Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: 17th Chapter: Heavy Armored Assault Unit (3)
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The palisade was burning and collapsing, while the wooden barracks were devoured by flames and crumbling to the ground. In the center, the torn and bent flag of the Philius Empire proclaimed that this had been their outpost.
Clank.
Amid the grinding clash of heavy plate armor, heavily armed soldiers emerged from the darkness.
Boasting armament on par with knights, they were the Free Isirian Kingdom's Heavy Armored Assault Unit. The vanguard flag symbolizing their affiliation fluttered fiercely at the center of their formation.
"With this, this outpost is wiped out too?"
The officer, wearing the insignia of command, muttered to himself.
His gaze, sweeping over the destroyed outpost, finally settled on the prisoners bound and gathered in the central square.
"What are those? Prisoners?"
"Yes, sir. Survivors from the battle."
"I clearly ordered no prisoners. That means total annihilation—the will of the Free Isirian Kingdom. Sergeant, is your comprehension really that poor?"
His voice was chilling to the bone. The sergeant couldn't respond easily. In this situation, anything he said would sound like an excuse, so he had no choice but to stay silent.
But one thing was clear: none of this was intentional.
Even when carrying out orders for total annihilation, some lucky survivors were bound to slip through.
After the battle ended, executing them all wasn't feasible, was it? At least, that's what the senior sergeant of the 19th Heavy Armored Assault Unit believed.
"Sergeant, you didn't know how to handle survivors after the battle was over?"
The sergeant nodded silently at the commander's question.
"Failing to think of such a simple solution is surely a stain on the reputation of the Free Isirian Kingdom's elite Heavy Armored Assault Unit. But just this once, I'll enlighten you."
The commander finished speaking and strode toward the prisoners. In a motion swift beyond belief for someone clad in heavy armor, he drew his sword and severed a prisoner's head.
"Guh... guhk!"
"That's how it's done."
"C-Commander... even so, executing innocent prisoners after the battle..."
"You're new reinforcements from two days ago, so you wouldn't know."
The other soldiers drew their swords in unison and advanced on the prisoners. The commander wiped the blood from his face and turned to the sergeant.
"Ever since entering the Black Mountains, this is how we've done it."
And so the executions began. The scene was far too brutal for the sergeant, who had joined just two days ago after receiving reassignment orders, to grow accustomed to.
"And why are they innocent? Defending an enemy state of the Free Isirian Kingdom is sin enough."
A cold smile crept across the commander's lips.
"It's an honor to serve Your Highness the 5th Prince once more!"
They had linked up with the Imperial Army and the detached Imperial Guard. The Imperial Army commander, Cassias, rushed forward ahead of all others to pay his respects.
"What's the plan?"
Next came the Azure Tower Lord, Risefield Dior. He asked calmly about the plan's existence. Raymond flashed a grin and spoke.
"First, we're heading to the Black Mountains."
The Heavy Armored Assault Unit had destroyed Alvin Fortress. Now, they had two options: pull back here, or strike another outpost or fortress to sow chaos in the Black Mountains before retreating.
The Black Mountains' abundance of monsters made assembling large forces difficult. Maintaining supply lines was nearly impossible.
It was the perfect environment for a small elite unit like the Heavy Armored Assault Unit to rampage. Having pushed this far south, they were likely to maximize the disruption before withdrawing.
Just looking at how they'd been destroying fortresses and outposts so far revealed their intentions.
No intent to occupy—pure destruction. They clearly planned to inflict maximum damage before falling back.
"The Northeastern Border Guard commander says he can prepare three hundred troops to act as a detachment."
The Crimson Tower Lord, Berenus Kyle, reported. Three hundred might seem too few for an imperial prince to lead, but given the Heavy Armored Assault Unit's rampage through the Black Mountains, it was the border guard's limit for attaching to Raymond.
If over five hundred troops suddenly marched north into the Black Mountains, the Free Isirian Kingdom wouldn't sit idly by.
Diplomatic protests were a given, and in the worst case, it could escalate to military provocation.
"Have them all be archers."
"Is that alright?"
The Crimson Tower Lord sought confirmation. Unlike the Haipel Empire or the Free Isirian Kingdom, the Philius Empire lacked specialized mountain warfare units.
The Haipel Empire boasted excellent rangers, while the Free Isirian Kingdom employed seasoned mountain mercenaries.
To the Crimson Tower Lord, filling the three hundred support troops entirely with archers seemed unwise.
Archers were inherently weak in close combat, which was likely in the Black Mountains. The terrain also made it hard to secure the open sightlines needed for archers to shine.
"Crimson Tower Lord, your concerns won't come to pass. Prepare three hundred archers."
"I'll relay Your Highness the 5th Prince's command."
The Crimson Tower Lord trusted Raymond's judgment. He nodded, stepped back a few paces, and pulled a communication orb from his robes to connect magically with the Northeastern Border Guard command.
He soon returned to the 5th Prince, Raymond's side.
"I've conveyed Your Highness's orders. The border guard will prepare their finest three hundred archers."
He wished they could provide more reinforcements, but circumstances made it nearly impossible. The best the Northeastern Border Guard command could do was compose the three hundred of elite troops.
"To the border."
The Imperial Army picked up speed. The next day, they reached the border as planned.
The Northeastern Border Guard officers turned over command of the three hundred archers and saw off the 5th Prince, Raymond.
"Your Highness the 5th Prince! We believe in you!"
"Please be careful!"
Thanks to his past exploits, Raymond enjoyed deep goodwill along the Northeastern Border. Saving the life of Marquis Creaer, with whom they had close ties, had forged a bond of gratitude.
All the commanders and officers sincerely prayed for Raymond's safe return. Receiving their well-wishes, the 5th Prince's forces entered the Black Mountains.
"Multiple orc packs spotted one kilometer ahead."
Silvia relayed the wind spirits' scouting report. Upon entering the Black Mountains, her true value blossomed.
Her scouting and pathfinding with the wind spirits astonished everyone.
The archer unit officers and Cassias hadn't believed her at first, but after sending scouts to verify repeatedly, they followed her guidance without a shred of doubt.
"We should detour here. Ogres ahead."
To aid her benefactor Raymond even a little more, she pushed wind spirit scouting to the point of pallor.
Only after Desia insisted on rest did she take a brief break.
Thanks to Silvia leading the way, the 5th Prince's forces had traversed the Black Mountains for days without encountering a single monster pack, preserving their combat strength intact.
"Humans' about three hundred meters ahead. The spirits say around five hundred, all clad in heavy plate armor."
On the fifth day, they finally caught up to the Heavy Armored Assault Unit's rear.
"This is our chance."
"We need to ambush them right now."
The Imperial Army and border guard archer officers insisted on launching a full-scale ambush immediately to maximize victory odds—and they weren't wrong.
Against superior enemy forces, ambush was optimal.
But Raymond believed a simple ambush wouldn't let four hundred troops fully defeat five hundred elite Heavy Armored Assault troops.
"A plain ambush won't secure victory. We need a different approach."
Raymond stated firmly.
"May I ask what that might be?"
The archer unit commander asked cautiously.
The two tower lords, who had served the 5th Prince for some time, and Cassias, who had served less but witnessed his feats, asked nothing.
Their deep trust and conviction in the 5th Prince made questions unnecessary.
"A brief explanation is probably needed."
After a short mutter, Raymond outlined his plan to crush the Heavy Armored Assault Unit.
It was concise, without details, but the archer commander and officers' gazes toward Raymond shifted.
'To think it's on this level.'
'Marquis Creaer's words were true?'
'Repelling the Free Isirian Kingdom's ghost unit wasn't just luck.'
Rumors of the 5th Prince Raymond's exploits in the Black Mountains abounded even in border regions.
The border guard commanders and officers had believed them to some extent but assumed exaggeration.
Now, they had no choice but to revise their views.
'The rumors about the 5th Prince are real!'
Unlike the inflated tales nobles spread about themselves, this was different.
'He's something else.'
They'd vaguely sensed it upon first sight, but he lacked the arrogance and foul aura common in imperial kin and nobles.
Instead, a gentle charisma subtly dominated the surroundings, drawing commanders and officers in unwittingly.
"Have you grasped the plan?"
"Yes! Understood!"
"We'll give it our all!"
"Then let's execute immediately."
Raymond's gaze turned to the Azure Tower Lord, Risefield.
"Old timer, you can handle climate magic, right?"
Climate magic required at least supreme-tier mastery. As an archmage, Risefield could wield it freely.
The issue was the massive mana drain.
"Mana consumption varies greatly by range. How wide an area do you desire?"
As expected, Risefield raised mana concerns and asked about scope. Raymond described the desired range simply, and Risefield paled.
"Your Highness the 5th Prince, using climate magic over that range..."
"Impossible?"
"Possible, but I'd wither to a husk."
"Not bad. We'll proceed."
"Your Highness the 5th Prince!"
Risefield let out a high-pitched cry, but Raymond grinned and pushed forward with the plan.
That night, Berenus headed to the 19th Heavy Armored Assault Unit's camp with Silvia.
"What spell would be fitting..."
From a hill overlooking their camp clearly, the Crimson Tower Lord Berenus Kyle muttered in a voice laced with eerie killing intent.
Raymond had tasked him with attacking to provoke and lure them, so it needed to inflict moderate damage while allowing quick escape before detection.
Supreme magic was out—too much mana fluctuation risked detection during incantation. That left advanced or supreme-tier spells.
"Better hit 'em once with a supreme-tier spell."
Decision made, he awaited the 'signal' rain.
"Crimson Tower Lord..."
"I know. It's time."
Rain began falling from the sky. His red eyes gleamed coldly, and in his right hand appeared his unique magic tool, Flame Shower.
"One shot incoming."
Incanting while shaking Flame Shower, he completed the supreme-tier spell in an instant.
"Arghhh!"
"Wh-what is it?!"
"Enemy attack!"
As flames poured from the rainy sky, panicked voices from the Heavy Armored Assault Unit carried to Berenus's position. But damage was minimal.
These Free Isirian elites had mages swiftly erect shields.
"Think they've pinpointed our location?"
Berenus asked Silvia. Luring required leaking some presence intentionally.
"We should withdraw now."
He felt the enemy mages' detection spells brushing his cheek. Nodding at Silvia's words, Berenus retreated.
The pursuit detachment followed but couldn't catch them.
And the next day, the Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior arrived at the 19th Heavy Armored Assault Unit's camp with Silvia.