I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 214: Night Raid (2)

“It’s time to play with fire! What are you doing?! Set everything on fire!!”

“This is the camp where the traitor Istvan stays. Let’s turn it into ashes!”

“Kill even one more!”

My northern cavalry, now holding torches, began to set fire to every corner of the Stockholm Kingdom’s campsite.

At the same time, if there were still floundering ones, they were mercilessly killed with swords and stabs.

Moreover, if there were infantry units huddling together, the situation became hellish as they were rammed and trampled to death by cavalry.

Usually, on battlefields, nearby units would come to support in such a situation, but when the camp would be raided without knowing the enemy’s numbers, the only tactic was individual survival.

“Motherless, fatherless bastards! Damn barbarians!”

“How cowardly to attack at night! I’ll tear you limb from limb for not letting us sleep!”

Therefore, those targeted by our northern cavalry were doomed to die without proper resistance or support from their neighbors.

While commanding the cavalry and cutting down enemies from horseback, I felt that I must have killed approximately hundreds of enemies.

The enemy infantry began to gather by regiment and slowly started to press towards us.

If only they had responded more slowly and with some leisure, we could have swept away even more…

“Archers, gather around me! It seems the enemy is coming to their senses, so our fun time is running out.”

Regrettably, being surrounded and killed here would be a dog’s death like no other.

Still, looking closely at the enemy groups by regiment, one could see that almost none, from officers to soldiers, were wearing armor due to rushing out of their sleep.

In other words, out of ten who were hit by an arrow, seven to eight would die or be seriously injured.

Moreover, seeing that they were just gathering and not properly approaching us, it seemed they were very cautious because they didn’t know how many I had brought with me…

“Spread oil around and shoot arrows! There’s no need to aim at them; just shoot wildly at places where the enemy seems to be!”

Upon that command, the archers randomly grabbed things that looked like oil drums, opened their lids, and began to spread oil everywhere.

Then, they mounted their horses again and continued to shoot arrows at the enemy visible around them with their bows.

In a battlefield, it would usually take about ten arrows to kill one soldier, but now, since the enemies were not wearing armor, the effect was very good.

The enemy fell into chaos once again.

“Fire! It’s on fire!”

“Arrows are flying! Shouldn’t we attack them now?”

“How can you say that without knowing how many of them there are? Just hold on!”

By causing such chaos, naturally, as the fire spread throughout the entire camp, the enemies couldn’t even attempt to extinguish it.

Thus, although initially scattered, the small flames soon grew into a fierce fire, engulfing the vicinity with intense heat and making it difficult to extinguish.

“Throw the torches lying around anywhere. We must escape this place before the enemies follow.”

My subordinates had already turned their horses around, ready to escape, and just as I was about to leave, it seemed the Stockholm Kingdom’s army finally realized that we were not many in number.

They aggressively pushed forward with spears, and even though we were not moving, the sound of horse hooves could be heard all around.

Lingering here any longer could result in our heads flying off.

“I will be the last to leave! Everyone, break off! Shoot arrows at the enemy as you retreat!”

Upon my command, the northern archers quickly began to escape the enemy lines.

Seeing this, the officers of Stockholm drew their swords, pointed at us, and shouted with voices filled with rage.

“Kill every last one of those bastards who have invaded! Do not let a single one escape!”

“Slit the throats of those cowards who know nothing of the laws of the battlefield!”

“Capture the commander swinging his sword at the front first! Tear his limbs apart and kill him!”

Upon that order, the Stockholm soldiers approached rapidly as if a tide was pushing in, but…

It seemed heaven did not wish for my death, for by the time they came close enough to stab with their spears, all those in front of me had already escaped.

Seeing that, I quickly turned my horse’s head and spurred it on, instantly maximizing its speed.

“Pay with your death for waking us from our sleep; you are worse than a dog!”

Along the way, an enemy tried to stab me and my horse with a spear, and I, running at full speed, knocked the spear aside several times.

“Do you do it like that with your wife too? You morons of Stockholm. Ah, I suppose this is considered doing well in your kingdom!”

“Damn you, piece of shit!”

“It’s okay, it’s fine! After all, if you die here, your wife will happily live with another man!”

Saying so, I ran even faster and left the enemy lines, and this time, the enemy knights pursued us.

“Do not let that bastard escape even if you die! No, they dared to attack our camp. We cannot let them live!”

“Even tearing them limb from limb is too good for them! Just let them get caught!”

“Stop right there! You motherless bastards!”

Instead of stopping as the enemy wished, the northern archer soldiers continued to fire arrows at those pursuing them.

Normally, since they were knights wearing armor, arrows would simply bounce off, but now, every shot hits its mark very well.

Thus, my archers seemed to find joy in shooting, firing arrows even more wildly.

After a long time of ambushing and raiding the enemy camp, they should be exhausted, but it seemed they had completely forgotten their fatigue due to the excitement.

In fact, from the side, it looked like the more they rode and ran, the more energy they seemed to have.

“It’s quite satisfying to see each shot hit and kill! You bastards, taste the arrows of Elder Altdorf!”

“Can’t even lift a hand or properly move a foot after getting your camp raided? It feels unjust, doesn’t it?”

“Die and be at peace! You forest dwellers of Stockholm!”

Thus, we devastated the enemy until we had shot all the arrows in our quivers, and after about 10 minutes of pursuit, the knights turned their horses around.

While the northern cavalry laughed till their sides split at the sight of the fleeing figures, Anya approached and asked.

“General, should we strike them from behind now? We’ve run out of arrows, but we can kill a significant number of enemy knights with our swords.”

It was a tempting suggestion that really appealed to me.

However, if we were to pursue and attack them now, we would inevitably get closer to the enemy’s main force.

And if our luck ran out, we could end up impaled on the lances of well-armed knights, turning into human skewers…

Regretfully, it would be best to withdraw at this point.

After all, there was a saying that to live a long and healthy life, one should only consume up to 80% of one’s appetite.

“No, it’s better just to rejoin the main force of the Reich Empire’s army as we are. We have already achieved significant feats.”

We had determined the size and position of the enemy, and not only did we invade their headquarters and kill hundreds, but we also set their camp ablaze.

With this alone, the morale of the Stockholm Kingdom’s army must have plummeted from rock bottom to near hellish depths, making this the best effort in a surprise attack.

After ensuring we had distanced ourselves from the enemy’s pursuit, I raised my sword and shouted.

“The empire will never forget your deeds. So, continue to fight your best in the wars to come and seize victory.”

Upon those words, the Northerners responded without a single person missing, with a resounding cheer of victory.

Thus, excluding the time spent sleeping, I continued on with a nomadic-style march atop my horse and returned to the main encampment of the empire’s army.

Upon arrival, I received news that I could hardly believe or wanted to believe.

An unforeseen variable had emerged in relation to this war.

At least it wasn’t the worst-case scenario of the Crown Prince or His Majesty passing away, but…

“Why does the world hate me so much?”

It was a disaster that sufficiently brought such thoughts to mind.