episode_0263

End of the war [2nd Battle of Streve (1)]

“Oh my… Have you seen all the idiots in the world!! I warned you not to fight carelessly!! Are you going to forget and end this war in just one day?”

Just an hour ago, when he heard the good news that the expeditionary force of the Western and Southern Front had reached Streve, Meyer, who was enjoying a chat while drinking hot tea with the commanders of the Northern and Western Army with a big smile on his face, heard the worst news from the Northwestern Front. He burst into anger by throwing the tea cup he was drinking at the barracks wall.

“Ji, calm down. Minister Meyer. Those friends made a mistake in their youthful spirit… Perhaps they were swayed by a seasoned enemy commander?”

“What kind of mistake is this!! It’s the fault of idiots who couldn’t even follow the order to just stop fighting!!”

Even though Baron Sigvald, the commander of the Northern Army, stepped in to stop him, Mayer huffed as if his anger did not subside and roughly removed the hand holding his shoulder.

He then approached the communication magic sphere and shouted into the faces of the two corps commanders on the screen.

“You idiots!! Retreat from there immediately and return to the County of Akel where His Majesty resides!! And after telling His Majesty in detail how you guys were defeated, receive the punishment that His Majesty gives you!!”

The two people’s complexions turned pale when they were told to confess their sins directly to the emperor, but since it was such a crushing defeat that they had nothing to say even if their heads ran high, Arnim and Claudia nodded quietly.

“But… will those guys be able to retreat well? Shouldn’t we send some troops to guard them? From what I heard, there are quite a lot of wounded soldiers”

Mayer shook his head at the words of Baron Hassau, commander of the Western Army.

“The news that our troops are heading to Streb has probably reached the other side by now. Rather than forming a pursuit force and annihilating the remnants, stopping them would be a much higher priority. Moreover, since we fought an unreasonable battle with completely exhausted troops in Enakan, the aftereffects will be severe”

“Hmm… I guess it’s worth it”

“More than that, I am worried about the Streve area. According to my original plan, the 5th and 7th corps should have tied up the enemy masters. That’s why they named Viscount Amin and Ajin… I never thought such a catastrophe would happen…”

“Keu… Viscount Amin was slightly injured in this battle and is said to need recuperation for about 3 months, and the Troll Master was also injured due to burns, so it would be difficult to deploy him in Streve”

“Yes. The key to this Streb strategy is what to do with the opponent’s master power. Anyway, what is this… haha…”

Since it was clear that the enemy master would come towards Streve once the threat from the Northwestern Front had disappeared, Mayer glared at Arnim and Claudia once again, holding his forehead as if he was in pain.

“Well… I know this is presumptuous, but… How about asking Your Majesty to participate in the Streve Front? No matter what anyone says, when it comes to the most masters in our empire, you can choose His Majesty the Emperor, the Commander of the Knights of the Guard, and Empress Lee… Hehe!!”

Arnim, who was suggesting through the communication sphere that he should ask Yuno to participate in the war, was so tired of the three pairs of burning eyes glaring at him through the communication sphere that he had to fly backwards.

“What a crazy guy!!”

“What? You want us to ask His Majesty to go to battle? And that too in a dangerous role dealing with enemy masters? You lost your mind after suffering such a crushing defeat!!”

“Is that something that would come out of the mouth of a Balkan corps commander? Can’t you come out here right now? I guess you’ll come to your senses only if you die by my hands!!”

Mayer, Baron Hassau, and Baron Sigvald glared at Arnim as if he were going to kill them and attacked him mercilessly.

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant… Just the facts themselves…”

‘Really… he looks thoughtless when he looks at things like this… but he’s definitely not that kind of person. He is a brave man who falls into danger due to wrong judgment, but goes into danger to make the best judgment and execute it even in that situation. Even now, it’s probably on purpose for me…’

Thanks to the intensive attention Arnim received, Claudia was able to take a breather out of the sight of the three high-ranking commanders, and due to that misunderstanding, her heart gradually began to lean towards Arnim.

“Keuhm… No matter what this guy’s bullshit is, as long as the enemy has a master, master power is essential for our military as well”

“I think I have no choice but to ask Your Majesty to dispatch Lord Liechtenauer. You may have to deal with them both alone… but in any case, his skills are the strongest on this continent. He can do it”

“…I guess I should make a request to His Majesty first. If that doesn’t work, we have no choice but to withdraw the military…”

There was a concern that calling the leader of the Knights of the Guard, which was directly under the emperor, here and there as needed would be viewed as a blow to the emperor’s authority, so Mayer carefully sent a message to Yuno, who was resting in the County of Akel.

The three commanders were nervous that Yuno would reject them, but Yuno’s answer was very refreshing.

‘No matter how much I am the leader of the Knights of the Guard, if the country needs me, I will dispatch you at any time. And the same applies to luggage, so if a situation arises where you need to mobilize a master, feel free to request it at any time. And in this case, the commander of the Knights of the Guard’s intention to participate in the war was so certain that he was willing to go to the war no matter what, even if his luggage prevented it.’

When they heard Yuno’s answer and the news that Liechtenauer had joined the Streb Expeditionary Force through space travel, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Liechtenauer, who had the worst experience of being taken hostage by Tiruen’s cowardly men and women in the last battle on the Plain of Zenon, was full of revenge, and this time he headed straight for Streve, saying he would repay his debt on the Plain of Zenon.

Naturally, the joining of Liechtenauer caused the morale of the soldiers to plummet to the sky.

“Good! Let’s go as an expeditionary force too! This time, we must completely make Streve part of our Balkan Empire!!”

“The 3rd Guards Corps must bypass Streve and prevent the enemy’s reinforcements and supplies from reaching it!! The remaining corps conduct a final inspection of the siege weapons! tomorrow morning. Let the attack begin!!”

Upon hearing the news of Liechtenauer’s arrival, Mayer, who joined the Streb Expeditionary Force with other commanders, ordered an all-out attack on the Streb Expeditionary Force, and from the next day, a brutal wave offensive by the 30,000 Imperial Army began.

However, contrary to Mayer’s expectations, the Tesseito Kingdom flag hanging on the walls of Streve Castle remained intact even a few days after the imperial army’s offensive began.

If it had been the existing commander, he would have captured Streve a long time ago, but the morale of the fortress defenders was boosted by the fact that Count Mula, a master as well as Duke Tiruen, the commander-in-chief of the entire army and the country’s strongest master, had moved into the fortress with a small number of reinforcements. Soared high into the sky, and under his command, all the defenders moved as one, crushing the Balkan wave offensive.

During those few days, many heavy infantrymen were knocked down by arrows while pounding on the castle gate with their hammers, and while climbing a siege tower that had succeeded in attaching itself to the castle wall, they were burned to death along with the siege tower by a flying arrow.

Numerous light infantrymen were brought in with burns from boiling water while climbing up the walls using ladders, and were killed with their heads broken by stones.

Although Tesseito’s two masters kept Liechtenauer in check by sporadically unleashing his sword energy and blocking his movements as much as possible, they were unable to engage in a direct duel as it was a siege rather than a rotation taking place on the plains, so Liechtenauer was a sacrificed soldier. I couldn’t help but feel indignant as I looked at them.

“Duke Tiruen!! Come down from the castle walls!! I will make you pay for the cowardice you did last time!! why? Am I scared? Are you saying that you’re afraid to fight a duel because it’s not a cowardly thing or your skills won’t do it? You coward!!”

While the troops for the offensive were being switched, Liechtenauer stepped forward and attempted a provocation, but all he got back from the castle walls was ridicule.

“Hahaha, this is a business that will work hard. Lord Liechtenauer. I admit that I am less skilled than you, so it is natural for me to be scared. Of course, if you want a duel, I will do it. Of course, if it is okay to join forces with Count Mula here. Hahahaha”

“…This kid…is good!! Come down!! It doesn’t matter if it’s a 2-on-1 duel!!”

‘If it’s Count Mula, who couldn’t even defeat Cordelia, I’m confident that I’ll survive even if I get involved in the match with Tiruen. In the meantime, our army can occupy Streb!!’

The idea was to invite the opposing commander to the duel and then occupy the fortress in the meantime, but Tiruen seemed to have already read Liechtenauer’s thoughts and shouted with a funny face.

“Hahaha, you’re really hot. But what? The situation seems to be more favorable to our side… If we accept their offer, we should impose a little more penalty, right? So what about three? If you three don’t mind, I can come down. Hahahahaha”

“What… what? Three?”

When Liechtenauer, who was embarrassed, raised his head and looked closely, not only was Count Mula sitting next to Tiruen, but also the Marquis of Graze, who had a slightly pale complexion, so Liechtenauer could not help but be embarrassed.

“Although Lord Grace was injured in the last Battle of Enacan, he was able to recover quickly thanks to the grace of His Majesty the King. It looks like you are the only master left there, excluding the emperor. Sir Amin and that troll must have been seriously injured. Even if it’s a war, they even mobilize monsters… You cowards… I will never forgive you!!”

‘Damn it… Even if it’s me, three is too much… To be honest, I can only survive with just two, but it’s impossible to win… What should I do about this situation…’

Liechtenauer eventually gave up the duel and retreated, and Maier decided that it was unreasonable to launch any more offensives, so he withdrew all his troops, had them rest, and had a meeting with the commanders.

“Phew…. Minister. Is there any way? There have already been over 7,000 casualties. If you keep doing this… it would be better to retreat from here…”

Upon hearing the words of Baron Hassau, the commander of the Western Army, who spoke of a cautious retreat, Mayer hardened his face and shouted with a stern expression.

“No!! If you retreat and your rear is raided, that is also a problem. If we make a mistake, we may have to give up the western part of the Zenon Plain to the enemy again, so we must capture Streve here!!”

“That’s right. You can’t back down. Almost one legion, or three legions if you include the Symenotra disaster, were destroyed, and not even an inch of enemy land was lost!! No matter how much we recaptured the Zenon Plain, this is… So we must recapture Streve even if we launch an all-out attack with all of our legions”

As the Emperor’s accomplishments, such as the great feat of recapturing the Plain of Zenon upon his ascension to the throne, could be overshadowed, Baron Sigvald, commander of the Northern Army, agreed with Mayer’s words and insisted on a decisive battle.

“…Even in a decisive battle, the enemy’s master power is a problem. Currently, we only have one Lord Liechtenauer, but the enemy now has three masters…”

“Shouldn’t we ask Your Majesty to receive at least the remaining elixir from the imperial treasures and restore Viscount Amin?”

“Keu… It is said that Heinrich, who was dethroned during the last civil war, gave the last elixir remaining in the imperial treasury to Count Kashu. So what can I do now…”

When a figure wrapped in a robe suddenly entered the command barracks where all the commanders were groaning and covering their heads, everyone’s eyes turned to him, and the corps commanders put their hands on the hilts of their swords, preparing for a possible assassination.

“Who, who are you!! Take off your robe right away and reveal your identity!! How could you carelessly come here…”

At the words of the corps commanders, the person who broke into the command barracks took off the hood attached to his robe, and his identity was naturally revealed.

“Hohoho, you seem to be having a lot of problems? How… can I help you out? Huhuhu”

The eyes of numerous commanders and staff members widened as her identity was Catherine, the Second Empress of Balkan.

“Woe, Empress Mama!! Uh, how did you get here…. You need to go back to the palace right now!! This is the front line! This is a place where you never know when you might be attacked!!”

*Illustration of Catherine’s secret interior with her robe open