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Vol 05 Chapter 166: The Third Southern Campaign II

「Oh, our plans have gone awry. In a good way.」

「To think we’ve come this far without encountering a single scout.」

Our army was a massive force of 43,000 troops. Therefore, the routes we could take for our advance were limited.

The path to Lezado split into two midway. There was the western route that circumvents the forest and the eastern route that cut straight through it.

According to Bartolo’s predictions, we were supposed to engage the enemy before reaching the divergence point… or so we thought.

「We’ve reached the split. …Which way should we advance?」

「I prefer the eastern route. The faster, the better. I’m worried about ambushes, but… if we proceed with caution, an ambush won’t work.」

Things like an entire army collapsing due to a clever trap only happen in fictional worlds.

Usually, careful scouting prevents ambushes from succeeding. Well, it’s not completely impossible, there are times when scouts miss things, and situations that seem unbelievable like an army collapsing just because birds took flight1 really happened in history.

However, as a rule, ambushes rarely succeed.

In this world, magicians can command dogs and hawks, reducing the success rate of ambushes even more compared to Earth.

A group of ambushing soldiers may be able to escape human sight, but a dog’s nose or a hawk’s eyes are much more difficult to deceive.

「Well, considering supplies, the eastern route is the best.」

With our army now numbering 43,000, problems that hadn’t surfaced before were beginning to emerge. The issue of supplies.

This was already a problem during the Second Southern Campaign.

However, creating a logistics unit in just one year is difficult. So, we decided to utilize river transport for our supplies.

Transporting by boat is far easier than using horses or donkeys. Moreover, the river flows almost directly from King Rosais’ Country to Lezado.

We can march alongside it till the end.

Thanks to this, we could easily resupply food, alcohol, siege weapons, and consumables like arrows and javelins. As a result, the soldiers’ loads were lighter, and our advance speed increased.

This will probably be the last time we can use the river. Such convenient terrain doesn’t exist elsewhere.

「For now, let’s make camp here. Deciding on our advance route can wait until we hear the scouts’ reports.」

◇

The next day.

「Good news, Your Majesty. The enemy has split their forces in two.」

「What do you mean?」

According to Bartolo… It seemed the enemy had divided their army to guard both the western and eastern routes.

It’s understandable that they need to stop us at the convergence point of the two routes, as it is right at Lezado’s doorstep. … But splitting their forces like this? Isn’t that a terrible strategy?

「The enemy probably hasn’t divided their forces haphazardly. They likely have some rear base prepared to allow quick rejoining.」

「If we could defeat them separately, it would be ideal… but the enemy won’t make it easy for us.」

The issue is how to defeat them separately…

「Bartolo. Let’s split our forces as well. Let’s try that plan we discussed.」

「I was thinking the same thing. Let’s do it.」

◇

Eastern Route Defense Force (West Army)

「Captain, the Rosais army has started moving. It looks like they took the eastern route.」

「Just as I thought. That idiot general from Nemes must be regretting his decision now.」

The Gallian mercenary captain smirked. In his mind, he pictured the general from Nemes stomping his feet in frustration.

◇

Western Route Defense Force (West Army)

「General, the enemy has taken the eastern route.」

「…Tch, I can just see the smug look on that barbarian face. Leave a thousand men here and join forces with the eastern troops.」

The West Army broke camp and began marching to merge with the East Army.

◇

About five hours after the West Army began their advance. Just a few hours away from joining with the East Army, the situation suddenly changed.

「…Why is the Rosais army here?」

Out of nowhere, the flag of the Rosais army appeared. There was no mistaking it, the flag fluttering in the sky was indeed that of the Rosais army.

The general yelled at his adjutant.

「What were the scouts doing!!」

「I-I am sorry… We must have missed them.」

However, it was him who had suggested that few scouts were needed since they were within allied territory. The adjutant couldn’t be blamed.

「…Well, no matter. But why is the Rosais army here…?」

The general was troubled. No word had reached him indicating that the East Army had been defeated.

This meant the Rosais army had somehow shortened their route.

(From the number of flags, their force is around six thousand… far too many to have moved through the forest. They couldn’t have teleported… But both the western and eastern routes were completely secured. How did they… Could it be?!)

The general arrived at a realization. He clutched his head and pounded his fist on the ground.

「Damn it! How could I, a Kirisian, not realize this?! How could I be outwitted by those barbarians like this?!」

「General? What has happened? Do you understand why the Rosais army has appeared?」

The general raised his head and glared at his adjutant.

「Boats! They used the river to outflank us!! Damn it, I never thought some barbarians who have never seen the sea would utilize boats this effectively…」

◇

「By now, the enemy must be quite surprised.」

Bartolo laughed heartily, drinking his wine. He had already established a strong position on the hill.

The enemy had ten thousand troops. Attacking a hill defended by six thousand would not be easy.

And the defenders were led by Bartolo. It would take at least a day to overcome them.

「And with one day, His Majesty will crush the East Army with superior numbers. Then, he’ll join me, and we’ll smash these foolish Kirisians together.」

Bartolo smashed the empty jug on the ground and stomped on it.

「I wonder how it feels for the Kirisians, so proud of their naval traditions, to be outmaneuvered like this by barbarians like us, who can only herd sheep and till fields, and don’t even have a written language.」

◇

Before the operation, Bartolo had said:

「I’ll take six thousand troops to flank and delay their reinforcements. Lezado’s mercenary force numbers ten thousand. With thirty-seven thousand, you can overwhelm them head-on. Your Majesty, just move the army as per standard tactics. But be wary of any ambushes.」

Indeed, I can’t claim to be better at military strategy than Bartolo. As a general, I might be just average.

But still. Is it just my imagination, or do his words sound like he is saying ‘Well, even you should be able to handle this much’?

「You’re overthinking it, Your Majesty.」

Alice spoke with a slightly exasperated tone. Lately, Alice has been following me around as my personal bodyguard.

I’ve given up trying to stop her. When I shooed her away, she just stalked me.

Apparently, Julia and Tetra, who stayed behind, entrusted me to her.

Well, it’s good that the women get along…

「Yeah, Bartolo isn’t that disrespectful. I must be overthinking it… But how exactly am I supposed to be cautious of ambushes?」

I don’t know.

For now, I followed Bartolo’s advice and positioned the supply wagons in the center of our formation.

On the flanks, I positioned the light infantry. Next to them, on the inside, I positioned the Rosais heavy infantry with its superior mobility, and at the center, next to the supply wagons, the allied troops still employing the phalanx formation.

If they dare to attack us with a small force, let them come!

「Your Majesty! It appears we were attacked at the rear!」

「Repel them!」

「No, we’ve already repelled them. Ron Aemilius-dono has driven them off.」

Oh, that’s right. Ron was guarding the rear. Well done!

「Ambushes really don’t work, do they?」

「That’s strange. King Domorgal’s Country’s General Tonino did a lot of successful ambushes against Aldo.」

General Tonino is a general of King Domorgal’s Country and the mastermind behind the ambush attacks on Prince Aldo’s supply lines during the civil war in King Domorgal’s Country.

As Alice murmured, General Tonino, who appeared from somewhere, interjected.

「Well, ambushes are easy and effective when the opponent is an idiot. Those ambushes worked like a charm. I even thought it was one of the enemy’s strategies to make me drop my guard.」

Of course, Aldo had no such intelligence. If he did, he’d be sitting on the throne of King Domorgal’s Country by now, and our army would have been defeated.

We should be grateful for Aldo’s incompetence. But kicking a dead man is not good. He is dead now. All humans are equal in death. Let’s stop mocking him.

「But one of the enemy generals is a Gallian… Does that mean the Rozel Kingdom is involved?」

「Probably not. There are plenty of Gallians outside of the Rozel Kingdom. Gallia is vast. Besides, just because their captain is a Gallian doesn’t mean the whole unit is. It’s likely a mix of ethnicities.」

Lezado’s troops were a mixed salad of various peoples: Kirisians, Adernians, Alvans, Pofenians, Gallians, Germanis, and others… Well, that’s what you expect from a mercenary force.

「Your Majesty! We’ve spotted the enemy’s flag ahead! About ten thousand troops!」

Reports kept pouring in from scouts and the magicians controlling the hawks.

It seems like we found the enemy.

「Relay to all units. Prepare for battle… and be wary of ambushes.」

An army is most vulnerable when reorganizing formations. Getting ambushed at this time would be troublesome.

Thanks to thorough training, the reorganization of formations was completed quickly. While reorganizing we were attacked by enemy ambushes three times, but we repelled all of them.

A small force cannot stand against a large army!

「The enemy… hasn’t finished forming up.」

「Well, they are mercenaries. And with such a mix of ethnicities, it must be hard to form a proper formation.」

Now that we were closer, it was clear that their weapons were varied as well. Shield sizes, swords, spears, shapes, lengths, and armor varied greatly…

The Rosais army’s weapons were also procured by each soldier, so there were minor differences… But at least, the lengths and shapes were standardized.

The enemy felt like a hastily assembled army.

In contrast, the Germanis mercenary unit led by Alexios was impressive. Even though their equipment was diverse, their formation speed, morale, training, and discipline were far superior to the enemy before us.

Indeed, the more hastily assembled a unit is, the more critical the commander’s role becomes.

It’s fortunate that Alexios is not the commander here.

「All units!! Charge!!」

I raised my voice. No need for tricks; we just need to overwhelm them with our numbers.

「Your Majesty, you can’t!」

「What?」

Alice grabbed my clothes just as I was about to lead the charge on horseback.

「Lord Bartolo, your wives, the patricians, and the guards have strictly ordered me not to let Your Majesty lead the charge.」

「…Alright.」

This really takes away my moment of glory. What’s the point of my blessings then…

◇

The battle itself ended in an hour. Thanks to the excellent centurions trained by Bartolo, rather than my own skillful command, we managed to annihilate the enemy.

… Is there any point in me coming to the battlefield?

TN1: Almus is referring to the battle of Xiapi between Lü Bu and the combined forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, during the late Eastern Han Dynasty in China.