Chapter 57: Second Battle [4]
The gnoll's momentum was clearly broken.
Even as they roared closer, the guys in front looked around and tried to retreat somehow.
However, the gnolls in the rear who did not want to be in the lead pushed the gnolls in front, so they had no choice but to be pushed to the front of the fence.
Anyway, they can't die like this, so eventually they pushed gnolls and start attacking.
"Stab!"
"Attack!"
Burbubbuk!
At Catherine's cry, the imperial soldiers launched their spears from the western fence, which was first attacked by the gnolls.
In one attack, about 10 gnolls were killed or incapacitated and fell down.
The height of the wooden fence is a little less than 3m.
If soldiers launch a spear that is over 2m high from a wooden fence, they can sufficiently deter the gnolls.
However, it is impossible to stop the gnoll from getting down on all fours and approaching.
The gnolls with axes in their mouths fall down, dig in quickly, and immediately start chopping the axes at the wooden fence.
Jump! Jump!
They are stronger than humans, and their axes are made after woodcutter's, so they have large heads.
The metallurgy is crude, so although it is not sharp or strong, when it is struck with ignorant force, the logs of the wooden fence are cut off mercilessly.
"You guys aim for the gnolls who uses the axe!"
Carl shouts loudly and pats the backs of several soldiers.
And then he shout loudly again.
"Stab!"
"Attack!"
Burbubbuk!
In order to aim at a gnoll that is cutting with an axe in a low posture, they have to stick their body out of the fence and extend their arms. Of course, it is very dangerous as their body is greatly exposed.
Nevertheless, the imperial soldiers brilliantly followed that unreasonable order.
While the soldiers under Carl's orders were killing the axe-wielding gnolls, other soldiers simultaneously threw out their spears with all their might to protect them, blocking the space where they could attack.
The gnolls who were struck by spears on their heads and backs while cutting with an ax fell down, and the gnolls retreated hesitantly due to the strong defense.
Carl was almost shocked to have told Catherine that dhe would fight directly.
These were the imperial soldiers who fought so well even in square formations using carriages. However, since they fight with wooden fences in place, there is nothing a lowly gnoll can do.
"Put your shield up!"
At that time, Catherine shouts in a loud voice.
The imperial soldiers reacted quickly and raised their shields, and the axes thrown were easily blocked.
The center of gravity of the ax was messed up, so the ax flew in a mess, and none of the axes hit the shield properly with their ax blades. Most of them crashed into the outside of the fence and fell to attack other gnolls, and the only ones that touched the shield were the handle.
However, when the gnolls realized that the soldiers could not fire their spears while their shields were raised, everyone started throwing axes, which caused a bit of trouble.
"Lord Carl, please lower your posture and wait."
Carl, protected by Catherine, waited for this absurd attack to pass.
He can hear the gnolls getting excited and knocking on the bottom of the wooden fence.
But after a while, the tide suddenly turned.
This is because the gnoll who threw the ax was left with his bare hands and there was nothing he could do.
"Kill the gnoll!"
When the ax stops flying, Catherine gives an order.
The soldiers mercilessly stabbed and killed those who were chopping axes under the wooden fence while the bare-handed gnolls just watched in silence.
Even if the gnoll jumped up, it was not high enough to attack with bare hands, so everyone was able to kill the gnoll with peace of mind.
They shouldn't expect tactical judgment from a monster, but it's a really stupid attack with no answer.
But this also happened because the imperial soldiers were that powerful.
If a conscript tried to follow suit, it wouldn't be much of a mess, with the guy falling over the fence under his control, the guy missing the spear, and the guy clumsily striking the spear but getting caught by the gnoll and being dragged away.
The gnolls rush in and the west side of the fence, where the most aggressive attacks should be carried out, is blocked, so the gnolls also sneak in to attack elsewhere.
However, they are not smart enough to make tactical decisions, and there is no commander, so everyone moves based on their own judgment.
There were only a handful of gnolls that circled around and attacked other places, and of course they were killed by spears.
The imperial soldiers piled up the corpses of gnolls as if they were harvesting grain, and in less than 10 minutes, dozens of gnoll corpses were lying bleeding out in front of the wooden fence.
But as gnoll corpses piled up, a new problem arose.
If soldiers step on the corpse and jump well, the pile has accumulated to the point that they can climb up the wooden fence by holding on to it, so the gnolls start to slowly wander around the wooden fence and look at angles.
"Get out of the way."
Catherine squeezed between the imperial soldiers, peered under the wooden fence, and took her place at the highest pile of corpses.
The imperial knight who controls mana is standing there, so there is no chance of it being breached.
However, from the perspective of the play, it seemed quite a challenge since Catherine was smaller than the imperial soldiers.
Wooow! Wooow!
The gnolls bark and look at each other.
Then, several gnolls push the gnoll in front with all their might and throw it into the wooden fence.
puck!
Catherine lightly threw out her spear and accurately crushed the gnolls bone.
Because she killed it before it reached the wooden fence, the corpse stairs did not get any higher.
But if they keep piling up corpses like this, they'll be in trouble. It is not a place guarded by imperial soldiers, but a place guarded by conscripts.
'I guess I'll have to change my tactics next time.'
Catherine looked at that and organized her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Catherine was mechanically beating the attacking gnolls to death.
In the end, the gnolls, blocked by the huge wall of Catherine and the imperial soldiers, gave up on their meaningless pile-up and slowly began to return.
"Don't let them take the body!"
Carl saw the gnolls crawling to retrieve the body and pulling its limbs, and out of fear, he ordered them to stop.
Even after Catherine and the imperial soldiers stretched out their bodies completely outside the fence and threw out spears to kill them all, the gnolls could not easily leave after looking at the corpses.
'What on earth is happening in that forest!'
Carl was horrified by the strange behavior of the gnoll that he could not understand.
He was sure that he don't want to hold a funeral.
"No one died!"
"It's a great victory!"
"Waaaa!"
Thanks to unilaterally massacring the gnolls and stopping them without harm, the Stacked Log Village was in a completely festive mood.
"Long live Lord Carl!"