Chapter 389
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Northern Front ㉖ - What is the True Objective?
Translator : PolterGlast
Upon receiving the news
that as a result of the battle fought on the adjacent battlefield, the allied forces of the Ville Kingdom army and the Lute Kingdom
army had been thoroughly defeated,
Lugner and Azel were greatly surprised and bewildered.
「 Azel, tell me my ears misheard the scouts! Following the
deletion of the Cain Kingdom army, have
those two forces fumbled into a total collapse as well?! 」
「 Yeah, there was a report from a
scout sent out across the ridges. It seems they were annihilated and completely
shattered, suffering massive catastrophic casualties after receiving a
simultaneous, perfect bombardment of lightning and fire magic, forcing a
full-scale surrender. 」
「 A simultaneous magical bombardment,
you say?! Did that brat (Alexis) still have
a secret trump card of that caliber! 」
「 The variables escalate beyond that
metric; it seems a fresh, 10,000-strong heavy cavalry legion has cleared the
highway from the Kingdom to newly arrive and reinforce their lines. That's not
all; it seems a reinforcement of nearly ten thousand from the Kingdom has newly
arrived. We can't ignore this. Next time, we might conversely be surrounded by
an enemy army double our size. Lugner,
what are we going to do? 」
『 What
do you mean, " what are
we going to do"?! 』
Lugner
forcefully swallowed the toxic, venomous outburst he reflexively almost spat
out at his comrade. However, shifting his eyes
to observe Azel, he could be
seen striving to appear unnaturally calm.
「 Fundamentally, throughout the
trajectory of this grand campaign, the strategy has been navigated under your
guidance, but if I dare say: isn't it fine to consider
the current situation as being exactly as initially anticipated? 」
『 How
is any of this anticipated?!
』
Thinking so, Lugner’s eyes sharpened into a chilling
glare, locking onto Azel.
「 Don't get so heated. Since things have proceeded too much
according to our calculations up to here, haven't you forgotten our initial
objective? Well, it's not like absolutely everything went according to
calculations, though. 」
「 …… 」
「 We
has lost the custody of the vagabonds whom we planned to use as disposable human pawns from the start—yet the absolute
core of our main forces is mostly intact. And we ruthlessly ravaged the Empire Mandated Territory on this side of the border; to wring out
a reconstruction will likely require a monumental, torturous expenditure of
time and effort. And finally, we have successfully managed to reduce that
brat's elite legions from the table, even if just slightly. 」
「 Are you suggesting that we should proudly boasting of war results with that?! Won't we
just be laughed at
by that puppet (Castro)! 」
「 Yeah, it's a major war result. As a premise for obtaining
even greater fruits from here on out, it is a more than sufficient war result.
The small nations bordering us have all lost the entirety of the military
strength they committed. Even you should understand the meaning of this. 」
Originally, the Lute Kingdom, which nestled its
borders directly adjacent to the Istoria Imperial Kingdom, alongside the
more distant nations of Ville and Cain, operated strictly on a
defensive baseline of isolationism and were nations devoted to national defense
with small military forces. Having completely lost all their main forces and
their ballistae which were precious, irreplaceable military strength for defense,
they must now be in a state where even a basic national border-defense grid is
unmanageable.
「 Ah…… that's right. Our primary objective was to grind down those three nations
and make them our sacrifices. 」
「 During the beginning of this expedition, all four nations finalized a binding
covenant of mutual alliance. However, Lute and Ville betrayed the
pact and chose to submit to the heretic enemy nation despite still commanding
thousands of fighting strength. We just have to say ‘They are treacherous sworn
friends completely unworthy to be relied upon’ and thrust the legal
accountability and question those remaining within their countries about that fault. They graciously presented us a good,
perfect excuse. 」
「 However, executing a clean
retrograde maneuver to pull our 18,000 troops back to our secure frontier
borders won't be an easy endeavor either, you know? 」
「 Hahaha! The true value
of the battles we wage lies precisely in defense. We just have to pull back
while defending by expanding an ironclad defensive
formation. For what purpose did I choose
the eastern frontier—the absolute most desolate corridor, completely devoid of
blessings (prosperous villages and towns to plunder)—as our primary route of
advance? One side is completely secured by a steep, un-breachable major
mountain range, and on the way back across the trajectory of our retrograde,
aren't there heavily fortified frontline defensive encampments and bottleneck
trenches dotted around that those Empire heretics
went out of their way to meticulously construct for defense? 」
Unlike Lugner, Azel, who had infiltrated deep
within the Istoria Imperial Kingdom for a long time, was also
well-versed in the troop management the Imperial Kingdom specialized in. And
guarding their rearguard trails, there were several defensive forts, including
the defensive encampment the late general Gale
had personally constructed very first.
「 So…… when do we initiate our withdrawal and pull back? 」
「 Commencing this night. We have
secured our retreat path exactly as pre-mapped by my deep-cover cells, and our
loaders have also prepared signaling bonfires to guide our marching columns for
marching at night. Also, although they will be rendered completely useless as
merchandise for future trade, let's have our vanguard prepare human shields harvested from the remaining captives to
safely anchor our rearguard and stall their horsemen. 」
「 Staggering foresight. You're
exceptionally well prepared. 」
「 Preparations should be meticulous
and multi-layered to insure against catastrophe…… that was the lesson my master
relentlessly hammered into my skull across the years, after all. 」
「 Tch…… In that case, I entrust the
command of the retreat to you. Are you fine with that? 」
「 Yeah, for that I'll also borrow the general and soldiers
entrusted to you. Other than the longbowmen, there are a lot of total amateurs
on this side. 」
When Lugner offered nothing more than a short,
reluctant grunt and nodded at those words, Azel immediately turned on
his heel and began taking action.
※
Although the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army had
reduced its numbers, the main unit still
commanded an intact military strength of about 18,000 active combatants, and
even possessed the absolute long-range projectile weapons known as master
Longbowmen. While ensuring the soldiers deployed on the forward battalions
maintained an ironclad, hyper-vigilant combat-ready stance on the front lines,
the main generals in charge of defense gathered at the central command tent when the night fell, and were holding a strategic council aimed
at the full-scale encirclement
annihilation campaign slated to be conducted from tomorrow
onwards.
「 Even so…… regardless of how
flawlessly we move troops to annihilate them, the single vulnerability
walloping our command structure is the sheer number
of the surrendered soldiers.
」
「 Indeed, as Marquess Gorman’s
says. Holding an influx of nearly 15,000 prisoners of war, and moreover this is
an active war zone. Without detention facilities, our regiments will
inevitably be compelled to allocate that much active personnel. 」
「 Marquess
Gorman, Marquess Solis, what you say is correct. Having met and spoken with them, the
character of the First Prince, His Highness Courage, and General Golpa
are profoundly worthy of our trust. Both commanders also have immense
popularity and reverence among the hearts of their soldiers. But…… 」
「 We can't wipe out the immutable,
terrifying certainty that a hidden spy of the Clan
of Darkness might be mixed in and actively embedded deep among those
surrendered soldiers, huh…… There is the previous example in Kusanagi
too, after all. 」
「 It is exactly as Count Falmus
states. If those subversive, disturbing elements exercise dark magic to incite
a lawless domestic insurrection, we cannot predict what chaotic fallout will
happen. To survival-insure our front, we will likely need to rigidly cap our
active forces and leave behind half of their number at minimum, serving
concurrently as a security guard. 」
It was when Alexis answered so. A frantic voice
carrying an urgent news echoed through the absolute
pitch-black darkness of the night from outside the camp curtain.
「 Pardon me during your strategic
discussion! There is an active movement in the enemy army! 」
「 An active movement, give me the
detail! 」
「 Yes, it seems they took advantage
of the darkness after sunset to secretly disassemble their encampments and
began to move. Their encampment is empty. 」
「 And, where did they go! Are you saying they even fled at
this late stage? 」
「It seems they are moving toward the
border, and the units deployed on the front lines have gone out in pursuit, but
because it is night, the exact course is unknown, so…… 」
While Marquess Gorman and Marquess Solis
respectively unleashed a relentless volley to shower the messenger with questions,
Alexis simply kept his lips tightly sealed and listened silently, his
sharp intellect silently turning his thoughts over.
「 What do you say,
Commander-in-Chief, it's a bit much for me who came late to say, but I think it
would leave an exceptionally bitter taste to allow them a hit-and-run
unchallenged escape victory like this…… There's the treatment of the denizens
of darkness pulling their strings too. I think my cavalry legion could still
catch their rearguard even now, though? 」
「 I am filled with immense gratitude
for the tactical proposal words of the Hastburg
Frontier Duke. However, pursuing on horseback down an unfamiliar, unmapped
frontier road at night with poor visibility is too dangerous. Assuming we get
ambushed, the damage would be no joke. We shall request the Frontier Duke's magnificent presence to take the field and spearhead the
advance once the sun breaks the horizon; for now, let's simply dispatch a
thinned-out pool of a small number of scouts to various places and prepare for
a pursuit battle starting tomorrow morning. 」
「 Indeed…… it is an impeccable
calculation. The jagged frontier of the Empire
territory is a highly unstable terrain where we do not know the circumstances
either. Much less, forcing a cavalry unit like the Royal Knights to
execute high-speed maneuvers in the darkness would be dangerous…… 」
Saying so, Darek also agreed with a slow nod, and
verifying that there seemed to be no dissent or objections from the various
marquesses, Alexis smoothly make up his mind.
「 All division, please meticulously
filter and select your troops centering
on your most agile cavalry from here on out, and move to the absolute front
line where our Third Division is taking position. We will commence a pursuit campaign to erase the
heretics from tomorrow morning at absolute dawn. The infantry units will remain
at the main camp and I ask you to handle the prisoners of war. Lord Mars,
please immediately instruct the Third Division, and prepare so the
pursuit army can encamp at the front lines tonight. 」
Having said
this much, Alexis turned to Viscount
Kamin and Acting Commander Dlementz.
「 As for the forces
in the Imperial Allied Forces, please push up the front line where
battle was fought today just in case, and secure safety up to the outer edge of
the mandate territory. Please leave the pursuit to us.」
「「 By your command, Sire! 」」
Receiving
those words, Alexis bowed once to
the burly man sitting in the seat set up on the raised platform. He had been
silently, no, seemingly with deep interest, watching the exchange of Takuhir's and the others' staff
officers until now
「 Your Majesty Krueger, with humble trepidation, may I also ask for assistance
from the army led by Your Majesty? 」
「 Of course, or rather,
I came all the way here precisely for that purpose. 」
「Thank you for your words, Your
Majesty. Then, in that case, together with the cavalry legion forces of the Hastburg Frontier Duke, could your elite mages be officially integrated to join
the pursuit columns army? Only... the enemy's longbowmen cannot be taken
lightly either. If they have set up camp, or regarding long-range shooting by
ambushing soldiers, please be extremely careful. 」
「Right... I too am slightly
interested in what my friend spoke of as Dublin
tactics. I would be fortunate if I could see it with these eyes, though. 」
「 …… 」
At this response, Alexis was left dumbfounded. And he remembered the words Takuhir had previously
spoken.
『 The King of Fearalt is a completely unhinged, unparalleled tactics-maniac.
Once a tactic ignites
his curiosity and he takes an interest, he disregards danger, and in strategic
discussions he will literally grab your collar to bite at you until morning…… 』
He had only intended
to convey the
danger and urge caution, but looking at the
results, his warning had backfired, and he could only massage his temples and
hold his head in silent despair at having conversely drawn the maniacal King's
curiosity.
「 Lord Darek……please take care
of His Majesty. 」
He could only ask his elder brother-in-law beside him in a
faint, small pleading voice.
「 As a result of winning unilaterally such a spectacular
triumph in the previous four-nation encirclement battle campaign, I also
couldn't visually witness that legendary archery strategy with these my own
eyes. So, I'm actually looking forward to it myself. 」
「 …… 」
Alexis couldn't
even let out words anymore. Because he was made to realize that there was one
more man here who showed rare talent in troop management and possessed an
extraordinary interest in tactics.
「 Buhahaha, magnificent! It seems you
and I will will hit it off well in various things, not just sword techniques. 」
「 It is exactly as Your Majesty says. I too am constantly somewhat troubled by my secretive
younger brother. On this occasion, if I can firmly discern it with my own eyes
and incorporate it into the future maneuvers and troop management of the Royal
Knights…… that is the zenith of luxury I am thinking so. 」
As the two commanders let out a towering, boisterous roar of
shared laughter, Alexis is said to have stood entirely alone with a
washed out, pale face all by himself.
And with that…… The curtains were about to rise as the night breaks into dawn.
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