Chapter 128: Fifteenth Episode: Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 128: Fifteenth Episode: Chapter 1

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The greenish-white sun hung high in the sky. A massive banyan tree in Alborto spread its skinny branches, casting dim shadows on the grassland. The early winter of Deiss was already freezing cold, even the land on Alborto Basin was beginning to form thin ice and frost.

On the high slopes of the south of the Basin came a loud and clear bugle call, followed by the sound of marches in orderly steps. The clamor of noises sounded like a sudden gush of mountain torrents. A fully-armed knight appeared on the high slope. He stood alone underneath the banyan tree, in his hand held an army flag. The golden lion on the flag shone brightly under the reflected rays of faint sunlight. The knight held tightly onto the rein focused on inspecting the plain land that stretched beyond his eyes.

Eventually, Titan soldiers appeared from behind the knight in an orderly phalanx formation. The troop in shining armors resembled a wave of mercury flowing from the top of the hill, forming a massive bay at the vast land below.

Commands and flags whistled along the strong breeze. Commanding officers and messengers shuttled back and forth around the land according to the arrangement planned on the map.

The long spears of Titan soldiers resembled a monotonous forest, their sharp ends gleamed with death. The icy winds cut into the faces of these young men, causing their features to turn into an expression that no words could explain. The front line was finally calm. These soldiers at the front line covered themselves with tall shields, exposing only their chest and head. The chilly sunlight shone upon the soldiers who kept their faces straight. Never forget, these stern faces belonged to someone's father, son, brother, nephews. Many individuals from separate families came together to form this unified and strong fist to fight against invaders.

The army pastors who accompanied the troops sang songs of worship, and these soldiers began to make silent vows in their hearts. Some asked God for forgiveness, some prayed piously for blessings from the omniscient being.

A peculiar voice caused a commotion from within the orderly troop. One after another, the troop of thousands of soldiers turned their head to the source of the noise, and they witnessed an unforgettable experience they would never forget in their entire lives. Their regimental commander, who was a viscount from an eminent family, was rolling and wailing on the icy cold ground.

A strong and vigorous steed suddenly appeared in front of the viscount. The frail silhouette on the horse overshadowed the man lying on the thin ice.

”Marshal! I… I feel sick to my stomach! I… really can't take it anymore! Let me go home!”

Alan gave a weak smile as he nodded. The viscount on the ground wiped off his snot and tears of joy in delight. He didn't seem to notice the surrounding soldiers who were spitting at him.

”Come over here, the few of you!” Alan called out to several soldiers from the phalanx formation. One among them even has the military rank badge of Major General. ”Keep him down, dissect his stomach to inspect what went wrong!”

The viscount was struck dumb with fear. Abruptly, he took to his heels and ran to the direction of the hill, but his plan fell through. His soldiers, those tame little sheep who have endured all his unwarranted beatings in the past, were blocking his way forward with shields and weapons.

One officer overturned the viscount and pinned him to the ground. He was wailing like a sow who was about to give birth, trembling like a whore who was about to receive a customer for the first time. With the soldiers weighing him down using their knees, the same officer from before revealed a gleaming dagger from his boots.

The armor was lifted off his body, the viscount's pale tummy was moving up and down. Alan leaped off his horse to the ground, startling himself slightly with the shock from his heavy landing. The marshal grabbed the shining dagger from his officer and squatted down to his knees. Ignoring the viscount's pleading and the constant dissuading from the crowd behind, in one swift move the old marshal slid this sharp weapon into the young man's stomach. The viscount went into convulsions as he watched a steady stream of fresh blood ooze out from his body, slowly but continuously. Hovering his hand above the viscount's body, Alan's movement was practiced and meticulous. He cut at the crying man's skin, into his fatty layer, venturing into his peritoneum, until his damaged large intestines and rancid body fluid continued to ooze out.

”Everyone can be my witness!” Marshal sprung to his feet suddenly, and the shocked crowd took a few steps backward, ”This young man's stomach is completely fine! In fact, it is the healthiest digestive system I've ever seen! So… where is the problem?”

Once again, the old marshal squatted on the ground appeared to be looking for something in the dead viscount's corpse.

”Found it! There it is!” Vann Hewitt Alan raised aloft a bloody heart. ”It's his heart! This heart already stopped beating when his owner was still alive. It has long since lost its will and is unable to distinguish honor!”

He paused a couple of seconds for effect, ”Are your hearts like this too?”, he asked.

All the soldiers shook their heads vigorously in response to the marshal's question! With indifference, the old man cast aside the heart that slowly shriveled up in the cold breeze as if to him, it was nothing more than a rotten aubergine.

The marshal once again boarded his own horse and steered this little guy of strong physique toward the long front line that seemed to stretch on forever. The marshal looked at each and every soldier who stood on the front line. He has no idea how many of these faces would be torn, destroyed, but he didn't feel a tiny fraction of remorse for this. As a soldier, some things can never be evaded.

Church's Calendar year 797, the 20th day of 11th month. At noon, the main force of Southern Region of Deiss finally appeared in front of the Titans. They moved slowly from the horizon on the northern side of the basin, only gradually falling into silence after more than half an hour's journey. The massive formation of troops that came to a standstill looked like a Black Forest in the distance. Accompanied by the sad cries and shrill screams of the howling cold wind, the sea of forest composed by warriors appeared to be brewing a stunning cold wave.

”Scorpion formation!” Vann Hewitt Alan retrieved the monocular. His seemed to have aged much since Dulin. Around his eyes were thin rims of dark circles, and his messy silvery long hair drifted underneath the helmet as the wind blew. It seemed that although the curve of the mouth displayed the charm of a marshal, those wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were ridiculing the enemy's obedience.

Glancing afar from the edge of the hills located in the basin, the formation of Deiss soldiers appeared indeed like the shape of a scorpion. To the left and right wings of this massive troops were the kingdom's Fifth SS Independent Cavalry Brigade and their incomplete Ninth SS Independent Cavalry Brigade respectively. In the middle of the battle line was the kingdom's Seventh Infantry Corps and Sixth Infantry Corps, who formed the shape of a scorpion head. Following closely after the two Infantry Army Groups was the mixed battalion consisted of the Fourteenth Infantry Corps and the Third Cavalry Corps. Lastly, at the end of the formation, the Titans could make out vague figures of those Teutonic Knights.

Accompanied by numerous other officers and soldiers, General Rondraisse sped into the middle of the battle array, where the soldiers had set a low observation post for the commander. The general jumped off his horse as he arrived. Together with his flag officer, the two of them mounted the commanding point.

Rondraisse appeared to be heavy-hearted. His troops estimated that this was due to the fact their general had been tricked by sly Silver Fox Alan. Just as the armed forces completely renewed their battle disposition, from the front-line observation post came the news of Titan's sudden outburst. This made Rondraisse extremely frustrated. After weighing the condition for a long time, the general felt it would be better to not slap himself in the face. If there happened another change of disposition when the war was near, he believed that the war would come to a pessimistic end. His colleagues' mocking would also be enough to make him kill himself by the throat.

The Deiss battlefield commander looked at the Titan's array with doubtful eyes. He didn't understand why Alan positioned five integrated Infantry Corps all out in phalanx formation on the battlefield. The way the five Corps came together resembled a piece of solid brick. What the hell was that? That wasn't even a tactical formation at all!

”Exactly! Like a piece of brick!” Alan glanced at the young colonel, ”Leigh! Don't you think the best way to kill a scorpion is by hitting it directly with a brick?”

Division Commander of Northern Army Fourth Corps Third Division Colonel Leigh McCaren quickly shook his head, ”Marshal, I'm not picking at your deployment decision, but I want to know why did you transfer me and my Division out of the battle formation?”

Alan returned to his strict self, ”That's because you have a greater task!”

”What task?” Colonel Leigh frowned. He couldn't think of any task that was more essential than pulling down to the enemy commander's flag.

”Oversee all actions that weaken our offensives, and enforce battlefield rules accordingly!”

”Enforcement unit? You want to change my assault division to an enforcement unit?” Colonel Leigh McCaren widened his eyes. At that moment, the only thing that came to his mind was that battlefield enforcement unit would definitely have to stain their hands with the blood of their own brothers.

”Yes! Your enforcement unit is going to decide the fate of this campaign! You should know your men better than myself, and I don't reckon anyone of them could successfully break the enemy's flag into a half. Therefore, you should ensure the soldiers at frontline move only forward. Those who turn around or surrender would only result in one fate – which is absolute death!”

Colonel Leigh McCaren sunk his gaze into the marshal's eyes. He discovered that there wasn't a slight change in the latter's expression. The young colonel lowered his head. Although he had been looking forward to this day, he wouldn't have thought that he would be the one to execute this role. Nonetheless, he was a soldier, and soldiers must obey orders.

”I tend to nag more often now. I'm really getting older!” Alan turned the horse around to face the battlefield as he mocked himself. In this instance, he felt excited like a groom about to get married but also felt solitary like he was an old pastor.

”Attack!”

The withered and yellowed grass shivered in the chilly wind. It swayed in a uniform direction at once, one patch after another, creating a sight as violent as waves of the sea. The vast expense of the countryside was still and quiet, the fading sunlight formed a gloomy yurt. It was as if the air between these two thousand meters distance separating the two troops was suddenly drawn away, drawing the battlefield that was about to open fire into an empty, silent vacuum of quietness.

”Woo… woo…”

The bugler finally sounded a call indicating the attack. Without hesitation, the assigned first formation went forward into the battle zone. The warriors of golden lions took their first steps into facing the monsters!

Shiny surfaces of weapons and armors reflected silver flowing light. Clouds of white mists rising swiftly were living evidence of the thousands and hundreds of peoples' breaths. Titan Empire Imperial Guards' Northern Army Group First and Fourth Corps set out at once. The troops of eighteen phalanx formation made of a thousand people each marched uniformly toward the enemy's frontline.

Following the marshal's request, all the high-ranking officers positioned themselves in the front of the formation. Leaders of the platoon followed after leaders of the company, who stood behind regimental commanders, who positioned themselves behind the division commander, who followed closely after the corps commanders. There was no shouting nor bellowing, what lingered in the air was only the deafening sound of soldiers' marches.

The sound resembled mudslide, an ear-shattering noise that could shatter all kind of psychological defense.

However, the Deiss soldiers didn't seem to have any form of psychological defense in their mind. Having been fighting for thousands of years, Yaran people have long since been accustomed to wars and battles. Just as Colonel Rondraisse said to his warriors before he mobilized them to the frontline, their opponents were still boys who were only used to standing guard in castles and towns, while they themselves were Deiss warriors who already have numerous brilliant records on the real battlefield!

”Arrow!” The commander of the scorpion's head formation shouted a clear and straightforward order. As an old soldier who has experienced countless summers and winters in the battleground, he was definitely confident about his own estimation. As he welcomed the wind that came from the north, he calculated the measurements and angles silently in his heart. Soon the experienced soldier lifted three fingers at the Deiss archers who stood prepared, waiting for instructions.

Deiss archers stepped forward at once. In front of each soldier were two filled arrow tubes.

”At thirty degrees! Facing directly front of enemy's front line! Attack!”

In no particular order, the bowstrings trembled one after another. From the sky above poured a shower of arrows. From afar, it sounded like a hornet of bumblebees flying out of a nest simultaneously. After the loss of momentum, these arrows seemed to stay in the air for a second, before quickly pounding to the ground.

”Raise your shields!” A loud command was heard from the Titan site. In the twinkling of an eye, the phalanx formation cramped together as the soldiers held their large shields over the head. Closely linked together, the phalanx moved slowly as if it was a flying map made out of iron.

The shower of arrows finally hit on the Titan's shield. Initially, it was only a few far between two or three, but almost immediately these arrows flooded in one after another at an overwhelming speed! Gradually the soldiers positioned on the front lost determination and patience, their hands that held the shields began to tremble uncontrollably. Arrows planted themselves at the soldiers through the tiny gaps between shields, causing the assaulted to voice out miserable muffled noises. These arrows could pierce through eyes, chest, legs, or basically anything that obstructed it from moving forward! The change of soldiers happened at the front line every once in a while, to introduce the arrows to unfamiliar faces and fresher lives. Stepping over comrades who fell to the ground, stepping over the ground covered with arrows, the Titan soldiers moved forward bravely nonetheless. Their eyes widened with fright, as they tried their best to avoid the misfortune that fell from the sky.

Concurrently at the observation tower, General Rondraisse finally issued an order for the scorpion's head to receive the enemy, but suddenly he became suspicious of himself. Immediately, at the beginning of the open fire, he realized he made a grave mistake. He had a powerful Cavalry Army Group of thirty-three thousand people, and his enemy only had a mere number of nine thousand cavalries. Hence why did this troop of thirty-three thousand not launch an attack but instead confined themselves to defend from within the scorpion array?

Titan soldiers on the front line could already make out the faces of their Deiss opponents. Just as the sparse arrows were shooting their direction, a tall able general suddenly jumped out of the square array. With all his might, he threw out an ax ferociously toward the enemy, and it was embedded accurately into the forehead of a startled Deiss soldier.

”Long live our motherland!” This able general pulled out a wide-blade sword from behind his back. Like a male lion, he threw himself at the group of leopard community.

”Long live our motherland!” Titans shouted out loud as the warriors lifted their shields over their heads, and dashed away to the enemies close at hand in the speed and strength of a raged, irritated rhinoceros.

Church's calendar year 797, the 20th day of 11th month. At 12:39, the First Battle of Alborto in the history of Westland finally commenced, with a good start, when the Titan soldier who rushed in the Deiss scorpion's head formation was thrown across the air.

The sound of a human body pierced by a spear was as melodious as a violin's string snapped into two, while the sound of shields shattering into pieces resembled a broken iron drum. The forward line that was closed to about one kilometer formed a thin red line. It was constantly distorted and continuously stretched, gradually filling its rich color with fresh blood and corpses.

Titan soldiers sent out axes, and in return, the Deiss threw spears at them. Titan soldiers struck with longswords while Deiss returned the favor with knives and arrows. Surrounding the red line, countless lives who were crying desperately were eventually gifted a painless calm.

In order to prevent the enemy's counter-assault that would destroy the Imperial Guards' battle formation, Titan soldiers in the front line maintained a dense battle formation. the phalanx of ax warriors pounded restlessly between the walls constructed by iron shields. A phalanx of spear throwers fought with their lives against the enemy. Archers of both parties continuously greeted each other with non-stop shower of arrows. Those soldiers at the rear of the formation were also merciless at attacking the enemy's head with whatever it was that could be reached by an arm's length.

The shouts and screams of the thin red line awakened the sky. The shadow of the clouds sometimes covered the wailing crowd, and sometimes cast light on the reddened front line. The front line seemed to be moving slowly, but the people weren't quite sure about the change. The battle on both sides resembled a tug-of-war race between two wild snails. They didn't know how to give in, and they didn't know that their soft limbs couldn't support the force of steel weapons.

Imperial Guards Northern Army Group First Corps Third Division First Group had a remarkable designation of a military unit called ”Group 1-3-1”. As the most powerful commando force in the Northern Army Group, Don Carlos thought he had exercised excellent leadership in attacking this heavily fortified position. In this Battle of Alborto, the task of the one-eyed leader was to raid the most vulnerable position of the scorpion - between the two teeth, a plier-shaped juncture of 50 meters.

Regardless of the ax speeding toward his way, Major Don Carlos fiercely kicked at the enemy in front. Without even a blink of an eye, he moved quickly the circular shield hanging on his arm above his head. A spark was ignited on the shield when the tomahawk brushed against it, although at the same time it caused Carlos to fall to the ground. At the same moment, the tall commander waved his sword in one swift move in front. A similarly sturdy Deiss warrior screamed miserably and fell to the ground. Both of his legs were chopped from the knees downward, his tomahawk thrown aside.

Soldiers of Group 1-3-1 dragged their regimental commander back to the rear of the battle line. Seconds later, Don Carlos rose to his full height. He organized a team of spear throwers at a distance of fewer than ten meters from the forward line. Followed by the enemy's sorrowful cries, the red line forced forward one meter. Carlos sighed with disappointment. The frontline was too crowded that he couldn't start an effective attack.

The regimental commander of Deiss Sixth Infantry Corps First Division Second Group was almost killed by a sudden spear that came his way. Fortunately for him who realized the surprise attack, he immediately pulled a soldier to make use as his shield. Defending the juncture of two armed forces was not an easy task. This was the crucial position of the entire scorpion formation. Once it was broken through, the connection that linked Seventh and Sixth Corps would be intercepted by the enemy.

”Supplementary soldiers!” Regimental commander of Deiss 6-1-2 shouted loudly at the rear of its troop. Numerous soldiers appeared at the back of the line, further flooding the front line. Feeling the pressure from behind, the soldiers, with no alternative, had to welcome the Titans' weapons with their own bodies.

Don Carlos retrieved a corpse from the front line. That was his brother, his own brother who joined the army under his influence! Without tears or extra unnecessary words, he handed his brother to a corporal, as he didn't want other comrades to trample on the damaged corpse of his brother!

Regimental commander of 6-1-2 screamed aloud and sent a Titan soldier to the ground, although simultaneously a piece of flesh was also cut off his shoulder by the enemy's longsword. Just as the enemy's military boot landed on the chest of the man, Don Carlos rushed forward and demanded the Deiss not hurt his brother! However, the regimental commander of 6-1-2 didn't understand the Titan's clamor, and his saber fell downward quickly. The moment it pierced through the enemy's chest, another brother of Don Carlos curled up into a ball under the sharp blade. Immediately the young man lost his breathing!

The two warriors finally met. Don Carlos waved his sword frantically, his saliva falling in all directions as he cursed loudly while engaging in the fight. He couldn't accept the fact that he lost two of his dearest brothers in a blink of an eye! When his aimless tenacious attack was finally held back, Don Carlos realized that the enemy in front of him was no longer the guy who took the lives of his loved ones. A thin stream of redness flowed from his feet, all the way to the depth of the battle line!

Rondraisse stared at the chaotic battle scene in confusion. Only after such a long while that he finally discovered his own stupidity. The reason for Alan to have extended the frontline into such length was simply to utilize the vast battlefield space to limit the cavalry's counterattack.

”If so... pedipalp! Make a pincer attack!”

”Wolves Cavalry to intercept the enemy! Split in the center!” Alan decided his mind seconds after the moment Deiss waved their war flags.

Suddenly, the banner-bearer under the banyan tree raised a flag imprinted with a double blade pulling on a bow. Immediately, Steinberger Timberwolves' Independent Cavalry Corps launched an assault on Deiss Ninth SS Infantry Brigade, the most vulnerable spot situated in between the pair of pedipalp, from its intended location on the south-eastern side of the battlefield.

Wolves cavalry's attack was exceptionally fast. Carrying double blades in their hands and longbows on their backs, these wolves rushed into the battlefield almost the same time as the Deiss. Steinberger's superb archery skills managed to launch successful heavy blows to the enemy from six hundred meters away. The assaulted war horses tangled with the falling men like a huge domino mess.

Three of Deiss Ninth SS Infantry Brigade's integrated cavalry regiment quickly disappeared into the core of the wolf cavalry camp. The whistling wolves with their abdomen equipped with sabers continuously savored at the enemy's vitality!

The tail of the scorpion finally moved! Teutonic Knights took on the role of this poisonous hook. With their flag still waving in the air, a steel torrent composed of nine thousand Deiss knights sped across the vast land into the right wing of the battlefield.

The effort for Fifth SS Independent Cavalry Brigade to outflank the Titans from both sides became more and more difficult! Although they deployed strong armies to disperse the two outermost phalanxes of the Titan camp, the sudden shower of arrows from the center camp caused this integrated brigade of five thousand soldiers to stay distant from the left wing. When the Fifth Independent Brigade returned to outflank the enemy on the left again, the Titan camp already combined two square phalanxes of three thousand soldiers each in the open area on the left side of the central battlefield. These soldiers squatted on the ground prepared to face the enemy's raid by aligning countless spears around vertically.

Wolves cavalry finally clashed with Deiss's most elite cavalry commando forces. The knights of both sides soon penetrated each other. Long knives clashed in the air while arrows greeted each other in the most violent way. Wolves' mobility was more superior than their opponent, but Teutonic Knights surpassed them in courage! Battle flags accurately delivered the commands of the Imperial Guard's commander - ”to break the whole into fragments, use agility to disrupt the enemy!”

Gradually, the wolves dispersed and spread around. Following the size of a company, they continuously fought with Teutonic Knights, always leaving several dead bodies after each round. The knights' team away from the enemy camp continued to scatter and snipe using hidden arrows and dark knives. Almost all of the men were greeted by those at the edge of the enemy camp, almost all of the wolves' cavalry soldiers fiercely fought against the sabers of Teutonic Knights.

In the open grass plains, dust and smoke swirled upward to the sky. Whirring of horses and desperate cries of fighting intertwined. The strong odor of earth filled the gray sky. It seemed that life has become the most insignificant article between heaven and earth.

Two teams of wolves finally lost their way on the dusty battlefield. As they twisted their way through the crowd they accidentally entered the cluster of Teutonic Knights. Sounds of metal frantically clashing immediately exploded in the air, and soon enough Teutonic Knights escaped from the combat forces of the wolves. Dust and fog gradually dissipated, and appeared on the ground now were numerous bodies of wolves' cavalry, leaving only numerous horses who lost their lords wandering alone on the battlefield.

”Recall cavalry!” Alan's brows drew together. Teutonic Knights' capability seemed to be more stretched anticipated. However, it was understandable, as the staff of the Combat Department has estimated the combat effectiveness of Teutonic Knights in accordance with their performance in Saijo Mountain Battle. Perhaps around the world, only Narcissus Knights could tear down a united front of cavalry with using only the force of one division!