Chapter 27
"I can see the bridge!"
We raced toward the downstream bridge, and fortunately, it had not been washed away. Just as I expected. If the river flooded at Haksha, I had thought the damage downstream would not be all that severe.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. I checked behind us, but there was no sign of pursuit.
Of course, we still couldn't let our guard down. But surely it was safe to assume that we had escaped.
Even with the river flooding, it was hard to imagine the soldiers sleeping peacefully. Naturally, they would seek Wickhart-sama's orders, only to discover that he was absent.
The general who had advocated the surprise attack alongside the commander was absent as well. With the commotion on the opposite bank, it wasn't hard to imagine what had happened.
A unit would inevitably be dispatched to search for a place to cross the river while keeping watch over the opposite bank. If we could join up with that unit, we would be safe.
"Roa-dono, don't tell me Rays-sama had been stationed here from the beginning?"
Wickhart-sama rode his horse over beside me and asked.
"No?"
"But this level of tactical skill... And that pillar of flame. Wasn't that Rays-sama's strategy?"
"Ah, that? I'm glad it worked. That bluff, I mean."
"A bluff? Was there something around there capable of producing flames that high?"
"You could say there was."
"?"
"I did feel a little bad, but I took advantage of a shack belonging to some thugs who had settled in that area. Since they brought false information to us, it was only fair, right?"
Yes, before we set out, I had made two requests of Captain Ryuzel.
One was to organize the surprise-attack force. The other was this huge "bonfire." We had some soldiers stay behind, destroy the shack, then build an improvised tower and set it ablaze.
It had only been a desperate measure intended to attract the enemy's attention, but it seemed to have worked reasonably well.
"Then all these strategies were yours...?"
"No, I couldn't have done anything if Laimar-san hadn't brought us the information, and the charge depended on Captain Ryuzel..."
"Roa, that has little to do with devising a strategy. Wickhart-sama, as you say, this man was the one who came up with the plan," Captain Ryuzel said with a laugh.
"I see... I will never forget that you saved us fools. I will repay this debt. I swear I will."
"You're making too much of it. Besides, we can't be certain we've escaped yet," I said.
"No, it seems we have made it back safely," Captain Ryuzel said.
In the direction Captain Ryuzel indicated, I could make out the small figures of soldiers from the Sixth Knight Order running toward us.
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I am a complete idiot.
Maybe being praised by Captain Ryuzel as a "strategist" went to my head, and I got carried away.
I had made a blunder I never should have made.
I had neglected to check.
I realized it only after the sun had fully risen and the encampment of the Sixth Knight Order had come into view.
That day, no matter how long we waited, Laimar-san and the others never returned.
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The atmosphere in camp was heavy.
According to a cavalry soldier from Laimar-san's unit who had joined the rescue force and returned safely, Laimar-san had kept the enemy occupied until the very end.
When people began saying that it was time to withdraw, he replied, "Yeah, we'll fall back right away! Those who can withdraw, run!" Those were his last words. No one saw Laimar-san again.
With the enemy desperately pursuing them, those at the rear had no time to watch their surroundings. On top of that, it had been the middle of the night, and visibility was nonexistent. Shouting would have been like telling the enemy exactly where they were. The returning soldier had naturally assumed that Laimar-san was running nearby as well.
To sortie again and rescue Laimar-san.
That was impossible.
The Sixth Knight Order had marched out because Wickhart-sama had, and Laimar-san had moved for the same reason. We couldn't choose to sortie for Laimar-san's sake and put ourselves in an even worse predicament.
Everyone in camp understood that.
So although no one said it aloud, the opposition's eyes were fixed on Skudelia-san. Everyone wanted to believe that Skudelia-san was responsible for what had happened.
The true cause was Wickhart-sama. He was the one who made the decision, and the one who couldn't be stopped. He was the one who had marched out on the strength of overly optimistic assumptions.
But now was not the time to blame him. It would damage morale. So the condemnation that had nowhere else to go was directed at Skudelia-san.
Captain Ryuzel was the one who broke the oppressive silence.
"...In any case, the Tenth Knight Order should arrive in a few days. Whatever action we take, we should wait until then. We will continue buying time while remaining alert for Golbel's army to circle around from the north or south. Is that acceptable?"
"...I have no objections."
Wickhart-sama answered briefly, and the somber, wake-like war council came to an end.
Several days later, when the main force of the Tenth Knight Order arrived, Franklurt's army promptly withdrew, as though it had been waiting for them.