Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part2 (1/2)

Translator Corner

This is Yukkuri demasu!

As always, Yukkuri is swamped by real life… I

couldn’t get any break in my work schedule until October… But I prioritize

Genjitsu translations, since I feel bad for Larvyde.

The translations will be finished… As soon

as I can breathe…… I miss my hikkiNEET days…. working is such a pain……

DISCLAIMER: There is no

guarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I was

wrong.

Author:

Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)

Translator:

Yukkuri Oniisan

Editor, Proofreader:

So-Chintzy

Postwar Arc

Chapter 3: The Negotiation B

「Whoa,

what a superb view.」(Souma)

Looking down from the ramparts of

Van, I could see the formation of fifty thousand soldiers from the Elfrieden

Army around Amidonia, and on the opposite side, I could see the formation of about

fifty thousand soldiers from the Grand Chaos Empire Army. By the Empire’s side

was the five thousand men strong Amidonian Army, so the total was close to about

sixty thousand men. The number of soldiers was more numerous than the previous

battle and were all gathered right beneath my eyes.

「If

you look around, the gathering of an incoming large enemy army, how fun♪」[1](Souma)

「What’s

with that song?」(Liscia)

「It’s

a modified form of a song from a war period in my country……something like that.」(Souma)

The melody is 『close

and open』. My granny once said, 「『close

and open』was originally a foreign folk song. When it first

arrived in j.a.pan the lyric is 『If you look around, the green willow mixed together

with the sakura flower』」. The song I sang just now was a modified version of

the 『If you look around』 song. Liscia, who stood beside me, replied in

astonishment.

「What

was the occasion for that song? If that army really came to attack, what would

happen?」(Liscia)

「First,

without a doubt, we will lose. Right, Hakuya?」(Souma)

Hakuya who also stood beside me

nodded at my question.

「Just

as you said, Your Majesty. Regarding the in the number of soldiers, generals,

equipment, experience and moral…… Our country loses to the Empire in every

field. If this becomes a battle, then our Army has no chance to prevail.」(Hakuya)

「……Of

course, right.」(Souma)

Battles are driven by 『Heaven,

Earth, Man』[2], that is 『Heavenly opportunities (timing

of attack), Earthly advantage (geographical advantage),

and the Harmony of Man』. The Empire, leader of the anti-Demon Lord Army, has

the timing of attack and the Amidonian Army has the geographical advantage. However,

if I was asked if the Kingdom has the People’s Harmony to oppose the Empire,

then I can only answer: no. I could only dispatch the soldiers from the Army

and the Air Force, so that they could be exempted from their treasonous

rebellion. It was not that bad when the enemy was just Amidonia by itself, but

when the enemy is the superior in all fields, aka the Imperial Army, then of

course we couldn’t expect any fighting spirit from our men.

「If

we could at least win in equipments……」(Souma)

Even when looking from this

place, I could see the Rhinosaurus corps that are attached with the Field

Cannons. I had heard that Rhinosauruses were used in castle sieges, but it

seems that the Empire has used them even further as mobile artillery. Actually,

I also had this kind of idea, but for a Rhinosaurus to be able to be equipped with

cannons, it was necessary to “train”[3]

them, so they wouldn’t be spooked by the sound of gunpowder explosions. Since

the Rhinosauruses on our side were gathered by Tomoe-chan’s “please”, I had shelved

the prospect of “training” them.

It was vexing to see that the

Empire had already implemented the corps that I had in mind. But well, if any military

layman thought about it for a bit, then they would hit upon the same idea, too.

As long as there is a demand, then most of these ideas will be implemented. Of

course there doesn’t need to be a battle, just making a stance that it could be

used in battle could become a negotiation card. On the contrary, it could be

said that the Army spread before my eyes is the card prepared by the Empire. Even

though I knew about this, this situation is quite a conundrum.

「”My Liege (陛下/heika), there is an unfamiliar “legion” (兵科/heika).」[4](Aisha)

At a place not far from me, Aisha,

who was looking at the enemy army, spoke out.

「What’s

with that lousy pun?」(Souma)

「N-no,

you’re wrong, Your Majesty! I meant the enemy’s corps! I can see that there is

a group of soldiers wearing completely black full plated armor!」(Aisha)

「Completely

black? …… I can’t see any human-sized troops too well from this distance.」(Souma)

「Dark

elves have good eyes. That group carries very long weapons.」(Aisha)

「I

think that perhaps they are the 『Magic Armored Corps』.」(Hakuya)

Hakuya appended his words on

Aisha’s. it is a new phrase for me.

「Magic

Armored Corps?」(Souma)

「Perhaps

it can be explained as a heavily-armored pike infantry specializing in

anti-magic combat. That black helmet and armor constantly generates a barrier that

could withstand any kind of magic. There is a saying that the Empire’s

territory extends just as far as these soldier files could march, so they are

the Empire’s treasured army that they are the most proud of.」(Hakuya)

Oh, really…… Certainly pike

infantry is a type of soldier carrying long spears for anti-cavalry combat. Although,

I only know about this from games, they would make a dense phalanx formation to

oppose the charging cavalry. So they are a corps that sticks out their spear to

counter an attack. Certainly, I believe that depending on the situation, they

could be a powerful corps…… But is it to the extent where they could be called

a treasured army? I asked Hakuya about this.

「Your

Majesty, do you remember the reason why gunpowder infantry never appeared both

in this Continent and outside this Continent?」(Hakuya)

He asked me back.

「Because

magic’s attack power is higher and its firing range is longer, so gunpowder

weapons are unnecessary, right? That’s why large ma.s.s projectile cannons are

used only in naval battles or when attacking wall reinforced with magic.」(Souma)

「That’s

correct. In addition, the creatures living on this Continent have hard skins,

so the average gunpowder infantry wouldn’t be able to damage them.」(Hakuya)

In other words, since they

couldn’t even use it as hunting weapons, there were no reasons to develop guns.

But then, they should have developed rifling or armor-piercing bullet, right?

Even a musket that could only fire a literally round pellet should have been

widespread (the j.a.panese domestic harquebus is an early form of musket). If at

one point, we could produce such a rifle, then it should have increased the country’s

power. But even if I knew about the musket’s history, as expected, I didn’t

know about its construction. Hakuya continued his explanation.

「Furthermore,

depending on its suitability, the armoTr could also be enchanted with a damage

reduction effect. Conversely, to break through this, it is normal for a weapon

to also be enchanted with a damage increase effect.」(Hakuya)

「Ah, a

vicious circle……」 [5](Souma)

「Yes.

There also the fact that the enchantment arts for armors and weapons are more

powerful on objects with a greater ma.s.s. In other words, in this world, the arrow

are stronger than a bullet, but the arrow is weaker than the lance.」[6](Hakuya)

So does that mean, even if we

develop a rifle, the small bullet wouldn’t have much power? The day for the implementation

of gun corps becomes increasingly distant……

「Even

in this world, using magic or a wyvern knight bombardment wouldn’t be effective

against them and a cavalry charge would simply be countered. Also it is not

possible to aim the cannons to shoot at them (the sh.e.l.ls are not explosive)[7],

so in the end, that ma.s.s of black helmets and armors would still slowly be approaching.

For the enemy’s side, it will be……」(Hakuya)

「Quite

a horror. They would only see them as h.e.l.l’s Army.」(Souma)

If they are fighting on the flat

plains, they will be invincible. So perhaps battling them on a hilly region or

wetlands that have bad footholds, luring them towards the traps, or surrounding

them and creating chaos in their formation…… was something that I had thought,

but these plans were only applicable in a defensive battle. It will be hard for

the invader to battle on the place that they choose. So the phrase 『Territory

as far as the Magic Armored Corps have marched』 was