Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Skirmishes in Dronado Forest
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The vast, dense forest was like a swamp that swallowed people whole.
Lush trees and undergrowth blocked the intruder's view, hindered their movements, and left scratches on their skin.
Those unaccustomed to such woods often lost their way and wandered aimlessly,
-rustle. Rustle.
but the kingdom scouts under Alejo's command navigated the Dronado Forest without hesitation, even where visibility was limited to just a few meters ahead.
Clad in light armor and dark brown cloaks, they carried custom-made small crossbows and left markers only they could recognize, communicating through gestures without a sound.
Having grown up in this area, they were familiar with the forest, and among them, the quickest and most agile had undergone special training.
The scouts roamed the woods like their own front yard, setting traps in key spots and patrolling the outskirts to monitor the empire forces' movements.
"Installation complete."
"Good. Eighth Unit is working on the stream over there—stay alert."
"Understood."
Alejo coordinated dozens of scout units from the rear command tent, reminiscing about his days actively patrolling these woods.
Their original mission was to block enemy scouts, but for total annihilation, Alejo had focused traps and deployments deeper in the forest.
"...Could you share the plan?"
"Of course."
Baron Paco Perandis, who had been waiting nearby with light infantry in case of emergency, watched Alejo closely. Once the ordered men left the tent, he asked about the strategy.
"...And that's our current scout deployment. Expected engagement points are the stream here, and these spots here, here, and here."
"...I'll trust only Baron Venderas."
Since Sancho had entrusted Alejo with control of Dronado Forest, Paco—who had been briefed in advance—nodded after the explanation, agreeing to follow the plan.
"Excellent."
With Paco fully on board, Alejo flashed a satisfied smile.
Once he resolved to defend it, no enemy had ever broken through Dronado Forest.
"Unless their main force comes and razes the woods, they won't set foot properly in Dronado Forest."
He exuded strong confidence.
Even though the enemy possessed powerful guns,
"They may dominate open fields or sieges, but we'll prove our ways are superior in this forest."
At least inside the woods, he feared them not.
The scouts in the field felt the same,
'Come on, just try firing.'
'Effective range around 100 meters, right? Not hard.'
'Make a sound, and I'll put a hole right through you.'
They lay in wait at assigned positions, holding their breath for unsuspecting empire scouts to step in.
But their confidence didn't last.
-Bang bang bang bang! Thud! Crunch!
"Ngh..."
"...!"
Those stationed on the outskirts, where trees were sparser, came under sudden attack.
Ten shots rang out. Most bullets were stopped by trees and brush, but one reached a waiting scout, ripping through his body.
The unlucky scout groaned and died on the spot.
His comrades urgently scanned the direction of the gunfire, but the foliage obstructed their view just as fairly.
Being pinpointed unilaterally was a dire crisis.
The kingdom scout unit gestured frantically amid the chaos, moving silently in the opposite direction from the sound,
but
-Bang bang bang bang!
"Ngh..."
"Ugh."
As if their movements were fully tracked, repeated gunfire followed without letting up.
Assuming pursuit would continue, the scouts moved deeper into the forest to draw fire where allies could counterattack,
"...That way?"
"Move."
Nearby units converged to hunt the attackers upon hearing the shots, but
"It was definitely this way."
"...Empty here too?"
Contrary to intel that guns were hard to wield quickly in the woods, they found only other scout units at the scene—empty-handed.
-Bang! Bang bang bang bang!
"Damn."
"Move, now!"
As if toying with them, gunfire erupted again from afar.
Units returned to posts to guard positions, while some pursued the sounds relentlessly.
-Bang bang bang bang!
But no matter how hard they scoured the forest, they couldn't even glimpse the empire scouts.
-Swish!
"Argh..."
Even the scouts with small bows joined the assault, forcing the kingdom forces into panic from simultaneous hits,
"...How many enemies?"
"Judging by the firing rate, maybe 10 to 20 moving around."
"We can't even pin down their numbers?"
"...Sorry."
Alejo could only receive vague reports of omnidirectional raids by an unknown number of foes—useless for situation assessment.
"This is bad."
Most empire shots missed too, so kingdom scout losses were still light, but the key point was they were gradually losing control of the terrain.
"Where's the expected point?"
"From here... a unit moving this way. And here too..."
After receiving projected enemy positions, Alejo
"Third Unit, move here to support Ninth. Twelfth Unit..."
repositioned scouts the next day to reclaim territory,
"Baron Perandis. I need support."
"Understood."
dispatching 500 more light infantry under Paco to restore the balance.
"Raids stopped here."
"Did we hold...?"
It partially succeeded—reinforced defenses bought temporary respite,
but
-Bang bang bang bang!
"Guh..."
Defending or reclaiming meant scouts were pinned to spots, so they were whittled down by bullets and arrows from unforeseen angles.
Light infantry, with poor cover, suffered heavily from the relentless, unafraid gunfire.
"Fire that way! Roughly over there!"
Their return fire, based on vague directions, never reached the enemy.
-Crack.
"Th-there...!"
Even Red Dragon Legion scouts grew weary, and some soldiers luckily spotted them,
but
-Bang bang bang!
"Arrrgh!"
Usually, gunfire outpaced kingdom counterattacks.
"Ugh..."
"Hah... hah..."
Over days of one-sided empire assaults, kingdom scouts retreated without a proper fightback.
With initiative constantly seized for unknown reasons, they were mere prey.
As empire scouts kept attacking and kingdom ones chased only echoes and traces,
"What the hell are we even fighting?"
"..."
kingdom scouts grew tense, fear creeping in.
"...Feels like we're haunted."
Alejo, receiving only dire reports, felt helpless horror as his supposedly invincible unit fell one by one.
"How is this possible? How?"
No matter the camouflage, empire first strikes hit; abandoning stealth to hunt them yielded no tail.
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Alejo eyed Paco and his men suspiciously, then shook his head at his own absurdity.
If light infantry losses were low, he'd suspect foul play, but they suffered worse than his scouts.
Doubting Paco—who still shifted troops at his requests amid this—was wrong.
He calmly reviewed the map, redrawing kingdom and empire positions from reports.
An attempt to steady himself and devise countermeasures, but
"..."
it only forced him to face that they'd lost a quarter of the forest in days.
"Lure enemy to forest center..."
He was about to order a counter-push,
then
"...No."
reassessed coldly.
"Baron Perandis. Withdraw and rejoin the main force."
"But..."
"I'll explain to His Excellency."
"...Understood."
He dropped the pointing hand, withdrew the light infantry, and pulled back.
A seasoned commander, he saw pointless stubbornness as sin.
Scouts were hard to replace, amplifying his responsibility,
"...Fall back to this line, then focus on intel gathering. Engage only to block enemy breakthroughs—avoid combat otherwise."
"Yes, sir!"
Alejo acknowledged the empire scouts that chilled him, abandoning the dream of driving them out personally.
He feared not bearing defeat's blame.
Resolving to yield half of Dronado Forest, he sent Sancho a letter detailing enemy scout prowess, forces, and countermeasures from reports.
"...Hmm."
Sancho, reading Alejo's input closely,
"Enemy scouts' stamina isn't infinite. Prepare raid teams... Use the mercenaries still gathering."
geared up small-scale raids as next strategy.
Many stages remained before the fierce battle at Al Berdo Pass, and Dronado Forest's scattered fights were mere preludes,
but
"..."
knowing Alejo's competence, he reaffirmed the Red Dragon Legion was no easy foe.