Bear School Astartes

In less than twenty minutes, seventy men annihilated five hundred.

When this data came out of the adjutant’s mouth, even Marshal Meno Kuhorn, who had seen much and lived a lifetime of military service, couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

His eyes showed surprise.

He placed his hands on the table and looked down at the topographic map, immediately finding the temporary military post mentioned in the report that had been attacked.

His superb tactical awareness was unmistakable; as soon as he saw this location, he had already thought of nearly six or seven ways to breach the military post in his mind.

But ultimately, those were just methods to ’breach the post.’

In the end, he still couldn’t understand how the enemy’s kill efficiency, which could be described as terrifying, came to be.

The Niflgaard Marshal looked down at the map and asked without turning his head.

”Are there traces of magic there? Is there a wandering Warlock in that guerrilla squad?”

Although the Niflgaard Army had also trained on how to combat Warlocks, the content was too superficial and even crude.

After all, even the Empire couldn’t guarantee that every soldier would be of high enough quality to understand and use tactics aimed at countering magic, so they had to be simplified as much as possible.

If there was a Warlock skilled in combat within that guerrilla squad, it wasn’t impossible...

”I fear not, Marshal,” the adjutant said softly.

”We didn’t find traces of fire, frost, shock, or other magic at that temporary military post. The trace expert also had equipment intended to detect residual Chaos Magic Power, but the device remained entirely silent. Only swords, sir.”

”Only swords.”

”Only swords? Are you telling me seventy people slashed one by one to kill our five hundred well-trained, armored soldiers?!”

The eyes of each level of commanders, strategists, secretaries, and clerks present were simultaneously drawn.

The adjutant mumbled, extending his hand holding the intelligence towards the Marshal: ”Sir, perhaps you should...”

”Read it out loud!”

Meno Kuhorn raised his head, surveyed his colleagues with eyes revealing unease and bewilderment at the unknown, and shouted loudly.

”Read it out loud! Let all of us hear what kind of enemy we face beyond preparing for the major battle at this critical moment!”

The adjutant swallowed hard, withdrawing his outstretched hand: ”...Yes.”

”The following record comes from the oral account of surviving eyewitnesses at the scene.”

”According to their descriptions, everything was normal during the first half of the night. The temporary military post served as a resting and supply point along the patrol route, keeping the scenes coming and going even at night.”

”In the latter half of the night, a massive black figure suddenly crashed through the solid wooden gate of the temporary post, catching the sentries on the walls completely unaware.”

”Immediately following that, over seventy soldiers scattered in the front courtyard of the post were all slaughtered in less than two minutes. The survivor’s description of events is very vague; I believe he may have gone insane, rendering his description’s reference value...”

”Whether he’s insane is for me to judge, you continue reading!”

The cold snort from the Niflgaard Marshal made the adjutant nod with difficulty.

”According to the survivor: everyone was like a pile of butter before the black figure, and armor and weapons were fragile as though nonexistent. Wherever the black figure went, the bodies of Warriors would be cut open or directly knocked away. From its hand extended an even larger, more terrifying black shadow, sweeping across to scatter all in its path in an instant.”

”Our trace experts at the scene believed that the so-called ’larger, more terrifying’ shadow was probably a heavy... sword-like iron block, leaving very recognizable wounds, combining compression, pulverization, and tearing injuries.”

”In other words, that was a ’person’ holding a weapon,” Meno Kuhorn said coldly, ”Then why use the vague ’black figure’ to refer to him? Is this how the intelligence department of the Imperial Military Academy teaches you?”

”In our learning, we were required to ’remain as objective as possible, not mixing in personal conjecture,’ Marshal,” the adjutant defended himself and his alma mater.

”And that’s precisely what I did. In this account, perhaps due to poor firelight conditions at the time, perhaps due to the mental issues of the narrator himself, or maybe because... that ’thing’ was simply too fast. In any case, the narrator is still unwilling to admit that the black figure is human. He himself couldn’t describe the appearance of that shadow at all.”

The Marshal nodded, accepting this statement.

”Based on our understanding of northern monsters, is there anything matching the description of this ’thing’?”

”Trolls have records of cooperating with humans to build bridges, but they move slowly. Female Special Monsters, Sheep-Horned Demons, and others match the description of the strength, but these creatures don’t cooperate with humans or use sword-like iron blocks...”

So there are none. At least, within the known categories of human monsters, there are none.

Meno Kuhorn and many present commanders had already concluded that the ’black figure’ was indeed a human... a human so strong as to defy common sense.

”Not just strength beyond the ordinary, several survivors also pointed out they saw the shadow leaping back and forth on the two-story rooftops of the temporary post, nimble and quick. Soldiers trying to rely on buildings and terrain, using bows and crossbows to contend with him, were thereby thwarted.”

Meno Kuhorn coldly remarked, ”Even ordinary soldiers in desperate battles had some ideas, strategies. What about the management at the temporary post? The commanders? Were they standing there dumbly watching the show?”

The adjutant turned two pages of the intelligence: ”The management at the temporary post demonstrated their loyalty and courage, Marshal.”

”Five commanders successively attempted to establish command chains, enhance soldier organization, and implement cool-headed, rational strategies against the enemy. In fact, they were about to separate the Sword and Shield Team, the ranged forces, and the Long-Handled Weapon Team into distinct roles at the time.”

Upon hearing this, the Marshal’s tone slightly softened: ”Given the chaos, that’s pretty good. What was the effect?”

”...None, Marshal.”

”Often, within less than a minute of order issuance, the current commander’s position would be suddenly discovered by the enemy and subsequently subjected to a surprise attack and murder by the black figure. Until all five officers were slain, knowing no more officers with sufficient rank were present, the construction of the command chain was abandoned.”

”Afterward, seventy Warriors in full armor entered with rigorous formations and agile small combat scenarios, initiating their encirclement and slaughter of our fighters. Having lost organization and command, the soldiers were devoid of all courage at this point.”

”A grand rout began, the enemy driving our soldiers to places deemed ’easy to kill’ like herding pigs, and there they moved to action.”

”Well-trained, tightly organized, they gave the routed and scattered soldiers no chance. Throughout the post laid bodies mired in desperation and chaos, blood flowing wide, cries and screams unceasing.”

”Survivors spread around within five kilometers of the temporary post; they were so terrified, they jumped from the post walls in armor to escape. When we found them, these people mostly had broken a leg or arm.”

”Dragging these fractured limbs, they escaped the border all night long.”