episode_0120

Mayer’s Crisis (2)

Gerard ceaselessly gave instructions to his subordinates, using his sword to deflect spears aimed at him as he stood at the head of the unit.

“Never try to confront them head on! Fight while avoiding attacks as much as possible! Aim for the gap in the armor!!”

“I’m already doing that!!”

As soldiers trained to the limit by Yuno, Gerard and his men fought beyond the limits of light infantry and used their individual mobility to attack areas not protected by armor.

As the battle continued like that, while Gerard’s unit had yet to suffer any casualties, the imperial infantry fell one by one.

“Damn it! These guys are formidable. Don’t rush in. Calmly form a compact force and push them back”

However, the imperial army’s commanders were also incompetent, and they began to use their superiority and numerical superiority to push back against Gerard’s troops.

As ordered by the commander, the imperial army’s heavy infantrymen used shields to solidify their defenses and stabbed with spears from afar, and the effect was immediately apparent.

The weapons wielded by the light infantry only bounced off the shields of the heavy infantry, and one or two attacked, aiming for a gap, but they were also injured by the barrage of spears from the rear ranks and had to retreat.

The heavy infantry slowly narrowed the distance step by step and put pressure on the light infantry.

Push it away with the shield, and use the distance to stab it with the polearm. It was simple, but Gerard’s unit began to gradually be pushed back due to the overwhelming group power that came from numbers and weight, and as deaths occurred one by one, the word annihilation appeared in Gerard’s head.

“Captain Gerrard! The enemy is closing in on the siege! Now there is no place to retreat anymore!!”

“I know!! Damn what should I do…”

Finally, about 400 members of Gerard’s unit formed a circle and faced each other, and the imperial commander, who was looking at Gerard, stopped the unit’s advance and came forward with a smirk.

“Last suggestion! Surrender! If you surrender and give me information, I will guarantee your life!!”

‘First of all, we have to do whatever it takes… Let’s buy some time.’

“…Give me a moment! I will discuss it with my subordinates!”

“Good! I’ll give you 15 minutes from now! Just know that if you refuse this offer, you will all die!”

As the enemy commander disappeared behind and the heavy infantry took a few steps back, Gerard gathered his white commanders and began discussions.

“… If we continue like this, we will be completely annihilated. First of all, I bought some time, but… Is there anything that comes to mind?”

“Can you think of us as a number that Captain Gerard cannot think of?”

“Ha~ If I had known that I would die like this, I would have followed the captain and not accepted a bribe… Otherwise, I would not have followed the captain and volunteered for the light infantry, so I guess he would have been resting at the base by now, right? Kill kill kill”

“…If you survive here today, you will die by my hands, so fight and die on your own… It is a sure thing”

“Giggles. They say there is no way to survive anyway? Haha, it would be nice to have a drink on the way to the end”

A white general who worked as a guard under Gerrard and came here was joking around and looking for a drink. Then a soldier suddenly stood up and approached them.

“Sleep! I should have a drink before I die”

“Huh? What are you doing? You bastard, you drank alcohol during the operation…”

“Ah! Last time I brought food to the village, I received it as a thank you. I didn’t want to throw it away, so I put it in a water bottle and twisted it… I’m about to die, so what do you think?”

When one soldier confessed to having drunk, other soldiers here and there also confessed to having drunk, and the number reached nearly 50.

“Wow… 10% of the unit members were violating military discipline like this… As a commander, it’s worth dying for. Cluck cluck ”

However, Gerard also had a smile on his face as if it wasn’t a bad idea to have a drink before he died.

“Let’s see~ Wow~ I feel intoxicated even though I just smelled the scent. Read and understand! As expected, when it comes to alcohol, the whiskey from this town is better than the fermented liquor from our town…”

“Wait a minute. Poisonous? Everyone stop moving!!”

Each soldier poured a drink and gave a shout to prevent them from drinking.

“Ah why? We’re supposed to have a drink before we die, but suddenly?”

“Look around. What does the forest in the central area look like after the harvest season?”

“Huh? A forest is a forest, so what’s wrong with it…. Huh?”

Unlike the Monster Mountain area, where forests were always maintained, the forests in the central region of the empire were full of fallen leaves after the harvest season, and the trees were completely dry without any moisture.

“I saw a way to survive. Everyone instruct the soldiers to tear their clothes, bundle them up, and soak them in alcohol!!”

Only then did the white commanders understand what Gerard meant and had the soldiers who had the alcohol share it with their comrades, making each soldier hold a bundle of seaweed drenched in alcohol.

“Make sure each ligament is holding one torch, and get everyone ready to throw! Never light a fire before there is a signal”

“I understand, Captain!”

As preparations progressed and time passed, a commander from the Imperial Army came out and visited Gerard.

“How… will you surrender? Do whatever you want. Annihilation or surrender? There are only two choices”

“My choice… is to annihilate you guys and escape!!”

Gerard suddenly thrust his sword. However, the enemy commander seemed to be well-versed in martial arts and was able to withstand the surprise attack, and Gerard clicked his tongue and threw his body backwards.

“In the end, you choose punishment! March! Hang everyone but the one person who will dig up information!!”

“Now is the time!! Light it up!!”

As soon as Gerard’s order was given, a blazing fireball was created in the hands of the remaining 400 soldiers.

“Throw it!!”

Soon, the fireballs flew all over the forest, and the dry forest instantly became a sea of fire and began to burn.

“Chemical work!!! Damage!!”

“Don’t panic!! Even if you get burned for a moment, you won’t die!!”

“The enemy is still there. Only the people in the back row started the fire… gasp!!”

The imperial army’s hundred and ten commanders wandered around trying to calm the soldiers, but the confusion accelerated as Gerrard’s troops launched a surprise attack.

“These damn people… do such cowardly things…”

“Heh! You’re such a fool that you look for fairness in war! Charge the entire army to the west! Ax soldiers, take the lead and create an escape route!!”

Gerrard’s unit attempted to break through one point according to the command. Despite being repeatedly burned by the hot flames, the axe soldiers cut down the burning trees, and the remaining soldiers created an escape route by cutting down the imperial troops who rushed to block their escape.

“The exit has opened!! The siege has been lifted!! Captain! Let’s go out first!!”

“No!! You guys get out first!! I will block the enemy from the rear!”

“Eight! If the captain doesn’t go out, we can’t go out either! Get out first!!”

Gerard refused to remain in the rearguard as he watched his soldiers cut down the imperial army that continued to surge, losing their own lives to prevent the siege from being reconnected.

However, when the soldiers grabbed his body and forcibly dragged him away, he had no choice but to move towards the escape hatch.

Sushi Sisik!!

Argh!

But another despair was waiting for him at the exit.

“Did you think you guys would be able to escape after turning me into such a mess?”

Behind the open escape hatch, the enemy commander and about 50 imperial archers, scorched and a mess, were waiting.

The archers fired arrows without hesitation, and Gerard himself barely managed to block them by raising his shield, but several soldiers were unable to react and were attacked by arrows that came by surprise.

In front of Gerard, who was looking at this with blank eyes, the imperial army’s siege network was reconnected, and the enemy commander smiled roundly, mocking Gerard.

“I recognize your mental strength. It’s really amazing that you’re thinking of doing a chemical engineering there. However, in our imperial army, there is one communication wizard for every thousand troops. Well, it’s not a very high level… but it can still create enough water to put out a fire that was forced to start”

As he said, the fiercely burning fire was gradually dying out.

“I don’t know which army he belongs to, but… well, that will be revealed soon. Full army! Charge….”

“Khahahahahaha”

The imperial commander’s words, which were about to order a charge, were cut off by Gerard’s laughter echoing in the night sky.

“What’s so funny?”

“Hahahaha the fate of someone who will die soon is so funny”

“Sigh… What a bland guy. Is it really that funny that he will die soon?”

“What do you mean? Didn’t I tell you I was going to die”

“Hmm? Then who will die…”

Before the imperial commander could finish his words, his head was blown off by a hatchet that came from behind the forest. Seeing this, the despair on the faces of Gerard’s troops disappeared and hope bloomed again.

Gerrard heavy infantry version illustration