Chapter 71
Chapter 71
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Slave Charge
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What did you say?"
Shaiven doubted his own ears as he received the report.
The messenger said,
"General Juenr has fallen, and around four hundred have perished."
Losing four hundred out of a thousand meant they had fought fiercely to the end, so Shaiven couldn't even get angrier.
It was simply that the enemy was strong.
"The enemy was from Black Forest?"
"Yes."
"How many troops did they bring..."
"Three hundred."
"Three hundred?!"
"They were all cockatoo warriors. Moreover, General Juenr's unit was ambushed while stationed, and the village wasn't a good defensive position..."
"Shut your mouth!"
Shaiven slammed his fist on the desk.
Cockatoos were as large as horses but could move freely side to side. They could fight even in the narrow alleys of a village.
Moreover, with a number around three hundred, they could have split into units and infiltrated swiftly.
Failing to prevent the ambush was the fault of Juenr, who was already dead, so there was no point blaming him further.
That left the blame on Shaiven himself.
He should have anticipated the possibility of an ambush.
'To strike Juenr's unit quickly with cavalry, they must have lightened their supplies. They had no choice but to forage locally. Black Forest and Blazing Flame... no, have the other countries allied too?'
Of course, Shaiven planned to attack Black Forest and the country of Nol, Absolti, as well.
But only he and a few generals knew that, so he didn't think the plan had leaked.
From the start, Black Forest and the other five countries were hostile, so by Shaiven's calculations, Black Forest had no particular reason to aid them.
'Was Black Forest's king afraid of a large nation emerging?'
Shaiven informed the remaining three generals of the Black Forest cavalry's appearance and ordered them to bolster defenses.
However, since each unit was far apart, he believed they wouldn't encounter Black Forest's cavalry.
But there was another problem.
As time passed, around a hundred soldiers under Juenr deserted from Shaiven's location, while about five hundred survivors returned.
The reports from these soldiers were absurd.
Black Forest's cockatoo warriors weren't pursuing the enemy forces but were gradually swallowing up lands already under White Fang's control.
It was incomprehensible at first glance.
Mobilizing a large force was a national burden, so they needed a clear objective.
Even if they reclaimed land, it wouldn't become Black Forest's—it would just revert to Blazing Flame's territory in Satyros' lands.
Shaiven only understood what was happening after sending out more scouts.
'Those lizardmen are receiving near-endless supplies from the Satyros. I knew Black Forest's lizardmen enjoyed battle, but I didn't expect them to fight like this for another country.'
Even with a mere three hundred, their speed in reclaiming territory was not to be underestimated.
Vampire soldiers were based on youths from other countries, so their numbers were inherently limited.
Thus, villages already occupied with only a small garrison offered no resistance and fell to Black Forest.
It was unavoidable.
If the other three generals had at least kept advancing steadily in the meantime, it would have been fine, but even that was sluggish.
Now, Shaiven had to make a choice.
'Reorganize the four hundred stragglers to confront the three hundred lizardmen, or bring back the remaining three thousand soldiers to make three thousand four hundred and attack Black Forest.'
But the former offered no clear advantage.
'The God of Blood and Rotten Flesh will surely aid me. Even against elite troops, victory is certain. But the enemy are all cavalry. Whether we fight is up to them.'
The latter wasn't particularly appealing either.
'Three thousand four hundred is enough to attack Black Forest. Plus, attacking them would allow resupplying soldiers. But failing to finish off the five countries now that their momentum is broken could cause problems.'
The decision for Shaiven's dilemma came from the God of Blood and Rotten Flesh, as expected.
Shaiven received a revelation in his dream to head east.
When the sun began to set and he awoke, Shaiven summoned his adjutant.
"Gather all the generals and soldiers. Now we strike Black Forest."
Wisdom spoke.
"If we gather the enemies in one place, will they all coordinate an assault?"
Seong-un shook his head.
"...I wish, but do we even have the troops for that?"
Everyone was taken aback by Seong-un's retort.
Ael, the god of Nix, suffered the greatest blow.
Her main force and even her capital were completely overrun—a truly devastating strike.
Runda, the god of Lenar, was hiding it, but she was in poor shape from the damage Seong-un dealt plus facing vampires.
Only Kramphus, god of Satyros, and Wisdom, god of Trolls, could field proper armies, around five hundred and three hundred respectively.
The one largely unscathed was Jangwan, god of Kobolds.
Jangwan said,
"Our forces can join the battle."
"No. Too far."
Absolti was on the opposite side of the continent from Black Forest, and the Myriad Caves were right after.
"We won't time it perfectly anyway. ...Realistically, only Wisdom and Kramphus can aid the pincer attack."
Wisdom calmly replied, "Understood," while Kramphus nodded reluctantly with a frown.
"The vampires will surely target the mountain forts toward the automated city, not the wasteland."
Traversing the wasteland was tricky due to the midday sun, and above all, supplying fresh human blood was difficult.
Thus, they would likely attack via the mountains, shaded from sunlight and dotted with sparse villages.
"My three hundred cavalry, plus Wisdom and Kramphus, should pursue the vampire army from a distance. If they notice the pincer, they'll try to shake off the ones on their tail first."
Wisdom asked,
"But if we're too far apart, won't we lose the benefit of the pincer? White Fang's rear scouts stretch out for nearly two days. At that distance, Black Forest would have to hold the first attack alone."
"Think they can't?"
With something to rely on, Seong-un exuded confidence.
Wisdom shrugged.
"If you're confident, no issue."
"And the pincer doesn't need to be on flat ground. It'll happen after they've expended some forces anyway."
Seong-un continued,
"The rest should focus on driving vampires out of their own territories. Jangwan, use your forces to reclaim Ael's lands too."
Reducing vampire numbers wasn't just about territory.
Most vampires believed in the God of Blood and Rotten Flesh, continuously generating faith.
Thinning them out beyond the front lines would help.
As the discussion wrapped up, Seong-un had a concern he hadn't shared with the other players.
Jeolubi—known as the 'vampire player'—was undoubtedly a player.
But as a player, he had barely used the faith he should have.
'There's a reason.'
Jeolubi had consistently led the game advantageously.
No need to spend precious faith resources while winning, so it wasn't necessarily suspicious.
Plus, he had used it once.
During the assault on Nix's capital, possessing Juenr—but the possession was brief, so Seong-un guessed it didn't consume much faith.
'But... White Fang's territory is now the largest on the third continent. And not only are the soldiers conspicuous, but the vampire race itself has grown substantially. These vampires worship the God of Blood and Rotten Flesh. That means Jeolubi's divinity level could be quite high.'
Seong-un didn't think Jeolubi lacked as a player just because he brought a powerful, novel race like vampires. He couldn't dismiss vampires as a mere 'cheat race.'
'Crunching the numbers, his level is at most 17.'
Seong-un furrowed his brow, thinking of the divinity skill gained at level 16.
If Jeolubi played rationally to the end and was truly level 16 or higher, it could be troublesome.
'Well... even so, there's a way.'
Shaiven had already heard about the mountain fortress Rakrak built.
But seeing it in person was even more horrifying.
All trees within hundreds of meters of the fortress had been felled, making stealthy approaches impossible. The path up to the fortress zigzagged, barely wide enough for a single cart.
The walls were even worse.
They rose along a near-60-degree slope beside the gate, flanked by a near-vertical cliff.
Even climbing that slope led to walls over seven meters high.
Shaiven said to his general,
"...What do you think?"
"Only giant weasels among our mounts could climb it."
"Focus Lenar and troll recruits on the walls."
"What about the gate?"
"Distribute large hammers to smash it and carry them to the front."
"Casualties will be heavy."
"Stepping on corpses will ease the path to the gate. Wait..."
"Have a good idea?"
A smile crept onto Shaiven's lips.
"Do we really need to expend our vampires to make stairs?"
"Pardon?"
Shaiven's gaze turned to the rear of the force.
Vampires required living humans for sustenance.
This allowed efficient army composition.
Armies in battle needed porters for baggage.
Thus, workers freed from reduced supplies naturally became food.
Shaiven's force was the same.
Shaiven said,
"We resupplied at the Satyros village the day before yesterday. Unless the battle drags on, slaves are unnecessary."
"Ah, I see. Use the slaves as arrow fodder first. That'll deplete their supplies too."
Shaiven nodded.
"Rumors are spreading among the slaves anyway."
"What rumors?"
"That the five gods have abandoned them, but one god hasn't."
"The God of Blood and Rotten Flesh?"
"No."
Shaiven cut him off.
"The Blue Insect God."
"The Blue Insect God? You mean..."
"The god of those lizardmen over there. They think Black Forest's lizardmen will save them. Line them up and send them running to that fortress. Some will resist—drain those on the spot. Lie and say if the lizardmen truly offer salvation, they'll open the gate."
"Understood."
As the general turned to leave the tent, he paused as if remembering something.
"But, Shaiven."
"What?"
"If... they actually open the gate and take the slaves, what then?"
Shaiven scoffed.
"If they open the gate and play savior? Perfect. That's when we launch the full assault."
Shaiven believed the true savior of this land was only the God of Blood and Rotten Flesh.
"...That's the third group already."
"Yeah."
Izan, a half-bin child dragged as a slave by the vampire army, nodded.
The new kobold friend he met as a slave seemed quite timid.
They bonded over similar heights, but the friendship likely wouldn't last long.
"We're next."
"I know."
Izan nodded.
The "third" the kobold friend mentioned meant the third batch of slaves the vampires had sent.
The kobold friend, Izan, and others from various races he hadn't spoken to yet were the fourth.
What was happening was obvious even to the bound slaves like Izan.
Vampire soldiers had explained it several times.
Ahead lay the mountain fortress of Black Forest's lizardmen.
The vampires were using them to deplete enemy supplies, ease the path up the fortress, and tire the defenders.
With salvation as their only hope, being used as bait was inevitable for the slaves.
The kobold squeezed his eyes shut.
"They're coming. Our turn."
Izan didn't reply.
A vampire said,
"No need for explanations. Your goal is simple: run to the lizardmen's gate. If they're truly your saviors as you think, they'll open it. Right?"
No one protested weakly.
Those who did lay headless at the slaves' feet.
Izan thought,
'Between bolting from the group now or running to the fortress, which has better survival odds?'
Izan hesitated, unable to act, but standing before the fortress, he figured the former was better.
Even at midnight, slaves pierced by precise arrows littered the base.
'The path to the gate zigzags three times. No one's reached the second...'
Izan chuckled inwardly. He couldn't confirm if Black Forest lizardmen were saviors, but they were master archers as rumored.
The vampire soldier said,
"We're aiming arrows at your backs. I'll count to five. Run to the fortress. One, two, three..."
Everyone hesitated until five.
Izan glanced at the corpse right beside him.
'They already made an example. Gotta run now!'
Izan bolted.
Then, the vampire behind him slashed the hesitating kobold friend's throat.
"...Five! Run!"
Izan prayed his village nickname for fast feet still held.
He didn't know who the prayer was for.
'Please!'
Ridiculously, the piled corpses made the initial slope gentler, as Shaiven thought. Not enough to reach the top, no matter how many died.
When Izan's foot slipped, an arrow grazed his ear.
If not for the slip, he'd be dead.
'If I can just survive!'
As Izan rounded the second path up the fortress, murmurs rose from above.
'What?'
Izan looked up.
Something rose from the fortress.
A glowing blue butterfly.
'...A butterfly?'
But something even stranger was happening.
The gate was opening.