Chapter 393
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Southern Front ⑨ – Reunion with
a Friend
Translator : PolterGlast
On this day, Sieghart was examining proposals for
future operations in his office at Big
Bridge Fort late into the night. Because even though the battle had fallen
into a stalemate, their current situation was equal to the worst among his
assumptions. Even though they were relying on an impregnable fort, continuing
to fight forever was impossible. Much less, the whereabouts of his lord, the Third Prince, were still unknown, and
now that Ende had fallen,
communication with his sworn ally, the Westlights
Dukedom, let alone within the Empire, was cut off, and he could no longer
grasp the current situation or even the state of his own territory.
However, he could neither show an uneasy face nor grumble as
usual. Under unstable circumstances, his attitude and behavior directly linked
to morale.
「Well... the only bright story is
that Lord Takuhir has come close. But he surely can't move many
soldiers. Probably ten thousand... no, five thousand at best?」
He knew of the arrival of reinforcements through the signal
fire tower's notification. For that reason, in order to welcome his sworn ally
who rushed over knowing the emergency, he secretly dispatched messengers to
various places and was moving to support his sworn ally whose direction of
arrival was unknown. But... his anxiety was inexhaustible. Thinking commonly,
while confronting an enemy army of over a hundred and twenty thousand, even if
a force of ten thousand came visiting, it would only be a drop in the bucket.
All that was left was to solely place his hopes in the eccentric tactics he had shown up to now.
「 However, tonight is strange. I feel like the air is oddly
astir. Is there... something? 」
It was when he uttered those words. Hurriedly running
footsteps approached his office and stopped in front of it.
「R-Reporting! There is an anomaly in
the enemy camp on the east side. It seems some sort of commotion has occurred!」
『East... what does that mean?』
After thinking for a moment, he summoned the officers and
soldiers on duty and issued an order.
「Have a courier run immediately. Wake
all officers and soldiers! First, have them take positions while being cautious
of an enemy attack, and thoroughly ensure they raise reports even if it's
something trivial. Since there is also the possibility of a diversion, strictly
maintain vigilance in the directions where a commotion hasn't occurred instead!」
After issuing that order, he climbed the watchtower set up
on the southern wall where the headquarters was located. When he looked out
over the enemy camp from there, he could see that the besieging enemy camp in
the eastern direction were greatly disturbed and confused, being mown down and
starting fires everywhere. And occasionally, something like bright illumination
seemed to light up the darkness, and the shouts raised by people echoed like a
rising tidal wave. The confusion spilled over from the eastern besieging camp
even to the enemy army encamped in the south, and it even seemed to be in a
state that could no longer be brought under control.
Seeing that, Sieghart understood the situation. Who
was the one creating this situation...
「 Hahaha!
Outstanding! Beyond my expectations... no, beyond my imagination. As I thought,
that person is the strongest general I acknowledge…… 」
Having said that much, he couldn't help but feel something
hot welling up in his chest. He hadn't expected this much. It was exactly
because the war situation had become close to the absolute worst even among his
assumptions that he merely held a single thread of hope—and yet……
「 Immediately prepare to welcome our guest! First is the flower path to welcome a hero. Line up
bonfires on both sides of the northern hidden passage! Have the logistics unit
begin preparing a meal for hospitality. Today will be a turning point for us. 」
Like him, the soldiers who had endured the gloomy situation
for a long time also raised cheers and began to run about to execute the
orders.
※
After crushing the besieging army on the east side, our
initial objective, we swiftly withdrew our army and moved to the north side.
There, I witnessed a sight I doubted my own eyes at.
「 Commander... I did say 『Flower Path』...I meant a metaphorical one, not an literal one, right? 」
「 My word, we've been beaten to the punch... 」
Yes, before our eyes, on both sides of the hidden passage
leading from the north side to the fort's gate, bonfires were lined up at equal
intervals only there in the darkness, brightly illuminating the path continuing
all the way to the castle gate. And beside the bonfires, the soldiers who had
probably set them up were kneeling covered in mud.
「 Preparations for the flower path, a great service of duty!
Entire army, a hard-earned welcome. Enter the castle immediately! 」
Simultaneously with my words, ten thousand cavalry dashed to
the castle gate all at once. And shortly after, when we passed through the
castle gate while being welcomed by loud cheers, soldiers lined up kneeling on
both sides of our path, and at the deepest part, a single man knelt on one knee
in the center of the passage, waiting for us.
「I respectfully offer my gratitude
for His Majesty the Arcduke's visit. First of all, please
bestow some words upon us from Your Majesty...」
Sieghart said so
and smiled mischievously. And beside him, a young woman who seemed unbefitting
of a battlefield was similarly kneeling.
『 Hm? ...is
that how it is? To raise our allies' morale, is an intentionally formal,
exaggerated greeting better? 』 Taking it that way, I purposely took a breath once and
haughtily puffed out my chest.
「 Sir Sieghart, I kept you waiting. Though, it is an impolite late-night visit, I have arrived leading a total of
ten thousand cavalry. Please accept our feast. 」
『 Wait... I raised my voice loudly, but there's no way my voice is
this loud. This is... you set this up, didn't you?
』
Simultaneously with my speech echoing loudly into the
surroundings, massive cheers erupted from throughout the fort.
「Receiving these reinforcements
personally from His Majesty the Archduke
this time, I have no words of gratitude. In place of my lord, His Majesty the
next Emperor Grat, I offer
my deep thanks. The feast bestowed by
His Majesty the Archduke, having annihilated an enemy
army of as many as thirty thousand in a single night, we gratefully accept.」
Loud cheers erupted again at Sieghart's return
greeting. But... there are two doubts.
·
First, this is absolutely
amplification by a Sound Mage! At
his place... no, I haven't heard of there being Mages in the Empire in the
first place, though?
·
Second, upon entering the castle, we
did not annihilate an enemy of as many as thirty thousand. It's true that we
kicked about the force of ten thousand encamped on the east side, but... what
does this mean? Well, I did sow seeds so the enemy army would fall into
confusion and paranoia, though...
To my doubts, Sieghart supplemented only the second
one.
「According to the war situation we were able to confirm
from here, the Turncoat Kingdom army of fifteen thousand
deployed in the south seems to have assaulted the Sura Principality army on the west side. A fierce internecine
struggle unfolded, and the west side will probably suffer damage close to
annihilation. And this confusion. The attacking Turncoat Kingdom army must also be suffering considerable
casualties.」
『 Hahaha, you mean it went better than expected? Well...
I'll consider that fine as is. The enemy army is already three times ours; the
more they decrease, the better. But since it's come to this, let's ride the
wave thoroughly. 』
At this
time, while making a slightly strained face at the war results exceeding
expectations, I dismounted my horse and firmly grasp Sieghart's hand. Then, when I raised my sword with one hand, as
expected, the woman in question also moved close to me.
「 That is splendid, meaning this day has become a good turning
point for us to switch to a counteroffensive. Reclaiming the honor of the
Empire, our sworn ally, once again, and victory to us!」
「 All glory to His Majesty the Archduke!
Honor to the Empire! Victory to us!」
Responding to my words, Sieghart also stood up, drew
his sword, and shouted loudly, but... This exchange around here was also firmly
picked up by the Sound Mage, and
that voice was amplified enough to echo throughout the fort. As a result...
「「「「 All glory His Majesty the Archduke!
Honor to the Empire! Victory to us! 」」」」
All those lined up raised their swords and raised their
voices, and the biggest cheers of the day echoed throughout the fort. It goes
without saying that the morale of the soldiers holed up in Big Bridge Fort on this day reached its climax. Even so... I have
to ask him properly about the Sound Mage
later.
To my gaze carrying doubts, Sieghart was smiling like
a child whose prank was exposed. As I thought, this man... his depths are
unfathomable. I renewed my thought deeply that he was a terrifying man.
※
As a result of this night attack operation, exactly as Sieghart
said, the Sura Principality
army received an unexpected attack from their allied forces and was
annihilated. Of course, halfway through they were infuriated by the Turncoat Kingdom army's act of
betrayal, and everyone became death-defying soldiers attempting counterattacks.
Because of that, the attacking Turncoat
Kingdom army also received massive damage, resulting in as many as 5,000 casualties. The army deployed on the east side that
received Takuhir's and the others' surprise attack had also suffered
nearly 8,000 casualties, so in truth, they suffered a massive 13,000 casualties, and completely lost their function as an army.
What remained on the battlefield the next morning were the corpses of over 4,000 Sura Principality soldiers,
the corpses of over 8,000 Turncoat Kingdom army soldiers, and nearly 3,000
seriously injured from both armies left behind. And the Turncoat Kingdom army retreated while carrying a handful of
injured.
The battle called the Second
Big Bridge Siege ended here, but the ratio of military strength held by
both factions still had a difference of more than double. The overwhelmingly
disadvantageous situation continued, but those present on the spot came to
fully realize that it was a turning point in the flow.
Later on, the eccentric tactic Takuhir used this time would become an anecdote passed down for a long time in the Imperial Army as the 『Yamakawa Strategy』, but that is a little further ahead. Following Zhuge Liang, the name Yamakawa Hiroshi will come to be widely spoken of in a world where the person himself is absent.
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