NOVEL WEB Chapter 45: Counterattack!
The gate was blemished with an orange color that was gradually expanding, and with a searing sound, a thunderous explosion that rocked the surroundings erupted in the middle of the gate; smoke and debris soon covered the area.
A few moments passed, and when the debris settled, and the smoke dissipated, a lone man donned full-plated armor from the head to the bottom. With a wave of his hand, his voice thundered into the battlefield, shocking all those who were near it.
"Advance into the streets! Search for survivors and push the accursed demons out of the city!" The voice of the man that was so deep struck a chord deep within the psyche of anyone; it was something primal and instinctual.
With the order given out, the men and women who were behind waiting for their commander's orders started moving forward in an organized manner. To boost the morale of the soldiers and everyone in the army that arrived in the burning excuse of a city, military drums were set up, and the bugle was set up, and with it, they played a reinvigorating set of music.
The soldiers, having invigorated by the boost of morale and the fluctuating emotions caused by the wave dissonance of the sounds, let out a warrior scream; it was a primal scream, etching deep within their abdomen, they blew their air and spoke in a deep primal voice.
Those who have heard it were struck with utter fear that even the sadistic ghoul's feet were wet in their bodies, something which they would never have thought to once again experience. With it, the dawn of anxiety came barking at their door; confused and anxious about their operation; the ghouls who have been so confident now have found themselves cornered.
Thankfully, unlike their adversaries, they were more inclined to use their intelligence despite their past appearance or whatever race they were part of in the past before becoming a ghoul. With intelligent and rational minds at their helm, they decided to retreat and reorganize themselves outside of the city.
After all, outside, they have the cover of darkness, which they could fully utilize in fighting against the reinforcing enemies. Unlike their adversaries, they could see much better in the dark, so they would be more proficient in fighting and hunting in the dark; right now, they are not the hunters and are the ones who are being hunted. Which is why it is tantamount to use the advantages they have in their hands.
Almost upon hearing the sound of the drums of war and its accompanying bugle and other musical instruments, the arriving soldiers could physically make out the decreasing amount of enemies, and so the further flames were set out in their hearts. So they attacked with a renewed vigor.
Meanwhile, the soldiers that were defending and making a final stand at the other side of the city, were able to make a breakthrough through the encirclement of the ghouls that they were on. With it, they systematically dismantled the encircled ghouls, taking advantage of the chaos in the command lines of the ghouls. They were able to make a decent havoc before they, too, retreated so that they would be able to tend to their wounded.
It was a very unfortunate scene; those who got infected had to be put down. To the mercy and despair of their living families, they had no choice; if they did not do that, then they would also soon be joining the ranks of the ghouls. So it was a sort of mercy kill, and a required thing to do; after all, it is much better to die sane than being insane, is it not? At least when you are sane, you could make it out on your own terms, but if you were insane, is there any assurance that the person who was talking is even you in the first place?
That's the kind of unfortunate thing that seemed to always happen when the myriad races of this world always had an encounter with the ghouls, the scum of this world. There would and would always be sacrifices, even if the damage to a single person was not that severe to warrant a death or even surgery. It was the infection that was the worst of all; as if trying to mock all things in life, a single infection warrants certain death or be doomed to wander around the entire world lusting for the flesh and blood of the living. A worse fate than death.
With those things at the back of the minds of all, after putting the infected out of their misery, they once again set out to treat those who were lucky enough just to suffer an injury; at least for them, they still had the chance of living. Unfortunately, not all of them would be able to. After all, the medical advancement of this world is a bit lacking and seems to be centuries or even millennia behind
Whilst there was some semblance of modern medicine, it was all but crude and cannot be trusted. By that time, there was more of a chance to die from doing that kind of stuff than from doing the actual stuff. This means you'd be far more likely to die getting cured than fighting an enemy to death. That's just how far bad, crude, and outdated their techniques were.
With all those deemed proper and running, the commander of the reinforcements arrived; by this time, the sun was about to come up, and they had already made plans on what needed to be done. They were all guessing that they would finally be making a counterattack against the damned ghouls. Which they were, in fact, correct in their judgment or guess.
Unfortunately, that was all. They would indeed be counterattacking, but they were not going too far outside; instead, they opted to liberate some of the other villages and reconstitute a barrier between villages and cities. They were caught off guard, but it would not happen again for the second time.
The state of things would be the same for the rest of the future until they are able to locate a nest of these ghouls, and that was the only time they would be truly counterattacking against these creatures. Right now, they do not know the ghoul's base or encampment as of this time if they were to march with a large army out there without a clear direction. They would be sitting ducks, waiting to be picked off one by one by the ghouls.
This is precisely why, hopefully, this time will be the only time they would need to hunker down while knowing the threats outside. There was also another problem for them, albeit they were acting properly now; just a few weeks ago, they were all scrambling for things to do. The rich ran, and the poor suffered, waiting to be killed by the ghouls on the open streets.
Right now, the elites are in fear, that is why they are cooperating; if they get too comfortable once again, then they might find resistance from the inside and on the outside. Once those things start happening, it would be a little too difficult to handle this new frontier and would be more of a liability despite being an important location.
Nevertheless, they cannot do anything about that, so they all push those kinds of weird and evil thoughts at the back of their heads. After all, what can they really do about it? So they would just let the future handle those things, and right now, they would handle the things they could still handle. Lastly, once those are all done, they would just hope for the best of all things.
Thus, all the important figures sat down at the round table and talked about the counterattack and the things that they would need to do. First, they decided that the archers would stay back and help in defending and taking care of the sick. Second, they would bring all the swordsmen and shieldmen to counterattack the ghouls outside. Right now, this is the best course of action. Why?
Well, the archers would have a hard time aiming at the enemies in a thick verdant forest with a limited view and a limited range. There's not a lot of strategic value there, and they would only become a liability. They are also not useful at close-quarter combat, as they do not have strong enough armor.
The swordsman and shieldmen could work in unison, blocking and attacking; it is the perfect squad to move in. Lastly, some of the soldiers would be left in the city to man the various stations and to make sure that the basics of the basics are running at their proper form and functionality. After all, despite being deformed and backward in eras and civilization, they still know that efficiency is everything in this world.
An efficient productive base means that things can be done faster and the process of things will be smoother.