakes, and the crossfire of archers positioned behind them.

It was an encirclement attack, timed perfectly for when most of the cavalry had gathered near the gate.

The Ka’har soldiers desperately raised their shields and swung their spears in response, but blocking the rain of arrows pouring simultaneously from three directions was impossible unless they grew an extra arm.

“Neeeiiigh!”

War horses with arrows lodged in their sides screamed in agony and thrashed about. Riders were thrown from their mounts and fell in droves.

The soldiers managed to gather themselves and stand up since they had reduced their speed upon passing through the gate, but the riderless horses had no way to resist the rain of arrows.

The fine steeds that had galloped freely across the plains collapsed, foaming at the mouth and defecating as they fell, their bodies resembling porcupines.

“Grrgh! These bastards…!”

Enraged cavalrymen charged toward the defensive formation spewing arrows. It was a charge fueled by blind rage. The tremendous force of the horse’s weight combined with speed was concentrated entirely on the spearheads they thrust forward.

Their valor was proven by their attempt to break through the rain of arrows head-on rather than avoiding it.

“Grit your teeth and hold!”

However, valor without wisdom is ultimately no different from recklessness.

Most of the valiant charging cavalrymen were forced to stop right before the defensive line.

Even the superior war horses that could charge through the pain of arrowheads piercing their flesh couldn’t bring themselves to charge headlong into the wall of sharp wooden stakes and dozens of long spears.

“Prrrr…!”

Even if they were forced forward with spurs, rather than breaking through the defensive line, they would only meet a meaningless death, skewered like kebabs.

“Not yet, these mere stakes—!”

A plainsman with an arrow lodged in his forearm spurred his arrow-riddled horse and leaped toward the defensive line. He intended to pounce over the imperial soldiers’ heads to disrupt their formation.

But that too was merely a futile struggle. The soldiers in the third and fourth rows raised their long spears and impaled him like a criminal on display.

“Guhk…!”

The cavalryman, riddled with holes like his mount, died spewing a fountain of blood.

The imperial soldiers, drenched in the blood raining down on them, shook their spear shafts and threw the cavalryman’s corpse onto a nearby building.

The torn and dismembered body stained the roof red.

—-

“Keep firing! Don’t spare arrows or magic, pour everything on them!”

Following the knights’ orders, the archers positioned in the middle of the defensive formation pulled their bowstrings until their fingers blistered.

The mages positioned in the rear rows also gathered Mana to shoot fire arrows or wind blades to break the enemy’s momentum.

Combat mages were such a rare class that only one could be assigned to each defensive formation, but each was worth more than ten archers in combat power.

After all, whether human or horse, fire was more feared than arrows.

Moreover, the mages didn’t just kill enemies by shooting magic—they hindered the cavalry’s charge in various ways.

They created ice patches on the ground with frost magic to make enemies slip, cast binding spells specifically on riders to force them off their horses, or precisely manipulated wind to alter the trajectory of arrows in ways the Ka’har couldn’t predict.

“Arrrgh!”

“They’re using dark arts!”

The cavalrymen who had recklessly charged paid the price for their foolishness as they died helplessly.

Occasionally, a cavalryman’s spear would penetrate the front of the defensive formation, but that would only kill one or two soldiers at most. The Empire’s defensive wall in the alley was narrow but extremely thick.

Moreover, with buildings blocking both sides of the defensive formation, it was impossible to flank them without completely destroying the buildings.

Naturally, such a feat was impossible for ordinary cavalrymen.

For ordinary cavalrymen.

“Nicely spread out!”

The plainsmen warriors, elite fighters equivalent to the Empire’s knights, abandoned their horses and nimbly leaped onto the rooftops of buildings.

While ordinary cavalrymen might see the city buildings as walls blocking their path, for these warriors, they were merely minor obstacles that couldn’t be traversed on horseback.

They jumped onto the rooftops, shooting arrows at the imperial soldiers below or diving right into their midst, swinging their weapons.

“Raise your spears! Above! Block the top!”

It was a tactic not much different from the reckless cavalrymen who had been riddled with holes, but there was a vast gap between them and ordinary riders.

“Is this all you’ve got?!”

The warriors of the great plains possessed the martial prowess to easily deflect the spear thrusts aimed at them.

Every time a warrior jumped down from a rooftop, the defensive formation cracked, and a storm of blood erupted.

“Aaaagh!”

It was a one-sided slaughter. The tightly packed imperial soldiers tumbled in blood as the warriors’ blades cut through their formation.

Even if they hadn’t been in a tight formation, they couldn’t have matched the plainsmen warriors’ skills.

But there were specific forces meant to counter such powerful opponents.

“How dare you—!”

If the plains had warriors, the Empire had knights.

The knights commanding the small defensive formations intercepted the warriors who had penetrated their lines or jumped onto rooftops, swinging their longswords.

The warriors’ curved blades and the knights’ longswords clashed violently, sending sparks flying.

—-

Ludwig’s tactic of using small spear formations for urban warfare temporarily slowed the Ka’har’s advance, but that was ultimately its limit.

The defensive formations blocking the alleys successfully halted the cavalry’s charge, but the difference in combat power between the two sides was not something that could be overcome by such measures alone.

Knights and warriors, Masters and Champions, war chiefs and Heroes.

The gap in elite forces, which Ludwig could do nothing about, was gradually tipping the scales of battle to one side.

“…It seems this will be our grave.”

Joshua furrowed his brow and raised his longsword with a sigh. Even Heinrich, who would normally have retorted not to say such unlucky things, couldn’t deny it.

The three of them together couldn’t handle Orhan alone, and now another war chief had joined Orhan’s side.

“Imperial vermin. I won’t give you a clean death. I’ll cut off your limbs and hang you on poles, making you watch as the warriors of the plains cut off and burn the limbs of all westerners!”

Hatan, the war chief who had broken through the spear formation in one go and rushed to Orhan’s side, declared with a growl. He proclaimed vengeance for Ivamay whose legs were cut off, Glar who was burned alive, and Orhan who lost his left arm.

“…Heinrich, you handle Hatan. Frederick and I will somehow hold off Orhan.”

“Wouldn’t Lord Frederick be better…”

“No, you would be better.”

Joshua shook his head, explaining why Heinrich, not Frederick, should block Hatan.

“Hatan’s Tale of Heros is a technique that puts a thousand pounds of weight into his swinging crescent blade. It’s impossible to block it head-on… but you could disrupt its trajectory and avoid it.”

Heinrich’s Tale of Heros, Ceres’ Wrath, was a technique of extreme vibration that shook the earth. Rather than directly attacking the enemy, it was a technique meant to create openings.

That made him suitable for facing Hatan. No matter how much force was behind the slash, a blade swung while off-balance would struggle to reach the flesh of those who had attained the realm of heroes.

“What are you muttering about! Time is passing!”

Orhan, glancing briefly at Hatan, raised his momentum to the fullest and charged at Joshua.

Joshua, who blocked the Akrindo with his Giant Slayer sword, was sent flying backward, and Frederick’s javelin, aimed at the opening, was blocked by Orhan’s kick and exploded.

“Give me your limbs!”

Simultaneously, Hatan also charged toward the imperial heroes with his crescent blade raised. His warhorse, which had broken through the defensive formation without a scratch, galloped forward, tearing up the ground.

“I’ll send you to join your comrades!”

Heinrich, blocking Hatan’s path, swung his halberd and met the charge, shaking the earth.

A series of thunderous sounds echoed.

—-

Screams, wails, and battle cries enveloped the city. In the brutal urban warfare, the imperial forces’ formation that had been blocking the alleys to halt the Ka’har’s advance gradually began to retreat.

Not because a retreat order had been given, but because they could no longer hold back the enemy.

With War Chief Hatan sweeping through the defensive formations, holes had been punched through the alleys everywhere.

Having secured space to move freely, the Ka’har rampaged through the city interior, steadily reducing the imperial forces’ numbers.

Instead of charging headlong into the wall of spears, they rained arrows on the defenders’ heads to create cracks in the formation, then rushed through those gaps to wreak havoc.

The imperial knights fought valiantly against the Ka’har warriors without yielding, but while both sides might be evenly matched on foot, the warriors mounted on horseback were beings they simply couldn’t counter with their horsemanship.

Imperial corpses began to fill the alleys.

—-

‘Indeed, we cannot win…!’

Ludwig gritted his teeth as he looked down at the imperial defensive formations being pushed back and penetrated. There was no unexpected turn of events.

The spear formations deployed throughout the city had temporarily halted the Ka’har’s advance and bought time, but as expected, they were already nearing their limit.

They were barely maintaining formation for now, but if the enemy’s offensive continued, they would soon be shattered.

The battle between the heroes had also turned one-sided since Hatan’s arrival.

Heinrich was holding his own against the war chief, but Joshua and Frederick repeatedly fell back, unable to withstand Orhan’s offensive.

The Master-level knights were performing admirably even against the Champions, but they alone couldn’t reverse the tide of battle.

‘…Have we been too late?’

Ludwig closed his eyes and sighed in despair. As Orhan had declared, the city would fall in less than two hours.

In other words, his remaining lifespan was only a few dozen minutes.

‘Then, I must prepare for what comes after defeat.’

Ludwig opened his eyes and turned his head. Even certain of defeat, he couldn’t surrender meekly. His defeat must not become the Empire’s defeat.

The only option left to him was to burn all the food in the city. Not just this city, but the next city, and the one after that.

It was a drastic measure that could starve all the residents to death, but it was the only option left. After burning three cities’ worth of food, even Orhan would have to either attack Dane or retreat.

“Lord Erikson, all the remaining supplies in the storehouse—”

That’s when it happened. Ludwig’s eyes, about to give his final order, turned toward the western horizon.

He paused, rubbed his eyes once, and looked toward the west again.

Beyond the horizon where the sun was setting, a massive cloud of dust was rising like fog.