Volume 2 Chapter 35 (1/2)
Episode 2 Chapter 35
Editor: Mahou Shoujo Cruiser-Chan
Day 180 after being summoned to another world: (Decisive Battle 7)
”Your Highness! The instruction to march!”
Meltina urged Princess Lupis to stand in front of all the troops.
According to Ryouma's plan, all the n.o.ble’s stationed troops around Irachion should have returned to their respective territories.
Since Gerhardt had switched sides, all that remained was the 2,500 knights commanded by Hodram. In contrast, Princess Lupis currently has 25,000 soldiers under her banner.
The situation where princess Lupis was inferior and being overwhelmed had now been reversed, the knights who stood awaiting the Princess’s command had impatient gazes. Their morale was at an all time high, after all, they numbered more than ten times the enemy’s size.
However, contrary to the Knights high spirits, princess Lupis’s heart is filled with bitter feelings. Despite the situation she was in she was unable to dance in joy or feel happy. The fear of a certain man had budded in her heart.
(This is that man's power... The man who could turn the tides of war for such an inferior person ... I'm scared of that man... Mikos.h.i.+ba Ryouma. I'm afraid of that intelligence, and I'm scared of his lack of leniency, I'm scared of that heart that has no respect toward royalty. That man will leave this country the moment we finished dealing with Hodram. That is good... After all, that was the promise we've agreed upon at the first time. But... What if he were to join the enemies side? I can't compete against him... Is there even a person who can match against him in this country? What if he were to oppose us, the man who was able to make light of both Hodram and Gerhardt.)
She had realized it since the beginning, no, rather she was convinced of it. Despite beating Hodram, anxiety welled up in her heart.
In the meantime, she tried to suppress her feelings of uneasiness.
(No, I should think about this later. What’s important right now is to ensure Hodram’s defeat)
Nodding lightly toward Meltina, Princess Lupis begin to face forward.
”Everyone! Advance!”
She raised her sword and pointed it toward Irachion.
Right now all that mattered is to finally defeat Hodram.
(Everything... Everything I've done is for the sake of winning this war!)
”””OOOOOOH!!!””””
The cheers echoed once again, and the Knights began advancing all at once.
Their aim is to get Hodram Alberg’s head.
Only that.
”Ryouma-sama... Is it alright?”
The Knights led by Princess Lupis leave trails of dust behind them while marching towards Irachion. A group of people watched the knights advance from a nearby hill.
”Yes, there's no point for us to partic.i.p.ate in the attack on Irachion.”
Ryouma answered Laura's question lightly.
Together with these two, there's her sister Sara and approximately 80 members of the mercenary group led by Lione and Bolts.
Although all of them were prepared to go to the battlefield at anytime, Ryouma who is the commander told them that they are not going to move from their current position.
”But young master... If we don't attack Irachion and the war does not end, what are we to do?”
Bolts make such a question that carried the concern of all the present people
”If we don't attack Irachion, the battle won't end? I see... Does everyone share the same opinion?”
Everyone who heard Ryouma's question nodded their head.
Since Hodram did not move his army out of Irachion, there is no other way to end it but to go on the offensive even if Gerhardt had already fallen under the Princess.
Ryouma who understand Bolts concern shows a smile on his face.
”Then here’s a question. Currently, there's only the 2.500 Knights led by Hodram at Irachion. Since Duke Gerhardt had pledged allegiance to the Princess, there only exist one enemy, also known as Hodram. Do you understand?”
Following Ryouma's question, everyone nodded their heads.
Due to the rumor Ryouma had spread, the n.o.bles quickly returned to their own territories as a result, a large number of soldiers had left the outskirts of Irachion. This is another reason why Princess Lupis decided to take the initiative
Only Hodram and his subordinates were all that remained as Princess Lupis’s enemies.
All the people present understand that well enough.
”What about princess’s military force?”
”Around 25,000 soldiers.”
”Sara is right, then now, how many troops does Hodram has?”
”2,500!”
Bolt quickly shouted.
”That is correct, the difference is more than ten times, hasn’t anyone wondered why Hodram chose to seclude himself within the city walls?”
Ryouma's gaze turns toward the distance.
Everyone tried to guess what Ryouma's words mean.
”Do you think that the General himself is not inside the city?”
Lione tried to confirm the thing she had thought.
”Yes. But well, that probability is around 50-50 I guess? As far as I know, Hodram is an arrogant and indifferent man, but at the same time I think that he's a strong man who knows that giving up is a bad thing.”
”He's not going to give up?”
”At first I thought that he would confine himself within the city since there would be no reinforcement for him. After all, the n.o.bles are not going to help Hodram after returning back toward their own territory. With that being the case, Hodram only has two option left, an honorable death or escape... But I do not think that Hodram is going to choose honorable death.”
”Then doesn’t that mean he's going to escape? But still, can he even pull it off with such a large difference in power?”
Lione's reply toward Ryouma was skeptical.
Lione who has experienced many battlefields is fully aware of the difficulty when withdrawing from the battlefield.
It is simple to make an army advance forward but it becomes difficult when an army has to withdraw at a moments notice.
Furthermore, despite the fact that the Knights are good as individual soldiers, they lack cooperation and teamwork as a group, so if a sudden order to withdraw were to occur, they would need proper cooperation to avoid chaos during retreats.
Conversely, if the soldiers are just thinking of escaping by themselves without cooperating with the others, the prospect of them being dead is high.
History has proven this to be true.
Since the knights lack the ability to work together, the probability of Hodram would be closest to zero.
”Indeed, that might be true. Well, to do that he would need to prepare a lot of things... Furthermore, we are only considering the scenario where he would try to escape with his knights, the worst possible situation would be if Hodram were to escape whilst abandoning his subordinates, only bring his close aides and family members.”
Lione nodded in agreement after hearing Ryouma's words.
Even if it was possible, Ryouma felt the possibility of Hodram retreatingwhile leading the army to be very low.
”It can't be... To abandon his people...”
”Young master! No matter how bad a person he is, I don't think he would do that...”
Everyone was at a loss for words.
He may be able to escape if he abandons his subordinates and escapes alone.
However, doing that means Hodram would need to give up the Knights who believed in him and chose him to be their general.
Even for Lione and Bolts, they would not do something so shameless despite being mercenaries and some armies employ peasants and mercenaries to act as meat s.h.i.+elds and for Hodram as a commander of an army to abandon his own trusted knights, no one seems to believe he would do such a thing...