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Vol 02 Chapter 69-2: The Seven-Day War VI

Meanwhile, in the Rosais army camp:

「Sakura, I was worried we might lose because of your bad luck. But you’ve fought well. You’re definitely not an unlucky horse.」

I conversed with Sakura.

At first, I called her ‘Nameless’, but in the end, I chose the name Sakura. The origin of the name comes from horse meat1… just kidding, don’t bite me. Her fur has the color of the rising sun, which made me think of Japan, hence Sakura. She’s a girl, after all…

Don’t tell her about the ephemeral thing though2.

「Almus. Bartolo and the others are calling for you.」

「Got it. Let’s go.」

I returned to the camp with Tetra.

「Should we continue the attack?」

「We can take them down now!」

Ordobis and Perm, excited, pressed me to attack.

It’s true that the Rosais army is on a roll now. Even with a two-to-one disadvantage, we will likely win.

But I’m a cautious person. A cornered rat will bite the cat, we should be careful. It seems the enemy reinforcements won’t arrive for a while, so we can afford to wait and see.

「Let’s wait for the separate detachment to arrive before doing anything. They’re due this evening. Plus, the soldiers are tired from the consecutive days of pursuit. We should let them rest well today. Lift the ban on the wine as well.」

「Ah, our supreme commander is truly wise. Wine is very important after all!」

Bartolo said, sipping his alcohol.

You should hold back a little.

◇

The Rosais army’s separate detachment and the Domorgal forces led by Lord Blouse were in a standoff. The time was noon.

Under the shining sun above their heads, the standoff continued.

「I am Raymond, the commander of this separate detachment. We have in our possession your wife, son, and daughter—all of them are safe for now. If you want them returned peacefully, surrender. If you want we could even welcome your family into our country.」

Raymond proposed.

「Nonsense! I’ll take them back in battle right now!」

The negotiation quickly fell through. Raymond considered killing one of Blouse’s family members to force his hand, but decided against it, realizing it would not yield any advantage and would only incite his anger.

「What shall we do now…」

It was Raymond’s first real battle. The earlier fights had been overwhelmingly, or the enemy had surrendered before the fight began. The battle against the two hundred cavalry earlier was single-handled by the Equus Tribe, so he hadn’t needed to give any command. However, the current enemy was two thousand infantry. This battle didn’t look like it would be an easy one.

「Don’t worry, I have a plan.」

Roswald announced, outlining a simple yet clear tactic.

「Not a bad strategy, I like it. It’s easier than doing some convoluted strategy.」

Mutzio grinned, approving Roswald’s strategy.

Thus, the battle commenced under the watchful eye of the sun…

The Equus Tribe approached the enemy heavy infantry to their limit and released a volley of arrows. The arrows rained down on the heavy infantry like a torrent.

「Scatter them!」

At Blouse’s command, the heavy infantry charged at the Equus Tribe. The Equus Tribe retreated while continuously showering the heavy infantry with arrows.

Naturally, humans can’t catch up with horses on foot.

The forced march had taken its toll on the heavy infantry, who soon began to show signs of exhaustion. Their movements slowed, and their formation became disorganized.

「Charge!」

At that moment, the Equus Tribe attacked from the front, while Roswald and Vilgar’s unit struck from the right flank, and Raymond’s unit charged from the left. The fatigued heavy infantry quickly allowed the enemy to encircle them, getting trapped from the front and both sides.

Their formation collapsed easily, and the Domorgal forces started to flee.

「Do not let them escape!」

The Rosais army’s separate detachment pursued the fleeing Domorgal forces fiercely, swiftly creating a heap of corpses.

◇

「This is the end, Blouse-dono, please be cooperative. Your son will be brought to you shortly.」

Roswald stated as he thrust his sword into the rear of Blouse’s horse. The horse reared up wildly, causing Blouse to fall off.

Vilgar then quickly subdued Blouse.

「We’ve captured the enemy leader, Blouse!」

Thus the Rosais army’s detachment added another swift victory to its record.

◇

Evening.

The separate detachment of the Rosais army rejoined the main force around the same time the Domorgal army entrenched in Dress Village learned of Blouse’s detachment defeat.

「Well done, Raymond-san.」

「Thank you, well, I can’t say I did much. All credit goes to Mutzio-dono and Roswald-dono for their efforts.」

Raymond responded with a smile.

It is true that Raymond didn’t play a big role in battle. If anything, his presence served to control the Equus Tribe.

「Here are the spoils of war.」

Raymond presented the spoils of war: treasures, bureaucrats, magicians, and the Blouse family.

Blouse expressed his bitterness.

「Mark my words, my son will be the one to take your heads…」

「How is he going to do that? If we hold your entire family hostage, your son won’t be able to make a move, will he?」

Raymond countered.

If we had only captured one or two of his family members, he may be able to do something, but we have all his family. If we so desire, we can annihilate his entire family. I doubt he will be able to defy us.

「Anyway, the next battle will be the end. Let’s prepare for tomorrow’s fight!」

The Rosais army erupted in cheers.

◇

Meanwhile, the Domorgal army was enveloped in a funereal atmosphere.

「Tonino-sama, another group of soldiers has fled. Should we pursue them?」

「No… if we chase them, we might lose even more soldiers. Leave them be.」

Soldiers were deserting the Domorgal army in droves, morale was at rock bottom, and the prospect of reinforcements was bleak.

「Tonino-sama, Carlo-sama is calling for a military council. Please attend.」

「Carlo-sama is? It’s rare for him to make such a request… Understood.」

◇

「Firstly, what is our current military strength?」

「About nine thousand.」

Tonino replied.

「And the enemy’s strength?」

「Around seven thousand, we believe.」

Tonino’s inquiry was met with nods from Carlo, who then posed a question.

「Is there anyone here who believes we can win against the Rosais army? If so, present a concrete plan.」

No one answered; everyone kept their heads down. They had more troops and better equipment, but their morale was in tatters. There was even a risk that their soldiers would flee even before the battle began.

The possibility of a complete rout right after the battle commenced was also very real.

「Then, surrender is our only option. Let’s negotiate peace.」

Carlo declared, causing the patricians to look up in shock.

「Carlo-sama! If we do this, we might be forced into severely unfavorable terms! We might lose all of Blouse territory to the enemy!」

「That’s true. But if we lose, we’ll have to accept even worse terms. Besides, our country neighbors the Rozel kingdom, King Faldam’s Country, and King Gilbed’s Country. If we lose all our forces here, our country’s downfall is inevitable. Even the incompetent me understand that. If we can’t win, then we must negotiate peace.」

No one could oppose Carlo’s decision.

◇

「Almus-dono, thank you for granting us the opportunity to negotiate peace.」

「Think nothing of it, I, too, wish to reconcile with your country.」

I replied, maintaining a friendly demeanor toward Prince Carlo.

He is the crown prince of a country much more powerful than ours after all.

「How about we start with a one-year truce?」

So he doesn’t plan to end their southward expansion policy. I understand that it’s not easy to change long-term policies so soon, but still…

Well, even if we defeat the Domorgal army now, I doubt we’ll get a longer truce. We may get better conditions if we invade further, but we didn’t bring enough siege weapons with us.

There is the option of using the siege weapons the enemy abandoned when they fled, but retrieving them now will take time we don’t have.

It’s not realistic.

「I understand, a one-year truce is acceptable. Now, regarding reparations…」

「We will cede all of Blouse territory to your country. Additionally, as compensation, we will pay triple the war expenses your nation incurred in this war, the payment will be done over ten years.」

Their offer is unexpectedly generous. However, the town of Blouse has already fallen, so it may be a fair amount. The thing is that this proposition from Carlo comes from his belief that they can recover what they lost at a later date. It would be impossible for our country to protect a territory so big.

「We’ll take the western half of Blouse territory and the area around the town of Blouse. In exchange, could we receive twenty blacksmiths skilled in ironworking?」

「Very well. We will provide twenty blacksmiths to your country.」

This would facilitate the mass production of iron, our country blacksmiths’ skills with iron are still too green.

「As for the reparations, double the war expenses is sufficient, but we request a lump-sum payment. In return, we will release all members of the Blouse family.」

「Understood.」

This way, they can’t run from paying the reparations.

「There are two more requests. First, until the contract is fulfilled, I would like you and a representative of the Blouse Family to stay in our country.」

「That’s reasonable. And the second request?」

Upon hearing the final condition, Carlo was visibly taken aback.

「Wow, you’re ruthless…」

「Thank you for the undeserved praise.  …I think is an important quality to have as the next king.」

1TN: Sakura, as many of you probably know, is the Japanese name for cherry blossoms and is also a common name for women. However, it is also an alternative term for horse meat, referred to as “sakura niku” (桜肉), hence the bad pun.

2TN: Sakura flowers are very short-lived, falling off within just a few days. Therefore, they symbolize ephemeral beauty and the transience of life in Japan. These concepts are generally viewed positively, but being named after something that perishes so quickly can also carry an ominous undertone.