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Chapter 8: The Battle of Pyrrhos I – Savage Ingenuity

Chapter 8: The Battle of Pyrrhos I – Savage Ingenuity
―Twenty days later.

We, the one-hundred-strong Barbar Mercenary Party, arrived at Pyrrhos, in the Kingdom of Algeas, southwest of the Vaffancrow Empire.

The Empire had launched an offensive against Algeas.

Pyrrhos would be the front line.

We’d walked the highways and ridden ships alongside the Empire’s assigned guide, twenty full days of travel.

The ship was a galley, of all things!

I couldn’t help groaning at the low level of civilization, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it right now.

I had to focus on the war we were about to fight.

Once we reached the battlefield, Uncle Athos and I visited the Imperial Army’s command tent to pay our respects.

Since the Blumund tribe led the Barbar Mercenaries, and I was the tribe’s chief, that made me the overall commander of the Barbar Mercenary Party.

「Barbar Mercenary Party, reporting for duty!」

I shouted our arrival in a loud voice.

One of the Empire’s officers responded with a look of disdain.

「Hmm… Barbars, was it? Northern savages.」

The Vaffancrow Empire’s troops were as smug and overbearing as ever.

But their equipment was undeniably impressive, gleaming metal armor, iron swords and spears polished to a shine.

(Iron weapons… I want them so bad. With iron weapons, we could take down those monsters and claim the rock salt mine…)

I kept my expression neutral but was seething with envy.

Someday… someday our tribe would be like that too.

While holding on to that hope, I followed the Empire’s staff officer to the position we’d been assigned.

The battlefield was a wide, open plain.

The Empire’s army and the Algeas Kingdom’s forces had both taken up long, horizontal battle lines, facing each other.

「Sma-ho!」

Once we arrived at our position, I activated my skill, Sma-ho, and tapped the 【People】 button.

Dots and speech bubbles popped up all over the map.

I scrolled around looking for what I needed.

「There!」

「Hibitius – Vaffancrow Empire General, Supreme Commander – Average ability」

So the general commanding our side was this Hibitius guy… 「Average ability」 huh.

Well, better than being incompetent, I guess.

Next up: the enemy commander.

「Let’s see… found him!」

「Pausania – Algeas Kingdom General, Supreme Commander – Slightly Incompetent」

「Slightly Incompetent」? That’s great! We might actually win this!

I tapped the 【−】 button to zoom out the map.

The dots grouped together and changed into wedge-shaped icons.

Two formations faced off across the plain, with info bubbles floating above them.

「Imperial Army: 2,200
Infantry: 1,000
Cavalry: 100
Archers: 100
Light Infantry: 1,000
Magic Troops: A few」

「Algeas Kingdom Army: 2,150
Infantry: 1,000
Cavalry: 50
Archers: 100
Light Infantry: 1,000
Magic Troops: A few」

So the forces were roughly equal.

Only major difference was that Algeas had 50 fewer cavalry.

I turned to Uncle Athos, who was walking beside me.

「Uncle Athos. Does cavalry make a difference in battle?」

「Absolutely. Cavalry can circle around fast and break enemy formations.」

「Got it.」

So both armies had the same number of infantry.

Maybe we could exploit the cavalry difference somehow?

As I kept scanning the map, I asked another question.

「What about the magic troops?」

「Magic troops attack from a distance, like archers. But sometimes there are freaks who can fire off insanely powerful spells, watch out for those!」

「Understood.」

We had just settled into our position when a horn sounded across the field.

The battle had begun.

Infantry units from both sides surged forward.

「Let’s gooo!」

「「「「「Ooooooohhh!!」」」」」

Our Barbar Mercenary Party charged.

Since we were a mishmash of different tribes, each was allowed to fight in its own style.

The only rules were when to advance and when to retreat, both signaled with horn blasts.

As expected, the Barbar tribes each charged forward in their own uncoordinated ways.

A total free-for-all.

I watched the chaos unfold out of the corner of my eye, oddly calm.

Maybe I’d detached from reality. Or maybe I’d just come to terms with it all.

In a composed voice, I gave instructions to the Blumund unit.

「Okay! Keep the formation tight!」

Before the battle, I’d made two preparations.

First innovation: shields.

I split the Blumund warriors into two lines.

The front line carried large shields and focused on defense.

The shields were wood, but crafted by the Empire, solid, reliable. If you crouched behind one, it covered your whole body.

The rear line was a mix of bronze sword-bearers and wooden spear users.

The spearmen would poke to create openings, then the sword-bearers would go in for the finish.

The shields had cost a fair amount, but we’d managed to buy them in a big town along the way.

Second innovation: cooperation with the Elves.

I’d approached other tribes to propose cooperation, but they all refused.

Only the Elf tribe agreed.

The Elves were made up of archers and mages, so having us hold the front line for them was extremely helpful.

We’d practiced together a few times on the road, and it had gone well.

Now let’s see if it works in real combat…

「Advance slowly!」

「Don’t break formation!」

Uncle Athos and I gave orders to the mixed Blumund-Elf unit.

The combined force moved as a single block, advancing slowly across the field.

That’s when Uncle Athos shouted.

「They’re coming!」

Enemy soldiers, troops from the Algeas Kingdom, charged straight at us!