Chapter 94
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Battle of Senne Plains (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dalton glanced my way one more time before stepping to the front of the main unit, swinging his sword.
A confident smile, bold eyes, the aura and presence that only someone who had reached the realm of an Aura Expert could exude.
As he proudly emanated all of it as the captain of the mercenary corps, the guys around him momentarily faltered.
"Fuck, shouldn't we go get our captain too?"
"Who doesn't know that? He'll come on his own."
"Where the hell are the squad leaders and the hundred-man squad leader, those ex-knight bastards who strut around like big shots?"
Instead of thinking about fighting themselves, they were looking for higher-ups to rely on. That was a bit much.
What if Dalton, me, or the other mercenaries went on a rampage before those big shots arrived? Were they planning to just stand there and die?
If they'd been to a few battlefields, even without saying, "We're giving up, so kill us however you want," they'd know it ends up that way anyway when they panic and lose heart.
'Well, considering it's hard for ten regular soldiers to take down one knight who can use Aura, it's not unreasonable.'
Their actions seemed pathetic, but it was just the dumb words that grated; in truth, their lack of will to fight made things easier for me and the White Beard Mercenary Corps, so it was good news.
"That's why we need to wipe out every last one of those pathetic bastards."
Dalton seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.
He stepped forward with his sword raised and simply decapitated a soldier from the White Eagle Mercenary Corps.
"Men show it with actions! Charge after me!"
The entire mercenary corps' morale soared at Dalton's quintessentially manly action.
"Fuck, Captain Dalton is so cool!"
"A real man speaks with his back."
"Don't let the captain rampage alone!"
My hundred-man squad guys shouted that and appealed to me with their eyes.
"Today, I'll chop more enemy necks than Captain Dalton! Everyone, charge!"
In times like this, like Dalton had done, showing clear, visible results was the best way to boost morale...
I gripped the sword hilts in both hands and circulated my Aura to the maximum.
A blue mist-like Aura rose around the swords, clear enough to see from afar.
In this world where the amount of Aura a swordsman could wield clearly measured strength, flaunting it like this would probably scare the sparrow bastards shitless, right?
Right after, I swung my sword and tore the body of the guy in front of me, holding a spear and flailing around, into two pieces.
From shoulder to pelvis in a single stroke.
As I displayed swordsmanship that a regular swordsman without Aura could barely imitate, excited cheers from my hundred-man squad reached my ears.
"Long live Hundred-Man Squad Leader!"
"Fuck, tear them all apart like this!"
"Let's kill all those bastards and secure a nice retirement fund!"
Then they too started enthusiastically slaughtering enemy soldiers, following my lead.
The White Eagle guys, unable to withstand our enthusiastic push, began slowly retreating, like a snail pulling into its shell.
"Ugh, fuck..."
"Those monster-like bastards."
"Group up with spears and weapons!"
In this world without guns, most tactics were based on clumping together and moving as one mass, and it usually worked...
'But that's not always the truth.'
In a situation like now, the more they clumped, the more it hurt them, not helped.
"Argh, fuck. No room to move!"
"Move aside a bit!"
"Shut your bullshit, how the hell am I supposed to move?!"
When they got too close, there was no space to swing arms, no room to attack enemies or dodge their strikes.
Because of that, even as we stabbed and swung wildly, they stood like stationary targets, unable to resist and getting unilaterally pummeled.
'No paradise where you flee.'
A perfect fit for those guys.
"Attack!"
At my command, my hundred-man squad and I kept assaulting them relentlessly.
Without exaggeration, for guys wielding long weapons like spears or two-handed hammers, even random thrusts would hit some part of an enemy soldier...
The ones turned into living targets that could only breathe had no way to cope.
The battle situation suddenly turned into a one-sided massacre.
"Damn it, fuck. What the hell are we supposed to do?!"
"Goddamn it, Captain!"
"Fuck off! Pull back, advance forward! We're all dead anyway like this!"
As things progressed this way, all our mercenary corps soldiers got fired up and herded the White Sparrow bastards like they were hunting prey.
"Kill them all before they snap out of it!"
As we kept enjoying the fun hunt, the enemy mercenary higher-ups started shouting loudly.
"Fuck, get your heads straight?"
"Push forward! What, you think you're gonna die? Like this, we're all dead; pretend to push forward and you'll live!"
"Die by my sword? Or kill those bastards and live?!"
Hearing that, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
'Might as well keep getting one-sidedly fucked up.'
If they'd just done that, it would've been good for them to leave this harsh world quickly.
And good for our mercenary corps to collect the bounties on their necks and enjoy some happy times or save for retirement, right?
What a truly regrettable situation.
So they thrashed about trying to kill us and save themselves somehow, and our side felt that momentum and momentarily hesitated.
"Fuck, these guys?"
On top of that, enemy squad leaders and such decent swordsmen started stepping forward one by one, using Aura to kill our subordinates.
"I won't let you die easy, you bastards!"
As the enemy higher-ups went all out, their momentum slowly revived, bit by bit.
'If this keeps up, our casualties will mount...'
In this case, the best solution was to find and kill the enemy mercenary captain quickly, right?
"Martin Hundred-Man Squad, attention!"
With that, I drew everyone's attention and swung my sword wide, decapitating the enemy in front.
"From now on, our hundred-man squad hunts down those damn White Sparrow bastards' captain. Let's go get his head!"
At those words, our hundred-man squad standard-bearer raised high the flag signaling we would take the enemy's head with full force.
I too gripped my swords tightly and started slashing through the enemies in front of me wildly.
"No matter how much you bastards strut, you're just fleas and rice grains!"
As I carved through the enemies, Dalton the captain and our mercenary corps main unit slowly came into view.
The main unit mercenaries looked at me with eyes shining with admiration.
"Fuck, is that even human?"
"He's an ex-knight who uses Aura. And our mercenary corps' signboard."
"Heard he fights damn well, but this level?"
Even in the frantic battlefield, hearing such praise felt damn good.
Some say you get sick of constant praise and acclaim, but not me. Each time feels thrilling and fresh.
"Captain Dalton! Let's go cut that damn captain's head off! We gotta wipe out the White Sparrow Mercenary Corps before sunset."
Saying that, I looked up at the sky where the sun was slowly sinking.
At sunset, the signal to end the battle and retreat would sound, and we'd be left watching the fleeing sparrow bastards like dogs chasing chickens.
At my words, Dalton seemed spurred on and slashed at the enemies with even more vigor than before.
"Fuck, the White Beard Mercenary Corps captain is insane!"
"That mad bastard for real."
"Madmen in pairs; kill those guys first!"
Dalton infused his voice with Aura, making it boom like a megaphone.
"Sparrow bastards' captain, come out!"
Usually, no matter how much we shouted, the captain wouldn't show, but...
Right now, the sparrow bastards' situation wasn't great...
A guy who looked like the White Sparrow captain actually charged out.
"You fucking dogs!"
And the bastard, seeing Dalton the White Beard Mercenary Corps captain as tougher, graciously came rushing at me instead.
"Fuck, cut it out, you son of a bitch!"
......When mercenaries meet in war, they fight with intent to kill each other.
Why the hell would we tiptoe around your circumstances?
"Save the bullshit for your sleep-talk!"
Saying that, I blocked the sword he swung at me.
Maybe because he was a mercenary captain, the strike was heavy. No, really heavy.
"Give back my mercenary corps, you bastard!"
Seeing his own corps getting shredded in front of him, he had every reason to be pissed.
The rage-filled bastard kept swinging at me, gradually pressuring, and with my stamina waning...
It felt a bit burdensome.
"Fuck, did this bastard plan this?"
"Of course he did."
"......Idiot who answers that and falls for it."
Despite the trash talk, unlike the Blue Lily Mercenary Corps guys, this one had real skill.
In terms of skill, a bit below Captain Dalton, but a bit above me.
As I was slightly being pushed back, a sound of cutting wind came from behind me.
The arrow that flew with it struck his helmet.
Good helmet; it didn't pierce from Karin's arrow, but... it created a slight opening in his movements.
'Chance.'
The moment I thought that, I thrust my sword precisely at his neck.
Blood spurted from his neck, and with his vocal cords and windpipe pierced at once, he couldn't make a sound.
I severed his head and raised the cut neck high, shouting loudly, "I've taken the White Sparrow captain's head!"
As those words echoed, our entire mercenary corps erupted in massive cheers.
"Hundred-Man Squad Leader Martin did it!"
On the other hand, the White Sparrow bastards stared with dazed expressions like uncles heading to Han River Bridge after a stock crash.
"We're fucked, fuck."
And right then, the retreat horn sounded.
For the first day of war as hundred-man squad leader, this wasn't bad—no, it was a good result.
But I had no intention of settling for this.