Chapter 2: Opening Hostilities
Several days later, Ryoma and his group found themselves on the southwestern banks of the river Thebes.
“All right, from now on you’re to listen to the mercenaries’ instructions and construct defensive installations here. Our survival here hinges on how well you build them. Do it to the best of your abilities!”
The sun shone at the center of the heavens, and the sky was free of clouds, as if displaying a guarantee of Ryoma’s success.
Ryoma’s advance party crossed the Thebes quickly thanks to their swift march and was now to form a bridgehead that would allow the main force to cross and regroup with them.
Before Ryoma’s eyes were the two thousand knights Princess Lupis had lent him, as well as the two hundred or so mercenaries led by Lione. They had to secure the bridgehead so that when the Princess’s main force of twenty thousand arrived, they would safely cross the river. And, of course, to keep themselves safe until they did.
“Everything’s gone according to plan so far, but the enemy has to have noticed our movements and should be preparing to intercept us. We don’t have much time. But we do have justice on our side!”
Ryoma took a moment to make that resounding statement and inspected the reactions of the soldiers, and after reading the atmosphere parted his lips again with perfect timing.
It is said one could get drunk off the atmosphere, and that enthusiasm is contagious in a crowd. So long as one knew how to use that point to their advantage, manipulating the hearts of men was simple.
“We will not lose to the despicable, traitorous General Albrecht, or Duke Gelhart, the man behind this war! I want you to lend me your strength for the future of this country! And upon emerging victorious, Princess Lupis will surely reward your efforts!”
“““Oooooooh! Victory will be ours! Glory to the Kingdom of Rhoadseria!”””
Ryoma’s address was answered with cheering and battle cries. Even the most secure of fortresses would crumble if the soldiers’ morale was low. This was a fact proven time and time again in Ryoma’s world and applied no differently even in this other world.
Phew, we’re tired after that long march but morale is still high... No problems for now, from the look of things. The rest depends on my command and how far we can prepare...
With his speech concluded, Ryoma watched as each unit moved to their appointed positions, when a man blocked his path.
“Sir Mikoshiba. Do you mind if I take five hundred knights and go on a reconnaissance run?”
This man, clad in full body armor, was Mikhail Vanash.
“No, I don’t mind. However, I know this may sound repetitive on my part, but stick to reconnaissance and nothing else. If you encounter an enemy, do not fight them and retreat immediately.”
Quelling the suspicion rising up in his heart, Ryoma answered Mikhail with a smile. While it may seem like there was no meaning in it if they didn’t encounter the enemy, the point of reconnaissance was to gather information. There was no need to pick fights with the enemy. The problem was that the man before him wasn’t capable of making that distinction.
“I am well aware. As a knight, I can’t say I much appreciate turning my back to the enemy, but... this is part of the plan.”
Mikhail answered with an expression that felt honestly frustrated. He couldn’t ignore Ryoma’s orders since he’d been given the right to command by Princess Lupis, so it seemed he was being tolerant from lack of choice.
“It’s exactly because I don’t want to take any losses if you do get discovered that I’m asking an elite like you to do it, Mikhail. I’m not exaggerating when I say the outcome of this operation rests on your shoulders.”
This was a role someone as reckless as Mikhail was most unsuited for, but unfortunately there was no one else Ryoma could dispatch for it. Lione and Boltz were putting all their efforts into constructing the defensive installations, while Laura and Sara were caught up with other work.
Reconnaissance was an important task, but in terms of priorities, Lione’s and Laura’s jobs were more critical, so Ryoma had no choice but to let Mikhail handle it.
“Understood. We are off, then!”
Replying loudly, Mikhail turned on his heels. Ryoma could only gaze at Mikhail’s back as he retreated with regret. And while there was no one else available for the task, and this choice of personnel was beyond his control, this decision would be one Ryoma would go on to deeply regret later down the line.
“Ready?! Do it just like we practiced! Stay calm and focus!”
“““Spirits governing the earth! Heed our calls and abide by our wills!”””
Following Boltz’s call, the mercenaries began chanting as one.
“““Earth Sink!”””
This was a type of low-level verbal thaumaturgy that belonged to the spirit category. Upon finishing their chanting, the mercenaries slammed their hands against the earth, and the ground one meter in front of the caster sank in and collapsed at once.
“Right! Good work. The first row of casters, take a fifteen-minute break and then return to dig further. Those in the second row, help even out the sectors that are out of place! Everyone else, we’re done here for the moment, so go help the folks in the north side!”
Under Boltz’s command, the mercenaries scattered to their own individual stations.
“So, how’s the work coming along?”
Ryoma called out to Boltz, who was in charge of the construction work, from behind just as the sun started dipping toward the west. It had only been three hours since they started working, but a moat twenty meters in width and five meters in depth was already coming into shape. Considering they were digging a moat with an overall length of 500 meters, their work was unnaturally quick.
“Oh, lad...!” Boltz responded and looked forward. “Well, I’d say everything’s going according to schedule.Still... I’m surprised you came up with a method like this. I’ve been a merc for years, but I never heard of anyone using thaumaturgy like this. Gotta wonder what’s going on in that head of yours...”
Boltz shrugged, sighing in a mix of exasperation and admiration all the while. His words were no exaggeration, however. In this world, thaumaturgy was seen as a weapon for killing one’s foes. A tool for winning wars, treated the same as a spear or any other implement.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
Ryoma shrugged off Boltz’s praise, but his idea could very well come to revolutionize both the economic and military structure of this world. Thaumaturgy was only ever seen as a way of directly attacking one’s foe, but it had other uses as well. Especially when it came to construction, it could increase efficiency to an overwhelming extent.
Earth Sink was a spell that formed a trap hole with a diameter and depth of five meters in front of its caster. It didn’t do anything as fancy as pelting stones or unleashing flame and thunder from one’s hands. All it was capable of was opening a hole in the ground.
And true, should an enemy drop into it, it could cause some damage, but in the end, it was just a pit. Its most common application was forming a hole beneath an enemy, but most people didn’t bother to use it in the first place.
A diameter of five meters may have sounded like a wide range, but in combat it wasn’t of much use. When enemies remained in one place things were different, but it was difficult to predict how a target would move and cast the spell appropriately. And while five meters wasn’t a shallow height for a pit, it wasn’t deep enough to decisively kill either. It was like falling from the third story of a building. One might die if they fell into the wrong place, but it wasn’t an appropriate way of killing a person.
Unless one didn’t have any other choice, there were plenty of other spells of the earth type, and in a general sense as well, which were more lethal and easier to aim, and so no one was foolish enough to use such an inconvenient spell in an extreme situation such as battle. A spell without a use; that was the general consensus regarding the Earth Sink spell.
But when viewed from a different angle, the spell’s advantages became clear. Being able to dig a hole that was five meters in diameter and depth within moments allowed them to dig an empty moat in a short period of time. Compared to the great effort and time it would take to dig one using shovels and manpower, it became clear just how efficient of a solution this was.
“No, you simply don’t understand your own worth, lad!”
In this world, thaumaturgy’s worth was decided by how much firepower it had. The power to penetrate the enemy’s defenses was seen as absolute. And indeed, compared to spells used in direct combat, Earth Sink would seem useless. But once one thought beyond directly defeating a foe, Earth Sink revealed entirely different possibilities.
And when one considered that it was Ryoma who thought of and realized that possibility, Boltz’s praise seemed quite natural.
“You think?” But Ryoma tilted his head at Boltz’s words.
For a person of the modern world like Ryoma, the idea didn’t seem all that special. If anything, he couldn’t help but wonder how no one thought of this before.
“But of course!”
Well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have them think that way...
By now, Ryoma’s only way through life was to prove his strength and earn his soldiers’ respect. But this wasn’t a matter of wisdom or lack thereof, just a pure difference in available information. Still, if they willingly walked into that misunderstanding, it was just a plus for Ryoma.
“It all depends on the information Mikhail brings back from his reconnaissance run, but we might not have much time. Sorry, Boltz, but I’m gonna need you to finish this fast.”
“No problem! Leave it to...”
Boltz’s words trailed off as he bowed his head.
“You there! If you don’t measure the distance properly before casting the spell, it’s pointless. You hear? We want to adjust the holes so they connect. If you slack off, I’ll have your head...! Sorry, lad. I need to get back.”
Even as he spoke to Ryoma, he kept a close eye on the ongoing work. He was truly an experienced one. Feeling satisfied at his reliable subordinate, Ryoma changed the topic. There was another purpose besides inspecting the moat’s construction that brought Ryoma here.
“By the way, how’re things with Sara?”
“Miss Sara...? Oh, she’s over there. She’s stuck to her like glue, just like you ordered.”
Ryoma noticed a flutter of golden hair in the direction Boltz pointed to.
“Which means the black haired girl next to her is the one?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ryoma’s gaze fell on the black-haired girl working alongside Sara.
“She hasn’t done anything odd yet, probably because Miss Sara’s keeping a close eye on her. We also make sure to keep her in our sights every now and then, so you’ve nothing to worry about, lad!”
“Thanks. We’d be in trouble if she sneaks up on us.” Even as he spoke with a smile, his eyes gleamed with a cold light.
“Yes, we’re all well aware!”
“If things get out of hand, don’t hesitate to dispose of her.”
Boltz’s expression filled with surprise at Ryoma’s statement. Making good use of this girl was a fairly central part of the operation. She was an irreplaceable tool for smoking out the hidden mastermind behind this incident. And despite that, Ryoma ordered him to dispose of her if things became hopeless. Boltz couldn’t hold back his surprise.
But upon seeing Boltz’s expression, Ryoma smiled.
“I’m letting her run free for now so we can use her, but there’s always a chance even that could be a trap. If things go south, you can take her out based on your judgment.”
The scariest conclusion possible was to have your plan to use someone turned against you. Of course, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes, but even that was only true to a certain degree. Sometimes, one must realize they’re at a loss and know when to give up.
“Understood. You can leave everything to us!”
With that, Boltz bowed his head to Ryoma and returned to command over the work.
“Guess I’ll go check on Lione next...” Ryoma whispered to himself and left in search of Lione.
“Preparations are going well so far...! We just gotta wait for Boltz’s group to finish!” Lione recognized Ryoma approaching her soon enough and called out, waving her hand.
Ryoma regarded her voice with a wry smile and a light wave back.
“I see work on the fences is going along well.”
“Aye, the trees from the forest over there gave us all the lumber we needed to work with.” She turned her glance to the small mountain of fences stacked behind her.
The chopped trees were already carved into a uniform size and put together using ropes. They were ready to be set up as soon as Boltz’s group finished digging the moat.
“And the raft?”
“We’ll be working on that next. We’re chopping trees for it right now.”
Men were coming back from the forest in groups, carrying chopped trees back to camp, likely using thaumaturgy to reinforce their bodies as per Ryoma’s instructions. This allowed them to carry back lumber they normally wouldn’t be able to lift on their own.
“Make sure it’s durable enough to support the cavaliers, though.”
“Don’t ya worry! I know. One of my men has experience in carpentry, so I’m gonna put him in charge of it.”
Ryoma nodded in satisfaction, and then lowered his voice to a whisper.
“All that’s left is picking the right people... How’s that going on your end?”
“That’s going smoothly, too,” Lione said, closing one eye. “It’s the crux of the operation, after all. I’ll make sure to pick the best lookin’ men I can find.”
“That’s great, then. I’ll leave it to you.” Ryoma nodded deeply and turned around, going back to his tent.
There was still plenty they had to do to guarantee their survival...
While Ryoma and the others were scrambling to establish their defensive position, Mikhail Vanash stood on high ground some five kilometers away from the riverbank.
The speed of their march was slow, though them being on a reconnaissance run meant that was inevitable, as they had to prioritize locating the enemy.
“Hmm... No sight of the enemy so far?”
“Yes! Not one as of yet,” one of Mikhail’s aides answered his question.
“So things are going according to that man’s plans for the time being...” Mikhail clicked his tongue lightly.
Wide plains spread out below his eyes. These were the grain-producing regions, and in the distance, they could make out the distant shape of the fortress city Heraklion. This position allowed them to see any troops Heraklion dispatched even from a distance.
Making sure there were no enemy troops nearby, Mikhail sat down on a sizable rock.
So this preliminary battle will decide the outcome of the war, will it...? But that man’s face... Was he looking down on me?
Ryoma’s regretful expression clung to Mikhail’s mind’s eye. It had been several months since the two first met, and while they were on favorable terms on the surface, Mikhail’s heart was beset by discontent and bitterness toward the boy.
That was because Princess Lupis turned her trust not to a long-time aide like him, but to an unknown vagabond mercenary like Ryoma...
To begin with, just what does he think of us knights...?! We fight, we are warriors! And yet he orders us to do manual labor as if we were commoners!
In the face of his intense knightly pride, Ryoma’s current operation was intolerable. Having knights use their martial thaumaturgy for construction work? True, it was efficient, and that was something Mikhail wasn’t opposed to acknowledging.
But even so, using knights’ thaumaturgy to chop trees and dig moats? Unacceptable!
In fact, many of Rhoadseria’s knights were displeased with the situation. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say nearly all of them were upset with it. But they still obeyed Ryoma’s orders because he was given the right to command by Princess Lupis. That was an overwhelming fact that gave him power they couldn’t overturn.
This is so... insipid...
Something dark and vile bubbled up from within Mikhail, a mixture of envy and hatred. His greatest misfortune was that he was wise enough to understand the effects of Ryoma’s ideas and policies and could see that Princess Lupis’s trust was turning in his direction, but at the same time wasn’t upright enough to accept that reality. His knightly pride filled him with intense jealousy for Ryoma.
His loyalty to the princess was unwavering, only matched by Meltina, who stood by her side as an aide. But the one being of true use to her right now wasn’t the faithful Mikhail, but some commoner whose name she didn’t even know a few months ago.
If it were another knight of Rhoadseria, perhaps he would have retained his honor still. But things weren’t so, and Mikhail knew he couldn’t imitate Ryoma Mikoshiba’s qualities. And so, he envied him, and was unable to forgive him. Mikhail’s heart succumbed to darkness precisely because he knew he had no legitimacy.
“Sir Mikhail! There’s a cloud of dust being kicked up ahead. It’s likely the enemy’s reconnaissance party!”
As Mikhail was deep in thought, a subordinate’s cry echoed in his ear.
“What?! The enemy?”
“Yes, milord. We couldn’t confirm their numbers, but they seem to be few in number!”
“You call that a report?! Go forth and confirm how many of them are out there!”
At Mikhail’s angry rebuking, his subordinate returned to scope out the enemy.
A small force of enemy troops...? We must confirm the enemy numbers and then report to Sir Mikoshiba...
At that point, Mikhail was still collected enough to realize the importance of his task. What mattered was to detect the enemy and keep losses to a minimum. Ryoma specifically stressed the importance of not losing any of their men, as they currently only had a mere two thousand troops on their side. What mattered wasn’t whittling down the enemy’s numbers but maintaining their own.
But that realization was blown away when his subordinate returned, bringing news.
“Sir Mikhail, we’ve confirmed that the enemy force numbers roughly one hundred men!”
“A hundred! You’re sure of that?”
His subordinate nodded, and Mikhail sank into thought, twirling his mustache all the while.
If it’s only one hundred, that’s only fifth the number I have with me... If we assume there are no other forces in sight, it probably really is the enemy’s reconnaissance unit... They likely panicked and sent them out upon hearing the Thebes had been crossed... The fools.
Mikhail smiled with confidence and out of scorn for the enemy commander. Disposing of the enemy forces was an easy enough accomplishment to obtain, and this easy prey had simply sprung up before his eyes.
“Sir Mikhail! Please give the order to return to camp at once!” the aide waiting on Mikhail advised.
His suggestion wasn’t incorrect, but it would bring Mikhail no gain. That thought lingered in Mikhail’s mind.
They’re a mere reconnaissance unit, and we have five hundred knights. The fight is fixed in our favor. But if we can whittle down the enemy here, however little of a loss it might be, it would be a great accomplishment. And besides...
Countless reasons to fight came to mind. At this point, the only thing on his mind was to gain achievements to his name. Battle was his only means of gaining merit, and he understood that fact painfully well.
I won’t let him take me for a fool...!
Spurred by those feelings, Mikhail swiftly rose from the stone he was sitting on, his expression filled with the bloodlust of a soldier about to set out to battle.
“No, we’ll intercept them here. All hands prepare for battle. We’ll crush a force of that size into powder within moments!”
Mikhail’s heart grew elated at the feel of the battlefield wind, and that elation mingled with his ambition to drive his judgment into madness.
He had forgotten his own mission...
“Do you understand?! There’s no need to hold back! We will stomp out the enemy with a single blow and show these traitors the power of Rhoadseria’s knights!”
At Mikhail’s order, the force of five hundred prepared for battle, forming lines across the high ground. At the sound of his encouragement, a wave of adrenaline ran through the knights. The same also held true for Mikhail, even while having given the order himself.
The enemy’s numbers were roughly one hundred, and while in terms of fighting power they’d be in a great advantage, since this was a direct violation of Ryoma’s orders, Mikhail couldn’t afford to lose here. No one alive would cover up for a person who violated a superior’s orders and had only defeat to show for it.
To top it off, he’d recently failed in a big way, and while Princess Lupis smoothed it over somewhat, if he failed yet again, even Princess Lupis wouldn’t be able to help him.
I have to win. I won’t... I won’t lose to him!
The only thing on Mikhail’s mind was victory. And a heart thirsting for victory was one that was blind to the truth.
“Chaaaaaaarge!”
“““Oooooooooh!””” A battle cry rose up, rumbling the earth.
As Mikhail’s blade swung in the direction of the enemy’s scouts, five hundred knights kicked up a cloud of dust as they charged at their foes with a cry.
“That fool, Mikhail! I knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. I thought acting as an aide to the princess might wisen him up a bit, but he’s no less thoughtless than he was when we were young.”
As the rumbling of the horses’ galloping rolled down from the high ground, Kael recognized the banner of the Rhoadserian royal knights being held up high, and beside it, the banner of the Vanash noble house.
It was a nostalgic sight. As knights of Rhoadseria, Kael and Mikhail lived in the same barracks and competed in the art of war against one another. Time after time, the two fought together for their lives under the same banner.
When exactly did their paths separate, then? Kael never blended in with the others, but to him, Mikhail was his rival for glory in the field of swordplay, and at the same time one of his very few friends.
This time, it’s my turn to win, Mikhail. Today, that debt will be repaid.
The great martial arts tournament sponsored by the palace was to decide the greatest swordsman in Rhoadseria. On its first round, the two clashed in furious battle. And having won, Mikhail gained that title and was appointed to the honorable position of Princess Lupis’s aide. Meanwhile, Kael was defeated and was subjected to scorn and mockery.
It may have been a match, and their skills were about equal, but their paths had parted in a large way. And those two roads, which had incorrigibly split on that day, would intersect on this one.
“Are the preparations complete?”
Kael’s aide nodded at his commander’s question.
“Good. Then let us do battle!”
With a cold smile, Kael drew the sword sheathed at his waist and spurred his horse toward the enemy.
“What?! Say that again!” An angry shout shook the encampment.
Ryoma couldn’t believe the report the knight lying before him had said. Or rather, he didn’t want to believe it.
“Y-Yes... Sir... Mikhail’s scouting... p-party... was wiped... out...”
Blood was dripping from the lacerations riddling the man’s body, forming a small puddle at Ryoma’s feet. The Malfist sisters tried to heal them with their spells, but anyone could see that all they could do was prolong his life by a scant few minutes.
Despite being injured to an extent that would no doubt have killed most men, this knight kept the flame of his life lit with nothing but sheer determination and intense force of will. The light in his eyes was proof of that.
“Mikhail... What about him? Is he dead?”
Realizing how wrong he was for shouting at a man who’d prolonged what little remaining life he had left to make this report, Ryoma forced himself to calm down and maintain his composure to the best of his ability. The soldier lying before him was already a dead man. It was only a matter of time before his soul would depart his body.
But despite that, he used the last flickering embers of his life to convey something. And as a fellow man, Ryoma wanted to respect his will and accept the information he brought to the best of his ability. That was the final and greatest respect he could show to this knight, who was about to embark on his final journey to the afterlife.
“Sir Mikhail was... attacked while chasing K... K-Kael in the direction... of the enemy forces...”
“Kael?” This was the first Ryoma heard of that name, and he repeated it suspiciously.
“Yes... A-At first, Sir Mikhail ordered us... calmly, but when he saw the... t-traitor Kael Iruna... was the enemy forces’ commander, he... Aaah...”
Upon hearing his words, several of the surrounding knights cursed audibly. It seemed they knew of this Kael Iruna, but Ryoma didn’t have the time to interrogate them about this right now.
“I see... So Mikhail mobilized his army to defeat that traitor?”
The sprawled-out knight answered Ryoma’s question with a nod that seemed to take all his strength to perform.
I’m pretty sure Mikhail was calm until he found that Kael person was in command. Then he somehow learned he was a traitor... Judging from Mikhail’s personality, I can imagine him not being able to restrain himself...
Ryoma could easily imagine what happened. He wasn’t beyond understanding Mikhail’s impatience, either. That was exactly why he hesitated to put him in charge of the reconnaissance unit. But at the same time, he also understood Mikhail’s abilities to an extent. Even if he was anxious to gain merits, he would know when to retreat.
This was why he had trouble believing Mikhail’s unit didn’t retreat until it was on the verge of being wiped out. But with a traitor right before his eyes, Ryoma could imagine him losing his temper. Knights hated nothing more than traitors, after all.
“So, how close has the enemy gotten? How many troops do they have?”
Ryoma shut his countless thoughts and feelings away and focused on what was most important at the moment. The crucial question was when the enemy would be upon them, and how strong their forces were. They were at a numerical disadvantage as it was, and with the scouts being wiped out, their situation was even worse.
If they were raided now, with the soldiers rattled by Mikhail’s defeat, even their defensive position with the moat and fences they prepared wouldn’t stop them from being wiped out.
“They’re about five... thousand... though we don’t know how many forces they have at their... rear. Their advance party will arrive... here... in fifteen minutes...”
As he heard the soldier speak between gasps, Ryoma went pale.
“Lione, Boltz!”
Ryoma instantly barked out their names with an uncharacteristic lack of politeness.
““Yes!”” Lione and Boltz stepped out in front of him.
“Take four hundred men each and secure the north and south. Laura and I will take the remaining six hundred and hold the center. Sara! You command the rest, and once you’re done preparing, standby at the back! Also, send a scouting party out to sniff out the enemy’s current position! Quickly!”
Rising to his feet, Ryoma swiftly allocated defensive positions to Lione and the others.
They all had their positions and manpower assigned to them ahead of time, so they abided by his orders without a hitch. Or rather, they hadn’t the leisure to object to Ryoma’s resolute command. Everyone around assented to his orders and disappeared outside his tent.
“S-Sir... Mikoshiba...”
As Ryoma was about to leave the tent himself, the dying soldier spoke to his back with the last of his strength.
“What? Is there anything else?”
“I-I am... sorry... We didn’t obey your... orders...”
Hearing the knight’s words, Ryoma gave a small nod to Laura and Sara, and the two left the tent as he kneeled down next to the soldier. There was little time until the enemy arrived, but these were the final words of a knight who risked his life to deliver this information to them. Ryoma silently listened.
“It’s fine. I understand.” Ryoma nodded deeply.
The man before him had only abided by Mikhail’s orders. Ryoma couldn’t condemn him, as he was in his death throes. Ryoma picked up the knight’s bloodied body and cradled it closer. If he hadn’t, he couldn’t make out his diminishing voice.
“Sir... Miko... shiba. Please... bring... Princess Lupis... to the throne...”
And with that, the knight’s body went limp.
There was probably much more the knight wanted to say, but the flicker of his life was about to go out just after giving that apology. And so, with the last of his power, he managed to entrust that final request. His single, greatest wish...
“You idiot...”
Upon hearing the wish of this knight whose name he never knew, words that could be either compassion or mocking escaped Ryoma’s lips. But that sentiment was soon blotted out at the cry of the scouts Ryoma sent out.
“Sir Mikoshiba! The enemy’s in sight, one kilometer away! They’re roughly 8000 in number!”
Three thousand more than the last report.
Damn. They regrouped with reinforcements from Heraklion!
Ryoma tried to suppress the frustration that built up in him. If the commander was to appear shaken with his forces being in such a state of inferiority, it would spread to the soldiers under his command. And they would not be able to win that way.
“Understood. Tell Lione and Boltz to move as planned. I’ll command the center!”
The soldier took off to inform Lione of Ryoma’s order.
Bring Princess Lupis to the throne, eh...
Ryoma drove the dead knight’s words from his mind. Being mindful of that right now would cost him his life. What mattered on the battlefield was the desire and stern will to live. That, and nothing else.
We have to live through this first... The rest comes after that!
Ryoma closed his eyes silently and drew the sword from its sheath. All to grasp his future...
“What in the blasted hell is going on?! How did they prepare defenses this solid in such a short period of time?!”
The sun was just about to dip below the western skies. Considering that fighting would become difficult after nightfall, this was the last point in time they’d be able to stage an attack for the day. Normally, marching on the main force after they took out the reconnaissance party of five hundred would be the acceptable tactic. There was no need to falter.
But when he saw the enemy formation under the setting sun, Kael hesitated to give the order to attack.
How could this be? I can’t complete Duke Gelhart’s orders like this...
“But Sir Kael, it would be ignoring His Excellency’s orders...”
His aide’s impertinent advice annoyed Kael. Hearing someone else voice his own thoughts angered him.
“I don’t need you to tell me that, fool!”
The aide shrunk back in fear at Kael’s angry rebuke.
Idiot! Can’t you see their defenses?!
Before them stretched out a dry moat exceeding twenty meters in width. According to the report his scouts returned with earlier, their encampment was built along the banks of the Thebes in a crescent shape. The moat likely spanned the entire length of that perimeter.
Worse yet, it was a fairly deep moat. From Kael’s perspective, it wasn’t a position that they would be easily capable of breaking through.
But... It’s only been half a day since they crossed the river. What trickery did they use to do this?
Kael bit his thumbnail in annoyance. This world didn’t have heavy machinery, and so construction had to be done manually. In other words, no matter what, they would have to gather men to do it.
I don’t recall hearing anything about them gathering peasants from the nearby villages...
The thought surfaced in his mind, but Kael denied it. Even if they did gather people from the surrounding villages, there was no way Duke Gelhart wouldn’t know of it.
Did they bring people from the capital? No, that couldn’t be either. That would slow down their marching speed... Then what is it? According to the spy, the advance party is a mere two thousand men. Even assuming they all worked, they couldn’t have done all that this quickly...
There were wooden fences set up along the edges of the moat, and those would take time to produce, too.
Kuh! Should I have left Mikhail be and attacked this place first? No... I hate to praise the man, but Mikhail’s skill is a threat. I was right to crush him when I could.
Mikhail Vanash’s skill as a knight was transcendent. He wasn’t capable of uniting the knights or weaving sly plots, but in exchange, one could count the number of people in Rhoadseria capable of matching his strength as a lone combatant on one hand.
Especially on the field, Mikhail’s ability to break through was extraordinary. More than once, a small unit with him in the lead broke through enemy ranks and overturned the tide of battle. There was no mistaking that he was a piece better off removed from the board if possible.
But Kael’s plot was off the mark, and the outlook of the battle was unfavorable. These preparations didn’t seem possible for a force that only arrived half a day ago, with its defensive facilities holding Kael in check.
Blast! Just how long do you intend to get in my way?!
The image of Mikhail’s bearded face surfaced in Kael’s mind. He realized that he was venting his anger on someone unrelated, but with that firm formation before his eyes, he couldn’t help but regret choosing to be preoccupied with Mikhail.
“Sir Kael... What should we do?” one of his aides fearfully asked Kael, who had fallen silent.
“We’ve no choice but to attack...” Kael said heavily.
In truth, Kael had no other choice. He only took to the frontlines right now because he’d learned from the scouts that the enemy’s numbers were so slim, and before he left, his master, Duke Gelhart, strictly ordered him to wipe them out. Reporting back by telling that the enemy had set up their defensive facilities and they weren’t able to dent them simply wouldn’t work as an excuse.
According to our information, the enemy only has a bit over two thousand men. And Mikhail’s unit was roughly five hundred men. With them eliminated, the enemy only has roughly 1,500 to 1,800 troops... By comparison, I have 8,000 men. We outnumber them four or five times over. If we brute force our way through, we could beat them... Fine, then. We’ll show them their hastily dug moat won’t do a thing to stop us!
Kael was gradually regaining his composure. They may have built up their defenses surprisingly well, but he still had strength in overwhelming numbers.
I can’t afford to lose...! No... I’ll win!
While he was once one of the royal guards serving Princess Lupis, Kael turned to Duke Gelhart’s side both out of his rivalry with Mikhail and his own desire to advance and succeed. At this point, he had no other paths of retreat. If he was to survive in the nobles’ faction, he needed to gain some merit to his name.
However, Kael didn’t realize. He didn’t know just how terribly similar his state of mind was to Mikhail, whom he had just defeated...
“Sir Kael! Preparations are complete!”
Kael nodded grandly at his aide’s report. Drawing his sword from its sheath, he signaled at the enemy camp and shouted.
“Chaaaaarge!”
“““Ooooooooh!””” Abiding by his hand gesture, all his forces raised their banners in preparation to rush the enemy.
Eight thousand knights raised a battle cry and rushed into the dry moat. But they were unaware that nothing awaited them but a death trap...
And so, here and now, the curtain rose over a battle for Rhoadseria’s future.
“Draw your bows! Don’t falter, no matter what!”
Under Lione’s angry shouting, the knights drew the strings of the bows and arrows they’d been given with all their might.
“Don’t think too hard about aiming, just keep shooting. The enemy’s five times our number. Pretty sure you’ll hit something even if ya shoot with yer eyes closed!”
An avalanche of enemies rushed toward the southern gate, which Lione had been in charge of guarding, the ground rumbling from their steps. The animalistic battle cries erupting from their lungs hit Lione’s body like a shockwave.
I can’t get enough of this thrill... I might be gettin’ wet out here.
Lione licked her own dry lips as she drew her own bow. Before long, the first line of enemies started pouring into the dry moat.
Guess they’re saving the professionals for later... Just like the boy said.
There were no lines or formations; they were simply charging forward blindly. Lione’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
Most of the enemy soldiers were commoners conscripted from Duke Gelhart and the other nobles’ territories. Needless to say, they weren’t trained, and their gear amounted to spears and leather armor given to them by Duke Gelhart.
Conscription in this world was quite the grueling matter. A single order from their governor could send them into danger, and despite that, they weren’t paid for their service at all. That was because conscription was seen as a form of tax. In that regard, it was similar to the conscription system that had long been abolished in modern-day Japan.
Of course, conscripts who had gained merits and achievements did get rewarded, but very few people turned out to be blessed with such fortune on the battlefield. Most were simply desperate to stay alive.
But that wasn’t to say even those people were without any kind of relief. The rules were that they got to keep anything they pillaged from the enemy. Any foe they killed netted them their swords, spears and armor, as well as any money they may have carried on their person.
In case of an invasion to another country, there were even greater spoils to receive. There were women to rape, and houses to burn down and plunder for their goods. Men would become labor slaves, while women would become sex slaves.
With their own lives as bargaining chips, they could make great profit. This was why commoners in this world went to war, despite loathing the nobles and fearing conflict. All to stomp on those weaker than them and alleviate the hardships of their lives even a little...
“Remember, everything you take from the enemy is yours! I guarantee it on Duke Gelhart’s name! Come on, keep going!”
The words of the noble in charge of the southern gate’s breakthrough elicited war cries from the soldiers around him.
A knight’s gear was expensive. Their armor and swords were custom made, and their war horses were specifically broken in and worth a good amount. It was perhaps obvious that knights who thrived on the battlefield placed all their pride on their gear. And so, in the eyes of these soldiers, knights were like walking lumps of money.
Of course, it was exceedingly hard for mere commoners to kill knights that had gained thaumaturgy. There were some individual differences in how much they’d acquired and their skill at the craft, but overall, knights wielding thaumaturgy were easily twice as strong as a normal human. They were effectively savage beasts in human form.
However, even if beating them one on one was impossible, all one had to do was overwhelm them with superior numbers. Like a flock of ants biting an elephant to death, they could be surrounded and killed.
“““Oooooh!””” Riled up by the battle cries from the rear, the frontlines strode forward.
Ryoma’s side looked like a mountain of treasure to them, and they were confident they had the might of great numbers on their side. And so, they stepped into the empty moat without a hint of hesitation, their confidence that they would overwhelm the enemy no matter what dulling their sense of fear.
Three... two... one... Now!
Gauging the distance between them with her eyes, Lione clearly saw the enemy soldiers and their modest gear.
“First row, fireeeeeeee!”
At Lione’s shout, the knights fired the arrows they had placed on their bows. The sound of the air being cut was audible as the arrows rained down on the enemy’s leading party.
““Gah!””
“Shit, arrows!”
The sound of soldiers cursing as they were wounded by arrows shook the air, and the following moment, the sound of those screams reminded the soldiers of the terror of the battlefield.
“What are you doing?! Keep going!” the enemy commander called out from the rear. “The enemies are few in number. Don’t you want their valuables?! Go on, charge!”
He’d likely noticed their charging speed had slowed, and so he tried to rouse them using the whip called greed.
“Second row! Fireeee!”
And with perfect timing, a second barrage of arrows rained down on them. The attack that came down on them as soon as they tried to regroup drove the soldiers’ hearts to further confusion.
“Kuh, why are you flinching?! We outnumber them, and they can’t have an endless supply of arrows! They can’t stand up to our numbers. Go on, attack! I’ll see to it that whoever reaches the fence first gets a special reward! Now fear not and keep going!”
The noble’s intention was clear—he wanted to take advantage of their greater numbers by making the battle a melee fight. Even if it cost the lives of four commoners, killing a single knight would still put the balance in his favor.
Ryoma’s forces, on the other hand, intended to whittle down the enemy by keeping their distance. Having gained an advantageous position, there was no meaning in going into melee combat and losing troops needlessly.
The nobles’ side wished to turn it into a melee battle, while Ryoma’s side wished to maintain a safe distance.
But no matter how advantageous of a position they may have had, blocking the violence of superior numbers was difficult. The nobles’ soldiers cut through the shower of arrows unflinchingly, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, at times even using them as shields from the falling projectiles.
Three meters, two meters, one meter... They advanced on and on, withstanding the barrages of arrows. And finally, the death march ended.
“I made it! I’m the first to get to the fence!”
One peasant soldier reached the fence. The noble, who was usually unbearably cheap, offered a surprising prize for that. A monetary reward that would undoubtedly ease their lives ravaged by high taxes.
No, perhaps his bravery in battle would be honored and he would be made an official. Becoming a knight may have been out of reach, but being appointed an attendant to one was a great step up in life for a commoner.
And that was why he had to make a show of himself here, showing that he was the first to make it.
But it would cost him the ultimate price. The price of his own life...
“Third row, forward!” At Lione’s instruction, the archers withdrew, and heavily armored knights with long spears in hand stepped forward in their place.
“Thrust forward!”
At Lione’s order, they thrust their spears forward through the gaps in the fence, aiming at the commoner soldiers’ faces, earning the man who had shouted, “I’m the first to get to the fence!” a spear’s point to his left eye.
“Gyaaaaah?!” An animalistic screech escaped his throat.
“Pull back!”
The thrust spears retreated back into the fence...
“Thrust forward!”
...Only for them to be thrust back through the gaps, claiming the lives of the foolish commoners.
“Damn it all! My brother, Loiyd! How dare you kill my brother?! I’ll kill you all!”
“My eye! My eyeee!”
“Yiiii! I can’t take no more of this...! I’ve had enough. I’m not dying like this!”
Screams and wails filled the battlefield. Some rushed forward, while others tried to flee from the spears. The two groups, which didn’t have anything as sophisticated a formation to begin with, bumped into and tripped over each other.
And Lione wasn’t kind enough to not take advantage of this chaos.
There it is. The moment we take the initiative by the damn horns!
She sniffed it out with a sense of smell particular to those who had run through countless battlefields.
“First row, second row, at the ready! Fireeee!”
Lione had the spearmen draw back for the moment, sending the archers forward again for another volley.
“Ya’ll hear me?! Shoot and shoot, and keep shootin’ like there’s no tomorrow! No need to be stingy, either! We’ve got more arrows than we know what to do with!”
With Lione’s encouragement pushing them forward, the knights continued ruthlessly raining down arrows on the commoners.
“Kuh! This is going nowhere...” The noble spat bitterly. “I suppose we have no other option.”
“Runner! Inform Sir Kael that the resistance on the southern side is fierce and we require reinforcements!”
The noble tried and failed to burst through the southern gate in one go, so he appealed to Kael for an order to draw back and regroup.
Even he, lacking as he was in experience on the field, could see that trying to brute force his way in would be pointless. His body shivered with anger and dissatisfaction.
“You good-for-nothing fools! We’re four times their number! Why are you having so much trouble?!”
At that moment, the commander’s baton gripped in his hands snapped in two with a high-pitched shriek.
“Reinforcements? What are you saying?!” Kael turned red, shouting at the kneeling runner’s words. “We have all the advantages here! Why would you need reinforcements?!”
“B-But... Resistance at the southern gate is intense, and at this rate, we won’t be able to break through...” No matter how much he was shouted at, the runner didn’t back down.
Regardless of whether it was out of self-preservation or true loyalty, he remained faithful to his duty. But this was precisely why his words only angered Kael more.
“Do you take me for a fool?!” Kael swung a fist at the runner’s face out of anger, shouting at his lowered head. “You must be, you bastard! I have a duty to Duke Gelhart to abide by!”
Kael would never act this way normally. His distinctive characteristic was making calm calls of judgment, and having watched the tyranny of nobles and superior officers from the sidelines, Kael always loathed it. But with his back against the wall, Kael lacked the presence of mind to reflect on his actions.
Ignoring the looks of censure and confusion fixed on him from the surrounding soldiers, Kael retreated to plan his next step.
He’d received a messenger not just from the south, but also from the unit attacking the north, requesting permission to retreat and receive reinforcements. But Kael, who was in charge of attacking the center, wasn’t capable of breaking through Ryoma’s defenses either. He was in no position to send reinforcements. If anything, he’d have preferred to call the other forces back to reinforce his position.
“I have no reinforcements to send your way! Break through with the forces you’ve been given...! To begin with, how is a force four times their size struggling to break through their lines? Use up all the commoners for all I care. Break through their lines and rush into their position!”
In truth, Kael’s words were nothing more than him venting his anger, but the runner nodded, knowing that needlessly arguing back would reward him with nothing but a slashing to death. The palpable madness Kael gave off was simply that intense.
The runner dashed off on his horse as Kael pelted him with vilifications in his heart.
Good for nothings! You’re trying to drag me down, the lot of you!
The moat and fence he thought was only there for show proved to be more stalwart defenses than he anticipated. Despite his defeat of Mikhail’s five hundred knights, the enemy’s morale remained unreasonably high, which was yet another thing he hadn’t expected.
Why?! How can they hold on to their defense so stubbornly...?! Why won’t they crumble already?!
Kael was resolved to win this battle at all costs. It was only because Duke Gelhart acknowledged his skill as a commander that he accepted his defection from the princess’s faction, and so defeat was simply not an option.
No, not just that. He could not even make it seem this was in any way a struggle for him. If he was to have a hard time beating them under such an overwhelming advantage, everyone in the nobles’ faction would doubt his capabilities. And if he were branded as useless even once, there would be no getting rid of that label. Even Duke Gelhart, who acknowledged his skills, would turn his back on him.
And that would be a death sentence for Kael, who had turned his back on Princess Lupis. Kael couldn’t acknowledge he was struggling at the moment.
Shit! Shit! Everyone, absolutely everyone, is looking down on me!
He wanted to believe everyone was slacking off in order to drag him through the mud.
“I’m taking to the front! We’re heading for the central gate!”
As Kael declared so, having steeled his resolve, his aide turned pale. If Kael, the supreme commander, was taking to the front, it meant all the knights they had kept in the rear were to march to the frontlines as well. This time, Kael’s forces were divided between two thousand knights and six thousand commoner conscripts they had gathered from the surrounding villages.
However, those knights weren’t a force that could be frivolously wasted. They were a trump card Duke Gelhart had gathered in secret over many years to oppose the knights’ faction. The duke may have hated General Albrecht, but that wasn’t to say he didn’t value the knights’ abilities.
A knight order consisting entirely of people capable of thaumaturgy was a force to be reckoned with in this world. Duke Gelhart knew this well enough, since he himself was capable of thaumaturgy. And this was why he secretly formed his own knight order, a privilege usually reserved only for the king.
It was made up of experienced mercenaries and exiled knights. In exchange for large sums of money in recompense, those sorts of people were willing to join his order.
Their numbers were nearly six thousand; a number far too excessive if one were to claim they were only hired for self-defense. Kael had been given two thousand of them and understood the meaning of that all too well.
“Wait, milord! Isn’t it too soon?”
Kael turned to face his pale lieutenant. Their initial plan was to have the commoners break through the gates, and then send the knights in to finish the enemy in one fell swoop.
“Shut up! I was a fool for thinking the commoners could break through the blockade. But the enemy is exhausted from holding them in check. If we attack now, they wouldn’t be able to push back my knights! Or do you have a better plan?”
But Kael brushed away his aide’s counsel, claiming now was their chance.
The aide fell silent at those words. He, too, knew the position he was in well enough. The same held true for his associates, who were looking over how things unfolded from around them.
Their job was to assist Kael, and so any failure he made was likewise their failure. And Duke Gelhart wasn’t kind enough to leave useless men around. They’d be lucky if their punishment would only be demotion. Depending on how badly they lost, they may even be sentenced to death.
“Understood,” the aide said, at the end of his many conflicting emotions. “By your will, milord... But in that case, shouldn’t we order the units to the south and north to advance as well? If we pressure them in three spots, a moat and fence of that size shouldn’t be a problem.”
The aide’s words were met with murmurs of agreement from his associates.
“Hmph, very well. Give the order at once.”
Only an hour remained until sunset. Since they weren’t prepared for night combat, once the sun set, the area would be enveloped in complete darkness. But if they were to break through and rush the enemy position, the fire they would set to them would give them all the light they’d need.
“We’ll finish this before the sun sets! Crush them in one go!”
With that calculation in mind, Kael ordered his entire army to attack. The first day of battle between the nobles’ faction and princess’s faction was turning into an all-out war from which neither side could afford to back down.
Which would win? It was obvious to all that whichever side took this battle would have the situation swing greatly in their favor.
“Sir Mikoshiba, there is movement from the enemy lines!” A knight rushed over to Ryoma’s side, who was commanding the rear forces.
“Hmm...? I doubt they’re pulling their forces back... The enemy commander’s planning to push their way in and take us out, right?”
Ryoma’s eyes swiftly saw through the enemy’s movements. In this regard, a battle was no different than a scuffle. Victory lay in whether one could adapt themselves to how the enemy chose to act.
“The enemy looks like they’re really bustling around their main force... They must be aiming to break through the central gate.”
“Yeah, they must want to finish the fight today. I’m not sure why they’re in such a hurry...”
Ryoma didn’t know Kael personally, and of course didn’t know Duke Gelhart dispatched him personally to attack them. But he could somehow discern the panic in his tactics.
It might be easier than trying to cross the moat on all three gates, but an army wouldn’t be able to get across without any preparations. Is he stupid enough to not realize that?
Ryoma shook off those thoughts. He couldn’t be like Meltina and Mikhail.
No, wait. He’s probably underestimating our defenses, thinking our resolve might break if he overwhelms us with numbers. That’s why he’s being so forceful... But why not retreat his forces? What he should be doing is going back to square one for a fresh start.
At the very least, if Ryoma were the enemy commander, he’d retreat to make preparations before challenging the enemy again. As short as people’s lives may have been in this world, not having enough farmers would harm tax collection. As thick as the walls of social standing may be, no one would waste the lives of their men so recklessly. There had to have been a reason.
What’s making him panic? Is he worried our reinforcements might arrive? No... They know it would take time to march here. So that means...
Piecing together the scattered bits of information he had led him to just one conclusion.
“Hey! Can anyone around here tell me about Kael?!”
“Yes, milord!” A knight who was nearby responded to Ryoma’s question. “I know him all too well!”
“What kind of person is he?”
The knight answered Ryoma’s question with hateful vilification. He perhaps deserved it for his betrayal of Princess Lupis, but Ryoma could only furrow his brow.
Everything he’s saying is biased... Does he even understand what I’m asking?
Ryoma was asking for information based on objective facts, not their personal feelings for the man. He was free to hate Kael, and given how he turned his back on Princess Lupis and went to Duke Gelhart’s side, this hatred was a natural reaction, but there was no winning the battle if they couldn’t estimate the enemy’s prowess fairly.
This person is strong because they’re admirable. That person is weak because they’re contemptible. Are they clever or not? Are they handsome or not? People had a way of estimating other people’s abilities based on their preferences.
But people’s abilities had no correlation with other people’s feelings towards them. Of course, people would always harbor some degree of bias, but the question was whether one made the effort to not let that cloud their fair perception of things.
Put simply, whether they were prone to discrimination.
Unfortunately, Rhoadseria’s knights were found wanting when it came to making that distinction. They were like immature children in that regard.
Ignoring half of the deluge of insults the knight was unleashing, Ryoma tried to sketch an image of Kael in his mind’s eye.
Arrogant, gutless, coward, liar... He really hates the guy, huh... Still, even though I have to take what he says with a grain of salt, Kael looks to be something of an idiosyncratic person... Which means...
Hearing all the hatred Kael somehow managed to earn to his name, Ryoma smiled bitterly as he tilted his head. The image Ryoma pieced together was a dignified, intellectual type who had absolute confidence in himself; not the type to rely on a simple approach of brute force.
Which left only two options. Ryoma let his gaze wander over the knight, who was still hurling insults at Kael.
Either their evaluation of him is completely off the mark, or something happened to make a person like that lose their cool...
What would he do, were he in Kael’s position? He didn’t know the circumstances behind it, but Kael Iruna betrayed the mistress he had served for years. The question was, what did he seek to achieve in doing that?
At that moment, a thought flashed in Ryoma’s mind.
I get it. It’s not that he won’t fall back... He can’t afford to fall back...
Ryoma accurately grasped at Kael’s predicament. Now that he’d betrayed Princess Lupis, his position within the nobles’ faction was fragile, and he was currently racking his brain for a way to defend himself with one hand and elevate his position within the faction with the other.
That’s good, then... If that’s what the enemy’s up to, there’s no need to hesitate to use our countermeasure...
People acting recklessly out of a greedy desire to gain merit to their name was common enough, and Kael’s chances at victory seemed promising.
And indeed, if they didn’t have the ace in the hole of using verbal thaumaturgy to build their defenses and were raided halfway through solidifying their position, they would no doubt have been wiped out.
Kael doesn’t have the option of pulling back. If he does that, he’ll be mocked for the rest of his life. And he knows that better than anyone. So he has to win this battle no matter what, even if it means building up a mountain of corpses in the process.
After concluding there was no further trick behind Kael’s tactics, Ryoma decided to play the other ace he had up his sleeve.
“Runners! The enemy should press down on us from all three directions soon. We’ll be using our ace earlier than usual. Give Sara the signal to move north. I’ll go cover for Laura!”
“Yes, milord!”
At Ryoma’s beckoning, several runners on horseback took off to let the others know of his orders.
“Increase your rate of fire! There’s no need to waste time aiming. The enemy’s forces are vast!” Laura cried out as intense fighting took place at her position along the central gate.
The enemy was swarming them like a veritable flock of locusts, with madness being their driving force. Enduring the hail of arrows, a group of commoner soldiers reached the gate again.
“No good! Spearmen unit, move forward...! Thrust!” Laura repeated the order for what felt like the thousandth time.
“Lady Laura! The enemies are too many! At this rate...” A knight standing at her side raised his voice in complaint.
The charge of the endless rows of enemy soldiers was applying a great deal of stress on the defending knights.
“Silence! We are in no way at a disadvantage! Master Ryoma ordered us to defend this gate, did he not?!”
Laura’s words were true; everything was going according to Ryoma’s plan so far. The dry moat and fence had slowed down the enemy’s marching speed to a crawl, allowing them to whittle their numbers down. He strictly forbade the knights from melee combat, instead stressing their cooperation as a unit, and lowering their casualty rate by having them cover for each other.
The knights hated it, but Laura saw Ryoma’s tactics in very high regard. They were essentially evenly matched with their enemy, and one couldn’t quite say they were at a disadvantage.
But even at Laura’s rebuking, the knight’s face remained gloomy.
“But at this rate... Can we really hold out until Her Majesty’s reinforcements arrive?”
His question was certainly valid. They were isolated in enemy territory, where the enemy was capable of reinforcing their numbers, while Ryoma’s encampment had no line of supply. Worse yet, the enemy were repeating reckless, suicidal runs with no regard for their losses. Their zeal was only growing more intense. Their ability to push the enemy back right now didn’t mean they’d be able to do it for a prolonged period of time.
And human beings have a tendency to feel far more anxious about the possible future than the present before them. It was only natural the knights would start harboring doubts.
This is bad... We must do something...
Laura wasn’t unfazed by this either. But she knew that if her spirit were to break here, all would be lost. She desperately thought back to the words her father had told her once, when she was little.
Remember this, Laura. Those who stand on top of other people must never make their weakness known. Even when you’re afraid and wish to run away, you must never let it rise to the surface and remain composed. It is that quality which is required of those who command others.
What mattered most on the field of battle was one’s strength of will. If she let this knight’s weak-spirited words stand, they would spread like a virus and cause the unit’s morale to plummet.
But sooner than Laura could speak, a helping hand extended to assist her.
“Don’t worry, everyone! The enemy will be wiped out soon enough. Just hang on until then!”
“Master Ryoma!” Laura raised her voice in surprise at the voice that echoed suddenly through the battlefield. “What are you doing here...? What about command of the stronghold? And what do you mean, the enemy will be wiped out...?”
Ryoma regarded Laura’s barrage of questions with small nods of the head.
“The enemy’s main force is moving... They likely intend to finish this off with one push.”
“So... This is why the enemy’s been applying so much more pressure...” Laura nodded.
“Yeah, I figured, which is why I came to the frontlines myself.”
Ryoma’s gaze wandered about the area. Nothing seemed to be off for the time being, but he didn’t fail to catch sight of the doubt in the eyes of the knights looking back at him.
Looks like they’re really on edge...
Like cups of water filled to the brim, where the slightest motion could make the liquid overflow.
“But is this all right...? I mean... What of Lione and the others?”
Ryoma placed a hand on Laura’s head as her anxious glance clung to him, patting her gently.
“Don’t worry. I gave them their orders. The rest depends on when we give Sara the signal.”
At Ryoma’s words, Laura’s eyes widened.
“Are you quite sure we should be using it now...?”
That ace was prepared to stall the enemy when they sent out their main force. There were two major points Ryoma’s side had to be wary of, given their inferiority in numbers. The first was to minimize their losses at all costs, and the other was to crush the enemy’s morale.
The moat and fence had already sufficiently accomplished the first objective. But what of the second? Bluntly put, they only barely maintained the most minimal line in that regard. And that was, perhaps, only natural. In terms of morale, the defending side was under greater stress compared to the attackers, as the latter had the clear advantage.
And there was another problem— the soldiers he was leading. Most of Ryoma’s soldiers this time were knights Princess Lupis lent him the right of command over. Their trust in a wanderer like Ryoma was low to begin with. They were lacking in the most important part of holding a defensive line—faith in their commander. Hence why their morale was low.
They were obeying Ryoma since there had been no losses so far, but their patience wouldn’t last if the enemy were to break through one of the gates. And so, Ryoma needed to present tangible achievements to buy the knights’ loyalty.
Achievements in the form of the enemy’s corpses...
“Yeah, we’ll have to do it earlier than planned, but it’s our best bet... Besides, killing off as many as we can while we have the chance to do so will make things easier later down the line... And hey, we still have other cards to play. It’ll be all right.”
There was a ghastly smile on Ryoma’s lips. It was a sneer, directed at the foolish enemy commander and his pitiful soldiers.
“What are you fools doing?! Haven’t you broken through the gate yet?!” Kael shouted, annoyed with the enemy’s persistent defense.
His precious two thousand knights had taken to the frontlines, and Kael had expected that the fence would be taken down and they’d be rushing into the enemy’s base by now. But Ryoma’s defenses still stood strong.
“Ugh, enough! I’ll take direct command!”
Having run out of patience, he rode his horse into the moat to inspire his troops, willingly walking into dangerous ground.
A slight tremble ran across the battlefield. The slightest of disturbances, the smallest of changes most people wouldn’t even notice.
But Ryoma wasn’t one to let it slip by without paying it any heed.
“Now! Give Sara the signal!” Ryoma instructed the mercenary waiting behind him.
A flaming arrow flew through the sky. It served as the beacon heralding the carnage to come.
“It’s the signal from Sir Mikoshiba!” One of the mercenaries serving under Sara pointed at the trailing red light soaring through the heavens.
“Is everything ready? Do we have enough water?”
“All looks to be in order!”
A horseshoe-shaped dam had been built along the Thebes’ banks, stopping part of the river’s flow. And true to the river’s bountiful reputation, despite it only having been a few hours since the dam was erected, it had accumulated enough water to fill up the trench.
“We’ve more than enough to fill the moat!”
“Good! Then do it!”
“““Yes, ma’am!”””
At Sara’s instructions, the mercenaries began chanting.
“““Spirits governing the earth! Heed our calls and abide by our wills!”””
“You understand, yes? We’re collapsing the ground between the river and the moat! Make sure to measure the distance carefully!”
Sara swung a sword toward the point she asked.
“““Earth Sink!”””
The mercenaries smashed their hands into the ground all at once, and the next moment, the ground shook with a thunderous roar.
The Thebes’ dammed water found an exit and flowed towards the moat, surging with savagery, as if finally unleashing some pent-up wrath...
The first to notice was a commoner attacking the northern side. He was a hunter in profession, and his eyesight and hearing were sharp owing to his daily work.
“Hey!” he spoke to the comrade next to him, despite being in the middle of battle. “Can you hear that?”
The man couldn’t shake the bad premonition that overtook him.
“Idiot, we don’t have time to talk! You’ll get us both killed!” the person, who came from the same village as the hunter, snapped back at him.
Perhaps owing to that connection, he answered him, albeit with a hint of vilification. On the other side of the fence, the knights under Boltz’s command continued showering them with arrows. The hunter must have been quite the reckless one to start talking in this situation.
“Are you sure you didn’t hear something?!”
“What in the blasted hell are you saying?! Out of all the times to get distracted, you pick now?!”
His assertion was correct. Anyone who looks away from the battlefield before them was doomed to die. But the man couldn’t shake off that premonition.
“No, I have a bad feeling about this...”
The man turned his gaze to the direction of that tremor, and then he saw it. A wall of water rushing through the moat, in their direction.
“W-Wateeeeeeeer!” The man screamed.
The wall of water bore down on them, and his scream was a natural one. The tumult of the battlefield died down instantly. No one raised their voice, because the soldiers could all hear the rushing of the water.
And that was because to them, it was the sound of reckoning’s trumpet being blown from the heavens above.
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