Volume 6 Release Commemorative Special Episode
Battle Towards the Liberation of the National
Territory ② - King Crajyu's Decision
Translator : PolterGlast
The infantry unit led by King Crajyu, having parted
ways with Gord and departed the Royal Capital, invaded from the national
border closest to the Royal Capital that very day, and assaulted the encampment
of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army that had built a bridgehead.
However, strangely enough, the officers and soldiers of the Istoria Orthodox
Theocracy Army did not comprehend the approach of the enemy army until just
before being assaulted.
「Hmph, to begin with, our country too
received a surprise attack from an opponent we firmly believed was an allied
army, and was easily defeated, after all. One might call this a return of
favor.」
King Crajyu, who muttered so, had lined up the
banners captured when they recaptured the Royal Capital, and had the soldiers
in the front row disguise themselves using even armaments taken from the enemy
army. To begin with, the Istoria soldiers, having thought they conquered
the neighboring countries in a rapid, unstoppable advance and grown complacent,
fell into great confusion.
「Push the cowardly invaders all at
once beyond the national border!」
Even without receiving King Crajyu's instructions,
the Lute Kingdom soldiers launched mercilessly fierce attacks. Because
they were uniformly burning with anger at the enemy army's cowardly methods and
the trampling of their Royal Capital and national territory, it was only
natural. Against the offensive of the Lute Kingdom Army, the invading
army began to crumble at once without putting up much resistance. For this
four-country expedition, the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy pushed
themselves to organize an expeditionary force of twenty thousand, and with the
new developments, Castro organized and sent out further reinforcements;
however, even calling the sent soldiers regular soldiers, many were 『hasty』 recruits, greatly inferior in proficiency and morale. Such
soldiers had won and advanced thus far taking the form of thieves at a fire,
and were therefore filled with arrogance and complacency.
「W-Why is an enemy army attacking
us...」
The one who was left speechless out of sheer astonishment
was the commander leading the unit deployed in this area; he was one of the
Archbishops appointed as commander by Castro. To begin with, because he
was dispatched to proceed with the governance and plundering of safely occupied
territories, he had no battle experience. Having no means to deal with the
situation before his eyes, he merely stood dumbfounded.
「It's no good! The enemy army is more
than double ours, we cannot hold out! Your instructions!」
「Wha! I... I have not heard such a
story!」
Flustered by the soldier's report, he threw away even his
position as commander and fled before anyone else. When that happened, the
soldiers who were 『hasty』 recruits also chased his back and
began routing. Seeing that state, King Crajyu further spurred on the
entire army.
「They cannot fight properly! Drive
the enemy soldiers down just like this, and make them realize never to trample
our homeland again!」
Riding the momentum, the Lute Kingdom Army recaptured
the stronghold built by the enemy army, and recapturing all the way to a
strategic point established on the national border as is, they stopped upon invading
one of the four southern counties of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy
territory, and set up camp preparing for a counterattack by the enemy army.
「Heika, from here the enemy country's capital Tria is right
under our noses; let us press the attack riding this momentum, capture the
enemy army's capital, and relieve our resentment!」
To this advice from his subordinate, King Crajyu
shook his head silently. Then, he spoke to the soldiers as if admonishing them.
「If we press the attack riding the
momentum, we might easily be able to make Tria fall. Because they have
made unreasonable troop deployments and are repeating our mistake. But that...
is nothing more than our retaliation. What we must prioritize is answering the
debt of gratitude; answering our benefactor's expectations and reducing the
burden of our allied forces even a little bit—that is the path we must proceed
on!」
Being told so, the soldiers burning with the desire for
revenge had no choice but to fall silent. Because originally, they themselves
would have been chained in prison as captives... no, if the opponent they
fought hadn't been the Demon Territory Dukedom, there was a possibility
they might not even have prolonged their lives.
「Leaving a reconnaissance unit in the
direction of Tria, we will advance northeast within the enemy country's
territory as is, and emerge behind the enemy army deployed in the central part!
We will sever their retreat path, annihilate the enemy army all at once, and
liberate our homeland!」
「「「「「Yeah!」」」」」
Following those instructions, the Lute Kingdom Army
began an orderly movement northeast within the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy
territory. However... this decision by King Crajyu would bring about an
unexpected result.
※
Around the time the five thousand of the Lute Kingdom
Army were marching within the Orthodox Theocracy territory, Tria
had fallen into great confusion. This was because the Archbishop who had fled
first in the previous battle, and the few soldiers following him, had fled back
in a sorry state.
「W-What is the meaning of this? Is
such an absurd story possible!」
It was no wonder Castro was surprised. According to
the reports thus far, he had heard that the dispatched army led by Lugner
and the others caused the Royal Capital of the Vile Kingdom to fall with
lightning speed, took the Royal Capital of the Lute Kingdom on that momentum,
and was moving to subsequently occupy the Cain Kingdom. Moreover, in
addition to the four thousand sent as reinforcements for them, the seven
thousand newly incorporated Holy Knights were also sent out, serving
also to rid themselves of nuisances. If so, a fighting strength of at least
over thirty thousand was sweeping across the three countries; because of that,
feeling secure enough to even empty Tria, he had dispersed and sent out
six thousand soldiers from three directions to proceed with the governance of
the new territories.
「What are Lugner and Azel
doing! Where are the Holy Knights wandering about! There should be five
thousand garrison soldiers in the Royal Capital of the Lute Kingdom,
shouldn't there!」
Honestly speaking, it was nothing but stories he couldn't
understand. However... the rebuked Archbishop, with his entire body drenched in
sweat, answered timidly.
「With all due respect... we were hit
by a surprise attack from an enemy army of o-v-e-r t-e-n t-h-o-u-s-a-n-d, we
were outnumbered and had no means to resist. Perhaps the enemy army possesses
an army beyond imagination, and has launched a full-scale counteroffensive...」
「Impossible...」
Assuming that were true, merely a fighting strength of less
than a thousand remained in Tria. All the rest had been sent to the
invaded three countries, or were pasted to the forefront against the Istoria
Imperial Kingdom. To begin with, the reporting Archbishop himself had
greatly exaggerated the enemy's military force to hide his own blunder, but
there was no way for others to know that. To a dumbfounded Castro, new
evil tidings flew in.
「The enemy army that invaded the four
southern counties is turning its army north! Could it be... they intend to
completely sever our retreat path?」
「!!!」
If that happens, their escape routes will be completely
blocked and they will be surrounded, and Tria, which has only a small
number of soldiers, will be as good as fallen. Castro was crushed by
that terror.
「Your Eminence, as a temporary
measure, how about moving your residence to the previously occupied Isra?
Fortunately, Isra is the forefront with the Imperial Kingdom, our
soldiers are stationed there, and it does not share a national border with the Lute
Kingdom either.」
Just as the Archbishop said, recently the Pope of the Istoria
Imperial Kingdom had felt danger to his person, abandoned Isra, and
fled to the three northern counties, and the four central counties had all come
under the control of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy.
「However... when the situation of the
expeditionary force is also unknown, are you telling me to abandon Tria
and flee?」
「We are not fleeing. To begin with, Isra
was the Royal Capital of the Imperial Kingdom for many years, and an
indispensable city for the Church as well. It is merely a matter of
transferring the capital to a city of higher status. If the expeditionary force
is safe, it will be fine to simply order the recapture of Tria anew.」
Receiving those words, Castro convinced himself. Even
if the expeditionary force was healthy, if Tria was attacked now, danger
would reach him and there would be no guarantee of his life. If that happens,
he himself will become the sacrifice of the battle, and the clown buying the
most ridicule.
「I-Immediately carry out the transfer
of the capital! Those moving can be a small number; urgently load the wealth
onto the baggage trains, pass through the westernmost highway, and aim for Isra!」
Under this instruction, the Church upper echelons who knew
the circumstances and the majority of the soldiers protecting Tria
secretly abandoned the city and fled to Isra. And then... in a form King
Crajyu had not intended, the four southern counties of the Istoria Orthodox
Theocracy became a blank zone.
※
Meanwhile, the Lute Kingdom Army, ignorant of the
enemy country's circumstances, was dashing through the enemy country's
territory amidst the approaching dusk. It goes without saying that regarding
the enemy territory adjacent to the national border line, they too had grasped
the topography through years of intelligence activities, which supported their
swift march. When the sun fell they camped, and at dawn when the pitch-black
sky began to lighten, they commenced moving again. And after moving for half a
day, they finally emerged behind the enemy army that had advanced into the
central part. The Orthodox Theocracy soldiers deployed in this area were
also 『hasty』 recruits, and as a result of that,
not bound by military discipline, they committed every atrocity imaginable in
neighboring villages.
「They have already ravaged the
neighboring villages, and their merciless deeds are equivalent to the likes of
bandits. We shall annihilate them and liberate the people who have tasted
hardships. Entire army, charge!」
「「「「「Yeah!」」」」」
Under the command of the new King, it goes without saying
that a merciless, one-sided battle unfolded here as well. As a result, the unit
led by King Crajyu destroyed the enemy army that had invaded from two
directions, built a bridgehead on the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy side
beyond the national border, and while preparing for future counterattacks,
began collecting information via scouts.
※
And a further day later, they joined up with Gord's
unit, which had destroyed the enemy army that invaded the northernmost part. At
that time, Gord was dumbfounded by the battle results he heard from the
new King.
「Good grief... despite leading only
infantry, I cannot hide my surprise at Heika's god-speed troop
deployment. I never thought the enemy who invaded from the center ahead of us
would also be destroyed.」
「No, the enemy army was also off
guard, the soldiers' proficiency was low, and they couldn't even perform
coordinated movements. I must say their true strength was far removed from the
original regular army we had faced for many years.」
Although he spoke so modestly, the fact that he moved dozens
of km in a short period of time with only infantry and won a
series of battles was astonishing to Gord as well. Because he never
thought there was a general capable of pulling off such a feat other than his
own lord.
「By the way, General Gord, for
the convenience of defense we have occupied one county of the enemy country and
are investigating the movements in the surrounding area, but... it seems there
are incomprehensible movements.」
「Incomprehensible... you say?」
That was due to reports from the unit left behind for
intelligence in the direction of Tria when the new King moved to another
battle.
「It seems the ringleader of the enemy
army judged that Tria was difficult to defend, abandoned the city, and
fled into Isra. Almost all the soldiers followed suit, and now the four
southern counties seem to have become a blank zone.」
「What!」
Gord was
dumbfounded by the unexpected situation, but looking closely at the topography,
it was a reasonable story.
「I see... as a result of forcing a
troop dispatch disproportionate to their stature, they ended up in a situation
where they couldn't even protect their headquarters. If so, I believe Heika
should requisition the four southern counties, which have become empty houses.」
「We are those who were saved by Archduke-heika. As those who received
reinforcements, invading the enemy country and acquiring new territory seems a
bit too selfish to me...」
Gord could
fully understand those feelings as well. However, under a certain thought, Gord
deliberately decided to offer 『forward』 advice.
「If it is a requisition rather than
an invasion, shouldn't it be no problem? Securing the territory to use as a
bargaining condition hypothetically when post-war negotiations are held—I
believe you should think of it that way.」
「I see! This too is territory to be
presented to Archduke-heika,
so you're saying we should requisition it for that purpose. If so, let's deploy
soldiers at the border between the four southern counties and the four central
counties. So that eventually it can become the territory of the Demon
Territory Dukedom.」
「......」
The new King's decision was appreciated, but Gord himself thought the future would not turn out that way. He independently thought of the best future and kept the contents of his advice to his lord hidden in his heart. And the result of that would become clear shortly. On the day Takuhir and the others defeated all the invading armies and returned in triumph to the Lute Kingdom...
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