Chapter 12 (1/2)

12.THE SWORD OF KARL VON TEIRAH

“Wah, this is awesome.”

The ma.s.sive arcadian army crowded around the surroundings.

“There are three thousand footsoldiers, five hundred cavalry; in total, our numbers are three thousand five hundred. Right now, the army is organized in columns, but when the battle starts, the should change it into a more linear formation.”

Willian spoke out about information he had took out of nowhere. Karl looked at Willian with admiration.

“We are the light infantry. We have the role of fighting in the front row. And…”

Willian looked behind him. What was in his sight was…

“… the heavy infantry are the stars of the battlefield. Our role is to stall until the heavy infantry arrives.”

Heavy infantry. To both the kingdoms of Arcadia and Ostoberg, the heavy infantry was definitely the star of the battlefield. They had the most powerful fighting strength and were regarded more highly than cavalry. The heavy infantry was essentially the regular army of the kingdom; the soldiers of career would be at this branch. Because of that, they were provided with equipment of high power and top quality. That fighting powress was respected throughout the whole world.

“The soldiers of Arcadia are the ones wearing white armor and the Ostoberg ones are the ones wearing the black armor, right?”

“That´s right. Well, once we cross to the other side of that hill, you would be seeing them even if you didn´t want to.”

The two of them were positioned in the middle of the front row. The ten man squad they were a.s.signed to was a group that was composed of survivors from Raconia. Taking into consideration their experience with surviving a defeat, they were positioned in this place.

“”Generally, the ones positioned in the front rows are the ones that lack experience. We are survivors, and besides, most of the people that had more experience than us died. Because of that, this position… isn´t bad.”

The front row started to get restless. The enemy troops probably entered in their sight. The leading cavalry and scout cavalry were coming and going by the side of the army Willian and Karl were part of. This kind of anxiousness was part of the battlefield. The feeling of extreme excitation naturally came to Willian.

“”Calm down me. If I became too excited, I will be killed. I need to have my head cooled down more than anyone and carry on with composure during the fight.””

“We need to hide our charms deep inside our clothes.”

Willian was able to confirm one more time the reason why he was able to keep calm.(TL note: Referring to the ruby…)

“Yes. This is to prevent the enemies from stealing it from us, right?”

Karl put his hand at the center of his chest. At that place, the important thing he was entrusted with by his family was there.

“Correct. Besides, even our allies would want those gems. It´s not like only the enemies that are dangerous. For now, there is no reason for us to give the small fries an impression that will be troublesome for us.”

“”That said, if we can´t stand out in a good way, my plans won´t work out.”

And at the same time Willian was pondering about that…

“Ah!?”

A ma.s.s of black color appeared in front of the eyes of the two. Those weren´t at a distance the two would already need to be engaging them, but they weren´t at a distance that the two were safe. Before one´s notice, the front row that used to have considerable fighting power was now having it toned down. Karl, who was standing beside Willian, was trembling. This kind of feeling of intimidation. This was what war is.

“”That is no good. That is no good, me.””

But on the contrary to that, among all those people…

“”This is no good; it is really bad nee-san!”

there was a person that was becoming excited by the pressure.

That person knew of pain more than anyone in that battlefield. He would drink muddy water and would live like a rat. He would scramble around at trash and would be oppressed just by trying to live. As if living was some kind of punishment, and as if it was only natural that he was supposed to serve under others; that was how the young man defined such kind of life.

“…Willian?”

A life of continuing to be stolen of everything. A little while ago, he was finally standing at the side of the ones that would steal away things. But it wasn´t enough. He was lacking too much. His most beloved person was stolen away. Everything from his life was stolen away.

“Are you… smiling?”

He himself was superior. People have taken away many things from him, who is strong. In retribution of that, he needed to break this world down. If he didn´t steal back something of equal valor to his sister, the trade off wouldn´t be fair.

“No, I am not smiling, Karl. Calm down. You must definitely not go away from me.”

“Ye-yes!”

In that case, he should steal. He should steal everything of this world.

“”Ah, nee-san. The ma.s.ses are crawling like insects. Dullards, dullards, dullards; it is a flock of dullards. They are much inferior than me, who was labelled as a slave. If so, it isn´t enough. Even if I get all of them, it wouldn´t be enough. Compared to all the happiness that was stolen from us, trash people like those won´t even account for anything.””

There was no mistake the one that was the most insane in this battlefield was that man. The slave named Al died, and the freed slave that was also called Al also died. The one that was standing here now was…

“Now then, let´s eat up all of them!”

It was a white beast that had lost even the name he had stolen.

This was the true meaning that campaign had for Willian Rivius.

“Is it fine if we stay here like that, Willian!?”

“Yes, it is fine.”

It was a mayhem. They were facing the enemy head-on. It was a clash that dispensed any kind of scheming. The ones to charge at them first were the knights, which were the diversion. After them, it was the light infantry, which had then led to that direct confront. At the current situation, the light infantry of both armies were entangled onto each other in the center of the war.

In the midst of that, Willian and Karl were calmly fighting in the middle row they were positioned at. Sometimes they would need to engage with an enemy that would come at them with his sword, but before they could approach Karl, Willian, who was standing next to him would bisect the enemy with swift movements. The war was clearly much slower-paced when compared to their previous battle.

“Even if they do their best in the first clashes, all that would happen is death. Not only the enemies, but allied arrows and javelins would be showering at them. Being right at the front isn´t something good. It is good everything is still flowing well. To the point I can´t find any faults.”

Karl was hesitant about the fact, but the risks of being at the front lines weren´t worth the military gains. That was the case specially because of the mutual preliminary test of the first clash. The ones that are fast to die out are the light infantry. They wouldn´t be able to get any heads that would be worth anything at the first phases of the war.

“”Now then, this should be over soon . Which of them will make the first move?””

The reason why Willian insisted in staying at their position was because he could look at the whole battlefield from there to some extent. Of course, the amount of vision he would get by doing that wasn´t much, but he still had enough leeway to be looking around while he would do proper reactions to enemy attacks by only relying on sensing the danger and the enemy movement.

“”It doesn´t seen like either side is planning on doing any kind of tactics, such as the echelon formation. In that case, I guess they will be competing in their earnest with their heavy infantry in the same way the theory tells to.”

Bit by bit, the enemy troops that were coming to the place Willian and Karl were standing at started to increase. The vanguards of both armies started to jumble up together and the chaos was spreading. If Willian wanted to make his move, it must be now. Even if he doesn´t, soon enough, it would be the time their heavy infantry was going to move.(TL note: I´m not sure if he is talking about their heavy infantry or Ostoberg´s. If it is theirs, Willian would need to move fast because their own infantry would take all his chances of getting achievements, and if it was the enemy´s, it would be because their infantry would come anyway, and so he would need to react anyway.)

“Willian! There is something behind us!”

It was Karl´s voice, who was standing behind Willian. Willian also noticed the irregularity, although a bit later than Karl.

“Behind us… cavalry!?”

It wasn´t that Willian could hear the sound of the hooves. .h.i.tting the ground. However, the amount of allied arrow showers had diminished, and angry yellings that were loud enough to be heard even from their position started to approach them. The light infantry was in the middle of an engagement and it was in a state of equilibrium. The situation of their rear was that they were receiving a surprise attack. And also…

“There is no way the scouts wouldn´t have noticed the troops in such easy to look around plains like this one. There weren´t any signs of ambushes spotted at the surroundings of the hill. In that case, it should be the forest that is located at the other side of the hill. There soldiers that were positioned at the forest should have moved after the war broke in. Besides that, in order for them to be faster than the light infantry can pull back, it is essential that they have the speed of the cavalry.””

Therefore, those were cavalry. That was the showcase of their be speed, and also their power.

“The first play was of Ostoberg. This was probably something already planned. In that case… the next move should also be Ostoberg´s.”

While the people in the vanguard were looking at the rear, Willian glared at their front.