The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-456

Chapter 456: Infiltration of the Water Supply Area (3)

The momentum of Reviadon’s siege attack faltered thanks to Major Orca taking the lead.

And there was a master of offensive tactics who didn’t miss this chance.

“Hehehehehe….”

Marquis Sade.

He was gleaming with amusement.

“Is it my turn now?”

Marquis Sade looked at Major Orca and spoke.

“Remember about 40 years ago when you struggled against my attack? I’m thinking of using that tactic again.”

“Hmph. Didn’t you ultimately get blocked by my defense back then? That’s why you were captured.”

“That’s because we were vastly outnumbered back then, old man.”

These two lifelong rivals, who had fiercely battled each other over the years, were now joining forces.

Marquis Sade was a man with a genius talent for tormenting and causing pain to others.

Forty years ago, he was a military genius who challenged the entire empire with just an alliance of 47 people, nearly decapitating the emperor.

Marquis Sade was also a descendant of the renowned Sade family, known for generations.

Sade family was also one of the 5 original iron-blooded sword clans.

He had overwhelming support from survivors and heirs of fallen families and nations that were either destroyed or forcibly annexed.

“Marquis Sade! We will follow you!”

“Just give us the order!”

“We will follow you even in death!”

“Oh! The glory of the past is being resurrected!”

Despite being in the same allied army, soldiers from the old defeated nations who previously never mixed were now giving their wholehearted support under Marquis Sade’s name.

Vikir nodded as he observed this.

‘…It was worth bringing him back to life.’

Before returning, Vikir once overheard Major Orca muttering during a fierce defensive battle at the war’s end.

‘If Sade had been alive, the Human Alliance wouldn’t have been pushed back this much.’

Sade had a devilish mind, rivaling Dantalian in military strategy and Belial in mercenary tactics.

If Marquis Sade had been alive during the war against the demons, he could have perfectly complemented Orca’s defensive weaknesses.

Considering Major Orca, who had been Sade’s lifelong rival, lamented this fact, Vikir believed Sade would indeed be a significant asset.

Thus, Vikir decided to revive and bring Marquis Sade out of Nouvellebag.

“Hehehehe- I thought I’d never experience such an exciting war again after the Warring states era ended. Another glorious era is upon us! Indeed, living long has its perks!”

The spirit of the Warring states era was ‘Survival of the Strong,’ and Marquis Sade, the embodiment of this spirit, grinned madly at the demons and their minions.

“Come on! Brave young men! Follow me!”

As Sade raised his whip, frenzied cheers erupted from behind.

Past generations filled with resentment and defeat, as well as prisoners and political offenders from across the country, banded together under the banner of Marquis Sade.

Boom!

As the gates of the stronghold opened, Marquis Sade led his soldiers out, sweeping away the poison humans.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

His whip, moving like a giant serpent, cut down all the Poison Humans within tens of meters.

“Hehehehe! Kill them all!”

Sade divided his soldiers into eight groups for his operation.

The Eight Trigrams formation was used once more.

休 (Rest), 生 (Life), 傷 (Wound), 杜 (Stop), 景 (View), 死 (Death), 驚 (Fright), 開 (Open).

Among the eight trigrams gates, entering 生 (Life), 景 (View), or 開 (Open) leads to survival, 傷 (Wound), 驚 (Fright), or 休 (Rest) leads to injury, and 杜 (Stop) and 死 (Death) lead to death.

…But in the newly transformed formation that Marquis Sade, laughing maniacally, created, there was no escape route.

All gates were Death Gates. There was no way out of this malicious cauldron.

Marquis Sade’s whip thoroughly drove the Poison Humans into the abyss of death.

The spearmen and shield-bearers, following the formation, along with the archers at the rear, changed their alignment according to the whip, pushing the Poison Humans back.

Watching this spectacle from the wall, Tudor, Figgy, Sancho, and Bianca were astonished.

“Wow, you can deploy soldiers like that.”

“It seems very different from standard tactics.”

“Indeed. To think that soldiers could be driven so relentlessly.”

“…Why do I feel that he is more poisonous than the actual Poison Humans?”

Typically, local battles begin as a fight for justification.

Each side debates to establish a just cause, then declares war, agreeing on the time and place of the battle, fighting only during the day and retreating to their camps at night.

The outcome could be decided by a one-on-one duel between warriors or by dividing the army into two wings, with an attacking force on the right and a defensive force on the left, aiming to collapse the opponent’s left wing first.

Prisoners were later used as slaves or ransomed, so minimizing casualties was an unwritten rule of war ethics.

…But none of this applied to Marquis Sade.

“Kill them all! And you all die too! Hahahaha! I’ll personally behead anyone who fights half-heartedly!”

Sade’s maniacal mercenary tactics pushed his soldiers to extreme lethality.

Slash—Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Watching him wield a single whip at the front line, turning Poison Humans soldiers into hundreds of pieces, one couldn’t help but think that even demons wouldn’t fight so brutally.

All those observing Marquis Sade’s performance learned that traditional war ethics must be abandoned when facing Reviadon or demons.

The enemy is not human.

This truth hit the young, inexperienced warriors hard.

What seemed simple was actually a crucial element in war: mindset. This was being thoroughly redefined and established by Marquis Sade.

“…Still a crazy old man. No, he’s gotten even crazier being locked up in solitary.”

Watching Marquis Sade, Major Orca clicked his tongue and spoke.

“I wish that old man would die at the hands of the Poison Humans, but he’s still more human than a demon, so we should help him. Rear guard! Provide support!”

Orca also picked up his club and headed outside the gates.

Soon, reinforcements from various families and the militia started driving the Poison Humans away from the gates.

Slash, slash, slash, slash!

Countless skewers shot up beside Marquis Sade.

A red-haired woman smiled sweetly over the impaled Poison Humans.

“Old man, I like your fighting style. Want to teach me?”

Camus Morg. She was very interested in Marquis Sade’s tactics.

…Boom!

A golden vein was ripped out of the ground, and a giant golden hand crushed the Poison Humans on the opposite side.

“Let’s press the attack further!”

Sinclaire. She was also supporting Marquis Sade from Camus’s opposite side.

Meanwhile, flaming arrows burned away the plague mist, and countless arrows and spears destroyed the Poison Humans.

“Hehehehe— It’s done, they’re retreating. If we chase them further, we might run into their reinforcements. Fall back!”

Marquis Sade pulled his soldiers back at the perfect moment.

Camus retrieved her skewers with a disappointed look.

Sinclaire also withdrew her magic at the precise moment and fell back.

Even though more Poison Humans reinforcements arrived, the allied soldiers had already retreated behind the fortified gates of the Tochika stronghold.

* * *

Thanks to Major Orca and Marquis Sade’s valiant efforts, the initial skirmish against Reviadon ended in victory for the Tochka Allied Forces.

Major Orca’s meticulous preparation and extensive experience in defensive battles, combined with Marquis Sade’s uncanny counterattacks and strategic retreats, made this possible.

…However, the real war had yet to begin.

The priests, exhausted from using their holy power to fend off the Poison Humans, were completely spent.

There was uncertainty about how much they could stave off the Red Death tomorrow.

Additionally, the soldiers had consumed more water than usual due to the intense battle.

Starting tomorrow, there would be a shortage of both drinking water and holy power.

They were at a loss on how to fend off the second and third waves of attacks from the Poison Humans.

Dolores, after circling the fortress, reported back.

“They seem to plan to starve us out. They’ve surrounded the outer walls in multiple layers. They’ll probably attack on the hottest days.”

At this rate, they might not last even three days, let alone a week.

Vikir knew he had to make a decision.

“We need to go to the water supply zone and secure the waterway.”

Leaving the defense of Tochika to Major Orca and Marquis Sade, Vikir planned to head to the water supply zone to create a water route.

Minipin handed Vikir a map with several X marks.

“This is the terrain of the water supply zone as I predicted. If you blow up the marked areas, the water should flow to the moat around Tochika.”

Chihuahua, however, was worried about Vikir going to such a dangerous place.

“The outside is swarming with Reviadon’s Poison Humans. It’s impossible to break through their encirclement. Given the changed circumstances, we should just abandon the water supply zone….”

“No. While we might manage, the common refugees have no more strength left. Securing the water supply zone is essential.”

Vikir understood that there were no other options now that the full-scale war with Reviadon had begun.

Soon, an expedition was formed to go to the water supply zone.

Vikir’s supporters, excluding Major Orca and Marquis Sade, who had to defend the fortress, gathered together.

Camus Morg.

Dolores Quovadis.

Sinclaire Bourgeois.

Tudor Donquixote.

Bianca Usher.

Sancho Barataria.

Figgy.

Led by Vikir van Baskerville, these eight formed a desperate squad.

Their goal was to secure a waterway from the volcanic lake on the opposite mountain peak.

“Taking an army would be suicide. The difference in numbers is vast, and we can’t leave the fortress unguarded. We’ll break through the encirclement with a trusted few.”

Everyone nodded at Vikir’s words.

The plan was to slip through Reviadon’s surveillance under the cover of darkness.

Tudor, who had explosives strapped around his waist, asked nervously.

“So, when do we leave?”

Everyone looked at Vikir with the same question in their eyes.

Looking up at the night sky, Vikir answered in his usual calm manner.

“Right now. Immediately.”