The incoming enemies were light infantry.
Ten of them, charging in.
「EEEEEYYYAAAAHHHH!!」
「AIIIAIIIAII!」
Wearing leather armor, these lightly equipped soldiers rushed us, raising bizarre war cries.
I rallied the Blumund warriors holding shields at the front line.
「Shield-bearers! Brace yourselves! Just like we practiced!」
「「「「「Aye!!」」」」」
They shouted back, full of spirit.
Glad we practiced during the march. They could handle this with confidence now.
「Enemies incoming! Push them back!」
The two sides clashed, enemy soldiers slammed into our shield-bearers.
They swung their swords wildly, but the shields held firm, blocking any real damage.
Some tried bashing into the shields or kicking them to break our line, but we had the advantage in size and strength.
The shield-bearers in the front line withstood the attacks.
Uncle Athos, standing beside me, gave a sharp order.
「Gaia! Now!」
I reacted instantly to his words.
「Flank them, encircle from both sides!」
The enemy soldiers were stuck hammering at our shield wall.
Their sides were completely exposed!
I slipped out from behind our front line and darted to the left.
—Now what?
I’d never actually fought before.
I charged out on impulse, but what should I do next?
I peeked into Gaia’s memories.
Turns out, he’d been pretty good at violence.
I followed his instincts and swung my bronze sword at the back of an enemy soldier’s knee.
「Urgh!」
The hit knocked his leg out, he stumbled forward off-balance.
Nice one!
Gaia’s memories really were useful, he knew how to fight even in this smaller, younger body.
Crunch.
A sickening noise.
The dull, unsharpened bronze sword didn’t cut, it smashed.
The full-force strike crushed the man’s neck bones clean.
With adrenaline surging, I felt no guilt or revulsion.
In fact, I felt energized, my mind and body hungry for the next fight.
「Next!」
I turned my sword toward the remaining enemy soldiers.
A ripple of panic went through them.
「Bassa’s down!」
「That brat!」
「He’s dangerous, watch out!」
Arrows rained down from behind us, Blumund and Elf archers striking the enemy ranks.
The enemies wavered.
「Gaia! Fall back!」
Uncle Athos’s voice called from behind.
Instead of replying, I kicked off the ground and leapt backward.
At that moment, magic struck the disoriented enemies.
A thunderous explosion rang in my ears. Soldiers were thrown into the air.
The air filled with the smell of burnt flesh and blood.
「Finish them!」
I roared and charged forward again.
I ran through the aftermath, finishing off downed enemies, striking unsteady ones from the side, crushing skulls.
「Gaia! That’s enough! Pull back!」
「Huff… Huff… Huff…」
My breathing was ragged.
Uncle Athos was right, I’d gone overboard in my first real battle.
Fighting continued elsewhere on the field, but for now, no enemies remained near our Blumund–Elf unit.
We pulled back slightly to rest.
I drank from a leather water flask and stuffed some jerky into my mouth.
Uncle Athos went around checking on everyone.
I caught my breath and turned to Elranief, the Elf chief, speaking in Elvish.
「Elranief! That explosive spell, how many shots do you have left?」
「I can cast five more. Others have three… and two. Ten total.」
「Understood. Try to conserve them.」
Elranief frowned.
「What’s the plan?」
「Use the magic against the enemy cavalry. All of it, if possible.」
「Cavalry…? Ah, I see… Interesting! I’m in!」
We were positioned on the far left of the formation.
Enemy cavalry would likely try to flank around from this side.
We’d blow them to pieces before they could complete the maneuver.
The Elves’ magic was powerful. If we could hit the charging cavalry with it,
We might completely shift the momentum of this battle.
「Sma-ho!」
I activated the skill and adjusted the view to survey the battlefield from above.
From up high, the two armies were locked in a deadlock, infantry grinding against infantry.
The battle had devolved into scattered skirmishes.
Archers on both sides were picking off targets individually.
But crucially, both armies’ cavalry units remained untouched, stationed at the rear.
That meant the command structure was still intact.
The cavalry charges would decide this battle.
I kept my map view open and watched for signs of enemy movement.
Then I turned to Uncle Athos.
「Uncle Athos! Let’s shift left, to the edge of the line!」
「What!?」
「The enemy cavalry’s still intact. When they charge, we hit them with Elven magic and stop them in their tracks.」
He hesitated for just a second, then grinned.
「Hah! I like it! Let’s do it!」