Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Fatal Charge
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Guillaume had used the term "Children's Formation" to persuade his soldiers, but he knew full well that the kingdom army wasn't elite enough to execute it properly.
He had merely mentioned the Children's Formation—one of the classic aggressive setups—as a counterpoint to Antoine's arguments. His actual intentions were quite different.
Guillaume's strategy was exceedingly simple.
It was the same tactic that had brought him victory against the Kingdom of Kaen.
By spreading out his forces to thin the enemy's lines, he would then commit elite troops to their vulnerable points—a textbook approach when you held numerical superiority over the foe.
The kingdom army's formation, as it prepared for attack, took on a massive trapezoidal shape, with only the center slightly protruding forward.
Compared to a standard linear formation, it was shorter in width but thicker in depth. Even so, the widest rear ranks matched the breadth of the empire army's linear deployment.
Guillaume was well aware that in a flat plain battle with few obstacles, expanding width while maintaining adequate depth was advantageous.
But to widen it further, the kingdom army would have to disperse the elites in the center even more or place inexperienced conscripts on the front line.
Since the goal was a central breakthrough, he couldn't pull those elites from the middle. And putting green troops up front would turn them into a liability, sowing chaos throughout the entire army—worse than having none at all.
So Guillaume opted to pack his forces densely instead, preserving morale and limiting cavalry avenues of attack.
Targeting the center wasn't about total annihilation; it was simply the best choice, as the empire army's lines were uniformly thin without any particularly thick spots, promising the greatest reward upon penetration.
"The empire army has deployed their forces in this formation."
After the kingdom army began its advance, a messenger delivered a map with a rough sketch of the empire army's positions to Guillaume.
"...Hmm."
He alternated between studying the map and peering at the distant empire army's actual formation.
"Haha. Hahahaha..."
Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Your Highness, what's the matter?"
"The enemy is so pathetically inept. Look here."
Guillaume showed the map of the empire army's deployment to an officer who had approached.
"...They're still holding a linear formation. Placing cavalry on both flanks means..."
The empire army's layout on the map showed almost no changes from before the kingdom army marched out.
Guillaume had kept his tension high even while leading the troops, given the reports painting the empire army as godlike in war.
"It's honest to the point of stupidity—naive beyond belief, wouldn't you say?"
In Guillaume's eyes, the empire army's utterly ordinary setup—stretching their lines thin to match widths and stationing cavalry on the flanks—looked no different from the Kaen Kingdom soldiers who had crumbled in swift defeat.
"They're not trying to envelop us?"
Some officers suspected the cavalry emphasis on the wings indicated an encirclement attempt,
"Encirclement? Tell me you're joking. I hope you are."
Even accounting for differences in morale and training, the kingdom army's strength exceeded the enemy's by over 1.5 times.
Neither Guillaume nor the officers on the field took the idea seriously.
"The enemy's infantry numbers only half of ours. If we assault across the front while breaking through the center, what forces do they even have left to encircle us?"
"Exactly. Their center looks flimsy, so even if they aim to envelop, our troops will punch through first."
Common knowledge held that encirclement was a tactic for the many against the few.
The kingdom army officers figured that if the empire army—with barely half the infantry needed to hold the line—dared attempt it, their thin ranks would be easily shattered by the elites in the center.
In the current setup, the empire army's center would face roughly 30,000 kingdom troops with only about 10,000 men.
"Right. Focus only on breaking through the enemy for now."
Guillaume figured that even if he ordered flank defenses, the troops in the heat of battle might not follow properly. Issuing a simple "charge the enemy" was the best way to control them and leverage the numerical edge.
"Count Damien Lelouch, a moment."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Your role is crucial. If their cavalry strikes our flanks or rear, you must disrupt their assault."
"..."
"I'm not telling you to fight to the death. Retreat if it feels truly dangerous—just buy us time to break through, please."
"...Understood."
After instructing Damien, who commanded the cavalry, to counter the enemy's horse, Guillaume slowly moved through the advancing ranks.
Soon after, when the gap between the kingdom and empire armies narrowed to about 200 meters.
Shing.
"All of you, listen up!"
"Yes!"
"My soldiers, are you ready? Ready to drive back the wicked foes who dared attack the Brotan Kingdom?!"
Guillaume drew his sword in the midst of the marching troops and raised his voice.
"The future of the families you left behind rests in our hands—in your hands! Let us show the vile empire scum who burned our lands and slaughtered our comrades the full measure of our strength!"
"...!"
"The enemy numbers a mere 30,000! Forward! To victory!"
With a dignified tone, he boosted the soldiers' morale,
"Entire army—charge!"
"Waaaaah!"
"Let's go!"
"Yaaah!"
pointing his sword at the empire army to signal the battle's start.
Restricted to views from mounted officers and messengers in limited directions, the kingdom army perceived the empire army as simply lined up in a straight row—but reality was different.
As the empire army advanced slowly in a linear shape, their center quickened pace upon spotting the enemy, moving slightly faster than the left and right wings.
Meanwhile, some rear troops peeled off instead of advancing, shifting to the back.
"Attack!"
"Waaah!"
At the moment the kingdom army charged, the empire army faced them in a shallow crescent, with the center protruding forward.
Unaware of this, the kingdom army plunged into battle. First blood came from the vanguard led by Count Maurice Berto.
"Count Berto's forces have engaged!"
"What? Speed up! We're following!"
To support the protruding ally flanks, the entire kingdom army charged the instant word reached them of the vanguard's contact.
But here the problem arose.
"Let's go! Smash the enemy!"
The central kingdom forces charged smoothly to clash with the empire army,
"The enemy's too far to start charging!"
"Looks like over 300 meters at least..."
while the flank units were still too distant to launch their assault.
"Don't hesitate! If we do, our comrades die!"
"Crush the enemy! Charge!"
Guillaume, who had long abandoned fine control due to shortages of junior officers, ordered a full charge to preserve numerical superiority. His officers echoed the call.
Clang! Kang!
"Kill!"
"Argh!"
"Yaaap!"
Moreover, the vanguard's clash of steel spurred the hesitant troops.
"...Uryaaah!"
"Waaaaah!"
"Uh, uhh?"
"Just run, just go!"
"U, uwaaaah!"
In the end, even units twice or far more distant from the empire army than the vanguard attempted reckless charges. As the elite front line moved, the trailing conscripts followed toward the foe.
"Go... Kyaak!"
"Wh-what? Where are our allies?!"
Charging over 300 meters in armor and wielding weapons was grueling.
The kingdom army's momentum faded toward the edges. Even those reaching the enemy exhausted nearly all stamina in the rush, collapsing without swinging properly.
"Break the enemy's center!"
"Aid Count Berto!"
Witnessing this, kingdom officers saw hope only in a central breakthrough, funneling every available man inward.
"Shields!"
Thud!
"Thrust!"
Kwachik! Kang!
"Haaak!"
Of course, the kingdom vanguard facing the empire's elite 10th Legion infantry wasn't faring much better,
Ching!
"Ugh, kyaak!"
"Stick close! Drag down their shields!"
"Eeeek! Die!"
but the relatively seasoned vanguard inflicted massive casualties while using their numbers to push the empire forces back bit by bit.
With the flanks abandoned, kingdom troops flooded the center, inadvertently forming the dense wedge close to Guillaume's touted Children's Formation for the breakthrough.
"Don't stop! The enemy's giving ground! Keep pressing!"
The empire troops, enduring with armor and shields, seemed unable to hold and slowly retreated. Kingdom officers, including Maurice, took this as a sign of success and drove their men harder.
"The enemy's fleeing! Pursue!"
"Yaaah!"
The kingdom elites hammered the empire center relentlessly, while trailing conscripts surged forward on the momentum.
The empire formation, which had protruded toward the kingdom army, inverted into a reverse crescent as the center buckled.
The kingdom troops charging this curved line were a chaotic mix of conscripts and veterans, but their overwhelming numbers and momentum kept forcing the empire back.
"Victory is near! Charge!"
"Charge! Charge!"
As kingdom officers grew certain of breakthrough success amid the thinning enemy ranks,
Bwoooo!
"Waaaaah!"
"For the Empire!"
from the kingdom army's flanks and rear—mid-charge toward the foe—trumpet blasts rang out alongside empire war cries.