The band of old warriors who numbered not even twenty set off, first at a walk, then gradually gathering speed until by the end, they surged forward like wildfire. Their battle cry drowned out even the awful moans around them to ring through the darkness of the battlefield.
The First Allied Legion, Neinhardt’s Camp
“Don’t fool yourselves into thinking that you can take the ghouls on! Just focus on running!” Even in the jaws of death, Neinhardt’s sword never stopped moving as he barked commands. Katerina came up to him, her sword coated in grime and her breathing heavy. Her expression was agonized.
“General, Lieutenant Colonel Tabitha’s unit has been cut off. She is requesting aid.”
“Much as I’d like to oblige her, I don’t have the soldiers to spare. We’ve got our hands full ourselves...” He was effectively telling Katerina to abandon Tabitha’s unit, but Katerina said nothing to object. Of the six thousand soldiers who served under Neinhardt, only four thousand remained. When it came to surviving battle, nothing mattered more than experience. But even the keenest minds and most adept swordsmen among them might as well have been helpless babes when up against such a strange foe as the ghouls.
The trade of life and death went on unabated.
“Damn!” A swarm of ghouls rammed into Neinhardt, bringing down him and his horse both. He tucked in his limbs to roll, making sure his legs tangled in those of the ghoul that bore down on him to drag it down too. He was on his feet again straightaway, only to see the unit that formed the core of their defense disappearing under a wave of ghouls. A disgusting hand reached toward Katerina’s back. Neinhardt took it off with an upward stroke of his sword, then took the reins of a horse that cowered nearby and mounted up. He held out a mud-smeared hand to Katerina.
“But our allies, they’re still...”
Neinhardt gave the slightest shake of his head. “I’m sorry you were saddled with such a good-for-nothing commander.”
“That’s not—!”
“Take my hand.” Katerina held out a shaking hand. Neinhardt gripped it tight, then pulled her up behind him on the horse. “Hold on tight, and make sure you don’t fall off.”
“Yes, ser...” Katerina wrapped her arms tightly around his middle. They felt even thinner than they looked, and even through his armor he could tell how badly she was shaking.
“Let’s go!” Neinhardt squeezed with his legs and flicked his reins, and the horse answered its new master, racing away from the precipice of death. The horse galloped along at a swift pace, and soon they left the cacophony of screaming behind them. Perhaps it was the work of some animal instinct for survival.
The icy knife of the wind sliced mercilessly into Neinhardt’s body and his heart. Rivulets dripped from his hands as they clenched his reins, adding to the ever-growing red stain on his horse’s back.
The First Allied Legion, Main Command
“Did Lieutenant General Travis’s unit make it away safely?”
“Yes, ser. It seems he was able to withdraw successfully.”
“What about General Lambert and Major General Neinhardt’s units?”
“Both have taken heavy losses, but from what I hear, it has not impeded their retreat.”
“Thank you.”
“Ser! I will leave you here, Lord Marshal!” The messenger left the camp at a run. Cornelius watched, internally letting relief wash over him. Then a voice came from behind him, cool and collected. It was Paul’s aide, Brigadier General Otto.
“Lord Marshal, Lieutenant General Hermann’s unit appears to be barely holding on.”
Cornelius raised his spyglass. A raging mass of ghouls closed on Hermann and his soldiers, forcing them back. Cornelius made his decision swiftly.
“Send Colonel Sachiel to him at once.”
“That will mean weakening your protections, my lord,” Otto replied without hesitation, taking a step forward.
“Lieutenant General Hermann’s unit is the linchpin of our defenses. If he breaks, it will be the first link in a chain that ends in our destruction. I know you know that, Brigadier General.”
Otto hesitated. “I’ll send him at once, ser,” he said at length.
Sachiel and his battalion of two thousand heavy infantry departed in haste to provide reinforcements. With this, the only forces remaining around the main camp were the battalion of two thousand light infantry under Paul’s direct command, Cornelius’s personal guard, and the three of Fernest’s Ten Swords who were there as his protection.
“Running a little low on people to look after you, don’t you think?” Paul said wryly from beside Cornelius.
“I’m not yet so decrepit that I need a caretaker,” Cornelius retorted, stroking his thick white beard with an exaggerated scowl. Paul was only poking fun because he was worried about Cornelius, and Cornelius only responded so theatrically because he knew it. At the same time, the younger officers who only knew them as superior and subordinate all looked tense.
This is where it will all be decided. Cornelius took out a pocket watch engraved with a leda leaf—the coat of arms of the House of Gruening—and opened it to check the time.
“Well. A few more hours, then...” he murmured. “Any word from the Eighth Legion?”
“None, ser. They are probably still engaging the Azure Knights.”
“I see. That may well be so.”
The Eighth Legion’s opponent was the empire’s most powerful knight order. They had Olivia, but even then, he did not expect victory would come easily. Of course, what has befallen us might have fallen upon them too...
Everything he had seen in Claudia’s reports proved that Olivia also possessed a strong gift for command. She would know when it was time to withdraw.
“You have nothing to worry about where Lieutenant General Olivia is concerned, Lord Marshal,” Paul said in a voice brimming with confidence. Cornelius couldn’t help but frown.
“You’re acting like a doting old fool again.”
“You’re one to talk,” Paul replied. “In any case, the one saving grace is that the Crimson and Helios Knights haven’t gotten involved.”
“It might be less that they didn’t and more that they couldn’t.”
“Looks that way to you too, then, Lord Marshal?”
“Those ghouls are supposed to be on their side, but they were clearly rattled.”