Chapter 263

Chapter 263 - Navy SEALs (3)

"We're in a hurry. It won't take long for them to notice what happened on top of the walls."

Eugene spoke while putting on the helmet of a guard he had just taken down. This place was different from the areas they had passed through earlier. Even a somewhat lax army would easily notice if a specific sector of the frontlines was shut down.

'Halt!'

Cassandra, who was leading the way, clenched her fist. The primitive hand signals originally used by the Blackhand tribe had now all been replaced by the military hand signals Eugene taught them.

"They are guards. They are sleeping."

Mercenaries who had finished their watch or were waiting for their shift were sleeping here and there on the ground.

In Hesed, all personnel assigned to the night watch that day were not allowed to leave the outer castle. This was so they could be immediately deployed if the alarm sounded. Even if their shift was over, they had to sleep in their armor.

"Take off your shoes."

At Cassandra's whisper, the female warriors took off their military boots and stepped on the floor barefoot. They crept stealthily toward the mercenaries. The way they glided on their tiptoes was reminiscent of ballerinas who hadn't yet taken the stage.

They covered the mercenaries' mouths with one hand and drove a poisoned awl in with the other.

"Heup!"

"Eueup!"

Brief moans of death leaked out from all over. This awl, held between the middle and ring fingers, was meant to put sleeping targets to rest forever.

The difference from a dagger was that it was left embedded instead of being pulled out. Cotton coated with a coagulant was attached to the handle, preventing any bleeding.

"Mumble... It's not meee."

Thwack!

A mercenary woke up and mumbled in his sleep. He thought a relief guard was passing by, not an intruder.

'Perfect.'

The mercenaries had all been sent to the afterlife togAAether, but since their necks were roughly covered, they just looked like they were sleeping from the outside.

As they descended to the second floor of the outer castle, there were mercenaries guarding the gates with crossbows. They were the troops keeping an eye out for anyone trying to pull any tricks inside the city.

"Huh? Is it shift change already?"

"Time flew by today."

"Aren't you guys mistaken? It should still be early."

Seeing people in familiar uniforms swarming down, they all assumed it was the relief shift.

"Women?"

"Keuk!"

And the moment they confirmed the beautiful Elven faces in the darkness and under the helmets, they met their deaths. Only then did the guards holding the main gate below realize the situation.

"Emergency! Emergency!"

"Intruders!"

Beeeeeep!

Along with the shouts, sharp whistles rang out from the top of the walls. It seemed they had already realized that the sentries were missing from the four guard posts.

"Get lost toward the city! Then I won't chase you!"

Despite Eugene's roar, none of them ran away.

"Don't spout nonsense! You're all dead meat now!"

"Hundreds of men will be swarming here soon! Why don't you surrender now?"

There were over ten guards near the main gate.

"W-What's going on?"

"Intruders! Wake the guys inside, too!"

Even the mercenaries who had finished their shifts and were sleeping were joining the fray. They seemed confident they could hold out until reinfOrcements arrived.

"Damn it! There are more of them than I thought!"

"What's with their equipment?"

However, the intruders were taking cover on the second floor and firing composite crossbows. The guards, disadvantaged by their gear and terrain, fell one by one, spurting blood.

"Pair up in twos and threes and raise your shields!"

It was a wise judgment, but crossbows weren't the only ranged weapons the special fOrces had. They threw the Molotov cocktails they had planned to use for arson when escaping if things went wrong.

Crash!

Whoosh!

Shields couldn't block burning oil. The defenders, who had clustered togAAether to block the bolts, turned into balls of fire and scattered.

Thwack!

Thump!

They couldn't run far, pierced by bolts through their backs and thighs.

"Don't throw them all. Block the passageway with the remaining Molotov cocktails."

At Eugene's instruction, the female warriors smashed Molotov cocktails on the passageway they had descended from. They scattered tear-inducing poisonous herbs over the flames, filling the area with acrid smoke.

"I will send a signal outside."

A female warrior picked up a composite bow and fired a flaming arrow into the sky.

"This will be more certain."

Eugene picked up tOrches he had torn from the surroundings, spun his whole body, and threw them one by one.

Swoosh!

Two fireballs, far brighter than a flaming arrow, soared into the sky. They left long tails like comets, making them clearly visible.

By then, reinfOrcements arrived from other parts of the outer castle, but they hesitated in front of the passageway filled with white smoke.

"What are you doing not passing through?!"

"But Captain! There's poison gas there!"

"Poison gas, my ass! It's just smoke, so hold your breath and... Cough! Cough! Oh, I'm dying!"

It wasn't life-threatening. It only caused coughing, choking, tears, and runny noses. However, to those who didn't know what the gas was, it was pure terror.

"Open the gates!"

At Cassandra's shout, five female warriors grabbed the handles of the winch, which looked like a ship's steering wheel.

"Heave!"

"Heave!"

Rumble!

With a heavy sound, the tightly closed iron gates began to lift bit by bit. But the speed was too slow, so Eugene stepped up. He grabbed the thick rope connected to the winch and pulled.

"Kyaak!"

"Uwaah!"

The female warriors tumbled about as the handles suddenly spun wildly.

"Sorry."

Eugene offered a short apology but didn't stop his hands. The rope was pulled in at tremendous speed, and the massive iron gate shot up.

"A real Ogre..."

"Shh! Shh!"

"I thought the Lord might be able to do it, but still."

The female warriors' jaws dropped at the high-speed opening, something one would only expect to see after the invention of electric power.

"There are intruders over there!"

"The gate is already up?"

"Did a mage get in? What is that speed..."

Meanwhile, hundreds of mercenaries were swarming from the city. Many of them were on horseback, looking ready to sweep away the special fOrces in an instant.

However, neither Cassandra nor anyone below her was afraid. Beyond the fully open, secured gate, Eugene's army was surging forward from the dark plains.

* * *

"The gate is open? What are those idiots doing down there?"

"Enemy fOrces are approaching!"

The mercenaries on the walls looked down in shock. A black tide was rapidly approaching, but there were no battle cries, not even the sound of breathing. Only the sound of countless military boots hitting the ground echoed. That made it even more chilling.

Thwip!

Thump!

Corpses tumbled down with arrows sticking out of their faces.

"Hiiik!"

The defenders quickly hit the deck. A few brave mercenaries threw rocks or fired crossbows, but they didn't last long.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

Before they could even launch a third attack, their faces turned into pincushions from arrows shooting up from all directions.

"What are you doing? Attack! Are you just going to watch them march in?"

"The enemy is the Blackhand Mercenaries. How are we supposed to fight back with these numbers? We need to run away right now!"

The city commander on duty yelled, but the mercenaries didn't budge. The Elven longbow was the strongest bow with the longest range. With archers possessing dark vision firing them, being on top of the walls didn't guarantee safety.

'These sons of bitches. All that swagger when they were getting paid handsomely.'

However, the swearing wall commander couldn't raise his head either.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

The attacking fOrce, which had maintained a silent march, let out a unified battle cry the moment they passed the gate. At the forefront were Dwarves holding large shields. In urban warfare, defense took priority over attack power or finesse.

"Fire!"

The Mad Dog Mercenaries' crossbowmen, who had taken position in advance, fired a volley. They, too, were armed with siege crossbows like the Hammer Brothers, so they couldn't be underestimated.

"Move the wounded to the back!"

Dwarves who were hit in areas not covered by their shields or by ricocheting bolts were escorted back, bleeding.

"Now it's our turn!"

As the front-line shield bearers knelt and tilted their shields, the Dwarven crossbowmen in the rear secured their firing angles. Over a hundred bowstrings twanged, and steel bolts sliced through the night air.

"Keuak!"

"Aaaagh!"

The power of the crossbows was similar, but there was a massive difference in defense between the two sides. The defenders' small wooden shields couldn't compare to the iron-plated Dwarven rectangular shields. Many of the mercenaries hadn't even had time to put on their greaves because they rushed over.

"My hand! My hand!"

Even those who blocked with their shields grabbed their pierced hands or wrists and wailed. Furthermore, there was a huge gap in the rate of fire. While the second line of Dwarves stepped on their crossbow stirrups to reload, the third line of Dark Elves fired their arrows.

"Keuk!"

The two armies were confronting each other on the main road. Because the space was narrow, the bolts and arrows were concentrated on a single point. Due to the severe disparity in sustained fire and defense, the defenders' front line collapsed rapidly.

"Hold your positions!"

"I will cut down anyone who breaks formation!"

The Mad Dog Mercenaries' decurions and the Free Knights hired by the city tried to take control, but it was useless.

"Pick up the shields of the dead and form a shield wall!"

"Is that even a request? Try doing it yourself!"

Every time a volley flew in, the mercenaries in the front line died in droves. Watching that and knowing their turn was coming, they had no capacity to endure.

"I will execute anyone who disobeys!"

"M-My hand is pinned to the shield! I can't drop it!"

"..."

The mercenaries, picking up shields among the corpses with trembling hands, saw that the hands of the corpses were lifted along with them. That was the decisive scene that shattered the defenders' will to fight.

"Why the hell was the gate breached? Was there a traitor?"

"A traitor! There was a traitor!"

When it reached the point where they were creating their own false rumors, the situation spiraled completely out of control. At that moment, the Dwarven formation parted to the left and right.

"The enemy archers have been annihilated, and their formation is broken! Knights! Charge!"

At Eugene's command, the knights simultaneously leveled their lances and charged. The Free Knights and brave mercenaries who tried to fight to the end were skewered by lances or trampled by horses and died instantly.

"We surrender!"

"Then hit the dirt, you sons of bitches!"

The defenders threw down their weapons and began to flee in all directions. Some hid in nearby buildings to hold out, but it was meaningless.

"Vice Chief. Shall we burn them? If it's that building, the fire won't spread to the surroundings."

"This building will also be a source of tax revenue for the Lord, so it's a waste to burn it. Bring me another horse."

Rex sent two cavalrymen to each house where enemies were holding out. Since it was just an ordinary wooden door of a building and not a castle gate, there was no need to use a battering ram.

"Smash it!"

Neigh!

Snort!

As the two riders pulled their reins, the horses' front hooves rose high and kicked the door with fOrce.

Crack!

The door shattered in an instant, revealing the terrified mercenaries.

"Please spare us!"

"It's not 'please spare us', it's 'we surrender', right?"

"We surrender!"

"No."

The Dark Elves thrust their spears into the trembling mercenaries.

"They're basically mobile siege engines."

"I didn't know horses were so good at picking locks."

The Dwarves watched in fascination. When people think of a horse's kick, they usually think of the hind legs, but the front legs were actually the truly terrifying ones.

-A horse's hind kick cripples you, but a front stomp kills you.

That was a saying passed down among cavalrymen. Even if the hind legs had more muscle mass, the range and angle of attack were poor, and the posture was awkward.

On the other hand, the front stomp, striking from top to bottom, could hit a wide area. Its power could be supplemented by the weight of the horse and rider, making it versatile in many ways.

Smash!

Crash!

The doors where the enemies were holding out were smashed down by the warhorses' front stomps.

"Surrender! Surrender! Please, mercy!"

"You expect mercy after the gate was broken twice? You guys really have no conscience."

The defending mercenaries were dragged out by their hair and killed by swords and spears.

"The city has fallen!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

The citizens panicked. They woke up to find the city filled with screams and the invading army charging down the main road. However, unlike other sieges where the gates were breached, the citizens remained unharmed.

"No arson! No arson! No arson!"

"The Lord is watching!"

The loud-voiced riders carried the banner of House Mayer and shouted.

"Get out of the way!"

"You stupid bastards! Get lost!"

"Just stay quietly in your houses!"

Eugene's army only pushed aside the panicking citizens and used no further violence.

A warrior snatching a baby from a wailing mother and throwing it into a well.

A warrior giggling while dragging away a mother who had lost her baby right before her eyes.

A warrior stabbing everyone in sight with a sword or spear.

People setting fire to houses with tOrches, or sweeping up wealth from merchant guilds and temples at random.

The tragic scenes typical of a fallen castle or city were nowhere to be found.

"It seems to be much better conTrolled than I thought. Thank goodness."

"If we had attacked head-on, everyone would have gone crazy for the price of blood. The Lord didn't just save our allies."

Cassandra wet her hands with water from her canteen and gave Eugene a cat bath.

In wars of this era, the moment the gate was destroyed, the attacking army's morality vanished as well. However, if things continued like this, it seemed they could take over the city without any major tragedies.

Eugene breathed a sigh of relief and gave orders to the messengers.

"Block the main gate and secure the docks. Engaging in a night-time urban battle unnecessarily will only result in pointless casualties."

"What about those escaping through the sewers? We haven't properly figured out their locations yet."

"Let them go. If they are resolved enough to drown in sewage, they deserve their freedom."

"Hahahaha!"

The messengers laughed heartily and left. It was impossible to chase them all down anyway.

"Knights are to support areas with heavy resistance. Jackal, follow me. We are going to take over the POW camp."

The heavy cavalry galloped behind Eugene. As a rule, even nobles were not allowed to ride horses fully armed through the city streets.

However, it was different now that all rules had vanished. The thrill of deviation enjoyed by mere mercenaries! An electrifying sensation stimulated their nervous systems.

* * *

Hesed's large internment camp was fighting its own war.

"Block C is out of control! There's an urgent request for backup..."

"Tell them to abandon it. The guys in there are all prisoners of war. They are unusually vicious."

"Understood!"

The head warden spat out a curse as he watched the new guard scurry away.

"Who the hell let them out?"

The cells had been tightly locked until evening roll call. But suddenly, Block C was thrown wide open, and the prisoners started a riot.

A moment later, the camp director came running. He was a pro-emperor faction member and one of the city's councilmen.

"Head Warden! Have we secured the nobles?"

"I think it would be best if you gave up on that."

The nobles caught by various mercenary groups during the civil war were held in Block A. It was located deep inside Block C, where the riot had broken out. In Block B, between the two, demi-humans, who were the second most expensive after nobles, were imprisoned.

"Kkiyoooot!"

"Smash it! Smash it all!"

"Awooooooo!"

They had to get past the mercenary prisoners who were going berserk, imitating wolf howls from over there. The guards were armed with shields and riot batons, but they were outnumbered five to one.

"These guys have weapons!"

Someone had distributed hand axes, butcher knives, and fish-hunting harpoons to them. As men who had rolled around on the battlefield, that was enough to push back the guards who lacked real combat experience.

"We must secure the nobles no matter what! Otherwise, I'm finished!"

"I'm sorry."

The camp director clung to the head warden, begging. Now that the city had fallen, those who had sided with the emperor were definitely finished.

If they abandoned all their wealth and fled, they might save their lives, but the camp director didn't do that. What was the point of living if he couldn't have wine and soft white bread for every meal?

'I will use the captive nobles as hostages to negotiate with the Count. There's still hope!'

It was his only way to preserve both his life and his wealth, but a sudden riot?

"Head Warden. They say the defending army has been defeated. You must evacuate immediately."

"Where is this bastard spouting lies? It's those crazy dogs, not just any mercenary group! There's no way they would collapse so quickly!"

The camp director grabbed the messenger by the collar and shook him violently.

"Keuk! I-It's the truth! The Count's army is flooding in like a tide!"

"We're abandoning the camp. Escort the Director."

At the head warden's words, the camp director went crazy with bloodshot eyes.

"What am I supposed to do if we leave everything behind? Are you telling me to sit in a field penniless?"

"Isn't that still better than dying?"

"You bastard! I took you in as an orphan with nowhere to go, fed you, clothed you, and helped you succeed!"

"To repay that debt, you need to stay alive, Director."

"Eueueup!"

The head warden gagged the director and escaped the camp with his close aides. A few minutes later, Eugene's cavalry arrived.

* * *

"Is this the right place? I heard a large gold-threaded flag would be flying."

Only a gold-plated flagpole stood bare at the entrance of the POW camp.

"This is the place."

"Good. Everyone, grab your blunt weapons. Some prisoners might be in a panic and attack us. Let's beat them into submission first and then sort out who the nobles are."

"You heard His Excellency, right? No hitting the back of the head either."

Jackal and his subordinates sheathed their swords and drew their flails. No one blocked their path as they passed through the chaotic camp.

"It seems some of the guards stayed behind. I can hear fighting from over there."

"If the nobles are here, they must be beyond that point. Precious prisoners are always kept in the deepest parts."

Shortly after entering Block D, prisoners holding onto the iron bars pleaded from all sides.

"Brothers! Please, mercy!"

"Sir Knight. Please let me out. I can fight better than the guys following behind you, sir!"

"I'll work under you for two years without pay!"

Hundreds of hands reaching through the bars were clamoring.

"No!"

"Please don't just leave! Pleaase!"

Some even bled as they banged their foreheads against the iron bars.

"They are not the mission objective."

"Ignore them."

Jackal and his adjutant, who had received a brief rundown, gave instructions. The mercenaries who had been with Eugene since Bonyard were the ones whose mentalities had been remodeled to be the closest to soldiers among his subordinates. Even their tone and the words they used were different.

Perhaps that was why Eugene felt at ease when he was with them. Was it like tasting a hint of his hometown indirectly?

"Light more tOrches!"

Upon entering Block C, the freed prisoners and the group of guards were in a standoff. However, anyone could see that the prisoners had the upper hand in terms of momentum. The guards had their retreat path blocked and were outnumbered.

"What? Afraid of the dark?"

"Hey, chubby guy over there. Nothing to be scared of. If you surrender now, I'll protect you from these scary guys here. I don't even take protection fees, you know? Just... let me use your big, white ass for a bit."

The guards' clubs trembled at the malicious expressions of the giggling prisoners.

"Huh?"

The two groups, who had been glaring at each other, suddenly froze at Eugene's appearance.

"Hey, hey. Is that the one the big sister mentioned earlier?"

"I-I think so."

Unlike the guards, who were openly wary, the prisoners smiled awkwardly and cleared the way.

"P-Please pass. Boss! I mean, Sir!"

Among them, some prisoners bowed at a 90-degree angle.

"Kyaoooooo!"

At that moment, from the other side of Block C, where the battle was taking place. A fierce roar came from the direction where the demi-humans and nobles were imprisoned.

"Hiiik!"

The prisoners, who had seemed fearless, shrunk back as if they had experienced something terrifying.

At the very end of Block C, a young lady was single-handedly blocking the path leading to the next block.

A Snow Leopard beast-warrior sitting cross-legged on a chair. Her figure exuded an overwhelming presence that couldn't even be compared to the likes of a Warg.

In front of Homi lay the corpses of those who had recklessly attacked and been smashed to pieces. They were all in bad shape, as if they had been struck by a tiger's front paw.

Homi stood up from her chair, knelt on one knee, and offered both hands to Eugene. On her hands was the folded gold-threaded flag of the camp.

"The nobles and Dark Elf refugees are all safe. This camp is yours."

Her silver fur shone brilliantly even in the faint light of the waning moon.

"You've worked hard. The final chapter in the record of the Siege of Hesed will be concluded with your name."

Eugene stroked Homi's cheek. Unlike usual, the soft sensation, like touching velvet, filled his grasp.

It was a perfect victory.