Chapter 106
Zegabain crumpled to the ground before me.
"Roa-dono, the helmet," Wickhart said. I dismounted Arrow and tore Zegabain's helmet free.
"Dick." At Wickhart's command, Dick took the helmet from me, raised it on the end of his club, and drew in a deep breath.
"Enemy commander Zegabain!!!!!! The Roa Unit has slain him!!!!! Soldiers, surrender at once!!!"
His voice was so loud that I instinctively covered my ears, even though I was standing right beside him. The Zegabain army had certainly heard it, and the units on either side might have as well.
In response to Dick's shout, voices rang out from various places: "Zegabain has been slain!" and "Your commander is gone!!"
The Zegabain unit was already half-destroyed and being ravaged by the Roa Unit and the twins. At these words, most of its soldiers finally lost the will to fight.
As some soldiers continued resisting, others threw down their weapons and fled, while still others surrendered on the spot and begged for their lives. The battlefield became a scene of utter chaos.
The Golbel units on either side of the Zegabain army also noticed the disturbance and began sending some of their men as reinforcements.
I watched the movements of both forces from beside Dick.
The battle should have been decided. A calm assessment would show that continuing to fight offered Golbel no benefit at all. Retreat—please, retreat! Still, I glared at the marching troops as if praying.
How long had it been? In a span that felt both fleeting and interminable, Wickhart murmured,
"The enemy banners are starting to come down... Roa-dono, we have won."
The Golbel soldiers slowly began to withdraw from the battlefield.
I simply exhaled a quiet cloud of white breath.
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We returned to the fortress.
The wounded who had remained in the fortress and the soldiers of the Fourth Knight Order who had returned ahead of us welcomed us with thunderous cheers. Lapilia's unit was among them as well.
"I'm glad Lapilia-sama is safe, too," I said sincerely.
"That Rodelight fellow withdrew the moment he heard someone shout that Zegabain had been slain. That man can run terrifyingly fast, too," she said with a shrug. Apparently, the lack of any real battle had left her feeling rather deflated.
"And Boldras-sama?"
"There was nothing worth mentioning."
The Fourth Knight Order had taken on two Golbel units with only a small number of soldiers, but our breakthrough had been faster than expected, so the enemy withdrew before this became a more grueling battle of attrition than anticipated.
Thank goodness... That was all I could say.
"Roa-chan, that's Zegabain's helmet, isn't it?"
"Ah, yes."
"Hold it aloft and raise the victory cry."
"What? If it's a victory cry, wouldn't Boldras-sama or Hock-san be better...?"
"No. You do it."
With no room for argument in her tone, I awkwardly raised Zegabain's helmet.
"There have been many sacrifices, but... this battle... was ours!!!!"
"Oooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!"
The heat of the victory roar was enough to melt the falling snow, and the cry continued to echo for a long time.
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Although victory here was assured, it was not yet time for a victory feast. Fighting might still be underway in Ellen's village to the north and at Shwaba Fortress to the south.
Still, with Zegabain dead and the army withdrawn from Kitzar Fortress, the northern and southern forces would likely withdraw as soon as word reached them.
We could not move immediately either, but we needed to at least lay the groundwork for a route for reinforcements.
Though our bodies were utterly exhausted, we let the soldiers rest while the senior officers gathered in the usual room.
The war council began with Boldras-sama offering his thanks to everyone, after which he gave instructions for our next steps.
"I'll rejoin the Second Knight Order tomorrow morning," Hock-san said. She had been a tremendous help, but I wondered whether it was really right for her not to command the Second Knight Order from beginning to end.
"For now, I'll rejoin Raiz-sama as well. My unit still has strength to spare," Lapilia-sama said. Even now, however, the Lapilia Unit was taking responsibility for keeping watch in the snow.
"Then the Roa Unit will..." I began, but Lapilia-sama cut me off: "You need to get some proper rest."
"Um... may I say something?"
Once the discussion had mostly settled, Sazaby raised his hand.
"As a scribe, I have to report to the king. Would it be all right to list Roa-san as the foremost contributor this time?" he suddenly asked.
"W-wait... That's not right, is it?!" I hurriedly protested, but Sazaby continued.
"Considering that you devised the strategy that gave us the advantage and slew Zegabain, I think it would be objectively appropriate."
"I agree. Roa-dono's contribution was clearly the greatest here," Boldras-sama added.
"Sounds good to me. I have no objections," even Hock-san said.
"No, wait! I can't accept that! It was the people of the Fourth Knight Order who defended the fortress by putting their lives on the line! And even with my strategy, it was Wickhart and Sazaby who carried out the dangerous parts. If we're talking about merit, they should receive the credit!"
"Of course, I'll report all the achievements, including my own, but this sort of thing requires the king to honor one person as the foremost contributor, so it sounds good to the people."
"I understand what Sazaby means, but if that's the case, it absolutely has to be Wickhart. I won't budge on that. Otherwise, every soldier in the fortress deserves the highest honor. Is that clear? If you don't report it that way, I'll have you removed from my unit."
"You'd dismiss a subordinate for trying to report his superior's accomplishments!?"
"No means no!" I had done practically nothing. The people who had fought desperately for four days were the reason we were here now. I was in no position to receive the highest honor.
"Roa-chan, you're quite something. Sazaby-chan, why not report it as Roa-chan said: that every soldier who defended this fortress deserves equal credit? It was a hard-fought battle. I doubt King Zeurasia will object."
"Hmm... Then, taking this exchange into account, would it be all right to submit that kind of report?"
"I have no objection."
Once I gave my approval, that matter was settled. After the remaining details were dealt with, the day finally came to an end.
The next morning, the Zetta Plain was in the grip of a full-blown blizzard.
Before Hock-san and Lapilia-sama could depart, the first report arrived from the northern and southern battlefields: "Golbel soldiers are retreating!"