Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 276

276

Seven Times Is Too Much

“Uwaaaah!”

“Uwaaack!”

“D, Don’t push! There’s fire behind us!

Don’t push!”

Jin’s formation might seem fixed, but in reality, it’s highly fluid, adapting to the enemy’s attacks and defenses, as well as the attacks and defenses of allies.

When the enemy collides with force, they have to give way and absorb the impact, and conversely, when attacking, they need to be pushed from behind to gain momentum.

Therefore, even within the formation, ‘space’ was essential.

“Damn it! Don’t get close!

I said, don’t get close!”

“It’s too cramped!

It’s too narrow!

It’s impossible for the soldiers to even swing their swords!”

The Hispana army made full use of the space, adjusting when to push and when to pull back slightly.

However, the Nudias were blocked by the main force of Hispana in front, and huge flames on the left and right that seemed to melt them if they even approached.

The only space and escape route, the rear, was also a place where they couldn’t freely expand the space because of the northern warriors who might rush in at any moment.

“W, We’re surrounded.”

“Commander, what do we do!

Commander!”

“Gather our cavalry and knights! There’s no other way but to break through to the rear.

Tell the infantry to make way!

Even if they’re allies, push them away if they block you!”

The cavalry’s charge into a firmly established phalanx [a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons] causes tremendous damage.

Therefore, the Nudia commander decided to turn their horses around and have them fight the northern warriors who were targeting gaps from the rear, just like before, and use that opportunity to gradually extract the infantry from this fiery prison.

As the order was given, the Nudia cavalry and knights, who had lost their mobility and were becoming fixed targets, used the barely created path to move to the rear.

Of course, there were soldiers who clung to the idea of saving themselves and tried to retreat, following the cavalry, but those soldiers were invariably caught by those around them and forced to hold their positions.

“Don’t desert! If one of you falls, two of your comrades next to you, two in front and behind, will die!

Are you saying four people have to die because of you!”

“Hold on until our knights secure an escape route!

You die if you run, but you live if you hold on!

Hold on!”

Kwaang!

Kwang!

Chaeng!

Chaenggang!

The infantry’s fight is, after all, a formation fight.

If they are pushed back here, it’s just one side routing and being annihilated, regardless of melee combat.

Therefore, from the Nudia commander to the lowest-ranking officers, everyone was busy shouting to maintain the formation and encouraging the soldiers.

Showing that they, the commanders, were not retreating either.

“Commander.”

“Ibe!

Were you not supposed to be securing an escape route with the knights?”

“My horse was injured when we collided with the Hispana cavalry a little while ago.

I don’t think I can fight anymore.”

“Then just…”

“You’re not thinking of telling the knights to escape from here and, if rescuing the main force is impossible, to run away, are you?

I am a member of the Lestion family.

Don’t look at me so softly.”

“…I’m sorry.”

At the commander’s brief apology, Ibe smiled and shook his head.

“How’s the situation?”

“Not good.

I turned the cavalry and knights around and sent them to the rear just now, but…”

“They probably aren’t in very good condition since they already fought in a charge and a battle.”

At those words, the 1st Army Commander nodded as if in agreement.

If they were pushed back by the northern warriors and routed or annihilated, then the worst massacre of the Nudia army would occur.

“For now, we’ll be able to hold out a bit in the formation fight.

The space is too narrow, but it’s not so bad that we can’t hold out, so let’s put our hopes on our knights…”

Kwaaaaang!

“Uwaaaack!”

“Uwaaack!”

Suddenly, a commotion started in the front along with a loud noise.

Then, after a while, the front lines of the Nudia army collapsed haphazardly, like a sandcastle crumbling in a wave.

“What is this again!

What’s going on!

Report, report!”

“Commander!

They’re firing ballistae [an ancient missile weapon that launches projectiles] between the enemy infantry formations!”

“What?

W, When did they suddenly prepare siege weapons…!”

At that report, Ibe realized that the enemies had prepared siege weapons during the time they were silent for a while.

But, if so, why hadn’t such parts been discovered by them?

Thinking about it again, the answer was derived very simply.

“Sion Claussen…”

They only listened to his death and were anxious about when the news would be delivered.

Naturally, the informants were also focused only on that, and in the meantime, the Hispana side secretly prepared siege weapons by taking advantage of that gap.

Moreover, the fact that they only prepared ballistae, not catapults, was not just for siege warfare.

It was to use them very usefully at this point, when the enemy couldn’t rush in recklessly and the cavalry and knights couldn’t target the flanks!

Too-oong!

Toong!

Peoseok!

Kwaang!

It was a huge ballista originally made for siege purposes.

No matter how solid the infantry’s phalanx was, its solidity could not be compared to a castle, and of course, those huge arrows flying in would pierce through people and shields, or, even if they couldn’t, they would shatter the entire formation with their impact, destroying the balance of the battlefield that had barely been achieved.

‘Not just for siege purposes, but even targeting people… Just what kind of man are you…!’

He was admirable even though he was an enemy, and he was so afraid that his body trembled involuntarily.

He couldn’t even guess how far he had squeezed out his wisdom.

Did he think that he should use it like this the moment he was hit by an arrow?

No, no.

Perhaps even being hit by an arrow was included in the calculation.

Otherwise, he couldn’t have drawn such a perfect picture!

“It’s collapsing!

The formation is collapsing!”

“Damn it!

Hold on, hold on!”

“Raise your shields!

Put strength in your legs!

It’s over if we collapse!”

“If you run away to save yourself, dozens will die!

Don’t look back!

Just look ahead!”

The pressure from the cavalry rushing at an incredible speed, as if they would crush them right away, was undoubtedly terrifying.

Although it was a little different from that, the infantry’s phalanx, perfectly formed and slowly approaching, could also put tremendous pressure on the opponent.

The anxiety of already being trapped, and the unheard-of wall of huge flames.

The allied cavalry and knights had left to break through the escape route to the rear, but to the general soldiers, it only appeared as a picture of evacuating the cavalry, which was a more important force than themselves, from the battlefield.

Decisively, as even the formation that had barely been holding on collapsed, the Nudia army, which had been cracking little by little, began to collapse uncontrollably.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Run away!

Run away!”

Once a formation and the will to fight have collapsed, it is not easy to recover.

It is not for nothing that stories of properly forming a formation and retreating after losing a battle, or regrouping the remnants and re-establishing a line, are praised.

The infantry’s phalanx was called a moving fortress for its solidity, but once it collapsed, it was difficult to recover.

And through the collapsed fortress, Hispana’s full-scale attack began.

“Charge!”

“Waaaaah!”

Individual battles are meaningless in a formation fight, but when the opponent’s formation collapses and deserters are rampant like this, there is no better wedge than this.

“Uwaaack!”

“Damn it, damn it!

Damn bastards!

I told you not to retreat!

If it’s breached anyway, everyone will die… Keueok!”

Field commanders, one of the most important elements of the army, are killed here and there, vomiting blood.

When the formation collapses like this, it is easy to identify who is a regular soldier and who is a field commander, so from the Hispana army’s point of view, it was at the level of advertising, ‘Come and catch me.’

“…It’s over.”

Sitting in the cart, Sion was watching the whole scene.

Lishikida was next to him, and Ria was behind him, with Lucia waiting a little further away.

Trisha was keeping her distance to use the Stigmata [marks corresponding to those left on Jesus’ body by the Crucifixion], but in any case, it was the same situation as being by Sion’s side.

Normally, he would have told them to go out and show off their skills right away, but since Sion himself had been injured a while ago, all the women had protested that they could never leave his side.

‘Well… Honestly, if I didn’t have this back then, I would have really died.’

Sion stroked the cloak that Lucia had given him as a gift and let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t just a simple arrow, but one that contained mana, a truly terrifying power that could be called a bullet.

The moment he was hit by the arrow, he reflexively put his arm forward, and as the cloak hem came along, the cloak with the engraved anti-magic spell and the mana contained in the arrow collided, reducing the destructive power.

Still, he ended up suffering a serious injury with his arm pierced and part of the arrowhead stuck in his chest, but fortunately, that part was immediately healed by Lucia’s healing magic.

‘Thanks to that, I even acted like I was seriously injured, like I was dead.

Shibal bastards [Korean slang for “damn bastards”].’

At first, there was nothing wrong!

He was going to go out as the hero of Hispana has risen!

But when he thought about it, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to use the current situation, where he was said to be dead or unable to move, so Sion used it as an opportunity and launched a smokescreen operation.

Of course, he informed Zann, the Margrave of Lichten, and Vanessa of the truth so that they wouldn’t be surprised.

He succeeded in luring Nudia’s 1st Army, which had been moving quite cautiously, to this point, and even acted as if Hispana’s main force was in chaos, perfectly setting a trap.

They didn’t know, but Sion calculated that the northern warriors and their horses could run at a level that ordinary riders couldn’t even imagine, and caught Nudia from behind.

It was truly a checkmate, Sion’s special lecture to them, telling them that the very moment they thought it was all over would lead to a fatal defeat.

‘Above all, the fact that Kim Yoo-hyun looked serious when she heard the news that I was injured is truly welcome news.’

The fact that our cold protagonist was truly serious and angry was actually more welcome news to Sion than any other news.

Because she had now become someone who completely followed him not only in words but also in emotions!

‘And what made that possible is, funnily enough, you guys.’

Thinking that, Sion glanced around.

Around him, knights and soldiers were determined to protect Sion from any surprise attack with firm expressions, and others were looking at him with respectful eyes for daring to go to the battlefield and watch the situation even though his physical condition was not very good.

“Kkeueung.”

Adding a slightly uncomfortable groan in the form of a chwimsae [a Korean onomatopoeia or interjection used to express discomfort or pain] would be the icing on the cake.

Of course, the wound had been completely healed for a long time, but by using the fact that he was with the army despite being injured like this and that ordinary soldiers could not even approach healing magic, he was trying to move towards an image that was a little more familiar to the people of the kingdom.

And in fact, the soldiers around him were looking at Sion with respect shining in their eyes in the direction Sion had thought.

Bbi-ii-iik!―

Bbi-iik!

At this time, arrows soared up, signaling the attack of the northern warriors.

It seemed that they had started fighting with the Nudia cavalry and knights who had turned back to secure an escape route.

“It’s the final stage.”

Marquis Volko slightly revealed his face.

After Sion was injured, he pretended to be indifferent on the outside, but he was also one of those who were anxious no less than others.

The morale of the army was about to be cut in half before the proper battle even started.

“How will it go?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the fight that will take place beyond this.

The northern warriors may have won a great victory once, but as a result, their strategy has also been exposed, and above all, they are full of the will to drive out the enemies and save our allies.”

“You’re saying the resistance will be strong.”

“It’s important to reduce the damage to the main force, but it’s also good to keep their damage low.

If they exaggerate the damage they suffered and use that as an excuse to make unreasonable demands on the kingdom, I feel like my insides will be twisted.”

It seemed that Marquis Volko still did not completely trust the northern warriors.

That was because, until Sion stepped in, Hispana and the northern tribes had always maintained an uncomfortable relationship, standing in the position of attacker and defender.

And Marquis Volko was a typical martial artist, so he seemed very unhappy with the situation of bringing those who had been troublesome enemies into the kingdom’s territory until recently and even allowing them to achieve military achievements.

“Are you really sure you can control those guys?

At the coronation ceremony, the woman who is said to be the leader of those barbarians received an honorary position from the Queen and showed her will to improve relations with the kingdom, but the temperaments of those fighters are not going anywhere.”

“I dare to guarantee that at least while I am alive, that will be the case.”

At Sion’s words, Marquis Volko’s eyes narrowed strangely.

The fact that the northern warriors would never show a hostile attitude towards the kingdom while he was alive could be just saying it because he was really sure, but from a different perspective, it was similar to saying that it would only be maintained while Sion was alive, and after that, they could do whatever they wanted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…”

“Were you worried that I wouldn’t have prepared any alternatives after I died?”

“Keuheum.

It’s not like that…”

“Marquis Volko’s concerns are correct.”

Then Marquis Volko looked at Sion with an expression that said, ‘…What is this guy suddenly talking about?’

“The plans I have put forward are only for as long as I am alive.

Even the relationship with those northern tribes right now, I don’t know how it will change after I die.

I don’t know that either, and frankly, I didn’t feel the need to worry about it that far.”

“What?”

In an instant, Marquis Volko’s face distorted.

As anger towards Sion arose from him, Lishikida immediately grabbed the sword hilt, but Sion shook his head and stopped her.

“Is Hispana a country that will collapse without me?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“It’s not a place that will just collapse if I die.

I’m just playing the role of building a bridge and setting up the framework, and after that, it’s up to other talented people in Hispana to do it.”

“…”

“I’ll just think about what to do while I’m here.

Because I believe in the outstanding talents of Hispana who will take over after me.

How about Marquis Volko?

Do you still not trust your juniors and want to draw your sword and go to the battlefield yourself?”

Marquis Volko was silent for a while.

Instead, he just stared at Sion with strange eyes and kept his mouth shut.

“I will believe.

Those who will stand behind me.

So, I will only present the direction they should walk in, and I plan to step back.

Don’t I need to rest a little later?

I have to give way when my juniors are active.”

“Really, heaven doesn’t know how a guy like you came out of Claussen.”

Marquis Volko muttered like that and quickly calmed down his fluctuating emotions.

Sion smiled at the Marquis’s words and said inwardly.

‘Of course, heaven doesn’t know.

Because I came thanks to the damn writer who is greater than heaven.’

―――――――Afterword―――――――

Recommend, recommend, recommend!