Chapter 39  : The Terrifying First Wave

The battle commenced.

The red banner billowed in the wind. The golden lion in the middle looked as if it was baring its claws and fangs.

That banner was none other than Kant’s Intimidation.

It was his trump card.

As long as the enemy was caught within 1,640 feet of the Intimidation banner’s effect, the first effect would come into play, cutting down enemy morale and striking fear of Kant into the enemy.

The Jackalans were, at the moment, Kant’s main enemy.

That meant the Jackalans were about to be subjected to its effects.

Owwwuuuu, wuuuuuuu

Their howls sounded like they came from beasts. The shrill noises emanated from their fang-filled mouths.

That was the only language the Jackalans were capable of learning.

The Jackalans, in massive numbers, charged as the howls were heard throughout the place. They rushed at the houses of the Oasis Lookout, bringing about a raging charge.

The night was dark.

However, the Jackalans had night vision, which meant they were able to detect the human soldiers standing at the ends of the street.

Eight days ago, they had developed a new grudge against the Oasis Lookout.

It accumulated along with the old hatred from 10 years ago regarding the Dukedom of Leo.

The Jackalans, which had little intelligence to begin with, were fueled by all those emotions. They charged even faster with their spiked clubs in hand.

Their expressions had grown more terrifying and ferocious.

Roar!

The Jackalan chieftain roared as he charged to the front. His mail armor clanked about wildly as he ran at great speeds.

He was eager to get a taste of enemy blood.

The Jackalans behind him shared the same sentiment.

They had no strategies to speak of.

They had no concept of formations.

As primitive, foolish creatures, they only knew how to slaughter.

Suddenly, something else happened.

As they continued to charge, getting increasingly close to the Oasis Lookout, their minds began to waver.

The same thing happened with the Jackalan Chieftain.

His green eyes were filled with brutality and ferocity.

However, that was not all his eyes displayed.

There was also a hint of fear of the human soldiers.

They were now just 1,640 feet away from the Oasis Lookout.

The Intimidation banner had begun to work.

Its effects had been activated.

The Jackalans, which had been charging quickly at the humans, were all stunned for a bit after getting within a 1,640-foot radius of the banner. They continued to charge, but all their ferocity and wrath were lost.

Their morale was instantly diminished.

Worse still for the Jackalans, their method of combat needed strong, explosive morale more than anything else.

Once the morale diminished, bad things followed.

It worked the same with the Jackalans.

…

“For Swadia!”

Neat, high-spirited shouts were heard throughout Drondheim.

The soldiers standing ready at the eastern end of the street, stared down at the charging Jackalan troops with resolute expressions. Along with panic seen deep in their eyes, there was also psychological readiness for a grim future.

If they were not able to survive, they saw nothing else to do but give it their all.

The soldiers were at the eastern end of the street.

It was the location the 2,000-strong Jackalan forces were heading.

It was where a bloody slaughter was about to happen, as well as where the stench of blood was going to be thickest.

Only 30 Swadian Recruits were standing at the forefront of the street with their shields raised and spears extended from the cracks between the shields.

The tips of their spearheads gleamed.

Behind them stood 60 Swadian Peasants. They physically sealed off the 32-foot-wide street off in tightly packed formations. They raised their long scythes and faced forward, trying to form a tight defensive formation.

They were determined to make themselves into a force able to make the mouths of their enemy bleed with a single bite.

That was not the only formation put in place.

Kant had 35 of his best second-level troop class standing by at the rooftops.

Their loaded hunting crossbows were readied and capable of shooting bolts at any given moment.

Heater shields and heavy spears were laid down right beside them. They armed themselves with the combat shovel, which was better at fighting up close and personal.

They were doing so to prepare themselves against any Jackalan that managed to climb up to the rooftops.

These were all traditional Swadian houses. As such, they were about 9.8 feet tall. Even with the triangular roofs taken into account, the height was still within 11.4 feet tall. It was not that much of a barrier against the Jackalans.

“They’re here!”

Scholar Hank spoke with a deep voice, which turned Kant’s attention forward.

Kant narrowed his gaze on the enemy as he held his light crossbow. The Jackalans were close enough that he could smell their stench.

It was a stench that belonged only to the Jackalans.

As they rapidly charged, the Jackalans covered the 1,640-foot distance in no time.

Black shadows filled the place. It was as if they were floodwater overcoming a dam, threatening to engulf everything before them as it gushed. The Jackalans were about to break into the Oasis Lookout and flood the soldiers at the end of the street in mere moments.

Shooop, shoop, shoop, shooop…

The sounds of bowstrings being let loose and bolts streaking through the air were heard.

The triggers had been pressed.

Be it Kant or the militia members on the rooftops, they all attacked at the same time without being given an order.

Iron bolts were instantly seen flying toward the enemy.

Blood splattered among the Jackalans who were at the very front. The tips of the iron bolts easily pierced through their hide, tearing at the muscles beneath the layer of fat under their skin. It ruptured their blood vessels and left deep wounds on their bodies.

Oowwwww!

Shrilled howls were heard. The eyes of the Jackalans shot at the front glittered with bloodlust.

The shots from the hunting crossbows had yet to cause lethal damage against the Jackalans.

Still, there were exceptions.

Four Jackalans who had likely been hit in vital areas. They slowed and dropped to the ground. They were quickly stomped on by the Jackalans charging from behind without mercy. Whimpers were heard before they were snuffed out.

The charge had been a success.

The four who dropped to the ground were but a casualty like a drop of water in the ocean to the 2000-strong Jackalan forces.

However, that was still like pouring oil into a pan.

Morale was at an all-time high.

The red Intimidation banner with a golden lion called billowed slightly in the wind. The eyes of the Swadian Recruits guarding the end of the street, who were already close enough to stare into the eyes of the Jackalans, glittered with excitement.

The fourth effect was activated.

Enemy casualties on the battlefield boosted the morale of the friendly forces.

“All hail Swadia!”

The recruits shouted. The ferocity derived from courage allowed them to give it their all, leaving them all with determined expressions.

The odds were further stacked against the Jackalans.

The Jackalans fiercely crashed into the formation at the end of the street.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…

Sounds that resembled something heavily hitting wooden boards were heard. In actuality, it was the Jackalans frenziedly crashing into the spears and seemingly sturdy shields at the end of the street. They were using their bodies and spiked clubs to try and break through.

The Jackalans’ charge was truly insane. Despite there being spears and long scythes right before them, they came crashing down without hesitation.

Crack, crack, crack…

The sounds of wood being snapped were heard.

The Swadian Recruits at the forefront painfully whelped.

The entire formation was right before Kant’s eyes. The Swadian Recruits had backed up four or five steps before they finally stopped. The 12 Swadian Recruits at the front taking on the enemy head-on had already dropped dead to the ground.

The recruits were holding their shields steady with their left shoulders, extending their spears through the cracks between their shields with their right hands.

The peasants behind them helped by holding the spears of the recruits, enabling the weapons to stay steady against the enemy’s power.

They still suffered massive casualties as the Jackalans tore at them.

Shields were cracked and shattered, and spears were broken. More than 20 Jackalans were brought down by the spears and long scythes, but the formation seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

The edge provided by sheer numbers had completely overwhelmed a strategy of superior quality.

If it had not been for the Intimidation banner, which continued to billow without any winds blowing, boosting the morale of the Swadian troops and urging them to advance, morale would have probably suffered a sharp drop among the troops holding the street after being dealt with such a horrifying charge.

All of them had been living people.

“In the name of Swadia, hold the line!”

Kant’s voice was heard shouting throughout the street.

However, his voice fell onto deaf ears. The place was drowned with shouts and noises of slaughter by any remaining recruits and peasants, as well as howls from the Jackalans. All of those sounds drowned out any orders given by Kant.

The Swadian Recruits were struggling to keep the formation in place. They were no longer able to keep the spears steady. They dropped them just to keep their shields up and protect the peasants behind them.

Long scythes were brought down from above or thrust from behind in the formation.

However, none of that lasted for long.

The bodies of Jackalans piled up on the ground. At the same time, Swadians were being brought down left and right by the Jackalans’ spiked clubs.

As the noises of the battle raged, casualties were incurred on both sides every single second.

Jackalans had even emerged before the militia members on the rooftops.

They had no choice but to cast their hunting crossbows away and fight up close and personal using the heater shields and combat shovels.

However, things did not look good for Kant’s forces.

“Scholar Hank, we need to retreat further away.”

Kant gritted his teeth as he saw the troops before him being dropped one after another.

The first wave of the Jackalans’ charge had almost brought down his lines of defenses altogether.

He knew that his forces were not able to last long. The Jackalans probably only needed a few more minutes to render his puny line of defense in Drondheim non-existent. The enemy, which had terrifying numbers, was about to massacre his forces using the flesh and blood of their brethren to pave their path to victory.