In battle, the basic principle was to choose the battlefield that worked to your advantage, rather than being led by the enemy.
"I'll tell you how to fight them," Ghislain announced.
As he explained, the expressions of the mercenaries changed repeatedly. Some still looked anxious, but most appeared impressed.
This young employer had already prepared for such a situation.
"A-amazing!"
"How did you know and prepare for this in advance?"
"I'll trust only in you, young lord!"
The mercenaries reignited their fighting spirit. Confidence surged as they believed that, by following his words, they could indeed win this fight.
"Get plenty of rest during the day. When the battle begins, it will be a long night."
Following Ghislain's orders, the mercenaries rested quietly during the day, conserving their strength.
When night fell, the Palors returned and began to steal the lamps. The mercenaries no longer reacted; they just kept their heads down as if in fear.
Soon, only a few lamps were left, and their visibility had greatly diminished.
Hehehehe…
The Palors left again, only their eerie laughter lingering.
And the next night...
Swish!
The last lamp was taken, and they were plunged into total darkness.
Even though some trees had been cleared, the forest was still thick, and the faint moonlight couldn't even illuminate the person next to them.
Hehehehe…
Everyone held their breath, frozen in place. The silence was so heavy that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Rustle… rustle…
At last, the Palors began to close in.
With all light gone, the Palors had nothing to fear.
Surrounded by hundreds of Palors, the mercenaries broke out in cold sweat.
Though they couldn't see them, they could feel the presence of something in front of them, and a primal fear began to rise.
Hehehehe…
The Palors moved slowly before them, their presence tangible.
Now, they would either kill or drag off the mercenaries as prey.
At that moment, Ghislain shouted, "Now!"
At his command, everyone tore what they had been holding.
Whoosh!
White orbs the size of a child's head rose into the air, shining brightly.
More than a hundred orbs floated, lighting up the surroundings as bright as day.
What they had torn open were scrolls of the 1st-circle spell "Light."
This was Ghislain's secret weapon against the Palors, contained in a box he'd brought with him.
Kaaaaak!
The Palors screamed in agony, shielding their eyes from the sudden light.
The mercenaries, seeing the Palors's appearance for the first time, looked shocked.
"What… they look… like that…?"
Their figures were vaguely human-like, but they were tall, emaciated, with four vertically-slit eyes and pointed ears. Their mouths stretched to their ears, revealing sharp teeth. They had no noses, only two nostrils on their faces, and their cheeks were lined with grotesque veins.
Instead of hands, they had long, sickle-like claws, and their arms were covered in writhing tentacles.
It seemed they had used these tentacles to steal the lamps.
"Attack now!"
Ghislain shouted at the mercenaries, who had momentarily hesitated at the sight.
"Charge!"
Kaor and the Cerberus Mercenary Corps were already ramming their weapons into the Palors with gusto.
The rest of the mercenaries raised their weapons and began to attack.
Unlike the previous night, when their arrows had passed through, the weapons now struck the Palors effectively.
"Heh! I've been itching for a fight! You damn creatures!" Kaor laughed wildly as he grabbed the Palors' faces and stabbed them one by one.
Gillian also swung his axe, mercilessly smashing the Palors' heads.
They unleashed their mana freely, taking down the Palors with ease.
Kaaaak!
The Palors, stunned by the sudden barrage of light, quickly regained their senses and began counterattacking.
The Palors' sickles were sharp enough to pierce human armor and clothing.
Though they were skilled at hunting in darkness, their power was not diminished in lighter conditions. They were still formidable monsters of the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
Some mercenaries began to fall, struck by the Palors' attacks.
There were over three hundred of them, making them a formidable threat even outside of the shadows.
The Palors that had been scattered regrouped and charged at the mercenaries, including Ghislain.
Belinda stepped in front of Ghislain, shouting, "Young master! Fall back!"
Swish!
As her cloak fluttered, dozens of daggers shot out, piercing the Palors.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The daggers, attached to Belinda's clothing, moved like living snakes, targeting the Palors' heads.
With the Palors focusing on Belinda, Ghislain took a moment to scan the battlefield.
"You fools! Hold formation! Don't just charge in mindlessly!"
Before the battle, Ghislain had ordered the mercenaries to set up a formation. But in their excitement, they had charged, breaking the formation.
"Keep the shield wall and fight! Use the shields to block and then attack!"
These weren't soldiers trained in a single unit, so such issues were inevitable.
But Ghislain was the Mercenary King, who had commanded countless mercenaries and dominated many battlefields.
He had dealt with situations like this countless times.
"Gillian, Kaor, Cerberus Mercenaries, buy time for them to reform the line!"
Quickly assessing the battlefield, he moved among the mercenaries, wielding his sword to reorganize them.
Following Ghislain's command, the Cerberus Mercenaries stepped forward while the rest began to retreat to reform the line.
Kaor reluctantly moved to help the mercenaries who had broken formation, and Gillian actively assisted in rebuilding the shield wall.
The Cerberus Mercenaries, skilled and well-coordinated, held off the Palors' attacks effectively.
"Move faster!"
Ghislain, Gillian, and Kaor moved through the Palors ranks, unleashing their mana without restraint.
Only Belinda fought without concern for the mercenaries, destroying the Palors in her immediate vicinity.
Kaaaak!
The Palors, enraged by the interference of Ghislain's team, attacked the mercenaries more viciously.
But the mercenaries, who had some experience with monsters, managed to hold their ground as the Palors' focus was split.
"Move quickly!"
"Raise your shields!"
"Good! Form up, form up!"
The mercenaries with shields stepped up to block the Palors' attacks. As the others moved behind them, they formed a circular formation, enclosing themselves.
With the formation set, the mercenaries' casualties rapidly decreased.
Seeing this, Ghislain shouted, "Mercenaries, hold your ground! Cerberus Mercenaries, Gillian, Kaor, fill in the gaps!"
With the mercenaries holding their positions, Ghislain took a deep breath.
Now that they could handle themselves, it was his turn to sweep through the battlefield.
He unleashed both of his mana cores, filling the air with energy.
His eyes glowed red, and mana emanated from him like red heat waves.
Slash!
Ghislain moved with astonishing speed, cutting down Palors left and right.
In the darkness, each movement created red lines that flashed like lightning.
With each strike of the red line, a Palors' head fell.
The mercenaries, momentarily forgetting their own fights, muttered in awe.
"What… he's even stronger than usual?"
"I thought he was amazing before, but he's even stronger than that?"
During their previous monster battles, Ghislain had only used one mana core.
Using both cores took a toll on his body, so he reserved it for critical moments.
But now he needed to use his full strength, or the mercenaries would start falling to the Palors's overwhelming numbers.
Crack! Crack!
With each flash of the red line, the number of Palors rapidly decreased.
The Cerberus Mercenaries, inspired by his power, pushed forward with renewed vigor.
"What are you doing? Just watching? We need to fight too!" one mercenary shouted, rallying the others to move toward the enemy.
The mercenaries holding the shield wall opened gaps, allowing others to strike with spears and swords.
Though they weren't perfectly trained, they managed to hold the formation with Gillian and Kaor's assistance.
"Push them back! Push them back!"
The mercenaries, becoming familiar with the cooperation, tightened the shield wall and pressed the Palors back.
As time passed, the Palors' numbers visibly dwindled.
Kaaaak!
The Palors finally realized they had walked into a trap.
Though invincible in darkness, this continued assault could lead to their extinction.
Kaaaak!
The Palors leader, who had been hiding and attacking from the shadows, signaled its kin to retreat.
Though smaller in stature and inconspicuous, it was actually the strongest among them.
After signaling, it turned to retreat.
Just as it did, a human, blazing with terrifying red eyes, charged toward it like lightning.
It was too late to escape.
Seeing no choice, the leader shrieked and swung its sickle in a desperate counterattack.
But its sickle cut through empty air.
Sensing something above, the leader looked up.
The human with red eyes was smiling cruelly, swinging a sword downward.
"So, you were the leader."
Ghislain was certain this creature had been commanding the Palors.
From his keen observation of the battlefield, he had noticed the creature's actions as if issuing orders.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Without hesitation, Ghislain's sword cut down, splitting the leader's head and body in half.
No ordinary monster could withstand the power released by two mana cores.
Kaaaak!
With their leader dead, the Palors panicked, scattering in confusion.
"Everyone, finish them off!"
"Yeah! Let's kill them all!"
"Don't let a single one escape!"
Following Ghislain's command, the mercenaries threw aside their shields and attacked the Palors with ferocity.
Some were injured by the flailing Palors, but the furious mercenaries ignored their wounds, eager to plunge their weapons into the creatures.
Kraaaak!
In the end, most of the Palors lay dead, their bodies torn apart.
Only a few managed to escape into the shadows, avoiding the light.
"Stop! Don't pursue them!"
Though only a few remained, the mercenaries had no way to win in total darkness.
Reluctantly, the mercenaries heeded Ghislain's call and halted.
"Haa…"
Ghislain exhaled deeply, his body momentarily swaying from the aftereffects of using both cores.
The battle was over, and everyone turned to him in silence.
Then, one by one, the mercenaries erupted in cheers, surrounding him.
"We won! We did it!"
"Hahaha! We survived!"
The mercenaries, filled with exhilaration, shouted in victory.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]