VI
Balboa’s First Pursuit Force
Even the icy bite of the wind felt pleasant as Balboa breathed deep, filling up his lungs with cold air. He radiated a vigor that belied his advanced age.
“Even Death God Olivia was left with no choice but to kneel before the Azure Knights! But we are not done yet! It is not enough! Bare those sharpened azure fangs and sink them deep, deep into their flesh!” Balboa knocked aside incoming arrows this way and that with the long shaft of his spear, bellowing to spur on his soldiers. They responded with an earthshaking roar, driving the retreating royal soldiers into the yawning mouth of the land of the dead.
It was scarcely an hour since the pursuit began.
“Guh...?!” After smashing through a number of small groups in defensive formations, Balboa caught sight of a group of soldiers in black armor. At a quick visual estimate, they numbered around three hundred.
Death God Olivia is supposed to wear black armor. With those numbers, could they be her personal guard? As the unit in black approached, before Balboa could catch the scent of unmistakable danger and be urged to caution, arrows came raining down on his forces like a summer squall. Perhaps because the arrows too were black, it was as though a veil of darkness had settled over them.
“Defensive positions!” he roared. But the order was lost almost at once amid the whinnying of horses and the voices of the soldiers. Most of the soldiers who rode ahead had been thrown into the air or were peppered with black arrows, and they along with the horses they rode collapsed to the ground in droves. From the force of the volley to its unmatched accuracy, it was clear that these were archers of no small amount of talent. Only through skillful use of his reins and spurs did Balboa just manage to calm his wildly bucking horse. He laid a hand on its neck to thank the beast for its fortitude, then took a deep breath into his belly before he let out another bellow that resounded through the battlefield.
“Forward! If you stop now, they’ll have you! Ride through them like a gale!” The latest attack had thrown their ranks into severe disarray, but Balboa’s riders charged forward with such force as though they meant to run the black-armored soldiers down. Balboa spurred his horse back to a gallop just as soldiers began to emerge en masse bearing shields large enough to conceal a grown man from behind the archers in black. They formed up three ranks deep in front of the archers, then planted their shields on the ground as though to repel the charge. It was as if they meant to provoke him. Balboa couldn’t help but smile.
“What a joke! Crush them!”
Ordinary soldiers would have been wary of the abnormality and grown slow, but those who wore the splendid blue plate did not hesitate even for a moment. They were each of them overtaken by their fighting spirit, and they rammed right into the wall of great shields. The common folk were wont to see nothing but the beauty of that armor, but the Azure Knights had no time for prettiness. No matter if they were splattered with mud or exposed to humiliation, they sought victory to the point of stupidity. That was the essence of the Azure Knights.
We have no need for individual honor. It is enough for the Azure Knights to be bathed in glory. This wasn’t like before, when he had been caught unawares. His unhorsed soldiers drew their swords at once, then swung at the royal soldiers. It looked as though the fight was heading for a melee, but the royal soldiers warded off the attack, then began to retreat once more.
Balboa fought off enemies left and right, his long spear lined with blood. “We have them retreat—?!” He was gripped by a sudden chill. Unconsciously, he tilted his head left, and a moment later, with a noise like the roar of a wild beast, an arrow passed so close that it brushed his temple. This time, Balboa entirely lost his balance, slipping miserably from his horse.
“General Balboa!”
“It’s nothing!” Balboa brutally shook off the arm of the soldier who tried to haul him to his feet, then looked up. What he saw was a single man with a bow and a wolfish grin.
“So you dodged my arrow? You really are something,” he said. Then, he turned his back on Balboa and strolled away. Balboa put a hand on his knee to push himself to his feet, never taking his eyes off the man.
“Ser, you’re injured...”
“This is barely a scratch.” Balboa glanced at the cloth his aide held out to him, then shook off the gore on his weapon.
That man’s eyes... he thought. There’s no question, from the impression he gave off, that he’s some sort of commander. But those were not the eyes of a man who’s accepted defeat...
Despite his unease, Balboa never let up on the pursuit. Two hours later, the Eighth Legion arrived at the Elfiel Canyon. Balboa wanted to continue after them, but that would be going against his orders. Besides, plunging in when one knew a trap was waiting wasn’t brave, it was reckless. It wouldn’t do to confuse the two, he chided himself.
We’ve whittled down some of their forces. I shall leave Lieutenant General Violet to do the rest. Balboa gave the order for all units to cease their pursuit.
Violet’s Second Pursuit Force
Violet and her soldiers arrived at the Elfiel Canyon ahead of the retreating Eighth Legion. She positioned her forces in a horseshoe formation, fully prepared for the arrival of their opponent. When they wandered in unwitting, a grave requiem would ring out for them.
Violet sat astride her horse, her well-formed lips softening in a smile, when her aide, Major Cassachy, approached her, a solemn look on his face. He was related to the Anastasias, and so had known Violet since her girlhood.
Again...? This was the third time. Violet, of course, knew perfectly well what he was going to say, so with a look that made it abundantly clear she had had enough, she cut in first.
“I’m not backing up a single step from this spot.”
“I know I ask too much, General, but please, go just a little further back. If anything were to happen to you, I could never face your esteemed father Bren.”
“You are worrying over nothing. The House of Anastasia prizes valor in battle above all else. So long as my death, if it comes, is honorable, my father will receive the news gladly.”
“On the surface, it may be as you say,” Cassachy replied. “But separating one’s feelings over one’s own daughter is not easily done. Especially for the father of a daughter like you, General. I beg you to reconsider.”
Violet glared at him, then said harshly, “You will say nothing further. Dismissed.” Cassachy fell silent. With a salute, he left, his shoulders slumped. His frequent beseeching for her to retreat was to be expected from an aide. Where Violet’s forces now stood was well within arrow shot—and if the Eighth Legion were to make a last-ditch, suicidal charge, within the reach of sword and spear as well. There was one simple reason why despite that, she had chosen to stop here: this was the perfect opportunity to get a firsthand look at Death God Olivia.
I will see for myself just what sort of a woman can stir Lord Felix’s heart, she thought.
Two hours later—
“The Eighth Legion have shown themselves.” After word came from the scouts, the Second Pursuit Force, having sighted the Eighth Legion’s vanguard, quietly moved into position for battle. Violet raised her arm straight up toward the heavens, and the creak of bowstrings pulled taut ran through the forest. They had made use of the terrain to cleverly conceal themselves. Though the Eighth Legion appeared to be moving with caution, there was no sign that they had noticed Violet’s forces.
Using her spyglass to measure the distance between them, Violet allowed the Eighth Legion to come in as close as she dared, then cried, “Loose!” She swung her outstretched arm down. At once, the arrows raced away, tracing a graceful arc through the air to rain down on the Eighth Legion. Though Violet could not have known it at that moment, she had, without meaning to, taken revenge for the volley that had hit Balboa’s forces, in a different time and place. Amid the expected confusion sown in the Eighth Legion’s ranks by the arrows, they began a counterattack, but it was undisciplined and disordered, and so only added to the confusion. Seeing one arrow after another whistling by with no clear target, Violet couldn’t help a sarcastic smile. In the end, the Eighth Legion scurried back into the hole they had crawled out of, still in disarray. The archers continued their assault until the enemy were out of bow range, leaving a mound of several hundred corpses.
The ambush didn’t go too badly. Though of course, this outcome was only to be expected. As Cassachy issued commands to the soldiers with relief on his face, she called over to him.
“They won’t come out again until they’ve regained order. We will split our forces into three. Two will continue on the offensive. The other one will rest.”
Cassachy replied that he understood, then immediately set to work. Violet’s eyes were already fixed on where the Eighth Legion had retreated, to where the girl had to be.
Caught with a tiger in front and a wolf behind, as they say. Now, then, little Death God, what will you do now? Violet smiled a bewitching smile.
Main Force, the Eighth Legion
That’s our schedule way off track, Luke thought, staggered by the spectacular ambush the Azure Knights had staged. It had been settled that they would retreat to draw the attention of the Azure Knights, and as soon as they decided on the narrow canyon as their path, they had deployed a large unit of longbow archers in advance. Even then, Ashton had said with close to certainty that their opponent would anticipate the presence of the ambush. This was a crucial point, as their objective was not a surprise attack, but rather to deter the pursuers early on. Ashton’s prediction had proved true, and the enemy unit pursuing them had fallen back as soon as the Eighth Legion arrived at the canyon. They were then to have passed through the canyon, making as if to fall back while in fact circling counterclockwise back around the canyon to return to the Turner Plains and waiting at the arranged location for word from Olivia. If news came that she was victorious, they would advance at once on the imperial capital.
Yet in reality, no sooner had the Eighth Legion exited the canyon than they found an ambush awaiting them, sending them scrambling back up the path from whence they had come.
Even Lieutenant Colonel Ashton didn’t expect there would be a shortcut... But now we’re rats in a trap. The pursuing force from earlier would undoubtedly be waiting for them should they try to go back the way they had come, like as not only too happy to resume the chase. Even so, we can’t just sit here. So long as they believe General Olivia is with us, we have to do something, or it’ll create undue suspicion, and that we have to avoid at all costs.
Olivia and her forces were due to spring their attack the following day at dawn. As such, Luke had to do whatever it took to keep the eyes of the enemy here.
“Should we force our way through?” his aide suggested. Luke immediately rejected it.
“Even if we managed it, we still wouldn’t be able to shake them off. The damage that would do us can’t be underestimated.”
“So we stay here?”
“Right now, that’s the best solution.”
“Major, do you think the enemy will stand patiently by while we’re holed up here?”
“You should ask them that yourself. But at the very least, we have the advantage of terrain. And our opponent is confident they have won.”
“What does that mean, ser?” his aide asked slowly.
“If it were you, would you be eager to go plunging into danger right after you were assured of victory? For my part, I’d politely decline.”
For all their bravery, their opponents were still only human. Some of them might have been insane, but the vast majority of people wanted to savor victory, and precisely because of that, they took greater care with their lives.
“There is a logic to that, ser,” his aide admitted, and offered no further protest.
Having said that, if their commander were insane, then this would all be meaningless. If only Colonel Claudia or Lieutenant Colonel Ashton were here, I wouldn’t have to rack my brains like this. I lost out on the roles that came round to me this time. Privately heaving a deep sigh, Luke issued his next orders.
Violet’s Second Pursuit Force
“And just what are you thinking?” Violet, who was on her break, had reached out for the bread basket, only to end up not taking any. A lot of time had slipped by since their initial ambush, but the Eighth Legion had done nothing worthy of notice. Every now and then a small shield-bearing unit emerged, only to be met by a volley of arrows from the longbows lying in wait for them to send them scurrying back to their hole. They did the same thing over and over again as though it were all the fools knew how to do, until at last even that ceased.
“It looks to me as though they can’t make their minds up on what to do,” Cassachy said. Violet wasn’t about to contradict him; she thought the same. She seriously doubted they would turn back to the Turner Plains now, and even if they did, Balboa would have something to say about it. The fact was, the Eighth Legion was out of options.
I was expecting her to try something. Perhaps not on the level of that lone charge at the start of the battle, but something like it... There was no way that Olivia, after making such a daring play, would stay holed up in the Elfiel Canyon. Not only that, but unlike her Second Pursuit Force, which had secure supply lines, the Eighth Legion’s food would be limited. You couldn’t conveniently get around hunger simply by staying still, but cutting back rations would obviously hurt morale. If Olivia was planning something, it would have to be now, while they still had food to spare.
Violet pushed her bangs to one side as the wind tousled them. What if we tried something ourselves, to get a sense of the situation...? Olivia’s reaction might allow her to work out her intentions. So as to start moving as soon as possible, she turned to Cassachy where he sat sipping a cup of Hausen tea.
“Cassachy,” she started. When he immediately shook his head, she redirected. “But I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“You don’t need to, General,” Cassachy replied, absentmindedly brushing fallen bread crumbs from his armor. “You are planning to move on the enemy ourselves and see how they react.”
“Why are you against it?”
“You don’t make a hobby of cheerfully sticking your hands into holes when you know there’s a venomous snake inside, do you, General? I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I don’t.”
The comparison rankled Violet, but she got his point.
Cassachy quietly held out a lightly steaming teacup. “As Lord Felix said, our victory was confirmed when the Eighth Legion fell back. There’s no reason to go running into danger. Our best option is to wait until their food supplies run out; then, when they come scurrying out like gray foxes from hibernation, we strike. No need for us to go out of our way to feed them.”
Everything Cassachy said made sense, which made Violet all the more determined to argue.
“It’s not a sweet little gray fox lurking in there. It’s a Death God, waiting for any sign of weakness to let her scythe fall.”
“If so, surely we ought to drag our feet all the more. At least so that it’s not our heads her scythe falls on.”
In the end, Violet caved to her aide’s remonstrance. She hadn’t come this far afraid to meet the Death God’s scythe; if anything, she would have welcomed it. But she was reluctant to put the soldiers Felix had entrusted her with in danger.
Oh well, she thought. Let’s see who can endure the boredom the longest, then.
And so, the battle between the Eighth Legion and the Second Pursuit Force continued...
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