Defense of Valharat's Western Fortress (7)
"Stay calm, all of you! Do not panic! The enemy's numbers cannot be that great!"
Chel Brans, still in the midst of his surprise assault, shouted desperately to hold his command structure together—but he was every bit as shaken as the rest of them.
They saw through the ambush? How?
How many messengers had he sent on the way here, each one reporting the fortress's current state? They had spoken of preparations that looked like a ritual ceremony. They had spoken of soldiers standing strict, vigilant watch. And most decisive of all, they had told him that Commander Epinel herself was moving from post to post, directing everything in person.
There was no chance the messengers had lied. Which meant…
Did they see through our plan from the start…?
The moment the word "see through" crossed his mind, Parfalle's warning rose unbidden in his memory.
Swen is no ordinary commander. He accurately saw through the scheme by which the Acius Army was colluding with the Allepel and Charam forces to deceive us, and he foresaw the rebellion that would break out in the north. You can be certain he has prepared thoroughly for the defense of this fortress as well.
Don't tell me… all of this was inside that man Swen's calculations…?
Back then, Parfalle had said that as long as Swen was present, they must not touch the fortress. But what if it went further than that? What if he had seen through even the fact that Parfalle would think and act that way—seen through it one layer deeper still?
What in the world…!
Come to think of it, the first time he had ever met Swen was when his lord and younger sister, Rin, had spoken of a "hidden talent of rare quality," and they had marched on the Lunarien forces—forces that no longer even existed, having since been destroyed.
The more he followed that thread, the more tangled his thoughts became. He shook his head hard.
Just because the man had pulled off a few near-miraculous feats, people overrated him. There was no guarantee it was Swen who had seen through this plan so precisely. If he decided on an answer in advance to a question this uncertain and let fear take hold, he would be able to do nothing at all.
Anyway—we've been found out. Do I pull the troops out immediately?
Parfalle had said it clearly. The chance of this scheme failing was low, but if it did fail—if the Acius Army discovered their troop movements before a proper siege could even begin—then he was to leave only the bare minimum of soldiers to cover the retreat and withdraw the rest at once. That, she had insisted, was the way to minimize the damage.
Fleeing like this grated on him. It felt undignified. But Parfalle was a strategist even he acknowledged. He knew well enough that in most situations, listening to her was the correct judgment.
Then I should give the order right away…
Just as he was settling his mind on that course, a familiar woman's voice reached his ears.
"So this is where you were."
Chel turned toward the sound. There, astride her horse, sat the female warrior raised to serve House Brans—Airen Juliette—staring down at him with cold eyes.
"…Well, well. If it isn't the filthy traitor who abandoned her country and ran."
"…"
Airen only glared at him in silence.
"Your complexion's improved quite a bit, hasn't it? After pulling a stunt like that. If it had been me, the guilt would have driven me to kill myself—yet here you are, shamelessly holding your head high and still breathing. Your father teach you that, did he?"
Chel's words were pure provocation, but Airen did not take the bait.
"How pitiful you are, Chel Brans. Bound by that cursed bloodline of yours, you cannot even abandon a sinking ship. Tell me—how does it feel to be the helmsman of a nation already destined for ruin?"
"What did you say, you damned woman…?!"
Chel leveled his sword at her, voice thick with rage.
"Do you dare mock Chel Brans himself?!"
"Oh? Thinking of charging me? If you mean to turn tail and run, now is your only chance."
"Don't make me laugh!"
Steel rang. Chel spurred his horse and swung. Airen traded several blows with him, then settled into her stance and fixed him with a hard stare.
"With forces this size, you cannot stop our army! Accept your wretched fate. I'll cut off that filthy traitor's head myself!"
"You are every bit as vulgar as your sister. If you are so eager to hasten your own end, I will not stop you any longer. Come!"
"Fine, you damned woman! This place will be your grave!"
Airen held her ground and continued to face Chel Brans. After exchanging several exchanges of steel, she could tell he was genuinely strong. The title of Brans' First Sword was no empty boast. Even so, after training with the sword every single day without fail, she felt she could at least hold her own better than before. And more than that—she even thought him weaker than Lunarien.
Good. That should be enough provocation.
Swen had said that if the enemy saw through this scheme, their own side would inevitably hold the advantage. He had also stressed how important it was to cut down as many of the Brans Army's troops as possible here. What Swen wanted was the reduction of Brans forces. Then Airen would simply run to make that will reality.
In that same spirit, goading the commander Chel and pinning him in place had been her own idea. Having once served close at his side, she knew his temperament well. He was without question a powerful general—a final weapon of the Brans Army who could do the work of a hundred men and more. His only real weakness was that he was somewhat hot-blooded: a fierce, savage commander who clung more tightly than anyone to the honor of the Brans name. Provoking a man like that was as easy as eating cake. Touch that pride of his even lightly, and he would come right over…
"Haaaaah!"
Steel clashed again.
…Exactly as planned…!
The instant she caught his blade, Airen felt a faint tremor run through her own arm. From the Acius Army's perspective, baiting him into staying, blocking his retreat, and sweeping up the disordered Brans troops was an excellent operation. But when the focus shifted to Airen herself, the method was far from perfect. She would have to keep trading blows with him and buy as much time as possible until enough of the enemy force had been cleaned up—and even if she had reached a level where she could contend with him, objectively speaking, defeating him was nearly impossible. She was not so inexperienced as to fail to know that much.
But—
To fulfill Swen's will… I have to push harder here…!
The man who had undone her cursed fate, who had unlocked the shackles binding her to House Brans. The man who had told her, with complete sincerity, that protecting her mattered more than anything else. For that man—for Swen—there was nothing Airen could not do. Holding only that resolve in her heart, she continued to trade blows with Chel.
How much time passed like that? Airen's expression tightened slightly as she began to feel her stamina running short. Chel did not miss the moment. A thin smile curved his lips.
"Ha! I can feel those little hands of yours starting to shake. For all that big talk, you're weak! Airen! You didn't actually believe you could beat me, did you?!"
Hearing him, Airen answered with a thoroughly provocative smile of her own.
"…What a long tongue you have, Chel Brans. I pity you."
"…What?"
"Because of that precious bloodline of yours, you can never leave the Brans Army ruled by a fool of a lord. You are doomed to rot there for the rest of your life…!"
"What did you just…?"
She felt Chel's body shudder. It was rage—true rage from Chel Brans, the kind even Airen had rarely seen.
"…Airen Juliette. I swear it on my blade. You will die here."
Steel rang.
…Kh!
Chel's attacks came on even fiercer than before. How many generals in the world could rain down blows this freely even from horseback? Airen had managed the occasional effective counter while weathering his earlier assault, but in this moment she could do nothing but desperately block the storm of strikes.
I have to hold… If I don't hold…!
I'm glad you're safe, Lady Airen…
Because now… there was someone waiting for her to return. Someone who had sought her out, who had affirmed her existence, who was waiting for her to come back.
I cannot… die here…!
A crash of metal—
Damn it…!
The sword she had been using to block flew from her hand. Confirming it, Chel let out that same thin, unpleasant laugh again. The sound filled the battlefield already thick with the roar of soldiers.
"This is as far as you go, Airen!"
Damn it, Swen…!! I…!
In that instant—
"Aaaargh!!"
"…!!"
A pained groan from Chel reached her ears. Airen grasped the situation at once. An arrow was buried cleanly in the back of Chel's left hand. She turned her head—and there came Emma with a bow, and Ernandof with his massive club, both riding hard toward them. The soldiers who had set out to invade the Allepel forces must have received the messenger's report and arrived on this front.
"Damn it all…!"
Chel spat a curse and seized the shaft lodged in his hand. Then—
"…Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
—he wrenched it free. Bright red blood streamed from the open wound. Even so, Chel kept his vision clear and his mind working. When he looked around, he saw Emma and Ernandof—renowned generals of the Acius Army, both well known to him—charging straight for this spot.
Damn… the enemy's reinforcements have arrived?
Only after some of the blood had left his body did rational thought return. This was no time for this. He should have pulled the troops back as quickly as possible… At this rate, there was no chance of victory. Far from killing the Airen in front of him, if Emma and Ernandof joined the fight, he himself might be the one to die here.
Even now… I have to withdraw…!
"Everyone! Fall back! The operation is canceled! Prioritize the retreat!"
He gave the order late, but his command never reached the soldiers already in chaos; it only echoed uselessly into the air. Only then did Chel realize he had waited too long.
…Damn it…!
If the commander died, it would truly be over. Chel wheeled his horse about, shouting for them to retreat as best he could, and fled the field.
Watching him go, Airen found Emma drawing near.
"I'm glad we made it in time, Airen. It's been a while since I used a bow, so I was a little tense—but it worked out well."
"…General Emma. Thank you."
"Not at all. If anything, we should be thanking you. If you hadn't prevented the ambush in advance, we would have lost Valharat Castle."
Just as Emma said, if Airen had not already taken position here and stopped the soldiers attempting the surprise attack, the situation would have become extremely dire.
"You've done well. For now, let's clean up the remaining forces."
"Yes, understood. I'll help as well."
"Don't overdo it."
And so Airen followed after Emma and began mopping up the Brans troops who could not even manage a proper retreat.
The surprise attack aimed at Valharat Castle had failed. As a result of that failure, the Brans Army lost more than forty-five thousand of its core troops. It was the greatest defeat the Brans Army had suffered since it had effectively come to dominate the central continent.