“He cannot see the forest for the trees. Wide and open plains without any obstacles is the perfect place to utilize cavalry.”
In terms of infantry alone, the Sardinian army outnumbered us by twice the amount.
However, when it came to cavalry, our army had nearly twice as many cavalrymen as the kingdom’s army. The Duke of Milano chose an open area as the battlefield to compensate for his weakness, but in reality, it only exacerbated his weakness.
“The Duke of Milano must be aware that his cavalry is weak. Therefore, the main focus of his strategy will be to withstand our cavalry as much as possible. And he will station elite infantry in the rear in case our cavalry were to charge at them.......”
On the other hand, our goal will be to endure the enemy’s infantry as much as possible.
Will the Kingdom’s army collapse under the assault of the Empire’s cavalry first? Or will the Empire be overwhelmed by the Kingdom’s infantry first? The fate of this battle hinged on this outcome.
“In that case.”
Queen Henrietta smiled slightly.
“So the outcome of this battle rests upon my cavalry.”
“That is correct. Queen.”
“I know that it is odd for me to ask this, but are you sure you want to leave the fate of this battle to me? In the end, I am nothing more than a foreign party. You would be powerless if I were to betray you.”
The Queen’s words caused the surrounding commanders to panic. Some even raised their voices to stop her. Laura, however, did not bat an eye. A voice filled with the utmost confidence flowed from Laura’s lips.
“You will not betray us.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Because Count Palatine Dantalian did not inform me that you would betray us.”
“......Hah?”
Henrietta’s anticipation to hear Laura’s answer quickly turned into confusion. Nevertheless, Laura continued with what she had to say.
“I might not be well-versed in politics, but the Count Palatine is different. He would have undoubtedly detected any inkling of betrayal on your part. Given that he has not mentioned anything like that to me, I have complete trust in you.”
“What......?”
“As long as it is clear that there is no room for betrayal, the cavalry of Brittany is merely a highly reliable force for me. Entrusting the fate of the battle to the most formidable force is only natural.”
Laura looked around. It was like she was asking if anyone had any more questions. Everyone in the room had become speechless because of the Supreme Commander’s statement. Laura explained a few more things before adjourning the meeting and leaving with brisk steps.
“......Dantalian.”
Henrietta called out to me quietly.
As a side note, Henrietta did not like calling me Count Palatine. It was because she lost to a Demon Lord and not some Count Palatine of an Empire.
“What is it?”
“You are...... How should I put it? You are quite the deeply sinful man.”
I tilted my head.
“Is that a compliment, Your Highness?”
“I am telling you to go to hell.”
Laura. This is bad. That statement just now has increased the Queen’s chance of betraying us by 1%.
‘Yeah!’ the soldiers shouted as they raised their spears.
– They certainly surpass us in numbers! But what is even more certain is that each one of them is worth less than a single testicle of our soldiers!
Henrietta drew her sword from her hip and pointed it forward.
– In contrast, our men are true warriors, each of them carrying not one, but two splendid testicles! Go and show them what real men are like! All troops, charge!
The cheering reached its peak.
The horns that were given to each unit as tradition were blown chaotically. The drumbeats sounded with an irregular rhythm, and the soldiers without instruments used their feet to create a makeshift ensemble.
“......And she’s supposed to be the queen of a nation?”
I let out a half-amused chuckle. The atmosphere that the Duke of Milano had carefully created with elegance and romance had completely evaporated. Although it was in a whole different category compared to the speech Elizabeth gave on Bruno Plains, there was no denying the effectiveness of Henrietta’s speech.
A red-haired queen whose personality is as uncontrollable as embers, is it? I felt like I understood why she was so popular with the soldiers. But she wasn’t my type.......
With the initial confrontation won by our side, the two armies gradually closed in on each other.
First, our cavalry clashed with theirs on the left flank.
I recalled the explanation Laura gave yesterday.
‘It is likely that the enemy will place their elite cavalry on the left flank.’
‘The left flank is adjacent to a river, so the battlefield there will be limited and the soil will be soft.’
‘The Duke of Milano’s goal is not to win the cavalry battle. It is to avoid defeat. He most likely believes that it will be all right if either of his flanks can hold out long enough.’
This is why the kingdom’s army will place their elite soldiers on the terrain where cavalrymen will be disadvantaged. This was Laura’s prediction.
‘Therefore, we will also place our most elite cavalrymen on the left flank.’
‘There is no reason to hesitate. —Wipe them out with a single push.’
A bright light enveloped our cavalry on the left flank.
Saintess Longwy had blessed them.
That’s right. The cavalry in charge of our left flank were none other than the soldiers of Brittany, the 5,000 cavalrymen led personally by Queen Henrietta.
Judging by their equipment, the troops that came out to intercept Brittany appeared to consist of a small number of knights and mostly foreign mercenaries. For the kingdom’s army whose main force was their civilian militia, these were undoubtedly their most formidable troops.
Brittany’s army and the kingdom’s army clashed at the riverside. I glanced at the unfolding cavalry battle with my telescope. Spears mixed together as they impaled into the chests of soldiers. Soldiers who were sliced by curved blades fell powerlessly from their horses.
“Hmm.”
I lowered my telescope. There was no need to keep watching.
“They aren’t even a match.”
Brittany was winning one-sidedly.
The kingdom’s army was being ripped apart relentlessly after only a single clash.
***
TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I honestly don’t have that much to say. I think I’m mostly okay now, but that’s obviously just going to be temporary depending on whatever happens in the near future. Work has been a bit annoying because I suddenly got a large pile of it this week. I wonder if lunch tastes good. I wouldn’t know since I skip it constantly ????
Welp, in any case, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.
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