Chapter 135 - Wiser

Although the mood in the area was getting tenser by the minute, not a single one of the soldiers that Zaos could see looked particularly afraid, they were just eager to kick the butts of the assholes who were invading their lands and even went as far as joining hands with the followers of the demon god to do that.

Health: 530/530

Mana: 1210/1210

Stamina: 1000/1000

Strength: 265

Magic: 605

Endurance: 500

Resistance: 605

Focus: 04 + 01 

Sorcery Lv 50, Meditation Lv 25 (+ 02 UP), Magic Swordsmanship Lv 25, Magic Spearmanship Lv 01, Alchemy Lv 06, Magic Resistance Lv 05, Magic Perception Lv 06, Swordsmanship Lv 38, Axemanship Lv 09, Spearmanship Lv 09, Archery Lv 15, Shield Mastery Lv 18, Pain Resistance Lv 19, Blacksmithing Lv 11

Lesser Heal, Heal, Holy Light, Detoxification, Cold Whisper, Mend Bones, Dispel, Protection, Magic Barrier, Stone Skin, Fire Sword, Water Sword, Earth Sword, Wind Sword, Earth Bullet, Ignite, Spark, Agony, 

Zaos checked his condition once more and confirmed that everything was perfect. In fact, he felt full of vigor like never before. There was only one thing he was worried about… the commander didn't pass any strategy to them. Surely, he wasn't thinking of just charging at the enemies like mad dogs and hoping that things would go well. Surely… but then, when Zaos looked at Elius smirking, he understood that was the commander's plan. The old man sure didn't become wiser while aging…

Although the commander didn't have any clear plan, he still was looking at the enemy as if he was waiting for something. Zaos wanted to ask how things would be handled on the other side of the right-wing, but then he decided to forget about it and focus on the commander. It seemed he was about to show him something interesting…

Zaos tried to look at the enemy as well, trying to understand what the commander was looking at. Still, he couldn't see anything aside from the enemies ahead. The mountains on the sides and some trees blocking the enemy's path. Those could barely be considered a minor nuisance, but… Zaos noticed the very moment some of the siege weapons had to stop moving because the trees were blocking their path, and they couldn't maneuver to the side due to some hills. Soon after that…

"Charge!" The commander roared.

Those who knew the commander weren't caught off guard by his order. Still, even those that didn't know him answered fast enough because they were focused on the battle. Regardless, the entire left-wing charged toward the enemies all of a sudden, and that caught them off guard since they were planning to move the siege weapons.

Unfortunately, the mercenaries recovered fast enough to survive the surprise attack. They wouldn't be able to use their siege weapons for the time being, but that was just a minor nuisance. Besides, they still had the numbers. If only they had used horses, they could have reached the enemy and destroyed their formation while they were recovering.

"Eh? Where are our horses?" Zaos muttered in shock.

They were the front line, but Zaos couldn't see any rider among them. In fact, it was weird that the commander was on foot… Regardless, the enemies had riders, and they were the first ones to advance toward the left-wing. Once they were about to collide with the infantry, suddenly, a group of riders approached the mercenaries from the side, and with flame arrows, they set fire to the siege weapons.

"There they are…" Zaos said.

It looked like the commander wasn't as crazy as he looked. Zaos confirmed when a rider tried to impale him with a spear, but then he blocked the strike with his huge sword and then knocked down the rider soon after cutting off his right leg. The commander didn't even turn around to finish him off. He had already selected his next targets. Three riders tried to surround him, but with a single swing of his sword, he blocked the spears that were aimed at him and even beheaded the horses of the enemies. That was some crazy level of brute strength…

Zaos wanted to watch the commander more, but the riders already reached his line, so it was time to focus. His eyes changed when the grip on his sword grew more powerful. When the enemy rider tried to pierce his head, Zaos slightly moved to the side and dodged the blow. After that, he stabbed the air with his sword, and then the enemy's neck snapped.

Elius made sure to watch that, and with a single attack, he confirmed that Zaos got a lot stronger since the last time, but the boy still had some surprises in store. Zaos grabbed the enemy spear and then held it like he was about to throw it. However, before doing that, he enveloped the weapon with wind magic. Thanks to that, few people saw that weapon flying, but they saw it impaling three enemy riders.

"Pace yourself," Elius said. "We have no idea for how long this will last."

Zaos nodded, but in the end, holding back to conserve energy was the last thing he had in mind. When the next group of enemies approached, Zaos enveloped his sword with flames and then fired the magic in an arc toward them. Five enemies began to burn, and several others flinched. Elius used that chance to dash toward them at a fearsome speed and knocked them from their horses. While he didn't kill them, he incapacitated four riders in the blink of an eye without putting himself at risk or spending too much energy. As expected, Zaos still had a lot to learn from him.

Although the surprise attack caused by the riders made them gain the upper hand, things soon changed. Zaos noticed that things got noisy behind the line of enemy riders, and then Zaos noticed that the smoke had disappeared… It seems the mercenaries got rid of the flames and of the riders that set the siege weapons as well.