Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 16

They are all reputable and trustworthy mercenary units. Moreover, the mercenaries whom she hired included a mercenary force that until recently was employed by the Earl of Leclerc. It seems that as the battle dragged on, his payments became delayed, and the proper mercenary troops began to leave him because of it.

And now, Marine had one of her servants wave a large flag embroidered with the Iron Hammer emblem of House Kraische, which was a signal for the mercenaries, and the one group who noticed it first was a group of mercenaries dispatched by Bernard Duram, Marquis of Dawson.

「Target changed! The enemy is Kurt Gallas, the Earl of Leclerc! 」

Oras Burel ordered the mercenary commanders under his command.

He has informed the captains of the mercenary division of the true purpose of this battle. Seeing that the center of the battlefield began to charge, Oras also moved his troops. He deliberately delayed his advance and lined up the mercenaries with the army of the Earl of Leclerc. Then, at the signal given by Marine Kreische and others, he turned them back and slashed into the charging soldiers of Kurt’s army.

「From now on, your uncle is one of the electors of the Factory Alliance. 」

Marine Kraische smiled as she saw the Marquis of Dawson’s mercenary troops, who were stationed on the enemy’s right flank, attack the Earl of Leclerc’s main army.

She has been in contact with Marquis Dawson for a long time in order to negotiate peace between the Fantasia Union and the Factory Alliance. Of course, she had no intention of ever making peace with them, but in order to fully get Marquis Dawson on her side, she has long conveyed to him that she was prepared to welcome Duram into the Factory Alliance as one of the Electors.

It was not approved by the Council of Electors, of course; it was just a ruse.

Things have been on hold until now, but when she told him about this decisive battle, he replied that he would agree to it without hesitation. This is because Waldrind dared to tell him that he was going to be in a disadvantageous situation otherwise.

Marquis Dawson concluded that if the Earl of Leclerc were to win, he would eventually become the leader of the Fantasia Union, and that was something the Marquis Dawson was not going to accept. He must have calculated that if he could overcome the disadvantageous situation and lead Waldrind to victory, he would be handsomely repaid by them for the kindness he had shown them.

「Humans do not act solely out of self-preservation or profit. They are driven by emotions such as jealousy, hatred, and disgust. 」

Marine murmured coldly.

「It’s not rational at all. 」

It seems that the news that Marquis Dawson’s mercenary group has betrayed and started attacking Count Leclerc’s main army has been reported to the mercenaries in the center and left wing, and confusion has begun to spread as a result.

「Don’t show mercy! Crush every single one of these mercenaries who’re no better than bandits! 」

Marlne commanded resolutely, ordering her infantry to charge in as well.

「Switch to regular arrows for heavy crossbows. Don’t mistake enemy or ally! 」

Waldrind’s mercenaries uniformly wore black armor so that they could be easily told apart from the rest of the mercenaries. Mercenary groups usually wear brightly colored costumes and armor, so it’s easy to tell them apart.

「It’s over, Earl of Leclerc, Kurt Gallas. You spent your money in the wrong way. 」

Marlene looked with pity at the Earl of Leclerc’s main army, which was being swallowed up by Marquis Dawson’s mercenary group.

Due to the brutality committed by the mercenaries under the Earl of Leclerc, the hearts of the Lords and people of the northern region have begun to lean towards the Factory Alliance. They saw Marine as someone who’s rule would be much easier on them in comparison to someone like the Earl of Leclerc.

「With this, the threat in the northern part of the continent will be gone. With this, my Waldrind will be able to fight back against the Artuk Treaty. 」

Knowing that Marquis Dawson’s mercenary group stationed on the right flank had changed direction and attacked, Kroot was prepared to face defeat.

「It was just as you said it would be. 」

Kurt smiled at Benedict.

「Yes, but I wish it didn’t. There’s nothing we can do now since we ended up in a situation like this, even with all the precautions we took. 」

Benedict bowed his head deeply.

「I didn’t have any military luck. Even so, I can’t believe Marquis Dawson would really defect to the Alliance. He’s a foolish man, I’m sure of it now. 」

「The Fantasia Union is finally coming to an end. 」

「Yes, but there’s nothing we can do about it because our ally, the Marquis of Halusia, refused to make any sort of move. 」

Kurt snorted.

「What are you going to do now? 」

「The only thing I can: fight until the end of my life! 」
Kurt dismounted from his horse and readied his greatsword. The battle has already turned into a series of close-range encounters, so the mobility on horseback was no longer needed for him.

「If you want to die with me, take this! 」

He shouted and activated his Banner, 「Berserk」. It was the one that he inherited from his Norse ancestors, and it felt like his heart was getting hotter and hotter and his body was swelling up.

「OOOOOOOOOOH!!!! 」

Klute was screaming, unable to contain his excitement anymore.

「We’re going to Valhalla with the Earl! 」

The knights and soldiers under his direct command take up Berserk’s battle flag one after another and accepted the pattern of its light. Then, they attacked Marquis Dawson’s mercenaries who attacked them.
Marquis Dawson’s mercenary group numbered 3,000, and Earl Leclerc’s main force consisted of 300 knights and about 4,000 soldiers. He was outnumbered and has become a warrior who is not afraid of death because of it. On the other hand, the mercenaries gathered by Marquis Dawson were no different from casual soldiers, so Kurt’s forces quickly overwhelmed them.

「Retreat! Our role is over! 」

Seeing the situation as unfavorable for them, Oras shouted out loud. Then he kicked his horse in the belly and left the battlefield first.

Kurt could see it, but he made no attempt to pursue him. Due to the effect of 「Berserk」 Banner, all he could think about was cutting down the enemies in front of him.

Seeing their employer flee, the Dawson mercenaries lost their will to fight and began to flee as well.
However, by that time, the Leclerc mercenaries on the left and center had been destroyed. Kurt’s cousin, who was leading a detached force, also slashed into the ranks of heavily armored knights and killed several of them, but he was also killed in a ferocious battle.

After clearing out the Leclerc mercenaries, Heavy Knights of Waldrind rained down arrows on Kurt’s main force from a distance. Although they used normal bolts, they were powerful enough to easily pierce metal armor. The knights and soldiers under Kurt fell down one by one.

Among them was Benedict, his contracted Mage. He too was fighting bravely, raising the 「Berserk」 battle flag and wielding his sword, but he was hit by five arrows, one of which pierced his heart. Still, he continued to follow Kurt for a while, until he fell in front of him.

「AAAAARGHHHH!!!!! 」

Kurt screamed and ran towards the center of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind where Marine was. However, the black-equipped mercenaries attacked him first

Swinging his great sword vertically and horizontally, he cut down the mercenaries that were attacking him one after another. Before he knew it, there were only enemy soldiers around him. Without realizing it, he stood out on his own. He was annihilating the enemies in front of him to the point that no one else could keep up with him, but he had no desire to stop. He continued to move forward, cutting down the enemies that stood in his way.

He alone killed over 100 enemies, but of course he didn’t have the time to properly count all of them.

Kurt broke through the mercenary group and cut down the Waldrind soldiers who stood in his way, and just as his vision cleared, he saw a line of Heavy Knights of Waldrind in front of him.

Their heavy crossbows were loaded with crossbow bolts that were already infused with the light of the Kraische family’s Crest and were glowing a magnificent shade of white. They had one last shot left in them, and all of the heavy crossbows were aimed at Kurt.

Kurt let out a frantic scream from his throat.

He recognized Marine, raised his greatsword, and ran as fast as he could towards her.

However, in the next moment, Crest-infused crossbow bolts were fired at him all at once.

Trailing behind a tail of light, countless bullets pierce Kurt’s body. A moment later, a dazzling flash of light exploded and an explosive sound was heard.

When the light disappeared, Earl Leclerc’s body had disappeared, leaving only the black swirl of the Chaos Core behind.