Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Adice Maneuvers
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Ravria Republic's leader, Raymundo, had surrendered to the orcs after failing to hold off enemies on all fronts. Even after defecting to Kalligo, he refused to abandon his pride as an elf.
He insisted that if he had to follow Kalligo anyway, he should be the most outstanding among them. He forcibly gathered troops to attack Malachio, but achieved nothing due to the alliance's sudden retreat. Now, he threw himself aggressively into the assault on Rento.
He even declared he would take direct command, and for some unknowable reason, Kalligo permitted it.
To command the elves from afar, he used drugs to strengthen his mind. He ordered rapid movement, so Ravria Republic's soldiers arrived at Adice far faster than Kalligo's other forces.
Raymundo was willing to throw away troops recklessly just to secure some command authority under Kalligo.
But by the time they reached Adice, they were too spread out. The arriving elves could no longer hear Raymundo's orders.
"The enemy hasn't arrived yet."
"The last order was to secure and hold position."
"Hold? He told me to keep advancing to Rento."
They sent scouts to temporarily secure the front, then the officers gathered to discuss Raymundo's final telepathic message and debate what to do next on the spot.
Unlike Raymundo, whose mental strength had held out somewhat, these elves had offered no resistance to Kalligo's influence. With emotionless expressions, they exchanged words.
"...! Enemy detected. Location: Adice outskirts, forest on the right."
"Forest on the left as well—enemies appearing. Elves."
Reports flooded in that they had encountered the alliance's vanguard: Este Kingdom elves.
"..."
"..."
At the news of enemies closing in, they immediately responded.
Just as Raymundo had instructed earlier.
They initiated telepathic communication and swiftly split left and right, aggressively attacking the Este Kingdom elves who had entered the forest.
-Swish! Rustle. Crackle.
Unlike the noisy battles of others filled with shouts, marching boots, and clashing metal, elves' superior senses made it easy to detect each other's presence.
Knowing this, elves learned to move silently through forests and never screamed even when pierced by arrows.
Thus, the elf-on-elf clash in Adice's dense woods consisted mainly of rustling movements in the underbrush and the whistle of arrows slicing air.
It began as scattered skirmishes between scouts, but Ravria's elves pressed forward aggressively, even committing their main force.
"..."
"..."
Faced with the enemy's fiercer-than-expected assault, Este Kingdom's scouts retreated a bit faster than planned.
Because the retreat decision was swift, they shook off pursuit and fell back to a safe point.
"This position is dangerous too. Let's pull back further."
"Understood."
The Empire's main force, hidden in the forest on the side, heard this and began withdrawing without passing word to the Empire proper or dwarves.
"Elves have started engaging up front!"
"Is that so? Halt here and form square formation."
"Yes!"
The dwarves, who were supposed to advance and draw in the enemy elves, stopped immediately upon hearing of the clash.
They were still far from the planned halt point scripted in the plan, but they saw no issue in stopping—they knew they couldn't face forest elves without a square formation.
There had been no exchange between elves and dwarves,
"The Empire will handle it anyway."
"We'll move when they engage."
The dwarves had seen the Empire troops advancing ahead of them into the forest, even if they had now vanished within.
"Aren't we retreating too far?"
"We have to pull back this much to avoid enemy scouts."
"..."
"The humans will fight on their own anyway. Surely they can buy us enough time for our ambush?"
Elves were convinced no human could outpace them.
Believing the Empire would stick to the original plan, both sides shared the exact same goal: sacrifice them and reap the rewards.
Though command had shifted to Victor, on the surface, little seemed changed from Gerhard's honest days.
With the added intent to check the Empire's largest force, they waited for word that the Empire had engaged.
"So, where's the Empire's position now?"
"That's..."
-Crack!
"Your Excellency! The enemy has approached right next to our square formation!"
"What?!"
The first news to reach the dwarves was that enemy elves were charging to attack them.
"Engage! Do not retreat!"
Panicking as things veered off script, they had no choice—faced with a more mobile foe, retreat was impossible. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Este Kingdom and Ecni Kingdom's movements were secretive and sudden enough, but utterly pure and naive.
"Haha..."
"What is it?"
"Such reliable allies. They never deviate from expectations."
"...?"
By simply asking Gerhard about the Empire's usual formations and overall structure, then mimicking it, they moved without suspicion as always.
Dwarves halted almost the instant their scouts clashed. Elves pulled their main force even further back.
Now it was our turn.
My scouts, per orders, deliberately made noise to draw the enemy elves' attention.
"Let's begin."
"Yes."
Our two main forces, hidden in the forest and poised to march, advanced between the dwarf army and elf main force—targeting the dwarves' rear flank.
Once concealed in the woods, we didn't advance as swiftly as before reaching Adice, so we reached the ideal position without tails or issues.
The elves and dwarves had intended a W formation with our two units protruding forward, but we ended up closer to a V with dwarves at the tip.
Meanwhile, our lure scouts herded the enemy toward the dwarves' flank.
With Kalligo not directly commanding, the foes fell for it—their vanguard spreading haphazardly.
Minimap let me track their main force continuously, so no real variables.
"Dwarves have engaged!"
"Mm. Prepare for battle."
"Yes!"
After all the twists, dwarves took the initial hit as originally planned.
This forest was even sparser than anticipated—better for fighting elves.
We were positioned to strike the deep-advancing enemy's rear or flank against the dwarves,
"Elves haven't moved yet."
Even as serious fighting loomed, elves had barely budged.
"Gather the fast ones and prepare."
"...Yes."
I dispatched scouts and light infantry for a second lure, forcing Este Kingdom to move.
They stirred the enemy's rear attacking the dwarves' flank, from deep in the forest.
Dragging the reacting foes toward Este's scouts and main force,
"Finally moving."
The elves began advancing their main body.
"Send both wings forward."
"Yes!"
Dwarves as anvil, elves as hammer, us supporting appropriately.
Start and process deviated wildly from plan, but the outcome flowed our way.
Ecni Kingdom dwarves—not close to Anchester Kingdom, rarely handling firearms, but masterful metalworkers—all wielded high-quality weapons as they withstood the assault.
Este Kingdom elves, lacking special edges but far more fluid than Kalligo's crude thralls under his domination, darted through the woods striking weak points.
Our Empire's massed longbowmen fired by platoon, inflicting steady losses on the lightly armored foes.
"Right flank—enemy retreating! Victory is at hand!"
With negligible losses, momentum swung to us in moments.
"How's that?"
"...I fully understand what you meant."
Just convincing the officers my ideas weren't empty rhetoric was a huge gain.
"Enemy fleeing!"
"Pursue! Don't let them escape!"
"Understood!"
Satisfied seeing awe, respect, and admiration on some officers' faces, I continued commanding.
With elves clearly attacking separately, our securing of Adice sealed the victory.
But a win was a win.
"..."
To Empire officers who always drew the short straw against dwarves and elves, today's triumph wouldn't feel small at all.