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Vol 03 Chapter 98: Rapid Advance II

Ten days after the signature of the treaty with Carlo, the Rosais army led by Bartolo, in alliance with the Equus tribe, arrived in King Domorgal’s Country.

The Blouse territory lay on the border between King Rosais’ Country and King Domorgal’s Country. However, its territory had been significantly reduced, but it was still quite vast.

Upon arrival, Bartolo immediately asked Lettis,

「How’s the situation?」

「There’s not much change from what I reported yesterday. We have a force of eight thousand. The enemy has about twenty-two thousand. Our main force, led by General Tonino, numbers six thousand. The enemy’s main force, led by Prince Aldo, is fifteen thousand. The rest are scattered in small groups across various locations.」

「I see…」

General Tonino was holding off Prince Aldo’s fifteen thousand with six thousand men. The concern was…

「How long do you think General Tonino can hold out?」

「General Tonino is utilizing the terrain, employing ambush and scorched earth tactics while gradually pulling back. Probably, he can last a week at most.」

Tonino’s tactics resembled guerrilla warfare. Small groups of soldiers hid in forests and behind rocks to launch sporadic attacks, burn villages along the enemy’s route, and contaminate wells with poison and waste.

Prince Aldo, inexperienced in warfare, was struggling significantly.

「Then, shall we head for General Tonino’s rescue immediately?」

「What!? There’s a territory of a patrician loyal to Aldo to the east. Is that alright? Shouldn’t we defeat the possible threat from behind first?」

「No problem.」

Bartolo interrupted Lettis and explained with a smile.

「That one is from the now-late Pax faction. Depending on the situation, he’ll switch sides to us.」

「Is that so…?」

「Yes, for now, please direct the forces of the Blouse family to the east. While you hold them off, we’ll rescue General Tonino. …After all, we haven’t fought together before so the soldiers can’t be expected to coordinate with each other.」

Bartolo implicitly told Lettis to step back as they might get in the way. Lettis had a complicated expression on his face.

While it was good that his forces wouldn’t be diminished, the inability to achieve any military exploits was dissatisfying. However, without the support of the Rosais army, the defeat of the Carlo faction was inevitable.

「Understood. …Please take my brother Rene with you. He has extensive knowledge of the geography.」

Rene Blouse had been under house arrest in a remote area for allowing the city of Blouse to surrender without bloodshed. However, since King Domorgal, who ordered the house arrest, had died, Rene had returned. Besides, now was not the time to sit quietly under house arrest.

「Thank you. I’m not familiar with the geography of this country, so this is a big help,」

Bartolo said, expressing his gratitude. Having the advantage of knowing the terrain is crucial in warfare and greatly affects the speed of the march.

「Then let’s hurry. We’ll be on our way immediately.」

Bartolo left the place swiftly, accompanied by 8,800 troops.

◇

「Tonino! Rejoice. Reinforcements are coming. 8,800 troops. They should arrive by tomorrow morning!」

「Well, if that’s good news… Sigh… Our country will become a vassal country to King Rosais’ Country…」

Tonino’s shoulders drooped, but Carlo patted him on the back, offering some comfort.

「Well, it’s better than dying, right?」

「You might want to feel a bit more downcast about this.」

The Tonino and Carlo army was stationed about ten kilometers from the border with the king’s directly controlled territories. The troops directly under their command numbered around three thousand.

The remaining three thousand were dispersed across various locations, repeatedly launching sporadic attacks on Aldo’s forces. While dispersing forces is not always a commendable strategy, against an enemy of fifteen thousand, there wasn’t much difference between six thousand and three thousand troops.

Sometimes, it’s better to spread out the forces.

「Aldo must be quite angry by now. He’s known for his temper.」

「Haha, easy to imagine. Perhaps he’s taking his anger out on his vassals?」

The two shared a laugh, clearly lightened by the news of incoming reinforcements.

「Report from the third unit! We successfully ambushed and inflicted damage on the enemy’s supply train! Destroyed three supply wagons! Our casualties are seventy—minor casualties!」

「Well done. Also, inform all units. Reinforcements are on their way. The long endurance battle is over. All units are to regroup on my position.」

The messenger, receiving Tonino’s instructions, mounted his horse again and rode off. Tonino watched his departing figure until the end.

◇

「Ah!! This is ridiculous!! What the hell?!」

「First, please calm down and explain what you’re angry about. Besides, it hurts.」

After a while, Aldo, having somewhat calmed down by hitting Alice, stepped back from her. He then sat down on a chair and, with eyes wide with fury, yelled.

「Those bastards! Always moving around, always targeting the supply units!」

「Then why not protect the supply units more carefully during the march?」

Alice didn’t understand military tactics. In fact, how could she, when she couldn’t even read? But if the supply units were being targeted, wouldn’t it be normal to march in a way that protects them?

「If we do that, our already slow march will become even slower! Understand this: the quicker the troops, the better.」

「Ah… I’m learning a lot.」

Alice just nodded along. She didn’t really understand whether what Aldo was saying was correct or not.

「All these cowards…」

「…」

Do you have the right to say that?

Alice almost let those words slip but restrained herself with her hands. Voicing that thought would result in more than just a beating.

Well, since Alice was the perpetrator, she wasn’t really in a position to criticize others either.

「Aldo-sama! It appears that King Rosais’ Country has mobilized its troops! They are expected to join the enemy forces by tomorrow morning!」

「What?! That bastard… What is he thinking, bringing foreign troops into a civil war?! Ahh! It’s because you lot are so slow in advancing!」

「S-sorry!」

An innocent messenger got scolded. Naturally, the messenger’s job was just to convey information to Aldo, not to command the troops.

The delay in the march was due to Aldo’s poor leadership. Ninety percent of the blame was on Aldo, and ten percent was on the patricians who couldn’t oppose him at all.

「Well, isn’t it good that the enemy will join forces? It’s troublesome, but if you defeat them, you win. This stagnant battle situation will change dramatically.」

Seeing the messenger in distress, Alice decided to throw him a lifeline, applying the principle that every crisis is an opportunity.

「I wanted to settle the battle before they could join forces!」

Aldo’s kick flew towards Alice, who took it head-on.

She skillfully took a fall to minimize the damage without Aldo noticing. If she obviously braced herself, Aldo would get even angrier.

She made it look like she took the full brunt of the kick, but in reality, the damage was minimal… It was one of Alice’s special skills.

「Hey!」

「Yes, sir!」

The messenger flinched. While stepping on Alice’s face, Aldo questioned the messenger.

「How big is the Rosais army?」

「They have between nine to seven thousand soldiers, it seems.」

「So, our forces will be about equal…」

Currently, General Tonino, the enemy commander, had around six thousand troops. If the Rosais army joined them, their forces would nearly match Aldo’s.

If the battle became one of equal numbers, it would become a contest of the soldiers’ strength and the commanders’ skills.

「Good, we’ve won.」

「…」

Isn’t it the opposite?

Alice nearly blurted out her true thoughts but quickly covered her mouth with both hands, swallowing the words.

If she blurted that she would probably get killed.

◇

「Bartolo-dono! Thank you for coming!」

「Our country couldn’t stand idly by while our sworn friend, King Domorgal, was in distress. Our presence here is only natural. Let’s defeat the enemy together!」

Bartolo greeted Carlo, who welcomed Bartolo with great respect. If Bartolo had taken offense and left, it could have meant the end for Carlo.

Bartolo then faced Tonino, who was standing to Carlo’s right.

「It’s been a while, General Tonino. A year, I believe.」

「Yes, it has been a while… I never imagined our next meeting would be under such circumstances…」

Tonino shook hands with Bartolo, both exchanging a warm handshake with a wry smile.

「Now, let’s get straight to the military council. Where is the enemy currently?」

「They are camped about three hours from here, numbering around fifteen thousand. Nearly equal to our forces.」

「Equal numbers… then it’s a field battle for a decisive victory.」

Bartolo and Tonino exchanged sly grins. Both were reputed to be skilled commanders, and the idea of losing to a fifteen-year-old in a battle of equal numbers seemed implausible.

The discussion shifted from how to win to how to win with the least casualties.

「Prince Aldo is quite irritated by my harassment. Given his temperament, he’ll definitely seek a field battle.」

「That’s convenient. It’s a hassle to lure out a snail from its shell.」

Had it been someone as cautious as Carlo, they might have holed up in their camp and refused to come out, presenting a difficult challenge.

The one on the defending side usually has the advantage. It’s commonly said that the attacking side needs three times more soldiers than the defending side.

「As for the (nominal) supreme commander, King Carlo will do… But what about the chain of command? Will we unify under your leadership?」

「I will follow your orders, Bartolo-dono. You have more troops.」

The discussions progressed smoothly.

It was natural for the Rosais army, the side providing assistance, to have the upper hand.

◇

With Bartolo taking the lead, the military council advanced. Carlo was left out, seemingly feeling isolated, he killed time playing with pebbles with his foot.

「This is an unusual formation. Can it be implemented?」

「We haven’t tried it with such large numbers. In fact, this is the first time our country is engaging in such a large-scale battle… However, we have tested its effectiveness on a smaller scale. Please cooperate with us.」

Before they knew it, the formalities had dropped between them as they eagerly continued their planning. Carlo was left out of the discussion, preoccupied with his pebbles.

「The issue is Prince Aldo’s 400 cavalry. He’ll likely place them traditionally on the flanks… You plan to position all of our 600 cavalry on the left, right? (400 from the Equus tribe and 200 from Carlo’s forces). But what about the defense on the right?」

「You go to the right and take direct command. We’ll concentrate the Domorgal troops there too. Our troops have a slightly different command structure, so it’s better to keep them separate than to mix them up. All the light infantry equipped with blast javelins will be sent there as well.」

The blast javelin was an excellent anti-cavalry weapon. Even if it didn’t hit its target, the blast scared the horses.

The strength of cavalry lay in the speed gained during a charge. An explosive spear can halt that charge. Cavalry that has lost its momentum is no longer a threat.

…There’s also the fact that the explosive spears affect one’s own cavalry, which is why they are best used where there’s no friendly cavalry, like on the right flank.

「If you want, you can simply lend us the blast javelins and our soldiers will do the rest.」

「No, they’re tricky to use. We’ll send our specialized troops to handle them, so no worries.」

It would be problematic if Tonino stole or copied them. Of course, producing black powder, let alone deciphering the magical formula for the ignition device designed by Tetra, was nearly impossible.

「Let’s ensure victory in tomorrow’s battle.」

「Indeed. And once it’s over, let’s celebrate over drinks.」

Bartolo and Tonino shared a firm handshake and embraced. Meanwhile, Carlo was still engrossed with his pebbles.