The Story of Hero Among Heroes ~The Founding Chronicles of Arestia - Chapter 98 – The First Corps

[Oi, Al. Have you heard? About the First Corps.]

In a certain tavern, two guards were enjoying their drinks after work.

The two were childhood friends born in Heinz and entered the army together. Rather, there was no other way to make a living aside from joining the army. Here, at Grants, people must always pay attention to monsters or barbarian invasions. Therefore, unless one has enough money, every able-bodied man were obliged to fight as soldiers.

The one who spoke just now was Jean. He’s a half-human, half-wolf beastkin. Although he has a slender body, his sinewy muscles showed that he’s a skilled soldier even at a glance.

[Ah, I heard. Isn’t it about the Red Legion?]

On the other hand, Al was a bear beastkin and a half hybrid. His huge body was covered by taut muscles, an easy tell that he’s an able soldier.

The two belonged to the Fourth Corps, which is mainly responsible for maintaining security in Heinz. They were also participating during the aquatic magic beast subjugation the other day.

[In only 3 days… they annihilated the northern bandits in just 3 days. That’s bullshit.]

Al took a sip on his mug of ale after saying that.

[Those on the First Corps are dangerous. It’s as if they are not humans anymore.]

Both Al and Jean served in the army before Grants was conquered, so they had their own pride of having fought together for quite a while.

The strongest army in the continent.

Every Grants soldiers always had this kind of pride.

So when they first saw the First Corps… the so-called 『Broken Legions』, they had their doubts. However, it all changed once they saw how the legions perform during trainings.

The skillful equestrians of the Red Legion.

The overwhelming destructive power of the Black Legion.

And the Blue Legion’s magic.

[Not only the bandits, the barbarians who happened to cross their path were also annihilated…]

[And I heard that the barrier that covers the entire Heinz nowadays is thanks to the handy work of the Blue Legion. It’s scary now that I think about it.]

The two then silently drank their ale. The cold ale soothed their throats, reducing fatigue.

Cold ale had been spreading on the taverns now, making it easily accessible for the commoners.

And so, the two drank their cold ale as they shared rumours and stories about the first corps.

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The northern part of Grants is fertile ground filled with pastures. Normally, a flourishing village or town can be built in this area…

[At this rate, if the barbarians attack from the north, we aren’t going to be able to develop here… are we?]

Ares took a look around the gloomy remnant of a destroyed village that was attacked by the barbarians.

All the villagers were robbed, then murdered… traces of unrelenting pillaging were everywhere.

[Ares-sama. It appears that the barbarians have regrouped and attacked from the northeast.]

When Ares did not turn around from the scene of the destroyed village, Zekka disappeared back into shadow as usual.

[This time we were supposed to just going out to subjugate bandits… but I guess there is no helping it. Let’s teach them that Grants has changed.]

[Milord… then why do you have such a joyful face?]

Ares chuckled when his horse, Saint pointed out the irony.

[Saint… I don’t really like it when others misunderstand me. Bursting the bubble of false pride of those people who thought that they are strong and taking it for granted… won’t it make for a best show?]

[…I feel sorry for those barbarians for making an enemy out of milord.]

Saint sighed upon hearing her rider’s words.

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This time, what Ares brought to deal with the bandits was the Red Legion, which consisted of mainly light cavalry.

About 4 days ago, he heard that bandits had gathered up north and are attacking the surrounding villages.

The army was in the middle of preparation to capture the land of demons, so they had no time to waste on the small-fries. Thus why Ares took the Red Legion, which boasts mobility to swiftly defeat the entire bandit bases in the shortest time possible.

The Red Legion only needed 3 days to level all the bandits bases. Using their mobility, they gave no time for those bandits to make any preparations to defend themselves.

[The enemies are those who act as they please without concern for others. No need to be merciful. Annihilate them all.]

It was a one-sided slaughter. Ares gave no mercy back to those bandits who mercilessly attacked the weak.

And just like that, he subjugated the bandits in such a short amount of time.

In the same manner, they intercepted a group of barbarians as they returned back to Heinz.

[It’s fortunate that the Blue Legion made it in time. Let’s crush them thoroughly.]

After saying so, Ares began giving instructions to the captains.

It wasn’t just the Red Legion that is dispatched this time. Ares also ordered the Blue Legion to follow suit with supplies as a precaution. They arrived at the north just now.

[The barbarians will move to attack this hill at once. Their numbers are about 15,000 strong.]

Ares laughed upon hearing Zekka’s report.

[Their tactics are too simple. The destructive power is wasted… no matter how many plans they made. Let’s get started.]

This is how Ares began the extermination battle.

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The barbarians’ tactic was simple.

Attack swiftly with a horse-mounted charge.

And that’s it. Their only plan was to destroy their opponent with the momentum of their charge. No one else is better than them in handling horses… that was their pride. A false pride, unfortunately…

[Shit! These guys in red just keep fleeing around and avoiding fighting head on!]

[And we can’t even catch up to them… what magic did they use!]

Despite the barbarian charging in, the Red Legion made a fool out of them by dodging around, leading them by the nose.

And just like that, they were lured to a valley.

[What the hell is that…?]

Red objects flew from the front toward the cliff side of the valley.

[Fire… it’s fireball! They’re using magic!]

[Don’t make a fuss! That number is nothing to us!]

The fireballs flew over the barbarians and hit the cliff wall behind them.

[Hah! Where are they aiming at!]

Just when many of them were laughing at the ‘missed’ shot.

The cliff wall made a roaring noise as though the world is ending, and collapsed all at once.

[W-what the… what is….?]

[S-shit! The horses!]

Most of the horses were panicking upon hearing such a loud, unknown noise and, as a result, threw off their riders as they instinctively ran away.

[F-fuck! What’s going on!]

When the dismounted barbarians looked forward… they saw the fireballs once again, this time heading directly towards them from above.

Moreover, the number grossly outmatched the previous volley, making it seem like a rain of fire.

In addition to that, the red cavalry was readying themselves from the front…

After the fiery rain stopped, some of the surviving barbarians were quickly trampled to death by the charging cavalry.

The red cavalry slowed down after their first charge then they began the one-sided massacre.

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[The number of horses caught approximately exceeded 10,000. The barbarians are mostly decimated. The escapees number less than 100.]

[That’s fine. If we didn’t leave a few survivors to spread the news, then our show of power will become a waste.]

Therefore Ares laughed.

[And we managed to confiscate a lot of horses… well, I guess we have a good haul this time?]

Ares strategy was to set explosives on the cliff walls in advance, then lure the barbarians there. It was to create a loud noise to cause the horses to panic as well as cutting the route for escape.

[These northern horses are good in quality… let’s divide them evenly between the Second Corps and the Third Corps. Well, the northern land should be calm for a while with this. Now we proceed with the plan to capture the Land of Demons.]

As he said so, Ares gazed distantly to the southwest.