Chapter 69: Elite Soldiers vs. Elite Soldiers
Although the Daltone Army had witnessed their comrades being instantly annihilated, they showed no significant signs of confusion.
The ones sent forward in small groups were new recruits.
They understood that pitting that number of new recruits against the enemy would result in defeat.
Frustration over sending them to a pointless death was mounting, but with an unprecedentedly large army, their morale had considerably recovered.
“Tch, they won’t use that for this level of threat, huh…” the Duke muttered to himself.
The commander-class officers sat on chairs arranged at the very rear.
In front of them, commanders of company captain rank and above stood in formation.
Naturally, seats for Marquis Ignat and Count Estoc were also provided there.
“Oi, what’s your next move!”
“Sir! Those enemy soldiers in strange attire undoubtedly appear to be elites.
Now that they are not well-organized, there’s no point in sending more new recruits against them.
In that case, how about we pin them down with our own elites, and then disperse our divided units to attack the fort?”
From the Duke to the commanders, all eyes flickered towards Estoc.
“You want my opinion? Fine by me. It’s ordinary, but not bad.
Forcing the enemy into a situation they dislike is standard practice, after all.”
Perhaps because Marquis Ignat was keeping his promise not to interfere, Count Estoc had regained his usual composure.
“But I wonder, does Daltone even have elites capable of stopping them?” Count Estoc continued, his words laced with mockery.
Even though they had only faced new recruits, the Belfast soldiers were so overwhelming as to make him say that.
“We’ll send five units of one hundred, composed of advanced-class or higher, against them.
Deploy Ryuki’s army and crush them for certain.
But do not forget. Give them strict orders to move separately and surround them so they can’t fire that.”
“Oh, impressive. For a rotten Duke, I’m surprised your tactics are largely the same as mine.”
Daltone gritted his teeth at the “rotten” comment.
As if to vent his anger, he yelled at the captains, “What are you dawdling for!!”
The Duke muttered under his breath, “If you just went out there yourself, this would all be over…” glaring sideways at Count Estoc.
Compared to other countries, Mildrad had few advanced-class Knights.
Moreover, Ryuki’s army was the only one in Mildrad that boasted a hundred advanced-class Knights, and its other several hundred soldiers were also highly trained.
If they were all to be defeated, it would be a considerable blow.
However, if they were hit by that “Greater Magic” mentioned in the reports, they would surely be lost.
Greater Magic isn’t used against a mere hundred. Since he had made that decision, it should be fine next time too.
Thinking this, the Duke issued orders for the five units to move separately and eventually surround the enemy.
He watched his army’s movements, his lips pursed tightly.
The Daltone Army began to move again.
This time, it seemed to be a full-scale operation. Two thousand soldiers, divided into units of one hundred, spread out to the edges of the battlefield, advancing individually yet in unison.
General Razbel, who had been watching them, turned his gaze to the Phoenix Unit.
“They’re on the move. This scenario was anticipated, wasn’t it?
They held back from firing last time, so they probably won’t fire this time either.”
This was different from the previous situation where an army of ten thousand had sent out only three hundred soldiers on their own.
The possibility of the enemy units being finely divided had been considered.
“Sir! If they head for the highway in numbers we can handle, our magic soldiers and magic tool soldiers will engage.
In that case, we will maintain distance and remain on standby.
The decision to retreat will be at the discretion of you, General, as the commander.”
He saluted while reciting the operational plan, but then added, “However…” revealing his unease.
“I know. Without His Highness, the magic tool soldiers are useless.
In that case, we’ll just have to make up for their part.”
Tension ran high, but not a single one of them showed fear. These were advanced-class Knights who had fought for many years.
Each one of them was an existence whose strength was acknowledged from the heart by the others. And a hundred such individuals were gathered here.
On top of that, they could ignore fire magic, and wore armor that, while only somewhat, absorbed impact. Furthermore, they even had resistance to slashing attacks.
No matter what mistake they made, instant death was highly unlikely, and they also carried Elixirs.
Even if the enemy deployed their strongest forces and surrounded them, they were confident of victory.
“Here they come. Those are our targets.
After we take them down, we’ll also take down the units attacking the fort.
Get fired up! We’re the ones protecting Prince Rui-denka.
We can’t let him protect us forever, that’d be a joke.”
For the soldiers, there had been a question of whether Prince Rui-denka was truly the real deal.
Until he came to this fort…
This wasn’t about whether he was Royce’s son. It was about whether he was an existence capable of leading them to victory in war.
And that was proven with the very first strike at the start of the battle.
Originally, it was a completely lost war, no matter how you looked at it.
A single strike sufficient to make them believe that a turnaround was possible.
That had ignited a fire in their hearts, a fire that continued to smolder even now. Facing those weaklings earlier had, conversely, only made them more impatient.
They didn’t even need words from the General. Their faces, one and all, showed a warlike eagerness, as if to say just that.
“Let’s gooo!”
“””Oooooh!!”””
And so they advanced, but the enemy soldiers scattered as if fleeing.
They spread out and fired magic at them, but retreated when pursued.
“Hah, do they think we’re stupid enough to charge their main camp or something?”
“General! Over there!”
From the left and right, units clearly observing them were attempting to circle around.
Realizing that the enemy’s main focus was apparently here, a corner of his mouth curled up.
“Interesting… But there’s no need to let ourselves get surrounded!
We’ll take out the unit closest to the fort that’s trying to flank us!”
When they pursued the flanking soldiers, unlike before, the enemy allowed them to close in and engaged in what could be called a delaying action in close combat.
The Phoenix Unit, relieved that they had caught up and could crush one unit, found them to be drastically stronger than before.
They were certainly weaker than themselves, but when they dedicated themselves to defense, they were quite difficult to break. They possessed at least that much skill.
“General, they’re catching up to us!”
“No choice. Twenty of you, hold them here. Shozou, you can do it, right?”
Although they had thinned their numbers to some extent, twenty was still several times outnumbered, but the man named Shozou rejoiced at being chosen.
“Sir! I will gladly annihilate them!”
“It’d be a great help if you could annihilate them, but don’t forget His Highness’s words, okay?”
“Yes, not a single one lost, right?”
Nodding with a smile, he called out to those he was taking with him, “My war has finally begun!” and with a “Let’s gooooraaaah!” he charged headlong into the enemy.
“Damn, he’s too aggressive. Genzou-san would cry if he saw this, you know?”
He was the son of Genzou, who had served as the Captain of the Imperial Guard Knights.
Genzou had gone with Royce, but Shozou, who had been General Razbel’s aide, had chosen to remain in Razbel, and thus their paths had diverged.
Thinking of Genzou, who excelled at defense and was deeply thoughtful, the General let out a deep sigh.
“Well, this side is even tougher, though. You can use that. Go all out!”
Just by saying that, the soldiers understood, and each began to move away to a distance where they could fight to their fullest.
The enemy was already closing in, and enemy soldiers appeared before the General himself.
“Yo, did you wash your neck properly, Razbel!”
“Hah, you’ve got some nerve talking like that, Ryuki.
Have you forgotten how miserably I drove you back last time?
Not only your strength, but your head is weak too, huh… What a pitiful fellow.”
The two were fated rivals. Though their family status differed, both hailed from the most prestigious of warrior families.
And their families were also enemies, one having killed the parent or grandparent of the other.
Judging by their tone of voice alone, it might have seemed like lighthearted banter, but deep within their eyes, the intent to kill each other was palpable.
Being pitied by such an opponent, Ryuki flew into a rage.
“Shuuuut uuuuup!”
Parrying the emotionally charged, wide-swinging slash, the General brought his battle-axe down on Ryuki’s Maso without hesitation.
“Falling for a trick like this, you’re still a damn fool. Look, you’re wide open!”
It was almost as if they had just begun training, but Ryuki’s Maso was smashed, and though he braced himself, he lost his balance. He blocked the once-again approaching battle-axe with his sword but was sent flying.
However, he quickly regained his posture and repaired his Maso.
“Ryuki-sama!” a nearby soldier called out, but Ryuki dismissed him, “I’ll handle this one alone. I’ll kill anyone who interferes,” and once again, it became a space for just the two of them.
A complete change from before, they calmly faced each other in earnest.
One clash, two clashes, the exchange of parried sword strikes began, and General Razbel was the first to create distance.
“Hah! Against me, Ryuki-sama, this is all you amount to!”
“Yeah, you’re right. The one for crushing small fry doesn’t seem to be good enough.
I wanted to crush you with this, but I guess I can’t afford to say that anymore…”
He changed his weapon to a greatsword. Originally, he wielded a greatsword.
The battle-axe was one his late father had used. In his childhood, he had admired his father and often used it, but Royce had pointed out that a greatsword suited him better, and as it grew familiar in his hands, he had switched weapons.
However, the battle-axe was convenient for smashing the Maso of weaker enemies.
Ryuki had been using his father’s weapon out of a desire to avenge him.
But now, believing that to be a mistake, he readied his greatsword.
“You bastard… You think you can beat me by changing weapons now? Ah, trying to exploit an opening again, are you? Weaklings sure have it tough!!”
To Ryuki, Razbel’s weapon was a battle-axe. Dismissing it as a mere stopgap measure, Ryuki underestimated him and charged.
The exchange of blows began anew.
However, after several clashes, it was Ryuki who was forced to take a step back.
“N-No way… Are you saying that’s actually your main weapon!?”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. The title of General isn’t so trivial that I’d be done in by the likes of you.”
Clad in a haori-style Bloodstained Fur Coat, the sight of him exuding such dense killing intent evoked an illusion of the disaster-designated Monster, the Bloody Bear.
Ryuki, nearly overwhelmed by the pressure, let out a war cry, steeled his resolve, and charged at Razbel, General once more.
Their one-on-one battle continued for an unusually long time on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the battle between their units began to show signs of concluding.
A fallen Daltone soldier glared at a soldier clad in fur, muttered, “What the hell is that…?” and was promptly beheaded.
By then, not a single one of the four hundred Daltone soldiers remained standing.
“Yeah, ‘what the hell is that?’ pretty much sums it up,” muttered a member of the Phoenix Unit.
“When we were given these shields, I wondered how the heck we were supposed to use them.”
“Yeah, no one would ever think these were the ultimate shields.”
They were large, round shields. Magic Circles were engraved on their surfaces.
They generated Light Magic. Naturally, when activated, all enemy Maso within the circle would vanish.
If an enemy’s entire body entered it, they would lose both their weapons and armor.
Being Magic Tools, they could be moved while activated, making it easy to affect an enemy’s entire body.
They were terrifying items that left enemies helpless, instantly draining their Magical Power and settling the fight.
“The General isn’t using one, huh.”
“It’s because of their grudge… wait, didn’t the General not receive one?”
“Ah…”
Remembering that the General had only been given the Bloodstained Fur Coat, they rushed over, but by then, Ryuki was already lying on the ground.
“Oh, you guys are done too? Alright, let’s take down that group next.”
While they had been fighting, smaller enemy units had surrounded the fort.
They were fighting back from atop the fort, but without reinforcements, the barrier created by Magic Stones would quickly dissolve.
As the General urged, “Let’s go, quickly,” one soldier hesitantly spoke up.
“Um, General, this is…”
A soldier offered him a shield, but he brushed it off, saying, “Don’t need it.”
“Truth is, I was told not to go to the front… You guys use it.”
That was right. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been given one out of spite. He had been instructed that it would be problematic for the General to fight on the front lines, because soldiers won’t retreat unless their commander leads the way.
“Then, from here on, we’ll handle it ourselves!”
“No, they also said to be flexible. Securing our position while His Highness is absent is my duty.”
“Then you should take it,” the soldiers said with a wry smile.
“Is he being stubborn?” “Probably,” the Phoenix Unit muttered as they followed after the General.
―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Apologies for the interruption between main story chapters.
Thank you for reading this work and for all your many comments.
As my buffer of prepared chapters has somewhat diminished, as I previously announced, I will be refraining from replying to comments for now and will focus on writing.
I will read all comments and address any necessary corrections as much as possible.
Thank you for your continued support.