CH 378

There was a particularly bizarre unit in the Royal Blish Army that was invading Ehrland. It’s a group of women who still look like young girls. Other Units were soldiers who seemed to be strong, and people who were lightly dressed and had black canes with strange shapes, and so on, and so forth. And yet, only there was one gorgeous unit like a secret garden of delights.

“Well, then, everyone, please follow the strategy,” Alexandra said.

“Aah! Leave it to me!” Claudia said.

“I, I’ll do my best!” Louisa replied.

Mikoto just shrugged her shoulders, and Katharina was at the side of another girl a little further away.

“You don’t need to be so nervous,” Mikoto said as she put a hand on Louia’s shoulder. “Let’s start with you and me, Louisa.”

“Ye-Yes!” Louisa cried.

“Um…, everyone…, are you really going to join the assault force?” an uneasy Flora asks her wives.

“Of course, we are!” Mikoto yelled.

“I’m grateful for your concern, but it’s no use now!” Claudia said.

“Haa…” Flora sighed.

It seemed to be to vent her anxiety. All of them had never played an active part in the battlefield and insisted that they also participate in the war, against Flora’s objections. Naturally, Flora protested, but she couldn’t refuse after being told that they weren’t caged birds, and in the end, her wives also participated in the battle to subjugate Ehrland.

Alexandra’s combat ability is low. She’s not very good at swordsmanship or magic, and she’ll probably not be able to defend herself if she’s just attacked by a strong opponent. But that doesn’t mean she’s useless. Alexandra, who is not good at manual labor, has acquired all kinds of knowledge in both domestic affairs and military administration. Even if she wasn’t useful in direct combat, Alexandra has worked hard to be useful as a strategist and domestic affairs officer.

Mikoto and Louisa have learned powerful magic from Flora. Mikoto is a demon, so it’s not strange that she’s better at magic than a normal human, but even Louisa, who was just a normal human, has acquired magic that far surpasses that of your average demon.

In addition, there is a magic unit that the two trained independently, and this time they brought them together. Until now, they had kept it a secret from each other, but this time, for the first time, Mikoto’s Magic Unit and Louisa’s Magic Unit will meet face to face. How well will the combined unit perform?

Claudia was originally a knight of the Royal Guard Division. Of course, she’s been on the battlefield before, and she’s fought for her life. She fought more against monsters than against humans, but she also killed people before. It’s the most dangerous place, but since she has the most experience, she should be the most dependable.

However, compared to Alexandra, who takes command from the rear, and Mikoto and Louisa, who only shoot magic from the rear, Flora was most worried about Claudia, who charges directly and engages in hand-to-hand combat.

“Claudia… you should stop this…”

“Flora! I’m glad you’re afraid for me,” Claudia said. “But I’m originally a knight! If that knight stops standing on the battlefield, he’ll no longer be a knight. Even you would understand this, won’t you?”

“That’s ……”

Flora’s gaze swims. What Claudia said is more correct. Other soldiers and knights probably have families too. Each family will be worried about its soldiers and knights. But that doesn’t mean, Well“, I’m worried about my family, so I won’t stand on the battlefield.” Knights in particular have a duty to stand on the battlefield at the risk of their lives.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to return to your family alive. However, it is different from telling you to stop because it is dangerous to risk your life. Knights are not knights because they are given such titles and positions. He is one because he fulfills his duties as a knight.

What Flora is saying is the same as saying that you should throw away your knightly duties and pride because your wife is worried about you, and just doze off in a safe rear area. Sacrifice other soldiers and knights and lowering only those who are important to you to the rear is probably not a good thing for a person standing in an executive position.

And that would hurt Claudia’s pride as a knight. She understands Flora’s feelings, but that doesn’t mean that Claudia should be stopped or pushed backward.

“It’ll be okay!” Mikoto said. “The subordinates you’ve given us have also been trained for this day, Flora! Leave it to us!”

The creation of the Magic Units by Mikoto and Louisa goes back a long time. Seeing that, Claudia also said that she wanted subordinates of her own. Therefore, there is a unit organized with some soldiers and apprentices under Claudia. This unit has never been on the battlefield before, so this is their first live fight.

“Lord Flora, please leave Dame Claudia to us,” one of Claudia’s lieutenants said.

After being told that much, Flora had no choice but to obey.

“I understand… Everyone, please don’t do anything unreasonable.”

Of course, Flora intends to intervene immediately if something should happen. Even so, she withdrew to leave it to the wives for the first strike.

The unit with Flora and the others crossed the Ehrlish Strait from Welez and was about to capture the large city of Port Lirge in the southeast of Ehrland Island. With its location and infrastructure, Port Lirge could be bombarded by a galleon fleet with no particular difficulty.

However, due to ammunition savings and the fact that the galleon fleet had to invade the other side of Ehrland Island, it was decided that Flora’s unit would attack from land, as it had disembarked near Port Lirge.

After capturing Port Lirge, they will invade the inland points via land routes and capture the entire island of Ehrland. With the Galleon fleet attacking the coastal areas and the army landing from major ports in various places and attacking from land routes, Ehrland Island will be captured within a week.

If you think about it normally, it’s impossible to conquer an island of this size in a week. However, everyone thought that it was natural for the Caan Army, who had been doing something similar to that and could do that much, too.

“Then let the operation begin!” Alexandra said.

“Setting it off~! Ignite!” Mikoto said.

“Let’s go! Burn down!” Louisa said.

A messenger has already been sent to Port Lirge to request their surrender. Naturally, the other party refused, so to start, Louisa and Mikoto use Fire magic to attack from a distance.

The two castle gates of Port Lirge were instantly engulfed in enormous flames, and the soldiers guarding the gates were instantly burned to ashes. Shortly thereafter, Port Lirge sent a messenger informing them of their surrender.

“Mikoto and Louisa, you went too far, we didn’t have a turn!”

“Even if you say that…”

Claudia’s words made Louisa’s gaze wander awkwardly.

“What are you talking about?” Mikoto countered. “It’s a quick solution that had 0 casualties for us.”

No one can argue against what Mikoto says. But Claudia wasn’t convinced.

In the initial strategy, first Mikoto and Louisa and their two Magic Units cast spells from a distance to damage the enemy’s defenses. Claudia and her subordinates were planning to attack Port Lirge directly while the forces were in confusion. However, the result was that the enemy lost the will to fight and surrendered after the first spell barrage.

“Understood… Well then, let’s change the strategy for the next town,” Alexandra said. “That time, we’ll have Claudia and her unit cut their way into the defenses.”

“Fine by me,” Claudia said, satisfied.

The group that captured Port Lirge headed north from there and reached the inland town of Chirchanis. Surrender has already been recommended there, and since it has been rejected, they decided to invade by force.

“This time… this time, we’ll be the spearhead!” Claudia yelled.

“Yes, yes… we already know…” Mikoto said, annoyed.

It seems that the battle at Port Lirge was quite dissatisfying. She had been complaining all the way here. It’s not like Mikoto can’t understand how Claudia feels when she thinks that she can finally fight, she can show her skills, but it ends without getting a part to play, but she’s too persistent about her complaints.

“Then cut into their defenses, Claudia,” Alexandra said.

“Leave it to me!” Claudia said.

Under the command of Alexandra, Claudia’s squad begins its assault without magical support. It’s an impossible move for Caan’s Army, but in Ehrland, no, even from a global perspective, magic isn’t very popular. They weren’t too worried about the enemy’s counterattacks, as they would be bows and arrows or throwing stones at most.

In the case of the Caan Army, they first use magic, artillery, and guns to attack the enemy from a distance, so in most cases, the battle ends with just that. It’s the same when you’re on the defensive side, as you’ll be bombarding from the top of the ramparts or attacking with guns. Knight-type characters like Claudia rarely come into play because close-quarters combat between soldiers and knights rarely occurs.

This time it was a specially prepared offensive going against doctrine. If you don’t do it here, when will you do it?

“Charge! Follow me!”

At Claudia’s voice, the members of Claudia’s Unit raise their battle cries and obey. In response, the Chirchanis garrison set up their bows from above the ramparts.

“Dumb bastards! Did you underestimate our bows!? Hold, let them come closer… Now! Release!”

The Chirchanis garrison fires arrows from the top of the ramparts, at Claudia Unit’s approaching unit. But no one panicked.

“Don’t think you can stop us with something like this!” Claudia yelled back.

“Geh! Did they just knock down our arrows with swords!?”

The commander of the garrison was surprised to see that the charging enemy, from the decorated officers right down to the common soldier, was calmly knocking down the arrows raining down on them. They had fired so many arrows and never hit with one. It’s like it doesn’t make sense. Even if you block with a shield, there should be injured people, but what does it mean to not use a shield and not get hit at all regardless?

“Bu-But there’s still the castle gate! With that number of people, it will take some time to break through! In the meantime, throw down stones and crush them!”

While the enemy is attacking with the battering ram to break the castle gate, they can attack as much as they want. Just dropping a stone from above would do a lot of damage. Even so with fewer enemies. It must take a considerable amount of time to break through even if they are right next to the castle gate. Or so they thought…….

“Tear through! Balmung!” 1

So yelled the slender knight in the lead as he swung his sword. And it makes no sense at all. What does it mean for a single knight to swing a sword against the castle gate? But…….

Zuzuzuh… gaaahnnn…!

The gigantic and heavy castle gate started slipping at an angle and easily collapsed. The castle gate had been cut diagonally twice to draw a cross and is now completely torn apart. The garrison instantly fell into chaos when they realized that the soldiers behind the gate were sliced together with it.

“Uu-Uwaah! It’s Claimh Solais!” 2

“Claimh Solais?!”

“Flee for your lives!”

Terrified that it was the legendary “Sword of Light, Claimh Solais,” a mythical item handed down in the tales of Ehrland, the garrison fled on their accord. But they can’t escape. The slender knight rushing through at an impossibly fast speed caught up with them in no time, and the soldiers are cut down one after another. Shields, armor, and swords are meaningless. Those who should have been blocked with their shields and swords were sliced in half still, armor included.

“UwaaaAAAAaaaaAAAhhh…!”

“He-Help me….”

The avalanche of enemy soldiers held down key points of the garrison one after another. The ramparts and gates are quickly taken, and even the guard and command posts are attacked. Many men were killed by the enemy force storming in before Chirchanis was no longer able to act organized and surrendered.

“Claudia! You’re going too far! If we destroy the enemy’s chain of command, we won’t be able to call a surrender!” Alexandra yelled.

“My apologies……” Claudia said.

The battle at Chirchanis ended in a landslide victory. However, it does not mean that they are good just because they won a landslide without losing. In Alexandra’s strategy, she intended to show off their overwhelming power, trample the enemy’s fighting spirit, and force them to surrender quickly.

Despite this, Claudia’s squad quickly destroyed the enemy’s commanders and chain of command. Naturally, if that happens, the upper echelons can’t decide a surrender. The garrison, which did not know what to do in the beheaded chaos, all acted independently, and as a result, it took extra time to force their surrender.

There was no damage to their allies, but it took a long time to capture, and a lot of damage was caused to the other side. Considering the future rule, it is good to show off your power, but it is not a good idea to buy too much unnecessary resentment. In addition, the Blish Army which has to capture one after another does not want to spend so much time and effort.

“If you can’t listen to my instructions, I’ll remove you from the operation!” Alexandra yelled, furious.

“My apologies… I’ll be more careful next time…” Claudia said.

It’s not like Alexandra said anything because she hates Claudia. She cautions Claudia to act as planned precisely because she is more concerned about Claudia.

“There’s no point in saying any more about the past, so that’s enough of that… but please be careful next time.”

“Sorry…”

Leaving Claudia behind, Alexandra immediately got to work. Alexandra’s job is not just directing the battlefield operations. Alexandra is also responsible for the management of the territory after the occupation and the establishment of the governing system.

It’s true that the other party is quiet because it’s right after losing the war. They surrendered after being shown an overwhelming difference in ability in front of their eyes, so there are few people who would oppose them again right now. However, not only that, but because Alexandra’s post-war treatment was appropriate, the occupied territories soon settled down and followed the Kingdom of Blish.

Even if Alexandra does the work that Flora usually does, it is processed smoothly without any problems. In order to be of some help to Flora, Alexandra studied these things thoroughly in exchange for not being able to do manual labor.

“How is it, Miss Flora? How is everyone doing?” Katharina said as she stood by Flora’s side.

“Yes… I was surprised…” Flora said honestly.

It might be terrible to say, but it’s the truth, Flora probably underestimated the wives. But the wives were not as weak as she feared. When she says weak, she’s not talking about strength or magic. It’s about the heart.

Just because the wives are important doesn’t mean you should just surround them in the back and make them caged birds. The wives are also human beings with their wills. That’s why… you have to respect the wishes of your wives. She can’t help but admit it when she’s shown this much ability.

Mikoto and Louisa still have a long way to go. From Flora’s point of view, it’s like child’s play. If Flora were to face Claudia’s swordsmanship, the opponent would self-destruct.

What Alexandra is doing is nothing but an imitation of Flora, after all. But everyone begins by imitating the wisdom of their predecessors. No one comes up with something new out of the blue.

Everyone has definitely worked hard and become much more reliable than when they first met. It’s a mistake not to let them do dangerous things just because they’re important or cute. Flora finally thought about it. Everyone put their heirs on the battlefield, even royalty and high aristocrats. No matter how safe the position is to some extent, even the crown prince can still show up on the battlefield.

Not allowing them to face danger is the same as parental over-protectiveness, similar to child abuse.

“But… is it okay for you not to play an active role, Katharina?”

“Yes, my place is by your side, Miss Flora.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed it is.”

After staring at Katharina for a little while at the end, Flora burst out laughing.

Flora’s party successfully invaded the inland area, and thanks to the activities of the Galleon fleet that attacked the coastal area and other army units that disembarked from important bases, the entire island of Ehrland was unified in a week.

The Kingdom of Blish changed its name again in less than 10 days. Its new name was the Kingdom of the Blish Isles.