Chapter 79: Counterattack (4)
This damned fool
Duchess Lyurik muttered to herself as she listened to the additional report.
It was a soft-spoken remark, to the extent that others couldnt hear. Though it was a slight affront to the royal family, it was a rational criticism.
The Western forces, which had already seeded in the siege, had set an ambush and had posed as if they were struggling with the siege. They then encircled and annihted the troops of the Third Prince.
That much could be concealed. If it werent for me, perfectly performing the role of a spy wouldnt have been easy.
However, the Third Prince didnt manage to salvage his forces. Even if he had been surrounded, there should have been a limit.
If they had broken through at a single point, the losses would have been severe, but they could have salvaged at least a few thousand troops.
However, the Third Prince escaped with only his personal guard and returned.
The surviving soldiers who barely made it out of that hell gathered together and joined him separately.
In the midst of chaos, it meant that the Third Prince abandoned his soldiers and sought his own way of survival.
In truth, even if Duchess Lyurik had cursed outright, no one would have said anything. The messenger had also expressed the same sentiment.
Sigh.
In any case, the fact that those forces were heading this way remained unchanged.
Though it had seemed uncertain earlier, I didnt expect the sparks to fly our way.
The Western forces intention was clear.
By capturing us right after the Third Prince, they wouldpletely secure the southern part of the front line, stretching from the First Prince in the north to the main force, then the Second Prince, Third Prince, and finally us.
In the meantime, maintaining the status quo in the north would change the entire situation.
What about the reserve forces? Are theying our way?
Im sorry, but due to an issue with His Highness the First Prince, the reserve forces changed direction toward his location.
Is that matter over there more important than here?
Forgive me for saying this, but I havent received detailed information either.
Well, the messenger wasnt to me. Their role was to receive orders and pass them on.
Moreover, it wasnt easy for them to arrive here in the first ce. The Western forces had tried to obstruct information dissemination.
In any case, the situation in the upper direction didnt seem to be going well either. Did they also faceplications?
I shook my head inwardly. The likelihood of that was low.
Unlike the Third Princes situation, there werent suitable locations for ambushes on the First Princes front. With a force of 50,000, it was sufficient.
If a problem arose Could it be that the Second Princes side served as a decoy?
They pretended to attack the city and then tried to strike thergest unit. Considering the citys size, it was only natural.
The reserve forces had likely realized thiste and moved to support. This conjecture was likely urate.
From the start, the reason the front line was so wide was not for siege purposes but to disperse our forces.
The Western forces strategy was sharp. They hadnt conquered the West for nothing. Even though it hadnt urred in the game, I was quite curious about King Rohk.
He could have be quite the ally during the war against the devils. However, this time I couldnt do anything to salvage the situation. There were Imperial orders to follow.
Were there separate orders?
No, there werent. It was just information transmission.
Given the situation where the imperial descendants werepeting, did this mean to make our own choices?
Though it seemed somewhat discriminatory to support the First Prince, who was ahead, over us
It was also possible that problems had arisen on their side before us.
Furthermore, it was reasonable to send a force of 50,000 to protect over 25,000.
Youve done well. Prepare a ce for them to rest.
After sending off the messenger who had ridden through the night, we immediately began our meeting.
Amidst the various discussions, I kept my gaze fixed on the map.
After all, our tasks were predetermined. We needed to find a way to win the battle.
Amidst this, a rather ingenious idea crossed my mind.
In a sense, weve been isted.
Up above, 35,000 troops were descending. It was a situation where we couldnt receive reinforcements from our side.
The difference in troops was 10,000. It wasnt an easy battle.
Everyone was aware of this. So, before nonsense could spill from anyones mouth, I got to the point.
We cant retreat or join the main force by going around.
As I firmly stated this, all eyes in the room turned toward me. They were eyes that demanded an exnation.
Her Highness the Princess should not show any signs of abandoning Akiten.
This matter would continue to be brought up as long as Erendil didnt abdicate the throne.
The Emperor desired a strong presence.
The act of abandoning ones own people wasntmendable. Moreover, she needed to differentiate herself from the princes.
The First Prince was struggling, and the Third Prince had been defeated. She needed to show a way to ovee this crisis.
A difference of 10,000.
Its difficult to defend Akiten. The previous siege in this battle caused significant damage to the city walls. Its also difficult to repair using magic in such a short time.
Two of the Princesss bodyguards expressed opposing opinions. It wasnt incorrect. The city walls were on the brink of copsing.
But it had to be ovee. This war. Experiencing it, I realized that I could garner more support from the nobles than I had initially thought.
A difference of 10,000. It was substantial. But it wasnt an insurmountable number.
Enough. We wont abandon Akiten. Even without Schurtafens words, I would have made the same choice.
In the silence, Erendil interjected. Duchess Lyurik nodded, and Emmets gaze was filled with concern.
It seemed to be a matter involving Erendils safety.
Then retreating to the city
No. We cant introduce any variables at Akiten.
I turned my head once again at another bodyguards words.
Its not a remarkable feat to hold back 35,000 with 25,000. While 10,000 might be difficult, its not an insurmountable number.
A few magical attacks would crumble the castle. Rather than defending Akiten, it was better to fight outside.
Youre right. Even if the Westerners have sharp strategies due to recent significant wars, I dont think the Imperial forces, with a difference of 10,000, cant ovee it.
Erendil agreed with my words. While supporting my opinion, she also boosted the morale of our troops.
With a brief exchange of nces, I expressed my gratitude to her.
Sometimes,unching an offensive can change the situation.
Do you have a specific n in mind?
Emmet asked.
Currently, the Western forces probably dont know that were aware of their advance. Even if they know, they might not anticipate a counterattack.
Duchess Lyurik, who was listening, brightened up at my words.
* * *
We waited at the location I designated.
Observing the enemys movement of the counter-scout was a cautious task. Naturally, it was my responsibility.
I sensed the movement of the enemy counter-scout in the distance. After cautiously circumventing to avoid detection, I had to advance quite far before the enemys main force came into view.
The fact that the enemy counter-scout hade this far meant they were considering us. They intended tounch an ambush if they discovered us first.
Illunch the attack if we are detected first.
I quickly transmitted this information to our troops.
We waited for just a day. It was short but felt like a long wait. Our forces began their march.
While our forces were en route to join the main force, we had to suddenly appear as if we unexpectedly encountered the enemy.
As we moved forward a bit, I felt that the enemy counter-scout was observing us through my Winds.
Fortunately, they werent keeping the counter-scout active 24/7, so I was worried that I might have gone back earlier.
The Western counter-scout quickly retreated, probably suspecting we might be about to engage.
Now theyll prepare for the battle.
Thats fine. We were prepared as well. In fact, we even selected the battlefield.
The enemys ambush location was predictable.
The battlefield we chose was mostly t, but the center had a slightly lower area.
Both our side and the enemys side would need to traverse a gentle slope to reach the center of the battlefield.
The enemy would be positioned at the end of that slope, where our sides line of sight wouldnt reach.
As expected.
As predicted, the enemy had ambushed beyond the low hill. I was relieved. Everything had gone ording to n.
If it hadnt, we would have had to engage them head-on.
We continued forward, seemingly unaware of anything. We reached the end of the gentle descent, where we would now need to ascend.
It was then that the enemy revealed themselves.
With the distinct sound of Western trumpets, their formation appeared. The forefront wasposed of archers, the main force of the West known for their skill in archery.
Our formation was within arrow range. This moment was critical.
We needed to convincingly portray a retreat mixed with surprise.
Retreat!
Emmets voice resonated with magical power as he shouted loudly. The entire formation began to fall back.
Although it looked disorganized on the surface, it was a choreographed movement.
It might not have been executed as smoothly as nned, but perfection was impossible.
This much would suffice for confusion. In a short period, we managed to train for this. Arrows rained down behind us, embedding into the ground.
Chase them!
Through my Winds, I heard the enemymanders order.
Descending the slope during our retreat, our speed naturally decreased.
From their position on the downward slope, the enemy had us within arrow range, an obvious choice.
Western archers and infantry advanced, while cavalry came down the nks of their formation.
Seeing their wide maneuver, it seemed they were attempting to block our retreat route by climbing the slope ahead of us.
Conserve your energy! Stick to the n!
Even though we were aware of the n, the situation was copsing even in the eyes of our allies.
Faced with what was unfolding before them, I constantly reassured our troops.
Even while sensing through my Winds, I continually turned to verify with my own eyes.
It was an unconscious tension that I wasnt fully aware of.
Just a bit more.
<i>Fwoosh-fwoosh!</i> The sound of arrows being released echoed thousands of times, followed by spells intertwining as they soared through the air.
The rear of the formation was within arrow range. Anticipating this, I had ordered the shield-bearers to fall back and be ced in the rear ranks.
In addition to the defense provided by our allied mages, I used Winds to slightly deflect the arrows.
Casualties werent substantial.
When we had ascended about half of the slope we had descended, the enemy was about 70% down the slope.
Our retreating formation was now spread out in a straight line.
Now was the time.
I immediately blew the horn. A prearranged signal. All our cavalry units followed suit and sounded their horns.
<i>Ooong-!</i> The deep and majestic sound of horns resounded across the ins. Simultaneously, the entire Imperial forces turned disorderly.
The horses whinnied. It was the beginning of the counterattack.
Charge! Charge!
Cavalry that had been retreating on both sides now began to charge. Downhill. Faster than retreating.
From the vanguard, I controlled the Winds. It pushed against the backs of the horses and soldiers. Just enough to remain imperceptible.
Using the false retreat, I positioned the enemys main force of archers and infantry where they couldnt easily flee.
The enemys cavalry, which had spread out for encirclement, was struggling to find a foothold.
Direct confrontation had the disadvantage of numerical difference, and a blind cavalry charge would inevitably face a countermeasure. This strategy was conceived for that reason.
With the assistance of the downhill slope and some winds, our cavalry moved at a tremendous speed toward the enemy.
<i>Thud-thud!</i> The ground trembled. Intense vibrations surged through our legs and spines.
I could see the panic among the archers at the forefront.
The enemymander hurriedly tried to pull the archers back and put the spear infantry forward, but
It was already toote.
Instead, chaos ensued. The formation had be a mess. Archers couldntfortably fire arrows, and infantry couldnt even form a phnx.
Their judgment had clearly been faulty.
In truth, after luring them into a false retreat, any oue would have been a catastrophe.
Even the soldiers who had fallen for the false retreat and were retreating were now visible as they fled left and right.
Bring death to the enemy!
It was a cry from within the cavalry ranks.
Death to the enemy!
Death to the enemy!
The follow-up cries spread throughout the entire cavalry unit, as if it were part of an oath.
The resounding sound shook the morale of the Western forces.
Facing over 30,000 Western troops, our 4,000 cavalry charging seemed outnumbered, yet it was the Western forces that seemed to lose control.
Amid the tangled chaos, our cavalry charged into the confusion.Author''s Thoughts
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