Chapter 34: Chapter 17 – First Strike

"There it is..." I murmured, feeling a grin forming on my face as I stared at the primitive encampment in the distance. "So they really weren't pulling my leg."

"It appears not, Sir," Ulysses murmured from my side, the mage having chosen to stick as close to me as possible for now. It wasn't necessarily a bad decision, since I was the strongest combatant present and thus it was my duty to protect him, but it was a bit annoying nonetheless.

"Mhm," I grunted. "Men! Get to it. Get in formation and prepare for the worst. These savage nonhumans are not to be trifled with." I barked out.

Heeding my command, the small battalion of 50 men quickly formed up into one of Asturias's most famous formations: The eagle's spear.

With the strongest men forming a wedge in the center, the weakling in the middle, and the more mediocre warriors at the end, the formation was wholly reliant on a well-placed charge that would allow the elites to punch through the enemy army, before then smashing against the newly-created flanks of the divided enemy.

It... wasn't always reliable, and was prone to being hard-countered by enemy tacticians, but considering that I was fighting savage nonhumans, I somehow doubted they had the brains to bother with such silly things like 'tactics' and 'strategy'.

But alas, my caution proved unnecessary. As we marched into the nonhuman 'village', we found that all the nonhumans had left sometime before our arrival.

"Damn." I cursed out loud as I surveyed the place. "Damn it. We were so close." I grumbled, watching with half-closed eyes as Ulysses worked his magic, divining clues and hints through whatever weird shit mages like him used to do so.

"We were." Said mage admitted. "Take a look, sir." He spoke as he handed me the mirror he'd been fiddling with for the past few minutes.

It was a small thing, no larger than those that the court ladies liked to carry around so that they could check it periodically so as to ensure that their makeup didn't smush or come off.

Had it been any other person handing me such an object, I'd have been offended. But, as it was, I wasn't prideful or foolish enough to get angry right now, even if it felt a bit demeaning to my masculinity.

I remained silent as Ulysses closed his eyes and began to chant. As he did, the small mirror slowly began to shift away from showing me my face, and instead, it started to show me the savage's village from a birds-eye-view.

"Huh." I whistled as the image kept on getting clearer and clearer, sending Ulysess an impressed glance. "I didn't know you were a clairvoyant mage."

Ulysses, of course, didn't answer, still busy chanting and channeling his magic. Focusing back on the mirror, I watched as the image within it finally settled.

I felt a grimace form due to the image within the mirror. A small tribe of what looked like more bestial fox-kin stood together next to the largest tent present, gathered around in a circle and chattering between themselves.

Then, the image sped forward, showcasing them running out of the village, leaving behind only one of them to stand guard.

Once again, the image blurred, and this time, it showed the single tribe member suddenly raising her head, sniffing at the air, before her eyes narrowed. Then, without hesitation, she fled, vanishing from the mirror's view within seconds.

And finally, the last image was of our battalion entering the village, the proud men of Asturias cautiously checking every tent and hole they could find as they spread out.

Once it was finished, Ulysses collapsed, panting. He was clearly exhausted by the spell he'd invoked, which honestly wasn't very surprising. Clairvoyant magic was amongst the most difficult to perform, or so I'd heard.

It had been an amazing find. A full-fledged tribe of nigh-priceless nonhumans, and even if we failed to capture any, I was sure we could find a number of valuable trinkets and treasures hidden amongst the savage's stashes.

But... To me, none of this meant anything.

"Damn it!" I cursed. "Damn, damn, damn!" I yelled, furious. Next to me, one of the men that'd been standing guard flinched away.

"W-what? What's wrong?" Ulysses cautiously asked as he regained his breath. The mage flinched when I turned my eyes upon him, but nonetheless stood his ground.

"These fucking nonhumans aren't the ones we're looking for!" I gritted out. "The prince wants the Snow-Elves, not these fuckers."

"Oh..." Ulysses said, understanding dawning on his face.

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Sure, northern slaves were valuable in a way that few others were. Between alchemists seeking to study their apparent immortality, stadium-masters seeking worth gladiators, or even just some incredibly rich nobles seeking to get their hands on such exotic and rare specimens, there was a massive demand for them through almost all the human lands and beyond.

But... To them, that meant nothing. This wasn't a general expedition of adventurers seeking to get rich, but rather, one that had a very specific goal.

And that goal didn't include capturing these nonhumans.

"What a waste of time." I groaned in annoyance, rubbing my forehead. "Right. Logan, Paul, go and tell the men to hurry up and finish up looting. We're not going to bother trying and ambush these beasts." I ordered my two most trusted lieutenants, who both saluted before doing as told.

"Are we retreating, sir?" Ulysses asked from my side, looking a bit worried. I glanced over at him and nodded.

"Yes. These creatures clearly have very good senses, and I don't fancy our chances to catch them in this frozen hellhole. I don't want to risk the men's lives on something that's not even our main goal anyways." I bluntly told him.

There was one lesson that every royal guardsman had to learn: Focus on the task.

If you're protecting the princess? Focus on the princess, and let the other guards protect their own charges. If you've been tasked with exterminating a bandit group? Ignore the goblin threat. Someone else will deal with them.

It was a lesson that was hard to swallow for some, but not for me.

And so it was that I and Ulysses waited impatiently, watching as the men brought everything of value they could find over to the center of the village, where we could then take stock of everything before leaving.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the good luck of stumbling upon such a good find had the men in a festive mood, something that led to them goofing off far more than they should've.

"Oi! Hurry up, you lugs!" I screamed at them, glaring at a pair that'd been jokingly trying to collapse one of the roughly-made fur tents. "Stop fucking around and-"

Someone screamed in horror. My head swiveled to where the sound had come from, and my eyes widened.

Eight furious-looking fox-kin were barreling down upon my men, butchering them with ease because of the fact that they were separated, unarmed, unaware, and completely unprepared.

Almost without willing to, I felt a roar rip itself free from my mouth. "MEN! FORM AROUND ME!" I screamed even as I unsheathed my blade and threw myself forward, preventing one of their females from ripping Ulysses to shreds.

The mage screamed in terror, his voice almost breaking with how high-pitched it went. I, however, didn't have time to bother with him, as I soon found myself in a battle for my life.

The fox's sharp claws struck against my sword's side, simultaneously deflecting my blow while forcing my stance wide open. Then, with a snarl, she struck forward with her other clawed hand, clearly trying to pierce it into my chest.

It was only a last-second shield raise that prevented her from disemboweling me, and even then, the horrible screeching noise that her claws made as they raked against my top-notch shield boded ill for me.

"Back, creature!" I roared, shoving my shield forward in a classic shield-bash, forcing the savage to take a step back.

She snarled as her eyes flitted between me and the mage, a worrying amount of intelligence contained within them. Then, without missing a beat, she turned and fled.

For a beat, I was confused at her sudden action, only for my wits to return to me as I saw her charging towards where three of my men were fending off another savage. "Damn beast! MEN, GATHER!" I roared, repeating my command once more.

And when I did, I channeled one of the special guardsmen techniques, the Command Aura. Practically instantly, I could see the effect that it had, as my men, previously fighting chaotically and separately, began working together far more smoothly, slowly but surely disentangling themselves from their respective fights as they began to close in around me.

Meanwhile, I remained standing next to the still shivering mage. As a clairvoyant, he wouldn't be able to defend himself directly, and so, I was forced to protect him.

I could only hope I made the correct decision by doing so, as I saw more and more of my men being torn apart by the brutal strength and speed of the savages.

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