Chapter 76
Southern Gate Defense Battle ⑧
(Day 4 of War)
The Fallen
Translator : PolterGlast
"Kran, Kran,
please! Open your eyes! Answer me!"
"Marianne, I'm
begging you, Klan, Klan, heal him..."
My brother and I clung
to Kran's lifeless body, distraught.
Kran would never open
his eyes again. Kran, who worshipped my brother Darek and always followed in
his footsteps, was trusted by my brother more than anyone else.
To protect my brother,
and to ensure that no harm came to Margrave Hastburg, our commander-in-chief,
Kran deliberately became a decoy at the very rear. Yes, at the very rear, where
there was only a ragtag cavalry unit.
"What good is a
'wise general,' when I said I would do everything to protect my brother!"
I am a fool who cannot
see ahead at all.
"Darek, Takuhir,
let him rest in peace. You are men of the Solis baronial family.
You must feel the
sorrow of losing him equally to all the other fallen soldiers.
And you must respond
to their loyalty with victory."
At Father's words, I
realized again.
Because I had pushed
forward, 40 lives were lost from the Solis Iron Cavalry Corps, which had been
forced to follow me.
I had to take
responsibility for their lives too.
"Darek-sama,
Takuhir-sama, this is the battlefield.
If you fight, someone
will surely lose their life.
We must overcome their
deaths."
Commander Weiss, with
a somber expression, comforted us. He himself had lost five men from his
mercenary corps.
They had fought
valiantly to protect Margrave Hastburg while surrounded by the enemy, and in
the end, they scattered, becoming shields.
That wasn't all.
There were also
casualties among my brother's direct cavalry.
They had served
alongside my brother as part of the Second Youth Knight Corps.
For my brother, they
were comrades whom he trusted the most after Kran.
They were surrounded,
and shielding my brother, who was in a desperate situation, they stood before
the enemy soldiers. After a desperate struggle without fear of death, they
eventually ran out of strength and died, becoming shields for my brother.
Their satisfied,
peaceful faces in death were, for some reason, the same as Kran's.
For the 52 fallen
soldiers (including the mercenary corps) from the Solis Barony army alone, my
brother and I knelt before each of their bodies, bowed our heads, and expressed
our gratitude.
And we vowed.
To win this battle.
To convey their
struggles to their families and comrades.
To ensure that if they
had families, the baronial family would support them responsibly.
To ensure that the
surviving families would be proud of them and could continue to live.
That night, even after
returning to my assigned room in the fortress, I still couldn't recover.
I realized that my own
mental state, having grown up in a country without war and never having lost
comrades before my eyes, was greatly affecting me now.
"Having defeated
so many enemy soldiers, yet to be like this over the death of our
allies..."
I muttered
self-deprecatingly.
Anne, who had come to
check on me out of concern, saw my swollen eyes and hugged me without saying a
word.
I clung to Anne and
cried.
When I woke up the
next morning, I realized I had slept while being hugged by Anne.
Of course, I was fully
clothed.
If I had asked, Anne
would probably have done more than just sleep next to me.
But... my heart couldn't
even afford such a thought.
When I met Anne's gaze
the next morning, I felt a little embarrassed.
I felt a little
relieved by Anne's calm demeanor, as if nothing had changed.
I also calmed down a
bit and found some leeway to ponder future plans.
The fourth battle, in
terms of lost troops, favored the Kyle Kingdom, but in reality, it was a costly
draw for both sides.
＜Kyle Kingdom Army Losses＞
Allied Cavalry Corps:
Approximately 1,200 riders
Archer Corps:
Approximately 60 men (Gorman, Solis)
First Youth Knight
Corps: Approximately 600 riders
Total Loss:
Approximately 1,860 men
＜Gryphonia Imperial Army Losses＞
Imperial Guard Iron
Cavalry: Approximately 1,800 riders
Imperial Guard
Cavalry: Approximately 500 riders
Margrave's Iron
Cavalry: Approximately 500 riders
Margrave's Cavalry:
Approximately 1,000 riders
Total Loss:
Approximately 3,800 men
In this battle,
Viscount Gorman's contribution was particularly noteworthy.
I had forgotten myself
and pushed too far forward to save Kran.
The Iron Cavalry
Father sent as reinforcements fought well but were no match for the frenzied
enemy army, being pushed back and put in a difficult situation.
If it hadn't been for
Viscount Gorman, I might have been among the fallen soldiers.
In the end, I, too,
owed my life to Viscount Gorman's quick thinking and his army...
My perspective on
Viscount Gorman changed slightly.
I would have to thank
him thoroughly later.
This time, the
incompetence of our allies also stood out significantly.
The actions of the
First Youth Knight Corps that caused the battle line to collapse.
The First and Fourth
Armies, who could do nothing about the situation before them.
And we were also saved
by the incompetence of the enemy army.
On the Gryphonia
Imperial Army's side, it was understandable that the shield infantry and
archers protecting the First Prince could not move.
However, the fact that
the two Earl armies positioned on the enemy's right flank, a total of 4,000
men, did not move ultimately saved the Kyle Kingdom's side.
※
After the battle, upon
returning to the fortress, the First Youth Knight Corps was severely
reprimanded by Margrave Hastburg.
"What in the
world did you come to the battlefield for?!
You broke military
orders again by participating in the battle when it was not even the final
phase, you put our allies in a difficult situation with your unnecessary
forward movement and caused the battle line to collapse, and to top it all off,
many soldiers were lost in the rescue! This is unforgivable!
The gravity of the
crimes you committed out of your selfishness is immeasurable!
Upon your return to
the royal capital, your crimes will be exposed. Until then, you are confined to
prison!"
Margrave Hastburg
wanted to condemn them immediately.
However, they were mainly
composed of the children of high-ranking nobles, and condemning them on the
spot would leave a huge grudge in the future.
Strangely, their own
memories were also vague.
"Why did we act
so recklessly at that time? I still don't understand it even now!"
"I don't remember
well! But it seemed like a messenger came then and told us to sortie!"
They themselves were
tearfully confessing, saying they didn't understand their own actions.
Reluctantly, they were
placed in prison confinement, and their punishment was temporarily withheld.
Voices were raised
questioning the First and Fourth Noble Allied Armies for not participating in
the battle, but there was no particular punishment.
This was because their
cavalry units had fought valiantly despite suffering many casualties.
For the next battle,
they were simply told that they would bear the brunt of the front lines.
Within the Margrave's
mind, they were already extra, disposable pieces, to be used as shields or
decoys. He had resolved to construct the battle lines without them.
※
Glorious, the First
Prince, was also dazed by the extent of the damage.
His prized Imperial
Guard Iron Cavalry had lost more than half its strength, and the Imperial Guard
Cavalry had lost a quarter.
The combat strength of
his directly commanded mobile forces had been greatly reduced.
Furthermore, Frontier
Earl (Margrave) Goth, who had been somewhat neglected in the First Prince's
faction since the previous defeat, was also lost.
His mobile force of
1,500 cavalry was also annihilated.
Although he had been
treated somewhat coldly recently, he was one of the few vassals who possessed
both ability and military power, serving as one of the pillars of the First
Prince's faction.
Therefore, he realized
the magnitude of his loss only after losing him and was struck by great
anxiety.
After thoroughly
scolding the two incompetent Earls, he finally began to seriously consider
recalling Marquis Bradley and his army, and Earl Astray and his army, who were
leading detached units.
He could not afford to
lose any more directly commanded troops.
In particular, the
Imperial Guard, his prized unit, was an indispensable force when confronting
the Third Prince later.
For the future, it was
necessary to preserve them as a fighting force.
He first decided to
reorganize his own forces, push the two incompetent Earls to the front lines,
and use them as fodder until the detached units returned and joined the battle.
In the next battle, by
chance, the armies led by those who had been branded as incompetent in both
factions would clash as the main attacking forces. This plan had been set.
Even on the fifth day,
the next day, both factions were too busy reorganizing their armies and dealing
with the wounded, so they remained holed up in their fortresses and bases and
did not launch an offensive.
And as the sun set,
once again dyeing the land red, the true dire news finally reached them.
Along with the
messenger who would lead them to death.
"Wh-what?! We
lost 90% of our entire army?!"
Overcome with rage and
despair, Glorious, the First Prince, lost his words in the middle of receiving
the report.
Marquis Bradley was
killed in action.
Lost over 70% of his
entire army in the capture of Teigun.
Suffered a monster
attack on the way back, losing 70% of his retreating soldiers.
The 3,000 men from the
detached unit, which they had dispatched believing they could easily win,
suffered a massive loss of over 90% of their original strength, with only 300
men returning.
Moreover, all the
returning soldiers were severely wounded and could not serve as a fighting
force.
But their greatest
misfortune was that even at this point, they were still unaware of the taboos
of the Demon Realm.
Having suffered many
wounded in the previous day's battle and adding new casualties, their camp was
overflowing with wounded emitting the smell of blood.
And the path leading
from the Demon Realm was wet with the blood of fleeing soldiers, extending
endlessly from deep within.
For them, a gruesome
night, called the 【Night of Bloody
Nightmare】, was about to begin.
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