Chapter 69

"Stop! Maintain the dense formation! I said to stop!!"

Judeus strained his voice as much as he could, but the collapse of the dense formation, once it had begun, could not be halted. The supposedly solid dense formation crumbled so easily that it left onlookers stunned.

Among the fleeing soldiers, many were the young nobles who were participating in their first battle, leading the charge in their escape. With this, it was impossible for the common soldiers to obey Judeus's orders.

The collapse of the punitive force was unstoppable, no matter who shouted what.

The outcome of the battle had already been decided, but Cangma did not let up.

Even though they were retreating, the number of soldiers in the punitive force was still far greater than his own. If they regained their senses from the chaos of defeat and reorganized to attack again, Cangma and his men, who had exhausted all their strategies, would have no chance of winning. Now, even if it meant being called cruel, they had to thoroughly sweep away the defeated soldiers and deprive them of the strength and will to fight again.

On Jahangir's back, Cangma swung his arm wide and shouted,

"Sweep away the defeated soldiers!"

In response to Cangma's command, a Zoan warrior nearby fiercely beat the drum.

Everyone let out a war cry and began to pursue the fleeing punitive force.

Of course, leading the charge were the Zoans, galloping on all fours. They quickly caught up to the soldiers who had turned their backs and were fleeing, pounced on them from behind, and cut their throats with machetes.

"Foolish! Do you think you can escape from the Zoans by turning your backs?!"

Marius shouted in anger at the scene, and Darius also silently clenched the armrests of his chariot.

The most casualties in battle do not occur when spears are thrust at each other, but when the defeated turn their backs and are pursued by the enemy.

Especially when the enemy is the Zoans, who can run as fast as horses. No matter how desperately the foot soldiers tried to run, they could not escape. It was unimaginable how many casualties there would be if this continued.

To stop the Zoans' pursuit, one of the units had to be left behind as a rearguard, but at this point, the only unit that could be properly commanded was Darius's own. However, even if Darius's elite unit, which he was proud of, could not stop the Zoans' pursuit, who were now in full momentum, with only about five hundred men.

If there were narrow valleys or deep forests, they could use them as defensive positions and hold their ground, but unfortunately, the direction of retreat was an endless plain. The camp they had built yesterday was just a collection of tents and could not serve as a defensive position.

In this situation, cruel as it was, they had no choice but to abandon the soldiers who had been caught by the Zoans' pursuit. While the Zoans were busy eliminating the resisting soldiers or neutralizing the surrendered ones, they would retreat to the rear. There, they would set up a flag, gather the fleeing soldiers, reorganize the unit, and retreat to the city of Luoma while restraining the pursuing Zoans.

Of course, it was a heart-wrenching decision for Darius to abandon the soldiers.

Regret over how such a great defeat had occurred could not be suppressed.

Before the battle, Darius had thought of the rebels as a ragtag group of outlaws.

The Zoans, dwarves, and dinosauroids, when seen individually, were all races with far more valiant and robust bodies than humans. In a one-on-one fight, humans would have no chance of winning.

However, war is not fought individually. No matter how excellent an individual's martial prowess, if the entire army does not function as one, it is nothing more than a mob. If the group was just a collection of fugitive slaves who had banded together out of fear of the punitive force, they would abandon other races and flee at the slightest disadvantage, leading to their own collapse.

He did not intend to underestimate them, but it was reasonable to think so of the rebelling Zoans and the newly freed slaves.

However, when they actually clashed, it was far from being a mob.

Turning the stronghold into a trap and sending the majority of the Zoans to the side of the dense formation was a gamble, to say the least. Yet, those left in the stronghold held their ground without fleeing, and the Zoans brilliantly broke through the side of the dense formation.

If it had been just a ragtag group, those left in the stronghold would have fled in the Zoans' wake, and the Zoans would not have been able to charge into the dense formation.

It was not just that. Even when they were surrounded and engaged in fierce combat, they fought without a single one of them retreating, despite being outnumbered by the enemy many times over.

Compared to his own soldiers, who had collapsed so easily when their numerical advantage was threatened, Darius even felt a sense of regret that it was his side that had been the ragtag group.

What was it that united them?

Darius's eyes were drawn to a human figure among the rebels.

It was a human child carried on the back of a dinosauroid.

Despite being so far away that it was only the size of a pinky finger, for some reason, Darius could see the figure with surprising clarity.

He was not surprised to see a human child, as he had heard from the residents who had fled the city that the rebels were led by a human boy. What surprised Darius was that the dinosauroid carrying the human child was a Tiran, a noble among the nobles.

In the social hierarchy of the dinosauroids, the Tiran species belonged to the privileged warrior class, equivalent to samurai or nobles in human terms. Moreover, the Tiran species were said to be the highest nobility, second only to the royal species.

The back of a Tiran, who stood in front of the royal species to protect them, was only to be offered to the royal species. It was unthinkable to offer it to anyone else, let alone a human, whom the dinosauroids regarded as "weak apes."

Is he the leader of the rebels? Is this the one?!

Darius was shaken.

If even the Tiran species of the dinosauroids, who looked down on humans as mere dust, would entrust their backs to him, he could command the proud Zoans. He could make the elves and dwarves abandon their long-standing enmity and cooperate. He could even make the capricious harpies risk their lives.

The rebels were not banded together out of fear of the punitive force.

The boy was not just a figurehead.

They followed him because of him.

He was the key to the rebels!

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed in Darius's ears.

"Hey, Darius. What do you think the strongest army is?"

It was when he was still a young officer, full of youth and hope for the future.

The young Darius would often go to taverns with his friends every night and talk about the future of the country, their own futures, and even which courtesan was the best, while drinking together.

At that time, they were discussing what they thought was the strongest army.

While Darius was racking his brain for an answer, a talented friend, known as the future great general, confidently said,

"Dinosaurs as valiant heavy infantry, mermen as skilled sailors, dwarves as ingenious engineers, elves as excellent archers, Zoans as swift cavalry, and harpies as swift messengers. And a cunning human general. This is the strongest army."

Darius and his friends burst out laughing and cheered, "That's the strongest!"

Because it was a joke.

There is a similar joke.

It is, "The strongest army is an American general, German officers, Japanese non-commissioned officers, and Russian soldiers."

This is a joke about the national characteristics of each country, suggesting that a brave American is suitable as a general who decides the overall strategy, a meticulous German as an officer who manages the strategy, a diligent Japanese as a non-commissioned officer who executes the strategy, and a valiant Russian as a soldier who fights.

However, this is just a joke. Such a thing could never happen in reality. That's why it's a joke.

However, the strongest army that could only exist in a joke was now right in front of Darius's eyes.

Moreover, it was not the vague "like" that his friend had once described.

Valiant dinosaurs as heavy infantry, ingenious dwarves as engineers, excellent elves as archers, swift Zoans as light infantry, and swift harpies as messengers. And a human commander who united them all.

It was not yet a perfect army, but the prototype of the strongest army was already taking shape.

Darius recalled the contents of the letter from Tutu.

It was written there, wasn't it?

The enemy might be the strongest army.

"This is what it meant!"

Until now, human armies had been able to maintain an advantage over other races because of the versatility of human soldiers. By quickly switching to the type of soldier that the other race was weak against, they had always been able to fight with an advantage.

However, in front of this strongest army, which utilized the characteristics of each race, the human army was reduced to a mere jack-of-all-trades.

Darius was stunned by his own imagination.

It was a mere moment, as if counting to three slowly, but to Marius, who had always followed Darius, it felt abnormally long.

Marius, knowing it was presumptuous, urged Darius to give the order to retreat.

"Sir, it's over! Give the order to retreat quickly!"

"No!"

Marius, who had not expected to be rejected, widened his eyes in surprise, and Darius firmly denied it.

"No! No, Marius!"

"Why?! The outcome of the battle has already been decided! If we retreat now, we can surely avenge this humiliation someday!"

"That would be too late, Marius!"

The victorious rebels would completely dominate the city of Bornis. However, even if they dominated the city of Bornis, it was just a provincial city. Although this rebel suppression had failed, there was still a chance to turn things around.

Moreover, since they had lost once, they could no longer crush the enemy in one swift blow with a large army to demonstrate the king of Holmea's might within the country. However, they no longer needed such a large army. A smaller force would suffice. They could repeatedly attack like waves on a beach, wearing out the rebels.

Of course, they would also be worn out, but the strength of a provincial city and a country was completely different. The power of the rebels would be exhausted long before Holmea's. After that, they could carefully capture the city of Bornis.

Logically, that would be the best course of action.

It should be.

But—

Is it really the best?

A shadow of doubt crossed Darius's mind.

Think about it. Just a few months ago, the Zoans were on the brink of extinction. Yet, they had burned down eight hundred soldiers, captured an impregnable fortress, and even taken the supposedly unassailable city of Bornis. Finally, they had defeated a punitive force of over seven thousand with just over a thousand soldiers.

Who could have imagined such a thing? In this battle alone, the one who commanded the rebels had overturned all of their common sense.

What would happen if such people got their hands on the vast Solbiant Plain?

What would happen if they were given time?

"We cannot give them even a moment's respite! —No!"

Not them.

Him.

"The one who commands those rebels!"

Darius pointed at Cangma, who was in the middle of the advancing enemy.

"We must kill him here! We must kill him now! If we don't, he will bring disaster to Holmea! He will surely bring great disaster to our Holmea! We must kill him here, no matter what!"

It was a conviction-like intuition of Darius.

If they missed this opportunity, he would become a powerful existence beyond their control.

If they did not defeat him here, he would become a terrifying enemy to the country of Holmea.

Darius's instincts, honed on the battlefield, were telling him this.

"But, how do you plan to kill him?!"

To reach the leader of the rebels, they would first have to break through the Zoans who were charging forward. Even if they could do that, the leader of the rebels was surrounded by the valiant dinosauroids. They would lose many soldiers just breaking through the Zoans, and it would be impossible to defeat the dinosauroids and take the head of the rebel leader.

However, Darius said something shocking.

"I will lead the charge with my chariot, aiming for him!"

"What?!"

"Do you understand! Ignore everyone else! Aim only for the enemy leader on the back of that dinosauroid!"

Marius was speechless.

It would be a suicidal special attack.

However, Darius himself was fully aware of this.

"Sacrifice your life to kill him! If we kill him, even if we die, Holmea will win! For our Holmea!"

Feeling the firmness of Darius's resolve, Marius no longer argued.

"As you wish, sir!"

Just as Marius was about to turn his horse to relay the order to the rear of the unit, Darius called him back.

"Marius...!"

"What is it, sir?"

Turning back, Marius said, as if spitting out blood,

"I'm sorry, Marius. I have trained you, thinking you would surely become the next great general. But, I regret my incompetence for losing such talent here."

Marius was slightly surprised but soon broke into a broad smile.

"What are you saying, sir? I am proud to fight alongside you, rather than becoming a great general!"

"...Forgive me, Marius."

Not only Marius, but Darius's direct subordinates were elite soldiers who had always fought alongside Darius. When they realized Darius's resolve, they too steeled themselves.

Feeling the determination of his subordinates, Darius was convinced that the sword would surely reach the leader of the rebels.

"Do you understand! Aim only for the human on the back of that dinosauroid! No matter who falls, do not stop! Aim only for his head!"

The soldiers silently clashed their swords and spears, showing their resolve.

"I will clear the way! Step over my corpse and kill him! I will go ahead to the entrance of the underworld and wait for your victory song!"

"For you, sir!"

The soldiers echoed.

Darius formed the unit into a wedge formation. Normally, the commander would be at the rear of the wedge, but Darius deliberately placed his own chariot at the front. This was to maximize the chariot's penetration power and, as he had declared, to clear the way with his own life.

This was something that would inspire those who had followed Darius for a long time.

All the soldiers became death-defying soldiers, disregarding their own lives.

The five hundred soldiers in the wedge formation became a single arrow. It was a fatal arrow that, once released, would surely take the enemy's life.

Just as Darius's right arm, raised high, was about to swing down and the fatal arrow was about to be released at Cangma, a voice rang out,

"It's no use! Flee, let's flee!"

Darius, who had resolved to kill Cangma by any means necessary.

The special attack by Holmea's greatest general, who was willing to stake his life, was about to be carried out when a scream changed the course of events.

Next Chapter: "Decisive Battle 9 - The Destroyer's Child"