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Chapter 19: No Way! Not Super!

Chapter 19: No Way! Not Super!

—The next day.

「They’re here!」

The 【Sma-ho!】 skill screen lit up with a red signal, reinforcements from the Kingdom of Algeas.

They were coming from the north side of Colon Castle, where the Vaffancrow Empire’s army had the place surrounded.

At first, it was just a single red dot.

But then the red dots multiplied rapidly.

I immediately issued orders to the Barbar Mercenary Party.

「Combat positions! Form a defensive formation!」

「Gaia! What’s going on!?」

Uncle Athos came running.

「Enemy reinforcements!」

「What!?」

「They’re coming from the north!」

「Hey! Lookouts! Anything on the northern side!?」

Uncle Athos barked at the watchmen.

One of them squinted hard toward the north.

「Whoa! There they are! Enemy reinforcements! There’s a ton of them!」

The air changed instantly.

Uncle Athos started shouting instructions to our troops.

「Stay calm! They’re still a ways off, we have time to prepare!」

I ran around our camp, giving orders to my own Blumund tribe.

「Get your gear on! Prepare to retreat at a moment’s notice! Group the donkeys in the center!」

We had three donkeys, each pulling carts loaded with dried meat, water jugs, and other supplies.

We were ready to escape at any moment, but whether we would fight or flee would depend on our employer’s decision.

The Barbar Mercenary Party was already moving.

But the Vaffancrow Empire’s army… was sluggish.

Were they still unaware?

I glanced at the 【Sma-ho!】 screen again.

Red dots were closing in from the south as well.

(What!? They’re circling around from the south too!? How, by ship!?)

I zoomed in on the map.

A massive army.

 ・Reinforcements from the north: 15,000
 ・Reinforcements from the south: 5,000

Plus the 5,000 already holed up in Colon Castle,

That made a total enemy force of 25,000.

We, the Vaffancrow Empire’s side, had 20,000.

The enemy now outnumbered us.

(What about their commander?)

The 15,000 from the north had to be the main force.

I searched for their commanding officer on the map.

(Found him! This guy… he’s bad news.)

【Alex – Crown Prince – Super Competent / Super Strong】

(No way! Not super! Super is bad news!)

This was a disaster.

The Empire’s officers were all useless.

Now we were outnumbered and outclassed in leadership.

Retreating was the only smart option.

Luckily, the west was still open.

A road ran through it, leading to Pyrrhus, which was under Empire control.

If we could get there, we could evacuate via the nearby port.

I turned to a Barbar soldier nearby who could speak the Empire’s language and asked him to act as a messenger.

He was to report the enemy numbers and recommend retreat to the west.

Thanks to our preparations, the Barbar Mercenary Party was already ready to move.

Rosso’s Great Lizard Tribe lined up shields in front, ready to hold off the enemy.

The Elves stood in the center, guarding the donkeys.

But no orders came from the Vaffancrow Empire’s headquarters.

The messenger had already returned, but still, nothing.

Empire soldiers were just running around in confusion.

Retreat or engage?

They needed to make a call and reorganize their formation, but they weren’t.

「Hey! Gaia! What’s the plan!?」

From the front line, Rosso called out.

When I reached him, his warriors had already set up a row of large wooden shields.

「Gaia! What are we doing!? Fighting or fleeing!?」

「There’s no word from headquarters…」

「You’re kidding! Look at that!」

I followed Rosso’s pointing finger.

The Kingdom of Algeas’s forces had begun to encircle the Empire’s army.

At this rate, even the west would be cut off.

「Charge!」

A voice shouted in the Algeas Kingdom’s tongue.

The battlefield echoed with the enemy’s war cries.

On our side, all we could hear were screams, panic, and shouts of fear.

「Rosso! I’m leaving this to you! I’m going to headquarters!」

「Make it quick!」

I left the front line in Rosso’s hands and sprinted toward headquarters.