The situation was in chaos. Not only the expedition party, but also the bandits abandoned their battle formation and spread their forces out. In other words, the battlefield had become like a large free-for-all brawl.
It was a grotesque sight. Soldiers of both sides lay on the ground next to each other, their blood intermingling with each other. Those still alive fought all over the place, and the battlefield continued on expanding, with no clear view of the overall state of battle. Corwyn's gaze wandered over the multiple skirmishes nearby, searching for his friends. Hanaan and Dalios were out of sight, but it didn't take him long to spot Teo. He immediately sprinted towards him.
Teo was currently in a tense swordfight with two bandits at once, and it wasn't looking too good for him. Teo might be a genius with the sword and could handle almost anybody in a 1v1, but when taking on more than one person, he couldn't display his strength so easily. If he got careless and let his attention focus too much on one of the bandits, the other may launch a sneak attack on him when his guard was down.
Teo was steadily parrying their strikes while simultaneously retreating bit by bit. It seemed like he couldn't find any opportunity to counterattack yet. His continuous defense made the bandits even fiercer though, as they were both speeding up their attacks. The pressure on Teo increased even more, and it was only a matter of time until they would find a way through his guard. Corwyn had to aid his friend as fast as possible.
While taking care of not making too much noise, Corwyn ran into the men's blindspots and fastly approached the one to Teo's right. Said one was about to deliver another strike at the young soldier, as he raised his sword up high and prepared to swing it down. Corwyn didn't want to waste this opportunity and quickly stored his swords away, pulling out the spear strapped to his back. His blades wouldn't be in attack range in time, so he had no other choice but to choose a weapon with longer reach.
The bandit was just executing his sword swing, when suddenly the tip of a spear pierced through his throat. Teo, who was about to defend against the attack, showed surprise on his face, but quickly composed himself again as this was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Now that he and the remaining bandit were fighting one on one, he no longer had to restrain himself in his attacks. In addition, the rogue too was distracted by the sudden death of his comrade.
Teo unleashed a barrage of quick and precise attacks. Having let his guard down, the bandit's defense was sloppy, and it didn't take long for him to suffer from several critical injuries and falling down onto the sandy ground. Having finally defeated his opponents, Teo felt the tension inside of him loosen just a bit, and he looked over at Corwyn who was currently storing his spear away again and pulling out his swords.
Corwyn was glad that he was able to help his friend, but also couldn't pull his mind off the cruel thing he had just done. In desperation, he didn't even think about things like a fair fight or the honor of battle. He was merely looking for the fastest way possible to dispose of his enemy, even if that meant stabbing him in the back. It was the most despicable way to die, but he feared that if he had fought a normal battle, he would be consumed by his fear again.
"Are you okay?"
Teo was looking at him, concern evident in his eyes. Corwyn didn't want his friend to worry about him, so he raised his head and faced his friend.
"Yeah, I'm just not used to this kind of thing yet. I almost died because I hesitated before. I might not like it, or even feel disgusted by it, but there's no helping it. The fact that we need to survive this doesn't change. So I'll get myself together, and fight! And I will do it together with you!"
At least, he could bring this much determination up. It didn't matter what he felt about killing others. In this battle, it was killing or be killed, and he needed to survive, no matter what. Teo showed a slight smile as he nodded his head, and both of them surveyed the area around them. By some lucky circumstances, no other enemies had engaged them yet. Every one of them was already occupied in a fight, and weren't too conscious of the two young men.
"Let's help the others first and regroup! In this chaotic brawl, staying by yourself could be bad!"
"Agreed! Let's go!"
Corwyn accepted Teo's proposition, and they immediately went to work. Their first and foremost goal was to quickly dispose of as many foes engaged in combat as possible. Then, they would regroup with the other adventurers and overwhelm the small groups of bandits with their superior numbers. They had no idea were Rogar or Jarrok were, as well as Hanaan and Dalios, but that shouldn't distract them from their current priorities.
The plan was executed smoothly. The two were sneaking behind enemies, then finishing them with one blow and releasing their allies from their battles. With their help, they could cover a larger space, and provide aid to several times more adventurers.
Of course, the number of sneak attacks they could commit was limited. The Red Vipers began to notice very soon what was going on and started to regroup as well. The chaotic free-for-all brawl was gradually becoming an organized battle between two forces again.
This wasn't too much of a disadvantage for the expedition party members though. In terms of ability with the sword, most of them were stronger than the bandits who were a mixed bunch of outlaws. However, as the battle dragged on, their inferior numbers became more and more of a problem. In the open desert, there was no place for them to seek cover either.
Corwyn looked around fervently, searching for something that could help them turn the tides of battle. There was nothing out in the desert that would help them gain an advantage, and their main forces were too far away from them to seek aid from. The only choice Corwyn could think of was to retreat momentarily and fight the battle elsewhere. Luckily, the perfect place for that wasn't too far away from them.
"Everyone, fall back! We will retreat towards the village, and engage the enemy there!"
The adventurers were startled at Corwyn's sudden command. Each of them respected Corwyn for what he had done back in Konen, so they didn't have any complaints about him taking command momentarily. But retreating towards the city would distance them even more from the main forces from the expedition party. In addition, there was no guarantee that the bandits would follow them and not join the other battle not too far from here.
They didn't have much of a choice, though. Continuing this battle here would spell their defeat sooner or later. Slowly but surely, the adventurers moved towards the village. Fortunately, the bandits were already way too hot-blooded to keep an eye on the bigger picture. All they seemed to care about at the moment was to pursue the adventurers and end their lives. That worked in Corwyn's favor. Little by little, they came closer to the village, and once they had reached its borders, they immediately shifted gears.
"Abandon combat, and get inside the village! There we will look for a good place to fight and engage again!"
"All right!"
The adventurers roared their approval. Corwyn felt more like a general than a simple blacksmith at the moment, but watching out for crucial details was a blacksmith's strong point. He didn't have much battle experience, but at this point, he was merely following his instincts. Also, Hanaan and Teo had not just taught him sword skills. They explained much theory about battles as well, like the advantages and disadvantages of different terrain. Therefore, he knew that when one had inferior numbers at his disposal, shrinking the battlefield down as much as possible was crucial.
About 30 survivors were with him and Teo, whereas the number of pursuers amounted to around 50. It was a large difference, but he had faith that they could prevail if they did it right. Having decided so in his heart, Corwyn and the adventurers following him entered the village and began searching for a good place to engage.
Meanwhile, the main battle between the two forces was still as messy as ever. While the leaders like Rogar and Yassukan were trying to reassemble their men and engage in a large confrontation, the fighters a bit farther away from them were still battling whoever was in sight, with no tactics behind it whatsoever. Hanaan and Dalios were among them.
After the initial clash, the two of them were quickly separated from Corwyn and Teo, and became occupied with their own battles. Before they knew it, they had moved away quite a bit from their previous location.
It was not like Hanaan disliked the present situation though. This was the first real battle he fought in for a while now, and his hot-blooded nature began to gradually rise to the surface. With a kick, he made the nearby bandit tumble, losing his balance. Hanaan's follow-up was a quick strike to the throat. Without a word, the bandit collapsed to the ground. There was no time to relax though since a camel rider was swiftly approaching Hanaan, longsword ready to carve through him. Hanaan grinned as he dodged the strike by making a roll, and jumped up with no pause in between to slash at the camel's legs. With a shriek, the animal fell over, dropping its rider face-first into the sand. He tried to get up, groaning, but Hanaan acted first and pierced through his chest with the two scimitars.
(Yes! This is it! The pressure, the excitement, the adrenaline! This is the feeling I have missed for so long!)
Fitting to a man who wielded his swords for a living, Hanaan was a true battle fanatic. The danger of dying, the pain from wounds, the screams of the fighters, those were all secondary to him! What mattered most was to enjoy the battle, and to test who was stronger.
Unfortunately, most of those bandits were far too weak to give him the thrill of a fight to the death. He had slain over 20 of those weaklings, and felt far from tired. What he was searching for was a challenge, a duel that could entertain him. The fights until then felt just like killing time.
At the same time, Dalios was battling two foes at once. Although, "battling" was probably the wrong word. A more appropriate description of Dalios' actions was "dominating" his opponents. He swung his battle spear relentlessly, giving the two bandits no window for counter-attacks at all. They both were gritting their teeth, struggling to hold on against the ruthless assault of the large man. The pressure was getting bigger and bigger, and at last, they reacted a tiny bit too late. The spear blade cut off both of their arms, blood spurting out like a river. Loud screams came out of their mouths. Dalios didn't blink an eye while he swung his spear again, this time cutting off their heads.
The sand was dyed red from all the blood. All the rogues around them had uncertain or frightened looks on their faces, clearly intimidated by what they had just witnessed. Even though they were only two people, Hanaan's and Dalios' battle power far surpassed theirs. In their eyes, they were nothing but monsters.
Hanaan paid them no heed. He turned around and laughed at his partner.
"Hahaha, look at you, Dalios! You're all fired up, to the point where even your skin is becoming red!"
Dalios looked down at himself. Indeed, he was covered in so much blood by now that there was hardly any clean spot on his skin. He looked up at Hanaan again and refuted, emotionlessly:
"You're the fired-up one, Hanaan."
"Haha, I guess you're right!"
Hanaan laughed a little more, before he began to look around himself. The bandits took a few steps back, as if his gaze alone could devour them. But Hanaan paid them no heed. He sighed.
"It doesn't seem like Corwyn and Teo are anywhere near us. Do you think they died?"
"Unlikely."
"Yeah, I also think those two will manage. Not that we would be able to help them in this current situation anyway. So let's clean up here first and then look for them!"
The red-haired man smacked his palms together, then looked around again while grinning evilly.
"Now then, who wants to be next?"