Chapter 22: The First Encounter [2]

The tempo of the war drums was the tune of life and death. The beats turned the face of each soldier somber.

Knight Levo stood his ground at the front of the soldier’s formation, leading in battle instead of hiding behind. He pulled out his sword, then raised his large shield. His warm smile vanished. Faint flashes of crimson skittered around him.

“Ha!” the knight thundered, following the rhythm of the war drums. A crimson aura broke forth from his body like a wave. It looked like the streaks of lighting were converging within him. The crimson aura spread like wildfire towards the soldiers. The crimson streaks did not harm the soldiers. Instead, it slowly turned into a blooming crimson halo, creeping into their swords and armors.

“Vanguard raised your shields! Hold! Steady!

Suddenly, the giant alpha wolf howled. A glint of disdain flashed in its emerald eyes. A few death wolves rushed towards the soldiers with madness. Their eyes filled with hunger and craziness.

The only thing these beasts saw was walking meat. Along with its rush, the scent of blood and slaughter lingered in the air.

“Men! Here they come. Grit your damn teeth!”

Before the wolves could even reach the vanguard, a few had already fallen inside the deep pits prepared by Auburn. Seeing the Death wolves falling to the traps, a light flashed in the Madam’s eyes. The wooden stakes served not only to slow down the wolves, but also to lead them to the traps.

“Archers ready!

Annis raised her hands.

“Fire Arrows. Hold! Fire!”

The fire arrows flew in the air and struck the deep pits, triggering a hungry tongue of flame to rise. The traps torched a few death wolves into fiery oblivion, their death throes echoed from the fiery pits.

The whines of its servants made the giant Death wolf wary. It never expected that it would face such resistance from such a little village.

“Bang!”

The wolves who were able to dodge the fiery pits continued to rush and soon struck the giant shields. They tried to push against the giant shields, to no avail.

“Men! Hold!” The vanguards hid behind the giant shields, keeping their feet steady as they waited for orders. Soon, another howl from the alpha echoed.

“Humph!! Come, come. Now push!” They pushed a few death wolves off a few meters away. Some even flew in the air.

Knight Levo pushed the Death wolf that was scratching his shield, making the bastard fly in the air. He turned his shield to the side and unleashed a crimson flash, slicing the wolf into two mid-air. Another one came rushing and had its head pommeled by the knight’s giant sword. The beast’s skull cracked. Black blood splashed on the ground as its head popped like a watermelon after the knight used his sword as if it was a mace.

The soldiers beside the knight worked together, slashing and crushing the monsters.

“Cut or bash their heads!” Don’t let them play and wiggle!” the knight hollered. “Don’t get bitten!”

Soon enough, the first batch of Death wolves dwindled. They were like crops being harvested one by one.

The Death wolves literally became dead wolves. Most of these beasts died either with the head cut off or smash. Even before the battle, quite a lot had died after being roasted like a pig in the fiery pits.

“Ahh!”

“N-no, stay away!”

“Damn it! Pull the brats!”

Even so, there were still a few casualties from the soldiers. Some suffered from claw swipes, poisoned, twitching on the ground in pain and agony.

A few wolves even tore some greenhorns flesh. In a blink of an eye, a chunk of their arms or legs missing. These soldiers were immediately dragged back to the medical tent by their colleagues.

An unlucky man even died after getting his throat ripped by a Death wolf, which he thought was dead.

The bastards were sneaky and vicious.

The Knight grimaced after catching the sight. This was just the first wave. A hundred wolves in the first wave!

“Be sure they’re dead! And damn, popped their heads!”

Mowing down as many as he could, the Knight’s aura burst forth like cracking lightning as it tore down the land. With a few swipes, twenty plus wolves fell, their bodies cut in half. Enough for others to take a deep breath and recollect themselves.

The Death wolves continued to flood the narrow pass. After one batch was cleared, another batch would come. The first wolves seemed like expendables.

The second wave of death wolves seemed to be much experienced than the first one. This batch avoided the burning pits with dexterity. They also mowed and crushed the wooden stakes with their sharp claws.

Ting, ting!

Claws and swords met. The grating sounds bloomed in the battlefield as sparks flew everywhere.

The Madam narrowed her eyes. Cunning. She felt like she was playing chess with the lord wolf. Despite not underestimating the beasts, she still fell a step behind.

She never thought that the usually cautious wolves would attack without caution. The emerald eyes wolf ignored the risks of casualties of its pack.

The Death wolves came prepared, and the pack leader was nothing but ruthless. The Madam realized this after a single exchange.

Madam treasured each soldier within the army. Watching the young ones die made her heart bled. After all, seeing a few of her etiquette students getting ripped was nothing but torture. Even Lady Liene had to let out a long-suffering sigh as she wore a grimace.

“Madam, we can’t continue this. We-”

“I know.”

Unlike the monster subjugation, this battle was far more nerve-wracking. During the beast tide, they were fighting against monsters that only know how to attack. No strategies in using their massive numbers.

But this time, she was facing a unique beast with sentience. It had intelligence. Madam took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She simulated a few strategies in her mind and immediately shifted her strategies.

She opened her eyes again and realized a few thoughts about the alpha wolf’s plan.

The first wave was mere fodders in the eyes of the alpha wolf. It was the disposables used to check things out. The wave was ferocious and fast but lacked coordination. It was the newbies.

She guessed that the second or third wave would be something to tire the vanguard out. The soldiers must retreat now.

More and more death wolves appeared from the Forest of Wilderness. A batch coming out after another, poking their hungry heads one by one. Madam Annis scowled after catching a whiff of the alpha wolf’s wit.

It’s using basic human, no, wolf wave tactics cleverly.

“Levo! Go retreat to the second line!” Madam Annis shouted. She looked at war drummers. In a short while, he could already see their faces sagging.

They were burning their life force, their skin getting paler and paler with every bang of the war drums. Still, their eyes sparkled with bravery.

“You heard my wife! Move steady and slow!”

Aided with their rich experience, the vanguard crafted a new line with their giant shields, letting the younger ones retreat first. The soldiers slowly retreated to the second line with caution, assuring that not even one wolf would pass.

“Archers free fire! Provide support aim for the feet. Throw the alchemical flaming bottles! Slow the wolves down.”

“Ai!”

It was fortunate that they were fighting on a closed battlefield. If not, retreating would be much more difficult if they fought in an open field like the village.

The lord wolf would certainly fill their escape routes with monsters. It was thanks to the two cliffs that the Death wolves weren’t able to flood the battlefield with a greater number. The terrain had limited them from using that number.

Blasted alchemical flasks burst forth into the narrow path, turning the entire battlefield into a sea of fire. The Death wolves could only watch after being impeded by roaring flames. Still, the bloodlust within them, unabated and unquenched.

Soon enough, the main vanguard reached the second line. The old walls.

The soldiers cast a worried gaze towards the raging flames, sighing in relief after realizing that the flames had indeed stopped the wolves.

A wry smile slipped out of their face.

Those pricy alchemical bottles had done their jobs.