episode_0123

A decisive battle for the fate of the empire (3)

The morale of the imperial army, which had plummeted, recovered slightly thanks to the encouragement of the front-line commanders, but their suffering did not end there.

The imperial troops, except for the guards, went to bed in the early evening to soothe their exhausted bodies after two months of marching, but soon after, they were forced to wake up.

Floating, Floating, Floating, Floating, Floating, Floating, Floating, Floating!

“It’s a night raid!!”

“It’s a surprise attack by the enemy!!”

Why~~

This was because the guards sounded an emergency alarm due to the sounds of drums and gongs coming from around the base.

“Wake up!!”

“Prepare your ranks!! The Prinz army has launched a night attack!!”

The imperial troops, who hastily came out of the barracks and armed, quickly formed their ranks and set up defenses like elite soldiers.

but…

“What is it? Nothing happened?”

“I heard it was a night raid? Where is the enemy?”

“Guard soldiers!! What are you guys doing? Didn’t you hear nonsense while you were dozing off?”

There was no attack by the Prinz army, and public opinion grew increasingly critical of the troops who had been forced to wake up from their slumber and who were on guard.

In the end, even Derian, the commander-in-chief, had to come out and check what was going on. He received reports from the commanders in charge of the guard and made the best judgment under the current situation.

‘There is no possibility that hundreds of guards would have mistakenly heard the same noises, such as the sound of drums and gongs. Perhaps the Prinz army attempted to carry out a night attack with a small number, but was surprised by the tight security and returned.’

“The guards did not hear wrong! It seems that the enemy was planning to launch a night raid but turned back after seeing our troops’ strict nighttime alert! So, please stop criticizing your comrades and praise them for their hard work!!”

Although they were annoyed, the commander-in-chief’s judgment was clearly right, and if there had been a night raid, someone here would have definitely lost their life, so they only said a few words of apology for being annoyed and went back to bed.

But that night, they had to repeat the same situation three more times.

Even the cavalry was dispatched to chase the sound of the drums, but dozens of drums that played automatically due to magic were placed in the place where the drum sounds were sounding. Unable to overcome their futility, they destroyed everything and returned to base after leaving only one drum to report to Derian. .

In the end, the imperial troops had to stay up all night with their eyes open until dawn, and their fatigue was evidenced by the dark circles around their eyes.

“Damn it…. Such a cowardly move on the eve of a sacred battle… I don’t know who it is, but I won’t let it go!!”

Baron Sigvald, commander of the 4th Corps, ground his teeth in anger, but Baron Derian, commander-in-chief, maintained his cool.

“The guy who got hit is an asshole. What is cowardice in war? Let’s put aside our anger for a moment and discuss how to break through the Prinz Army’s defenses”

“The friendly forces are overwhelming the enemy in terms of the number of soldiers, knights, and quality of troops. Normally I would have just pushed it away, but…”

“Yes… If we are overwhelmed in a fight between masters like the last time in the Zenon Plain… there may be a variable.”

The worried corps commanders opened the barracks door and two men appeared.

“Do you guys really think that we will lose to the Third Prince?”

“Your Excellency!!”

The two men who appeared were Count Kashu and Viscount Amin.

“Well… I admit that we were pushed back by that guy Tiruen in the Plains of Zenon. At that time, my body wasn’t even developed… His level was almost comparable to that of Director Liechtenauer”

“Then…”

“But His Majesty gave me the last elixir that I kept in Vigo in case of an emergency. Now my body is completely fine. No, it’s actually stronger!! Now I feel confident even if I stick with that Tiruen guy!!”

Count Kashu drew his sword and displayed the sword’s energy swinging with violent force before the eyes of the corps commanders.

“Since the rumor has spread that I have entered convalescence again, His Majesty the Third Prince must only have Viscount Amin in mind. While Viscount Amin took the initiative and engaged in a duel with the Third Prince, I took advantage of the opportunity and stabbed him in the back”

“But that’s the article’s…”

“In your eyes, do I still look like a knight-errant? I don’t need that kind of honor. Today, I will cut off the head of the Third Prince and present it to His Majesty, and then ask Tiruennom to give me a chance to punish him!!”

Baron Derian nodded his head in approval at Count Cassu’s violent spirit, but he couldn’t help but feel sad at the sight of Count Cassu’s corruption.

‘How could someone who was a more just knight than anyone else before fighting Tiruen end up like that because he suffered some kind of humiliation from that person?!’

“But His Highness the Third Prince is not the only master the enemy has. We must remember that his lover and fiancé, Princess Eliza, also previously attained the rank of Master”

“Don’t worry. A kid who has only been a master for a year or so is no match for us. So, launch an all-out attack as soon as the battle begins. Otherwise, I will cut off your head and order my troops to attack you all!”

No matter how much of a master he was, the principle was to leave the operation of the troops to the commander leading the army, but Count Kashu’s violent instructions were ignoring that principle.

Baron Derian, who was dizzy after hearing the order to launch a reckless all-out attack, sent a look to Viscount Amin asking him to dissuade Count Kashu.

Viscount Amin also looked perplexed by the look in his eyes, but he seemed unable to dissuade Count Kashu, who was a master above him and much more senior.

“….Okay. I trust you two. I hope you win for sure”

Seeing Count Kashu’s appearance shining with violent madness, Derian eventually accepted his instructions and had no choice but to ask each corps commander to command the troops according to each situation.

As soon as the sun rose, the imperial army finished preparing for battle and set out on the plain of decisive battle.

After a formal surrender recommendation document was exchanged, with the sound of horns announcing an attack, the Imperial Capital Corps and the 3rd Corps at the front began to advance simultaneously, while the 1st Corps on the left wing and the 4th Corps on the right watched the opponents’ reactions.

“Why don’t the left and right wing launch an all-out attack?”

“Those two legions alone are more than just the number of enemies. Moreover, the 1st and 4th Corps had fought together with the Third Prince in Streve last time. Therefore, I thought it would be more efficient to deploy after the two of you defeated the Third Prince”

“Hmm…. I understand. As soon as I defeat the Third Prince, I will send you in”

Count Kashu seemed a little displeased, but seemed to get over it for now, and headed towards the front lines with Viscount Amin.

And, looking at those two people, Baron Derian let out a deep sigh.

“Damn, I could really lose this… If His Highness the Third Prince wins… I’ll have to make the next move right away”

Baron Derian recalled another trump card he had, and sent a messenger to a barracks hidden deep in the camp.

On the other hand, the Prinz army, watching the approaching imperial army, maintained a dense square formation and took a firm defensive posture.

“Don’t forget what you trained so far! His Majesty the Third Prince taught you how to live!!”

“If you don’t believe in yourself, believe in the difficult times you’ve been training!! And believe in His Majesty the Third Prince who trained you!!”

Each commander encouraged the soldiers by shouting at the top of their lungs, and when they thought of Yuno, the soldiers also felt their tension relax a little and looked at the rushing imperial troops.

“This… comes out strong from the start? Isn’t Derian that kind of reckless?”

“If our troops were the same as before, that might have definitely been a good method. The enemy would have been ahead in both number of troops and training. But…”

Viscount Leverkin continued speaking as he watched the imperial army’s shield soldiers collide with our allies’ shield soldiers.

“From this moment on, the imperial army will have realized that their allies are not easy”

With a grin, Viscount Leverkin calmly commanded his troops using the commander’s authority he had received from Juno.

“Thoroughly defend yourself! The enemy will never penetrate our defenses!!”

As Viscount Leverkin said, the leaders of the imperial army felt that the Prinz army was a formidable opponent.

Kwaaaa!!

The shields made of steel collided, creating a loud noise.

The devastating impact of dense heavy infantry units colliding with and pushing against the enemy tried to push the enemy back, but the heavy infantry of the Prinz Army did not move and instead bounced them to the other side.

“What is it? Is that all you guys are capable of?”

“I guess you didn’t eat breakfast properly? Hahahaha, when I let you go quietly, go back and eat properly!”

The imperial soldiers were even feeling ashamed at the mockery of the Prinz army coming from in front of them. Until now, I had never seen a unit that was not pushed back by their charge, and even in the defeated Battle of Zenon Plains, they were heavy infantrymen who had never been pushed back in an all-out war.

However, their condition deteriorated due to fatigue and lack of sleep accumulated from long-term marches, and their condition was reduced to a very poor state. On the other hand, the Prinz army, which had become extremely strong through Yuno’s training, was greeting the imperial army in good health, so the judgment of the imperial command was not satisfied. They were in completely opposite positions.

“Now! Let us show those legionnaires what a real heavy infantry is!”

“Push!!”

With a powerful cheer, the Prinz army’s line pushed back the imperial legionnaires.

The shields of the two armies clashed once again, creating a gap in the imperial army’s line, and at the same time, the pikemen in the second line of the Prinz army squeezed through the gap and came in.

“Kaaa!!”

” Block it properly! You bastards!!”

At the same time as the screams of the first casualties in the battle rang out, only the screams of the Imperial Army came from various parts of the front line.

In this way, the imperial army’s general attack began to gradually return to the form of the imperial army being pushed back.

*Eliza’s knight’s uniform illustration on the battlefield