episode_0033

Clunk- thud

At dawn, when the morning sun was rising from the mainland, a small wooden boat that had departed from La Francia arrived at the ice floes near Valtigrask, carrying four royal mage battalions. The D and E battalions, where casualties occurred in the previous battle with the Republic, decided to wait inside the galleon. Cler’s calculation was that about twenty mage infantry would be sufficient.

However, no one readily disembarked from the boat. Not only were they land soldiers, but coincidentally, the Royal Mage Battalion, who had no one from the coastal area, could not be sure if the ice was truly frozen solid.

The sailors who had followed to row the wooden boat first got off and jumped around on the ice before the mage infantry could feel relieved and stand on the ice.

“I might slip if I get lost in thought for a moment.”

Even if they were military boots, there was no technology like anti-slip on the soles that had yet appeared in this era. They had to be careful not to slip by putting as much force as possible on the toes. Even then, there were frequent cases of slipping and hitting their buttocks.

The section of the sea in front of Valtigrask was quite wide. It seemed to be almost three hundred meters long. Facilities of the port were visible in the distance. Even if it was a port that couldn’t be used in winter, such as a place where fishing boats and ships that would sustain the livelihoods of the villagers could dock, it seemed to have the basics.

Nothing happened until the twenty mage infantry crossed the ice floe and climbed onto the docking facility. It was a quiet early morning village itself. Due to the characteristic of the countryside where people don’t sleep in, smoke from a few houses preparing breakfast was already rising.

“I hope nothing happens.”

“Don’t say anything, Kilian. That kind of talk brings trouble.”

Wigo immediately cut off Kilian’s sarcastic remark. There were several things that could be thought but should not be spoken out loud, and Kilian’s words were among them.

When leaving the port, we could see residents on the streets. They looked surprised when they saw the soldiers, but they didn’t run away or hide. Do they recognize us as Muscovian troops? But seeing the residents not being introduced and carrying on with their daily lives makes me think that maybe the Grand Duke of Moscobia hasn’t arrived yet.

“Major, it looks like the reinforcements haven’t arrived yet. What should we do?”

“We probably arrived too quickly. Even if the Grand Duke delays, there’s no way they’d be slower than us, who departed from Paris. It seems something must have happened along the way.”

Honestly, upon hearing those words, I thought it was rather fortunate. If the Royal Mado Unit had failed for reasons beyond their control, it was welcome news. There would be no need to bear any more risk, and the operation would end sooner. But the world wouldn’t just go back to being convenient for me.

“A Platoon, go to the outskirts of the village for reconnaissance and ambush. D Platoon, ask the villagers if any outsiders have arrived recently.”

“What should B and C Platoons do?”

“If there are suitable hiding places, conceal yourselves. I’ll move with F Platoon.”

The Mado Unit moved according to Clerc’s orders. The most skilled A Platoon was assigned a reconnaissance mission, while the least skilled F Platoon was given a task unrelated to combat. My C Platoon found a suitable empty building to enter. B Platoon also entered a nearby building. Being crowded in one building poses the risk of being wiped out.

Just waiting for hours without doing anything and without knowing when it will end made me start to feel drowsy. Being huddled together in a place where the cold winter wind doesn’t reach made it even worse. It felt like I hadn’t fully recovered from the alcohol I drank in the captain’s quarters yesterday.

Captain Georges said he’d only have a little, but he drank a third of the liquor in the cabinet. He was already unsteady after the fifth glass, and after a few more, he completely blacked out. Clerc maintained the dignity of a fine noblewoman, but in my last memory, she was also drunk.

There were also alcohol-based methods to dispel magic intoxication. However, there was no way to avoid the hangover. I didn’t even know how I got up in the morning, and on the wooden boat I had taken to land at Valtegrasque, I felt like my stomach was turning inside out. The exhaustion and lack of sleep were catching up with me now.

“…… Captain!”

“Hmm?”

“Madam Commander has arrived!”

“Ugh, oh!”

Still groggy, I wiped the drool from my mouth and abruptly got up. The sun was already high outside, indicating that I must have slept for quite a while. Claire’s face, full of anger, was waiting in front of me. And next to her was Mia Hassa, who I presumed had woken me up. What could have happened in the few hours I dozed off to make Claire so angry?

“Marianne Roche, Madam Lieutenant. Criticisms can wait until after the operation. Come outside right now!”

Ugh, Claire’s gruff voice. Startled, I didn’t even think about what to say in response, my body reacted first. As I rushed out of the barracks, I saw several unfamiliar faces from the Royal Mage Corps, all looking at me with puzzled expressions. Their attire was elegant, but their appearance seemed unwashed for days, and their anxious behavior indicated that they were members of the Moscovy Grand Duchy, Ivan Grand Duke and his family.

“Hehe, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Frankia are quite carefree.”

It was clearly directed at me. Rolling my eyes around and glancing at the surroundings, I moved to the front of Unit C. I asked Vigo, who was standing behind me, in a voice only he could hear, of course, trying not to move my lips as much as possible.

“What happened?”

The situation was like this. A platoon that was scouting a little further out from the edge of the village engaged in combat with the Iván Grand Army and the pursuing unit, and upon hearing the gunfire, B, C, and F platoons all headed to the scene. The problem was that while the others below thought they would wake me up and immediately went outside, the remaining three platoon members, without a separate order from above, did not wake me up and instead headed to the battlefield following him. Thanks to them, I was able to get several hours of deep sleep. And during the operation, the enemy leader and the target of the escort saw me sleeping soundly, which was quite embarrassing.

“I apologize for showing such a shameful sight.”

“Haha. Looks like your subordinates were quite tired. Let them rest for a bit.”

“I will keep that in mind. Then please hurry and head to the ship.”

“Marshal’s words are right. We can’t afford to stay put here, not knowing when the pursuing unit might arrive.”

Clare dealt decisively with Iván Grand. One could say it was courtesy towards someone of high rank, even if he was an enemy. After all, he was someone who had chosen political asylum in the Kingdom of Francia.

There were four people who came with Iván Grand: his wife, a newborn son, and two daughters younger than me. The new Grand, who was supposedly established as the successor, and Sasha, were likely older than them.

“Madou, we are returning to La Francia!”

Clare’s return order. It’s really never going to end without anything happening. Kilian said something that absolutely should not have been said. Looking around with a sense of foreboding, only anxious residents watching the soldiers leaving the village could be seen. My unease disappeared slowly as the wooden boat that had passed through the port came into view. And then.

“Enemy spotted at the rear!! Rear… *thud*”

The body of a Madou infantryman from the A platoon was pierced by a black cavalry spear, freezing solid as it stuck firmly into the ground. He hadn’t even had time to apply his defensive spell, yet the Madou infantryman was dead from just one spear?

“Guard Cavalry Battalion!”

In the center of the formation, Duke Ivan shouted, “Yes, the only place where black cavalry spears are used is in Sasha’s unit.”

“F Company! Escort the Duke and rush to La Francia!! The rest, enter the buildings by squad and engage in guerrilla warfare!”

It was a good decision not to form a cavalry defense against the spear infantry division. The 93rd Guard Battalion formed a cavalry defense on the plain and was completely wiped out.

Everyone started running. Already, the road leading from the village to the port was being charged by the spear infantry division. 5 seconds to collision!

There was no time to enter the buildings. It would have been best to fight using the buildings as obstacles as per Claire’s orders, but the spear infantry division’s charge was too swift, and our discovery was too late. B Company, which was at the front, successfully entered the building. My C Company was split in half. And A Company, at the very back, had to face the black spears in a place with no cover.

Thud!!

A sound that shouldn’t have been heard. It wasn’t the roar of a cannon, but it sounded similar. When a spear touches a person’s body, it doesn’t make a sound. A Company, the most elite of the Royal Mounted Infantry, A Company leader Ernest was disintegrated by the black cavalry spears.

“Get into the building!!”

B Company, already taking position in the building, began shooting blue bolts. The bolts they shot were full force, having seen A Company turned into mincemeat in an instant.

Phew

“?”

The bolts aimed at the spear infantrymen riding on horses disappeared as if extinguished, just like a candle near them. B Company, and C Company inside the building, also fired bolts, but the result was the same. How could they win? Once again, it was a crisis. Another crisis after the Battle of Delphine River.

The cavalrymen who dealt with A Company quickly changed their target to F Company and the Duke’s family, who were cautiously running on the ice. Some targeted Claire and me, who couldn’t get into the building. Fortunately, the pursuing force was small, numbering only a few dozen, which was the only consolation amidst misfortune.

Watching a cavalry lance, several meters long, coming at me with a huge black horse was a terrifying experience. I rolled to the side and shot a blue mana, but it was no use. I wondered if shooting a golden mana would yield different results, but it didn’t. As soon as I shot the mana, I quietly praised the gods. Using any power of golden mana is miraculous. If I didn’t want to harm my soul, there was nothing I could do.

However, Claire’s mana was different. She also barely dodged the lance and shot her mana, and this time, the black horse was hit by the mana and perished. Seemingly sensing the opportunity, she drew her saber and shouted, “Attack! Attack their horses! Their defensive spells don’t apply to them!”

The mere cavalryman holding a long lance was not scary at all. A lance cavalry without the force of speed cannot exert any power. At Claire’s command, the magic corps immediately changed the target of the mana from the riders to the horses. At the same time, the horses began to go berserk in an instant. Some riders, unable to defend against the shock of being thrown off, unfortunately broke their necks and died.

Claire used her saber advantageously against the fallen riders. The excessively long cavalry lance put her at a disadvantage in close combat. If she could just push away or dodge the lance tip beyond several meters, it was within the range of her saber. Her swordsmanship, which smoothly overcame the enemy at such close distances, couldn’t be blocked because it was performed inside the range that the defense spells could detect.

I turned my gaze to the ice. Three cavalrymen were about to break through the F Company’s defensive line and pierce the anti-aircraft gunner almost at the end of the ice melt. Even the sailors on the wooden boat were firing muskets, but it seemed insufficient to stop them.

I bit my lower lip. The distance was too far. They looked to be about five hundred meters at the edge of the ice. It was neither the range of a musket nor the typical range of a mana.

Should I bear even the damage to my soul and save them? Since hearing about the side effects of miracles, it’s an inevitable question that keeps coming up. If this operation fails, there might be a slight negative impact on my career path, but it won’t be that fatal.

“Marianne!! What are you doing!!”

Bang-!

Before I knew it, Cler was here, having cleared all the Changgi soldiers in this area and pulled out her musket, firing off her full-powered Matan. The high-powered Matan’s aim became uncertain as the distance increased, but Cler remained undeterred. She was confident that it would never miss.

But perhaps the distance was too far. She pierced the neck and abdomen of two horses, but couldn’t reach the last one. The surviving Changgi soldiers paused for a moment as they saw their two comrades suddenly collapse. Cler disassembled, and the gazes that asked why she didn’t shoot at them.

“Darn it!”

She couldn’t be sure if even the golden Matan could reach that far. All she could do was raise the output as much as possible. Hoping it wouldn’t hit the anti-aircraft, she drew out the power that had gathered in her lower abdomen more than when she raised the output to destroy the disrespectful box in Gran Bierre.

Crackle

The magic stone began to turn gold, and bright golden light spewed out from between the cracks. She wrapped the magic stone with her left hand, sat down, and supported the musket with her knee. A sound of the magic stone bursting was heard from her left hand. Despite the tremendous pain already surging through her due to the fragments of the magic stone and the force pouring out, she couldn’t stop now. Swallowing dry saliva, she held her breath. The moment her body lined up in a straight line with the target.

Ping-! Thud!

The discharge sound was loud and short. At a speed difficult to follow with the eyes, the golden fragment, leaving no trace of the Matan’s trajectory, pierced through the Changgi soldier’s defensive spell and flew for a while longer, causing a huge water storm in the sea before disappearing.

The aftermath of the gunfire instantly evaporated the surroundings, creating a hazy fog. The tremendous spectacle rendered the surroundings silent. Amidst such an atmosphere, I cursed inwardly at God as my nose began to run again. But what could I do? I had to pray.

“With the power of our almighty Father….”

It was like the prayer and halo of the saint who sought salvation in the misty vapor and defeated the enemies. This image of getting closer to the result intended by the god in my mind did not please me at all.

“…I pray in the name of Saint Louis who saved the Kingdom of Francia.”

As I finished the prayer, my runny nose stopped as if it were a lie. Perhaps the immediate side effects of not praying after being warned once before. Or maybe not praying for a while had already caused significant damage to my soul.

The Royal Magistrate immediately left Valtigrask after unexpectedly losing all of A Platoon to the attack of the Imperial Guard Battalion. Having safely rescued the aerial family, at least the strategic objective had been achieved.