Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Chapter 39: First Full-Scale Battle (3)
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"It might sound like pouring cold water on the victory, but as His Majesty the Emperor said, the war isn't over yet."
Count Denitz said coldly. His voice was so chilling it seemed to carry frost with it. But since it was the truth, everyone gathered in the command tent nodded silently in agreement.
"By now, the supreme commander of the Free Isiria Kingdom Army must have realized something's gone wrong with their cavalry."
The cavalry unit the Philius Imperial Army had faced moments ago numbered around two thousand. Even without a top-tier mage capable of magical communication, they would have kept runners operating nonstop, so they were likely preparing countermeasures against follow-up attacks by now.
"What should we do, then?"
"The 5th Field Marshal, Marquis Lanins, is a fool and incompetent, but the mid-level commanders under him are excellent. We need to attack before the Free Isiria Kingdom Army can make full preparations."
Count Denitz replied calmly to Raymond's question. He believed they should hurry with the follow-up attack, and the other commanders nodded in agreement, showing no opposition.
"I trust the Grand Marshal's judgment. The entire army, advance once more and attack the Free Isiria Kingdom Army!"
To carry out the solemn imperial decree, the Philius Imperial Army set out again. Nearly twenty thousand troops rapidly closed the distance to the Free Isiria Kingdom Army.
As it was an army personally commanded by Count Denitz, known as the Tactical Count, they maintained thorough vanguard and scout units even in their haste.
"Enemy ambush ahead!"
It was a report from a scout runner. As Count Denitz had anticipated, the Free Isiria Kingdom Army had sent mountain mercenaries—familiar with the terrain—to delay the Philius Imperial Army's advance by ambushing them.
"Wouldn't it be best to bypass the ambush?"
A senior commander from the Northern Central Army cautiously offered his opinion, but Count Denitz shook his head with a firm expression.
"No need for that, and no time either."
"Then you plan to break through? I'm curious why you'd choose not to bypass when you know they're there."
"No need to break through either."
"Then..."
The senior commander looked puzzled, unable to guess what was in Count Denitz's mind. Undeterred, the count slowly opened his mouth with his characteristic resolute yet composed expression.
"Just blow the entire ambush area away."
The commanders couldn't hide their surprise at those words, which operated on a completely different scale. Wiping out an enemy force of about a thousand in their ambush zone was feasible for the Philius Imperial Army, with its abundance of mages.
"This time, the Azure Tower will join as well."
Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior stepped forward, promising active support. Crimson Tower Lord Berenus Kyle nodded slowly as well.
"Crimson Tower and Azure Tower, I command you: Head to the battlefield immediately and annihilate the ambushing enemy."
"We shall obey the imperial decree!"
Berenus and Risefield answered in unison. They promptly selected the finest elite mages from their towers. Only upper-level mages capable of using Fly were mobilized.
"We'll provide ground cover."
"Appreciated."
The top commander of the Northern Central Army spoke with a stern face. Berenus nodded and replied calmly before ascending into the sky first. Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior followed with a powerful surge, and the mages from both towers trailed behind.
Since only upper-level mages proficient in Fly had been selected, their numbers weren't vast, but the aura they scattered from the air was sharp and intimidating.
"Crimson Tower Lord, I see nothing."
Crimson Tower's top mage, Ilais, said cautiously. Crimson Tower Lord Berenus was in the same boat.
"We have the approximate coordinates, so use detection magic."
"Understood."
Several mages cast detection spells. The mana spreading over a wide area alerted them to hostile presences.
"Positions confirmed."
"Concentrate all firepower!"
The mages in the sky simultaneously drew up their mana. It began with the Azure Tower. Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior drew the Sea Heart and swung it, unleashing a powerful ice storm over the mountain mercenaries. A third of the ambushing mercenaries perished in that single strike.
"Azure Tower! In His Majesty the Emperor's name, sweep away the enemies of the Philius Empire!"
Ice spears brimming with sharp menace and bolts of blue lightning rained down on the mountain mercenaries like arrows.
"Counterattack! Counterattack!"
The mountain mercenaries' archers fired at the sky, but their range fell short. They lacked the numbers and skill among their mercenary mages to deploy wide-area shields and counter with magic. They were disposable pawns thrown in to delay the Philius Imperial Army's advance from the start—no elite mercenary mages included.
"We probably don't need to step in."
Berenus nodded silently at Ilais's words. Risefield and the Azure Tower mages were rampaging with enthusiasm.
The ground was left in ruins, and the thousand-strong mountain mercenary force couldn't withstand the magical bombardment and was annihilated. Once Ilais confirmed their total destruction with detection magic and signaled the ground, the Philius Imperial Army resumed its advance.
"The Philius Imperial Army is advancing at a ferocious pace!"
"At this rate, we'll engage within three hours!"
Runners from the Free Isiria Kingdom Army scurried about frantically.
"Damn it! No retreat now! Free Isiria Kingdom Army! In His Majesty the King's name, face the enemy!"
The heavy assault troops raised their vanguard banners. As always, they moved to the front lines to meet the enemy head-on, while knight orders and cavalry readied charges on the left and right flanks.
"Philius Imperial Army approaching!"
A bloodied scout returned, reporting in a fading voice before collapsing lifelessly from his horse.
"Forward, forward!"
The 10th and 11th Heavy Assault Troops advanced slowly, vanguard banners at the fore.
Clank, clank.
The sound of iron boots trampling the ground. Amid the eerie silence broken only by the sharp friction of cold armor, the commanding officer of the 10th Heavy Assault Troops felt a chill and looked up at the sky.
"Oh, damn it!"
A curse escaped his lips. Slender arrows blotted out even the sun, pouring down like rain.
"Enemy longbow attack!"
"Shields up!"
"Mages, deploy defensive magic!"
The heavy assault commander inwardly cursed while directing his men. Where the hell were these arrows coming from? They shouldn't be in range of the Philius Imperial Army's archers yet.
But there was something he didn't know: the longbows used by elf rangers had far superior range to those of human archers.
"Ranger unit has begun attacking the Free Isiria Kingdom Army's heavy assault troops."
In the Philius Imperial Army camp, a runner sent by Elf Ranger Commander Selethin reported the front-line situation to the command staff.
Raymond exchanged a glance with Count Denitz and smiled in satisfaction.
Ordinary human archers couldn't inflict much damage on heavy assault troops clad in thick iron plate and shields, but elf rangers were different.
Their arrows could pierce heavy plate armor, and their agile movements made them ideal against such foes.
"The Free Isiria Kingdom Army is moving their cavalry. Two thousand knights and cavalry charging toward us."
"Emergency report from Central Intelligence! Enemy ghost unit has vanished from our observation! Mage unit deploying! Magical bombardment starting on our vanguard!"
Runners rushed in with battlefield updates. If the battles so far had been mere appetizers, now began the true clash of armies signaling the war's overture.
"Ghost unit vanished?"
"Yes, Grand Marshal, sir!"
"Order the elf ranger unit to retreat and advance the main force!"
Count Denitz issued swift commands. The Free Isiria Kingdom's ghost unit was a special force specialized in decapitating enemy command structures.
Given the timing, they were likely targeting the elf rangers.
"Main force! Engaging Free Isiria Kingdom Army's heavy assault troops! Combat initiated!"
"Our knight order! Clashing with enemy cavalry! We're holding the advantage so far!"
The mountainous terrain prevented a full view of the battlefield, but the runners' tireless efforts kept the command staff well-informed.
Fortunately, the advantage lay with their side so far, but with the numerical disparity, the tide could turn anytime.
Raymond felt sweat beading in his tense grip. This massive war, with a nation's fate hanging in the balance, had even him—the usually composed prince—on edge.
"Enemy cavalry annihilated! Surviving stragglers scattering in retreat!"
"Free Isiria Kingdom Army's main force linking with heavy assault troops!"
The cavalry, having sent half their strength to pursue the elf rangers before engaging and losing it all, couldn't hold against the ferocious assault of the Philius Empire's knight orders and cavalry, ultimately perishing. They thought they'd seized momentum, but in the main battle, they couldn't easily push back the Free Isiria Kingdom Army.
"Deploy the cavalry."
Count Denitz directed calmly. The Philius Empire's knight orders and cavalry sprang into action the moment orders reached them.
With thundering hooves kicking up dust, the cavalry charged the Free Isiria Kingdom Army's flank. Their formation shook violently under the flank attack.
With no cavalry left, they had no one to match the Philius Imperial Army's mounted forces head-on. At best, infantry and mages—but infantry were too weak to stop knight charges, and mercenary mages were struggling to hold in the magical duel against the Philius Empire's overwhelming mage power, with no spare firepower to divert.
"Our cavalry has cleaved through the enemy formation!"
"Deploy light infantry to prevent enemy regrouping!"
Light infantry slipped into the gaps torn in the Free Isiria Kingdom Army's formation by the cavalry breakthrough. The cavalry wheeled around for another charge, and the sudden insertion of light infantry threw the separated vanguard into chaos.
"Report to Field Marshal HQ! Vanguard isolated from main body!"
"Philius Empire heavy infantry appearing! Linking with light infantry! Isolation will worsen at this rate!"
"Damn it! Link up with the vanguard immediately!"
Chaos erupted in the Free Isiria Kingdom Army command. Isolated from their vanguard, the tide began to turn sharply against them.
5th Field Marshal Marquis Lanins raged red-faced, and his commanders exhausted themselves calming him.
"We can't retreat now! Advance! Throw everything at breaking the Philius Imperial Army's formation!"
Marquis Lanins bellowed.
"Free Isiria Kingdom Army intensifying offensive!"
Philius Imperial command. A runner dashed in with the report. Banners signaling all-out assault rose in the enemy camp, and horns urging advance echoed across the field.
The heavy assault troops, who had been falling back step by step, began advancing again.
"We won't rout!"
"We shall be the unyielding shield of Free Isiria to the last man!"
The heavy assault troops steeled their resolve and led the charge. Even as their army yielded ground, their morale remained unbroken.
Clad in thick iron plate, exuding ferocious aura as they advanced, the heavy assault troops embodied terror itself. Arrows bounced off harmlessly; even phalanxes of spears couldn't halt their inexorable push.
True to their name, the Free Isiria's heavy assault troops, though diminished by prior fighting, shattered the Philius Imperial Army's vanguard phalanx and pressed on.
"Northern Central Army holding the vanguard is crumbling under the heavy assault advance."
The Northern Central Army was battle-hardened and freshly reequipped, elite even among Philius forces. To see them break so easily... The assembled commanders at central command were aghast at the report.
'As expected of the heavy assault troops...'
A hidden card capable of reversing the battle in one stroke—that was the heavy assault troops. Their efforts were shaking the Philius formation, but Raymond wasn't overly worried. He still had an ace up his sleeve.
"Prepare the Imperial Army. I'll join the fray personally."