Barbarian Quest

The imperial army needed a decisive move to change the tide of the battlefield. The Porcana-Alliance army launched a full-scale attack, and the right wing under Urich’s command devoured the imperial army from one side as they encircled them. No matter how strong the imperial army was, it would be hard to last if their formation was overwhelmed like that.

‘This is strange.’

Carnius closed his eyes and opened them again. He looked at the right wing of the Porcana-Alliance army.

‘That side has an unusually high morale and breakthrough power. There must be an extraordinary field commander. I remember seeing something like this before….’

Carnius traced his old memories. In his youth, he had fought alongside the Sword Demon Ferzen.

‘Something similar happened whenever the Sword Demon Ferzen led his army at the forefront.’

The legendary knight was not only exceptional in command. There was something indescribable. When he took the field, the soldiers forgot their fear. His mere presence was a halo to the soldiers.

He made his entire army stronger not through logical strategies and tactics but through his mere existence. Such a presence wasn’t something that could be mimicked by anyone. It was as if these people were chosen by the gods, born with such talents.

‘A blessing of the gods.’

“Bring my horse!”

The cavalry who had gone out returned to change horses. Many horses were injured by the pike phalanx, and the horses that made it out almost collapsed from undergoing two charges.

“Hurry up!”

Supply soldiers and squires moved busily. They took the armor off the horses and put it on other horses.

‘If we don’t break the momentum of that right wing, our front line will be pushed back. We need something that can change this flow.’

Carnius looked at the battlefield while mounted on his horse. The imperial army, which had maintained superiority in an equal standoff, was now unable to properly carry out shift battles while defending the flank. If they got pushed any further, a chaotic battle would ensue, which was exactly what the barbarians wanted.

The pride of the imperial army lay in their discipline, organization, and ability to perfectly maintain formation according to the commander’s tactics. If that collapsed, the imperial infantry would be no more than just slightly better soldiers.

“General, the preparations are complete.”

Carnius nodded. He took the lead on his horse. Two thousand heavy cavalry followed, along with three thousand light cavalry. The heavy and light cavalry combined numbered over five thousand.

The light cavalry were mostly mercenaries or wealthy commoners. While good discipline and combat power couldn’t be expected from them, the number one priority at the moment was increasing the numbers.

“Follow General Carniuuuuus!”

“Long live the Sun!”

“We have Lou’s blessings on our backs!”

The knights shouted to boost morale, but despite their efforts, their morale wasn’t as high as it was for the first and second charges.

‘Their spears are longer than our lances.’

Confronting them head-on was not an option. There was no way to break through the pike phalanx with the current equipment of the imperial army.

Carnius led the cavalry to circle around to the side of the alliance army. His eyes constantly scanned the battlefield.

Thwip!

An arrow came flying from afar. The heavy cavalry that were gradually increasing their speed made good targets.

Most of the steel knights who protected the front and sides of the heavy cavalry had fallen in the previous charge. The light cavalry were fully exposed in the rear ranks, and even many of the heavy cavalry were injured by arrows because they were only protected by their chainmail.

‘Where should we go?’

Carnius bit his lip.

Now that he had actually brought out the cavalry, he couldn’t decide on what to do next. Every direction seemed like a dead end. Even with accumulated experience and knowledge, he couldn’t see a way to break through. The current path was also as good as a dead end.

“General! We’re about to clash!” The adjutant shouted.

The heavy cavalry in front increased their speed. They held their lances at their sides and braced for the imminent impact.

Carnius narrowed his eyes. The world seemed to slow down, just like when a blade was grazing his throat. The lives of thousands of soldiers depended on his judgment.

Buzzzz.

It was a strange feeling, one he had never felt before.

It felt like he could even sense the elasticity of the passing arrows. Sounds were divided and heard in fragments. His eyes were staring at the heat of the battlefield. Indescribable intuitions welled up.

“To the leeeeeeft!” Carnius shouted as he rushed out to the forefront. He pulled the reins hard, changing direction right in front of the alliance army.

Thud, thud, thud!

The cavalry, who couldn’t respond in time to the sudden shift in direction, crashed into the alliance army and died.

“General!” The adjutants shouted, not understanding Carnius’ actions. Innocent cavalry were thrown out and killed.

“There! We’re going over there!” Carnius shouted like a madman.

Carnius had managed to pick out the location of the Porcana conscripts amidst the chaotic battlefield.

It wasn’t a certainty borne out of logic. He had simply sensed the subtle flow of the battlefield like a wild dog. He trusted his intuition, which was the culmination of his years of experience. Normally, Carnius would have never done such a thing.

For the first time, Carnius used a gamble with zero certainty as a tactic. In the aligned formation, there was a point where the imperial army had an advantage. It was a subtle difference, but it was crucial, nonetheless.

“Ahhhh! Get out of the way!”

Carnius grabbed the horn trumpet on his horse and sent a signal. His cavalry wore down their horses’ legs to prevent the pike units from catching up to them. The turning and twisting cavalry couldn’t be caught by a small pike unit.

“Follow the General!”

The adjutants had no choice but to trust Carnius. He tried to break through the alliance formation by cutting through the heavy infantry of the imperial army.

“Kaaargh!”

It was an unplanned operation. The sudden action by Carnius didn’t give the heavy infantry enough time to make way. Many were trampled by the cavalry of their own army.

‘Has the general gone mad?’

Even the adjutants were puzzled. They still placed their trust in him and followed, but it felt like death was creeping closer. The sudden turn by Carnius had resulted in dozens of casualties, and now they were trampling their own formation.

The adjutants knew this war also served Carnius’ personal revenge. Given the worsening situation, it wasn’t strange for Carnius to take a risky move.

‘Even the Iron Blood knight…’

But they were already charging on their horses. Even if they died, they were only going to do so in the heart of the enemies. The knights followed Carnius blindly like sheep.

“General! The light cavalry are deserting.”

“Leave them!”

The light cavalry, sensing something was wrong, deserted the battlefield and scattered. Made up of mercenaries and peasants, the light cavalry were more like loot hunters with no loyalty. They avoided full-scale battles as much as possible.

The desertion of the light cavalry led to a decline in the imperial army’s morale. The situation was headed toward the worst possible scenario for the imperial army.

“Chaaaaarge!”

Carnius shouted as he threw off his helmet upon reaching the front of the Porcana-Alliance army after trampling over his own men. His voice, unrestrained by the helmet, echoed loudly in the ears of the knights.

“Goddammiiiiiiiit!”

The knights also tucked their spears under their arms and charged forward.

Crunch! Snap!

The sound of flesh being crushed and bones breaking shook the battlefield. The charge of the heavy cavalry, which had lost most of its steel knights before this clash, was significantly weakened. On top of that, having circled around for quite some time had also drained the strength in the horses’ legs.

“Push forwaaaaaard!”

Despite this, Carnius' cavalry managed to pierce through the center of the Porcana-Alliance army. The knights who broke through looked around in shock. The soldiers impaled on their spears were just ragtag conscripts.

‘Did the general know that this was their weak spot… in this chaotic battlefield…?’

The adjutants stared at Carnius in astonishment.

“Don’t just stand there! Draw your weapons!”

The sacrifices of the heavy cavalry were not insignificant, but they had accomplished what they thought was impossible. They drew their swords and maces, preparing for the next battle.

“Our target is the top of that hill! If we occupy it, we can annihilate their command!”

Carnius pulled hard on the reins as if he wasn’t tired at all while even his horse was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

Clang!

Carnius struck his horse's flank with the flat of his blade. The startled horse mustered its remaining strength and ran.

The cavalry rushed toward the hill before the Porcana-Alliance forces could surround them. However, injured or exhausted horses collapsed and fell to their knees.

“General, leave the rear to us.”

The knights who lost their horses stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the enemies rushing toward them. Dozens of knights were practically trapped within the formation of the Porcana-Alliance army.

“We saw a rare spectacle today. The general was unlike his usual self.”

The knights laughed as they swung their swords in circles. They wouldn’t have followed Carnius’ reckless charge if they were going to be scared now.

“Lou is waiting for us.”

The stranded knights fought with a roar, but no matter how brave, they couldn’t stand against the barbarian warriors and soldiers coming from all directions. The knights all became corpses shortly after.

Carnius moved forward without looking back as if he had turned into an arrow. He had lost even the knights who had served alongside him for a long time.

‘Ah, so this is how you felt, Lord Ferzen.’

Instead of sorrow, laughter came out. In his youth had watched Ferzen’s charges from behind. At first, he thought it was reckless, but as the reckless charges succeeded not just once or twice, it became legendary.

‘There are things you just can’t see until you stand in the spot yourself.’

Carnius had always hesitated to take that one extra step. He never took action unless he could be logically certain. However, there were things that could only be seen by throwing oneself into uncertainty.

At first, he planned to concentrate all the cavalry as the only breakthrough. It was a desperate gamble with the resolve to die. But when he got closer to the alliance army, only then did another path appear. Though he could not be certain, Carnius chose the latter path.

Thud.

Halfway up the hill, the horses fell to their knees out of exhaustion. The horses had carried the armed knights while wearing armor themselves. It was impressive that they were able to endure this far.

Clank, clank.

The dismounted knights ran up the hill. Their hearts felt like they would burst, but they knew this was their last chance.

“Oooooh!”

On top of the hill, Porcana’s heavy cavalry, who were guarding the command, were descending. Five hundred heavy cavalry charged down the hill and clashed with Carnius’ unit.

Bo—om!

Carnius dodged the spear of the charging heavy cavalry and swung his sword long. He broke the horse’s leg, and the knocked-off heavy cavalry had their necks snapped and died.

“Do you think you can beat us with the tactics you stole from us?” Carnius shouted, raising his bloodshot eyes.

The knights faced the heavy cavalry and responded calmly without fear. The difference in skill between the empire and the kingdom was evident here. The highly trained imperial knights were deadly weapons even without their horses. They blocked the attacking heavy cavalry with maces and swords.

The few remaining steel knights even withstood the iron lances with their bodies and survived. The curved surfaces of the steel armor deflected the crude spears to the side. They were able to get away with only broken bones, even with direct hits. The kingdom’s iron lances couldn’t easily penetrate the steel armor.

“My god!” Duke Lungell shouted from the top of the hill upon seeing Porcana’s heavy cavalry being overwhelmed.

Despite holding the advantageous hill, the heavy cavalry fell helplessly. Many of Porcana’s heavy cavalry were only now experiencing mounted charges in actual combat for the first time. They were not as seasoned as the knights of the empire.

“Call back our troops at the front! Quickly!” The nobles shouted, stomping their feet.

No matter how advantageous the situation was for their army, it was all pointless if they died here. The forces they had with them on the hill were a thousand infantrymen, and even their morale was plummeting after seeing the heavy cavalry at the front being defeated so easily.

It was a mistake to commit all their forces to overturn the unfavorable situation. Even the heavy cavalry, believed to be sufficient for protection, powerlessly rolled down the hill.

The number of knights climbing the hill after abandoning their horses was over a thousand at a glance. The blood-soaked imperial knights were more threatening than thousands of soldiers.

“We must flee, Your Highness!”

The nobles hurriedly mounted their horses. They were fully prepared to abandon the command and flee.

“If we abandon this place, who will command the rest of our troops? Even if we survive that way, who will be loyal to us in the future?” Varca spoke calmly.

He tightened the belt of his chainmail. Raising both hands, he donned his helmet adorned with a crown symbol. His blue eyes gleamed beneath the helmet’s shadow.

‘The imperial knights are just as anxious. Our troops who were in formation are already retreating to save us.’

Varca narrowed his eyes, looking at the approaching mountain goat warriors. The agile detachment was coming to save the command.

“The situation is in our favor. Stay calm, guardians of Porcana! Look at them! They are exhausted to the point of stumbling. Their swords will not reach us.”

Varca encouraged the soldiers, stepping forward. His noble appearance was proving its worth. Upon seeing the kingly demeanor bestowed by the heavens, the soldiers prayed as if they were facing Lou himself.

“The enemy has split into two,” a Porcana knight said beside Varca.

Carnius’ unit that was climbing the hill had split up. Half stayed behind to stop the mountain goat warriors while the other half continued to rush up the hill.

Huff, huff.

Wheezing sounds came from among the imperial knights. The exhaled breath was blocked by the helmet and was inhaled back through the nose.

Though exhausted, the imperial knights’ valor was fiercer than ever. The success of the seemingly reckless charge gave them a feeling that the protection of their god was with them.

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