Chapter 37: Total Annihilation

Anfen’s reconnaissance soldiers swiftly reached the vicinity of Engel’s castle.

The situation on this side was immediately clear. The main gate of Engel’s castle was tightly shut. There was indeed a ring of people outside. However, their numbers were not many. Moreover, they did not even hold weapons, and only a small portion of them carried farming tools.

Near the castle gate, there were some people standing guard outside. They held weapons in their hands. However, they were not many. After assessing the situation here, the scouts quickly turned back and left. They then reported the situation to Anfen, who was waiting for news.

After hearing his subordinates’ report, Anfen frowned. “It’s strange that with so few people, they managed to surround Lord Engel’s castle? From what I know of Engel’s strength, dealing with these bandits should be no problem… are you sure you’ve investigated thoroughly?”

“I’m sure, and we checked the surrounding villages as well, with nothing unusual found.” His subordinate said with an oath.

A tense silence ensued. Anfen still did not feel at ease. Therefore, he gave another order. “Scout them again.”

“Yes. But making frequent visits might alert them.”

“It’s fine. Go ahead and clarify the situation.”

“Yes.”

His subordinate turned and left. He arranged for a few more people to scout the area. The result was still the same. The difference this time was that more people were sent. It seemed they had been discovered.

“Stop! Damn it, catch him, don’t let him escape!”

Realizing he had alerted the enemy, the scout fled without looking back. After Anfen’s subordinate collected and organized the information, he reported back to Anfen again. The latter’s frown deepened. They had already been discovered? Were these bandits really that alert?

“Boss, what do we do?”

“…Since we’ve already spooked them, let’s go directly, so they don’t get away.”

Although it felt odd, Anfen immediately gave the order. He personally led 400 men to press forward from the north. The other 600 men were divided into the 3rd Company and swiftly approached Engel’s castle from different directions.

When Anfen personally led the 400 toward the northern village, he suddenly spotted a well-ordered formation ahead. It charged straight toward them.

“Huh?! Whose troops are these… ?”

Anfen looked astonished and immediately shouted loudly: “Stop! We are Baron Joy’s forces!”

Seeing the fully equipped troops with swords and shields quickly approaching, Anfen thought they were Engel’s soldiers or those of another lord. Therefore, his first reaction was to identify his side. If they were just bandits, they could not have such equipment.

However, even after hearing his shout, the other side did not stop and instead charged faster. In the blink of an eye, they reached Anfen’s position.

“Damn it… attack!”

With no other choice, Anfen drew his sword to meet them. Hundreds of men clashed, swords and shields in hand. As the distance closed to nearly zero, Anfen suddenly glimpsed that the tall figure at the front had a pair of beast ears atop his head.

“Half-beastman?! How could a half-beastman end up here?! And equipped with a sword and shield, so fully armed!? What a joke!”

In everyone’s understanding, half-beastmen were lowly people, only fit for hard labor. The idea of them appearing on the battlefield… Anfen had never heard of such a thing.

Watching the enemy’s blade come down at him, Anfen raised his shield to block. However, halfway through the strike, the opponent suddenly eased off and kicked Anfen’s shield.

“Thud… !”

The heavy force sent a numbness through Anfen’s entire arm, and his feet involuntarily staggered back three steps.

“What kind of strength is this?!”

Anfen quickly adjusted his stance to prepare for a second attack. But by the time he was ready, the figure in front had disappeared.

“!?”

In that brief half-second, Anfen’s heart dropped. He spun around… but at the moment he turned, a sword slashed diagonally down at his back. With a single stroke, Anfen’s back was immediately ripped open, flesh flying and the wound deep enough to see bone. His body lost balance and fell forward.

“It’s over…!”

Feeling the agonizing pain that arrived a second late, Anfen’s final thought was just those two words. There was no second chance, because in the next second his chest was pierced. The blade penetrated his back and tore through his heart.

“So weak…”

Harrington did not waste even half a second on Anfen. After reaping his life, he immediately withdrew and plunged into the close-quarters melee of four hundred against four hundred. Warm blood, terrified screams, and angry shouts filled the air. Various chaotic sounds dominated his hearing. The timid were cut down from behind in the next moment. The brave fought head-on, a struggle of life and death. Three hundred against four hundred, yet more than four hundred corpses lay on the ground at the end.

Meanwhile, three companies of 100 men each passed through the village without encountering any fight and arrived smoothly at Engel’s castle. There they saw the “bandit” group that had been waiting here for a long time. At a glance, it was only a bit over a hundred.

“Charge!”

The Captains of the three units immediately issued the order in excitement. Killing enemies granted battle achievements. It was obvious the opposing numbers were pitifully few. This was a slaughter. Go and grab the kills! Almost everyone charging forward thought this. No one found it strange that so many men from their side rushed as one. Their momentum was overwhelming. The other side was just over a hundred, yet they stood there, showing no sign of fear. They stared at them with cold indifference.

A moat circled the castle. There was a wide bridge in front of the gate. Storming such a castle head-on would certainly be difficult. So they had to come up with a plan to draw the enemy out. Fight in the open. A direct confrontation. That way, Farra could fully leverage his side’s advantages.

Watching the enemy surge onto the bridge, Farra retrieved the sword embedded in the ground. Then he let out a fierce shout: “Meet them!” Once again leading by example, he charged out with the hundred or so men behind him, directly confronting the six hundred pressing in. There was no flashy technique. Both sides just clashed in brutal close combat. And then… unsurprisingly, they were cut down by Farra’s blade. By the time Farra had fought his way from one side of the bridge to the other, the enemy behind had just begun to realize it.

“What is this… ?”

“How is this possible!?”

“We clearly have so many more men, why?!”

“No, we can’t win!”

“Retreat!”

“How do we fight this?! It’s impossible!”

“That guy, that guy can’t be killed!”

“He’s coming!”

Those in the rear turned and started to flee. The commander further back immediately shouted, “No retreat! They have fewer numbers, charge! All of you, attack!” Unfortunately, no one listened to him. Once morale collapsed, even huge numbers meant only one-sided slaughter.

Therefore, on a battlefield dominated by cold weapons, one top warrior who could simply charge forward, slaying gods and smashing Buddhas, was more valuable than thousands of ordinary soldiers. In other words, armies were easy to come by, but a general was hard to find. And on a battlefield where hundreds or thousands fought back and forth, victory belonged to the side with more fierce warriors. An extra hundred or a missing hundred made no difference in Farra’s eyes. It was not like the enemy outnumbered them by thousands. And even if they truly had thousands more, he had fought such odds before.

Watching as almost all of the remaining enemy fled, Farra did not stop. He continued to kill as he pursued with his troops behind him. At the same time, he ordered those under his command: “Leave no one alive!”