Chapter 17: Decisive Battle - Part Two
About two thousand enemy soldiers rushed in unison towards the breached entrance of the fortress.
The soldiers of Nonette fought desperately to prevent them.
"Charge! Push your way inside!"
From the ground, the commander of Mendashium Kingdom shouted, and the peasant soldiers, armed with crude armor and long spears, ran according to his orders.
Looking at the faces of the running peasant soldiers, they wore expressions of suspended thought. It could be said that they were escaping from reality.
"They are swarming the entrance! Since we know where they are coming from, we can drive them back! Pour hot oil and boiling water from above to slow them down even a little!"
"With the piled sandbags, we can definitely halt their advance! Pierce them with spears, stack up the bodies, and fortify our defenses further!"
From the top and inside the fortress, the calm situational assessments of the Nonette commanders were conveyed, and the soldiers executed their movements steadily.
Everyone was preparing to fight with all their might, with thoughts racing through their minds, so as not to let the fortress fall.
Finally, both sides clashed for real.
First, the peasant soldiers of Mendashium Kingdom swarmed the entrance, attempting to cross the broken doors and enter inside.
At that moment, my unit deployed on the upper part of the fortress's outer wall unleashed attacks against them.
"Oil! Pour more oil! If they get burned and go berserk, they will hinder the invasion! Set fires, ignite the firewood! Keep adding oil to the pot! Let the oil burn if it must! Better yet, pour the burning oil on them!"
"Drop stones at the entrance! Make the footing as difficult as possible to impede the enemy's advance! If possible, split their heads open!"
"Shoot arrows! Cast magic spells! But don't expose yourselves too much! You'll be shot down from below! Lord Milimos, follow the same strategy and blow away the enemy soldiers with your magic!"
The soldiers attacked the enemy soldiers gathered at the entrance.
Enemy soldiers, burned by the scorching oil, screamed in pain as they writhed on the ground, only to be trampled by their supposed allies who followed behind.
Some were hit by rocks and arrows falling from above, becoming victims of the stampeding troops.
One after another, enemy soldiers rushed into the fortress.
"Fire begets fire, and fire becomes flame, let the flame take shape. Wrap yourself in the shell of a blazing fireball, carry the gusts of explosion within, and fly, Fireball. Eustau Sperelica!"
With the power boosted by my imperial-made staff, I blew away the enemy soldiers surging at the entrance with a fireball spell. The few magic soldiers of Nonette, who could be counted on one hand, also cast regular fireballs.
The enemy soldiers were scattered by the force of the magic, and for a moment, the ground at the entrance became visible. However, it quickly disappeared behind the crowd and became invisible again.
As I was carefully observing the situation of the enemy forces, I was suddenly grabbed by the collar and pulled backward. It was the doing of Alektem.
"Lord Milimos! You have exposed yourself too much!"
Alektem's usual composed demeanor was replaced by a fierce expression, resembling that of a war demon.
Overwhelmed by his intensity, I could only respond with a nod, unable to utter a word.
Upon confirming my safety, Alektem immediately turned to give instructions to our allied soldiers.
"Soldiers deployed inside the fortress, they're here! Fight with all your might!"
"Uooooooo!"
Right after Alektem's command, I stood up and shifted my gaze toward the inside of the fortress. Enemy soldiers who had entered the inner side of the fortress, which had become a maze with stacked sandbags, were advancing from inside the gate.
There were several gaps in the sandbags that were impassable for people, and behind each of them, soldiers armed with long spears were waiting in anticipation.
"Thrust! After thrusting, withdraw! Then thrust again!"
"Uraaaaaa!"
Long spears were thrust out like traps from the gaps in the sandbags, impaling the incoming enemy soldiers. The armor of the enemy peasant militia was thin leather. Whether the spearhead was made of bronze or not, it could pierce through.
It was a pathway-like arrangement of sandbags with spear traps flying out. The enemy soldiers had to advance through this. Even if they tried to stop, they couldn't, as they were pushed by the following troops pressing on their backs.
And the more they advanced, the more the enemy soldiers would be wounded by the thrusting spears.
Of course, there were clever individuals among the enemy soldiers who tried to climb over the trenches or attempt to demolish the sandbags.
However, the enemy soldiers who climbed over became easy targets for a few archers who were positioned behind the spear troops, and those who tried to demolish the sandbags couldn't resist the flow of people generated by their own allies and ended up falling down.
The enemy soldiers who were pierced by spears and fell became obstacles in their comrades' footing, causing a delay in the march of the following peasant militia. And with that delay, the chances of spears piercing the enemy soldiers increased.
By means of this deadly formation, lives were vanishing in dozens every few seconds.
The leading enemy soldier managed to miraculously make it through that hellish path.
However, waiting for them at the exit of the path were fifty highly skilled spear users from the Nenette Kingdom.
"Damn it!"
The peasant militia desperately launched a suicide charge, but they were impaled through the chest by the spears that were simultaneously thrust straight out. The movements of the spears, without any command, were as smooth and unified as if they were living creatures.
Witnessing the battlefield in such a shocking state, I suddenly came back to my senses.
"This is no time to be watching leisurely!"
I tightened my grip on the staff and aimed the tip towards the entrance on the outer side, where enemy soldiers were rushing in rather than inside the fortress.
"From sparks to fire, from fire to flames, shape the flames into a sphere. Enveloped in the shell of raging fire, conceive the winds of explosion within, and fly, fireball! Eustau Sperelica!"
A magical fireball materialized, scattering the enemy soldiers with flames and blasts. Several individuals at the point of impact died instantly, and the blown-away enemy soldiers also sustained injuries.
The other magic soldiers, apart from me, also launched fireballs towards the densely packed enemy soldiers, inflicting considerable damage.
However, we were only four hundred against an enemy force of two thousand.
Due to this numerical disparity, the enemy's pressure didn't ease, and we couldn't seem to gain any advantage.
And finally, a situation arose where casualties occurred on our side as well.
Under the overwhelming pressure, a heated soldier ventured out of the outer wall to shoot arrows, but ended up being shot by enemy soldiers instead.
"Argh!"
"Arrows! Arrows are coming from below! Take cover!"
A medic approached the soldier hit by an arrow, but upon seeing the arrow pierced through his face, shook his head at his throat and quietly nodded sideways.
It was an anticlimactic way to die.
The soldiers were shaken by the death of their comrade.
Perhaps this disturbance reached the inside of the fortress, as cries resembling those of our allies also arose from there.
"Someone's descending from the sandbags—Gwaaaaah!"
"Here! Overcome this—Uuuuugh!"
"Not gonna let you, you idiots!"
While listening to their voices, filled with determination to fight back, I pointed the Imperial-made staff towards the enemy camp and cast a spell.
"From sparks to fire, from fire to flames, shape the flames into a sphere. Enveloped in the shell of raging fire, conceive the winds of explosion within, and fly, fireball! Eustau Sperelica!"
Without witnessing the outcome of the launched fireball, I encouraged my allies loudly.
"We need to do what must be done! For every moment we hesitate, our allies die! For every action we take, the enemy dies!"
To be honest, I wasn't saying anything particularly great or clever, but it inspired the soldiers of the Nonette Kingdom.
"Uoooh! Kill them all!"
"Get out of our country, you beasts of the plains!"
The soldiers inside the fortress struggled with weapons in hand, while allies on the outer walls shot arrows and dropped objects that could be dropped.
I also cast spells, and when my magic ran low to the point where I couldn't cast any more, I used a secret technique called "Divine Arts" that made me tireless. I ran around replenishing stones and arrows.
Everyone fought desperately, unable to perceive the passage of time, like weapons that killed enemy soldiers.
And after defeating countless enemies and seeing how many allies were injured, a single sound rang out on the battlefield.
――Fuwa------n. Fuwa------n.
A peculiar sound, like a deflated trumpet or a horn without a nasal tone.
The moment this sound rang out, the peasant soldiers who had been relentlessly advancing turned around and ran away.
"That sound just now... was it a signal for the enemy's retreat?"
Watching the enemy withdraw, I stopped using divine arts and sat down on the ground. I couldn't stand up due to the overwhelming feeling of ending my first war and the mental fatigue.
In contrast to me, sitting so carelessly, the surviving seasoned soldiers who had been fighting in the fortress glared at the retreating enemy with stern expressions. It was as if they were thinking that the enemy's retreat was a ruse and that they would come back to attack again.
I mentally urged myself to get up, despite my unmoving body, and stood up imitating the soldiers' actions.
Even if it's just for show, I am the Marshal. I must not remain seated so carelessly and become a laughingstock to the soldiers.
While maintaining my posture with determination, Alekthem approached me and gently stroked my head.
"Milimos-sama, going through the front lines in your first battle has given you the expression of a true man. I can't help but look forward to your future growth, my lord."
"You must be joking. I never want to experience something as close to death as this again. Even if I find myself in a situation where I have to fight someday, I'll make sure to prepare and strategize so that I can win more easily."
When I expressed my reluctance, Alektem chuckled.
"Fortunately, we managed to repel the forces of the Mendashium Kingdom. They should remain quiet for the time being."
"They might retreat once, regroup their forces, and come back again, you know?"
"Oh no, they were too reckless. After suffering a major defeat and losing about half of their troops, I doubt they would consider launching another attack. Besides, we've burned their food supplies."
As I listened to Alektem's thoughts, I was surprised.
"...Half of the enemy soldiers means we killed around a thousand people?"
I had been desperately running around during the battle, so I had lost the luxury of paying attention to the overall situation. I didn't expect our side to achieve such great results.
"That's correct. Our casualties were less than a hundred. We successfully defended the fortress, so it's a major victory."
We inflicted roughly ten times the losses on them compared to our own casualties. And we managed to hold the fort, our primary objective.
In terms of numbers and strategic goals, it was a great achievement for the Nonette Kingdom.
But...
"So, around a hundred 'more' people died."
- Although I can't fully comprehend it now, I'll probably see the faces of the soldiers who died while cleaning up the fortress.
At that moment, will I be able to accept the loss of human life?
And will I be able to refrain from harboring blind hatred towards the Mendashium Kingdom?
"...It's not something I should be thinking about when my mind and body are tired."
I used a weakened holy spell to boost my physical and mental strength.
I instinctively felt that without applying spiritual defense through holy magic, I wouldn't be able to clean up the fortress.