Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Fatal Pursuit
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The 35,000-strong force stationed at the camp couldn't possibly all mobilize the instant the order came down.
Moreover, the cavalry—crucial for any pursuit—was coincidentally in the middle of tending to their horses, so they couldn't set out immediately either.
"The enemy is trying to flee! Attack! Cavalry, join the assault as soon as you're ready!"
"General!"
It was nearing noon.
In his haste, Gaston led about 20,000 infantry who had finished preparing and charged ahead toward the imperial forces.
"Fleeing?"
"Cowards on the run...!"
The kingdom soldiers, flustered by the sudden mobilization but heartened by the prospect of chasing a retreating foe, followed Gaston with renewed confidence.
"The enemy camp is in chaos. Horses are galloping between the tents, and the soldiers are still sorting supplies and packing up."
"...I see. Yes, yes! Bevis blundered, Ogust blundered, so now it's the enemy's turn to slip up. Of course it is. It has to be. Hm."
When Mathieu reported the imperial army's reaction to the kingdom's advance, Gaston—who was leading from the front—repeatedly convinced himself that their belated retreat was born of desperation.
"The enemy can't stand against us! Let's show them the might of Brotan Kingdom!"
"Waaaaah!"
He shouted his battle cry with vigor, shoving down the nagging flicker of unease rising in his chest.
The kingdom army charged toward the imperial camp with a roar.
The imperials, seemingly caught off guard, abandoned their supplies entirely in their frantic flight.
"Not even a rearguard..."
Gaspar, following behind with the late-prepared soldiers, sensed something off about the imperials' retreat—they didn't even seem to have a proper rearguard.
"Leave the supplies! We'll grab them after we slaughter them! Keep advancing!"
Gaston, commanding from the vanguard, had seen with his own eyes that the imperials were fleeing with barely their weapons. He spurred the kingdom troops onward, weaving through their ranks.
With Gaston's forces refusing to halt, Gaspar had no choice but to follow.
"Enemy forces estimated at around 10,000."
"Ten thousand? Ha."
Gaston had anticipated this, but he was still incredulous that a camp large enough for over 20,000 had yielded fewer than 10,000 soldiers.
"Pursue them! The enemy numbers only 10,000!"
Buoyed by the fact that the foe was less than a third their strength, the kingdom army ignored the spoils and pressed on swiftly. The gap between the fleeing imperial infantry and their pursuers narrowed steadily.
"...Hm."
Gaston felt a twinge of doubt at the imperials' oddly sluggish pace—no stragglers despite their hasty retreat—but,
"General! Enemy cavalry spotted ahead! About 500 strong!"
"Cavalry?"
He brightened at the news of a small enemy cavalry detachment.
"Haha, they must have been in quite the panic."
In Gaston's mind, fixated on the imperials' blunders, this was a positive sign: infantry unable to reform had sent cavalry to delay the pursuit—a sacrificial move to protect the rest.
It was proof of their desperation, he thought.
"Is our cavalry ready?"
"Yes! Sir Gerard Leo's 2,000 cavalry are approaching."
"Tell him this: Prioritize engaging the enemy cavalry!"
"Understood!"
Gaston entrusted the enemy horse to his own cavalry and kept charging,
"Don't slacken! They're right there!"
After dozens of minutes of pursuit, the kilometer-wide gap had shrunk to mere hundreds of meters.
"Cowards! Stand and fight!"
"Come on, face us!"
The imperials' flight had slowed markedly; the kingdom soldiers, sensing victory within grasp, bellowed as they closed in.
But in that instant.
"General! Thousands of enemy cavalry appearing on our left flank!"
"What?"
Gaston's face hardened at Mathieu's urgent report.
True enough, he spotted a substantial cavalry force kicking up dust storms as they bore down on the kingdom army.
"Reinforcements?"
"What do we do?"
Even the confident soldiers faltered, their pace slowing in confusion.
"Where would the empire find spare troops?!"
Gaston had detected no signs of them pulling forces out overnight, nor splitting during retreat. Reinforcements shouldn't be possible.
He snapped back at Mathieu in alarm.
"They're flying Gerhard's banners! Enemy reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements? Bevis, even to the end...!"
The cavalry had emerged from across Lake Apitel, from the direction of Shené.
If reinforcements, they had to be Gerhard's forces, whom Bevis had fought.
Gaston nearly exploded in rage at the thought that a little more resistance from Bevis could have prevented this, but,
"...Wait a minute."
Something felt suspicious. He pushed to the front and scrutinized the approaching cavalry.
Not yet ready to abandon his sliver of hope,
"No barding, just saddles. And their speed... too slow for imperial cavalry."
"What do you mean?"
He pointed at the riders, persuading Mathieu.
"Look closely. The dust cloud makes them seem numerous, but there aren't that many."
"..."
"Exactly. That's it! Even Gerhard couldn't send proper reinforcements!"
Gaston clenched his fist in realization,
"...Is that so?"
"Viscount Delong, still not seeing it? It's another feint! To halt our pursuit!"
"Ah..."
"Horses not fully rested, so they ditched the barding to lighten the load. After a major battle, not all cavalry could be intact, so they're hiding the reduced numbers with dust! These are just the weary survivors from yesterday—their main force is still far off!"
"Then...?"
"Look! They look numerous at a glance, but accounting for spacing, not even 3,000!"
He explained his deduction to the dazed Mathieu, barely containing his excitement.
Before Mathieu could respond,
"It's a trick! No need to fear! They've only sent a token cavalry force—their total strength is still less than half ours! Charge!"
"...Uwaaaah!"
"Waaaaah!"
Gaston, convinced of victory—or desperately trying to convince himself—brandished his sword and roared to rally the hesitant troops.
The moment the soldiers surged forward.
"...General."
"What is it?"
Mathieu called out in a trembling voice.
"Over there..."
His face drained of color, Mathieu pointed toward the cavalry's origin.
"I told you, they're already exhausted..."
"Behind them!"
"..."
Gaston looked again at his near-scream, and,
"...Fuck."
Imperial infantry under Gerhard's banners rushed toward them—easily over 3,000, armored head to toe yet moving at speed.
"Infantry? How?!"
Despite deploying all scouts, the kingdom's depleted reconnaissance couldn't gauge reinforcements from the imperial rear.
To Gaston, it looked like the main reinforcement body trailed right behind those thousands.
In his panic, he glanced at the fleeing imperials: even they had reformed during the kingdom's hesitation, ready to counterattack.
"No way?"
The unexpected infantry reinforcements and the imperials' perfectly timed counter shook loose Gaston's forcibly suppressed anxiety.
To him, who'd always feared Gerhard's schemes, it all felt like part of his plan.
"...No."
Guilt over endangering Brotan Kingdom's hopes and the collapse of his convictions left him reeling, unable to think straight.
"Retreat."
"Pardon?"
His mind raced solely with escaping this crisis.
He couldn't fathom how, but with enemy infantry reinforcements arriving, kingdom superiority was gone.
Exhausted from the chase, they stood little chance against the bolstered imperials.
If this army was annihilated, Brotan was finished. In despair,
"All units! Retreat and form up! Cease the attack!"
Gaston screamed desperately, blocking soldiers charging ahead.
Convinced he'd fallen into Gerhard's trap, he forgot this site was over 20km from Bevis and Gerhard's battlefield—impossible for imperial infantry to time perfectly.
"Retreat?"
"Weren't we attacking?"
The soldiers, advancing moments ago, reeled from the abrupt reversal. Most couldn't even form ranks under Gaston's frantic commands.
"For the Dragonia Empire!"
"Enemy reinforcements!"
"Run!"
The imperial assault nailed the chaos, turning it to terror.
"Regroup, regroup!"
"D-don't block the way, move!"
Terror spread like wildfire; before officers could react, the kingdom army crumbled.
"Everyone, restore formation... Ack!"
Imperial cavalry under Victor's command unhorsed Gaston, who was commanding at the front in desperation,
"General!"
"Ugh, uwa..."
Brotan Kingdom's last hope shattered.
"Aaaah!"
"Help, guk!"
"Save me!"
Soldiers tangled and trampled in the pandemonium; Gaspar watched the hellscape and,
"...We're done."
muttered shortly, sheathing his weapon.
"...Hm."
Honestly, I'm no genius—I didn't expect it to unfold this dramatically.
Friedrich suddenly notified me he'd run a baiting operation instead of a quiet retreat, so I took 5,000 relatively fresh cavalry to support him first.
Gerhard's main force had departed too, but they'd need another day to arrive and fight.
Even my reinforcements' horses weren't fully rested; we ditched barding but still weren't at peak.
That's why I dismounted some cavalry to masquerade as infantry.
Unarmored cavalry reinforcements rushing in and heavily equipped infantry appearing nearby would feel worlds apart.
The intent: feign the infantry main body had arrived to stall the pursuit.
In truth, until they broke, we planned only to harass, not press further.
With so many conscripts, the kingdom army was morale-sensitive; halting them would buy time for Gerhard's arrival.
"...Impressive, sir."
"It'll be over before General Gerhard even arrives."
"..."
...I hadn't aimed for such a theatrical rout.
Not that I minded their admiration; I didn't dodge the officers' sparkling gazes.
"Deputy Commander, what now?"
Whether Friedrich's impromptu baiting or something else, the reason didn't matter—opportunity had come.
From the moment we took their apparent commander, the kingdom army had melted away.
"Coordinate with Commander Friedrich's Second Army and smash them."
"Yes, sir!"
I sent the officers to the fray, closed my eyes, and silently directed the reinforcements.