Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Splendidly Like Fireworks (4)
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The enemy didn't charge straight at us.
It looked like they were gauging the charge distance, or exercising caution due to the muddy ground.
Or maybe they were waiting for us.
Realistically, the first two were more likely, but somehow I felt the third was correct.
Whatever the reason, one thing was clear: they had been waiting for us right here.
"Otto. Take charge of the wagons."
"...Understood."
The surrendered knight seemed dissatisfied with my orders, but he didn't stubbornly refuse them.
"All hands, mount up. Arm with lances, shields, swords only."
Our troops grabbed their gear.
They looked leisurely as they donned their blue coats without even being ordered.
But I didn't reprimand them.
'This blue coat is the shroud for the madmen who survive hellish battlefields and charge headlong into limb-chopping frenzy without a second thought.'
Words I'd spoken once had become our unit's creed.
That was why.
Today, someone was definitely going to die here.
They were preparing for death right now.
Nod.
The Bluecoats in their coats mounted up.
Even after everyone was mounted, quite a few horses—taken from the Astoria forces—were left over, so the extras were left tied to the wagons as is.
The Astoria forces didn't so much as twitch while we prepared for battle.
They probably saw us as rats trapped in a jar by now.
And they weren't wrong.
The open plain ended here.
Behind the Astoria forces was nothing but a single narrow path winding between steep hills.
We had to break through no matter what.
The situation wasn't easy.
The enemy outnumbered us by at least double.
It was an elite unit of fully armed heavy cavalry and lancers.
In comparison, we'd discarded our armor for the disguise and held only lances and shields.
The dismounted ones probably weren't even on their radar.
We must have looked ridiculous.
They were surely just itching for payback.
"As expected."
Watching the Astoria forces slowly form their ranks, I felt certain.
Placing the Winged Hussars—heavy cavalry equivalent—in the vanguard with light cavalry in the rear, in a wedge formation: a classic charge setup.
What they wanted was an honorable victory.
"Form up. Three ranks abreast, right flank Bluecoats. Wide spacing."
Our troops formed ranks in perfect unison.
Only then did the stationary enemy begin to move.
The distance between our front lines was just over 300 meters.
If both sides charged at once, the clash point would be 150 meters ahead.
But.
"Hold current position."
We didn't budge.
"Wait."
The Astoria forces' sluggish pace quickened.
They'd reached a trot, and now accelerated toward a canter.
"Hold."
Now about 200 meters remained.
Considering the muddy terrain, it was impressive acceleration—they were indeed top elites.
You could tell just from how they maintained formation in a situation like this.
"Hold position."
At this rate, they'd hit canter around 100 meters out and gallop by 50 meters.
Shoooo...
I roughly wiped the rainwater streaming down my face.
Without even blinking, I fixed my gaze on the enemy and constantly gauged the distance.
Neighhh!
The royal gift horse snorted fiercely, as if ready to stomp the ground to pieces. Excited horses raised a clamor.
The enemies past canter neared gallop.
And finally, at 100 meters, their speed exploded.
"Unit, right wheel!"
Our troops simultaneously wheeled their mounts' heads.
-80 meters.
Our formation shifted from three ranks abreast to three ranks deep.
-70 meters.
Flash.
Even through the narrowed vision from the pounding rain, the sodden wing decorations on the Winged Hussars' helmets gleamed sharply.
-60 meters.
"Charge!"
Keeping the enemy to our left, we began our run.
The Astoria vanguard wheeled to pursue.
-50 meters.
Their abrupt turn at top speed disrupted the Astoria cavalry's ranks.
Even so, they maintained formation to a degree.
Their leaders' horsemanship was no joke.
-40 meters.
"Otto!"
The waiting surrendered knight set the wagons ablaze.
Instead of tarps, oil-soaked cloths burst into flames in an instant. Despite the heavy rain, only about 30 out of 50 wagons ignited successfully.
The startled horses bolted forward.
-35 meters.
The Astoria forces finished their wheel, exposing their flank.
-30 meters.
The horses dragging the burning wagons charged the Astoria flank.
The Astoria vanguard ramped up speed even more.
-20 meters.
The Winged Hussars narrowly dodged the wagons.
-10 meters.
The light cavalry trailing behind desperately wheeled their mounts.
-5 meters.
But it was too late.
Boom!
Neighhh!
A thunderous crash of something shattering rang out, and horses' screams pierced the rain.
-......!
-...!
Unfamiliar but unmistakably panicked Astorian screams and shouts erupted.
"Scatter!"
Our three-deep column dispersed in all directions.
I glanced back.
The Winged Hussars that had been hot on our rear were milling in confusion.
I could make out their startled faces beyond their visors.
"Disperse! Disperse!"
I spared them one look and galloped like mad.
This wasn't the time to admire the Winged Hussars.
Their lances—half again as long as our cavalry spears—were dangerously close.
Neighhh.
The royal gift horse powerfully churned the mud.
It surged forward as if racing across firm ground on a clear day.
-...!
-......!
The distance to the Winged Hussars opened in a flash.
* * *
"Fabian, sir! The light cavalry!"
Fabian Franz turned at the scream piercing the rain.
The friendly light cavalry unit that had been tailing the Winged Hussars was tumbling into the mud.
Their ranks had collapsed long ago.
Still, it wasn't fatal.
The number directly hit by wagons was barely over 20 mounts.
Just a tenth of the total.
At first.
-Neighhh!
-Agh!
Light cavalry entangled with shattered wagon debris kept slamming into the mud one after another. The number looked at least double the initial casualties.
And the damage didn't end there.
Vision and hearing narrowed by the downpour.
The light cavalry's responses were a beat slow, unable to grasp the front situation in time.
The turned-to-mud ground dulled their reactions by half a beat.
Colliding, tangling, tumbling.
Cavalry who would normally slow and wheel were rolling into the mud in droves.
In the blink of an eye, an entire company vanished.
Without a single blade clash, a third of their force evaporated.
"Fabian, sir!"
"Don't panic! We still hold the advantage!"
Even so, Astoria still outnumbered Thracia in raw power.
The rear-guard light cavalry company was sweeping wide around the chaotic battlefield toward them.
"Shall we deal with those infantry first?"
He glanced at the enemy infantry.
The foe's infantry—who'd taken out one light cavalry company with 30-odd wagons—were hunkered behind 20 wagons as barricades.
"No! Priority is the Bluecoats!"
They were a concern, but infantry could be trampled anytime, no matter the number.
Right now, consolidate and eliminate Thracia's cavalry first.
The problem was it wouldn't be easy.
"Do they have no pride at all?!"
A vanguard champion spat in frustration.
Fabian Franz, who usually despised talk of pride and honor, could understand the champion this time.
Heavy cavalry. Bluecoats, called the continent's strongest in breakthrough power.
Watching them scatter every which way made him want to ask.
Why fight like that?
This Yannick seemed like a man who didn't know how to fight normally.
Thracia's symbolic blue coats fluttering as they fled was brutally unrealistic.
No formation, no order.
Racing ahead and behind toward the front like a flock of startled birds.
Even defeated troops didn't flee that disorderly.
Unable to decide who to chase or which way to charge, the horses naturally slowed.
"What are your orders, sir? Shall we split the unit to pursue?"
"No need."
There was no reason to disperse forces at this point.
No—before that, splitting to chase such a scattered foe meant dividing into dozens of groups at minimum.
"But if they slip away from the battlefield like this...!"
"Even if they break out, there aren't many places to run beyond here."
Unlike the wide-open front, paths for mounted movement were limited here. This very spot had open plains ahead but only one path between steep hills behind.
And our own forces were already posted there.
"They chose the fastest route, but impatience is the commander's greatest foe."
They'd snuck in on the approach, but now that we were fully prepared, escape wouldn't be simple.
"Foolishly dove too deep. That's their fatal mistake."
Of course, Thracia's Yannick didn't seem the type to just tuck tail and run.
As expected.
"Thracia forces! Reform!"
The scattered Thracia troops began regrouping.
"...Their numbers are down quite a bit."
The regrouped Thracia force totaled around 60 all told.
Seeing them all in blue coats, it seemed Thracia's light cavalry had fled outright, Bluecoats excluded.
Not surprising—even elite troops couldn't maintain morale in this mess.
The Bluecoats preparing to charge in this situation were the irrational ones.
Their slender, pointed formation resembled a spear tip.
The vanguard protruded grotesquely, radiating breakthrough intent.
"Winged Hussars, take the center."
The Winged Hussars, awaiting their revenge, pounded their breastplates and roared.
"Light cavalry to left and right flanks. Hit their sides."
The light cavalry commander bowed and withdrew to the rear.
"Your role is..."
"Thracia's lances will break here today."
Champions renowned across regions spoke confidently and took position at the front of the Winged Hussars.
"Unit, advance!"
The formed-up Astoria forces accelerated once more.
Almost simultaneously, the Thracia forces charged.
The distance closed rapidly.
Now just 100 meters between the lines.
"Tuck lances under arms!"
Fabian Franz, reverting to a single knight rather than commander, couched his lance.
"Shields up!"
He ducked his head, pressing the kite shield strapped firmly to his wrist tight to his shoulder.
His already narrow field of view narrowed further.
Now all he could see were the enemies charging head-on.
"Hoo."
He exhaled deeply.
Then inhaled.
In that instant.
What?
A heavy impact slammed into him.
Why?
Before he could find the answer to that question, his consciousness snapped out.