SWNOVELXO Chapter 566
Chapter 566: If You Run Now, You Can Survive. (3)
Cadron, the Infantry Commander of the 6th Army of Atrode, was feeling like he was about to die.
Though they weren’t fighting directly, just moving was exhausting enough.
Wasn’t the virtue of infantry marching? They had to keep walking without rest.
“Move faster! We need to secure our position in the next area!”
The soldiers hurried about, frantically obeying orders. They didn’t even know why they were moving or where they were going.
That was all determined and relayed by the higher-ups.
The soldiers murmured tiredly.
“Wow, this is insane.”
“Are we really at war?”
“Why do we keep going back and forth?”
Even these elite soldiers had never experienced such a crazy march. In that time, they hadn’t even encountered a proper battle.
They had mostly been hiding somewhere, waiting, or digging traps that wouldn’t even be used.
They called it a ‘tactical movement’ but if you could understand that, you wouldn’t be a soldier.
Despite their frustrations, they couldn’t rebel, so they diligently followed the 6th Army.
Cadron wiped his sweat while looking at the map.
“Phew, this time it seems a bit better.”
Their mission was to establish a stronghold at the target location. Once established, they only needed to defend from there.
Their role was merely to stall the enemy’s attack while buying time, but at least it was a task worth doing.
“Let’s hurry up!”
Though the number of enemy troops had decreased, they could appear from anywhere. As a relatively small infantry unit, they had to move as quickly as they could.
While they were marching diligently, a cloud of dust rose up from behind.
A soldier with keen eyesight at the rear spotted it.
“Huh? Huh?”
Dududududu!
The ground trembled slightly as a group of riders came into view from a distance. They were all mounted.
The soldier’s face twisted as he looked closer.
“Shit, they’re not our guys.”
It was obvious they weren’t allies. They had gotten caught by the enemy.
The soldier shouted loudly.
“Enemies! Enemies are here!”
Hearing that, Cadron was startled.
“What? No way! That can’t be!”
They had intel on the enemy. They had long since moved away from the battlefield where the Allied Forces had pursued.
Moreover, they were moving along an unpredictable detour.
How could they have found and followed them so quickly?
“Form a defensive formation! Hurry! We need to hold them off!”
The soldiers here were elite. With ample war experience and numerous victories behind them.
In an instant, they formed ranks and thrust their spears forward. The archers drew their bows from the back.
It was a formation to counter a cavalry charge.
Dududududu!
The soldiers crouched down. If they could withstand the first charge with minimal damage, they would have a chance at victory.
They had plenty of experience doing just that.
Dududududu!
The soldiers in front gripped their shields tightly, teeth clenched.
Cavalry charges always caused the most damage on the first clash. Facing them head-on made their hearts race.
Yet, they didn’t lose their fighting spirit. They believed in their experience and had confidence they could survive.
Dududududu!
The cavalry charging like a storm was slowing down. The soldiers looked puzzled.
They needed to increase their speed, not decrease it.
Only the man at the forefront kept galloping without slowing down.
Seeing this, lower-ranking commanders shouted to encourage the soldiers.
“The enemy’s speed has decreased!”
“We can hold them off!”
“It’s just one man! Don’t shoot yet!”
This was a lucky turn of events. Slowing down would weaken the shock of the impact. They would take less damage from arrows too.
The soldiers felt a little more confident.
It was only one man. Even if he were a superhuman, he couldn’t easily break their formation.
The man leading the cavalry charge, Yulien, tightened his grip on the reins as he approached the soldiers.
Dududududu!
The horse veered to the side and stopped. Naturally, Yulien found himself looking at the enemies from the side.
He slowly raised his sword.
The soldiers of Atrode thought his posture was quite picturesque. They didn’t understand why he was suddenly so far away while raising his sword.
“What the hell, why is that so cool?”
“Is he trying to suggest we surrender or something?”
“Given how the cavalry has slowed down, it seems like that.”
Everyone was jumping to conclusions.
In the meantime, Yulien’s sword traced a smooth line downwards once more.
And in that moment.
Kagagagagak!
The ground split in a straight line. Simultaneously, the bodies of soldiers in the path of the sword were split in half.
It was as if a giant blade had sliced through the enemy formation.
It happened in an instant. The soldiers who missed what happened just stared blankly.
Only after a brief moment did they realize the situation and were struck dumb by the horrifying sight.
“Uwaaaah!”
“What the hell!”
“How did this happen!”
He had just swung his sword from afar. Yet, the formation had been sliced through entirely.
Those who stood in that path were all torn in half and dead.
The soldiers unconsciously moved aside.
The sharply drawn line in the ground and the bodies of their comrades split in two were telling them this was reality.
The phenomenon was incomprehensible, plunging the soldiers into confusion. Their fighting spirit, prepared for death, vanished entirely.
Dudak, dudak.
Yulien rode his horse slowly forward. In the heavy silence, he began to pass through the split formation.
The soldiers dared not attack. They could only watch as Yulien walked down the divided path.
It was no different than a weak animal freezing in awe of a mighty predator.
Dudak, dudak.
Even with the enemy entering their ranks, the soldiers didn’t advance; they only retreated further. The thought that they shouldn’t approach was firmly settled in everyone’s mind.
At the rear, Cadron faltered.
“W-what are you doing? A-attack, quickly….”
He couldn’t even string his words together properly. His mind was blank with fear.
Is this even possible? Is this the power a human can possess?
It was no surprise they couldn’t comprehend it.
Yulien had grown stronger. Thanks to the realizations he naturally gained from fighting Helgenik and Leonard.
As Yulien’s caliber increased, the greater the gap in skill with his opponent, the greater his attack power became.
Dudak.
Yulien soon approached the pale Cadron and swung his sword again.
Swish.
Thud.
Cadron’s head dropped to the ground. It was incredibly natural, just as it had always been.
Yulien glanced back and said softly.
“If you run now, you can survive.”
With those words, he urged his horse on. He showed no interest in the soldiers anymore.
Dudududududu!
At the same time, the cavalry waiting behind surged forward again.
The Atrode army was already paralyzed by fear and in disarray. If the cavalry came in, they would be swept away.
“R-run away!”
Someone shouted. The moment that word reached them, the soldiers began to scatter in all directions.
Even experienced soldiers couldn’t withstand such an absurd situation.
Dudududududu!
Ignoring the scattered soldiers, the cavalry followed behind Yulien.
Not a single one needed to fight. They were all too paralyzed by fear to have any fighting spirit left.
Yulien continued to gallop under his own dark guidance.
“…”
He remained silent. He didn’t bother trying to understand more of what was happening.
It wasn’t difficult to predict what they were after anyway.
As he predicted, Count Strouk, the commander of the 6th Army, had taken a position on the route where the reinforcements of the Allied Forces were coming.
“Scout the area and find a place to hide.”
He intended to wait in a suitable location. From here on, he had to be more cautious.
Count Strouk went over the strategic objectives once more.
“If we hit the reinforcements and take control of the supply route, the Ruthania Army will have no choice but to move.”
Then, another army waiting on their side would join them, and from there, the army that had shattered the Allied Forces would pursue the Ruthania Army.
Moreover, the key supply route would also be seized by their forces. Then the war would effectively be over.
“The timing has to be just right…”
Of course, this was under the condition that the commanders of each army made sound judgments as they received information and moved quickly.
If a small army fought the Ruthania Army separately, they could risk complete annihilation. Thus, they had to keep watch and not rest.
“It’s a thoroughly achievable plan. We can succeed.”
The other army commanders wouldn’t be lacking, if not stronger than himself.
So far, everything had been unfolding quite well. Some details had changed slightly, but the overarching strategy was progressing smoothly.
While checking the plans and waiting for news from the scouts.
“Enemies! Enemies are here!”
A scout came rushing in, panting.
Count Strouk frowned and muttered.
“Enemies?”
Why were the enemy appearing here already? The route of the Allied Forces wasn’t supposed to be here.
On the contrary, they had moved significantly off course from where they had fought before. Moreover, infantry units were likely stationed along that route.
Even if they had just fought, they couldn’t have arrived this quickly.
Yet the scout urgently continued.
“There’s about 20,000 cavalry. They are approaching at an incredible speed!”
“Tsk. They must have moved around to come this way. How did they find us?”
Count Strouk clicked his tongue. The more troops, the more terrifying. It was obvious they would be in for endless pursuit if they fled.
Then there was no choice but to fight here.
“It’s a pity the 5th Army hasn’t arrived yet. But it doesn’t matter. Everyone, prepare for battle! Wizards, cast your magic barriers just in case!”
The Army of Atrode quickly formed ranks.
After all, whether it was a fight between cavalry, the outcome hinged on which side had the greater destructive power.
The 6th Army had two superhumans. If the superhumans led, there was still a chance of victory.
Count Strouk spoke to the priests.
“Please block the enemy for a moment. It won’t take long. We will circle around and attack from both sides.”
“Understood.”
The priests confidently moved forward. They assumed that there wouldn’t be any superhumans besides the Ruthania forces.
Therefore, they thought there wouldn’t be much difference from the other Allied Forces.
Dudududududu!
Soon, the dust cloud of the approaching enemy cavalry came into view.
“They’re coming! Get ready!”
As Count Strouk shouted, the cavalry of the 6th Army spread out to the sides to prepare for a flank attack.
Kwah!
At the same time, two priests shot forward.
They would disrupt the enemy cavalry formation. Mobility tactics were especially important in battles between cavalry.
Paaah!
The two priests shooting forward wore smiles filled with derision.
The enemy cavalry was slowing down. It was clear they were trying to avoid side attacks.
But that wasn’t the only reason they were smirking.
Dudududududu.
Didn’t the man at the head of their formation approach alone?
They certainly knew there was a superhuman on this side, yet that superhuman was right ahead of them.
“What a cheeky bastard!”
“Does he think he’s the Duke of Penris or something?”
The priests felt offended.
The notion that the priests of the Salvation Society were half-baked superhumans had spread across the continent. The fact that every time they faced the Duke of Penris, they had been crushed clearly showed that.
Though they were regaining their reputation through this war, the priests were still underrated.
Every time they fought the Allied Forces, knights had openly charged at them. The belief that several knights joining forces could be a fair fight had diffused.
Gooo!
The priests began to draw upon their energy. Black energy surged over their bodies.
First, they would kill this ignorant brat, and then they would massacre the rest of the enemies.
That would spread the fear of them back across the continent.
Kwah!
The two priests shot forward even faster.
They charged at Yulien, the man atop the horse.
“Die!”
The hands of the priests, filled with black energy, reached out toward Yulien.
Watching the approaching priests, Yulien finally drew his sword diagonally.
Swish.
“Huh?”
One priest felt something was off. His body ceased to extend forward.
Confused, he looked down and widened his eyes.
“What the…?”
His body had been sliced in half before he knew it.