Dragon Knight Chronicles ~ From a mere mercenary, rise to success through tactics! A small harem with the princess and the lord's daughter!? I'll also develop my territory! ~ - Chapter 134

Chapter 134   The Cade’s Forces Return

In early March of the year 569 of the Unified Calendar—

As the snow melted from the mountains and the sound of babbling streams became more pleasant, the people of villages and towns began to fully engage in farming activities.

“Form up!” “Right face!”

I was busy with the military training of the soldiers of House Rillburn. Since the resources of the Rillburn main family had dwindled from their peak, the number of soldiers they could mobilize was around 4,500. Considering the need for defense and maintaining public order, the number of soldiers that could move swiftly was about 3,000. The Reister family in the Gale region could mobilize around 500 additional soldiers.

To prepare for encounters with creatures like griffins, we upgraded our crossbows, making them larger and equipping soldiers with powerful, large crossbows. We also manufactured ballistae and catapults, preparing for battles against monsters.

“Urgent news! Urgent news!”

At that moment, a messenger arrived from the princess, the head of Cade. It was reported that taking advantage of the thawing snow, a horde of monsters from Levin had crossed the Cordelia Mountains and appeared in the northern Roland region.

“Understood, inform them that I will return immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

At present, I was the Chancellor of Cade. Naturally, I couldn’t refuse to return.

Furthermore, after deliberation with the military council of House Rillburn, we decided to send reinforcements of about 2,000 soldiers. The commander would be Moltke, a leader of the old vassal faction of the Rillburn house.

“Send a request for reinforcements to Her Highness as well!”

“Understood!”

The Grand Duchy of Owen responded by sending 1,500 troops under the direct command of Her Highness. I also mobilized 500 soldiers from the Gale region who had been gathered in advance, with Generals Adelheid and Nataraja commanding them.

“All troops, advance!”

Thus, a mixed force of 4,000 soldiers from various houses began their march to the land of Cade.

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In mid-March of the year 569 of the Unified Calendar—

Cade began to organize reinforcements at the land of Ram to send to the Roland region. Around 16,000 elite troops were assembled.

“All units, march!”

Five days later—

At the Heather Basin, the reinforcements, consisting of 4,000 soldiers from various houses led by House Rillburn, merged with Cade’s forces. Together, they increased their marching speed, heading northward and entering the southern Roland region. They passed Gregory Castle and Leroy Castle before rushing into Saizeria Castle, which had just finished its renovations.

“We are deeply grateful for your reinforcements!”

Princess Fie, as the head of Cade, formally expressed her gratitude to the reinforcements.

“No need for thanks. Our house has long wished to maintain strong ties with Cade, so this is no hardship for us.”

It was Her Highness of the Grand Duchy of Owen who responded politely.

“And where exactly are the Levin forces?” her highness inquired.

Answering her highness was Aias, a senior vassal of Cade.

“The enemy is encamped approximately 4 kilometers northeast of us on a high ground, leading roughly 8,000 troops of magical beings.”

“Hmm, half of our forces, is it?” her highness mused. “Then let us strike them so they never again set foot in the land of Roland!”

“Exactly, exactly!” came the enthusiastic response. “We’ll show those griffins the power of our crossbow troops!”

As the harsh winter gave way to spring, the morale of Cade’s commanders was high. Answering their calls for action, Princess Fie decided to meet the enemy in open battle. She left 1,000 soldiers to defend the castle and ordered the rest to march out at full strength.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Cade’s army took up position on the plains northeast of the castle to confront Levin’s forces. Given their numerical advantage, they chose the formidable fish-scale formation known for its strong defensive capabilities.

The forces from the allied houses were primarily positioned on the right wing, with my own troops stationed at the rear of the right flank.

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“Form up! Switch to fish-scale formation!”

Upon seeing the Cade army’s formation, the Levin demon army descended from the high ground and positioned themselves to confront the Cade forces. Given their numerical disadvantage, the Levin forces chose a thinly spread-out crane-wing formation, likely fearing they would be outflanked from both sides.

“Charge! Let none escape!”

“Yes, sir!”

Unexpectedly, the standoff was brief, and the left wing of the Cade army, confident in their numerical superiority, made the first move.

A giant man repeatedly struck a massive bronze gong to signal the charge. At the same time, numerous war drums boomed in unison.

“Archers, fire!”

The archers unleashed a fierce volley to support the advancing infantry, aiming to intimidate the enemy and disrupt their formation.

In response, the demon army also returned fire, with particularly strong orcs pulling back their powerful bows.

“Shield-bearers, move forward!”

The human archers, overwhelmed by the strength of the orcs, needed the support of shield-bearers and magic casters.

“Do not falter! Spearmen, charge!”

“Yes, sir!”

Seizing the moment between the enemy’s volleys, the spearmen on the human side launched an all-out charge. The commanders on the left wing aimed to leverage their numerical advantage.

“Gi-gi-gi!”

“Ga-ga-ga! Do not lose!”

The goblins and other lower-class demons responded with their infantry units. Although their numbers were decent, their equipment was severely lacking.

With a significant difference in equipment, the spearmen’s charge broke several parts of the enemy’s lines. Leading the charge from the left rear cavalry was Veroverma, who seized this opportunity.

“Charge the enemy lines from the left flank!”

“Yes, sir!”

Veroverma’s cavalry smashed into the right wing of the demon army, causing chaos and confusion among the enemy ranks.

“This is our chance! Right wing, advance as well!”

Seeing this, Viscount Alvin, who was commanding the main army, signaled for a full assault. Messengers were dispatched in all directions, and the central forces of Cade also launched their attack.

Thus, in the early stages of the battle, the humans capitalized on their numerical advantage and fought with the upper hand.