Chapter 97: A King and his General (10)

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The situation gradually became more pressing.

For starters, I reported to General Zepar that I was going to go on a counteroffensive on my own. As expected, Brother Zepar felt really stifled because of our current situation.

We hastily organized the current situation. A new operation was established on the spot. Befitting his position as a veteran general of the Plains Faction, Zepar had a clear grasp of what was happening. He seriously considered my proposal of performing a guerilla operation with my small unit.

Kuh, this is why you need to meet a good superior. If Zepar were incompetent, then he would’ve hesitated to make any rash changes. As a result, the right wing would’ve withered away until it ultimately perishes. The imperial army being led by Rosenberg was certainly talented. To the point of being able to use mounted archers in the middle of the night. However, the troops under Brother Zepar’s command was also capable. This fact fueled me with confidence. 

– However, rather than going on a counteroffensive with a small unit, how about doing so on a larger scale, Dantalian? 

Before accepting my suggestion, General Zepar suggested his own. His plan was as follows: even if we have to force it a little, we’ll make the entire right wing retaliate all at once. Since the enemy’s vision should be as limited as ours, if we rush at them quickly, the mounted archers will be forced into a close quarters battle. There is no way mounted archers could fight in close quarters. They will have no other choice but to retreat and we’ll encircle their foot soldiers while we’re also pursuing the archers. An annihilation will immediately begin.

“Certainly! That would be much better.”

I was in awe. General Zepar’s method sounded good. With this, the enemy’s goal will immediately be blocked. Our right wing will become free and we will be able to force their foot soldiers into a fiercely chaotic battle.

The more chaotic the battlefield becomes, the more advantageous it becomes for monsters than humans. Monsters have better night vision and are capable of receiving direct orders from Demon Lords, after all. Adding to this, the Demon Lords all have a method of communicating with each other as well. There is a high probability that we’ll be able to carry out a successful annihilation of their troops…….

– We will immediately launch a counterattack, then. Stay on standby for a moment.

It was right when I was about to agree. Laura carefully cut in the conversation. She requested the right to speak. I tilted my head and gladly gave it to her. I’m the deputy director of the Crescent Alliance’s 6th legion and Laura is my closest advisor, so she naturally has the right to be treated as the chief advisor. After receiving my permission, Laura promptly spoke to General Zepar.

“Pardon my intrusion, General. This one is the chief advisor of the operation, Laura De Farnese. I humbly apologize, but this young lady believes that there is a severe flaw in going on a counterattack.”

– Mm? What is it, Chief Advisor Farnese?

“There is a chance that heavy cavalrymen are waiting behind the imperial army.”

I was surprised. Cavalrymen? We’ve already confirmed that the foot soldiers were advancing on their own. We didn’t receive any reports about them moving together with cavalrymen. General Zepar seemed also taken aback as his voice went up a pitch.

– Cavalrymen? Why do you think that?

“This young lady believes that the imperial army is not only trying to hold our right wing down. They are trying to lure us in.”

Laura gave a quick and precise explanation. The scenario that she believed Margrave Rosenberg was trying to carry out went like this:

First, an assault by mounted archers. Like pieces of clothing slowly getting drenched in a drizzle, our right wing will accumulate losses as we continue to receive the downpour of arrows. Since the Demon Lord army will only end up getting breached if this situation is allowed to continue, they will try to turn the situation around by counterattacking all at once. ―Laura predicted that cavalrymen will abruptly appear behind enemy lines at this moment. 

I spoke in a serious tone.

“……If Laura is correct, we will have to carry out a pitched battle with their cavalry.”

– Agreed. It is horrifying to imagine fighting knights without any sort of countermeasures prepared.

General Zepar’s tone was filled with hate. Come to think of it, he had once charged towards cavalrymen by himself and lost almost all of his troops in one of the previous Crescent Alliances. There’s probably no one else who is more aware of the power of the human cavalry than Zepar. 

General Zepar immediately mobilized the familiars used for scouting and made them do a concentrated survey of the area behind the imperial army. If Laura’s prediction is wrong, then we would have wasted our precious time scouting. Even now, the imperial army’s foot soldiers were gradually approaching us. Laura’s mistake will also be my mistake. If we lose this battle, people will definitely come out and say that I should take responsibility.

However, I decided to heed Laura’s warning. She is someone who had well-matched battles against the greatest group of fighters, the hero’s party, for several years. Since I know Laura’s original fate, I can’t just overlook her warning. 

Were the mounted archers really bait? Did the imperial army have a trump card of cavalrymen prepared……? Will Laura’s genius be proven or not? I prepared my unit to be able to charge at a moment’s notice regardless of the result. Five nerve-wracking minutes went by. 

The slime’s mouth then opened. General Zepar’s voice flowed out mechanically.

– Dantalian. We have discovered a cavalry unit behind the imperial army. They are hiding in our blind spot behind a hill. It is as your chief advisor has predicted.

“……!”

I found myself turning to look at Laura. Her eyes were glowing as she received the entire darkness of the night. I felt a chill go down my spine. Even though her prediction was spot on, even though she managed to save our army from meeting a pitiful fate with only a few words, she didn’t show any sort of emotion as she continued to think calmly.

Is she not a tremendous monster? She’s only 17-years-old! I used to doze off on the chairs in the self-study rooms after school at her age……Laura changed the fate of an army at the age of 17. I felt a chill. Just now, without the usage of swords, Margrave Rosenberg and Chief Advisor Laura De Farnese carried out the most silent battle in the world. And Laura won…….

– I thought that you were only an impressive schemer, but after this turn of events, you also have potential as a ruler. A ruler’s potential is also determined by the potential of their subordinates. I would like to go on and praise both you and your subordinate, but I will omit it for now due to our situation.

“Understood.”

Now we have almost a complete grasp of the enemy’s strategy. The mounted archers had two goals. The first was to suppress the movement of the Demon Lord army’s right wing, and the second was to act as bait.

I unconsciously peered over my cover. The mounted archers must have a lot of arrows to spare as they continued to fire dozens of arrows every minute. The rain of arrows coming our way was no different from a hand of temptation. They were speaking to us through these arrows.

‘Are you frustrated? Then come out here and try to get rid of us. Come out of your sturdy defenses that you’ve set up against cavalry charges. Let’s have a proper fight on an empty hillside!’

What crafty bastards.

Laura organized the situation.

“From the imperial army’s perspective, it does not matter how we respond. If we stay like this and endure their arrows, then they will continue to advance their foot soldiers. A section of our right wing will get breached. If our forces carry out a counterattack, then their mounted archers will retreat and be replaced by the cavalrymen behind them. Our forces will collapse.”

– Mm. Our side will be at a severe disadvantage in both cases. It seems that the margraves of the empire are not incompetent this time as well…….

As long as our counterattack plan is no longer possible, we only have one option left. The original plan that I had suggested: a guerrilla operation performed by a small unit. We immediately came to the agreement that this was the only choice we had left. The small unit in this case was obviously Dantalian’s unit that specializes in physical defense. 

The new objectives that my unit was given were as follows:

First, we have to wipe out the small unit of mounted archers directly in front of my troops.

Second, after getting rid of this small unit, my troops will immediately start a guerrilla attack. We’ll bring down the mounted archers holding down our allies one unit at a time.

Third, during this process, we’ll frequently assist our allies.

The imperial army had split their mounted archers into small groups. Guessing from the number of arrows that would get fired at my unit, there’s most likely about 20 mounted archers directly in front of us. This isn’t surprising. The imperial army isn’t trying to pin down a single portion of the right wing, but the right wing in its entirety. They have no other choice but to spread their mounted archers thin.

Therefore, even if they have a thousand mounted archers, we will only have to take them down in groups of twenty and fifty. There is a chance of winning. No, we’ll create a chance of winning. That is what it means to be on a battlefield! If you don’t take any action, then no one is going to hand you a victory.

– I can only pray for your success. I hope that we will be able to share a celebratory drink after the day is over.

The communication ended there.

“Hoo.”

I took in a deep breath. The cold night air soaked into my lungs.

From this point on, the entire right wing will be staying in place and defending except for me. No matter how much the mounted archers harass them, they will remain in their base. They will endure until the very end in their positions which they had set up like a stronghold in the case of a cavalry assault. The imperial army’s trap was ruined by Laura.

“This will be a race against time.”

“Indeed. A battle against time.”

Will the imperial army’s foot soldiers attack a part of our right wing first, or will my guerrilla force cause the mounted archers to retire first. This will determine the battle here on Austerlitz. All in all, this has become quite a ridiculous situation.

The only form of comfort that we have is the fact that the imperial army is advancing their foot soldiers at an incredibly slow pace due to the fog. Although the reason that they’re slow isn’t only because of their limited vision, it’s to also give their mounted archers enough time to try and lure us in. They don’t know that we’ve already seen through their trap. This blindness gave me a sense of relief.

Margrave Rosenberg, your mistake is the fact that you’ve overlooked the presence of Laura De Farnese. She is a genius. She’s still young, but she definitely has a latent potential to conquer all battlefields. I’ll show this to you.

“Your Lordship, it is time.”

The mounted archers had finished firing their round of arrows and were backing off. We could hear the sound of hooves backing off further into the fog.

Laura and I came out of our cover. We then charged towards the fog. We weren’t charging forward recklessly by ourselves. A dozen of my death knights had become invisible as they followed behind us. After advancing a fair distance, we lowered ourselves to a crawling position.

“…….” 

Blades of grass that were drenched in morning dew stabbed at my cheeks. There were insects crawling around, but I paid them no mind. I brought my ear to the ground in order to hear the hooves of the mounted archers.

It was around 30 seconds later, the ground started shaking slightly. The sound of hooves was approaching quickly.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. There’s not much to say this time around since I already said everything I wanted to in the last chapter. I’ll be busy until the end of next week, so don’t expect fast updates.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.