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Vol 03 Chapter 101: Demon Versus Orochi I

「It’s strange… wasn’t Rozel Kingdom’s General Kuryuu supposed to be in the northwestern part of Gallia according to the information? Our country’s prediction was that he wouldn’t be able to return for another two to three weeks.」

「Well, what’s done is done, and he’s here now.」

Bartolo and Tonino sighed. The report had reached them this morning.

The Rozel Kingdom had taken Prince Aldo under their protection and crossed the border. The enemy forces numbered about fifteen thousand, including a thousand cavalrymen.

On the other hand, Bartolo and Tonino’s forces exceeded twenty thousand. The numbers had swelled as patricians loyal to Carlo and former Aldo supporters joined forces.

They also had an advantage in cavalry, numbering twelve hundred.

The Rozel Kingdom had many cavalrymen, and King Domorgal’s Country had historically continued to train cavalry to counter this strength. That was paying off now.

The alliance’s army had the numerical advantage. However, the problem was quality. The alliance’s army was, as the name suggested, a mix of allied armies and it was hard to say that they were well-coordinated.

On the other hand, the Rozel army led by Kuryuu was elite. Moreover, the people of Gallia were ten to twenty centimeters taller than those of Adernia. In hand-to-hand combat, the Gallians were more powerful.

「Honestly, I don’t feel like we’d lose in terms of the general’s skills, but the difference in soldiers’ quality is concerning.」

「We can’t say our coordination is good… If it were a defensive siege, the quality difference could be ignored…」

If the alliance’s army took a passive stance and hunkered down in a defensive position, it would be at a political disadvantage. Tactically it might be the best move, but strategically it was a poor choice.

「It hurts that we’ve exhausted our blast javelins…」

「If you teach us how to make them, we could produce them here.」

Tonino made a light-hearted comment as Bartolo scratched his head in frustration.

Even if they taught them how to make the blast javelins, without mages, it wouldn’t matter because they couldn’t be produced.

The materials for the blast lances were black powder and a firing magic formula that acted like a detonator. While the production of black powder was scaling up and sufficiently available, the production of the firing devices was not keeping up.

The major issue was that the training of mages, who could handle this new field of study called magicraft, was not complete. It was a significant setback that Tetra had become pregnant.

Moreover, the blast javelins were quite heavy. Naturally, since they were traditional javelins with bombs attached to the tips, they could not be brought into battle in large quantities.

「We have no choice but to meet them in an open battle. We have the advantage in numbers. If we can encircle them, we can win.」

Bartolo was well aware that General Kuryuu preferred a central charge, a tactic of a fierce general. If so, it would be best to encircle the enemy before they could break through the center. Since their forces were superior, this strategy should work.

「Carlo-sama, what do you think?」

「I have no idea. Do as you like.」

Bartolo and Tonino exchanged glances.

Thus, both armies were set to clash in the near future.

◇

「Hey, hey, Mario-dono. There are more enemies than reported, right?」

「My name is Merlin, they must have merged with the troops from the surrounding patricians. You expected this much, didn’t you?」

When Mari asked, Kuryuu grinned broadly.

「Of course.」

The increased strength of the enemy forces was not entirely a disadvantage. It also meant that their movements could become more dispersed, which was a benefit. Moreover, while the opposing force was a coalition, the Rozel army was adept at coordination.

War is about covering one’s weaknesses, nullifying the enemy’s advantages, and exploiting their vulnerabilities. It is not necessary to win in every aspect.

Enemy General Bartolo was a renowned commander skilled in encirclements and flanking attacks. In that case, their strategy should be to break through the enemy before they could be surrounded or flanked.

To execute an encirclement or a flanking maneuver, the enemy would need to allocate more troops to the wings, leaving the center relatively weaker. That’s where they would break through.

They had two trump cards this time, one of which would be shown to the Adernians for the first time. Even a famed general would not be able to come up with countermeasures immediately.

「Alright, deploy as usual. …Marlun-dono, I’m counting on you to control the slaves, alright?」

「Understood. Leave it to me. And it’s Merlin, by the way.」

◇

The coalition army, taking advantage of its numbers, adopted a formation with extended flanks. To counter a central charge, they densely arranged their elite forces in the center.

Cavalry was assigned to the flanks, with four hundred Equus cavalry on the right wing and eight hundred Domorgal cavalry on the left. While it might seem that the forces were unevenly distributed, considering the quality of both cavalry units, the left side was only slightly stronger.

Bartolo and Tonino considered this distribution would be better than mixing armies with different chains of command.

The reason Bartolo didn’t use an echelon formation this time was due to the danger of employing it in a situation where coordination was lacking.

In the first place, the echelon formation had only been used twice before. And the previous battle’s success owed much to the enemy commander’s lack of experience.

Facing a renowned enemy general this time, Bartolo chose to adopt a straightforward tactic that leveraged their numerical advantage, rather than risky innovative strategies.

「Gentlemen! This is a war of justice! Rightfully, the throne belongs to me!! The enemy, Aldo, is a coward who killed his father and brother!! Such acts cannot be forgiven. Divine retribution always falls upon the wicked. The gods are with us!!」

Carlo concluded his speech to the entire army, a speech crafted by Bartolo and Tonino.

◇

Meanwhile, the formation of the Rozel army was deceptively normal in appearance.

The cavalry was positioned on both flanks, six hundred on the right and four hundred on the left. So far, so good.

What was striking was the vanguard of five thousand combat slaves. Their equipment was extremely poor, only shields and breastplates for armor, and iron spears for weapons.

But what was truly terrifying were their bloodshot eyes. They breathed heavily, as if ready to pounce at any moment.

These were Adernians, Gallians, and Germanics who had been defeated in wars against the Rozel Kingdom and turned into slaves. Though their races were mixed, they all shared the commonality of having their families held hostage. Moreover, they were administered large doses of narcotics and subjected to light curse spells.

Curse spells had the property of being contagious and resonant. Even if the curse cast on each individual was light, when applied to over five thousand, it was a different story.

The combat slaves glared at the alliance army as if looking at the murderers of their parents.

Behind the combat slaves were fifty shaggy creatures. These quadrupedal beings, not native to the Adernia Peninsula, were notable for their size: over four meters tall and more than eight meters long, with impressively large tusks.

Looming behind these monstrous creatures was Kuryuu and his ten thousand elite troops. Kuryuu was not mounted on a horse, but rather on a dragon-like creature known as a ‘hound dragon,’ which was about the size of a horse.

Horses despised the smell of the shaggy creatures and thus could not be used for riding with them.

Hound dragons didn’t seem to mind the scent of the shaggy creatures so much, probably due to their carnivore nature.

Moreover, since hound dragons were much smaller compared to them, the shaggy creatures felt no aversion towards the hound dragons either. It was an optimal pairing.

「Gentlemen! Who am I?」

「General Kuryuu the Charging Demon!!」

Someone shouted, and in unison, all the soldiers echoed the cry.

「That’s right! Have I ever lost before?」

「Never!!」

「Excellent!! As long as I am here, we will surely win! Trust in me and follow me!! I will lead us to victory!!」

「Long live General Kuryuu!! Long live the General!! Long live the General!!」

The air vibrated with their chanting. Morale surged, and the army united as one. Every soldier sent fervent glances towards Kuryuu. There was no hesitation in their eyes.

「It’s… amazing… I almost felt like shouting too,」

Annabella murmured softly. The magicians were busy managing the curse cast on the combat slaves and did not participate in the speech. All of them being women, they also naturally disliked the oppressive atmosphere.

However, some magicians got caught up in the moment and abandoned their duties to join in the cheering.

「Shouting is fine, but make sure to keep up with your work. …As usual, his [Blessing of Charm] is incredible.」

「A blessing… Is that the effect of [Blessing of Charm]?」

「Well, yes. But the reason it works so well is because of Kuryuu. Normally, [Blessing of Charm]  can only draw attention to oneself and improve the first impression.」

However, combining [Blessing of Charm] with a speech changes the game. Unless the speech is exceptionally poor, success is almost guaranteed. With a good speech, it’s a great success.

Additionally, [Blessing of Charm]  had a resonance side effect, enhancing its impact among those who hear it together.

Kuryuu’s emotions resonate throughout the entire army, and the army’s emotions in turn resonate back to Kuryuu.

Combining this with the other blessing Kuryuu possessed created an invincible army that did not fear death.

「Kuryuu is the second most competent general I know after Etzel. He will definitely win.」

For Mari, this was the highest praise.

◇

The battle began with a cavalry charge from both sides.

The alliance’s right-wing Equus cavalry (four hundred) versus Rozel’s left-wing Gallian cavalry (four hundred) The coalition’s left-wing Domorgal cavalry (eight hundred) versus Rozel’s right-wing Gallian cavalry (six hundred)

With superior quality and quantity, the coalition’s cavalry gradually pushed back Rozel’s cavalry.

「Order the cavalry to retreat.」

As Kuryuu’s signal for retreat sounded, Rozel’s cavalry turned their backs to the coalition’s cavalry. Believing in their victory, the coalition’s cavalry pursued them.

In this way, Kuryuu’s strategy caused the coalition’s cavalry to temporarily disengage from the battlefield.

◇

「Damn, that was a mistake.」

Bartolo clicked his tongue. The precious cavalry, even if only temporarily, had been neutralized.

Although the Equus cavalry’s quality and the Domorgal cavalry’s numbers were superior to the Gallian cavalry, if they couldn’t fight, that advantage couldn’t be leveraged.

「However, the fact that our cavalry is superior to the enemy’s is an undeniable truth. It’s merely a matter of buying time.」

The neutralization was only temporary. The difference in strength was clear.

If victorious in the cavalry battle, it would simply be a matter of encircling the enemy.

「The rest depends on how well we can withstand the enemy’s charge.」

But Bartolo had confidence in victory because his infantry was superior to the enemy’s.

◇

「Alright, let’s start the infantry battle immediately. Deploy the first trump card. Send the combat slaves to charge!」

At Kuryuu’s command, the slaves, unleashed like beasts, hurled themselves at the alliance army.

「What’s this? They’re practically naked.」

「They’re few in number. Kill them!」

The alliance soldiers clashed with the combat slaves. The slaves wore only shields and breastplates for armor, with mere loincloths for their lower halves.

It seemed the battle would be decided in an instant, but…

「Aaaaargh!!」

「What the—this bastard bit me!」

「Grrrrrr!!」

「Ahh, why does he keep charging even after I stabbed him?」

The combat slaves, under the influence of narcotics, felt no pain. Their minds were occupied only with thoughts of their families held hostage and the enemies before them.

Surprised by the unexpected ferocity of the enemy, the coalition forces faltered. However, this was only temporary.

The enemy’s poor equipment did not change, and stabbing a heart still resulted in death. They were still human, after all.

Despite the struggle, the numerically superior alliance army gradually pushed back against the five thousand enemies.

As the combat slaves let out strange cries, they sank into a sea of blood. The charge of the combat slaves had failed.

However, they had managed to tire out the coalition forces to some extent.

◇

「As disposable combat slaves, they’ve done enough. Now… for the second trump card.」

Kuryuu pointed his sword towards the fierce battle unfolding between the combat slaves and the coalition forces, issuing his next command.

「War elephant unit! Begin the charge!」

The shaggy beasts… elephants roared and charged toward the combat slaves and the alliance army.