There was no time for speeches since the group suddenly arrived on the battlefield and then pushed the enemies back. Billy wondered why that side was in need of assistance since they were just ordinary soldiers of the former Toles state, but then he saw why after a while… The archers in the walls were falling pretty often with bolts on their bodies. Billy could recognize the power of crossbows from miles away. Their commanders were playing with tactics in a rather unusual way.
The enemies frowned when they saw the southern gate opening and quickly headed there. Still, before they could do anything, someone quickly crossed it and then began to slash the enemies up with speed and precision. That someone was Natalie… She used Fierce Aura right off the bat to surprise the enemies. Thanks to that, with each of her strikes, she cut the neck of an enemy. They didn't have the chance to react because they were armed with tower shields and rapid-fire crossbows. At least in the beginning… Eventually, some of them gained some distance over her and aimed the crossbows at Natalie. They had been trained well since the sight of such a fierce woman didn't faze them. Billy wouldn't feel the same way in their place. Still, he didn't pity those who were foolish or too slow.
"Reckless as usual…" Billy said and then used Light Spear in quick succession on the head of three enemies.
Even though they were using helmets, they didn't protect the targets. Alexander moved to the opposite side and covered Natalie from there as well. Meanwhile, Sarah and Kate approached alongside the recruits.
"It is time to hunt! Beat the crap out of those assholes!" Natalie shouted after raising the sword on her right hand.
The recruits answered Natalie's words with a roar and charged at the enemies. The sudden arrival of one thousand soldiers, even if they were young recruits, changed the flow of that battle. They used the southern gate, which was right in front of the enemies, but they changed their positions a bit in order to take down the archers in the walls. Thanks to that, the group didn't have to worry about being attacked by the other, and they began to pierce the enemies' lines like butter.
While Natalie was leading the charge, Billy and Alexander watched her sides since Natalie was focusing on getting as many enemies as possible and keeping the morale of the recruits high. Thanks to that, they advanced a lot, but she also made Billy and Alexander work quite a bit. As for Sarah and Kate, they stayed a bit behind, making sure that they would help the recruits that were in a bad spot. They couldn't afford to lose a single one of them…
Due to the surprise attack, the enemy army took a while to respond to the attack. Still, they retreated without leaving too many openings as well. Billy looked toward the eastern battlefield and saw the enemies moving away as well. They didn't want to commit the same mistake twice.
The defenders won the first battle, and while it didn't take long, they didn't feel like celebrating. It was too soon, and the southern wall lost many archers thanks to the enemy's unusual strategies of using shields and crossbows. The former soldiers of Toles state had never used that, after all.
"It is empty," Billy said after he picked one crossbow of a fallen soldier. "They used all their ammo and then stepped back to give the chance to fire to the next line. They didn't want to see us using those against them."
"Damn cowards…" Natalie is annoyed and with her face dirty with blood. "Well done, everyone. We will get them again tomorrow."
Billy sighed… It was hard to get a good read of Natalie's behavior the last few months, but at least she knew the time when she could get angry and when she couldn't. Regardless, Billy approached, and after making a sphere of water, he cleaned her face and checked for wounds on her arms as well. All of the blood on her body was from the enemy.
"... Thank you," Natalie said while looking away, a bit embarrassed.
"Keep serious, or the recruits will frown while looking at you blushing," Billy said.
"I am not blushing, and this is your fault," Natalie said.
Once Billy finished with Natalie, he went to check with Kate. She was strong with magic, and she knew how to position herself well, so she probably didn't get scratched either, but he had to check her. Both of his future wives deserved the same treatment.
"Oh? You didn't forget me?" Kate asked.
"No, and since you are completely free of blood, even from the enemies, you deserve a head pat," Billy said while already doing it.
"... I feel like I lost something now," Kate said while massaging her forehead.
Before he could check Sarah and Alexander, they had already left to check their students. The backline did a good job preventing them from being surrounded, and the momentum of their attack prevented deaths on their sides, but not wounded. While they didn't have much knowledge about medicine, they had a few with them, and they knew how to apply. Even cleaning the wounds would be enough in such a place.
Once they began to retreat to the walls, Billy realized that the eastern and southern walls had lost a good amount of soldiers. Around three hundred each, and that had been a pretty soft attack from the enemies' side.
"Shit…" Billy muttered under his breath.
While his friends were checking their students, Billy watched the inhabitants of the town helping carry the corpses for them to be cremated. They also picked the tower shields since they could be used to protect the archers in the wall. Or so they thought… they could be used against arrows, but not against bolts. The enemies were truly… annoyingly smart.. Even with the numbers, they wouldn't drop their guard.