Chapter 104: A God-Tier Move
After our meeting with the Lestall Army’s top brass concluded, Yuri and I were allowed to act separately.
That said, we didn’t do anything particularly special.
It was a couple of days that felt almost like a break, explaining the situation to Pops and Hiroki-tachi, going around the Abyss to drop off materials, and checking in on how Aunt Mary was doing.
Then, when we headed north from Lease again, the Lestall Army was lined up near the border, lying in wait for the enemy.
Flying over them, we proceeded directly to scout the Imperial Army, and soon we could see them on the march.
Confirming that they were at a distance where both sides would be able to see each other within a few hours, we made a wide detour and landed in our flight form where the commanders were gathered, intending to report, then dispelled our Maso.
“Yep, just as planned. They’ll be within visual range by the end of today.”
I had informed them of the exact date and time of our return, so they didn’t seem particularly surprised.
Well, the army troops did show a bit of a stir, though.
“Huh, I’d heard you sprout wings and fly, but so that’s how it works…”
To Prince Riley, who shot me a challenging gaze asking, “Was it alright to show us that?” I casually replied, “Not a problem at all. More importantly,” and continued the conversation.
Just a moment ago, something came up that I needed to ask about.
Apparently, there were soldiers marching from Adrald’s direction as well, and I needed to ask if that was part of the plan.
Yuri had spotted their army and told me when we made our wide detour, but according to the plan we’d heard, all forces should have already assembled.
“No… I haven’t heard anything about that,” Marquis Randall said, making eye contact with Prince Riley, but it seemed neither of them knew anything about it.
“Does that mean there’s a high chance Marquis Hestia’s army has come as reinforcements for the Imperial side?”
“That possibility is high, yes… Their numbers?”
“About three thousand. They weren’t flying any banners.”
“Then there’s almost no doubt about it…” Marquis Randall clutched his head.
Apparently, in situations like this, it’s standard practice to fly your own army’s banners to show you’re an ally.
The other commanders also had bitter expressions.
It seems they were still in the suspicion phase, and if they claimed to be reinforcements, it would be difficult to turn them away.
Strictly speaking, it was possible in terms of command authority, but either the commander-in-chief, Marquis Randall, or Prince Riley would have to go directly. It seems that with someone of Marquis rank, the demand ‘Let me through, I’ll speak to them directly’ would be accepted.
However, they couldn’t send the Prince knowing they might be enemies, and the commander-in-chief couldn’t leave his post, so they were apparently racking their brains.
Contrary to Marquis Randall’s thoughts, Prince Riley spoke up.
“It can’t be helped. The commander-in-chief cannot leave. I will take some soldiers and go.”
“Ah, then, Your Highness, I’ll go with you.”
It looked like a tough job, so I offered to help, but I was asked for the Belfast Army to remain.
The Prince apparently had five thousand soldiers, and since they were regular army, their quality was said to be quite high.
Prince Riley smiled, saying that taking even half of them would be sufficient, and then, with an elegant demeanor, said, “Well then, I leave things here to you,” and walked towards his own troops.
The real deal is different, after all.
I can’t imitate that refined air.
Just as Prince Riley was departing, the Imperial Army came into view.
They stopped at a distance of about five hundred meters, and with disciplined movements, swiftly formed their ranks.
Once their formation had taken some shape, Marquis Randall stepped forward and, using a voice-enhancing Magic Tool, boomed.
To summarize, it was, ‘Don’t bring your army into someone else’s territory, go home quickly.’
The Empire’s response was, ‘Blocking our path during wartime is a declaration of war. If you do not leave Lease immediately, we will conquer you.’
To that, the Marquis succinctly declared, ‘With Mildrad’s defeat, the war is over. If you do not withdraw, we will remove you by force,’ and so the battle began.
Immediately after, about two thousand soldiers from the Lestall Army advanced.
That was probably Count Listol’s army, but for some reason, they were displaying an almost excessive number of banners emblazoned with their family crest, and a single Beast-Drawn Cart followed behind them.
Marching slowly without producing their Maso Weapons, they looked just like an army parading through a city.
And when they had advanced several tens of meters, they knelt on one knee, and Count Listol, emerging from the Beast-Drawn Cart, performed a vassal’s bow. A group from the Imperial Army then came out and appeared to accept it.
A murmur of unease spread through the Lestall Army as well, but immediately after, a hundred of Count Listol’s soldiers stood up and simultaneously launched a magical attack on the Imperial Army.
Completely caught by surprise, the Imperial Army faltered and their ranks broke, but they quickly initiated their own magical attacks, and the battle began.
“Huh… How are those soldiers who infiltrated and attacked going to get back?”
“At that close range, they surely can’t return, can they…?”
I looked around, but no reinforcements were heading their way.
The hundred soldiers who had attacked were scrambling to retreat, but the enemy army wasn’t just watching idly.
Magic Circles deployed all at once, and just as I thought this was bad and was about to take flight, a single ray of light illuminated the enemy forces.
That was the light of Light Magic.
Searching for the source of the light, I saw a soldier who had popped his head out from the ground, using a Magic Tool.
Apparently, a hidden soldier was providing support with a Magic Tool.
He leaped out and, while fleeing towards us, used the Magic Tool to interfere with the enemy’s attacks, aiding his comrades’ retreat.
Simultaneously, four thousand Lestall soldiers began to advance.
However, they didn’t charge headlong into the enemy lines but instead focused their fire with magical attacks.
The enemy army also deployed barriers to block Elemental Magic, deflecting most of it, but the attacks were landing squarely on the parts of their forces that were frantically trying to crush Count Listol’s troops.
And just as fifteen hundred of Count Listol’s forces were annihilated, the four thousand soldiers who had advanced began to retreat towards us.
“Hmm, it is most gratifying that the fools seem to have been thoroughly dealt with.
Since we were able to use those who would become enemies as a shield, the stratagem can be called quite satisfactory, wouldn’t you agree?”
Genzou-san nodded once, praising the strategy Prince Riley had employed.
To Roosevelt-san’s voice saying, “Your Highness, that is a normal unorthodox strategy,” I tilted my head and asked, “Um, it’s an unorthodox strategy, yet it’s normal?” which earned me wry smiles from everyone.
Wondering what that meant, I looked at Yuri, and she placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, declaring, “It means Rui is far more amazing!”
Yuri puffing her chest out proudly, so cute.
Whoops, that’s not it. Why does everyone keep trying to raise the bar for me?
“I just happened to succeed with some Magic Tool-related inventions; I’m not good at strategizing, you know?”
I mean, I could come up with something of this level, but actually finishing the preparations without Count Listol noticing seems difficult, so I think it’s genuinely amazing.
But the problem is what comes next, right? What move will Marquis Randall make…?
As I was pondering such things, Marquis Randall, who was commanding from a short distance away, called out to me.
“The worry of an enemy at our rear has been eliminated.
From here on, it will be a melee, a pure battle of strength versus strength. I would like you to sally forth with us, if that is acceptable?”
Eh… A melee? You mean just charge in without any plan?
Surely that’s a bad idea, right? There are ten thousand of them, on par with Estoc’s army, you know?
But I can’t exactly say, ‘Give me command,’ either.
Still, it would be problematic if the Lestall Army took a major hit. Seriously problematic.
Crap, I was being too naive.
“Um… I was thinking that perhaps our side could use a strategy to reduce their numbers next…”
“Hmm, I haven’t heard anything of the sort…?” Marquis Randall said, turning his gaze towards his general.
“Our strategic advisor is His Highness, after all,” Genzou-san said. “He gathers information and formulates plans until the very last minute. Whether you accept this proposal is up to you.”
“Let’s hear it. Whether we adopt it depends on what you say,” Marquis Randall replied.
Eh, no, I’m thinking about it right now… so, wait a sec?
That said, the only things I can do are either drop bombs or shoot with my Gun, right?
Well then, considering last time’s failure, maybe I should drop a big bomb right at the start.
The safety pins are already removed, so all I have to do is drop them.
Yeah. Let’s learn from last time’s failure and aim for a god-tier victory.
“Er, I’ll fly out alone and give them a bit of a painful experience, so please give me enough time to fly around a bit and come back. Um, I won’t cause any trouble for your side…”
“Hmm, if it’s a solo operation on your part and won’t take much time, then I don’t mind. But if the enemy makes a move, we will too, understood?”
Oh, good. I got permission easily.
It’s also a good show of force against the Empire, so I’ll drop all of them. Since I’ve already removed the pins, if I don’t use them here, I won’t be able to take them out without them exploding, which is scary.
“Ah, yes. Well then, I’ll just be off for a bit.”
Yuri tried to follow, but I had her hold back, explaining that it’s difficult to remain stationary in the air unless I’m alone. Then, sprouting wings from my back in my unarmored form, I soared into the sky.
Wanting to avoid detection as much as possible, I first headed towards Lease, gained altitude, then positioned myself above the Imperial Army, and descended to a line where I could aim.
Then, I floated nine 3×3 magic circles, spaced fifty meters apart, activated them for just an instant to drop one bomb each, moved, and repeated the process of dropping them.
Due to the tremendous explosions, nothing was visible through the dust clouds, but there was an Imperial magic Ignat had taught me that could detect magical power, and using it, everything was perfectly clear.
Alright, next, next, I repeated this until I had finished delivering all one hundred and fifty shots.
Alright, finished dropping them all!
Yuri is probably worried, so I should head back quickly.
On the way back, I glided down directly to our camp, but I was met with incredibly wary gazes.
Huh? What the?
Oh, right. This is the first time they’ve seen it. I guess it’s scary even if I’m an ally.
“So that’s the new weapon, or whatever it is, that annihilated Mildrad’s twenty thousand…”
Marquis Randall, frowning, muttered as he stared at the enemy forces where dust clouds still rose.
“Indeed. If we fought them head-on, there’s no way two thousand could beat twenty thousand.”
“I had heard about it, but this is beyond the reports. This isn’t a battle anymore. It’s over…”
“Um, I wonder about that. It looks like some high-ranking Knight-types survived, you know?”
Finally, the visibility cleared, allowing a full view of the enemy army, and it was apparent they had suffered a blow that could be called near-total annihilation.
However, there were also enemy soldiers in places who had endured by creating barriers with Maso or earth magic.
“No, with survivors that few, the outcome of the battle is already decided. It’s over.”
Over, huh… I wonder about that.
It might be over if we were lucky enough to take down the enemy general, but according to Ignat, they’re quite belligerent and don’t tolerate defeat.
Last time, it didn’t end just because we reduced their numbers by a certain percentage either.
Well, with this difference in numbers, I guess we can’t lose.
If they attack, we just have to meet them.
“Um, so what’s the plan for after this?”
“…To be honest, I’m bewildered. But our role is defense. We have no intention of invading at the moment.
If we’ve dealt this much damage, all we need to do is watch them flee.”
I see. So, we wait.
When I asked the Marquis, “Well then, can I go check on Prince Riley?” he seemed startled and quickly began to move, saying, “I’ll send our troops over there.”
From what I saw from the sky earlier, they hadn’t engaged in combat, but the fact that they were in a stalemate means there’s a high probability they still intend to fight.
Or rather, they probably have no choice but to fight in a situation where they can no longer make excuses.
However, the soldiers Prince Riley took with him are elite troops from the central forces of the Lestall army. They’re probably unable to move because they are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.
Ah, so they’re waiting for a situation where the battle situation changes and His Highness’s army is forced to return, is that it?
Hmm? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to have His Highness come back?
Well, I guess that’s something for the Marquis or His Highness to decide.
While I was discussing such things with Roosevelt-san and the others, about a thousand soldiers were selected from the Lestall army.
It seemed to be a unit commanded by Count Silence. He was at their head, approaching us at a trot.
His expression was also tense.
This is… it seems I definitely overdid it.
Oh, right. We’re from different countries, so of course, it’s a threat.
I hadn’t thought about that.
“You offered to lend a hand, but this was originally our blunder.
We’ve decided to handle it ourselves. Belfast, I’d like you to remain on standby.”
“Ah, yes. In that case, we’ll leave it to you. We’ll remain on standby, then?”
When I replied so, he gave a slight bow and quickly had his soldiers move out.
After they had run off, I asked the generals with a wry smile, “Was that bad, perhaps?”
“No, making Belfast’s power known is also important. I believe that was fine.”
“Defeating the Empire is the priority. I mostly agree. Though one might say it was a bit excessive…”
“However, by demonstrating such a threat, you’ll likely face scrutiny from various quarters.
But I’m sure Duke Fastall will handle that part.”
The general, knowing that things become difficult once countermeasures are taken, said it wasn’t a problem. Roosevelt-san also said it was necessary, but Genzou-san looked a little troubled.
Apparently, while bombing was planned from the start, dropping all bombs at once was indeed overkill.
However, everyone who had been watching the enemy army’s response from Fort Fondale said it was necessary.
This was probably because it was perfectly clear from above that if the enemy spread their forces thin, the effectiveness would drop significantly.
So, in terms of achieving victory here with minimal casualties, everyone unanimously concluded it was the right thing to do, which was a relief.
I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it wasn’t bad enough to be called a failure, and as I was chatting idly with Yuri, the Imperial Army made a move.