Novel Full Chapter 180 - Sneaky (2)
You have learned the skill Vigor
It restores one point of extra SP per minute.
In the end, Billy's theory was right… he learned the skill that increased his SP recovery, but he didn't feel like celebrating it. The best soldiers and adventurers of his unit survived with only minor scratches, but more than half of them had died. Now their unit was only composed of one hundred and fifty men. The others died or were about to die due to their wounds. War was really a terrible and gruesome thing...
Billy and Drew returned to their tents, but on the way, they saw many corpses, and Alexander and Nikola stayed behind to help carry the wounded and confirm the deceased. While there were others in the army who had the task to do that, they were there of their own volition and because Alexander felt some sort of obligation to check his students, alive or dead. Billy wondered what he was thinking… was he blaming himself for their deaths? Thinking that they wouldn't be there if they hadn't gotten stronger under Alexander's tutelage?
"Being a leader of a large group of soldiers in times of war is harsh…" Billy said. "I will do my best to run away from that responsibility."
"I understand where you are coming from, but running away isn't the answer," Drew said. "Those kids would probably have come anyway, and Alexander gave them the chance to fight for their lives and their people's back home."
"And now he is feeling a whole load of guilt," Billy said.
"Once this is done, some of his students' wu be alive, and they will be thankful for him because of this training. They had survived," Drew said. "That will make things worth all this."
The math didn't add up. Only one-fourth or so of those two hundred are alive, so how could that make it worth the other's death? Maybe Billy was being overly logical about that, but he couldn't see the other point of view. In any case, their unit was pretty much done for after losing that many men. Billy also wondered how Marie would react to all that. She just returned to her tent and is resting there…
Billy wondered if people who waged wars had participated in some that close themselves. If they had and still didn't feel anything after recalling all that, then they probably were a lost cause… He wondered if he was better than them since he had taken many lives already. The only difference was that he was fighting to protect instead of conquest.
After that battle that lasted until noon, the enemies didn't send any other attack. Billy heard that those other six battalions also suffered a similar fate, so all in all, they lost close to twenty-five hundred soldiers. As for the enemies… they lost four thousand.
"So many deaths… and for what?" Billy wondered. "To have a bigger yard? To have more dungeons under their control? This is madness…"
Was that the thinking of someone only living a very peaceful first life, or was Billy just being reasonable? Regardless, the enemy attack was repelled, but no one looked happy. They were putting on a good fight, but they still were losing the war.
They needed some help… to at least make the odds a bit better. Fighting against enemies that outnumber them in two to one was just too much when both sides had the same strengths. Billy never heard of mercenaries until now, but if they existed in the area, Jean probably would have contacted them by now… probably.
"I suppose it is time for that… Let's show them how messy things can be," Billy said and then left the camp for a short while to practice his magic.
Much to Billy's convenience, the enemies didn't attack again that day. So, he had plenty of time to practice his magic and recover his mana. Despite that, he had a hard time controlling the spell that he wanted… it was just too powerful. Still, it was something that they needed.
On the next day, the enemy sent ten other battalions to fight, but there were no signs of the Reinforcements of the Neles state. It was a pity since Billy wanted to implant some terror on them as well, but he would work with what he had.
Despite their numbers and the fact that they didn't recover entirely, Jean still let them remain as a unit to defend the right flank of the archers. He didn't inform them why, but it sure was a reckless action…
As if they copying and hoping for something different to happen, the enemies repeated the same charge they did in the previous day. They wanted to finish Marie and make an example out of her… showing that one of the strongest warriors of the state could be killed, just like all the others. Marie knew what they were thinking, but she didn't react in any way. She sure was fearless… since the chances of her dying that day were high.
"Just focus on covering for me today," Billy said to Alexander, Drew, and Nikola.
"Our job is to make sure that Marie won't fall…" Alexander frowned.
"She won't. The enemies won't reach her today," Billy said. "Anyway, I need some time to focus. Otherwise, my magic will get out of control."
Billy was plotting something again… and considering what he pulled off two days ago, it was worth the risk to do what he wanted. It would be better to inform Marie, but he decided to keep quiet about it to surprise the enemies even more. Nevertheless, once the enemies charged, their unit prepared to fight, and many already assumed that they would die.. As the sound of metal clashing approached, the adventurers made the resolve to take down as many enemies as possible. However, when the first battalion approached them, a fire tornado suddenly appeared and engulfed dozens of enemies in it…