Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Left Flank Collapses
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The Red Dragon Legion advanced toward the Kingdom Army's left flank, with scouts leading the way.
The 1st Infantry Regiment, which had been pursuing the bait unit, gradually entered the forest from the rear and merged with the advancing main force.
The first to sense something amiss was Alejo, who had been waiting for reports from the scouts.
"No reports coming in yet?"
"That's correct, sir."
"That can't be right. Maxi, go check it out yourself."
"Yes, sir."
With the roadside scout unit monitoring the Red Dragon Legion's pursuit showing no signs of life, Alejo dispatched additional scouts.
"Good, you're back..."
"The enemy has entered the forest on our left! They're heading straight for our left flank!"
Only after most of the scouts had been pushed into the forest did they grasp the Red Dragon Legion's suspicious movements.
"What? Why are you only telling me now!"
"Most of the enemy scouts went into the forest on the left..."
"Enough excuses! Hurry and inform Lord Gonzalez! The left flank is in danger! ...No, I'll go myself!"
Alejo rushed to Sancho's tent and delivered the dreadful news directly.
It hadn't been long since the report that the Red Dragon Legion's lure had succeeded.
"The enemy entered the forest on the left? ...Didn't they say the enemy was pursuing us properly?"
"Only a portion of the infantry is involved in the pursuit, and even that's dwindling steadily."
"..."
Sancho bit his lip in silence, fully aware of what the Red Dragon Legion's movements implied.
Controlling troops that had begun pursuing a defeated enemy was difficult, no matter how disciplined they were.
Thus, the fact that even the pursuing soldiers were steadily decreasing meant...
"...We've been read already."
He concluded that Victor had seen through his strategy from the start and given prior instructions to his troops.
"They've figured out our plan!"
"What happened?!"
The nobles, elated by the anticipated victory, panicked and murmured at Sancho's mutterings.
"Quiet, all of you! This isn't the time to assign blame!"
Sancho quelled the nobles' reactions with a roar as he pondered.
"Baron Vanderas."
"The scouts around the left flank report no anomalies even now! The same for the opposite forest!"
"...No need for excuses. What's the enemy's projected path?"
Confirming even Alejo's aggrieved expression, he scrapped the original plan, redrew the Red Dragon Legion's path on the map based on Alejo's report,
"...For now, have the left flank forces retreat to this point and prepare defenses. The right flank should move to the main road immediately, annihilate the pursuing enemy, and support the left."
"Yes, sir!"
"Even if they've seen through our intent, as long as they don't flee, we still hold the advantage. We'll move too."
"Understood."
He swiftly readjusted the troop dispositions to match the Red Dragon Legion's movements.
"Increase the number of couriers and send them via multiple routes. And... deliver this dispatch to our forward forces at this position."
"Yes, my lord!"
Judging that the Red Dragon Legion's scouts had fully infiltrated, he sent multiple couriers along different paths to minimize captures, while also dispatching a courier with fake intelligence claiming they were awaiting the lure's success to deceive the enemy at the expected position.
"Inform Baron Rey! Turn around and counterattack immediately! Since the enemy keeps entering the forest, tell him the mercenaries don't matter!"
"Yes, sir!"
Knowing the battle would mostly unfold in the forest, where he couldn't observe with his own eyes, Sancho regretted it deeply.
He issued counterattack orders even to Imanol, who was still attempting the lure, gripping his baton with sweat-slicked hands as he prepared the main force's advance.
Baron Enrique Martinez, in charge of the Kingdom Army's left flank, had hidden his troops in the forest and was encamped in a small clearing when...
-Flutter!
"Huff... huff... Lord... my lord..."
"...!"
He took Sancho's dispatch from the courier who collapsed upon entering the tent.
"...Retreat and defend against the enemy attack?"
It was the exact opposite of the previous courier's orders to prepare for an ambush on the lured enemy.
No reports of detection had come in, so Enrique briefly doubted the dispatch's authenticity,
"...Gasp... ugh... kuhak..."
"...Get him some water."
But seeing the courier struggling to breathe and the hastily scrawled handwriting, he decided to follow the orders for now.
"Found out, huh... No choice then. Alright..."
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"...Damn it."
Before he could issue retreat and defense orders, gunfire erupted from the front.
"Lord Martinez! The Imperial forces... urk!"
"I know! Everyone, listen up! Our allies are coming to support us, so hold your ground!"
"Yes, sir!"
Enrique rushed out before the courier could even enter the tent, rallying the troops,
"Send a request for support to Lord Gonzalez—hurry!"
"Got it!"
He whispered instructions to the courier at his side.
"Into the forest! Charge! Crush the invaders!"
Confirming the courier dashing off, he drew his weapon, shouting as he commanded the panicked soldiers amid the sudden assault.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ugh, over there! That way!"
"Raaah!"
The Kingdom soldiers bravely charged toward the gunfire.
"Got one!"
-Thud!
"Guh..."
"Fuck, stab him!"
"Arrrgh!"
Some knocked enemies down and stabbed at armpit joints and such, accumulating minor damage on the Red Dragon Legion by exploiting the close-quarters terrain,
-Clang! Clank!
"Kyaak!"
"Stick close and gouge their eyes!"
"Agh!"
But most fell before closing in, and even those who did were impaled by the bayonets of the heavily armored Red Dragon Legionnaires.
-Bang!
"Ugh..."
"Squad leader!"
Moreover, flintlock rifle scouts sniped officers, causing the Kingdom's left flank to rapidly lose control.
"My lord, you must take cover!"
"Take cover? Hold the line! Reinforcements are coming!"
-Bang! Bang!
"Ngh..."
"My lord!"
"Ugh... come... come cover me."
"My lord..."
"Quickly, before they notice..."
Enrique, darting across the battlefield, was eventually sniped. Despite his efforts, the Kingdom's left flank collapsed rapidly without its head.
Slumped from the gunshot, Enrique watched helplessly,
"...Retreat for now."
"You can't get up!"
"Guillermo! That's an order! Retreat! I'll hold here!"
"...!"
Bleeding from multiple wounds, he stood and staggered forward.
Guillermo at his side reluctantly obeyed, commanding the retreat.
"Here, you filthy bastards! I'm Baron Enrique Martinez!"
Enrique summoned his last strength for a charge, swinging his sword wildly.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ngh... So unjust..."
Needless to say, no variables emerged, and he fell to the fresh volley.
Imanol's central force fared similarly.
"...As I thought. Run if you want to run! We counterattack!"
Suspicious of the dwindling pursuers, Imanol immediately turned his forces upon Sancho's orders, charging the now-half-strength 1st Infantry Regiment.
However, Imanol's troops, prepared for retreat, were lightly armed for easy flight,
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Argh!"
"How...!"
And melted under the extended line of Red Dragon Legion fire.
The mercenaries who tried to rally fled upon seeing them collapse helplessly. Using the forest for cover wasn't enough to evade the concentrated fire either.
"...We'll support the left flank too! Into the forest!"
After suffering heavy losses in a brief charge, Imanol's forces plunged fully into the woods to escape.
Of course,
-Bang! Bang!
"Gah..."
"What the—how?"
"That way? Where?!"
The forest wasn't safe either.
The 1st Infantry Regiment, merging with the main force, halted to slaughter Imanol's troops, rapidly thinning the Kingdom Army's numbers.
"Retreat!"
Unable to endure, Imanol ordered a pullback, and his fleeing forces encountered Sancho's main body.
"...Baron Rey."
"I... I thought I'd seen a ghost!"
He threw himself at Sancho's feet, excusing his ordeal like a complaint, but Sancho stared elsewhere.
"Baron Enrique Martinez has fallen."
"...Pardon?"
Sancho had already received word of Enrique's death and the left flank's retreat.
Unable to shake the feeling of being toyed with, Sancho pulled out his map.
"...Baron Rey. Where was the enemy? No need for precision."
"Uh... probably around this spot."
"Got it. We'll advance here then."
"...?"
Noting the distance between Imanol's indicated point and the left flank's position, Sancho opted to defeat the merging pursuit forces piecemeal instead of the main enemy force that had crushed 7,000 on the left.
"Alejo. Can't we pinpoint the enemy better?"
"..."
"...Right. You're doing your best."
Comforting the dejected Alejo, whose scouts vanished repeatedly,
"This is our kingdom's soil! Drive out the invaders!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Sancho bellowed to dispel his unease, clinging to the faint hope before his eyes.