Chapter 101: Omniscient Henry Albert's Perspective (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Omniscient Henry Albert's Perspective (1)
Dawn broke.
As the morning they thought would never come finally arrived, the soldiers of Hector could not hide their grim expressions.
"...It's morning."
"Damn it."
Their emotions were a tangled mess.
They were furious that they had achieved absolutely nothing despite staying awake all night, yet at the same time, they breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The terror of the dark had been suffocating. They hadn't been able to let their guard down for even a single second. Not knowing when Roman Dmitry would leap from the shadows to deliver death, the Hector soldiers had greeted the rising sun with bloodshot, wide-open eyes.
The battle was over.
Once the darkness receded, the attacks ceased. The Hector Kingdom had also lost the strength to pursue their enemy.
"Move the bodies of our comrades. We will soothe their souls through cremation and then take a proper rest."
"Hang in there just a bit longer!"
The orders were handed down.
The soldiers of Hector obeyed with exhausted faces.
There was far more than just a corpse or two.
Bodies left in such gruesome conditions that they made one grimace could not be moved whole, but the soldiers still gathered the mangled remains as best as they could. No one complained, despite the grueling labor. Knowing that with just a bit of bad luck, the corpse lying on the ground could have been their own, they did not forget to show respect to the dead, no matter how exhausted they were.
Among those men, Edwin Hector was also carrying a corpse down the mountain.
"Commander. You do not need to do this yourself."
"No. These men died because of me. Even if I cannot bring them back to life, I do not want to leave the task of sending them off to the afterlife solely to the soldiers."
"..."
Jackson cast a pitying look at him.
Edwin Hector had done his best.
It was just that...
The opponent was simply too strong.
Jackson wanted to offer a word of comfort, but Edwin Hector was in no state to talk right now.
It is my defeat.
He gritted his teeth.
He wept tears of blood internally.
When dawn broke and revealed the corpses, Edwin Hector could not suppress his guilt. He looked at the bodies strewn about so densely that there was barely any room to step. They had been mere pieces on a chessboard. When he had issued the orders, he had accepted their sacrifices calmly, but seeing the gruesome reality of it coupled with his utter defeat made his heart feel as though it were collapsing.
It was sickening.
It was hard to accept the fact that so many people had died due to his own lack of ability.
I overestimated myself. From the moment I judged that my abilities could sufficiently handle the variable known as Roman Dmitry, my perfect plan began to crumble. The choice I thought was the lesser of two evils became the worst possible outcome. And from now on, the Hector Kingdom has no choice but to face a desperate situation that was never part of the plan.
It was the absolute worst-case scenario.
When leaving Hector, he had sworn to achieve victory.
After reviewing the plan countless times, Edwin Hector had been certain there was no possibility of failure.
Yet, this was the reality he faced.
His steps were heavy.
With the weight of the corpse pressing down on his back, his feet kept sinking deep into the ground.
How long had they walked?
Having finally moved all the corpses to the foot of the mountain, Edwin Hector set fire to the mountain of bodies.
Whoosh.
Crackle.
The flames flared up.
No one spoke.
They just stared blankly.
Edwin Hector and his soldiers quietly watched the blazing pyre.
* * *
The funeral was over.
Edwin Hector summoned his commanders.
Wallowing in despair was only a temporary luxury.
He knew that no one else would resolve the harsh reality before them.
"Report the casualties."
"We need more time to determine the exact figures, but according to a rough estimate, approximately seven hundred soldiers were confirmed dead overnight. In contrast, the enemy's casualties do not even reach ten."
"Ha..."
"...My god."
Gasps of disbelief and heavy sighs erupted.
It was an overwhelming defeat.
Edwin Hector clenched his trembling hands and bowed his head.
"This defeat is due to my poor judgment. I take this opportunity to apologize to you all for issuing the wrong orders."
"Your Highness!"
"What on earth are you saying?! This is not your fault, Commander!"
The officers leaped to their feet.
Among them, Butler spoke with an impassioned face.
"None of us blame you, Your Highness. Roman Dmitry—who was known to be a mere 3-Star Aura Swordsman—was strong enough to withstand the joint attack of Your Highness and myself. Who could have possibly anticipated such a monstrous variable? The opponent was simply too strong. We do not wish to see you bow your head, Your Highness."
"He is right."
"Please give us new orders. We still look only to you, Commander."
Everyone agreed.
The battle in the mountains.
Having faced Roman Dmitry themselves, they did not believe this defeat was Edwin Hector's fault.
Butler was right.
Roman Dmitry was a monster.
He possessed the mobility to effortlessly break through encirclements and the martial prowess to take lives in a single blow.
When they first entered the mountain, no one in the Hector Kingdom could have anticipated such a wild card.
Edwin Hector spoke.
"I am a defeated commander. However, since no one else will solve the problems we face, I intend to issue new orders to you. If you believe my commands will lead to defeat once again, I want you to speak up without hesitation, regardless of your rank."
"We await your command."
They sat down.
Staring at the blazing fire, Edwin Hector had pondered for a long time.
Now that they had met the worst-case scenario, extraordinary measures were required to turn the tide.
"We cannot return to the kingdom empty-handed. Therefore, before the main army of the Cairo Kingdom arrives at the Southern Front, we will clear out all the frontline defense posts we had put off attacking. The time limit is ten days. Within that time, we must completely wipe out the remnants of Cairo. After that, we will use the rear base as our stronghold and prepare for a desperate, life-or-death resistance."
"...What do you plan to do about Roman Dmitry? He will surely interfere with our plans."
Roman Dmitry.
Just the mention of his name made the officers' expressions stiffen.
He was a dangerous enemy.
They did not know what kind of variable he would create next, but they could not afford to sit on their hands just because of a single man.
"I admit that Roman Dmitry is a dangerous enemy. However, if he tries to interfere with our plans, it will actually give us an opportunity for revenge. A battle in the mountains, which utilized the darkness and geographical advantages, is completely different from a battle on the plains. The frontline defense posts—places the Cairo Kingdom cannot afford to abandon—will serve as the bait to lure Roman Dmitry out into the open."
It was a paradigm shift.
The southern posts.
He intended to use them as bait to draw Roman out.
Once Cairo's main army arrived, they would not be able to handle Roman Dmitry's presence amidst the larger forces.
Ten days.
It was a gamble.
If they could eliminate Roman Dmitry or capture all the southern posts, they would at least meet the minimum conditions to wage a desperate resistance.
However...
"A desperate resistance alone will make it difficult to extract the compensation we want from Cairo. We have already lost nearly a thousand soldiers to Roman Dmitry, and the Cairo Kingdom must have seen through our intentions. If this drags on, we will inevitably be at a disadvantage. What do you plan to do then?"
This was the most critical issue.
The very purpose of the war.
To extract compensation, simply holding out was not the answer.
And after much deliberation, Edwin Hector had found a solution.
"We do not necessarily have to receive the compensation from the Cairo Kingdom. The moment we hold the Southern Front completely in our grasp, I, as a prince of the Hector Kingdom, intend to propose a deal to the Kronos Empire."
He believed that the war was not over yet.
* * *
At that same time, the Cairo Kingdom was busily preparing for negotiations with the Hector Kingdom.
The man in charge of managing the nation's treasury, Count Ayer, spoke with a grim face.
"With Cairo's current financial situation, we cannot accept all of the Hector Kingdom's conditions. Over the past year, we have allocated a significant portion of our budget to the Western Front due to Kronos's frequent provocations. With so little financial leeway, if we comply with Hector's demands, Cairo's treasury will inevitably run dry."
"...What about raising taxes?"
"Impossible. We already raised taxes six months ago. Even when we raised them for the sake of national security, the backlash was immense. If we announce another increase after only six months, it might trigger a riot."
It was a despairing report.
Faced with Count Ayer's firm stance, King Daniel Cairo let out a deep sigh.
"What are we to do?"
He felt utterly lost.
Although he had a duty as king to resolve the issue, no matter how much he thought about it, no answer came to mind.
The only way to solve this is to use the nobles' wealth. But that method will never receive the approval of the Central Government. The nobles of Cairo... they are not the type of people to sacrifice themselves for the country.
Cairo was a truly bizarre nation.
While the royal authority seemed strong against foreign invasions, that only applied to the local nobles; the Central Government was a different story entirely.
Marquis Benedict.
Count Denver.
Count Gregory.
Their factions were a separate matter.
Even if the Cairo Kingdom were to collapse completely, they would undoubtedly prioritize their own interests first.
"...There is no other way."
In the end, they had no choice but to accept the negotiations.
The draining of the treasury was a problem to be solved later.
No matter how difficult the circumstances, they could not hand over the Southern Front to the Hector Kingdom.
During the last meeting, due to Count Denver's argument, they had concluded to trust Roman Dmitry for now and wait for three days. But that was all. Neither Daniel Cairo nor the nobles of the Central Government expected a miracle. They were only waiting because they had three days of leeway, not because they truly believed Roman Dmitry would accomplish anything.
He rose from his seat.
With the deadline set by Hector drawing near, the issue of negotiations could not be resolved by his power alone.
"Contact the nobles of the Central Government. Tell them we will hold a meeting regarding the negotiations."
"Understood."
It was then.
The door to the conference room burst open.
A knight of the Royal Knights raised his voice, his face flushed with excitement.
"Your Majesty King Daniel! Word has arrived that we have repelled the enemy on the Southern Front!"
A report of victory.
At the unexpected news, Daniel Cairo's eyes widened in shock.
* * *
The nobles of the Central Government were summoned.
In the conference room, the gathered nobles reacted with disbelief to the news delivered by the royal family.
"Is it truly a fact that Roman Dmitry defeated the Hector Kingdom?"
"I am not entirely sure myself. The Hector Kingdom mobilized as many as ten thousand troops to attack the Southern Front. That is a force the Southern Front could never have withstood, so I have no idea how on earth Roman Dmitry defeated them. We will know for sure once we verify it. If Roman Dmitry has indeed sent a report of victory, it is no different from us finding a lifeline."
This was a conversation between Count Gregory and Marquis Benedict.
In truth, they still could not believe it.
Even Count Denver, who had urged them to trust Roman Dmitry, was dazed by the reality of the situation.
Roman Dmitry... Did he truly overcome such a desperate situation?
It was incredible.
He had known Roman was no ordinary person ever since he took Lawrence and brought down Barco, but this achievement was on a completely different level. Roman Dmitry was not someone who could be dismissed as a mere 4-Star Aura Swordsman. It would be an even greater shock to those who still believed him to be a 3-Star Aura Swordsman. If he possessed the ability to overturn a war where defeat was all but certain, he was clearly born with immense talent as a commander.
The atmosphere was chaotic.
Finally, as Daniel Cairo entered the conference room, the knight who had been waiting in advance connected the magic communicator.
"I will now connect the communication to the Southern Front."
Flash.
Mana flared.
Soon, the face of a man appeared on the screen.