Chapter 70: Battle of Clavicule 1 (5)

Chapter 70: Battle of Clavicule 1 (5)

"Oh, that? Nothing too grand."

Tullius said and took out a map of this battlefield. On the map, the locations of the earthen walls they had set up were meticulously marked.

"All of these earthen walls were constructed normally but with simple magic carved into them. After all, the material is earth, so we can't use advanced magic."

"That sounds impossible......."

It was Alfred who muttered in dismay.

"Earthen walls large enough to protect 10,000 soldiers? Do you mean to tell me that you have engraved protective markings on each one of them? Not just that. You claim that its easy, but that doesn't explain how they were able to withstand St. Gallen's attack unscathed!"

The magic that the enemy army unleashed was the mid-tier flame magic "Flame Lance". It's not ridiculously powerful that it could destroy a fortress in a single hit, but it was known for its high penetrating power and firepower. Walls protected with simple magic should have been easily pierced by such magic."

Tullius seemed to be taken by surprise.

"Huh? Didn't you hear the transmission earlier, Al-san?"

"Huh?"

Alfred tried to recall if he had missed any detail. The huge amount of communication that Uni had just received. It was more than the level of a lot of information so he couldn't grasp all of it. It would be more abnormal for him to be able to understand all the information like Uni did.

Nevertheless, after reexamining what he heard in bits and pieces, he eventually stopped at a sentence that seemed to be what Tullius was suggesting.

Damage to the barrier wall, restoration works to be started immediately.

"Is it being restored after being damaged?"

"Yes. Very simple, isn't it? After all, the walls are just made of soil. Plenty to be found everywhere. With a little bit of alchemy, most of the holes can be plugged."

The alchemist directing the battlefield said so without a sweat.

But the words also contained something else that was truly frightening.

"With a little bit of alchemy? Could it be that all of the people on the other end of the communications are people capable of alchemy?"

"Yes. They are all my slaves. I'm very good at training my slaves, even though I look like this."

Alfred was truly astonished this time.

Spread everywhere behind the earthen walls were slaves skilled in alchemy? How is that possible? How could there be so many people under a mere count of the frontier - or rather, a man who had only been a viscount until a while ago?

At the same time, his previous doubts were answered.

Indeed. With many alchemists, it would be easy to apply protective arts to all the earthen walls.

Her reply was immediate.

"Letting the militia fight while hiding above is not a good look for the Imperial Guards. Originally, we accepted your invitation to fight here. It doesn't matter if it's the front line or the enemy's main camp, you can throw us anywhere you like. We will fight as we please, survive as we please, and if our fortunes are not good, we will die as we please."

Alfred stared at Elisha.

Are you sure? His eyes were saying.

Lavallee sent them here because he had foreseen the war and wanted to make it look like he had taken corrective measures, as well as to conduct reconnaissance to determine the strength of Tullius' forces. This Count could be their enemy. Elisha must have been aware of the danger of this man's existence.

However, not fighting when they should be fighting was, as Elisha declared earlier, a disservice to their name. How could they avert their eyes from their unreliable allies because they were too busy scheming and plotting? It would be a shame to their pride as knights.

She was sorry to the political schemers who had been helpful to her and the Second Order, but their first priority was to defeat the enemy. After that, the politicians can slowly work out the details after the war. None of her business. Elisha Rosmond Balbastre is one that fights.

The Count bowed his head to her.

"Reassuring words from the Second Orders Commander. I think thats why all your friends support you. Well then."

He presented to her a communication device and a map of the battle area.

"Whenever we see a change in the battle situation, we will communicate the point which needs your support. It would be best if you moved accordingly."

"Wow....... This is a very well demarcated map. The cover areas are lined up vertically as , , and , and the horizontal rows are numbers. So it's like this? If I'm told -05, I should be going for the third row and fifth from the left?"

"Yes. That's correct. As you can see, Uni is the one directing everybody is that alright?"

"Don't worry about it. As I said some time ago, the Second Order also has personnel who were once slaves. I don't care about status....... Let's go, Al."

"Yes, Commander."

After saying this, she left the camp with her right hand man in tow.

Tullius and Uni were the only ones seeing them off.

Eventually, when the Second Order was far enough away from the main camp, Tullius spoke.

"Then again, the muskets aren't as effective as I thought they would be either. I was expecting to get a higher kill ratio, despite the lack of training."

"With all due respect, Master. I suspect that a front-loaded musket would be difficult to manoeuvre in a tight space."

Uni pointed out.

Every time a person fires, he would have to bring the muzzle of the gun to the front, sweep the ramrod in and measure the amount of gunpowder. It was a painstaking task to do behind their cramped quarters behind the earthen walls.

"Also, there is a problem with the matchlock system. When firing, smoke and sparks scatter everywhere and soldiers are afraid of being burned or dislike the smoke, so they need more space."

"You mean reduce the density of the barrage? Hmm, I hadn't noticed that....... I hadn't experimented with simultaneous firing on such a large scale."