Chapter 92
After slowly marching and observing for several days, the kingdom army's objective became increasingly clear.
"The scout unit that entered Al Berdo Pass encountered the enemy. As per your instructions, General, they quickly retreated due to fierce resistance."
"Hmm..."
They seemed to be using all their scouts, covering the entrance of Al Berdo Pass with red dots on the mini-map, while slowly moving their main force.
The kingdom's army, which had been moving together, split into three at the entrance.
The forces that split to the left and right left many troops in the center and entered the forests on both sides of the road, stopping their movement inside.
Just looking at this, it seemed like the kingdom's army was trying to set up an ambush using the terrain, but what bothered Viktor was that a considerable number of troops remained in the rear, holding their position.
Unable to reveal the source of his information to others, Viktor had to ponder the kingdom army's intentions alone.
It could be that while the central main force engages in battle, the wings would strike our flanks, or conversely, the wings might attack the flanks first and the main force would annihilate us when we're in confusion.
Or it might be neither, and the force that appears to be the main force could be luring us into an encirclement operation where the wing forces block our rear.
"..."
It's difficult to grasp the quality of troops or detailed numbers, so there's not much that can be inferred just from looking at the overall deployment.
Still,
"We'll continue to advance. There's a high probability that the enemy will be waiting at Al Berdo Pass, so please be vigilant against enemy raids."
"Understood!"
Once they entered battle, the kingdom army's intentions would quickly become apparent, and,
"I'll entrust the right flank to Regiment Commander Boris."
"Yes, General!"
Thinking that the cheating nature of the mini-map and tactical map would be most evident in battles like this where vision is limited and forces are divided,
Viktor advanced towards Al Berdo Pass while simulating responses to various kingdom army strategies.
---
"The enemy scouts' movements are too passive. Compared to how they moved in the Dronado Forest..."
"Didn't they say they blocked most of our raids? Our investment is paying off."
"...Then, we'll maintain the current policy."
"Hmm. Make sure there's not even a gap for water to leak through."
To Sancho, the movement of scouts following Viktor's instructions seemed like evidence of accumulated fatigue. This instilled confidence in him.
"The enemy is advancing along the central road. They appear to be in a normal state of alertness."
"Good. Operation 'Dragon Slayer' begins!"
Seeing that the Red Dragon Corps didn't seem to have grasped the kingdom army's movements, he confidently declared the start of the operation.
With this, the mercenary forces ostensibly assigned as the main attack force advanced along with 4,000 regular troops, and,
"Enemy forces! Mercenaries with various flags are at the front, advancing together with kingdom troops in the rear! Their numbers seem close to 10,000!"
"What about the forests on both sides?"
"No noticeable movements. If we send scouts deeper..."
"...No. For now, continue advancing."
Viktor carefully watched the mini-map while reviewing the messenger's report.
Judging by the scale and position, it certainly seemed to be the enemy's main force, but using an assembly of small mercenary groups, which are easily swayed by the battle situation and difficult to expect real combat effectiveness from, as the vanguard of the main force seemed a bit awkward to him.
"...Cannon fodder?"
"Pardon?"
"No, never mind. Prepare for engagement."
"Yes!"
Viktor doubted Sancho's intentions but prepared for battle with the slowly approaching forces for now.
The Red Dragon Corps, formed in ranks, slowly advanced while preparing to fire, and,
"...Prepare to fire!"
They faced the kingdom army forces approaching somewhat chaotically, waving dozens of different flags.
"Charge!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Let's go!"
The mercenaries, who hadn't received any clear tactics to deal with guns, charged towards the Red Dragon Corps in unit formations, and,
-Ratatatatat!
The Red Dragon Corps warmly welcomed them with over hundreds of bullets.
"Ugh..."
"Argh!"
The mercenaries couldn't approach the Red Dragon Corps, which was delivering sequential fire, and,
"We, we also have guns..."
-Ratatat!
"Gak..."
"The enemy is firing! We should fire too!"
"Firing from here is..."
"Quickly!"
Especially the very few mercenaries who possessed guns received concentrated fire and had to pull their triggers before even properly closing the distance.
Most of the bullets fired by the mercenaries under various adverse conditions such as relatively poor maintenance and non-uniform bullet sizes didn't even reach the Red Dragon Corps soldiers, and,
-Clang!
"Whoa, shit!"
"What! Wha... what?"
"...I almost died for real."
Even the bullets that luckily reached them couldn't penetrate the thick armor due to the shorter range compared to the Red Dragon Corps' guns, which had been improved in many ways.
-Ratatatatat!
"Kuhek!"
"St-stop..."
On the other hand, although more than half of the Red Dragon Corps was waiting in the rear due to the width of the road, the Red Dragon Corps, firing with more advanced guns in large numbers, instantly ground down the kingdom army's charge with sufficient firepower.
"The enemy is collapsing!"
"...Strange."
Receiving reports of such a situation, Viktor stroked his chin while checking the mini-map.
"Sergei. Move to this location on the right and prepare for enemy raids."
"Yes!"
"You move to this side..."
While the enemy forces in the center had already launched their attack, only a very small number of troops from the kingdom army's wings were moving towards the flanks of the Red Dragon Corps compared to their size.
While sending waiting scout units from the surroundings to block them, Viktor harbored suspicions and continued to watch the mini-map closely.
"Eek... Retreat, retreat!"
"What, why are they... We're retreating too!"
"Retreat? Are they throwing us away and running off by themselves!"
"Throwing away? You're the ones who charged in!"
"What?"
As opinions diverged between the mercenaries who had suffered heavy casualties from meaningless charges and those who were relatively in the rear, the vanguard of the kingdom army, which had received fire from the Red Dragon Corps, quickly collapsed as per Sancho's plan.
"You want to run away? Can you pay the penalty?"
"You..."
"Continue the attack."
"..."
"I'll cut down anyone who turns their back! Charge towards the enemy!"
Baron Imanol Rey, leading the regular troops, threatened or intimidated the mercenaries from the rear to make them continue their offensive, and,
"A message from Count Gonzales. He says they're ready."
"...We're retreating too!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Only after Sancho's order came down did he declare a retreat.
"Fi-finally!"
"Move aside! Get out of the way!"
Imanol's forces mixed among the mercenaries fleeing in disorder, subtly leading the mercenaries to retreat to designated positions while acting like defeated soldiers.
"The enemy is retreating! What should we do!"
However, despite Alexandrov's urgent question, Viktor, who continued to look at the mini-map, could see the kingdom army's wings retreating at a fast pace, and,
"..."
"They say the enemy's formation has completely collapsed now!"
He could see them moving to the center of Al Berdo Pass and hiding in the forests on both sides again.
Viktor, who realized that the forces that seemed to be in chaos, to the point where reports came in saying "their formation seems to have collapsed," were actually appropriately grouped and moving almost in a straight line when viewed on the mini-map, watched them closely and then,
"...It was a lure."
Based on the kingdom army's deployment that seemed to be waiting, surrounding the expected retreat point of these forces, he was convinced that Sancho's intention was to lure the Red Dragon Corps with bait substantial enough to be thought of as the main force, and then envelop them with the kingdom army's wings and rear forces.
In normal cases, Viktor also knew that controlling a pursuit battle is very difficult, but knowing that it wasn't a difficult task for him,
"The 1st Infantry Regiment will pursue the enemy. The 2nd Infantry Regiment and the cavalry will move to the forest on the right."
He had no intention of falling for what the enemy wanted.
He made the 1st Infantry Regiment, which had been engaging at the front, act as if they had fallen for the lure by pursuing the fleeing kingdom army, while moving the rear forces, including the dismounted cavalry, into the forest.
"The scout units will also concentrate on the right forest. Actively neutralize the enemy scouts."
"We've been waiting for that order!"
Viktor added strength by dispatching even the scout units that had been consistently on guard and defense.
"The enemy is pursuing!"
"Is it a success...!"
The kingdom army, unable to know these facts, thought the lure had succeeded when the 1st Infantry Regiment began their pursuit.
As the Red Dragon Corps scout units, which had become active again, neutralized the kingdom army's scout units, they couldn't properly grasp the movements of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and cavalry moving into the forest.
"...It's not over until the enemy reaches this point. Was the retreat point well communicated?"
"Yes. So far, they're retreating along the planned route."
"Baron Banderas. How's the situation?"
"Currently, our scout units are actively roaming the forest, and there are no special reports coming in."
"..."
Therefore, as the incoming reports were also positive,
"Who cares about Al Cante! We can recapture it after crushing the Red Dragon Corps!"
"What's Al Cante? We can even take back Adense, and then hit the imperial army in the back while they're happily sitting in the empty Al Cante!"
For the nobles persuaded by Sancho's strategy, it seemed like a situation they couldn't lose as long as things flowed according to Sancho's plan.
They already acted as if they had won the battle, and other officers thought similarly, though they didn't show it.
"The enemy is too quiet. Their capabilities shown in the Dronado Forest were not like this."
"...Right. It's not time to relax yet. Although they say guns are difficult to use in the forest, they're not an opponent to be underestimated just because we've surrounded them."
"Understood! We won't let our guard down at all!"
"Just trust us!"
Alejo, who had struggled against the Red Dragon Corps scouts, and Sancho, who hadn't yet relaxed, instilled a sense of tension, moderating them from getting too excited, but.
The fact that the strategy, on which almost everything had been staked, was progressing well brought a smile to Sancho's lips.
From what they had seen so far, victory seemed not far off.