Chapter 407: Let the Hunt Begin (3)
Dududududu!
Marquis Roderick, covered in dust from his desperate escape, still wore a face contorted with indignation.
“Ugh…! I, the one destined to be the king of this kingdom! How could I be forced to flee like a pathetic fool!”
It still felt like a dream. Where had the army that once shook the heavens gone? He could not comprehend how they fought or how they were defeated.
“You fools! Worthless idiots! Losing such a vast force without even putting up a fight!”
Even while fleeing, Marquis Roderick was busy cursing his subordinates.
Tennant, who was beside him, had no words to offer. Most of the operations had been devised by him, after all. However, their defeat was largely due to Marquis Roderick’s hasty demands, which left no time to properly review the plans. It wasn’t the fault of any one individual.
Simply put, all of Roderick’s retainers were inferior compared to the individuals on the side of Fenris.
“You useless bastards! How could you suffer such a crushing defeat at the hands of those insignificant foes!”
The only one oblivious to this was Marquis Roderick, who continued to heap blame on his allies. The retainers could do nothing but listen to his tirades with bitter expressions.
Having left behind their mages and moving solely with the cavalry, they had managed to escape quite far.
At some point, the pursuing Ferdium forces gave up their chase, and they were no longer visible.
Tennant ordered the troops to halt and addressed Marquis Roderick.
“Let’s rest here for a moment.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Please bear with the inconvenience a little longer. Even with just these 5,000 soldiers, the Royal Faction will welcome us with open arms. Their situation is desperate right now.”
“Five thousand… Only 5,000 left… Marquis Branford will laugh at me.”
Marquis Roderick, exhausted from his cursing, looked noticeably worn out. It was as if all his willpower had evaporated in the face of this unthinkable reality.
With no proper preparations for rest, they could only collapse on the ground.
In a feeble voice, Marquis Roderick spoke.
“I’m hungry. Bring me something to eat.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Bring me something to eat already!”
“…We didn’t bring any provisions with us.”
“What? Then are you telling me to starve until we reach the capital?!”
“Once we’re out of Fenris’s territory, we plan to request food from the other lords.”
“Ugh…! Useless fools!”
Marquis Roderick erupted in fury once more.
Gastronomy was one of his favorite indulgences. Now, being chased and without anything to eat, he was infuriated by his own miserable state.
“At least bring me water!”
Fortunately, they all carried water pouches, so it didn’t take long to fetch him some.
“Blegh!”
Marquis Roderick gagged as he drank from the leather pouch. Accustomed to magically purified water, the unclean taste of the water felt unbearable.
“Even drinking water properly is impossible! How could I have run my estate with such incompetent fools?!”
Marquis Roderick threw the water pouch and continued his tirade.
The retainers, suffering from his endless complaints, looked increasingly grim.
After venting his frustrations, Marquis Roderick exhaled heavily and raised his head. Something caught his eye.
“Why is there a cursed crow flying around?”
A single crow was circling in the sky. The others also looked up to see the bird.
“Idiot!”
“Did… Did that crow just insult me?!”
Already sensitive to insults, Marquis Roderick was livid once more.
The others seemed to have heard the strange sound too, but the idea of a crow speaking was absurd.
“It must be a misunderstanding.”
“There’s no way a crow could speak, right?”
“We must have misheard it.”
But Marquis Roderick persisted stubbornly.
“It’s strange that we all heard the same thing! If it wasn’t the crow, then who was it? Who insulted me? Was it you?!”
“N-No, sir!”
“Then who was it?! Who dared insult me?! I’ll kill them all!”
The marquis’s demeanor as the so-called strongest in the West had entirely crumbled.
During moments of retreat like this, a leader’s capabilities were more crucial than ever. But Marquis Roderick’s actions were so disgraceful that they threatened to erode even the remaining loyalty of his men.
Tennant, finding it unbearable to watch, turned his head away. That’s when he noticed something strange in the distance and froze.
‘Dust…’
Others might not have noticed, but Tennant, regarded as one of the best in the West, saw faint dust rising far off in the distance.
He narrowed his eyes, carefully observing it to determine whether it was a natural phenomenon or man-made.
The dust didn’t settle after a while. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed artificial.
Immediately, he pressed his ear to the ground and focused his mana.
Dududududu…
From far away, the trembling sound of the ground reached his ears.
Tennant abruptly stood up and turned his gaze in that direction.
‘It’s not the direction we came from.’
It wasn’t the Ferdium army pursuing them; they couldn’t appear from that direction.
That could only mean one thing: another enemy was approaching.
“Everyone, mount your horses! Move immediately! The enemy is coming!”
At his command, the knights and cavalrymen hastily mounted their horses.
Marquis Roderick, who wore a baffled expression, was also forced to climb onto his horse.
“What’s going on? I don’t see anything!”
“The enemy is coming!”
“But I don’t see anything! There’s nothing around us!”
“We’ll move immediately! Escort the Marquis!”
There was no time to argue. As Tennant took hold of his reins, the soldiers of Roderick’s army gasped.
“Hah!”
“It’s… it’s really the enemy!”
“The Fenris forces have appeared!”
Above the heads of the approaching foes fluttered the banners of Fenris. The Fenris cavalry charged forward with terrifying speed.
“Move with all your might! We can evade them!”
Tennant drew his sword and shouted, urging the Roderick cavalry to ready themselves for a desperate escape.
“Let’s go!”
Dududududu!
The Roderick forces began to move. While the Fenris forces were swift, there was still a considerable distance, and it seemed possible to avoid direct confrontation.
“Faster! We must shake them off no matter what!”
Tennant gritted his teeth. If they collided now, their flanks would be exposed. Should the gap close further, a fight would be inevitable.
He glanced to the side. There was still enough distance.
‘Good! They’re only close enough to barely catch the rear!’
So he thought, until his eyes caught sight of the figures leading the Fenris forces.
‘Elves?’
The moment he identified the enemy, the Fenris cavalry all drew their bows.
“They’re mounted archers! Run faster!”
Panic gripped the Roderick forces as a barrage of arrows rained down upon them.
Whizz!
The Roderick army, having prepared no defenses against such an assault, was utterly unprepared for the mounted archers’ attack. They had assumed the elves of Fenris were still holed up in Fortress Silverlight.
Thus, they had no choice, but to succumb to the oncoming arrows.
Thwack! Thud! Thwack!
“Arghhh!”
Crash! Bang! Thud!
Soldiers and horses struck by arrows collapsed to the ground. Those running alongside and behind them were also caught up in the chaos and fell.
In an instant, the center ranks of the army were thrown into disarray.
At the forefront of the Fenris forces, the elf Lumina raised her fist into the air.
Dududududu!
Following her gesture, the Fenris forces changed direction in unison, pursuing the Roderick army from behind.
When she raised her bow again, her soldiers mirrored her movement.
Whizz!
Relentless volleys of arrows continued to rain down on the retreating Roderick forces. Those in the rear and middle ranks could do nothing, but absorb the attacks.
“Arghhh!”
“Don’t stop! Keep running no matter what!”
“We must get out of here!”
Thanks to Tennant’s quick judgment, a significant portion of the remaining Roderick forces managed to escape the battlefield.
Lumina, leading the mounted archers, gradually slowed her pace.
“That’s enough. It’s too late to catch up now. Gather the living horses and take the remaining soldiers as prisoners.”
She issued her orders in a calm tone.
The so-called strongest in the West had at least one capable individual among them. They had realized her approach and moved quickly to evade capture.
‘If they had delayed even a little longer, we could have caught Marquis Roderick.’
While she found it somewhat regrettable, Lumina wasn’t one for excessive ambition, so she let it go easily.
“Still, as the Chief Overseer said, they were indeed here.”
Currently, Ghislain and Claude were using Dark to establish rapid communication.
Ghislain had expended an immense amount of mana to divide Dark’s consciousness into as many parts as possible and scatter them across the region. Despite the enormous consumption of mana, Ghislain didn’t mind.
In this war, all the major threats had effectively been neutralized.
The Roderick forces, having fled the battlefield in haste, eventually slowed down once they confirmed they were no longer being pursued.
“Huff… huff… Where did those enemies even come from?” Marquis Roderick gasped, still catching his breath.
Tennant answered him.
“The elven mounted archers were a unit stationed at Fortress Silverlight. It seems they were sent from there.”
“Argh! That’s why we should have captured it!”
If they had taken Silverlight, the elves would have been under their control. The enemy would never have dared act so audaciously.
That realization only deepened Roderick’s frustration and resentment.
“Let’s rest for a moment now that we’ve shaken off the pursuit.”
“This area is still dangerous. I suggest we keep moving until we’ve crossed the northern border.”
“No one else is coming after us, are they?”
They had evaded the Ferdium forces and the pursuers from Silverlight. Count Fenris was likely still in the West, so there shouldn’t be anyone else chasing them.
Still, Tennant shook his head.
“We’ve lost another 1,000 soldiers and have no provisions. It would be better to leave the North as quickly as possible.”
“Ugh… Fine.”
Marquis Roderick nodded and meekly followed Tennant’s instructions. He owed his life to Tennant, who had saved him from what could have been certain death moments ago.
Covered in dust and reduced to the state of fleeing stragglers, the remnants of his forces resumed their march towards the capital.
However, their advance soon came to a halt.
“Hmm… A canyon,” Tennant murmured with a slight frown. Passing through this canyon would be the fastest way to escape the North.
The problem, however, was the possibility of an ambush. If enemies lay in wait inside, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Yet, there was no time to send scouts. Searching the canyon and returning with news would take far too long.
As Tennant debated, Marquis Roderick spoke up.
“Just enter the canyon.”
“My lord… The canyon could be dangerous…”
“The pursuit force from Silverlight only just caught up with us. If they had the time to ambush the canyon, they would have already surrounded us.”
“Hmm…”
The marquis had a point. If the Silverlight forces had deployed troops for an ambush, they would have intercepted them by now.
The mounted archers they encountered earlier must have been the fastest troops Silverlight could send.
“Understood. We will proceed through the canyon immediately.”
At Tennant’s words, Marquis Roderick grinned smugly, confident his judgment was superior to anyone else’s.
Despite his arrogance, they moved cautiously. Yet, as they progressed through the canyon, no enemies appeared.
Everyone began to slightly relax, moving more comfortably.
“Hahaha, those fools. If I were the one pursuing us, I would have sent the mounted archers here instead of wasting them earlier,” Marquis Roderick said with a self-satisfied laugh. The Fenris forces only won because of luck, he thought; they wouldn’t stand a chance in a real fight.
His thoughts stirred anger and frustration again.
“Damn it! One day, I’ll invade the North again and kill them all”
“Waaaahhh!”
Marquis Roderick’s muttering was abruptly cut off by a thunderous battle cry.
“Wh-What is that?!”
The Roderick forces were thrown into confusion. From both sides of the canyon, troops suddenly appeared.
One soldier stammered as he recognized the banners.
“F-Fenris Mercenary Corps…”
Unlike the banners of the Fenris estate, these bore the insignia of the Fenris Mercenary Corps. Although separate from the estate’s military, they were undoubtedly allies of Fenris.
The sight of them sent Roderick’s forces into a state of panic.
“Why are they here?”
“When did they even get here?!”
As the Roderick army scrambled in disarray, a loud voice bellowed from the mercenaries.
“Loose!!!”
Whizz!
Thousands of arrows rained down upon the Roderick forces.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Charge forward!”
“Break through the canyon!”
Under assault in the narrow canyon, evasion was almost impossible. With no choice but to abandon resistance, the Roderick forces began to flee.
“Run! Run faster!”
Tennant grabbed the dazed Marquis Roderick and forced him forward, shouting himself hoarse. If they didn’t escape the canyon soon, they risked total annihilation.
“Damn it!”
Tennant gritted his teeth as he ran. There were paths above the canyon that enemies could descend from to block their escape.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Mercenaries spilled down en masse onto the exit path, led by the Drake Mercenary Corps, who had come from the West.
“Kill Marquis Roderick!”
Dominic, the leader of the Drake Mercenary Corps, shouted, his voice echoing throughout the canyon.
“Waaaahhh!”
With deafening cries, the mercenaries charged at the fleeing Roderick army.
Tennant drew his sword and yelled.
“Break through!”
Fighting wasn’t an option. In this narrow canyon, a battle would only result in Roderick’s death. Their priority was to escape.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Living up to his reputation as the finest swordsman in the West, Tennant cut down the mercenaries in his path. His horsemanship was equally unmatched, allowing him to carve a way forward.
Marquis Roderick and a few of his retainers clung closely to Tennant, following him as best they could.
“Marquis Roderick!”
Dominic glared fiercely and pursued them, but he was blocked by the knights and soldiers guarding Tennant’s rear.
“Out of my way!”
Boom! Bang! Crash!
Dominic, now much stronger after meeting Ghislain and learning advanced mana cultivation techniques, crushed the opposition. Utilizing runestones and a mana concentration array, he had honed his skills to new heights.
“It’s time to avenge my fallen brothers!”
As Dominic’s roar echoed through the canyon, his mercenaries shouted the same battle cry.
“Vengeance for our fallen brothers!”
The chant was so loud it seemed the canyon itself would collapse. Even the fleeing Marquis Roderick could hear it.
“Those filthy, lowly mercenaries dare to chase me!”
It was because of the Drake Mercenary Corps that this war’s justification had arisen. Yet now, being hunted by those very mercenaries made his blood boil.
“Tennant! Tennant! Do we really have to run from these wretched mercenaries?!”
Tennant remained silent, focusing solely on escaping the canyon.
But Marquis Roderick’s fury didn’t subside.
“Tennant! Kill those lowly scum right now!”
As Marquis Roderick’s tirade continued, Tennant suddenly turned with a furious expression and hurled his sword.
Thud!
“Hiiiik!”
Marquis Roderick flinched, nearly falling off his horse.
The sword had struck down a knight riding beside Roderick. The knight had been about to stab the marquis.
“Grrkk…”
The knight, his neck half-severed, fell from his horse.
Grabbing the reins tightly, Tennant spoke firmly.
“My lord, you need to focus solely on escaping.”
“Y-Yes, understood,” Roderick replied, his voice subdued. A knight meant to protect him had turned traitor. It was clear now that even his life hung by a thread.
* * *
Dududududu!
Thanks to Tennant’s efforts, the vanguard of Roderick’s forces barely escaped the canyon.
But behind them, the screams of the dying persisted.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Spare me!”
“I surrender! I surrender!”
The Drake Mercenary Corps, fueled by rage and vengeance, showed no mercy.
In the end, Roderick’s army suffered near-total annihilation.
“Marquis Roderick!”
Dominic roared as he continued his pursuit. His men followed, their intent to kill the marquis clear.
Tennant ignored everything and pressed onward. Marquis Roderick, drenched in sweat, silently followed.
Their escape was short-lived.
Just beyond the canyon, another army blocked their path.
The line of soldiers stretched long, numbering no less than 10,000.
At their forefront sat a man on a black horse, his lance resting casually and a confident smile on his face.
Recognizing the figure, Tennant muttered grimly.
“He’s already here…”
This man was none other than the Count of Fenris, known as the strongest in the North.