Chapter 255: The Battle of Tecks (Part 2)

The soldiers advanced in orderly formations, but gradually, the terrain began to break them into smaller squads. The half-elves were determined to redeem themselves through death. The entire force might have fallen into disarray if it hadn’t been for them maintaining the ranks.

Led by these half-elves, the bravest of the soldiers finally charged forward. They engaged the skeletons in battle.

The skeletons’ movements were nowhere near as precise as those of the well-trained soldiers. Their exposed bones were far less durable than the soldiers’ armor. In fact, the skeletons’ makeshift weapons were so weak that they could hardly harm the soldiers.

It took the destruction of ten skeletons just to bring down a single soldier, giving the troops, who were facing this kind of enemy for the first time, a growing sense of confidence. They roared, swinging their shields and heavy weapons, smashing any skeleton brave enough to stand in their way, and then chasing them down to pulverize their bones completely.

“See that? They’re nothing!” Roderick shouted to the soldiers around him.

The troops roared back, and the fear brought on by Raman’s death seemed to fade.

“Advance!” Roderick ordered again.

The two battalions at the front spread out through the forest, entangled with the skeletons. 

“Watch the flanks!” Roderick yelled. “Keep an eye on those wolfkind!”

He cautiously observed the situation ahead, waiting to see the enemy’s next move.

Suddenly, chaos erupted on the right flank. A tall catwoman charged into the ranks. She grabbed a soldier by the leg and flung him around wildly, throwing the formation into disarray.

The half-elves, acting as the vanguard, were no match for her and couldn’t even put up a fight. She darted through the thinning ranks at incredible speed. Within seconds, signs of collapse spread along the right wing.

“Crossbows! Shoot her down!” 

Roderick, however, remained unfazed, issuing a cold command to one of his lieutenants.

“But sir? Our own men are over there?” the lieutenant hesitated.

“They’re wearing armor, she isn’t! Fire!” Roderick ordered.

Dozens of crossbowmen moved swiftly at the lieutenant’s direction. Crossbows were ineffective against undead, especially skeletons full of holes, but the catwoman was a different story. Faced with a rain of arrows, even with her agility, it was nearly impossible to dodge them all. She grabbed two armored soldiers to shield herself. In moments, their bodies turned into pincushions. Forced into a quick and messy retreat, she disappeared back into the forest.

“Reform the ranks!” Roderick shouted. “Have the vanguard pursue in squads! Heavy infantry! Forward!” 

Roderick’s command swiftly reached the front lines. 

Soldiers clad in full armor that almost completely covered their bodies, wielding two-handed longswords, stepped ahead. 

A massive boomerang whistled through the air once again, but it only knocked them down without causing any fatal damage. In the next moment, the boomerang split into a dozen high-speed flying spears. They skillfully pierced through weak points in their armor—throats, faceplates—bringing the armored soldiers to the ground.

“Cover fire!” Roderick gave the next order. “Heavy infantry, keep advancing! Don’t stop the crossbow fire! Let’s see how she handles this!”

Under normal circumstances, he would have already drawn his sword and charged into the fray, but today, without knowing the full extent of Nina Lams’ injuries, he wasn’t going to take any reckless actions.

Without his command, these soldiers would be doomed in the mountains anyway, so they might as well push forward and try their luck here.

Even elves couldn’t use their abilities indefinitely. He refused to believe that, with the strength of five full battalions, they couldn’t wear down the few ability-users on the other side.

The combined tactics of the heavy infantry advancing alongside the crossbow volleys proved effective. The half-blood dog-girl was forced to split her attention between defending against the crossbow bolts and maintaining her offense. While some crossbow bolts struck down a few soldiers, the rest continued pressing forward. Soon, she had no choice but to retreat.

“That’s it! Keep pushing!” Roderick called out.

At this point, the left flank had completely broken through the skeletons’ line and, under the command of the battalion leader, began sweeping towards the right.

“That easy?” Roderick narrowed his eyes.

Two battalions alone had routed the enemy? This was starting to look like a trap.

Where was Nina Lams? And where was that necromancer?

“Sir, the enemy’s formation has been completely shattered!” a lieutenant said excitedly.

“Order the center to halt,” Roderick commanded.

Sure enough, not long after his order was issued, the previously unstoppable left flank suddenly fell into chaos.

No matter how weak skeletons were, it still took about ten of them to bring down one soldier. But now, after the left battalion’s formation broke apart, the dead soldiers suddenly began to shakily rise behind them, and even among them.

“Ander… Ander, what are you doing…?”

“Carter, stay back!”

“Captain! Captain!”

Facing the skeletons, the soldiers showed no hesitation. But when confronted by their comrades who had just been fighting at their side moments before, they faltered. And that brief hesitation immediately led to significant casualties.

Even when some soldiers finally raised their weapons against their former comrades, the armored corpses, equipped with the same gear and weapons, were far more difficult to deal with than the skeletons had been.

“They’re finally here.” 

Roderick wasn’t the least bit surprised by how things had unfolded.

“Noguti’s Second Battalion, advance,” he shouted. “Send in the enforcers. Kill anyone who retreats. Make sure every corpse is chopped to pieces. Go!”

The left flank soon stabilized. The necromancer might be able to resurrect corpses, but what could he do with scattered chunks?

Roderick smirked as he watched the left flank completely sweep through the remaining skeletons, then began surrounding the undead still holding the right flank. The catgirl and the half-blood dog-girl fought as they retreated, but the number of skeletons around them was dwindling fast.

Just then, chaos broke out again toward the rear.

“Sir, the wolfmen have started attacking us!” an officer rushed in to report.

“Hold the line!” Roderick commanded.

Have they already played all their cards?

Yet Roderick was still waiting, ever watchful.

‘Nina Lams, why haven’t you shown up yet?’