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Vol 05 Chapter 173: The Third Southern Campaign IX

On the fourth day of the battle, Bartolo attempted a central breakthrough with a wedge formation. He placed the phalanx at the tip and positioned the Rosais army on both wings to prevent the enemy from encircling them.

However, just when it seemed they were close to succeeding, they couldn’t break through completely and had to retreat.

Bartolo, intending to ambush the pursuing enemy, made it appear as if their formation was in disarray while retreating, but Kepka Barca did not pursue and withdrew instead.

Both sides remained in a stalemate, unable to decide the outcome.

「Bartolo-dono, today’s battle was so close! If you hadn’t ordered the retreat, we would have broken through the enemy lines!」

This remark was made during the military council by a consul who had come from one of the autonomous cities, leading a group of Kirisian phalanx soldiers. Supporting the consul, generals from various countries began to voice their grievances against Bartolo.

The atmosphere is too tense. This isn’t a good trend.

I trust Bartolo’s capabilities. It is thanks to him that I have come this far. Therefore, I won’t do something as reckless as abandoning him now.

Since Bartolo said it was better to retreat, then it must have been the right decision to retreat.

I was about to speak up to defend Bartolo, but he spoke up first.

「Indeed, I have been overly cautious until now. Tomorrow, we will surely defeat the enemy!」

Bartolo’s words were strong and resolute. Upon hearing them, the dissatisfaction on the commanders’ faces began to fade.

However, despite his strong words, Bartolo’s expression does not look good.

It seems he hasn’t been drinking either, and he looks more unwell than usual.

…Is this really okay? Is that what you think? At that time, you thought it was best to retreat, right?

And now you’re overturning that decision so easily…

「Sigh, at this rate we’ll lose tomorrow.」

A voice cut through the nearly unified room, freezing everyone in place. All eyes turned to the source of the voice.

It was Alexios.

「What do you mean by that!!」

「That’s why mercenaries are…」

「I hear Kepka Barca is your uncle!」

「Untrustworthy!!」

「King Almus, this man should not remain in our army!!」

Criticism poured down on Alexios. He is a person with little sense of cooperation and often makes sarcastic remarks.

To put it bluntly, he has a bad personality. While he might be a good person at heart, his disposition is pretty twisted.

Moreover, he is originally from Pofenian… and is the nephew of the enemy general.

Everyone had been harboring their dissatisfaction deep inside. Now it was erupting.

「Alexios, I don’t believe you would make a careless statement without any thought. I’ll allow you to speak. Explain why you think that, along with the intent behind your statement.」

I asked calmly.

Alexios, as if waiting for this moment, put on a smug expression.

「Understood. Let me explain. First, why can’t we defeat Kepka Barca’s army? The Pofenian army numbers thirty thousand, while the Rosais army has forty thousand. Numerically, the Pofenians are at a disadvantage. Kepka Barca prefers straightforward tactics in battle, but given their smaller numbers, they would lose if they attacked head-on. Therefore, they continue to defend using conventional tactics.」

To launch an attack, one must concentrate their forces on a single point. However, doing so would thin out their forces elsewhere, exposing weaknesses.

Conversely, as long as they abandon the attack and continue to defend, their formation remains unbreakable.

That’s why we’re struggling. We understand that much.

「But don’t you find it strange? Indeed, a turtle that withdraws into its shell is strong. However, as long as it remains in its shell, the turtle cannot defeat the crane.」

The image of a crane persistently pecking at a turtle’s shell floated in my mind.

The turtle is Kepka, and the crane is Bartolo.

「The turtle is waiting for the crane to become impatient and hungry, trying to stick its beak into the shell. If the crane carelessly sticks its beak into the turtle’s shell, the turtle will crush the beak with its strong jaws, emerge from its shell, and devour the crane.」

The room fell silent.

Alexios continued.

「In the four battles, there’s one enemy unit that hasn’t moved at all. The Hespania mercenaries. Hespania has long had deep ties with the Barca family, and the Hespania mercenaries are essentially the private soldiers of the Barca family. Their skill level and individual combat strength are far superior to the other mercenaries. They are likely to be used just at the point where we are about to break through the Pofenian army, intending to counterattack once our assault has waned.」

Alexios’ words were convincing. No one could refute him.

Alexios turned his gaze to Bartolo.

「Bartolo-dono, do you see any flaws in my reasoning?」

「…No, none. You’re right. If we push too far, we’ll lose…」

Bartolo readily admitted his mistake.

For now, it seems we have avoided having our beak crushed by the turtle.

「…However, that strategy presumes we will overextend ourselves. Even though the Pofenian army controls the seas, their supply lines shouldn’t be stable. If this drags on, they will be at a disadvantage…」

No, if this drags on, we’ll be at a disadvantage as well. Unlike the Pofenians, who can resupply through plunder, we can’t afford to do the same.

If the war prolongs, it will be us, with our weaker national strength, who will be pushed into a corner.

「I see, the Pofenian army doesn’t need to win outright. They already control the strait between the island of Triskelia and the Adernian Peninsula. Their strategic goal is achieved. Even without engaging decisively, if they can drag this out and negotiate a peace settlement…」

Even a small foothold is enough. For Pofenia, having a naval base on the Adernian Peninsula would suffice; they don’t need the rest of the land.

Of course, they would want it, but not so much that they would risk everything to obtain it.

Kepka Barca likely changed his strategy when he failed to capture Lezado.

He’s aiming for victory through diplomacy, not war.

This is the most frustrating opponent I’ve ever faced. General Kuryuu was strong, but he was a pure soldier, focused solely on victory through war.

This opponent is different.

He views war as just one tool in the arsenal of diplomacy and politics, a blend of politician and soldier.

「However, we can’t give up even a single stone of the Adernian Peninsula. We must rescue the captured Kirisians as well. Our only acceptable outcome is complete victory.」

Our usual methods won’t work.

But if we force an attack, we’ll face defeat. If we don’t attack, we’ll face diplomatic defeat.

No matter what we choose, bad outcomes await…

「Your Majesty, I have a strategy to break the current stalemate. Would you like to hear it?」

「Tell me.」

「A night raid.」

A night raid… It’s a tactic of launching a surprise attack on the enemy in the middle of the night.

However, this tactic is very difficult.

First, you need to distinguish between friend and foe in the dark. Second, you need the skill to move in formation without breaking ranks in the darkness. Third, it exhausts the soldiers.

While the benefits can be great, so are the drawbacks. If successful, it can yield significant results, but the damage from failure can be severe.

「The enemy will be prepared. I doubt it will succeed.」

「I can make it succeed. At least, I have the means to allow my Germanis cavalry to see in the dark. I can’t divulge how… but also…」

Alexios smiled slyly.

「Your Majesty possesses pieces capable of assassinating over thirty people in the dark without anyone noticing, correct?」

…So he knows. Well, it’s understandable if he investigated the Lezado raid thoroughly.

That success was thanks to Alice’s superhuman physical abilities.

「Understood. I’ll adopt your plan. Explain the specifics of your strategy.」

「Understood. The key is the timing…」

◇

「General! General! Wake up!」

「Huh? …Is it morning? Let me sleep a bit longer…」

Kepka, shaken awake by his adjutant, briefly opened his eyes before wrapping himself back up in his blanket. The adjutant forcibly yanked the blanket off.

「It’s a night raid! The enemy is launching a night raid!!」

「Night raid? The opponent is Alexios! I predicted he might use his blessing! The guards should have been on alert! What were they doing!!」

Just as Alexios knew Kepka well, Kepka knew Alexios well. He had anticipated that Alexios might use his blessing and attempt a night raid.

Therefore, Kepka had placed the Hespania mercenaries on watch. He couldn’t trust the other mercenaries.

「I’m very sorry…」

「Enough!! The night raid has happened, we can’t change that. Gather the troops immediately. We’ll counterattack!!」

Kepka hurriedly donned his armor, grabbed his sword, and rushed out of his tent, shouting orders.

「All troops, gather at the center!!」

Kepka’s orders spread through the Pofenian army via the non-commissioned officers. The entire Pofenian army began moving towards the center.

However…

「Ugh, I’ve been slashed!! The enemy is nearby! Is it you?!」

「Dammit, I’ve been hit too. Where are they? Is it you?」

「Captain! Infighting has started… Captain? Oh no, he’s dead! Who could have… argh!!」

If the night raid had been executed by Alexios alone, Kepka might have managed to handle it. But it wasn’t just Alexios executing the night raid.

Alice, the ultimate ace, was moving around stealthily.

Alice mercilessly killed enemy soldiers, not even giving them the chance to scream. The terror of one’s comrade suddenly becoming a lifeless corpse was immeasurable.

「Damn, the gathering is slow!! What’s happening…」

「General, sir, it’s terrible. The slaves we’ve captured have escaped!」

「Shit, nothing but bad news…」

Until the allied forces arrived, Kepka had been capturing slaves during his raids. Whenever the number of captives reached a certain point, they were sent to the occupied coastline, but…

About five hundred slaves, who hadn’t been sent off, remained at the main camp. Those slaves had been freed and started causing chaos.

Even so, as expected of Kepka, he began to gradually bring the Pofenian army’s confusion under control.

Just as Kepka relaxed his guard, an explosion echoed through the air. Wondering what had happened, Kepka and his soldiers turned their gaze towards the source of the explosion.

What they saw was fire. The flames were engulfing the food storage, painting it a bright red.

「This is terrible!! The food storage has been set on fire!!」

「The provisions are gone!!」

「The main camp is in ruins!」

「Kepka Barca has fled!」

「No, he’s been killed by the enemy!!」

Rumors of uncertain truth spread around the camp. The fire at the food storage was the final blow, causing the Pofenian army to start falling apart.

「With no food, we’re going to starve…」

「At this rate, we’re going to die in infighting.」

「This is ridiculous. I have plans to get married after this war.」

The mercenaries began to flee in panic. Any collision led to immediate combat.

They couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe.

The only thing they knew for sure was that these obstacles were preventing their escape.

Reorganizing the troops was now impossible.

「…We retreat.」

Kepka finally made his decision. He gathered the remaining Hespania mercenaries and attempted to flee.

At that moment, it was as if the gods were smiling upon Kepka; the sun began to rise. Dawn had broken.

The surroundings became bright in an instant.

Now they could finally escape. Perhaps they could even regroup.

The Pofenian army saw a glimmer of hope. Simultaneously, they heard the footsteps of death approaching.

「What is this rumbling… Ah, that is…」

Looking towards the source of the rumbling, they saw the allied forces lined up in perfect order. They had been waiting for dawn.

At the front, the young king shouted something, waving his sword. That was the signal for the allied forces to charge at the Pofenian army.

◇

Pofenian army

30.000 combatants.
5.000 dead (4.000 from friendly fire).
20.000 captured.
5.000 fled.

Thus, the Pofenian army was annihilated.

◇

‘Only perverts, bats, and great generals love the darkness of the night.’ ―Romalia Proverb―

Similar Japanese proverb: ‘Madmen, clouds, and great generals all want to cross high mountains.’

Translation: There is a fine line between genius and insanity.