Chapter 350
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Southern Front ① The Expendables (Sutegamari)
Translator : PolterGlast
-- The timeline goes back a little. It was shortly before
the head of the Kempurna Trading Company received Sieghart's
orders and departed from the Big Bridge Fortress. Around the time when
the defeat-in-detail tactic devised by Sieghart began to show frays due
to the appearance of an unexpected enemy, the Eral Knight Kingdom, there
was an army moving to dispel that element of anxiety and find a way out.
「Reporting! Soon at the base ahead,
the southern army will likely activate Operation 'Kamari' and shift from a feigned retreat to a counterattack.」
「I see! Then we shall lay troops in
ambush on the left and right of the highway, and annihilate those who are severely
damaged by the 'Kamari' and chase our
allies in a mad rage. Have communications with our allies been arranged?」
「Yes, we have received word from the
commander of the southern army that after striking the vanguard of the pursuing
enemy army, they will retreat again seeing the opportunity and draw the enemy
army in.」
「I see. In that case, we shall
advance our army with all haste as well. After we slaughter those boars—who
have grown fierce and reckless as they charge after the bait—we will change
course and make a long-distance forced march to join the western army as
reinforcements. Our combined strength with the southern
army will be 30,000. We will not
fall behind an enemy force of 20,000. Things
have become a bit busier than expected, though. I’ll make
sure the Chief of the General Staff works twice as hard later to make up for it.」
At this point, although somewhat cornered, the Third Prince Grat
still had enough leeway to make light banter. The main unit led by the Third
Prince was composed entirely of cavalry for the purpose of defeat-in-detail.
Therefore, they increased their march speed and dashed swiftly on horseback
toward the planned interception point. And... upon arriving at the planned
point, they laid the soldiers in ambush in the forest alongside the highway.
When all preparations were complete and they thought the
timing was right, loud cheers arose from the south of the highway, and allied
cavalry dashed along the highway towards them all at once.
「Listen, wait until all allies have
passed and the enemy has passed halfway through. We will attack from their rear
all at once.」
It was when the military forces hidden in the forest
alongside the highway under Grat's instructions were holding their
breath and waiting for the order.
「Urgent report! Urgent report! An
urgent report from the scouts! A cloud of dust is rising from the northwest
heading this way. The number seems to exceed 10,000!」
「What! What is the meaning of this?」
At this point, Grat had suffered several misfortunes
and committed small mistakes.
First, because he hurried the entire army to the interception
point, vigilance of the surroundings became neglectful. Second, because he laid troops in ambush on the left and right of
the highway, it also took time for the scouts to report back. Third, the allies feigning a rout were advancing north along the
highway like an avalanche, and the reporter was hindered by that flow, unable
to advance and taking time to arrive.
And, he met with further misfortune. The scout who arrived
in rapid succession brought a report that made Grat doubt his own ears.
「Reporting! The enemy army surging
from the northwest is approximately 30,000! At this rate, the southern army
that went ahead will be blocked by the enemy army and is in danger of
encirclement annihilation.」
「Guh... For me to have neglected
meticulous care because I was so impatient!」
Grat noticed
the small mistakes he had committed leading up to this point and was driven by
feelings of self-reproach. At this rate, 10,000 allies will be annihilated.
If he were a victory-supremacist who didn't mind sacrificing
allies, he could have stuck to the initial operation, let the enemy army
pursuing the southern army pass, attacked from the rear, and achieved
corresponding war results. In the form of burying a 20,000-strong enemy army
using 10,000 allies as bait... But he could not overlook that.
「Your Highness... where on earth did
the enemy come from?」
「We don't have the leeway to debate
that now! From here on, we will stand before the enemy army pursuing our allies
while protecting their backs as they advance north! Give the signal
immediately! The entire army, charge toward the highway!」
Grat chose the
path of protecting his allies, prepared to be caught in a pincer attack between
the army from the south and the army from the north. From within the forest,
gongs signaling the start of the attack were sounded in unison.
However, this order also resulted in confusing the allied
forces lying in ambush on the opposite side of the highway. Because the timing
was far too early compared to the planned operation. Because of that, the
attack that was supposed to be a surprise attack lacked luster, failed to
inflict major damage on the 20,000 pursuing enemy army, and a chaotic melee
developed where 20,000 vs. 20,000 forces clashed head-on.
「Tsk... what a mess I’ve made. How
did I let things get this ugly...?」
Muttering so, Grat himself was fighting bravely at
the very front, wielding a blood-stained sword to inspire his allies. That
battle of equal numbers, where the main unit led by Grat was slightly
dominant, the situation was changing all at once.
「Your Highness, our allies who were
retreating to the south are routing back here. We cannot maintain the front
line!」
「Your Highness, please withdraw for
now!」
The voices of his subordinates reached Grat as well.
However, to retreat, there were forested areas on the left and right, and
withdrawing while maintaining formation was impossible.
「Did the terrain I chose hoping for a
surprise attack and encirclement annihilation become a disaster for me...」
「Your Highness!」
「I know! The entire army, form an
oblique order and apply pressure only to the right side of the highway! Create
a wall on the right side and dash south between the highway and the forest!」
The main
force led by the Third Prince, consisting entirely of cavalry, concentrated its
pressure solely on the right flank of the oncoming enemy. They charged forward,
attempting to force their way through the violent collision of men, horses, and
clashing blades—a frantic surge that felt as though one could almost hear the
agonizing screech of the lines grinding against each other. It was like two massive, muddy torrents colliding
head-on—grinding against one another, carving away at each other's strength as
they surged forward and intertwined in a chaotic clash of left and right.
The main unit led by Grat, and the southern army
following in the rear that had already lost half its numbers, advanced
backwards as a torrent while repeating desperate battles, and managed to secure
a retreat path to the south. However, this was not the end of the battle.
For them, who had already lost close to 10,000 combined
between the southern army and the main unit, it was the beginning of a pursuit
battle by the Sura Principality army, which, although having reduced its
numbers slightly, had merged to become a military force exceeding 40,000.
『Even so, the 30,000 fresh troops, where
on earth did they come from?』
Even Grat, who was at the very rear directing the
retreat of the entire army, could not grasp those circumstances.
※
Behind this battle, a situation that even Duke Harry,
who incited the Eral Knight Kingdom and moved the war situation of the
southern front, could not predict had been caused.
The Sura Principality, which learned the fact that
the Eral Knight Kingdom would participate in the war, hastily organized
a new military force of 10,000 and reinforced the unit invading from the
center. This was a unit the Sura Principality hurriedly dispatched on a
long march to counter the Eral Knight Kingdom aiming for the lion's
share, and the spies Sieghart had dispatched in advance also failed to
grasp this beforehand.
And another thing... Due to the participation of the Eral
Knight Kingdom, Sieghart dispatched his meager 8,000 men to the
northwest. This fact had been brought to the First Prince's camp by spies
planted by Harry, but it had also been conveyed to the Sura
Principality army at the same time.
Therefore, the unit invading from the center, which normally
should have had its movements checked by Sieghart himself leading an
army to advance, was able to move freely without being hindered by anyone. And
without even glancing at the thinly defended Big Bridge, they were
moving to conversely defeat the Empire Army's
main unit, which was plotting defeat-in-detail, in detail.
However... there was no way Grat or Sieghart
could know such circumstances.
※
The military forces led by Grat, which originally
should have headed sequentially north, continued to route heading south.
Pursued by an enemy army of 45,000, the military forces, now reduced to under
20,000, were exhausted and had gradually begun to produce dropouts. The
southern army in particular, being a newly summoned unit centered on infantry,
had a slow marching pace.
「Your Highness, we part ways here. We
will hold back the enemy army with the 'Sutegamari'.
During that time, Your Highness, detour from the south to the east and retreat!」
「I will not allow it! That is a poor
plan premised on death, even the Archduke
said so!」
「What of it, I died once in that Demon
Territory. This life that was saved by the Battle Goddesses in the Demon
Territory, I shall show you I can put it to use here.」
The military commander of the southern army who rode his
horse up to Grat was a close aide among close aides who had accompanied
him and gone all the way to the Demon Territory together when the
harvest festival was held previously.
「W-Wait, you still have things you
must do...」
「Excuse me!」
Saying so, he smiled and greeted his master one last time,
then turned around leading a unit of 1,000 men. Shaking off the words of his
master trying to stop him...
※
One night when the Third Prince visited the Demon
Territory Dukedom disguising his identity, a tactical discussion was held
as an accompaniment to drinks by the Third Prince, the Archduke, the King of Fearalt,
and Sieghart. It was something spoken of at that time.
『What is the tactic my friend would
least want the enemy to adopt?』
Asked so by the King of Fearalt, what Takuhir
answered after a moment's hesitation was the 『Sutegamari』. A terrifying tactic adopted by the Shimazu army to let
their general, Shimazu Yoshihiro on
the Western Army's side, retreat after the defeat of the Western Army was
certain in the Battle of Sekigahara
in the history Nishida knows. A tactic where one throws away one's own
life as a sacrificial stone to hold back the enemy and launch a counterattack,
causing the enemy to flinch and buying time to support the master's retreat.
Grat and Sieghart
were also speechless at this fierce tactic, and although they would not use it
later, research was conducted within the Empire Army as well. As a result, what was born was the feigned
retreat tactic called 『Kamari』 adopted this time, which was premised on having several
camouflaged bases prepared in advance on the retreat path, launching a
counterattack safely and then retreating again, drawing the enemy army in while
inflicting damage, and ultimately having the entire army survive.
Therefore, the knowledge of the fierce tactic called 『Sutegamari』 had also taken root among the upper echelons of the Empire Army.
※
「Your Highness, excuse me here.
Please, I pray that you will obtain the supreme crown.」
The 『Sutegamari』 will
not stop the enemy if not activated in rapid succession. The generals who knew
that bid farewell to Grat one after another, ignoring his restraint and
turning around. However, even if they could buy a temporary amount of time, the
enemy army still did not slacken their pursuit.
「Your Highness... This is a grave
impertinence, but I shall take your greatest treasure—your life—in your stead.
You may scold me for it later... though I pray that later is a long, long time
from now.」
The one who said so and turned around last was the man
deployed to the front lines as a body double clad in Klimt's armor when Grat
was absent. Even now, that armor shining in rainbow colors was clad on his
body.
「Wait, you must not go. In a place
like this... I...」
To his close aides who smiled and bid farewell one after
another, Grat had no words left to say. His hand gripping the reins was
wet with blood from his tightly clenched nails digging into his palm, and blood
flowed from his tightly bitten lips.
And then... when an exceptionally loud cheer rose from the
pursuing enemy army, the pursuit of the Sura Principality army stopped.
The Empire Army's main unit led by the Third Prince, its commanding general, and the 30,000 of the southern army lost a great number of soldiers and disappeared from the battlefield. However, the battle on the southern front had only just begun.
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