Chapter 92

Fog enveloped the area.

It's probably a countermeasure against Father.

...If that's the case, it's too sweet.

Unfortunately, I'm here.

The fog reached me.

As I reached out to touch and absorb it,

"Riddle! Step back!"

I flinched!

I lowered my hand, startled by Father's sudden shout. Looking at Father, he said,

"The battle is not just this.

Keep your hidden moves hidden until the end."

I had forgotten.

This battle is just a skirmish in the grand scheme of things.

I can't reveal all my abilities here.

Even if I win now, it would be meaningless if I lose in the battles to come.

Immediately after, water magic was used to clear the fog, and it gradually dissipated.

From within, a cry was heard,

"Uooyaaaaa!!!"

Was it Baldr?

But it was not. Another general from the Baldragia side approached Baldr and thrust a spear into him.

The enemy general must have charged as soon as the fog cleared, initiating a one-on-one battle with Baldr.

Though I couldn't see clearly, I could see Baldr defending himself with his spear, parrying the enemy's rapid thrusts.

To be honest, even without any status boosts, I think Baldr is stronger.

With my buffs, he's nearly twice as strong.

As expected, the enemy general realized he couldn't win and began focusing on defending against Baldr's attacks.

This time, Baldr took the offensive.

"Ooohraa!!"

Boom!!

"Guh!"

Baldr managed to block the enemy's spear, but he was lifted off his horse and blown back five or six meters, causing his horse to stumble.

Seeing this, Baldr pursued and was about to deliver a second strike.

Enemy attack—!!

Bang, bang, bang!

Suddenly, a voice warning of the enemy and the sharp sound of drums echoed from behind the army.

Damn!!

Focused on the front, I didn't notice the cavalry approaching from behind.

As I mentioned earlier, Father doesn't split the army. It's basically a single mass, slightly elongated, but moving together.

The direction of movement is, of course, the same, and a sudden rear attack while the army is advancing is dangerous.

Looking behind, I saw Baldragia cavalry breaking through the ranks of our shield soldiers.

Advancing through the densely packed soldiers is, of course, a dangerous task, but they pushed through, occasionally hitting their own allies.

Distracting the front and attacking from behind.

It's a basic and obvious strategy, but it often works when actually executed.

Humans naturally run when pursued from behind.

When each individual thinks, "What should I do?" and sees their neighbor moving forward, they follow.

When the next person sees this and moves forward, and the next person sees that and follows, everyone ends up moving forward in a retreat.

The Pornezia army fell perfectly into the enemy's trap.

So? It can't be such a simple strategy.

A normal army would likely be unable to stop and be attacked from behind.

But Father's army is different.

Father said nothing. He just looked that way.

At that moment, the last five thousand soldiers at the rear stopped advancing almost simultaneously.

Moreover, a path opened from the center to the rear. The Pornezia side's magic troops, led by Shoun, ran through this path.

Meanwhile, the five thousand Pornezia soldiers at the rear, like the Baldragia soldiers earlier, formed a wall with their shield soldiers to face the approaching Baldragia cavalry.

Even with the uneven ground due to the dead Baldragia shield soldiers, the distance from the center to near the rear is less than two hundred meters.

The magic troops, who arrived in less than a minute, began preparing to cast spells at the approaching Baldragia cavalry.

Their positions were now reversed.

The only difference is that our magic actually activated.

It activated, and with a sensation of the air swelling, an extraordinary explosion sounded from behind, and a vortex of light in various colors—red, blue, and more—rushed toward us.

The magic troops' chorus spell hit the Baldragia cavalry at close range.

The Baldragia soldiers behind must have suffered tremendous casualties.

Uooyaaaaa!!!

The Pornezia soldiers cheered at the sight.

But...

"Revenge for our burned comrades!!!"

More enemies were charging from the side.

A three-pronged attack!!