Chapter 68

Even though their formation was in disarray, it was reckless to challenge the dense formation of heavily armed pikemen specialized in frontal attacks. Therefore, they had intended to fight with throwing weapons like javelins and stones until the enemy's formation completely collapsed. However, faced with the unexpectedly stubborn extermination army, Sōma decided to take a gamble.

"Dovārin, Jahāngir! If we keep this up, we'll be the ones to collapse first. There's no choice but to make a move!"

At Sōma's decision, Jahāngir let out a joyful cry.

"Yeah, yeah! It's finally happening! I was getting tired of just throwing stones!"

As everyone began to hurriedly prepare for close combat, Shemul called out to Sōma.

"Sōma, let's fall back together."

If anything happened to Sōma, it would be a major disaster. Shemul assigned Zoan warriors to guard him and tried to retreat to the rear of the formation. However, Sōma refused.

"No way. I'm going with you!"

Shemul was momentarily speechless at this, but quickly protested fiercely.

"What are you saying! You'll just be a hindrance!"

Shemul was right. Sōma lacked the courage and strength to directly harm others, and with his favor, he couldn't even hurt anyone. He would only be a hindrance.

However, Sōma argued desperately.

"But, I can't stay in a safe place when I told everyone to risk their lives!"

Shemul was at a loss for words. To put it bluntly, Sōma's words were a mix of responsibility for starting the battle and a sense of pride that he couldn't stay in a safe place alone. However, they did touch on a part of the truth of battles in this era.

Until modern times, it was common for officers to lead the charge, being the first to strike the enemy. This is evident from the fact that in foreign war movies, the phrase "follow me" is often used when charging the enemy. By showing their bravery first, officers could inspire their soldiers to fight bravely.

This was no different in this world. Garam and Zūg, as clan leaders, were the first to charge, for the same reason.

Of course, even without his favor, no one here thought Sōma could fight with a weapon. However, if the commander, Sōma, stayed in a safe place during a battle where everyone was risking their lives, it could affect the morale of the warriors.

Still, Shemul hesitated to take Sōma into the fray.

"Then, ride on my back!"

It was Jahāngir who, turning his back to Sōma and bending his knees, said this.

"There's no safer place on this battlefield than my back!"

"Thank you!"

Before Shemul could yell at him for saying too much, Sōma, his face beaming with joy, leaped onto Jahāngir's back. Shemul let out a loud sigh.

"Damn! You'll fall off! — Someone, bring a rope or a cord!"

One of Zoan's warriors responded and handed Shemul a rope, which he tied Sōma to Jahāngir's back with a rough, frustrated motion. As he was trampled and tied up, Sōma felt his insides about to burst out of his mouth.

"Ouch! I, I can't breathe...!"

"If you don't like it, stay here!"

Shemul shouted this, hoping Sōma would stay, but Sōma, his face red from the strain, shook his head. Seeing this, Shemul's face twisted in disgust, and he tightened the rope even more, causing Sōma to let out a frog-like cry.

Even though he was being tied up with the rope himself, Jahāngir, who didn't seem to feel it at all, stood up calmly once he confirmed Sōma was secured. His movements showed no sign of the weight of Sōma on his back.

"Everyone, stop attacking for a moment!"

From Jahāngir's back, Sōma shouted. The stones and javelins that had been thrown fiercely came to an abrupt stop.

"——?! The enemy's attack has stopped! This is our chance! Charge all at once!!"

Seeing this as an opportunity, the heavily armed pikemen charged at Sōma and the others.

Under the command of the regimental commander, Judius, who ordered a defensive stance, this was a rash move by some of the officers. Moreover, the flanks of the dense formation were already engaged in fierce combat with the Zoans, so only a few soldiers in the center managed to charge.

However, even so, over a thousand heavily armed pikemen, though their formation was now more in name than in reality, charged like a tsunami, overwhelming everything in their path.

Under this pressure, the gazes of the soldiers, as if asking if it was time to throw spears and stones, turned to Sōma.

"Not yet! Pull them in more!"

Despite the pressure of the charging pikemen, Sōma held everyone back.

When the faces of the approaching pikemen became distinguishable, Sōma shouted.

"Now! Go!!"

With Sōma's voice, the dwarves' javelins, the dinosauroids' stones, and the elves' arrows were all released at once. The heavily armed pikemen, who had not properly raised their shields, were struck down, tumbling to the ground.

"Charge!"

With Dovārin's command, the dwarves, armed with axes and spears, kicked down the barricades and charged at the pikemen.

The pikemen, whose formation was already in disarray, could not withstand the low, upward thrusts of the dwarves, and hundreds of soldiers were felled in a short time.

However, the true misfortune of the pikemen was just beginning.

Leaping over the dwarves who were fiercely thrusting their spears, several massive figures landed among the pikemen.

In the next instant, the soldiers around them were sent flying into the air without even a chance to scream. The bizarre scene, which seemed almost comical, left the pikemen with their mouths agape and eyes wide.

"Blood is boiling. My blood is boiling! Indeed, this is how a battle should be!!"

With a single swing of his arm, Jahāngir sent a soldier flying and clenched his hand as if savoring the sensation. Then, slowly surveying the surrounding pikemen, he bared his fangs.

"I am Jahāngir Hesam Jorjī, a descendant of the great dragon! Know my wrath! Know my terror!"

The dinosauroids, freed from the pointless battle of throwing stones, let out ear-piercing, high-pitched battle cries, their throats arched in joy and excitement.

Known as the tyrants of the battlefield, the incarnations of war, and the embodiments of slaughter, the dinosauroids, especially the Tiran species, struck fear into the hearts of the soldiers who saw them up close. The terror of these dinosauroids on the battlefield had been a frequent topic in barracks and taverns. However, what they had heard was often exaggerated. When they actually saw them, they realized that the stories had not captured the full extent of their terror.

"Follow me!"

With Jahāngir's command, the dinosauroids charged at the heavily armed pikemen.

Jahāngir wielded a thick chain with an iron ball at the end. In some country, slaves had developed a martial art using chains to resist cruel masters. For Jahāngir, it was simply a matter of being "used to it" because he had been chained for a long time.

However, with the strength of a dinosauroid, it was more than enough.

The iron ball, swung with centrifugal force, blew away the pikemen along with their shields, and the thick chain, even when it grazed the body, tore away large chunks of flesh. In no time, the area around Jahāngir was piled with the remains of soldiers who were more "destroyed" than "killed."

Excited by this, Jahāngir led the dinosauroids in a frenzy.

Despite the iron ball and chain swinging around his head and the splashes of blood and flesh, Sōma, who was on Jahāngir's back, stifled his screams with a face that looked like he was about to cry. Jahāngir, however, paid no attention to this.

Sōma felt as if he were no longer alive. Bound tightly by Shemul with no slack in the rope, every movement of Jahāngir was transmitted directly to Sōma's body. Compared to this, a roller coaster ride with friends at a leisure park was nothing more than a child's play.

"Look! Lord Sōma is leading the charge himself!"

Hearing Dovārin's voice from behind, Sōma had no time to deny it. He might have noticed that the voice was slightly trembling, trying to suppress a laugh. Of course, Dovārin had already guessed Sōma's predicament.

However, the reality was less important than how it appeared to others.

The human child, Sōma, who was commanding them and was seen as weak, was leading the charge against the enemy. No warrior could fail to be inspired by this.

"Ugh! Follow Lord Sōma!!"

Regardless of race, everyone let out battle cries and charged forward.

Sōma thought this might have been premature, but it was too late. The only thing he could do was cling to Jahāngir to avoid being thrown off.

In exchange, Shemul, who had finally caught up to Jahāngir, shouted in anger.

"You stupid lizard! Who in their right mind would carry someone on their back and charge to the front line!"

However, Jahāngir, focused on the battle with joy, did not notice Shemul. Shemul, who had half-seriously considered killing Jahāngir, turned his head to a menacing presence directed at him.

There stood a dinosauroid slightly smaller than Jahāngir. The dinosauroid, wielding two curved swords like a shamshir, ran alongside Shemul's right side and shouted angrily.

"Who are you, a girl, to criticize what my father does!"

From these words, Shemul, wide-eyed in surprise, realized that this dinosauroid was Jahāngir's son. As if sensing this, the dinosauroid blew a forceful breath through his nose, looking displeased.

"My name is Meflūzād Hesam Jorjī! The one over there is my younger brother, Nūshār! And the one behind is my youngest brother, Pārshār!"

Following Meflūzād's words, Shemul looked to his left and saw a dinosauroid swinging a thick iron club with numerous protrusions. Behind him, another dinosauroid, wielding a long halberd, nodded in agreement as he swung his weapon.

"We Tiran only entrust our backs to the royal species! It's already bad enough that such a weak human is riding on my father's back, but don't criticize it!"

Pārshār, the youngest, running behind, reprimanded Meflūzād.

"Brother, that's because Father has recognized Lord Sōma. It's rude to criticize that."

Nūshār, the second son, nodded in agreement as he swung his iron club.

"Girl, don't worry. Guarding Father's back as he charges into battle is our duty. As Father said, there's no safer place on this battlefield than his back."

Hearing this, Shemul realized that there were no enemy soldiers around him.

At this moment, if one could look down from above, they would see a kite-shaped blank area created by Jahāngir and his three sons in the midst of the chaotic battlefield.

Shemul was amazed by the strength of the dinosauroids that made this possible.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Should we deploy the dinosauroids here?"

Darius was well aware of the terror of the dinosauroids. Their combat power in close combat was in a different dimension. They were, in a sense, living violence. It was impossible to defeat them head-on.

Ideally, they should be shot down from a distance with arrows or prevented from approaching with a wall of spear tips. However, being suddenly drawn into close combat was a painful situation.

As Darius had feared, the ranks of the heavily armed pikemen were torn apart by the rampaging dinosauroids.

However, Darius smiled fiercely.

"You're getting impatient, rebels."

The arrival of his own forces would decide the outcome of this battle. They must have wanted to break the dense formation before that.

Indeed, the pressure on the dense formation increased with the dwarves and dinosauroids launching a close combat attack from the front.

However, from what he could see, there were only about fifty dinosauroids. With that number, even if they were dinosauroids, they could be surrounded and taken down by the soldiers.

On the contrary, now that the rebels had abandoned their defensive position, it was a good opportunity for a comeback.

Darius, praised as the greatest general of Hormea, would not miss this slight opportunity brought about by Sōma's impatience.

"Beat the great drum! Alternate between 'Advance' and 'Attack'!"

The true strength of the dense formation of heavily armed pikemen lay in the frontal assault. The front few rows had been pushed back, but the formation was still thick. If all of it was pushed forward, even the strong dwarves and dinosauroids would surely be defeated.

As if in response to Darius's expectations, a large movement began within the ranks of the heavily armed pikemen.

Until then, the pikemen had been attacked from the front and sides, unsure of where to direct their spears. However, now that they had a clear direction, their hesitation disappeared, and they all moved in one direction.

From a distance, it looked like the water in a barrel, which had been irregularly rippling due to being hit from all sides, suddenly gushed out in a single stream when the plug was pulled.

The move by the greatest general of Hormea was changing the flow of the battlefield.

◆◇◆◇◆

The dinosauroids' charge was fierce, and the front ranks of the heavily armed pikemen were pushed back about twenty steps in an instant. However, the layers of the formation were thick, and they met with fierce resistance, leading to a stalemate.

The battlefield had become a test of will and endurance.

Amidst this, Sōma, swaying on Jahāngir's back, noticed a change in the drumbeat coming from Darius's forces and felt a bad premonition.

Suddenly, Jahāngir, who had been pushing forward relentlessly, took a few steps back. Jahāngir, letting out a frustrated groan, tried to force his way forward again but was pushed back even further.

Looking around Jahāngir's shoulder, Sōma saw that the heavily armed pikemen, who had been in disarray, were now standing in neat rows with their spear tips aligned and shields raised.

Sōma regretted it. It was too early to engage in close combat.

If this continued, the dwarves and dinosauroids at the front of the dense formation would be overwhelmed. Worse, if the pikemen broke through the front, the Zoans attacking from the sides would be hit from the flanks or rear.

Looking around, Sōma saw that Garam and Zūg's Zoans were also facing fierce resistance and were just short of breaking through.

Meanwhile, the pressure from the heavily armed pikemen was pushing Jahāngir back even further.

Sōma had no more cards to play.

It was a reckless battle against overwhelming numbers. Everyone would die. It's my fault; everyone will die because of me.

Overwhelmed by guilt and fear, Sōma felt his blood freeze.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed in his ears.

"If you're so scared, you won't be able to do anything, Sōma."

It was the voice of his late grandfather.

When Sōma was young, he was learning to ride a bicycle. During his first practice without training wheels, he was afraid of falling and whined. His grandfather said this to him.

"Are you scared? Then, try shouting loudly. Anything will do. If you shout loudly, the fear will fly away. Come on, you can do