Chapter 78
Southern Gate Defense Battle ⑩
(Day 6 of War)
The Earth is Stained with Blood Once More
Translator : PolterGlast
From the darkness of
the night, messengers from the underworld visited the Gryphonia Imperial Army's
camp.
"Aaaah! Help
me!"
"Enemy attack!
We're surrounded!"
"There's
something in the darkness! Light more bonfires!"
"What are you
doing!? What happened to the lookouts?!"
Confused voices echoed
to the First Prince's tent.
"What's going
on?! Where are the lookouts?! Report quickly!"
The First Prince
roared at his attendants, still unaware of the situation.
Yes, the Imperial
Army's lookouts, hidden in the shadows of the night and concealed in various
places, had vanished.
By the monsters that
also lurked in the shadows of the night.
"The camp
accommodating the wounded is under attack by monsters!
The number of monsters
is unknown! No, it's countless! Other camps are also under attack and in chaos!
Give us immediate orders!"
His attendant, who had
been sent to scout the enemy's earthworks, tumbled frantically into the tent,
screaming.
Until his arrival with
an accurate report of the situation, the First Prince had received no proper
situation reports, and precious time for issuing orders had been lost.
"To attack our
camp... These monsters are ignorant of their place! Surround them and shoot
each one to death!"
Even at this point,
his understanding was insufficient.
Because they
themselves were currently surrounded and being engulfed.
"Imperial Guard,
protect my camp! Form a circular formation centered here. We don't know which
direction they're coming from. Where there's an attack, overwhelm them with
numbers!"
However, the First
Prince's orders did not easily reach the entire army.
They were confused and
terrified by their first encounter with monsters, and having suffered a sudden
surprise attack, they were still unable to act in an organized manner.
※
Wolf-like monsters
attacked in packs. The soldiers could not keep up with their coordinated
movements.
Among them, a
particularly large wolf-like monster easily ripped off the head of a charging
warhorse with a single blow.
When a gigantic
bear-like monster swept its four large paws, several soldiers were instantly
sent flying into the air along with a nearby tent pole, dying as they soared.
Swords and spears were
useless against the ox-sized, armored, tough-skinned boar-like monsters.
When the monsters
charged, everything in their path was swept away, and many soldiers were sent
flying.
Giant mantis-shaped
monsters camouflaged themselves in their surroundings and cut down the necks of
those who carelessly approached.
The moment a soldier
blocked one scythe with his sword, his neck was cut off by the other scythe.
There was a soldier
who stood frozen, unable to move, after being struck by something emitted by a
gigantic, three-headed, dog-like monster.
Unable to move, he
lost his life to other monsters.
Some were suddenly
swallowed by large holes that opened in the ground, disappearing from sight and
never returning to the surface.
Others continued to
fall to unknown attacks, such as flames, gusts of wind, and lightning strikes
that suddenly attacked from the darkness.
They were attacked by
dozens of types of monsters they had never seen before, becoming their prey
without knowing effective attack or defense methods.
The horses, too, were
attacked by monsters, fleeing wildly and frantically.
Trampling even the
soldiers who were supposed to protect them.
The soldiers of the
Gryphonia Imperial Army trembled with terror at the thought of when they might
be attacked, and at the screams of their comrades currently under attack by
monsters. Moreover, they continued to struggle against monsters they were
fighting for the first time.
And the darkness of
the night further fueled their fear, severely depleting them both physically
and mentally.
Thus, the "Night
of Bloody Nightmare," which seemed as if it would last forever, dawned
amidst their struggles.
Staining the land with
the blood of many officers and soldiers of the Gryphonia Empire.
When day broke and the
surroundings became visible, the First Prince almost fainted at the extent of
the damage.
The wounded soldiers
who had been receiving treatment in the tents were annihilated, their figures
gone. Not a single body remained.
One of the Earls who
had set up camp on the Demon Realm side had also disappeared. Along with the
army led by the Earl...
The Imperial Guard,
led by the First Prince, fought valiantly to protect their lord, and though
wounded, they somehow maintained their command structure. However, it was also
true that they had suffered considerable damage.
30% of the Iron
Cavalry guarding the perimeter were lost.
The cavalry were
intact, but they had lost half their horses.
The infantry and
archers had lost 20% of their numbers, and arrows were scarce.
The remaining forces
of Margrave Goth, the infantry and archers, were also intact, but about 20%
were incapacitated.
The only army that was
almost unscathed was the one led by an Earl who had set up camp in the
outermost eastern position, where there were no wounded soldiers.
In a single night, the
First Prince's camp had lost an astonishing 4,000 soldiers.
And, although the
exact number was unknown, the corpses of monsters, probably well over 500, lay
scattered everywhere.
The First Prince,
speechless at the greater-than-expected devastation, gazed blankly at the
rising sun.
※
Further tragedy struck
the Gryphonia Imperial Army, which was battered and exhausted, having fought
all night without sleep.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's the Kyle
Kingdom army!"
A scream, almost a
shriek, echoed through his camp.
Having fought
desperately all night and finally freed from the monster attack, the Imperial
Army had no strength left to fight.
The attacking Kyle
Kingdom army, although it had left behind a defending force to guard the
earthworks against monsters, was numerically superior to the current Gryphonia
Imperial Army.
Upon reconnaissance in
force at dawn, Margrave Hastburg learned of the Gryphonia Imperial Army's
plight and made a decision.
As if to deliver the
final blow, he attacked with an army of over 10,000.
"Regrettable! No
more... it's over!"
The First Prince had
already accepted his fate.
With such a
disgraceful performance, there would be no future for him even if he returned
to his country.
"You speak words
of weakness."
"We will hold
back the enemy. Retreat quickly!"
The remnants of Goth
Margrave's army, who had offered to be the rearguard, forcibly put the stunned
First Prince on a horse and sent him off.
And as the rearguard,
they fought with tragic resolve.
They fought valiantly,
but many were exhausted and wounded after fighting all night. As a result, they
were soon wiped out.
"The First
Prince's main camp is beyond that hill! Kill him and make a name for
yourselves!"
Margrave Hastburg's
battle cry rang out across the entire army.
As the entire Kyle
Kingdom army, having attacked, pursued the routing enemy, a unit of fewer than
2,000 Imperial soldiers, newly arrived, attacked from the left flank.
"We will halt the
pursuit and reorganize our ranks for now."
"Halt
advance!"
At Commander Weiss's
suggestion, the Solis Baron's army immediately began to reorganize from their
disorderly pursuit.
Those commanding other
units also followed suit.
"Weiss, what do
we do about this?"
"In the final
phase of a victory, if we suffer a painful counterattack from 2,000 desperate
soldiers, the damage will be immense.
Even so, the commander
leading that army attacks at such an inconvenient time and from an inconvenient
position.
I believe the best
strategy now is to crush that army and eliminate future worries."
This army was led by
Earl Astray, who had been ravaging Viscount Kilias's territory.
They were in the
process of turning back to rejoin the main force, following the First Prince's
orders.
The enemy army,
pursuing their retreating allies, attacked from the rear, broke through the
disorganized enemy, and then, before anyone realized it, solidified the
rearguard of their retreating allies.
His forces, which had
not been attacked by monsters, fought valiantly despite being outnumbered.
Although they suffered some casualties, they protected the routing First Prince
and his army, covering their retreat.
And just as they
seemed to be aligning with the First Prince's retreating army, they suddenly
reversed course all at once.
They struck hard at
the vanguard of the pursuing army, then reversed again and began to retreat.
Even after that, they
continued to reverse and launch offensives whenever they saw an opportunity during
their retreat, so the Kyle Kingdom army could not carelessly pursue them.
Even though victory
was already certain for their allies, no officer or soldier wanted to fight
desperately and draw the short straw.
They thought that
dying in pursuit of a routing enemy was not worth it.
"I see, so they
can toy with a 10,000-strong enemy with only 2,000 troops. As Weiss says, they
are dangerous."
"Yes, we were
completely outmaneuvered at the very end this time. But... we won't let them
escape next time!"
By the time such a
conversation took place between the two of them, this detached unit had also
withdrawn to a safe area, while covering the main force.
Glorious, the First
Prince of the Gryphonia Empire, suffered a crushing defeat and retreated,
losing approximately 70% of his 28,000 dispatched soldiers, a total of 19,000
men.
In the process of
retreat, Goth Margrave's army, which fought valiantly as the rearguard, was
annihilated. In this war, Marquis Bradley, Goth Margrave, and another Earl all
suffered tragic endings, losing their entire dispatched forces and even their
lords.
Thus, the defensive
battle later known as the 【Southern Gate Bloody Battle】 came to a close.
Although the enemy's
invasion was successfully thwarted, and they were aided by monster attacks,
inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, the Kyle Kingdom also lost a large
number of officers and soldiers in this battle.
It was truly a battle
worthy of being called a bloody battle.
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