Whoosh!

Boom!

A small firework exploded near the eastern gate of Feridium’s fortress.

"Move out!"
Upon seeing the signal, the cavalry unit stationed nearby began charging swiftly.

The Feridium forces likely saw the firework as well, so they had to take the eastern gate before the defenders could respond.

Thud thud thud thud!

As the cavalry advanced, the infantry behind them also rushed forward, though at a slower pace. The important thing was for the cavalry to enter the fortress first. The infantry could join the fight once the cavalry had engaged the enemy inside.

As the cavalry commander led his troops toward the gate, he suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.

'Why is it so quiet?'

The gate, illuminated by flickering torches, was wide open in the distance. But there were no signs of a battle nearby.

'Could it be that the infiltrators and knights have already subdued the soldiers? But... that seems too fast.'

Feridium didn’t have many knights, so the guards were likely common soldiers. It wouldn’t be strange if the infiltrators quickly overpowered them, but still...

'Something feels off.'

The commander’s battle-hardened instincts gnawed at him.

'Should I turn the troops around?'

The closer they got to the gate, the more he broke into a cold sweat. His back prickled, and goosebumps crawled across his skin.

'No… we have to go.'

The signal had been given, and the gate was open. Retreating now, just because of a bad feeling, would leave the infiltrators to die, even if they had succeeded.

He was a soldier, bound to follow the plan, no matter the risk.

Thud thud thud thud!

The cavalry quickly approached the gate.

'It’s normal for it to be quiet. The infiltrators are a small group. Let’s go in… go…'

Steeling his resolve, the commander pushed his horse forward, but suddenly, his eyes fixed on the gate again.

A chill ran down his spine.

The dimly glowing red light from the gate looked like the gaping maw of a demon.

Entering meant certain death.

"Retreat! Pull back!"

Trusting his gut, the cavalry commander decided to turn back.

But the moment he spun his horse around…

Whoosh!

Crack!

A flying axe embedded itself in his neck.

The commander fell from his horse with a thud.

Neigh!

The now-riderless horse reared up, causing several of the following cavalry to collide with each other in confusion.

Crash! Crash!

"It’s a trap! We’re under attack!"

"Ahhh! What’s happening?!"

"Turn back! Retreat to the main force!"

With their commander down, chaos erupted in the ranks. Some soldiers tried to flee, following the last order they had heard.

Inside the fortress, Ghislain clicked his tongue, disappointed.

"They’re skilled enough to sense the trap. That was unfortunate."

He had hoped to lure them all in and wipe them out, but the trap hadn’t been perfectly set. The enemy commander had noticed the gap.

But it didn’t matter. He could still deal with them, even without a trap.

"Let’s go!"

Ghislain mounted his horse and shouted, followed by a few hundred cavalrymen.

Thud thud thud thud!

Ghislain’s cavalry burst out of the gate, cutting through the disorganized enemy as they fled.

Boom!

"Aaahhh!"

With ease, they dispatched the remaining cavalry and charged toward the approaching infantry.

The infantry commander had already realized something had gone wrong up ahead and was attempting to turn his forces around.

They couldn’t afford to continue now that their surprise had been compromised.

"Run! If you don’t, you’ll die! Move faster!"

The commander frantically urged his soldiers to flee. But with such a large group, turning around was slow and chaotic.

"They’re quick on their feet! Don’t let them escape!"

Thud thud thud thud!

Ghislain grinned wickedly as he urged his horse forward, with his mercenaries following close behind.

Eventually, they caught up with the retreating infantry.

Boom!

"Aaaah!"

"Hold them back! Hold them off!"

"Somebody stop them!"

But soldiers who had already turned their backs and fled couldn’t put up much of a defense.

Ghislain and his mercenaries tore through them like wolves in a flock of sheep, cutting down the enemy with brutal efficiency.

Meanwhile, Victor, unaware of the massacre at the rear of his infantry, was organizing his forces.

He had seen the signal by the eastern gate and rejoiced.

"Success! Half of you, follow me! The rest, continue attacking Feridium's fortress!"

The main force had been attacking the southern gate of Feridium, while Victor had kept a reserve force. Now, he led half of that reserve toward the opened eastern gate, while the other half stayed to keep the defenders at the southern gate busy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Feridium’s response was swift. Zebalter and Randolph rallied the soldiers and manned the walls again. But in the darkness of the night, it took them some time to realize that half of Victor’s army had moved toward the eastern gate.

"My lord! The enemy is moving toward the eastern gate!"

"What? Randolph! Take half the soldiers and head there immediately!"

Randolph, following Zebalter’s orders, quickly led half of their forces to the eastern gate. But this was exactly what Victor had anticipated.

"Hahaha, it’s useless. It’s all over for you now."

The eastern gate should already be in chaos, with his forces taking control. And with his troops joining in, Feridium would fall.

Sure, they could try to hold out in the city, but with the disparity in numbers, it wouldn’t take long before they were overwhelmed.

Victor was confident.

"Forward! Tonight, we sleep inside the fortress!"

Behind him, another thousand cavalrymen galloped forward, with infantry running behind them as fast as they could.

No matter how small or poorly defended a fortress might be, leading such a large force around to flank it took time.

"We’re almost there! Soon we’ll… huh?"

Victor, leading his men, suddenly saw something strange.

"Reinforcements! We’re saved!"

"Help! Quickly!"

"Over here! Hurry!"

In the distance, a disorganized group of his own soldiers was running toward them, their ranks in shambles.

Victor stared at them, dumbfounded.

He couldn’t comprehend what was happening and was unable to issue any commands.

"Fall back! Pull back!"

Ghislain, having just finished slaughtering the rear of the enemy infantry, spotted Victor’s main force in the distance. Without hesitation, he turned his horse around and shouted to his men.

"Hahahahaha!"

"You bastards ruined my sleep!"

"But it was fun!"

The mercenaries laughed heartily as they followed Ghislain, retreating toward the fortress.

Victor, finally coming to his senses, erupted in fury.

"Chase them! Don’t let them escape!"

Thud thud thud thud!

The cavalry charged after Ghislain, but the retreating soldiers in their path slowed them down, preventing them from gaining speed.

By the time they reached the fortress gate, Ghislain and his mercenaries were already entering.

"Charge! We can still catch them!"

The cavalry commander urged his men forward. If they could hit the gate before it fully closed, they might still be able to get inside.

Thud thud thud thud!

The cavalry gave it everything they had, racing toward the gate as fast as possible.

But as the mercenaries rushed into the fortress, they caused chaos, stumbling over each other in panic.

"Get out of the way, you piss-drinker!"

"Move! They’re catching up!"

"Let me in first!"

Panicking, they collided with each other in their hurry to get inside.

Creeeeeak.

The last of the mercenaries entered the fortress, and the gate began to close.

The cavalry lowered their lances and pressed forward, hoping to breach the gate before it shut completely.

'Just a little more!'

It would be close, but they might make it before the portcullis dropped.

'We’ll break through!'

The lead riders were just about to reach the gate when…

Shhhhhhhk!

A torrent of arrows rained down from the walls.

Thwack! Thwack!

"Ahhh!"

The cavalry was bombarded by the arrows, their ranks falling apart.

Boom! Boom!

The soldiers behind them, unable to stop in time, collided with the fallen bodies, tripping and falling.

On the walls, Skoban shouted gleefully.

"Shoot! Keep shooting! Don’t stop!"

The eastern gate’s defenders, along with Skoban’s beast-forest guards, rained arrows down without mercy. Thanks to Ghislain’s foresight, they had been on standby and were able to respond quickly.

"Help them! Shoot!"

Randolph and his reinforcements arrived just in time to add their own arrows to the fray.

Thud!

Meanwhile, the gate finally slammed shut, the portcullis lowering into place.

Now, unless the enemy knights could somehow break through with their mana, there was no way to breach the fortress in one swift strike.

The remaining cavalry, realizing they couldn’t break through, had no choice but to turn back toward their main force.

As they limped back, Victor, watching their pitiful retreat, let out a furious scream.

"Arrrghhh! You bastards!"

His carefully laid plan had been completely foiled. Even worse, he had lost contact with his informants inside the city.

The combined casualties from the cavalry and infantry now exceeded three hundred.

Like a slow death by a thousand cuts, the losses were beginning to add up.

"Retreat!"

In the end, Victor had no choice but to withdraw to his camp.

Meanwhile, Feridium’s soldiers erupted in cheers as their victory cries echoed across the battlefield. Victor could hear them and seethed with rage.

Randolph, still elated by the victory, hurried over to Ghislain.

"Grand Duke! What is this? How did you stop them?"

He had rushed to the eastern gate after hearing of the threat, only to find piles of enemy corpses and the remaining forces retreating.

How had such a small force managed this?

"It was nothing. The enemy tried to be clever, but I was one step ahead."

Ghislain briefly explained how he had captured the knights and uncovered Victor’s plot.

Randolph was in disbelief.

"Again…"

A single victory could be chalked up to luck. But could luck strike twice in a row?

Randolph had never seen Ghislain as someone capable of seeing through enemy plans.

In fact, he had always thought of him as less intelligent than himself, more brute force than strategy.

"Hmm, it seems… the Grand Duke has changed."

Randolph had always been irritated by Ghislain, even fantasizing about beating some sense into him. But now, seeing how Ghislain had repeatedly saved Feridium, those feelings were beginning to fade.

Feeling awkward, Randolph quickly excused himself to report the situation to Zebalter.

"Haha! Ghislain held off the enemy with just those men?"

Zebalter, realizing now where Ghislain and his mercenaries had gone, was overjoyed.

"We’re lucky, truly lucky."

The ambush on the supply troops had been pure instinct, but this time, Ghislain had shown a clear understanding of strategy and tactics.

Zebalter couldn’t bear to think what might have happened without Ghislain’s efforts. It was possible they would have lost the war before it even began.

Reflecting on his son’s growth through war, Zebalter felt a deep sense of pride. Ghislain was now an indispensable commander for the territory.

"Uncovering and outsmarting the enemy’s schemes… Did he study strategy at some point? Haha, perhaps I should thank Belinda for…"

Randolph interrupted Zebalter’s musings with a frown.

"Study? The Grand Duke? He’s more ignorant than I am! He’s never studied anything."

Zebalter pursed his lips.

No parent liked to hear their child insulted, especially not compared to Randolph.

Noticing his mistake, Randolph scratched his head awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Zebalter chuckled and waved it off.

"Well, he’s always done things his own way. He must have his methods. For now, let everyone rest. The soldiers need it."

His curiosity could wait. For now, the priority was letting the troops recover for the battles ahead.

While Randolph reported to Zebalter, Ghislain had already dismissed his mercenaries and headed off somewhere alone.

A cruel smile played on his lips.

"Victor... So you’ve come."

Through the captured knights, he had learned the identity of the enemy commander.

Victor, the swordmaster of Harold Desmond.

Ghislain had crossed swords with him during the war with the Kingdom of Luthania. Victor was skilled enough to last dozens of exchanges against Ghislain, one of the Continent’s Seven Strongest.

In the end, Ghislain had split him in half, but he remembered the fight.

'This is my chance.'

He now had the perfect opportunity to kill an enemy that could become a threat in the future.

Victor would die here before reaching his full potential.

'Harold sent one of his favorites here.'

Harold Desmond had likely sent Victor to gain experience and prestige.

If Ghislain hadn’t been here, things might have gone exactly as Harold had planned…

'But that was a mistake, Harold.'

Ghislain’s smile twisted into something truly demonic as he let out a dark, murderous aura.