From Mercenary to King-Chapter 56 : Second Clash (15)

Chapter 56: Second Clash (15)
“Damn it! Shatien.”
Once the fighting on this flank wrapped up, Centurion Jenga threw a fuss as he grabbed Shatien in a hug.
“From now on, even if you rub me the wrong way, I will let it slide at least once! I never thought you would help me out like this!”
“……”
Was this a praise or an insult?
Maybe this was just how Centurion Jenga was by nature. It was ridiculous, yet at the same time, there was a strange feeling of satisfaction; being acknowledged by someone he had not gotten along with felt oddly fresh.
“Centurion Jenga, what do we do now? Do you know how the other fronts are holding up?”
“It is not looking very good, I’d say. Centurion Jacri’s side seems to be getting pushed back little by little too. Useless bastard. He strutted around like he was so great.”
Jenga clicked his tongue and looked toward the far opposite side.
The battlefield did not look good.
‘Hmm… At this rate, wouldn’t it be better to pull back?’
There was a reason people spoke of a strategic retreat. Especially if they set fire to the supply depot as they fell back, then they would have achieved their primary goal of wrecking the enemy’s supply line.
‘Master Joachim told me that too…’
Do not cling to empty honor, focus on practical gain.
After battle upon battle, he was exhausted, and so were the mercenaries. If they charged in blindly now, they could lose their stamina and get wiped out.
They had also built up good will with the village of Pegandul in the middle. If they built their supply line around that place, their situation would be completely different from that of the Imperial Army that had just lost its depot.
But that line of thought did not last long.
“Centurion!”
A mercenary shouted some urgent news.
“P-Please help us! Captain Mordo is currently in danger.”
“…?!”
Both Shatien and Jenga stiffened.
If Captain Mordo was captured, any plan like that would become meaningless. Shatien and Jenga met each other’s eyes as if they had agreed beforehand.
“Damn it! Shatien, you can push yourself one more time, right?”
“What else can we do? Of course we have to run to him.”
“Hehe. Yes. Let us go kick that idiot Jacri in the backside while we are at it. How dare he let the Captain fall into danger!”
Their thoughts had aligned.
* * *
Captain Mordo’s situation was close to hopeless.
The stockade held by his personal detachment was on the verge of being overrun. The path down to the ground had long since been cut off, and enemies were swarming up the ladders in an endless stream.
On top of the palisade, friendly and enemy forces were already entangled in a slaughter.
At this point, he could have run. Yet Captain Mordo chose desperate resistance.
It made sense, as this was near the central gate. If they fell here, it meant the gate in the stockade would open, and the enemy would surge straight through to the supply depot.
They had to hold on no matter what.
“How is the support coming? Jacri.”
“They are on their way, Captain.”
“Heh, is that so.”
Knowing those words were empty, Mordo let out a bitter smile.
He had been hearing that “they are coming” for a while now, yet he saw no sign of reinforcements. All he could see around him were his men dying one after another.
The stench of blood was sharp enough to sting his nose.
“Jacri, thank you for following a fool like me.”
“Do not talk weak, Captain! Use that time to cut down one more of them. Hya!”
“Hahaha. Right. That is just like you.”
Even in this situation his spirit did not break. Jacri was indeed a fine retainer.
‘But the tide is against us.’
If there was a time to choose retreat, this was probably it.
If they stayed longer, they could be surrounded and never get out at all.
“Captain Mordo!”
Just then, one knight pushed forward through the Imperial soldiers.
Judging by his well made equipment, he seemed to be a noble of some standing.
“Give up this futile resistance and surrender. If you do, I will see that you are treated with special courtesy.”
At that, Mordo snorted softly. So that was all he had to say. The usual empty talk. Courtesy toward a mercenary? If they did not drag him off and torture him, that alone would be a miracle.
When had they ever treated a mercenary captain, the man who had tormented them all this time, with courtesy.
Especially when they had nothing to lose.
“Courtesy… you say. Then will you guarantee the safety of my men?”
“Captain!”
Jacri cried out in alarm beside him, but Mordo ignored him and looked straight at the knight. The knight fumbled with his words and failed to answer.
“Ha. I thought so. Then what meaning would surrender have? Nameless knight.”
Mordo pointed out his rudeness of not even giving his name. The Imperial knight flushed red and shouted.
“You will regret this!”
“I have regretted things every single day since I took up the mercenary trade! Do not talk nonsense, nameless knight!”
“Ugh! You and your beloved mercenary company will all be sent to stand before God.”
“Ha! We will not be going before God, we will be going to the gates of hell, you fool!”
Mordo shouted and swung his sword.
-Crack!
“Aaagh!”
His blade flashed, and one Imperial soldier in front of him dropped in a heap.
He had not stood on the front line often since becoming Captain, but now Captain Mordo knew very well that it was time to remind them how he had earned his old nickname, Black Raven.
“S-Shoot!”
“Stop him quickly! Pin down that Captain so he cannot move!”
The knight who had stepped forward retreated in panic and shouted. Yet there was not a single soldier who could stop Captain Mordo’s strike.
To stop a noble born warrior like Mordo, they needed a knight of similar rank.
With things going this way, the Imperial formation that had struggled so hard to encircle him began to waver.
‘Hmm.’
Mordo was stronger than that knight had expected. Then the knight hit upon a clever trick.
“Hey, mercenaries! You don't want to die, right? We are not all there is. There are hundreds more soldiers behind us!”
“Do not spout nonsense!”
“Think about it. Why do you think the heavy bottomed Captain Mordo is out there swinging his sword on the front line like that! He is doing it because the situation is that dangerous.”
Murmurs rose around them.
The knight seized that hesitation and dangled a sweet proposal.
“Five gold coins! I will give you that. Capture Captain Mordo. I, Sir Zutefe, swear it! I will spare your lives too of course!”
“…!”
Several mercenaries’ expressions changed after hearing those words.
‘Five gold coins?’
‘I could be rich in an instant, no?’
‘They said they will spare our lives too.’
Seeing the wavering mood, Centurion Jacri shouted.
“He is a greenhorn who will not even give his family name. How can you trust his words! Do not be shaken! Besides, there is no way he has enough money to pay all of you.”
“Do not be ridiculous! I will tell you about my family right now! I am from House Turigen! I stake my house’s honor on this!”
“…”
What a farce in the middle of a battle. Mordo’s head throbbed. What made it worse was that there were mercenaries actually tempted by this.
-Clang!
“Sorry, Captain!”
“Yeah, we have to survive somehow.”
They turned their bodies and reversed their grips on their swords.
“You fools!”
“You laughed and drank with us, and now you dare betray us?”
“You throw away loyalty for that pocket change!”
“Hey now, loyalty? We have not even known each other for a month you know? Heh heh.”
At least the veteran core did not betray them, and that was a mercy. Even so, the unit led by Captain Mordo and Centurion Jacri was suddenly crawling with traitors.
“Subdue Captain Mordo!”
“Stop them! Make those fools pay for their betrayal!”
Just as the mercenaries were splitting into two sides to fight,
-Waaaaaaah-!
A massive roar rose from the rear, and hundreds of mercenaries came running.
“Reinforcements, Captain! Shatien and Centurion Jenga have brought our men!”
* * *
Shatien hefted his warhammer as he saw the palisade packed with Imperial soldiers. The space was too tight to swing a longsword as he pleased.
“You bastard, die!”
One Imperial soldier charged at Shatien without a hint of fear.
He had mistaken him for a common mercenary. That was his fatal mistake.
“Hup!”
Shatien drew a breath and angled his warhammer to meet the flow.
-Smash!
“Arghhh?!”
The soldier jerked as if his body had bounced, and before he could even react he was hurled upward.
“?!”
The Imperial soldiers were stunned, their eyes full of confusion at the unbelievable display. The man who got hit flew off the palisade and dropped to the ground below.
“W-What kind of brute is this!”
“Stop him!”
They whipped around and tried to take up defensive stances, but it was useless.
-Smash!
-Crack, crack!
Shatien now had blunt weapon skills as well as swordsmanship embedded in his body.
The warhammer moved like he was dancing. With each blow, the battlefield rang with shields and skulls being smashed.
Shatien swung his warhammer like a madman as he plunged into the enemy. He left his back to his fellow mercenaries and charged boldly.
“He’s a monster!”
“Call the knight, call the knight!”
The Imperial soldiers alone could not possibly stop him. Unable to halt Shatien’s charge, a knight finally pushed his way out from between the soldiers.
“Who are you bastard!”
“Prepare yourself!”
“What?”
No need for words.
He took the question as bluster and swung his warhammer at once.
-Craaack.
The knight barely managed to block, and his sword crumpled like tin.
The knight shouted in panic.
“W-Wait! I am from House Turingen… Blegh!”
-Splat!
There was no way Shatien was going to stand there listening to pointless talk. He always chose efficiency and the most decisive strike. The noble who had introduced himself as a knight of House Turingen collapsed to the ground with his helmet caved in by the warhammer.
-Thud.
“…”
Silence fell over the area for a moment.
Imperial soldiers and mercenaries alike were frozen. To kill a noble so brutally was something rarely seen.
The fear effect that came with it, however, was tremendous.
“What? House Turingen, was it? I am Centurion Shatien of the Black Raven Mercenary Company.”
Shatien tilted his warhammer toward the corpse and said it with a crooked grin. The Imperial ranks rippled in shock.
“Wait, t-that Shatien?”
“The monster who defeated Baron Ludwig?!”
“This is insane! Run!”
“Get out of here!”
In a single brutal blow, the enemy’s morale had cratered. Terrified, the Imperial soldiers began lowering their ladders.
Then Shatien noticed something strange. Even men who should not have been running were trying to flee.
‘Why are our allies running away too?’
At first he thought they were going down to fight, but they were not. They were genuinely running toward the Imperial lines.
“What are you doing! Get back here! Your place is here.”
“Shatien! Those are the traitors!”
“Ah?”
Only after hearing Captain Mordo’s shout did he see the situation clearly.
There had been one of those common betrayals that happened on battlefields. Shatien did not hesitate. He swung his warhammer at the mercenaries who had turned their backs.
He had no personal grudge, but that did not mean he would show mercy to traitors.
“Gah!”
Because of that, a good number of those turncoat mercenaries fell together with the Imperial soldiers, their bodies mashed under Shatien’s warhammer.
“C-Centurion, I’m not one of them!”
“Please spare us. We just got swept up in the mood and did it without thinking!”
“We had no choice if we wanted to live!”
At that terrifying sight, the traitorous mercenaries dropped their weapons and began to wail and beg. Shatien started to swing again, then stopped and hesitated.
In a situation like this, it was not his place to decide. The decision belonged to Captain Mordo.
“What should we do, Captain?”
“Hmm... The ringleaders have mostly been dealt with, so let us forgive the rest for now.”
Captain Mordo chose forgiveness.
It was infuriating, but betrayal was something mercenaries were born with. Besides, there were simply too many of them to kill them all.
‘The battle is not over yet.’
Of course, once this fight was over, he fully intended to settle things. He would make them pay double for all the wages and food they had taken so far.
A traitor could never be trusted.