Chapter 280
Expedition ④ — The Fairy's Triumphal
Return
Translator : PolterGlast
Having won the decisive battle on the outskirts of Fairy
and joined forces with the King's Army, we passed through the gates of the
Royal Capital Fairy together with the First Army of the Royal Guard
Division and were welcomed by a storm of cheers from the people of the Royal
Capital.
Although the Royal Capital had been occupied for a while,
the popularity of the Fearalt King was tremendous.
"Long live the Fearalt King!" "Long
live His Majesty Krieger!" "Long live the sworn friend of Fearalt,
the Demon Territory Count!" "Long live the Liberator Demon
Territory Count, long live the Demon Territory Count Army!"
"Gratitude to the Annihilation Magic Corps, the Demon Territory Count
Army!"
Hmm? Among the cheering crowd, there are people shouting
strange things...
Looking closely, those shouting praises for us uniformly...
have an appearance clearly different from the residents of the Royal Capital.
Men with faces looking tough at a glance, roughnecks with dirty attire, people
with somewhat sinister looks; they were all shouting praises for us, raising
exceptionally loud cheers.
"Raphael! You did this,
didn't you?"
I glared at Raphael, who was smiling wryly. Those are
probably Zahark's subordinates. Then... isn't this an obvious setup!
"Well, in this decisive battle, Lord Takuhir's
military exploits are immeasurable. For the Kingdom and for this country.
Therefore, it is necessary to advertise it as a fact to the people and
establish it. Thinking so, I consulted with Sir Raphael and took the liberty of acting."
"Commander, you did? Are you saying I should become a
raccoon toward this country too? Just as we are about to enter the den of
raccoons who completely deceived us..."
Yes, we had fallen completely for the strategy of the Fearalt
King and Count Flame.
The betrayal of the Second Army of the Royal Guard Division;
this itself was a trap set by the Fearalt King. To be precise, the
Division Commander of the Second Army, who was of high noble birth, and some
upper echelons in similar positions, genuinely betrayed and sided with the
rebel army, but the commanders of the actual combat units all followed the Fearalt
King's strategy, daringly feigned betrayal and joined the rebel army.
They stopped their betrayal at the most effective timing in
the final phase and returned to the fold. As a result, the rebel army collapsed
at once. Producing over 10,000 surrenders.
"Indeed, Count Flame's acting of regret when he
visited Teigoon was extremely realistic. It means the rebel army,
including us, was outwitted. Therefore, this much is only natural."
"Then Commander, in compensation for that, we should be
bold toward them and claim necessary expenses without hesitation—is that what
you mean?"
"Yes, in that sense, I believe we need to firmly
demonstrate our value, terror, and achievements in our own way. Not only to the
leadership of this country but also to the people."
Saying so, the Commander laughed. But only his eyes were not
laughing at all. Rather, they had a menacing look.
He is not merely a professional soldier. In the previous
history, he was said to be a genius in both politics and warfare, supporting
the Third Prince and playing an active role in the court struggles within the
Empire...
"I'm relying on you. From
here on out as well."
Saying so, I desperately patched up my expression to gloss
over my embarrassment and responded to the cheers.
We hurriedly entered the high-class inn in Fairy
rented by the King's order. Of course, the inn alone couldn't accommodate
everyone, so the personnel who couldn't be accommodated were assigned to the Royal
Guard Division's barracks.
Tomorrow morning, after an audience to receive words of
thanks from the King at the Royal Palace, we plan to rush to Salaam by
ship, pass through the border, and return triumphantly to Kylar.
I wanted to go home quickly, but told by Count Flame
that it was a procedure a country must follow, I compromised on the condition
of a one-day stay and receiving a lump sum to distribute to soldiers as soon as
we entered the city for the time being.
"Listen well, take rest and meals in shifts.
Furthermore, those who wish are permitted free action in Fairy during
rest. Since we have received a lump sum from Lord Takuhir, use it
for meals and shopping during free action. I entrust the lump sum for each unit
to you representatives, so distribute it to all soldiers without
omission."
The Commander gathered mid-level commanders, centurions of each
unit, and was allocating duty, standby, and free action. Since my close
associates, Mages, and I basically act together, we use meals prepared
at the inn, but since others have shifts and varying times, such measures are
taken.
And after dinner, we heard the expected report.
"Lord Takuhir, um, he has come again... what
should we do?"
The one reporting was Raphael with a pale face.
Come to think of it, on the final night of the day he
visited here as a special envoy last time, he was made to sit next to the King
and given the honor and great task of accompanying him in drinking.
『Someone
like me sitting next to him, I was so awestruck I had absolutely no leeway to
taste the precious sake, or even get drunk. Seriously, please spare me.』
I recall... he was whining something like that.
"This time he wants to talk to the Commander too, so
the Commander and I will handle him. Please relay the message."
"Yes, the Commander is already standing in front of the
lounge with Count Flame as guards."
I see, the Commander moves fast.
Wait, Raphael, you have an obviously relieved face!
Since it's a rare occasion, maybe I should invite Raphael, who loves
alcohol, to the drinking party after the talk is over? I thought so for a
moment, but he, whose flag had already been raised, would be properly collected
the next day.
After that, I hurriedly headed to the lounge established in
this high-class inn.
And then...
"Oh, my friend! I have come to exchange cups of sake as
promised."
No, we made no such promise. Well, it was written in the
letter His Majesty sent, though...
"Your Majesty."
Count Flame uttered a short word as if admonishing
King Fearalt.
"Hmm... that was so. First, I must apologize to King Kyle,
the Demon Territory Count, and the nobles, soldiers, and people of your
country. I sincerely apologize that the reckless ones of our country caused
great trouble to your country."
Saying so, the King kept his head bowed for several seconds.
"Next, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Demon
Territory Count and Baron Weiss. Thanks to you, the situation was
reversed at once, and we were able to suppress this rebellion with minimum
sacrifices."
He bowed his head again for a long time, and an
indescribable awkward silence flowed among us. Even though incognito, it is
common sense impossible for a King of a country to bow his head to a subject of
another country of equal rank.
"Your Majesty, you previously said that what happens
here is 'bureiko' (setting aside status), right? Since you have already
shown proper courtesy, let's make it without formalities from here on. Right,
Commander?"
"Taking advantage of the word 'bureiko,' as a warrior, allow me to speak frankly. I was impressed
by your figure bowing your head frankly to subjects and subordinates. With the
exception of only one person, you are the first person I have met with such a
heart."
"Hahaha, and that sole exception is your current lord,
is it?"
"I also think it is refreshing as a warrior, but after
being crowned, it is somewhat of a headache..."
At Count Flame's last remark, the three of us laughed
from the bottom of our hearts.
And we began to exchange cups of sake.
"By the way, Demon Territory Count, what was that tactic I've never seen before? I
was surprised twice on the battlefield."
"Ah, that and that, right?"
What King Fearalt pointed out were two things. The
first that was the remote mobile tactic by the cavalry commanded by the
Commander.
During the battle with the rebel army, the Commander charged
the enemy center in a column formation of 20 lines wide, deployed left and
right just 300 m short, which is outside the range of the enemy's magic attack,
and shifted into line formations of 10 lines deep on left and right
respectively in the blink of an eye. Then, without giving a moment to breathe,
the first volley from horseback, followed by a second volley after switching to
crossbows.
These tactics were shooting techniques that only the Demon
Territory Knights, Frontier Knights, and the Royal Capital
Knights Third Army—which had incorporated crossbows into cavalry tactics
early on following Corps Commander Schultz's will—could do.
Arrows supported by Wind Mages placed in various
places flew over 300 m, and a total of 8,000 long-range high-power arrows
assaulted the center of the rebel army.
Having their face crushed by this powerful and one-sided
attack and being trampled one-sidedly, the Central Army and Right Wing Army
exploded in anger and protruded to close the range for their magic attack at
once.
And as if predicting that, the Commander retreated while
maintaining distance in line formation, luring the enemy army out.
Such a tactic, seen from the King's Army positioned on the
opposite side across the enemy army, must have seemed like magic and been
incredibly mysterious.
After all, just when they thought a single spear had
descended, it spread sideways to become a lid, and after that, the entire lid
became like a suction cup, and as if sucked in, the enemy army was lured out
and protruded...
And the second that.
As a preliminary stage, my voice amplified by a super-large
megaphone and Shannon's sound magic rang out toward the rebel army
chasing the Commander and the others.
『To
the rebel army: throw down your weapons, crawl on the ground, and surrender. Otherwise, your limbs will be torn off, and the earth will
be dyed red with your blood. I give you one chance to understand our
warning. But there is no second time.』
Simultaneously as my voice ended, four consecutive shots
from magic cannons with intense power gouging the earth struck toward 1 km ahead, the midpoint between the two armies—the Demon
Territory Knights and Third Army cavalry who had retreated to less than 1 km from us, and the rebel army chasing them several hundred m
away.
Of course, the metal balls bounced around the earth until
their kinetic energy became zero, and ricochets involved the vanguards of
the unfortunate rebel army to some extent.
Surprised and terrified by the excessive high power, long
range, and wide-area volley, the rebel army stopped moving and was stunned.
There, a pursuing voice echoed again.
『Did
you understand? Next, I will drop magic on the center of your army. There will
only be miserable death. The
only ones who can survive are those who practiced the method of surrender.
Whether you die in vain or survive depends on you. Now! Choose!』
Of course, this was a bluff. Accurately speaking, their
central part is outside effective range, and at over 1 km, even fixing the aim point is difficult, becoming truly
diffused attacks flying who knows where; but only
we know that.
However, they mistook this as a magic attack, not a physical attack. The
first shot that flew an impossible distance and the composed warning that
seemed to mock them were sufficient to make them misunderstand the potential
for more.
Well, since it's a high-level coordination of gravity magic
and wind magic, in a sense, magic attack is correct...
At this situation, the units located in the center fell into
a panic state and began to rout ahead of others, each starting to leave the
battlefield. Suddenly, the Second Army of the Royal Guard Division, which was
supposed to be an ally, attacked them, and in
response, the King's Army of 30,000 facing us on the opposite side, pushed
and enveloped the rebel army's Right Wing.
Reaching
this situation, many lower-ranking officers and soldiers threw down their
weapons and lay on the ground, so the victory was decided in an instant.
"Well, that and that are our secret
tactics. We have only told a very limited number of trustworthy people even
within the Kingdom..."
"Are we untrustworthy as friends?"
Wanting the reveal so badly, King Fearalt seemed to
forget himself, and his appearance as a King seemed to have flown somewhere.
"Let's see... we 'untrustworthy' ones were completely
deceived by the two of you acting like raccoons this time. We knew nothing
about the Second Army of the Royal Guard Division. Until the very last moment,
we mistook them for enemies and nearly annihilated them inadvertently..."
"I apologize for that, so... hey, please. Flame!
Originally, it's because your acting was too realistic!"
"What! Your Majesty yourself said, 'To deceive the
enemy, first deceive allies; please act well on the Kingdom side too,' didn't
you!?"
"No... even so, there should be a degree to
dealing with people. The Demon Territory Count is my friend..."
"In the first place, it was Your Majesty who said, 'The
truth is strictly confidential to anyone but me'!"
"Th-That is..."
With alcohol added, it began to look not like a relationship
between King and subject, but an unsightly pushing of responsibility between
boss and subordinate. For some reason, the Commander was watching such a state
with a smile.
Eventually, after teasing and enjoying enough, I decided to
tell them only the harmless range, excluding some top secrets (gravity magic,
and some secret matters like pulleys).
And when the banquet was in full swing, a bomb was dropped
by Count Flame this time.
"Your Majesty, Her Highness the Princess of the Kyle
Kingdom is staying in the city of Salaam, solidifying the defenses
of that land as a commander. In annihilating the rebel army this time, Her
Highness the Princess was in the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Western
Area Army and achieved great meritorious deeds."
"Ah!" "Ah..."
I unintentionally raised my voice at the dropped bomb. The
fact that Her Highness is in this country is a story that shouldn't be known
externally. Carelessly, I had forgotten to silence Count Flame in
advance.
And at my shaken voice, the Count followed with a scream of
regret for carelessly leaking information that would bring disaster upon
himself while drunk.
I mean, you noticed too late! I almost grumbled so unintentionally.
Because regarding Princess Clarice, now that it's
known, they must act as a country due to diplomatic protocol. Seeing us holding
our heads in our hands unintentionally, King Fearalt grinned this time.
"Hmm... it's fine if I don't visit officially, right? The
Second and Third Armies of the Royal Guard Division are still running around to
pacify the country. I left Fairy to encourage them, and on the way to
join them, I happened to visit Salaam incognito. Would there be any
problem with that?"
"No, leaving the Royal Capital again after finally
reclaiming it..."
This time, bathed in my scornful stare, Count Flame
began to panic greatly.
The Count, who knows that person well, should have naturally
known it would come to this...
I sighed heavily in my heart.
However, we, who were chatting and drinking, couldn't even imagine that this would develop
from a mere troublesome story into a major event for both countries in the
future.
Takuhir had no way of knowing, but the irony of history orchestrates unexpected developments.
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