"Sir, the defense line ahead is full of Nagoth Chaos, our people simply can’t hold them off!" A soldier from Duke Brice’s trenches, who had fled back from the left side, brought Malin some bad news—there were too many Chaos creatures. The right side benefitted from the care of machine guns and artillery, but the left could only rely on the soldiers themselves. The Nagoth Beastmen had finally filled up those two trenches and then charged in.
"Send down a platoon! Switch to shotguns!" Malin shouted to his own men above on the platform.
Quickly, soldiers from Malin’s Factory Guard climbed over the parapet and jumped down.
"Mr. Malin, we’ve arrived." The leader was Malin’s acquaintance—Tuojin Biscay, a young man who had performed outstandingly in the previous fight against the Black Orcs and had received a reward directly from Malin’s hands.
"Good, Tuojin, take your men and follow me. We’re going to clean up the left trench," Malin said as he stood up and walked to the left side, pushing away a panicked fleeing soldier in the process. The latter fell to the ground and then shrieked, "I am a Baron!"
Malin drew his revolver and shot the baron, "Duke Brice might forgive a deserter, but he will never forgive a Baron who abandons his post."
The other fleeing soldiers immediately chose to bypass Malin.
"Mr. Malin, why did you have to kill him, he was a noble," Tuojin asked, somewhat puzzled.
"If cowards can’t die of shame, then we must help them along," Malin replied, holstering his revolver, he led them to the corner of the trenches. The Beastmen’s howling was close and no more fleeing soldiers were coming. Malin raised his shotgun and walked to the corner, Tuojin peeked over the base of the platform wall, then pulled the trigger.
The continuous firing forced Malin to step back. After Tuojin swept the entire length of the trench with the buckshot from his shotgun, Malin turned the corner.
He pressed the barrel against the forehead of a Beastman struggling to get up and pulled the trigger; with the muzzle kicking up from the recoil, Malin aimed at another Beastman getting to its feet. The hollow point bullet pierced its chest, killing the Beastman thoroughly. Meanwhile, Malin stepped forward, crushing the Nagoth spirit trying to bite his ankle.
Following Malin, Matilda unleashed a holy surge, a Transcendent ability of the Paladins. The Holy Energy surged like a wave sweeping a 60-degree conical area in front of a Paladin, with a base range of 20 meters plus 5 meters per level.
Matilda’s surge swept through the stretch of trench, with the wave of Holy Energy refracting off the trench wall. The Beastmen were ignited by the Holy Energy, and the Nagoth spirits were reduced to ash. The Holy Energy turned the corner and continued forward.
"Tuojin, get our men to occupy these trenches and don’t let Chaos take them back," Malin said.
After giving the order, Malin strode across the segment of the trench and reached the corner, holding out his hand. Matilda drew a wooden-handled grenade from her waist, pulled the pin, and handed it to Malin.
Tuojin leaned against the wall opposite Malin, fired two shots sideways, then ducked back. The next second, a throwing spear stuck in the spot where he had just leaned out.
"Sixty yards out, a lot of Beastmen," Tuojin reported to Malin.
Malin nodded, pulled the safety ring, and then threw it around the corner.
Two seconds later, a heap of Beastmen limbs landed in the trench on this side, and one unlucky creature was hit in the head and dropped dead without a sound.
"I’ve said it before, wear helmets!" With that, Malin raised his shotgun and stepped out from the corner—the grenade he’d tossed must have landed among the Beastmen, also setting off the ammunition at a small supply point, so there were no Beastmen in sight.
"Lord Malin, we’ve arrived," Shelton said, coming up with his team. "I heard you just killed a fleeing baron?"
"Yes, any problem with that?" Malin asked without turning back.
"Thank you. Otherwise, my father would definitely have made me go catch that running waste."
Shelton had hardly finished speaking when Malin raised his revolver and opened fire at a Beastman rounding the corner.
After gunning down five Beastmen, Malin took two steps back; Tuojin followed suit and continued shooting. Malin swiftly loaded four hollow point bullets and then rejoined Tuojin to take down the Beastmen charging into their line of defense.
Gunfire was incessant behind him; Malin didn’t have to worry about being flanked by Black Orcs. He reloaded once again, ready to press forward when he heard cheering in the distance.
Matilda jumped up at the edge of the trench: "I see the Duke, and that Chaos head in his hand."
"Looks like we’ve won," said Malin, standing up and opening fire at the Chaos creatures still in disarray outside the trench.
The death of the Great Unclean Ones was the spark that led to the collapse of the Nagoth forces. The Beastmen and the Chaotic Believers started to flee; the Nagoth spirits, though fearless, were nothing compared to the flamethrowers.
The Pus Hosts still fought, but were greatly outnumbered, and the mages were now giving them special attention. The machine guns truly decimated these armorless units, leaving no chance against the bullets’ harvest.
In the end, the Pus Hosts and Nagoth spirits were completely wiped out. Some Beastmen and Chaotic Believers managed to cross the river, but the Light Cavalry had already begun their pursuit – their death was inevitable.
Malin tasked Tuojin with tallying the casualties, then took the healing team to search for survivors on the left flank.
To many, this seemed pointless. The Chaos creatures would kill the wounded first—those who feigned death and narrowly escaped would hardly survive in light of the infections.
But when Malin found a badly wounded baron and personally cleansed him of the plague, used Spell Formations to tend to his major wounds, and sutured the general wounds with needle and thread, everyone joined in the search for wounded. Some seriously injured nobles were also brought over—not all the barons had fled, and three had been tenaciously saved by their bodyguards despite grave injuries.
Malin healed them of the plague and handed them over to the healing team.
Duke Brice came over with several barons. As expected, a baron accused Malin in front of Duke Brice, saying he had killed his colleague, his ability to twist the truth plainly evident.
"Lord Malin, why did you kill him?" Duke Brice inquired.
Malin told the truth, and upon hearing this was about a baron who had abandoned their defensive line, Duke Brice turned and gave the accuser a hefty slap, spinning him around.
It was truly satisfying to witness.
After bidding farewell to Duke Brice, Malin made a mental note of the baron’s face—a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. Just you wait.