190 – Ambush is fun (1)
There is one saying that is widely accepted among military scholars, commanders, and staff.
‘Operation plans never remain in effect for more than five minutes after the start of a war.’
As they said, after leaving Lamasana Castle, our strategy of ambushing the guys from Merangas and Loria Castle on the way to Raseu Castle also went a bit wrong.
“Captain Martin, damn it… wasn’t there a surprise attack on Trois Hill? “But why are we waiting in the woods?”
“Commander Otto, you talk a lot. Just be thankful that you can surprise them. “Why are there so many complaints?”
According to the original plan, we should attack them when they pass by Troyes Hill.
However, perhaps because they thought there was a risk of getting hit in the back by choosing the easy route, Barcelo’s friends chose to travel on a mountain road with a slight incline rather than Trois Hill.
“Thanks to you, we left behind all the traps, falling rocks, and even that precious oil drum that we made in Trois. “I should have set it on fire with that oil drum.”
It is thrilling to think of a fireworksman rolling an oil drum along the slope of a hill with few trees and setting fire to it.
No matter how much the so-called Auror Masters and Grand Wizards are monsters, they cannot use their hands or feet in the face of a sudden fire.
If a sudden firestorm spreads among weaker ordinary soldiers, they literally have no choice but to burn to death.
‘We were able to burn tens of thousands of people to death in a short period of time without fighting.’
However, I tried to pretend that I was not sad, so I twitched her shoulder, and Karin, who was next to her, hit back.
“Commander Otto, can’t you see the leaves rustling down here?”
“Ha, I was expecting an exciting play with fire. “If you start a fire on a mountain path full of dry leaves, even your allies are likely to die… After all, the leader of our archers is an elf, so he sees things like this well.”
“Even the unit commander knew and grumbled.”
As we were chatting quietly enough not to be heard by the enemy, a mercenary quietly approached us and spoke to us.
“Captain Martin, the flag is up there. “The enemy is approaching from the other side.”
When I quietly lowered my right hand from top to bottom, everyone completely stopped chatting and just looked straight ahead in silence.
I could see dust rising along with the sound of footsteps.
Just as Marshal Armand had predicted, it was certain that the Grand Army of Barceló would pass this way.
Everyone read the mood, so they didn’t express their joy out loud, but they smiled as they strengthened the hand holding the weapon.
But work always falls apart just when you think everything is going well…
I raised my voice and warned everyone around me.
“Don’t just look straight ahead, but watch your surroundings well. “It gets annoying when they realize there’s an ambush.”
Ambush is a double-edged sword.
If successful, it allows you to easily defeat a large number of enemies with just a small number of enemies, but if you fail in the middle, there are major side effects.
I can’t say that the reason for failure is ‘this is the exact reason’, but most of the time it is because they are discovered by scouts planted by the enemy.
Archers like Karin, who had the best senses such as vision and hearing, began to closely examine the surrounding bushes and trees.
“This is when I’m most nervous…”
As I held my breath and looked in the direction they were coming from, I saw the Barcelo guys I had seen countless times before walking in a line.
It looks like they didn’t notice the ambush, but they didn’t make any small talk and were marching quietly while keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
Mercenary executives and regular soldier platoon leaders looked around and gave orders.
“You never know where the enemy may be hiding. So, be very vigilant about your surroundings!”
We are humans lying in ambush, so it is right to kill them as much as possible, and they just need to be on high alert.
So, it would be important to continue to draw attention like that.
“Captain, shouldn’t we give an order to attack quickly?”
“There is an army 3 km away from here, led by Marshal Armand himself. There will be a fight with those guys and we will hit them when they start to panic. “If you attack now, you and I will lose our heads for violating military orders.”
The guys in front will have already noticed, but the Barcelo guys will go straight ahead without retreating or taking a detour.
The situation is urgent, as if they are on fire, but the Marshal is leading only a small force of about 2,000 soldiers, including the Emperor’s Guard Knights and elite soldiers.
‘Of course, there are another 3,000 reinforcements a little distance away.’
So, the Barcelo guys will definitely take the bait, Marshal Armand’s troops.
“Master, then how about having the soldiers check their equipment one last time? “Shouldn’t we fight soon?”
What passed by about 15 minutes ago was the flag of what appears to be an enemy commander, so they will collide in about an hour or two.
“Archers tell us to hang the bowstring. “Everyone prepare.”
Archers including Karin were able to hang their bowstrings and shoot as ordered.
“Captain, what kind of magic should we use?”
“Earth attribute magic. If the fire spreads, we will all die, and if we use water magic, the floor will turn into mud and it will be difficult for us.”
“Yes.”
Lucia straightened her tail and delivered my instructions to the magicians under her command.
When about an hour and a half had passed, a loud trumpet sound and the sound of a flag sounded from the Barcelo military procession.
“2,000 Enemies ahead!!! 2,000 Enemies!!!”
After hearing that, the excited recruits grabbed their spears and tried to stand up…
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Me and other mercenary executives pressed my shoulders.
“If I show up without an order, will I get kicked?”
“Let’s not be like people calling me over you.”
“Just shut up.”
However, as long as you don’t yell or do anything stupid here, no one will be bothered by this after this battle.
Why? By the time they got excited after seeing those 2,000 people, the enemy had completely set up an ambush.
‘It’s a big ship, damn it.’
According to the scouts, their army is close to 25,000.
Therefore, there is no way they would back down after seeing our army numbering only 2,000 people.
According to my guess, they tried to escape this zone at high speed.
“2,000 Enemy detachments appear! “It is presumed that they were the commander’s unit that marched out to ambush us and were disqualified!”
“Hurry! “March quickly!”
“Hurry up without breaking the formation!”
Under the control of knights or mercenary executives, the soldiers began to hurriedly pass through the not-so-wide road at a speed that did not push each other.
“Let’s beat up those idiots and make some money!”
Even the mercenaries carrying trivial weapons seemed excited when they heard that they were dealing with only 2,000 out of over 20,000 friendly troops.
“There are 10 times as many of us, there’s no way we can’t kill those things!”
They must have been in a depressed mood after fighting a tiresome defensive battle and retreating to Raseu Castle when Lamasana was breached, but now they have an opportunity like this…
‘It’s strange that I’m not excited.’
My heart is pounding hard right now as I think about stabbing those naive and stupid people.
After waiting a little longer, a significant portion of the enemy army completely entered the jaws of our army.
At that time, the sound of arrows cutting through the wind and the sound of trumpets rang out from the friendly camp.
It was a signal to break the heads of all the guys walking leisurely over there.
With that signal, our mercenary flag bearers raised their flag high.
“Long live the Whitebeard Mercenaries!”
It is a shout that lets you know that your allies are here, but it also tells you that you have been caught in an ambush, so there is nothing better than this to lower the enemy’s morale.
In addition, other mercenary units and noble units also shouted loudly.
“Long live Baron Tolkien!”
“Long live the Black Chicken Mercenaries!”
“Long live the wine barrel mercenaries!”
As soon as they shouted, the archers and wizards of our mercenary group stood up and pointed their weapons at them.
“Ready!”
“Only use earth attribute magic! “If it catches fire or the floor becomes muddy, our troops won’t be able to fight!”
The enemy soldiers who saw this instantly fell into confusion.
“Uh, uhh. What the f*ck?!”
The soldiers who encountered this unexpected situation were unable to even aim their weapons properly even though we were on their left.
“Save the person!!”
This is a time when people such as platoon commanders, centurion commanders, junior and intermediate knights must step in and calm the soldiers’ confusion…
Our mercenary archers, including Karin, fired arrows at them first.
“Don’t aim and shoot for no reason!”
As arrows rained down, screams came from everywhere.
“Ugh!”
Then, Lucia and other wizards used earth magic to create a stone block the size of half a human body, which could be used as a catapult.
When it flew to where the enemy was and stuck, those hit by the stone were immediately flattened.
Those who were lucky enough to survive complained of terrible pain.
“Kill me! Ugh..”
Soon after, Lucia seemed to want to show off that she was the most elite magician in our mercenary army.
I made 5, no, 7 stones that could be used as catapults by myself and threw them at the enemy camp.
At that moment, the thought occurred to me that I should never do anything that would make Lucia hate me.
‘You can dodge arrows, but what if a stone the size of a carriage flies at you at the speed of a bullet?’
I don’t think any country can avoid it.
An intense long-distance battle lasted for ten minutes, and then the assault trumpet sounded.
“All forces charge!”