episode_0249

Battle to recapture Zenon Plains

“Uh, what happened? What about Liechtenauer?”

” A sudden bolt of lightning hit us, and while we were looking up at the sky for a moment, we were all over the place…”

Upon hearing that the hostage had disappeared, Tiruen shouted in exasperation to the knights near the Liechtenauer.

“What the hell! What were they doing with so many people gathered together? Those guys called knights!! How can I help the ambassador if I can’t properly protect a hostage who is drunk and unable to come to his senses!!”

“Sorry! Your Excellency!”

“Wizards!! Even though you were safely protected from behind, you didn’t know that an enemy wizard was creating lightning and rescuing hostages?”

“Yes… At our level, it’s impossible…”

“It is a magic power that we cannot even imagine… I think it would have been difficult for us to block it even if we knew about it”

Tiruen looked at the imperial army camp with angry eyes as he saw the knights and wizards begging him for sin.

Next to Yuno, Isabella and Marie, who had rescued Liechtenauer, were smiling brightly, and when the Liechtenauer they had rescued was seen coming to his senses after being healed by Yuria, Tiruen quickly turned his head.

‘Now that Liechtenauer has recovered his strength… his power can be seen as equal. Even though I’m injured… I’m still able to stop the emperor… And although Liechtenauer is stronger than me or the emperor, due to the nature of his swordsmanship, he’s not suitable for dealing with large armies, so you just have to use numbers. but…’

His eyes also saw images of soldiers whose morale had plummeted.

The defeat brought about by the unreasonable Battle of Hippo and the enemy emperor who was slaughtering them without mercy. And the fact that the continent’s strongest master, whom they had taken prisoner, had regained his strength was enough to make the soldiers think about defeat.

‘If you consider the reinforcements, further battles will be difficult… Esgran is doing well in blocking, but we don’t know when additional support will come from the central army or the enemy’s right wing. So, in this war, we must admit defeat and preserve our strength as much as possible to protect the territory we currently occupy!’

Not long after he started thinking, Tiruen’s brilliant mind quickly came to a conclusion.

And because he was not a stupid person who dragged his feet on his decisions, he immediately got on his horse, raised his sword high, and gave orders to the army.

“All troops! Retreat!! Send a message to Esgran and inform him of our retreat!!”

When Tiruen’s order to retreat was given, the cavalry commanders’ faces lit up at the thought that their lives had been saved.

“Keep the army’s formation orderly! Retreat slowly while blocking the enemy’s pursuit, then join Esgran’s troops and speed up to shake off the enemy’s pursuit!”

“Old! I will follow your orders. Your Excellency!”

‘Ugh… this humiliation… I will definitely repay you… Emperor Yuno!!’

Tiruen, who glared at Yuno from the rear of the army for a long time and then slowly began to retreat, crumpled his face in severe pain rising from his lower abdomen every time his horse took a step, burning his desire for revenge against Yuno.

Serious damage was expected if the two masters, who had fully recovered, pursued them, but fortunately, the Balkan Empire army did not pursue them, perhaps due to insufficient forces, and the Tesseito army was able to safely retreat to their base after joining Esgran’s detachment. there was.

But the next morning. The military situation reported to Tiruen after inspecting the troops was more serious than he thought.

“What? The Marquis of Grace was seriously injured?”

“Yes! That’s right. Thanks to quick treatment, his life was saved, but the internal organs and mana hole inside his abdomen were damaged… It is said that he will need to recuperate for at least a year. And it is said that as soon as the Marquis of Grace fell, the infantry was completely destroyed by the enemy’s 10,000-strong reserve force that rushed in to take advantage of the opportunity”

Fortunately, Count Mula, who was reporting to him, seemed to be safe, but about half of the cavalry he was leading was killed and the infantry led by the Marquis of Grace was almost completely annihilated by the imperial army, with only about 5,000 surviving. Duke Thiruen was speechless.

‘I heard reports that the left wing and central army were defeated and retreating to the main camp, but I was too busy healing my injuries… I didn’t know the situation was this serious… It might be unreasonable to return to Zeno’s occupied area. There must be. The enemy’s movements are quiet now, but if we are not careful… the entire army may bury its bones here.’

Although he was in a position to fight a retreat that would result in the most casualties, he had to somehow keep as many troops alive as possible to even proceed with a defensive battle on the Zenon Plain, so he began planning a route so that even the remaining 20,000 troops could survive safely. did.

“Your Excellency. Wouldn’t it be better to retreat to the plains we had advanced from? If we make full use of our strength, mobility, the enemy will not dare pursue us”

Count Mula carefully advised Tiruen, who was looking at the map and lost in thought, but he shook his head.

“No. We will retreat through this place”

The place his finger pointed to was a small forest on the right side of the battlefield where Yuno had appeared in the battle just before.

It was clearly a shortcut that led straight to the occupied area of Tesseito in Zeno, but as mountainous terrain awaited them after leaving the forest, Count Mula threw up his flagship.

“Your Excellency!! Please reconsider your decision! Although the altitude is low, the area nearby is a mountain range! This is a place where it is impossible for our cavalry to move quickly!!”

“Sir Mullah. Think about it carefully. In this battle, the cavalry led by Gyeong lost many horses thanks to the Balkan army’s strategy. And that goes for the cavalry I led as well. In fact, weren’t there many cases where soldiers who lost their warhorses were brought back on horseback by others? This means that the cavalry cannot speed up properly. Moreover, we are now in a position where we have to fight a defensive battle. That means the few heavy infantrymen left in our army are very precious”

“But!! Cavalry is your army’s highest priority core unit! Don’t you know that all of our troops’ tactics are centered around cavalry?”

Despite Count Mula’s protests, Tiruen continued to shake his head.

“The situation on the battlefield always changes. In a defensive battle, a small number of cavalry is sufficient. And anyway, whether we are infantry or cavalry, we are the same Tesseito army. If the cavalry retreats with all its might on the plains, the infantry will lag behind… but what if the enemy pursuers come then? Can you abandon the soldiers who trusted us and followed us here?”

Count Mula was speechless at Tiruen’s words.

“And just because you’re headed to a mountain range doesn’t mean you have to move slowly. Anyway, the mountain ranges in this area are not as rugged as the Dragon’s Breath Mountains, so you can pass through them in a day. Then we can run to our garrison in a month. And if the mobility of our allies is poor, wouldn’t the same be true of the enemy?”

“… After listening, I see that your Excellency is right. And when the enemy’s pursuing army comes after us, this mullah will stand at the very end to protect our allies and make sure to repel the enemy”

Tiruen smiled bitterly at the sight of Mula expressing confidence by pounding her chest.

“Keu~ Normally, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it for me… I’m sorry”

“No. The priority is to heal the injury to avoid any aftereffects. It is you, Your Excellency, who sustains our Tesseito and no one else. So, it can be said that Your Excellency’s quick recovery is the number one goal for our army’s victory”

“… Thank you. Lord Mullah. I ask you to lead the withdrawal of the troops”

Tiruen patted Mullah’s shoulder and praised him for his hard work, then lay down on the bed and began concentrating on recovering.

Meanwhile, Count Mula quickly led the withdrawal, and Tesseito’s army completed all preparations before noon and began to withdraw.

“Withdraw!! It doesn’t have to be too fast! Stay in line and move slowly!”

The morale of the Teseito army, which retreated in an orderly formation, seemed quite high, unlike an army that had lost a battle.

Although we were defeated, not a single master died and not a single piece of territory was lost, so it was thanks to Count Mula’s speech that it would be worth returning to the garrison and replenishing troops to face the Balkans again, and anyway, only the mountain range in front of us passed. There was hope that they would reach the garrison immediately, so Tesseito’s army began to enter the mountain range at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, at the imperial army garrison, Yuno was checking the troops while receiving reports from each corps commander.

“Uh… Your Majesty! I’m sorry to report this…”

“Hmm? I’m sorry… If you have anything to talk about, do it quickly”

The person who was hesitating in front of Juno was Count Arnim, the commander of the 5th Legion.

Then, in a trembling voice, he knelt in front of Yuno and stated his request.

“Wouldn’t it be better to pursue the enemy as quickly as possible, rather than the time when we are like this? Our 5th Corps is ready at any time. Our light infantry will move as fast as possible to annihilate the enemy, so please allow the chase”

“Shouldn’t that be requested from Commander-in-Chief Mayer, not me? This is a battlefield, not an imperial palace, and therefore the supreme commander is Minister Mayer, not Jim”

“Ah… excuse me. Excellency Commander-in-Chief! Please allow the chase!!”

Mayer bowed his head briefly to express his gratitude for Yuno’s consideration in establishing his authority, and then smiled at Arnim and the other corps commanders.

“Do you also think the same? Well… I guess they all think the same thing. And although I can’t say it, I’m sure there are people who are dissatisfied with taking away the opportunity to make the greatest achievement”

“… No!!”

“No, but… But do you know why His Majesty appeared late on this battlefield? No matter what battle is going on, your Majesty is always at the forefront and always tries to make a fuss, making me feel bad”

Yuno pouted her lips at the words of Mayer, who suddenly risked herself and fell.

“No… Why is Jim suddenly so still… How could I have done that…”

“He said that at Streve, where he first met His Majesty… and I heard he said that at Monster Mountain Range as well. And wasn’t it the same on the Eastern Front and in the Adriatic? And when the Archangel appeared…”

It was obvious that she would be at a disadvantage if she continued to listen, so Yuno slapped her hand and covered Mayer’s mouth.

“Ahh… I understand. Please continue explaining”

“Tsk… I understand. In any case, His Majesty took some time to plant trustworthy mercenaries in the mountains they were retreating to. While they suffer in the mountains, all we have to do is preserve our troops and slowly advance towards the Zenon Plain. Do you understand?”

“If you say he is a trustworthy mercenary…?”

Even though all the corps commanders were tilting their heads and showing curiosity, Yuno and Mayer only smiled and did not give a proper answer.

And as for the answer to that, the Tesseito soldiers crossing the mountain range were experiencing it with their own lives.

“Cooo!!!”

” too, run away!! It’s a troll!!”

The sight of the troll roaring loudly in front of them made the Tesseito soldiers urinate, and soon their bodies were torn to pieces, clearly showing the power of the troll in the midnight forest.

*Angry Marie Illustration Medicine Exposure Ver. 1

*Angry Marie Illustration Medicine Exposure Ver2