Chapter 429
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Charge of Resolve
Translator : PolterGlast
General Golpa had been advancing the battle
advantageously with wave attacks of hit-and-run tactics by cavalry utilizing
the defile, but he could observe from his main camp that the enemy army had
made a new move. In the battles thus far, they had fought only the vanguard and
rearguard of the enemy army arrayed at the entrances and exits of the defile,
raising battle results that could be called one-sided, but... Golpa had
begun to feel something disturbing in the enemy army's movements.
「Mizel-dono, the enemy army is making strange movements; as a
tactical officer with abundant experience fighting the Orthodox Theocracy,
what do you think the enemy army's intention is?」
「Let me see, I believe the two
thousand cavalry striking the rearguard should immediately be ordered to fall
back. Most likely, the rear portion of the enemy intends to lay a deep
formation by concealing soldiers in the forest while falling back, to lure in
and annihilate our pursuing army. From my side as well, I am sending out
warnings through the communication unit for the unit over there to avoid
engaging too deeply...」
Mizel himself,
who answered so, had personally witnessed the tactic Takuhir took in the
Burg Forest in the past. At that time as well, a numerically superior
rebel cavalry unit was annihilated by a small force using Takuhir's
resourcefulness, Longbow soldiers, and the Dublin Tactic, but he
felt that situation was being reproduced this time with the offensive and
defensive positions reversed.
「In addition, the vanguard of the
enemy army is bypassing the highway, passing through the forest, and deploying
soldiers laterally, while laying their specialty defensive formation at the
highway exit. In this state, a forceful attack would be dangerous...」
Here Golpa nodded deeply. He had the caliber to
immediately adopt an opinion if he deemed it appropriate. Even more so because
he had found the answer to the vague anxiety he had been feeling himself.
「Then I would like to request an
instruction to the two units attacking the rearguard to 『immediately fall back and strictly constrain their rear』. Simultaneously, please communicate
to the units engaging the vanguard to 『take distance for now』.」
「Ha, immediately!」
Perhaps having anticipated that communication beforehand, Mizel
turned around and merely raised his hand to signal the communication soldiers
under his command. Perhaps impressed seeing that state, Golpa narrowed
his eyes and watched while nodding.
「From here on, we too shall
participate in the battle lines and enter to hold them back; therefore, Mizel-dono,
please remain leading the communication unit and serve as a base to transmit
information according to the war situation. Participation in combat is strictly
forbidden, so please keep only that point in mind.」
「Ha, your orders are confirmed.
Please do not push yourself too hard either, General... From here on, we will
raise flags on top of the hill. A blue flag means offensive, a yellow flag
means take distance, and a red flag requests an immediate retreat.」
Saying so, Mizel ran off, immediately moving to
convey the new instructions.
「Fufufu, he's young but watches the
flow of battle well. He too must have crossed the line of death
correspondingly... A young man with a future must not be allowed to die in a
battle like this.」
Saying so, Golpa stared at Mizel's back and
laughed to himself. Then, he issued a command to the one thousand cavalry he
led.
「From here on, we leave the
communication unit here, and our unit will also participate in combat! Holding
those bastards back for even a little longer is our duty, and will become the
foundation for the new country!」
The unit led by Golpa had scattered the very vanguard
and very rearguard of the enemy army in the attacks up to now, and was thought
to have rendered over a thousand men in each combat-ineffective. However... the
main force of the enemy army was still healthy, with over ten thousand soldiers
remaining. If they lay their specialty defensive formation and began to move,
this time they would be overpowered by numbers. Even more so since the cavalry
protecting the Vile Kingdom side numbered three thousand, merely
one-third of the enemy army... Having prepared his resolve, Golpa
departed for the front and leaped out onto the battlefield.
※
On the other hand, Lugner and Azel, who led
the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army, were also bewildered. When the
semi-circular defensive formation they intended was formed in front of the
forest that was the exit of the highway, an unexpectedly large number of
cavalry had deployed in front of it.
「You say two thousand cavalry are
deployed here? What is the meaning of this, Azel! Isn't that number too
large for defeated remnants?」
「Indeed. With five hundred waiting in
the rear as well, the total number of the enemy is certainly more than that.」
「Tch! Did driving away the fanatics
backfire?」
Lugner and the
others had no way of knowing, but the seven thousand cavalry of the Holy
Knights they had driven away had already been annihilated, as were the four
thousand five hundred garrison soldiers left in the Cain Kingdom.
「At this point it cannot be helped.
We will maintain our iron-wall formation, enter the Royal Capital, and join up
with the three thousand soldiers left in Vile. Those guys probably just
scraped together their entire remaining army; their final struggle. The Longbow
soldiers have also taken their positions, so if they come out on the offensive
just like this, it plays right into our hands.」
Indeed, Azel's point hit the mark. Because
originally, no proper collective fighting strength should have been left in the
Vile Kingdom. Originally, that is...
「If so, shall we have the subsequent
one thousand infantry and five hundred Longbow soldiers protect our
rear, and advance while maintaining the formation? The front is ten thousand
versus two thousand, this time we will definitely annihilate them! I will
command the rear, so Azel, I leave the front to you.」
Lugner himself
recognized that Azel had a day's advantage in the utilization of Longbow
soldiers. Therefore, he entrusted the command of the vanguard to him, and
voluntarily moved to the rear. And then... having deployed in a semi-circle at
the defile exit, they changed their formation to a crescent moon and slowly
began to advance along the highway, and following them, the units in the rear
also began to move. At their very vanguard, one thousand five hundred turncoat
soldiers were deployed as sacrificial stones to act as a shield; inside them
were five thousand infantry, and further inside were one thousand five hundred Longbow
soldiers, forming a vanguard unit unified in offense and defense. In the center
army, two thousand cavalry were deployed, and in the rearguard at the very tail
end, five hundred Longbow soldiers protected by one thousand infantry
laid a defensive formation. They had abandoned those who were wounded in the
battles up to now and had left the battle lines, leaving over a thousand
wounded soldiers in the forest as a living stone wall shield. Therefore, the
enemy army that was attacking the rear was wary of an ambush and remained
unable to pass through the forest. In this system, they slowly began to advance
towards the Royal Capital of the Vile Kingdom.
「Enemy attack! A one thousand-strong
cavalry unit is charging from the front!」
「Hahaha, they lost their patience and
came attacking! Longbow soldiers, prepare to attack aiming forward!」
However... the enemy soldiers that were supposed to have charged
approached up to three hundred meters, the
effective range of the Longbows, and then changed direction to the
right, showing movements of circling around to the rear while slipping past the
side of their defensive formation.
「Tch! Doing something clever; respond
according to the enemy army's movements! Reduce Lugner's burden.」
Following Azel's instruction, it was when a portion
of the Longbow soldiers began to move. From the shadow of the dust
clouds kicked up by the previous one thousand cavalry, the one thousand cavalry
led by Golpa that had been hiding until now charged in.
「Fresh hands from the enemy army! New
enemy soldiers from the left wing!」
Azel and the
others' response was delayed for a moment due to the appearance of fresh hands
they had not anticipated up to now, and their left wing took the charge of one
thousand cavalry head-on. Due to this, the infantry protecting the outer
perimeter of the left wing were mowed down one after another.
「Hold them! If we hold this place,
those bastards are prey for the Longbows!」
While the infantry desperately held back the charge, the Longbow
soldiers who were about to circle around to the rear returned and rained down
arrows in a simultaneous attack, but by then the charging cavalry had already
fallen back from before them. However, in the next moment, fresh hands charged
from the direction of the right wing, attempting another hit-and-run attack,
and another unit showed signs of assaulting the rearguard commanded by Lugner
as well.
「Useless! Even if one thousand
cavalry were added, breaking through our defensive formation is impossible! We
will bury them with superiority in numbers just like this!」
Exactly as Azel boasted, despite receiving enemy
attacks multiple times, while a slight number of infantry were whittled down,
they conversely struck down a similar number of enemy soldiers with the Longbows.
Eleven thousand versus three thousand; it was obvious that if they continued to
reduce numbers mutually at this rate, Azel and the others would survive
and win.
※
Three cavalry units of one thousand each were repeating
coordinated attacks, but commanding General Golpa also understood that
if they were worn down at this rate, they would be defeated. However, they must
not be allowed to enter the Royal Capital of the Vile Kingdom again.
Although two thousand garrison soldiers were left in the Royal Capital, the
chain of command was unclear, and having gone through two siege battles,
facilities such as the city gates remained damaged, greatly reducing the
defensive capability of the Royal Capital. At this rate, it would be recaptured
by the enemy army anew. To prevent that, Golpa and the others devoted
themselves entirely to holding them back with tragic resolve. While whittling
away their own bodies and lives...
「Have the two thousand cavalry
deployed in the rear still not been able to pass through the forest?」
Golpa checked
while on horseback, but there was no one to answer. They were placing
themselves on the foremost front lines, and ironically, the only thing that
could tell him that was changes in the enemy army. If the two thousand cavalry
from the rear participated in the battle lines, they might have been able to
fight a slightly better battle, but due to Lugner's ruthless judgment,
as many as one thousand wounded enemy soldiers had become a living stone wall
blocking the defile, showing more resistance than expected.
「General, at this rate our army
will...」
The pleas from his subordinates were heavily understood by Golpa
as well. The soldiers were wounded from the repeated charges, and over twenty
percent had already dropped out. Because the enemy army was deployed in a
semi-circle, they managed to avoid the simultaneous attacks of the Longbows,
but damages were already increasing in various places, and at this rate, they
would suffer damages judged as total annihilation after a few more charges.
「If we hold out for at least a few
more hours, the main force of the Demon Territory Knights will
participate in the battle. Until then, somehow...」
Saying so, Golpa looked up at the hill where he had
left the communication unit. There, numerous blue flags were fluttering in the
wind, as if encouraging them.
※
「I see... they too are saying 『we must maintain the offensive』, huh. Fufufu, it seems I will be
able to make a good final blossom of death too.」
Saying so, Golpa spurred the entire army and was
about to charge in again. A tremendous storm of arrows rushed through along
with a gust of wind from his right rear, mowing down a corner of the enemy
formation! The fierce arrows, as if spears had been thrust, began to crumble a
corner of the solid defensive formation all at once.
「No way! This fast? Have
reinforcements arrived?」
At this point, the main force led by Takuhir, which had crossed through the Vile Kingdom from the Royal Capital of the Cain Kingdom to catch up, finally arrived at the battlefield. Guided by the sky lanterns Mizel raised into the sky, they had passed through the shortest distance and accurately reached the battlefield. Here the war situation reverses once again.
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