by Ryota Hori
But that realization was blown away when his subordinate returned, bringing news.
“Sir Mikhail, we’ve confirmed that the enemy force numbers roughly one hundred men!”
“A hundred! You’re sure of that?”
His subordinate nodded, and Mikhail sank into thought, twirling his mustache all the while.
If it’s only one hundred, that’s only fifth the number I have with me... If we assume there are no other forces in sight, it probably really is the enemy’s reconnaissance unit... They likely panicked and sent them out upon hearing the Thebes had been crossed... The fools.
Mikhail smiled with confidence and out of scorn for the enemy commander. Disposing of the enemy forces was an easy enough accomplishment to obtain, and this easy prey had simply sprung up before his eyes.
“Sir Mikhail! Please give the order to return to camp at once!” the aide waiting on Mikhail advised.
His suggestion wasn’t incorrect, but it would bring Mikhail no gain. That thought lingered in Mikhail’s mind.
They’re a mere reconnaissance unit, and we have five hundred knights. The fight is fixed in our favor. But if we can whittle down the enemy here, however little of a loss it might be, it would be a great accomplishment. And besides...
Countless reasons to fight came to mind. At this point, the only thing on his mind was to gain achievements to his name. Battle was his only means of gaining merit, and he understood that fact painfully well.
I won’t let him take me for a fool...!
Spurred by those feelings, Mikhail swiftly rose from the stone he was sitting on, his expression filled with the bloodlust of a soldier about to set out to battle.
“No, we’ll intercept them here. All hands prepare for battle. We’ll crush a force of that size into powder within moments!”
Mikhail’s heart grew elated at the feel of the battlefield wind, and that elation mingled with his ambition to drive his judgment into madness.
He had forgotten his own mission...
“Do you understand?! There’s no need to hold back! We will stomp out the enemy with a single blow and show these traitors the power of Rhoadseria’s knights!”
At Mikhail’s order, the force of five hundred prepared for battle, forming lines across the high ground. At the sound of his encouragement, a wave of adrenaline ran through the knights. The same also held true for Mikhail, even while having given the order himself.
The enemy’s numbers were roughly one hundred, and while in terms of fighting power they’d be in a great advantage, since this was a direct violation of Ryoma’s orders, Mikhail couldn’t afford to lose here. No one alive would cover up for a person who violated a superior’s orders and had only defeat to show for it.
To top it off, he’d recently failed in a big way, and while Princess Lupis smoothed it over somewhat, if he failed yet again, even Princess Lupis wouldn’t be able to help him.
I have to win. I won’t... I won’t lose to him!
The only thing on Mikhail’s mind was victory. And a heart thirsting for victory was one that was blind to the truth.
“Chaaaaaaarge!”
“““Oooooooooh!””” A battle cry rose up, rumbling the earth.
As Mikhail’s blade swung in the direction of the enemy’s scouts, five hundred knights kicked up a cloud of dust as they charged at their foes with a cry.
“That fool, Mikhail! I knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. I thought acting as an aide to the princess might wisen him up a bit, but he’s no less thoughtless than he was when we were young.”
As the rumbling of the horses’ galloping rolled down from the high ground, Kael recognized the banner of the Rhoadserian royal knights being held up high, and beside it, the banner of the Vanash noble house.
It was a nostalgic sight. As knights of Rhoadseria, Kael and Mikhail lived in the same barracks and competed in the art of war against one another. Time after time, the two fought together for their lives under the same banner.
When exactly did their paths separate, then? Kael never blended in with the others, but to him, Mikhail was his rival for glory in the field of swordplay, and at the same time one of his very few friends.
This time, it’s my turn to win, Mikhail. Today, that debt will be repaid.
The great martial arts tournament sponsored by the palace was to decide the greatest swordsman in Rhoadseria. On its first round, the two clashed in furious battle. And having won, Mikhail gained that title and was appointed to the honorable position of Princess Lupis’s aide. Meanwhile, Kael was defeated and was subjected to scorn and mockery.
It may have been a match, and their skills were about equal, but their paths had parted in a large way. And those two roads, which had incorrigibly split on that day, would intersect on this one.
“Are the preparations complete?”
Kael’s aide nodded at his commander’s question.
“Good. Then let us do battle!”
With a cold smile, Kael drew the sword sheathed at his waist and spurred his horse toward the enemy.
“What?! Say that again!” An angry shout shook the encampment.
Ryoma couldn’t believe the report the knight lying before him had said. Or rather, he didn’t want to believe it.
“Y-Yes... Sir... Mikhail’s scouting... p-party... was wiped... out...”
Blood was dripping from the lacerations riddling the man’s body, forming a small puddle at Ryoma’s feet. The Malfist sisters tried to heal them with their spells, but anyone could see that all they could do was prolong his life by a scant few minutes.
Despite being injured to an extent that would no doubt have killed most men, this knight kept the flame of his life lit with nothing but sheer determination and intense force of will. The light in his eyes was proof of that.
“Mikhail... What about him? Is he dead?”
Realizing how wrong he was for shouting at a man who’d prolonged what little remaining life he had left to make this report, Ryoma forced himself to calm down and maintain his composure to the best of his ability. The soldier lying before him was already a dead man. It was only a matter of time before his soul would depart his body.
But despite that, he used the last flickering embers of his life to convey something. And as a fellow man, Ryoma wanted to respect his will and accept the information he brought to the best of his ability. That was the final and greatest respect he could show to this knight, who was about to embark on his final journey to the afterlife.
“Sir Mikhail was... attacked while chasing K... K-Kael in the direction... of the enemy forces...”
“Kael?” This was the first Ryoma heard of that name, and he repeated it suspiciously.
“Yes... A-At first, Sir Mikhail ordered us... calmly, but when he saw the... t-traitor Kael Iruna... was the enemy forces’ commander, he... Aaah...”
Upon hearing his words, several of the surrounding knights cursed audibly. It seemed they knew of this Kael Iruna, but Ryoma didn’t have the time to interrogate them about this right now.
“I see... So Mikhail mobilized his army to defeat that traitor?”
The sprawled-out knight answered Ryoma’s question with a nod that seemed to take all his strength to perform.
I’m pretty sure Mikhail was calm until he found that Kael person was in command. Then he somehow learned he was a traitor... Judging from Mikhail’s personality, I can imagine him not being able to restrain himself...
Ryoma could easily imagine what happened. He wasn’t beyond understanding Mikhail’s impatience, either. That was exactly why he hesitated to put him in charge of the reconnaissance unit. But at the same time, he also understood Mikhail’s abilities to an extent. Even if he was anxious to gain merits, he would know when to retreat.
This was why he had trouble believing Mikhail’s unit didn’t retreat until it was on the verge of being wiped out. But with a traitor right before his eyes, Ryoma could imagine him losing his temper. Knights hated nothing more than traitor
s, after all.
“So, how close has the enemy gotten? How many troops do they have?”
Ryoma shut his countless thoughts and feelings away and focused on what was most important at the moment. The crucial question was when the enemy would be upon them, and how strong their forces were. They were at a numerical disadvantage as it was, and with the scouts being wiped out, their situation was even worse.
If they were raided now, with the soldiers rattled by Mikhail’s defeat, even their defensive position with the moat and fences they prepared wouldn’t stop them from being wiped out.
“They’re about five... thousand... though we don’t know how many forces they have at their... rear. Their advance party will arrive... here... in fifteen minutes...”
As he heard the soldier speak between gasps, Ryoma went pale.
“Lione, Boltz!”
Ryoma instantly barked out their names with an uncharacteristic lack of politeness.
““Yes!”” Lione and Boltz stepped out in front of him.
“Take four hundred men each and secure the north and south. Laura and I will take the remaining six hundred and hold the center. Sara! You command the rest, and once you’re done preparing, standby at the back! Also, send a scouting party out to sniff out the enemy’s current position! Quickly!”
Rising to his feet, Ryoma swiftly allocated defensive positions to Lione and the others.
They all had their positions and manpower assigned to them ahead of time, so they abided by his orders without a hitch. Or rather, they hadn’t the leisure to object to Ryoma’s resolute command. Everyone around assented to his orders and disappeared outside his tent.
“S-Sir... Mikoshiba...”
As Ryoma was about to leave the tent himself, the dying soldier spoke to his back with the last of his strength.
“What? Is there anything else?”
“I-I am... sorry... We didn’t obey your... orders...”
Hearing the knight’s words, Ryoma gave a small nod to Laura and Sara, and the two left the tent as he kneeled down next to the soldier. There was little time until the enemy arrived, but these were the final words of a knight who risked his life to deliver this information to them. Ryoma silently listened.
“It’s fine. I understand.” Ryoma nodded deeply.
The man before him had only abided by Mikhail’s orders. Ryoma couldn’t condemn him, as he was in his death throes. Ryoma picked up the knight’s bloodied body and cradled it closer. If he hadn’t, he couldn’t make out his diminishing voice.
“Sir... Miko... shiba. Please... bring... Princess Lupis... to the throne...”
And with that, the knight’s body went limp.
There was probably much more the knight wanted to say, but the flicker of his life was about to go out just after giving that apology. And so, with the last of his power, he managed to entrust that final request. His single, greatest wish...
“You idiot...”
Upon hearing the wish of this knight whose name he never knew, words that could be either compassion or mocking escaped Ryoma’s lips. But that sentiment was soon blotted out at the cry of the scouts Ryoma sent out.
“Sir Mikoshiba! The enemy’s in sight, one kilometer away! They’re roughly 8000 in number!”
Three thousand more than the last report.
Damn. They regrouped with reinforcements from Heraklion!
Ryoma tried to suppress the frustration that built up in him. If the commander was to appear shaken with his forces being in such a state of inferiority, it would spread to the soldiers under his command. And they would not be able to win that way.
“Understood. Tell Lione and Boltz to move as planned. I’ll command the center!”
The soldier took off to inform Lione of Ryoma’s order.
Bring Princess Lupis to the throne, eh...
Ryoma drove the dead knight’s words from his mind. Being mindful of that right now would cost him his life. What mattered on the battlefield was the desire and stern will to live. That, and nothing else.
We have to live through this first... The rest comes after that!
Ryoma closed his eyes silently and drew the sword from its sheath. All to grasp his future...
“What in the blasted hell is going on?! How did they prepare defenses this solid in such a short period of time?!”
The sun was just about to dip below the western skies. Considering that fighting would become difficult after nightfall, this was the last point in time they’d be able to stage an attack for the day. Normally, marching on the main force after they took out the reconnaissance party of five hundred would be the acceptable tactic. There was no need to falter.
But when he saw the enemy formation under the setting sun, Kael hesitated to give the order to attack.
How could this be? I can’t complete Duke Gelhart’s orders like this...
“But Sir Kael, it would be ignoring His Excellency’s orders...”
His aide’s impertinent advice annoyed Kael. Hearing someone else voice his own thoughts angered him.
“I don’t need you to tell me that, fool!”
The aide shrunk back in fear at Kael’s angry rebuke.
Idiot! Can’t you see their defenses?!
Before them stretched out a dry moat exceeding twenty meters in width. According to the report his scouts returned with earlier, their encampment was built along the banks of the Thebes in a crescent shape. The moat likely spanned the entire length of that perimeter.
Worse yet, it was a fairly deep moat. From Kael’s perspective, it wasn’t a position that they would be easily capable of breaking through.
But... It’s only been half a day since they crossed the river. What trickery did they use to do this?
Kael bit his thumbnail in annoyance. This world didn’t have heavy machinery, and so construction had to be done manually. In other words, no matter what, they would have to gather men to do it.
I don’t recall hearing anything about them gathering peasants from the nearby villages...
The thought surfaced in his mind, but Kael denied it. Even if they did gather people from the surrounding villages, there was no way Duke Gelhart wouldn’t know of it.
Did they bring people from the capital? No, that couldn’t be either. That would slow down their marching speed... Then what is it? According to the spy, the advance party is a mere two thousand men. Even assuming they all worked, they couldn’t have done all that this quickly...
There were wooden fences set up along the edges of the moat, and those would take time to produce, too.
Kuh! Should I have left Mikhail be and attacked this place first? No... I hate to praise the man, but Mikhail’s skill is a threat. I was right to crush him when I could.
Mikhail Vanash’s skill as a knight was transcendent. He wasn’t capable of uniting the knights or weaving sly plots, but in exchange, one could count the number of people in Rhoadseria capable of matching his strength as a lone combatant on one hand.
Especially on the field, Mikhail’s ability to break through was extraordinary. More than once, a small unit with him in the lead broke through enemy ranks and overturned the tide of battle. There was no mistaking that he was a piece better off removed from the board if possible.
But Kael’s plot was off the mark, and the outlook of the battle was unfavorable. These preparations didn’t seem possible for a force that only arrived half a day ago, with its defensive facilities holding Kael in check.
Blast! Just how long do you intend to get in my way?!
The image of Mikhail’s bearded face surfaced in Kael’s mind. He realized that he was venting his anger on someone unrelated, but with that firm formation before his eyes, he couldn’t help but regret choosing to be preoccupied with Mikhail.
“Sir Kael... What should we do?” one of his aides fearfully asked Kael, who had fallen silent.
“We’ve no choice but to attack...” Kael said heavily.
In truth, Kael had no other choice. He only too
k to the frontlines right now because he’d learned from the scouts that the enemy’s numbers were so slim, and before he left, his master, Duke Gelhart, strictly ordered him to wipe them out. Reporting back by telling that the enemy had set up their defensive facilities and they weren’t able to dent them simply wouldn’t work as an excuse.
According to our information, the enemy only has a bit over two thousand men. And Mikhail’s unit was roughly five hundred men. With them eliminated, the enemy only has roughly 1,500 to 1,800 troops... By comparison, I have 8,000 men. We outnumber them four or five times over. If we brute force our way through, we could beat them... Fine, then. We’ll show them their hastily dug moat won’t do a thing to stop us!
Kael was gradually regaining his composure. They may have built up their defenses surprisingly well, but he still had strength in overwhelming numbers.
I can’t afford to lose...! No... I’ll win!
While he was once one of the royal guards serving Princess Lupis, Kael turned to Duke Gelhart’s side both out of his rivalry with Mikhail and his own desire to advance and succeed. At this point, he had no other paths of retreat. If he was to survive in the nobles’ faction, he needed to gain some merit to his name.
However, Kael didn’t realize. He didn’t know just how terribly similar his state of mind was to Mikhail, whom he had just defeated...
“Sir Kael! Preparations are complete!”
Kael nodded grandly at his aide’s report. Drawing his sword from its sheath, he signaled at the enemy camp and shouted.
“Chaaaaarge!”
“““Ooooooooh!””” Abiding by his hand gesture, all his forces raised their banners in preparation to rush the enemy.
Eight thousand knights raised a battle cry and rushed into the dry moat. But they were unaware that nothing awaited them but a death trap...
And so, here and now, the curtain rose over a battle for Rhoadseria’s future.