Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 24

“Retreat support?! What kind of joke is this?”

Jose couldn’t hide his surprise at the unexpected words informed by the squad leader Duwey.

“I doubted my ears and asked the platoon leader again, and then he said something even more surprising. The remnants of the Felius Kingdom, Crest Kingdom, Libertoa Trade Federation, and Mayard Duchy have teamed up.”

“Wait, does that mean an alliance of four nations?”

Nohl was dumbfounded, her face an expression of disbelief. The neighboring four countries weren’t known to get along well, usually maintaining a tense, loose relationship. Suddenly, they had turned into a friendly group of four. For Walm, it was hard not to be shocked.

“That’s right. Due to the fierce attack, the Saria battalion has been nearly decimated, and other battalions are also retreating while engaging in combat.”

“How many troops are we talking about?”

“Don’t worry about that as an ordinary soldier, but it seems the total force exceeds 60,000.”

“60,000?!”

Barrit’s mouth remained agape. The total strength of the Felius front army was about 16,000 soldiers. Even with reinforcements from the Mayard front and the homeland, they might gather around 23,000 to 24,000 soldiers at best.

“We will retreat in stages, focusing on defense. The decisive battle will probably be at the Sarajevo fortress group on the Felius border. Felius doesn’t have enough soldiers to fully utilize the fortress, but with looted supplies and personnel, even if we don’t win, we might not lose either.”

“Are we really going to give up the mine we just captured?”

Nohl asked, seemingly feeling it was a waste. Walm agreed. It seemed ridiculous to hand back the mine they had captured with great difficulty and sacrifice.

“There’s no other way. How can we face an army of 60,000 in open combat? But it seems we’re not planning to return it without a fight.”

As if on cue, a rumbling sound echoed from the mine, followed by a cloud of dust.

“Ah, they’re causing a collapse.”

Jose clapped his hands in realization.

“That’s right. We’ll have the prisoners transport the goods and mined materials. There was a plan to kill them all, but it seems they’ll be taken to one of Mayard’s old castles and used as serfs.”

Walm didn’t want to be involved in the massacre of defenseless prisoners. With orders to move the supplies and materials to the rear, he felt a sense of relief.

“So, that’s the deal. The Reglia battalion is tasked with covering the retreat of our allies from the mine. It’s a defensive battle, so it might be easier than usual, but don’t dawdle, or we’ll be left behind by our allies. Stay sharp.”

◆

Four days after the military council, the Four Nation Alliance army was finally approaching the mine defended by Walm. The main force of the enemy was the familiar Libertoa Trade Federation.

“Jose, don’t let them set up the ladders!”

Walm’s right-hand man, Jose, grabbed the top of a ladder and pulled it down. The Libertoa soldiers who had climbed halfway fell to the ground, flailing their arms and legs in the air.

Walm was not idle either. He dropped a rock, as big as a human torso, directly onto the soldiers below. The rock shattered part of the ladder on its way down, reducing the combat capabilities of several soldiers.

“Keep throwing, we have plenty of stones!”

The stones, carried out along with minerals, had become excellent projectiles. The well-dressed Libertoa commander, who was frantically trying to protect his head with a shield, became a good target. Despite his efforts, the surface of his shield became dented, and his movements slowed due to the relentless barrage.

When a fastball from the squad leader Duwey hit, the Libertoa commander collapsed to the ground with a loud crash.

The enemy was not silent either. The Highserk soldiers were injured by arrows that intermittently flew in.

“Fireball!”

Right after someone shouted, flames danced on the wall pathway, and a soldier collapsed without a scream. His comrades tried to pull him out, but his face was gone.

“He’s done for. He took it in the face.”

The soldiers gave up on their fallen comrade and started shooting arrows at the enemy below.

“Walm, the enemy is gaining momentum on the left wing. Go and meet them.”

The order came not from the squad leader but from the slightly overweight platoon leader Cozul.

Walm ran through the wall pathway manned by his squad and reached the location of another squad two sections over. Indeed, the enemy’s projectiles were intense, and at the base of the wall, numerous soldiers were pressing in.

“I’ll use it now!”

As Walm warned, the surrounding soldiers scrambled away to distance themselves.

“Get back, you’ll get caught in it!”

It was tough being treated like an uncontrollable weapon, but Walm didn’t care and activated ‘Demon Fire’.

His mask vibrated as if in joy. Noticing Walm, the Libertoa soldiers screamed.

“It’s the ‘Demon Fire’ user!!!”

“Don’t let him use it, kill him!”

Some soldiers aimed their bows, but they were too late. A blast of hot wind swept through, and Walm unleashed a fierce flame in front of him.

“Ah, ahhh!”

“Ah, s-s-s-shit, it won’t go out!!”

“Retreat, retreat!”

More than 30 Libertoan soldiers watched as they were engulfed in flames, and they quickly moved back. Those who had some distance or resistance managed to extinguish the flames and escape.

In the end, the victims of “Demon Fire” amounted to about twenty people.

With immobile bodies and blue flames still burning on the battlefield, the stench of burning flesh filled Walm’s nostrils – a smell he had become all too familiar with.

Those injured in the throat or skin were probably double that number. If Walm had used maximum firepower, the damage would have been even greater, but he had been instructed by the platoon leader to conserve magic and just increase enemy injuries.

“That’s always a horrific sight.”

“Good thing he’s on our side. That was a close one.”

Comrades who had retreated earlier patted Walm on the shoulder one after another.

“Replenish stones and prioritize treating the injured now. The enemy fears the ‘Hellfire Beacon’, and their commander got burned, too.”

Walm returned to his assigned position. In addition to the carnage on the left wing, the Libertoa Trade Federation took a fierce beating, and seemed intent on retreating temporarily to regroup.