Chapter 38
West and South combined: 50,000.
The western native subjugation war, which had gathered every available troop from the standing army, also served as a means of keeping the Westerners in line.
That was why we also needed to show overwhelming force.
Only if we showed them, 'The South is this strong,' would the western soldiers believe in us and follow us.
In the first battle, I wanted to show as one-sided a victory as possible.
And so, the moment we crossed beyond the western border and over the edge of the steppe, the staff entered an operational meeting.
"No matter how close the three tribes are, they’re not close enough to live and die together."
"Meaning?"
"They’re holding a great steppe council and choosing a chieftain to unite the steppe, but the three tribes’ bases are still separate."
In other words, it meant we could still take them down one by one.
And the first target was the Aikamad Tribe.
"The Aikamad live in a settlement only about 70 kilometers from the western border."
"How many people are in the tribe?"
"About 54,000. That’s quite a lot for a western native settlement."
At that size, they were comparable to the large tribes from the time of Genghis Khan.
Naturally, that many people didn’t all live crammed into a single settlement.
It was a structure with one large settlement at the center, surrounded by smaller settlements spaced out by several dozen kilometers like satellite towns.
"And the central settlement alone is home to nearly 20,000 natives."
"Then we’ll strike the center first."
We planned to launch a surprise attack at dawn.
A declaration of war?
Was there any need to give that to bastards who crossed the western border whenever they pleased without warning, pillaging property and killing civilians?
A declaration of war is just a way of building a pretext anyway. There was no need to bother with that for barbarians who’d racked up so many sins.
First, we’d smash the settlement with overwhelming firepower centered on the 88mm field guns the Design Bureau had recently produced.
In that way, we’d inflict massive damage before the shaman even finished preparing his spell, then send in troops armed with machine guns against the enemies scattering in panic.
"There must be no survivors."
"But... no matter how quickly we suppress them, some enemies are bound to flee."
"Then let’s use a mobile force made up of the guards and military trucks."
The aura-users of the guard, and military trucks, could move much faster than ordinary people.
Using their overwhelming mobility, we’d occupy the rear in advance and wipe them out from both front and back.
Could barbarians ambushed at dawn by 88mm and 76mm field guns really mount an effective response to an encirclement led by machine guns?
At the very least, I didn’t think so.
So, send the force composed of trucks and guards first to seal off the enemy’s rear.
Numbers weren’t that important.
Because this was an open plain with nothing on it.
On this steppe, where cover was impossible, even a handful of soldiers with machine guns could wipe out fleeing enemies in one go.
And so, at three in the morning the next day.
The moment we entered Aikamad territory, the mobile unit made up of the guard and vehicles headed toward the opposite side of the enemy settlement at top speed.
"Still no reaction from the Aikamad side?"
"Yes. They seem to have doubled their vigilance after hearing we were coming, but there’s been no noticeable movement."
"Well. They’ve probably never faced our weapons properly before."
Surprisingly, surprise night attacks were rare in premodern warfare.
It wasn’t some sort of etiquette like, 'let’s not attack each other while we’re sleeping.' Night raids were far more difficult than we imagine.
The night on an uncivilized steppe is dark. On a plain where the only light source is the dim moonlight, you can’t see ahead properly.
Marching in formation, without light, on a night like this on the steppe is itself a torment.
We also couldn’t escape those limitations.
"Only the 1st Division and the artillery units under the 2nd Division will participate in this battle."
That was why we couldn’t recklessly move every unit from the very first battle.
We left the Western Army to watch from slightly behind and moved only the elite 1st and 2nd Divisions, who had already gone through many battles.
But was it enough just to march? No, not at all.
Once we reached the enemy position, we’d have to fight in the dead of night, tangled together in the darkness with very little light.
In a situation where you can’t tell friend from foe, can’t distinguish front from back, can’t respond to variables, and can’t even see where attacks are coming from.
And we’re supposed to restrict our vision and fight in close quarters against barbarians who won’t die even if you smash their heads with spears?
That would just be suicide.
Even if each side only got to stab once, the ones left standing at the end would still be the barbarian warriors.
'They know that, so they’re sleeping so carefreely.'
It wasn’t as if barbarian warriors had never dealt with night raids.
It was the illusion created by their previous victories—that if they fought at night, they’d win anyway.
"Let’s correct their misconception."
Our army had no reason to give them the close-quarters fight they wanted.
As long as they were fighting up close and we were fighting at range, the drawbacks of a night raid would disappear.
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
The attack would begin at three in the morning, in the dead of night.
At the command, the artillery units under the divisions began to move.
And so, at 2:30 in the morning.
The army had approached to within 3 kilometers of the barbarians’ settlement.
Within the curtain of dark night, only the sounds of field guns moving could be heard.
The field guns deployed numbered just over a hundred in total.
An artillery force brought here with a single resolve: to crush the tribe itself.
"Your Excellency, report from the mobile force! They say the mobile force has also finished building a simple makeshift position with military vehicles!"
"Good."
Seen from the rear, the Southern Army’s 1st and 2nd Divisions now looked like a proper army.
Field guns lined up in a neat row 3 kilometers away, and 10,000 soldiers arranged as if loosely encircling the settlement.
With no way for the enemy to counter long-range fire, the formation itself was more like something from the Napoleonic Wars than World War I, but that somehow made it feel even more imposing.
'No wonder 21st-century nations hold parade formations in perfect rows.'
A sturdy shield for the Western Army, which was looking only at our backs.
A source of fear that the enemies facing the army’s muzzles couldn’t casually approach.
That was the kind of army I wanted to build.
It was good to see it gradually taking shape that way.
"The enemy settlement is reacting! They seem to have noticed our army’s approach!"
After hearing that, I used night-vision magic and visual-assistance magic, and I could see enemies shouting something from a watchtower.
"Looks like there’s someone over there who can use night-vision magic too."
The settlement lit up brightly. Warriors were moving around inside, and I could see those looking for horses. Someone was heading toward the settlement’s very center.
It looked like they were waking the shaman and asking him to cast a spell.
"Hmm, but they don’t look all that urgent, do they?"
The enemy response was calm compared to the seriousness of a night raid.
Perhaps because the distance was a little farther away, they seemed to think they still had some time before the battle started.
"Let’s show those barbarians who’ve forgotten the Empire’s grace what gunpowder tastes like."
The only thing that could move the 10,000 troops gathered here was my gesture.
Without hesitation, I pointed at the settlement and gave the order.
"Blow it away."
The result of that simple gesture was by no means light.
Like ripples spreading across the surface of water, my order spread through the units in an instant.
And then, finally, the command reached the soldier at the very front of the unit, the one holding the flare gun-
"Fire the flare!"
Fiiiiiiii-!
A sharp whistle split the silent night sky.
And then, dozens of tiny suns rose in the night sky.
As the curtain of night was lifted, the field guns hidden within it were all revealed at once. The barbarians’ eyes widened at the sight of a hundred field guns lined up in a row.
By the time the flare’s brightness had dimmed a little and they could finally open their eyes.
"All units, fire!"
The horizon was dyed in red flames.
A hundred shells cut across the night sky all at once.
***
"Since the attack will begin soon, everyone look toward the Aikamad Tribe’s settlement."
About an hour before the battle began, the Southern Army officers had ordered the Western Army soldiers that way as they set up a position on the hillside.
A place 10 kilometers from the battlefield. A spot where the Aikamad Tribe’s settlement could be seen at a glance.
The Western Army soldiers followed the order for now. The Southern command also held command authority over the Western Army.
But not a single soldier knew the reason.
"At this hour of the night? Toward that settlement?"
The dark settlement was lit by only a few faint flames.
What would you even be able to see by looking over there?
"Ah, well, I’m sure they have their reasons."
"Well... I guess so. Probably."
Most of the soldiers looked toward the settlement half in doubt.
Unlike the words of others, if it was those who had created a machine gun, a weapon even more magical than magic, they surely had a plan.
And that expectation of theirs was exactly right.
Fiiiiiiii-!
The night brightened as if it had become day.
At the same time, the tremendous noise pouring out from the artillery pounded at their hearts.
"I, I, what..."
That was the moment when the Western Army soldiers, who had flinched and covered their eyes at the flare’s light, looked back toward the settlement.
Kugugugung-!
A hundred shells landed all at once, and the inside of the settlement was swallowed in a massive explosion.