Battle of the Haksha Plains (8): Escape

After my meeting with Laimar-san, I asked Captain Ryuzel for help, and we raced upstream with nearly the entire Ryuzel Unit.

The bridge to the north was our destination. It was some distance away, so with the river in danger of flooding, we had to hurry as much as possible.

There were two reasons we headed for the northern bridge. If Wickhart-sama's departure for battle was unavoidable, sending reinforcements was our only option.

To keep casualties to a minimum, we wanted to make a wide detour so the enemy wouldn't notice the reinforcements.

There were bridges to the north and south, but reaching the southern one meant passing by the Sixth Knight Order.

Since the surprise-attack force had not yet set out, if our movements were noticed, they would likely stop us and ask what was going on. At worst, it could lead to fighting among our own forces.

I also wanted to check the bridge's condition—to see whether it would remain passable even if the river flooded. If we charged in from the north, we'd probably escape south.

But in the worst case, we also had to be prepared to abandon the rescue and turn back. In other words, heading north again would mean we had failed to save them.

To put it bluntly, the bridge on the northern side was extremely flimsy. There was a village nearby, so the villagers must have rebuilt it each time it was washed away. Even in the darkness, it was easy to see how simply it had been built, as though it would be washed away again anyway.

"It took longer than I expected," Captain Ryuzel muttered...