Chapter 271 - Northern Uminohara, Kingdom of Sertoria
It was after hearing the voice of July, as originally planned, that the first division of the Sertoria Central Army departed the Royal Capital.
The strength of the first division was approximately two thousand men, about one-third of the entire six thousand men of the Central Army. Three hundred cavalry, seven hundred heavy infantry, and one thousand light infantry including archers and magic soldiers, with a baggage train following at the very rear.
The baggage train had a considerably large number of carriages compared to the size of the unit, but since the Sertoria Central Army employed a method of sending the entire baggage train ahead to accumulate supplies at a base, it was not particularly strange. Those who saw it thought they were likely accumulating them in the Western Plains in preparation for dispatching reinforcements to Regnentes.
The reason there were many light infantry was that archers and magic soldiers would be needed as military force to defend the border fortresses and stone walls, which had not existed in the previous war. From now on, cavalry and heavy infantry would be gradually replenished in the second and third divisions.
The first division led by General Victor was scheduled to march toward Nakanohara via Uminohara and the Western Plains after departing the Royal Capital.
When passing through the road that goes around the cape at the boundary between the Royal Capital region and Uminohara, the unit becomes a long, thin column because the mountain ridges press close to the coastline. Especially in Uminohara, they advance in that state for a distance of three post stations along the gouged-out coastline.
From the fortress at the cape to the port town of Uminohara where the Sertoria Navy has its headquarters, it is a distance of seven post stations, which is normally a one-week journey on foot, but it is nearly half that. During that time, the coastline is mostly cliffs, albeit low ones, and other than the villages in the inlets where the post stations are placed, there are almost no private houses. Since staying overnight along the road is also difficult, it was customary for the march to continue through the night when the column became long.
Two weeks after departing the Royal Capital, the first division led by Victor arrived at the fortress at the tip of the cape. After gathering here for a while, they would enter the long, thin road of Uminohara.
Victor, after confirming that all the soldiers of the first division had entered the fortress, gathered the leaders of each unit and held a brief meeting. The content was the arrangement for the future itinerary.
"From here on, we will be in a long, thin column. Since there will be a gap between the front and the rear, I want to set a time difference for the departure times. The front will be cavalry, the center will be heavy infantry, and the very rear will be light infantry. Let us move the baggage wagons after the entire army has joined up in Uminohara."
"In that case, the light infantry will be departing after the sun goes down."
"Umu. The full moon is near and we are within the country, so it should be fine. We cannot have the transport unit and heavy infantry marching at night."
"Understood. Then, I shall convey that to the light infantry."
"I'm counting on you. I shall also go with the light infantry. Select ten light cavalrymen as lead personnel."
"As you wish."
To march with the light infantry was rare for Victor, who had made a name for himself as a heavy cavalryman, but doing unusual things was also a tradition of the Sertorian cavalry. The soldiers who received instructions from their respective unit commanders did not think it particularly strange.
Victor, who had been seeing off the soldiers going ahead while relaxing at the fortress, left the fortress leading the light infantry only after the sun had completely set.
They were expected to arrive at the first post station in the middle of the night.
During that time, a single baggage wagon was positioned in the center of the army to ensure that no one who lost their footing on the night road would fall behind, and to prepare for any stragglers from those who went ahead.
Furthermore, cavalry were positioned at intervals from the front to the rear of the column.
The cavalry had someone riding behind them holding a bonfire, serving as a landmark for the soldiers. Victor himself advanced in the middle of the unit, in front of the wagon.
The column was advancing along the road that stretched almost due south. On the left was a mountain that seemed to press down, and on the right was a cliff where the sound of the sea could be heard. There was also moonlight. The footing was dark, but for Sertorian soldiers who were especially good at surprise attacks, particularly night attacks, it was not that difficult. In the middle of the night, they arrived at the first post station as scheduled.
Soldiers also get hungry. That said, they couldn't very well wake up the villagers in the middle of the night.
In such a case, they decided to enter the pine grove in the inlet and have a night meal... for the soldiers who had been sleeping during the day before, it was, so to speak, lunch.
The soldiers lit several bonfires on the outside of the pine grove and formed a circle as if to surround the fires. They did not light them inside. By doing this, if there were an enemy attack, they could hide their presence from the enemy by fleeing into the pine grove. Branches with lush green pine needles were placed beside the bonfires. This was so that if the time came, they could throw them into the bonfires to create smoke and use it as a blindfold.
Victor also brought his horse into the pine grove a little distance away, tied it to a pine branch, and joined one of the circles.
While waiting for the pot to boil with dried meat and oats, a bowl of sake was served to each person. It wasn't much, but it served as a pick-me-up. They couldn't make a fuss, but everyone's faces softened as they ate from the boiling pot and drank the sake.
The season was close to summer. The moon was high, and there was sake with the refreshing scent of the tide. Although it was a march, the enemy had not yet crossed the border.
The soldiers' hearts also relaxed, and they were chatting happily.
The sentry tilted his head and strained his eyes.
For an instant, he felt as if he saw a shadow crossing the moon.
The shadows were increasing one after another.
He had not heard that the Paratroop Jaegers were coming.
Those coming from the sky were...
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The enemy came from the sky! Alert! Alert! Spread the smoke screen!"
He shouted and simultaneously launched a fire arrow.
A smoke screen was lit, and the pine grove was covered in smoke.
The soldiers took up positions inside the pine grove all at once.
Magic soldiers deployed magic defense, and archers notched arrows and aimed them at the sky.
From the sky, hundreds... no, far more than that, Gargoyles were dancing.
"Use the pine trees as shields and unleash magic and arrows!"
He could truly be called a veteran warrior.
Victor, who had stood up without panicking, leveled the spear he had placed beside him and gave instructions to the soldiers.
Without magic or silver weapons, they would be no match one-on-one.
Fortunately, the main force of the light infantry consisted of magic soldiers and archers.
Among the magic soldiers were those who chanted mid-level holy magic, and the archers had new types of bows with longer ranges than conventional ones and were equipped with silver arrows.
That said, the enemy was flying freely in the sky. They were inside a pine grove.
Naturally, there was no [Skill: Light] magic like the one Jeanne used, and at this point, illumination devices were only deployed to the Paratroop Jaegers. Even with the moonlight, it was not easy for arrows or magic to hit. Compared to heavy troops with shields and spears, it was more than a disadvantage for light troops using magic and arrows. To make matters worse, fire magic could not be used inside the pine grove.
On the other hand, Gargoyles could not use magic. However, their power was formidable, and a single swipe of an arm with sharp claws would kill a soldier wearing chain mail.
If they had [Skill: Wind Barrier], they should have been able to block those attacks. However, the Kingdom Army soldiers who could use that magic were all deployed to the border fortresses of Engrio as Paratroop Jaegers.
If the numbers had been equal, total annihilation would have been unavoidable.
Inside the pine grove, the soldiers used trees and thickets as shields as they saw fit and unleashed arrows and magic into the sky by intuition rather than relying on their eyes.
The white light of holy magic unleashed from the pine grove and the surrounding thickets intersected.
Inside the pine grove surrounded by thick, rising white smoke, shouts, magic, and arrows flew about.
After that, the battle concluded in about two hours.
The soldiers remained lurking inside the pine grove.
When morning came, Victor ended up witnessing a large number of soldiers' corpses before his eyes.
Standing in a daze, before him were those without limbs or heads, and those covered in blood; a gruesome scene was spreading out.
They must have taken [Skill: Holy] at point-blank range. Gargoyles that had become mere stone statues were rolling all over the place. There were so many that he didn't even know how many there were.
There were about a hundred soldiers moving. Although they had annihilated the Gargoyles and avoided total annihilation, it could be called a crushing defeat.
In the village, there was a direct talk from General Victor to the village head, requesting the villagers to guard the road and ensure people did not go to the pine grove.
The next day, the unit that had been going ahead rushed back, and empty baggage wagons from the fortress arrived.
What the villagers witnessed next was a column of wagons with hoods and an escort of three hundred cavalry, seven hundred heavy infantry, and about a hundred light infantry, heading back toward the Royal Capital just like that.
Afterward, rumors gradually spread that the Sertoria Central Army Light Infantry Corps, which had been marching toward the Regnentes and Engrio borders, had been wiped out, that since a village had been attacked, the Royal Capital might also be targeted, and that reinforcements from the Central Army to the Western Plains and Nakanohara areas could not be expected in the future for the defense of the Royal Capital.
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In the middle of July, Mortimer obtained information from a scout that the Sertoria Central Army Light Infantry Corps seemed to have been wiped out.
"Is it true?"
"According to rumors. However, I saw with my own eyes the moment they were hit by a night attack from the sky by over several hundred Gargoyles in a pine grove along the narrow road in northern Uminohara."
It seemed a smoke screen had been lit around the pine grove where the Sertorian soldiers had taken up positions, so it was completely impossible to see the state of the battle.
However, the next day, although he couldn't get close to the pine grove, he apparently saw the work of carrying corpses into the baggage wagons.
"Hmm. They loaded the soldiers who had fallen in the pine grove into empty baggage wagons and returned to the Royal Capital?"
"Yes. Afterward, the rumors that stood in the village are as I just told you."
Mortimer, after dismissing the scout, called his staff and explained. Since there were those who had come from the continent, he did not use the name Gargoyle and called them a special corps.
"Splendid. King Seldic devises truly magnificent tactics."
Those who came from the continent praised the King with both hands raised. It was better to win easily. He heard that the military force in front of Sertoria was about two thousand people, a gathering of Kingdom Army local garrison units and hunters. Even the Eastern Plains Corps, famous as the strongest in Sertoria, was only about a thousand people. They had a military force of seven thousand. Was it not simple?
"Excellency, what shall you do?"
The staff were knitting their brows. They did not think that Sertoria would crumble so easily.
"No. We must not forget the reinforcements from Medioland yet. There is a possibility they exceed five thousand. His Majesty is also taking measures there. Until information comes in that the Medioland reinforcements have been defeated, we cannot move."
"Then it cannot be helped," the staff thought as they felt relieved.
Around the time Mortimer obtained the information about the annihilation of the Sertorian light infantry, King Seldic of Engrio received a similar report from his direct scouts.
That night, he called Servetus, who had returned from that day's road maintenance work.
"What do you think?"
Servetus had already received the same report from his subordinates. It was good news for Servetus, who was facing unexpected struggles with the road maintenance.
"The cavalry and heavy infantry are still unharmed. Also, there are many mages in the field if they are around mid-level. I believe caution is necessary, but I humbly suggest that Sertoria has first and foremost become unable to use magic soldiers and archers in field battles."
"What happened to the Gargoyles?"
"They were annihilated in exchange for the destruction of the Sertorian Light Infantry Corps. However, it is said that currently, the cavalry and heavy infantry of the Central Army are assigned to the defense of the Royal Capital. Even if they were to start moving and come to Nakanohara, it would take three weeks. Furthermore, they will not easily leave the Royal Capital empty. Has the stalling not been successful for the most part?"
"Hmm," Seldic let his gaze drift into the air.
"Next is Medioland. It would be good if Morandine moves well."
At the King's murmur, Servetus merely bowed his head.
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In the middle of July, Victor returned to the Central Army camp in the Royal Capital under the cover of night.
After withdrawing, they once entered the fortress at the cape. Afterward, they had been marching only at night to avoid public notice.
Upon returning to the camp, he went straight to the Royal Palace with a single carriage.
The King, the Queen, State Chancellor Evans, Royal Guard Captain Hughes, and Mary, who had already received the report, were waiting.
"Victor. Good work. I heard that almost no damage was sustained. Your safe return is more important than anything."
"No, I did nothing. It is all thanks to the Priestesses."
Victor scratched his head at Evans's words.
A soldier placed a wooden platform to serve as a step, and when Victor reached out his hand, a middle-aged woman whose face was painted blue and who had many blue braided cords twisted into her hair appeared. A leather pouch was hanging from her neck.
The woman took Victor's hand and stepped down from the carriage.
"Priestess-sama, were you all right?"
Mary went to embrace her.
"Thank you, Mary. The soldiers protected us, and we were all inside the simple magic circle, so it was fine."
After her, about ten more women in the same attire got off the carriage one after another. Each one exchanged an embrace with Mary in turn.
"Priestess-sama. We are truly indebted to you this time. I do not know how to thank you all and the King of Finis."
Everyone, including the King, bowed deeply. Mary also took a step back and followed the King's lead.
"No, no, no need for thanks. Please, raise your heads. That we are here like this is all thanks to the people of Sertoria, including Jeanne, Mary, Beatrix, and Fiona, who entered the orb of her own accord. It is we who must thank Harris-sama and everyone for providing us with a place to return the favor. Furthermore, we have requested and been permitted by the King of Finis to stay in Sertoria until Engrio withdraws. This time was, so to speak, just a warm-up. Returning the favor we received from everyone starts from now."
"Those are grateful words."
When everyone bowed their heads again, Mary suddenly let out a scream and hid behind Hughes.
"I am sorry. Since His Majesty the King is here, the ghosts inside the orbs have started showing their faces."
Immediately, the Queen's expression stiffened while remaining a smile. Should it be said that she truly was a former light infantrywoman for not screaming? Evans looked at the leather pouch containing the orbs with an interested face.
Hughes, having Mary suddenly cling to his back, turned red but moved in front of the King. He was shielding Mary with his right hand and gripping the hilt of the dagger at his waist with his left.
"I-I see. Er, are you all here now? ... Ah, is that so. Warriors of Finis, I am the King of Sertoria. I thank you for your assistance from so far away."
The King, who had restrained Hughes with his hand, expressed his gratitude toward the leather pouch, even if they were not visible.
"What, is Jeanne not here?"
"It seems there is only the King. The beard is fine, but is it not growing too shaggily?"
"The Queen is also here; she is indeed a beauty. However, what remarkably vivid blonde hair. It is almost like Gwyn-dono's wig."
The ghosts, who had poked only their faces out of the orbs, were making a fuss as they pleased, but only the Priestesses and Mary could hear them.
"T-Then, everyone, you must be tired, so please rest first."
While feeling a strange atmosphere as if something were buzzing, the King guided the Priestesses to the guest room.
After the King, who was guiding the Priestesses, left, Victor and Evans remained.
"How was it? The secret arts of Finis?"
At Evans's words, Victor let out a groan.
"They were something to behold. At first, they were just creating fake soldiers with [Skill: Illusion] and huddling in a simple magic circle, but they detected the approach of the Gargoyles in advance, had the soldiers prepare, and after spreading the smoke screen, they spread [Skill: Magic Reflection] all around and slaughtered the Gargoyles with high-level [Skill: Holy] all at once. After that, we were just making a racket. In addition, they painted the soldiers playing the role of corpses with red dye and made them look exactly like the real thing, so when morning broke, I thought for a moment we really had been wiped out. No, I'm glad they're on our side."
To Victor, who was repeatedly shaking his head, Evans comforted him, saying that the Priestesses would also be participating on the battlefield.
"The Priestesses will join up with Harris and Jeanne after this, right?"
"Yes. After having them stay at the Royal Palace for two or three days, they will be moved to Nakanohara via [Skill: Teleport]."
"Umu. Then, I shall move with the remaining soldiers tomorrow night or so."
"Please do. Before that, how about some beer?"
"Oh, I'm counting on you. After all, the beer Evans cools is the most delicious."
The two headed toward the Royal Palace dining hall.
The next morning, the scouts dispatched from Engrio would witness the cavalry, who had dismounted, and the heavy infantry diligently training in turns at the Kingdom camp.
"For now, there seems to be no movement."
"Yeah, as long as they're here, it should be fine. But look at that pathetic state."
At the training ground, the unit commander in charge shouted loudly, but the soldiers were staggering and looked quite precarious.
"It's the fifth group, right? The fifth group is weak in any country. That's because many greenhorns are assigned there."
The soldiers they witnessed were actually the soldiers who had returned from Uminohara, pretending to rotate while doing the training five times in a row while panting, but of course, there was no way they could have imagined such a thing.