Chapter 108: Twelfth Episode: Chapter 8 (1/2)
Chapter 108: Twelfth Episode: Chapter 8
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The snow plains stretched toward the eastern horizon. Occasionally, some tall poplar trees could be seen gathering at a certain lonely corner of the big plains. Snow had accumulated between the branches, reflecting the bright sunlight.
The forest remained dark and without boundary. The sky felt low as if it was pressing on the tall crown of the trees. There were people moving about in the forest. Even though those who were out of the forest could not see it, the horde of birds that flew in surprise from the forest could more or less indicate some problems. However, no one seemed to care about this. The people in and out of the forest knew about it: when they saw each other, it was the moment to use their life to fight destiny.
An eagle flew over the sky of Saijo Mountain, its silhouette made the small animals on land scatter. The eagle looked at the ground in surprise, feeling extremely confused, why would the small highland before suddenly change its appearance? Countless people were running about, screaming and busily building infrastructure nervously.
The eagle did not know what 'fortification' meant. It only knew that the sharpened fence at the border of the highland would hurt its wings. It barely held back its urge to fly downwards as if the Gods were reminding it to leave the place as soon as possible.
To be specific, Saijo Mountain was a highland that was more specialized in the defense but not so much so in the offense. The widest part of the peak was nearly two to three hundred meters wide. The slopes on the south and north direction were very steep while the slopes were smoother on the east and west. The east and west directions were the frontline battle, facing the plain outside of the opening of the forest. This plain was 4 kilometers straight apart from Saijo Mountain. Looking from afar, other than the sprinting Narcissus Knights, the plains seemed to be just a quiet, barren snow land.
Neighboring the lookout spot was still under construction. Titan’s defense troops set up their commander division on this empty land. A rectangular table that was temporarily set up on the snowy ground. The military officers with the rankings of Captain or above all gathered at this place.
As the chief commander of battle as appointed by His Imperial Highness The Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette, Lieutenant General of the Guards, Baron Gondol Abassia’s ugly face was already almost stuck on the table. The military officers around him were waiting for the instructions by this battle hero. The people here all heard of the name of this general. The Doncaster Defense War ten years ago still had not completely ended. This general used a whole fleet of Infantry Division to successfully stop the enemy’s main cavalry corps. This classic war example had a lasting impression in the hearts of these generals. Even though the opponent had four corps while we only had one, the people were still optimistic about this situation considering the war achievement of General Gondol Abassia.
The one-armed Chief Commander pointed to the rocks on the table, ”This is our Saijo Mountain. We are about to fight a never-before-experienced resistance war here.”
After taking note of the expression of the generals, General Abassia nodded in satisfaction. Everyone was in a good condition.
”Now, we can see it from here!” The Chief Commander pointed at the busy people working below the mountain peak, ”The defense fortification by the First Independent Brigade has entered its final stage. They have built two sturdy defense fences as well as dug holes used for hidden and communication purposes. I think the Deiss were also taking note of our moves. So, these traps at the outer parts of the plain should not have much effect.”
Major Murat, who was standing beside Abassia, nodded. He pointed at his two Division leader, ”The Red Tiger's main forces are at the back of the Saijo Mountain. Everyone can see it from here. If there is any situation that may prove disadvantageous to us, my heavy-guarded cavalry division will launch an attack from the right side of Saijo Mountain while the rangers division from the left. This is to interfere with the rear of the attack unit of Deiss.”
Abassia’s scar on his face quivered a little lightly. He looked at the little Prince who had not uttered a single word.
”According to the arrangement of the Prince, the Red Tiger’s Battle Group will hide at the left side of the forest in the central base. We are still uncertain about the army forces that the Deiss have here, so it is necessary to place a defense force at the left side of the forest. If Deiss has three to four corps, only idiots will fight us head-on at the frontline. They will definitely assign an attack team on out back. When that moment comes… we will depend on our Paladin!”
Upon seeing this, General Abassia looked at the expressionless face of the Battle Group Leader of the Red Tiger.
Expressionlessly, Kamille Rayen took a small knife out of his pocket and cut his palm. This Battle Group Leader then put his palm on beside the piles of rock on the table. Fresh blood was left on it. The bloodstain landed in the hiding spot of the Battle Group.
”Even if I were to drip my last drop of blood here, I would not let a Deiss appear at the back of Saijo Mountain.”
Looking at the bloodstain on the table, the military officers present all had their chest straight up.
”Alright! Let us look to our left and right wings!” General Abassia hinted for Colonel Krapitch Drake of the Guards to speak up. This commoner military officer did a formal salutation to the few high-ranked officers.
”I shall divide my infantry unit into two. In my opinion, the north and south directions have a steep slope. The Deiss will definitely not focus too much on our two wings. Even if they did, my long range crossbow and the two arrow divisions that are armed just for this will not let them get close to the central battlefield easily. Secondly, I place the cavalry division at this location.”
Krapitch said as he pointed to a location at the right wing of the highland, ”That is a corner at the border of the highland, but the raised mountain from both sides of the highland completely blocked the sight of the Deiss. That is a natural soldiers’ hole. If they are able to abandon the central battle to attack the right wing that seems under-equipped for defensive purposes, I will make sure they experience an unforgettable surprise.”
Finally! Oscar nodded. He walked up to the table. The military officers all gave way to this Prince.
”What I am most worried about is still the front!” Oscar put another rock on the central battlefield that is close to the mountain, except that this rock was even larger than the ‘Saijo Mountain’ on the table!
”Obviously the Deiss will have an absolute advantage in armed forces. They must evaluate our defense strategy as well, but what sort of army unit which they will place here are still unknown to us! So… I think the First Independent Brigade should extend the fortification to the mountain to prevent the deployment of soldiers against us in an alarmingly disadvantageous number. Those wooden fences could stop cavalry unit, but it is not effective against cavalry. They will rush in like a group of bees right to the top.”
Lieutenant General Endorph nodded, ”Yes, Your Highness! I will set it up right away! Actually, I am also worried about this. The Deiss will definitely choose to end this quickly. That is to say, their initial test assaults will come in extremely strong and indomitable, this is because they are fighting alone in our land. In order to prevent the fate of being eliminated completely, they will definitely try to end the battle as quickly as possible.”
Oscar sighed lowly. Since Deiss had the courage to send out a unit to infiltrate Titan, then this unit must be the strongest ones in the Kingdom! What would happen if they used the force of a Corp to defend against three to four Corps of the enemy? Oscar searched the relevant war examples. He could not find an answer. This young Lieutenant General of the Guards realized in terror right before the war that wars were not as easily described as they were in the books!
”Everyone… Did you forget about me?”
Oscar got a grip on himself. He looked with all smiles at Torry. ”How is it? My cannon unit commander. Is your work going well?”
Torry scratched his head, ”Luckily, spring is just around the corner. The soil on the mountain was still not that solid. My civil engineers had already gathered a few members to dig more than ten cannon holes. They had also dug up the tunnel used to transport ammunition. The only less satisfying point is that two of the cannon bases are damaged during the process of transporting. I can only bring carriage of Cannons 6 and 10 directly into the cannon hole! Your Highness, this difficult duty took me a whole hour.”
Oscar smiled as he nodded. He had a feeling that there seemed to be nothing that could defeat this jerk.
”My Sir Cannon Unit Commander, once the battle begins, do you know what you are supposed to do?”
”Of course!” Torry raised his chest proudly. Even though he was extremely nervous, but this guy still used the short amount of time to planned a strategy to utilize the cannon to close off the whole battlefield.
”Everyone, look at this!” Major Sukhoi laid a scroll of parchment open only to see confusing lines and symbols drawn on it.
”This is our central base. My cannons are on these ten points. There are eight cannons pointing at the plains in front of the opening. The rest control the left and right wings. With Saijo Mountain as the center, I divided the plains into eight fan-like regions. Each region has its own representing number. I also used a different color to further categorize each distance within the region. For example, if I wanted to fire at the Green 4 area, then all cannons will adjust their firing angle according to this position. If it is Red 1, then the cannons will adjust immediately to this direction!”
The first, extremely-scientific cannon-firing simulation in the world really resembled a spider crawling out of it, didn't it? The Titan generals present all had their eyes widened. Only Torry was going on and on about it excitedly!
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”Time?”
”Report, Sir Marshal. It is sharp at 1:30 p.m.!”
Marshal Veron Blundindt nodded lightly. He took back the single-hole telescope. In order to fight with the Titans, this Marshal slept a nice long nap before war for the first time. Even though this nap increased the number of white hair of this old Marshal, we could see that this old soldier, who has fought for the Deiss Kingdom for half a century, was not worried about the upcoming war.
”Such a weird combination!” The Top Level War Consultant of the Kingdom’s Highest Commander Board Colonel Opal came forward, ”Sir Marshal, you must feel as odd as I am. Titan Empire’s Guards and the local top three military family’s armed force all gathered at the small Saijo Mountain. Such a situation must be rare.”
Veron Blundindt nodded helplessly, ”For us, this war happens for no reason. The people of Titan there must have their aims and intentions, yet I believe it is definitely not to stop us. For them, this is a defensive war. As the soldier of the Titan Empire, even though their ability is only one-tenth of us, they need to defend their base.”
”But… their central base seems to be managing well!” Colonel Opal gazed at the faraway battlefield through the thick forest. ”It can be seen that the opponent is a veteran with actual war experience. Even though we are able to eliminate them, our losses will be more than what we estimated before the war.”
A Kingdom general with the ranking of Lieutenant General on his shoulder came forward, ”Sir Marshal, do you want to greet our enemy’s highest commanding officer?”
”Of course!” Veron Blundindt nodded, ”This is courtesy! We have already rudely infiltrated Titan. Since they have already noticed us, then this courtesy must be done correctly.”
The group of limitary officers laughed lightly. As expected of the Yaran people who loved war. These people who intended to start a war on other country’s land did not feel a single hint of guilt when they talked about an invasion.
Marshal Veron looked at his messenger, ”Are the speed troops that are responsible for sudden attack and attack on right wings ready?”
”Report, Marshal. The cavalry division of two colonels is already at the determined position. They are waiting for your order.”
Veron gave his telescope to Colonel Opal who was by his side. ”Look at this. Those black things that are pulled into the tunnel in the mountain by the Titan. What are they?”
Opal used the telescope to observe for a while, but at last, he shook his head, ”I don’t know. It’s too far. The sight here is not the best, either. But… Since there’s also Sukhoi family’s war flag on the Titan’s base, then those black things must be some new things made by this arms dealer. It may be a heavy crossbow. It may be a catapult. But..... I really can’t tell!”
Marshal Veron smiled lightly, ”Young kid, when we are up there on the mountain, it’s all going to be clear to us, isn’t it?”
Colonel Opal smiled with the Marshal, but he had some doubts. Around those black things, the Titan were standing in a line of a dense guarding formation. This sort of formation was obviously extremely important for long range weapon.
”Alright! We said we will launch an attack at 1:30 pm, but we have not entered the battlefield yet,” Marshal Veron withdrew his Marshal’s sword and pointed to the front! ”The warriors of the Kingdom! Let us fight!”
The flagman at the Deiss base raised the three-colored eagle flag of the Roulexberg Dynasty, the war flag of Teutonic Knight, the military flag of the Kingdom’s First and Fourth Corps.
Behind the Marshal, countless warriors that wore armors with spear or knives in their hands began to advance. They were arranged in a scattered formation as they walked out of the pitch black forest.
”What are you doing?” Veron looked at Colonel Opal beside him.
”I am looking for the war list of the Narcissus Knights!” Colonel Opal said as he turned the pages of a thick parchment.
”The opponent’s war flag has a Red Tiger on it… Here it is! I found it!” Colonel Opal excitedly pointed on a paragraph of description on the parchment, ”Narcissus knight’s Neruda Front, the Red Tiger Assault Division! This is a hero unit that has numerous legends. The current commander is Major General Murat Bedoya and… This is the direct knights’ division of a Titan Prince. The name of the Prince is… It’s O’Neil Andrew Morisette!”
Colonel Opal excitedly closed the parchment. ”If I am not mistaken with my estimation, the people of Titan opposite of us are commanded by a Prince. If we win against O’Neil Andrew Morisette, we will more or less recover from the failure of the sudden attack...”
”Hahaha! Alright!” Marshal Veron interrupted the words of the colonel. ”No matter who it is there, we will acquire victory. This… Let’s look at the birthday present Uncle Veron give to Her Royal Highness Princess!”
Colonel Opal smiled, ”Thank you! Uncle Veron, I wish that you are the first one to go to the top and break our enemy’s war flag!”
The afternoon sunlight slowly emitted a warm aura. The snowy ground appeared even shiny under the sunlight. Titan’s warrior squinted their eyes and they coldly registered the enemy that approached under the sunlight. They were gathering, formation after formation, a knight’s base, and then there was yet another Army Group.
Deiss’ three colored eagle flag was flying high in the air. This Kingdom’s strongest warrior stood in attack formation under the flag as if they had repeated this for thousands of times. They were all experienced fighters. Even though these days of journeying made them exhausted, even though the hot meals and afternoon rest did not resume their stamina enough, their spirits were nevertheless still high. They still had their courage and ability. They would show with the weapons in their hands to the Titan that the strong stood at the top in this world!
For the warriors of Titan, those eagle flags were their biggest embarrassment. Seeing this flag that signified invasion and destruction before Saijo Mountain was definitely unacceptable. When would these imbeciles finish making their formation? When would these golden-haired ghosts that were like animals send their neck to the frontline? The densely-arranged Titan’s warriors stood behind of the hidden hole and hardwood fence. Their stares at the enemy were full of hatred and disdain.
”Teutonic Knight, the First Infantry Corps, the Fourth Infantry Corps!” Lieutenant General Endorph looked at the enemy’s war flag as he mumbled nervously, ”They are all the elite units in the Deiss Kingdom! It’s more than we can handle!”
Oscar smiled as he looked at the general of Steinberger family. The pre-war preparation of the First Independent Brigade had already shown the ability of this unit.
”I have a question!”
Endorph sighed. He knew what this Prince was going to say!
”Once they walked out of the forest, the Deiss in front of us believe will soon be found out. Considering such a long distance, why would they have come here? I noticed on the map that, except for the ninth army base, there is nothing worthy enough to be considered a military-related matter in the area around Saijo Mountain. I believe you know that very well.”
The Lieutenant General nodded, ”Yes Your Highness. Your guess is very accurate. I only know that the ninth army base is guarding a secret region, but... I really don’t know what there is in that place!”
”Which place?” Oscar frowned.
”Area 21!”
It was 2:09 pm in the afternoon, on the 31st day of the third month in the Church Calendar Year. On the land of Steinberger family in Haussen Province of Titan Empire, the border of Blackwood and nearby area of Saijo Mountain. The Great Northwest that had been calm for more than a century finally had a large-scale war! We already knew well enough about the identity of the parties at war and the comparison of power. However, we believed that both parties were having odd feelings as they joined the battle. It was just that the Deiss believed that they would attain victory while the Titan believed they would not let the invader went pass Saijo.
”Murat! This is my last time asking you this question. You must reply me seriously!” Oscar was riding together with his direct Division Leader at the battlefield far from the central base.
”Alright!” Murat held the war flag in his hands tightly, this thing was damn heavy.
”Why don’t you get married?” Oscar noticed the reaction of the Major General. He quickly added a few more words, ”Don’t be impatient. I am very serious! After seeing your reaction in front of Corporal Kirk, I must suspect that you are not interested in all women in this world!”
Murat listened to the Prince’s words strangely. After a while, his face completely darkened.
”I am sorry! I disappointed you! I am not interested in men. I just didn’t found the woman suitable for me!”
Oscar looked at the two Deiss generals who were waiting not far away. He shrugged without any care.
”Ola! Then just pretend I hadn't said anything!”
Murat turned his head away furiously. He really did not want to fight with this damn little Prince at this moment.
”You must be the honorable Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette!” Marshal Veron spoke a fluent Titan language. He took off his army hat and bowed to this imperial family member of Titan Empire.
”Get up!” Oscar put his hands on the saddle. He looked from up to down at this old Marshal that had numerous medals on him for a while. ”It is my first time on the battlefield and my first time in such a large-scale war. If I did anything rude, please forgive me!”
Veron could not help to exchange glances with Colonel Opal. They were both surprised by the young age and… The honesty of this Titan Prince!
”Your Highness, as Deiss warrior that has a long history and proud tradition, I swear to you that my army will fight according to the spirit of knights and principles of war. We will treat the hostages well and leave this area as soon as the war is over. This is to give convenience for the transfer of your remaining troops and you.”
Oscar wanted to laugh, but he held it in, ”Dear Sir Marshal, I am not sure about whether Deiss warrior’s long history and proud traditions included this, but I am sure that we are not on the same page! But, I will not be selfish to remind you that the furious Titan ground will throw your soldiers into the air. Thus, when you launch your attack, ensure that your Teutonic knights run slowly so that they won’t fall on the ground, half dead.”
Marshal Veron smiled. ”It does seem that we are not on the same page! Then… Let’s begin!”
Oscar nodded, ”Yes! Begin!”
Looking at the two Deiss generals who walked away from them, Oscar regretted a little. He should have pulled out a firegun and finished the old man off when he was not noticing. However, this Prince shook his head in a violent manner. Why should he do something so embarrassing? He would have all the chance he needed later on the battlefield.
At the side of Saijo Mountain that faced the central battlefield, the first cannon unit in the history of Titan Empire was already in place. Ten fortress cannons were set up in deep holes. These cannon holes were arranged loosely yet orderly. It could be seen that the distance between each cannon was carefully calculated before by the cannon technicians. Arranging too closely would cause the power to be too converged, preventing the desirable effect to cover the whole battlefield; Arranging too loosely would divert the power and this way could not bring about the most effective destructive power.
Torry was running in the tunnel. Once the battle began, he could not care much about the condition of the cannons. He must be quick. He must let his gunner achieve their aim.