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87. Chapter 87
“Push forward and set the flag of the Cuvier family in the castle!!”
Viscount Barnes Cuvier screamed in impatience and wrath. The war situation was greatly leaning in favor of the Meisenav family.
The annoying corner tower on the left corner, was filled with dust and collapsed. Furthermore, some troops had begun to rush into the castle, and the fall of the branch castle was no longer a question, it was inevitable.
“Those damned vile mercenaries”
The problem was that it was the prideful and vulgar Guisto and his men, who accomplished them. If it was just that, Barnes would have kept reason. Crossing the last line was the total attack by a large-scale operation of magic users under Guisto.
There was no prior notice to Barnes, who was preparing to do a siege, and the mercenaries forced an attack involving his subordinate soldiers, who had been doing their best on the front line. Barnes’ soldiers were used as live food to attract the eyes of the enemy.
The action of the vile and violent mercenaries was unacceptable even for the lenient Barnes.
“Barnes-sama, more than this, there’s a risk that enemy soldiers will slip in our formation.”
Barnes’s retainers made a terrifying remark. Barnes himself understood the danger. But now, should be the time to attack, and if it was missed, the prestigious credit would be robbed by the mercenaries and the Meisenav family.
It was Barnes who scraped off enemy soldiers, removed obstacles, and incapacitated them. Anyone wouldn’t be able to stay still after the important moment being robbed from the side.
Barnes had no intention of being a stupid clown.
“I know your fears, but if I don’t move now, I’ll be robbed of everything!!! Don’t be afraid! Rush into the castle!!”
Barnes had a credible lineage and reserves in preparation for a counterattack. He was confident that he could hold on, even if he were to be hit from the side out of the gate.
“Proceed, or, don’t say that there’s a coward who just wants to sit behind the Lord!?”
Choosing a choice that wouldn’t normally be made, Barnes was hungry to trample the branch castle directly. Given the wealth that magic silver ore could bring, he thought that must do something for getting a part of it.
The soldiers around him glanced at each other at the rampage of their master, but with such explosive remarks, they didn’t know what to say if they were to be overtaken.
“Proceed to the corner tower. I shall give command from there.”
With the help of further explosions from inside the castle, Barnes’ forces crossed the walls at once.
Barnes wasn’t reckless either. Around fifty soldiers guarding him stiffened their armpits, eliminate enemy soldiers, and scolded low-spirited soldiers to push the front line.
“Hmm, has that magic user been defeated?”
The fireball that was dancing on the battlefield intermittently remained silent. There was no resistance on the walls, and soon Barnes would reach the inside of the castle through a rough path that could hardly be called a road.
At a glance at the remains of the decaying corner tower, Barnes’ ears caught the slamming metallic sound and squinted at its source.
“It seems that sporadic resistance is still going on.”
Upon receiving a report from his vassals, Barnes saw people slashing at each other. away from the corner tower.
“
 At most, it’s one-on-one combat between soldiers. Does he think he is a knight?”
Barnes threw such words away, but he kept his eye on the scene.
A poorly dressed giant mercenary, and the other man who seemed to be a wandering Highserk soldier, but the collided 《Strike》was excellent. Although, the combat technique seemed to be a self-style that specialized only in killing enemies efficiently, the elegance and beauty that seemed to have been sublimated after many actual battles, indeed deserved praise.
“What should we do?”
“I don’t care about the battle between the mercenary and the Highserk soldier, but if the Highserk soldier wins, kill him by the difference in number.”
“Understood. I shall send the 10-man Commander without moving the retainers.”
It wasn’t a bad idea for Barnes to take down the opponent who couldn’t be defeated by the fighter among the mercenaries. And although that outcome was difficult to admit, surely, “that” must be buried. His intuition whispered such.
“Did the Highserk soldier win?”
Perhaps the mercenary who had been defeated wasn’t that great. In any case, now the people he sent were just glaring at the Highserk guy from some distance.
When Barnes looked at the scene again, the regular soldiers attacked the Highserk guy who should’ve been exhausted by the mercenary. No matter how good someone might be, the difference in numbers couldn’t be overturned that easily. Truth, it should be even easier to deal with those who were tired.
But then, the train of thought switched the rail. Barnes was neither narrow-minded enough nor free enough to devote himself to at most one soldier. Baron Josh, his enemy’s vassal, had not yet shown his face. Should be more careful, or else, a hurtful outcome might come unexpectedly, was what Barnes Thought.
In order to corner the collapsing Dalimarx soldiers, Barnes pondered while looking at the sketch of the inside areas obtained in advance.
There were three entrances to the branch castle: the front, the left side, and the back. If the enemy turned into a counterattack, the front should be an impossible choice. Barnes had already held down the front gate after all. The option was either the left side or the back. If Baron Josh wanted to leave a blow as much as possible, it must be the castle gate on the left. But if, by any chances, a sortie came from the back gate, the distance and time would be on Barnes’ side.
“Barnes-sama”
Barnes’s consciousness, which just finished the work of overlooking the battlefield, returned to reality.
“What?”
“The mercenaries make suspicious movements”
In the pointed place where the vassal showed his disgust without hiding, there was a figure of Guisto who seemed to throw instructions to his underlings. It was aimed at the Highserk guy and the army of the regular soldiers. An attempt that Barnes couldn’t overlook.
“Guisto, what are you planning!!”
When Barnes screamed, Guisto approached slowly as if he didn’t do anything wrong.
“Well, well, isn’t it Viscount Barnes-sama. Why did you come to this front line? Your beautiful armor will get dirty.”
“Shut your dirty mouth, you dumb battle-maniac who can only kill people. Leaving that aside, you tried to bury him with my soldiers, didn’t you?”
Just like a citizen who was at a loss at the unexpected word, Guisto spread his arms.
“That’s, not true. I just wanted, to help your soldiers.”
A retainer interrupted Guisto, who was still approaching his Lord, Barnes, and intimidated him.
“Even if they were just commoners, you’ve involved my soldiers in the surprise attack on the corner tower. Stop opening that stupid mouth of yours.”
Barnes uttered such words with a strong tone.
“Oh my, that was, an unfortunate accident.”
“If it’s an accident, stop that stup―― “
It was when Barnes’ anger reached its peak. A woman under Guisto unleashed magic. The magic landed in where the regular troops and the Highserk guy were.
Clearly, it was a declaration of war.
“Do you want to die so much?”
Before Barnes gave any instructions, his retainers all hold their weapons and tried to slash Guisto. On the other hand, the mercenaries looked at them with a leering smile.
“Do you feel like playing around, in the middle of the enemy territory? Calm down, I won’t do that stupid thing with Viscount Barnes-sama in front of me. the magic was shot after all the 10-man Commander and his men got slaughtered. I’m sure someone was watching it. You could check the corpse if you want.”
“Huh?! Did someone see it?”
One of the retainers answered.
“It’s really unfortunate, but what he says is true. All the soldiers sent were killed.”
Upon receiving the report, Barnes regretted it bitterly.
“Unbelievable, were they exhausted? He is just at most, a mercenary.”
Glanced at the place where the flames were dancing crazily. The one who killed the regular soldiers was now sunk in the fire.
Returned the viewpoint to the heads of the mercenary. Barnes wanted to kill him in the middle of the war, but the mercenary was incorporated into the troops of his Lord, Count Meisenav. If he let his emotions get over him and do it, the story would be conveyed by one of the soldiers. If that were to happen, Barners would definitely be subject to some kind of punishment.
“In any case, the control of the castle and Josh are the priority
 Bastard, what are you looking at?”
Guisto, who had made a fool of Barnes so far, clenched his teeth and kept staring at the flames.
There was something in the middle of the crimson.
Barnes squinted as he was curious.
“No way, a person?”
There were many people who could reduce burns caused by fire, such as those possessing fire attributes and those with some sort of skill. Even so, in the fire that even scorched the ground, there was something that stood calmly without leaking any voices. It was abnormal. There should be a limit to how resistant someone could be, and over time the skin would burn and by then the whole body would also be affected by the heat.
“Hmm, huh!?”
The flame was obstructing the silhouette, and even though the real condition couldn’t be determined, somehow only the eyes could be clearly seen.
The eyes supposedly have a golden color, but they felt dark and terribly muddy. Perhaps, his eyes were moving around as if savoring the situation and anticipating Barnes and Guisto.
“That magic user, is still alive huh.”
Guisto’s face, which had a laid-back smile on it, was distorted. At this moment, perhaps, Barnes also had a similar face.
The man continued to shoot magic at the first and second attacks, killing more than a dozen people in the subsequent hand-to-hand combat, and now calmly standing in the fire. He survived it all, despite being a human. Certainly, there was an existence called, the war god, hero, or monster. It was hard to admit, but there was no doubt, that the existence inside the flames was similar to those.
“Viscount, it seems better to kill “that”. Well, I shall help you. But, I’ll get the corpse.”
The corpse of a magic user with excellent mana could be used by the necromancer, or be a catalyst, or be a medicine. It was no exaggeration to say that the corpse was a bag full of gold coins. However, it was the job of the inferior to sell corpses, and Barnes had little interest in it. Still, for the first time, Barnes agreed with Guisto. And so, he gave an order.
“I’ll give you the corpse. Make sure to kill him at once.”
There was no one around who disagreed.