“Ahhhh!” A man screamed as the Stone Ape slammed its fists down on him.

  [ You have slain a Charioteer. Will you remain? ]

  “Yes.” The same message appeared as with the first victory, and Gilgamesh naturally chose to remain again.

  He looked to his army, now bolstered to 250. “Anyone with Strength and Agility both at least 15, join the vanguard. Everyone else join the rearguard. Veterans, advise the new soldiers. We’re going to train. Hm?”

  As he finished speaking, Gilgamesh noticed something in the distance. An army of around 100 charged straight towards him. The Charioteer behind was a gaunt old man with long white hair combed neatly back and a long brisly beard to match, though the enthusiasm of his expression did not match his elderly appearance.

  “A Shen?” Gilgamesh assumed from his eastern features. They possessed exceptional intelligence and were often erudites thanks to their perfect memories. It was hardly unthinkable that one could possess a deep knowledge of warfare.

  But they were nothing special in combat. If his forces were smaller or even equal, Gilgamesh would avoid battle at all costs, but he had more than double. At this point in the Trial, most would have bolstered their numbers as he had. Not to mention, an increasingly higher proportion of the remaining Charioteers would be comprised of the strong. He did not have the luxury of passing up winnable fights.

  “He must assume my forces have no training or strategy as most do, or is he simply overconfident enough to attack a larger army? Perhaps he means to take advantage of the fact that I just fought a duel?” Gilgamesh thought. “No matter. He will find that I am no easy target.”

  “Formation!” Gilgamesh yelled. “New soldiers form together as Reserves by the Rearguard and wait for my command!”

  Gilgamesh waited until the enemy drew past the point of no return. “Shield Wall!” The vanguard lined up well against the enemy.

  “Speaarrr!!!” The old man howled like a banshee of war. As they ran, half of his 100-man army formed into a perfect wedge formation and increased its speed.

  “Brace!” Gilgamesh shouted. He realized the danger immediately. “Don’t let them push in!”

  But the piercing power of the enemy’s charge was too great. One by one, the rows of his shield line were effortlessly broken through until his vanguard was split into two.

  “Not good.” Gilgamesh tensed. “At this rate, the rest of the army will pincer them. My vanguard will be annihilated!”

  "Rearguard, flank the enemy behind! Reserves, hold!” Gilgamesh shouted.

  “Bridge!” The old man yelled, as soon as his Rearguard took off.

  The enemy soldiers of the wedge formation fighting within his Vanguard immediately began to push and buck his soldiers back.

  “Charge!”

  In the opening the wedge created, the remaining enemies ignored the approaching rearguard and charged down the opened path straight towards Gilgamesh.

  “Fool!” Gilgamesh exclaimed in his mind. “All reserves charge! Rearguard, follow them through the path. Cut them down from behind!”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  His 150 new soldiers swarmed to plug the path the enemy’s wedge formation created, and the Rearguard poured into the back of it, to surround the enemy from all sides.

  “A complete encirclement!” Gilgamesh’s intensity rose. “This is my victory!”

  Faced with what should be certain defeat, Gilgamesh saw the old man smile at him. A smile of partial acknowledgment, and partial conceited pity.

  “Square!” The old man yelled.

  To Gilgamesh’s disbelief, the enemy army formed a perfect square formation within that chaotic fray. No matter how hard his soldiers battered against it, the square did not break. And the second half of the charging army began to cut through his Reserves with ease.

  A chill ran down Gilgamesh’s spine, as urgency filled his mind. Vanguard and Rearguard retreat! All Reserves hold!”

  Gilgamesh did not wait for the bulk of his army to reach him before he turned his chariot around and fled. Any stragglers would have to pray they managed to keep up. As for the new soldiers of the reserves, he had left them behind as a sacrificial force to hold off the enemy without a second thought.

  It was a decision made almost rashly, but it was one he had to make. That old man’s goal was not to defeat his army, it was to kill him as quickly as possible to claim as many of his soldiers as he could. Of no greater evidence was the fact that the strongest fighters were the second force which solely aimed for his life.

  Victory was not impossible even then, but Gilgamesh saw plainly that he was utterly outmatched. It wasn’t just superior tactics. The Charioteer had started with 100. Gilgamesh hadn’t considered it before, but this was likely his first battle. That meant he had spent all this time thus far training his soldiers until they were ready to execute his strategies.

  Perhaps he could still win. Perhaps he could reach the old man and kill him in single combat. But he would have to reach him first, and Gilgamesh had no doubt that that brief clash was only the surface of the old man’s abilities.

  Even if he stayed and fought a battle, his army would likely lose. Meaning he’d had to face numerous soldiers alone. His mana would be far too depleted in the best case, and the risks of single combat would rise significantly. It was far safer to just sacrifice the least trained of his soldiers and retreat.

  Gilgamesh looked back to find that the pursuing enemy soldiers had been called back. And then he glanced at his remaining soldiers. “Just over 150…”

  Gilgamesh would not deny that he was displeased. This was a setback in no uncertain terms, but he had survived worse. He had overcome worse.

  The defeat was already behind him, save for the lesson it had taught him. Now he aimed his sights back towards the path, to gain another feather in his cap and replenish his army. Failure and humiliation would all be washed away if he was victorious in the end.

  ---

  A thin man in a luxurious business suit cast a stream of intense flames, but it did nothing to slow the Stone Ape's charge.

  “N-no! Stop!” He pleaded as he tripped back over himself, but the Stone Ape callously smashed him dead.

  [ You have slain a Charioteer. Do you wish to remain? ]

  “Yes.”

  This was his fourth victory now, and nothing much to speak of. The third was also as unremarkable as the second, though that was by design. After his defeat at the hands of the old expert of warfare, he made it a point to avoid anyone he suspected of being capable.

  Gilgamesh’s army now totaled close to 400, but that was not enough. Even this last charioteer had defeated at least one other. The weak were very rapidly being killed off or had chosen to leave the trial. The odds of encountering someone truly strong grew higher by the minute. He needed a large army to stack the odds in his favor.

  Just as he was about to depart, he spotted two Charioteers approaching in the distance. Too close to make a clean retreat from.

  “Shield Wall!”

  Gilgamesh formed up his army against them and waited. The two enemies combined for an army of 600, so he planned to observe then challenge the weakest one. From that, he would gain dominant superior numbers with which to destroy the second. He would rather keep the option of his challenge for as long as possible, but he had already resolved to take no more chances.

  Contrary to his preparations, the enemy stopped at a fair distance and showed no sign of hostility. It didn’t seem at all like they were here for a fight.

  One was a bald, clean-shaven man of solid build who did not seem as gormless as many other commoners were. The other was a short middle-aged man with brown skin and a thick mustache, who donned silk clothes of obvious wealth.

  “My greetings, fellow Hero.” The middle-aged man spoke eloquently. “I am Birpal of the great Pandava clan.”