Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Stirring Western Army
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The Western army stirred into motion.
"They're coming. Sound the battle stations!"
"Yes, sir!"
Bwoooo!!
The horn blast echoed through the mountains.
At the same moment, our forces across the encirclement to the east, west, south, and north prepared for combat.
'They'll try a breakthrough at a single point.'
The most viable options for defense were the relatively low terrain to the north or west.
I climbed atop the southern earthen wall to survey the enemy's overall movements.
"As expected, the north. All forces! Respond as planned!"
The enemy concentrated their full strength on the north.
Our troops shifted their center of gravity northward in response.
Their responsiveness was on par with any elite unit.
This was due in part to the outstanding command stats of the officers, but above all, the soldiers had shaken off their tension through the operations of the past few days.
One could say their fear of war had vanished.
Still, their morale wasn't markedly high.
The troops didn't yet know the full details of the enemy's plague affliction.
Spreading it widely risked the information leaking out.
The detached forces outside believed our main body was holding firm like an iron fortress. We'd used Juras's special forces to cut their messenger pigeons and spread false intel in their place.
So the external detachments had no inkling of the main body's plight.
"Break through! If we punch through and reform our lines, we can win!"
The enemy tried to breach the wooden barricades of the encirclement, but it took time.
In the meantime, reinforcements arrived from the east and west.
"Fire!"
Pew pew!
Arrows rained from both flanks. The enemy, not yet deep into the mountains, was fully exposed.
The forces trying to escape through the northern barricades got pinned down, their casualties mounting.
On top of that, they couldn't even fully breach the barricades.
"What kind of barricades are this sturdy...!"
"Argh!"
Olaf and his son Yugent, commanding the north, defended the barricades brilliantly with their leadership, pushing the enemy back.
After two hours of assault, the enemy hastily began to retreat. They judged that lingering longer would expose them to pincer attacks from the east and west.
By then, their numbers had dwindled to 45,000.
"It's over."
Repelling this was huge.
The enemy no longer had the strength to break out.
A desperate situation.
Tetora was in a panic.
"Why did it turn out like this?!"
Tetora couldn't pinpoint where things had gone wrong. What had caused the tide to turn so badly?
Her mistakes boiled down to two major ones.
First, she'd let Als act freely.
Tetora had arrogantly believed her fortress impregnable, no matter what, and left Als to his own devices.
Sophia or Juras, who knew Als's terror well, would never have done that.
Second, the lack of coordination with the external detachments.
This stemmed from arrogance too.
Tetora had assured them the main body would never fall and ordered them not to worry about it unless enemy reinforcements arrived.
It was meant to prevent them from being swayed by false info, but now that measure was tripping her up.
"L-Lady Tetora."
"What?!"
The soldier gulped before the snappish Tetora.
"A prisoner has arrived from the enemy camp. He's carrying a letter that appears to be from their commander."
"What...?!"
The letter from Als.
Furious, Tetora didn't want to read it, yet she was intensely curious what Als wanted to say.
With trembling hands, she unfolded the letter.
Its contents didn't stray far from her expectations.
[To the Right General.]
It opened that way, wrapped in sly barbs and blatant mockery dressed in flowery language to infuriate.
In summary:
[What can you do besides massacring civilians? Is this a bandit or a general? Oh right, you're Kraus Faulkner's apprentice, that bandit's mentor. Ah, now it makes sense lol.]
At the end, without even wrapping it:
[You're no match for me. You're beneath my feet, you trash.]
Trash. Calling her trash.
The very term she'd used to mock and belittle Jack Walter, now turned on her!
"Uwaaaaaah—!"
Tetora screamed, shredding the letter to pieces.
"Wade! Wade—!!"
How dare he humiliate her like this.
Her, who'd only known the path of victory!
"I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart for sure!"
Tetora knew she hadn't given her all in this war. She'd subtly underestimated and grown arrogant toward the foe.
She swore it would never happen again.
She'd crush them with full force and kill Als. Vengeance burned in her.
Still, she acknowledged this battle was beyond saving.
At this rate, the plague would swell the ranks of the combat-ineffective. Once that number grew, the enemy would storm the fortress and capture her.
Capture meant execution. That she had to avoid.
She had to escape somehow and exact revenge on Als.
And the best moment for escape was now. The fewer troops, the lower the odds.
Tetora decided swiftly.
Head bowed, she spoke in a voice thick with resentment.
"Prepare for full army withdrawal."
Not battle preparations—withdrawal.
She resolved to slip away under cover of night.
*
*
*
"Ilrain!"
Sophia burst into my tent. I sighed, rising from where I'd been lying with my head in Eo's lap.
"The enemy's trying to escape, right?"
"How...?!"
"It's the only move left. Sophia, you take command of the south."
"Got it!"
Had the enemy commander regained some reason?
Holding out longer might inflict some damage on us, but her army would be annihilated.
Tetora Anstri herself would struggle to survive.
We had them surrounded on all sides.
But attempting escape via field battle could avoid total annihilation. With luck, 10,000 might slip away. Tetora Anstri's survival odds would rise too.
Nights in these mountains were that dark.
"Check your allies' markers carefully! They'll light the way in field battle! Charge! Annihilate the enemy! Show no mercy to those who massacred countless civilians!"
"Rawrgh!!"
East, west, south, and north advanced in unison. Their target: the enemy fleeing via the eastern mountains.
"Break the barricades! We need an escape route!"
The enemy officers screamed themselves hoarse.
Same as daytime. Breach the barricades or face encirclement. Fail to do so in time, and they'd be surrounded and wiped out.
Still, nightfall improved their situation. Darkness let them punch holes in spots.
Once the holes opened, the enemy fled through them in disorder.
To make matters worse, our troops approached with war cries, shattering their discipline.
It was night anyway—visibility near zero. Deserters surged, exploiting the deep darkness.
After that, it wasn't even a battle. Just hunting scattered foes.
Enemy soldiers surrendered in droves, or ditched weapons and fled at full speed.
The 45,000-strong force crumbled without achieving anything.
Our casualties, including the daytime clash, totaled just 6,000. We'd routed 60,000 enemy with 6,000 losses.
"This battle is our victory! All forces, raise your cheers!"
"Roooar!!"
Victory secured, we sought Tetora Anstri, but finding her in this pitch-black night was unlikely, so I focused on reorganizing the army first.
Tetora and her close officers, escaping the mountains.
"This can't be, it can't be...!"
Tetora kept muttering it.
She accepted defeat, but the shock lingered.
A 60,000 vs. 60,000 even match, crushed overwhelmingly.
But she thought it unavoidable.
Manipulating terrain to spread a local plague? How could anyone predict that?
Like having one's nose cut off while wide awake.
Tetora felt possessed by ghosts.
And the figure before her eyes made her truly believe a ghost had appeared.
"Hi there?"
A pureblood beastkin with a greatsword on his back. Gaspar. Beside him: Aegert and ten soldiers.
"H-How did you get here...?!"
Tetora's jaw dropped.
Impossible. One absurdity after another.
The beastkin had pursued her escape. Fine, that could happen.
But this wasn't the eastern mountains where most troops fled. It was the north.
For a sure escape, she'd sent all soldiers east as bait, slipping north with a handful of elite officers while eyes turned there.
He'd read it.
Gaspar's answer was simple.
"Gut feeling. I figured a sly one like you would use decoys. Didn't expect your whole army to be the bait, though. Kahaha!"
"Urk!"
"Give it up. Your life ends here!"
"Kh, what are you waiting for! Attack! There aren't many of them!"
Her twenty officers drew weapons and charged Gaspar.
Gaspar charged back.
Twenty versus ten. Tetora's officers outclassed regular troops in martial prowess.
Yet it was an even fight.
"Raaagh!"
Aegert swung his sword to buy time as Gaspar closed on Tetora.
Her survival instinct was sharp.
She'd spotted Aegert as Gaspar's closest ally and shouted.
"Focus on that kid!"
Gaspar would prioritize helping him over her.
But Gaspar was cold.
"You think I'm that sloppy? If he dies, he dies!"
To Gaspar, no one but Ymir or Als was worth protecting. Not even Aegert, who saw him as master.
"Raaagh!"
"Kh...!"
Tetora parried with her sword, but outnumbered.
Her combat stat was barely 80. Not low, but woefully short on real battle experience. No match for Gaspar.
She blocked, but tumbled from her horse, crashing into a tree.
"Hmph. In this state, no need to kill you."
Gaspar planned to capture Tetora and drag her to Als.
But just then.
"...!?"
Sniff! Sniff sniff!
Gaspar suddenly sniffed the air.
Then he hastily backed away, creating distance.
Instantly, he appeared.
A beastkin with sword in left hand, spear in right.
"Guderian...!!"
"Sorry, Gaspar. Mind withdrawing from here?"
"Kh! Why are you here?!"
The Three Great Generals' Guderian intervened.
Gaspar's fur bristled. He quickly pulled back from Guderian's range, signaling Aegert and the others to retreat too.
He knew Guderian could end them in a blink if he wanted.
Guderian spoke, watching them.
"I've been watching this war the whole time."
Disillusioned by Tetora's civilian massacres, Guderian had deserted and observed her clash with Als.
His position was complicated.
Tetora was an ally; Als, his disciple's disciple.
He'd watch, but planned covert aid if either faced mortal peril. Like helping Tetora now—or Als if his life hung by a thread.
"So, withdraw for now."
"Tch! No choice."
With Guderian intervening, no chance of victory. Gaspar withdrew obediently.
Thus, Tetora survived, escorted by Guderian as they left the battlefield.