Chapter 85.2 - What A Windfall
“Attack!”
“Rampage the Kaistein bastards! Catch the prince!”
Nathan’s face stiffened upon catching their shouts.
“Is it the prince they are after?”
“I guess so.”
Galon’s face was filled with murderous intent. It wasn’t just an attack—they were aiming for the prince. It was clear he thought they had a rat inside.
But Ian noticed at once.
‘I think the crown prince sold my information.’
Sure enough.
“There’s a redhead! He’s the prince!”
“Get him!”
The savages were coming toward Ian like a swarm of bees.
However, Ian lightly reached out his hand.
“Fire!
In an instant, arrows covered the sky and rained down from the Labadom village. The savages had no shields.
“Arrows! Avoid them!”
“There’s no place to avoid… Ugh!”
The rain of arrows decimated hundreds of the nearby enemy’s troops within seconds. It didn’t stop at that. Ian raised his hand again.
“Shields, advance!”
The soldiers who were hiding in a trench dug in front of the wooden bulwark quickly jumped out. The enemies who were aiming for the village were knocked out in an instant.
The rain of arrows continued to fall over the shields.
But the Bahara soldiers were more ferocious than Ian thought.
“You can’t stop us with these twigs!”
“They’re nothing more than cowardly soldiers! Unless it’s Lavaltor, there’s nothing to be afraid of, brothers!”
The savages kept advancing to the village despite being hit by arrows. Moreover, they were destroying the battle line by swinging axes against the shield soldiers.
Still, Ian’s side had an advantage.
Thanks to the preparation, the enemy continued to fall into the traps.
Ian scanned the battlefield with sharp eyes.
‘Is this the end? I don’t think so.’
Right at that very moment.
Boo Woo Woo—
With the blow of a huge horn.
Bang!
A part of the bulwark flung away with a loud sound.
Of course, this was not the end.
Ian quickly checked the battlefield.
“Sir Galon!”
“It’s rocks! They’re shooting rocks!”
Rock?
Was there someone who could throw such huge rocks?
‘That would be difficult even for Duke Lavaltor… No, would he be able to do it?’
But his guess was missed.
“It’s a siege weapon!”
“What? Bahara has a siege weapon?”
“Not sure how it happened, but it’s true.”
Ian’s gaze instantly chilled.
There were no siege weapons in Bahara, which mostly occupied mountainous areas. They didn’t even have the technology to create that. Only the empire could do that. The crown prince clearly had resorted to any means.
Not only did he send them Ian’s information, he even handed over the siege weapon to Bahara.
His intention to make the two countries fight and self-destruct was as clear as day.
But that wasn’t important now.
“Avoid it, Your Highness! It keeps flying!”
Kwak Kwa Kwa Kwam!
More than half of the bulwark of the Labadom village was blown away by the flying rocks. Some of them even affected the infantry. In no time, the troops that were blocking Bahara collapsed.
They began to rush at the broken bulwark.
Nathan jumped down to protect the bulwark.
“I’ll take over here.”
But the enemies weren’t just watching either.
“This little squirt! I’ll deal with you!”
To make matters worse, some of the enemies even used Oath.
They were the savage tribe Bahara’s strongest force, the Barbarian. They had skin as hard as steel and a grip strong enough to break an old tree.
They were formidable enough that even Nathan should take extra caution dealing with them.
No, he wasn’t a good match.
However, Ian had not shown all of his cards yet.
Ian shouted at the knights.
“We will charge! Get ready!”
It was the cavalry unit he had prepared in advance. Although Ian was worried since most of them were soldiers of the First Princess.
‘If it’s with their breakthrough power, we can get through them.’
Moreover, Galon was by his side to protect him. Though Galon normally would have stopped him.
“I will protect you.”
“I trust my back to you, Sir Galon.”
Galon bowed his head to Ian without hesitation. He looked determined to protect him even if his life was in danger.
Of course, Ian had to watch out for the soldiers of the First Princess behind him. So, he assigned their position to the foremost to make it impossible for them to do anything funny.
All that was left was the catapults. He had to destroy them somehow.
But Ian couldn’t just send the knights.
‘What I need at times like this is my specialty.’
He recalled this ‘trick’ from his previous life. He could turn this situation to his advantage.
In addition, there was a means that only he could use.
The Dragon’s Pledge engraved on his hand.
It was something that could only save his life once.
‘Well, it’s better to save it as much as possible.’
Thus, Ian gave orders.
“Charge!”
The bulwark gate opened at his command. With the soldiers following, Ian began speeding up toward the catapults. Bahara, who only had their eyes on the troops right in front of them, was in a pinch.
“S…stop them!”
“Brothers, watch your back! Ugh!”
Thanks to this, Bahara started to be pushed back in an instant.
Ian smiled.
‘I’m sure it’s the First Princess’ and the Third Prince’s troops.’
They were not the only ones.
Galon and Nathan were literally flying around the battlefield. And Ian smashed a catapult in an instant. A little trick was enough. And the soldiers, falling into awe after seeing it, followed him.
‘All right, just keep going.’
But the enemies noticed.
“They’re after the catapults!”
“The catapult is breaking. Deal with them first!”
They were running toward Ian with rabid eyes.
Only half of the catapults were broken.
At that moment, Ian noticed something off. The number of enemies was too many than he thought. It felt like breaking through a whole army.
Sure enough.
‘These guys… They are not fighting in earnest.’
The soldiers of the First Princess. At some point, Ian noticed that they started fighting passively and falling back.
It seemed that his sister had used her hands.
But it didn’t matter.
‘But that’s not what I expected.’
Galon was one of the Three Great Knights. An army of this magnitude could have been dealt with as long as he had time. Even more so at this very moment…
“I’m late!”
Nathan arrived after knocking down the Barbarian. It must have been really tough from how hard he was panting. Despite that, the lights of Oath started to rise from his body.
Thump!
The savages nearby instantly collapsed.
Riding the momentum, Ian got close to the catapults and knocked them down.
Then the savages halted.
“T-they are too strong!”
“Who said they were weaker than the Lavaltor guy!”
“You said we could catch him if we have those!”
Not to mention the Barbarian, their mental support, as well as the catapults they trusted. When the means the savages trusted disappeared, they were rapidly crumbling.
Ian shouted at them.
“Now! Finish them!”
At Ian’s order, the soldiers charged at them. The savages quickly retreated and fled. They ran away without looking back. They were as lunatic as berserkers, but it was rumored that they would be the first to run away if things seemed dangerous.
Ian and the knights chased after them.
“Don’t let a single one escape! We have to deal with them here!”
That would make the Northern Expedition a little easier. At the same time, Ian would be recognized for his achievements. But they were slyer than he thought.
Even while running away, various traps—who knew when they were installed—blocked the soldiers.
Ian’s soldiers gnashed their teeth.
“Shit! You shrewd people.”
They wanted to pursue them by all means, but the traps caught them off guard.
“We’ll catch them next time.”
There was something to gain, but the soldiers were more important now.
It was just then.
“Ru… Run!”
“It’s the Red Wolf! Everyone, run!”
The Bahara’s soldiers were running back.
The guys who had looked menacing until just now were frantically running away for dear life. They had no other choice.
A new squad appeared in front of them.
Red Wolf, Lavaltor’s secret squad along with Blue Wolf. Soaked in red from the blood of their enemies, they were slaughtering Bahara’s troops.
Ian couldn’t help but gawk at them in disbelief.
‘Red Wolf, Lavaltor’s trump card? That squad who won’t move unless the family is in danger?’
But there was something more shocking.
A knight who led the Red Wolf in front and slaughtered the enemies, more violent than the savages, was running toward him with the enemies hanging from a long spear.
It was truly crushing power.
The savages who tried to stop the knight were almost trampled under the horseshoe.
They scrambled to Ian and dropped to their knees.
“We surrender, surrender!”
“Help us! Please!”
It was possible because everyone knew Ian was a prince. Even Lavaltor would listen to the prince’s orders.
Ian’s eyes sparkled.
‘Bahara’s troops, even the catapults that are still intact?’
That was not the only thing.
Although it was he who even placed the emperor’s knees on the bet, the crown prince could very likely slip away from this situation. So, Ian originally planned to catch them.
If it were these guys, they would even serve as evidence of the crown prince’s betrayal.
Right then.
Seeing the knight who brought the savages to their knees approaching, Galon blocked Ian’s front.
“Dangerous, Your Highness!”
However, Ian opened his eyes wide.
He never expected that knight to be here.
It was only natural.
Because the knight that came before him wasn’t a male.
Riding a horse dyed red with the blood of her enemies, she soon approached Ian and saluted.
“Fionia Lavaltor greets His Highness Ian Kaistein.”
She was the only daughter of Duke Lavaltor.
Author's ThoughtsEarly access to chapter 86
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