Chapter 430
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Liberation of the Three Countries
Translator : PolterGlast
When Mizel
was forbidden from participating in the battle lines by General Golpa
and told to remain behind, he did not merely dedicate himself to his given duty
and watch the fate of the battle from the rear. He too, upon his own judgment,
moved into action to fulfill a new role. Immediately reassigning the mobile
units from among the communication corps under his command to the west, he
moved to guide the main force of Takuhir and the others, who would
undoubtedly arrive. They raised sky lanterns with conspicuous colors at key
points along the highway, striving to guide Takuhir and the others
pursuing from behind. Thanks to that, Takuhir and the others slipped
through the shortest distance via the guidance, and were able to arrive at the
battlefield before Golpa and the others, who were dedicating themselves
to holding the enemy back, were annihilated.
「Glad
we made it in time! We owe thanks to Mizel's quick thinking. Glenn, continue the
ultra-long-range penetrating attacks via 『Long Spear』
together with the Wind Mages! The other Longbow units, launch
simultaneous volleys once they enter range! Commander, I ask you to
charge into the opened holes and eliminate the enemy Longbow soldiers!」
「「Understood!」」
At Takuhir's
instructions, taking advantage of the opening when the enemy army flinched from
the Long Spear attacks, the Longbow cavalry unit deployed to the
front and began suppressive fire receiving the support of Wind Mages.
※
The soldiers of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, who normally
fought with out-range tactics, were flustered and panicked by the long-distance
shooting of Longbows exceeding their own effective range.
「W-What
is the meaning of this! Why are there new soldiers here, m-moreover, aren't
those Longbow soldiers!」
Azel was
astonished in three different meanings, and unconsciously screamed. To begin
with, for a new enemy army of as many as ten thousand to rush to this place was
an impossible story. The three countries of Lute, Vile, and Cain
had lost their main fighting strength, and could not possibly possess a mobile
fighting strength of ten thousand cavalry. Then where did this military force
spring out from? His assumption that they stood at an overwhelming superiority
in numbers had crumbled fragilely at this point. In addition to that, what
astonished him was that the enemy raining down a storm of arrows, despite
taking the guise of cavalry, were unmistakably Longbow soldiers.
However... there was no country possessing Longbow soldiers other than
them. With a single exception... And those enemy Longbow soldiers were
continuing to loose effective fire from a distance exceeding three hundred meters, far longer than his own
army's effective range... And the finishing blow was the fierce arrow attacks (Long
Spear attacks) mowing down their iron-wall formation. The ultra-long-range
penetrating attacks they themselves called 『Arrows of God』
could only be fired when highly skilled Longbow soldiers and Wind
Mages, who were messengers of God, coordinated at a high level. There was
only one other country capable of performing such a feat.
「S-Such
an absurd story! Helping the enemy countries who invaded you? Impossible!」
This shout from Azel
was perfectly reasonable. Normally it would be an impossible story, and if
several coincidences had not overlapped, it would not have been realized even
with Takuhir's good nature.
·
The
Lute and Vile Kingdom armies surrendered while still possessing a
surplus strength of fifteen thousand men capable of fighting.
·
The
two generals who led the armies of these two countries were figures worthy of Takuhir's
trust.
·
Tthe
Empire Southern Dispatch Army led by Takuhir achieved a perfect
victory and returned in triumph almost completely unharmed.
·
Through
Reim's intelligence, it had been exposed that the ones leading the Orthodox
TheocracyArmy were Lugner and Azel.
It was exactly because
all these conditions were met that this expedition had been realized... While Azel,
commanding the vanguard, could not understand the sudden change in the
situation, Lugner, learning of the abnormality, also rushed from the
rearguard to the vanguard.
「Azel!
What is the meaning of this?」
「I
don't know! But... that is undoubtedly the army led by the brat (Takuhir)!」
「W-What
did you say! Such an absurdity...」
Lugner too
was left speechless by a situation exceeding his own understanding. During that
time, the unilateral long-distance attacks by Longbows snatching their
specialty from them by the Demon Territory Dukedom Army, and the sweeping fire by Long
Spears which they called 『Arrows of God』, were
repeated, and the trend of the battle was already becoming a one-sided
development.
「It
seems I had misjudged the brat... To think he was a man so maddened by revenge
that he would not hesitate to invade and make the three countries his own
taking advantage of this opportunity...」
Here too, Lugner
misunderstood. But given their caliber, and within the scope of the information
they had learned, it was understandable for them to judge it so.
「No
good! They will break through at this rate!」
Exactly as Azel's
words, the unit led by Knight Commander Weiss charged into a corner of
the crumbled defensive formation, and began to scatter the Longbow
soldiers hiding behind the infantry. Seeing that, each unit led by General Golpa
also regained their momentum and began charging in various places.
「Azel!
First make them fall back!! We still have four thousand soldiers left in the Cain
Kingdom, we will recall the Holy Knights and rebuild our formation.」
「R-Right... Entire army, immediately fall
back into the forest! Longbow soldiers, deploy in the forest while
falling back, and conversely intercept them at the defile!」
By this instruction,
the soldiers of the Orthodox Theocracy began to fall back towards the forest and the defile highway
again while half-routing. However, the situation did not proceed according to
their speculations.
「Reporting!
The enemy army's fierce attacks are concentrated at the entrance to the defile,
turning it into a death zone!」
Sensing that the
enemy army had fallen back, Glenn had shifted the aim of the Long Spear attacks to the
entrance of the defile in the forest. When the cavalry unit positioned in the
rearguard tried to flee into the defile ahead of the rest, they were mowed down
one after another by a fierce storm of arrows, turning the area into an echoing
hell of agonizing cries.
「Tch!
Do they intend to sever our retreat path! If it comes to this, it cannot be
helped; abandon both the horses and the baggage trains and flee into the
forest!」
「Lugner!
What will you do after that?」
「This
inferiority can no longer be recovered. But... we still have a measure to
revive from the brink of death left. A measure to take the head of the brat
arrogant from victory, and for us to ultimately win, that is.」
Saying so, Lugner
floated a chilling smile accompanied by fierce hatred.
※
The war situation
changed dizzyingly on the battlefield in a short time, and was now becoming a
one-sided development. The Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, which had
possessed over ten thousand soldiers until a little while ago, had now lost
nearly half its fighting strength, and the remaining soldiers had scattered
fleeing deep into the forest. On the battlefield, the baggage trains fully
loaded with the wealth they had plundered up until now were left behind, and
the horses abandoned by the cavalry were merely running wildly around the area.
「Do not
go deep into the forest! You'll receive a counterattack from an unexpected
blind spot! For now, reliably annihilate only the enemies you can see!」
The Commander
had already issued instructions to change the system to a sweeping battle,
moving to gradually expand the suppressed area deep into the forest while
securing the safety of the defile. At this point, the two thousand cavalry
under General Golpa's banner who advanced backwards through the defile
also joined up and entered under the Commander's command.
「Archduke-heika, this time... I thank you for
your assistance. With this, our lives have been saved twice over.」
「Oh!
You were safe! It is we who are sorry for being late. But... I'm truly glad we
made it in time. General Golpa, first get your wounds treated!」
Seeing the figure of
General Golpa who joined up and appeared before my eyes, I was relieved
at first, but broken arrows were piercing his body everywhere, and he was in a
state of being covered in wounds all over.
「No...
I fought a pathetic battle... If you could prioritize treating the soldiers
first...」
「Marianne!
With utmost urgency!」
Rushing my horse
over to support General Golpa, who looked about to fall off his horse
due to deep wounds, I shouted at the same time. Then, requesting the soldiers
to assist the General, I moved to the next action.
「Raphael, Sigur, Carla,
from here we enter predetermined actions, but... I ask for your vigilance.
Because we cannot let our guard down around those guys until the very end.」
This alone was
sufficient for them. After that, I called Shior, Shannon, Leia,
and Yoltia,
and instructed them on the next action.
※
After the trend of
the battle was decided, the 『Song Dedicated to God』 of
the Istoria Holy Kingdom was sung on the battlefield by the Holy Mage
Shior, and it echoed deep into the forest through Shannon's sound
magic.
「!!! No
way...」
「Oooooh,
it's the Miko-sama!」
「G-God...
have you come to save us?」
Astonished, some
stopped in their tracks, and some knelt on the earth and began seeking
salvation. To them, Aura's voice overlapped with the singing voice.
「Everyone
of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, I am someone who was once called a Divine Messenger. Please, if
this song reaches you, listen to what I have to say just a little. Your battle
is over. The respective Royal Capitals of Lute, Vile, and Cain
have already been suppressed, and you have no path of retreat.」
「S-Such
a...」
「What...
should we do?」
「God,
why won't you save us?」
「Please,
surrender without shedding any more useless blood. Together with us who were
once called Divine Messengers,
let us make amends for the sins up to now. I promise we will never do anything
merciless.」
As this voice
echoed, the sounds of combat that had been heard sporadically from within the
forest eventually faded away. Because at this point, many of the soldiers,
knowing that other regions had already been suppressed and they had no path of
retreat, lost their will to fight, knelt on the earth, and crumbled. After
that, the soldiers threw away their weapons one after another and began coming
out of the forest with their hands raised, prostrating themselves.
「I
witnessed it for the first time, but the effect of the Miko's song is
tremendous...」
I spoke to the two
beside me with surprise. Because Yoltia and Leia were standing there, keeping a watchful
eye on the surroundings without dropping their guard.
「Exactly
as you say, however Takuhir-sama...」
「Yeah, Yoltia,
thank you. I know, maybe after drawing them in a little more?」
Many enemy soldiers
began moving with both hands raised as if to cling to Shior and Aura,
but among them were some who were conspicuously edging closer towards our
direction. In response, the subordinate soldiers were also beginning to form a
human wall as if to surround us. And when they approached to a distance of
about a hundred meters,
I made my decision.
「Now, Leia!」
Simultaneously with
my words, Leia activated Light magic with all her might, and a
dazzling light enveloped them.
「Gugah!」 「Uwah!」 「L-Light!」
「Yoltia!」
Against the fifty or
so surrendered soldiers agonizing in the light, this time Yoltia emitted
Gravity magic and pinned them to the earth.
「Ah, aaaaahhhhh!」 「F-Fallingggg!」 「Gwaaaaaaaaahhhh!」
After short screams,
they uniformly lost their sanity, and never returned again. And the only ones
who were able to remain standing unchanged in the place that was a battlefield
were those who won the battle and those who truly made the decision to
surrender.
※
Takuhir and
the others had established countermeasures against the 『Apostles
of Darkness』 to a certain extent through the circumstances up to now. That
began with the warning issued by the Academy Principal in the past, and was
also the result based on the battle fought at the gateway on the Teigoon
Demon Territory side
now called Abyss, the capture of Viscount Hiyorimi, and the
attempted assassination incident of Yuka in Kusanagi. Thereafter,
similar measures were taken against surrendering enemy soldiers, and the 『Apostles
of Darkness』 were sequentially annihilated by attacks using Light
magic and Gravity magic, which were mutually conflicting to their
darkness. The Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army that participated in the
battle on this day was thirteen thousand five hundred men, but due to five
thousand war dead, three thousand soldiers dropped out due to injuries, and
four thousand soldiers threw away their weapons and surrendered as prisoners.
Due to this, the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army that invaded the three
countries was effectively destroyed, virtually wiped out. Also, the 『Apostles
of Darkness』 who escaped past subjugations were also destroyed without
being able to fulfill Lugner's orders, but the crucial ringleaders, Lugner
and Azel, fell towards neighboring countries with a few defeated
remnants.
「Did we
fail to strike them down this time as well...」
「I
apologize for our inadequacy.」
「No,
it's not the Commander's responsibility. If we forced a pursuit into the
forest, our sacrifices would have been greater too. However... with this, those
guys should have lost the ones acting as their hands and feet. With this
crushing defeat, they won't be able to return to the Orthodox Theocracy either.」
「Exactly
as you say. Even though about a thousand men fell away, having lost their
mounts and with no supplies, the majority of them will probably collapse along
the way.」
「Then
let's leave the post-war processing to General Golpa's unit, and return
to the Royal Capital of the Lute Kingdom for now. Once the three
countries are solidified, this time for sure we can return in triumph to Kusanagi
and express our appreciation to everyone.」
※
Due to the active
roles of Takuhir and his forces, and the death-defying struggles of
General Golpa and his forces, the three countries of Lute, Vile,
and Cain were liberated from the invaders, and would walk a new path
from here on. On the other hand, the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, which
had been continuously expanding its power with the momentum to shoot down
flying birds, lost all its home country army that it had dispatched reinforcing
the expeditionary force with the whole country's effort, and went down the path
of continuous decline. And ahead, an astonishing and unexpected news awaited Takuhir,
who returned to the Lute Kingdom via the Royal Capital of the Vile
Kingdom.
◇ Final
Damages of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army
Lute Kingdom
Garrison ▼ 5,000 men (Including 1,300 prisoners)
Vile Kingdom
Garrison ▼ 3,000 men (Including 500 prisoners)
Holy Knights
(Main Force) ▼ 6,000 men (Including 500 prisoners)
Holy Knights
(Rearguard) ▼ 1,000 men (Including 200 prisoners)
Cain Royal
Capital Garrison ▼ 4,500 men (Including 1,200 prisoners)
Main Force ▼10,000
men (Including 6,000 prisoners)
Desertion (Unknown)
Around 1,000 men
· Turncoat Soldiers ▼ 2,000 men (Including 500 prisoners)
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