Chapter 408
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Southern Front ㉔ - The Last Ambush
Translator : PolterGlast
The military force led by the First Prince, which
barely escaped from Big Bridge, had finally retreated to a point just
short of Ende. However, unlike their outward journey, their march was a
hollow one. A routed army always produces dropouts, and the army that initially
had about eight thousand men remaining had seen dropouts increase before they
knew it, and had now fallen to the point where they were barely maintaining five
thousand men.
「Damn it! Why. I was winning as I
should have. If only that kind of interference hadn't occurred...」
Up until now he had been desperate to flee, but there were
several points that Glorious could not accept. There were three factors
for the defeat, but originally, those were attacks that the Third Prince's
army could never pull off.
·
The fierce
arrow attack resembling spears that struck the magic soldiers; that was similar
to what mowed down the ballista groups when he himself was capturing the
fortress of the Demon Territory
called Aegis.
·
Although
they were burned away by Harry's quick thinking, those terrifying
annihilation weapons were what the brat he loathed more than enough had used against
him in the past, and those weapons were the catalyst for the defeat.
·
The verbal
attack using a Sound Mage; this was the same. The First Prince
had a humiliating memory of receiving a similar threat before. To begin with,
he had never heard of there being Mages in the Imperial Army!
Originally these were all impossible assumptions, but if a
certain thing was factored in, everything would add up. Of course, that was the
intervention of the Demon Territory Dukedom!
「In the end... it was that brat! To
go out of his way to do something so uncalled for!」
When he realized that, his eyes burned with anger and
hatred. It was none other than the man who had humiliated him in the past, the
army of that brat who assumed the title of Archduke of the Demon
Territory Dukedom, that had been assisting.
「I will burn it to the ground! His
territory, and those who live there! He can go ahead and claim supremacy in the
south dealing with barbarians at best.」
For him now, the battle in the south no longer mattered.
Burning himself in the hellfire of hatred, rallying troops in various parts of
the Empire, heading north, and turning the country of that detestable
brat into a burnt field. On his horse routing towards Ende, he was
thinking only of that. It was at that time.
「Denka,
a report from the advance scout! It seems an Eral Knight Kingdom Army of
over seven thousand cavalry is deployed on the highway leading to Ende
from here!」
「W-What! Does that mean they have
crushed the fox's army they were facing and have begun to move? Tch, it won't
do any good even if they move now!」
Although he tried to spit it out while saying so, Glorious's
expression was bright. He had heard that the Eral Knight Kingdom Army
was ten thousand cavalry in total. At this point, that reinforcement was
significant. Because whether they advanced south or north, they could become a
major fighting force. There was one thing to be assumed. That they had finally
gotten off their heavy rears, defeated the eight thousand men led by Count Astray
deployed on the west side of Ende, and begun to move in order to support
them.
「I will give them a place to work.
Kick their rears by telling them, 『Show work appropriate for the price paid』, and have them make up for being
late!」
Glorious answered
magnanimously and sent a messenger running. Yes, this time, through Harry,
he had paid a massive sum of three hundred thousand Imperial Gold Coins
to the Eral Knight Kingdom. If so, they had an obligation to do work
commensurate with the reward. However, as they advanced a while, the situation
suddenly changed. A messenger with a changed complexion came running from the
north direction.
「Enemy attack! The cavalry deployed
to the north assaulted our vanguard, and our retreat path is blocked.
Furthermore, the enemy army is spreading both wings and advancing rapidly as if
to envelop us!」
「Ridiculous! Whose military force is
it? Send a messenger to the watchdogs (Eral Knight Kingdom Army) and
tell them to strike them down immediately!」
「N-No! The ones who attacked are that
Eral Knight Kingdom Army!」
「W-Why! Harry! What is the
meaning of this! Are you telling me they have shameteressly betrayed us!」
The one who had paid a large price to the Eral Knight
Kingdom to bring them to their side was Duke Harry, but he had
already passed away. Therefore, there was no one who could answer Glorious's
question.
「The vanguard was caught off guard
and is in a state of rout. We will also encounter the enemy shortly!」
Indeed, the vanguard was only one thousand cavalry. If it
was seven thousand against one thousand, the outcome would be decided in an
instant.
「Tch, it can't be helped. Entire army
prepare for battle, call the Iron Cavalry in the rearguard and strike
down the cowards!」
「It's no good, we won't make it in
time! About one thousand cavalry each are attacking from the left and right!」
「No way... that's too fast!」
The movements of the Eral Knight Kingdom Army, whose
entire army consisted only of cavalry, were fast. This was because, superior in
numbers, they had laid in ambush one thousand cavalry on the left and right of
the highway beforehand. Furthermore, from the front, the seven thousand cavalry
that broke through the vanguard were heading this way, raising clouds of dust.
Between the five thousand men led by the First Prince, who were a
defeated force, and the seven thousand cavalry who had preserved their fighting
strength until now, it wouldn't even be a proper fight. Moreover, preparing for
pursuit from Big Bridge, the First Prince's Army had placed their
strongest Iron Cavalry of two thousand at the very rear, dispersing
their army into a vanguard of one thousand centered on infantry, a main force
of two thousand, and a rearguard of two thousand. With this, there was
absolutely no way it would even become a fight. The enemy cavalry squeezed the
encirclement as if they were conducting a hunt, cornering the First Prince
and his men.
「Denka!
At this rate we will be completely surrounded! We will carve open a path of
retreat, so please detour to the rear and pull back to the Imperial Capital!」
The ones who stepped forward to advise this were the Iron
Cavalry of the Royal Guard Army who had rushed from the very rear to
protect the main force. Thanks to that, right now, while receiving the enemy
army's attacks from three sides, the main force was somehow enduring it.
「Kuh... Then the main force of two
thousand shall hold back the enemy forces in the front, left, and right as they
are! I will secure a retreat path to the south together with two thousand Iron
Cavalry!」
「Denka,
if you do that, the main force of two thousand will be completely annihilated!」
「What of it? As long as I am alive, I
can rally soldiers from across the entire Empire. Between the life of
myself, the Next Emperor, and two thousand soldiers, it should be
obvious which to prioritize. Break through the encirclement immediately!」
「Ha...」
Glorious fled,
protected by two thousand Iron Cavalry. Leaving behind the two thousand
soldiers fighting on the front lines... After a short period of battle
following that, the army led by the First Prince completely collapsed.
This was because, other than the two thousand cavalry of the Royal Guard
Army that opened the retreat path, upon learning that their
commander-in-chief had fled, they uniformly lost their will to fight and
willingly surrendered to the enemy army. And... a harsh fate awaited those who
proceeded down the retreat path that the Eral Knight Kingdom had
deliberately left open. Yes, the Knight Kingdom Army had fought with the
intention of luring them there from the very beginning.
「They're coming from the left and
right!」
「Fuh, block them!」
While the Iron Cavalry desperately held off the
rapidly pursuing enemy forces rushing in from the left and right by acting as a
defensive wall, military forces of the Knight Kingdom also rushed in one
after another from the rear, making the difference in fighting strength overwhelming.
「New hands from the rear as well! At
this rate!」
「What are the two thousand we left
behind doing! Can't they even stall them!」
Ultimately, even here, Glorious abandoned the allied Iron
Cavalry who were desperately trying to defend, and slipped through the
encirclement with a small entourage to escape. However... There, the last
ambush that the Knight Kingdom had laid beforehand, a military force of
a whole thousand cavalry, rushed towards Glorious. And then, completely
surrounded without any means to resist, he was dragged down from his beloved
horse by the enemy soldiers...
※
Two days had passed since the battle at Big Bridge Fort
ended. By this time, post-war processing had also settled down, and on the
lands south and north of the fort—which were formerly paddy fields—reclaimed by
the enemy army, tents doubling as temporary prisoner-of-war camps were lined
up; furthermore, the tents of the returning Imperial Soldiers spread out
to cover the outside of those and prevent any avenues of escape. Right now, the
uninjured prisoners, or those whose wounds had healed, were being mobilized
daily for the clearing work on the west and east sides. The Demon Territory
Knights were taking turns handling patrol duties centered on the south
side, and other than that, they were spending peaceful days with nothing in
particular to do. It was at such a time... It seemed some sort of urgent report
had come in, and the leadership of the Third Prince began to move
hurriedly. To confirm the situation, I headed to the main camp where the Third
Prince and Sieghart were stationed.
「Ah, Archduke-heika, you came at just the right
moment. I was just about to send a messenger...」
「Which means... something happened?」
「Yes, a report came in from the
patrol unit that a military force of the Eral Knight Kingdom is heading
this way.」
Hm? Even so, despite the flurry of activity, Sieghart
is strangely calm and composed? It doesn't seem like dispatch orders have been
issued to the soldiers either...
「Then let us also immediately arrange
for a defensive battle...」
「Ah, it is fine. Because I sent a
messenger earlier. I intended to convey as much to Archduke-heika so that you wouldn't be surprised.」
Hm? What does that mean? An enemy army of ten thousand
cavalry... right?
「As soon as they arrive, I intend to
begin the audience with the prisoner the Knight Kingdom has brought
along, so I would be delighted if you could participate in that as well. It's
not... something that feels very good, though.」
Prisoner? The Eral Knight Kingdom is bringing them? What does that mean? Who is he referring to? No, at this time, I could not understand the intentions of the smiling Sieghart at all.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Xavier O'Donoghue
Anton Lim
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Sébastien Dionne
Z
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
