MTLNOVEL Chapter 19
Part 1, Chapter 19
The first to act was Rakula’s side.
Fwish!
Hundreds of arrows flew toward the Wardens of the Swamp, self-proclaimed “Sticky Rats.”
“Hhngh!”
Blathyun reacted miraculously.
No—realistically, it was closer to a prediction.
He had seen the glint from the assassin’s mirror.
It was just that the archers of the Khanate moved first before he had a chance to make a judgment or speak to his subordinates.
“Goddamn it…”
Blathyun barely managed to duck and take cover behind a section of the watchtower wall.
One of the rangers who had been with him on the top floor of the west watchtower now hung limply, at least ten arrows stuck in his body.
Probably dead.
‘Even if he’s alive, he’s as good as dead.’
Having spent enough time on the battlefield to make such a claim, he knew.
Even if they somehow brought him back alive, any doctor would shake their head.
‘And besides…’
Blathyun carefully peeked out.
Just in front of him, without the slightest caution, stood no fewer than a hundred archers nocking arrows. Behind them, troops were preparing to cross the swamp—so many that it was impossible to count them with the naked eye.
‘And judging by that flash of light earlier behind us…’
That meant there were already rangers behind the watchtower.
“First, let’s do what needs to be done.”
Blathyun lit a fuse nearby.
The handle of the backup dagger he carried had a flint attached, so it caught easily.
Pop!
A firework burst through the trees, scattering sparks into the air.
‘Need to report the enemy forces.’
It wasn’t an army completely outside their expectations, but to plan the operation more effectively, Fade or Tryaev needed at least a rough idea of the enemy’s numbers.
‘No need to count them one by one.’
If he focused on staying alive here, he’d naturally get a rough sense of the numbers and troop types.
“Hup!”
Blathyun threw himself flat, narrowly avoiding the incoming arrows.
“Any survivors on the first and second floors?”
“Second floor—three infantry, all dead. Just me left.”
It was the voice of a veteran among Blathyun’s rangers.
“What about the first floor?”
“Looks like the two infantry down there got hit too. But more importantly, I hear footsteps. The sound is barely audible, so they’re at least around my level or higher.”
“How many?”
“From what I can hear, two or three.”
“Hah, while over a hundred archers are raining arrows on our heads, those damn assassin bastards are coming up from below too?”
Blathyun quickly stuck his head out again and scanned the eastern watchtower.
The three infantrymen looked like they’d been dead for a while, and the two rangers’ corpses were nowhere to be seen.
Five assassins had entered the first floor—so at least one of them must still be alive.
Blathyun swiftly ducked his head again.
“Five went in over there. Probably the same over here.”
“They seem to have entered the first floor. In a few seconds, either those bastards or our two will be dead.”
“Wait. I’ll go down and break through. You support me.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Hehehe, now that’s a title I like.”
‘Captain,’ huh. It was the kind of title you'd expect street thugs to use— but Blatun loved it.
No matter how he thought about it, ‘captain’ felt way more satisfying than ‘officer.’
Blathyun drew his dual swords and placed a foot on the stair railing between the third and second floors.
Swish!
An assassin spotted the veteran watcher and immediately threw a dagger.
Clang!
In that instant, a sword swung down from the upper railing and deflected the thrown dagger, and the other sword in Blathyun’s hand sliced into the back of the assassin’s head.
“What the—?”
Startled, the second assassin let out a shocked gasp—and Blathyun leapt down on top of him.
Crunch!
The weight of a grown man suddenly landing on him made the assassin’s spine snap under the pressure.
Thwack! Thwack! thwack!
“Keep your head down!”
Arrows flew in, but Blathyun didn’t flinch as he swung both swords freely.
He had two more assassins charging him head-on.
Clang! clang! clang! clang!
The swords were swung so fast that a screen of blade light formed. Arrows that hit it were instantly deflected in all directions, piling onto the second floor of the watchtower.
What happened to the assassins who tried to take those blades head-on?
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
With sickening sounds, two corpses appeared, their shoulders and necks savagely torn apart.
“Let’s go!”
Blathyun immediately hurled himself down to the first floor.
Whip-whip-whip!
About a dozen arrows flew toward him, but the distance, the cover, and the awkward height made them land far off-target even without any big movement on his part.
“Captain!”
The veteran watcher threw a dagger.
The dagger struck the foot of an assassin hiding nearby, poised for a sneak attack.
Gritting his teeth to suppress a scream, the assassin’s face turned red—only for one of Blathyun’s blades to slash across it.
Slash!
The blow cut deep into the cheekbone, leaving behind a grotesque corpse.
“Now, then…”
Just as Blathyun hit the ground and began assessing the situation, a sound came from the eastern watchtower.
“Gahk!”
A ranger from the east tower leapt down while clutching an assassin.
Crunch!
The assassin’s spine beneath him shattered into bone dust.
“Hhngh!”
The impact of the fall staggered the ranger—and a dagger from another assassin plunged into the back of his head.
Thud.
The ranger collapsed on the spot.
Whoosh!
The veteran watcher threw a flying dagger, avenging his comrade.
But it wasn’t all that satisfying.
Slice!
From the third floor of the eastern tower, a thick jet of blood sprayed into the air—followed by an assassin plummeting to the ground.
“Grrgh!”
A scream rang out from the last ranger on the tower.
He was barely hanging onto the railing, fending off an assassin trying to stab and twist a dagger into his stomach.
“Haaah!”
With a final burst of strength, he threw himself backward and sent the assassin flying over the railing.
“Shi—”
Thud!
The assassin landed with a decent breakfall, but before he could rise, the veteran watcher’s thrown dagger struck him down.
As the ranger on the third floor caught his ragged breath, the enemy archers released their arrows, freeing one hand to fire.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
Several arrows pierced critical parts of the ranger’s body, including his head resting on the railing.
“Damn it, run!”
Blathyun ground his teeth.
From what he had seen earlier, even the esticky rat mounts had all been taken down by arrows. Meanwhile, the enemy had at least several hundred—possibly up to a thousand—cavalry.
“We have to make it back alive!”
Blathyun flung himself forward.
He had scouted out terrain that would be better for fleeing on foot, just in case they lost their mounts—but now, his body felt unbearably heavy.
Whip-whip-whip!
The arrows chasing him were featherlight in comparison.
Clatter-clatter!
Dozens of mounted archers could now be seen galloping after them.
“Goddamn it!”
Blathyun and the veteran watcher quickly hurled throwing weapons at the leading horsemen.
Neigh!
A few horses fell as blades struck their flesh, but there were far too many still coming.
“Pass it on.”
“...Sir?”
“Enemy numbers—about three thousand. A thousand cavalry, two hundred archers.”
“What are you talking about right now?”
“I did a rough count, dumbass.”
“Now’s not the time to be counting! We need to survive and—”
“Exactly. That’s why you need to go and tell that damned young centurion.”
“Captain?”
“Shit, how the hell could a man outrun a horse? One of us has to stay behind.”
“Then let me—”
“Shut it. You’re not good as bait, a decoy, or anything else. You know that, don’t you?”
This wasn’t some noble sacrifice born of Blathyun’s kindness.
It was a simple, rational decision—he was stronger than his subordinate, and therefore more capable of completing the mission.
“I’ve sent dozens to their deaths because it was the right call.”
Blathyun pulled a wry grin.
“When it comes to the battlefield, I’m a damn genius. My judgment’s always right, got it?”
Blathyun’s footsteps finally came to a complete stop.
The distance between him and the veteran watcher began to grow.
“So if my judgment says I need to die—then I’ll kill even myself. Because that’s what’s right, isn’t it?”
Swish, swish!
A few arrows flew at him.
Blathyun stepped forward—straight into the path of the arrows.
Experience and instinct—or maybe something in between—told him only three of them would actually reach him.
Clang!
Blathyun flicked his left sword as if swatting a summer mosquito.
The arrows deflected with perfect precision, stabbing straight down into the earth.
Neigh!
One of the mounted archers charged in faster, trying to improve his accuracy but his horse met a set of iron jaws rising from the dirt.
Neeeeiiggh..!
Its leg caught in a small bear trap, the horse collapsed forward, sending its rider tumbling off mid-draw.
Thud.
Blathyun’s sword plunged into the neck of the fallen archer, his face still buried in the dirt.
“Damn, maybe I should’ve dug a few more and laid out a couple extras.”
Blathyun let out a dry laugh as he braced for the charging cavalry archers.
His vision blurred slightly, making it harder to count them—but one thing was clear: there were too many for one man to handle.
Fwoosh!
The arrows loosed from their hands lit up Blathyun’s field of vision.
“Goddamn it!”
Blathyun hurled himself behind a large nearby tree.
Thunk.
An arrow embedded itself in the wood just beside him.
All the while, the pounding of hooves didn’t cease.
‘Hah, that’s it. Come on, come on!’
He sensed a flicker of hesitation in the rhythm of the hooves—but it didn’t matter.
Not cautious enough to avoid the traps.
Snap!
One horse tripped a wire stretched taut across the ground.
Instantly, the gears attached to both ends of the thread whirred to life.
As the horse passed, three mounted archers following close behind had to witness a well-sharpened log—hidden among the foliage—swing down on a rope.
Crack!
Three different body parts from three different men collided in midair, turning into a grotesque explosion of shredded flesh.
“Son of a bitch!”
A few soldiers flinched at the sight of their comrades bursting apart in front of them.
“Forget the traps, take that bastard out first!”
About ten mounted archers in front of the fallen ones veered off sharply—away from the trees.
They wanted to stay out of trap range, keep their distance, and shoot from medium range.
What they hadn’t accounted for was this: it meant Blathyun saw them first.
“There he is—!”
One of them spotted Blathyun and began to loose his bowstring, only to have a throwing blade slam into his throat.
The blade was only about the width of a finger, but it had been thrown so hard, that even the hilt dug slightly into his neck.
“Come on in, you bastards.”
Blathyun growled—savage, cold, and low.