episode_0290

Seeing me lost in thought, it was Serpina who spoke first once again.

“As always, something seems to have happened.”

“… … There is, but even so, the fact remains that we will win.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the fact that our army won does not change.”

“Then there is no problem?”

Well, I guess that’s true in general terms-

In cases like that, it’s usually the case that this side wins the battle instead of ‘losing’ something.

But one thing we can be sure of is-

‘I hope Serpina is safe.’

If something bad had happened to Serpina, the outcome wouldn’t have been this lukewarm.

There would have been predictions along the lines of, ‘This will be an extremely favorable outcome for our side.’

But if that’s the case, what on earth does our military lose?

Anyway, since this condition has been brought up, it is necessary to know the intentions of Serpina, who has the decision-making power.

“My lord, I would like you to tell me just a few things.”

“I was already preparing. Ask me anything.”

good.

Let’s do it again. Fitting in. The same thing I’ve done so many times since I came here.

“Well, that’s good. First, let me ask you the first question―”

* * *

Alkanwood Castle, which has become the de facto capital of the Chel Army.

After gathering all the troops spread out across several territories in one place, the first thing Chel did was to step forward and lead the training.

It was an unprecedented act for a monarch to supervise his soldiers in the barracks – but fortunately, such actions played a big role in maintaining the morale of his troops.

The soldiers of the Chel Army were not fools either.

This meant that even if they gathered together like this, they knew that they would not be able to defeat the Serpina army with this force.

Even so, the fact that the man who was once called the best swordsman in Branth came forward and gave encouragement was something that was quite special to those who had been serving in the Branth Army for a long time.

I’m not hoping for a miracle – but I’m hoping that we can still deal a huge blow to the Serpina Army.

As expected of a monarch with a general background, Chel was certainly successful in instilling a kind of noble ‘battle spirit’ among his soldiers who were about to engage in an overwhelmingly unfavorable battle.

Not only the soldiers, but also the remaining armed forces were in the same situation.

Since Chel himself had said that it was okay to step down if he felt his life was at stake, everyone was resolutely prepared to dedicate their lives to this battle.

If miracles exist, the most appropriate word to describe the current Chel Army is that they are fully prepared in every way possible to make them happen.

Even so-

Rather than chasing a miracle, Chel was assessing the current situation more calmly than ever.

‘At this point… I guess I can deal some damage to Serpina.’

I had no intention of winning.

Only to deal a serious blow to Serpina.

Anything to prevent her from advancing to the continent, even just a little.

This was not for his brothers and sisters, like Lin or Kalintz, nor for the landowners of the continent.

The last bit of pride of a man who lived by throwing himself into the battlefield.

The only driving force that moves Chell now is his pride that he will not be unilaterally crushed by Serpina.

From Serpina’s perspective, he was the most difficult opponent.

If I had had other ambitions, I would have definitely been able to pressure the Chel Army from various directions.

It’s not for nothing that they say the most fearful thing is a person without a back.

One day, while doing such intense training every day and personally boosting the morale of the soldiers with my own hands.

“The Serpina Army is coming?”

“That’s right!”

In response to the words of the soldier wearing the red armband, Chel asked in a calm tone.

“What about the troops?”

“I think there were about 148,000 people… … !”

“… … Rinse.”

This side had gathered together 80,000 people.

Although it was a smaller number than the expected 160,000 people,

‘From that girl’s perspective, that would have been the best thing to do.’

Operating a large force was not as simple as it might seem.

Especially when it comes to conquering the Alkanwood Castle, which is located in the middle of a somewhat rugged mountain range rather than on flat ground like this one.

The more troops you have, the more difficult it is to manage supplies, and the slower your advance speed becomes. In addition, assuming you are going to use siege weapons anyway, there is no need to mobilize a lot of troops.

Besides, there are hidden cards in addition to troops on that side, so they probably didn’t want to expand the board unnecessarily.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll make you regret not mobilizing 200,000 people.’

“Who is the commander-in-chief?”

“It appears that Serpina is the commander-in-chief, Swen is the general staff member, and Crancys is leading the vanguard.”

‘I guess the man I’ll meet will be Crancys.’

I couldn’t be satisfied with just Crancys.

To be honest, I wanted to take at least two or three more commanders of the occupying forces as my companions on the journey to hell.

“What would you like to do?”

“I will intercept around the walls. Go and tell everyone. The time has come, so prepare as planned. ”

“Okay!”

The messenger retreats.

Chel slowly reaches for the sword at her waist.

Taking a pause, and slowly drawing the sword – I feel like I was back then, when I was roaming the continent trying to conquer the central continent.

‘This will probably be the last battle of my life.’

I wish I was born a warrior and lived a good life.

I enjoyed getting my enemy’s blood on my blade more than complicated politics.

Even though I was somehow pushed into this situation, I still felt quite satisfied when I thought that the final trajectory of my life would be the battle with the villainess Serpina.

‘……let’s go.’

In any form, it must leave a mark that fits it―

Chel, who had been muttering to herself, slowly left the palace.

* * *

Outside of Alcanwood Castle.

In the battlefield where dark clouds were gathering, Crancys, who was in charge of the vanguard and commander of the occupying force, was assessing the enemy’s situation for the last time.

“Commander.”

The one who spoke to him was Irian, who was standing next to him.

Since stepping down from the position of temporary lord, he has been using honorifics towards Crancys again.

“The lord has given orders to charge whenever the time comes.”

“… … What is happening with the ‘siege weapons’ that my lord spoke of?”

“Ready.”

Irian said that and then cautiously gave his opinion.

“What do you think about the possibility of an interception?”

“There’s a high probability that they’ll only send out a small force. At least to deal with siege weapons. But I’m sure they’ll hold out.”

“Are you sure?”

“Chel is not a stupid guy. He may seem reckless at times, but he’s not the type of guy to take the fight to a disadvantage with his own hands. … … What about Reika-chan?”

“I heard that you’re ready… …but I guess I won’t be able to come out this time?”

“I agree with you too.”

Reika can only attack from a certain distance.

Her magic was certainly powerful, but it was difficult for her position to be exposed unilaterally like this.

Since there was a general who was skilled in mobile warfare to the extent of Chel, there was a high possibility that he would target Reika and persistently attack her.

In a battlefield where friendly and enemy forces are mixed together, pinpointing and attacking only enemy buildings was by no means an easy task.

Of course, leaving all that aside-

If you think about the ‘preparations’ they’ve made, there was no need for Reika to come to the forefront.

“The lord also told us to use the siege weapons he had prepared first.”

“I know. Where is General Irene now?”

“It seems like we’re doing separate missions, but beyond that, well… … .”

“I see.”

The deputy commander is someone who does his job very well, so you don’t have to worry too much about him.

The interception force will almost always be met with a chel, so we will have to make quite a few sacrifices. However, if we can somehow defeat that small interception force, we will be able to use magic or siege weapons against the siege forces.

After doing a rough calculation in his head, Crancys slowly nodded and looked at Irian.

“General Irian. Please proceed as planned.”

“Yes!”

At that moment, when Crancys was about to begin preparing for a full-scale siege warfare with his siege weapons at the forefront.

“… … Huh?”

“Seo, the gates are open!”

Even though the situation had not yet been set up, troops began pouring out of Alkanwood Castle.

‘… So you’re saying the interceptor unit is already here?’

The fact that an interceptor unit would appear was something that could be expected, but… … there was one thing that was a little different.

That’s right―

“Rice, troops… … !”

“They’re coming!!”

The number of troops was greater than expected.

* * *

The outskirts of Alcanwood Castle where the battle began.

Waaaa …

“Shoot! Burn it all!”

“Fuck!!!”

In the midst of the battlefield of Abigyuhuan, the one who shined the brightest was Chell Bruns.

Chel was at the forefront of the advance party, literally slaughtering the soldiers of Serpina’s army.

“Do, don’t run away!”

“Everyone, don’t lose your cool!”

Although the commanders of the Serpina army were trying to control it in their own way, the sight of a grim reaper riding a horse and swinging a sword right before their eyes, coming to take their lives, was terrifying in itself.

As he was organizing the troops of the advance party, a soldier from the Chel Army quickly approached him.

“General!”

“What’s going on?”

“I guess the wizard… … didn’t come out!”

The person that Chel cared about the most.

That was the wizard.

Although I have not personally seen the wizard’s fighting style, from what I have gathered from rumors, it is reasonable to assume that the wizard cannot use magic beyond a certain distance.

If they were to siege, they would probably be even more threatening than siege weapons. How could you possibly defeat a guy who just randomly creates and flies fireballs?

The absurd tactic that Chel chose in the face of the overwhelming asymmetrical power of the wizard was-

All soldiers were to be mixed into the enemy forces as interceptors, leaving no soldiers to take up arms.

In other words――Chel gave up on protecting Castle Alkanwood!

With the sole intention of harming the Serpina Army!

Since we are bound to lose anyway, we must mix all our forces with the enemy’s forces to avoid being affected by magic as much as possible.

A defense force was born that had no intention of protecting the castle.

Chell’s eccentric actions, driven solely by that thought, were able to shatter the ranks of Serpina’s army in a spectacular way.

――Up until this point, things were going according to Chell’s plan.