Chapter 287
Chapter 287
Iron Emperor — Chapter 287
Though it had not been his original intention, Marquis Baikal's decision to mobilize every available magical power to jam the Holy Empire supply unit's magic communication produced an unexpected effect.
"Keep attempting to establish a connection. Also, contact the follow-on supply unit and instruct them to increase speed while searching for traces of the supply unit led by Viscount Kwai."
"Understood."
It was a war in which worries only multiplied without any proper fighting.
* * *
Concerned about his friend Viscount Kwai, whose communication had gone silent, Viscount Shenin dispatched more reconnaissance patrols than usual. And during the march, he paid such close attention that he never once moved from his position at the very front of the column.
"Hmm, the reconnaissance unit seems diminished in number......."
Watching the returning soldiers carrying the flag that signified a patrol, Viscount Shenin cocked his head with a puzzled look.
"Whoa!"
"What is the news?"
Perhaps because he had ridden so urgently, the scout only managed to rein in his horse when he was already close to Viscount Shenin. The adjutant frowned and asked him a question.
"We have found a soldier from the supply unit that departed before us!"
"What!"
Before the adjutant could react, Viscount Shenin urgently cut in, looking even more anxious for news. It showed just how desperately he had been waiting for word of his friend.
"So, what happened? Is Viscount Kwai safe?"
At Viscount Shenin's barrage of questions, the scout's face darkened.
"Viscount Kwai's supply unit fell into an enemy trap and was annihilated."
"What!"
"And, to get this news out, Viscount Kwai sent part of his force to retreat while he and some knights stayed behind to hold the enemy's path and resist. It appears he perished there."
The news the scout brought was like a bolt from the blue. He had been so desperately worried about his friend's fate, and the report of the unit's annihilation was absolutely devastating.
"Kwai...... you cannot have gone on ahead like this."
Feeling as though his heart were collapsing, Viscount Shenin could not speak. He simply remained still on his horse, eyes closed, for a long while.
"My lord Viscount......."
The adjutant's cautious voice reached him through the darkness. When Viscount Shenin slowly opened his eyes, light flooded back in; they burned with vengeance.
"First, establish our encampment here. There are wounded as well, so have the healers and the wizards prepare treatment at once! Move quickly!"
"Yes, my lord!"
To have his revenge, he must first fully understand the target.
For that, he absolutely required the testimony of the stragglers who would soon reach the main camp.
Behind Viscount Shenin, the knights and soldiers under his command began to move in a flurry. They knew well that their commander was at his most furious precisely when he appeared calmer than ever.
* * *
The stream of soldiers staggering in presented an appearance truly beyond description.
Yet, because the majority of the wounded were only lightly injured, the healers could manage their work in relative comfort.
But when one soldier remarked that the reason there were so many lightly wounded was that all the severely wounded had fallen behind and died while fleeing, everyone's faces could only darken.
The stragglers numbered roughly five thousand.
That number might seem large, but considering that the total original strength—escort unit and supply unit combined—had been thirty thousand soldiers, the loss was truly catastrophic.
After the evening meal, on Viscount Shenin's order, the knights began questioning the soldiers who were in sound condition, one by one.
But from most soldiers, they could obtain no satisfactory answer.
Even the estimates of the enemy's numbers varied wildly, making it difficult to get a clear picture.
However, after they found a few soldiers whose accounts were comparatively accurate and a man who had served as a dispatched messenger, the knights' difficulties lessened considerably.
"What is your name?"
"G-G-Garisen, my lord."
"Speak properly!"
"Garisen, sir!"
When the man fumbled even saying his own name before Viscount Shenin, the adjutant standing behind him barked at him. Only then did Garisen answer correctly.
Viscount Shenin's expression tightened briefly. He raised a hand to signal the noble who had shouted not to interfere, then began questioning Garisen calmly.
"Garisen, what was the enemy's strength?"
"I don't have the exact figures, but it looked to be about ten thousand."
"Are you certain?"
"Oh, yes, sir. I heard the messenger making his report to Viscount Kwai say it with my own ears!"
Though the man called Garisen was sturdily built, he kept bowing his head as he answered Viscount Shenin's questions with a confident expression.
"Then tell me, step by step, how the battle unfolded and how a force of thirty thousand came to be annihilated by ten thousand."
"Yes, my lord Viscount."
Dealing with an ordinary soldier by gently coaxing him, rather than shouting at him, was indeed more effective for setting his mind at ease.
Perhaps thanks to the calmer atmosphere, Garisen slowly began to relate everything he knew.
Garisen talked for quite a while.
His account occasionally mixed in exaggerations and slipped in a boast or two about himself on the sly.
Once his tongue was loosened, Garisen explained things without stumbling, and his eloquence was astonishing in its own way.
"And so, during the retreat, we were driven into a position where the enemy had lured us, my lord. But then, saying that no matter what happened, this news had to reach the supply unit led by Viscount Shenin, Viscount Kwai...... sniff, he, he held the enemy's route with his fellow knights to send us away, and then......."
Garisen's voice gradually grew quieter, and at the final part about Viscount Kwai, he at last began to choke up. Viscount Shenin stopped the adjutant, who had been about to reprimand the tearful Garisen, and patted the man on the shoulder.
"You did well to survive."
"Wuaaah!"
At Viscount Shenin's comforting gesture, Garisen burst openly into the tears he had been holding back.
The adjutants did not care for the rudeness of a common soldier breaking down weeping before a high noble like Viscount Shenin, but they could only stand by and watch. They understood, it seemed, what Viscount Shenin felt at losing his closest comrade.
"You may withdraw and rest. When we return to the Empire, I promise you a great reward."
"S-sniff, th-thank you, my lord."
"Escort Garisen back to his quarters and see to it that he has everything he needs for his comfort."
"Understood."
Orders were orders, so Garisen was guided back to his billet by a knight of high standing.
"Establish a communication link with Marquis Public."
"Yes, my lord."
Whatever the case, informing the main army of the situation was also part of his duty. Yet, deep inside, Viscount Shenin secretly wished that the enemy would attack his own unit as well.
* * *
In the command tent of the force directing the 150,000-strong Holy Empire army, a silence heavier than any before it hung over the gathering.
"What did you just say?"
"The supplies were all plundered, and the supply unit was completely annihilated."
"Is that even a plausible statement!"
Marquis Saint Public's roar shook the command tent. He was a man who could smile through almost anything, but now he could not maintain his composure.
"According to the news that arrived, the enemy prepared a large-scale trap and fell upon them. The enemy numbered only around ten thousand, but because of the trap......."
"Haa."
Marquis Public raised a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
"It's said that because the enemy targeted the supplies, the casualties among the soldiers were, at least, comparatively light. Some troops were taken prisoner, but those rescued number roughly five thousand."
"At any rate, we are fortunate that the follow-on supply unit discovered the truth."
The trailing force that had been coming behind Viscount Kwai's supply unit had found the stragglers, revealing the whereabouts of the supply unit that had been incommunicado for days. However, the news that arrived was absolutely devastating.
"Still, the supply unit that's following behind us is now advancing at speed. If we conserve our provisions and endure, it should arrive within the time limit. Also, the five thousand friendly troops the rear unit rescued will have given ample warning about the enemy. There will be no further mistakes."
"That had better be the case."
No amount of struggling can change what has already passed. Marquis Public knew this well, so he suppressed his surging rage and answered calmly.
"Hoo. Then we will end today's meeting here. All staff officers are to recalculate the remaining provisions and materiel and arrange distribution."
"Understood."
"For the glory of the Holy Empire."
The nobles withdrew like an ebbing tide, as if afraid of hearing even one more word. Watching them go, Marquis Public lay down, intending to shed his agitation through sleep.
* * *
After delivering his report, Viscount Shenin felt deeply troubled. He spread out a map showing the surrounding terrain and stared at it wordlessly. Whatever happened, the high command was bound to brand Viscount Kwai an incompetent commander.
BANG!
"My lord Viscount!"
"How dare you burst so rudely into the Viscount's quarters!"
The adjutant shouted in anger, but the soldier who had rushed in paid it no mind. He cried out urgently.
"A reconnaissance patrol found Viscount Kwai and about fifty soldiers! They report his condition is critical, so they cannot bring him back on horseback!"
"What! Is that true!"
At the soldier's report, Viscount Shenin sprang from his seat. The shadows that had been cast over his face vanished in an instant at the news that his comrade, who he had believed dead, was still alive.
"The patrols confirmed it several times, they say."
"Hahahaha!"
When the survival was confirmed a second time, Viscount Shenin rose to his feet like a madman and burst into laughter. Seeing his reaction, his adjutants shared his joy as if the matter were their own.
"First, I will dispatch the healers and wizards in a carriage."
"Good! No—I shall go myself!"
"We will go and return with him. The enemy may still be in pursuit."
When Viscount Shenin summoned an attendant to put on his armor and arm himself, the adjutants, with troubled faces, raised objections. But Viscount Shenin spoke firmly.
"Mobilize the troops. The enemy is said to number roughly ten thousand. And though they launched a surprise attack, they too suffered considerable casualties. Dispatching only about ten thousand of our troops should be sufficient. Prepare to march at once!"
"We obey your command."
The adjutants could no longer disobey Viscount Shenin's order, and his reasoning was sound, so they rushed out of the tent. Before long, ten thousand soldiers marched out of the encampment.