Chapter 101
"Let's go! Drive out the enemy!"
"They may be many, but they're just mercenaries scraped together with money! They're no match for us!"
Kai Schuh and other 5th Corps officers moved among the advancing troops, encouraging the soldiers.
"This is an order from Deputy Corps Commander Axel Lübeck! Stop the advance!"
A messenger arrived with Axel's order, but,
"No! Now is the perfect opportunity while the enemy hasn't properly formed their ranks!"
"What...!"
"Go back and tell him! We'll keep moving forward!"
Kai, who had gained Volker's trust second only to Florian and had become a representative of the dissatisfied officers, shouted and pressured the messenger.
The messenger was dumbfounded at Kai's response, which completely ignored the message.
"This is insubordination! The Deputy Corps Commander will..."
"Ha. You want us to follow the orders of someone who sold out Volker and is now trying to sell us out too?"
"...!"
"The Red Dragon Corps crossed the Ceres Gate, but we completely pacified Al Cante. There's no reason for us to bow down, so why should we keep bowing to them?"
"..."
"Go back and convey our intentions."
The messenger left, almost fleeing, under the ominous gazes of the officers.
"...Is this really alright?"
"Are you worried?"
"..."
Baron Kurt Brönner, standing nearby, cautiously asked.
Kai looked around at the officers who had similarly anxious expressions as Kurt and grinned.
"Is there anything to worry about? Her Majesty ordered the conquest of the Esperian Kingdom, and aren't we carrying that out?"
"That's true, but..."
"What matters is results. If we keep achieving merits, even Viktor, who has Her Majesty's favor, won't be able to treat us carelessly."
"What about Deputy Corps Commander Axel and Baron Pfalz?"
"Ah, you mean those lackeys of Viktor?"
"..."
Despite Kai's confident retort, the officers' expressions didn't brighten.
They had gained confidence after completely taking control of Al Cante, which was practically empty.
Based on that confidence, they had moved the troops together with Kai as promised, but.
"...Then, don't we need to win? We only have about 6,000 troops we can control."
"They say the enemy has nearly 10,000 cavalry alone..."
Faced with a seemingly difficult battle, the officers couldn't shake off their worries.
"...Haha. Now that we're on the battlefield, have your worries grown?"
Kai lightly mocked such officers, then.
"I told you clearly last time. Do you really think you'll be alright after betraying General Volker?"
He glared intensely at the wavering officers.
"To him, we're nothing but a group of traitors. Just as you easily turned your backs on General Volker, Viktor will easily discard us too."
"Corps Commander Viktor clearly..."
"Don't you understand yet? As long as we're dragged along by his instructions, we'll have to keep relying on his choices and begging for his mercy."
"That..."
"The choice is yours. You can retreat now if you want. But this is our only chance to prove our worth to Her Majesty."
The officers, harboring uneasiness and dissatisfaction, closed their mouths at Kai's words pointing out such things, and,
"And, we won't be fighting alone."
Kai smiled again, changing the atmosphere.
"Viktor didn't completely exclude us from the battlefield. That means they still need us, and Deputy Corps Commander Axel has no choice but to be mindful of us."
"...Is that so."
At the words that the rest of the imperial army would move too, the officers' expressions relaxed slightly, and,
"They'll end up moving too. When that happens, won't the credit for victory go to us who took the vanguard?"
As if confirming Kai's words,
"The Red Dragon Corps has started moving too!"
"...Is that true?"
"Didn't I tell you? They have no choice but to move."
"..."
News came that the Red Dragon Corps and the remaining 5th Corps troops had moved as well.
"...Well, we just need to win, right!"
"Let's do our best!"
"It would be foolish to back down now. Let's go!"
Although he didn't present a clear strategy for victory in battle, this was enough to push the backs of the officers who had already taken to the field.
In the end, the officers persuaded by Kai showed confidence again and raised their spirits.
---
As Volker was a general with enough common sense not to mistreat important officers, Kai's 4,000 troops were elite forces including 2,000 cavalry.
As befitting elite troops, they were in charge of the 5th Corps' vanguard, and,
"Follow me! Let's go!"
"What? Are we marching?"
"Should we just follow?"
"Uh... maybe we should go."
As such a vanguard shouted for advance and set off, some of the soldiers waiting behind them followed along in confusion, and eventually nearly half of the 5th Corps' forces ended up moving.
"The enemy on the left is climbing the hill!"
"...Hmm? What about the Red Dragon Corps?"
"They're moving towards the forces on the left. They're still far, so they won't be able to join immediately."
"This is our chance. Move according to Plan 2!"
Sancho, who had tried to take out the 5th Corps' forces first rather than the dangerous Red Dragon Corps, didn't miss the opportunity.
"...All troops, advance."
"Yes!"
Thinking that the time to control Kai's forces had already passed, Axel reluctantly led his troops to follow, and,
"We'll set out too, support the 5th Corps."
Viktor, who didn't want to waste forces uselessly, detected the kingdom army's movement to concentrate attacks on the 5th Corps and moved towards the 5th Corps to support, but.
"The Red Dragon Corps is coming to our rear?"
"That's right."
In Kai's eyes, that movement appeared with a completely different intention.
"...Look. See how they're eager to finish off the enemy we've weakened, without any thought of attacking the vulnerable opposite side!"
"The Corps Commander said he would support..."
"Before they steal our role, we need to establish clear merits!"
"...I guess we have no choice."
"Increase speed!"
Before the misunderstanding could be cleared up, Kai raised his voice and ignored the messenger's words, and the officers' unease grew.
As a result, the 5th Corps' advance accelerated.
Towards such a 5th Corps, the kingdom's soldiers began to pour in.
"Let's go!"
"For Esperia!"
As planned, a small number of heavy cavalry units charged down the slope towards Kai's cavalry, and,
"Charge!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
The mercenary infantry units that had gathered to start the battle fought with the 5th Corps infantry and gradually widened their formation sideways according to the strategy in the pouches Sancho had distributed.
-Thud!
"Argh!"
"You should have brought twice as many to beat us!"
Kai's cavalry, superior in both quality and quantity, pushed back the kingdom's heavy cavalry despite the unfavorable terrain, but,
"Enemy cavalry!"
"Gather! Form a square!"
The relatively free light cavalry aimed at the flanks of the 5th Corps and Axel's forces that had followed to support, drawing attention.
"The enemy is retreating!"
"Yeah, that's how these mercenary bastards are!"
In addition, the mercenary units in the center that had been fighting with the imperial infantry began to retreat as per Sancho's instructions, who was watching the situation from the hill, drawing in the 5th Corps infantry.
"The collapse is too fast. Something's suspicious!"
"...No, we need to chase them until they're pushed off the hill! Let's go!"
Although some officers were suspicious that it was too early for them to collapse, it was true that they were pushing back the mercenaries due to differences in equipment and skill.
Kai, who had momentarily doubted the enemy's intentions, weighed the gains and losses and ordered pursuit.
The 5th Corps infantry, thinking they had won, increased their speed to chase them.
"The enemy is pursuing!"
"It was this pouch. ...I see. Now, it's our turn!"
"Yes!"
The kingdom's officers on the scene judged that the lure had succeeded and immediately prepared to surround the protruding enemy infantry.
The regular troops hidden behind the mercenary units ran down to attack the flanks, and the retreating mercenaries also turned around to grab the 5th Corps.
"Enemy on the flanks! It's regular troops!"
"The enemy in front is forming ranks again!"
"Suddenly? ...Damn it. Stop the pursuit! Maintain formation, reinforcements are coming!"
The 5th Corps officers couldn't keep up with the kingdom army's immediate movements, and the 5th Corps' vanguard only stopped their pursuit after being already surrounded by the enemy.
"Keep advancing! We need to save our allies!"
"Cavalry coming from the left!"
"Dieter! Protect the flank! We absolutely can't be broken through!"
Axel's forces struggled to rescue Kai's troops, but with only infantry left, they were caught by the kingdom's light cavalry hammering their flanks and couldn't properly gain speed.
"...They're running away."
"They turned their horses as soon as they saw us."
"Hah..."
Moreover, the light cavalry made full use of their mobility, avoiding the Red Dragon Corps' cavalry that had arrived on the battlefield first as much as possible while persistently harassing only the 5th Corps.
"Eek... Come if you dare! No matter how many come, we won't lose!"
They even checked Kai's cavalry, which had slowed down due to clashes with heavy cavalry, leaving the 5th Corps in a situation where they could only wait for the Red Dragon Corps' help with their hands and feet tied.
"Keep your spirits up! Reinforcements are coming!"
Although Kai felt anxious about the situation not going as expected, he desperately commanded the cavalry without losing hope.
"...Did it succeed?"
"You're amazing, Your Excellency."
"It's not over yet. We should watch a bit more, but..."
A smile spread across Sancho's lips as he watched the battle progressing systematically, though it looked chaotic.
"Not bad."
He was particularly pleased with the cavalry moving appropriately according to his intentions.
-Ratatatatat!
Even in this situation, the Red Dragon Corps moved steadily as the 5th Corps wanted, pushing away the kingdom's cavalry lingering around with warning shots, but,
"...They say the 5th Corps is about to be surrounded. Should we increase our speed?"
"No."
Despite advancing smoothly, Viktor's expression was sharp, as if barely containing his anger.
"We should give them time to realize what they've done."
"..."
To Viktor, who had confirmed Kai's series of movements, the 5th Corps under Kai was no longer an ally to stand back to back with.
The officers who were seeing such an aspect of Viktor for the first time, or in a long time, quietly bowed their heads and followed his instructions.