139 - Offense and Defense
For the Laurel Kingdom, the first battle against the Demon King's army ended in a crushing defeat.
They knew it would be a grueling fight. However, casualties amounting to nearly a quarter of the entire army were beyond their expectations. The plan had been insane from the start, but it now required further revision.
"Do we know how many of the Demon King's army there are?"
To conduct a revision, accurate information was necessary. Hansmann was questioning a knight who had returned from the battlefield to obtain that information.
"No, we still do not know how many demons are holed up in the Forest of Bewilderment."
"I would like to know even an approximate number."
"According to the soldiers who participated in the combat, it seems many of the casualties were caused by traps set within the forest."
The knight spoke of this rather than the "number" Hansmann sought. In other words, the number was unknown.
"Traps?"
"Magic items, pitfall traps, and various other kinds."
"And two thousand soldiers suffered casualties because of such things?"
Hansmann did not know how Ray fought at Nordende. This could not be helped. No one within the Kingdom's Knights knew the details. The only ones who knew were the former Kingdom Knights—those who were now undead soldiers of the Undead Legion.
"It seems the number was staggering. Once the troops fell into confusion because of that, they were attacked by the Undead Legion and suffered damage bordering on total annihilation."
"The Undead Legion..."
"The legion of undead led by Ray Tsukiya. It seems that which should have been wiped out has indeed been resurrected."
"Ray Tsukiya, is it... He seems to be a troublesome opponent."
Hansmann knew of Ray. Ever since he was a slave knight attached to Princess Ekaterina, Ray had been their enemy.
"He is an opponent who even the Ten Thousand General Sieg struggled against."
"...I see. If we are facing the Undead Legion, we will need a mage unit, will we not?"
The weaknesses of the undead are light-attribute magic and fire-attribute magic. This was common knowledge.
"Yes. We believe we should request their deployment."
"Understood. I will arrange it immediately."
"The Commander is also requesting permission for a fire attack."
Furthermore, the knight requested permission for a fire attack, conveying the intent of Larc, the Commander of the Kingdom's Knights.
"A fire attack... You mean setting fire to the Forest of Bewilderment?"
"Yes."
"Will that... not cause any problems?"
Hansmann could not make an immediate judgment on this. He knew the vastness of the Forest of Bewilderment. He also knew that the forest resources in the relatively less dangerous areas near the foothills were being utilized.
"I do not know. He is requesting permission including the risk that we do not know what might happen."
"That is a bit much... At the very least, I need a more detailed plan presented."
Even if they were to carry out a fire attack, where would they do it, and on what scale? Without such information, Hansmann and the others could not even consider the impact.
"...Understood. I will convey that to the Commander."
"Do we know the approximate number of the Undead Legion?"
"Roughly a thousand. Since this is based on reports from a forest with poor visibility and amidst confusion, I cannot guarantee the accuracy."
"I see..."
Combat within a forest favors the enemy. In that case, Hansmann thought a fire strategy might be viable.
"Also... Ray Tsukiya claims that he is the one who assassinated His Majesty."
"What?"
"...Almost every knight and soldier on the battlefield has heard this. How shall we proceed?"
"How shall we proceed, you say... Who did Ray Tsukiya say he assassinated?"
Hansmann noticed the ambiguity in the knight's words.
"Therefore, His Majesty... Ah, my apologies. The current His Majesty. Some soldiers are shaken after hearing that His Majesty has passed away. It would be ideal if words alone could dispel their anxiety, but the Commander is seeking a response for when that does not work."
"I see. Even such a measure... Understood. I will inform His Majesty."
Even though a response was requested, he could not think of one immediately. There was no way he could instantly come up with a method to prove the survival of a person who was actually dead.
"I beg of you."
"Tell the Kingdom Knight Commander not to make any major moves for a while. The Hero will return shortly. The full-scale battle can wait until then."
"Understood. I will convey it."
"Thank you. Please let me know if anything new is discovered."
"Of course. Now, please excuse me."
The knight stood up and left the room. He would return to the battlefield once more.
"...Should we not eliminate him?"
Baudwin spoke after the door had completely closed and a short interval had passed.
"Do you think he noticed?"
"Is that not why he spoke in a way that seemed to be testing us?"
The words the knight reported that Ray had spoken on the battlefield were slightly unnatural. As was the question that immediately followed.
"...I gave the wrong reaction. I was immature."
Being surprised. Asking who "His Majesty" referred to. Hansmann reflected that both were mistakes.
"We should eliminate him."
If the knight had noticed that Neil was dead, he could not be left alive.
"If he is the only one who noticed."
"...Do you think eliminating him will increase the credibility?"
"Someone who harbored suspicions toward us died without returning from the royal capital. What do you think?"
"True."
People would think he was silenced. As Hansmann said, there was a high possibility that it would be perceived as increasing the credibility of Neil's death.
"Let us have him die on the battlefield. We will need a messenger to send to the Kingdom Knight Commander."
"I will prepare one immediately. However, even if that succeeds, it will not be a fundamental solution to the problem."
Even if they could kill the knights who held suspicions, they could not erase the suspicions of the knights and soldiers who had heard Ray's story. Even if they did something about that, the problem would remain. The one who needed to be silenced was Ray.
"We have no choice but to have the Hero do his best. Besides, those he leads are soldiers from another country. It does not matter what happens to the King of the Laurel Kingdom."
"Indeed."
When Fumiya returned to the royal capital, the situation was scheduled to move forward significantly again. They would rule the Laurel Kingdom without borrowing Neil's name. They would begin the moves for that purpose. The current situation was merely a matter of patience until then.
"What is the situation with Anfang?"
"The situation is not good. The north is attempting to unite under Princess Ekaterina. Since Duke Millery has joined her side, King Neil's death is being accepted as fact in the north."
"Is that also Ray Tsukiya's doing?"
If Ray was indeed the one who killed Neil, as he claimed, Hansmann thought this possibility was high.
"It is possible."
"...It may be better to further spread the rumors regarding Princess Ekaterina."
"I see. You mean spreading rumors that Princess Ekaterina has connections with demons."
"This is not merely a rumor, but a fact. And with this fact, the criticism for striking down Princess Ekaterina will diminish."
Neil was assassinated by Ray. And the mastermind was Princess Ekaterina. It was a convenient fact for Hansmann and the others. There was no reason not to utilize this fact.
"...I wondered what would happen when the demons appeared, but it seems we can manage."
"The script is complete. Now we just have to move according to it."
The script was certainly not bad. However, whether things would actually proceed according to this script was another matter. Although Hansmann and the others knew of Ray's toughness, their evaluation of him was still low. Furthermore, their evaluation of Princess Ekaterina and the people who supported her was also wrong.
◇◇◇
The Laurel Kingdom army was camped at the foot of the Forest of Bewilderment. A sense of tension before battle drifted among the knights and soldiers. The Kingdom Knight Commander intended to be cautious even without being told by Hansmann and the others, but if the enemy attacked, he had no choice but to fight.
Two thousand troops stood before the camp. This was not a unit for charging into the forest. It was a unit to protect the mage unit lined up behind them. The dispatch of the mage corps to counter the Undead Legion had been carried out swiftly.
"Have they appeared?"
Figures resembling people became visible between the trees. Finally, the enemy had revealed themselves. Everyone thought so, and the tension heightened further.
"...Is that... is that what they look like?"
What appeared were undead soldiers. As expected, the Undead Legion had arrived. However, their movements were quite slow. No matter how much of a surprise attack it was, it was unbelievable that two thousand allies had been defeated by undead soldiers capable of only this level of movement.
"...No way... Those undead... from the other day's battle..."
A knight considered the possibility that the allies who had charged into the forest in the previous battle and been cut down had become undead.
"...Are they slow because they are rookies?"
"............"
"My apologies. That was a joke that wasn't funny."
Taking the silence of his subordinates as criticism, the Kingdom Knight Commander uttered an apology. He wasn't wrong. His subordinates were displeased that the fact their former comrades had been turned into undead was being joked about.
"In such cases, the mercy is to defeat them swiftly. Prepare to attack!"
Releasing them from their undead state was the salvation. This was a consideration to ensure they did not harbor dissatisfaction even toward the attack by the mages. Almost simultaneously with the units deployed in the front splitting to the left and right, the voices of chanting were heard from the mages in front. Magic emitting dazzling white and red light flew through the air toward the approaching undead soldiers. One after another, the undead soldiers were hit by the magic, burst into flames, and vanished. The attack was a success. That was what many in the Laurel Kingdom army thought the moment it happened.
"...Block the front! Quickly!"
Enemies charged through the gaps between the undead soldiers, slipping past the mages' magic. Noticing this, the Kingdom Knight Commander hurriedly issued orders to the front units. However, it was slightly too late. Or rather, it was meaningless. The demon unit that charged with Ray at the lead fell upon the mages. They didn't seem to care that their rear was blocked. The units that blocked the rear were being attacked by a new force, the regular Undead Legion.
"Move the reinforcement units to the front! Do not let any more mages be killed!"
"Straighten the formation! Square formation! Respond to attacks from all four directions!"
Orders were issued one after another. However, the tide of battle could not be turned easily.
"Enemy magic! Mages! Support!"
"It's no use! Pull the mages back! Do not incur any more sacrifices!"
On the contrary, the confusion only intensified.
"The enemy is too strong! The knights from the main camp! Quickly!"
Finally, voices called for the deployment of the knights in the main camp, who were supposed to be the elite. Ordinary soldiers, of course, and even average knights could not possibly fight demons on equal terms. Furthermore, the front-line units were outnumbered by the Undead Legion.
"...Retreat! Fall back! We are retreating!"
The Kingdom Knight Commander did not decide to commit his direct subordinates. He felt that even if he threw them into the front line, they would not win. Overwhelming the enemy with numerical superiority was the way to fight demons. However, they could not utilize that numerical power because the enemy had the Undead Legion. There was no way they could win this. The second battle was also a crushing defeat for the Laurel Kingdom army. The mage unit that participated in the battle suffered casualties bordering on total annihilation.
◇◇◇
A town in the northern part of the Laurel Kingdom. In this town, which was unrelated to the battles occurring around the royal capital, people lived their lives as usual. People enjoying relaxing time with their families after finishing a day's work. And people enjoying their time at the tavern. In one of the taverns in town, a topic slightly different from the usual idle chatter was being discussed.
"Princess Ekaterina got mixed up with a man who's in league with demons and was kicked out of the royal capital."
"Hey now! If you keep saying things like that, you'll get arrested!"
"I'm just speaking the truth! Why should I be punished for that!"
The man, who seemed quite drunk, refused to listen to the warnings around him.
"Talking about the Princess's scandals in a place like this, of course you'll get arrested, right?"
"I won't! This story is famous in the royal capital! Even a three-year-old knows it!"
Despite further warnings, the man's mouth would not stop. He insisted that his story was fact.
"That man is famous too! After all, right now, that man is—"
"Idiot! You don't know!?"
A voice interrupted the man who tried to continue the story.
"Don't know what?"
"I heard that the guy who was talking about how the current King is mixed up with the Captain of the Royal Guard was snatched up and never came back!"
"Eh...?"
While he had been talking about Ekaterina's scandal, the other person had started talking about Neil's. This was unexpected for the man.
"Royal scandals are things you enjoy secretly among family as a joke. They aren't things to be discussed in a place like this."
"N-no, that's that. What I want to say is that Princess Ekaterina is with demons—"
"Oh, I know about that! The story that she brought demons under her control, right!? It's amazing! She finally did what the kings of every generation absolutely couldn't do!"
"............"
"Ekaterina is in league with demons" had been changed to "brought demons under her control." Moreover, it was now that the kings of every generation had aimed for that.
"What do you mean, brought demons under her control!?"
Just as the man had fallen silent, another customer asked a question.
"It means exactly what it says. The demons swore loyalty to Lady Ekaterina. It means we no longer need to fear demons."
"You're lying, right? How could such a thing be possible?"
The customer who asked the question denied the other's words. That was natural. That demons had sworn loyalty was not something that could be believed readily.
"It's that thing called a heart of mercy. You know the army attacked Nordende, right?"
"Well, I've heard of it."
"Apparently, an order for total extermination was issued, but demons have women and children too. Even if they are demons, Lady Ekaterina apparently couldn't bear to kill those without power."
"No, but they're demons, right?"
"Then, would you feel nothing if you killed a cute puppy?"
He spoke of demons as if they were dogs. If a demon heard this, they would be enraged, but there were none in this place.
"That... I would think it's pitiful."
"Right? That's how it is. The demons, knowing Lady Ekaterina's kindness, were moved and swore they would not resist, provided it was someone like her. As expected of the one called the Saint of Light."
"Heh... anyway, that's amazing."
"Yeah, it's amazing. Because she accomplished what no one else could."
In the end, leaving the details aside, it was just amazing. The surrounding customers who heard this also vaguely thought that might be the case.
"W-wait a minute!"
The one troubled by this was the man who had spoken first. He had intended to disparage Ekaterina, but instead, he had ended up praising her.
"Now, now. That's enough. Before the officials come, let's change shops and talk about something else."
The one who put his arm around the man's shoulder and invited him to another shop was the customer who had first tried to stop the man's talking. In his hand, hidden from the other customers, a dagger was gripped.
"...Y-you"
"Unless you want to die. I don't want to watch any more of an amateur's unsightly acting."
The one calling the man an amateur was a spy from the intelligence organization. He was a loyal subordinate of the deceased leader, a spy who had learned of Ekaterina's accession as Queen, recognized its legitimacy, and decided to serve her. Such spies were not alone. The customer who had questioned the man was also one, and there were comrades performing similar information manipulation in other towns. Although Queen Ekaterina's camp possessed only a small organization that could hardly be called a state, they decided to solidify the north of the Laurel Kingdom in support of the Queen and would not let it be shaken. They were acting with that resolve.