Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Episode 23 The Lord Has Been Blocked! Beside Patrick, the knight Heinikel, who was charging forward, widened his eyes in surprise at the unexpected sight. It was not important that his charge had seriously injured one of the enemy knights. To penetrate the enemy lines, which were twice their number, the presence of the head of the family was essential. To advance in this situation would be nothing but a suicide mission. He gritted his teeth, turned his horse around, and attacked another knight, but even that was not easy. Clang! The moment his attack was blocked, he saw two enemy knights closing in on him from both sides. The rest of the knights were in a similar situation. Shift to defensive stance! Stay close together! The opportunity will come! There were no knights among the enemies who could block their lord. They would definitely find a breakthrough. It was a command based on that sole expectation, but soon after, an unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes as five of the enemy knights pressured their lord. The worst possible future he didnt even want to think about appeared before Heinikels eyes. Are we losing in this war? With a sense of impending defeat clouding his mind, the aged knight Heinikel had to battle his own despair first. * * * The process of the knights being pushed back was clearly visible to the infantrymen following behind. Even if they could not see each individual knights movements, it was clear that their sides charge was blocked and the entire formation was being pushed back. The steps of the soldiers grew heavy without them realizing. Gradually, the madness of the battlefield died down, only to be replaced by creeping fear. And Rick was falling behind the most. Ugh Working within the manor as much as he did, he knew the situation of the war better than the average soldier. And the more he realized, the more terrifying it got. If the head of the family gets blocked, we will definitely lose Naturally, his footsteps grew even heavier, and thats when something happened that chilled him to the bone. Patapatapat. Aaaahhhh! Arrggh! Gurk! Suddenly, the soldiers marching in front of Rick collapsed in unison. A surprise shower of arrows. An arrow fell right in front of Ricks nose. He felt a shiver run down his spine thinking about how, if he had taken just one more step, that arrow would have pierced his head. Uh! Frozen by fear that seized his whole body, Rick was pushed forward involitarily by the movement of his allies from behind. Ah, no His tongue was paralyzed with fear, and even if it moved, there was nothing he could do. Looking around, he saw soldiers walking with steps as heavy as his, their faces pale with fear. Probably, his own face was not much different from theirs. No, no, no! Despite Ricks panicked mind, the infantrymen steadily advanced with fear clearly written on their faces. Moments later, they inevitably collided with the enemy at the front line. Clang! Clang! Boom! Amidst the cacophony of metallic sounds filling the battlefield, soldiers swung their weapons at each other in desperate combat. Die! You die first, you bastard! It was only for a moment that the front line forces clashed fiercely, soon the Maclaine camp began to be pushed back gradually. Lowered morale, insufficient numbers of troops. It was a natural outcome given the unfavorable circumstances. And it wasnt long before this difference resulted in a massacre. The first line to break was, unfortunately, directly in front of Rick. Aaaahhhh! My arm, my arm! S-Save me! The son of the baker, young Johns arm was sliced off, and the shepherd Dereks heart was pierced through. Peelps, a tenant farmer, had his throat cleanly cut, though his expression was too contorted in pain to call it a peaceful death. Faces all too familiar to Rick fell to the ground, drenched in blood. And there were other familiar faces falling one after the other. Aaaahhhh! As the front line collapsed and the sudden chaos ensued, Rick felt as if death was right before his eyes. Even as he screamed, his body froze in place; but then suddenly, a spear thrust towards him. Ah! In a moment of survival instinct overpowering fear, he narrowly managed to evade. A spear cut through the air where his head had been just a moment ago. As he brushed the chills from his chest, the shaft of the spear had already struck Ricks head.Updated from Die! Thud. Urk! The knights of Maclaine, though vastly outnumbered, were just managing to hold their ground, but the regular infantry were overwhelmingly outmatched. The cavalry in the rear attempted to outflank the enemy, but the enemy cavalry had not only done the same but were already on the attack. Aaaahhhh. The pained cries of soldiers, or rather, of his fiefs people, pierced Patricks heart like daggers. A lump formed in his throat. No matter how much he racked his brain, he could not think of a viable solution. The feeble willpower that he managed to muster amidst despair was quickly undeterred by his increasing injuries and the groans of his comrades engulfing the battlefield. His wavering heart ushered cowardly thoughts. Thats right. Logan, you fled well. At least preserve the lineage of our family. Sssk. Argh! A barons getting tired! Lets finish him! A fleeting thought had brought about injury. These fiends Crunch. As the feeling of despair invaded his mind, what was left was stubborn defiance. Patrick grasped his sword for perhaps the last time as he ignited his vestige of fighting spirit But then, a sound threatening to break even that slender hope reached his ears. Thud-thud-thud-thud. Cavalry? The sound of horse hooves from the enemy forces tail end charging towards him resounded through the earth. Though not numerous, the sound was enough to dampen his final spirit of resistance. Did they have more forces? But then, a sight he could hardly believe made Patrick doubt his eyes. Patapatapat. Aaaahhhh! The enemys rear was thrown into disarray by the cavalry that recklessly tore through it, along with the horses that toppled. Our allies? As Patrick saw a young man with red hair fluttering in the lead of the cavalry brigade, similar to his own. Logan?! In Patricks wavering vision, an unbelievable scene was unfolding. * * * In the forest behind the battlefield. Shortly after Teslons army had passed, a few hundred cavalrymen who had followed the mountain path to the enemys rear had been hiding with perfect timing. Despite being silent as death, concealed in the wood, the start of the battle had them whisper softly. Not yet, wait. Watching his father Patrick Maclaines attack being blocked and grimacing in frustration, Logan still firmly commanded. Like this did he fall to those wretches. Information from his past life surfaced, stirring his emotions, but it was still not the time. Logan remained coldly focused, controlling himself as he kept a close eye on the situation. Even as the knights were pushed back, quickly surrounded and outnumbered, he maintained his composure. Hmm. Logan sir? Should we attack now? No, not yet. While a small number of knights were unable to hold as they should, this was apparent when a lower rank knight had his charging lance miss and was hit from both sides by two spears. That grub! Damn it! He had been one of the few knights who had recently begun to cozy up to him. The image of the man giving him a water bottle with a smile was still fresh in Logans mind. Logan sir, are you alright? Yes, Im fine. Despite his voice seething with suppressed fury sounding anything but fine, Kai remained silent, his trust in his young employers tactical sense solidified by their successful ambush. But as the infantry clashed and the lines broke, he had to speak up once more. Logan sir, even now Isnt it the time? Not yet, not yet. Blood dribbled down from Logans tightly clenched lips. He too was filled with desire to charge at any moment, maintaining his sanity with such grueling self-control. Even if it were faces of strangers, the sight would have been painful, but many of the falling soldiers were familiar. The gardener Cob, who helped them maintain at least a modicum of noble dignity in their barren fiefdom, fell with an arrow through his eye. Lio, the servant who had just begun to greet him with a smile, saw Cob fall and dodged in alarm, only to have his throat cut by an enemy blade and collapsed. The perspective granted by his Posthaste ability made the sight all the more piercing and agonizing. Logan forcibly averted his gaze from the hellscape, concentrating on the movements of the targets he had identified. Not yet, is it still not time? Waiting any longer risked the possibility that, even if they won the war, his houses power would be far from intact. As Logans dilemma deepened, his awaited target, the enemys cavalry, finally reached the location he had anticipated. AutoTranslatorLoaded The screams from the rear of their troops acted as the signal. Now! Unleashing the fury he had contained, Logan spurred his horse forward. Finally, over three hundred cavalrymen thundered from the forest, surging toward the battlefield.