Chapter 598

After about half a day of marching, we discovered a small to medium-sized village.

A small tribe with hundreds of able-bodied men and more than three times that number of residents. According to Hersela, it was called “Honi Segashia”… in other words, the Sheep Village.

Though it was far from having a pastoral atmosphere.

Perhaps news of two military strongholds being devastated had reached them, as the wooden palisade surrounding the village was sparsely manned by sentries holding torches.

Judging by the hurried swaying of the torchlight, they must have noticed our approach long ago. It was impossible to hide the sound of two hundred heavy cavalry. The village was likely preparing for battle.

Well, if we’ve been spotted, we’ll just fight as planned.

“Let’s go.”

I took the lead of the cavalry and pulled out the bow I had tucked beside Cascador’s saddle. While Durandal could handle long-range attacks, arrows still had the advantage in range.

“Are you planning to charge? Given that they’re surrounded by a palisade, it might be more appropriate to attempt a fire attack.”

One of Landenburg’s masters who had joined the special forces, Karim, approached and asked.

A fire attack. Tactically, it was the most rational choice. Pouring fire arrows or igniting Up-hwa to set the entire palisade ablaze, then blocking the narrow entrance, would trap most of the enemy in a fiery pit to burn to death.

The special forces’ heavy cavalry, being elite troops trained by Ludwig, were capable of shooting arrows from horseback. While hitting a moving target would be tricky, a stationary palisade wouldn’t be too difficult.

But…

“No. Burning the village is on hold for now. I’ll break the palisade. After suppressing fire, charge straight in.”

I rejected Karim’s suggestion. If it were a military stronghold, I’d have burned it down without hesitation, but this was an ordinary village. Even if the majority were Ka`har, they weren’t all warriors… meaning women, the elderly, and children.

It felt a bit wrong to burn them all indiscriminately.

[Ha, the Saintess has arrived. Oh wait, she actually is the Saintess, isn’t she?]

Hersela grumbled, having understood my meaning.

…Complaining about not slaughtering civilians from her own country, her personality really is messed up.

Sure, burning them all would yield a massive amount of Life Force, so to Hersela, it must feel like throwing away a feast… but I didn’t want to slaughter those who couldn’t fight or had no intention of fighting.

If there were no other way, it would be unavoidable, but that wasn’t the case here.

Of course, I couldn’t force others to make irrational choices just because I wanted to. A commander’s duty is to achieve victory with minimal losses, not to enforce humanitarianism.

So, I came up with a reasonable excuse to explain to Karim and Hersela.

“We’ll kill all the enemies who attack, expel the elderly and women, then burn the village. The survivors will have no choice but to head to Ordos. Let’s see how Or-han handles the increased mouths to feed.”

For an impromptu idea, it was fairly rational.

Having lost their food, shelter, and protectors, the villagers would have no choice but to flee to Ordos, and as the Kagan of the Great Plains, Or-han would have to take them in.

One village might be manageable, but as the number of refugees grows, Ordos’ food situation would start to strain.

Wasn’t that why the warriors were scattered in the first place?

“Hmm… I see. Not a bad strategy.”

Karim nodded in understanding and stepped back.

“…What’s the scope of the enemy? Should we target everyone who resists with weapons?”

A gloomy, muffled voice. It was Yan Ridel, the Eighth Sword of Landenburg.

“Well…”

I tilted my head slightly, pondering.

The scope of the ‘enemy’… anyone capable of fighting as a soldier would count. The problem is…

‘I’m not sure about Ka`har’s standards. At what age do you consider someone a combatant?’

The Empire usually sets the conscription age at 17, so Ka`har might be around 15.

In modern warfare with firearms, even a ten-year-old could be used as a soldier, but in this world dominated by close combat, children younger than that wouldn’t even be able to fight properly.

[Standards, you say? Well… age-wise, it’s a bit ambiguous…]

After a moment of thought, Hersela seemed to come up with a suitable analogy and replied cheerfully.

[Right! We can use the wheel as a standard! That’ll make it easy to distinguish. Any man taller than a wheel can be considered a soldier without exception.]

…What?

Is she serious…?

I couldn’t tell if Hersela was telling the truth or lying to accumulate more Life Force.

A wheel? That’s way too young. Even a seven-year-old would probably be taller than that.

“Ha-shal-leur?”

There was no time to ponder further. The enemy was getting closer, and Yan, finding my silence strange, spoke up again.

“Ah, right. Anyone taller than… no, anyone whose chest is visible above a wheel, consider them an enemy.”

“Understood.”

I couldn’t bring myself to kill everyone taller than a wheel as Hersela suggested, so I compromised. Around 140-150cm, I guess. That should be at least fifteen years old.

—

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle! The Empire is coming!”

The frantic shouts from inside the palisade reached my ears, carried by the wind. The distance was close enough for arrows to reach. I drew my bow, pulling Life Force into the arrowhead.

“Ready to fire-!”

The heavy cavalry behind me drew their bows in unison. Though their stance was less stable compared to Ka`har’s archers, they could still shoot without issue.

To hit accurately, we’d need to get closer.

Unlike me.

-Thunk!

The moment I released the bowstring, a drum-like sound echoed, and a red flash tore through the sky.

About a second later.

“Gahhh!”

A bloody flower bloomed on the palisade in the distance. Arrow of Precision. The vortex of Life Force released from the arrowhead shredded the sentry’s body.

Another shot. And another.

Three Arrows of Precision blossomed on the palisade.

“What is this! The Empire’s sorcery?!”

“Torches! Get away from the torches! They’re sniping us!”

Panicked shouts. Unlike the White Armies, whether they didn’t know my techniques or couldn’t see them in the dark, they kept shouting about cursed sorcery and tried to spread out to minimize casualties.

I galloped at the head of the cavalry, narrowing my eyes to observe the situation on the palisade.

About forty archers were on the palisade. Considering those hit by the Arrows of Precision, there were probably around fifty originally. The rest must have been behind the palisade.

Whether they were preparing to charge out on horseback or planning to hold their ground inside, I didn’t know.

Either way, breaking through head-on would suffice. The fact that they shouted “The Empire is coming” instead of “Ha-shal-leur is here” meant they didn’t know I was present. If they had, they would’ve retreated.

Though it’s too late to retreat now.

“Commence firing! Target the sentries on the palisade!”

As the distance closed sufficiently, I put away my bow and drew Durandal, shouting. Two hundred arrows responded, streaking through the night sky in chaotic trajectories.

Most of the arrows embedded themselves in the palisade, proving the archers’ inexperience, but out of two hundred shots, about a dozen hit the enemy soldiers.

Though few died, blocked by shields and armor.

“Who do they think they are! Shoot them down! Bring them down!”

On the other hand, Ka`har’s archers, true to their reputation, accurately targeted us despite their small numbers. Their rate of fire and accuracy far surpassed ours.

But it was meaningless.

-Clang!

The rain of arrows bounced off with a clear metallic sound. Landenburg’s heavy cavalry. Knights clad head-to-toe in armor, with even their horses armored, couldn’t be brought down by ordinary arrows.

Though there were some skilled archers mixed in, judging by the occasional groans from the knights, they couldn’t pierce the steel armor, only denting it.

Of course, Ja-han, Leonor, and I weren’t wearing full plate armor, but the three of us weren’t the type to be taken down by blind arrows.

Ja-han spun his Crescent Moon Blade, deflecting incoming arrows, while Leonor laughed as she knocked aside arrows aimed at her with her longsword. Me? I didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t get hurt even if I got hit.

“Damn those metal-clad bastards!”

“Get ready! They’re coming!”

The Ka`har warriors’ angry shouts were clear. They had some plan in mind.

What would it be? A trap? A frontal charge? Or holding the palisade?

Though I sensed some commotion, there were no visible changes. The palisade’s gate remained firmly shut, and the sentries on top continued to fire arrows at the gaps in the heavy cavalry’s armor.

Though they were blocked by the weapons of the masters leading the cavalry.

After exchanging a few volleys, the distance to the palisade had closed to within twenty meters.

“Now! Go!”

“Those Empire bastards are insane! Do they even know where they are?!”

At that moment, fierce shouts erupted as hundreds of cavalry burst out from both sides of the village.

[Flanking charge. A classic tactic.]

Hersela muttered softly.

Their plan was clear. Landenburg’s heavy cavalry would be momentarily halted by the palisade. Seizing that moment, the warriors emerging from the village’s flanks would charge into the cavalry’s sides.

As Hersela said, it was a classic tactic with little downside. The risk of a counterattack was high if the timing was off, but their horsemanship was precise enough to coordinate it perfectly.

The only problem they hadn’t considered was my presence here.

“I’ll go first! Follow me! Act as if there’s no palisade in front of us!”

I spurred Cascador forward, cracking the reins.

To others, it looked like a suicidal charge. Breaking away from the formation and charging alone, I became the target of concentrated fire from Ka`har. Ignoring the arrows grazing my skin, I filled Durandal with Life Force.

“What’s that! A horned horse?!”

“Wait, that woman, could she be…?!”

Finally recognizing me, the enemy visibly faltered. But it was too late.

The Life Force Hersela had stirred rose like a cloud. Durandal, brimming with feats, trembled slightly, emitting a silvery-blue light. And the massive wooden wall before me.

“Kyaaaah!”

At the moment of collision, I yanked Cascador’s reins to the side, changing direction, and swung Durandal at the palisade. Vacuum Slash. Manifesting the essence of the Vacuum Blade along the trajectory of the slash.

An invisible, massive slash struck the wooden wall.

-Kwaaaaang!

Debris scattered through the air.