Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Rush Unit's First Strike
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A chilly pre-dawn breeze brushed against his cheeks.
Rian looked at the hundred or so soldiers whose cheeks and noses had turned red.
They were all assembled in perfect order, but their eyes burned with sharp hostility.
The place where Rian and the soldiers stood.
It was the spot where, not long ago, their comrades had been tied to crosses and burned alive.
The traces of that horror still remained vividly.
Rian addressed the soldiers.
“As you all know, not long ago, we suffered an unprecedented humiliation at their hands.”
The helplessness of watching a comrade die right before their eyes.
And the situation where they had to kill fellow soldiers from their own kingdom to grant them a merciful end.
Killing intent swirled in Rian’s eyes. The soldiers looking at him overflowed with the same fighting spirit.
Rian turned his head and gazed at Porhen Gorge. Pointing toward it, he said,
“This unit mixes soldiers from the Arrowhead Unit and the Veltorna Unit. But from now on, affiliations like that mean nothing.”
Thud!
Rian struck his left chest with his right fist.
“Remember that we are comrades who will lay down our lives together for the Artian Kingdom.”
For this special operation, he had assembled only the fastest runners from the Arrowhead and Veltorna Units.
Hit and run.
That would be the tactic they’d employ countless times going forward.
‘I need to draw their attention to the center of the gorge.’
Rian recalled the route he had mapped out in his mind. He spoke to the unit members.
“This is the place we’ll be hitting over and over. Memorize the path with your bodies.”
““Yes, sir!””
“I’ll say it upfront: we never engage in open battle. Focus solely on grabbing their attention.”
““Yes, sir!””
As the thunderous response rang out and Rian prepared to move out, he hesitated for a moment.
With soldiers from both the Arrowhead and Veltorna Units together, it felt awkward to call them anything specific.
Then, a fitting name popped into Rian’s head.
“From this moment, we’ll temporarily call ourselves the Rush Unit.”
Rian pointed at Porhen Gorge.
“Rush Unit, move out.”
At his command, they swiftly descended the mountain path.
* * *
It was still early dawn, before the sun had risen.
The boundary between night and morning.
The time when vigilance might be at its slackest—and that’s when an unexpected flute signal pierced the air.
Piiiieeeee—! Piiiieeeee!
The shrill emergency flute echoed throughout Porhen Gorge.
Jerok, who had been guarding the frontline, shot up from his seat with a bewildered expression.
His eyes still heavy with sleep, his hair disheveled.
Emerging from his tent, Jerok shouted,
“What’s going on!”
“Enemies! Kingdom troops are attacking from Veltorna!”
“……What nonsense is this?”
Troops who could barely hold their own—why would they attack at this hour?
Jerok hurriedly dressed and grabbed his iron mace.
Rushing up to the higher ground overlooking the gorge, he saw kingdom soldiers swarming in, just as his subordinate had said.
“Have they lost their minds?”
Jerok couldn’t hide his genuine bewilderment.
These kingdom bastards hadn’t launched a single attack in over five years.
Back in the day, new units would pull stunts like this when they arrived, but even that had stopped completely five years ago.
Soon, the corners of Jerok’s mouth curved up wickedly.
“Heh heh heh, so a new unit showed up. Looks like they’ve forgotten the old lessons.”
Humans were creatures of forgetfulness, after all.
They must have erased the massacre from five years ago.
Otherwise, how could they pull something this insane?
“This gorge is about to taste blood again after so long.”
Kingdom blood, that is.
Jerok immediately rallied his men.
As always, position forces along the gorge walls and block the center.
A mere hundred soldiers couldn’t do a thing.
Meanwhile, Rian, now closing in on Porhen Gorge, channeled mana into Rikal’s ring.
‘They’re moving……?’
As his senses activated, he detected the sounds of soldiers stirring in the gorge.
He glanced up at the ridges above.
‘No ambushes at the entrance. No archers either.’
For now, he could breathe easy and enter the gorge.
Following their usual pattern, barbarian warriors would block the path around the midpoint.
The key was not to cross that line.
“Brandt, when I give the signal, turn back and retreat immediately. You take the rear.”
“Understood.”
With Isaac absent, they had to avoid combat as much as possible if it arose.
‘Not a single one can get hurt on the way back.’
To ensure that, they needed to scout meticulously. Rian glanced back at his unit.
All fast runners, so their mobility was top-notch.
Plus, on both flanks, he had shieldbearers equipped with modified tower shields.
Similar in size to standard tower shields but lightened as much as possible.
They wouldn’t hold up well in close combat, but they could block stray arrows or rocks.
With preparations complete, Rian eyed the gorge ahead.
“Advance!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Revenge for our comrades!”
“Kill the bastards!”
From the moment they entered the mouth, they unleashed fierce war cries to draw every eye.
““Waaaaah!””
As the massive roar spread through Porhen Gorge,
“……What’s that noise?”
“I’ll check, sir!”
In the village at the rear where the barbarian main force was stationed, Altomers turned his head at the sudden strange sound.
At the same time, Jerok, who was guarding the gorge, had already formed his defensive line and awaited the Rush Unit.
“Heh heh heh, come on in.”
They had taken heavy losses in the recent battle anyway.
Too many of the young soldiers sent out for combat experience had died.
“Let’s behead those bastards and honor our fallen warriors!”
At Jerok’s words, his subordinates glared murderously at the approaching kingdom forces.
Thud thud thud thud thud—
The sound grew louder and louder. They gripped their shields and weapons tighter.
The warriors ambushed along the gorge walls awaited orders.
Then,
Pheeeeeew—!
An arrow streaked from the front, grazing the cheek of the lead warrior.
Thwack!
Drip drip.
Blood trickled from the cheek of the foremost barbarian warrior, and a dull thud echoed from the rear.
Jerok flinched and looked ahead.
“E-enemy attack!”
“At this range?”
Jerok’s eyes widened in shock.
Troops just entering the gorge mouth—attacking now?
‘Over a hundred meters……!’
And the arrow’s trajectory wasn’t even a parabola—it was nearly straight.
Not slowing down at all, yet packing this much power? Impossible.
“……Success.”
Rian let out a quiet breath.
They were clustered so tightly; he just needed to shoot at full power.
‘Getting the hang of it bit by bit.’
The bow’s absurd elasticity made this possible.
That single arrow had the blockers raise their shields up to their eyes.
Brandt, beside him, blinked in slight surprise.
‘He even calculated this……?’
The arrow hit its mark, but more importantly, forced them to raise shields.
Just a slight lift, sure.
But it narrowed their vision and stalled their reactions for a crucial moment.
Brandt silently watched Rian.
After closing some distance, Rian raised his hand high and shouted,
“Halt—!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
The fast-moving Rush Unit braked hard.
Inertia threatened to send them tumbling, but they smoothly reformed and awaited orders.
‘Flanks…… ambushes.’
The distance to the blocking barbarian warriors was about fifty meters.
‘That’s enough for today.’
“Fall back!”
Whoosh!
At the command, the Rush Unit reversed course along the same path.
Attack. They defend. Retreat without fighting.
Simple, yet in Porhen Gorge, it was a life-or-death gamble.
Rian pushed from the rear to the front without overexerting.
Seeing the kingdom soldiers suddenly flee, Jerok couldn’t hide his bafflement.
“What the hell?”
Utterly incomprehensible.
Like his mind going blank for a second.
Then Jerok’s face twisted in rage.
“Those punks dare toy with us?!”
Just in case, he glanced at the warriors on the gorge walls.
Pheep—! Piiiip! Pheep!
He blew the coded flute signals.
To check for more enemies at their rear or the gorge entrance.
Their high vantage gave a wide view.
Beep! Beep! B beep!
The quick reply: all clear.
Jerok raised his iron mace and bellowed,
“Pursue them! Don’t let a single one escape!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Raaaaagh!”
At Jerok’s order, the shield-bearing warriors lowered their defenses and charged.
A brief moment of hesitation, but the kingdom troops were fleeing—that was what mattered.
‘Of course they’d run after seeing our line!’
Jerok was certain.
They’d chickened out at the sight of the defense.
“Chase them! Chase them down!”
Jerok and the barbarian warriors pursued the Rush Unit with everything they had.
Rian glanced back at the suddenly pursuing barbarians with a puzzled look.
‘What’s this……?’
Why were they giving chase?
Their strength shone in gorge defense.
Out in the open like this……
A quick glance at the wall ambushes.
The main blockers were moving with them, but scaling that steep wall fast? No chance.
“Brandt.”
“Yes, Deputy Commander.”
Now at the rear again, Rian called to him.
The escape route was fairly complex.
Brandt was the only one he trusted to lead it.
“Take point. Command the unit.”
“And you, sir?”
“Situation’s changed. If they’re pursuing……”
Rian’s eyes flashed with cold killing intent.
He hadn’t planned to fight, but if he could thin their numbers during the retreat……
“Gerard!”
“Yes, Deputy Commander!”
“Jedron, Semut!”
“Yes!”
The three hurried to Rian’s side. He looked at Jedron and Semut.
“Guard me in case something happens. This is just precaution—no fighting unless they get close for sure.”
“Yes!”
“Got it.”
As they replied, Rian turned to Gerard.
The young man looked tense. Rian said firmly,
“While retreating, intercept the pursuers.”
“Y-yes?!”
“Can you do it? If not, just flee with the unit. Half-hearted resolve will only get in the way.”
Gerard’s eyes turned fierce.
“What’re you saying? I can do it!”
He replied with confident gusto, as if being left out would be a disaster.
Rian smirked.
He kept his eyes fixed on the pursuing barbarians.
“Good. Let’s give it a shot.”
No plan originally, but who cared now.
Couldn’t just ignore a pack of reckless jackals charging in.
“Hunt begins.”