Chapter 102: A sea of flames
Meanwhile, Kayn and Old Chief George looked down to see the current situation inside the domes in front of the walls.
Upon closer inspection, they noticed that not all soldiers inside has actually turned into a living puppets.
Unfortunately, the remaining sane soldiers' numbers are quickly dwindling down as they are now being massacred by the living puppets. They are completely helpless as only a few of them were able to bring a weapon along with them.
"What do we do, Old Chief George?" One of the generals asked.
"Prioritize those we can save! As for who had already turned into a living puppet, kill them without any mercy!" Old Chief George ordered.
It was just like what Kayn had suggested to him previously. He has no other choice but to kill them anyway.
"This is absurd…" Old Chief George is still in disbelief about the current situation.
Living puppets.
Such a concept still felt very foreign to him despite the fact that he is already watching such beings in front of him.
He can't even begin to imagine how it feels like to see one's own body being controlled by something other than themselves. They must be in despair right now, and definitely suffering from torment and a lot of pain.
What's even stranger though is the fact that Kayn is actually aware of how this happens.
"How'd you know about the skill of the Kingmaker?"
"I just happened to stumble upon a book about it back on Earth," This was the only answer Kayn could think about given the brief moment of explanation from Natas about the Kingmaker.
"At first, I just thought that the sword was similar to the one being described in that book and there was also a strategy like the one we are experiencing right now written in it,"
"I believe it was called Kingmaker's version of Trojan Horse — the owner or wielder of the Kingmaker would let his soldiers surrender by some means, then once they are within the base of the enemy, he would then take control of their bodies since surrendering to the enemy is considered as betrayal, thus launching an unexpected attack from the inside," Kayn made sure to add more information to make himself more convincing as he understood just how difficult it is to make Old Chief George believe him.
It was all done impromptu though, so he is crossing his fingers right now hoping that it would convince Old Chief George.
"Perhaps you were sent here in 'The Bridge' for this very specific reason," Old Chief George simply smiled at Kayn and never bothered continuing to question him any more. In his mind, he already understood that if what had Kayn said is not true, then even if he continues persisting him, there is still no way for him to make the latter tell the truth.
Everyone has a secret they hide, including him. He'll just have to live with the fact that he can't know everything just because he wanted to.
Boom!
All of a sudden, one of the domes finally breakdown into ruins.
In an instant, all living puppets rushed towards the soldiers nearby them and started attacking with the clear intent of killing them.
Old Chief George continued observing the situation down below. It wasn't that he isn't willing to help, it was just that because of his important role, he can't put his life in any situation where he could potentially die, because once that happens, his entire Village would instantly be left in ruins. Moreover, the people of other Villages that rely on his guidance would lose their way in 'The Bridge.
He is more than aware of the fate that everyone has on him, and as such he has to protect his dear life.
Regardless, he already told them not to hesitate to kill the living puppets. If they hesitated in a crucial moment and it cost one of their comrade's life, then that is obviously no longer his fault, but the fault of the soldier who let it happen.
Old Chief George can't help feeling slightly afraid as he notices that all living puppets do not care about their lives.
"They're practically just throwing their lives away,"
That was the best description he could describe the living puppets' actions.
"That's because they have to follow the order of the wielder of Kingmaker even if they have to offer their lives," Kayn explains.
"I can see that,"
"Anyways, just stay behind me while I start doing my job as the Chief of the Green Horn Village,"
"Alright!"
With that being said, Old Chief George immediately started throwing commands from one unit to another in order to solve the problem.
"Mages unit, focus on regenerating the domes and making sure that they don't get destroyed!"
"Marksman unit, shoot down those living puppets that are trying to climb up the wall!"
"Knights unit and Guardian units, block any holes and inform the Mage unit about it. Also, assign a few squads to take care of the broken dome!"
"Priests unit, continue providing support to those in the front line!"
"Assassins unit, continue informing us of the enemy's movement and prevent their assassins from messing up our formation!"
A series of commands was soon laid out just as simple as that by Old Chief George.
After those series of commands, the problem with the living puppets slowly got solved. They weren't all killed yet, but their risk level has significantly lowered compared to earlier.
It's only going to be a matter of time before all of them would get killed.
"What we should watch out for are those mercenaries over there," Kayn pointed at the group of mercenaries that were clearly members of the Assembly of Freedom.
"Five squads from the Knights unit and Guardians unit separate yourself from the main group and prepare for defense," Old Chief George agreed with Kayn unhesitatingly. Since the Tenderfoot Village no longer has the army from their village to fight for them, at least fight for them intelligently, thus they only have the mercenaries left to rely on.
Those mercenaries though aren't just any ordinary and normal individuals. Each of them is expected to be very strong since the Assembly of Freedom only accepts those that meet their quality requirement. Not to mention, each of them is a bloodthirsty, destructive, and merciless anarchist with a very high tendency not to fight using the conventional method. Meaning, they'll use every means possible just to kill their opponents, may it be using their nails, teeth, or even just bashing their heads like crazy people.
Without asking any questions, a small portion of the Knights unit and Guardians unit separated from the main group and quickly began positioning themselves to face the mercenaries.
In the next moment, a silent battle between the two sides Assassins unit started by the forest side.
Bodies started dropping and getting thrown everywhere, marking the death of a soldier or a mercenary.
"As expected," It was just like what Kayn had predicted, the mercenaries are the ones who are going to be fighting against them now. And it seems like they've already started making a move.
Looking at the dead bodies on the ground, it was quite evident that more soldiers were dying compared to the mercenaries, clearly showcasing that the latter is more stronger and powerful than the former.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
All of a sudden, numerous explosions sounded in the forest and they soon started seeing huge flames consuming the dense greeneries around it.
"Old Chief George!" The general of the Assassins unit suddenly arrived on top of the wall.
"What's the matter?"
"We are about to be surrounded by a sea of flames!"
Old Chief George was instantly taken aback.
The moment the general finished his report, the flames that consumed the greeneries swiftly traveled across the entire forest surrounding the Green Horn Village before eventually coming to a stop on the opposite side.
"They're more prepared than I expected," Kayn said in a remark.
"How did this happen?"
"I am guessing that some of the mercenaries were spilling oils around the forest while we were busy dealing with their army,"
"Okay, you can go back now!" This wasn't a problem that the Assassins unit could fix.
Old Chief George turns to the general of the Mages unit, "You know what to do!"
"Alright!"
Following that, a few squads from the Mages unit separated from the main group and started spreading to the surrounding of the Green Horn Village.
Since the Green Horn Village covers a considerably huge area, it took the Mages squad quite sometime before they finished positioning themselves.
Meanwhile, the Assassins unit stopped engaging with the mercenaries and went to prioritize protecting the Mages squads instead.
Clearly, they are aware that it is a priority right now to solve the problem regarding the sea of flames compared to the mercenaries lurking around in the forest.
Anyways, some portion of the forest would be disappearing soon, so it isn't really worth anything to stay within its premises. As a matter of fact, they'd just be wasting their time and effort, and they'll just receive some unnecessary sacrifices.
With almost perfect coordination, all the Mages squads began drowning the forest with water element Magic spells. Albeit they weren't intending to stop the sea of flames, rather they want to redirect it away from the Green Horn Village.
Obviously, with how big the sea of flames is, it is impossible to stop it immediately or anytime soon. So, rather than doing that, why not just push the flames forward?
"I was planning on clearing that forest in the future anyways to expand my Village. My enemy is just doing me a big favor," Old Chief George said to Kayn. As of now, he is treating Kayn as his personal advisor. He had no advisor at the moment, so he decided to might as well give the position to the latter temporarily. Kayn had also already proven his potential.
Kayn understood his new status. As such, he pointed in front of him, "Now we don't have to worry about our surroundings since the only path left is to charge straight ahead,"
"What do you suggest we should do?"
"I already told you; charge straight ahead!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Don't forget, the sea of flames is going forward as we speak. Assuming that Friedrich and the others are hiding in the forest right now, then they would need another way to mask their presence. A battle would be a perfect replacement for that. Don't worry, doing so would reduce the casualty rate of your army to some degree with the Green Horn Knight's assistance,"