Volume 3, Chapter 28 – They Will Not Surrender

Blinding holy light suddenly erupted behind the Beastman army.

In just an instant, the torrent formed from that holy light slashed straight into the rear of the Stronghold army, then stirred up a scene of blood and carnage.

To be precise, there was none of the actual carnage described above. What appeared instead was countless Beastman soldiers turning into streaks of white light and vanishing into the air.

At the same moment the Paladin legion led by the knight girl Fisiel cut into their formation.

The Beastman forces originally gathering in the rear were mercilessly broken apart and scattered. Those who were scattered were either killed by the Paladins or turned into headless flies, running around in panic with no direction.

Although Beastman soldiers would never surrender, the truth was that even a Beastman army needed commanders.

After all, without command and coordination, no matter how strong each individual soldier might be, together they would only be a chaotic mob.

Thus, with a sudden ambush striking their rear, the Beastmen fell into chaos.

Not only that, but due to the chaos, the Beastman forces in the south who were still struggling to hold out had gone far too long without reinforcements. They had sunk into the miserable state where every time a soldier died, their defensive line was forced back another step.

Of course, as a Legendary, Grinrui could easily turn the tide.

But Grinrui knew very clearly that he could not make a move at this moment.

Because the Kingdom’s army also had a Legendary.

And the moment he took action, that Legendary who knew his location would certainly intervene and stop him. Once that happened, with no one left to command the Beastman troops, being swallowed up by the Kingdom forces would only be a matter of time.

“Damn it… You humans just love playing this kind of dirty scheme!”

After learning that his army’s rear had been ambushed by a cavalry unit, Grinrui immediately understood that he had already fallen into the Kingdom’s trap.

“General, what do we do next?”

Rеаd οո КαtReαԁіոgСаfе

While Grinrui was grumbling in utter frustration, one of his trusted subordinates looked at him helplessly.

Helpless.

Yes.

Even if Beastmen would not surrender, faced with such an oppressive battlefield situation, anyone with a bit of intelligence would feel lost and helpless.

And most importantly, right now the Beastmen… had no idea what kind of enemy they were facing. Just how many troops did the human army have?

One hundred thousand?

Two hundred thousand?

Or three hundred thousand?

He did not know the number, but from what he could see for himself, the formation of the human army stretched directly toward the distant horizon.

“Retreat…”

In the end, despite his burning anger and humiliation, Grinrui who understood perfectly how unfavorable the situation was, reluctantly gave the order.

“Leave three thousand behind to cover the retreat. The rest will withdraw at once.”

“Yes.”

It sounded cruel.

But such was war.

While being ambushed and having no intelligence on the enemy army’s size, withdrawing while their losses were not yet catastrophic was without a doubt the best option.

Rеαԁ οո KаtRеaⅾiոgСαfe

After all, the situation was terribly unfavorable to the Beastmen. Sacrificing a portion of their forces in exchange for extracting the main army was a very sensible choice.

Thus, under Grinrui’s command, the Beastmen began deliberately withdrawing toward the north.

When the Kingdom’s one hundred ninety thousand main forces noticed that the Beastmen seemed to be trying to escape, they tried to pin them down. But unfortunately, the Beastmen had left behind three thousand fearless soldiers who blocked the path of the one hundred ninety thousand like an unyielding wall.

“Captain, the Beastmen are trying to run!”

Behind the Beastman forces, as she led the Knights of the Round Table Paladin Corps in repeated charges, Fisiel immediately noticed what was happening.

“Spread out and charge. Increase disruption to their formation. We absolutely cannot let them escape!”

Realizing the situation, Fisiel immediately gave the order.

After all, they had a great opportunity to annihilate or severely cripple this Beastman army, so Fisiel was decisively commanding her forces.

However, just as the Paladins were about to fan out and execute her command…

A series of wolf howls echoed into their ears.

“I didn’t think Paladins of the Kingdom who claim to uphold knightly virtues would actually take part in war, and even use despicable ambush tactics like this!”

The ones who appeared at this moment were the Beastman Wolf Riders, and the one speaking was Grinrui himself as he personally led them.

Grinrui’s tone was full of fury, and his beastlike eyes were overflowing with killing intent.

“Truly, what a sight.”

“You Beastmen invaded my Kingdom’s territory first. We Paladins have no reason to treat you with knightly rules!”

Reаd оո КatRеаⅾіոgСαfе

Realizing the unusual nature of the Beastmen before her, Fisiel refrained from acting rashly.

Besides, she knew that the moment these Wolf Riders appeared, her chance to annihilate or heavily damage that army had vanished.

“Hmph. I’ll settle this debt sooner or later, Paladin. Sooner or later I will take your head and make it my trophy!”

Coming from a Legendary who could not die, this was not an empty threat.

But such a declaration only enraged the Paladins surrounding Fisiel.

“Insolent fool!”

What followed was a chorus of swords being drawn.

“Hmph, what? Planning to kill me?”

Seeing the Paladins bristling with anger, the fury in Grinrui’s eyes shifted into disdain.

Then his gaze returned once more to Fisiel’s face.

At this moment, because the Paladins were no longer disturbing them, the Beastman army had regrouped and was executing an orderly retreat.

“This time, you lose.”

Fisiel, the knight girl being stared down by Grinrui, spoke slowly.

“Next time, and the time after that, you will never defeat me.”

“Is that so?”

Grinrui only gave her a deep look.

Rеаⅾ оn KαtRеаⅾіոgCаfe

Then he led the Wolf Riders in withdrawal.

Even in retreat, the Wolf Riders did not scramble about in panic like the other Beastman units. They withdrew with strict discipline.

As she watched the Beastman army grow farther and farther away, Fisiel slowly sheathed her knight’s sword.

“Captain, we’re not pursuing?”

“No. There’s no opportunity.”

Facing the Paladin’s question, Fisiel shook her head.

Then she turned toward the Beastman troops Grinrui had left behind.

“Pass the order to cease attacking. See if those Beastmen are willing to surrender. They’ve already been abandoned. There’s no point causing meaningless casualties.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Fisiel’s order was met with approval from the Paladins.

After all, even if Paladins disliked Beastmen, mercy and forgiveness toward the enemy were also part of the knightly virtues.

But what shocked the Paladins was that those Beastmen, even knowing they had been abandoned…

Fought until the last man.

Not a single one chose to surrender.