Chapter 122

Chapter 122

***

Rickart crossed the pass together with 60 soldiers. Namely, crossing the border of the Adelorn Kingdom.

The mountain path stretched downwards very gently. So it was vague to strictly call it a mountain path. Just far away, a dense forest unfolded all the way to the horizon.

He originally knew this but as he was about to pass through, he briefly wondered if this was right. Because it was a bit burdensome for 60 personnel to rush through all at once.

In terms of troop strength it was an infinitely small number, but it wasn't a number to enter the forest and just move around comfortably either.

Originally, roads were divided into those one person could travel, those merchant groups could travel, and those armies could pass through. Depending on the number of people, one couldn't just travel arbitrarily on any road.

This road was a path people had travelled since ancient times, so there was no need to worry about attacks from beasts or monsters, but given the situation, it was inevitable to have concerns.

Because it was a dense forest, even if one observed from a high place, it was hard to grasp ambushes.

Did the enemies really bypass and already set up in the forest? Stationing all 5,000 troops in the forest is a difficult task. Then is their base elsewhere and they divided their troops to ambush? Or, have they not arrived yet?

Various possibilities and several questions arose. But making judgments and decisions amidst such uncertainty was what a commander did. If you give the wrong answer, you pay a harsh price.

"Hmm......"

Rickart fell into thought before entering the forest. Then eventually, he brought out a desperate measure. A desperate measure meant a method used reluctantly.

"Let's pass in two lines. Each line checks left and right, and if a fight breaks out, drop your polearms. Hide your bodies behind trees as much as possible and fight with your secondary weapons."

Rickart issued instructions like that.

The soldiers nodded. Having been issued weapons from the king's armory, their equipment was quite good so they had their own confidence in close combat.

Thus the 60 soldiers were divided into two groups of 30, and entered the forest in 2 columns. Rickart led the soldiers at the very front.

The forest's shadow covered the soldiers and Rickart. It was nice that it was cool, but a somewhat unpleasant chill was also felt simultaneously.

If nothing happened while passing through the forest that would be fortunate, but it didn't mean his mind was entirely at ease.

To continuously secure the safety of the supply route, there was a need to take control of the forest itself. However, the current manpower was absurdly insufficient. Then must they frantically worry and prepare for a fight every time they pass through?

It was a truly difficult task.

Anyway, they first passed through the forest to buy food to get through the winter.

By the way, because they were a small number the marching speed was fast, and although not intentional, their footsteps weren't loud so it was a stealthier movement than expected.

Had about half a day passed; departing Adelibari in the morning, past the morning and around the time the sun hung in the middle of the sky.

Rickart's sharp senses caught a certain heterogeneous sound, and he immediately halted the march. Everyone didn't have tense expressions but they observed the forest side closely.

Rickart sharpened his nerves and pricked up his ears. A heterogeneous sound could be heard far away to the right. It was similar to the sound of hammering wood with a hammer, thwack-thwack.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like an ambush.

"It's dangerous to stay on the path. Everyone hide your bodies behind trees or in bushes. You, you, you, and you. Follow me."

After designating a few familiar soldiers, Rickart led them and walked toward the direction the sound was coming from.

He didn't have to walk as far as he thought before the sound could be heard loudly. It was clearly the sound of building something, plus the sound of people chattering.

Then as they got closer, around the time the talking voices could be somewhat distinguished, enemies were seen before their eyes. They were cutting trees and leveling the ground in a suitable location, intending to build a camp outright.

Rickart thought, 'Ah, as expected,' while on the other hand feeling relieved he discovered them in advance.

But with 5,000 enemy troops swarming around, what method was there? Once the camp was completed, the supply route could be cut off.

But just as life is, war was also like that. Shrinking away just because it's dangerous or difficult only meant greater dangers and difficulties were waiting.

"Go and call everyone."

"Are we attacking them?"

A soldier with a terrified expression at Rickart's instruction asked. Rickart glared at him and spoke as if grinding his teeth.

"Orders are not given twice."

When one must be firm, one had to be firm. It couldn't be helped.

The soldier hurriedly returned to call the allies, and soon the remaining soldiers arrived.

Because they had eyes too, seeing the enemies building a camp thwack-thwack, they gasped. Their hearts pounded too.

Because the number 5,000 was almost comparable to the population of a small or medium city.

Obscured by the forest, they could only see one direction, but just looking at the equipment entering into building the camp like cranes, or materials like logs and stones, they were almost overwhelmed by that immense manpower.

"Get a grip and listen properly to what I say. We will strike the flank and push through. I will smash that crane. The rest of you set fires and kill at random, but never scatter. Once we pierce through the enemy camp, unconditionally run toward the peak you see over there."

Rickart's orders actually didn't register well in their ears. They merely remembered things like the peak, and do not scatter.

"I will make one promise. No one will die."

Rickart spoke with certainty almost bordering on a prophecy. And as he drew his sword and ran into the enemy camp, the soldiers merely looked at the back of him wearing a red surcoat and ran en masse.

The enemies were sitting and resting or laying logs on the ground, hooking ropes to move stones or doing this and that, but when 60 people suddenly popped out of the forest, they were greatly startled. Looking at their momentum, it was definitely no joke.

On paper it's 5,000 versus 60, but from the perspective of the people actually on site, it felt like fighting 60 versus 1. No, rather than fighting, running away was the only option for now.

"What the fuck!"

"It's an ambush!"

Startled, the enemies hurriedly ran away and shouted. Whether they shouted or not, Rickart and the 60 soldiers just looked straight ahead and ran.

Then Rickart lunged forward as if soaring and cleaved the support pillar of the crane in a single breath.

The grand crane tilted slowly and collapsed, and the massive shaft looking like a waterwheel dropped down and smashed with a crash.

Around that time, the emergency bell rang.

Clang clang clang clang clang clang!

Dust rose thickly, and the enemies bustled about in confusion, shouting wildly at the top of their lungs. Their words jumbled together making it impossible to understand. Anyway, it was to announce enemies had appeared.

Rickart and the soldiers kept running looking only ahead, and rather than killing enemies, it was closer to just ramming and trampling them. Upon reaching a place like a lodging area, someone had set a fire and flames erupted.

Then the enemies were confused and couldn't distinguish what was what. Conversely, Rickart and the soldiers had a clear direction. Just running forward unconditionally.

Of course, among them were personnel who fell to the ground, and personnel who were delayed stabbing to death frantically clinging desperate enemies.

Whenever that happened, Rickart, who had been cutting down enemies at the front, appeared like a ghost to kill the enemy and take the ally with him.

Then the soldiers' elation flared up and they shouted unconsciously.

"The Prince has returned!"

"Clear the path!"

That had solidified almost like the official slogan of the Adelorn border army, and coincidentally it fit the current situation.

But the enemies were no pushovers either. Because they quickly reorganized their ranks even amidst a sudden surprise attack. If even a thousand out of 5,000 got their act together, it would be a situation where surviving is difficult.

"Crow Mercenary Company assemble! Asseeeemble!"

"Just grab your weapons!"

"Where are the enemies!?"

"Left!"

"No! It's right!"

"Rangers! Rangeeeeeeers!"

The 'Invincible' Grantz had several mercenary corps under his command, and again, under the mercenary corps were several mercenary companies.

The 5,000 troops were a scale formed by combining 4 or 5 mercenary corps, and consisted of numerous mercenary companies, so there was inevitably a difference in level.

So some mercenary companies tried to grab their gear and defend their positions to form a wall even amidst the confusion, and some mercenary companies chased Rickart and the soldiers or blocked their front.

Of course, Rickart smashed through those blocking the front in a single breath. As a long golden straight line was drawn, the flimsy wall collapsed, and the soldiers swarmed over it.

And then they pierced the wall and continued running. They were almost like a chariot unit led by horses.

But even amidst that, the enemies reorganized their ranks, and rather than recklessly fighting Rickart head-on, began to broadly surround them.

Someone shouted.

"The retreat path is blocked! Surrender!"

It seemed to be a commander, but his figure couldn't be seen. So Rickart merely shouted back.

"Who said we're retreating!? We came to smash you!"

As Rickart shouted, the soldiers' elation rose even higher. Deep fear seemed to change into a certain madness.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!"

Shouting loudly without even realizing they were out of breath and charging like fire, no matter how experienced the mercenaries were, they couldn't endure it in the chaotic situation.

Piercing through several ranks at once, they finally penetrated the enemy camp entirely. The path they passed through was a complete mess.

Having achieved the first phase objective, it was now time to survive.

"Run to the peak!"

Rickart shouted. From this point on, the soldiers just ran looking only at the peak far away outside the forest.

Perhaps because they were former mountain troops, their stamina alone was truly monster-like. They kept running without getting tired.

Meanwhile, Rickart ran front, back, and sides, taking the lead to cut down enemies, and somehow pulling up stragglers to take them along. Then there were truly no casualties whatsoever.

But the real problem started now. The rangers belonging to the mercenary corps began to pursue.

They were guys who ran almost as fast as roe deer in the forest and fired aimed shots. Even though their vision should be obstructed by trees, they tenaciously chased and tried to snipe.

Especially aiming at the conspicuous Rickart. Sniping a single commander yielded a far greater reward than capturing several soldiers.

For Rickart as well, there was no method from this point on. He merely fought relying on his sharp senses.

Snatching arrows flying from behind or deflecting them with his sword using non-human senses, he couldn't block them all. The most dangerous thing on the battlefield was arrows.

In the blink of an eye, arrows pelted his body. But thanks to the armor, the arrowheads only pierced the skin slightly.

"You retard! Aim for his legs!"

Someone who seemed to be the captain of a group of rangers shouted. He chased with animalistic senses, never taking his eyes off Rickart.

Then Rickart, who was running at a fast speed, momentarily passed by a tree, and the ranger unconsciously shifted his gaze past the tree considering the running speed. However, Rickart wasn't visible.

The moment he thought 'Huh?', Rickart suddenly appeared before his eyes and swung his sword. That was his last consciousness.

But the annoying thing about rangers was that even doing this could only kill barely one. The rest maintained their distance and kept sniping.

An arrow brushed past his face. Rickart ran quickly, dodging what he could and blocking what he had to block.

While doing so, he grasped where the enemies were to the direction the arrows flew from, and how far the distance was.

Rickart's current expression was a highly concentrated one. There was no room for fear or anger to slip in. He stubbornly counterattacked as stubbornly as the enemies aimed for him.

Rickart rapidly approached another enemy ranger. So the guy hid his body behind a tree, trembling with a flinch. Because his neck was severed along with the tree.

With a single swing of the sword, a thick tree was cut down and fell, and his head too fell from his torso.

At the unbelievable sight, the enemies momentarily forgot to speak, and a relatively smart person among them came to his senses and shouted.

"Just bypass that bastard and aim for the soldiers!"

If this happened, it was troubling for Rickart too. He had to somehow draw attention and bear it himself, but if the rangers chased the soldiers the damage would be considerable.

It took half a day, 6 hours to get here, so escaping the forest would take several hours no matter how much they ran without resting.

At that time, an arrow flew rapidly. But it wasn't aiming for Rickart. It quickly whizzed past Rickart's front, and one of the enemy rangers fell.

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

From this moment on, simultaneous arrows rained down like a volley. Rickart flinched, but not a single arrow was aiming for him.

And surprisingly, the enemy rangers fell like autumn leaves. All those arrows precisely aimed at the vitals of each individual enemy.

Are there other entities? The level is much higher. Who is it? At the unexpected turn of events, Rickart hastily put his back against a tree.

Then someone crunched forward directly in front of him. It was a person wearing a dark green hood. He approached holding only a bow, without notching an arrow to the string.

It wasn't just one person. From various places in the forest, rangers of another faction who revealed themselves from a surprisingly far distance approached.

The one wearing a dark green hood, seemingly their leader, spoke.

"Are you on your way to take a quest?"

"What?"

"Aren't you an adventurer?"

"......What do you mean?"

"Did you quit? Well...... that's possible."

"Do you know me? Who are you?"

Rickart asked. Then he took off his hood. He was a man who seemed slightly older than Rickart.

A beard covered his lower face, and his eyes looked as if he was sleepy. Not because he was tired, but just because he looked like that.

By the way, it was a familiar face, but he couldn't remember.

"It's me, Lester."

"Who's Lester......?"

Rickart groped through his memories and it suddenly struck him. The Griffin Forest, the grandson of the bowyer. The one who had shared a few chunks of meat.

Meeting again in an unexpected place after years had passed, Rickart was merely bewildered. Why is this person here?