Chapter 82 - Troublesome Options

Loan led the groups and Zelos followed him from the left side. The troops soon followed them afterwards, but all those who were close to Loan, including Zelos, were completely calm. The speech motivated them, but they knew how to control their feelings.

“We aren’t going to stop, cut them down as fast as possible!”

That was an order for Zelos and the others and he automatically decided to follow the orders. When the first enemy approached, Zelos jumped and then swung down his sword with all his might when he began to fall. The target tried to block the attack with his sword, but Zelos’ sword broke that one and slashed the torso of the enemy as well. 

Another enemy approached Zelos and tried to stab him, but soon he raised his sword with all his might and blew away the enemy’s weapon upward. Before he could recover, Zelos swung down his sword and then cut the enemy almost in half.

‘My sword and moves are pretty sharp today… my body is already in peak condition. I guess the speech motivated me a bit as well.’

Zelos glanced to the side for a moment, and what he saw left him impressed. The warriors that Loan had selected were nothing short of extraordinary. Among them was a spearman whose skill was unmatched. With every thrust of his spear, it seemed to split into three, striking the enemy with lightning-fast precision. It was as if he wielded three spears at once, overwhelming his foes with a barrage of strikes that left them reeling.

Then there was the mace user, a powerhouse whose attacks were devastating. With each swing of his mace, he could shatter not only the enemy’s weapons but also their arms. His strength was fearsome, and his blows left a trail of destruction in their wake.

Finally, there was the dual knife wielder, a master of agility and precision. With swift and precise movements, he could evade almost any attack and strike with deadly accuracy. His counters were lethal, targeting the enemy’s vitals with surgical precision.

“I am not the strongest among this group, I am not the most skilled either. I guess I have a long way ahead of me.”

Zelos cut down the enemies with all his might without a care about his stamina, but whenever he had the chance, he looked at the guys around him and took a good look at their stances and techniques. It truly felt that they had completely mastered their weapons.

‘It isn’t the same thing since he uses both hands to hold his spear… but I guess it is like this,’

When the next target approached, Zelos trusted his sword forward while spinning the weapon outside with his wrist. Zelos felt his forearm muscles twitching all of a sudden, but at least the impact blew away the enemy’s weapon. If he had spun the weapon in the opposite direction, the enemy wouldn’t have lost his weapon. In any case, the enemy charged at Zelos, only to have his heart pierced by another’s thrust attack.

The inverse rotation was good for right-handed people, so soon Zelos tried that when the next enemy approached. However, the guard wasn’t destroyed. In the end, the enemy still charged and hit Zelos with a body slam before swinging his sword at him. Zelos jumped backward, but his left forearm was still cut slightly… The burning pain made him hiss in annoyance.

Before long, Loan group pierced through the enemies lines and quickly surpassed their first wave. Since they killed all the enemies in front of them, their allies didn’t have to worry about attacks from the sides. Still, when they looked for more enemies, they soon opened their eyes widely when they saw that the massive sea of enemies had split… from the over ten thousand warriors, only one thousand stayed behind and the others retreated.

“What the hell…”

Zelos wasn’t the one who was completely in shock. Everyone else from the group also had their mouths hanging open. It seemed that the enemies decided to pull out when they realized that the morale of the defending side was too high.

“... Kill all the enemies here, we will deal with those cowards later.”

The group followed Loan orders and soon began to wipe out that small army of enemies. In the end, that had been the only battle of that day.

On the next day of battles, Zelos joined Loan’s group to confront the enemies once again. His muscles were a bit stiff from all the training, but as the day progressed, they started to loosen up.

As the battle started, Zelos wasted no time in unleashing his new type of attack. With a swift and precise motion, he easily bent the weapons of the enemies or disarmed them entirely. It was a move born of his recent training, and it proved highly effective in neutralizing the enemy’s offense.

However, despite his early success, Zelos found himself with little opportunity to do much else. The battlefield was chaotic, but they all ended pretty fast. Still, Zelos remained vigilant, ever-ready to lend his aid wherever it was needed. Even in the midst of the chaos, he kept a keen eye on his comrades, ready to step in and support them at a moment’s notice.

In the end, Zelos was called by Liry to talk about the situation with the other Captains. For all intentions and purposes, they defeated more enemies than they lost, but it didn’t feel like they were winning. After everyone arrived and stayed in silence for a while, Liry was the one who broke the silence.

“Well, this is concerning… The enemies are acting in a way that we didn’t expect at all. They invaded and destroyed one territory like they usually do, but this battle they are being a lot more pragmatic. Do any of you know the reason for this?” 

No one could say a thing since they had no idea the cause of that. Even without saying it, it was clear that the enemy had a general or commander that could control those guys with some weird sound signal that was similar to Liry’s trait. In any case, Zelos wanted to make the conversation move.

“If they don’t act like this usually, it means that they got a commander that has their respect. Maybe that dismisses the possibility of someone being hired that is controlling the whole situation.”

“Once again, our spies network has failed us. Still, we still have some options.”

All of them nodded at Liry’s words. Everyone had an idea of what their options were, but they were quite dangerous… attacking the enemy instead of waiting for them was the option. If they were acting like usual, then it would be fine to do that, but it was clear that they were different from usual, so there was the chance that they could fall for traps.

“It is too risky to go to the enemies, we are keeping an eye on the borders of the other territories and our scouts are also checking them, they aren’t making any signs that they are planning to target other areas. Still, if they keep losing soldiers like this, it is only a matter of time before things get really troublesome for them.”

Liry was trying to learn more about tactics and similar things to help in situations like that, but ultimately, she was still inexperienced and that was an important factor when it comes to commanding. In the end, a certain idea came to Zelos’s mind.

“How is the situation in terms of numbers?” 

“Right now we have eight thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry. We lost two thousand men already. The enemies lost three thousand out of their nine thousand.”

After Liry’s explanation, everyone assumed that it was time to attack. Logic dictated so: the enemy was vulnerable, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to strike. However, amidst the anticipation, a sense of unease was in the air.

They couldn’t shake the feeling that the enemies were baiting them with those numbers. It seemed too easy, too convenient. The enemy’s sheer numbers felt like a deliberate provocation, a trap waiting for them.

Despite the urge to charge head into battle, caution prevailed. They knew better than to fall blindly into the enemy’s trap. They needed to assess the situation carefully, consider their options, and plan their strategy accordingly. As they weighed their next move, a tense silence settled over the group. Each warrior could feel the weight of the decision hanging in the air. 

“What are the chances of them looking for reinforcements?” 

When they heard Zelos’s words, they considered that for a moment. It seemed probably, but using that many more soldiers in an invasion seemed like a dangerous move. Unless the people of Erenzis didn’t have to worry about their other borders. After thinking for a while, Liry recalled something.

“I heard a long time ago that they have a coast, so it seems that they aren’t surrounded by three countries like us. So their armies only have to worry right about three sides in times of war. The idea of them receiving reinforcements seems more probable now, but it shouldn’t be that simple.”

Liry considered that playing defensively would be their best option, but their morale would fall over time. Against an army of this size when they had the numerical advantage, anyone would think that they had to finish things as early as possible. 

Being cautious was so bad for her since it would bring down her reputation. Liry couldn’t help but wonder if the Prime minister imagined that things would happen this way. In the end, she only had one option for now.

“Kaitrine, can we count on you to watch the back of the enemy’s army in case they receive some reinforcements?” 

“Yes, at once.”

“Do it. If they try something like that, then we will give them the fight that they wanted.”

Zelos couldn’t help but think that Liry probably would use her voice if things get nasty. However, while she denied that, it was hard to be certain if her trait had some demerits. Her trait was just too powerful and useful, after all. If it didn’t have demerits, the imperial family would have used it time and time again to conquer more territories.

“We will have another meeting tomorrow after the battle until then.”