Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Battle of Jungfrau Plains (3)
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Lindenhof Hill, Count Tisino's camp.
The Count of Tisino, who commanded a massive Switchland army of 9,000, was gazing down at the soldiers toiling away below the hill, frantically building defensive positions.
His face was flushed with excitement, like a boy deliriously happy after unexpectedly confessing to the girl he loved.
The biggest reason was that, considering all the circumstances, the Imperial Army had no choice but to pass through the roads near Lindenhof Hill, where the Switchland forces had established a thorough defensive posture.
Of course, with thorough combat preparations nearly complete and a separate detachment waiting to ambush their rear, victory was inevitable for him.
And the soldiers shared the same confidence...
"Halt, old man, put a little more muscle into that hammering! One of those stakes you drive could save a comrade's life."
"Understood, platoon leader."
"Damn Imperials! I'll kill every last one and sell their fancy armor to the Peronia City Union. That'll get me a cow or two for my boy's wedding."
The work was grueling, bodies aching, but they endured by imagining the pathetic sight of the Imperial Army dying against the defenses they were building.
"Those fools who dared set foot in Switchland... Make them regret it in death. Damn you, Major General Jaeger."
As Count Tisino steeled himself with such overconfidence, his retainers approached.
"Haha, my heart swells at the thought of giving our guests the traditional Switchland welcome. They have no choice but to pass through here to maintain supplies and marching convenience, right?"
"This is our chance to prove that Switchland mercenaries—our infantry in particular—are the strongest. Especially looking forward to taking down that infamous Major General Jaeger."
"This time, they won't escape our trap."
The count patted each of their shoulders and said,
"Good, looks like all your units are ready for defense. Excellent. Then let's start the full strategy meeting. We can have a drink afterward."
"Yes, my lord. It'll take them days to get here, and our defenses are nearly complete. For the soldiers' morale, some liquor and meat..."
"Exactly. Of course we should."
Ahead of the strategy meeting, they exuded confidence in victory, even showing a hint of complacency—but it wasn't entirely baseless.
After all, the Reich Empire's top brass had no idea how many troops were under Count Tisino, and they themselves had a perfect defensive setup.
As Count Tisino and the other nobles moved for the strategy meeting, a messenger came rushing up.
He bowed toward Count Tisino.
Seeing this, the count assumed it was a report that everything was going smoothly and began fishing out coins to tip the bearer of good news, as was custom.
"Report! Major General Peter Jaeger's Reich Empire 7th Division has begun marching via a detour, avoiding Lindenhof Hill!"
Upon hearing that his plan had completely missed the mark, the count stared at the messenger in a daze, while a retainer quickly demanded,
"What nonsense is this? From the raid last time, their food supplies didn't look abundant, and there's no villages on that detour to plunder for more. Who scouted this intel?"
The messenger inwardly fumed—Why are you grilling me, just a lowly messenger?—but held it in and replied,
"Confirmed by multiple scout units. Villagers near Lindenhof Hill also testify that the 7th Division went around."
At those words, the warm atmosphere from moments ago froze like ice, and the nobles were disappointed that Count Tisino's prediction had failed again.
But if the messenger spoke true, he bore no fault; moreover, they needed to hurry to the Jungfrau Plains where the detour rejoined the road near Lindenhof Hill.
"Understood. You're dismissed."
"Ah, there's one more thing to report."
"What? More to say?!"
The messenger squinted his eyes briefly and answered cautiously.
"According to rumors from nearby villagers, the Jaeger Division will run out of stockpiled food right after the detour. They'll have no choice but to plunder villages near the Jungfrau Plains for supplies."
Hearing this, the nobles shot the messenger glares that screamed "Get out if you don't want to die," chasing him away.
The moment he left, they turned on Count Tisino, almost yelling,
"My lord, what do you plan to do?"
"If we stay like this, the Tisino Canton will be turned to ruins."
"The hometowns of those who went as mercenaries for our cantons and Switchland are all at risk of destruction!"
The count clutched his thinning hair hard as he listened to their complaints and said,
"Fuck, what choice do we have? Halt construction now and march to the Jungfrau Plains! Argh! Peter Jaeger, you son of a bitch!"
And one week later.
Our Reich Empire 7th Division had finally arrived at the Jungfrau Plains.
In the after-action report, it would be a single line: Marched a somewhat rough detour route over a week with no engagements or plundering.
But the hardships Peter and the soldiers endured during that process were indescribable.
The maps depicted it as merely hilly terrain, but those hills ranged from at least 50 meters to over 100 meters high.
Due to the steep inclines, wagons often couldn't be pulled by oxen or horses alone, forcing even Division Commander Peter to push them.
Even on flatter stretches, the subtle slopes wore them out quickly.
Of course, this hellish experience would become a fond memory worth revisiting after victory.
"Everyone, you've all worked hard getting here! Scouts, quickly recon the surroundings. The rest, begin setting up camp. Everyone except those on guard duty gets the day off to rest."
Officers and enlisted alike erupted in cheers.
"Fuck yeah, time to rest! We're alive!"
"Karl Platoon! Grab shovels and dig! Hurry if you want to rest!"
"Goddamn. Now it finally feels real."
If the enemy hadn't arrived yet, they could do nothing but rest until tomorrow.
Peter spent two hours helping the exhausted soldiers build the camp.
Thanks to that, the 7th Division set up a resting place a bit faster than usual.
Of course, during it all, Peter's ears caught a few remarks...
'You idiot, even our sky-like division commander is shoveling dirt himself. You slacking in your last year?'
'Can't you see the chief warrant officer and sergeant majors are digging too?'
'Sigh, even the battalion commander—who's never done this in his life—has blisters. Let's finish quick and rest. Who knows what'll happen if we're the last ones...'
Such grumbling and veiled threats aside, the soldiers needed every extra hour of rest, so hurrying was unavoidable.
As soldiers began gathering in groups to enter their tents, the scouts returned, panting heavily.
"Report to the division commander! Switchland forces are encamped about 3 kilometers from our position."
Ah... So much for letting the soldiers rest through tomorrow.
Still, if the Switchland numbers were fewer than ours, it should be a relatively easy fight.
But the messenger's expression darkened further, his voice grave.
"Enemy strength estimated at around 9,000. More than us."
Numerically, 8,000 against 9,000 was winnable, but according to Count Bern, the forces blocking us shouldn't exceed 4,000 no matter what...
Because the total from all cantons that sent mercenaries to the two major wars was about 4,000 at most.
In this situation, facing nearly 10,000 meant one thing.
"Fuck, fuck! Pick our best riders and send them to His Highness the Crown Prince immediately! No—send ample messengers to all divisions! Count Bern was a double agent!"