3 bar menu

Vol 04 Chapter 123-1: Decisive Battle II

Meanwhile, on both flanks.

The cavalry of the Allied Forces and the Rozel army were engaged in fierce combat.

The allied army’s cavalry outnumbered the Rozel army’s by two to one. However, the situation was not necessarily advantageous for the Allied Forces.

「Damn, the enemy’s light infantry is getting in the way!」

Roswald deflected a flying stone with his sword, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

The Rozel army compensated for their lack of cavalry with light infantry. Of course, it wasn’t that the light infantry could defeat the cavalry.

But it was effective enough to somewhat disguise their lack of strength.

The cavalry split into two groups. One was centered around the Equus cavalry, drawing the enemy cavalry and infantry. The other was led by Roswald himself, the Rosais cavalry, tasked with taking down the enemy war elephants.

「Listen up! Don’t bother with the cavalry and infantry! Focus on killing the elephants first!」

Roswald, struggling to control his horse, startled by the elephant’s smell, closed in on an elephant and threw a blast javelin.

The blast javelin pierced through the elephant’s thick skin and lodged deeply. Simultaneously with the elephant’s scream, the javelin exploded.

The explosion blew flesh around the spear, splashing Roswald’s hair with red.

The elephant collapsed with a loud crash.

The Rosais cavalrymen under Roswald’s command continued throwing blast javelins at the elephants, one after another, killing them.

However, a shadow of doubt crossed Roswald’s face.

「Strange. According to the plan, the noise should have rendered the elephants incapable of fighting.」

The elephants, undisturbed by the sound of the exploding blast javelins, charged straight ahead. Roswald threw a javelin at the face of an approaching elephant and then dodged to the side.

Behind him, an explosion sounded, and the elephant collapsed.

Both horses and elephants are sensitive creatures. It wouldn’t be strange for them to panic at the sound of an explosion.

It was understandable that a few of the elephants and horses could be resilient to noise, but it was odd for all of them to be unaffected.

In fact, when they tried before, the Equus horses became useless due to the explosion noises, so they stayed away from the elephants and the Rosais cavalry, instead engaging the enemy’s cavalry and light infantry.

「They must have used magic…」

Roswald muttered.

While Roswald had no way to verify it, his guess was correct.

The Rozel army had prior knowledge that the enemy would use blast javelins against them. And they knew the blast spears produced loud sounds, smoke, and fire.

Both horses and elephants dislike loud sounds, smoke, and fire.

Having this information beforehand, it was impossible that they wouldn’t take precautions.

The animals had been subjected to magic by Rozel’s magicians, led by Mari. They were fed feed mixed with cannabis and cursed to induce an excited state that helped them overcome the noise.

Nevertheless, the battle situation was gradually tilting in favor of the Allied Forces.

Originally, the allied army’s cavalry was superior to Rozel’s, and the ability of the Equus cavalry far surpassed that of Rozel’s cavalry. Rozel’s prized elephants were being slaughtered steadily by the Rosais cavalry as well.

The problem lay elsewhere…

Whether the infantry of the allied army would be able to stop General Kuryuu’s central breakthrough until the allied cavalry could flank the Rozel army would be the key to victory.

◇

「Brrroooommm!!!!」

The elephants’ cries shook the air, and their footsteps quaked the ground. Raising a cloud of dust, a massive force of forty elephants charged straight at us.

It seems they intend to abandon the slave troops. Their plan appears to be to grind us all into mincemeat.

I have no intention of being processed quietly, though.

「Do not fear! They are mere beasts, we can kill them!」

I rallied the troops while rearranging our formation. I ordered the heavy infantry to fall back and placed the light infantry prepared at the rear to the front line.

The elephants quickly closed the distance and charged just as our formation was set.

Riding my beloved horse, Sakura, I moved to the front line to confront the elephants. I dodged an elephant that appeared in front of me and slashed at its legs with my sword.

The right leg of the elephant was cut cleanly in half, and it fell to the ground.

「Throw the blast javelins! Once you run out, aim for the legs with javelins. Stone throwers and archers, target the handlers!」

Under my command, the light infantry began their assault on the elephants.

The light infantry operates in groups of five, not forming a tight line, which allows them to dodge the elephants’ charges and continue their attacks.

One by one, the elephants fell as they were hit by the blast javelins.

The elephants, pierced by javelins in their legs, collapsed to the ground and became prey for the light infantry.

Elephants that lost their handlers turned around and fled towards the Rozel army.

It seemed the Rozel army had anticipated this, as the escaping elephants were subsequently killed one after another by their own forces. Most of the war elephants ended up falling on the battlefield.

◇

「Hmm…」

Kuryuu observed the downfall of the elephants with a frown. War elephants were a valuable military resource, and losing them was a significant blow.

「The Adernian soldiers are more capable than I expected. Even if I gave the same orders, the Gallian soldiers wouldn’t be able to execute them.」

The defeat of the war elephants could be attributed to the command and strategies of commanders like Almus and Bartolo, but more so because of the excellence of the Adernian soldiers.

The Adernian soldiers are primarily farmers who own their land. Farming required cooperative work with their fellow villagers.

This means they were accustomed to acting collectively and could respond to commanders’ orders even in unexpected situations.

On the other hand, the Gallians primarily subsisted on hunting and gathering. They were not adept at collective action.

「Should I have joined the charge with the war elephants? …No, it was wise to hold back.」

Kuryuu watched the elephants return. The bodies of their handlers swayed on their backs.

They were completely out of control.

If he had followed the elephants into the charge, there was a chance they would have rampaged through his own troops.

Avoiding the risk was the right decision.

While ordering the remaining elephants to be shot down, Kuryuu also commanded his entire army to prepare for a charge.

「Well, that’s fine. At least the enemy’s formation is disrupted. There was some effect.」

Kuryuu muttered before turning back towards the Rozel army.

「Comrades-in-arms! We will win!!!」

A long speech was unnecessary. A brief word was enough.

「Charge!!!」

The thirty thousand Rozel army infantry roared as they charged.

◇

「Here they come!!!」

I quickly ordered the light infantry to retreat. A few elephants are still left, but General Kuryuu poses a greater threat.

The light infantry alone cannot hold back General Kuryuu.

「Hurry!」

The centurions frantically rearranged the formation.

Will it be in time… no, it’s taking too much time. We won’t make it in time like this.

「Ron, Gram, Mutzio. Let’s go!!」

「Yes, Leader!」

「Understood, my king.」

「Leave the support to me.」

Leading the praetorian cohort, I stepped forward.

We will hold off General Kuryuu, giving the rest time to reform the formation.

It’s somewhat risky, but it’s the only option we have.

「Let’s go!!!」

I raised my sword high and headed towards General Kuryuu.

As expected of a fierce general, Kuryuu was at the forefront of the Rozel army, astride a strange creature.

It looks like a dragon. But my Sakura isn’t frightened by such a sight.

「You must be King Almus! So young. It is truly a pity to lose your life at such an age!」

Kuryuu yelled something.

Unfortunately, I don’t understand the Gallian language.

「So you’re General Kuryuu, huh? Your glory ends today. Regret ever facing me in battle!」

My sword clashed violently with General Kuryuu’s. Again and again, our blades crossed.

Something is off. Normally, my Dragon Damascus sword would have split a regular sword in two. That means…

「「So you also have a Dragon Damascus steel sword!!」」

General Kuryuu and I spoke simultaneously.

I don’t understand what he is saying, but he must have said the same thing as me.

「Die, General Kuryuu!」

「You’re the one who will die, King Almus!!!」

Our swords collided fiercely.

Our strength is evenly matched, huh?

「It seems you also possess a blessing.」

「I had heard that you possessed a combat-related blessing, it seems to be true.」