Chapter 5: The Battle Outside Randel (last part)

The Forbidden Army had received reinforcements from more than just the dark

elf village. There was also Halbert's father, Glaive Magna, and those who had

defected from the Army like him. They were participating in the battle as volunteer

soldiers with Glaive leading them. Combined with the reinforcements from the dark

elf village, there were around 5,000 of them.

In other words, there were 15,000 defenders in this fortress.

I hear an attacker must have three times as many soldiers as the defender in order

to win a siege, Kaede thought. The Army has seen a lot of deserters, Hal's father

foremost among them, but they were able to keep their numbers at 40,000 with the

mercenaries the corrupt nobles managed to scrounge up. This would have been hard

with only the 10,000 troops who report directly to the king, but if you add in the

reinforcements, we've just managed to avoid them having triple our numbers. It was a

relief to realize that.

Incidentally, years later, Sur's now-grown daughter would make good on her

word. She would join the military and be fortunate enough to be placed under

Halbert's command. Somehow, she would also shrewdly manage to arrange for her

marriage to Halbert, creating a situation Kaede would not be able to feel relieved

about at all, but that is a story for another day.

For now, the only thing Kaede had to wrack her brain over was finding some way

to survive this battle with Halbert.

Then...

"Kaede!"

Hearing someone suddenly call her name, Kaede looked towards the gate to see a

group of knights, both them and their horses clad in silver armor. These were the

Royal Guard who protected the capital and the royal palace.

Standing at the front of the group, looking most impressive of all, was the Captain

of the Royal Guard, who was also the head of Forbidden Army, Ludwin Arcs. He was

blonde and handsome, clad in silver armor, and riding atop a white horse. It was a

look that seemed "too good to be true," and Halbert envied him for it.

Someday, I want to be like that... Halbert felt a strong desire to make a name for

himself.

Meanwhile, Kaede paid no heed to his dashing figure as she closed in angrily on

Ludwin. "What do you think you're doing?! You're our commander-in-chief, you

know!"

"Sorry, Kaede," he said. "You take command here for a little while. We'll go deal

with those noisy things." Ludwin pointed towards the cannons with his lance.

Kaede clutched her head. "We have Hal for petty errands like that, you know!"

"Hey!" Halbert exclaimed.

"Ha ha ha, don't be like that," Ludwin said. "Compared to the soldiers who've

worked so hard building this fortress and defending it, we in the Royal Guard

haven't had a single chance to show off so far. It'll be bad for our appearance if we

don't fix that."

"For your appearance... are all men stupid?" Kaede demanded.

"Ha ha ha, you do get it," Ludwin chuckled. "Well, I'll leave the rest to you."

Before Kaede could say another word, Ludwin began barking orders at the Royal

Guard.

"Open the gates! The target is dead ahead, the three large cannons! We'll return

when they are destroyed! Ignore the enemy soldiers: don't pursue them too deeply!

Focus solely on destroying the target!"

"""Yes, sir!"""

"If any block your path, run them through with your lance!" Ludwin ordered. "If

any try to interfere, see them trampled under your horse's hooves! We are the lance

that defends this country! We bear the dignity of His Majesty! Rush forth, and let

nothing hold you back!"

And so, the gates were opened.

"Here we go! We'll show them the Royal Guard aren't just here to look pretty!"

Ludwin called.

"""Yes, sir!"""

With the intensity of a dam breaking, the Royal Guard surged forth.

The attacking mercenaries panicked in the face of this sudden counterattack,

breaking ranks. They could no longer impede the Royal Guard's charge. Some were

impaled on Ludwin and his men's lances, others were trampled under the hooves of

their horses.

Many of them were mercenaries that the corrupt nobles had spent their personal

wealth scraping together. The mercenaries were strong individually, but they did

not work well in groups. With no unified command structure, they each made

decisions on their own.

Because they were only working for the money, they lacked loyalty or patriotism.

When their lives were at risk, they were quick to flee. As a result, they were

especially ill-suited to face a force like Ludwin's, which was disciplined and could

move with one common will. The mercenaries couldn't stop the group as

individuals, yet they also couldn't work together with their allies. With the

mercenaries being mowed down one after another, they broke and ran.

Then, when Ludwin and his men reached the abandoned cannons, they set them

on fire.

His Majesty will probably moan about the budget later... but, there's little choice,

Ludwin thought.

He felt it was a bit of a waste, but they couldn't just leave them there, and they

couldn't afford the time it would take to drag weapons with such low mobility back.

Destroying them was the only option.

As the Royal Guard slowly made their triumphant return, there was a loud roar

as the cannons exploded behind them, sending up a great black cloud of smoke.

Jumping straight to the conclusion, the Army returned to Randel at sunset having

been unable to accomplish anything this day. If we look only at the results of the

battle, it could be called a victory for the defenders.

However, the ones who had originally been the attackers were the Forbidden

Army. No matter how many defensive battles they won, they would eventually be

worn down.

That much was clear to everyone.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, in the meeting room of Georg Carmine's castle, more than a dozen

nobles were pressing Georg for answers.

"Duke Carmine! What was that supposed to be?! How can the Army be so

unmotivated?!" a corrupt noble demanded.

"Indeed," another said angrily. "This is not like you, the one once feared as a

fierce god of the battlefield."

"We were the only ones out there taking the fight seriously!" another noble

exclaimed.

All of these men had fled as soon as Souma had accused them of corruption. They

had gathered, like moths to the flame, under the banner of Georg, who had made his

opposition to the king clear.

Having embezzled more than they could ever repay, and now even rebelling

against the king, they had nowhere left to go. If they lost the war with Souma, it

would be the end of them. That was why they had spent their personal fortunes on

Zemish mercenaries and challenged the Forbidden Army.

However, they were not satisfied with the way Georg had fought.

The Army had been too passive in today's battle. They understood that the

soldiers' morale would be low from fighting the king's forces, but Georg had shown

no intention of even trying to encourage the troops. This attitude was unlike the

Georg Carmine known for his relentless offenses, and it angered the nobles.

"The Army is full of spineless cowards!" one of the nobles spat. "The battle with

the king has already begun, you realize!"

"Show us the power that made the name of Georg Carmine famous throughout

the kingdom!"

"Surely you don't mean to tell us you're scared now!" another one shouted.

"Oh...?" Georg glared at the nobles. That alone was enough to knock the fight out

of them, making them fall silent and take a step back away from him. "Who are you

suggesting I am afraid of?"

There was silence.

With those words alone, Georg took control of the room.

As he looked to each of the nobles, who were speechless in the face of the fierce

general's intensity, Georg spoke in a calm, composed tone.

"Do any of you understand the situation? The enemy has only ten, maybe twenty

thousand troops. It was a surprise that they built that fortress overnight, but if we

slowly close in on them, they are the ones that will be pushed into a corner. Where is

the need to recklessly attack?"

"I-If that is the case... if they are only ten thousand, shouldn't we push the attack

and defeat them in one fell swoop?" One of the nobles worked up his courage to

speak, but Georg only snorted derisively.

"You tried that and were driven off, were you not?" he asked. "What's more, you

even pulled three cannons out of the armory, and then, in your blundering, managed

to have them destroyed."

"Urgh... I can't apologize enough for that." The noble who had spoken shrank

under Georg's glare.

In fact, deploying the cannons had been a decision the corrupt nobles had made

themselves, frustrated that they couldn't take the fortress. They had used their titles

to intimidate the person in charge of the armory, forcing him to lend them the

weapons. As a result, they had needlessly lost three cannons. Now, the Army looked

at the nobles' forces with contempt.

Georg continued, "There was one other thing I found concerning. I couldn't sense

Souma in that fortress."

"Hasn't he left the war to his vassals, while he stays trembling back in the royal

capital?" one of the corrupt nobles asked.

"Do you think that that king could do that?" Georg asked. "Even if we can't see

him, he's definitely out there doing something. That is why we need to lure him out."

"In other words, you want to use the soldiers in that fortress as bait?" a noble

asked.

Georg nodded at the noble's suggestion. "Right now, there is no way to know

where Souma is or what he is plotting, but if he leaves the troops he's dispatched to

die, both the soldiers and the people will abandon him. Eventually, he has no choice

but to appear on this battlefield. When he does, we simply need to crush him along

with the soldiers of the fortress." He grinned.

Georg was a lion-headed beastman. When he grinned, it exposed his fangs.

When the nobles saw those, it sent a chill down their spines. They knew, if

nothing else, they must never make this man their enemy.

Georg rose from his seat. "However, you must all be tired from today's attack.

This is not a battle that will be ending tomorrow or the day after. We of the Army

will handle the attack alone, so all of you will take the day tomorrow to rest."

"""Y-Yes, sir!"""

Having received those words of appreciation from Georg, the nobles bowed their

heads and departed from the meeting room.

Once they did, a single man came in, as if trading places with them. "Pardon me,

Duke Carmine."

"...Beowulf," Georg said.

The man's name was Beowulf Gardner. He was a wolf-faced beastman who wore

a black military uniform. In the Army, he and Glaive Magna, who had now parted

ways with them, were the two closest to Georg Carmine. He was the second-incommand of the army now.

Using few words, Georg asked Beowulf, "The preparations are complete, I

presume?"

"Yes, sir! Everything is flawless."

"Good."

As Beowulf saluted him, Georg nodded in satisfaction, grinning broadly.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, around that time, Halbert and Kaede were sitting side by side, eating

together.

They were eating Souma's invention, "instant gelin udon."

The gelin udon was first boiled, then it was spiced heavily and dried out. When

they wanted to eat it, they would pour boiling water on it and wait for one minute.

(It absorbed water faster than instant ramen.) So long as they had a cup and boiling

water, it could be eaten anywhere. Because of that convenience, it was well regarded

by the Forbidden Army soldiers who received it as part of their rations.

"Being able to eat this stuff even in the field...slurp... it's nice, isn't it?" Halbert

commented.

"His Majesty was complaining... slurp... 'I wanted to fry them, but they melted

when I put them in oil! Even though I prefer the savory taste of fried noodles to nonfried ones!' you know," Kaede said.

"I don't really get... slurp... why he'd be so particular about that," Halbert said.

Once they finished their meal over that sort of conversation, Kaede leaned

against Halbert's shoulder. The scent of Kaede's hair so close to him made Halbert

blink rapidly in confusion.

"H-Hey, Kaede. What're you doing?"

"Hee hee. Hal, I'm happy, you know."

"Huh?! About what?!" he exclaimed.

"Having you at my side, like this," Kaede said with a little laugh. "I'm glad you

came to the Forbidden Army. If you were still in the Army, we might have been

enemies, you know. We might not be here."

"Yeah, but thanks to that, I'm surrounded by 40,000 soldiers from the Army," he

said.

Kaede smiled to see Halbert rub the bridge of his nose bashfully as he said that.

"It will all be decided today and tomorrow, you know," she said. "If we can just

last that long..."

"Then what?" he asked.

"If we just get past this, I hope the rest will work out."

"Don't end it with what you're hoping for!" he exclaimed. "If you're going to say

that much, then tell me the rest, too!"

"So make sure you protect me, okay? Hal."

With his childhood friend asking him so cutely, Halbert scratched his head

vigorously. "Ugh, fine, I get it! I'll protect you and everything else!"

"I'm counting on you, you know, Hal," she said.

In a fortress in the middle of the battlefield, the two nestled close and smiled

together.

—1st Day, 10th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar.

The night came to an end, and the Army resumed their attack.

However, unlike the day before, there were only sporadic attacks on all sides.

While arrows and magic came flying, there were no units trying to press the

attack hard. Halbert was a little perplexed at the complete change to such a passive

mode of fighting after the day before.

"The enemy's suddenly let up on the attack," he said.

"I don't see any Zemish mercenaries, either," Kaede said, surveying the enemy.

"The change in deployment may mean that the enemy has changed to fighting a war

of attrition."

Halbert spun his shoulders in circles. "In that case, it'll make things a bit easier,

maybe."

"One must always remain vigilant on the battlefield, Hal," she said. "You'll get

tripped up otherwise, you know."

"...I know."

And so, the sporadic attacks by the Army continued. Then, when the sun was at

its zenith, it happened.

The soldier in the lookout post shouted loudly, "Multiple units of wyverns sighted

in the sky to the east! It's the Air Force!"

When Halbert and Kaede looked up to the eastern sky, alarmed by the lookout's

voice, they saw several thousand wyverns flying towards them in formation.

Halbert unconsciously pulled Kaede tight against him.

Kaede put her own hand on the hand Halbert had put around her shoulder,

saying, "It's okay, Hal," with a gentle smile. "We've won our bet, you know."

The wyverns passed by the fortress where Halbert and Kaede were, flying

towards Randel.

[MISTERLP]:

"Randel's One Night Fortress"

Type: Stratagem

Meaning: To use everything at your disposal to achieve an objective.

Origin: When King Souma was subduing Georg's rebellion, he made use of the

Forbidden Army's capabilities as combat engineers to revive an abandoned fortress.

Synonyms: Thirty-Six Stratagems' 14th stratagem, "Borrow a corpse to resurrect

the soul."