CHAPTER 22
----------------------------------------
John's POV several days before
----------------------------------------
“Sir Alan. We are ready!” the soldier reported to Alan while we waited beside him.
“Wow, are you sure we are going to fight that?” I asked while bewildered. Elysion was quite a big city comparable to Alpas in size, but the soldiers managed to fill all the space on top of the walls, and now a lot of them are lining up in front of the wall.
“No.” Richard flatly refused. “Our job is to delay them and hope the other team manage to capture Randell. If we can somehow surround the city, we win.
“But, it is a long way from Randell to Elysion…” Riki and Riko commented. Nita also nodded.
“Is this your plan from the very beginning Richard?”
“Not really. If they come to Randell, we will capture Elysion instead. One of the team is bound to fail, that’s all.” Alan interrupted
“So, we got the short end of the stick, huh?”
“Well, yeah,” Alan replied.
“Th-th-they are coming towards us…” Nita said while shaking.
“Nita, you will be in provisions. Your healing magic is the best. The rest of us will go to battle while Chloe and Und will command the archers, and Will and Fay will command the mages. John, Riki, and Riko will be at the center. Please assist John and Alan. We need to hold on for at least a week.”
As soon as Richard gave the command, the rest of us went into position. It was a bloody battle as the front line, currently held by Bane and Richard was crumbling. They managed to hold on with all their strength. Richard and Bane were cutting through the enemy and trying to support their allies. All of us also tried to support them, but our meager force of fewer than 50 thousand was quickly pushed back.
“Retreat! If we hold on like this we will be surrounded!” Alan signaled the retreat, and the rest of the troops ran away. A lot of us were chased down and killed. The night came, and we were chased down halfway back to Alpas. The soldier was tired, and the morale hit rock bottom.
“Damn! That was nasty!” Bane cursed as he was healed by Nita. She somehow excelled in healing magic and surpassed all other mages in the team except Stella. By the way, unlike in RPG games, there is no instant healing. Healing magic can grow or attach limbs, but all of that is not instant. When the healers applied healing magic, that magic made our wounds heal faster compared to natural ones. Basically, it is a regen magic that needs to be applied every 2 or 3 hours to a person until they are fully healed.
Nita is able to grow limbs in 3 days while other standard healers from the army need 5 people or more working in tandem for 2 weeks. Which shows how adept she is at healing magic. Well, that is compared to ordinary healers. Our ace Stella can match her ability, but healing magic is not all about pure power. It also needed some catalyst for it to work efficiently. Other mages such as me or Will can also use healing magic though we are slow compared to them.
As the moan and suffering of the soldiers continue to permeate the atmosphere of the random camp, Alan, Richard, Bane, and Und called us for a meeting.
“That was pathetic.”Bane cursed.
“We can’t help it. They outnumber us more than 100 times.” Richard said. Just like Bane, he was also injured, but it was a minor injury, and he preferred to have it bandaged instead of relying upon a healer. The healers are better used in other places.
“Let’s run back to Alpas.” Riki and Riko suggested. They only suffer some minor concussions on their head. I was actually scared when the core army clashed with the enemy. I thought I was going to die there. Thanks to the cooperation of these twins, I managed to escape unharmed.
“That would be a problem. We need to hold for at least a week. Not only the problem with Randell, but we also need about that amount of time to amass a sufficient number of reinforcements in Alpas. The kingdom is currently in a hurry to rally all available manpower to be sent to Alpas.” Alan replied with a frown. He is currently in deep thought no doubt trying to strategize his next move.
“What about if we defend Alpas? I think we have somewhere around five hundred thousand in there?” Richard said while looking worried. Looking at the casualties report. In just 2 days since departure and one day of engagement, we already lost almost five thousand troops out of our 40 thousand. And not only that, more than 10 thousand are already injured.
“That figure was only after rallying in a week, Sir Richard,” Alan answered. “We currently only have ten thousand there. Or maybe 20 thousand if a new batch of recruit arrive today.”
“We should have never attacked Randell and Elysion… if we defended Alpas, we have 100 thousand versus 1 million, right? We have less disadvantage!” Chloe said with exasperation.
“Well, that also would not be feasible. If the enemy knew that we have no desire to attack, they would direct their attack to the neighboring country of the elves or further press on the dwarves' territory, and the light alliance would be finished.” Alan answered.
“Alan, we need some help. Any suggestions?” Riko bluntly asked. “ We can’t win like this.”
“W-w-well, that’s why we have this meeting. Any suggestions?” Alan stammered. it is clear that even he had run out of ideas
“How about we hire mercenaries? For the money, we can issue a debt or some sort to them. The country will pay them later.” Will said.
“Okay, if we looked at some immediately available ones, we can bolster our number by more than 5 thousand. Excellent!” Richard said in glee.
“But, the process for recruiting them will take more than a week. And the fees for these mercs…” Alan stammered.
“Oi! If we lose this battle, the light alliance will also lose. Is that what the higher-ups want?” Bane shouted to Alan.
“We definitely didn’t want that… but if we took a debt now that the kingdom is almost in financial ruin…” Alan said.
“Ah… that will affect the reinforcement equipment and numbers?” Richard asked while looking impatient
“ Yes. Uhm… this is just the estimation. If we considered the standard rates for sellswords at this time, the fee would take up most of our budget for the reinforcement later. We might get 100 thousand troops less than estimated, or their equipment will get substantially reduced in quality and number. And also, considering the time limitation, 5 thousand is just a rough estimate. We might get less than two thousand mercenaries willing to go to this battlefield…” Alan replied.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Damn… If we just listened to that girl before. We might get mercs for a cheaper price…” Richard cursed.
“Yeah. But that would mean there will be no equipment. I think Steven made the right choice.” Alan tried to defend him.
“So, Richard…. I have a suggestion.” I raised my hand trying to offer a suggestion. As an otaku, this strategy came to me almost immediately. It is the so-called guerrilla tactic.
“Hmm… so we form a very small amount of soldiers and try to attack the enemy sporadically? This strategy is honestly quite new. I remember some specialized mercenary bands employed this kind of tactic. And seeing we have quite a lot of people with S in senses, we might even pull off the night raid tactic you just mentioned.
“That’s so cowardly. Attacking and then retreating.” Bane cursed, but he doesn’t object to the strategy too much. Sometimes he even smiles. Maybe he actually praises us
“This is not a bad plan. “ Richard said.
“So we will split into a 2-group team and try to attack through the night. The distance between Alpas and Elysion is quite short, so I don’t think sabotaging their supplies, will help that much. But a random attack in the middle of the night might make them restless and slow them down. “ Alan said with a smile that we now have a plan.
The plan started immediately. Richard, Bane, Fay, Und, and I dashed through the forest. I am currently reminiscing about the time we cleared this forest with Nana. What a twist of fate. Instead of being wary of ambushes, we put a surprise attack on this forest. Or maybe, this was all a plan from Alan
The ambushes will go through all night long with Richard and Chloe as the centerpieces for scouts since they have the highest Sense Skill among all of us. We will rotate through the night casting spells or firing arrows, and Bane will guard our retreat.
As we marched through the darkness, Richard, Bane, 25 of his soldiers, and I with 10 mages finally arrived just outside of the enemy camp. The enemy made a camp about halfway between our position and Elysion. Basically a quarter. And we can reach them in about 3 or 4 hours.
They usually have a sentry, but with Richard and Bane, we managed to dispatch those scouts without notice. It is my turn to cast spells into the enemy camp now. After training hard in Berlin and Alpas, I also manage to do the thunder attack. And we managed to burn several camps before retreating back into our camp.
“How did it go?” Chloe and Will asks
“Quite well. “ Richard said. “Next would be me, Bane, Und, and Will. Nita, tend to the wounded. John, you take a rest. After this would be Chloe, you, Riki, and Riko. Together with Fay”
“Y-y-yes, sir.” Nita stuttered and quickly went to the medical tent.
“Okay. My turn. I will unleash the dragon lightning I have practiced unto those goons!” /he said
And so the next part of the raid comes. 3 hours later a loud boom can be heard across the dead of the night. Looks like Will’s spell is bigger than I thought. The sounds can still be heard until this far into the battlefield. Then my turn also comes. And with fay’s and my magic, we put several tents into ashes.
“Okay. Good work for that last night.” Alan said
“So, is it effective? We might be killing a thousand or two, but we hardly put a dent into their army as a whole, right?” Bane questioned us.
“The objective is not to kill the enemies, but to make them tired. In this state, it could take them a day to march toward our position. And even if they do manage to reach us, they will be tired because of the lack of sleep. “ I explained
“What about tomorrow?” Chloe asked
“We gotta do what we have to do. They most likely are going to send half of their army on patrols or guard Elysion. So that leaves us with half a million. It is still hopeless, but I think it is still much better…” I trailed. It is true that our strength disparity is too big for any kind of meaningful strategy. I am ashamed that my otaku knowledge couldn’t be more useful here.
“Okay. Enough chattering. Our scouts have detected the enemy. We will be dividing our troops into 1000 groups for this battle with each group will consist of a maximum of 30 people. And we will try to attack them from multiple angles and possibly flank them. I hope we at least managed to get their mage unit. All of you heroes can rest up for up to 5 hours. at noon you will also be joining the battle and the night raid.” Alan replied
The day quickly passed the plan worked better than expected. Though the casualties are equally high. Out of 30 thousand that we sent today only 20 thousand make it back alive. The night soon came. An exhausted Alan called us for a meeting.
“Excellent work, gentleman. Thanks to your effort, we manage to stave them off for a day. That was a big accomplishment.” Alan smiled tiredly.
“Our casualties are very high…” Richard murmured.
“Well, we have to do what we have to do. Now is the time for the night raid.” Alan said. With nothing to be said except the high casualties, we move on to the night raid. Even if the casualties are high, Alan said that in the dawn tomorrow, fresh recruits will be transferred here from Alpas. So, there is nothing to worry about it.
“Okay. Cast it into those tents. Those tents contained some team leader army that is more than b in strength. Richard gave a pointer to which tent I was supposed to hit. I couldn’t even see the tent clearly. All I see are some lights glowing in the distance. Maybe they lit a candle or a fire. But Richard can see even the officers' faces and mark them. I am so jealous.
“Okay.” I prepared the usual lightning and hit them with a kaboom. Then as we head back into our camp, a figure blocked us.
“Watch out! An ambush!” Bane screamed and quickly raised his axe to block or hit several ice spears that flew toward us. Richard also preemptively raised his sword to slash some of the ghouls that ran toward us.
“Halo, welkomth tu mai domen “ (Hello, I greet you into my place.)
“Vampires. Watch out! He is at least an A+!” Richard shouted as he quickly enhanced his body and literally flew towards him. A few slashes later, Richard landed back on the ground with fresh cuts on his cheeks. He quickly brandished his sword, and flashes of light ensued with the vampires. I could barely see the sword swing, but it was clear that Richard was being pushed back.
Bane came at the right time and slashed at him with his axe. It was totally odd seeing him using an axe but swinging it as easily as a sword. Unlike Parker or Hart that was totally cheating with their powers, these two were bonafide experienced soldiers.
“Shit! John! Escape with mage corps! Now! Soldiers! Prepare for a suicide mission!” Richard shouted.
“Damnit! “ Bane also cursed. Adrenaline rushed into me as I tried to do what Richard ordered. A suicide mission is only given in the direst of situations.
“Sorry. I am not used to the human language yet. Hehehe. Do you think these mongrels will be enough to stop me? I don’t know how high this A+ you speak of. But rest assured that you will die now!” The vampire spoke.
“It can speak?” I asked.
“Shut it, John!. Move now!!” Richard shouted, but as I tried to move my feet, spikes of ice suddenly came out of the ground in front of me. I quickly raised a barrier on reflex. But, unlike Stella who can raise it in less than a second, I can only manage to do it in 3. Thankfully, I managed to block it on time
Luckily, the vampire seemed too busy with Bane and Richard. They worked together incredibly well in the team. Together with the mage corp, I managed to gain some distance from them. While panting and running from the ambush, I saw Chloe, Fay, and Und in the distance.
“I heard some sounds. Are you okay?” Chloe asked worriedly.
“Richard and Bane are in trouble! A vampire attacked us!” I replied while running out of breath. Did Chloe hear us in that distance? What about Riki and Riko?
“Fay! Und!“ Richard and Bane finally came. It was a major relief that they are safe.
“Are you okay, Richard? Bane?” Chloe asked nervously.
“Just a few scratches! Hurry up and gather all of the heroes! A big fish is coming!” Bane shouted.
“So this is the rumored hero of the light alliance. You guys did well recapturing Alpas. “ The vampire came together with several beastsmen escorts.
“John, lead them to take care of the escorts! We will take care of the vampire!” Richard shouted as he charged toward the vampire. Following his command, the escort charged at us, but Riki and Riko managed to stop them. This is going to be difficult. Our team lacked a tanker.
The 10 beast flanked Riki and Riko. Even with superior teamwork, the twins are pushed back, but Chloe’s archery and my spells managed to hold them from pushing further. Thankfully, the escorts are split between 5 melees and 5 ranged soldiers. And their rank seemed to be below us. We can do this if we are just going to hold out until Will cast his spell
“Nice assist!” Riki and Riko said.
“Okay. Keep this up. Will are going to deal the finishing blow. Hurry up, Will!” I shouted. Chloe was dealing with their mages, and I occasionally fired spells to help the twins and try to make up a barrier to protect her. I am using everything I have for this double chant. My mental strength is at its limit.
“Don’t rush me or I will fail the incantations. My control isn’t that good!” Will shouted. I can sense that he is gathering a lot of mana and is going to use a huge fireball to turn the tide.
The status quo can be maintained. After a few minutes, a fireball big enough engulfed the enemy from above. It was like a huge meteor came crashing toward us and releasing a blaze around the impact area. Without any mass, the fire spread into its surroundings and burned the enemy. It also almost hit the twins.
“Hot!hot!hot!” Riki and Riko flee the scene of carnage, and I quickly douse water magic on them. Riko suffered some minor burns but was otherwise fine. With more than half of them gone or heavily injured, we managed to finish the rest escort quickly.
“Okay. Richard! We are done!” as we turned our heads back, I saw Bane was already on the ground. He was groaning in pain.
“Die!!” the vampire slashed at Richard while ignoring the small spell fay cast at him. The slash managed to throw Richard’s swords away, and the next slash that came at him managed to score a diagonal clean hit at his torso.
Richard was thrown to the back. His armor helped mitigate the damage, but I can still see gashes of wounds on his stomach. With a groan, Richard and Bane shakingly stood up. In a seemingly fast reflex, I whipped up 10 fireballs and shot at the vampire trying to at least buy some time until Richard and Bane got their bearing.
“Insects. Stop meddling!” The vampire rushed towards me. I can feel death looming over me as his swords, seemingly in slow motion tried to stab at me.
“John!” Riki came at the perfect time. He managed to divert the sword that is going to stab my heart into a simple cut just above my shoulder.
“Riko!” Riki shouted, and with a seemingly telepathic connection, Riko came to his blind spot and slashed at him, but the vampire was faster, and the slash only managed to graze his clothes.
“Chloe! “ Riko said.
“On it!” Chloe responded with 2 shots of arrows, but it was easily cut down with the vampire’s blades.
“Riki!” as the twin rolled around in a seemingly acrobatic manner, the vampire tried to kill him but always got repelled by another twin. Their dodging and attacking were in perfect sync even better than Richard and Bane.
“Soldiers! And mages, prepare your arrows and spells!” Alan said as he commanded the 100 or so troops behind him, and they quickly released their arrows and spells. Their accuracy was superb even though Riki and Riko were beside the vampire, no arrow or spell managed to hit the twins.
As more soldiers came towards our rescue. The vampire finally left. It seemed Richard and Bane managed to get a few hits in, and the bloodsucker gave up his pursuit.