by Takehaya
The Reborn Forthorthian Army
In the northern region of the Mastir territory close to the Pardomshiha border was a great plain called Raustor, meaning “the goddess’s resting place.” It got its name from a local myth that claimed the Goddess of Dawn once stopped there to rest while travelling through. Being the only plain in such a mountainous area, it did make an ideal resting spot. As such, it naturally became a transport hub for the area, and thanks to that, a large number of towns and trade outposts were established nearby.
As things stood now, an army detachment was currently stationed in Raustor to defend those towns. Raustor stood between the Reborn Forthorthian Army and the capital of Fornorn, meaning that they had no choice but to pass through the area to get there. Maxfern knew that and wanted to make their passage as difficult as possible if not stop it altogether, so he’d deployed his soldiers accordingly. A clash in Raustor was inevitable now for the Reborn Forthorthian Army.
The Reborn Forthorthian Army was the army created by Alaia after she escaped to the Pardomshiha territory. The Pardomshiha family had deep ties with the royal family, and they were willing to lend many of their knights in support of Alaia and her cause. Even with Pardomshiha’s band of knights, however, the Reborn Forthorthian Army totaled a mere five hundred men. It was practically nothing compared to the coup d’etat forces, backed by almost the entire Imperial Army. The Wenranka family, also known for their loyalty to the throne, had agreed to join the Reborn Forthorthian Army as well, but it seemed like the Reborn Forthorthian Army would be crushed before they could even join up with them.
However, despite all odds, the Reborn Forthorthian Army had managed to turn things around. Although it was a siege battle with the defenders at an advantage, the Reborn Forthorthian Army achieved victory in their first real battle against the coup d’etat army. The Wenranka reinforcements rendezvoused with them after that, making their second victory that much easier.
And after their second victory, the Reborn Forthorthian Army’s reputation began spreading across the country like wildfire. As a result, they quickly gained the support of the people in the form of supplies and recruits. As their forces swelled to over three thousand strong, Alaia finally made up her mind. They would recapture the capital of Fornorn and defeat Maxfern. At last, several months after escaping from the capital, Alaia started her journey back home to retake what was rightfully hers.
And so the Reborn Forthorthian Army and the coup d’etat army both marched on Raustor. The Reborn Forthorthian Army had some three thousand men while the coup d’etat army had four thousand. The coup d’etat army, however, hadn’t brought all of their forces to the region as they needed to leave soldiers behind to guard the borders and put down any riots, both of which were very real concerns. With things in disarray because of the coup d’etat, an invasion from a neighboring country was a dangerous threat. And having suffered several months of tyranny, the citizens were primed to explode.
Yet even though they weren’t able to bring their full force to bear, the coup d’etat army was still superior in both numbers and quality. While the Reborn Forthorthian Army had three thousand men, the vast majority of them were untrained recruits. In reality, their actual force only had the strength of roughly 2,500, and they were up against four thousand of the Imperial Army’s trained soldiers. It seemed certain the Reborn Forthorthian Army would lose in a direct clash, but things aren’t always as they seem.
Clan was currently sitting in a tent in the Reborn Forthorthian Army’s encampment. She was operating her bracelet, holograms flashing in and out one after another in front of her. They were all images of armies in formation. Since she was in her and Koutarou’s personal tent, there was no fear of anyone accidentally walking in and seeing what she was doing, which was using her observation device to scout the enemy.
“How does it look?”
Koutarou, who was right next to her and watching the feed with her, didn’t quite know what to make of it all. Clan glanced over and began explaining it to him.
“It looks like they’re gearing up for a field battle. They’ve left the fort and are gathering in the plain.”
“Since they have the advantage in numbers, they can afford to go into a straightforward battle, huh?”
“Well, it’s true that we’re more like a mob than an army compared to them.”
The coup d’etat army had left the local fort and deployed almost all of their troops on the plain. Staying in the fort would have given them a defensive advantage, but it would have kept them from making full use of their numbers. So in the interest of offensive power, the coup d’etat army decided to leave the fort to try and crush the Reborn Forthorthian Army in one fell swoop. A full-on assault like that would also likely result in less casualties than a drawn-out battle to defend the fort.
“Which means we’re probably in trouble.”
“It does indeed seem that way.”
While looking at the footage relayed by the observation device, Koutarou and Clan both leaned in and continued to discuss their current situation. Though they were supposed to be a knight and his servant, they looked more like a general and his strategist.
“At this rate, we’re almost certainly going to be destroyed.”
“As strong as this armor is, it’s not enough to hold off several thousand men,” Koutarou said as he knocked on his armor.
The armor he was wearing had been created with cutting-edge Forthorthian science, so in this day and age, it had unparalleled strength. There was simply no way he could lose to normal soldiers. But no matter how strong he was, if his allies were defeated before he could take down all the enemies, that strength would be meaningless. He wouldn’t be able to win this war relying on the power of his armor alone.
“Your armor, huh? Speaking of, Veltlion...” Clan said as she glanced at his arm. “How’s your left arm? Can you move it properly?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem. I can move it just fine.”
Koutarou held his left arm out in front of him and repeatedly opened and closed his fist. During his battle with Clan, the armor around his left arm had been destroyed. It was replaced with Kiriha’s gauntlet, but Clan had only just recently repaired the armor to incorporate the gauntlet into it.
“Can you use your fire and electricity even with the gauntlet like that?”
“Yeah, it works just fine.”
“Good.”
Clan flashed a satisfied smile and adjusted her glasses. She’d been worried about Koutarou, so hearing that was a genuine relief. His defensive and offensive abilities were greatly reduced as long the armor was compromised. And if it was no longer airtight, he would be at a risk underwater or in space.
“Your repairs are perfect. Thank you, Clan.”
“I felt like an idiot having to repair something I broke myself...”
“Yup, I felt the same way. Anyways, you’re a big help.”
“Ugh...”
Hearing that, Clan blushed and coughed a couple of times to hide her embarrassment before returning to the topic at hand.
“M-More importantly, about what we do next... We can’t just face them head-on. What should we do?”
“Heh, that’s where you come in, right, Clan-san?”
While Clan’s face was still red, another girl in the tent called out to her. It was Lidith Maxfern. She was Maxfern’s niece, but she had cut her ties with him and allied with Alaia. Since she was a scholar who studied alchemy, she was incredibly knowledgeable and had been serving as Clan’s assistant. Because of that, she understood that Koutarou and Clan were using extremely advanced technology.
“Ahem... Yes, Clan. Tell us your plan.”
�
��We could use a decoy to lure them away from the fort completely, seize it while it’s defenseless, and then use it against them. By doing that, we’d gain access to the weapons stored in the fort, and we’d be able to make up for some of the difference between our forces by using the fort for a defensive advantage.”
“So hopefully without their supplies stored in the fort and without any siege weaponry, they’d be forced to retreat, perhaps?”
Clan had consulted with a war support AI, and Lidith caught on to the real gist of the plan before Koutarou did. Everyone believed Koutarou was the one devising the army’s strategies, but in reality, it was Clan and Lidith behind them.
“I see. That’s a good idea. So how exactly will we do it?”
“Veltlion, tonight you will lead the soldiers out and hide in the forest.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll take a decoy force and lead the enemy’s main force away from the town. If I succeed, I will contact you and you will raid the fort.”
“And I’ll be in charge of communications.”
“All right, let’s go with that. I’ll report our plan to Princess Alaia while you guys work out the details.”
“Roger.”
Koutarou left the tent alone. As the standing commander of the Reborn Forthorthian Army, it was his job to report to Alaia.
“Contact all troops. Tell them that if we are found now, everything will be for naught. Proceed with caution.”
“Understood, Your Excellency.”
The recruit Koutarou was talking to saluted and disappeared in the dark woods. Seeing that, Koutarou began walking again, but at a much slower pace than normal.
Koutarou and his troops were currently marching through the forest in the dead of night. He was leading the march of 2,500 men since he could see in the dark thanks to his armor. Between his night vision, an accurate map, and Clan’s observation device covering them, Koutarou was able to navigate his troops through the dark forest without using any light.
However, the people of this age had a tendency to be slightly more fearful of the dark than Koutarou and Clan were. There were a lot of anxious soldiers who wanted to light a fire, so in order to keep them calm and to keep the army together, Koutarou had the troops moving at a slow march. They couldn’t be too rash. They had to hold it together until Clan started her diversion at dawn.
Clan, Flair, and Caris were on the opposite side of the fort, deploying five hundred men in a position where they stood out. They would then cleverly use Clan’s technology and Caris’s magic to make the force look several times larger, and the plan would be set in motion once the coup d’etat army saw them at first light. If all went well, they’d take the bait and sortie to go after them.
“Your Excellency, may I ask a question?”
A young man who served as an adjutant whispered to Koutarou. Hearing his words, Koutarou smiled wryly.
“I don’t mind, but... I keep telling you that you don’t have to be so formal.”
“I understand... but you’re our bastion of hope, Your Excellency.”
Koutarou’s adjutant was a few years older than him, but he always treated Koutarou with utmost respect. Everyone in the Reborn Forthorthian Army did. He’d earned quite a reputation among the people of Forthorthe. Not only had he saved a farm village that had been poisoned and attacked by a giant during its harvest festival, Koutarou had repelled the princess’s pursuers and safely escorted her to the Pardomshiha territory. It didn’t take long for rumors of a knight in blue armor named Layous to begin spreading throughout the kingdom.
“Hahh...”
However, Koutarou himself was perplexed by his current situation. Originally he was only supposed to be acting as a substitute for the real Blue Knight, but they’d ended up reaching the Pardomshiha territory without ever finding him. Now they’d moved into the beginnings of war, and Koutarou was leading an army that should have been the Blue Knight’s. He’d practically stolen his role, and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.
To make matters worse, Koutarou didn’t really have any power to speak of. He had gotten his spirit sight from Sanae, his armor from Theia, and his gauntlet that could create electricity and fire from Kiriha. And while he was unaware of it, he was also being protected by Yurika’s magic. It was all power that had been bestowed upon him by others. It made him feel awkward and guilty that people were acknowledging it as his own.
“...So, what did you want to ask?”
However, nothing would come from worrying about it. He couldn’t tell anyone the truth, nor could he fight on his strength alone. As he changed gears, Koutarou urged the young adjutant to continue.
“If I may, Your Excellency, why don’t you kill your enemies?”
His question concerned how Koutarou fought. Even on the battlefield, Koutarou only used nonlethal force. He used the powers of his armor and gauntlet to knock his enemies out or injure them enough to incapacitate them. In the military strategy of this time period, it seemed like a liability rather than an act of mercy.
“They’re not the real enemy.”
This wasn’t the first time Koutarou had been asked that question. Clan and Flair had both posed it before, so he knew exactly how to answer and did so without hesitation.
“Huh?”
Koutarou’s answer was the same as the Blue Knight’s in Theia’s play. He didn’t kill his enemies either, and there was a scene regarding that in the manuscript.
“They are not our enemy. They are still citizens of Forthorthe, and Princess Alaia would mourn the loss of any of her people, regardless of the reason.”
Koutarou was using lines from the play, but in reality, he felt the same way. He didn’t want to make Alaia—or Theia—sad.
“And just between us, there’s a strategic significance to it too.”
“A strategic significance, you say?”
“Yeah. It usually takes two men to carry a wounded or incapacitated soldier off the battlefield. In other words, by not killing them, we’re reducing their numbers even more.”
That was a bit of modern strategy Koutarou had learned from Clan. By killing enemies, their forces are only reduced by the number of men slain. However, when merely injuring them, other soldiers try and help them or get them to safety. Time and resources are then devoted to their care. So by hurting one soldier, it was possible to reduce the enemy’s numbers by two or more. Such strategy was commonly employed in modern warfare. Weapons like landmines were often designed to injure rather than kill in order to increase the burden on the opposing force. It was rather devious in its own way.
“That might be true... but you shouldn’t put yourself in danger like that, Your Excellency!”
What worried the young adjutant the most was that Koutarou often ended up in dangerous situations in battle. There were plenty of soldiers who faked being incapacitated, and Koutarou had gotten himself into trouble that way more than once already. Fortunately, thanks to the power of his armor, he’d made it out all right every time, but it still made his adjutant nervous. He didn’t want to lose the army’s beacon of hope over something like that. He would rather see their enemies dead than Koutarou.
“There’s no need to worry. I made an oath to Princess Alaia. That I would protect her without fail. And in order to fulfill that oath, I cannot die.”
“Yes, of course... Forgive me, Your Excellency.”
“No, it’s okay.”
An oath was the most important thing to a knight. And once Koutarou brought that up, the adjutant had no room left to argue. It was an unsatisfying conclusion for him, but there was nothing he could do when Koutarou played his trump card as a knight.
I’m sorry. Here you are all worried about me...
So while smiling wryly, Koutarou apologized to his adjutant internally.
The capital of Fornorn was a small city by modern standards, but it was one of the largest in existence in this day and age. It served as a symbol of the prosperity and strength of Forthor
the, and of the generosity and wisdom of the royal family protecting it. However, right now, there was not a single royal in the capital. There was indeed a palace in the center of the city, but the man sitting on the throne was no emperor.
Violbarum Maxfern was a traitor. He was a member of the Maxfern family, famous for producing scholars and politicians. Maxfern himself served the emperor as a minister, but he had betrayed the royal family, assassinating the emperor and usurping the throne for the sake of his own ambitions.
“So Raustor has fallen, has it?”
A man’s voice echoed throughout the throne room. Despite being middle-aged, he was a strong, fit man with a powerful voice to match. It was Maxfern.
“That was faster than expected.”
Maxfern had his elbows planted on the arms of the throne with his hands clasped together as he spoke.
“Yes, I thought it would take a little more time, but it seems like they’re more powerful than we expected.”
The man who answered him was a tall, elderly man with gray hair. Though cloaked in robes, it was obvious he was slight of frame. He gave off the opposite impression of Maxfern. This was the head of the court magicians, Grevanas. He’d served the royal family since the time of the previous emperor. He himself was the strongest magician in the country and was known as one of the seven archwizards. However, alongside Maxfern, he had incited the coup d’etat and betrayed the country.
“It seems they fell for a feint in front of the fort, and when they sent out their forces, the fort was attacked from behind and seized right under their noses.”
“That’s quite a strategy from Alaia. She looked like she couldn’t harm a fly, but she’s come a long way...”
Just moments ago, Grevanas had gotten the report from one of his subordinates indicating that the town of Raustor and the fort within had fallen to the Reborn Forthorthian Army. Yet despite the bad news, neither Maxfern nor Grevanas seemed particularly disappointed. If anything, it was seemingly the opposite. It was as if they were welcoming of Alaia’s success.