Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Chapter 548: Road to Kingdom ⑤ Battle of Goldonia

Leopolt, Tristan, and the others, even including the leaf-covered Celia, are looking at me reproachfully.

Myla is the only one who is grinning with a weird gleam in her eye, she will turn back to normal, right?

「I’m done.」

「That is useless sentiment.」

I smile at Leopolt and assert.

「Well, I’m a man who does many unnecessary things. You’ve been with me for so long and still don’t understand?」

I give my own cheek a slap.

「I tried to advise them to surrender, but they said they’d remain on guard.」

Tristan sighs, expectating as much, Leopolt is expressionless, and Celia makes a funny face in an attempt to be expressionless.

Beating drums can be heard from the royal army side.

That is the signal for war.

「The gap in strength is evidently large without having to look. How should we attack?」

We can afford to use the little time we have to think a bit.

「I won’t say――that’s not within calculation, but we aren’t out of options.」

「Indeed. If we were in complete despair, I would have ran already. The fact that a sliver of a chance is left is worse.」

The entire army changes formation based on instructions given by Leopolt and Tristan.

Movement in the royal army stopped immediately.

Erich seems to want to gauge what we are doing.

「So they are defending tightly. I don’t think we can rush in and casually challenge them.」

「Having more troops than us in the rear, they are at no risk from a detour of the walls or a breakthrough. In that case, it is a more reliable strategy to stay still and defend until they ascertain our intentions.」

Sekrit explains beside me.

She has a serious expression compared to her usual smirk.

Her form-fitting pants are sexy, but this doesn’t seem to be the right mood to grope her.

「Horizontal line formation. Match your marching with the speed of the cannons.」

Leopolt’s order was unexpected.

「A horizontal formation is a bit…」

A horizontal formation is one where the soldiers line up sideways.

It utilizes large wings to maximize the firepower of the archers and pushes forward while preventing the enemy from passing around it.

Conversely, spreading out reduces overall speed.

It is honestly not a suitable formation for an army mainly consisting of cavalry.

「With a city behind them, we can’t break through or bypass anyhow. The enemy is four times our size, but they are in a defensive-oriented rectangle, so the firepower in the rear is idle. If we throw all the rearguard in the front, we can at least equal or exceed the firepower of their frontline projectiles.」

The Erich-led royal army is in roughly speaking a box formation protecting the gates.

Although sturdy, the soldiers in the back can’t participate in the frontal battle.

「But if the vanguard gets exhausted……」

Celia doesn’t have to finish the sentence.

Our army which extends horizontally is only equivalent to the royal army which extends vertically at the front row.

We can’t replenish our forces if we suffer casualties and we don’t have any reserve troops to switch with fatigued soldiers.

「It’s fine. If I had to pick between a hard fight in the beginning that later leads to trouble or being in trouble from the start, I’d rather choose the former.」

My army advances slowly and gradually closes the distance to the waiting royal army.

Being the capital, there are various things outside the city walls.

A rental stable, a small guard room, a log collection site, a garbage dump…… we step over these unmanned areas one by one.

Both armies are holding their breaths, wondering where the next battle will start.

「Gulp.」

It happened at the same time as Celia swallowed her saliva.

A wagon towing a field artillery cannon suddenly stopped.

「Fireee.」

We make the first move. Tristan gave the order somewhere in his unmotivated voice.

Fire blows out simultaneously from fifteen field artillery cannons.

It appears like puffs of smoke in the distance, with the trails flying toward the royal army.

「Loose――!」

One second later, 6000 stationary bow cavalry launch arrows into the air.

The moment their arrows leave the bow strings, fifteen sand clouds rise from the royal army ranks.

6000 arrows rain down as the soldiers scream and gasp.

Of course, it’s not like an arrow attack is beyond Erich’s expectations.

Soldiers in the front row are waiting with giant shields.

What he didn’t expect was probably the existence of field artillery that can shoot less than one minute after coming to a stop and the range of the bow cavalry.

The cannonballs shot out of the field artillery penetrate the shields like paper and bowl over the kingdom’s soldiers.

The distance separating us is barely outside the firing range of arrows. Nevertheless, the arrows launched by the bow cavalry have enough precision and power.

Only master-class archers can perform this feat……in other words almost all the bow cavalry.

「Second volley――so fast. It’s a three-second interval……no, it’s closer to two seconds.」

Sekrit comments in admiration.

The bow cavalry launches two more volleys in quick succession.

It isn’t a synchronized volley, each individual is shooting as fast as they possibly can.

The nonstop stream of arrows flying out of the ranks resembles a fountain.

When I strain my eyes though, the number of fallen soldiers is fewer than the frightening number of arrows.

「At most 30 or 40 were taken out by the fifteen cannons. Also, the arrows might have been surprising at first……」

Celia mutters.

In just a matter of ten seconds, the royal army had packed closely together with their shields at the ready to defend against the arrows.

For every hundred arrows, it’s doubtful whether even one soldier was knocked down. Considering the difference in military strength, that is nowhere near effective.

The field artillery cannons, which pierced through the ranks but had a longer interval between shots, are being ignored.

However, it’s not an easy task to ignore them just because you were told to.

It is the end of a soldier’s life if a cannonball lands in a crowded area.

And naturally you would want to either take cover or scatter.

They are able to execute the commander’s order without becoming disorganized.

The royal army under Erich’s leadership is undoubtedly strong.

Of course Leopolt’s head hasn’t run out of plans.

「30 seconds to commence shooting……now, fire!!」

Archers on foot begin launching arrows.

These soldiers are by no means unskilled, it’s that their abilities and numbers don’t rival the bow cavalry.

Their arrows are longer than those of the bow cavalry and slowly ride the wind.

As they glide through the air and eventually hit the shields of the royal army, something similar to porcelain shatters and disperses a white powder.

「Guah!? W-what, my eyes……」

「Geho geho! Gehoh!」

The royal army’s defense shifts out of place and the endless bow cavalry arrows start dropping soldiers again.

「Lime powder, huh? It doesn’t kill, but hurts when it enters your eyes or mouth and causes choking. Plus, it can also obstruct vision and hinder the ease at which the formation is maintained.」

I was informed of the plan itself, but the ones dictating the perfect timing when the enemies are clumped in anticipation of arrows are Leopolt and Tristan.

「What’s creepy is that the royal army isn’t moving. They can at least fire back.」

There isn’t much difference between the performance of my army’s bows and the royal army’s bows.

Arrows fired at this distance will be weak because of skill, but it’s not like they can’t reach.

Against the bow cavalry whose bodies are fully exposed, they should have some effect.

Or they could have their archers step forward.

Some casualties are inevitable, but they should have no problems with a few sacrifices.

Well, we’ll just draw the bow cavalry backwards if the enemy moves forward.

They can shoot as they retreat, and they have greater mobility so the foot soldiers will never catch up.

Sekrit abruptly points at a bow cavalry and shouts at Leopolt.

「The soldiers are getting excited and moving forward! Hurry and get them back!」

Bow cavalry lined up side-by-side are inching towards the front.

This is unavoidable.

It’s difficult for the bow cavalry to hit their target from long range.

Naturally they want to adjust their position a little to make things easier.

Not to mention the enemy is not counterattacking, so nothing is stopping their feet from walking on their own.

Then the royal army’s movements changed suddenly.

「They crossed the marked point. Commence the counterattack!!」

「Archers, get to your designated posts!」

「Start up the catapults! Rest the ballistae on sandbags and set the firing angle.」

A number of arrows equal to the number of bow cavalry fly from the top of the city walls.

Next, a large bolt shoots out with a low-pitched hum and impales both horse and rider of a single bow cavalry.

In addition multiple rocks fly out from within the city walls.

There must be catapults lined up on the inside.

The gap in skill is bridged by the height of the city walls and the arrows reach the bow cavalry, and there are even bolts and boulders that easily fly over the heads of the bow cavalry.

「Damn Erich. You were waiting for us to get close to this point.」

Since we don’t have siege weapons, we have no way to attack past the walls.

Now the situation has reversed and it’s our turn to be shot at.

We must have been in range from the beginning.

However they knew that the archers would run if the catapults fired right away.

That’s why they lured us in closer, so even if we turned back we would suffer considerable casualties.

Erich knows how powerful the field artillery and bow cavalry are.

Continuing to contest where they are strongest will only magnify his losses, which is why he yielded.

As if they were waiting for this moment, the royal army lets out a collective war cry.

Archers and infantry advance forward together.

Looking at Leopolt, he has no sense of urgency on his face.

I can’t tell anything from his expression so I look at Tristan instead.

「Not good. This is really bad. He got us.」

I think we’ll be fine.

「Will we push on or retreat!?」

Sekrit asks energetically.

I adjust Schwartz’s reins in my hand and shout loud enough for those in the vicinity to hear.

「Forward, move forward.」

Leopolt and Tristan repeat the order.

We close the distance more as arrows rain down on us.

The long distance shooting battle has transitioned to a midrange battle.

「A catapult can’t easily change its aim when the enemy moves. In addition, it’s extremely difficult to aim in a direction where allies are close because of how much the alignment can shift.」

The arrows from the walls……I guess we have to close our eyes and go on.

「Switch to the steel arrows――loose!!」

The bow cavalry shoots once again.

This time they don’t shoot in an arc, they shoot straight in front of them.

A few soldiers groan here and there, and royal army soldiers wielding shields and wearing heavy armor fall over.

Those arrows are metal and don’t have feathers attached to the end to help them catch the wind.

They can’t fly very far so they are very short range, but in turn can’t be blocked by mediocre shields or armor.

「Begin throwing!!」

「Ora, take that take that!!」

「Hah haa!! This kind of thing is my specialty!」

At this range, the infantry can reach the enemy with their projectiles.

The 105th corps troops fend off incoming arrows with their shields as they hurl spears, rocks, and occasionally pipes containing gunpowder or lime in order to disrupt the enemy ranks.

The powerful arrows fired by the bow cavalry cannot be blocked by simply pointing a shield at them.

Plus, if you try to defend against them in a crowded area, special explosives will be used.

「We’re pushing them back!」

As Celia said, the royal army’s vanguard collapsed.

「Vanguard, trade places! Get back――!!」

Mainly the soldiers of the 105th corps cheer.

「Alright, we won!」

「They’re no match for us even with four times our numbers!」

「Let’s settle this battle right now!」

Leopolt shouts uncharacteristically at the soldiers getting carried away.

「Halt, take defensive positions!」

The 105th corps soldiers grumble.

I was watching as well, so most of them kneel and prop up their shields unwillingly, but a portion of them didn’t hear the order and slash at the fleeing royal army soldiers.

It happened when the pursuing allies cut down several royal army soldiers.

「Split up!」

The running soldiers separate to the left and right, and then a squad of crossbowmen of roughly 1000 appears in their place.

All of them fired at the overextended 105th corps and the careless soldiers were mercilessly showered in the bolts.

「March forward.」

Soldiers who safely escaped gather in front of the crossbowmen and advance together under the cover of shields.

「Open!」

The protection of the shields allows the crossbows plenty of time to reload and the path is cleared when the crossbows are ready to shoot.

Although the crossbows have a short range, the shields and armor of light infantry and bow cavalry cannot block them.

Now it’s our turn to begin slowly retreating.

Leopolt glances at me.

I know. Do it already.

「Open!」

As the crossbows prepare to shoot, the field artillery cannons take aim.

But the enemy doesn’t react.

Like in the initial stage, they must be willing to accept some losses by the fifteen cannons.

「Then what about this?」

The booms of cannons echo, though not as heavy-sounding as earlier.

Countless little pellets scatter and blast the crossbowmen.

Infantry hastily close up the space, but the damage should be enormous.

「Ora, don’t get scared! Now’s the time to rush forward! I’ll kick your ass!!」

Yakov yells and the 105th corps charge again, pushing the flustered crossbow squad back.

Offense and defense switches sides again.

The distance closes more and more as we push and pull each other.

Eventually the arrows stop coming from above the walls.

They are afraid of friendly fire.

The bow cavalry, aside from a few experts, also can’t shoot as they please.

Firing horizontally means their allies are in the line of fire, so they can only repeatedly launch low-accuracy volleys in a parabola at the enemy.

「Is it time?」

It was when I was about to raise my hand.

「Charge――!!」

The one I see in the distance is Agor.

He swings down his sword, signalling the trumpets to sound as the royal army rushes toward us.

「Grr, five seconds too late! How dare he interrupt me……」

「I thought they were going to devote themselves on the defensive end, but no. Perhaps they were aiming to attack right before we did all along……it’s like our thoughts are being read.」

Sekrit clicks her tongue like this was also outside of her expectations.

The troops at the front discard their heavy equipment and quickly fall back, while the completely healthy rearguard charge from the back.

「What are you acting tired for? Intercept them! Move up to the front.」

Yakov frantically scolds the 105th Corps, and Luna shouts in a stern tone to bring the panting bow cavalry in a line.

Horizontal firing begins, but the rate of fire has dropped to less than half the initial rate due to fatigue.

「So the initial defense was a preliminary skirmish to exhaust us. They’ll attack for real now.」

「Our soldiers are already moving sluggishly. We won’t survive if they attack full force!」

Celia’s and Sekrit’s statements go without saying, as Tristan, who returned before I realized, points the field artillery to the front.

If we shoot the shells in front of the rushing enemies, we can wipe them out in one go.

A few seconds before the casual order, the front line of the kingdom’s soldiers hold up strange shields that look like a bundle of tubes.

「Fireー」

The shells fly out accompanied by the booms of cannons.

Innumerable tiny iron pellets surround the royal army soldiers……or they should have.

「They blocked it!?」

Celia shrieks.

The cylindrical shields shatter to pieces but the soldiers don’t fall.

Of course the ones in the back are also unharmed.

「Sand……?」

Sand is spilling out from the broken shields.

The power of the shells fired by the field artillery is low.

With that said, it isn’t something an amateur can defend against with average equipment.

I would think that a thick shield is needed.

It’s hard to believe a makeshift thing like that can block……

「The opponent understands how the scattershot works. The iron pellets immediately lose their energy when they run into the sand inside the wooden tube. And because a bundle of tubes is so easy to construct――」

Sekrit’s sentence is finished by the royal army’s actions as the same kind of cylindrical shields appear in various places within their ranks.

Now the field artillery has lost half of its usefulness.

Tristan, predicting this would happen, promptly abandoned the field artillery and returned to headquarters.

The field artillery are neutralized and the enemy collides head-on.

Their strength in front is……I guess 1.5 times greater than ours.

Even so, unlike us who had been fighting continuously until now, the enemy has troops waiting on standby in the rear.

That difference was immediately apparent.

Less than a few minutes after the collision, the 105th corps starts to retreat.

「There are too many of them!!」

「We’re tired from fighting consecutive battles! This is not fair!!」

The cursing is nothing new, though they go quiet not long later and simply accept being pushed back.

Things worsened to the point where the bow cavalry forced their tired bodies forward.

――That is when kingdom knights wielding only shields came out to oppose them.

Blocking arrows as they move, the knights thoroughly surround the bow cavalry and seal possible escape routes.

Although the bow cavalry can fight with swords at close range, their small frames don’t lend well to hand-to-hand combat and their skill is nothing to marvel at.

They can’t rout the enemy who is focused on defense and there is no time to use their bows.

Subsequently Myla leads the chariots forward.

Her aim is to drive the enemy soldiers back with the mounted ballistae and tear through the enemy formation with the blades attached to the wheels.

――Except the path is restricted by multiple obstacles, simple movements are predicted, and weighted chains and leather straps are thrown to stop one wagon after another.

The Irijina-led cavalry charges forward.

――But the spearmen of the royal army are well-trained.

A measly 1000 horses can not navigate the forest of blades and are repelled.

「The royal army’s cavalry is heading out from the west and east gates! Both squads number about 2000――they’re pincering us!!」

Naturally, the royal army has cavalry of their own.

The reason we haven’t seen them yet was because they were sitting inside the walls where we have no vision and waiting for an opportunity to attack.

「We are in a flimsy horizontal formation! We’ll be finished if they circle around to our side or rear!!」

Celia’s nose is pinched as she draws her sword in dismay, while Sekrit leads the wagon unit toward the right wing.

「Even if Sekrit-san can hold them back, we don’t have any spare forces. We can’t stop the left wing!!」

The royal army cavalry jumps into the flank of the meleeing bow cavalry and the greatly outnumbered 105th corps.

We no longer have any troops on the ground to counter them.

「This is the end.」

Cedric howls, or maybe that was a commander I don’t know.

A high-pitched screech attracts the attention of the soldiers.

It was a pretty whistling sound distinct from flying arrows or rocks.

「「「Gyaa!!」」」

Something drops in the center of the royal army’s cavalry and sets fire to horse and rider of several in the vicinity.

「W-what was that!? Something fell!」

「It was big! Maybe a catapult……no, I don’t see one anywhere!」

As the kingdom soldiers scan the horizons, five of the same thing falls down from the sky.

It even heads straight toward the charging enemy cavalry. That’s a feat not possible for a catapult.

「Where is it!? Where are they shooting from!?」

The unknown attack stops the cavalry in their tracks.

「There’s nothing on the right or left……no, wait……」

One of the cavalry points up in the air.

「Up there! In the sky――!!」

Fifty harpies holding flaming pots are flying in the air space above the battlefield.

Additionally there is a shadow further up that is large enough to make it seem closer than it actually is.

「The aerial unit has arrived!」

「That was cutting it close.」

「Piii! Dive bombing!」

「White sash!」

「Hungry! Food!」

「Something stinks.」

The harpies chirp chaotically but provide proper support and swoop down, releasing their load of gunpowder or oil.

Soldiers on the kingdom’s side visibly panic.

「From up there!? Shoot your crossbows!」

「Don’t be ridiculous! If we miss, the bolts will fall on our heads!」

「We can’t rush forward in this situation! Get back, get back for now!」

Humans are able to deal with threats in front of them.

With enough training, they can learn to deal with threats simultaneously on the left and right, and those in the realm of masters can even deal with enemies behind them.

However, they can’t deal with enemies above them.

No matter how skilled a swordsman is, he will still get hit on the top of the head by a pigeon’s poop.

In the worse case, being targeted from above means they are surrounded with abnormal pressure from four directions.

Continuation of the attack would be near impossible.

「Well, if they decide to continue-」

A red shadow slices across the battlefield.

Claws at least one meter long gouge the ground through the bodies of soldiers and rise back up.

Pochi flew by several times faster than a horse and delivered an attack.

Incidentally, Pipi drew the character “evil” on his forehead, and he is now an evil dra-……I mean an evil lizard.

「The cavalry on the left and right are retreating! On the right wing……Sekrit-san is pushing them back! She is riding a wagon and shooting fire!」

She must be using a function on her prosthetic arm.

Celia’s phrasing made it seem like she was blowing fire from her mouth.

Once the harpies finished dumping their package, they ascended and perched on Pochi.

Pipi, who is riding Pochi, would give the harpies their next load and point at the next target before sending them off.

The harpies aren’t very smart so they need to be told what to do every trip or they’d forget the mission and go home.

「They’re attacking again.」

Their next target is the area in front of the enemies chasing the 105th corps.

「The enemy is withdrawing……and gathering in front of the gates. It’s strange, they are adopting a circular formation! Their positioning is weird!」

Celia is right.

In a normal defensive circular formation, spears would be lined up on the outermost side to stop cavalry, then infantry will be in the middle to fortify their defenses with shields, then crossbows would be stationed behind them, and archers would be in the very back to support with covering fire.

On the contrary, this formation has the archers on the outside, and the cavalry and spearmen in the middle.

Sekrit shouts.

「It’s a modification of the circular formation! They intend to intercept the harpies!」

「The cavalry who are useless against airborne opponents huddle in the middle, and when the harpies aim for them, the archers will attack……」

Celia also figures it out and tries to tell the harpies, but they are at too high of an altitude for her voice to reach.

「Aim for the long ones! Aim for the shields!」

「Aim for the horses!」

Pipi likely instructed them to aim for the infantry and cavalry.

The harpies dive in a straight line toward the center of the defensive formation.

They don’t have the brain capacity to look at the formation and sense danger.

「You don’t have to aim. Just spread your shots in the sky.」

The royal army archers pull their bowstrings taut.

I kick Schwartz’s belly and spur him forward.

The harpies are one of our trump cards, and losing them here would diminish our chances of victory.

Plus, among them are ones who mated with me and laid eggs. I can’t sit and watch them die.

「Follow Aegir-sama!」

Celia leads the escort squad forward as well.

They are the only ones still physically fit because they were only tasked with my protection.

I match Schwartz’s run with the timing of the harpies’ dive.

「――――」

I let out a roar that resonates down to the bottom of my stomach.

Celia’s horse and the horses of the escort unit stand on their hind legs, while the other allied soldiers turn around, and even the royal army soldiers on the top of the city walls redirect their gazes at me.

Schwartz folds his ears down to shut out as much of the noise as possible and glares at me.

「「「Piiihーーー!!」」」

All the harpies get frightened, and throw their pots quickly so they can ascend right away.

Thousands of arrows and also ballista bolts meant to kill the harpies travel to the space vacated by the harpies and don’t do any damage.

If I didn’t intervene, I wonder how many would survive.

Now that my objective is achieved, I stop moving.

I didn’t have a desired result, but I got the attention of both ally and enemy alike.

「The general has stepped forward……it’s time.」

「Yea, this is where the battle will be settled.」

Allied soldiers exchange glances, smack their tired faces and get themselves pumped up.

「War demon Hardlett……of course. He won’t hide when he’s the one who caused this rebellion.」

「Now’s he’s simply a traitor of the kingdom. I will vanquish you in the name of the military commissioner and His Majesty!」

「Guh……I have goosebumps. What, I’m the most senior soldier who has served since the Arkland war? That’s exactly why! The longer your service, the more you know how terrifying Lord Hardlett is!!」

The enemy soldiers cautiously step backwards.

「Looks like things are leading me to go.」

I send a signal to Leopolt with my eyes.

「There are still a lot of other plans.」

None of them will be decisive against Erich.

He will deal with any feints or traps.

Each plan will eat up time and fatigue will accumulate on the soldiers.

This might be the last chance to launch a proper assault.

「Our only option is to breakthrough by force. In the end, this is all I know.」

Even though I know it’s pathetic, I’m somewhat happy.

I briefly raise the Dual Crater in my right hand.

I twirl the Keravnos a few times with my left hand.

Then I yell back at Leopolt, Tristan, Yakov, and the others.

「Follow me. All-out charge――commence!」

Schwartz and I gallop, and become a black wind.

Allies

Leopolt (supreme commander), Tristan (chief staff officer), Celia (adjutant), Myla (chariot, unable to fight), Luna (bow cavalry, exhausted)

Yakov (infantry, exhausted)

Sekrit (wagon infantry, able to fight), Irijina (cavalry, in confusion)

Enemy Army

Erich (supreme commander of the defense forces and the army corps), Bruno (corps commander), Agor (assistant commander), Cedric (staff officer)

Military Strength Comparison

Hardlett Rebel Army

Forces

Human Troops

Infantry: 2800 (-1200)

Cavalry: 700 (-300)

Bow Cavalry: 5000 (-1000)

Wagon Infantry: 700 (-100)

Chariots: 15 (-25)

Field Artillery: 15 (disabled)

Night Battle Unit

Vampire Raid Unit: 100

Aerial Reconnaissance and Bombing Unit

Pochi: 1

Harpies: 50

Unarmed

Mountain Nation: Approx. 4000

———————————————————————————————-

Goldonian Army – injured soldiers also considered losses

Ready to Fight: 41 400 (-4100)

2 Army Corps: 26 000 (-4000)

Capital Defense: 15 000 (0)

Kingdom Knights Survivors: 400 (-100)

In Preparation: 60 000

2 Army Corps: 30 000 (half a day until arrival)

Provisional Army: 30 000 (five days remaining)

Other Feudal Lords’ Armies: Unknown

Regional Troops: Immobilized