Vol 7 Chapter 1 (1/2)

I—

After the Fourth Imperial Army recapture Chaineboule City, it marched to a hill 10Li (44km) to its east, and set up base there

The place was surrounded by vast plains hite clouds and gentle winds

If they weren’t at war, this would be a great place to take an afternoon nap

After resupplying in the west, the headquarters finally had a large tent

In the afterainst time as they forced marched to the west coast Not just the tents, they even abandoned their cannons During that time, the headquarters were just surrounded with simple canvas, and didn’t even have a roof

And now, the new tent even had s to take in sunlight, and was rather lavish

It was guarded with many heavily armoured infantry

In the headquarters, both the cois were present

Thetea

“Please have some”

“Thank you”

After receiving the tea cup, Regis could finally moisten his parched throat

Altina tapped on the map laid on the table

“Sir Jerome sure is slow”

“ He was tasked with all sorts ofthat aside, when it’s time to rest, we should rest”

Regis opened the book in his hand

The book in his hands right now related the tale of a young ain It wasn’t because he was retained, he was just caught by the powers of someone with superpowers that could turn back time Such was youth

Altina poked Regis’ cheeks

“It’s fine to read books, but spend some time with me too”

“Eh? You want to discuss so?”

“Not that… Chat with ether… Is that okay?”

“But the only thing I can talk about are the contents of books”

“That is fine too”

Altina wasa fuss out of nowhere and puffed her cheeks

She seeht be so, but it didn’t feel that way either

Regis tried his best to recall similar scenes which was similar to the way she acts

She was like a girl cajoling a good friend or lover…

Impossible

She was the fourth Princess of the Belgarian Empire And she was the commander of the Fourth Imperial Army, and holds the rank of Lieutenant General

Only fifteen of age, she set her sights on becoirl supported by many soldiers and citizens, especially the new nobles of the south

Marie Quatre Argentina de Belgaria is not like a girl of common birth

In contrast, Regis had very low evaluation of himself

All this while, he could only search for similar situations he read in books, and achieve victory with the help of excellent teaht that he possess extraordinary talent himself

In the end, Regis thought of himself as ‘if a situation similar to the ones found in books doesn’t happen, he won’t be able to do anything’

Since he took up the post of Altina’s strategist— handling the wretched inspector was Eric’sabout Latreille’s sche the trip to the I

He then collated Eric’s hint, Eleanor’s information and the fact uncovered by Altina to set up a way to counter them

When the Seventh I with the classic tight formation would present problee the mind of the commander

Regis thought of hiist

Furthermore, he was bad with swordsmanshi+p and couldn’t ride a horse

He had no charm as a man at all

Because of all these reasons, he ruled out the possibility that ‘Altina was cajoling to a lover’, not worthy of further review— At least it wasn’t possible for Regis

If that was so, as Altina thinking?

“I a story— that’s what youtale like a bard”

Regis smiled wryly

Altina had sure made a difficult request

“What, you areme sound like a wilful Empress”

“Well, not to the extent of ‘tell ht or I will kill you’ like that person”

“What is that!?”

“Eh? You didn’t know? In the past, there was a king…”

Regis told her a story he read in the past Even though Regis had always been reading books, he still understood how he could tell the story in a way toand easy to understand

Not just Altina, even Clarisse was listening intently

He related the tale while drinking tea, and when he was about to finish his tea…

“Brigadier General Beilsch an audience”

A heavy infantry guard outside the tent announced

Jeroeneral who held the title of ‘Black Knight’ and ‘Hero of Erstein’

He was now serving under Altina, but he was still the aenerals of the Empire

Regis trusted him unconditionally in a battle

He entered the tent with a knight who had orange hair

That was the commander of the Second Imperial Army, Lieutenant General Benjamin Emanuel de Beaumarchais

The eldest brother of the Beaumarchais Marquis House

His younger brother Jestin Gabriel was the deputy commander

By the way, the third brother Germain was Latreille’s trusted aide

Regis saw Benja Day Festival in April, but they didn’t speak

Right now, he showed an unsatisfied face after s

The Second Arned to the new Fourth Army by the orders of Field Marshal Latreille

So Benjamin was now a subordinate of Altina

The Belgarian Empire had a deep Patriarchal mindset

Furthermore, Altina was just fifteen

It was natural for Lieutenant General Beaumarchais as almost forty to feel uncomfortable

At the sarand nobles based around the capital, which ed to the Second Prince faction

The political enele to inherit the throne

If not for the ith High Britania that threatened the survival of the Empire, the two sides would be at each other’s throats

He is probably thinking the saht

Will they use this chance and send hie in their political struggle? It was natural for Benjamin to have such doubts

He didn’t take a seat after entering the tent, but survey the surroundings with cautious eyes instead

“”

“Please have a seat”

Regis gestured Benjamin pondered for a moment and nodded

“Alright”

He ed that it was inappropriate for hi alone

Jerome who entered at the sa a chair and sat down

“Really, you are really a slave driver! Did you messed up when you ask the cavalry to transport resources!?”

“Ah… Sorry The infantry would have taken too much time”

At this athered

Sitting at the inneris on her left

Jeroht was Benja his back

Clarisse stood at a corner like an expressionless statue She would only smile in front of people she was close to, and would be as cold as a doll in the presence of others

Altina said to Lieutenant General Benjamin who still seemed nervous

“Thank you for your hard work! How is everyone doing?”

She spoke without restraint, which was her style

However, Lieutenant General Benjamin was like a child who couldn’t solve aat the table with his fists clenched tight

“”

To him, Altina wasn’t just royalty, she was also his commander

But she was a girl fifteen years of age, and the central figure of his rival faction

His cohts made him sweat profusely, and he couldn’t even make standard reports

Jeroed

“The soldiers? They are confused since they were perfor asto make a pond?”

“Well… Even though I explained hoe are using it…”

Jerome snorted

“I don’t understand what you are saying, it’s like ic Should we summon the inquisition?”

“ This is based on basic natural sciences”

Altina leaned forward

“Regis just got to the good part of the story he was telling just now It is very interesting”

“N-Nothing… It’s just a simple tale…”

Jerois with a weird look

“Hey Regis, I thought you are just a strategist, you are actually a bard too? Even though you are so weak!”

“ I am not a bard, but I already know that I am weak”

“During my time in the capital, I hated sissy men the most! I won’t even talk to them if I see them in the palace If you are a man, you should pick up a sword!”

“Then I will counterattack with my lance!”

“Erm… That’s not the problem here…”

“Tch, guys who can only coax little girls with sords are Putains! Garbage!”

“I-I aet coaxed!”

Regis shook his head in resignation

Altina’s face was red from panic

“Hah!? I wasn’t coaxed… I just thought that the story was interesting… Yes, that’s all”

Even the roots of her ears were red

Benjamin rolled his eyes when he saw this Based on his common sense, this was an unthinkable situation

Royalty should be treated with more respect, military conference should be more serious and to the point Conversations between nobles should be ant

Jerome knocked on the map laid out on the table

It was a map that sketched a certain place

Nor the terrain around their own forces, but it wasn’t so It was a map of a place that was further to the east

“Hey Regis? You said the High Britannians will stop here How do you know that?”

“ I already assigned the advanced work party some preparatory work”

“Preparations? They are not deers or rabbits, ould they stay here? Are you going to dig tunnels again?”

“Hion, it would be difficult to drain aater if we dig holes It would be possible for the granary areas, but it is the territory of Duke Chautiene, and they have been raising sheeps for a living since ancient times…”

“Hah!? That doesn’t matter! Ten thousand enemy soldiers are 5Li (22km) away from there! How can we dispose of those ten thousand bastards!?”

“ Not a problem, I have a plan”

Regis didn’t have confidence in his talent, he thought that he was just relying on similar problems and solutions he read from books

“You said that again”

“You heard about the faes Jean 'the Hero of Canekkie Plains’? As a scientist, all of his works are based on scientific research…”

Jeroave him a look

“If I read that book, can I adapt to any situations?”

“Well… Not to such a fantastical degree… Everyone can only come up with a conclusion based on their own experiences and infore within books If it was so they don’t know, they wouldn’t be able to make such a conclusion”

“That’s true”

“ When solving problee they already knew My source of knowledge are books, I can only remember what books I read and their contents, that’s all”

Jeroht about it

He had always dis his words

“This seem to resemble the relationshi+p between muscles and food”

“Ahh, I see People will eat everyday But when youyou have eaten right?”

“I get it So that uy like you is someone who remember what he eats when you move your muscles! What a weirdo!”

Even when Jerory

“Such an analogy isn’t wrong… but is it weird to know clearly where e stems from…?”

“Hah! Instead of that, explain the strategy first!”

“Erm… Sorry”

After knowing about hoasn’t norht it was expected that others think he was strange

The knight Kruger was a second grade coo That was before they were reassigned to the Beilschiment

His strength was top notched within the Fourth Army, and he was a trusted subordinate of Jerome

With short brown hair and sharp eyes, he had a deep scar on his face, giving others the impression that he was very strict

That ht be so, the scar was from a knife wound inflicted by his hen she discovered his extramarital affairs…

Second grade combat officer Abidal Evra was commissioned in the same class as him

Born as a commoner, he was bestowed the nobility title of Chevalier The two of theht corp

Speaking of which…

In April, Abidal Evra was the one who escorted Princess Argentina to the capital and back

After that, he was entrusted with many tasks

Be it escorting Her Highness to Rouen City or guarding the strategist Regis enroute to the Harbour, it was all assigned to him

Up till now, thethe Princess has always been done by the Fort Evrard defense captain's grandson, the young knight Eric, but

Ever since Eric got injured, the escort duties had all fallen onto Abidal Evra

On the other hand, Kruger didn’t achieve outstanding results in his unit, and was now perfor the pioneers

<tl: https:=”” enwikipediaorg=”” wiki=”” pioneer_(military)=””>

“Sigh, what a huge difference I really want to do sorand that will make me famous…”

Unfortunately, such an opportunity never came

I—

Kruger led one hundred knights and headed east But it wasn’t a glorious uard

They advanced 20Li (88km) to the east of the Fourth Army’s headquarters They cah Britannian supply team

The uard the pioneers

The pioneers numbered about two hundred men

They knew they had arrived before the enemy, but wasn’t sure why they need to prepare to caht

Instructions frois were… Unfathomable

It wasn’t the preparation of a trap

There wasn’t anything special here, and after surveying the surroundings, there weren’t even any tall hills in the vicinity

The sun was about to set With the sun turning red as it descend into the west, it cast elongated shadows of the soldiers standing in the rasslands

“Hah…”

When he was sighing, the captain of the pioneers, Ferdinand Stuttgart came to his side

Hailing fro the attack on Fort Volks in taking hly evaluated

He was a short amiable man with a small moustache

“Sir Kruger, our work here is done!”

“Oh? That’s faster than expected”

“As instructed by the strategist, we only built it halfway”

“What is that strategist thinking!?”

Kruger said loudly, and Ferdinand merely respond with a wry smile

The pioneers started retrieving their tools, but there were so them around

“The things left behind are older tools If we kept it too tidily, it wouldn’t look like we are faking it”

“This is the instruction of the strategist too?”

“He is a man who is very particular about details”

“H the heavier items will ons”

Ferdinand nodded and prepared to set off with his pioneers—

At this moment, the sentry from the west ran over

“It’s the enemy! The enemy is here!”

“How many!?”

“About thirty men! They appear to be scouts!”

Scouts will advance in front of thetraps and ambushes

Normally, there wouldn’t be so many of them, and they would immediately report back to the main party if they encountered any enemies

This was to ensure that they won’t be wiped out even if they were ambushed Sometimes, they would capture civilians who spotted them

The civilians would be tasked to carry their supplies, and robbed of their fortune, such things were normal on the battlefield

The face of the pioneers leader Ferdinand turned green

“It’s the eneer, let’s escape!”

“Hold it! If we run off so siist must have considered this possibility”

“Y-Yes We didn’t notice the enemy and set up camp here And then…”

“We will protect you, don’t worry”

“I understand… The ene Gilbert, a merciless man”

Kruger squinted his eyes and looked to the west

“Ahh… That’s right, the Mercenary King is here”

An expert with the trident, it was said that he had never been defeated Not just highly skilled in combat, he was also an excellent commander and had never lost any battles

— What if I defeat him?

The supply unit of the High Britannians will affect the entire war

And the one co Gilbert

The man who decided the fate of the Eeration

If he is killed by er, then I will be the reat war er be a dream Just like Jerome who earned the title of ‘Hero of Erstein’, I will be hailed by the ht even become a real noble such as a Baron

The figures of riders appeared on the west of the hill

It’s the High Britannians

Since the scouts were here, the main party must be nearby

We havethose riders shouldn’t be a problem

They are equipped with the newest rifles, but there are only thirty of theht be infantry, but they are actually pioneers, even though it wasn’t obvious from their appearance

The scouts withdrew

If I challenged hi will probably accept

Kruger was lost in his dream

Just like how the Princess challenged the hero Jero to a proper duel and winning

“Fufufu…”

“Shouldn’t we retreat, Sir Kruger!?”

Ferdinand asked fearfully

I will put an end to this war—

In the end, Kruger sed these words back

“Tch… By the hat else did the strategist say?”

“Eh? What?”

“I think it was… ‘Don’t be too caught up with achieving e like that”

“I-Indeed, an order to not stife for accomplishment on the battlefield is incomprehensible… Why is he known as the wizard?”

“Eh…”

Maybe it’s a nicknaist, that’s all

But could a normal man seize Fort Volks, save the defeated Seventh Arainst the powerful ‘Queen’s Navy’?

“The strategist must have considered this too”

“Considered…”

Speaking of which, he ordered cannons not in range to fire, and archers out of range to shoot… During the naval battle, he also allow a large allied shi+p to be sunk

Kruger broke out in cold sweat

The scouts shouted again:

“The enemy main forces are here!”

They probably heard the intel fro rifles rushed over

The Mercenary King was probably a them

Kruger drew his sword

And issued the order

“All units… Retreat! Make haste!”

The cavalry immediately turn their back to the enemies and ran The rest of the Pioneers either cli about the camp they built halfway and ran off

— da so shamefully!?

Just as planned, Kruger’s unit turned their back to the sun and headed east, crossing over two hills along the way

The enemy was a supply tea the supplies They won’t send riders to pursue for a handful of enemies

After Kruger e detour, he made it back to the main camp of the Fourth Imperial Army

By that time, the sky had completely darken

Imperial Year 851, 2nd June, Noon—

On a narrow road in Lafressange hill, a carriage moved slowly

The blackse compartment

The wagon was loaned by the blackson pulled by two horses The top of the carriage was covered

The Union wasn’t willing to loan out the carriage when they found out it was headed towards a battlefield, but when he explained the trip was to deliver the treasure sword for Princess Marie Quatre Argentina de Belgaria, their attitude changed immediately

The Union chief took charge personally, saying: ‘If the sword is not delivered, it will be a disgrace to the blackse to Enzo

To prove his words, Enzo showed the sword to the chief…

As expected of the chief, he had seen the drawings of ‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’ before, and complimented the restoration done to the sword

‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’, which the Princess Argentina borrowed fro the time of peace Maybe it was done for cere Emperor at that time to hold?

The result of altering it because of such non-issues was the addition of decorative items that broke its balance

Regis once said ‘the art s of the sword before it was altered’ Enzo , and finally restored the treasure sword to its original form

He was proud of his perfect work

The new ‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’ had a thick hilt, which matched the heavy body of the sword

The balance was restored

However, how many people could wield this sword freely?

The Princess was petite, so it was hard to i it

He had never seen the Princess using the sword in battle

Although he fixed the treasure sword as requested, and was sure it was th than before

— Well, he wouldn’t know the details unless he saw it for himself

That’s why he had loaded his crafting tools onto the carriage

Besides his toolbox was his disciple Lionel He was carving a piece of wood, unaffected by the shaking carriage

“Hmm? What is it, Master?”

“Ah… I actually wanted you to stay behind and take over my work”

“I became your disciple because I admired your work This is the ht? I want to see it to the end”

“The other disciples shi+ed ahen they kneas heading into a war zone”

In the end, only Lionel ca

“It’s great that they accepted the job of staying behind Thanks to them, on’t dally on the customers’ requests even if I am not around”

“That’s true”

No matter how important the Princess’ job was, he couldn’t be late in handling the other customers’ requests

If his disciples did their best, he won’t delay the other jobs he accepted even if he didn’t return in time

“For their sake, we have to return alive”

“Yes”

They bravely faced the unpredictable danger

Enzo wondered if this man named Lionel was braver than him, or was he just simply optimistic

“By the e should be reaching the next town soon”

“Yes, the map does say there is a small town around here…”

A canvas was draped over over the carriage to shelter them from rain and the wind He rolled up the canvas and looked outside…

“Wait,” he told the driver

“Where’s the town?”

“Erm…”

“It’s destroyed!”

“What!?”

He thought the towns far away from the main road would be fine…

The fencing made to keep wild beasts aas in tatters

A corpse on one end of the road bored the mark of bullets

Enzo groaned

“ The High Britannians actually attacked the towns”

“That’s too despicable”

Lionel placed his hands on his chest to soothe his rage

“What should we do!?” The driver asked

“Just sneak through here like this,” Enzo answered

If an invading are

Be it people or ite of value

Or rather, if anyone was still around, they would probably be enemy troops

They advanced cautiously

Lionel pointed in front