Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Counter to the Ambush (1)
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There's one common misconception people have about ambushes.
They think the best time to launch a surprise attack on the enemy is around 1 or 2 a.m.
I've tried it a few times myself, and from what I learned at the academy, that's not actually a great choice.
It's better than hitting them in broad daylight when the sun's high and everything's visible, sure.
But during those hours when the moonlight softly illuminates the ground, the soldiers and officers are all on high alert, constantly tense because they know an enemy attack could come at any moment. That's why ambushes often fail unexpectedly.
However, around 4:30 to 6 a.m., just as the sun starts to rise and the sky gradually brightens, people's sleep is fading, and with the growing light, they let their guard down.
That's when alert operations frequently fail.
To move during these prime ambush windows, I skipped naps during major rests and set my wake-up time an hour earlier instead.
"Master, Master. It's time to wake up."
The moment I heard Charlotte's voice calling me, I snapped awake and got out of bed.
She had brought a bucket of water by my side and gently washed my face, arms, legs, and back with a dampened cloth.
I'd told her there was no need to go this far, but ever since I saved her family from the debt collectors, she seemed determined to repay the favor.
Starting from the day we deployed, she washed my body like this every night before bed and every morning, and she stuck close to my side as much as possible.
Once she finished wiping me down, she beamed a bright smile and said,
"All done, Master."
"Thanks."
By the time I'd finished dressing in my armor with her help,
I could hear soldiers outside my tent grumbling in annoyed tones.
"Ugh, fuck. Full kit and marching again? This is bullshit!"
"Sergeant Max, you idiot! This is near the division commander's tent! He can hear everything! Want the division commander to rip us a new one starting from the top? Don't you know what kind of man our division commander is?"
"S-Sorry, sir!"
"You moron! If you're gonna die, die alone. Why drag this poor platoon sergeant down with you!"
I heard it all, but honestly, even as the division commander, marching in full armor sucked, so it was the truth.
As long as they weren't openly mutinying or defying orders, I'd pretend I hadn't heard.
I was just about to step out of the tent to begin another grueling march when the sentries' trumpets blared.
"Ambush from the woods nearby!"
"Ambush! Ambush! Platoons, prepare for ambush! Form up around your platoon leaders!"
"If you don't wanna die, grab your spears quick! You idiots without armor, suit up first!"
I'd anticipated an attack during the march.
To counter the worst-case scenario, we'd stuck to paths wide enough for at least five men abreast, and spots where we could deploy even larger forces.
That's why they went with this instead of a classic mid-march raid, like the one that succeeded two hundred years ago.
"This tent's the safest spot, so stay hidden here, Charlotte. I'm heading out to command the troops right now."
With that, I stepped out to direct the counter against Count Tissino's ambush, which had come from a slightly different direction than I'd expected.
Maybe it was because I'd strictly ordered full gear even during marches and warned the officers daily that an ambush was inevitable.
Normally, units caught off guard like this would fall into total chaos, but our division's platoon leaders and officers stayed calm and handled it well enough.
"Platoon, form up! Switchelland bandits coming from the right!"
"Don't charge out on your own—form a phalanx! Use the platoon leader as your anchor!"
"Knights with spears up front, first rank make way!"
At this rate, after the ambush was over, I wouldn't need to gather the officers, sigh, and tell them the division commander was disappointed in them.
Right on cue, Lieutenant Colonel Heinkel, who'd been on duty as officer of the day, came rushing toward me.
"Lieutenant Colonel Heinkel reporting! We can't confirm the enemy's numbers yet, but they're attacking from the woods to our right flank."
From ancient times to the modern era, the best places to hide troops were behind cliffs or in forests. The Switchelland bastards hadn't broken that rule this time either...
It was a bit regrettable that Heinkel, as the duty officer responsible for sentries, hadn't properly scouted the enemy force size, but...
In an era without radars or comms gear like in the modern world, sizing up an enemy during a surprise attack was practically impossible anyway.
Issuing the alert properly so the whole rattled division could respond—that was doing his best.
So I patted the shoulder of my senior by nearly fifteen years encouragingly.
"Thanks for handling it as well as you could. I'll make sure to remember your name."
I already knew all the majors and above in the division by name, but saying I'd remember it here was code for a glowing evaluation.
"Go tell the deputy division commander he's now in charge of the rear. I'll head to the point of contact."
"Understood, but isn't it dangerous for the division commander to go to the front lines himself?"
"It is dangerous, but what choice do we have? The sector I'm in isn't the front, so we can hold even if ambushed, but the units facing the enemy head-on are probably a mess. And have you forgotten who I am?"
Heinkel replied in a voice laced with respect.
"You're Jaeger the Khan Slayer Major General, sir. Understood. I'll relay the order to bring the deputy division commander immediately to take rear command."
Like that, without even mounting a horse, I sprinted in full armor to the right flank front lines, several hundred meters away.
Unlike other units that hadn't taken direct hits and could respond properly to a few alert orders,
the troops clashing with the Switchelland soldiers were a disaster—not total chaos, but their formation was nonexistent, like a department store shelf during a bargain basement sale.
Our 7th Division soldiers were tangled up in a messy brawl with them.
On top of that, the Switchelland bandits had come in with a somewhat organized formation despite the ambush, and we were slowly being pushed back.
"Empire slave bastards, taste the spear work of your free Switchelland brothers!"
"Die, drop dead! You won't touch our independence and freedom!"
"Go back to your Empire, you pig fuckers!"
Damn, if I hadn't drilled them to march in full gear ready to charge into battle at any moment...
A whole battalion might've been wiped out by now.
But now that I was here, their ambush was as good as failed.
I caught my breath, then bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"Attention! All infantry units in contact—reform your lines immediately! While the infantry reforms, knights hold them off with swords, maces, halberds, whatever sidearms you've got! Execute!"
At the order, the nearby infantry companies and platoons swiftly fell back to reform their lines.
The knights, clad head to toe in plate armor, used their belt sidearms to push back the Switchelland troops and hold the line.
If they couldn't hold now, things would go south fast for us.
"Valiant knights of the Empire's honor! We have to hold until the infantry reforms! To turn this battle, your division commander will fight alongside you. Give it everything you've got!"
With that, I drew my sword, slipped in among the knights,
and thrust at the neck of the tallest Switchelland soldier in front of me.
"You goddamn Switchelland brigands! Seeing you still pulling ambushes here like your ancestors robbing merchants crossing the mountains—your dead forebears must be clapping in heaven, proud you're carrying on the family tradition!"
I kept cutting down enemy soldiers one by one in my division commander's body, then issued the final order.
"Send one infantry battalion here, and have the crossbowmen loose arrows into the woods without mercy!"
You can sneak in however you like, but when you leave, you'll be leaving an arm behind.
That's the Korean hospitality I learned living in South Korea.