Episode 787: Stolen Heirloom (9)
Allied reinforcements have arrived at the Lawfield Plain.
The momentum of the two camps, which had continued to confront each other until then, has changed dramatically since then.
The Celia Kingdom army, which occupied most of the plains with the upper hand, was pushed back, and at the same time, the allied forces pushed forward little by little.
At his own post, now the center of the camp, Wilhelm suffered a headache.
‘I’ve had enough time. But only soldiers die like this.’
The difference in strength is almost doubled.
Even the elite members of the kingdom’s army lost their morale in front of a large army of 20,000 men.
In the midst of this, it was an obvious fact that Celia would die if they bumped into each other.
Thinking that this couldn’t be the case, Wilhelm kicked off his seat and stood up.
After leaving the post, he headed towards the residence of Silia’s military commander.
He shouted as he approached the tent despite the soldiers’ restraint.
“This is Wilhelm! Please let me in!”
“Come in.”
It was a step that I took with the expectation of being thrown at the doorstep, but the permission was unexpectedly easily granted.
As the soldiers retreated, he entered the tent.
There were two chief centurions and a centurion chief sitting in the highest seat.
Wilhelm first bowed his head and apologized.
“I apologize for the disturbance.”
“No. Rather, what does a knight of the plains do to an old man like this?”
“Please take the word. It is difficult to dare.”
He said it with a smile, but the person in front of him was someone he knew well, even as Wilhelm.
A war hero who made a major contribution in a war that almost overturned the kingdom by winning one battle after another in battle after battle.
In the past, he was called Celia’s Blue Beast.
Knowing the skills hidden behind his benevolent expression, Wilhelm could not treat him carelessly.
“I heard that Allied reinforcements have arrived.”
“Yes.”
“At this rate, there is no chance of winning. Please hand over your troops.”
“Izaga!”
“How dare you say that!”
The moment the centurions around them tried to stand up.
The old man of the millennium raised his hand to stop it.
He asked, deep in thought.
“Why do you think so?”
“Because of the difference in military strength.”
“Ugh. It is not unreasonable to think so.”
“Don’t you know that even the commander-in-chief knows that this ideal is meaningless? So…”
The old man waved his hand gently.
“Sometimes it is. Even if it seems meaningless, if you look closely, you can see something.”
“That means…”
“That means I have no intention of stepping down yet.”
Emotion flashed in the old man’s eyes.
It was neither emptiness nor desperation.
Confidence in victory.
If it was someone else, he would have been ripped off right away, but the old man in front of him is not a person who can move without any basis.
That shook Wilhelm’s heart.
I knew it clearly in my head.
If you fight, you will take great damage.
But when I saw the old man’s confident smile, those thoughts seemed to fade away.
He clenched and opened his fist several times.
Wilhelm asked.
“Can I trust what the old man thinks?”
Even though the question may seem rude at first glance, the old man Cheoninjang did not lose his smile.
“That is for you to decide. I just believe in my path and go on.”
“Then…”
Gulp.
Wilhelm mustered up his courage.
“Put me in the vanguard.”
Not only the thousand chiefs but also the hundred chiefs were puzzled by the unexpected words.
Speaking of being the vanguard of the battlefield, it is usually the role of knights.
It is not helpful even if soldiers of intermediate skills are standing, and they must be proficient in combat while riding horses, and they must also have an eye for seeing the battlefield.
That’s why it was impossible for non-trained knights to stand in the vanguard.
“It is a difficult request. what is the reason?”
To the old man’s question, Wilhelm said with his hands shaking.
“I lost all my comrades who were like family to me on the battlefield. If I, who was in the rear at that time, was only in the back this time, I will have no face seeing them in the future.”
“Huh.”
It’s a pity.
But even so, it was impossible to put an untrained soldier in the same vanguard as the knights.
“I’m sorry, but that request is difficult to grant.”
“At least, put them in the same place as the soldiers in the front row. I will fight too.”
Strictly speaking, he is not even a citizen of Celia.
How could he not be delighted when he said that he would fight together with a sword soldier.
The Cheoninjang hardened his expression.
The difference in forces between the two camps was more than doubled.
He was courageous enough to come to the commander’s post in anticipation of a crushing defeat and shout for retreat.
In the past, he said that he would fight with him with a sword, but the old millennium commander liked him from the bottom of his heart.
“Use my strength. Please don’t die.”
* * *
While the Celia camp was preparing for war, the allied forces completed a final check on the upcoming war.
As soon as the signal was given by the warehouse keeper in charge of managing the supplies, the allied forces attacked without warning.
“That enemy! Wake up everyone!”
“Quaaaaagh!”
Those who stood guard rang the alarm.
As the magic was activated, a noise spread throughout Silia’s camp.
Weiyiing-!
“Wow!”
“Kill them all!”
“Show the little pikes of Celia a taste of fire!”
After the cavalrymen swept away, the soldiers ran after them and set fire to the tent.
Since it happened while he was sleeping, the Celia soldiers who woke up late were delayed in responding.
“Aaaagh!”
“I don’t want to die!”
“Gagging!”
Screams erupted from everywhere.
“It’s a raid! Come outside!”
They hurriedly came out wearing armor, but the devastation that was happening was enough to make them freeze again.
A sword was stabbed in the chest of a comrade who had been laughing and chatting just a few hours ago, and blind arrows flying here and there forced her to close her eyes without even being able to use the swordsmanship she had learned while working hard for the rest of her life.
It was an instant for the soldiers to fall into a panic.
Among them, there were those who had never experienced combat before and were brought in, but they crouched down in the shade of the tent and trembled.
Deciding that this would be impossible, the centurions hurriedly issued orders.
“Retreat!”
“Everyone dies here! Run quickly!”
Behind the centurions who rode away far away on horseback, the tens of chiefs began to run away, following their squad.
Wilhelm, who had escaped from the post belatedly, hurriedly drew his sword and headed for the battlefield.
‘I never thought they would attack first. It was too easy.’
Every time I heard the screams of the soldiers, I felt like it was my fault, so I stepped faster.
When you finally arrive at the battlefield.
He almost let go of the sword in the terrible horror.
A soldier fleeing with the corpse of a comrade who had already died.
There were also those who were mortally wounded and wielded their swords to the end without realizing it.
Right after the rain of arrows poured down, arrows were stuck everywhere on the ground, and there were as many corpses as there were arrows.
The main unit has already retreated.
It is a pity for the remaining soldiers, but they are no longer destined to live.
have no choice but to leave
In the end, Wilhelm stepped harder than ever.
* * *
It was only one surprise attack, but the Celia camp, which had been badly beaten, was in an uproar.
Even though it was a war, the allied forces’ actions went too far.
Even when he played with a prisoner on the verge of death like a toy and killed him horribly, he laughed out loud as if he had gone mad.
“Now this is the limit. We cannot hold out on this plain any longer.”
“I haven’t even had a good fight yet. If you retreat like this, you will only become a laughing stock.”
“You mean to kill the poor soldiers?”
“You seem to think of running away rather than fighting, thinking of losing rather than winning.”
As the two centenarians squabbled and raised their voices, the old man of the centenary shouted.
“Oh no! What kind of insolence is this in front of His Majesty!”
It’s a scary law when a normally soft tooth gets angry once.
The centurions were startled and reflexively shouted:
“I apologize.”
“Forgive me.”
King Theogard, who had been silent throughout the urgently held meeting and had a dark expression, opened his mouth.
“How many casualties?”
“Eight hundred.”
“Mmm.”
Almost a tenth of their strength was lost in a single battle.
It was a surprise attack in the middle of the night.
Deogard made a decision.
“Gather your troops. I will command the army myself.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, that’s not okay.”
Even the old man, Cheoninjang, tried to dissuade him.
Seeing him like that, King Deogard shook his head.
“Trust me Lord Fort.”
“Your Majesty, no matter what history you look at, it is extremely rare for a country’s king to engage in hand-to-hand combat.”
And most of them ended with the king dying in the war.
Could it be that only the king could hear Port’s behind-the-scenes words that he never uttered?
King Deogard said firmly.
“It’s a situation where morale is at rock bottom because of a crushing defeat in this battle. If you can’t show anything right now, you can’t win this war.”
“Even so, it is premature for His Majesty to step forward directly.”
Port responded by even talking back to the King.
After a moment’s pause, he continued.
“If that’s what you mean, then I’ll step in.”
“wonder?”
“I am old, but my skills have not rusted yet. I will definitely give you victory.”
Celia’s warrior of reversal.
He spoke recklessly, but his words were trustworthy.
“Will I be able to achieve satisfactory results?”
“Excuse me, when did I ever bring you into questionable results?”
Deogard smiled for the first time at his words, which had been rolling on the battlefield for so many years.
“No.”
“Believe me. If you want the head of the enemy commander, I will slash it right away.”
It was clear that it was empty, but there was confidence in his confident voice.
“If you give it to me, no worries. I’ll give you three thousand troops. Let them instill fear.”
three thousand troops.
The fact that he entrusted this amount of troops to him, who is the Thousand Commander, is also proof that he trusts the port that much.
Port, who received the king’s trust, bowed his old head.
“I will definitely live up to your expectations.”
Celia Kingdom’s counterattack has begun.
