Chapter 331

It wasn’t just Hersela who noticed the Suins’ intentions. Valdemar and Karl already knew, and even Leonor shrugged it off as if it were obvious.

Freide did scold me for not realizing it, but from what I saw, she didn’t seem to catch on either. I clearly noticed her flinch when the topic of reinforcements came up.

Anyway, this wasn’t a development worth celebrating. Sure, our forces currently have the upper hand, so we can fight evenly even in unfavorable terrain. But if the enemy’s elite warriors increase by just four, the balance of power could flip in an instant.

“…Shouldn’t we retreat? Given the situation, I think it’s best to wait for our soldiers to regroup and engage in a full-scale battle.”

“No. We won’t retreat. Now that their forces are weakened, we must drive them out of this forest. If those beasts establish this place as a stronghold after replenishing their numbers, it’ll be nearly impossible to push them out.”

Valdemar rejected Karl’s suggestion.

I agreed with him.

As he said, the forest is the perfect terrain for the Suins to thrive. If humans have walls, the Suins have the forest. Right now, their numbers are low, and they’re full of wounded, so they’re manageable. But if they replenish their forces and start guerrilla ambushes, even bringing in the Northern Army’s soldiers would result in heavy losses.

“Do you have a plan? If we try to drive them out like this, we’ll just get bogged down and worn out.”

One of the Northern Army’s masters, Aingen, asked Valdemar.

He was the knight who, alongside Milia, held off Abigail. A rare master-level magic swordsman, he left a strong impression.

His magic wasn’t particularly powerful, but its activation speed was quite fast.

Probably because he trained it as a supplement to his swordsmanship rather than as his main skill.

As he demonstrated earlier, just channeling lightning through his sword could instantly electrocute his opponent.

“A plan…? Well, it’s not like there isn’t one. If they’re using the forest to buy time, we only have one option.”

Valdemar turned his head and glared into the depths of the forest.

By now, the sun had completely set, and the darkness made it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

[We need to leave the forest.]

“We’ll leave the forest.”

Hersela and Valdemar’s voices overlapped.

“We’ll maximize our marching speed to get out of the forest. Instead of engaging their attacks head-on, we’ll maintain a defensive posture while continuing to move. Once we’re out of the forest, they’ll have no choice but to come out. If they don’t, we’ll head straight to the northern wall and take out their reinforcements first.”

It was a logical plan, success aside.

I’m not sure if we can safely exit the forest, but once we do, we’ll seize the initiative in the battle.

Rurik and their elite warriors will have no choice but to hesitate. If they come out for a full-scale battle, their chances of winning are slim.

But if they stay in the forest, their reinforcements heading to the northern wall will be wiped out first, leaving them trapped like rats.

“…Is it possible for us alone to defeat their reinforcements? We don’t know how many troops will come down from the mountains.”

A knight cautiously asked.

He questioned whether a pursuit force of less than three hundred could annihilate the Suin reinforcements.

As he worried, the knights, who initially numbered just over three hundred, had dwindled to around two hundred and fifty after several battles.

The Suins had also suffered losses, but facing proper reinforcements with such numbers would still be unsettling.

But honestly, I think it’s possible.

I don’t know how many reinforcements there will be, but Rurik won’t be there.

If they had another force like Rurik’s, they would’ve deployed it in the siege.

Only a fool would leave such power idle. If there were two Rurik-level forces, I’d probably be beast food by now.

So no matter how many reinforcements there are, stopping me is impossible.

Elite warriors? They’re not enough. Even Oleg can barely handle a few masters at this point.

While an ordinary hero might be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, that’s not an option against me.

I’m not at Hersela’s peak level, but I’m still a hero specialized in large-scale battles.

Unending stamina. Offense and defense combined with freely convertible Life Force energy. Even without the support of my “up,” my physical abilities surpass those of an average pure-blood warrior.

Excluding the heroic saga “Reversal of Heaven,” all my powers are geared toward slaughtering masses of weaker foes rather than taking on a single strong enemy.

Well, when you think about it, it’s only natural.

Both my Life Force and physical resilience stem from Hersela, after all.

Boss monsters are naturally good at mass slaughter.

“Even so, they’re just reserves. They’re no match for Rurik’s main force. With eleven masters and…”

“As long as we have the Knights of Light, it won’t be hard to exterminate them, as long as that Ryurik guy isn’t around.”

Valdemar seemed to be thinking the same thing.

As the convinced knight stepped back, Valdemar continued with his main point.

“If those guys jump out from the forest, we’ll immediately counterattack and engage in a full-scale battle. If they’re not in the forest, they won’t have a chance to retreat in an orderly manner.”

That was an undeniable fact.

The beastmen who launched a surprise attack were able to retreat without much damage solely because of the trees in the forest.

They either knocked down trees to create gaps or simply jumped around on the trees, making it impossible for ordinary knights to chase them.

If the battle took place on flat ground outside the forest, such tricks would be impossible.

They might be faster than humans, so they could run for their lives, but unlike in the forest, they would have to endure significant bloodshed.

“We’ll depart in ten minutes. Make sure the knights are informed.”

After finishing his words, Valdemar sat down on the corpse of a beastman.

He, too, needed to take a short rest.

To break free from the beastmen’s interference and escape the forest, the masters, including him, would have to give it their all.

—

A ten-minute break.

The knights drank potions or cut up horse carcasses with daggers, roasting them on torches to replenish their strength, while the masters of the Northern Army scattered to gather their energy.

I sat on a stump, puffing on a cigarette.

Smoking mana herbs in the North was a surefire way to attract attention.

The smoke, light, and smell would clearly reveal your location to the beastmen.

Well, it didn’t matter much now.

Our location had already been discovered long ago. Unless they were blind, they couldn’t miss it.

Everyone was carrying torches, and the scent and noise of hundreds of people were overflowing.

So, even as I puffed away on my cigarette, no one paid me any attention.

I know when it’s okay to smoke and when it’s not.

Freide might have grumbled about it, but she seemed busy right now.

Just like Damien and Milia.

Milia was busy scavenging reusable arrows, while Freide was humming a tune as she sliced off the claws and nails of beastmen corpses.

I don’t know what she plans to use those claws for, but she should just rest quietly.

Damien was talking to Aingen.

He wasn’t just chatting; he was using hand gestures, so it didn’t seem like a casual conversation.

Well, he just became a master, so he must have a lot of questions. I don’t know why he’s asking Aingen, though.

Did they get close after fighting together?

—

The knights, regrouped, were ready to break through the forest as per Valdemar’s orders.

A long, diamond-shaped formation.

Masters were positioned at the front, sides, and rear, while the knights on the outer edges carried shields and torches instead of weapons.

Milia, being a master capable of long-range attacks, was positioned in the center of the formation.

I was also in the center, just in case Ryurik popped up somewhere.

“Move out! Don’t stop until we’re out of the forest! Falling behind means certain death!”

At Valdemar’s command from the front, the knights began to move in unison.

They weren’t running at full speed, but they were moving much faster than a normal walking pace.

The next time we engage, the beastmen will immediately realize our goal.

That’s when we’ll need to run at full speed.

The beastmen reappeared about thirty minutes later.

—

Oleg, who had arrived at the northern wall, sat on the ruins of the fortress wall and caught his breath for a moment.

“This is tough… but it’s almost over.”

He needed to rest a bit, thinking about what lay ahead.

Even for a Grand Warrior, maintaining a full-speed dash all the way here was quite taxing.

The yellow eyes of the snowfield tiger turned toward the towering Sky Mountain Range behind him.

Beyond that,

lay their homeland, Varyakrus.