Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Triumph's Reckoning
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Victor only opened his eyes the next morning.
"Are you awake?"
-Crack!
The moment he opened his eyes and propped up his upper body, he rolled his gaze to check the minimap in the corner. Only after confirming there were no red dots did he finally relax his body.
"How's your condition?"
"Refreshed. How many days was I out?"
"About a day. You haven't been sleeping properly lately, so if you need more..."
"No, I'm fine. Let's get straight to the debrief. Call the officers."
Anna, sitting beside him, shot him a sharp glare.
"...I'll call them in two hours."
"Two hours?"
"Eat first. I'll bring it right away."
"..."
"Stay lying down."
"...Fine."
"Then, I'll be right back."
Catching Anna's look, Victor had no choice but to lie back down under her insistence.
"It's stew. Make sure it's cooled properly before eating..."
"Legion Commander! Are you alright? Anna was so worried!"
Anna returned with the bowl of stew, accompanied by Erika who had been wandering nearby.
"She's your adjutant. Of course she's worried."
"She's never seen you like this before, kept saying what if it's serious..."
"I never said that! Here, your spoon."
"Come on, you didn't even leave the tent, just waiting for the Legion Commander to wake up... Ah, alright!"
"Thanks, Anna."
"...It's my job to assist the general."
Anna's cheeks flushed slightly as she bowed her head, and Victor silently picked up his spoon.
As someone depicted as the kingdom's hope in the game, Sancho Gonzales had indeed been a tough opponent.
He'd pulled all-nighters simulating strategies, but it had been ages since he'd done that while commanding for days on end.
Without coffee or energy drinks, by the time a week had passed without proper sleep, it was even hard to keep his eyes open.
On top of that, the Esperia Kingdom's regular army was quite elite, with solid overall maneuvers. To minimize friendly casualties, he couldn't take his eyes off them for even a second.
If they hadn't brought the guns, they would have faced far greater losses.
Thank goodness he'd managed to tear at his thigh and issue follow-up orders to a certain extent.
"Here's the report on our casualties."
After forcibly taking a two-hour rest under Anna's watchful, fiery glare, he called the officers and wrapped up the battle.
"1st Infantry Regiment: 18 dead, 135 wounded."
The 1st Infantry Regiment, which had only brief initial clashes and then conducted one-sided pursuits and ambushes, suffered minimal casualties.
"2nd Infantry Regiment: 139 dead, 623 wounded."
"Cavalry: 48 dead, 142 wounded."
"How severe are the wounds?"
"Most are minor."
"We'll transfer the seriously wounded to Manzheim separately. Keep their barracks as clean as possible and ventilate them frequently."
"Understood."
The 2nd Infantry Regiment and cavalry, which had clashed head-on with the enemy's fierce left flank resistance, took heavier losses in comparison.
A familiar unease brushed past him.
"Are the troops resting well?"
"Yes. We've set up camp here, at the end of Al Berdo Pass."
"Supply status?"
"Many rifles from the close-quarters fighting needed replacement—1,500 in total. Food is sufficient, but if the battle drags on, we might run short on bullets and powder."
"Hm..."
Throughout the debrief, the officers kept giving him expectant looks.
Not pressing, but their trembling bodies and flushed faces betrayed their barely contained excitement.
"Resupply is on the way as requested. Additional supplies have arrived in Manzheim, and transports are preparing."
"I see."
Once he'd confirmed there were no issues.
"Enemy casualties?"
He brought up the main point they'd been waiting for.
"Assuming the enemy's left and right flanks were equal in size, Count Sancho Gonzales commanded around 30,000 troops."
As if he'd been waiting for Victor's cue, Alexandrov stepped forward.
Victor knew from the tactical map that it was about 28,000, but he didn't voice it.
"The enemy's left flank and center are mostly shattered. Estimated enemy casualties: 13,000. Prisoners: 7,000, including 3,000 who surrendered. Most surrenders were mercenaries."
"Hm."
"Additionally, about 2,000 stragglers Sancho couldn't recover. He retreated to Ceres Gate with roughly 12,000."
Compared to the Red Dragon Legion's thousand or so casualties, the kingdom army had lost well over half.
And the retreating forces had fallen back all the way to Ceres Gate instead of reengaging.
"...This is our victory."
It was a great victory for the Red Dragon Legion.
"Woooah!"
"We knew it!"
"Yeehaw!"
Some officers erupted in cheers,
"Hah, I really thought we were done for."
"Speak for yourself."
"...Who was the one sweating buckets and collapsing?"
"...Hah."
Those who'd suffered especially hard, including the scouts, let out sighs of relief as they relaxed their tense bodies.
Victor sat still, waiting for the elation to subside before mentioning the next battle.
"Of course, not all battles are over yet."
Once everyone had settled back down, he gripped the desk to stand—
"...Hm."
His arms trembled, and his legs wouldn't support him properly.
"...General."
"Ah, sorry."
"It's fine."
With Anna's help from the side, he sat back down.
"You really needed one more day of rest."
"...Maybe."
"...?"
He looked around at the officers seated nearby.
Their joy at victory masked it,
but even though it was the day after the battle and their uniforms were neat, their postures and expressions still showed lingering fatigue.
...If even he, who hadn't set foot on the battlefield, felt worn out.
"The troops who've traversed rough terrain need rest too."
"...General."
He disliked rest, but
at least for now, it wasn't time to rush.
"We'll monitor the 5th Legion and kingdom army for a few more days, wait for resupply, then advance on Ceres Gate."
"Understood."
It was best to move fast when possible, but with Al Kante and Al Berdo Passes secured, they had some leeway.
After setting a relaxed schedule, he ended the meeting.
Back in his tent after sending off the officers, pushing aside his complicated feelings to rest.
"A letter from the Grand Marshal."
"...Hm?"
Anna entered with the letter.
Gerhard's letter detailed suspicious movements in the southern elf kingdoms, war between dwarves and elves, and more.
It lamented the difficulty in grasping the situation due to Eckni Kingdom and elf nations' isolationism, and asked for Victor's thoughts.
"..."
Straightforward info, but it rang some bells.
Dwarves and elves had always had bad relations, but for high elves—who never moved first, and sometimes not even when attacked—to launch an offensive meant one of two things.
Either orders from their world tree,
or guarding key points was no longer meaningful.
If the former, it was likely the precursor to the elf-related crisis, 'Wrath of the Forest.'
In the game, high elves suddenly appeared in droves, using terrifying mobility and combat prowess to ravage neighboring nations.
Fortunately, unlike other crises, elves were extremely insular—even fighting among themselves.
High elves were tough, but it was one crisis you could weather by playing the two sides against each other.
If the latter, things got serious.
At the southeastern tip of the continent, behind the elves, lay orc nations.
High elves abandoning posts meant orcs had invaded and pushed them out.
Instead of fighting strong orcs, high elves often targeted seemingly easier human or dwarf nations to break through.
A mad idea, but in the game, elves always opened two-front wars this way and self-destructed.
...Anyway.
Normally, elves were strong enough to push back orc nations, so if they were retreating, it signaled an orc-related crisis.
Either the 'Great Clash' where a Champion Orc unites the orcs, or the 'Black Dragon'—a dragon polymorphed like Luise, absorbing random forces and growing them.
Either way, no pushover.
Orcs were strong by nature, and unlike Luise's chaotic low-odds antics, the Black Dragon fought fair even in defeat—but grew forces fast and excelled in battle.
He recalled it flew over battlefields directing combat personally. Unless nipped early, a hard crisis to overcome.
"...Looks like the next battlefield's set."
"...?"
After noting to check orc movements and prepare for enemy raids, passing it to a messenger.
He felt a strange satisfaction that the next battlefield was decided.
"The southeastern front's acting up. Once we mop up Esperia, we'll probably head there."
"..."
Guilt he couldn't bear kept piling up in his heart, but with work left, he could suppress it as an excuse.
Meanwhile.
"Count Gonzales? What is it?"
"...I've been defeated."
Sancho arrived in Ordova, dragging his weary body and tattered armor.