Chapter 206 - Thwack-thwack, Sometimes Thud-thud (3)
The beginning of tactics is to know what weapons you possess. In that respect, both Enkrid and Krais were faithful to the basics of tactics.
Audin had a large build, so he was bound to stand out on the battlefield. If such an Audin were to rampage on the battlefield, could the enemy ignore him? He was a visible enemy, the one who had destroyed their siege weapons. They must be itching to catch and kill him. He was the best-shaped bait to draw their attention, and it was the best time of day.
"Audin."
"Yes, brother. Leave it to me."
Enkrid left the detailed explanation to Krais. The gist of the operation was simple. If Audin made a scene in broad daylight, everyone would be busy watching him. The point was to make noise and threaten from the east, then strike from the west.
"Hahaha, this will be fun, brother Bug-Eyes," Audin said with a hearty laugh after hearing the full explanation.
If things went wrong, he could be surrounded and beaten to death, but if he were afraid of such things, he wouldn't be in the Madmen Company in the first place.
On the third day of the battle, Enkrid intended to show the 'thwack' of the operation once again. Ah, of course, the blade he would be thrusting had a high probability of becoming a 'thud' rather than a 'thwack.'
When he explained the strategy he had thought of to Krais, Krais tilted his head and said, "What kind of bullshit is that?"
His tone was extremely rude, so Enkrid smacked him on the back of the head.
Thwack.
Perhaps he had put a little too much strength into it, as Krais's head wobbled greatly. Krais, who had returned his head to its original position like a roly-poly toy, quickly opened his mouth.
"I roughly understand. The thwack and the thud."
"Right. The thwack and the thud."
Dunbakel, who was listening to their conversation from the side, inwardly doubted their sanity.
'What kind of nonsense is that?'
But she wasn't in a position to step in and say anything, so she kept her mouth shut. She was an uninvited guest, after all. She could only watch and stand there blankly. When something actually happened, didn't they take that small panther with them instead of her?
That could have brought about a sense of misery, but…
"Grrrrowl."
…the panther didn't even look at her. It seemed busy grooming its front claws. That indifference was actually a relief.
More than anything…
'Is this a flower garden?'
Every single one of them was mad in the head, but their looks were also mad. Starting from Enkrid, to Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Krais, they were like a collection of flowers gathered according to different tastes. Dunbakel herself wasn't particularly into looks, but isn't it true that food that looks good also tastes good? They were certainly good to look at. She didn't want to leave this flower garden. She wanted to stay. So, to survive here, she would have to try harder and prove her worth.
"I'll go with you," Dunbakel said, stepping forward with resolve. It was a declaration that she would accompany Audin.
"You will? Alright."
Enkrid answered unconcernedly. All she had to do was loiter around Audin, so it wouldn't be a problem if she went with him.
After that, the operation began immediately. Sneaking out of the city was no trouble at all.
"What do you take the Gilpin Guild for? We have at least three secret dog holes."
Since the enemy had surrounded the city walls in earnest, it wasn't easy to go out through the opposite gate either, as scouts were constantly roaming around there. And they were mounted scouts. Thanks to them being on horseback, they were hard to catch but easy to spot.
Then they just had to sneak out. On the road that ran alongside the south gate, they removed a few stones, and a hole that was half a tunnel appeared. The only problem was…
"It's narrow, brother."
…Audin's build was just too big. This mad religious soldier had to go sideways even to get out of a postern gate.
"Uh, I didn't expect this," said Gilpin, who was acting as their guide.
"Widen it."
Enkrid gave a simple and clear answer. If it's narrow, just widen it.
"Then it wouldn't be a dog hole… it could become a passage for the enemy to come in," the bald Gilpin muttered from the side. Everything he said was true.
"Just make it so they can't even get near the city walls," Enkrid replied. It wasn't because he had some grand plan, but to Krais, who was listening from behind, it was a statement that made him nod.
That's right. If they did it properly, the enemy wouldn't even be able to get close to the walls. That was the flow of this battle. The Border Guard was a fortress city, but they hadn't dug a moat, so the defensive power of the walls themselves couldn't be called high. There were many watchtowers, so they could feed them plenty of arrows, but…
'That alone isn't enough.'
If they charged with shields up, how would they stop them? Arrows alone wouldn't be enough. Pouring oil or hot water from above and throwing stones has clear limits. What if ladders start coming up from all sides? If the numbers are different, they'll be overrun. The advantage of the walls could crumble in an instant. They would also be vulnerable to siege weapons like mangonels or trebuchets. There was no way to stop them if they brought strategic weapons like siege towers. This is why a moat was important. It wasn't for nothing that they dug in front of the gate and filled it with water. Even if it smelled a bit rotten from lack of maintenance, a single moat made defending a castle much easier. And maybe build some traps.
'And use the collapsing outer wall strategy…'
It was an instinct. Just as Enkrid half-lost his mind when he saw a sword, Krais had a habit of assuming the worst-case scenario and then imagining the best way to block it. Krais, who had been thinking about everything from the construction of the castle to the overall defensive facilities, shook his head. In any case, this time, they would make it so the enemy couldn't approach the walls. That was enough.
"Are you bringing back bread this time too?" was the question directed at Enkrid as he exited the widened dog hole.
Thanks to Audin, Enkrid was exiting with only his head bowed. In that posture, he looked back. Krais, who was usually always anxious, was looking at him with a refreshing expression.
"We'll see."
That was their farewell. After getting out, he cast his gaze to the distance, and he could see smoke cutting across the sky. For some reason, the enemy was still lighting their ovens. What was this? Confidence, probably?
"The Lord said that there are times when His side is empty and He is lonely," Audin recited a prayer. It was a prayer with a clear meaning. He was saying he would send a few souls to the Lord. In other words, he would beat a few guys up with his fists and have them knock on heaven's door.
"Keep it moderate. It's a problem if you stand out too much," Enkrid reminded him of their objective.
"Do not worry, brother. I was once recognized as a man of neither excess nor deficiency."
Is that right? It didn't sound like something the man who always demanded excessive training would say.
"Your gaze is insolent, brother."
That hulk of a man had sharp intuition, too. Enkrid nodded and said, "Let's go."
Jaxen followed behind Enkrid, and Audin moved with Dunbakel. Today, Rem and Ragna were left behind. A small number would be enough for this.
"You're going without me? Without me? Just me? Leaving me behind?" Rem had a fit, but when it came to moving without being noticed, wasn't Jaxen the best?
Esther followed without a moment's rest.
"Myar."
As they hid in the bushes at the base of the wall, the panther let out a small cry. This panther had been missing for a few days, but now it seemed more energetic than ever.
"Jaxen."
"I'll match your pace. Kill the sound, kill the presence. We'll walk to the target point."
The Sinister Wildcat. A nickname that Rem and the other unit members often used for Jaxen. They didn't call him that for nothing. Hadn't even Rem said that his presence couldn't be read if he wasn't paying attention? Jaxen showed his skill firsthand. He killed his footsteps, used the uneven terrain and bushes to move, and occasionally sat behind a rock if he saw one.
While sitting behind a rock, a group of Martai scouts had passed by less than twenty paces away, but just as intended, they weren't caught, and they were able to reach a point where they could see the rear supply base again. With a perfect grasp of the surrounding terrain and even keeping the scouts' intentions in mind, combined with his silent steps…
'He puts assassins to shame.'
Enkrid thought, and then took a position in a tree. To his left and right, Esther and Jaxen were looking towards the supply base. Now was the time to wait for the commotion.
Greg, the 1st Battalion Commander under Olf, was a man worthy of being called a fierce general. He was a charge captain who led his unit with his own martial prowess. And what is a charge unit? It means the unit at the very front.
"The bear bastard who broke the siege weapons has appeared!"
The cry of a messenger reached Greg's ears. The hulk who had broken the mangonels. He was impressive. That monstrous strength seemed not of a human. So, is being strong everything? Does that decide the outcome of a battlefield? Absurd! The result of a battle is not so easily decided.
Anyway, how did he get out? Did the gate open? That wasn't it. The city was surrounded. The scouts were constantly moving. If something like that had happened, he would have known immediately.
'Did he sneak out?'
Just because the city was surrounded didn't mean there were no holes to slip through. Being brave doesn't mean being stupid. Greg sensed his opponent's intention. He had sneaked out and been caught.
'He's aiming for the supply unit again!'
Constantly attacking the supply lines would be their only way to survive. Hadn't the 2nd Battalion Commander, Zimmer, said it?
"If we just surround them and hold out, we win. What that warmonger can do is so obvious. I won't fall for it twice."
Zimmer had been grinding his teeth. The hulk who was discovered while moving secretly. It must be a force they had no choice but to send out due to their limited resources. They wouldn't be able to hold back such a capable person for a task that required a small strike force.
Greg moved with conviction. Of course, it was the wrong answer. Audin was just moving at the front, busy drawing attention.
"Brothers, are you on your way to meet the Lord?" he shouted, throwing punches at the approaching enemy soldiers while spouting nonsense.
Each punch looked extremely slow and dull. To the enemy soldiers, it seemed like as long as they didn't get hit, they would be fine. It was that slow. In fact, the beastkin wielding a scimitar next to him looked more threatening. She was rampaging with her white hair flying; she was no ordinary foe.
So? Unless they were knights, wasn't it extremely difficult to overturn a numerical disadvantage?
Immediately, the 1st charge company under Greg moved. The armed infantry charged, armed with spears and shields. It was Martai's pride, the charge unit. They were an infantry unit focused on charging, with relatively light armor, large shields that covered half their bodies, and spears.
"There are so many!" Dunbakel shouted.
Audin gauged the numbers. About forty to fifty men. It would be fine even if they clashed. It was just fifty infantrymen. He just had to dodge the long spears and charge in. After making the distance his own, one power-laden punch. An honest blow that didn't even require the Balaf-style martial arts would shatter a part of the infantry formation. Then he could just jump in among the enemy. Then those long spears would actually be a hindrance.
Naturally, the enemy would try to crush him with their shields, but that was an absurd notion. He could just push them back with strength and break them one by one. But Audin did not do that. He parried and dodged the approaching enemy soldiers' spears with the back of his hand and swung his heavy fists slowly. Occasionally, he would pick up a stone from the ground and throw it.
HWOONG!
KWANG!
The stone that hit a shield exploded, and shattered pieces scattered in all directions.
"A strong idiot!" an enemy infantryman shouted.
It was what he wanted. He had tried to look that way.
'Just, this much.'
Draw their attention, and lure them into a false sense of security. Krais had emphasized it about sixteen times before he left.
"You must absolutely not beat them all to death. You have to trade a few blows and then come back."
'I'm not that savage brother.'
Audin followed Krais's words. The intention was obvious. The opponent was underestimating their allies, so they would make full use of it. Before coming here, Audin had also accumulated many years of combat experience. It was easy to read the big-eyed brother's intentions.
"Are you going to fight hiding behind your shields, brothers?" Audin said, deliberately putting on an angry face.
"A hulk who just relies on his strength!" a company commander under Greg shouted. He thought he could just tighten the noose around his opponent and win.
A commotion arose. The rock-like stones that Audin occasionally threw could be fatal. More than that, if one were to be caught by that monstrous strength, the end would not be good. The enemy soldiers did not recklessly close the distance and only thrust their spears.
Audin faithfully carried out his role. A commotion at the front, a conspicuous hulk. Naturally, all eyes were on him. That was enough.
Enkrid raided the supply base once more. And in doing so, he intended to confirm what was bothering him.
"Jaxen. Go around the back of the supply unit and check out where the enemy soldiers are gathered, their formations, and things like that."
Instead of answering, Jaxen blinked.
'Me? Do I have to? Is it absolutely necessary?'
To speak so clearly with one's eyes was a talent.
"Just do it." Enkrid pushed. As he had realized at some point, these guys listened to his orders better than he thought.
"Very well."
Though his expression was blank, Jaxen moved as told. Enkrid stroked Esther's head and said, "Want some bread?"
It was a matter of the two of them hitting the supply base. The opponent had prepared an ambush, but Enkrid with his keen five senses had caught it and broken through with strength. Instead of killing everyone, he moved his feet quickly, set fire to the tents again, and stole bread.
It was while Audin was causing a commotion at the front. The opponent's defenses were stronger than before, but that was all. Audin was rampaging like that. The guarding soldiers' gazes were subtly drawn to the front. Thanks to that, the job was much easier.
Watching this, Jaxen began to circle around the back of the enemy soldiers. Since he had already moved…
"Esther, let's go."
While he was at it, Enkrid destroyed a few ovens.
"You bastard!" an enemy soldier roared in anger. To be precise, it was the one who looked like the commander.
'Should I kill him?'
He hesitated for a moment, then just left him. If he fought properly, it would only raise their guard. Enkrid ran again. A hit-and-run. He had tried it a few times against the gnolls, but it was twice as easy as then. Audin had also drawn their attention, his skills had improved since then, and Esther's condition was also very good.
The panther's performance was quite useful.
"Grrrrr!"
Along with a chilling growl, she would break enemy soldiers' shins or slash them with her claws, and her movements were so swift.
'She's gotten stronger too.'
That thought naturally occurred to him.
On the way back, Enkrid naturally took in the movements of the soldiers he had faced. He remembered, recalled, and reviewed. There was something to be learned from this as well. No, it was natural to learn.
Jaxen would confirm the part that was bothering him. So…
'There's some leisure.'
Enkrid returned to his original state. A path of discipline, gauging the direction to advance along with the sword and training.