Chapter 163: Rebel Group
Chapter 163: Rebel Group
The betrayal of an intelligence agent left Carl with no way to obtain local information. It would be nice if there were any agents left somewhere who had not fallen to the Church of Universal Equality, but there was currently no way to contact them.
"We will continue moving like this, occupy the village, and assess the situation," Carl decided.
So, the method Carl chose was to act according to a 'surface operation.'
The mission given to Carl to suppress the rebellion was to stir up trouble in the Palton Territory and disrupt the rebels.
To do this, Carl figured out the geography of the Palatinate and set up a nominal attack route. Originally, they were just pretending to follow this route while trying to destroy the Church of Universal Equality, but now there was no other way.
They would capture local people and extract information, which would lead to unnecessary and excessive sacrifices. Still, since it was the most 'efficient' method, Carl made the decision without hesitation.
"Jaren, take the lead!"
Carl, galloping on his horse, shouted like thunder. Jaren rushed forward and pulled a long spear from his saddle.
Jaren didn't even think about the fact that Carl treated him so casually. He couldn't figure out why he had followed orders or why he had drawn his spear.
But the moment he heard Carl's order, he could already sense that an enemy attack was imminent.
The presence of the enemy was sensed by Jaren, the Master, a little too late.
Surprisingly, Carl noticed the enemy before Jaren did.
"If possible, capture them alive rather than kill them!"
Carl's shout rang out, and Jaren, who had stepped on the stirrup and was getting up, looked at the forest on both sides of the road and jumped up.
If he jumped with the power of the Master while mounted on a horse, the horse's back would break. Adjusting his strength, Jaren's form flew powerfully like an arrow, even adding the speed of a horse.
Jaren's actions seemed familiar. As he turned around and stepped back after jumping, he joined the troops.
Jaren landed on the ground and was about to show off his true master's skills. The ground shattered and flew under his feet as he kicked it.
"Now! Attackā¦!"
The man, who was about to jump out from between the tall trees and order a surprise attack, noticed something shaking vaguely in the distance.
That was all he remembered. Something passed by, and as he lost consciousness, the sky spun in his darkened vision.
The man who was trying to give instructions was nudged by Jaren's shoulder and flew through the sky like a snapped kite, crashing to the ground.
Immediately afterward, Master Jaren jumped in like a shield, holding his spear upside down, as the rebels, who were crouching between the trees, tried to jump out.
Dirt and debris from broken trees flew everywhere.
The common rebels, who had not even received proper training, let alone mana, fell like autumn leaves without even being able to figure out what had happened.
"Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Huh!"
A rebel gasped in horror as he narrowly escaped the wake of the storm's claws.
The pouring dirt and debris hit his whole body, and the strong wind and impact threw him backward, forcing him to crouch down and cover his head.
Zigzagging through the forest, swinging his spear to create a storm, Jaren cut through the rebel ranks and reached the other side.
A sturdy bridge clad in steel, entangled with tree roots, crushed the frozen ground like soft sand, and the dirt poured down like waves.
Jaren, who had been running at incredible speed, stopped, scraping the ground, and naturally turned around to look at the rebels who had fallen in the forest.
Jaren's run lasted only about 10 seconds.
Despite moving in a zigzag pattern and slowing down his speed, he managed to defeat all 50 rebels without exception in that short period of time. New releases from NovelFirempy _r.
As Jaren ran, the tree he kicked to change direction tilted under his own weight and eventually fell over.
A rebel lying on the ground, trapped under a thick branch, screamed. His back was crushed, his spine was broken, and his internal organs were ruptured, so he would die soon.
That was the only one Jaren killed, under Carl's orders to 'capture them alive if possible, not kill them.'
"Charge!"
After Jaren went forward, Carl also aimed his spear and ordered the charge. He could see rebels rushing out of the woods on the right side of the road.
Jaren had attacked the forest on the left side of the road, as it is generally difficult for right-handed humans to attack enemies on the left. It was tactically correct for the troops led by Carl to attack the enemies on the right while the strategic weapon Master Jaren struck the left.
"Catherine! Billford!" Carl shouted.
"Understood!"
Catherine and Billford jumped out from among the charging cavalry at Carl's shout and took the lead. The reason Carl gave up the vanguard was that his opponent had made preparations to deal with the cavalry.
"Put it in quickly!"
The rebels, carrying long wooden stakes that were not very strong, tried to drive them into grooves they had dug in the ground.
They already knew that Carl would come leading the cavalry. This must have happened because an intelligence agent blew the whistle on Carl and the operation.
"Break it."
Cavalry charging in a formation similar to a two-horse chariot. Catherine and Billford, leading them vigorously, ran even faster at Carl's command.
The power of a cavalry charge comes from forming a solid formation where the riders' knees touch each other with a firm bond and charging forward with unwavering, resolute determination without retreating.
So the actual speed of the cavalry charge is slower than one might think.
Even light cavalry doesn't move that fast. Because of this, the opponents did not seem to expect that Catherine and Billford would charge with such ferocity.
Carl quickly assessed his opponent's level.
'That's a typical response. Their tactical knowledge is shallow. They didn't even consider mana users,' he thought.
Carl immediately drew an overall outline in his mind.
'A scapegoat to drag me to Ishul using a traitorous intelligence agent. This is a trap set for me.'