Chapter 83: Watchdog of Humanity (9)

ΟΟΟ

“Why!? Why are there monsters coming out of the blue fortress!?”

Kurz was shocked. Among the monsters coming out of the fortress gate was an ogre. Although he couldn’t see clearly in the dark, he was certain it was an ogre. Kurz has never seen any other monster that was more than 4 meters tall.

He was also aware that commanding officers must always be calm and composed. Even if they’re ambushed, they must command their troops with an ‘An ambush? I predicted this much,’ kind of attitude. There’s no way soldiers could relax and fight when their commanders are scrambling. 

And yet, Kurz remained shocked. He couldn’t control it. Was the blue fortress unable to last a few hours? There should have only been 500 monsters on the other side of the fortress. The ramparts easily surpass 15m. Those walls were unable to hold on for 2 to 3 hours? ……That’s impossible! This is ridiculous!

“Kuh! Your Excellency, please follow me!”

“What do you intend to do?”

Kurz clenched his jaw. What did he intend to do? ……He wasn’t thinking at all! Kurz wanted to pass out right now. However, he was certain of one thing right now: he and the cavalry unit were currently isolated by the enemy.

“We must first break out of here! Cavalry! Men, we are turning around! We will be making a path all the way to our base!”

The cavalry unit was all gathered in one place. Kurz’ order was immediately carried out. The cavalry unit which only had a hundred soldiers from each fortress was the most elite squad of them all as its members were all rank 7 warriors or above. They didn’t falter at all as they let out a roar.

“I, the commanding officer of the gold fortress’ cavalry, Rackenberg, shall pierce through their formation!”

” I am the commanding officer of the red fortress’ cavalry, Rubrouk. I will support the rear!”

The order was quick, thus the execution was unwavering. The horses turned around and started charging in the opposite direction they had come from. Their formation had already collapsed, but the orcs and goblins that survived stood in the way of the cavalry. Although the monsters couldn’t defend against the spears of the cavalrymen, they at least managed to slow the cavalry down. As we continued to lose time like this, the enemy’s encirclement formed around us.

Someone screamed.

“T-The ogre has caught up!”

The ogre?! Kurz turned only his head around as he continued to make his horse advance. Something large like a boulder was wiping out the cavalry from behind. It was an axe. An axe that was larger than a human was being swung around and tearing through both the soldiers and their horses. It was like a torrent. Each time the axe was swung, a soldier was buried in the dirt.

“Our rear has been taken!”

“Rubrouk has fallen!”

This was a nightmare of a retreat. They didn’t lose even 20 men when the cavalry initially broke through the orc formation; however, once an ogre caught up to them, an entire part of their unit was wiped out in an instant.

Kurz shook with rage. So much time and effort were required to raise even a single cavalryman. 

If he could face the ogre head-on, then he was confident in his ability to take it on, but they had to escape the enemy’s grasp as soon as possible. As they could no longer rely on the support from the units that had split to the flanks, being stuck in the enemy’s grasp meant death.

“Break through! We will get out of here!”

3 minutes. Only 3 minutes had passed. The cavalry broke through the same spot they had breached earlier. However, it was a nightmarish 3 minutes. The ogre stuck to their rear like a hound and thirty cavalrymen voluntarily stopped in order to halt its advance. Thanks to that, the rest of the cavalry managed to escape and head towards the rest of the human army.

The nobleman spoke.

“Adjutant, we have succeeded! We have escaped!”

“We did not succeed. All we did was offer a sacrifice!”

Kurz cursed as if he were spitting out blood. A fourth of the cavalry was wiped out in 3 minutes. It wasn’t until this moment that Kurz managed to finally grasp their situation. The Demon Lord forces didn’t have 2 armies of 500 soldiers. They most likely had a manpower of roughly 2,000 soldiers. He had been thoroughly deceived.

The cavalry returned to where the chain of command for the human army was being carried out. As Kurz expected, they were also panicking. Twice the number of monsters they had expected suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It’d be weird if this didn’t shock them. At the very least, once Kurz returned, they calmed down a fair bit.

“Give me a progress report.”

Kurz panted roughly as he spoke. He got off his horse as soon as he returned and joined the others. There was no time to rest. The advisors scrambled to respond.

“The enemy has surrounded us on three sides.”

“The men that have gone to the flanks have been isolated and are being assaulted. We must rescue them immediately.”

“We have confirmed the presence of 7 ogres. We do not know how many more there may possibly be beyond this contemptible darkness.”

Kurz gnashed his teeth.

“Add one more. We were pursued by one as we made our way back.”

“Eight ogres…….”

Someone muttered. A formless pressure weighed down on everyone. Even now, the sound of metal clashing and the screams of people, both humans and monsters, echoed all around them. Their allies were holding up well. Nonetheless, everyone here was already considering the worst possible situation since it was doubtful whether their allies could last long against this overwhelming ambush. 

Kurz spoke up.

“Let us retreat.”

“Deputy Commander Schleiermacher, you should know very well that retreating during the night is not a simple task…….”

“Then do you all plan to die here? Even if it is only a small number of us, we must escape.”

The other commanders groaned. Kurz was suggesting for them to abandon their allies and run away. All of the commanding officers here had been trained to have martial spirits and love their comrades. Even if they knew that a retreat was the only option they had left, they couldn’t help but contemplate. No, it was a question as to whether they could even retreat or not…….

“I will take up the rear.”

“D-Deputy Commander Schleiermacher!”

Kurz spoke with a resolute voice.

“I am the one who mapped out this plan. It is only natural that I would take responsibility for it as well.”

“Let us just fight until the very end. It is not as if our defeat has already been determined…….”

“What will you do about the fortress!?”

Kurz shouted.

“If we get wiped out here, then we will be handing everything up to the red fortress to the demons. We cannot let this happen. We must hold the fort until the margraves can send their armies as reinforcements. We must send back as many of our men as possible. Make a hasty retreat while I am taking up the rear!”

The advisors shut their mouths.

“……R-Retreating might be impossible.”

At that moment, the noble spoke up carefully. One of the advisors frowned as he questioned him.

“Your Excellency, what do you mean by that?”

“I am not confident either, but……if I were to make a guess, then the Demon Lord forces have roughly 2,000 soldiers. However, when they attacked both the green and blue fortresses, they only showed a thousand to us. This means that they were tricking us to lure us in.”

The blonde noble let out a sigh.

“They intentionally made us aim to divide and conquer them. Once we moved according to their plan, they surprised us with the rest of the troops they had been hiding. You, you all must understand what this means.”

“That we were playing in the palms of their hands since the beginning……? Is that what you’re saying!?”

“Unfortunately, that is correct.”

He rubbed the edges of his eyes. His eyes were tired. Night battles are mentally and physically stressful for humans.

It didn’t affect monsters as much. They’re able to perceive objects clearly in the dark like beasts. This difference will definitely become more and more clear in the ongoing battle happening around them. 

In the young noble’s mind, he was already certain of their defeat. The issue at hand was how long they can last. 30 minutes? If they do well, then maybe an hour……. After that, a one-sided mop up will most likely occur. Within 3 hours, the elite army of 2,000 imperial soldiers will be slaughtered. The young man spoke as he calculated these odds.

“Mm……even if we were to retreat with our small number of troops, it is too late. At most, 300 will manage to escape. However, it is impossible to obstruct an ogre’s pursuit with only infantries. The 300 soldiers will be incapable of maintaining their formation as they are slaughtered by the ogres’ axes. Am I wrong?”

“……No. Your Excellency is correct.”

“Even if 300 of our men managed to return to the red fortress, it would be impossible for them to defend against a siege. The monsters will overwhelm them. We have lost. No matter what we do, we cannot protect the red fortress. The Black Mountains have been breached by the Crescent Alliance…….”

One of the commanding officers spoke in a trembling voice.

“T-The Crescent Alliance? What are you talking about?”

“Well, hm. Think about their goal. They are trying to capture everything up to the red fortress with only 2,000 monsters. If we struggle desperately here, then we might be able to diminish their numbers to about a thousand……?”

Everyone held their breaths as they listened to the young man.

“T-Then let us say that they have 1,500 monsters left after this. If they capture the red fortress, then that would naturally cause the margraves to rally their armies. Do you think 1,500 monsters are enough to fight against those massive armies?”

The blonde man shook his head.

“It’s impossible. And yet, they are still trying to take the red fortress. Why is that? There is only one reason. They are confident they can take the margraves’ armies on.”

“⎯⎯There are more coming! There are still more troops coming!”

Kurz became flabbergasted as he shouted.

The young man smiled bitterly.

“Yeah. That is what I think as well……. The enemy has a massive number of reinforcements coming. If it is an army that is able to send 2,000 monsters as their vanguard, then it is hard to imagine how massive their main forces could possibly be……. It is the Crescent Alliance or an army comparable to the Crescent Alliance. Mankind will most likely face an unimaginable crisis once again…….”

Kurz finally saw the full picture. The enemy wasn’t trying to carry out a prolonged battle. If anything, they wanted a brief battle, an annihilation that could be carried out in a single moment. That’s why they lured the soldiers from the other fortresses. He had pushed the lives of 2,000 soldiers to their deaths.

“I had no idea…… and I…….”

A suppressed tone. Kurz couldn’t consider the words coming out of his own mouth as his own voice.

The noble spoke.

“Do not blame yourself, Deputy Commander. I am the one who approved your plan. It was not only me, but everyone here acknowledged that your plan was our best course of action. It was not you alone who had pushed the soldiers to their deaths…….”

Everyone nodded. One of the advisors placed their hand on Kurz’s shoulder. Kurz lowered his face. As he felt regret, rage, and endless guilt towards the other soldiers, Kurz spoke as if he were groaning.

“……Commander, please take the cavalry and withdraw.”

The noble looked around.

“W-What are you talking about? Even if I were to retreat, the red fortress will still be lost. There is no use.”

Kurz blamed himself. The boy in front of him was treating his death as the most natural conclusion here. He wanted to struggle till the very end here if they aren’t able to protect the red fortress anyway. He was treating this as if this were the only choice he had left.

He didn’t have even the slightest desire to abandon the soldiers here……. He was already a complete soldier. Did Kurz really treat someone like him as a fool? Did he really conclude that the boy had come here only to gain achievements simply because he’s a noble and young……? It seems he didn’t have an eye for people, Kurz mocked himself.

“Someone must inform the margraves about this situation. This is nothing more than the first battle. From now on, a war between the imperial army and the Crescent Alliance will occur. Whether the margraves rally their armies first or the Crescent Alliance arrives at the red fortress first will determine the flow of the war.”

Kurz raised his head and gazed at the nobleman.

“Take the cavalry unit and inform the margraves about what has happened here. If you do, then our struggle here will not be in vain. The longer we hold on to the enemy here, the more time the margraves will have to arm their troops. Even if we may lose here, this will give us an advantage in the war against the Crescent Alliance.”

“Wait a second. The logic there is weird.”

The young noble frowned.

“There is no reason for me to be the one to tell the margraves. Simply letting the cavalry unit escape should be enough.”

“I daresay, I can confidently say that I am not an utterly foolish commanding officer. And yet, I was toyed with as if I were some small child. The Demon Lord army possesses an advisor with terrifying capabilities. That individual created this calamity tonight…….”

Instead of feeling anger towards this unknown schemer, Kurz felt fear. It isn’t hard to win a battle by overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers. However, that schemer had brought us to ruin by lowering their numbers. This was not something that can be done by normal schemers.

“Until now, the Demon Lords have never resorted to such tactics. They only relied on utilizing strong monsters. There is now a strategist among their ranks. If it were not for Your Excellency, we would have never realized that the army before us is only the vanguard of the Crescent Alliance……. Rather, Your Excellency was the only one who had managed to grasp the enemy’s intentions. From this point forth, the empire requires individuals such as yourself. Please survive and fight against that wicked strategist.”

“Deputy Commander Schleiermacher…….”

There was concern in the young man’s blue eyes. He was contemplating whether he should take joint responsibility for this operation and heroically fall in battle with his men or survive on his own for the sake of the war that will take place after this.

“I agree.”

Another commanding officer stood forward.

“Your Excellency, we will take care of matters here, so please survive.”

Kurz was alarmed.

“Second Lieutenant Rackenberg, what are you saying? You must escape as well. I alone am more than enough to handle the rear.”

“What nonsense. Did you not say so yourself? We must delay the monsters for as long as possible.”

The other commanding officers agreed.

“I second that. How does one man intend to command 2,000 soldiers alone?”

“You will be wiped out in an instant. You must put the cart before the horse. I will also stay behind.”

“You fools!”

Kurz shouted. All of the commanding officers present were trained under Kurz. On unofficial occasions, they’re like siblings. Kurz ended up speaking informally due to their unreasonable decisions.

“How much do you think you guys could help if you stayed behind!? Get out of here!”

“And how much do you think you’ll help when you’ve screwed things up? If you’ve taken a shit, then the people around you should help. It’s impossible for you alone.”

“Naturally. How am I supposed to run away when I’m constantly worried about when our rear will collapse?”

The commanding officers laughed. Kurz was dumbstruck as he looked around. Everyone was laughing, but their gazes were unwavering. They were eyes that could only be shown by those who were resolved to die. Kurz realized that he could no longer persuade them.

“These idiots…….”

“Commander, please leave this place to us. Make haste and depart with the rest of our cavalry.”

The young man became silent. He wasn’t confident he could forgive himself if he ran away by himself after seeing the sight before him. However, the only reason they were willing to sacrifice themselves was for the sake of his survival. No, for the survival of the empire’s future. His voice trembled.

“You guys are making me disgrace myself.”

“Yes, we apologize. Your Excellency must survive for the sake of the Habsburg Empire.”

“……Fine. Death is not the only way to take responsibility.”

The young man turned to look at every commanding officer present.

“My goal was to advance my career. This was why I wanted to assist whoever I wounded up attending. Although I had my doubts about this battle……this was my first battle, so I ended up treating it lightly because I believed it would be fine to leave things to everyone else since you are all more experienced than I am. Thus, I am also responsible.”

Kurz then recalled that it was the noble who suggested that they shouldn’t leave the fortress. At that time, Kurz simply thought he was afraid of monsters. He thought that the noble only agreed with his plan in the end simply because he wanted to succeed in his career……. This wasn’t the case. The young man had a goal of his own. Kurz had disregarded this unilaterally.

“I vow to you all that I will take the life of the schemer who put the lives of 2,000 elite soldiers to rest. I will lay their head on your graves.”

“There is nothing more we could ask for.”

The officers saluted and the young man saluted them back. This exchange lasted longer than usual. The young man spoke in a low voice.

“Sieg Kaiser Habsburg.”

“Sieg Habsburg.”

Kurz and the young man decided to switch equipment as a precaution. If the monsters found out that the supreme commander was making an escape, then there would be the risk of him being pursued until the very end. Kurz intended to trick the enemy by wearing the attire of the supreme commander.

The young noble retreated with the 100 or so cavalrymen that survived. Once he was gone, Kurz shouted as loudly as he could.

“You imbeciles could have run away as well, but you all went out of your way to drink from the poisoned chalice. Don’t think you’ll be allowed to die easily. From this point forth, you aren’t allowed to die until you have taken out at least 1 ogre!”

“One ogre per person? That is quite the exchange ratio.”

The officers chuckled. Kurz also laughed.

“That’s right. It is easy to live, but dying is difficult. Now engrave this fact into our enemy as well. Shove at least another monster in its grave! For starters, we will be combining the two sides that have split apart! We will create groups of only rank 5 warriors and above and take care of the ogres with them! What are you all doing!? Move quickly, you fools!”

“Understood!”

Their response resonated around them.

Kurz thought to himself. That’s right. The war isn’t over yet. It has only just begun. Let us show them how terrifying the watchdogs of humanity truly are. The commanding officers resolved themselves.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Don’t got too much to say this time. I’m going to take a day off from translating cause I’ve been a bit feverish lately. Might as well rest it off before it becomes anything worse. 

I’ll see you guys in the next release.