Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Intercepted Advance
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Als's command blocked the vanguard's advance through coordinated crossbow and bow fire.
From the low ground, Delbadova watched the scene unfold and curled his lips into a smirk.
"Adjutant, who's commanding down there?"
"Yes! The 2nd Archers and 6th Infantry! Cadet Officers Dorothy Grimwood and Als Ilrain!"
"Hmm. Dorothy couldn't possibly be directing at that level, so it must be this Als fellow's leadership."
Delbadova had been paying attention to Als as well.
An elite who quietly claimed top honors. Back in the primary and secondary academies, his lowly family kept him out of the spotlight, but once thrust into real combat, he produced results that turned heads.
"Impressive. No wonder they're called the golden generation. Good. Have the 1st Archers synchronize their volleys with the 2nd!"
A hail of arrows rained down.
That was when the enemy began their unusual maneuver.
With the vanguard halted, they split their forces and infiltrated the mountains on both flanks.
"What...?"
Delbadova furrowed his brow at the move.
The left and right flanks were treacherous terrain, difficult to climb.
That's why he hadn't stationed troops there.
While the Caliper forces were positioned along the ridgeline, the western army had slipped into the valley.
"General! The enemy is advancing into the mountains on both flanks! What are your orders?"
Once the enemy entered the mountains proper, arrows would be useless. They needed some way to check them.
"Urgh...!"
As a direct royal general, Delbadova lacked extensive combat experience.
He had command ability, but his situational judgment wasn't the quickest.
'Their goal is to beat us to the interior and sever our supply line!'
Unlike the Caliper forces, who had to climb the ridgeline, the enemy could rapidly ascend to high ground via the valley.
If the west reached the mountains first, the pre-established supply route was at high risk of being cut.
'Damn, was coming down to meet them head-on too hasty?'
Delbadova had descended to the mountain entrance, figuring it was the best spot to intercept and blunt their momentum.
He thought a show of force there would make them back off initially.
He hadn't anticipated them forcing their way through, ignoring his forces entirely.
Their intent was clear from this move.
They'd cut their own supplies by pushing in so aggressively, but if they severed the Calipers' line in turn, it would even the score.
"Withdraw swiftly to the stronghold!"
Delbadova decided to retreat to the stronghold he'd built inside the mountains.
At that moment.
"General! Message from the 6th Infantry! They say retreating now is unwise—we should concentrate everything on striking one of the enemy flanks!"
A message from Als.
Ironheart, the deputy who knew Als was Wade, spoke up immediately.
"General, it's risky, but it seems sound. If they're climbing the valley, a flank attack could inflict heavy damage."
"But our supply line will be completely severed in the meantime."
"We can resecure it with whatever gains we make, can't we?"
"Any delay could make it impossible. It's a good proposal, but securing the supply line takes priority now. All units, withdraw to the stronghold immediately!"
The Caliper forces retreated in haste.
Meanwhile, the western army seized key points inside the mountains, formed ambush units, tied down the withdrawing Calipers, and successfully cut their supply line.
The Caliper stronghold, positioned midway up the mountainside.
The skirmish had thrown the officers into disarray.
Some were green cadet officers with little experience, but more than that, they couldn't fathom the enemy's logic.
Dorothy felt the same and turned to me.
"The enemy attacking first? What the hell is going on? We were just holding position..."
Common sense dictated the enemy should ignore the Calipers, who were merely observing the war.
This was like poking a hornet's nest for no reason.
"They've got another objective."
"Another objective? Als, do you have some idea?"
"Who knows."
To be honest, I'd figured it all out.
Why they'd moved like this. What they were after.
'Hanneman, was it? Not sure if he came up with it himself, but it's clever enough.'
Proof the west wasn't a pushover.
'Even if we'd struck their flank as I suggested, we probably wouldn't have gotten much out of it.'
They'd surely calculated for that too.
Retreating to the stronghold like General Delbadova did wasn't a bad call either.
We'd let them seize the initiative, but we'd preserved our strength to respond.
The real turning point started now.
Our immediate problem: how to rebuild the severed supply line.
We could hold out tonight, but rations would run short by lunch tomorrow.
To address it, General Delbadova promptly convened a staff meeting.
*
*
*
Meanwhile, twenty minutes before the staff meeting began.
Casper and three other cadet officer commanders had gathered.
The only ones absent were Dorothy and Als. Joshua Herald had deliberately excluded them.
"Joshua, why'd you call us here?"
When Denian Gegglysh asked with a weary expression, Joshua glanced around and whispered.
"Real combat's finally started. There's something I want to tell you all."
"Something to tell us?"
"It's something my father tipped me off about before deployment. If we rack up big merits in this battle, even we could become generals."
"What!?"
Their faces changed at his words.
"Think about it! His Majesty arranged this war. Handing command of two thousand each to cadet officers like us proves it! He wants fresh talent for a new era!"
"True... They didn't fill General Dunan's vacancy with an existing officer..."
"Exactly! And if we score kills in this war? Massive promotions are waiting, no doubt!"
"Up to general?"
"Not sure about that far, but Father said if the war ends successfully, 2nd General Delbadova gets promoted to 1st General and Grand General. The vacancy goes to whoever racks up merits—and that could be us."
An odd silence fell.
"General... If I become a general...!"
Casper clenched his fist.
He recalled Gilbert telling him to build achievements.
'He must've had this in mind!'
Big merits here could propel him high enough to shed the Wade alias and claim Erina.
Casper's motivation was off the charts.
"All of you... from now on, serve under me."
Casper spoke with menace.
"What nonsense is that?"
"Shut it, Joshua. Obey if I say so! Forgotten who I am?"
"N-No, but..."
To score the merits for generalship, he needed more troops. Two thousand wasn't enough.
Casper planned to absorb the other cadets' forces for eight thousand under his command.
"F-Fine. Don't make that scary face."
"Good. No objections from you, Denian? You too, Ruan!"
But Ruan Chase shook his head.
"Don't order me around, Casper."
"What?"
"I'm not the only one who wants to be general, idiot."
"You bastard! Do you know who I—"
"Wade? Fine. Make me submit then. Use force, wits, whatever. Or drag in Eonia Mirabel if you can. What's wrong—can't?"
"E-Eonia's injured and resting at the estate."
"Ha!"
Ruan snickered and leaned in to whisper to Casper.
"I've stayed quiet because you joined our faction, idiot. Never believed you were Wade to begin with."
"Urk...!"
"From now on, I'll be above you. As a general."
Seizing the chance for upward mobility, Ruan betrayed Casper without hesitation.
Casper glared at Ruan's back as he left, then pressured the other two to secure command over six thousand troops.
A cabal among the cadet officers, excluding Als and Dorothy.
They thought they were sharing a top secret, but surprisingly, Als and Dorothy knew too.
Because Dorothy wasn't just any cadet officer—she was a sitting high noble with a count's title.
Heading to the staff meeting, Dorothy mentioned it casually to Als.
"Oh yeah, Marquis Linhart told me. Rack up merits in this battle, and we could become generals."
"What the hell. Hate that."
Als was utterly disgusted.
He could guess why that rumor had spread.
'They're blatantly targeting me. Duke Helian is dead set on putting me in general's seat.'
The intent was obvious, so Als genuinely lost any desire to build merits.
"Why? Don't you want to be a general, Als?"
"Of course not. It's just a hassle. You hate it too, Dorothy."
"Yeah, I'm not cut out for it anyway. Too bad. You'd do great."
"No way. It'd look weird if I got it."
"True. Casper'll probably snag it. He's Wade, after all."
"Haha..."
"Think Eonia Mirabel might show up this battle too? She popped up out of nowhere in the Chimera War, helped with logging, and shone in the finale. Maybe Casper brought her."
"No chance. Eonia's out with injuries."
"Casper said that?"
"Nah, it's real."
In truth, Eonia was fretting over Als heading to the front alone, nursing a mental wound from the worry.
Casper's casual lie had turned out true.
"...?? What do you mean?"
"Haha, kidding. Hurry up—we're late."
They were the last cadets to arrive. Shortly after, Delbadova appeared.
"Adjutant. Report the situation."
"Yes, sir!"
Delbadova's adjutant detailed the situation.
The Caliper forces were at the central stronghold in the mountains. Their supply line ran along the mountain path at the 5 o'clock position.
"The enemy cut that line and is encamped nearby. They're dead set on denying us supplies."
"Their intent is clear. What do you all think?"
Joshua Herald shot his hand up.
"We need to annihilate them now! We know the terrain better. We'll definitely have the edge in tactical combat."
"How can you be sure?"
"Pardon?"
"In the last clash, they brazenly infiltrated our flank valleys and climbed. And they severed the supply line with flawless speed. Impossible without deep knowledge of the Kallon Mountains. You still sure we know the terrain better?"
"Th-That's..."
"The idea of going after them is fine, but detail how you'd handle potential ambushes and gain tactical superiority. This isn't a classroom indulging your thoughts. It's a battlefield where lives are on the line!"
Delbadova's rebuke cowed Joshua, who stepped back.
"Next. Anyone?"
"What about a detached force?"
Casper spoke up.
"Detached force?"
"Split the army to find a breakthrough."
"Be specific."
"Our problem is low mobility. And with supplies cut, it'll worsen over time. So tomorrow morning, while we still have strength, divide into several detachments. Use high mobility to retake the supply line."
Casper explained specific march routes to argue for detachments.
Delbadova watched for a long moment, then shook his head.
"No. Too much risk of defeat in detail."
"We have to accept that."
"The risk is too great to accept. The enemy surely has ambushes set. Moving as you propose, our units will get snagged one by one. Command structure collapses. Especially split up. That's when they pick us off in detail. Not dangerous? Or do you have a way to command all those scattered units?"
"Urk...!"
Casper fell silent.
"Good thinking, but refine it. Next?"
Now Ruan Chase.
"We need to exhaust their patience."
"Their patience?"
"General, our supply line is cut, but so is theirs."
"Right—they ignored theirs to push deep into our lines."
"So they'll definitely move for supplies soon. Block that and turn the tables, cornering them."
"A test of endurance? But we lack the food. The enemy planned this, so their troops likely carry personal rations—three days' worth at least."
"We can last three days. Ration tightly what's left. Luckily, this spot has abundant groundwater for multiple wells. Water's no issue."
"Hmm."
"And right now, it's not about food—it's making the enemy think that way."
"Deception operations?"
"Yes. Make them think we have ample stockpiles, and they'll get desperate."
Hold here, feign abundance, lure them out.
"...Not bad."
Delbadova liked Ruan's plan. Better than charging blindly.
Ruan sighed in relief, but then.
"What the hell are you all saying?"
Als cut in, utterly baffled.