Volume 3, Chapter 27 – Knights of the Round Table, Charge!

Of course, at the same time the knightly girl swung her sword, the beastmen who were still setting up their camp near the Northern Fortress also sensed that something was wrong.

To be precise…

It was the beastman troops Grinrui had stationed around the area as scouts who first discovered the abnormality, which was none other than the sight to the south of the Northern Fortress, where rows upon rows of Kingdom banners bearing the sword-and-shield emblem were unfurling in the wind.

And beneath those banners was the long-delayed army of the Kingdom Faction, all one hundred and ninety thousand troops.

“Enemy sighted! Enemy sighted!”

The moment the beastman on watch spotted the Kingdom’s forces, he began shouting at the top of his lungs.

The rough, booming voices unique to beastmen echoed across the sky above the Northern Fortress, and although most of the beastman soldiers who had been building the camp panicked for a moment, they still grabbed their weapons and began to assemble under their respective commanders’ orders.

As for Grinrui who was stationed in the center, when he received the report that the enemy had appeared, his face was filled with surprise.

But this was no time for surprise. Grinrui tightened his grip around the giant warhammer, and at his side, the towering beastmen also seized their weapons and mounted the beastmen cavalry’s signature mounts , dire wolves.

“Enemy’s to the south. Wolf riders, follow me!”

“Hurrrrrah!”

The wolf riders around Grinrui roared meaningless battle cries, then followed Grinrui, who was also astride a dire wolf, and charged southward.

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At the same time, at the very southernmost edge of the stronghold army’s encampment.

The Kingdom’s forces had already launched a direct assault.

Armored human infantry raised their shields to withstand the flustered rain of arrows loosed by the beastman ranged forces, then advanced quickly toward the beastman formation.

But even with shields, some arrows still slipped through the gaps in their armor at tricky angles and struck the bodies of several human infantry. The Kingdom’s charge looked swift, but their losses were also not small.

However, because the Kingdom’s army had appeared so suddenly before the stronghold beastmen, the beastmen had not yet assembled any proper defensive formation by the time the human forces started their attack.

So after only a few hurried volleys of arrows from the beastman ranged units, the Kingdom’s infantry had already crashed into the hastily assembled beastman front line.

In an instant, the clang of blades and the ringing of swords filled the air. Angry shouts, screams, and bestial roars echoed across the entire battlefield.

To be sure, when it came to close-quarters combat, aside from the chaotic demons of the Abyss, the beastmen ranked at the very top among the Eight Great Factions.

Not only because beastmen possessed strong and sturdy bodies overflowing with power, but also because the beastman race treated combat itself with a fanatic reverence that bordered on faith.

Which meant the beastmen were a race practically born for battle.

Even so, despite their overwhelming melee prowess, an equal number of beastmen were not necessarily a match for human armies on the battlefield.

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Because beastman units did not coordinate with one another, every soldier fought individually.

And aside from melee units, the only other troops beastmen fielded were basic ranged archers.

The beastman army lacked the diverse structure of the humans. Human armies not only had melee and ranged units, but also mage corps responsible for large-scale firepower support, as well as priest units responsible for healing and various strengthening buffs.

And the most crucial factor of all, human soldiers were capable of cooperation.

Thus, in this situation, the beastman forces that had been thrown together in haste were completely routed within less than a minute of engaging the Kingdom infantry.

Like a collapsing mountain, the beastman line shattered, and the soldiers who had barely formed a formation began retreating in panic. Meanwhile, after the knightly girl left, the temporary commander of the human forces continued giving calm, well-organized orders.

“Archers, suppress them. Mage corps, provide fire support. Priests, heal the wounded who fall back!”

It could be said that the situation on both sides was completely opposite.

But just as the human frontline was advancing steadily, a unit of beastman wolf riders suddenly burst forth from the chaotic beastman ranks.

At their head was a towering beastman whose entire body radiated an oppressive Legendary aura.

This beastman was none other than the supreme commander of the entire Skullcrusher Legion, Grinrui.

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“Since when did beastmen become cowards who only know how to flee? All of you, attack them with me!”

Though Grinrui charged ahead with the wolf riders, the furious roar he unleashed echoed continuously in the ears of every beastman soldier present.

“Beastmen are no cowards!”

“Never retreat!”

After only a few seconds of shame, the beastmen who had been fleeing in disarray suddenly wheeled around and joined the charge once again.

True, beastmen lacked coordination and had limited unit types.

But their ability to have their morale restored by the simplest of words was exactly what made commanders of all factions tear their hair out in frustration.

Moreover, the more desperate the situation, the stronger the beastmen fought.

And the most terrifying thing about beastman armies was that not a single one of their soldiers would ever surrender, even if they fought to the last.

Throughout the million-year history of clashes between beastmen and humans, every major battle where humans had heavily injured the beastman armies had been battles of total annihilation.

As the proverb went, “to wound the enemy a thousand, one must sacrifice eight hundred.” Every time the Kingdom annihilated a beastman army, they also suffered devastating losses themselves. Under such circumstances, human armies could not possibly launch a further assault on the stronghold.

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And that was why even to this day, despite being fully capable of defeating the beastmen, the human side never marched out to exterminate them.

After all, the price of wiping out all beastmen was incalculable, and the other six factions were waiting eagerly like predators watching their prey.

Under the stimulation of Grinrui’s simple but forceful words, the retreat born from the earlier ambush vanished instantly. The southern beastman forces followed Grinrui and the wolf riders and clashed head-on with the human army.

Although most of the beastman troops were still gathering behind them, the addition of the Legendary Grinrui and the wolf riders was enough to halt the humans’ steady advance completely.

However, just as all the beastmen focused their attention on the southern front against the Kingdom’s troops.

A cavalry unit hidden within magic suddenly appeared behind the beastmen, in the northern direction of the stronghold.

Then, before the beastmen could react, the cavalry charged directly.

“Holy Light guide me. Knights of the Round Table, charge!”

“Charge! Charge!”

Bathed in brilliant holy radiance, a cavalry force composed entirely of paladins launched a lethal attack straight into the beastmen’s unguarded rear.