Chapter 267
Southern Front ㉑ — The Imperial Army...
Retreats
Translator : PolterGlast
The day after Takuhir and his forces defeated the
First Prince's army and information was released, there was one who learned of
the defeat of the Imperial Army's Left Wing earlier than anyone else. Sieghart,
having received an urgent report from merchants he kept in his circle, received
the news with a cool expression, then unintentionally smiled wryly and
muttered.
"I never thought they would win so perfectly. I thought
the other side would put up a slightly better fight. He really is a scary
opponent, isn't he? With this... we've reached a state where we have to make
the concessions we least wanted to choose among our predictions..."
Faced with the Demon Territory Count's overwhelming
victory far exceeding his expectations, after making several adjustments to
future operations, he immediately met with Third Prince Grat and
conveyed the war situation he had learned.
"Wh-Wh-What! I understand he lost, but you say he was
nearly annihilated? Is such a thing possible? How on earth with such meager
forces..."
"I believe I told you at the beginning. Calling Prince Glorious,
a member of the Imperial family, an idiot. I think that's probably the cause.
Well, there are likely other reasons too..."
Saying so, Sieghart smiled fearlessly. In contrast,
Third Prince Grat's expression was pale.
"So, what do we do? Do we retreat just like this,
without a fight?"
"Hmm, I think just retreating would only make the opponent underestimate us. It
wouldn't be too late after showing them that we have plenty of reserve power...
no, I think that has become necessary now. Also, regarding post-war
negotiations, as I told you beforehand, I think we need to consider concessions
that we least wanted to choose. Well, there might still be room for negotiation
depending on our moves from here on."
"Don't put on airs. So, what will we do?"
"Let's return this Southern Gate Fort for the
time being. Returning what we borrowed in better condition than it was
originally is courtesy. And Your Highness will lead 20,000 cavalry and advance
to near the enemy's main camp, the city of Burg."
"Fight a battle there and show our power?"
"No, no. According to information, King Kyle
himself has come leading an army over there. We're just going to say hello.
Also, let's have Uncle, Count Astray, lead 7,000 men and deploy at the Southern
Gate Fortress. And we'll bring the 5,000 former Principality
of Sura soldiers currently remaining there
to the front lines."
Grat could not
quite grasp the intentions of Sieghart, who laughed as he said this.
Two days later, the army of the Third Imperial Prince, which
had suppressed the Southern Gate Fort and controlled the surrounding
area, utilized its mobility to advance north in great numbers, pushing close to
the city of Burg.
And in the Kyle Kingdom camp, parallel to the report
that the enemy army had suddenly started moving, a report of the Demon
Territory Count's great victory on the Right Wing of the Southern Front was
brought in.
"Those Imperial Army bastards seem unaware of their own
Left Wing's massive defeat. We should take this opportunity to strike at once;
that is my thought. Your Majesty! Please give the order to march. And if you
please, grant us the honor of the vanguard."
One of the Counts participating as reinforcements boasted so
and stepped forward before the King.
"Your Majesty, wait! Although inferior in number to our
30,000, the enemy army consists entirely of veteran cavalry units. I believe we
should thicken our defensive formation and move primarily on defense
here."
"Wh-Wh-What! Even though we are superior in numbers, you
say we cannot match the enemy. Is that what you are saying, Lord Gouras?! Those words before even
fighting... they sound cowardly, unworthy of the honorable Knight Commander of
the Royal Capital."
"Battle isn't just about numbers. The morale and training
level of the soldiers, and organization too. Our cavalry, even including my
Knights, number only about 14,000 mounts. Moreover, it is a gathering of
various nobles without training in unified movement. Therefore, it is natural
that we cannot exert power commensurate with our numbers. I am not saying this
looking down on the Count."
『Fools
who know nothing of war! You underestimate the enemy army too much. Most
likely, you are impatient because with the Demon Territory Count's
victory, most opportunities to achieve military exploits on this Southern Front
have been lost... but I can't have you dragging us down at this late stage!』
Knight Commander Gouras somehow suppressed these true
feelings.
"Everyone, I have certainly received your feelings for
the Kingdom and your spirit to be a pillar supporting the Kingdom. First, we
shall adopt a formation that prioritizes defense as per Gouras's
instruction, but if there is an opportunity, we shall protrude and go on the
offensive. At that time, I expect your skills."
"Yes, sir!"
With King Kyle's words, the war council somehow came
to an agreement, and the Kingdom Army deployed 30,000 troops with the city of Burg
at their back, arranging a defensive formation.
Sieghart, who had
advanced close to Burg and was leisurely watching the Kyle Kingdom
Army deploy its formation, made a new suggestion to the Third Prince.
"It seems preparations for our greeting are complete.
Fortunately, the 5,000 former Principality of Sura soldiers have also
arrived, so it is necessary to give them an opportunity to fulfill the promise
made earlier. I will lead this unit and protrude. After that, depending on the
enemy army's movements, please have Your Highness's cavalry participate in the
battle line. In the unlikely event the Royal Capital Knights come out, I
expect Your Highness's command."
Conveying this, Sieghart went to the front lines with
5,000 infantry and began provoking the enemy army. It was something
astonishing.
"Wahahaha! What an amusing provocation, isn't it? Is
that the Imperial style?"
A group of Imperial Army infantry that had advanced to the
midpoint where both camps faced each other began provoking with clownish
gestures. Some nonchalantly bared their upper bodies and danced, while others
shook their buttocks toward the Kingdom Army and frolicked. To King Kyle
who laughed heartily, the Knight Commander responded with a sour look as if he
had chewed a bitter bug.
"Most likely, they are not Imperial soldiers. Dark
skin... I suspect they are soldiers of the Principality of Sura we hear
rumors about."
Saying so, the Knight Commander muttered in his heart. 『Doing
something unnecessary. At this rate, they will be provoked to explode.』
"I-I-In front of His Majesty! What behavior. I can endure no
longer! We, the 5,000 volunteers who seek the honor of the vanguard, wish to go
forth and teach those savages some manners. We beg of you, grant us permission
to sortie!"
When King Kyle glanced sideways at the Knight
Commander, the Knight Commander also nodded with a reluctant expression. Having
received permission from the King, they advanced their army in high spirits and
attacked the protruding enemy unit.
"Gouras, with this their honor is saved. Now
support them from behind so the whole army doesn't collapse."
Knight Commander Gouras, told so, also ordered sortie
preparations to the ten thousand mounts under his command and waited in assault
formation. In the meantime, the battlefield had taken on a surprising
appearance.
It was a battle where nearly equal numbers clashed, but the
Kingdom Army was played with and tossed about as they pleased, like a mouse
being tormented by a cat. While moderating attacks appropriately so their
battle line wouldn't collapse, as if demonstrating a textbook of military
strategy, Sieghart maneuvered his forces, skillfully changing formations
while parrying the Kingdom Army's offensive and adding tough counterattacks.
"It's like he's playing."
Two men saw this and spoke simultaneously. And both began to
take similar responses.
"The friendly battle line will collapse soon and
crumble at once. Before that, charge and support the ally's retreat."
"A decent enemy army should come out soon. Cavalry,
prepare to sortie! We will strike their reinforcements too."
The former was words from Knight Commander Gouras,
the latter from the Third Prince.
Units of 10,000 mounts each advanced, resulting in a battle
between cavalry yielding not an inch to each other. The contest went from even
to the Imperial Army becoming slightly superior, and the tilted scales were
gradually about to make a large difference.
"Kuh! Even if ability, training, and morale are equal,
Imperial soldiers who fought through fierce battles with the Principality are superior in experience..."
In terms of individual ability, the Royal Capital Knights
First Army is the most elite in the Kingdom. However, lacking combat experience
against opponents of equal or greater strength, they fall short of Imperial
soldiers in actual combat. Due to the difference in command ability of
mid-level commanders, Knight Commander Gouras was unable to command as
he wished.
Gouras had
dispatched many excellent mid-level commanders who should carry the future to
the Frontier Knights and Demon Territory Knights to let them gain
experience. And currently, he had not yet been able to nurture human resources
sufficient to fill the holes they left.
It was
precisely because he was a man of Gouras's
caliber that he understood this slight margin, strove to compensate for it, and
directed the battle accordingly; had it been an ordinary commander, the balance
would likely have collapsed in an instant.
And while Knight Commander Gouras struggled unknown
to others, desperately supporting the front line, the Imperial Army suddenly
retreated. With momentum as if a balloon had burst.
By that
point, the Imperial Army infantry who had been
fighting at the start had long since withdrawn their forces and retreated somewhere. Naturally, the Kingdom Army opposing them failed to
take any sensible action, such as giving chase.
"Tch! Was this victory
conceded to us? Or did they never intend to fight seriously in the first place?
Does this mean we were simply made to painfully realize... that we are still no
match for them?"
Amidst the Kingdom Army boiling with victory after repelling
the Imperial Army, only Knight Commander Gouras mocked himself with a
pale face.
After that, it became an unexpected pursuit battle, but the
Imperial Army solemnly retreated while maintaining an ironclad defense by
having 10,000 cavalry take turns acting as rear guard.
As a result, when the Kyle Kingdom Army advanced its
camp to around the Southern Gate Fort, they succeeded in recapturing the
fort abandoned by the Imperial Army. In this case, the word recapture might be
misleading. They merely entered the empty Southern Gate Fort.
"What is this! This inventory list!"
Having
entered the fort with victory essentially conceded to him, Knight Commander Gouras instinctively came close to
slamming down the inventory list left behind by Imperial
Army (Sieghart), but he barely managed to restrain himself.
"Do they mean to return everything they took from us
untouched? What on earth are they thinking! And what is this 'Rent'? There is a
limit to playing around!"
Although he spat out those words, Gouras could not
understand the Imperial Army's intentions at all. Following the content written
as rent, a reasonable amount of grain was piled up in the food warehouse.
Actually, those were part of the food originally stockpiled
in the Southern Gate Fortress that Sieghart had secretly
requisitioned.
"Those bastards, do they mean to say they can easily
borrow this fort again whenever necessary..."
Gouras was
confused by this abnormal response from the Imperial Army and chewed on their
terrifying nature anew. Furthermore, the next day, the Kyle Kingdom
Army, which advanced to the front of the Southern Gate Fortress still in
enemy hands, was astonished again.
"F-Forty thousand you say! Is such a thing...
possible?"
Every general of the Kyle Kingdom Army raised a voice
of surprise, stopped pursuit, and the march halted as if they were dispirited.
Until now, they thought the Kingdom Army was superior in
number to the Imperial Army due to the destruction of the enemy Left Wing camp,
but the forces the Imperial Army deployed in front of the fortress exceeded
37,000 in total.
"If they can deploy this much military strength in
front of the fortress, the total remaining military strength of the Imperial
Army is thought to easily exceed 40,000. With these numbers, let alone
capturing the fortress, we have no chance of winning!"
Even those who accompanied the King and were hot-blooded
finally had their wills broken at this point and became dispirited. To capture
a base defended by 40,000, it is usually said that three times that number,
indeed an army of over 100,000 is necessary. Because even they had that degree
of common sense.
It was absolutely impossible for the current Kyle Kingdom
to organize an army of such numbers. Moreover, in the process of the pursuit
battle so far, they understood the strength of the Imperial Army firsthand.
"Hahaha, the Kingdom Army fellows seem to have been
bewitched by a fox again. Their pursuit has stopped, and they are
flustered."
The Third Prince finally understood all of Sieghart's
intentions at this point. It was to pour cold water on the victory-celebrating
Kingdom Army and withdraw while displaying the Imperial Army's superiority.
Actually, the Third Prince's forces totaled only 32,000. In
this case, at Sieghart's suggestion, they absorbed a little over 5,000
who managed to retreat safely from the defeat in the Left Wing Army, and merely
deployed the army by emptying the inside of the fortress against common sense.
There was no way for anyone in the Kyle Kingdom camp
to know that.
And at this point, a military envoy from the Imperial Army
visited the Kingdom Army's encampment for the first time, and thereafter, they
came and went frequently.
As a result, later, a dialogue between King Kyle and
the future Emperor of the Griffonia Empire, Grat, was realized.
There, both parties discussed the affairs of their
respective nations, as well as the terms of settlement for this campaign.
After many
twists and turns, both parties reached an agreement, and a ceasefire treaty was
concluded on the spot. Few knew what transpired during this meeting; its
contents were treated as a temporary classified matter and were never disclosed within the Kyle Kingdom.
With this,
once both sides had confirmed a certain
degree of results, the Imperial Army handed over the fortress without compensation and
returned to Imperial territory
Thus, the battle on the Southern Front concluded. Just as Sieghart predicted, tactically both Takuhir and the Third Prince won, and strategically the Third Prince's camp achieved the purpose of winning against the First Prince.
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