Chapter 121
Although the forces of the Este Kingdom and the Ecrini Kingdom, who were not even human and barely felt like allies, were not at all reliable,
Fortunately, the imperial forces here gave a strong impression of being excellent allies.
After several engagements, the remaining force was about 25,000 strong,
"I'm Philipp Hackelstein, commander of the 7th Corps' 2nd Archery Brigade."
"I'm Gottfried Heinze, captain of the Andau Guard."
Perhaps because they were forces gathered from the border with the Este Kingdom, the proportion of longbowmen was large enough to organize them into a separate brigade.
In addition, most of the 13,000 infantry were medium infantry using shields, and there were only 2,000 cavalry.
Although it didn't match the ordinary imperial army doctrine that considered heavy cavalry as the main force, it was a unique composition that could come about assuming they would mainly face elves.
And it was also an appropriate composition for facing Caligo's forces, which enjoyed full-scale battles utilizing individual combat power of orcs and guerrilla warfare of elves as their main force.
"Brigade Commander Gröben, please take the lead of the second unit. The role of the 2nd Infantry Brigade is important."
"Understood."
Moreover, the lineup of officers gathered here was also good.
Hannes Gröben, who pointed out shortcomings to a general who came with the Empress's full authority, was impressive.
And there were no others who would cause problems like some officers of the 5th Corps.
"You need to focus more on grasping the movements of our allies than those of the enemy."
"...Yes."
Viktor prepared for the operation by giving instructions to various units, such as delivering separate instructions to reduce unnecessary losses of the scout units.
---
After completing the preparation for the operation, Viktor first had his appointment announced to the lower-ranking commanders and soldiers.
"Tell the soldiers. From today, the imperial forces will be commanded by General Viktor Steilberg."
"Yes. I will convey it clearly."
As the high-ranking officers had already recognized Viktor's command authority,
Although some thought it was meaningless ostentation or desire for fame, following Viktor's instructions, the high-ranking officers conveyed to the lower-ranking commanders that Viktor would now command the imperial forces.
"It's said that the overall commander of the imperial forces has changed to General Viktor Steilberg. Take note of this."
"...? Understood."
The lower-ranking commanders then conveyed the news of Viktor's appointment to the soldiers.
"Why did it suddenly change?"
"Well. Does it matter?"
"Maybe not."
Soldiers going to the battlefield are mostly close to the lower-ranking commanders who directly give them orders, and the main duty of lower-ranking commanders below the company commander level is to carry out the orders of the superior commanders leading the unit.
Therefore, unless tactics or the situation within the unit changed significantly, the change of the highest-ranking commander didn't give much impression to them.
Even when Gerhart came, the morale of the soldiers rose a little because someone well-known among them had arrived, but that was all.
"Viktor? Sounds familiar..."
"Hey, be careful. He's representing the full authority of Her Majesty the Empress."
"...If we make a mistake, will we get whacked?"
"Ugh, it gives me chills..."
There was little thought or reason to come forward and resist like Hannes, even if Viktor, who had relatively less fame and had spent less time in the empire, replaced that position.
"...He'll do well, right?"
"Of course. Her Majesty sent him."
Moreover, with the added authority of being the Empress' representative,
Vaguely hoping that Viktor would do well was all they could do.
"What did Lord Gerhart say?"
"He said his strategy and command are superior to any general."
"If he says that much..."
As Gerhart actively supported Viktor in the process of handing over authority, even those who were dissatisfied with the proven general Gerhart stepping down swallowed their complaints for now and followed Viktor's instructions.
Of course, almost no one thought that a major change would come just because the overall commander had changed to Viktor.
From the very next day, when they started marching divided into two units with the dwarves in between, the imperial forces could perceive the change.
The imperial forces, gathered from various affiliations including the 7th Corps and the Andau Guard from the southern region, had been struggling with formation and formation creation despite their elite status, but,
"...?"
"...Did you hear that too?"
"Yeah."
Although bewildered by the suddenly heard instructions, they moved accordingly, and they were able to maintain formation and move by unit even though they were moving clustered while divided in half.
"..."
The slight confusion didn't last long.
Following the clear instructions felt in their heads, the soldiers moved their feet.
Maintaining appropriate spacing between soldiers, the soldiers marched comfortably, and the lower-ranking commanders, who usually had to be on edge in case someone made a mistake, could also feel much less burdened.
"...Were humans always like that?"
"Doesn't it seem different somehow?"
The dwarves of the Ecrini Kingdom, marching slightly behind the imperial forces with them on both sides in front, vaguely recognized that something had changed about the imperial forces.
As Viktor deliberately commanded to make it look overall disorganized, they didn't grasp the fact that the imperial forces' unit-level formations were close to perfect.
"Don't they seem to have strangely well-matched speed?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
"Is that so...?"
Some of the dwarves marching at the front, watching the rear of the imperial forces, recognized that the two divided forces, despite the different terrain on both sides, were marching at a similar speed without falling far behind.
As the basis was merely a guess that "it seems so," it didn't go up as a report to superiors.
However, some dwarves continued to watch the imperial forces with a more cautious eye.
The situation with the elves was not much different.
"There were no special circumstances."
"Really?"
As there had been friction between Viktor and Vittorio, the elves continued to detect the imperial forces behind while moving to the front, but the marching imperial forces didn't seem much different from the outside.
"For now, keep watching."
"Understood."
As Viktor even occasionally spaced out units or regiments pretending to make mistakes, it was difficult to grasp the situation of the imperial forces by monitoring while maintaining an undetected distance.
"It's probably nothing anyway, right?"
"It's not like humans have only been proud for a day or two."
"Yeah, we should understand them."
As they were people with basic contempt for other races, many didn't think they needed to raise their vigilance towards the imperial forces or Viktor.
"They will realize how superior a race elves are."
"That's right. Even though the Labria fellows are idiots, elves are elves."
There were even those who subtly supported the enemy country, the Labria Republic, saying that although their country was in danger, they could never accept the elven race being looked down upon.
"We found some traces, but no imperial scout units were discovered."
"Really? ...Well. How could they dare to set foot in the forest against elves."
As there were no signs of imperial scout unit movements afterwards, the elves headed to the imperial camp with the information collected by their scouts, full of pride.
"This is the enemy's current position confirmed by our scouts. And... on this map, I've drawn the expected movement route considering the discovery points."
As it was information prepared by dispatching even the scouting forces they had been saving, they expected a strong reaction from Viktor.
"..."
Viktor, who read the materials prepared by the elves,
"...Amazing."
He opened his eyes wide and brought his face close to the document, almost burying his nose in it.
"This is great information. Hmm, it's information we couldn't have known at all. Hmm, hmm. Thank you."
"Should we proceed with the operation as planned?"
"Of course. At this rate, there should be no problem."
The elf who had handed over the documents left Viktor's tent in a good mood, not seeing Viktor's sneer hidden behind the papers.
"...Do we have to go this far?"
"They must be looking down on us. Honestly... I'm a bit worried."
As Viktor deployed deception towards the elves and dwarves, some staff and officers expressed concern, but,
"The more they look down on us, the more they don't know us, the greater their mistakes will be."
"..."
"Elves freely utilize the forest, and dwarves are powerful when clustered together. Only when they think we are a slow and dull but passionate army can we finally use them."
Viktor's determination was firm.
"But..."
"Do you think honor and prestige are more important than victory, than reducing our casualties?"
"That's... not it."
"We are not volunteers. We are not weak enough to desperately need them. However, they don't think so right now."
"..."
He looked around at the gathered officers.
"When we've pressed down the noses of the elves who constantly despise us as inferior, when the dwarves who just dawdle become a meaningful force. That's when we should step in."
"...Understood."
As they were imperial officers who had suffered directly or indirectly due to the attitudes of dwarves and elves, they could understand Viktor's words.
Thus, with the dwarves and elves remaining the same as before, and only the interior of the imperial forces having changed,
"...We've arrived."
The allied forces arrived at Adige, which had been designated as the place where the battle would take place.