“A wise leader knows when all is lost and to cut their losses as needed. An unwise leader would often commit more and more resources into a lost cause, or pull out too soon and render a salvageable situation into a lost one.” - Liang Shi-Zu, famed tactician from the Huan Confederacy.

Or course, what hopes the enemy officer targeted by the Free Lances had, whichever deities he worshiped clearly wasn’t listening that day.

Mischka led her troops and parted the majority of the soldiers that stood in the way between the mercenaries and their target, while Grünhildr, Zyd, and Arne blocked all the escape routes. There still remained a hundred strong or so group of elite bodyguards around the targeted officer himself, easily recognizable by their better armor and equipment, but by that point, Mischka’s task was done.

Instead, she led her platoon towards the back of the formation, preparing for another push when they needed to break out of the enemy formation, and in turn allowed Elfriede and her platoon free access to their target and the bodyguards around them.

Elfriede led the charge herself, leading by example, as was often the case when it came to her unruly troops. Her platoon members were mostly composed of the worst sort of people that sought after the mercenary life, the killers and the depraved maniacs, the sorts that enjoyed the feeling of taking another’s life, all while bathed in their unfortunate victim’s lifeblood.

Those sorts were far from uncommon amongst mercenary groups, whether it was because they weren’t picky with their recruits or otherwise. In the Free Lances, however, they were kept under control and reined in by their officers. It was a simple matter, as most of those types recognized their own ilk and shied away from those they perceived as stronger than themselves. All Elfriede and the other officers of the platoon had to do was to make sure that the rest of the members knew their place.

Because they were kept under strict control most of the time, the occasions where they were unleashed were particularly cherished by her platoon members. Times when they were free to kill to their heart’s content, other than a few that the bosses wanted alive. It was those sort of lunatics that the officer’s bodyguard found themselves facing, and it only took moments before said bodyguards were overwhelmed and ended up as victims, bleeding on the ground.

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Elfriede herself subscribed to a more pragmatic efficiency when at work. She stepped lightly and used small, efficient movements to disable and cut down the bodyguards that stood in her path. Her pair of blades easily caught and bound her opponent’s weapons, leaving them wide open for her other blade to take their life.

The keen mithril edge of her blades cut deep into flesh and parted even bone with minimal resistance, and more than a few of her foes ended up missing their heads, as their necks were the easiest targets for her to strike at. Others ended up with their throats slit thoroughly, and their fates were arguably worse, as they were left to slowly suffocate to death in their own blood. At least those who got decapitated met with a swift end.

Within moments, Elfriede had broken through the line of bodyguards to stand before the last few huddled around the target officer, led by a young woman who seemed to be the officer’s adjutant. All of them had pale faces and looked frightened out of their wits, but still held their weapons in hand and pointed them towards the mercenaries.

“Surrender and you won’t be killed,” stated Elfriede coldly in common, fully expecting her words to fall into deaf ears due to the language issues they had been having with the enemy captives.

To her surprise, though, the female adjutant seemed to perk up when she heard what was said and went into a long tirade in the odd tongue the invaders used. Several of the bodyguards and even the officer they were targeting looked at the woman questioningly for a moment before they dropped their weapons and looked at Elfriede with both expectation and obvious dread.

Two did not and instead charged at her with loud war cries and sabers in hand. Elfriede casually used the blade in her right hand to catch one of the incoming sabers between the tines of her blade and block the second one with her handguard. At the same time, her second blade flashed past, cleanly removing the head of one man, while the perpendicular tine of her blade pierced through the helmet of the second man and went straight into his brain from the side.

By the time the two bodies toppled over, the remaining bodyguards had taken the initiative to kick away the weapons they had dropped, looking at the weapons as if they were live serpents.

“Well, that’s convenient, and unexpected. You understand me?” Elfriede asked to the female adjutant, only for the woman to nod rapidly and reply in broken, heavily accented, but understandable common in return. “Tell them to not try anything funny, else their lives aren’t guaranteed. If you cooperate we won’t treat you badly,” she stated to the female adjutant once more. “Oy, Sera, get the boys to round the prisoners up! We’re heading back!”

On Elfriede’s command, Ylisera led a group of the platoon members and tied up the surviving bodyguards as well as the female adjutant and the officer they came for. Since the officer was injured and couldn’t walk by himself, one of the platoon’s larger members simply foisted the man over his shoulder and carried him that way.

The platoon then seamlessly slipped towards the back while Alvaro’s and Astrid’s people took their place. Around the same time, the two strike platoons withdrew from their position and resumed their position at the flanks of the formation as the Free Lances flipped their formation around and rushed out the way they came.

Some of the enemies had covered the gap they created on their way in, but it was far from enough to stop the mercenaries.