Chapter 180:

Chapter 180:

Episode 180: The Demon in the Mist (2)

While it might not have been intentional, the treatment of the defeated is determined by the victor. The tone of the captain’s question implicitly assumed Isaac’s victory in this battle.

“If it weren’t for a Holy Grail Knight, such a victory would have been impossible. Wasn’t it a Holy Grail Knight who anticipated the ambush?”

“That may be so, but alone it would have been impossible.”

While the Swordmaster is powerful, and regular soldiers can’t match him, he is not invincible. If ten knights skilled in superior swordsmanship attacked him, he would be hard-pressed. If morale did not break and tactics like the wheel or column formation were executed well, the danger would have been on Isaac’s side.

Isaac actually thought that the true practical use of a Swordmaster was more for assassination than for battle. His highly trained senses made it easy to evade enemies, and his unmatched physical abilities made him nearly impossible to counter unless by another Swordmaster.

Perhaps the reason Elil banned assassinations as cowardly was to prevent a rampage by the Swordmasters.

Edelred asked with a puzzled look, “Does victory weigh on you?”

“No, it’s the battle itself that I find distasteful.”

Edelred looked even more puzzled.

Mors had judged that there was almost no chance the main force would be attacked, a sentiment Isaac shared. While a surprise attack might happen, he did not expect an attack that would use almost half of the cavalry.

If Isaac had been alone when attacked, he wouldn’t have hesitated. However, this was the main force of 30,000 men. If Georg’s army wasn’t foolish, there must be a reason for such a bold gamble.

“This is not good.”

If Isaac’s concerns were true, the closer Aldeon’s army got to the holy site of Elion, the more the existence of the Kingdom of Elil itself was in jeopardy.

Suddenly, Isaac stood up and moved, followed by Edelred.

“Where are you going?”

“Ah, there are things I need to check.”

Isaac went to look for the captain who had earlier inquired about handling the bodies. He checked the condition of the bodies to be buried and gave instructions to the captain that were incomprehensible to him.

The captain confirmed the order several times, but Isaac repeated it.

This seemingly trivial instruction would reveal the answer.

***

With Isaac’s efforts leading to a significant reduction in Georg’s cavalry forces, the enemies changed their strategy. As expected, they chose a route that joined up with Elil Castle, advancing ahead of the vanguard.

The vanguard advanced triumphantly but couldn’t maintain their spirit forever.

“...They filled up the wells and burned the food stores?”

“Yes. It seems like the residents had already been evacuated.”

Mors, leading the vanguard, faced an empty village that had been intended for resupply, and asked bewilderedly before looking around. The vanguard’s goal had been to reach Elion Castle before Georg’s cavalry, so they only had preserved food with them. They had planned to procure or requisition the needed supplies within Georg’s territories, but the first village was already in ruins.

“Did Georg’s cavalry do this? Are they already ahead of us?”

“I’m not sure. From the traces, it looks like it happened at least two days ago. It’s unlikely that Georg’s cavalry is two days ahead of us...”

“It must have been cleaned up by Lianne outside the fortress.”

Mors gritted his teeth. But there was nothing he could do. He moved the troops again while dispatching scouts. The reports confirmed that nearby villages were also devastated. Villages further away were safe, but reaching them would require a significant detour, negating the point of rushing the vanguard forward.

“No, burning the village and blocking the wells. Has Lianne gone mad? Is this your first day at war?”

Mors erupted in anger upon encountering an empty village for the third time. Employing scorched earth tactics against enemies traveling long distances was a common strategy. But neither was this the start of the war, nor their first campaign towards Elion.

Had they burned villages and blocked wells each time, there would be no villages left in the Kingdom of Elil by now. Even changing occupiers had typically turned a blind eye to cooperating civilians as a display of ‘the generosity of a knight’.

Now, however, Georg’s actions seemed reckless, as if this war was their last.

All eyes turned to Isaac.

Isaac decided it was time to apply a long-held theory to Aldeon’s forces.

“There’s no need to struggle to solve the problems the enemies present. We should become the problem for them.”

***

The intermittent spring rain pattered on the dense leaves of Georg’s lush forests. While not heavy, the drizzle that fell morning and evening was enough to fray the nerves of the soldiers, affecting both Aldeon and Georg’s forces alike.

“The boars are coming. Hurry up!”

A knight of Georg’s forces had the soldiers fell another tree to block the path. It was the twentieth tree. Now, rolling it down the hill would block the route, forcing Aldeon’s supply wagons to either delay significantly or take a detour.

Of course, the alternative route was already flooded due to diverted river water.

“Damn, I could go for a warm bowl of soup.”

The Georg knight lifted his visor and rubbed his face irritably, having been unable to change out of his soaked underclothes for three days. The only comfort for him was that they would soon return to Elion Castle for a warm bed and fire. In contrast, Aldeon’s ‘pigs’ would continue to shiver in the rain.

Maximizing that effect would require drawing out the delay as long as possible.

“Alright, let’s drop these trees...”

As the Georg knight began to give the order, he stopped upon spotting someone walking up from the hill below. Assuming it was a soldier lost in the fog, he approached angrily.

“If you don’t want to get crushed by a tree, get lost now!”

“Ah, yes. Sorry.”

The soldier awkwardly stepped aside. The Georg knight was about to dismiss it when he suddenly noticed more activity around him. More figures were emerging from the mist. A chill ran down the knight’s spine as he hastily drew his sword.

“It’s an ambush!”

“Oh, caught on quick, did you?”

The soldier who had sheepishly stepped aside suddenly charged up the hill. The Georg knight was shocked by his speed and drew his sword in defense.

A foolish move.

Bang! Delfric Hilde’s sword smashed through the Georg knight’s sword, helmet, and skull in one swift motion, burying deep into his chest. It was a demonstration of Aldeon swordsmanship, meant to split an enemy in two.

Another Georg knight screamed.

“Aldeon swine!”

“Georg dogs!”

Reyna countered just as fiercely, slashing down with her sword. The knight fell face-first into the mud. The surprise attack was highly effective. In the fog and rain, unable to tell knight from soldier, Georg’s knights couldn’t properly defend against the powerful strikes of Aldeon’s knights.

After dealing with the knights, the soldiers quickly surrendered. Conscripts with little interest in risking their lives for ‘high lords’ were few. Delfric promptly accepted their surrender and sent them to the rear.

Similar events unfolded throughout Georg’s territory.

Isaac had decided against concentrating his troops for a march, instead dispersing them widely like a net across the front. This was a different approach from previous battles, which focused on massing forces for powerful, sweeping movements. The mist and rain that had been a hindrance now adequately concealed them, allowing them to exploit the vulnerabilities in Georg’s forces.

With numerical superiority significantly reduced, Georg’s forces could no longer leverage the advantage of ‘their own land.’

Although well-organized Georg’s forces occasionally probed the thinned ranks of Aldeon’s troops, they too encountered unexpected problems. Specifically, they couldn’t tell if the soldiers emerging from the fog were newly conscripted peasants or monstrous paladins who had come across the sea to slaughter angels.

A few raids on seemingly weak soldiers resulting in the annihilation of Georg’s knights started bizarre rumors within their ranks.

Rumors that a demon lurked in the mist.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read more than 25 advance chapters or support me, you can do it at /Akaza156