The Strategist Knows Everything - Volume 3 Chapter 2
Part III: The Imperial State Edition
Chapter 2: Defensive Battle (5)
Translated by: Hiro02
Edited by: SevenTails
The Albion army put up large flags at regular intervals, perhaps to separate each battalion. General Dick was under the flag on the left side of the center.
There were two reasons why he would not change his position, even if it was known. One was that moving locations would destroy the carefully drawn lines of communication between the forces, and the other was that he simply didn’t think it was necessary to do so.
A fortress battle is basically a one-sided battle. There is almost no switching between offence and defence, and even if there was any, it was only to the extent of pushing the frontline back, rarely reaching the core of the attacking army.
That is if one uses common sense.
The place where Dick was located was just barely within reach of long-range renketsu magic. It wasn’t a distance that could be precisely targeted by an ordinary magician.
“Can you aim?”
“Who do you think you are talking to?” Erica muttered to me as she began chanting her renketsu magic with a fearsome smile on her face.
Distance is distance. It would be best if she could get a good shot at Dick, but it wasn’t just going to work out that way.
A hit rate of about one out of every five shots would be enough to hit Dick’s vicinity, but Erica was probably aiming for Dick himself.
“Taking out the enemy general is indeed the quickest way, but you don’t need to force yourself too hard to aim it, okay?”
“Don’t joke about it, I don’t like to kill unnecessarily. If I only have to kill one person, so much the better.”
Erica and the imperial sorcerers finished their chanting and moved on to pouring their magic power into their magic.
Looking at the troubled faces of the imperial sorcerers, Erica must be quite extraordinary to be able to have a normal conversation.
“That’s right. If that’s what it takes, then sure, I’d love to do it.”
But I didn’t think that would work.
There are two kinds of generals. Those who are in charge of everything in the army, whose loss would cripple the army, and those who aren’t.
Dick was clearly the latter. Even if he were to die in battle, the commander would simply be replaced, but that would cause chaos in the Albion army and prolong the war.
“Erica. Is it possible to not aim at him?”
“You mean, like, no… hits?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well, that’s the hard part… !”
“It’s just difficult, huh? Then do it.”
That’s all I said before turning my gaze away from Erica.
Erica would definitely do all she can. I was sure there would be guards around Dick as well. An attack with no intention of hitting would not kill him.
It would be easier if they just retreated immediately, blown away by the strong wind, but that was not going to happen. He was the second-in-command of the army led by the Four Sages. There was no doubt that he had some degree of ability.
If we wanted them to retreat, we needed to inflict a little more pain.
Albion’s renketsu magic was somehow blocked by Frezberg, who was in the sky, and the Imperial army’s defensive magic. Perhaps thanks to this, Albion’s forces have been climbing up the fort, using their numbers to their advantage. Some of them had already climbed up and were being pushed back considerably.
In such a situation, the front line commanders have climbed up and begun to build their bases.
In order to paralyze the enemy front line, we needed to deal with the commanders who were starting to climb on top of the fort.
Perhaps my thoughts had gotten through to them.
Captain Ars, Mikana, and Roy closed in on the Albion base that was just in my line of sight.
A few moments later, it was Captain Ars who took the lead.
The twin swords in both his hands shimmered, and the heads of the enemy flew into the air. Roy and Mikana followed him.
Mikana chased after Captain Ars, supporting him with arrows. Roy was blowing away every enemy that came near Mikana.
I didn’t tell the three of them how to fight, but they naturally took what they thought was the best form. I was a little worried about the chemistry between Mikana and Roy, but I guess I didn’t need to worry.
Even though they were building a base, they didn’t put up any sort of protective measures or equipment. It was just a bunch of troops gathered around a commander.
No ordinary unit could stop the three of them from attacking.
After easily beheading the enemy commander, Captain Ars and the rest quickly broke away from the crowded enemy area.
Having lost their commander, the Imperial troops attacked the now confused troops.
There was no escape for the soldiers who had climbed the fort. At any rate, their only escape route, the ladder behind them, was being climbed by their allies, and the only other place they could find was past their enemy.
In terms of localized locations, the Imperial Army, their enemy, dominated the stage.
I took my eyes off the desperately resisting Albion troops and looked around.
Similar scenes are happening all over the place.
It was because Captain Ars and the others were running around the fort, slashing at their commanders.
Confusion spread to the front lines of the Albion army, and the central command center that was responsible for rebuilding the front line was currently under Erica’s renketsu magic bombardment.
The war situation was beginning to change, little by little.
And at the moment that I thought…
The Albion army’s front line troops began to retreat.
■■■
All of the attacks had ceased.
The Albion army had moved a little bit away from the fort and seemed to be watching us.
In terms of waiting to see what happens next, we were both in the same boat.
Why did they retreat at that moment? It was too early to retreat, even if they were blown away by a cowardly wind.1 The war situation was only starting to slightly tilt in our favour, and from the perspective of the Albion army, it is a minor change.
“What’s going on?”
“Maybe Erica’s attack struck the wrong target?” Captain Ars teased, but Erica shook her head.
“It’s impossible. Not possible. My attack was blocked by their defensive magic and didn’t hit anyone.”
Indeed, there was no distinctive explosion sound, which makes sense if it was blocked.
However, if that’s the case, it was even harder to tell why they’ve retreated. Even if an influential member of the enemy had died in battle, the retreat was too quick.
The Albion army still has more than enough strength to fight. Whoever made the decision to retreat was either a very good observer or a coward. Maybe it’s both.
“There’s no doubt that there was no benefit to Albion’s forces if they had continued, so in a way, withdrawing was for the best, right?”
“Yeah. If they didn’t want to increase the damage… Maybe there was one of the Four Wise Men in that army who just hasn’t come out yet.”
I’ve heard that Irene Macefield was the bravest of the Four Wise MenFour Wise Men, but I haven’t heard that she was overwhelmingly superior in military leadership and intelligence. However, her withdrawal was so quick that it even raised questions.
If she had read what was going to happen, then that person was probably not Irene Macefield.
This retreat has left us stuck in the middle.
It wasn’t just the battle situation that was read. They also figured out what Fio and I were up to.
“Which of the Four Wise Men was waiting in their home country?”
“Pix Randall, I think.”
Captain Ars unusually answered my question. He didn’t normally enter conversations.
“Do you know him?”
“A few years ago, I fought for him in an alliance strike force formed to defeat a massive amount of bandits in Albion. He destroyed over a thousand bandits with only a few men and his own plan. He’s as good a strategist as you are.”
“That’s not the main problem… If there is another one of Four Wise Men here, Macefield will move out to attack the other two forts, most likely Fort Hauser on the left…”
Not only Captain Ars’s expression became a little grim, but Roy and Mikana’s as well.
Fio and I both believed that the Four Wise Men would not come to Fort Hauser, thus why we let Nikola take Nox’s men and head there.
We thought that would be enough. However, when there are two Four Wise Men, the story changes.
“Nicola and the rest of the team who headed to Fort Hauser are in danger.”
“If they are in danger, then so are we. The other side might be led by the Four Wise Masters and 30,000 men, while our side has about 8,000 men. Even defending this fort will be a challenge, right?”
That’s true as well. Before worrying about other places, we had to deal with the opponent right in front of us.
In fact, there was no confirmation that another of the Four Wise Men had joined. No matter what we did, we didn’t have enough information.
I would have liked to gather information, but unfortunately, Ren wasn’t here. We couldn’t get all the information we wanted from the enemy camp without him.
“I thought the Four Wise Men were supposed to be left behind to protect their homeland, but…”
In the past, of the Four Wise Men, one was assigned to the Veris forces, one to the Imperial State and one to the home country’s defence. Macefield was the one assigned to the Imperial State.
However, Randall, who was supposed to be defending the home country, intervened on the imperial front.
It was a situation that could shake the very foundations of the operation. It wasn’t that we hadn’t anticipated this, but we knew the odds were pretty low. After all, Albion was sending the Republic’s forces to attack the Imperial State.
If the Four Wise Men, who had been defending their home country, were to come over here, it would mean that the Imperial State would be almost fully unprepared. Although, it was based on Albion’s confidence that the Imperial State wouldn’t attack Albion.
Whether that confidence was supported by their trust in the Republic or by something else was yet to be determined. I couldn’t judge that at this point, but what I could say for sure was that if two of the Four Wise Men were to join the fight, Albion would seriously try to defeat the Imperial State.
“Fio. Let’s retreat to Ferrenor. If we don’t, they’ll destroy us individually.”
“… It still doesn’t necessarily mean that the Four Wise Men have come out yet, you know?”
“I understand that you don’t want to turn Ferenor into a battlefield, but if things continue like this, the Imperial State will get reduced to the Imperial Capital at once. There is only one possibility for a counterattack. It’s a good idea to retreat to Ferenor and intercept them with the entire Imperial Army.”
The Imperial State still had forces in the rear. If we combined them with the troops currently forming the front lines and the ones in Ferrenor, we would have more than enough troops to compete with Albion.
Ferrenor was not a fortress, but it did have some defence functions. From the standpoint of its location, there was no other way but to intercept the enemy at Ferrenor.
However, civilians would definitely be affected. They would not be able to evacuate in time, and above all, they would have to abandon their homes.
“I’m here to stop Ferrenor from becoming a battlefield! And so is everyone else who is fighting here! There are a lot of people living in Ferrenor…”
“I know, I know, but there are many more people living in the Imperial State. If we start an unreasonable resistance here and exhaust our forces, more people will die than if Ferrenor became a battlefield. The fire of war will spread to the entire Imperial State. There is already no way… left for the Empire to avoid casualties.”
It may sound harsh, but if Fio didn’t make a firm decision here, our only hope would be gone.
No matter what words we used here, we had to make a decision to retreat. Even if my unit commanders and I were spread out through the fort in a balanced manner, we couldn’t expect to defend the other forts when we are all concentrated in one place. If even one of them is overtaken, we’ll have to abandon the fort and retreat to Ferrenor because it was in danger as well.
In the end, it was only a matter of time. I felt responsible for putting us in this situation, but I can’t afford to feel down every time.
If you are a military strategist, you should take responsibility for your actions like one.
“Yukito-sama. I see movement in the enemy army.” Mikana, who was staring at the Albion army, muttered.
It was what she, who has good eyesight, said. There’s no way that she could be wrong.
“What kind of movement?”
“Single cavalry is rushing towards us.”
I also looked at the Albion army, but I could not see anything like it yet.
After a while, I finally saw the horseman that Mikana had mentioned.
It looked as if it was carrying the flag of Albion and galloping towards us.
“Is it a messenger… ?”
“Yes, it is, but why would Albion send a messenger?”
We had no idea what that entailed.
Even if they were coming to advise us to surrender, the timing was strange. The Albion army withdrew just as we were starting to gain momentum. Even an idiot could see there was no way we would accept a surrender order in such a situation.
What in the world did he have to tell us?
“The Duchy of Albion has received a message from Pix Randall, the Fourth Wise Lord, to entrust to Master Yukito Kurei, the Military Strategist of Veris, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Fiona Albright, the Great Wing of Eitel!” The messenger shouted as he stopped his horse near the fort.
Hearing this, Fio and I hurried to the front of the fort.
“It’s me, Yukito Kurei! Let’s hear your message!”
“‘This is Pix Randall speaking for himself! I don’t want war, but peace. We are prepared to withdraw the entire Albion army,’ is what was said! Also, Yukito Kurei-dono, please tell me what you know about Stratos. I have been entrusted to ask this from you!”
I didn’t expect a peace envoy. It was a mistake to have him shout out without letting him enter the fort.
All the soldiers in the fort heard it.
Now Fio and I had no choice but to sit down for negotiations.
Above all, “Tell us what you know about Stratos…”
He must be in Albion. I’m sure he was. I’ve even heard he was in the upper echelons. I’m not sure why the name of such a man would come out of the mouth of one of the Four Wise Men.
Fio and I looked at each other with confusion on our faces.
[1] TN: When someone gets so scared or frightened that they lose their strength to fight.