20-2
The Army from the Abyss
Translator : PolterGlast
Four days after
that―― an urgent report came flying in via the Fimbul Dukedom on the
surface. Upon hearing it, I deeply regretted why I hadn't immediately headed
over to help Georg-aniue. Aniue is currently being forced into a siege
battle in Ratatosk City, which has those high city walls. The enemy is
not just the monsters of the Abyss. A man who shouldn't have appeared
there led an army and attacked Georg-aniue, who was fighting the
monsters of the Abyss. It was Prince Yord, who was supposed to be
commanding the Knight Order at the battlefield in the southern part of the
Empire... The elites of the Knight Order led by him, and the Imperial 5th Army
which betrayed Aniue, threw away their duty of frontier defense and assaulted
Aniue and Ratatosk City. They got us... I hadn't even imagined they
would make such a move. If Georg-aniue is struck down, we will lose our
charisma. Without Aniue, this civil war cannot be stopped. I am an abominable
child possessing a dragon's eye, a Prince who has been kept hidden. I cannot
fulfill the same role as Aniue. I absolutely had to rescue him. Fortunately,
soldiers were gathering in the underground empire from various places. It
wasn't just elves and beastmen. The lords near Fimbul who believed in
our potential also dispatched troops. According to the report, the enemy's
numbers are not that large either. Therefore, we aimed for the outskirts of Ratatosk
City using the northern underground tunnel that we hadn't yet opened up. Our
military strength is three thousand. It's a mixed force of beastmen excelling
in combat power and elves capable of using magic. Even if we are inferior in
numbers, if the elites of the First Army led by Aniue and the citizens of Ratatosk,
who are full of adventurers with abundant combat experience, join hands, we
have a sufficient chance of winning. Until I witnessed the battlefield where,
for some reason, the army of the Abyss and Yord were fighting
together, that's what I thought. It's a harsh situation. If things were going
to turn out like this, I should have dragged Sigrun along. That gal was curious about the
battle in the southern part of the Imperial Capital and didn't want to leave Erin.
「What
are we going to do, Ashley?」
「What
do you mean 'what', it was a promise only up to halfway, Aneue...」
「Now
that it's come to this, it can't be helped, deshu. Durin and Atomina-sama
will prepare some medicine, deshu.」
Another problem is Atomina-aneue...
With Georg-aniue in a predicament, there was no way Aneue would stay
quiet in the underground empire...
「If it
gets dangerous, please retreat immediately...」
「I know
that much, deshu yo. Ashley-sama, please leave that to Durin,
deshu.」
「I'm
counting on you... I'll make contact with Aniue inside.」
The entrance of the
underground tunnel was cleverly concealed with magic. Looking down from this
high ground, there is a particularly large tent, so Yord and the other
commanders must be there. There is also the option of using the passage I'm
about to create as an escape route, letting Aniue and the citizens escape from
the underground to here. We could probably shelter the people of Ratatosk
in that underground empire as well. However, if we don't defeat Yord
here, we will eventually have to fight the Southern Army, which has even joined
hands with the army of the Abyss. Before that, there was even a
possibility that the Northern Army led by Uncle and the others would collapse,
leaving us helpless against a Dark Dynasty teamed up with the Abyss. I
went down into the underground tunnel and dug out a new branch path from the
road built by the First Emperor.
「Father,
Wagahai shall go and see the situation above.」
「Yeah...
But Zirant, when will we be able to return to our old dynamic...?」
「What
are you saying, Father. This is exactly how we should be. You, who revived that
underground empire, are none other than Father.」
「Does
that mean we can never go back...」
The coordinates
could have been managed somehow with my intuition, but with Zirant's
assistance, we were able to strike much more accurate coordinates. Namely, that
was――
「Aniue,
I'm here.」
Right in the middle
of a strategy meeting, directly at Aniue's feet.
「Kukuku...
Wagahai and Father will specially help you. ...No, should I call you
Uncle Georg here?」
「That
figure is Zirant-sama!? Have you come to save us!?」
There was also some
bigwig I had seen somewhere before. If I recall correctly, was it the city
mayor here? He was deeply moved by the surreal sight of us sprouting from under
his feet.
「Where
on earth do you appear from, you...」
「Well,
there was a slightly more common-sense way to make contact, but considering the
war situation, we'd want to hurry even by a single second. Tell me about your
situation, Aniue.」
Borrowing Aniue's
hand to crawl up from the ground, I joined the strategy meeting.
・ To
summarize, Ratatosk City is apparently being attacked from both the
inside and the outside. The city mayor said that the labyrinth of stakes went
out of control at the worst possible timing. Because of that, not only the
monsters of the Abyss but even an intelligent army of the Abyss
are overflowing from the labyrinth. The biggest problem is the largest stake
towering in the center of the town, from which forces of the Abyss were
apparently overflowing into reality. It seems this will lead to a bad situation
later if we don't crush it. The plan to escape collapsed early on.
「Our
remaining military strength is 2,000, and the mixed unit you brought is 3,000,
huh. It's a number that isn't impossible to overturn.」
Aniue would say so
even if it were a lie. As for the opposing army on the other side―― I don't
know, but their numbers are more than double. Even so, a chance of winning
floated on Aniue's face.
「I'm
glad you're my younger brother. If we use the underground tunnel you created,
we can strike the enemy's back. Leaving the absolute minimum necessary soldiers
in Ratatosk, we will charge the enemy's main camp from the rear. We will
settle this with a surprise attack.」
「Isn't
that just a surprise attack and brute force...」
「You
are too used to your own power. Think about it, Ashley. The enemy army
you're supposed to be besieging appears right behind you. The front is the city
wall of Ratatosk, the rear is our elites; from the enemy's perspective,
your power is a nightmare. Your power is the strongest power in military
tactics.」
「Kuku...
Wagahai is in favor. I'll accompany you to buy time until you cut down Yord.」
The strategy was decided on a counterattack from the rear using the underground passage. We will strike down Prince Yord in the main camp and the general of the Imperial 5th Army, and seize control of the remnants with Georg-aniue's charisma. After that, we will eliminate the army of the Abyss and correct the anomaly of the labyrinth of stakes. This is a battle we can win.
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