517

Episode 517 The Civil War is Over. (1)

It was commendable that Gator did not insist on being stubborn and left it up to each commander. There are not many people who can judge objectively without being overconfident in their own abilities.

It was clearly the best option, but as command was divided, cracks began to appear in the Delphian army. This was because the army was so large.

"Hmm, is everything going well?"

During the retreat to the fortress, Gator looked back several times and tilted his head, because something felt a bit off.

Then one of the staff members standing next to him said:

"That's because the army is moving. Each unit's movement speed is different, so it might be a little annoying."

"I see, would that be a big problem?"

The staff thought for a moment. In fact, the misalignment of the ranks was a big problem.

Not only is it impossible to demonstrate proper combat power, but each unit is also unable to move organically. This means that they cannot fight tactically.

But isn't this not a fighting situation right now?

"There are no enemies that can threaten us, so you don't have to worry too much."

"Yeah, I guess that won't be a problem."

Gatros didn't think much of it. There was no need for battle as reinforcements from the opposing side had not arrived yet.

All they had to do was go to the fortress and strengthen their defenses.

Amelia saw through that gap.

She carefully observed the formation of the Delphian army from the wall and said.

"It's a mess."

The ranks of the marching troops were falling apart as they went further back. This was natural, since there was no one to supervise and watch over the entire army.

The commanders of the Delphian army were busy managing only their own units. Since each unit had different types of troops, some units fell behind little by little as they moved.

The great army that had moved like a sword under Cayenne's command was no longer visible.

Amelia spoke to Gillian, who was standing beside her.

"Arm them as lightly as possible. While the cavalry pursue and harass the enemy, the rest follow in formation."

Marching is not simply walking. It is moving while maintaining maximum combat power under the command of a superior.

That's why there's a saying that a commander's skills are revealed by how well he guards and marches.

Now that the ranks of the Delphine army were becoming increasingly disorganized, it was the perfect time to strike from behind.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

The fortress gate opened and Lumina led her cavalry out. Soldiers rushed out behind her.

Although they are collectively called the Northern Army, in fact, they are now a term that refers to the combined forces of the Allied Forces, the Western Forces, and the armies of the local lords. Their numbers now exceed those of the Delphian Army.

"let's go."

The great army began to pursue the Delphian army under Amelia's orders.

In order to speed things up, the supply units and weapons did not move. They only brought combat rations and water supplied from Fenris just in case.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

The highly mobile cavalry archers quickly caught up with the Delphian army.

Gatros was startled when he saw the cavalry suddenly appearing.

"What? Are you asking me to fight now?"

The staff was also confused. If he didn't want to die, he wouldn't have done that. The number of cavalrymen seemed to be only about 10,000.

Gatros felt insulted. It seemed to him only a foolish attempt to obstruct his movement.

"Hit them now! Kill them!"

The moving Delphine army all turned around.

However, the attack was not carried out right away. The formations of each unit were uneven, and the slow-moving infantry units were far behind.

Ten thousand cavalry archers rained down arrows on the disoriented infantry units.

Phaaaat!

"Eww!"

"Shield up! Block it first!"

"Just block it! I'll help you from behind!"

The soldiers at the very rear were armed with heavy armor and were not injured. However, the light infantry ahead of them suffered considerable damage.

Gatros gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Archers! Wizards! Fight back quickly! What are the priests doing!"

Superhumans in various parts of the Delphine Army moved hurriedly.

Lumina drew her bow again. She remembered the order Amelia had given.

- Only twice.

'Twice… … .'

Paaaaah!

The rain of arrows poured down again. Lumina turned her horse around without a second thought.

"We retreat!"

The cavalrymen immediately turned and opened up some distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lightning and fire fell from the sky, and black pillars rose up. Arrows fired by the Delphian archers also flew, blackening the sky.

However, the cavalrymen who had already fled far away suffered no harm at all.

Surprisingly, they managed to sneak in a short gap before the enemy could counterattack.

Lumina retreated and stuck out her tongue.

'That's amazing.'

Based on the information she had accumulated while fighting so far, Amelia had a perfect idea of how long it would take the enemy to counterattack.

The Delphian army was unable to pursue the cavalry archers who were advancing immediately, as their formation was thrown into disarray by the sudden rear-end attack.

It was fortunate that the supply unit was placed in front so that the supplies were not damaged.

Gator gnashed his teeth and called together his staff.

"It looks like they're trying to slow down our movement by using shallow waters. Strengthen your rear guard and prepare for a surprise attack."

"All right."

The Delphian army reorganized and took care of the damage. They still placed their heavy infantry in the rear, but placed the superhumans, magicians, and archers a little further back.

Since we couldn't move right away due to the mood being disrupted by the surprise attack, we took a short break.

It was a normal response, but it bought time for the Northern Army to arrive.

"uh?"

"I am the enemy!"

"The Northern Army has appeared!"

They soon discovered a large army behind them and shouted. It was not surprising that they would encounter the enemy, as the cavalry had only recently retreated.

Gatros shouted loudly as if he was glad.

"Those little things have come out without fear! Do you think you can beat us without Count Balzac?"

Although it is true that Count Balzac's status is great, his absence does not significantly diminish the team's power.

Originally, there were more superhumans on this side. They simply laid siege because the enemy did not come out of the fortress.

"Hit!"

At Gator's command, the Delphian army moved. The priests of the Salvation Church stood at the forefront.

Gatros had no intention of just watching. Since their forces were somewhat lacking, he planned to lend them strength himself.

Amelia also extended her hand. Following her command, the Northern Army also advanced to meet them.

A platform was hastily erected at the rear of the Northern Army. Amelia was to climb up to the top and survey the battlefield.

"Conrad, seal off the magical power."

"All right."

Her chief of staff, Conrad, stood beside her and gave orders.

Immediately, a magic field was spread across both camps, and the opponent's magic began to be blocked.

"Wow!"

While the wizards were tied together, the vanguard of the two armies clashed.

Kwaaang!

The northern army was led by Leipold's heavy infantry, who held their lines tightly, as befitting a disciplined elite force.

Amelia's orders followed quickly.

"Tell the chieftain to take the lead on the right flank."

"The saint takes the lead on the left flank."

"Gillian and Tennant lead the Western Army and follow the Saintess."

"Kaor and the assault party follow the chieftain. The cavalry will support from behind."

"All Allied forces should join Leipold's army in the front line and continue to advance. As long as they don't get pushed back, that's fine."

Everyone moved according to Amelia's orders without even properly assessing the battlefield situation.

Amelia's lips curled upward as she watched the moving soldiers.

"The reaction is really quick."

The troops belonging to Fenris moved immediately after receiving the order. It was enough to show how well Giselle had trained them.

So I left the flanking attack to them.

The Allied forces were numerous. Although they were slow, they were able to join forces with Leipold's forces to deal with the enemy in terms of numbers.

The newly joined lords did not like Amelia leading, but they followed her for the time being because it was an important battle.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Whaaahhh! Kill me!"

"Don't push! Stop it!"

"Just dig in!"

It was the first time since the civil war that large forces had clashed. The Delphian army had over 150,000 troops, and the northern army had over 200,000 troops.

The battlefield was bound to become more intense than ever.

At first glance, the two sides' strengths seemed to be evenly matched. The Unified Northern Army had more men, but the Allied Forces and Western Forces were inferior to the Delphine Army.

But there was something that Gator overlooked.

"What the heck! Why am I being surrounded!"

The Delphian army's two flanks were pushed back. At this point, even Gator, who had no military knowledge, quickly realized the situation.

"The cavalry is swarming on both sides!"

Nearly half of the Delphine cavalry followed Count Balzac, while the cavalry of the northern army remained undiminished in number.

The Northern Army was originally an army composed mainly of cavalry. Amelia effectively suppressed the Delphian army by utilizing the overwhelmingly large number of cavalry.

On one side, the cavalry archers were shooting their arrows relentlessly. The archers had to come out to fight them, but the Delphian archers were too busy fending off attacks from three sides to stop the cavalry archers.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

The Delphian army was disorganized even before the battle began. Unable to move organically, both sides were quickly surrounded.

Even if they tried to break through, Leipold's forces and the Allied Forces were firmly blocking them.

It was not easy to break through, as even the most powerful players in Leipold, such as Bernap and Ulkan, had joined the ranks.

"Priests, come quickly to our aid!"

Even though Gatros shouted loudly, the priests could not easily escape.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Because Erenes and Parniel were running wild on both the left and right.

The priests of the Salvation Church began to focus on killing their opponents, rather than killing soldiers.

"Kill him quickly!"

Three priests rushed at Parniel.

Kwajik!

The first priest to be hit by Parniel's huge mace was thrown backwards.

"This bitch!"

Another priest took advantage of the gap to attack her from the side. Parniel easily blocked the attack with his thick forearms and then headbutted the priest.

Kwaaang!

There was a loud crash as if something was going to explode. The priest, whose forehead was sunken, staggered and lost consciousness for a moment.

Phew! Phew! Phew!

The knights supporting Parniel rushed in at the same time and plunged their swords into the fallen priest's body. Another priest tried to stop him, but Parniel blocked it with his body.

Kwaaaaang!

The priest shot the air with all his might and it hit her right in the stomach.

"This… … is crazy… … ."

The priest looked dumbfounded.

Even after being hit by that powerful attack, Parniel only slightly bent his waist. He seemed to have suffered internal injuries, as a thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he seemed to be able to move without any problems.

A massive mace tore through space and fell towards the priest.

Kwaaaaang!

"Kuaaaah!"

The priest blocked it without fear and ended up having both his arms crushed.

This was why the saint was so scary. She had an aura that was in conflict with the Church of Salvation and exerted tremendous power against the priests.

That is why she was able to rise to the fourth place among the seven powers of the continent during the time of turmoil.

Three priests were pushed back by one Parniel. With the superhumans tied up, the cavalry led by Gillian and Tennant struck the left flank of the Delphian army.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

The Delphine army's flank was pierced. Since the units had no coordination, they could not properly block the attack.

Gator had no idea what to do.

Clearly, the commanders of each unit were doing their best in the current situation. The fact that they were not completely pushed back despite being hit like that was proof of that.

However, they only commanded the units they led. There was no one to look over the entire battlefield and give command.

"This, this… … ."

Gatros felt dizzy. He had no idea where to go for help right away.

Originally, they were going to go towards the person who was presumed to be the saint. Two more priests went but were caught by other superhumans, Gillian and Tennant.

Even though he saw the army collapsing rapidly, he couldn't move towards it.

Kwaaaaang!

Because the other side was in chaos for a different reason.