Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

41

The war between Caliper and Albad was drawing attention from across the continent.

This was a significant war in progress, and above all, the possibility of Caliper’s downfall made it crucial.

With the potential drastic change in the continent’s balance if Caliper were to fall, intelligence agents from various countries were dispatched to monitor the war’s progress.

Therefore, when news spread that Wade had appeared at the Sethes Crossroad, there was an air of anticipation that Caliper had finally drawn its sword.

Similarly, upon hearing this news, General Sofia Veron of Beccabia wore a grim expression.

“Wade… seems to be real this time.”

It was easy to deduce that the Wade put forth by the Salleon faction was a fake.

Despite the possibility of another impostor this time, it was hard to believe that Caliper would present a fake in such circumstances.

“Either Wade is connected to Crossing or Caliper, or both.”

With clues narrowing down the suspects, Sofia was tracking Wade’s true identity, but there were too many impostors mimicking Wade, causing confusion.

As a helmet was all it took to impersonate Wade, impostors were appearing from all corners, making it impossible to track Wade’s movements.

“That’s not all.”

Sofia believed that Crossing or Caliper was intentionally spreading misinformation to cause confusion.

Otherwise, his identity wouldn’t be shrouded in such mystery.

“Princess, do you think Wade can turn the tide?”

At Lieutenant Macully’s inquiry, Sofia’s expression darkened.

She hoped that Wade, who had humiliated her before, would not be defeated, but if he was, this operation would also be jeopardized.

“From our perspective, we can only hope for Wade’s failure.”

That way, the Crossing army facing Caliper’s direction would come to support them.

Facing Juarez’s 50,000 troops at the Carington Plain, Sofia couldn’t see a way to win in a head-on confrontation.

“In that case, it should be fine, Princess. Julian Craig, known as Albad’s future, will be there.”

Gylias, one of the disciples of Uzis and Kyan, who unusually rose to the position of Madon’s Grand Marshal with exceptional speed.

Many praised him as the next great strategist.

The sages judged the showdown between him and Wade in this way.

As a clash of supernovas.

* * *

Both sides were heading into a full-scale battle.

Alss led his army of 24,000 towards the Setes Plains.

“Hurry up, move quickly!”

“Prepare yourselves! The enemy could launch an attack at any moment!”

As Caliper’s side was positioning their soldiers, Madon’s army appeared about a kilometer away.

An army of nearly 30,000 from Madon.

At the forefront was a man in golden armor, riding a horse. It was Julian Craig.

Looking at Caliper’s camp, he smirked.

“Oh, indeed, the real deal is different.”

He felt a chilling aura emanating from Caliper’s camp. It was an intangible pressure that could make bones tremble if taken lightly.

“Shall we test our skills?”

He was relaxed.

The retainers referred to themselves and Wade as supernovas, but from Julian’s perspective, it was nothing more than a joke.

“Just mercenaries, after all.”

Of course, he didn’t deny their skills. But he could never agree that they were equals.

“Defeated Giliath? Made Beccabia’s genius princess surrender? I could do that too.”

To Julian, who already considered himself on par with the ten Gallants, facing Wade was merely a pastime.

He had a reason for such ease.

His extensive spy network.

Through his spies, he was keeping track of Caliper’s movements.

“They are selecting skilled archers and preparing combat horses and bows from nearby territories, right? The first move seems quite noisy.”

Having easily deciphered his intentions, Julian smirked and instructed the advanced soldiers.

“Prepare for enemy assault. It’s best to polish your shields well.”

Although the soldiers questioned the meaning behind his orders, they obediently prepared their defenses and checked their shields as instructed.

An hour later.

As both armies settled in their positions, something happened.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Out of nowhere, around a hundred cavalrymen started charging from Caliper’s camp.

“Enemy attack! Cavalry is coming!”

Julian’s lieutenant, Roughneck, said.

“What could their intention be? Just a hundred cavalry charging in.”

“It’s not a charge, you fool.”

“Yes?”

“Raise the shields, soldiers!”

As Julian’s command rang out, the movement of the cavalry changed drastically.

The cavalry, now moving sideways, drew their bows and began shooting arrows towards Madon’s side.

Thud! Arrows struck the shields. However, with the momentum of the horses, some arrows pierced through the shields, causing injuries to some soldiers.

Among them, Eonia’s archery skills were nothing short of extraordinary.

“Ah!”

Phing! An arrow with a pure white feather accurately pierced the forehead of the officer leading the advanced unit.

Time flew by. Even the speed of her shooting was exceptional.

While other archers were halfway through emptying their quivers, Eonia had already emptied one quiver and was loading the next.

“General, the losses are significant!”

“Seems so. It wasn’t for nothing that I deployed the mounted archers. Must be a remarkable archer in their ranks.”

“We must take action! If we continue like this, the losses will only grow!”

“Indeed. Demonic! Are you ready?”

At this, a man with a grim expression smirked as he replied.

“Of course, General. I will make them regret daring to challenge us.”

“Hmph, don’t get cocky.”

“Alright, 1st Archer Division, prepare!”

Whoosh! Under Demonic’s command, the elite archer division of Maron aimed at the mounted archers.

Eonia chuckled at this gesture.

“Heh! Arrows are coming! Get out of range!”

The mounted archers quickly moved out of range.

“Fire!”

Maron’s army tried to predict this and set up a kind of net to catch them, but the cavalry smoothly evaded the range.

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However, Demonic’s arrow was different.

Swoosh! An arrow with a bluish aura pierced accurately through the head of a soldier riding a horse.

Considering the horse’s speed exceeding 50 km/h, the accuracy was unbelievable.

“See that, Caliper’s lackeys.”

Demonic smirked.

“Predict their path and concentrate fire!”

Demonic then aimed at the head of a horse running in the middle.

“Ha!”

Thud! With the head pierced, the horse collapsed without even a scream, causing eight cavalrymen to fall as well.

Arrows rained down on them like a storm.

“Ahh!”

“Help, help…!”

There was no way to survive the downpour of arrows. Eonia’s cavalry was dwindling.

Under Demonic’s command, Maron’s archer division was gaining momentum.

“I will rout the enemies like this! Do not fear those little flies!”

Demonic was not only Maron’s top archer but also one of the most renowned archers on the continent.

One of the top ten archers on the continent, signifying exceptional archery skills.

“hahahaha! Coming out strong, but nothing special!”

However, that was as far as he could raise his voice.

His next arrow failed to pierce through anything.

“What…?”

Demonic expressed doubt at his arrow disappearing midway.

He dismissed it as a coincidence and shot another arrow, but thunk! His arrow was shot down midway.

“What in the…?”

Shooting down an arrow in mid-flight. It was a skill even the self-proclaimed master of archery, the Ten Archers, couldn’t imitate.

Eonia effortlessly achieved that.

She even read the trajectory of the arrow, pinpointed the location of the Demonic, and where Julian was positioned.

“There.”

Eonia gazed intently at where the Demonic was.

Then, clang-clang-clang! Amidst the loud clanging, a red cloth-wrapped arrow soared high into the sky from the Caliper base. It was a signal of Alz’s retreat.

Eonia immediately shouted, “Retreat as planned! We’ll tend to the wounded and return to our camp!”

The cavalry began to retreat, carrying fallen soldiers on their horses.

And at that moment, Eonia took an impulsive action. She alone diverted the direction of the cavalry towards where Lord Madon was.

“Here we go!”

Clippity-clop! The horse accelerated.

When the horse reached its peak speed, Eonia drew two arrows.

“Ha!”

Swish! With all her might, Eonia shot the arrow, tearing through the air, aimed at the Demonic commanding the archers and Julian positioned at the center of the camp.

The Demonic couldn’t react to this surprise attack. Despite being able to handle Alz, there was a gap in skill level between him and Eonia.

Moreover, with the added momentum of the horse, the speed of the arrow was immense. The arrow pierced through the Demonic’s head like a bullet, penetrating through his armor and into the heart of a soldier behind him.

Fortunately, Julian, who had some distance, was spared.

“What!?”

Thud! Julian, shocked, had to hastily dismount from his horse.

Thwack! The arrow penetrated the head of the guard behind Julian, then lodged into the armor of the soldier behind him.

“Damn, one missed.”

Cursing under her breath, Eonia retreated. Julian’s face turned pale as he fell to the ground.

“Don’t let her escape! All archers, fire at will! Bring down that fool who foolishly approached us! Cavalry, hurry and chase her!”

Pew-pew-pew! Arrows rained down.

“Here we go!”

Eonia displayed mastery in cavalry tactics.

As she turned the reins, her horse seemed to lie down and change direction. If they had gone just 1m further, they would have been hit by the arrow shower, making the situation even more dramatic.

Thus, Eonia narrowly avoided the arrows shot at her and barely managed to retreat successfully.

“Damn it!”

With frustration, Julian threw his helmet.

After this surprise attack by the cavalry archers, Madon suffered 162 casualties and lost Demonic, the core officer of the archer unit, causing unease from the very first skirmish.

* * *

After successfully concluding the surprise attack by the cavalry archers, the Caliper’s camp.

“Sigh…”

Eonia knelt down with a heavy heart.

Although Alz didn’t explicitly tell her to kneel, it seemed like a habit from her childhood scoldings that made Eonia unknowingly kneel.

“I told you. Don’t make impulsive moves outside the plan.”

“I’m sorry… I thought it was a good opportunity since the enemy’s key officer was visible…”

“You fool. What good is that if you almost died?”

“Unsightly….”

“Listen carefully. Even if we were to assassinate the enemy general, I would not be pleased if you were to get hurt or killed.”

“Alz, sir….”

“Just follow my plan. Don’t worry unnecessarily.”

“Got it!”

Eonia quickly regained her composure and smiled.

Alz sighed, wondering if he was truly understood.

Just then, Ilya, who had recently returned to the unit, approached Alz.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Eonia is doing all this for your sake too.”

“It’s because the direction is wrong that she’s doing this. And you’ve arrived sooner than expected. How did the cavalry’s deployment go?”

“That’s the thing….”

“Not so well?”

“Yeah, the archers could make it, but we couldn’t gather most of the cavalry. It was all expected.”

“It couldn’t be helped.”

Due to the mountainous terrain in the Calipha Kingdom, cavalry was not well-developed. They only had the basic setup, with most of their forces focusing on infantry.

Hence, strategically raising cavalry was uncommon even in their territories.

When it came to horses, there were more draft and pack animals than battle horses.

Out of the 24,000 troops this time, there were 2,000 cavalry. This was unusually high for the Calipha Army, as all available cavalry was deployed here due to this being a plain battlefront, while the other fronts were all mountain warfare.

“Isn’t that a problem then? From what I gather, it seems like you’re trying to utilize cavalry archers in your tactics….”

“Huh? No, we’re not thinking like that.”

“Considering the recent success, it seemed like a good tactic.”

“The first time was successful due to surprise, but it gets harder from the second time on. Besides, the terrain doesn’t allow for mass deployment of cavalry archers.”

“Then why….”

Why were cavalry called from another territory?

In response to this question, Alz chuckled while looking towards Madon.

“It’s just a feint. We showed the enemy that we intend to use cavalry archers… or rather, cavalry.”

“Perhaps.”

“Yes. This way, the enemy won’t stay idle.”

As Alz predicted, Madon immediately took action.

Julian was fuming.

Whether it was the attack of the cavalry archers, or the annoyance of the scouts who pretended to be captured soldiers, it all irritated him.

Alz’s own scout report contained blatant mockery.

─Sorry if our kid startled you. I heard he crawled on the ground in a pathetic manner. Not really, right? If that’s the case, let me know so I can help keep the rumors from spreading elsewhere. If word gets out that my opponent is that stupid, I’ll be laughed at too.

The content was wrapped in difficult words and expressions.

“This guy…!”

Julian knew it was just a provocation, but he couldn’t help the rising anger.

He couldn’t stand it when someone beneath him enjoyed themselves at his expense.

His subordinate, Roughneck, spoke, troubled.

“General, now that Demonic is dead, dealing with the enemy cavalry archers will become more challenging.”

“Of course.”

From the start, there was a difference in perspective.

Mardon had to defeat the enemy and occupy this area. Sitting still meant being slowly devoured by the enemy’s mounted archers.

“Hmph, don’t let them act recklessly.”

The Sethes intersection was not as vast a plain as Alz’s boasts made it out to be.

“Advance all forces! Close the gap with the enemy!”

So when Mardon closed the distance, the space needed to maneuver the mounted archers disappeared.

Of course, Mardon could pull the mounted troops to the rear for operation, but that would make it difficult for the infiltrated mounted troops in the rear to retreat.

Since mounted archers relied on a supply of arrows, they couldn’t be used without a retreat strategy.

Thus, by narrowing the distance, the mounted archers were rendered useless.

General Julian Craig’s precise reading of the situation drew admiration from his subordinates.

“You truly are remarkable.”

“It’s clear the enemies are thrown off.”

Having heard enough flattery, Julian ignored them, his gaze fixed on the Caliper camp as if nailed there.

“We’ve blocked the mounted archers, but… the issue is how to crush that.”

Alz’s deployed defense.

Alz concentrated 20,000 infantry in the center, flanked by 1,000 mounted troops on each side for mobility.

If Mardon’s army attacked the central infantry, the plan was for the mounted troops on the flanks to pierce the sides.

“It’s not an easy defense to break… First, we need to draw out the mounted troops on the flanks.”

Deciding so, Julian split his 4,000 archers in half and stationed them on the flanks. In front of them, he placed 4,000 infantry to block the mounted charge, then positioned around 6,000 troops on each flank, advancing to the range of arrows.

“Good, fire!”

Arrows rained down on the Caliper mounted troops on the flanks.

hehehehe! Horses hit by arrows panicked, soldiers fell, injured, or dead.

Mardon’s forces began to shake the flanks.

Eonia, in a fit of anger, shouted, “Lord Wade! We must charge the mounted troops immediately!”

If the mounted troops charged, the enemy would have no choice but to retreat.

With a significant force stationed on the flanks, if the Caliper forces charged the mounted troops on the flanks and tied them down, the center would be exposed, and Mardon would have to retreat to deal with the threat.

However, Alz did not act that way.

“That’s what the enemy wants. Just leave it be.”

“But if we continue like this, the morale of the soldiers…”

As most of the mounted troops were from Kurabel, Eonia lamented.

Frustration was evident in Paladin, the leader of the Kurabel soldiers, just like Eonia.

A former third general of the Kurabel Empire, a senior aged man, Paladin expressed his frustration.

“If we continue like this, the soldiers’ morale will drop.”

“And?”

“And so… don’t we need a solution?”

“You… Paladin, isn’t it? In your opinion, what do you think is the most crucial in the current situation?”

“Well…”

“Guarding this position. Our goal is to hold the area. Yielding to the enemy’s provocations and acting rashly would be a mistake.”

It was cruel but logical.

“The enemy is shooting arrows to pull back the cavalry positioned on both wings. Are you going to move according to the enemy’s intention?”

“Not exactly. But just taking arrows as they come…”

“It might happen. Right now, that’s the best move. Regardless, with cavalry on both wings, the enemy won’t rush in.”

“Ugh…!”

The frustrated Iliya said.

“In that case, how about pulling back the cavalry on the wings?”

“If we do that, we risk being flanked by the enemy cavalry. It’s better to leave them be.”

A tense atmosphere lingered at Al’s ruthless command.

As Al came out with no response, Julian narrowed his eyes.

“Hmm, Wade. He was that kind of general.”

For the sake of certain victory in battle, any sacrifice and means were justified.

The decision to expose the cavalry to arrows strategically wasn’t bad. Caliper was more on the defensive side. Charging in for an attack was a significant risk.

Moreover, while many battle horses died, not many soldiers did. They were protected by thick leather armor and shields.

Madon’s archers were shooting from a safe distance, fearing the sudden charge of the cavalry and Caliper’s archers, so the power of the arrows wasn’t significant.

In fact, more soldiers were trampled to death by the frenzied horses.

“He’s a frighteningly ruthless man.”

He was also the most challenging type to break down. Nothing could provoke or lure him.

“General, the arrows are about to run out. Shall I cease fire?”

“….”

Julian closed his eyes tightly, lost in thought.

“General?”

“…No! Keep firing all we have. And relay to the rear supply unit to bring more arrows!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Wade… You seem to have mastered military tactics, but you’re still a rookie. You’re overlooking the most crucial thing. Let me show you the difference in class, what war truly is.”

He smiled as if he had found the ultimate strategy.

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* * *

Madon’s arrow assault continued relentlessly.

The target was still the cavalry on the flanks. The cavalry soldiers starting to receive concentrated fire.

Al’s solution to this was even more ruthless.

“Blindfold the horses so they won’t go wild. If they can’t see the incoming arrows, they’ll be less likely to panic. If a horse tries to go wild, immediately stab it in the head to kill it.”

And the soldiers riding the horses were provided with sturdier, denser armor and shields.

As a result, the soldiers’ death toll noticeably decreased, but the rate at which the battle horses died became alarmingly fast.

Due to Madon’s exhaustive arrow barrage, the total of 2,000 battle horses had dropped to 700 by the third day of the battle.

And on this third day, Al called Iliya and gave him some instructions.

“I’ll ask for your favor, master. Please move as discreetly as possible this time.”

…!

Upon hearing the command, Iliya widened his eyes, then nodded heavily.

It was the moment when Julian’s stratagem and Al’s stratagem intersected, the hidden moves each had prepared for each other.