Chapter 77: Counterattack (2)
Since others werent aware of the external circumstances, the tactical meeting continued.
In that case, it might be better for the main force to draw out the enemys troops head-on, and then the cavalry delivers a decisive blow.
Wouldnt that be too risky? Even if the main force draws out the enemy, the cavalry would be heading straight into the heart of the enemy.
Erendil, who had been listening quietly, asked with a concerned expression. Her words were not wrong.
However, in war, one couldnt avoid taking risks. Duchess Lyurik responded to Erendils concern.
If we were to proceed with a direct confrontation, wed have more casualties in the end.
It was a plan to minimize the risks for a few while ensuring the survival of many. It might seem unfair from the cavalrys perspective
But originally, that was the role of the cavalry. They were treated better than regular soldiers and received more money.
Also, it is the duty of our empires cavalry to do this.
Thats correct.
Emmet, who had plenty of experience in war, added a word, and Erendil nodded in agreement.
The Duchess, who was watching for reactions, spoke again.
However, in this case, well need a capable individual who can ensure a solid hit on the enemys core, even if it means significant losses for our cavalry.
This vague statement was about how to choose the person who should undertake the most dangerous role.
The other escort knights exchanged glances.
Without saying anything, it was understood that Emmet would stay by the princesss side as her protector.
That left just me and the other one. Among the three of us, one of us had to take on this role.
There would be the Duchesss knights as well, but since it was Erendils army from the beginning, it would be better if we took it.
Otherwise, attention might be focused on the Duchess rather than Erendil.
One of my knights can take on the role.
No, I will do it.
I immediately rejected the Duchesss words and turned my gaze to Emmet.
Wouldnt it be better for me, as a guardian of the princess, to take this role?
That sounds appropriate.
Emmet, who was looking at me with slightly moved eyes, nodded his head. Erendil seemed reluctant.
Are you sure? Its a dangerous position.
She must be even more worried because she knew my true identity.
Yes, Im confident.
Then let it be so. Your image of charging on the battlefield is still vivid in my memory. Schurtafen seems fitting for this role.
Lyurik spoke to me while looking at me.
Would 2,000 cavalry be enough?
Yes, the main force should also have cavalry reserves.
Among the force of 25,000, there were 4,000 cavalry. They were valuable troops. Plus, Duke brought 2,000 more.
At that moment, I sensed through the Winds that someone sent by Rudehrn was rushing over.
Seeing someone coming over like this, it was likely that something serious had happened as expected.
Your Highness, Rudehrn has sent someone. May I come in?
Allow them in.
They must have rushed over at full speed from a short distance away. A soldier was gasping for breath as he spoke.
Rohalak has crossed the border. Currently, five citiesMivent, Akiten, Omisan, Ozan, and San Martiare under simultaneous attack.
What did you say?
The surprised voice came only from Duchess Lyurik, but the entire room was equally astonished.
Rohalak had launched a preemptive attack.
This is
It seemed I had misunderstood. The King of Rohalak hadnt been unaware of the Emperors nature.
He knew from the beginning that a straightforward war wouldnt take place. This was also his plan.
In reality, the Emperor, after receiving the letter, had responded by agreeing and specifying a date for the war.
On the surface, it seemed like he was complying and depleting his forces, but in a moment, he would push forward.
Thats why Rudehrn had come as the commander-in-chief, and the Empire was able to prepare with a bit of flexibility.
But ironically, that was what the West was aiming for. King Rohalak wanted combat with the imperial descendants.
Seeing how theyve spread out their front lines, its clear.
If the West had begun a preemptive attack without warning, the Empire wouldnt have divided its forces like this.
They would have focused on a response, not on allocating troops to the imperial descendants, but on deploying trustworthy commanders.
Lord Rudehrn has ordered to gather at the central headquarters as quickly as possible.
* * *
The West has launched an attack.
Rudehrn opened his mouth with a heavy expression. A total of five places were attacked, spread out widely along the western border.
On the same day, at the same time, they must have worked hard to avoid the Empires notice.
This strategy was also a response to the Empires decision to allocate troops to the imperial descendants.
Attacking various distant cities was the best strategy for the West.
They probably want to fight inexperienced imperial descendants rather than engage in a head-on battle with the main force.
The four imperial descendants and the main force were perfectly matched in five locations. The Wests strategy was quite sharp.
Rudehrn spoke again.
We have no choice but to divide our forces.
The enemys army numbered 170,000, while the scattered forces in the five locations amounted to about 34,000.
Of course, it wouldnt be an exact division. Each city had a different size, so the enemys forces would vary too.
How do you intend to divide them?
The First Prince asked in a cold voice, his gaze sharp. The atmosphere was heavy.
The differing numbers of troops possessed by each imperial prince were the anticipated issue.
Dividing at least 35,000 from the main force
Thats not feasible.
The First Prince cut off Rudehrns words, and the Second Prince nodded.
The First Prince had 50,000 troops, while the Second Prince had 35,000. Dividing them that way would be disadvantageous.
Originally, Fathers intention wasnt for equal competition. But why must we divide the main force? Thats unjust.
Rather than sending reinforcements from the main force, wouldnt it be more appropriate for the side with insufficient troops to join the main force? If its about dividing troops within the main force, I understand.
The Second Prince interjected.
It was difficult to argue against their point that they had gathered soldiers through their own strength and didnt understand why they had to match numbers.
It would be simpler to give up their ranks and join the main force.
Silence fell. The strong arguments of the First and Second Princes left the Third Prince unable to speak.
Thats not incorrect. Your Highnesses.
An aide standing behind Rudehrn spoke up.
A scholar with sharp eyes, virtually the commander-in-chief under the Emperors orders.
We have a difference of nearly 10,000, correct?
Was it because his older brothers were against it? The Third Princes face showed a betrayed expression as he questioned.
In that case, why not join the main force? Well contribute troops from our own forces. It may be a modest contribution, but isnt it better than having nothing?
The Third Prince remained silent, his face turning red with anger. He was barely restraining himself from exploding in anger.
Well, it wasnt too bad for us.
Among the five cities, there was one with a relatively smaller scale. The order had already been decided after the previous competition.
The order was the First Prince, followed by us. So, we could choose that city.
Unlike the Third Prince, Erendil was calm. One of the reasons was that the enemys forces wouldnt be all that significant.
Well, then make your choice. According to the order proclaimed by His Majesty.
Any other information?
The First Prince inquired in response to the aides words.
As of now, we dont know the enemys exact numbers or the situation in the cities.
What will the main force do?
It will be split into two. One will follow Your Highnesses choices, and the other will remain as a reserve. There might be a need for reinforcements, after all.
The First Prince laughed in satisfaction.
In that case, I will go to Mivent.
It was the largest city, a good place to accumulate accomplishments. It was a fitting choice for the First Prince.
Now it was Erendils turn.
I will go to Akiten.
Erendil, who had spoken, glanced at me. I nodded, indicating it was the right choice.
It was the best decision for us.
The Third Prince looked at the audience with a despairing expression. Except for Akiten and Mivent, the cities were similar in scale.
After a brief moment of contemplation, the Third Prince finally spoke.
I will go to Omisan.
He wouldnt even join the main force if he died. He couldnt give up his specialty. I didnt know how it would turn out in the end, but
Considering who the Third Prince was, we wouldnt be seeing a good show. It was nothing more than a farce.
In that case, we will go to Ozan.
The Second Prince had an indifferent expression. As there was an order to follow, his choice was expected.
Going to Ozan wouldnt be bad for maintaining their specialties either.
Then the main force will go to San Marti. Theres no time to waste. The Empire is under attack, so I hope you will depart as prepared, Your Highnesses.
Led by the First Prince, who immediately stood up, we left the central command post.
* * *
This time, two.
I sharpened my daggers with Winds. Just as I had done during my missions with Phiri in the snowy mountains.
A solid line was drawn across the throats of the two soldiers engaged in hushed conversation. Death had come suddenly, catching them off guard.
I approached the fallen bodies and thrust my sword into them. Just to be sure, I made artificial wounds.
I checked the time.
Within the next hour, our main force would arrive in Akiten.
Scouting had revealed that the enemy had around 28,000 troops. I had personally verified the information, so the margin of error wouldnt be significant.
As expected, the enemy wasnt a small force. Given the size of the city, we had anticipated a substantial response.
But there were no major issues. A difference of 3,000 could be overcome quite easily.
Fortunately, the city hadnt fallen yet. From a distance, it appeared to be on the verge of collapse, but
This was enough to gather intelligence. It had been worth the relentless effort of our swift journey.
There might be soldiers within the city, but its hard to hope for reinforcements.
Originally, their numbers wouldnt be substantial, and quite a bit of resources would have been expended during the defense.
If we had faced that massive army head-on, we wouldnt have had a chance to rest. We had to finish the combat with our own strength.
Throughout our approach to Akiten, I had remained on reconnaissance duty alone.
It was to handle the enemys scouts.
To prevent the enemy from noticing our approach. That way, we could attack them from behind as they besieged the city.
Considering the distance, we had rested early yesterday and began our march at dawn today.
From the enemys perspective, they would have thought they could block us with their scouts. However, based on my Winds surveillance, I hadnt missed a single scout since dawn.
It was quite a nuisance.
It wasnt difficult, but sneaking through the flat terrain had its challenges.
Still, I had managed to approach discreetly and eliminate them cleanly.
I had also checked for potential ambushes. They could have planned to ambush the reinforcements, so I needed to be cautious.
Fortunately, there were none.
The situation was perfect.
Akiten was just ahead. The sounds of the siege of Asrai were carried by the Winds sense.
This should be sufficient.
Having dealt with all the scouts, I rejoined the main force.
The Duchess and Erendil, who had been discussing strategies while on the move, inquired about the situation as soon as they saw me.
Report, how is it?
Fortunately, the siege is ongoing. All scouts have been dealt with. No one detected us.
To be honest, I was skeptical, but this is astonishing. How do you manage to find them so effectively? And how did you handle them
Duchess Lyurik couldnt hide her admiration. It was a genuinely impressed look.
It was practically impossible to systematically eliminate scouts that were openly deployed.
We wondered the same. During our previous battle, how you could find them so well. You definitely have a knack for this.
Instead of smiling faintly myself, Emmet spoke up. Erendil also nodded in agreement.
I shifted the conversation. Drawing prolonged attention to unusual matters wouldnt be beneficial.
As we discussed initially, Ill take 2,000 cavalry and move to the side.
The main force will attack the besieging troops and then target their rear?
Yes. If the enemy is ambushed amid chaos, theyll likely panic and redirect their focus toward the main force. Their core will be fully exposed, allowing us to crush them definitively.
Both Duchess Lyurik and Emmet nodded in agreement simultaneously.
Thats a good plan. I didnt realize you had such tactical acumen.
Emmet has been concerned about the war with the West for a long time, so Ive been studying diligently.
I knew this fact as well, but it was a way of boosting Emmets credibility to some extent.
The Duchess turned to Emmet and asked,
Is that so?
The atmosphere was quite unsettling.
Lyurik nodded in agreement.
The one who prophesied and the one who studied after hearing those words both are astonishing. Learning doesnt immediately translate to practical application.
The Duchess then turned his gaze to the princess with a slight smile.
Your Highness, you have indeed gathered remarkable talents.
I am blessed with talented individuals. Isnt Duchess accompanying me as well?
Erendil smiled contentedly.
The atmosphere was pleasant, but to execute the flanking maneuver, we needed to move quickly. I sought permission.
I need to turn around and aim for the rear. Ill depart first.
Go ahead.
With Erendils command, I immediately set out with 2,000 cavalry.
To avoid being spotted, I had to travel quite a distance away from their line of sight. I spurred my horse on.
Author's Thoughts
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