Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Northern Conquest Battle (4)
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Another 30 minutes or so had passed since then, but we still hadn't clashed with the enemy infantry.
The savage barbarian infantry had pretended to advance toward us, only to retreat once they entered arrow range—just like they did in the last battle at Tourner.
The ruthless barbarian archers rained arrows down like a storm, and while it wasn't quite turning our soldiers into fallen leaves in the autumn wind...
With the distance to the enemy infantry refusing to close, the number of our comrades falling to their ranged attacks kept climbing.
Of course, the Northern Army wasn't staffed by idiots, so we were countering their long-range assaults with our own magic and arrows, holding our own in a stalemated slugfest.
"Fuck, those dog-shit savage bastards! Hiding behind their arrows and running away like cowards. Ugh, you fly-speck sons of bitches!"
"Grab that bastard trying to charge out! If he breaks our lines, the enemy horse archers could come crashing in through the gap any second!"
"You cowardly infantry scum, come out front! Let's have at it. Why keep falling back? Goddamn it."
The Imperial forces were falling into the enemy's trap: pulling back their infantry while chipping away at us with horse archers and bowmen, accepting their own losses in the process. We were taking heavier casualties than expected.
Comparing the situations of these two forces, the scales of victory tipped ever so slightly toward the barbarians so far.
In the midst of it all, the knights taking concentrated fire from the barbarian horse archers had somehow managed to strike the rear of the enemy central infantry, forcing them to slow their retreat at last.
At some point, the distance between us and the savages began to shrink. Sergeants and junior officers screamed themselves hoarse to keep morale up.
"Just a bit farther and we'll be in melee range! Don't lose heart—they're nothing but scrap-heap rabble, not even as good as our green recruits!"
"Hold with grit and guts! That's how we win!"
"Charge for vengeance for our fallen brothers!"
Normally, the rank-and-file would grit their teeth and roar back in response. But right now, they lacked even the stamina or spirit for that.
No one answered them.
Glancing around at the other units near ours, even regimental and battalion commanders were being carried out by soldiers or loaded onto wagons.
Sure, in war, it's common enough for commanders to get wounded and carted off.
But a regimental commander getting arrowed and hauled to the rear? Who saw that coming?
Damn it, the situation was grimmer than I'd thought.
Fuck, when the hell was the division commander going to authorize independent action?
"Colonel! Colonel!"
I turned toward the voice calling me. A soldier galloped up on horseback and reported breathlessly.
"As you instructed, sir—the division commander has approved the 24th Regiment to move independently, leaving only two infantry battalions behind."
"Is that true?"
"See for yourself, sir. It's got the division commander's seal right here."
Hearing that, I snatched the dispatch from the messenger's hand, verified it, and issued orders.
"Leave the deputy colonel's battalion and 2nd Battalion here. All other units, follow me—we're breaking left from this position. Spread into a thin formation as per the plan. And hoist a white flag to make it look like our regiment's taken heavy losses and is withdrawing."
There was a chance the barbarians wouldn't recognize the white flag as a sign of surrender or combat ineffectiveness.
But any Imperial soldier or officer would know what it meant for a unit to pull back under white.
If the Imperials were losing, the enemy might pursue our withdrawal.
But with the fight evenly matched right now, they wouldn't have the slack to chase a fleeing unit right in front of them.
"Hoist the white flag and break contact fast—everyone except the deputy colonel's battalion and 2nd Battalion! Move!"
And so I withdrew from the left flank with three infantry battalions, one mage battalion, and two knight squadrons, starting a slow retreat.
Maybe it was the white flag, but rumors started circulating among the troops and officers.
"Did the colonel take a wound? He won't... kick the bucket, right?"
"Shut your trap, you bastard. If the colonel dies, promotions grind to a halt—and everything else too. Damn it, I ditched a chance at central command just to serve under Colonel Jaeger."
"Wars don't end in a day or two. He'll recover and be back soon enough."
And since I had to play the part while slipping away, I'd climbed aboard a casualty wagon.
To anyone watching, I looked every bit the grievously wounded commander.
In truth, thanks to my armor, I hadn't so much as taken a scratch from an arrow.
Once the troops I'd pulled out had put some distance between us and the Northern Army's left flank, I stood up from the wagon naturally and gave orders.
"Infantry companies, reform into six ranks abreast—spearmen up front, polearmers to the rear. Mages, slot in among the infantry for fire support. Crossbowmen, load up."
At my command, the colonel who'd supposedly been gravely injured suddenly rose and started barking orders.
The other officers and men froze, staring at me in stunned confusion, tilting their heads at each other.
So I repeated the order. Officers echoed it back and began reshaping the formation as instructed.
"This is the division-level pennant I borrowed for times like this. From now on, address me as division commander, not colonel. Think of yourselves not as a regiment, but a full division—and steel yourselves to act boldly. We will decide the outcome of this war."
With that, I mounted up and swept my gaze over the unit.
Unlike a standard infantry formation, spread thin as we were, the frontage visible to the naked eye...
Exaggerating a bit, it genuinely looked like a full division.
"1st Battalion on the far left, advance 30 paces. 3rd Battalion on the far right, fall back 30 paces. Form a diagonal line from my center position and advance while maintaining it."
When Prussia's Frederick the Great arrayed his troops in an oblique order to strike a rectangular enemy formation...
The records say the enemy reeled like waves in a storm, their casualties maximized.
We weren't using guns like he did, but we could aim for similar results with the oblique tactics that dominated before machine guns and modern artillery.
"Attack sequence is as follows: At 300 meters, knights charge to punch gaps in their infantry and withdraw. Infantry follow with spears and weapons at the ready."
We call this "shut up and charge" or "Ura charge" in the trade, but before the modern era, precisely timed assaults let small forces smash larger ones with ruthless efficiency.
Our regiment's veterans had served in the North anywhere from one to four years, battle-hardened elites. The enemy infantry? Aside from a few up front, no doubt...
They'd be the same ragtag mob we'd seen facing the Tourner tribe before.
They wouldn't form a proper shield wall, and against a for-real charge, their resistance would shatter.
Hitting them obliquely would spread shock across their entire central force, pinning them down completely against our regiment.
Meanwhile, our allies would see a surprise division slamming the enemy center from the flank, morale shooting through the roof at the devastating blow to the barbarians.
We'd rack up merits for days.
"All right, men—advance slowly. When the signal drops, level weapons and charge at full tilt."
The troops nodded.
I shifted our line of march toward a position to hit the barbarians' left flank.
Arriving there, I saw Ludwig's army and the Imperials had finally closed to melee with spears and swords.
Locked in a brutal push-and-pull struggle, they barely registered our arrival.
Observing, I signaled the two knight squadrons first.
Over a hundred knights surged forward in a cloud of dust, targeting the enemy's left.
"Infantry, follow the knights—charge the enemy! Shout it out: Long live the Reich Empire! Long live Deus!"
Calling it out like this felt straight out of a Renaissance romance charge.
"Long live the mighty Reich Empire!"
"Long live Deus! Long live the Reich Empire!"
"Face the judgment of God!!"
Roaring those words, my men and I charged to smash the savages for good.