Ch.232Rotation (5)

“A detour?!”

“Most are blocked, and while a few remain, the circumstances clearly indicate they’re traps!!”

“How can you be so certain?”

“They’ve blocked every other detour but deliberately left a few open. The Rotaring bastards are openly luring us in.”

Meanwhile, the Imperial cavalry attempting to flank and attack the Rotaring army from the sides and rear find themselves blocked by massive walls.

Rotaring’s defenses against the basic hammer and anvil tactic are exceptionally thorough.

Despite the Imperial army’s forced march to arrive as quickly as possible, the Rotaring forces had set up numerous obstacles as if they’d had a month to prepare.

“…Tch, you’re right.”

The Imperial center—their anvil—may outnumber Rotaring’s central forces, but their quality is so poor that they cannot possibly win through direct confrontation. The Empire’s only path to victory is to use their hammer effectively, striking from the sides and rear while Rotaring is focused on the anvil.

But with such perfect defenses in place, things have gone terribly wrong. If they proceed, they’ll likely be caught in traps before even reaching Rotaring’s flanks.

“Should we try a wider detour? No, that won’t work—there’s forest further back.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. And beyond the forest lies a river. It’s not suitable terrain for our cavalry.”

“And… right, isn’t that forest where our advance party is surrounded?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then there must be many Rotaring troops stationed there as well. Even if we’re lucky enough to rescue our surrounded forces, they’d be in no condition to fight… Damn it.”

The Imperial hammer force falls into deep contemplation.

If they proceed as planned, they’ll fall into Rotaring’s traps. A wider detour offers nothing due to unfavorable terrain. Yet returning to the main force would guarantee defeat, as the anvil would certainly lose in a direct confrontation.

“…We charge.”

“Your Excellency?”

“You all know it—we have no options in going further back or returning to the main force. Better to aim at breaking through their traps.”

The deliberation didn’t last long.

As cavalry is a position where every second counts, those belonging to such units tend to share similar temperaments.

“Your Excellency is right!!”

“Let’s teach those Rotaring bastards a lesson for setting traps while leaving passages open!!”

Having reached a conclusion, the cavalry charges with one mind toward the obvious trap.

But this is the wrong decision.

While it might have been the best choice given their limited information, the Imperial forces currently have no way to capitalize on any advantage gained from a flank attack.

Because the anvil that should utilize that advantage is being ground to dust, literally.

……….

“There’s space ahead!! Why aren’t you following?!”

“The flames are too intense!!”

“We’re short-handed because of the bomb defenses! Just wait a bit longer!!”

Despite numerous sacrifices, the Imperial forces can’t even break through Rotaring’s conscript front line.

The wall of spears formed by Rotaring’s conscripts inflicts massive damage on the Imperial forces despite simply standing their ground.

Neeeiiigh—!

“Damn it, they’re packed too tightly!!”

“Retreat for now!! We can’t move our own forces!!”

The Imperial forces can no longer advance.

For an army that must keep moving, the inability to advance is devastating in itself.

The Imperial cavalry is shocked that mere conscript spearmen hold their ground firmly even in the face of a cavalry charge.

Breaking this stalemate would require heavily armored infantry or heavy cavalry to tear through the spears, but unfortunately, that’s impossible.

Rat-tat-tat—!

“Guhak!”

Because lead bullets occasionally fly through that wall of spears.

Whether wearing cloth or iron armor, all fall equally to bullets that end lives with a single shot. Heavy armor means little.

And those fallen heavy infantry and cavalry become excellent barricades, hindering Imperial movement as they lie on the ground.

Bwooooo—!

“Charge trumpet? What—Enemy! Rotaring cavalry!!”

“Brace for impact on the flank!!”

What truly seals the Imperial army’s fate is Rotaring’s cavalry.

Unlike the Imperial cavalry that chose to make a wide detour to strike the enemy’s flank, Rotaring’s cavalry chose to strike the enemy’s flank without any detour.

Rotaring’s cavalry charges into the battlefield where the front lines clash, mercilessly attacking the Imperial rear and flanks.

Clang—!!

“Good, we held them off!!”

“When will our cavalry arrive?!”

Of course, the well-trained Imperial vanguard quickly forms a formation to counter the cavalry charge.

Since flanking infantry with cavalry is a basic tactic, the experienced Imperial forces calmly block Rotaring’s cavalry charge.

But what comes next is unexpected.

“Grrrr…”

“Th-these bastards are coming forward!!”

The Rotaring conscripts who had been merely maintaining their position suddenly begin advancing.

Imperial soldiers get their throats pierced by the advancing wall of spears, dying as they foam blood from their wounds. Seeing this, other Imperial soldiers panic and hurriedly reform to face the spear wall.

Kwaaang—!

“Aaaaargh!!”

“Charge!! For His Majesty the King!!”

But that’s not the end.

The Imperial forces, who had clustered together to counter the cavalry, have their formation instantly shattered by shrapnel bombs, scattering them in all directions. Rotaring’s knights and regular troops, who had avoided unnecessary direct confrontation and waited only for the right moment, seize the opportunity and charge.

After breaking through the defensive formation, defending against cavalry, enduring bomb explosions, and now facing Rotaring’s counterattack—the Imperial forces, having experienced so much in such a short time, are in complete disarray and unable to properly counter Rotaring’s offensive.

Bwooooo—!!

“En-enemy cavalry coming again—Guh, guhak…!”

Imperial soldiers knocked to the ground by shrapnel bombs, those confused after changing formation multiple times, those hesitating over whether to face spearmen, cavalry, or infantry.

All meet the same death equally.

Reinforcements should support them, but as mentioned earlier, the distance between the front and rear lines has widened considerably due to continuous bomb attacks, making such support long gone.

The Imperial forces, who charged proudly for justice, glory, and revenge, meet an empty death.

……….

“Wh-what is this…”

The Imperial Emperor and surrounding nobles watching from behind are deeply shocked.

They knew there would be differences, but not to this extent. Their armor shatters as easily as seashells.

One hour after the battle began, none of the Imperial high command feels the same as they did an hour ago.

“…Spread out wide on both sides and charge. We can’t retreat now, can we?”

However, the Emperor makes a decision completely different from their sentiments.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to retreat and plan for the future?”

“Nonsense. If we retreat here, do you think Rotaring will leave us be? They will surely pursue. And the greatest casualties in battle always occur during retreat.”

The Emperor’s words aren’t wrong. Generally, battle casualties are highest when retreat is ordered and formations collapse.

However, this applies only when combat strength is relatively equal or the difference is small.

If they continue fighting when there’s such a stark difference in combat power, the casualties will accumulate into a terrible result, but the Emperor deliberately ignores this fact.

Because retreating or surrendering here would mean no future for the Empire.

“If we spread our forces wide on both sides, we can effectively counter Rotaring’s various weapons. Move quickly so as not to render meaningless the sacrifices of Imperial citizens who died reaching the enemy’s front line!!”

“Y-Yes!!”

Not only is the previous Emperor’s honor tarnished, but the current Emperor’s authority is also dragged through the mud.

Nobles who suffer great losses in war will certainly harbor significant discontent, which will naturally be directed at the Emperor.

And that discontent will bring the Empire’s conflicts—which the previous Emperor had managed to resolve—back to the surface, shaking the Empire to its core.

Yet continuing to fight means meaninglessly grinding lives in a battle they cannot win.

They cannot fight, cannot retreat, and cannot surrender.

‘Are they really… really going to end it all?’

Resolving this dilemma requires only a preemptive offer from the Kingdom of Rotaring, but unfortunately, Claude, Rotaring’s ruler, has no intention of making any proposals to the Empire.

The Empire maintained its pride, prestige, and honor by refusing to bend, but seeing this attitude, Claude judged that the Empire had no will to make peace.

Claude has simply decided to completely finish off the Empire now, in preparation for all future wars.