Volume 9, Chapter 228: The Deadly Assault
Volume 9, Chapter 228: The Deadly Assault
…Do you want to win? Then, listen carefully. This is my last command.
While keeping an eye on the enemy soldiers, I spoke while holding the handle of the treasure sword with both hands. Mysteriously, my lips felt quite heavy. My throat even rang.
「From now on, only the vanguard assault unit will launch a raid on the enemy’s camp. This assault will not be in line with the army’s main unit.」
When I gave the signal of the assault, I looked around for a moment.
I wanted to see what the assault soldiers were looking at. I couldn’t see everything, but the soldiers around me had stiff eyes or open lips. No one laughed cheerfully.
Well, that was obvious. This sounded like a suicide declaration.
It was an action not in line with the main army. In other words, only dozens of assault soldiers in the surrounding area would bite into the belly of the Great Holy Church army, which was still superior in number.
If we pointed to a goal far away from the army’s main unit, even if the enemy forces were shaking at the front, great damage would be inevitable. Beyond the assault, the word “annihilation” appeared coldly.
I was sure there was anxiety about death among the soldiers. They probably even distrusted me in their hearts. After all, for them, they were now hunting down the Great Holy Church army head-on. Perhaps, they were thinking why they were following such a fool.
I looked beyond the battlefield again. The enemy soldiers who were about to collapse began to hold their iron spears as if to lure us in. I strengthened my eyes.
「I don’t want to force you to go with me. However, the enemy has plenty of spare power. If you don’t crush it now, everyone will die. Yes, all of you will die.」
I didn’t elaborate since I didn’t have time to explain. And who could say the details? No matter how I said it, I couldn’t explain that we could fall in an ambush in the future. How could I say they were a sacrifice?
The entire Heraldic army could no longer stop moving forward, and it seemed unlikely that it would be able to retreat, let alone stop entirely. And the enemy would be making a plan to annihilate the soldiers who had advanced gradually.
It was impossible to overcome it without any damage. The world was not that kind.
Therefore, it was necessary to ensure that we would be dealt with minimum damage. To do so, we had to uncover the enemy’s plot first and foremost. We needed a target by going forward first.
That’s why I had no choice but to be the target.
Ambush was a useful tactic because its existence was unknown. If I believed that the army’s main unit was not damaged by the ambush, it would allow our forces to push through. This was my limit. This was the only means I could take. I wondered what Caria and Matia would do. But, they were not here. After all, I could only do what I could do.
Well then, let’s do our best and go for it.
「We will drag the remaining power of the enemy away. This way, our army will destroy the enemy’s army because it has exhausted its power. That’s the best option now. It should be much better than everyone dying.」
Yes, while saying those words, I held the treasure sword with both hands, pointed it towards my right shoulder and stepped forward. At the same time, I found that some soldiers quickly followed my footsteps.
There was no such thing as any soldiers following me. Some of them believed in my words.
At the same time, the vine of self-loathing was about to strangle me. I wondered how many people I had to kill. For a short moment, I turned my eyes down. I strongly pierced my lips with my canines.
The next time I looked up, I could no longer see anything but the enemy’s army in front of me. It felt strange. I was going to do something foolish, but my head was strangely clear.
It was easy. Just go forward, cut through my enemies, and finally eat the iron with my own body. That was all I needed to do. There was nothing left in my mind. I had no regrets.
「I heard that it’s a job where we could easily die from the beginning, but is it okay for Lord Lugis to die?」
Right next to me, a man holding a spear spoke. I couldn’t see his face, but his voice was rattling as if he had crushed his throat somewhere. I wondered if he drank a lot of ale last night. The soldiers who went to the frontlines should have been given that much money.
「It can’t be helped. This option is much better. It’s much better than doing nothing. 」
I shook my blade while responding to the man. The purple lines of my blade and the rays of dusk were entwined, as if they created a brief bond. The treasure sword’s blade shimmered as if it were a joy.
I saw a large amount of blood popping from the crushed heads of the enemy soldiers.
To tell the truth, Saint Matia and Largud Ann often said that it would be okay if I were on the battlefield as a hero. However.
…It’s more dangerous for you to die than anything else. As a hero, you are a symbol of everyone’s morale.
Matia certainly said such a thing before.
Speaking of that phrase, it was probably a correct theory. If the hero who symbolized the soldiers’ strength died on the battlefield, morale would drop and vulnerability would consume the soldiers from within. Just raising my voice had enough power and effect to boost the soldiers’ morale.
But I was not the hero they knew. I was not the hero I longed for.
A hero was one who walked ahead of everyone, a person who was more enthusiastic than anyone else and someone who could make decisions more easily than anyone else. Even if those decisions weighed one’s life.
A hero also went one step further. The speed of a hero was always faster than others.
「Lord Lugis, I have only one request. 」
The rattling sounding man spoke to me again. He seemed to be comfortable with the words he spoke, but he still had a rattling voice somewhere. There weren’t many people who could make a voice in such a tone after knowing their lives were about to perish. Even suicide applicants would not speak in such an easy manner.
I listened while responding to the man with a slight nod. The rattling voice of this man struck my ears in a battle where barbaric voices echoed high.
「If Lord Lugis and I end up being alive; please let me get ahead of you. I was born as a poor farmer. I want to try to become a little bit greater.」
This man distorted his cheeks, showed his teeth and laughed. He was a soldier to made jokes to distract you from the negativity of the battlefield. It was rare for a person to say something that light-hearted during a massacre.
I tried to explain the situation to Matia via a messenger as much as I could, so I hurried my steps. It was no longer just a step of repeating a gradual advance, but a step to force an assault on the enemy’s camp.
My heart was excited and my cheeks got distorted. It felt foolish in a way, but my chest seemed to have gone crazy here. The situation around me was terrifying since I could die at any moment, and yet, here I was, moving forward without any hesitation.
However, even amidst the cliff of death, the thought of giving up did not sprout in my heart. Only one impatient emotion came to my mind.
Ahh, the horizon I longed for was finally here. When I thought about it, I remained unchanged. I was still a savage, an adventurous and a fool, just as Caria once told me.
…Now, let’s become a hero of the story. The figure that I longed for was right there.
「From now on, we will break through the central part of the enemy and make a surprise attack on the enemy’s camp at the front. If you’re going to die, do it after I die. I’ll be the first to die…Go!」
I made a barbaric voice instead of a signal. The purple blade hit the hollow and made blood spill. The Heraldic army, whose assault speed had clearly changed, was slightly fluttered by the soldiers of the Great Holy Church.
Yes, just a little. Just a little bit was fine. If you thought the enemy was unexpected, then that’s fine. As a result, all you had to do was break through the enemy’s unit, eat into the main camp, and lure out the ambush.
Even if our bodies became cold at the end.