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132 The Battle
of Lubish Plains
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Translator : PolterGlast
Count Parton's army
appeared before noon. The army of 2,000 spread out and formed a battle line.
Looking through the
binoculars that Yamato gave me (and I paid for), about half of the soldiers
were wearing matching armor, and the other half were wearing mismatched armor.
The left and right units, in particular, had many soldiers with mismatched
armor. The soldiers with mismatched armor must be the conscripted citizens,
while those with matching armor must be the regular soldiers.
"A message to the
upstart Footscythel!"
A single knight on a
horse came forward, seemingly to give a formal address.
I guess this is what
you call old-fashioned. They're still doing such antiquated things in this
world.
"Triange is the
birthplace of the historic Valetta clan! It is not a place for an upstart to
own!"
The knight raised his
voice.
"What's the Valetta
clan?"
"Apparently,
there was a family of fools who opposed the founder of the Oda Kingdom,
Saburo-sama, and after a painful defeat, they pledged allegiance to him."
Barth told me this
with a hint of sharp tone in his voice.
"I will now take
back the land of the prestigious Valetta clan!"
I guess they have
nothing else to be proud of but their history and prestige. Pride is something
you build yourself. No matter how great your ancestors' accomplishments were,
they are just things of the past. These people probably don't know that.
"Is the Valetta
clan that prestigious?"
"I think Marquis
Tsukmandes in the west is the head of the Valetta clan. However, there are no
records of them having any particular achievements after pledging allegiance.
Before that, they were apparently rulers of a small country, but in any case,
they are not of a great lineage."
Since they pledged
allegiance early, even without any major achievements, they were apparently
given decent territories as the Oda Kingdom grew. They're like a clan of
parasites. They may have a long history, but their bloodline is insignificant.
I was wondering how
long he would go on when the knight shouted for about five minutes and then
returned to the main army.
"Is that
all?"
"There's no need
to listen to such a formal address."
Gandarvan said that
before the founding of the Oda Kingdom, it was a custom to exchange such formal
addresses, but it's not considered important now.
"You should have
told me sooner."
"You were
listening so intently, my lord. And since it was your first time, I thought it
would be fine to let you be."
"From now on, no
formal addresses. Let's just get it over with."
"Understood."
While we were talking,
Count Parton's army moved. They moved in a fan-like formation to surround us.
"The archers and
mages, target the regular soldiers in the matching armor, especially the commanders.
You can ignore the soldiers in mismatched armor for now, but you won't be
punished if you hit them. Unleash the full power of your daily training."
The archers and mages
nodded at my command.
There are 50 archers,
but only 5 mages. Even so, our mages' attacks are powerful. And even though
she's not part of the magic unit, Anneliese is also with us. Considering her
level, her magic is probably the best in the world.
"Fire!"
At my signal, arrows
and spells were unleashed all at once. The regular soldiers were mostly in the
central unit. That's where the arrows and magic were concentrated.
"Their training
is impressive."
The arrows from the
archers accurately struck the arrogant-looking knights on horseback, reducing
their numbers by about 30. The mages, with their area-of-effect spells,
accurately targeted the densely packed regular soldiers, opening holes in their
ranks. Anneliese's attacks, in particular, dealt massive damage.
The enemy couldn't
retaliate because our archers were using long-range bows that low-level
soldiers couldn't use. The longer the range of a bow, the more force is
required to pull the string. Yamato made us bows that are too strong for
low-level soldiers to pull. Thanks to that, we can attack them one-sidedly from
outside their range. A wizard's range also increases as their level goes up.
That's where the level difference comes into play.
"Next volley,
aim."
The archers nocked
their arrows. The mages raised their staffs.
"Fire!"
Another volley of
attacks targeting the regular soldiers and knights hit the enemy hard.
In just two attacks,
over 50 cavalry (commanders) were defeated. Including the regular soldiers,
there were over 100 casualties. Count Parton's army was in a state of great
confusion.
"Jojok."
"Sir!"
"Charge."
"Understood!"
Jojok's assault unit
began to move forward. Twenty of them, including Jojok, were cavalry, and 20,
including Rosalina, were infantry.
The 20 led by Jojok
suddenly picked up their pace. Rosalina's unit followed them.
The assault unit, all
over Level 40, can run as fast as cavalry, even as infantry. I wonder if
there's any need to ride a horse. I won't say that out loud. The military has
its own formalities.
As Jojok and the
others approached the center of Count Parton's army, they were met with a
volley of magic and arrows. The enemy had more soldiers than us, but all the
arrows bounced off their armor, and the spells missed their targets.
Our horses are also
equipped with mithril armor, so arrows can be easily deflected. Yamato made
those as well. The attacks aimed at Jojok and the others don't always miss the
horses, so armor for the horses is also important, Yamato said. The horses'
armor has horns on their heads, like a unicorn, and sharp spikes everywhere.
It's a good armor that's dangerous to touch.
Furthermore, Jojok and
the others can easily slice through magic with their swords, so magic is also
useless against them.
The enemy, seeing that
their attacks had no effect, became flustered and agitated.
Many of their
frontline commanders had already been taken out by our arrows. There were no
commanders to lead the soldiers who were supposed to protect the archers and
mages. They couldn't put up a proper defense. That's when Jojok and the others
attacked. Archers and mages are weak in close combat. Our assault unit, with
only 40 people, easily overwhelmed the archers and mages.
The enemy must have
thought that Jojok and the others would flinch from the arrows and magic, so
they were caught completely off guard by their head-on charge. They had no
soldiers to protect them and no commanders to lead them. Jojok and the others
wantonly slaughtered the enemy.
"Gandarvan.
Advance."
"Yes, sir! All
units, advance!"
The center is in
chaos, but the left and right units are still intact. We'll attack those units.
You might be wondering
why I'm moving all my units so early, but we only have 280 people. Forty of
them have already charged, leaving us with 240 people. Since we don't have that
many people, it's not strange to move all our units.
The archers and mages
are also providing covering fire. They are accurately taking down the cavalry
that look like commanders.
It's a little late to
ask this, but does Count Parton really think he can win against me? He's
starting a war, after all. I don't think he's completely ignorant about me. I'm
wondering if he's trying to get me to lower my guard and have a unit appear
from somewhere else, so I'm scanning my surroundings.
"No sign of a
surprise attack."
There's nothing
suspicious.
"Count Parton
completely underestimates us, my lord. He probably planned to crush us with
brute force without any surprise attacks."
Gandarvan sounded like
he wanted to call him a fool. I think so, too.
***
The battle ended in
just about two hours. It was a battle where all I could hear were the screams
of the enemy. I feel like I didn't do anything at all.
"The number of
enemy casualties is about 500 dead. Over 500 are seriously injured. Most of
them were regular soldiers, and most of the conscripted soldiers fled."
Barth began to report
the situation.
"Our casualties
are 10 lightly injured. The rest are unharmed."
"What about Count
Parton?"
"Sir. We have
captured Count Parton and his heir. However..."
He's faltering. What
is it?
"Count Parton is
quite disoriented and not in a state to speak properly."
I can understand him
being shocked by the defeat, but disoriented? I ordered him to bring the two of
them here, regardless of their condition.
"&#@@#%&"
Count Parton was
muttering something. I have no idea what he's saying. He's also drooling from
his mouth. He seems to have lost his mind. He started the war, so this can't be
happening. You have a responsibility to end the war.
And the heir...
"Release me now!
Or I'll cut off your head!"
He's a captive, but
he's acting so high and mighty. He wants to cut off my head? The heir doesn't
seem to be in his right mind either.
"Your Excellency.
This is Vladimir's normal state."
Daigo, the ninja, told
me this while averting his gaze. I guess he's saying he's a fool who doesn't
even know his own situation. It seems Vladimir, Count Parton's heir, only
inherited his father's bad traits. How pitiful.
But is this what a
noble is? If a fool like this becomes the next Count Parton, he will be a
problem for the territory. The citizens would be miserable.
And I have to
negotiate with two people who can't even speak properly? This is too much to
ask for.
"Who is in charge
of the Parton family now? I mean, someone who can talk."
"Vladimir's
uncle, Elder Vladimirovich, has a say as an elder, but he's similar to
them."
Is the Parton family
full of scumbags?!
Elder Vladimirovich is
in Blaughini, guarding the territory. He probably doesn't know that the two of
them have been captured yet.
"For now, I'm
going back. Barth, you take half the soldiers and clean up. Gandarvan, you take
the other half and retreat."
" "Yes, sir!"
"
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