Running Away From The Hero! (Remake)

Evade the Hero CH 282 TL (326)

Side Story – Memories of a Princess (55)

“Duke Laisha has made a move!”

“He’s heading east! Just as Sir Ast predicted, he’s moving east!”

At the soldiers’ reports, Ast raised his voice.

“Leave only a small elite force and retreat! Just pretend to attack!”

“What should we do if the enemy counterattacks?”

“Just make threatening attacks from a safe distance! Our opponent is Duke Laisha! If anyone gets hurt by him, consider it a natural death—they probably died from embarrassment!”

“Understood!”

“As I said before, the most important thing is to ensure Duke Laisha doesn’t get hurt! Got it?”

“Yes!”

“He is a valuable asset to the Empire. Even if the Merdea Kingdom doesn’t recognize him now, once we hand them a bundle of his achievements, they’ll have to acknowledge him!”

“Understood!”

At Ast’s command, the officers defending the eastern front began to withdraw swiftly.

“We need to make sure it doesn’t look too obvious…”

“We have the excuse that we’re going to support other areas. If this information leaks, it means there’s a spy among the officers.”

“It’s a chance to root out spies, but Duke Laisha is more important.”

“Agreed.”

I used to think only Ast could do the unimaginable, but it seems the Merdea Kingdom has someone just as unpredictable.

“I never thought he’d actually move east…”

“Didn’t I tell you he’d go east?”

“From a common-sense perspective, it made no sense.”

Logically, no one would run toward an area occupied by the enemy.

Unless all allies were under attack, we had deliberately left one area open, but to think they’d charge into the enemy’s territory.

“Maybe like minds think alike?”

“Are you referring to me?”

“Yes.”

Someone whose every action is unpredictable.

Ast was such a person, and Duke Laisha seemed similar.

But there’s a difference.

“I’m not like that!”

“Yes. Unlike Duke Laisha, you’ve succeeded in everything you’ve attempted.”

Ast succeeded in his plans, whereas Duke Laisha did not—that was the difference.

“If you had failed, people might have judged you the same way.”

“The word ‘if’ is meaningless. With ‘if,’ anything can be possible or impossible.”

That’s true.

Unless we can change the past, it’s pointless.

It’s just regretting what’s already happened and thinking ‘what if.’

It’s a waste of time.

“It’s more productive to focus on the future rather than dwell on ‘what ifs.’”

“Exactly.”

“So the phrase ‘if I had failed’ isn’t important. What’s important is ‘I didn’t fail.’”

He’s confident he won’t fail.

That’s what Ast is saying.

“Alright, do your best.”

“Isn’t this the time where you say you’ll support or help me?”

“Haven’t I already done enough?”

I trust Ast. He’s an exceptional talent with outstanding abilities.

“You’re the best at frustrating people.”

Not a ‘talent’ in the usual sense, but perhaps a ‘calamity.’ That’s what Ast is.

“Stir up the enemy as much as you like.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Of course.”

He is an invaluable asset to our side.

Although it’s a flaw that he sometimes annoys his own allies, considering the hardships the Merdea Kingdom will face, it’s tolerable.

“So show me what you can do.”

“It doesn’t feel like a compliment… Well, I should earn my keep.”

Ast glanced over the map our troops held and smiled wickedly, like a mastermind from a novel.

“First… To highlight the tactics of our great commander, Duke Laisha, we’ll need to eliminate all areas except the east.”

I need to revise my thoughts.

He’s not just smiling like a villain; he is the villain.

***

#70 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Soldier

“Enemy attack!”

“Their aim is off. Don’t waste your magic!”

“Just block the attacks near us!”

Arrows, stones, and spells rained down everywhere.

The attack was lighter than expected, but our situation wasn’t good.

Moreover, the troops led by Duke Laisha numbered less than ten thousand.

According to his soldiers, not everyone died but scattered. But being scattered in enemy territory might as well be casualties.

And even if they were lucky enough to escape the encirclement, no one would be foolish enough to return.

“Block them! Protect me! Your purpose is to keep me safe!”

With such a pathetic leader, who would want to return?

“What should we do, squad leader?”

“Let’s follow that knight and break through. He seems trustworthy.”

Despite the enemy’s attack, he calmly gave orders and even intercepted spells with his sword.

He looks about forty, but wielding such skill suggests he’s older.

“He must have served the previous Duke Laisha.”

Several knights were breaking through, centered around him.

The soldiers following them were different from the rest.

In Duke Laisha’s disorganized army, they moved with unbelievable coordination.

Even the Kingdom’s elite troops would struggle to match them.

“Following them is our best option. But…”

I glanced over to see other soldiers escorting Duke Laisha and the nobles around him.

Soldiers silently leading nobles who hurled insults, even as they were being saved.

Seeing such contrasting scenes made me sigh.

“No more reinforcements are coming, right?”

Starting from our squad, about three companies had joined.

It’s not a small number, but against the Karan Empire, it felt lacking.

“Our entire army is surrounded.”

“Further support is unlikely.”

“If we were elsewhere, but heading east…”

“Indeed.”

If we moved toward friendly territory, reinforcements could come.

But in this situation, moving into enemy-held areas…

Commanders hearing this news would be pulling their hair out.

“But the enemy numbers are small, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Duke Laisha’s strategy might actually work.”

“That would be great, but…”

Our opponent is the Karan Empire.

They said the Merdea Kingdom wasn’t inferior militarily, but what’s happened since the war began? Have we won any significant battles?

No, we haven’t.

Our first and last achievement was defeating General Felstein, one of the Empire’s top commanders.

And we barely managed that with heavy losses.

Since then, we’ve lost not only the vanguard but also Grand General Arisetius, the core of our army.

The scale of losses is different.

General Felstein was just one of many commanders, but Grand General Arisetius was invaluable.

We need to face reality.

In terms of results, we’ve only suffered defeats.

That means the enemy is superior.

Acknowledging that, it’s better to think the enemy pretended to pull back from the east to lure us, rather than leaving it open.

“Look! The enemy’s attack is weakening! They must fear our numbers!”

“Indeed. They likely moved troops elsewhere.”

“As expected, the Duke’s insight is unmatched.”

Of course, Duke Laisha wouldn’t have thought any of this.

He’s acting like a hero, basking in flattery.

He’s hopeless.

For the Merdea Kingdom’s sake, perhaps it would be better if he were gone.

“What are you saying?”

“Shh! People might hear.”

But saying such things openly would be foolish.

Strangely, Duke Laisha’s soldiers are fiercely loyal to his family.

We have to be careful.

We don’t know what they’d do if they heard us.

“I spoke out of turn.”

“No worries. Their loyalty is stronger than we thought.”

It speaks volumes about the previous Duke Laisha’s leadership. It’s hard to believe how incompetent the current one is.

“Still… Since things are unfolding as the Duke said, let’s wait and see.”

We haven’t encountered the Empire’s forces yet.

Their unstoppable magic hasn’t appeared.

There’s a chance it’s a trap, but that’s the worst-case scenario.

***

**(Green Dragon, annihilated.)**

At that moment, a brief message came through.

“What?”

Green Dragon refers to the western division.

The safest division, untouched until now, was annihilated?

“What do you mean?”

“This is Red Dragon. Green Dragon, respond!”

“This is Green Snake. Last message. Green Dragon, over… Thud!”

With the sound of something massive falling, the communication abruptly cut off.

“Green Dragon? Green Dragon? Anyone from the Green unit, please respond!”

Urgent calls went unanswered.

The sudden annihilation of Green Dragon.

A chill ran down my spine.

“W-What’s happening?”

“The western division has been wiped out.”

It was a trap.

If we’d headed west, we might have been annihilated too.

And that means…

“See! Didn’t I tell you? We should go east. If we’d gone west, we might be dead!”

Duke Laisha’s nonsensical prediction was correct.

“If the west fell, they must have pulled troops from the east. This area is safe!”

Moments ago, his words were nonsense, but now they seemed plausible.

Even for the Empire, wiping out an entire division so quickly is no small feat.

Each squad had communication devices.

Being unable to communicate suggests sudden, massive attacks or deliberate interference.

Both require significant forces and planning.

They likely pulled troops from the east to achieve this.

“Just follow my orders. I’ll lead you. Follow me!”

Duke Laisha, previously trembling, now moved confidently.

“Squad leader…”

His demeanor was unsettling.

We didn’t want to trust him.

We were anxious, but had no choice.

“We have to trust Duke Laisha…”

All we could do was pray for mercy.

And perhaps the gods pitied us?

Without any battle, we broke through the east and survived.

“Look! All our allies are gone, but I’m different!”

He seemed to forget that troops were sent to save him.

As a result, only Duke Laisha’s unit survived.

“The foolish allies are dead. The enemy is many; we are few. They’ll regroup and attack us. We need to strike first!”

…It feels like we’re marching to our doom.

“Now, follow me! Let’s show the Empire the might of the Merdea Kingdom!”

This is madness.

Before I could even consider deserting, Duke Laisha led the army to attack the Empire’s forces.

And surprisingly, the Empire’s forces…

“See! We have won!”

They abandoned their camp and fled in panic.

…What?