Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Battle of the Cressy Plains (8)
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“Die right here, you filthy Empire dogs!”
“Long live the great Republic! Long live Deus! May the Reich Empire that brands us heretics be cursed!”
“Major Anje is personally leading the vanguard, fighting alongside us! Knights, muster your strength! Don't spare your lives!”
The Republic's knights had failed to achieve much in their second charge and were being pushed back by sheer numbers from the Empire's infantry, so the tide of battle was gradually turning in our favor.
But these knights, who placed charges at the core of their doctrine, were now backed into a corner. Even the field-grade officers who rarely stood at the front lines, all the way up to the generals with their stars, had stepped forward personally to rally the troops.
Thanks to that, morale in the Franco Republic army remained fairly high, resulting in a fairly even fight that dragged on.
“These snail-munching bastards sure have a filthy mouth on them!”
“Tell your generals they swing a sword like cowards. Go home and play with your grandkids!”
“Victory is already ours! Advance in groups of three!”
If the battle continued like this, our side, with the numerical advantage, would almost certainly claim victory.
However, prolonged close combat with elite knights armored in steel plate and brimming with sky-high morale could lead to significant casualties among our comparatively lightly equipped infantry.
I needed to come up with a way to crush their morale, and fast.
As I racked my brain for a method to minimize our losses while directing the men, an officer approached me.
“Brigadier General Jaeger, as the 12th Brigade advances, we can see the banner of Republic General Beikang in their path. What are your orders? Shall we break through the center as planned?”
Under normal circumstances, I might have lit up at the chance to chase him down. But for our unit to rack up even greater achievements right now, the best move was to go straight for the commander's head in the safest spot at the center.
“Ignore that small-fry major! Hurry the brigade along and cut off Duke Vallua's head—he's probably sitting pretty under knight protection, directing from comfort.”
“Understood! The entire brigade, continue toward the center of the enemy knights! Forward!”
With that, we held our course, drawing ever closer to the enemy center. The nearer we got, the fancier the knights' armor became, and their combat prowess rose in proportion.
From the looks of it, the deeper we pushed, the higher-ranking the Republic officers we'd encounter—just as I'd predicted.
And sure enough, proving my hunch, a star-bedecked general appeared before our brigade, sword in hand, personally rallying his knights—though we hadn't aimed for him specifically.
“The infantry will come to support us soon! Hold the line! Hold with the spirit of Elang and the charge! I, Major Fernando de Montpellier, fight alongside you, and I'll die here with you if need be! Fight with everything you've got!”
The major boosted Republic army morale by cleaving through Empire soldiers with the sword in his hand.
“Long live the major! Long live our great major!”
“The Republic will never fall! We will surely triumph!”
“Victory belongs to the great Republic!”
The knights under Major Montpellier blocking our path—unlike the Franco soldiers around them—refused to yield their sector despite our numerical superiority, defending it tenaciously.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but admire the enemy inwardly.
After all, for a general to risk death guarding the supreme commander and avert disaster took the courage only a true soldier possessed.
But in war, a soldier's duty boiled down to not massacring civilians or looting excessively.
As a general of the Reich Empire, if it meant saving even one more of my men's lives, I'd use every trick in the book.
“Hear me, brave soldiers of the Empire! That Major Montpellier there is a general from an excommunicated Republic. There's only one reason he's risking his neck to win this battle!”
Sure, as a general of his nation, he'd grasp at any means for victory to secure his country's interests and safety.
“The Franco Republic is ruled by excommunicated heretics, so they don't want God's justice to manifest on Franco soil! That's why a general's out front stirring everyone up!”
I'm a brigadier general of the Reich Empire, and if winning meant anything short of idiotic massacres, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
So go ahead—experience your precious rallied morale shatter in an instant under the weight of an excommunication edict's authority.
The major before me couldn't withstand my agitation and bellowed back at me.
“You bastard, how dare you spout such nonsense?! You've blinded His Holiness the Pope with...”
“Silence, you excommunicated heretic. Now, soldiers of the Reich Empire—the time has come to bring heavenly punishment upon these wicked Franco knights who defy God's will! And you knights of the Republic who followed heretics unwittingly—lay down your swords and surrender now to reclaim the light!”
“Don't listen to that wicked bastard! Hold and endure to the end!”
The major was doing his utmost to counter my incitement, but his knights were already buckling under our numbers.
Exhausted from prolonged fighting, their stamina drained and spirits at rock bottom.
In that state, hand them a plausible excuse to surrender on a platter, and their barely maintained morale would plummet.
Sure enough, as I'd foreseen, the knights lost their desperate fervor from moments ago.
“The Empire's knights have hit the rear! Enemy knights are swarming from behind!”
As if the heavens themselves urged me to seize the lofty figure trapped here—the supreme commander—word came of our allied knights joining to further crush their morale.
I couldn't let such a golden opportunity slip.
“12th Brigade, attention! Today, we end the war with the Franco Republic right here! All units, charge at once!”
Seizing the moment of chaos among the Republic knights, I rallied the brigade and pressed forward.
Judging it safe enough now, I drew my sword, took the vanguard, and declared,
“Brave soldiers and officers of the 12th Brigade, I, Peter Jaeger, will lead the way.”
From the front, I slew one by one the commander's guards, elite knights with ornate cloaks and capes befitting their station.
The first to charge swung too wide; when his neck was exposed, I thrust through the gap under his helmet.
The next tried smashing my helmet with a mace; I stabbed a dagger into his armpit, piercing his heart.
Killing them one by one, I advanced until I spotted Duke Vallua, his helmet adorned with a duke's plume.
Spotting me, he drew his sword and roared,
“Even if I fall, I'll take your head with me! Come at me!”
A madman addicted to knightly charges, challenging a duel as supreme commander? What an idiot.
No—in this dire situation, for him to reverse the tide, the commander stepping up to slay the Empire general endangering his army made tactical sense.
Thus, if I had the skill, I'd duel him honorably one-on-one like I did Ludwig and claim his life gloriously.
But right now, handing this excommunicated nation's supreme commander over to the Inquisition and His Holiness the Pope was the smarter play.
“Soldiers of the 12th Brigade, beat him senseless with polearms and maces, knock him out, and capture him alive. He's no better than excommunicated heathen trash, unworthy of honor.”
At my order, my men charged like wildfire.
“Take down that bastard and we'll be set for life!”
“Charge! Charge!”
“Follow the brigadier general!”
I joined them in suppressing the guards around the commander, closing the distance until I was nearly upon the duke.
“Die, you worthless cur lower than an Empire dog!”
“With swordplay that couldn't kill a fly, you're a hundred years too early to take me.”
I blocked his sword with my left gauntlet, then smashed his waist with the mace at my left hip, throwing off his balance.
I hammered his chest with the mace, flattening him to the ground. Instead of the customary blade to the throat for captures, I pinned him hard with my left foot and shouted,
“I, Peter Jaeger, have captured the enemy supreme commander, Duke Vallua!”