Let the Charge Begin!
“**YEEEAHHHAAAAA!**”
**Swish! Crack!**
A dull thud, and the Kar tribe warrior who had come charging like a madman simply collapsed to the ground.
One long arrow was embedded straight through his neck.
“You idiot! Can’t you even put any spirit into your yells?”
“Eh? What?”
“No, nothing.”
Zalbarog asked, panting for breath, and Graphil turned his head.
It was a look nothing like the old timid Graphil.
‘Surely…….’
Even though the enemies who had charged at them were quite a few.
‘I’m not afraid.’
There was a feeling as if a solid shield was protecting them firmly.
But at that moment.
“Zalbarog, raise the shield higher. Hold it up to your shoulders properly.”
“Ah, understood.”
At the voice coming from beside him, Arteon spoke, and Zalbarog quickly lifted his shield.
Carelessness even in a blink was unforgivable on the battlefield.
And within that battlefield.
Gently.
Arteon and the 4th Platoon were carrying out quite meaningful actions.
And……
“……What the hell are those guys.”
A man watching the scene.
Hendris, the 4th Platoon Leader, could not hide his dumbfounded expression as he looked at the 4th Platoon.
At first he had thought they were abandoning the designated spot in their formation and might need to be scolded.
But they hadn’t strayed far from the formation at all, and most importantly, their combat prowess was striking.
The only odd part was.
‘How can they keep fighting in that formation?’
It wasn’t a particularly special formation.
It wasn’t quite a joint technique either, but something vague.
‘They’re compensating for each other’s weaknesses and maximizing their strengths.’
Especially the 4th Platoon, with its small number of men.
That was why it could be even more dangerous when isolated.
‘They’re defending the flanks with the shield-bearers…… and the guy in the center…… is he coordinating it?’
Hendris’s gaze turned to Arteon.
The precarious tightrope walk had become stable only because of that man.
‘He’s timely compensating for the weak spots.’
Arteon was moving like a ghost to cover any mistakes his subordinates made.
But……
“Hah…… hah…….”
At this very moment, the ones most shocked were the 4th Platoon members themselves.
‘……Eh?’
‘We’re winning……?’
‘What…… what is this situation.’
These were men who had gone through two battles.
But they hadn’t survived by skill, only by clinging to life through their comrades’ deaths or the enemy’s mistakes.
They couldn’t claim to have survived because they had done something.
Yet……
**Thud!**
In the instant Bert’s axe crushed a Kar warrior’s skull, the man’s body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
**Thud.**
How many had it been now?
At least twenty of the men who had dared to provoke them.
“**P, Platoon Leader.**”
“Well done. But don’t let your guard down. The moment morale rises like this, you’ll get cocky and get killed in one blow.”
“……Understood.”
Watching Bert’s bewildered face, Arteon spoke.
Arteon himself was newly stunned by the men’s skill.
He had only thought they could barely hold on.
‘Who knew they’d adapt so fast.’
Of course there were moments when the atmosphere loosened and they got careless, but he could just fix that later.
Arteon gripped the shaft of his spear tightly.
In this situation……
‘I could break through here.’
The situation at the first line was extremely simple.
The Kar warriors had attacked them, and they had only been defending.
The terrain was difficult, but most importantly, because they outnumbered the Kar by too much, active combat had been impossible.
But if they could break through here……
‘I could even attack the enemy’s rear.’
The Kar, who hadn’t even considered they themselves might be attacked from behind.
They had never experienced it.
Gently.
Arteon looked toward the direction of the Platoon Leader.
Advancing forward at this level was within his authority.
‘But breaking through here to target the enemy’s rear is a completely different matter.’
Besides, after the previous wave of attacks, the situation had loosened a bit.
Arteon spoke.
“Everyone, pull back slightly and hold position.”
“Eh? Suddenly?”
“We can still fight.”
He pretended to be calm, but……
‘Raymon…… he’s burning up.’
Seeing Raymon, who was actively showing his will, Arteon spoke.
“A short rest is needed. Raymon, you’re putting too much power into your spear thrusts. You won’t last long if you keep doing that.”
“……I will remember.”
“Everyone, pull the formation back. There’s something we need to do.”
Arteon immediately went to Hendris, the 4th Platoon Leader.
“Platoon Leader.”
“What’s happening during combat?”
Hendris asked as Arteon, who had been watching intently, approached.
Was he about to say he was being taken off the battlefield because of his poor performance?
Hendris looked at him with a stiff expression.
But the words that came out of Arteon’s mouth were completely different from what he expected.
Arteon pointed at the left formation where the 4th Platoon was fighting.
“What if we break through here and immediately strike the enemy’s rear?”
“What?”
Hendris looked at the battlefield.
He hadn’t been able to see clearly because of the enemies right in front.
‘……The enemy numbers have already dropped considerably.’
There had been nearly a hundred Kar warriors gathered here, but how had it come to this……
Hendris’s eyes flashed sharply as he looked at the Kar who were no more than half their original number.
It was possible, as Arteon said, that they could break through here and target the enemy’s rear.
It was a dangerous operation.
But……
‘If it succeeds…….’
Without a doubt it would allow them to cut the allied casualties in half.
Hendris clenched his fist.
“Wait here. I’ll return after reporting and immediately give the order.”
It might be a difficult operation.
But there was sufficient possibility.
Hendris hurried to report the situation to the Company Commander and waited for the operational orders.
At Hendris’s words.
“Can we do it? If we fail, all the platoon members could die.”
“I’ll try.”
“……Then the full authority for this operation will be given to the 4th Platoon Leader of the 3rd Company.”
“I will do my best!”
Hendris, who had received permission for the operation, immediately summoned all the 4th Platoon members.
The platoon members showed slightly bewildered expressions at the sudden call.
“……Eh?!”
“W-we’re supposed to break through here and go to the center?”
“P, Platoon Leader! That’s too reckless an operation!”
The other Platoon Leaders, excluding Arteon, tried to dissuade him, alarmed.
“Breaking through and stopping them now is already causing considerable casualties. Attacking first would be impossible.”
“That’s right, Platoon Leader. If we could strike the enemy’s rear in the center, there would definitely be a huge achievement…… but breaking through here itself is impossible.”
The western side of the first line.
Even just the Kar warriors deployed here outnumbered them by twice as much.
Defending with just two platoons was barely holding, and now they wanted to break through and attack the enemy’s rear?
It was risky, and they might have more casualties.
But……
“4th Platoon Leader.”
“Private Arteon!”
“Can you open the path?”
He was the first to present the operation.
With that much confidence, of course.
And as expected.
“The 4th Platoon will take the lead.”
“……?”
“What?”
“……Crazy bastard.”
At Arteon’s words, the other Platoon Leaders clicked their tongues.
Was he serious?
But Arteon said without hesitation.
“I’ll prepare right away. The 4th Platoon will break the path, so please give the remaining orders, Platoon Leader.”
“Alright, everyone prepare.”
Hendris had made up his mind.
It wasn’t just Arteon’s confidence.
It was the bravery the 4th Platoon had shown.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
Arteon immediately gathered his platoon members.
They all knew the situation and looked somewhat tense.
“……Is it possible?”
Raymon, who always maintained composure, asked.
The other platoon members seemed equally curious.
Looking at the platoon members’ eyes.
“To be honest, at first I couldn’t even think of such a plan. I thought surviving was already a tremendous achievement with your skills.”
Arteon went back to the appearance of the Platoon Leader he had commanded in the past.
Arteon continued speaking.
“But the power you showed on this battlefield…… I apologize. I underestimated you too much. And…….”
At Arteon’s words, the platoon members tensed up and focused sharply.
“With the skill you’ve shown now, you can definitely break through these savages. No, that’s obvious, and then move to the central battlefield to strike the enemy’s rear.”
Arteon clenched his fist.
“There, you will first grasp not just survival, but glory on the battlefield.”
Grasping glory.
It might completely reverse the situation they were in.
Arteon pointed at the direction of the enemy warriors.
“The danger is there, but glory and light await.”
Arteon’s eyes flashed.
“I will grasp that glory and light and break free from this place and go upward. Is there anyone here who will follow me? If not, speak up. I’ll immediately arrange for you to be placed in the rear.”
At Arteon’s resolute words, the platoon members swallowed hard.
And at that moment.
“I’ll follow you.”
“I’ll follow too.”
Bert and Raymon said.
And……
“I, I’ll also…….”
Graphil cautiously raised his hand and spoke.
“I’ll follow.”
“Since we’ve come this far, we can’t just go back.”
Raphelson and Zalbarog said with firm expressions.
Arteon lifted the corner of his mouth and grinned.
In the moment he was betrayed by Moldrek and died, he had thought he was the unluckiest person in this world.
But now that he had been reborn.
‘Is luck…… following me now.’
To meet such men.
‘I can do it.’
It felt like he could take one big step toward the plan he had envisioned.
Arteon nodded.
“Then come with me. I’ll take you to where glory awaits.”
Arteon raised his spear.
Iglis, who had now transformed into its true form.
Mana Arteon had poured into it flowed abundantly over the entire spear.
“Bert, from now on, when I give the signal, don’t stop, keep advancing.”
“Unconditionally?”
“Yeah. Crush every guy blocking ahead. I’ll hold the rear.”
The number of Kar warriors positioned ahead was roughly a hundred.
But the number they had to face directly was less than half.
If they could break through that number……
“I can immediately target the enemy’s back.”
Arteon gripped his spear tightly.
With that, all the 4th Platoon soldiers tensed, their eyes firm with resolve.
“Let’s go.”
With Arteon’s signal.
“**Hwaaaaaaaaah!**”
Bert roared like a bull and charged toward the Kar warriors.
And……
**Boom!**
As if they had become one tank, they began to mow down the Kar warriors and charge forward.