The Forgotten Field - Chapter 235

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 235
Seeing this, the siege forces hastily loaded their ballistae.
Barcas wrapped one arm around Torque’s neck and yanked the reins with all his strength. In the same instant, several ballistae unleashed massive bolts that resembled javelins more than arrows.
Torque nimbly evaded the arrows that rushed toward him like the wind, then crossed the field in a single bound and leaped lightly over a row of wooden stakes.
Immediately after, the warhorse’s massive foreleg came crashing down with tremendous force above the heads of soldiers surrounding the siege weapons.
Witnessing their comrades’ bodies crushed beneath the iron hooves, the soldiers shrieked and scattered in all directions.
Barcas wasted no time, swinging his blade with lethal precision. Three soldiers fumbling to draw their weapons had their heads severed simultaneously.
Arterial spray erupted from the severed necks, spreading like a crimson mist across the field. Cutting through that acrid air, Barcas’s blade cleaved through the enemy ranks, splitting torsos and armor alike.
“Garkash!”
A middle-aged man with a sun-darkened face cried out in the old Eastern Territories tongue—a word from Khan Tribe legends referring to a savage beast of terrible power.
Barcas blocked the massive double-bladed axe hurtling toward him with the flat of his sword, then spurred Torque forward and trampled the man’s body beneath the warhorse’s weight.
Bone crunched with a dull, sickening sound, and blood sprayed in all directions. Torque immediately charged toward the next enemy.
Barcas swung his blade relentlessly, cutting through the enemy ranks with brutal efficiency. As the Wolfram Cavalry following close behind pierced the siege forces’ flank, the seemingly solid enemy formation collapsed without resistance.
Yet the momentum could not last. The scattered raiders began encircling the Wolfram Cavalry, tightening their noose.
Barcas snatched up a halberd dropped by a spearman and quickly sheathed his sword at his waist.
A polearm was far more suited to facing multiple enemies. Gripping the shaft with both hands, I swung the weapon in wide arcs against the enemies steadily closing their encirclement.
The axe blade traced a massive arc, sweeping away the bodies of raiders who charged forward with spears and swords.
Seeing five or six men fall at once, their armor split asunder, the Heretic Cult warriors hastily widened their distance. Barcas seized that fleeting moment and charged into the heart of their formation.
Then a sharp impact struck my shoulder.
Turning my head, I discovered an arrow lodged between the gaps in my armor and furrowed my brow. Fortunately, it seemed not to have struck bone, though the arrowhead had driven deep into muscle.
Grasping the arrow shaft with one hand, I tore it free without hesitation and immediately wheeled Torque toward the archers. Seeing this, they hastily drew their bowstrings.
But Torque’s legs were faster. In an instant, I closed the distance and brought the halberd down vertically, splitting one archer’s body in two.
Witnessing his comrade’s bisected corpse, another archer desperately cast aside his bow and drew his sword from his waist.
But it was too late. The halberd shaft, swung in a great arc, struck the archer’s temple with perfect accuracy.
As the soldier screamed and fell, I immediately leveled the spear point at the next enemy. Yet the raiders, encircling me in layers, refused to venture within striking distance.
Thanks to this respite, I surveyed the battlefield with sharp eyes.
The Wolfram Cavalry too was surrounded, locked in combat with the enemy. Seeing several of them tumble from their mounts, I ground my teeth. We could not endure much longer like this.
‘Must I secure a retreat now?’
As I soothed the panting Torque and scanned the enemies tightening their encirclement, the enemy ranks suddenly convulsed violently, and screams erupted from the distance.
I turned my head toward the source of the sound. Through the scattered enemy formation, something dark surged forward like a tidal wave.
I felt a moment of relief thinking reinforcements had arrived, but upon realizing that dozens of Dire Wolves had torn through the enemy’s rear, my eyes widened.
Beasts the size of calves were tearing through the raiders indiscriminately, transforming the battlefield into chaos in mere moments.
Though momentarily frozen by the sudden turn of events, I quickly broke through the collapsing formation and charged into the heart of the enemy ranks.
Breathing heavily, Torque surged forward with ferocious momentum, trampling enemy soldiers without mercy as I swept across the battlefield.
How many did I cut down?
Before long, I realized the wolves were deliberately targeting only the raiders.
I paused mid-swing with the halberd and quickly surveyed the beasts prowling across the field.
The massive wolves moved with remarkable coordination, systematically dismantling the barbarians’ formation.
There was no doubt—something was controlling the wolf pack.
Before I could fully comprehend the implications, the battle shifted once more. A resonant horn blast echoed across the distance, and the Iron-Clad Cavalry appeared atop a ridge.
With the arrival of over ten thousand troops, the plunderers instantly lost their will to fight and began to scatter in all directions.
Barcas, holding his spear high, bellowed with a thunderous voice.
“Not a single one escapes alive!”
The moment the command fell, the Wolfram Elite Unit dispersed in pursuit of the fleeing enemies at a terrifying pace.
The mounted warriors swiftly cut off the enemy’s retreat, wielding their blades mercilessly, while the Iron-Clad Cavalry crashed into the enemy’s rear, sweeping through thousands of soldiers in one devastating wave.
What followed was less a battle than a massacre.
The Zrami fell helplessly under the relentless onslaught of mounted warriors. As two hours passed, the Field became a mountain of corpses—bodies trampled beneath the hooves of war horses. The Heretic Cult’s dead lay piled upon one another like cordwood.
“Commander! We have completely annihilated the enemy forces positioned in the Southern Region!”
As the battle reached its final stages, Darian, who had been mopping up enemies at the South Gate, came galloping back on horseback.
Barcas finally lowered the weapon he had been gripping.
The Wolf Beasts had vanished without a trace. Only a few that had fallen to the plunderers lay limp among the heaps of corpses.
I gazed down at them for a moment, then drove my spear into the ground and leaped from the saddle. It was to ease the burden on Torque, whose strength had already reached its limit.
“What is the extent of our casualties?”
“We’ll need to conduct a full count, but it appears we have roughly four hundred dead.”
Darian, naturally taking the reins from my hand, answered in a heavy voice.
“If we include the Security Guard Force, the number could easily be double that.”
It was substantial loss, yet considering the entire city had nearly fallen, we could only call ourselves fortunate.
I exhaled a weary sigh and looked up at the sky, where the sunset was beginning to paint the heavens.
A dry wind reeking of blood scraped harshly across my blood-stained face. Pushing back my disheveled hair roughly, I turned toward the North Gate and spoke.
“Have all the bodies moved to the Grand Cathedral. We’ll conduct the funeral rites tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
I then crossed the Field and entered within the Castle Walls.
Around the collapsed City Walls, the corpses of plunderers and soldiers lay scattered in disarray. I watched the sentries busily gathering them into one place, then approached the severely damaged fortification—roughly half of it had crumbled. I needed to assess the full extent of the damage.
Having completely eliminated the plunderers who had terrorized the region for years, there would be no immediate threats for some time. However, to ensure Kalmor’s security, the damaged structures needed swift restoration.
‘It will take at least four months to fully rebuild.’
As I surveyed the deeply fractured City Walls and the collapsed Watchtower in turn, I moved along the path leading to Laedgo Castle.
Then I spotted a group of people gathered at the base of the Castle Tower connected to the Outer Castle Wall and came to an abrupt halt.
Before the rubble of a collapsed structure, a woman sat on the ground, wailing loudly. A dozen or so sentries pushed her aside and began urgently clearing fallen stones to one location.
Watching the scene from a distance, I grasped the shoulder of the nearest sentry in the group.
“What is happening here?”
“Y-Your Grace, the Grand Duke…”
The sentry, who had been moving a large stone fragment beside the outer wall, looked up at me with a face drained of all color.
In that instant, a strange chill ran down the back of my neck.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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