The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 288: Chapter 287: Breaking Through as Is (1)



Harold squinted at the suddenly appearing armies.

"Those bastards... coordinated with each other to synchronize their arrival."

Otherwise, there was no way they could have arrived at such a perfect time.

The Royal Army and the Noble Alliance had around 8,000 troops, while the Perdium forces numbered about 3,000.

Together, they exceeded 10,000-a massive army. The situation Harold had dreaded had finally come to pass.

"Sigh... So this is how it ends up."

He had wasted too much time because of that bastard Gillian. He thought for a moment that he should have ignored the Stonehaven fortress, but Harold quickly shook his head.

"If I had, they would've waged guerrilla warfare from the rear."

Regardless, the fact remained that he had been delayed, allowing reinforcements to arrive for Ghislain.

He had intended to exploit the advantage of his large army to divide and conquer the enemy one by one, but now he had no choice but to incur losses.

The more he thought about it, the more his teeth ground, and rage boiled within him. But he needed to stay calm.

"We were going to fight them all eventually."

If he defeated them all here, it would buy some time. While he would have to resort to forced recruitment as soon as he seized Fenris, it was the only option.

He summoned the most capable commander in his territory, Emerson, who had crushed Viscount Dorren's 2nd Corps.

"Emerson."

"Yes, my lord."

"Take 5,000 men and annihilate the 3rd Corps on the right."

"Leave it to me."

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The right wing of Desmond's army pivoted toward the 3rd Corps and the Noble Alliance.

Harold immediately issued orders to the left wing.

"Viscount Garein."

"Yes, my lord."

"Lead 5,000 troops and take charge of the Perdium forces on the left."

"Understood."

"The Perdium forces have accumulated a lot of combat experience in the North. Fight cautiously. There's no need to push too hard. I'll deal with the other side first, so just keep them occupied."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Viscount Garein wasn't particularly skilled in swordsmanship, but he was a competent commander, especially adept at pinning enemies in place.

He led the soldiers stationed on the left flank toward the Perdium forces.

Even with 10,000 soldiers dispatched to the flanks, Desmond's central force still boasted 16,000 troops.

Fenris's forces were approaching directly from the front, with only about 3,000 soldiers. Seeing this, Harold let out a cold chuckle.

"Still the arrogant bastard, I see."

Reinforcements had arrived, significantly narrowing the gap in troop numbers. No doubt, that's why Ghislain seemed so confident.

But even with the reinforcements, their total numbers were barely half of his forces.

Ghislain's decision was nothing more than reckless overconfidence.

The Fenris knights and soldiers galloped fearlessly behind the Black King.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The thunderous sound of hooves grew louder as the speed of the Fenris forces increased. However, the Desmond army had already formed solid ranks.

Watching the advancing Fenris troops, Harold smirked.

"They're relying on those strange suits of armor, aren't they? They've even armored their horses completely."

Indeed, the armor of the Fenris forces was exceptional. With it, a single soldier could plausibly fight ten opponents.

Harold himself had been shocked when he checked the weight of the armor from a fallen Fenris soldier.

The fact that even the horses were fully armored suggested they could mass-produce it.

"It's certainly excellent equipment, but..."

That only worked against a certain number of enemies. Even after splitting his forces, Harold's central formation still had five times as many troops as Fenris.

The power of a large army grew exponentially with its size.

Measuring the distance to the approaching Fenris forces, Harold raised his hand.

"Spearmen, prepare."

Clank!

Thousands of spearmen stepped forward, lowering their spears.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Despite the fierce charge of the Fenris cavalry, the Desmond spearmen showed no fear.

Their confidence in being able to hold off any enemy was what made Desmond's elite troops so formidable.

"Archers."

The archers in the rear pulled their bowstrings taut.

While Fenris's cavalry was clad in full armor, and even the horses wore barding, arrow fire wouldn't inflict significant direct damage.

But if the horses were startled and halted, or if the formation wavered even slightly, that would be enough. Harold signaled the archers with a hand gesture.

Whoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Fenris soldiers raised their small shields, deflecting the incoming arrows.

A few stray arrows struck armor and barding, but the Fenris forces maintained their formation and speed as if nothing had happened.

"As expected, it's useless."

Harold frowned. Their small numbers weren't a major concern, but the mysterious armor was undoubtedly troublesome.

If an army of 10,000 were equipped like this, it would be impossible to win.

"I must crush them completely today, and obtain the secrets of that new material."

If he achieved that, he could extend his power beyond the North to the entire kingdom.

Attacking Ghislain at this time had been a stroke of luck.

Harold gestured to Willow again.

"Begin."

The mages' firepower should be sufficient to inflict meaningful damage. While reports suggested that the enemy mage was more skilled than Willow, Harold needed to assess their

actual strength.

The Desmond mages began gathering mana, aiming at the Fenris forces. Willow once again

cast a high-circle area spell.

"Fire Rain."

Whoosh!

Massive flames gathered in the sky, forming fireballs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Simultaneously, dozens of attack spells were launched from the Desmond formation, all

targeting the charging Fenris forces.

If all those spells landed, the damage would be severe.

In the rear of the Fenris forces, among the guards, the mages detected the enormous flow of

mana from Desmond's side and raised their heads sharply.

Alpoi stepped forward, brushing back his hair.

"Finally... my time to shine."

Up until now, Alpoi had never properly cast even a Fireball in battle. This war was essentially

his debut.

Through this war, he planned to showcase his skills and gain fame and admiration.

"This fiery man, Alpoi, will show them what real heat feels like! I'll burn them all to ash!"

Alpoi declared with determination, extending one hand forward.

Grab.

Vanessa seized his wrist. Alpoi blushed slightly and said,

"Hey, I told you not to grab my hand so suddenl― Aaaaargh!"

Drained of mana in an instant, Alpoi trembled, his cheeks hollowed.

"I just wanted to show off my magic skills for once!"

But Vanessa had drained his mana completely, depriving him of any opportunity.

With Alpoi's mana fully absorbed, Vanessa raised her hand to the sky.

"Restoring twisted laws. Dispel."

Whoosh!

At her command, the hundreds of fireballs forming in the sky vanished before they could fall.

All the attack spells flying toward the Fenris forces dispersed into nothingness.

An incredible feat.

Vanessa had meticulously neutralized all the mana rising in this vast battlefield.

Seeing this, Willow cried out in shock.

"Unbelievable! Neutralizing that many spells all at once without any delay? Could it be... a 7th-circle mage? No... If it were, they'd already be using 7th-circle spells...."

The other Desmond mages panicked and floundered, unable to grasp the full extent of the

opposing mage's power.

As soon as Vanessa dispelled the enemy spells, she grabbed the wrist of another mage

standing on the opposite side of Alpoi.

The mage clenched his wrist and protested.

"Didn't I tell you I have a girlfriend?! Aaaahhh!"

Ignoring his words, Vanessa drained his mana and cast a 6th-circle spell.

"Twin Cyclone."

Whirr.

On both sides of the Desmond army, small whirlwinds began to form. They were so faint that

they were nearly unnoticeable.

However, Willow, as a 6th-circle mage, sensed the subtle shifts in mana and cried out in

alarm.

"Dispel them now! Quickly!"

The whirlwinds had appeared at a significant distance from both armies. To dispel them, one

would need to get closer.

The mages scrambled to move, but the whirlwinds were gathering strength faster than they

could react.

Whoooooosh!

The wind gradually increased its rotational speed, eventually transforming into massive

tornadoes. The two spiraling cyclones advanced wildly, ready to consume everything in their

path.

Willow's face froze in shock. "W-what is this?! How can the same spell be cast at such a distance...?"

Twin Cyclone was a spell that created two simultaneous whirlwinds. However, casting them

so far apart, as if they were two entirely separate spells, was beyond Willow's ability.

When the winds were small, even a low-circle mage could dispel them, but once they reached

this size, dispelling became exponentially harder. "S-stop them! I'll handle the one on the right!"

Willow extended his hand and cast Dispel. As a 6th-circle mage, he could dispel 6th-circle

spells if he had enough mana.

Flash!

"Ugh..."

An immense amount of mana drained from his body as one of the tornadoes disappeared.

The remaining mages focused on the tornado on the left.

Those who hadn't reached the 6th circle couldn't dispel such magic on their own, but with

many pooling their mana, success was possible.

Whooooom!

The cyclone raged ferociously, barreling toward one of Desmond's flanks to sweep it away.

Even as the tornado approached, the Desmond soldiers didn't flinch. Despite cold sweat trickling down their backs, they gritted their teeth and held their positions, awaiting orders.

It was the behavior befitting an elite force.

"Everyone, gather over here! Hurry!"

"Damn it! Who on earth is their mage?!" "Quick! Dispel it now!"

Fortunately, with dozens of mages pouring their mana into it, the tornado began to weaken.

Willow, his face tense, shouted urgently.

"Attack again! Don't stop! We have to strike before they cast another spell!"

Whoosh!

From Desmond's formation, spells were unleashed again. Vanessa immediately grabbed another mage's hand and dispelled them.

Unlike Desmond's mages, she bore the burden of the entire battlefield on her own.

Drip.

Blood streamed continuously from her nose.

Despite her extraordinary talent and relentless effort that had allowed her to reach the 6th circle, her body's natural mana capacity was still only at the level of a 2nd-circle mage. Although she was using herself as a medium to draw mana from other mages, the strain of

utilizing others' mana was immense.

Alpoi, still collapsed and gaunt from earlier mana drain, muttered with a pained expression as he watched her.

"Idiot... You're going to die at this rate... You won't last..."

But Vanessa ignored everything, focusing solely on the mana flowing across the battlefield.

No one will die, she vowed silently.

At least, no one would die from magic on her watch. That was her resolve.

Just a little more, she thought, gritting her teeth as she cast another spell.

She wasn't comfortable in this situation either. Fighting alongside her allies would have been

far better. But Desmond's forces had far more mages, including a 6th-circle mage. With her own limited

mana, the only way to counter them was by borrowing from others.

Thus, she had no choice but to fight alone.

'I'm sorry... If only I could store mana properly...'

If she could, the other mages might have been able to participate in the battle too. Fenris's

mages might even have overwhelmed the enemy.

But since that wasn't possible, she had been forced to adopt this unorthodox method.

She was the only one capable of neutralizing the enemy's 6th-circle spells.

Drip.

More blood trickled from Vanessa's nose, but she pushed forward, refusing to lose focus.

'I can't stop...'

There was no rest until the enemy was completely repelled. She had to keep pushing to ensure

the enemy couldn't counterattack.

Ghislain had trusted her to hold the line while he fought on the front.

'I can do this...'

More than twenty mages still had mana to lend her. She could endure.

Above the battlefield, spells flared like fireworks, forming and dissipating in a constant cycle.

Harold watched the scene, biting his lip.

"There really is a 6th-circle mage on their side. Could the Scarlet Flame Magic Tower be

secretly aiding them?"

The thought set off alarms in his mind. If the Magic Tower was involved, this was no ordinary

matter. Judging by how evenly matched his mage corps was with the enemy, it was clear that the Tower had deployed its key forces.

"How on earth did that bastard manage to gather such powerful mages...?"

He was curious but had no way to find out now. After the war, he would investigate and make

those aiding Fenris pay the price.

For now, since magic was being neutralized on both sides, the only option left was direct

combat.

"Cavalry," Harold commanded.

At his signal, the cavalry on both flanks began to move.

They aimed to encircle the Fenris forces from behind, drawing a wide arc as they expanded the

perimeter.

As long as the front-line spearmen held their ground, the Fenris forces would crumble from

the

rear.

Thud, thud, thud!

Desmond's spearmen gripped their spears tightly as the approaching Fenris cavalry drew

closer.

'They're fast.' Even with full-body armor and barding on their horses, the Fenris cavalry moved at a speed comparable to light cavalry. The collision would undoubtedly be devastating.

The soldiers in the front ranks would likely be thrown back, but that would reduce the

enemy's momentum.

Thousands of soldiers stood spaced in tight formations. They were sure the enemy would lose speed after breaking through no more than half of the ranks.

Once their movement was hindered, the encirclement would tighten, leading to their

complete annihilation.

Thud, thud, thud!

The distance narrowed. A few blinks of an eye, and they would collide. The spearmen

crouched low, ready to attack the horses and unseat the riders.

Thud, thud, thud!

Just before the two forces clashed, Ghislain shouted loudly.

"Spread out!"

Swish!

The leading knights and cavalry began to split left and right, seemingly avoiding the

spearmen altogether.

In the gap that opened between them, riders holding weapons other than spears appeared.

At the forefront of this group was the elf Lumina.

Creaaaak...

Lumina released her reins and drew back her bowstring with both hands. The elves and cavalry

behind her did the same, letting go of their reins and readying their bows.

Harold muttered as he watched the unexpected formation appear through the gaps.

"...Mounted archers?"

It was a unit he hadn't anticipated at all.

[T/L: Please support me and read 385 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans]