Chapter 90. Preliminary Skirmish (1)

The vast, dense forest was like a swamp that swallowed people.

The lush trees and grass obscured the vision of those who entered, hindered their movement, and left wounds on their bodies.

Those unfamiliar with such forests were likely to lose their way and wander, but,

-Rustle. Rustle.

The kingdom's scouts under Alejo's command moved without hesitation through the Dronado Forest, where even a few meters ahead were barely visible.

Carrying specially made small crossbows, dressed in light clothing with dark brown cloaks, they left marks only they could recognize and communicated through gestures without making a sound.

Those who grew up in this area were familiar with the forest, and among them, the ones selected and trained were those with quick and agile movements.

The scouts moved around the forest as if it were their own backyard, preparing traps everywhere and checking the outskirts for imperial army movements.

"Installation complete."

"Good. The 8th unit is working at the stream over there, so be careful."

"Yes, understood."

Alejo received reports in the rear tent, coordinating dozens of scout units while recalling his time as an active scout roaming the Dronado Forest.

Their original goal was just to intercept enemy scouts, but for certain annihilation, Alejo set traps mainly in the inner parts of the forest and deployed scouts.

"...Can you tell me the plan?"

"Of course."

Baron Paco Fernández, who was waiting with light infantry in preparation for emergencies, watched Alejo's actions from the side and asked about his plan after those who received Alejo's orders left the tent.

"...So, this is the current deployment situation of our scout units. The expected engagement areas are this stream, here, here, and here."

"...I'll trust only Baron Banderas."

Of course, as Sancho had entrusted Alejo with securing the Dronado Forest, Paco, who had been briefed in advance, nodded after hearing the explanation, saying he would follow Alejo's plan.

"Good."

With even Paco fully agreeing to follow, Alejo smiled with satisfaction.

The Dronado Forest had no history of being breached by the enemy when he set his mind to defend it.

"Unless the enemy's main force comes and pushes through the forest, they won't be able to properly set foot in the Dronado Forest."

He showed strong confidence.

Although the enemy was said to possess powerful weapons called guns,

"They might have been powerful in field battles or sieges, but I'll prove that our methods are right in this forest."

He wasn't afraid of them, at least inside the forest.

This was the same for the scouts in the field,

'Just try to shoot.'

'They said the range is about 100m, right? It won't be difficult.'

'Just make a sound. I'll put a hole in you right away.'

They hid in their designated positions, holding their breath waiting for the unsuspecting imperial scouts to set foot.

However, their confidence didn't last long.

-Ratatatatat! Thud! Crack!

"Ugh..."

"...!"

Those waiting on the outskirts of the forest, where trees were relatively less dense, were suddenly attacked.

Ten bullets were fired, and while most were blocked by trees and grass, one reached a waiting scout, tearing through his body.

The unlucky scout died on the spot with a groan.

His comrades hurriedly looked towards where the gunshots came from, but the grass and trees equally obstructed the kingdom's vision.

As being unilaterally pinpointed was a great crisis,

The kingdom's scout unit communicated through hand gestures even in the urgent situation, moving in the opposite direction of the sound while minimizing noise, but,

-Ratatatatat!

"Ugh..."

"Ack."

As if they had already fully grasped their movements and were pursuing, the continuing gunshots didn't diminish in volume.

Thinking they would keep chasing them, the scouts moved towards the inner part of the forest so their allies could attack them, and,

"...Is it that way?"

"Move."

Other nearby units also gathered to find the attackers upon hearing the sound, but,

"It was definitely this way."

"...Did you come up empty-handed there too?"

Unlike the information that it was difficult to move quickly in the forest while carrying guns, when they arrived at where the sound came from, they only encountered other scout units who had similarly come up empty-handed.

-Bang! Ratatatatat!

"Oh no."

"Move quickly!"

As if mocking them, gunshots were heard again from far away in rapid succession.

The units returned to their positions to guard their designated areas, while some continued to chase the gunshots.

-Ratatatatat!

But no matter how hard they searched the forest, they couldn't even properly confirm the appearance of the imperial scout unit.

-Swoosh!

"Argh..."

As existing scouts with small bows also attacked them together, the kingdom's army couldn't help but be flustered by the simultaneous attacks, and,

"...How many enemies are there?"

"Judging by the frequency of sounds, it seems they're moving around in groups of 10 to 20."

"You're saying you couldn't even accurately grasp their scale?"

"...I'm sorry."

Alejo could only receive reports that were of little help in understanding the situation, stating that they were being attacked from all directions by an unknown number of enemies.

"This is serious."

Although a significant number of the imperial army's attacks missed their mark and the damage to the kingdom's scouts was still minor, what mattered was that they were gradually being pushed back from the terrain they had dominated.

"Where did you say the expected points were?"

"There seems to be a unit moving in this direction from here. From this side too..."

After receiving reports on the expected positions of the imperial scouts, Alejo,

"The 3rd unit moves to here to support the 9th unit. The 12th unit..."

The next day, he attempted to recapture territory by redeploying scouts, and,

"Baron Fernández. We need support."

"Understood."

He dispatched an additional 500 light infantry under Paco's command, trying somehow to tip the balance back.

"...The attacks have stopped here."

"Did we hold out...?"

This was partially successful, and areas where defenses were reinforced could temporarily avoid attacks, but,

-Ratatatatat!

"Ugh..."

As deploying for defense and recapture meant scouts were tied to specific points, they were gradually eaten away by bullets and arrows coming from unpredictable directions.

The light infantry, in particular, suffered heavy casualties due to the continuous firing that seemed to spare no bullets, especially in areas with relatively less cover and concealment.

"Just shoot! That direction!"

Their counterattacks, only roughly estimating the direction, didn't reach the imperial army.

-Rustle.

"Ah, there...!"

As the Red Dragon Corps scouts also tired, there were soldiers who luckily confirmed their position, but,

-Ratatatatat!

"Argh!"

Usually, the gunshots rang out faster than the kingdom's army's counterattacks.

"Ugh..."

"Huff, huff..."

After days of one-sided attacks by the imperial army, the kingdom's scouts were pushed back without being able to properly counterattack.

As long as they kept losing the initiative to strike first for unknown reasons, they were merely prey.

As the imperial scouts continued to attack the kingdom's scouts, and the kingdom's scouts only chased their gunshots and traces,

"What are we even fighting against?"

"..."

The kingdom's scouts, with their nerves on edge, began to harbor fear.

"...It's like we're possessed by ghosts."

Alejo, who only received desperate reports, felt a terrible sense of powerlessness as his units, which he thought were invincible, fell into combat ineffectiveness one by one.

"How can this be happening? How on earth?"

No matter how much they focused on camouflage, they couldn't avoid the imperial army's first strikes, and even when they gave up hiding completely and actively chased the imperial army, they couldn't even catch their tail.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing, nothing at all."

Alejo looked at Paco and his subordinates with suspicious eyes, then shook his head, finding his own thoughts ridiculous.

He was so mentally cornered that he almost wanted to make assumptions if the light infantry unit had suffered fewer losses, but Paco's light infantry unit had suffered far greater casualties than his scouts.

He thought it would be wrong to suspect Paco, who was moving troops according to Alejo's requests even in such circumstances.

He calmly looked at the map again, redrawing the deployment of the kingdom's army and the imperial army as reported.

It was an attempt to somehow compose himself and devise countermeasures, but,

"..."

He only ended up facing the fact that they had already lost a quarter of the forest in just a few days.

"Lure the enemy forces to the center of the forest..."

As he was about to give instructions to attempt a counterattack again,

"...No."

After coldly reviewing the current situation,

"Baron Fernández. Retreat and regroup with the main force."

"That's..."

"I'll explain to His Excellency myself."

"...Understood."

He lowered his hand that was about to point at the map, retreated one step by withdrawing the light infantry.

He was an experienced commander, but also one who normally thought that unnecessary stubbornness was a sin.

As scouts were a force difficult to newly train, his sense of responsibility was strong, so,

"...Retreat to this point, then focus on gathering information. Engage only to the extent of preventing enemy scouts from breaking through our gaps, and avoid as much as possible."

"Yes!"

Alejo acknowledged the imperial army scouts that had chilled him to the bone and gave up the desire to drive them out of the forest directly.

Alejo wasn't afraid of taking responsibility for the defeat.

Having decided to give up about half of the Dronado Forest, he sent a letter to Sancho detailing the capabilities and strength of the imperial scouts that could be felt from various reports, and his thoughts on how to respond.

"...Hmm."

After carefully reading Alejo's opinion, Sancho,

"The enemy scouts' stamina isn't infinite either. Prepare raid units. ...We can use the mercenaries that are still gathering."

He prepared for small-scale raids that he had in mind as the next strategy.

There were still many stages left before engaging in fierce battle at Al Berdo Pass, and the sporadic battles in the Dronado Forest were merely preliminary skirmishes, but,

"..."

Knowing Alejo's competence, he was once again convinced that the Red Dragon Corps would be no easy opponent.