𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑: 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭 (𝟐)

The night raid happened at a time when there was about an hour and a half (three hours) left until dawn, when human concentration is at its weakest.

Arrows rained down like rain, burning the tents.

Shouts and screams flew about, and adventurers and mercenaries ran around aimlessly.

It was total chaos.

Taking advantage of this, the rebel army stormed in.

Unable to put up an organized resistance, the mercenaries were taken down one after another.

The surprise attack was so brilliant, there must have been a traitor. They were attacking the weak spots with certainty.

“It turned out just as Nel-san said!”

From a distance, Asuka watched the battlefield and let out an excited voice.

We had camped near the starting point of the mountain hunt, where the rebel army would surely not attack.

While being ridiculed for wanting to start early or late, since the reward is the same whether we start early or late.

If you’re going to launch a surprise attack, it has to be on the main camp or the supply unit.

By crushing them, you can force them to retreat.

There’s no fool who would bother to set a trap for the eager vanguard.

Of course, it’s a given that you know where the main camp and the supply unit are. That’s where the traitor comes in.

And that traitor was prepared by General Kytes.

To give the rebel army the option of a night raid.

“So, the general never intended to go on a mountain hunt in the first place? Teacher Nel.”

“Who’s the teacher? But you’re right, Miliaria.”

If more than five hundred people go on a mountain hunt, a rebel army of about a hundred people can’t compete.

They will eventually be discovered, surrounded, and beaten up.

Even if they manage to escape, there are five hundred elite soldiers of the royal army waiting at the foot of the mountain.

They will be chased around like hunted animals and killed.

There’s no chance of escape.

That’s what General Kytes wants them to think with his information strategy.

If you think about it calmly, there’s no way a thousand people can completely surround a mountain.

There are plenty of gaps, and if you try to surround it without any blind spots, the search range per person will be outrageous.

It would be easy to target them for individual destruction, let alone escape.

“That’s why they announced the numbers, to prevent them from making a calm judgment. There’s no one who can sleep peacefully when surrounded by ten times the enemy.”

“Why are you looking at me? Mama Nel.”

Ignoring Meisha’s complaint, I continue to explain.

While watching our allies struggle.

Ten times the enemy, cut off supply lines, the start of the mountain hunt is imminent. It would be enveloped in a sense of despair.

That’s when the traitor delivers the Royal Army’s information.

The locations of the main camp and the supply unit.

It’s priceless information. If you can crush either one in a night raid, you can escape right away.

They won’t be able to pursue.

That’s the only chance of victory.

They have to do it.

And so, the rebel army timed it and executed it at the most difficult time to counterattack.

“Just as General Kytes planned.”

“So, you’re saying the adventurers were used as bait?”

Asuka tilts her head.

Her lips are pursed, probably because she’s a little dissatisfied.

“No, they don’t consider adventurers and mercenaries as combat power. Asuka.”

I give a wry smile to the straightforward girl.

To the general, the troops are the regular army of the kingdom. He never counted on the local hired ruffians from the start.

They’re just there to make up the numbers.

Rather, if there was a commander who considered such people as combat power and planned operations, his head would be too much of a paradise.

“In other words, it doesn’t matter whether they’re there or not.”

He doesn’t intend to sacrifice them, but he won’t divert the regular army to save them either.

It’s the same treatment as if they went on a mountain hunt.

Protect yourself, he says.

“It’s annoying to be used as a pawn! But not being expected is also annoying!”

Asuka stomps her feet in frustration.

“Don’t say that. I’ve prepared a plan to ensure our safety up to this point, and a plan to make a name for ourselves from here on out. How about it? Are you in?”

I grinned.

Those who are prepared to die are strong.

On the contrary, people value their lives in a winning battle.

It’s the most foolish thing to die in battle while your allies are victorious.

That’s why a competent commander never lets his guard down in a winning battle.

The skill of General Kytes, who softly caught the hundred rebels who stormed into the headquarters like cotton, is certainly worth noting.

However, at this time, the enemy’s will to fight surpassed our strategic actions.

The rebel army, trying to break through the iron ring of the siege, charges forward without hesitation. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they even scatter saliva.

The regular soldiers are somewhat taken aback by their desperate appearance.

That’s when the rebels thrust their spears. It doesn’t matter if they hit or miss. They don’t care if they get stabbed or cut.

It’s pure frenzy.

“Calm down! The enemy are suicide soldiers! Don’t face them head-on! Surround them and beat them down!”

General Kytes, who should have established numerical superiority and should be overwhelmingly advantageous in terms of position and strategy, desperately takes command.

This is what happens on the battlefield.

A situation that makes strategists cry, where they push through with momentum alone, without any strategy.

Mad soldiers rush at the general who is wielding a large sword and taking command.

They don’t care how many of them are defeated.

If their arm is cut off, they grab it and swing it around like a blunt weapon.

If their head is cut off, they bite even if they become just a head.

It’s chaos.

And finally, when the deadly blade was about to reach the general, countless magic bullets rained down on the rebel army.

The battlefield stops for just a moment.

And that moment is enough for us.

“Adventurer clan [Hope]! We’re here to help General Kytes!”

“Everyone in the regular army! We’ve come to help!”

Asuka, swinging her long sword, and I, with my broadsword ready, jumped into the scorching battlefield.

・・・

『”𝔸𝕨𝕖𝕓𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤.𝕔𝕠𝕞” – 𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖, 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔a𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 “𝕕𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕦𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤” 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕠 “𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤”.』

・・・

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