The Third Phase of the Opening Battle
The very moment the enemy suicide attack failed, our victory was practically sealed.
Even if our grand air fortresses had suffered heavy damage, they still wouldn't have been vulnerable to the enemy's small-scale aerial fortresses.
Thanks to that, the Croisen Empire troops withdrew in heavy losses, and we could gloat over our victory.
“Haha, congratulations on your hard work, Captain Lawrence! Your performance today was truly impressive!”
“Your praise is too much, Your Excellency.”
“Praise? If you hadn't detected the suicide attack, the damage would have been catastrophic!”
‘Suicide attack detected. Evacuate now.’
No one here realized that this single short message had been the deciding factor in our victory.
Count Otis had been praising me nonstop, and as someone unused to such situations, I scratched my cheek with an awkward smile.
“Suicide attacks were attempted at three other battlefields on the same day, but only our unit detected the anomalies in advance and successfully defended the fortresses.”
Three out of four attacks had succeeded.
Looking at the overall situation, it seemed our kingdom forces had been routed, yet the nobles gathered with the division commanders raised their wine glasses without a trace of worry on their faces.
I couldn't figure out where all this bravado was coming from.
“I have relayed today's victory to the field commander, so a decent reward should be forthcoming.”
A reward? The only thing I would get right now was a medal.
The war was still in its early stages, so expecting a proper award was unrealistic.
Moreover, if this war ended in a decisive defeat, there would be no opportunity for distribution of spoils of war, so there was no point in discussing rewards now.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“What? It's the superior's duty to give subordinates the reward they deserve for their contributions.”
Some people cleverly claimed subordinates' achievements as their own, but seeing Count Otis do this, I realized he was lazy yet sensible.
“By the way, I heard there was a strange rumor about you.”
“A rumor?”
My puzzled expression was promptly answered by the son of the Resty viscount family, who had been participating in the war alongside me as the regional representative.
“I heard it too. Captain Lawrence tamed a mysterious giant eagle.”
“Ah, yes. The sight of me communicating with the dark eagle was said to be truly mysterious.”
At the mention of Black Eagle, my face flushed slightly, but I quickly composed myself and waved it off.
“I can't say for sure about the communication part, but it seems incredibly intelligent. It understands spoken words just like a person. That's why I look after it.”
“Haha, that's what communication is! Animals really don't understand words, do they?”
Count Otis burst into laughter, patting my back as if something was hilarious.
“If it's a black large eagle, it's probably the Altir, a species of bird that lives in the sacred land of Everhill. It's a rare kind born with innate high-level magic power and can fly thousands of kilometers in a single flight.”
Seeing the son of the Resty viscount family, who had the personality of an explanation machine, I feigned surprise at the unfamiliar fact.
In truth, I already knew all of it.
“Once tamed, it never betrays its master and throws itself into danger without hesitation.”
Even I thought Black Eagle must have been modeled after Altir.
If Lucas the Grand Duke had simply given me some flashy support without considering manageability, the people would have complained. Luckily, he used a real species from our world as reference.
“Totally dog-like. Dog-eagle.”
Was that a joke?
I frowned instinctively, but the surrounding nobles erupted in laughter at Count Otis's childish joke, some even clapping and wiping tears.
Especially the son of Baron Aden, who clapped and shed fake tears, had the best composure.
It seems no matter where you go, flattering the superior is a socialite's essential skill.
“Well, I guess Captain Lawrence didn't understand what I was saying.”
I hadn't failed to understand; I simply didn't want to.
But I answered with a belatedly surprised expression.
“Amazing senses, sir. Sorry, I'm a bit slow on these things.”
“You don't seem slow at all. Even after playing so much of the game, you seem surprisingly straightforward when chatting.”
After that, Count Otis continued making jokes to liven the mood.
But as the childish jokes kept coming, the nobles' expressions gradually turned unnatural, and they started to struggle to respond.
“Your Excellency, the enemy has retreated. May we use personal communications?”
The count rested his chin on his hand, pretending to think.
Then, with a smile, he nodded as if he'd just remembered something.
“Consider this my personal reward.”
“Thank you.”
At last, the thought of logging into Chronicle Online made me smile sincerely, and the surrounding nobles laughed brightly, happy that Count Otis's nonsense had stopped.
Two weeks into the opening battle.
Damage from the war continued to accumulate steadily.
Especially the high desertion rates of air fortresses and Vanguards meant there were always new units and equipment arriving.
More and more soldiers died in blind attacks.
Yet our unit under Adrian continued to gain steady victories and earned high praise.
“Deputy Commander William, the captain requests your dispatch. Five Croisen Empire Vanguards are approaching the mountain range from the 3 o'clock direction. Please respond.”
In the Vanguard waiting room, Deputy Knight Commander William sighed softly and stood up after hearing his subordinate's report.
Following him were four Vanguards from the Lawrence viscount domain.
-Beep! Beep!
A short while later, one wall of the waiting room where they were located opened with a loud warning sound.
The Vanguards stepped onto the hoverboards fixed to the floor at the entrance.
The hoverboards were similar to skis but scaled down to half size.
They immediately slid out and accelerated at terrifying speeds.
[Fully Equipped.]
[Yes!]
Following William's command, the weak breast armor covering only the chest transformed into a full suit that completely covered the entire body.
It looked like the mechanical suits from the hero movies Adrian loved watching back on Earth.
Even more so, a Force device emitting blue light was installed on the chest, making it not just similar but an outright homage.
In fact, it was possible because Lucas the Grand Duke, the developer of the Force Armor, was from Earth.
Whenever William saw the Vanguards' equipment, Adrian always spoke with a nostalgic, enraptured expression.
[William.]
[Yes, sir.]
William, racing at over 300 km/h via hoverboard, tilted his head curiously at the communication signal and hologram of Adrian.
Adrian continued with a calm tone, as if just speculating.
[They are coming down the mountain range with plenty of cover. The fact that they are revealing themselves seems suspicious. It could be a trap, so start the battle from a safe distance where you can keep your distance.]
The terrain ahead was indeed perfect for setting a trap.
Although the number of enemies detected by the sensors was only visible ones, Adrian had consistently given appropriate judgments and responses over the two weeks after the opening battle to minimize allied damage.
Therefore, Deputy Commander William decided to follow Adrian's instructions rather than trusting only what the sensors showed.
[Understood.]
[Good. Work hard.]
William relayed Adrian's instructions to his subordinates.
[What, it's not a bad thing to be careful.]
[Understood.]
If it had been before, no one would have listened to Adrian's orders.
But in just two weeks, things had changed dramatically.
No one ignored Adrian anymore.
Of course, the bad image accumulated during that time still lingered in the back of their minds.
But if Adrian continued his current performance, that doubt would surely disappear soon.
And…
[Underground!]
The very thing that raised William's trust in Adrian to the maximum happened.
As if the previous warning had been prophecy, five more Vanguards emerged from underground, the blind spot of the sensors.
The 5:5 battle instantly became 10:5.
[Retreat! Pull back while harassing!]
Blue-lit Force Swords swung simultaneously from both sides, and the light of five and ten blades crossed to threaten the enemy.
[Huff!]
Fortunately, the first attack didn't land a solid hit on either side.
Because there was a sufficient distance to respond to the enemy's attack.
Thanks to having thoroughly guarded their surroundings after receiving Adrian's warning, they survived.
If William and his subordinates had approached without any plan, they would have been annihilated in an instant.
‘But the situation isn't good. The crisis is still there.’
William now had to hold out without taking damage while blocking twice as many Vanguards and waiting for reinforcements.
It would take at least five minutes for the reinforcements to arrive, and surviving without any damage was impossible.
-Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
But then.
Something unexpected happened.
After meeting the enemy and only a minute or so had passed?
William's communication lit up with sweat pouring down his face as he performed a difficult stunt.
Adrian's voice rang out.
[William, advance.]
At the same time, ten blue lights flew in from behind like reinforcements.
They rushed straight at the enemy.
Directly the support forces from Count Otis's domain, the division commander's personal unit.
[Eh? How? ]
The allied reinforcements were ten Vanguards.
The numbers instantly flipped from 10:5 to 10:15, and they overcame the life-threatening crisis.
But this rapid support was not something that could be rationally explained.
It meant they had requested support in advance.
[William, taking a walk? What are you doing without attacking?]
Adrian's relaxed voice snapped William out of his daze.
Who was he talking about taking a walk?
But whether understood or not, since it was wartime, they had to take every advantage when available.
[The enemy is retreating with their backs to the mountain range. Reinforcements won't be easy to provide on that side, so capture at least five or more.]
[Understood.]