Vol 1 Chapter 7 (1/2)

The three waves of attacks by the Coalition Army could not really be considered a battle A better exa a cliff before theest reason for this was because the Eence about the enemy

At that tis of over 21 nations were raised in the camps of the Coalition Ar froht of soldiers fro

There were light cavalry on bare-bodied horses

There were heavy cavalry, sheathed in thick layers of armor

There were dragon-riders, h the sky

There were battle mammoth units, which shook the earth with every step they took

There were sh from the southern nations

There were heavy infantry, who bore large, rectangular tower shi+elds

There were spearmen, whose points formed a forest of steel

And then there were crossbowether

Though Goblins and Ogres were treated like beasts of war in the Imperial Army, some of the other nations let them wear armor

Because they cah the splendor of their uniforms

This tith was equal to that of an army three times their actual number, and their advance darkened the sky and shook the earth for days Everyone felt that this battle was a foregone conclusion

Originally, Arnus Hill was designated as a sacred place, but in truth it had been little htly slanted hillock

There were no trees to block one’s field of vision and no large rivers to block routes of advance, nor were there precipitous cliffs It was sie expanse of open space

They had been told that the top of the hill had been taken by the enemy, but they had not received any infor to the Imperial troops in the area, the invaders fro holes and ditches, as well as surrounding thee curled fence of little needles

If they could build underground fortresses like Dwarves, it ht have been troublesome, but Humans could only do that very slowly It would be impossible to complete it within a month or so

That being the case, the victors would be the ones with superior numbers

King Duran of the Elbe Kingdouess at what Eathered this many troops from the Coalition to do battle with so few invaders

Enemies of that number should have been easily taken care of with the Empire’s own ather the armies of the Coalition

Therefore, gathering the Coalition Army was not a military move, but a political one

For instance, did he intend to deht before the Coalition Army? However, if that was the case, he would only need to su poould not be needed There must be some reason why he wanted to asse so many men was not a trivial matter

Perhaps he intended to use this huge force to attack some country, but since the Coalition Ar the continent, there was no justification for using it as an army of conquest

“Then, Your Excellency, how shall we proceed with the attack?”

Norue’s words would have been worth considering in s with the other , “Mere tactics are useless e possess suchhand crushi+ng an egg” As such, they did not give it ht

In truth, he had suue more to mock his paranoia than for a discussion

“Your Excellency, you should seriously think about it yourself”

“Youout, we still need to consider formations and tactics Still, the enemy looks to nue in nu power of 300,000 men, so wouldn’t a mass attack end the battle without any effort? As for the eneure it out once we make contact with them”

“It is as you say”

“You’re surprisingly sensitive for a e”

Duran did not hear League’s ht

The e army would need time One reason was because the roads were not flat, even, or even present, but the main reason was the sheer scale of the movement After all, it took almost half a day to travel from the head of the formation to the rear

Setting up camp would also take a lot of time, about 10 to 20 days

Even so, the Coalition Army that reached Arnus Hill, encircled the hill in accordance to their prior arrange a safe distance from the enemy

That distance would be determined by individual experience That was to say, they had to consider the ranges and minimum safe distances for archers, ballistae, catapults and so on However, the JSDF had cleverly caed their trenches and rifle positions so as not to let the enemy discover them

As a result, the four thousand uard eleer

The Imperial troops that should have been stationed at the nearby hills had vanished without a trace; could it be that they had already been defeated? If that was the case, they had to rescue the survivors The Arguna King had this in mind when he ordered his men to advance

The Kingdouna was a small country with no special features Its econoriculture and animal husbandry Because they had no special features, they lacked appeal, but theysed up by the E countries Because of that, their troops were res and Goblins with bows and battleaxes, followed by their mainstay troops, the heavy infantry and bowmen, with sorcerers as a final battle line

This was their typical battle plan

Their scattered boould fire, and then the res and Goblins would slash into the enemy formation to throw them into confusion

Next, the heavy infantry would advance in a densely-packed formation, their square shi+elds for in lockstep until they entered the fray

If they had enough sorcerers reical attack in concert

Finally, the troops would open up and the cavalry would charge in to secure victory

This was their usual tactic

That hy they did not understand what had happened to them

What hit thee from the JGSDF’s artillery units

The JGSDF artillery was fa a picture of Mt Fuji in the air with smoke They showered the enee front

That hy the Coalition Army said “They were bloay in a moment”

The victiuna, who served as the vanguard, as well as the dom, and total losses were estimated at 10,000 men

Their fire was intended to utterly destroy the eneht overwhel firepower upon their foe After that first volley, the attack was concluded

“I stood in forht for a moment that Arnus Hill had erupted Princess, have you ever seen a mountain erupt? In my youth, I once saw a volcano erupt in the h the entire n of it beforehand, like earthquakes, and then I heard the air tearing apart, followed by an uniinably vast explosion My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth, and that was but one of several occurrences

As for what had happened… we halted to make sure of the circumstances, but allbefore us was thick, black smoke

Soon the siant plough across the ground In the earth that was dredged upthe bodies of the Arguna and Modwan arrains in a paella dish…”

Duran closed his eyes and shuddered as he recalled that scene

Besides hi to feed hi his face away

“And what of the two kings?”

Duran shook his head when he heard Piña’s question

“How shall I put this…?”

Piña had searched through the villages near Arnus in the hope of finding the Coalition Army after the battle had started The conclusion she had reached was that the Coalition Ar their commander

Though it was called a retreat, it washoiven that none of the soldiers or officers had escaped intact They were lucky that the enemy had not pursued them, which was how they survived In this condition, the arduous trek ho than battle itself In truth, the bodies of troops who had fallen out had already been buried by villagers throughout the land

Before long, Piña heard that a nunnery in service of the God Hoboro had taken in a h birth When they rushed to the place, they found that it was King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom

He was over sixty years old, and perhaps because of stress or some other reason, all his hair was nohite

His body could not endure a long journey on foot, and the troops who had been fortunate enough to survive had long since escaped He ordered his few re troops ere still faithful to return to the country and spread word of this danger, while he hith in this nunnery However, this was just a nunnery, after all, and there were no doctors and the food was poor in quality His strength came back slowly, but bit by bit, it also drained away

The s to fill the air

His face was pale, and his blood was not circulating properly, and he had Battle’s signs under his eyes If he stayed in this state, he did not look like he would live long

“I was in the third wave This is what I have become I advanced with the Mocha army into the hillside, but iron thorns blocked our way By the tiht fell like rain upon us, and right after that I was bloay in an instant”

“King Duran, I will notify the Empire ie We’ll talk about this after you regain your strength”

Although she was the princess, in tere, Duran was superior to her by virtue of being a king Piña fell to one knee, took Duran’s intact right hand, and bowed

But Duran shook his head

“I’m sorry to reject the Princess’ kindness, but I do not wish to trouble the E for this world”

“Why is that?”

“I have been thinking about why the Eht this war… after beco like this, I understood The Ery that we remained intact while his troops were beaten In other words, the Emperor wanted to have the enemy destroy us for him”

Duran did not use honorifics to dignify the Eer Since he was about to die, he figured he ht as well speak his mind

“Princess, do not say you did not know this Place yourself in the position of the Eine what happened when the Imperial Army clashed with the enemy…”

“Yes The Imperial Army was beaten, thatfor us there, nor that the Coalition Army we sent there would end up like this…”

“Please go, Princess I do not wish so a sword of deception to stand before ht to the bitter end to protect this continent However, our greatest eneain, Princess, please go”

“Your Majesty It is too late to ask you to quell your anger, but could you at least tell ic do they use, what tactics? Please tell me about your tactics as well”

“I will not speak of thereat sacrifices to learn that much If the Princess wishes to find out, then please proceed to Arnus Hill by yourself Perhaps the enemy will tell you for the price of your men”

Piña had tried her best The Eht that he could y and schemes However, Piña felt that the enemy and the E that if the Empire did not understand the enemy’s power, it would be completely destroyed

As those thoughts ground in her head, the Iht at him

“That will not do You doe If your Majesty does not speak, I will lead troops to Elbe and burn it to ash”

That got Duran’s attention

“What, what is this!? First you took my soldiers, then dohter… Very well, do as you please Besides, once I die, it is only a matter of time before my country will be sed up by the Eer matters to me I will rejoin my family in death, and then ill mock the Emperor and you when you follow us”

“You’ve completely lost hope at the brink of death… But the Empire will not lose”

Piña stood, looking down at the dying king

“Anything is per as one is powerful That is what you believe in However, we have our conviction and our pride When we are invaded, ill naturally return the favor The enehty army, eapons of Godlike power and tactics of divine potency They crushed us like squalling babes The Eht the is per as one is powerful’, you say? But the enerave danger When you find out and beg for help, nobody will answer You have sown the wind, and you will reap the ind!”