Chapter 123
The elves of the Labria Republic couldn't properly respond to the almost simultaneous attacks from the Este Kingdom forces and the imperial army, and having lost many troops, they retreated towards their main force.
The allied forces pursued the fleeing enemy.
The heavily armored dwarves weren't advantageous for pursuit, but emotionally, they broke their square formation and chased after them.
The elves of the Este Kingdom actively struck at the fleeing enemy as if they absolutely couldn't let them escape.
Although they couldn't completely eradicate the Labria Republic forces due to their superior mobility, they were able to inflict significant damage.
As a result, the allied forces completely drove the Labria Republic forces out of Adige.
"15 scouts were injured, and 7 died. Most casualties occurred from accidents during movement."
"About 2,800 infantry were injured. The number of deaths is estimated at around 600."
"Brigade Commander Jürgen Kessler. When can we have a more detailed tally?"
"We're currently confirming."
The imperial forces were the first to stop the pursuit and set up temporary positions, beginning to settle accounts along with cleaning up the battlefield, when.
"...!"
"...Over here..."
Suddenly, the outside became noisy, and,
-Flutter.
"Hey!"
Blake, still not having removed his armor, entered the imperial forces' tent.
Viktor, who had been receiving reports, immediately stood up and approached Blake, who was snorting heavily.
"You've come at a good time. I had something to say."
"Something to say? Don't be ridiculous. Your movements were completely different from the plan!"
Displeased with Viktor's seemingly welcoming but brazen response, he raised his voice sharply.
"Our movements?"
"Yes! The enemy freely entered our flank! Do you know how much damage we suffered because of that!"
He shouted loud enough to make the tent resonate, but.
"The plan... right."
Unlike the other officers who frowned, Viktor spoke without any change in expression, snapping his fingers.
"The plan. What I wanted to say is also related to the plan. Seeing you come here like this, did you know in advance?"
"What?"
As Viktor didn't react to the anger at all and uttered meaningful words,
"According to our plan, we and the elves were supposed to be hiding in the forests on both sides, ambushing the enemy attacking you."
"..."
Blake's anger gradually turned into bewilderment.
"But, the elves suddenly pulled all their forces back."
"...The elves?"
"Yes. They exchanged a few attacks when the scout units encountered each other, but then suddenly the entire main force retreated."
"How did you know that?"
At the suspicious question, Viktor shrugged.
"If it were you, would you trust the elves and just do your job thinking they'd handle it well? I'm not a fool, of course I dispatched scouts. Didn't you know?"
"Ahem... Well. They are that kind of race."
As Viktor revealed his distrust towards elves, Blake nodded, recalling the deeply rooted elf hatred at the racial level, but.
"So, what does that have to do with anything? Wasn't it your role to protect our flank!"
Knowing that if he stopped his criticism, the responsibility could fall on him,
He shook his head as if suddenly realizing and pressed Viktor again.
"Didn't we definitely fulfill our role of protecting the flank and rear and providing support? In fact, we won the battle."
"That's not the important thing..."
Viktor, who skipped over the question by talking about the result,
"If you're trying to argue about such things, I don't understand why you came to me."
"..."
He cut off Blake's words, hardening his expression.
"We just had to stop early because the elves suddenly retreated. Wasn't it also because of the elves that you suddenly stopped?"
"...That's right."
In fact, Blake hadn't known at all that the elves had retreated first, and had just stopped his forces immediately upon hearing news that battle had broken out.
As Viktor shifted their responsibility to the elves, he readily accepted those words.
"We had no choice. If you want to argue about right and wrong, go argue with the elves."
"..."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"...I'll be going."
Unlike before, Blake, his face red with embarrassment and shame, quietly left the tent.
"Oh..."
"Seems he knows it's embarrassing."
"Hmm, hmm."
The officers marveled at the sight of Blake, who had never lowered his pride before, retreating first, but,
"..."
Viktor remained standing still, staring into space even after Blake had left.
A moment later.
"...Move aside..."
"...!"
Familiar commotion was heard, and,
-Thud!
"You humans... Tch, you're even settling accounts now. Is this saying the battle ended long ago?"
This time, Vittorio appeared, full of irritation.
"What's the matter?"
"What's the matter? There's a limit to shamelessness. You humans ruined all the plans!"
"The plan. Haha..."
Viktor let out a dry laugh and approached Vittorio, who was fuming.
"While the dwarves held the center with their square formation, you were supposed to strike the enemy, and we were to support. Didn't it go perfectly according to plan?"
"...Hmph. The location of the battle, your position, were all different from the operation plan, what? According to plan?"
Vittorio, who was about to thrust his face forward, snorted and stepped back to speak, but,
"This bastard is...!"
Viktor extended his hand to stop the officers who flinched at this disrespectful attitude,
"...We're the ones who are dumbfounded. Our plan was to position our forces between the dwarves and you. Is it a problem that we moved to the rear because you were in the rear?"
"..."
"Did you think we wouldn't know that you pulled back not just a little, but all your main forces?"
He shut Vittorio up by calmly arguing point by point.
"...It's not just that you moved your forces to the rear, you also stopped the pursuit at will. If you humans had kept chasing..."
"If we had chased? Most of us are medium infantry, and our cavalry can't run through dense forests. As far as I know, the elves have always been in charge of pursuit, did you think I wouldn't know?"
"..."
Unlike the conversation with the dwarves where he had turned the arrow of anger towards the elves, Viktor directly and strongly pressured Vittorio.
"Why don't you just say it freely? That we should all go out and die, and you should take all the credit."
"That's..."
"That's not it? Hah..."
Viktor sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"We clearly came as support forces. General Gerhart had no choice because Her Majesty ordered it, but I was given full authority. Do you know what that means?"
"..."
"If you keep showing this attitude, we can just pull our forces back to the border."
"What are you..."
Thinking it was nonsense, that they would be attacked next after them.
Vittorio raised his head, thinking of various excuses and rebuttals, but,
"..."
He met Viktor's unwavering eyes, having lost the certainty that the imperial forces wouldn't run away.
Vittorio, who had already lost his momentum, could only tremble with anger, unable to speak confidently as he had when he entered the tent.
"It's not just us. The dwarves also know about your unilateral retreat."
"Those dwarf bastards...?"
"What do you think was the reason they suddenly stopped and formed a square formation?"
"..."
Viktor approached Vittorio, who had stopped moving, and put his hand on his shoulder.
"We'll let it slide just this once. If this happens again, we'll have no choice but to act on our own."
"..."
"Go now. The dwarves seem quite angry too, try to appease them."
Vittorio, who had clenched his fists so hard that blood flowed, nodded his head slightly once and left the tent.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Not long after, a faint cry full of resentment could be heard.
---
Although I was the one who mentioned Caligo's danger to Louise, and he is indeed a dangerous enemy.
It's not a situation so dangerous and urgent that we need to embrace allies who commit such acts in a battle that wasn't even against many enemies.
Caligo is dangerous because he easily increases his forces by almost absorbing the national power of defeated countries, and is an enemy who blindly charges in without a ceasefire.
Moreover, with elite forces including the Red Dragon Corps prepared, and the Dragonian Empire having already stabilized the north, east, and west to some extent.
Unless Caligo absorbs all the dwarves, he's not an opponent we can't defeat.
"Still, I feel a bit more at ease."
"Did you hear that shouting earlier? I've never seen anything like that, really."
The reason I prioritize the preservation of the imperial forces the most is because of that.
Rather than dealing with these un-ally-like beings and getting stressed, it's more efficient to just let them do as they please and for us to do our own thing.
As long as we're fighting in the Este Kingdom, they have nowhere to run anyway.
If we just look at the results, their thoughts and my thoughts might be similar.
We're trying to use a clear enemy to weaken those who could become enemies someday.
"Is this really okay?"
"They were the ones who violated the operation plan first, so we have no reason to back down."
"...The commander's words are right."
Although Hannes asked me anxiously, the elves probably won't change even more than he expects.
It's not like they've experienced a life-threatening crisis, so would their sky-high pride suddenly disappear?
Just like they came and shouted once earlier, they'll just express their anger a lot and repeat what they've been doing.
So, what I need to do is simple.
Of course, if the elves repent and actively cooperate, we'll try to block the enemy's attack together.
If not, since there's little chance that the Este Kingdom can withstand Caligo's attack.
Until the central reinforcements, including the Red Dragon Corps, arrive, we'll continue to consume the forces of the Este Kingdom, which could potentially become a temporary enemy country.
"Then, let's continue with the settlement."
"Yes."
I continued the settlement of the Battle of Adige with the officers.