The Extra Wants To Live

The day of the final battle had dawned.

"Hmm... I guess you really intend to fight."

Chandar smiled as he glared at the formation of Hardion, who had been moving busily since morning.

The battlefield was narrow. The plain that emerged from the valley stretched long from north to south.

To the west, a steep rocky mountain blocked the way, but it was so high and rugged that it could not be used tactically other than to limit the battlefield.

To the east, there was a short, gentle downhill slope. Although it was open, bypassing to attack the enemy's flank or rear required climbing the hill while being held back, rendering it practically inaccessible.

"You must have known the geography," Chandar muttered, running his hands through his beard.

Hardion's army, led by Carl, had likely settled there because they had reliable information about the geography.

Could this be information provided by those who surrendered to Carl?

"It's not bad to get information and take action, but it seems like you're still young to be trying to fight head-on despite the overwhelming military power."

Chandar saw through Carl's intentions.

In terms of manpower, Hardion was ahead. It was said that he even had a master.

In other words, Carl's intention was to choose a narrow battlefield to reduce the power gap caused by the difference in troop numbers and to gain an advantage in the cost of engagement by sending in elite soldiers.

"It's not bad, but it's not good either. But there is a limit. Can the soldiers endure when the number of troops is four to five times greater?"

The battle would become a power struggle fought on a narrow battlefield with no variables.

"You cheeky brat. You had some fun, and your eyes rolled back," Chandar laughed at Carl and watched as the large army he led moved quickly into formation.

However, Chandar was not careless. He intended to fight with all his might. Climbing high up on the palanquin to observe the enemy's movements, he carefully examined Hardion's formation.

"Hmm..."

It was well-defended.

The more Chandar slowly looked around, the more he could feel the solidity of the Hardion formation.

Although Grand Duke Aesong had misjudged, the commanders under Carl's command appeared to have the capabilities of the Imperial Central Army.

On the eastern slope, stone stakes created by the Earth Wizard jutted out in a jagged pattern to block enemies from bypassing.

Archers were placed there, along with a small number of cavalry. The preparations were thorough.

Carl had deployed all of the cavalry he had at his disposal under the western rocky mountain. Since there were so few infantrymen, forming a line would have thinned their ranks too much, leaving no choice but to engage in cavalry combat.

Given the narrow path, cavalry combat would also be sluggish, so Carl likely thought they could last a long time even with a cavalry force more than twice their size.

"I can see it clearly even without looking. That's true in theory. But war can't be fought with theory alone," Chandar thought to himself.

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There was an overwhelming difference in numbers. No matter how much they fought or killed, the enemy's numbers would not diminish and would continue to swarm endlessly.

The soldiers would quickly become exhausted and fall, their morale would drop sharply, and some would flee.

Even elite soldiers couldn't hold out if one person started to run. The entire formation would crumble.

"I can't lose."

Chandar calmly read the situation, visualized the battle in his mind, and, after careful consideration, predicted victory.

The sun rising in the east illuminated the battlefield beyond the rocky mountains.

The rocky mountain rising to the west shone dazzlingly, and the light gradually descended, glaring hotly at the soldiers lined up.

The moment the sun's rays reached the downhill slope in the east, the battlefield lit up brightly.

"Phew-! Phew-!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Trumpets and drums sounded as the Tumaria rebels advanced.

Chandar, mounted on a palanquin, began to follow the advancing soldiers from the safest rear center.

There was no talk between commanders before the battle, which was common.

Words were unnecessary.

Behind Chandar, a reserve of 3,000 men remained to pursue the enemy in case of their rout.

On the other hand, behind Hardion's army, which had also begun to advance slowly, not a single soldier remained except for non-combatants.

---

"Bring the wind!"

As both sides began to advance, Carl, commanding just behind the line of infantry, gave orders to his magician.

The wind wizard, surrounded and protected by heavy infantry with large shields, breathed heavily.

He was barely covered with a thin, breezy piece of transparent cloth, and in his hand, he tightly held a long string made of countless bird feathers.

The wizard's trembling hands carefully traced the strings and selected feathers. He picked out a particularly large and lush wing feather and bit it with his teeth.

His eyes scanned the sky, searching for clouds.

But the weather in Tumari was terribly clear, with no clouds floating leisurely on the wind.

The wind wizard held his breath and waited for the right moment.

Even though his face turned bright red and his eyes started to spin, he held on tightly.

The commanders, including Carl, did not rush him.

Then, the wizard's eyes spotted a small dot moving slowly high in the sky.

No, it wasn't slow; it only appeared so because it was so far away.

A bird with its wings spread wide flew gracefully on the wind, yet blisteringly fast.

The wind wizard, who had reached his limit, stared at it blankly, his mind growing hazy.

Then, in a moment of intense concentration, the bird appeared clearly, spreading its wings magnificently.

"Wheww!"

The wizard let out a deep breath he had been holding.

The wing feather, clenched tightly between his teeth, defied the laws of physics and flew straight and fiercely forward.

"Wheeeeeek!"

An eerily sharp whistle sounded, and a huge wind began to blow slowly across the narrow battlefield.

The wizard pushed away the infantry surrounding him with trembling hands to create space and stretched out his whole body to feel the wind.

The soft cloth fluttered in the wind and wrapped around his body.

Moments later, it turned into a violent storm that caused the wizard to stagger and fall.

The wizard did not resist and simply fell to the ground, feeling the wind.

"Kwaaaaah!"

A strong wind swept across the narrow battlefield.

It wasn't just a wind created by magic.

The battlefield Carl had chosen was a narrow plain between a valley running north to south.

The wizard created a powerful wind, putting great pressure on the canyon.

As a result, a strong wind began rushing north from the narrow canyon in the south.

"Ugh!"

The battlefield was covered in thick sand and dust, making it difficult even for Hardion's soldiers, with their backs to the wind, to open their eyes.

In response, the soldiers of the Tumari rebel army advancing from the north to the south could neither open their eyes nor breathe properly, even though their faces were covered with hoods.

This was just a beginning of the final battle yet it's already this intense.