Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Pull Forward the Offensive Endpoint
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While Erwin was tearing through the enemy, Ar and I had to pin them down here, making sure they couldn't leave.
They'd head straight back to the front lines they'd been pushed from and press the Empire relentlessly right up to the offensive endpoint.
They knew some enemy forces were still holding out here, but they'd just try to keep us tangling with their rear guard without committing fully.
After all, time was on their side—without reinforcements, we'd be the ones at a disadvantage.
Before that happened, we had to turn the tables on them. Make them not just fail to advance, but retreat.
"If we play our cards right, we could even strike their command structure. Lure them in as far as possible."
Ar and I nodded at Erwin's words before splitting off in our assigned directions.
The original plan was to lure the enemy as best we could, then slip away and regroup.
"Still no contact?"
"No, sir. Nothing at all."
The magic communicator we'd prepared was dead silent. No messengers either.
This was maddening. With no idea what was happening, the frustration was killing me.
"What if we head toward the direction their decoy pulled off in?"
A sergeant, unable to bear my agitation, ventured the suggestion quietly.
But the others immediately shot it down as absurd.
"We're all decoys here—both us and them. And we're reaching our limits. The horses are exhausted, and the men are battered. If we turn back now and get caught, we'll be right in their jaws for real."
"But the one leading their decoy is none other than His Excellency the Victory Duke..."
"Even the Victory Duke would say it's impossible in this situation."
"Fine, say he would. Are we just abandoning all those men out there?!"
Arguments, arguments—an endless clash of opinions with no resolution in sight.
But it was slowly tilting toward "We can't go."
If something had really gone wrong with Ar's group, that was all the more reason not to.
We were just bait units, not equipped for a head-on fight.
Plus, some soldiers who'd shaken off pursuit and turned back never made it.
We couldn't afford more sacrifices. Losing any more would shatter this barely reformed unit. We had to maintain a minimum number.
We didn't have the luxury to gamble on faint hopes. So, so...
"Make a decision, sir."
The mid-level officers approached me after debating among themselves.
They were all waiting for my call. Ready to follow whatever order came.
Their lives hung on my next words.
They'd all suffered enough already. Fought through so many battles. They wanted to go home alive.
Yet those eyes, ready to obey any command, weighed on me.
The order I had to give, the decision I had to make. This was the commander's fate.
My one word would decide who lived and who died.
That burden was mine alone—to carry until their last breath.
"...Let's go."
Not going meant certain gains and losses. Going meant others.
I'd weighed it all, agonized over it. And decided.
"We're going to rescue our boys."
Waaaaaah! ―
So many. Too many. I never imagined this many!
The Koenihesen bastards' eyes must be bulging.
If the lure worked, don't look back—just run, Richi had grabbed me before we parted today and said exactly that.
I said sure. Told him not to worry. Said we'd meet at dinner.
But looking at the enemy now, I think I spoke too soon.
Until yesterday, they'd been slyly tailing us, easy to shake. Now, no sign of giving up.
"This isn't working. At least you pull out alone!"
"How? Better we fight and die together."
The Koenihesen weren't idiots. They'd surely blocked the retreat routes too.
We were outnumbered badly. If they played that right, enemies everywhere we turned.
Running alone? Just get caught alone.
"Capture her! Grab her any way! Huge rewards for taking her!"
They hated our Empire as much as we hated them.
So they'd figure a hostage like me was gold once caught.
No surrendering. If we couldn't escape, we'd fight to the end.
"Damn Empire duke's daughter! Just keep her alive, they said. Alive! You know what that means! If you do—kill everyone else! Kill 'em all and grab that bitch!!"
...Suddenly a bit scared. I miss Richi all of a sudden.
The enemies pressed us methodically. Numbers always win eventually.
Our knights fought hard, but we were driven right to the brink of encirclement.
I found myself staring at the sword in my hand.
I don't want to die. I want to live. But the humiliation I'd face terrifies me more.
If it came to the very last moment, at least for some honor...
"Uwaaaah!!"
"Kill the Koeni scum! Slaughter them all!"
Sudden uproar from beyond the enemy's encirclement.
Sensing it, we gritted our teeth and hammered their net.
Now it felt like they were the ones trapped.
Definite. Otherwise, no reason for their panic.
"Ariete!"
There, far off, swinging his sword—Richi appeared.
The moment I saw him, I burst out laughing without thinking.
Said he wouldn't come rescue me if I got surrounded. But here he was.
"Liar."
"What're you talking about all of a sudden? Come on, let's go!"
"You said you wouldn't come save me."
"I wasn't going to! But I kept thinking about our men here!"
Idiot. Then why dodge my eyes? Just say it straight.
Anyway, thanks to you, I'm alive. Richi Reinhardt. Thank you. I'll never forget it.
"So. So! You lost them?! You call that a report?! After chasing for three whole days!"
The Division Commander hurled the report aside, unleashing a torrent of curses at the messenger.
He knew it wasn't the man's fault, but he had to vent somehow.
It wasn't just about letting fish slip the net. That alone wouldn't rile him this much.
The real issue: while pursuing those two, one of his regiments got utterly ransacked.
The regiment's command was wiped out entirely, commander KIA—a catastrophe.
If an upper unit took that hit, no need to mention the subunits' losses.
This couldn't go on. Nearly 30% of the division's strength—gone.
Meanwhile, the enemy was still rampant, eyeing their rear.
Couldn't move to the front now. What could they do in this state?
Wait for rear guard? Too much delay.
A messenger had already come from the front: hurry back and fill the gap.
But no reply possible. A regiment collapsed, strength slashed!
Now they needed elite front-line units pulled here.
Figured they were stragglers, scraps from here and there.
Thought they'd crumble on first clash.
But no. They weren't remnants.
Not poorly assembled ragtags either.
Freshly reorganized, rolling like a massive gear.
Moving as if it was their unit from the start.
'The field commander's talented, but the one coordinating troops and supplies from the rear is no slouch either! Damn it, we got played completely!'
How did it come to this? The Division Commander bit his lip until it bled.
Felt bewitched. Should've just pinned them lightly for the rear guard.
Moving to the front to push the Empire might've been better.
"Sir, maybe just head to the front anyway..."
"Absurd. They're this capable—conscripts from the rear won't cut it."
"The front line's urging us to fill in now!"
"Supreme Commander's son and a duke's daughter! Catch them, and the momentum flips instantly!!"
Staff officers' opinions in tatters, the division adrift.
The Division Commander sighed heavily. Finally saw the culprit.
'Greed. Too much greed.'
Thought it'd be fine. Just a handful of enemies.
Expected more merit from capturing them than front-line feats.
All that greed led here. Dead end.
"...For now, send two battalions to wherever the front needs support most. The most intact ones. The rest tend wounded, prepare for raids, and wait for rear guard."
Had to send some support. Otherwise, nothing to say later.
Even a little versus nothing—worlds apart.
Problem was, Erwin of all people wouldn't just watch.
"From the Koenihesen offensive, they're stretched thin too. Desperate. So one division's absence will throw their plans into way more chaos than they expect."
Richi was certain. Enemy pulling more troops due to the gap.
Plan changes, chaos at the lines. Plenty of openings.
And the enemy was exposing them all.
'...Gotta get chummier from now on.'
Shattering the enemy force heading for support once more, Erwin grinned.