The Rural Officer Who Was Once a General

Part 1, Chapter 10

"Alright, we're charging straight into the enemy camp!"

As Turg shouted in a low voice, the soldiers behind him raised their weapons into the air.

They didn’t make much noise to preserve the surprise, but the aura created by more than a hundred soldiers was beyond imagination.

"Let’s go."

Turg led the troops forward.

Having taken care of the guards, there was nothing else to worry about.

‘If we keep marching for just one more day, we’ll be out of the forest.’

After that, it would all be over once they crushed the village and slaughtered every soldier.

'I should retrieve the head of that officer whom Lady Rakula so wanted to kill and take it back.'

Only then would the unease lingering on Lady Rakula’s face disappear.

‘That Impudent bastard.’

It had to be a lucky guess, nothing more.

Unless he was some great general, there was no way he could counter Rakula’s strategy.

‘The perfect Lady Rakula who must account for every detail probably sees him as a variable.’

But with his lowly brain, he was certain the guy was just a mere officer.

‘I heard he’s barely twenty.’

That meant he was nearly ten years younger than Rakula.

Which made his abilities even more doubtful.

Even if he were a genius, without enough experience or education, he wouldn’t be able to produce anything useful on the battlefield.

As Turg continued marching, the forest ended and a field of reeds unfolded before them.

"This is where those idiots were defeated?"

At the word ‘idiots,’ Tizik’s face twisted slightly, but he quickly composed himself after glancing at Turg.

"…Yes General. As you can see, the reeds are tall, making it quite difficult to spot hidden soldiers."

"Is that so? Then how were they discovered? Curious."

"…I don’t know. I wasn’t present at that battle."

"Ha! You see that?"

Turg pointed his axe—its blade as large as his torso—toward parts of the reed field.

Bodies dressed in black and white lay scattered across the field.

The black ones were assassins, the white ones were light infantry.

"…They still haven’t cleaned them up."

Was it due to a lack of manpower, or simply a show of disrespect for the dead?

Tizik’s fingernails dug harshly into his palm.

"General, once this is over, please allow me to retrieve their bodies."

"Hmm? Do as you please."

"Yes, thank you."

Turg waved him off as if to say that was enough and moved downward.

Though he was quite large and mounted on a horse, the reeds still brushed against his chest.

It certainly seemed like someone hidden in there wouldn’t be visible.

‘So maybe it wasn’t just dumb luck after all.’

Even so, it didn’t elevate Fade’s status in Turg’s mind.

"Let’s go!"

As Turg shouted, the soldiers gradually followed him down.

When about half the troops had descended, Turg spurred his horse forward.

"Ugh."

Tizik's groan came from behind.

"Zarbin, you too…"

Tizik reached out toward Zarbin’s corpse.

A cold sensation met his fingers.

"Ha, even in death, you give off a killing aura…"

Thud!

A spear blade burst from Zarbin’s torso, piercing Tizik through the neck.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Infantrymen hidden nearby drove their spears into the soldiers around Tizik.

"Ka-heuk!"

In an instant, more than ten infantrymen and rangers were killed and buried beneath the reeds.

"Wh-what's going on back there—"

As Turg and the cavalry in the front turned their heads at the noise from the rear, ropes sprang from the ground, tripping the horses.

"Ugh!"

The cavalry were thrown from their mounts, letting out startled cries.

"Ambush!"

Turg shouted as he scrambled to his feet.

"Rahh!"

At that moment, Ted burst out of the reeds and began smashing down the fallen cavalry with his hammer.

Each strike crushed a soldier’s head with brutal force.

"Damn it!"

Turg furiously swung his axe at Ted.

"Hup!"

Ted quickly leaned back, but the cold axe blade tore through his heavy armor, carving a long gash into his chest.

"……"

Turg quietly surveyed the area.

All the cavalry were down, and the infantry seemed to be pushed back.

"Pull yourselves together! We still outnumber them!"

Turg charged at Ted, swinging his axe.

"Haaah!"

Ted didn’t back down, swinging his hammer in return.

CLAAAAANG!

The massive two-handed weapons clashed, sending a thunderous shockwave through the air.

"Ted, fall back!"

Fade rode in on horseback, slashing his sword toward Turg’s flank.

"Haap!"

Turg blocked the blade with the broad side of his axe and was pushed backward.

Thunk!

A spear flew in from somewhere and pierced Turg’s thigh.

"You bastard!"

Turg grabbed the spear shaft, yanked the spearman toward him, and buried his axe in the man’s head.

"Huff, huff... this is insane."

It seemed Lady Rakula hadn’t entirely overestimated the enemy.

"Raaaghhh!"

A scream echoed from the troops that had yet to fully descend.

Turning his head, Turg saw seven cavalry cutting through the infantry.

"That pale white hair…"

That one had also been said to possess considerable skill.

'Damn it, what do I do?'

Turg stayed alert while thinking fast.

Strategy and tactics weren’t his specialty, but he had enough field experience to make snap decisions.

‘Take the commander’s head first.’

From experience — his axe, known in some circles as the Witch’s Axe — simply following Rakula’s orders was a surefire path to victory.

"You bastard!"

The two commanders locked eyes, and Turg immediately hurled his axe at Fade.

Though it was a heavy battle axe, Turg’s monstrous strength allowed him to throw it with ease.

Without waiting to see what happened to the axe, Turg sprinted to his horse and mounted it.

CLANG!

Fade deflected the axe with the flat of his sword, and it automatically snapped back into Turg’s hand.

This was Turg’s specialty — the Axe Boomerang.

A highly complex technique that allowed the axe to return after being deflected, something even the top axe masters of the Khanate couldn’t replicate.

"I’ll twist your damn neck."

Turg tightened his thigh grip, urging the horse forward, gripping the axe with both hands.

"Haahh!"

He brought the axe down toward Fade’s crown.

"Oh?"

Fade’s eyes sparkled.

"That’s exactly like Karun’s move, huh?"

Whoosh!

With masterful rein control, Fade dodged the axe by a hair’s breadth.

"Hmm, but this guy…"

Fade narrowed his eyes.

"Killing him feels like a waste."

The corners of his lips curled up.

‘This one reeks of the type who’ll bring back something bigger if I let him go.’

Judging by how he fought, he didn’t seem like the one who came up with the plan to poison the supplies — more likely just a subordinate.

‘And the fact they sent over a hundred troops after a failed operation…’

It spoke to a deep pride in their strategy and tactics.

That meant if Fade let him live here, there was a high chance he’d come back on his own.

It wasn’t just provocation — it was the kind that spared a man who could be killed.

That’d strike right at his pride.

"Still, I can’t just do nothing, can I."

Whether for this battle or the next, there was no reason to let him off scot-free.

"What the hell are you mumbling about?!"

Turg shouted, charging at Fade.

"Haa, guess I’ll start by cooling your temper."

Fade extended his sword toward Turg’s axe.

Skrrreee!

The thick axe pushed against the comparatively thinner longsword.

"Have it your way."

Fade flicked his wrist lightly.

Clang.

The two blades scraped past one another.

Slice!

The longsword severed two of Turg’s fingers.

"Ugh!"

Turg gritted through the pain and swung his axe, but such a large weapon couldn’t be controlled properly after the sudden injury.

As the axe missed, Fade withdrew his sword and slashed.

Shhhrk!

The blade pierced through the armor joint in Turg’s forearm and dug deep into his shoulder.

"Damn it!"

Turg gasped and tried to swing his axe again, but his injured shoulder rendered it unwieldy.

"Hyah!"

Fade shifted to a precarious stance, one leg on the saddle, the other raised high — then brought it down.

BAM!

Like a nail struck by a hammer, the longsword drove into Turg’s shoulder, slicing through bone.

"GAHHHH!"

Bloodshot, Turg screamed in agony.

"Now then…"

Fade pulled out the loosely embedded sword and swung down again.

Crunch!

Bone, flesh, tendon, and vessels were severed at once as Turg’s right arm dropped to the ground.

“UGHHH!”

Turg let out an ear-piercing scream as he fell off his horse and rolled across the ground.

“General!”

A few cavalrymen, having mounted their horses to escape Ted, charged toward Fade.

‘There it is.’

Fade read their intent.

It looked like they planned to send a ranger to retrieve Turg while the rest stalled for time.

“Such loyalty, for a bunch of barbarians.”

Fade kicked the double-handed axe far away with his horse’s hoof and faced the oncoming cavalry.

‘Had they gone after the infantry instead of me, they might’ve actually had a shot at victory.’

Although the enemy infantry outnumbered them, the heavy infantry made up less than thirty percent, and all of them were exhausted from a long march.

The heavy infantry especially — they had to be completely exhausted.

The infantry on the ridge had already been dealt with by Tryaev and his cavalry, and soon the rest would be surrounded and overwhelmed.

Not to mention, the likely movement paths of the enemy were rigged with traps, and his infantry had taken crossbows from the rangers — if needed, they could push with ranged attacks too.

And now, even the last hope, the cavalry,  was charging straight at Fade.

So, it wasn’t unreasonable that a mere twenty men were cutting down a force of a hundred and fifty.

“I suppose I’ll at least respect your loyalty.”

Fade stared coldly at the approaching cavalry.