Chapter 45: Not Over Yet [1]
The situation is getting worse.
It seems like dozens of gnolls have been killed, but they are still filling up the area.
Despite the efforts of the soldiers, Catherine, and Bilford, it is now impossible to count the number of gnolls coming over the carriage at once.
Milton also healed several wounded soldiers and now had little mana left.
"Sigh!"
Pow!
This is already the 11th assault.
Carl was now able to control himself at the moment the horse hit the gnoll and reduce the impact.
Hiss! Hiss!
However, Carl's war horse, which had to take all 11 charges with its chest, was slowly reaching its limit.
While getting here, he had to keep walking while carrying Carl on his back, sprinted with all his might before forming a formation, circled endlessly within the terrain, and charged with his chest 11 times.
It's even weirder that he doesn't get tired.
Carl also knew very well that his horse was very tired.
However, Carl's horsemanship was too poor to quickly switch to another horse clustered in the center of the formation.
Carl never learned how to move from one horse to another.
However, he can't afford to get off and change cars. If Carl stops for even a moment, he will attack the backs of the soldiers who have dug into the ranks.
Now the number of conscripts has decreased noticeably.
The situation is getting worse.
One person, two people, slowly but surely decreasing, until half of them are already dead.
It seems like dozens of gnolls have been killed, but they are still filling up the area.
The circular formation was now noticeably smaller than before, and the imperial soldiers guarding the gap between the carriages had no choice but to retreat as their backs were too clearly exposed.
Despite the efforts of the soldiers, Catherine, and Bilford, it is now impossible to count the number of gnolls coming over the carriage at once.
Milton also healed several wounded soldiers and now had little mana left.
Fortunately, though, the imperial soldiers suffered minor injuries thanks to their strong armor, but not a single one died.
"Sigh!"
Pow!
"Kaaak!"
This is already the 11th assault.
"Help me!"
Carl was now able to control himself at the moment the horse hit the gnoll and reduce the impact.
As conscripts die, the formation becomes smaller.
Hiss! Hiss!
Carl gritted his teeth.
Now, regardless of how tired the horses are, there is no room to charge.
However, Carl's war horse, which had to take all 11 charges with its chest, was slowly reaching its limit.
Not only the pack horses but also the war horses are seen shaking with anxiety and fidgeting.
Carl looked at Catherine and Bilford.
Catherine, who was using mana, was killing gnolls like a tiger jumping into a flock of sheep, and Bilford was also doing a great job, although not as good as Catherine.
However, even from Carl's perspective, the two people's movements were clearly worse than before.
Catherine is not tired and is just conserving her mana to save Carl and run away in the worst situation.
However, Bilford, a young squire who could not handle mana and had only just become an adult, had been feeling his limitations for a long time.
"Hook! Whoop!"
He was fighting precariously, as if leaning on armor.
Thwack-!
Due to his low physical strength, Bilford had no confidence in taking the attack with his arms outstretched, so he held his arms close to his body.
The axe wielded by the gnoll hits the bambrace, flows along the curve of the armor, and passes by in vain.
If he were in good physical condition, he would have just lifted his waist slightly and cut off his head, but Bilford stumbled a little due to a lack of strength in his heavy legs, then held the pummel of the knife with difficulty, raised it, and stabbed it.
Puck!
The gnoll, which had just put its head out to bite Bilford's neck, was shot through the jaw and pierced through the brain.
"Huh!"
Bilford, who twists his body and pulls out his sword to avoid the falling gnoll, stumbles and tries to fight again.
"Bilford! Go away and get treatment!"
At that time, Carl shouts loudly.
Carl was worried that he might lose Bilford, a valuable talent, in a battle with gnolls.
And it would be much more helpful for Bilford to fight after receiving Milton's recovery magic than to continue fighting with a completely broken body. It is also a tactically correct decision.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Bilford raised his head, which kept falling down at Carl's shouts, and looked around busily. After a moment of conflict, he swung his sword one last time, bit the gnoll, and fell, throwing himself into the shield wall created by the imperial soldier.
"Hmm!"
The imperial soldier gently caught Bilford with his shield, then turned around and let him into the formation.
When he turns to look ahead, the shield wall is firmly established again.
"Milton! Hurry!"
Carl is so urgent that he strikes Milton on the back with the long sword he holds in his right hand and shouts.
He was completely unaware that he had struck Milton with a sword and treated him poorly.
Of course, Milton also had no time to worry about such trivial matters. He rushed to Bilford, who had fallen to the ground in a daze, and used recovery magic.
Bilford did not have the stamina to get up on his own, so he was lying face down on the floor, drooling.
He was so exhausted that he could barely breathe under his own weight.
A battle that lasted without pause for a very long time. During that time, Bilford could not rest even for a moment and fought constantly and fiercely.
Thanks to this, the formation was maintained until now, and the soldiers were able to preserve some of their stamina and not drop their spears and shields.
This is an incredible feat for a young squire who can't even use mana.
'Damn it!'
However, because Bilford fought beyond his limits, he couldn't get oxygen, so he couldn't help but blame himself for his foggy head.
If only he had a little more stamina, if he was at least a year older, if only he could handle mana even a little!
Then the situation would not have come to this point.
He would have been able to stir up all sorts of things while protecting Catherine's back.
There would have been almost no casualties, and the battle would never have continued like this in the first place.
They could have just destroyed the gnolls together!