Chapter 102: A King and his General (15)

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However, this didn’t mean that our entire frontline was doing as well as our position. I managed to have some fun with my death knights, but the other Demon Lords obviously don’t have death knights of their own. They were fully exposed to the imperial army’s assault from the knights. They tried to counter the knights with beast warriors and lizard warriors, but they’re considerably weaker than knights.

Bad news came from the slime transmitters. A section of our defense had been breached! General Zepar immediately concentrated the ogres at the breach, but more areas of the right wing began to collapse one by one like dominos.

The first line of defense that had been doing well until now began to buckle in on itself at a fast pace. The spearmen that had lost their positions were basically like an appetizing lunch for the knights. I can’t see it from my position, but I’m sure that a large number of orc spearmen are being cut down by aura-filled swords right now.

– Retreat back to the second line. All troops, retreat back to the second line of defense.

General Zepar made a quick decision. The orc spearmen matched their steps as they backed away. Matching each other’s pace and retreating one step at a time wasn’t an easy thing to do. A unit that consists of dozens of orcs has to synchronize, after all. In the end, we lost a large number of orcs during this process.

– Hurry! Is there a unit that has not managed to retreat yet? I repeat, if there is a unit that has not finished their retreat, then fall back as soon as possible.

Shortly after, the orcs from the first line of defense joined up with the orcs from the second line of defense. It took 5 minutes since the order to retreat for us to fall back about 20 meters. If you compare this to how we were being pushed back 5 meters per hour, this was incredibly fast.

“The orc bastards are running!”

“Stay on their tails, boys! If we push a little further it’ll be our victory!”

The imperial soldiers were really in high spirits. Their noncommissioned officers weren’t letting their spearmen rest as they ordered them to advance. They most likely believe that they’re gaining momentum. In war, you can seize victory almost instantaneously if you manage to follow up on opportunities properly. They believe that this is an opportunity. The imperial knights and spearmen followed after us more stubbornly.

At that moment, General Zepar shouted.

– Mage unit, attack!

The mages that had been only casting support spells until now shifted gears. 10 mages in the backline cast fireballs all at once. The fireballs soared above the imperial soldiers and landed 30 meters behind them. Flames erupted.

The fire landed where we had set up our wooden fences. A lot of hay bales had been piled up to look like a means of defense. In truth, we had actually covered the wooden fences in oil and only used dry straw in the bales. We naturally filled the insides of the straw piles with oil as well. Once the fireballs landed on them, the fire spread in the blink of an eye. General Zepar had reserved our strongest card known as mages for this moment.

The fire spread and created a wide horizontal wall. The entire imperial army was split apart due to the fire.

The soldiers who were exceedingly quick-witted hastily retreated before the fire got too big. However, similar to when our orc spearmen were retreating, the imperial spearmen couldn’t retreat freely either. The spearmen weren’t acting individually but as groups, after all. In the end, the imperial soldiers that chased after us like dogs were trapped by the fire.

They were clearly panicking. They had to fight with their backs to the sea, no, to the fire.

The monsters that acted practically like a pack of wolves naturally wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity. They pressured the imperial army excessively. The orc spearmen utilized the difference in their reach to advance one step at a time and the goblins went between the orcs’ legs―goblins are short enough to move around under the spears as much as they want―and sliced at the knees of the imperial soldiers.

The imperial knights fought desperately, but that was all they could do. They couldn’t use their auras for long periods of time. They had to either keep getting switched out with the soldiers in the rear or only let out a burst of power in a single moment like during the cavalry charges. However, all of their options were sealed since they were trapped by the wall of fire. They quickly used up all of their auras. Once they ran out, the monsters swarmed them like piranhas and the knights fell one by one. 

“U-Uaaaaaah!”

The imperial spearmen’s formation ultimately collapsed. Their morale had plummeted. The dismounted knights who were standing at the front were dying and their rears were being stroked by fire. They wouldn’t be human if they could hold their ground in a situation like this.

The imperial soldiers either abandoned their positions and tried to carry out a hopeless charge against us or they jumped into the fire in an attempt to survive. The outcome was obvious. They either got skewered by our spears or became a barbeque in the fire. Some of them did neither and called out to their mothers while cowering in place……spearmen that no longer stood their ground have no value. All of them were killed unsparingly.

“How gruesome…….”

Laura repeated in an unpleasant tone.

“A thousand? No, two thousand soldiers have most likely died.”

The flames crackled. The intense heat managed to reach us from several dozen meters away. When we set up our encampment, we thoroughly weeded out the area between the first and second line of defense. The flame sought out things to burn towards the imperial army’s direction and not ours.

It would be difficult for this fire to become anything larger than this due to the severe fog and the morning dew on the foliage; however, it was large enough for us to know that it would take the imperial army’s mages a long amount of time to extinguish everything. 

Just as we did with the first line of defense, we set up numerous stakes again while the imperial soldiers were occupied. Furthermore, we realigned our spearmen since their formation had become rather disorderly during the retreat. In this regard, the Demon Lord army definitely had an advantage over the humans. On our side, the Demon Lords simply have to say, ‘You monsters, gather over here!’ and that would be enough to reorganize everything instantly.

We even went as far as to order our troops to eat. Eating was not only effective, but it was a simple matter as well. The monsters just went out and feasted on the human corpses that were scattered out in front of them. One of the ogres decided to give his food a little more taste as he cooked the corpses on the fire. I’m not sure where he got it from, but he had impaled the corpses on a spear like a skewer. Laura and I became speechless as we watched. How should I explain it? It felt really post-modern…….

We received a report from our scout familiars that the imperial army had retreated a fair distance, so our catapults stopped firing as well. It’d be stupid if they came forward to get hit by boulders when the fire hasn’t settled down yet. A temporary ceasefire happened between our two armies.

* * *

“These incompetent idiots!”

Once Crown Prince Rudolf received the report that the imperial army failed to breach the Demon Lord army’s right wing, he slammed his fist on the table. It wasn’t only the crown prince, but the other commanding officers of the main army like General Mikhail von Kolovrate, General John von Kutuzov, etc got upset as well.

“8,500 elite soldiers and 1,500 cavalrymen were unable to get through? Margrave, please explain this. Did you not claim with the utmost confidence that you could conquer the right wing with only 10,000 soldiers!?”

Margrave Fritz von Rosenberg gnashed his teeth. According to the report, their side incurred about 3,000 casualties since the start of the battle. They were all soldiers that the margrave had raised throughout his life. It was the margrave who was the most upset here. The crown prince and the other generals didn’t even send any support!

“…….”

The margrave didn’t respond to the crown prince’s inquiry. He simply lowered his head slightly, but everyone understood that this was his way of saying that he had nothing to say for himself. Furthermore, it was also clear that Margrave Rosenberg had lost his right to speak as the supreme commander.

“Hah! It seems they are not wrong when they say that subordinates resemble their superiors.”

The crown prince promptly began to act as the actual supreme commander instead of as the nominal supreme commander. For starters, he concluded that the Demon Lord army’s right wing must’ve received a considerable amount of damage even if the margrave didn’t manage to breach their defenses. This was the situation that the crown prince wanted since the very beginning. In other words, a situation where the enemy troops are injured while his main army is in perfect condition.

‘If I send in my troops now and achieve victory, then all of the glory will be mine.’

A complacent smile appeared on the crown prince’s lips. There was a lot to gain from this battle alone. Even now, the margrave’s army, which could potentially become rebel forces, had been weakened. Adding to this, by summoning the main army for this battle, the crown prince’s power of command had gotten stronger.

Taking control of a group by using another group.

The crown prince thought to himself. This is the knowledge of monarchs. Be it aristocrats, the margrave’s army, the commoners, or anyone else, even if they swear loyalty to me on the outside, they are all dogs that only care about their own benefits. Referentially, monarchs must know how to make those dogs fight amongst one another. He managed to damage the margrave’s army without lifting a single finger.

If he manages to send in his troops and breach the Demon Lord army’s right wing, then he will be praised as the guardian who protected mankind from the monsters sent by the Demon Lords. He’ll then be treated as the sole suitable heir to the throne……This glorious dream fell before him like a ripe apple. He simply had to reach out and pick up that apple!

“General Kolovrate! General Kutuzov! Take 10,000 of our proud Habsburgian soldiers and head to the enemy’s right wing.”

“Yes, Your Highness. We will not betray your expectations.”

The two generals responded boisterously before leaving the tent. The margrave continued to stare at the ground with his mouth shut the entire time. The mercenary leader shrugged.

10,000 imperial soldiers marched towards the Demon Lord army’s right wing. They descended Pratzen Heights with their elaborate banners fluttering above them. A small demon fowl watched this sight from above. The demon fowl flapped its wing and flew through the fog.

And then.

A girl at a location far from Pratzen Heights had her eyes closed. White hair. It wasn’t weak white hair that grew from old age but brilliant white hair that had always been white since the very beginning. The girl smirked before slowly opening her eyes.

Her golden eyes glittered like that of a predatory beast.

“All right.”

Barbatos, the Rank 8th Demon Lord stood up.

She couldn’t control her excitement. Zepar! He met her expectations. She was also using the slimes to have a full understanding of the right wing’s battle situation. Zepar defended splendidly. By creating a subtle balance that made them appear as if they were on the brink of collapsing, they made the imperial army send in more troops than necessary. 

Barbatos reconfirmed that her Demon Lords weren’t incompetent. No, her Plains Faction wasn’t incompetent! Throughout the past 7 Crescent Alliances, the Plains Faction was never the reason for the Demon Lord army’s continuous defeat―We are competent, brave, and, most importantly, we know how to win. It was now time for her to show this.

There was no reason for her to issue an order. Barbatos had sent every Demon Lord except herself to the left and right wings. Barbatos was the only Demon Lord that was protecting the center army. Therefore, all of the monsters present received orders from her directly.

– Step.

She only had to take a single step to order the entire center army to advance.

Barbatos walked in silence. Zombies, skeleton soldiers, and all sorts of other undead monsters followed behind her. There was no fancy anthem. There were no cries filled with excitement. They were warriors and warriors even after death, so they knew how to fight in silence. The army of 5,000 soldiers directly under Barbatos’ command has always marched like this for the past 2,000 years.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sheesh, it feels like I’ve been on this section/arc for so long now. Nothing much to say. I’m just trying to pump these chapters out while taking time to myself since I’m done with my university. Lot of mental sorting and stuff like that.

I’ll see you guys on the next chapter.