Chapter 364
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Northern Front ③ The Trampled Land
Translator : PolterGlast
Operation 'Messengers of Arrows'—this strategy was
originally conceptualized by Takuhir, drawing upon the historical
memories of Nishida, a past enthusiast of military history, and modeled
directly after the tactical maneuvers of the Mongol army that once swept across
the Eurasian continent, including the Islamic world and Europe. The Mongols,
who conquered a mind-bogglingly vast expanse of land, were never afraid to
divide their forces into smaller forces when
invading hostile territory. By executing a decentralized advance, they
successfully brought immense territories under their control. And, whenever the
enemy military moved out to intercept them, they used the fluid timing of the
battlefield to rapidly converge and reunite their forces, ensuring they always
held the tactical upper hand to secure absolute victory.
The absolute linchpin of this coordinated strategy was the
specialized intelligence network known as the 'Messengers of Arrows'. In
an era completely devoid of long-range telecommunications, these operatives
were entrusted with the vital burden of information synchronization. They
traveled back and forth across vast war zones
spanning up to a thousand kilometers, forging a flawless, unbreakable link
between scattered divisions.
This specific tactic faced
severe operational difficulties near the borders of the Kyle Kingdom,
where the complex, interwoven terrain was continuously obstructed by the
dangerous Demon Territory. However, the newly ceded lands of the Westlights
Demon Territory Dukedom and the adjacent Empire domains consisted of gently rolling terrain, dominated
largely by massive, sprawling plains. When subjected to foreign invasions, the
newly acquired territory of the Dukedom suffered from a glaring structural
weakness: its borders stretched so far horizontally that successfully defending
every single coordinate was a physical impossibility.
Consequently, the high command had established the Izumo
district as their absolute final line of defense, adopting a fundamental tactic
of strategic retreat into that secure perimeter. Yet, such a passive stance
could hardly be said to protect the civilian inhabitants living on the
frontier. To serve as the aggressive counter-weight to that defensive
limitation, Takuhir integrated a scaled-down adaptation of the Mongol
military's fluid tactics, operating on the absolute premise of real-time,
wide-area coordination between divisions.
After he conceptualized this as a brand-new intercept
strategy, Commander Weiss meticulously refined the operational
procedures. To make these fluid battlefield maneuvers humanly possible, the
army had spent the last two years completely immersing themselves in rigorous,
unyielding drills. To them, 'Messengers of Arrows' was not a proper noun
referring to a single intelligence unit. Instead, it referred to a sweeping,
wide-area campaign strategy: individual divisions would deploy independently,
masquerading as meager, vulnerable forces to lure the enemy in, only to
organically synchronize with rushing allied reinforcements to execute a
devastating pincer attack and annihilate the foe.
Though operating on a vastly different scale, this tactic
was fundamentally identical to the localized defeat-in-detail strategy that Sieghart
had initially engineered in the southern front.
Naturally, such an execution demanded an incredibly high level of real-time
information synchronization, alongside the absolute finest situational
awareness from the commanders and ironclad discipline from the troops.
Therefore, while the activation of this operation strictly required highly
flexible, elite officers, Takuhir's command was now fortunate enough to
possess a constellation of brilliant talent. Beyond the veteran operational
commanders personally forged under Commander Weiss over the years, the
ranks were filled with highly capable mid-level officers who had been
thoroughly hardened through deployments across the Frontier Knights’
branches and the Demon Territory Knights. It was no exaggeration to say
that this sweeping maneuver was only made possible because of the caliber of
these men.
※
At Alexis's signal, the decentralized divisions
surged forward with high morale, advancing rapidly through the Third Prince’s
Mandated Territory. Even excluding Viscount Durul’s army, if just two of the three detached divisions managed to
converge, their combined numbers would instantly swell to roughly ten thousand
troops.
Operating at near-equal numbers, the soldiers and commanders
of the Dukedom—who had emerged victorious from countless brutal campaigns—massively
outclassed the three-nation coalition in terms of raw morale and combat
experience; they were fully capable of utterly dominating them in a straight
fight. Furthermore, if they successfully executed a pincer attack, the ultimate
trajectory of the battle would be glaringly obvious. If all three divisions
managed to perfectly converge upon a single target, they could achieve a
flawless defeat-in-detail, utterly annihilating the isolated enemy vanguard.
Holding this absolute resolve for victory, the commanders surged toward the
front lines…… Only to be slapped in the face by a staggering, horrific reality.
「 What do you mean we cannot launch
an attack?! Explain the meaning of this! 」
Marquis Gorman raised his voice in pure fury upon
receiving the latest scout report from the vanguard reconnaissance team, which
had pushed out roughly half a day's march ahead of their position. The
intelligence operative bowed his head in deep trepidation but forced himself to
continue the report.
「 The enemy forces have rounded up
the civilian populace captured from the occupied regions, bound them with
ropes, and are forcing them to march at the absolute front of their vanguard to
serve as human shields. Their numbers…… are estimated to be no less than five hundred
souls, Sire…… 」
「 Insolent wretches! To think such a
monstrous, spineless act is the official tactic of the Lute Kingdom!
Shameless cowards who know absolutely nothing of the sacred laws of the
battlefield! 」
The Marquis shook with pure, unadulterated rage at the
enemy's merciless savagery. Emboldened by the ruthless, unchecked momentum of
the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, the Lute Kingdom had mirrored
their horrific tactics. They seized innocent hostages and displayed them at the
absolute front of their ranks as they advanced, openly mocking the defending
forces as weak-willed cowards who wouldn't dare strike back.
「 Even granting them a single sliver
of understanding, to those kingdoms, the Empire
is an unyielding, sworn enemy that has subjected them to centuries of ruthless
invasion. Historically, with only a few rare exceptions like the Roland
Kingdom, the Empire
systematically enslaved the populations of the lands it conquered.
Consequently, those bastards likely feel a total absence of moral guilt or
conscience. 」
「 Is that so……? Our own homeland was
entirely untainted by the sins of foreign conquest. What's more, our own Archduke
treats even the enemy soldiers he traded blows with just moments prior with the
utmost dignity and respect. Even if their military traditions differ, this is
an utterly infuriating, unpardonable atrocity! 」
「 How do you wish to respond, My
Lord? 」
「 We have no choice! Dispatch
fast-riding messengers to Commander Gail, who was slated to join our
pincer movement, and to Marquis Solis, who is deploying across the
western sector! Tell them: 『 The Third Army shall strictly commit to a defensive
containment for the time being to halt the Lute Kingdom Army's advance.
We shall link up with Marquis Solis's
forces to utterly smash the Cain Kingdom Army in the center, after which
we shall immediately pivot and strike the Lute Kingdom Army relentlessly
from their rear! 』
」
「 Understood, Sire! Then…… 」
「 We begin our redeployment this
instant! We shall execute a counter-clockwise flank, slipping past the western
wing of the Lute Kingdom Army. 」
「 Understood! I shall arrange it at
once. But Sire…… won't this essentially allow the Lute Kingdom Army to
advance into our territory completely unchecked in the meantime? 」
「 This is a race against time! Those
bastards are advancing at a snail's pace, entirely consumed by the ecstasy of
plundering every village along their path. We shall use that exact window of
distraction to utterly shatter the enemy's center. For safety, send swift
heralds to every town and village lying along their projected path of
advance—ensure their total, absolute evacuation is rigorously enforced! 」
「 Understood, My Lord! 」
※
Yet…… across the adjacent sector, the forces under Marquis Solis,
who had just received the urgent dispatch from Marquis Gorman, were
staring down the exact same horrific reality. The Cain Kingdom Army,
which was pushing northward just slightly behind the Lute Kingdom's
wing, had adopted a remarkably identical, sickening measure.
「 My Lord, our situation is entirely
identical! The Cain Kingdom Army has lined up a massive convoy of supply
wagons at the absolute front of their vanguard, and upon those wagons, they
have erected wooden crucifixes, binding the civilian captives directly to them!
They are showing absolutely no mercy, not even to the women and children……! 」
The scout reported with a deeply contorted face, his voice
thick with unvarnished disgust.
「 Shameless, wretched cowards! To go
so far as to crucify defenseless women and children just to wage war?! 」
Marquis Solis stamped his foot against the earth,
shaking with pure, unbridled fury. After a brief, intense moment of tactical
calculation, he opened his mouth once more.
「 Even so…… the territory they are
currently invading is supposed to be the Mandated Territory governed by Count Astray.
Setting aside the lands of our enemies (the First Prince's faction), why on
earth were there still civilians left behind in these villages? 」
「 Report, Sire…… while it is merely a
deduction, two distinct possibilities exist. The enemy has been advancing
strictly along the outer perimeter of Count Astray’s domain, but this is
all Empire soil. There are no physical borders or lines drawn across
the earth. 」
「 So either through a slight
navigational blunder or deliberate malice, they have actively raided the towns
and villages belonging to the First Prince's own loyalist nobles…… that is
highly plausible. 」
「 Indeed, Sire. However, the second
possibility poses a profoundly severe crisis if true. A strict evacuation order
was issued to every single domain under our alliance long ago. Yet, as the days
passed by without immediate combat, the tension likely dissolved,
prompting the farmers to slip back to check on the condition of their agricultural
fields. Is that not likely? 」
「 A valid point…… 」 Marquis Solis grimaced. 「 At least ten days have passed by since the initial warning. The farmers must have been
absolutely sick with worry over their crops. 」
「 How shall we counter this, My Lord?
」
「 Those shameless, dishonorable
cowards must be subjected to a retribution that perfectly matches the gravity
of their crimes. You are entirely certain the civilians have been displayed at
the absolute front of their vanguard? 」
「 Yes, Sire! There is absolutely no
mistake. 」
「 Then
I shall personally select and command an elite vanguard of two thousand
cavalry. Acting Commander Kira of the mercenary group shall take command
of the remaining forces; take the infantry and move out ahead of us to lay a
hidden ambush at the coordinate I designate. Run our couriers to the First
Army, the Third Army, and the main central unit—relay
our tactical adjustments to every corner of the battlefield at once! 」
Under Marquis Solis’s fierce command, his division
began to shift, executing a bold, high-risk tactical maneuver.
※
Meanwhile, on the absolute far left wing of the frontier, Viscount Durul’s division found itself in a
completely contrasting reality. The ten-thousand-strong Ville Kingdom
Army deployed before his eyes had abruptly halted after pushing only a short
distance northward. They had initially assumed a solid Square Formation
to maintain a 360-degree defensive readiness against any angle of approach.
However, the moment they confirmed the physical presence of the enemy army,
they executed a flawless, instantaneous shift in their deployment.
「 They have beautifully abandoned the
Square Formation, shifting into a lethal Crescent Moon Formation
specifically tailored to mirror our approach…… It seems they were thoroughly
prepared to counter any tactical angle from the very beginning. Those men are
no greenhorn amateurs. Maintain absolute vigilance! 」
A veteran intuition forged through surviving countless
bloody battlefields blared an intense warning inside Viscount Durul’s
chest. This specific army was fundamentally different from the others; in all
likelihood, the commander steering them was a battle-hardened legend. One look
at their seamless, disciplined shift in formation and their profound aura of caution made it impossible to
conclude otherwise.
「 They executed a flawless, perfectly
synchronized tactical transition…… Tell me, have they deployed civilian shields
at the front of their ranks like the reports from the other divisions
indicated? 」
「 Report! No such activity has been
observed within their ranks, Sire! 」
「 I see. To think our division would
end up trading blows with the single most formidable opponent on this entire
front…… Truly, this is the highest possible honor for a warrior! Unleash the
couriers lent to us by Lord Alexis! 」
The eight thousand soldiers under Viscount Durul’s
command steeled their souls with a grim, extraordinary resolve as they prepared
to clash with the enemy unit. Tasked
with holding the absolute westernmost line, they were granted zero luxury for
failure, and pulling back was an absolute impossibility. For if their defensive
wall were to shatter, the First, Second, and Third Armies would instantly find
themselves semi-encircled, plunging the entire northern campaign into
catastrophic ruin.
The battle that held the very life and death of both units was about to begin.
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