Chapter 259
Southern Front ⑬ - Battle for Ishtar
(The Imperial Army's Trap)
Translator : PolterGlast
The barrier established at the eastern foot of Mount Teigoon,
a key point connecting Aegis and Ishtar, was one of the important
bases for the Demon Territory Count's domain (former Hiyorimi
territory) to repel the invasion of monsters and foreign enemies from the Demon
Territory.
Here, an Imperial Army force of approximately 10,000
infantry advanced from the eastern mountainous area and attacked suddenly.
"All forces! Although we are few, this barrier was
built by the Demon Territory Count using the utmost of his
resourcefulness. It won't budge against an enemy army of a mere 10,000! Show
them the valor of the Gorman Army now!"
Despite encouraging his allies with these words, Count
Gorman was in a predicament.
Originally, this facility was structured to prioritize
defense against the Demon Territory side, so many of the countless attached
catapults and ballistas were facing the Demon Territory.
Furthermore, the Imperial Army infantry were each equipped
with large shields and additionally assembled bamboo cut from bamboo groves to
block the arrows fired by the Count Gorman Army's archers. Therefore,
even volley fire from the latest Estoll Bows newly deployed to them failed
to inflict severe damage, and Imperial soldiers were attaching themselves right
under the barrier.
Fortunately, the enemy side also lacked siege weapons and
had diverted their Mages to the conquest of Aegis, so they lacked
a decisive factor for capturing the barrier.
Now, the greatest offense and defense had shifted to the
battle over the massive gate installed at the bottom of the barrier. Sturdy iron
barricades had been erected on both sides of this gate—which connected the
interior and exterior—blocking the passage leading up to it. The gate itself,
reinforced with thick iron plating, was set back in a recessed position within
the barrier and remained tightly shut.
Some of the Gorman Army soldiers were deployed inside
that iron fence, fighting Imperial soldiers attempting to invade.
"Excellency, if we are attacked relentlessly by an army
of this number, we are outnumbered and cannot hold out for long. Moreover, in a
situation where we receive enemies inside and outside..."
"Indeed..."
Yes, what troubled them most was the Imperial Army's
detached force, the traitors led by Viscount Kyrias, who suddenly
attacked from the Demon Territory side in response to the offensive from inside
the barrier.
Since they were accustomed to the Demon Territory and
advanced carefully in small platoons through the bamboo groves, their discovery
was delayed in the first place. And so, taking advantage of the moment the
defenders were occupied with the attack from the inside, the enemy managed to gain a foothold on the outside as
well.
"We will hold out and buy time. This is the mission
given by the Supreme Commander! Somehow, hold your ground here for three
days!"
They had already raised the balloon announcing the start of battles. The Demon Territory Count would move to resolve
the situation. And Count Solis is also in Ishtar.
Originally they disliked each other, so there is no personal
friendship, but he is a man worthy of trust regarding work on the battlefield.
He won't betray that expectation.
Just as Count Gorman was thinking this, a report came
up from a lookout soldier.
"I can see dust raised by hooves from the direction of Ishtar!
At the lead, I can see Count Solis's flag! Re-Reinforcements!"
The Count Gorman Army, fighting an isolated battle,
raised voices of joy.
At the reinforcements of the Count Solis Army, the Count
Gorman Army regained morale. However, there was another person raising a
voice of joy seeing this situation.
"Ho ho ho, they deliberately came out of their lair to
be killed! Order the Iron Cavalry waiting in the rear to circle further behind
them and hunt down every last one of the idiots engrossed in the battle before
their eyes!"
Yes, the Imperial Army's strategy was to dare to attack the
barrier with only infantry and lure out reinforcements from Ishtar.
Normally, cavalry is overwhelmingly superior to infantry,
and if they can take a pincer attack posture, the Kingdom Army cavalry would
charge regardless of numerical disadvantage. Duke Harry had read it that
way.
Striking Kingdom soldiers barricaded in barriers or
fortresses takes immense effort and involves corresponding sacrifices, but in a
field battle, one can encircle and annihilate them, catching them all in one
net. That was exactly Harry's aim.
The charge of the 7,000 Iron Cavalry, forged based on the
First Prince's Imperial Guard Army in anticipation of this day, would easily
overrun and trample the likes of the Kyle Kingdom Army cavalry.
Seeing off the Iron Cavalry rushing out one after another,
he floated a smile of satisfaction, convinced of victory.
Imperial Army infantry also entered the field of vision of
those galloping their beloved horses toward the battlefield, the barrier, with Count
Solis at the head.
"From here on, shift to the pre-instructed action!
Never slacken the horses' pace! Each commander, be careful not to miss the
flags. Standard-bearer, behind me!"
Shouting thus, the Kyle Kingdom Army cavalry unit
formed an arrowhead formation while galloping, with Count Solis and his
direct escort unit at the head.
"Raise the yellow flag! Prepare to fire while
maintaining charge posture. Start beating the gong repeatedly!"
The Kyle Kingdom Army appeared to be charging into
the Imperial Army infantry unit deployed in front of the barrier in assault
formation. The Imperial soldiers attacking the barrier held their breath at the
sound of hooves approaching from behind; it was at that very moment.
"Scatter left and right! Fire the first volley while
running parallel in front of the enemy! Gong to three strikes!"
Just under 200 m before the Imperial Army's eyes, the Kyle
Kingdom Army cavalry unit turned their horses' heads left and right, and
while passing in front of the Imperial Army infantry unit that had formed ranks
to intercept them, they unleashed a volley of fire from their Estoll Bows while mounted on the
horseback.
"E-Enemy arrows? ...Gwah!" "F-From horseback?"
"They're still nearly 200 m away!"
The 'skilled cavalry' Alexis mentioned before
departure actually referred to those trained in this mounted archery.
In the Demon Territory Count Solis Army, Count
Solis Army, Count Gorman Army, and Viscount Cornell Army, it
had already become common sense for all soldiers to train to work as cavalry,
and a common understanding had formed that those capable of this mounted
archery were indeed the 'skilled ones'.
While deploying left and right, they switched to another
crossbow equipped on the horse gear, fired a second volley, turned around at
once, and galloped toward Ishtar maintaining speed.
"A splendid hit-and-run tactic. It is a disciplined
tactic not inferior to our Gorman Army."
It was a disciplined and splendid movement, enough for Count
Gorman, watching from atop the barrier wall, to leak a voice of admiration.
Of course, this is the result of many having experienced the Commander's fierce
training dispatched to the Frontier Knights branch since they were new
recruits...
Furthermore, coordinating with the sound of the gong beaten
from horseback, it cannot be denied that Wind
Mages carried the arrows on
a tailwind and guided them to the enemy formation. In this attack, the Imperial
soldiers, who had formed a dense formation in preparation for a cavalry charge,
suffered nearly 1,000 casualties. And in that confusion, the battle lines were
greatly disordered.
"Now! Volley fire toward the enemy formation! Begin
three strikes!"
Seeing the opportunity, at Count Gorman's
instruction, 1,000 arrows rained down from the barrier side as well on the
Imperial soldiers who were distracted by the movements of the cavalry unit in
front of them.
"Press the attack! Continuous fire, second volley,
third volley!"
Even though Imperial soldiers were equipped with large
shields to block arrows, if pincer-attacked by arrows from front and rear,
there is no way to defend. Moreover, the Count Gorman Army, using the
magic of their own Wind Mages, ignored the enemies in front
and rained arrows aiming at the Imperial Army's front ranks facing the cavalry.
Due to the attack from the barrier, the Imperial Army
suffered over 1,000 more casualties and fell into great chaos.
"That is... wh-what is that?"
Count Gorman,
overlooking the entire battlefield from atop the highest barrier wall, was the
first to notice the abnormality. It was a dust cloud raised by a massive number
of hooves approaching them from diagonally right ahead of the direction Count
Solis was trying to proceed.
"Sound the alarm bell! Make it reach them, hurry!"
At Count Gorman's instruction, a bell with a
different code than usual was rung. The sound of the bell was amplified by the
Sound Mage under Count Gorman's command and reached the galloping
Count Solis. Count Solis, galloping his horse, was also able to
quickly notice the billowing dust approaching from the front thanks to the
alarm bell released by Count Gorman.
"I see, so this is also as the Commander predicted. For
Chrisia's husband... I have to admit his caliber."
Muttering this on his galloping horse, Count Solis
floated a fearless smile on his lips and recalled what he was told by being
stopped by Alexis before departure.
『Count,
I cannot help but find the Imperial Army's actions seem
suspicious. If they wanted to, they would have
launched a night attack yesterday, no, last night if it were me. And combining
with the meaning of the Supreme Commander's balloon communication... this
attack might be a decoy to lure us out.』
『W-What!』
'If it's a decoy, they will likely place an ambush and plot
to annihilate us, who came out of Ishtar, all at once. Therefore,
utilize mobility for the cavalry attack, hit and run; please see how it goes
with that first. Just that will be sufficient support for Count Gorman.
And when the ambush appears...'
"Tch! The Imperial Army's elite, Iron Cavalry, huh...
If we do this head-on, it won't be a contest. Even so, this number—how on earth
did they cross the mountainous area?"
Count Solis,
muttering thus, would have let the cavalry unit charge into the enemy infantry
unit in the first strike if he hadn't heard Alexis's concerns in
advance. Because that is the most effective tactic to slaughter the enemy.
And even noticing this dust cloud, he would have been
suspicious but delayed in response. If that happened, it would be too late when
he realized. He would have been surrounded by Iron Cavalry and surely
annihilated.
"Listen up! While maintaining speed, pretend to charge
into the front of the Iron Cavalry, then sharp turn and slip past their side! The
leading group is key! Guide the allies, follow me!"
Declaring so, the Kyle Kingdom Army cavalry unit,
which had deployed left and right, merged again and took an arrowhead
formation. Matching that, the Griffonia Empire Army also shifted from an
arrowhead formation to a single solid spear—several times thicker, deeper, and
longer than the Kyle Kingdom Army—into a formation colliding head-on.
The arrow and the spear were about to clash head-on right now.
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