March To Another's War (7)

* * *

"That's Errante the Heavy Sword! Look at how that confident man is running away! Hahahahahaha! I love it!" <General Bellac>

On top of the castle wall, Bellac starts laughing but Fihatri thinks it was the right choice.

There was no need to fight an opponent you knew you would lose to.

The fact that he had used mana meant that he was a class A warlord.

If that's the case, then the princess and the general don't stand a chance, Fihatri decided.

"Archers, aim at the enemy to buy time!" <Count Fihatri>

Fihatri prepared his archers to cover Julius>.

"Kiki, yes. Roserun deserves to die." <General Bellac>

Bellac muttered to himself with a wicked smile on his face.

* * *

As soon as we entered the castle gate, I set Yurasia down.

She was limping a bit, but still seemed to be able to walk; she had a little bit of mana left in her.

"Close the gate as soon as all the soldiers return!" <Yurasia >

From the top of the castle, Fihatri archers were covering them but the problem was the iron cavalry.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

The men who appeared with Errante were all infantry, and there were two units of iron cavalry among the 20,000 troops. One of them had been wiped out by Yurasia and her suicidal charge, but the other unit in the rear was advancing at a very fast pace.

Those iron cavalrymen were the problem; they were faster than our infantry.

"Fihatri!" <Julius >

I called out to him on the battlements.

"I don't need backup, just hand over 2000 archers and 3000 cavalry to Zeff immediately. Zeff, you are to lead them out of the West Gate, not the South Gate. The west gate will be closed immediately. Follow the plan I told you about. Fihatri! You lead the rest of the 25,000 reinforcements and follow me. We're heading for the central square!" <Julius >

After giving orders to Fihatri and Zeff, I talked with Yurasia.

"Your Highness, here's the thing. The iron cavalry is not afraid of arrows. At that speed, they'll probably break through the city gates before our infantry who hasn't returned yet. If the incoming iron cavalry defends the city gates, the rest of the enemy's army will be able to enter the capital without difficulty. The only way to stop them is to close the city gates now!

"It's..." <Princess Yurasia>

Yurasia couldn't answer right away and slurred her words.

However, she quickly shook her head.

"These are the soldiers who took a stand against Errante on my behalf! It would be impossible to move their hearts again after abandoning them because they couldn't make it in time. The morale of the Roserun is at stake here!" <Princess Yurasia>

It was the right thing to do, for the sake of morale.

"I'm still all right. I'll deal with the iron cavalry in front of the city gate. I'll hold on even if I die!" <Princess Yurasia>

"That won't be necessary. With all due respect, it's impossible for Your Highness to take on a thousand iron cavalrymen with the little mana you have left. Do you have other treasures?" <Julius >

Yes, it would take time for her mana to recover.

Right now, she was in a state where she could only fight like a soldier.

Every time she moved, her wounds would hurt.

She was still bleeding even now.

"No, not at the moment." <Princess Yurasia>

The princess bit her lip and shook her head.

"We will go to the central square. Leave the gate open for the soldiers who haven't returned yet, and Your Highness, please lead the returned soldiers and the south gate guards to the central square!" <Julius >

I said that much and turned away.

Honestly, the calm and advantageous decision would be to close the gates and let the rest of the soldiers go.

However, the most important thing right now is morale.

Abandoning the soldiers who didn't make it here in time would not have a good effect on morale.

I could have killed Errante outside the castle as many times as I wanted but then I would only be able to kill Errante.

Even though they would be upset about losing their commander, they were well-trained soldiers.

If we pursued them, there was a greater chance that they would counterattack.

A pursuit battle on the plains would be disadvantageous for our poorly trained troops.

Furthermore, it would mean leaving the castle empty.

If there were other enemy troops, it would be the worst possible choice.

* * *

- - Princess Yurasia POV - -

It is true that he used a superior strategy in the battle against Visigoth.

However, I don't understand his strategy this time.

I can't blame him for running away from the strength of the enemy general, but to open the gates and run away?

Yurasia thought that with the help of reinforcements, she could struggle at the south gate even if the iron cavalry came in.

She thought that if she gave it her all, she would be able to get all of her soldiers back.

This turned out to be the worst possible choice.

Was I overestimating my chances?

Yurasia clenched her teeth as she thought about this.

It would be worse to be destroyed individually in this situation.

That's why she needed to get Roserun soldiers to join up with the reinforcements.

As he said, I'm now in a state where I can't release mana.

I also ran out of treasures.

The iron cavalry didn't care about the soldiers who were returning to the city, they were running only with the determination to break through the south gate.

"It can't be helped. We're heading for the central square!" <Princess Yurasia>

She had no choice but to give the order.