Joining the Battle (6)
"All forces, advance!"
Germil's order rolled out to the entire army through a crystal amplification orb.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Massive war drums answered the command, their thunder carrying across the ranks.
In perfect step with the beat, the soldiers pressed forward in ordered lines. Watching them move, one could feel the military might of the Prode Kingdom — one of the two great powers of the continent.
"That seat of yours is no one- or two-year rider's work."
Jett eyed Ellen on horseback and let out an impressed murmur.
Knights learned horsemanship from their days at the officer academy. Mages, who spent most of their travel in carriages, often never learned to ride at all.
In his previous life as a mercenary, Ellen had far more occasion to sit a saddle than a coachman's bench. He had trained in horsemanship simply to survive his contracts.
"I studied under my master separately."
"Every time a fresh mage transfers in, the first headache is teaching them how to sit a horse. You, though — you suit me just fine."
"You flatter me."
Jett had watched more than a few mages arrive at his unit and found the same problems every time.
Abysmal combat instincts. No grasp of how an army actually works. And still arrogant enough for three men. Where the hell did a one like this come from?
Ellen felt less like an ordinary mage than a war-forged specialist. Sharp tactics, split-second judgment on the field, the leadership to command subordinates, and real magical power on top of it — he carried every quality a battle demanded.
Combat mages of that caliber usually get posted to elite units. And somehow he wound up out here at the end of the line.
While Jett was quietly praising him, Ellen's mind was elsewhere.
History already changed when we won the Battle of Tramore Plains. And yet the war is still flowing down the same channels?
When he first heard of this advance, Ellen had been puzzled.
They had won a major engagement, and the soldiers' morale was at its peak. Striking one of the enemy's key cities under those conditions was a perfectly rational decision.
The problem was that this battle, too, was one Ellen had already lived through.
In the past, after losing at Tramore Plains, the Prode Kingdom had launched a desperate raid on Roche of the Gosen Empire in a bid to reverse the war.
That idiot marshal threw a reckless gambit just to paper over his own blunder.
This time, a victorious Prode Kingdom was marching on Roche instead.
He had rewritten a piece of history — yet the greater current of it had not shifted at all.
Well. That works in my favor, doesn't it?
If the future remained the same, Ellen's experience would still be worth something. And he already knew how this battle would unfold.
The massive sword scar that had lived across his back for more than twenty years had been earned right here.
The canyon of screams on the road to Roche — no, what do they call it now? Ruaturu Canyon?
The Gosen Empire had already anticipated the Fifth Army's strike on Roche. They lay in wait inside Ruaturu Canyon, the one passage any force had to take to reach the city.
When the Prode army entered that gorge, magic had come screaming down from every side and struck them dead-on. For years afterward, people said you could still hear Prode soldiers screaming in that canyon.
Of course Ruaturu Canyon was an obvious place for an ambush. The Prode staff knew it as well as anyone, which was why they had sent scouts ahead to survey the ground.
Those scouts had found nothing.
Who would ever guess there was an ant-tunnel dungeon under the whole place?
The Gosen Empire had discovered a dungeon network that ran the entire length of Ruaturu Canyon. The entrances were so well concealed that nothing short of deliberate detection magic could find them.
The Empire understood the canyon's strategic value. So they had quietly cleared the dungeon and converted it into a secret ambush ground, waiting for war.
"Marshal, there is a canyon we must pass through before we reach Roche. Ruaturu Canyon, here on the map — it is an ideal site for an ambush."
Germil's adjutant explained, finger tracing the parchment. Germil's face stayed bored.
"So you want us to stop and investigate? The enemy is still reeling from the last defeat. We need to hit them as soon as we can."
The adjutant swallowed the curses rising from his gut.
He had thought that even a post bought with family connections might eventually shape the man who held it. Years later, Germil had not changed one bit.
"Of course Your Excellency is entirely correct. I only spoke out of cowardice — my own lack of courage. If we send a reconnaissance team and follow close behind, our march speed will barely suffer. Please consider it for the sake of the army."
What had changed was his own manner. He had learned exactly how to speak without bruising Germil's pride.
"Hahaha. What kind of man grows up with so little nerve? No wonder you've sat in the same rank for nearly twenty years."
Unlike you, I don't have a powerful family covering my back.
The adjutant kept the thought locked inside his skull.
Germil heaved his massive frame upright and continued.
"Fine. Since you insist so strongly, I can hardly ignore it. Gather the unit commanders."
"Yes, sir."
At Germil's order, runners sprinted for each formation. It did not take long for the commanders of the First and Second Infantry, the Cavalry, and the Magic Unit to assemble.
"To reach Roche, we must pass through Ruaturu Canyon. That means a high chance of ambush. I will form a reconnaissance team."
"I will send the Magic Unit's recon platoon — Second Company, Third Platoon."
Jett answered first.
Before the meeting, Ellen had asked him for the assignment. He had drilled the Third Platoon in survey formations and wanted them to practice under real conditions. Between his absolute trust in Ellen and the need to harden the Magic Unit's strength, Jett had agreed.
"Very well. The Magic Unit will supply the scouts."
Germil nodded as if the whole matter bored him.
Then Tony, commander of the First Infantry, shot his hand into the air.
"Marshal, reconnaissance is originally an infantry duty. Mages are only there for support. Let the First Infantry handle the scouting this time."
Jett glared. Tony only grinned.
I am not letting the Magic Unit steal every scrap of credit.
At Tramore Plains the First Infantry had done nothing worth comparing to the Magic Unit's performance. Tony fretted that every line of the after-action report would sing of mages alone. He meant to manufacture something for the paperwork.
"Well, that is fair enough. First Infantry will take the reconnaissance. The Magic Unit will detach a few men for support."
Tony was the subordinate who best flattered Germil's moods, and so Germil sided with him without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes, sir. I will select personnel from Second Company, Third Platoon and send them."
Jett saw through Tony's scheme at once. Even so, he felt no need to argue with the marshal over a mere scouting detail. Partial live practice for his men would still strengthen the unit.
"Come now, Jett — aren't you being a bit unfair to me?"
Tony suddenly turned on him as if looking for a fight.
"What are you talking about?"
Jett already disliked the man.
"You think I don't know? Second Company means Magic Assistants, doesn't it?"
Jett's face hardened further. Tony lifted his chin.
"For a mission this important, what good are Magic Assistants? Send proper mages and be done with it."
"That's enough—"
"Indeed, Magic Unit Commander. Given the need for a swift operation, detach mages."
The moment Jett opened his mouth, Germil cut across him.
"Marshal, they may be Magic Assistants, but they have been carrying out reconnaissance for some time. On a scouting run they will move far faster than full mages."
Bang.
Germil slammed his fist onto the table where the map lay spread, then pressed his other hand hard between his brows.
"Jett. Are you ignoring me right now?"
Striking the desk and pinching his brow — those were the signs that his pride had been mortally wounded.
"No, Marshal. I only meant—"
"What, exactly, did I get wrong?"
Jett shut his mouth at once.
"The Marshal's judgment is correct. Sending mages will let the mission proceed more quickly."
Hill, commander of the Second Infantry — still smarting from losing the first word to Tony — chimed in on cue.
"When everyone else is saying the same thing, why are you alone digging in your heels?"
Every last one of them is a disaster.
"Understood. I will send mages to the First Infantry."
Jett spoke like a man surrendering.
That this army even functioned with a fool for a commander and nothing but sycophants around him was a mystery in itself.
"Then that settles it. First Infantry Commander and Magic Unit Commander — form the reconnaissance team as soon as you return and deploy them."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
"What do you mean by that?"
First Company Commander Humphrey asked with a look of pure disbelief.
"Exactly as you heard. The reconnaissance falls to the First Infantry, and we are to send personnel from First Company to join them."
"How does a mere scouting mission call for actual mages? Isn't that what Magic Assistants are for?"
The adjutant standing beside him nodded in firm agreement.
"It is the Marshal's order. Follow it as given. That friend Tony seems determined to keep us in check."
So even if the great current of history does not change, the details along the way are free to go wherever they please.
Ellen was just as stunned as the rest of them.
In the past, Second Company, Third Platoon had taken the reconnaissance. He had even asked Jett for the assignment ahead of time, with a carefully prepared pretext — just in case. If the scouts found the ambush, the entire situation could have been turned sharply in their favor.
Blinded by the hunger for merit.
Ellen had not sat in that meeting, yet he could picture every word of it. Of all the commanders in this army, Jett was the only one who could still be called sane. How hard he must have fought alone was easy enough to imagine.
Discovering them early is off the table now. Do I need to invent a method of my own?
Sitting idle was not an option. He would not allow Ruaturu Canyon to become the Canyon of Screams a second time. His mind began to race.
"If the Marshal has ordered it, there is nothing to be done. First Company will send the mages."
"As you must. Select suitable personnel and report back to me."