Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Taking Command
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The troops from the Kingdom of Este and the Kingdom of Eckni gave off barely any sense of being allies, let alone fellow humans, so they were hardly trustworthy.
Fortunately, the imperial forces here felt like reliable comrades.
After several skirmishes, their remaining strength numbered around 25,000.
"I'm Philipp Hackelstein, commander of the 7th Legion's 2nd Longbow Brigade."
"I'm Gottfried Heinze, captain of the Andau Garrison."
Perhaps because they had gathered forces along the border with the Kingdom of Este, they had organized longbowmen into a full brigade, emphasizing their importance.
Of the 13,000 infantry, most were heavy infantry wielding shields, while the cavalry numbered only 2,000.
This unusual composition didn't align with standard imperial doctrine, which prioritized medium cavalry as the main force, but it made sense when tailored against elves.
It was also the perfect setup for facing Kalligo's troops, who relied heavily on elves for guerrilla warfare and favored all-out battles leveraging individual orc prowess.
"Captain Groeben, take the lead with your two units. The 2nd Infantry Brigade's role will be crucial."
"Understood."
Moreover, the assembled officers were solid.
Hannes Groeben's boldness in pointing out deficiencies to the general bearing the emperor's full authority was particularly impressive.
There were no troublemakers among them, like some from the 5th Legion.
"Focus more on monitoring our own forces' movements than the enemy's."
"...Yes, sir."
To minimize unnecessary losses for the scouts, I issued specific orders and prepared for the operation by directing various units.
Once preparations for the operation were complete, Victor first ordered the announcement of his appointment to the lower-ranking officers and soldiers.
"Inform the troops: as of today, General Victor Stilberg will take command of the imperial army."
"Yes, sir. We'll make sure it's relayed clearly."
Since the senior officers had already acknowledged Victor's command authority,
some viewed it as pointless showmanship or vainglory, but following Victor's orders, the senior officers passed the word to the lower commanders that Victor was now in charge of the imperial army.
"They say General Victor Stilberg is now the imperial army's overall commander. Keep that in mind."
"...? Understood."
The lower commanders then relayed Victor's appointment to the soldiers.
"Why the sudden change?"
"Who knows. Doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Probably not."
Soldiers heading into battle were closest to their direct lower-level commanders who gave them orders, and for squad leaders and below, their main duty was executing orders from higher-ups leading the units.
Thus, unless tactics or unit conditions changed drastically, a switch in the top commander didn't stir much excitement.
When Gerhard had arrived, morale had risen slightly because he was a well-known figure among the troops, but that was about it.
"Victor? Rings a bell..."
"Hey, be careful. He's acting on the emperor's full authority."
"...Screw up, and it's the guillotine?"
"Ugh, gives me chills..."
With relatively low fame and little time spent in the empire, few had reason or inclination to step forward like Hannes and openly resist Victor replacing him.
"...He'll do fine, right?"
"Of course. The emperor sent him, after all."
Plus, the prestige of being the emperor's proxy was added.
All they could do was vaguely hope Victor performed well.
"What did Lord Gerhard say?"
"That his strategy and command surpass any general."
"If he says that much..."
During the handover, Gerhard had actively endorsed Victor, so even those dissatisfied with a proven general like him stepping down swallowed their complaints and followed orders.
Of course, hardly anyone expected major changes just because Victor was now supreme commander.
But the very next day, as they marched divided into two forces with the dwarves in between, the imperial army began to sense the shift.
The imperial forces, centered on the 7th Legion and including the Andau Garrison from the southern region, had struggled with formations and alignments despite their elite quality,
"...?"
"...You hear that too?"
"Yeah."
baffled by the sudden orders yet moving accordingly, they managed to maintain unit alignments even while split in half and clustered.
"..."
The faint confusion didn't last long.
Following the clear directives echoing in their minds, the soldiers moved their feet.
Maintaining proper spacing between soldiers made the march comfortable for them, and lower commanders, usually tense about mistakes, felt much less burdened.
"...Have humans always been like that?"
"Feels different somehow."
Marching slightly behind the imperial army, with them flanking ahead on both sides, the Eckni Kingdom dwarves vaguely sensed something had changed.
Victor had deliberately commanded them to appear somewhat disorganized overall, so they didn't realize the units' alignments were near-perfect.
"Their pace seems oddly synchronized, doesn't it?"
"Hm... Not sure."
"Really...?"
Some dwarves at the front, watching the imperial rear, noticed the two split forces—despite differing terrain on each side—advancing at similar speeds without major delays.
Since it was just a hunch like "it seems that way," no reports went up,
but a few dwarves watched the imperial army with more cautious eyes.
The elves' situation wasn't much different.
"No unusual activity."
"Good."
Given the friction between Victor and Vittorio, the elves had kept scouts monitoring the imperial rear even as they took the lead, but the marching imperials looked no different on the surface.
"Keep watching them."
"Yes, sir."
Victor even occasionally faked mistakes by spacing units or regiments, making it hard to gauge from a safe surveillance distance.
"Probably nothing anyway."
"Humans with their bloated egos—it's not like this is new."
"Yeah, we have to put up with it."
With their baseline contempt for other races, few felt the need to heighten vigilance toward the imperials or Victor.
"They'll learn how superior elves are."
"Damn right. Lavria's idiots might be morons, but elves are elves."
Some even quietly rooted for enemy Lavria Republic, unable to stomach their race being looked down on despite their nation's peril.
"We found a few traces, but no imperial scout units spotted."
"Good. ...Well, no way they'd dare enter the forest against elves."
With no sign of imperial scouts afterward, the elves proudly headed to the imperial camp with intel from their own.
"This is the enemy's current position as confirmed by our scouts. And... this map marks projected paths accounting for sightings."
Having deployed even their reserve recon, they anticipated Victor's strong reaction.
"..."
After reviewing the elves' materials, Victor
"...Impressive."
widened his eyes and leaned in close, almost burying his nose in the papers.
"Excellent intel. Things we couldn't possibly know. Hm, hm. Thank you."
"So, we proceed with the original plan?"
"Naturally. This should work out fine."
The elf who handed over the documents left the tent pleased, missing Victor's sneer hidden by the pages.
"...Is all this necessary?"
"They're underestimating us. Honestly... it's a bit worrying."
Several staff and officers voiced concerns about Victor's deception toward elves and dwarves,
"The more they underestimate and misunderstand us, the bigger their blunder."
"..."
"Elves dominate forests freely, dwarves are formidable when clustered. Only when they see us as slow, dull armies brimming with zeal can we truly exploit them."
Victor's resolve was firm.
"But..."
"Do you think honor and prestige matter more than victory or minimizing our losses?"
"No... that's not it."
"We're not volunteers. Nor are we so weak we desperately need them. But they don't see it that way."
"..."
He scanned the gathered officers.
"Once we've crushed the elves who've belittled us as inferiors, and the dawdling dwarves prove useful—that's when we step up."
"...Understood."
Having suffered directly or indirectly from dwarves and elves' attitudes, the imperial officers could grasp Victor's point.
Thus, with dwarves and elves unchanged but the imperial interior transformed,
"...We've arrived."
the alliance reached Adige, the predetermined battleground.