Episode 186: Kirchhen vs. Serodonia
As the sun approached its zenith in the heavens—the battle between the seventy thousand troops of the Kirchhen Kingdom army and the one hundred thousand troops of the Serodonia Kingdom army began.
The first clash occurred between the Kirchhen army’s left wing led by Fen and the Serodonia army’s right wing.
The troop strength was fifteen thousand on the Kirchhen side, twenty thousand on the Serodonia side.
Commanding the Serodonia army was General Vidarie, who wore ornate cloth decorations over his sturdy armor.
The main force of this army consisted of knights encased in thick armor from head to toe, with even their horses equipped with heavy armor. They were an impregnable heavy cavalry unit.
Meanwhile, the Kirchhen side had spread out their forces to maximize the agility that beastmen possessed, advancing through the grasslands of the plains in a weaving pattern. And then—
“—Now! Volley fire!”
At Fen’s sharp command, horns sounded, and arrows were released from the bowstrings of the beastmen archers. They rained down upon the heavy knights like a downpour.
“Heh heh…!”
Vidarie smiled fearlessly beneath his faceplate and laughed boldly.
“Hah hah hah hah! Useless! Utterly useless! Did you think we were just for show!?”
The storm of arrows merely bounced off the thick armor with clanging sounds.
“Tch…!”
Fen clicked his tongue quietly. In response, Vidarie thrust his sword forward and roared.
“We’ll show these foolish beastmen! That the Serodonia heavy cavalry is the strongest!—Let’s go! Charge!”
With thunderous rumbling, the warhorses galloped forth, and the knights’ charge began.
◇
Meanwhile, the fifteen thousand troops led by Leon had halted their advance. Standing before them was—a fortress made of rock and wood.
This area was basically a plain since it had been the Western War Band’s camp. However, as the existence of caves used as food storage indicated, there were also rocky areas extending from the surrounding mountain ranges. Using these rocky areas, the enemy had combined wooden stakes and fences to construct a makeshift fortress.
“What should we do? Attack? Or perhaps…”
The one who asked this was a young soldier… Robert. Corps commander Leon quietly observed his surroundings and gave his answer.
“Even if we attack, it ain’t a fortress we can easily take down. Makeshift or not, a fortress is a fortress. It won’t be easy to capture. …Moreover, we’re outnumbered.”
Probably, the enemy had around twenty thousand troops. Taking down a fortress where a numerically superior enemy was holed up would be no easy task.
“Then… shall we continue this standoff here?”
“Well, that ain’t a bad decision either, but…”
If they could pin down twenty thousand enemy troops here with fifteen thousand soldiers, Leon and his forces could be said to have fulfilled their role sufficiently.
“But that alone… won’t be enough to overturn the difference in military strength.”
Total allied forces: seventy thousand versus enemy total forces: approximately one hundred thousand.
To reverse that difference, simply pinning down part of the enemy force would be far from sufficient.
“Split the army in half and organize a separate unit. Leave half here to monitor the enemy, the other half will act separately.”
“Yes sir!”
Following Leon’s orders, a separate unit was organized from the Kirchhen Kingdom army’s right wing.
That movement could also be observed from the Serodonia army fortress built in the rocky area.
“…The Kirchhen army is organizing a separate unit and beginning to leave the battlefield.”
A lookout soldier reported to the Serodonia army left wing commander—namely, the commander of this fortress.
“What’s the troop strength of the separate unit?”
The one who asked was General Regro=Salva de Rodskahl. His sharply curved nose was reminiscent of a bird of prey’s beak. Though from minor nobility, he was a capable man who had risen to become a general commanding twenty thousand troops.
The soldier checked with his spyglass while giving his response to Regro=Salva.
“We can’t grasp the full picture due to the rock cover, but… judging from the number of remaining troops, it appears seven to eight thousand have departed.”
“They left half their forces here and sent the other half to other battle lines. Hmph, dividing their military strength… A poor move! A poor move!”
A ferocious smile like that of a bird of prey appeared on Regro=Salva’s face.
“We’ll wait for the right moment when the enemy’s separate unit has completely departed, then we’ll sally forth. —We’ll scatter the enemy. Prepare for it.”
While giving instructions, he placed his hand on the necklace hanging at his chest. A silver ornament shaped like wings of light—the sacred seal symbolizing the ‘Holy Church,’ the ‘Light Wing Seal.’
Seven, eight thousand soldiers are nothing more than scraps of paper before our twenty thousand… I’ll annihilate them!
What appeared in the mind of this general who was both a Serodonia commander and a devout believer of the ‘Holy Church’ was the figure of ‘Wing Bishop’ Zeoriela.
Before departing for battle, Zeoriela had told him this:
—Siegfried’s army consists of those who defy God. Defeating them is the path to heaven.
Such were her words.
Regro=Salva deepened his fearless smile.
Come now, become sacrifices… Kirchhen Kingdom army. For me to reach heaven!
◇
And—the main forces of both armies, the Kirchhen central army and the Serodonia central army. There, fierce fighting was unfolding.
The Kirchhen side had forty thousand. The Serodonia side’s troop strength was around fifty to sixty thousand. Serodonia held the numerical advantage. However, Kirchhen army had the momentum.
“Guh… what is this knight…!”
“Fast… and strong too!”
Serodonia soldiers let out voices of terror. In their line of sight, a single knight was racing across the battlefield freely, cutting down enemies. Swift and fierce—like crimson flames incarnate.
“I see, so that’s… Beatrice Nightray, who defeated former Royal Knight Order Commander Zefard…!”
A Serodonia knight gasped. The fame of defeating Zefard had already spread, whispered with fear and respect. But immediately after, frivolous mockery rang out.
“Heh…! A mere woman…”
“Defeated Zefard? That’s just because Zefard was a weakling, ain’t it?”
Along with those words, two figures stepped forward—a duo riding gray horses. Gripped in their hands were sharply curved blades—scimitars.
Upon seeing their figures, Serodonia soldiers gasped and murmured.
“N-no way, the ‘Curved Blade Three Swordsmen’!? These two were here…!”
“Th-the ‘Curved Blade Three Swordsmen’!?”
Another soldier responded with a shocked voice.
“Could it be, those from… under Captain Mauricio!?”
“Yeah… The three swordsmen that ‘Laughing Mad Dog’ Captain Mauricio kept as his trump cards on the battlefield… Iago, Sambaldogos, Daconia. I don’t know where Master Iago is or what he’s doing now, but… those over there are Master Sambaldogos and Master Daconia. I heard they were particularly vicious among Captain Mauricio’s subordinates, and were kept away from battlefields by orders from the upper echelons… but to think Prime Minister Lazro deployed even these two to the battlefield…!”
Gulp, the soldier’s throat made a sound.
“Who the hell’s gonna win!?”
“I don’t know. But this much I can say—the battle between Beatrice Nightray and the ‘Curved Blade Three Swordsmen’ will be spectacular…!”
Just then, Beatrice closed in on Sambaldogos and Daconia.
Both took defensive stances—or so it seemed in the next moment.
“Eh…?”
Sambaldogos, Daconia—both their bodies were sliced through armor and all, dancing through the air while scattering blood. Faced with such an overwhelming difference in power, they couldn’t block Beatrice’s blade even once… and met their end on the battlefield.
“S-Sambaldogos-sama, Daconia-sama… k-killed in action!”
The anguished cry of a Serodonia soldier relaying battlefield information echoed across the battlefield.
Even during this, Beatrice didn’t slow her pace, racing toward her next enemy like blazing flames.
“T-too strong…”
A Serodonia soldier muttered in stunned amazement.
