Chapter 5: Total Collapse

  When the first light of dawn illuminated the city of Auster, almost all the fleeing enemy troops had been eliminated. The battle that lasted half a night ended with Raymond's narrow victory.

  However, they also paid a considerable price. Of the 300 people brought by Raymond, nearly 50 of the 200 soldiers who directly participated in the battle were casualties. The garrison troops led by Othon suffered even more severe casualties, with as many as 120 killed or wounded, accounting for a frightening one-third of their total number.

  In terms of a perfectly planned surprise attack, such achievements are somewhat embarrassing to show off, and even more highlight the gap in combat effectiveness between them and their enemies.

  If it weren't for Raymond's last 50 reserve cavalrymen, it would be hard to say who won and who lost in the end.

  However, there was also good news. In addition to annihilating the 500-strong garrison in the city, they also found a large amount of supplies in the enemy's barracks, from complete sets of weapons and armor to various military equipment, medical supplies, and even a small number of magical items such as crystal cores.

  But what was most astonishing was the several large boxes of gold coins piled up in the warehouse, which were the most tangible good things.

  It was only through interrogating the prisoners that they learned these gold coins were the "substantial assistance" Depero had received from those big merchants in the Lavi Federation, and after hiring these mercenaries, he kept the rest for himself.

  He originally intended to use these coins as rewards after capturing Haidenton, but unexpectedly, the reward was not sent out, and Raymond benefited from it.

  Those supplies are even more interesting, as mercenaries usually bring their own equipment, so each mercenary group has its own small warehouse of supplies, which typically includes some weapons and medical supplies for the battlefield.

  Originally, these things were brought along with the mercenary corps' actions. However, it seems that no one took Haitington seriously this time, so those who thought "it's more convenient to attack a rural town lightly" left their belongings in Auston, and as a result, Raymond benefited from it.

  If those mercenaries who had fought bloody battles in the front knew that not only were there no rewards after the war, but even their own family's hidden treasures were looted, they would probably be furious and go crazy.

  "Master, I just realized that every time we have a battle, you always gain a lot." This was what Bastet said after seeing the spoils of war.

  However, Raymond had no time to admire his spoils. Time was short and he had to immediately organize reinforcements for Rubens according to plan.

  Leaving behind some lightly wounded and soldiers unskilled in horsemanship to clear the battlefield, Raymond selected over 100 men still capable of fighting from those who remained.

  Just as everyone was preparing the horses to set off, a sudden sound of horseshoes echoed, and it turned out that Xier Nisi led dozens of cavalrymen walking towards this side.

  Seeing each other's equipment was complete and ready for battle at any time, Raymond exclaimed: "What is this?"

  "For a short time, only these horses can be found." Hillnis patted the horse's neck: "Should be able to help out a bit."

  It seems that he wants to go with him to reinforce, Raymond couldn't help but say: "The enemy of Auston has been annihilated, you don't need to fight anymore..."

  "Hill Nis spat viciously on the ground: 'Do you think I'll just let it go like that? Bah, 500 people aren't enough, I want those remaining mongrels to know what happens when they invade our home.'"

  Raymond couldn't help but wipe away his sweat, this was indeed a violent spirit.

  "Yes, these guys have taken over our town and locked up the mayor, this can't just be let go."

  "We lost so many comrades last night, how can we let them go easily."

  At this time, Hillnis's subordinates also shouted in unison.

  "Was it Mayor Dierick who sent you?" Raymond asked.

  Sheriff Hillnis waved his hand: "The mayor is busy comforting the residents at this time, and he's too lazy to disturb him. This is our own decision."

  Shaun glanced at Raymond and said worriedly: "So, it's better to report to him after all. You are the defending team of Auston..."

  "Hillnis said impatiently, 'Don't worry, after we get rid of those bastards, I'll naturally explain to the mayor. Hey, are you guys going or not? What's with all this nonsense.'"

  Xiao Nai was about to speak again when a voice came from beside him: "Hehe, it's okay, I've allowed it."

  "Mayor?" Hillnis turned around in surprise, and indeed, the chubby, smiling Derek was walking over this way.

  "He said gratefully to Raymond, 'If it hadn't been for you all this time, Auston would still be occupied. Now that Headington is still under the enemy's threat, how can we as loyal friends stand by and do nothing?'"

  Xiao Nian said with a smile: "Although it's said like that, if it weren't for us, how would Austin..."

  Derek waved his hand: "Lavite is really too overbearing, even if we escape this time, sooner or later we will still be in trouble. So there's no question of implicating anyone, we're just dealing with a common enemy."

  He said to Hillnis, "Hillnis, ride on my horse and show the enemy our courage of Auston City."

  "What, you have horses too?" Raymond said in disbelief.

  The horse brought by Dirk was tall and big, but there was nothing special about it. How could it bear his exaggerated weight?

  It seemed like Derek noticed Raymond's questioning, and with a face full of regret, he said: "Yes, 'Lightning' is my beloved horse. Before I gained weight, we had many happy days together... until one day, I accidentally injured him... and then I never rode him again."

  As he spoke, he reached out his hand to stroke the horse: "Lightning, I really miss you."

  The horse let out a loud whinny and backed away in terror, its face full of fear.

  Derek's hands stiffened, and after a moment, he covered his mouth with one hand, turned away, and choked out: "Go, Hilnis. From today on, Lightning is yours, take good care of her for me."

  Facing Raymond and others' astonished gaze, the elf helplessly spread his hands: "The mayor is fine, it's just that sometimes he comes up with some inexplicable sadness."

  "Alright, let's ignore him and go."

  Raymond nodded and followed suit, his legs clamping together as he shot out: "Let's go!"

  The crowd responded with a loud cheer and immediately followed on horseback, the group of people rushing towards the direction of Haidingdun.

  "Cheers!"

  Amidst the loud shout, Rubens' battle axe swept horizontally in front of him, and three stunned enemy soldiers stared blankly as their weapons broke off in their hands, turning into six pieces amidst flying blood.

  Immediately afterwards, the sound of sharp arrows shooting from behind was heard, and the enemy soldiers around him fell down in a row. The remaining people were frightened and hastily retreated in a hurry.

  After the enemy had all retreated, Rubens, who had always been as majestic as a lion, suddenly shifted his body to one side. He hastily propped his axe against the ground to steady himself, and with his other hand he felt for something at his waist.

  There was a bandage wrapped around it, with large patches of blood seeping through, and it was badly injured.

  Although they repelled the enemy, if their gaze was directed at the entire camp, it would be clear that their situation was not very good.

  The originally intact camp was now in a state of disrepair, the coarse logs that made up the outer wall were severely damaged, with arrows stuck all over it, and some places still had burning embers.

  Inside the camp, it was even more unbearable to look at. Corpses were scattered all over the ground, with both enemy and our soldiers lying in a tangled mess. The congealed black bloodstains looked like mold growing wildly, splattered everywhere, revealing the extreme cruelty of the battle scene.

  The 600-strong mercenary corps of the Blue Wolves, now less than half could still stand. Except for dozens of archers who stayed in the rear and were lightly wounded, others were either covered in blood or had severe injuries, with some having their arms cut off at the root, yet still tightly grasping their weapons in hand. That kind of tenacity was truly incomparable to the garrison troops led by Haidingdun, who hadn't experienced many storms.

  But there is an exception...

  "Whew, managed to dodge again... no, made it through another wave."

  With a sound of relief, a head slowly emerged from behind several stacked corpses. As it rose to eye level, it looked around cautiously, like a mouse about to exit its hole, and only when it was certain there was no danger did it fully emerge.

  On closer inspection, it was Harriet herself.

  At this moment, he is like others, with a bloody face, paired with his originally majestic appearance, it really has a bit of the flavor of a hundred-battle warrior. However, that sly expression of his always makes people suspect that the blood isn't from battle splatters, but rather was intentionally smeared on for convenience in implementing certain life-saving "techniques".

  Creeping cautiously up to Rubens' side, Harlott peered out towards the enemy camp: "This time they should not attack so quickly, right?"

  "No." Rubens pointed to the enemy army at the foot of the mountain: "Look, they're gathering again. The short interval between two strong attacks shows that the enemy is anxious and uneasy after failing to capture for a long time."

  Looking out from the completely open gate of the camp, another batch of enemy troops began to gather in front of the enemy's position on the slope below, and an officer was loudly shouting something at them.

  And from the enemy's front line to the camp, this short road was also littered with corpses everywhere.

  "Shall we counter-attack them once more like last night?" Harlot asked.

  Rubens shook his head: "This trick can only be used once, and now I don't have enough manpower. Remember, when the strength is uneven, being lucky will only make oneself die faster."

  As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Harlotte: "By the way, where did you go during the battle just now?"

  "Huh?" Harlot's mouth suddenly opened wide.

  Rubens flipped his wrist, and the giant axe fell towards Harlotte's throat like it had no weight: "Didn't I tell you? If you're still afraid of death, I'll cut off your head with my own hands."

  "Wait... just wait a minute." Harlot hastily said: "Who says I'm afraid of death? Just now, I actually took out several enemies, although they were all taken down by pretending to be dead and launching sneak attacks, but at least I didn't run away in fear again."

  "Faking one's own death to launch a sneak attack? I'm impressed that you can say this with a straight face..." Rubens shook his head, both angry and amused: "At first, I thought you were just cowardly, but what surprised me even more is your shamelessness."

  "Stop joking." Harlot pointed to the corpses on the ground, "I'm not as strong as you. If I were to stupidly go for a hard fight again, then I wouldn't need to pretend to be dead, and I'd really have to go keep those guys company."

  He said with a proud smile: "Hmph, when it comes to saving one's own life, I'm not inferior to anyone."

  "So you're saying, as long as you can save your life, you should have surrendered a long time ago?"

  "Of course, if I weren't afraid you'd split me in two with one swing of your axe, I would have... Ah!" Harlot suddenly realized he had misspoken and hastily covered his mouth.

  Rubens sighed and put away his battle axe: "Forget it, everyone has their own way of fighting, as long as you don't become a deserter, do whatever you want"

  "I say, how much longer can we hold on? If this keeps up, everyone will be done for." Harlot touched his neck with a lingering fear.

  Rubens grunted: "It's not if, but when the reinforcements don't arrive, this attack will probably be our last stand. Hopefully your playing dead will still come in handy by then."

  "What!?" Harlotte exclaimed in disbelief: "You...you're kidding me?!"

  "I'm never joking about this kind of thing." Rubens spat out a wad of phlegm: "Damn it, this business is really not worth it. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have given that little bastard Ried face."

  "Wait, if that's the case, what are we still doing here? Let's get out of here quickly!" Harlot instinctively turned around and made a gesture as if to run away.

  Rubens grabbed his collar and pulled him forward: "Listen, kid, I'll teach you one more thing. We're mercenaries, we get paid to risk our lives, no matter how dangerous the mission is. Once we take it on, we see it through, no matter what. And if anyone dares to desert and tarnish the reputation of mercenaries, I'll be the first to make him pay."

  "Although you say so and I'm touched, but I'm not a mercenary..."

  "But you are Haidingtown's person, aren't you? Don't forget that once you escape, these irrational enemies rush into the town, what will happen to the innocent residents."

  "But I'm not a Hadinton person either, listen to me, actually I just..."

  "Shut up!" Rubens shouted: "You remember this, how shameless you are, I don't care, but as a man, you can't betray your trust. The former is a moral issue, the latter is a matter of principle. If you lose your morals, you can just be a bad person, but if you also lose the most basic principles, then you're not even human."

  "Do you understand?"

  "I...I understand." Harlot felt the other's iron-like hand tightening, and knew that if things went badly, he wouldn't even need to wait for the enemy to arrive before his life was in danger.

  "Alright then, let's just hope that little Raymond kid arrives on time."

  Rubens smiled quietly and let him go.

  "There's something I've never understood, why are you always staring at me?" Harlot said with a puzzled face: "We've never met before, have we?"

  "If I were to say you remind me of my late son, would you believe it?" Rubens said calmly.

  "...At this point, don't take advantage of me anymore..."

  "It's enough to know."

  At the same time, the enemy troops gathered again at the foot of the mountain and surged up this way.

  "Waaaah, no... don't want to, I don't want to die yet!"

  "I saw them, they're right ahead."

  Bast stood steadily on the back of the galloping horse, gazing out at the distance.

  "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Hillnis urged his horse on, eager to charge forward.

  "Anything else, milord?" Rude asked in his usual calm tone.

  Raymond shook his head and followed with a clang of his sword: "Just kill me hard."

  Then he slapped the horse's buttocks with his sword and the warhorse neighed loudly, immediately galloping out.

  With a vengeful fury, the group stormed to the mountain slope where the camp was located. The battle there had also reached its final stage, and the enemy army, which had spent an entire day here, finally lost their last patience.

  They gathered all the people they could mobilize and threw them into battle, vowing to flatten that stubborn camp in the shortest possible time.

  When Raymond and his men arrived, the enemy's main force was charging up the slope, entangled in a fierce battle with the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group. The enemy's main camp at the foot of the mountain, except for a small number of mercenaries, only had wounded people left.

  "Del Pero!" Raymond's eyes scanned the crowd and landed on that terrified-looking man.

  Among the thunderous roars, Raymond charged forward on his horse without any hesitation. Behind him, the crowd also shouted and rushed in like a burst dam, bringing an unstoppable momentum to kill into the enemy's main formation.

  At this time, Depro also recognized the people led by Raymond, he simply couldn't believe his eyes. These guys shouldn't they be in Haidington? He had clearly sent someone to keep an eye on that side, how could they possibly rush over from Auston's direction.

  It can't be said that Auston has already... no, this is simply impossible!

  However, there was no time for him to think about it now. The hundreds of cavalrymen suddenly killed their way in. What was fatal was that at this moment, most of their combat power had been invested in the battle ahead, and at this time, the main formation had almost no defensive power to speak of.

  Indeed, the cavalry almost encountered no resistance, and they entered the enemy ranks effortlessly. With the rapid charge of their war horses, they cut down every enemy around them mercilessly.

  At one time, the miserable cries rose and fell, and the unprepared enemy army immediately fell into a panic. Raymond's side didn't even need to make a second charge, as the enemy was almost instantly routed, with large numbers of wounded soldiers crying out and running wildly in all directions, trying to resist but not even having time to raise their weapons before being knocked down by cavalry charging past like a whirlwind, the killing sounds shook the sky, and the scene was one of great chaos.

  "How did it end up like this... how did it end up like this..."

  Staring blankly at the scene before him, Depero muttered to himself. He was just a small merchant in Haidington with some assets, not even a noble, and had never experienced such a situation. The events unfolding now were completely beyond his ability to handle.

  At this time, in his heart there was only one thought that kept echoing: could it be that I will actually fail?

  De Péro knew the situation in Haidington all too well, a mere garrison of several hundred people, how could they possibly withstand the 2000-strong army he brought with him, to take back his own town from that ungrateful little girl, it should have been a sure thing.

  But from yesterday on, everything that has happened is terrible. Our side was first blocked by a mysterious and extremely powerful force here for a day and night, and then was suddenly ambushed by this cavalry, now the scene in front of us is like a nightmare.

  "De Pedro!"

  Suddenly, a loud roar awakened Deparro. He looked up to see Raymond, Shawn and a group of angry Haidington guardsmen riding through the crowd towards him.

  "Come...come on, stop those guys!" Depéro shouted uncontrollably in terror.

  "Don't worry, Mr. Deparro, we haven't failed yet." Just then a pale hand gently pressed on Deparro's shoulder, and a soft voice said.

  "Mr. Edward." De Péro turned his head in surprise.