Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

42

Alse, who stoically withstands, and Julian, who persistently reduces the number of cavalry.

In the Sestes Plain, amidst such a strange confrontation, other battlefields were also in turmoil.

In the first battle that unfolded in the northern Godin Valley, Kaien achieved visible results against Dugnan, forcing the Caliphe army to take a step back.

Retreating, Dugnan utilized the supplies he had prepared to build a fortress and went on the defensive.

Meanwhile, in the Moro Mountains, Giliath Melben launched an attack, but Caliphe’s general, Ironheart, successfully repelled Albad’s army using the fortifications he had already set up.

Thus, amidst the deadlock on the northern front, fierce battles raged in the Pauldic Mountains defended by Rootger.

The Pauldic Mountains where Wade first appeared.

Just like back then, Albad’s 4th general, Yussis Goldray, was facing a strange sense of pressure while commanding the army.

“What in the world!”

He felt like his mind was being completely read.

“Report! The unit pioneering the western infiltration route has been defeated by enemy ambush! The enemy has concealed their tracks again!”

“Urgent! The eastern infiltration route we established has been destroyed! Enemy light forces seem to be active!”

The Caliphe army responded swiftly and decisively to every move.

“Such flawless defensive tactics. There’s no one in Caliphe’s camp who could pull that off!”

One name kept coming to Yussis’ mind.

Except for Kaien, only one general who could execute such high-level defensive tactics came to mind.

“No way…”

It was an unwelcome truth to him.

“Surely, you wouldn’t be there. Lord Rootger…!”

As Yussis pondered, Rootger was looking down at him from the mountain.

His gaze held bitterness and regret.

Anton, who was cautious of this, spoke softly.

“If by any chance you have other intentions, I also have thoughts. Lord Rosenberg.”

“Hmph, did Wade give the order? If I show signs of betrayal, am I to be dealt with?”

“No, Lord. It seems your lordship has decided to trust you.”

“Then, is it your own decision? That’s… quite a loyal servant. Surprisingly unpredictable.”

“What… do you mean?”

“I’ve always been curious. Why did you pledge loyalty to Wade? At first, I thought you were just someone Crossing planted, but it wasn’t so. Why do you serve Wade even at the cost of betraying Crossing?”

“I did not betray Crossing. We had such an agreement with Crossing from the start.”

“Agreement?”

“When the true master appears, we pledge absolute loyalty to that person. That is the oath passed down in my family. Until that master appears, our family works in Crossing, and Crossing promised to send us off when that master appears.”

“I see. Is it the family’s mission? The most precious thing to you above all else.”

Rootger nodded.

“Then I have one more question. If the person you love conflicts with your duty, what will you do? If you have to kill that person to uphold your duty?”

“I will uphold my duty.”

“You are strong. Different from me.”

“…?”

“I can’t become as ruthless as that. Even more so than my homeland, Albad. More than my life… my daughter’s happiness is more precious.”

Thud! Rootger struck the ground with his sword and commanded.

“Soon, the enemy forces will attempt to ascend the main hill! Prepare for battle, all troops! We’ll meet them fiercely!”

The Rootger of Cheolong Castle.

He showed no sign of weakness, not allowing even a single step of the Albad Army’s invasion.

* * *

The situation in the Foldec Mountains was spreading without missing a beat to the Setes Plains.

“Yusis couldn’t even take a single step closer. No matter how specialized Yusis is in defense, it’s surprising.”

Julian summed up the intelligence.

“It seems they’ve deployed a significant number of elite troops in the Foldec Mountains.”

Thinking this way, Julian could understand the Calipher Army’s principle of action.

No matter what happens, even if the cavalry becomes a shield, the Calipher Army stands firm like a fortress.

“It’s because the soldiers lack the training to launch a counterattack, making the risk too great.”

In other words, the Calipher Army heavily relies on hastily recruited conscripted soldiers.

Julian read the overall situation from fragmented information.

“Then this will be a critical move. Listen! Use up all the arrows by noon! Wipe out every last one of the enemy cavalry!”

From dawn, the Madon Army shot arrows relentlessly. Due to this attack, the cavalry, which was only 700 strong, was completely wiped out, leaving only 50 remaining.

Having confirmed this, Julian called for a guest.

“Bring Draken!”

Draken, a pure-blooded Suin. He was the one who shook the intelligence network and commanded the ambush when Madon attacked the Saleon faction.

“So, Craig. It’s finally my turn, isn’t it?”

Draken grinned menacingly, showing his teeth. Julian furrowed his brow at this.

“It seems it has come to that. You’ll have to unleash your fury.”

“The plan? Just unleash havoc?”

“No, this operation is more delicate than that. Draken. I’ll give you 3,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry from now on. Divide those forces into several branches…”

Julian’s plan was ingenious, surpassing Al’s defensive strategy.

“Plunder all the surrounding territories. This will bring the battle to a close.”

This report soon reached Al’s camp as well.

“Urgent—! The enemy has organized around 5,000 light cavalry units to flank the battlefield! Their target seems to be the surrounding territories!”

This news caught Peredi’s attention.

“Where are these surrounding territories?”

“Rosbel, Libel, Bonia, Rotus, Twiran, and Noyers are likely targets!”

Upon hearing this, Eonia’s eyes widened.

“Li, Libel…!”

Eonia hesitated, glancing at Al for a response.

The expressions of other officers hardened.

“General Wade. Shouldn’t we also divert our forces to block them?”

This was a suggestion from a Calipher-trained officer. Al remained silent.

In Al’s place, Peredi spoke with a troubled expression.

“We don’t have enough mobility for that.”

“As for mobility… could it be!”

“Yes, since the cavalry that could follow the enemy and buy time has been completely wiped out.”

“Are they aiming for that and raining arrows on the cavalry?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Julian assessed that it was difficult to thwart Al’s defensive strategy in a conventional manner. He found a breakthrough from a different direction.

The tactic of bypassing this force was akin to skillfully piercing the Achilles’ heel of the Caliphe army.

It was precisely the army’s morale.

Currently, the Caliphe army’s morale was low due to the cavalry acting as a shield against arrows.

Despite distributing slaughtered horse meat daily to maintain morale, they had taken a decisive blow due to this incident.

Caliphe officers were panicking as if fire had been lit under their feet.

“If we continue like this, there will be great confusion among the conscripted soldiers!”

Because the conscripted soldiers hailed from the surrounding territories.

If their families and hometown were in danger, their morale would plummet.

With deserters on the rise, the internal collapse was highly probable.

Julian displayed the skill of a general who viewed war, not just battles.

A cunning strategy surpassing tactics. Peredin didn’t spare his admiration.

“Julian Craig, was it? Truly remarkable. When I heard Madon entrusted the position of general to a young rookie, I was skeptical, but now I see. He indeed had the ability to do so…!”

“This is not the time for admiration! General Wade! Please do not stay idle and provide a solution!”

Officers gazed at Al as if hanging on his every word. Eonia, too, was at a loss on what to do, pacing back and forth.

“…Sigh.”

Al let out a quiet sigh.

“Even coming this far, not a single person understands the true intention of the operation. Perhaps I’ve kept too many bystanders around. Well, most of those here are not my men… I suppose I should recruit more strategists.”

Upon this, Eonia bit her lip tightly.

‘I should have understood Lord Al!’

But some things were beyond her control.

Al continued speaking.

“The plan is already in place. Everything is proceeding as scheduled. Prepare for a full-scale battle. From this moment onwards is the turning point. Follow the orders swiftly.”

“What?”

Officers widened their eyes at the battle readiness command.

“Are you serious at this hour? The sun will set in 4 hours. It will take over an hour just to prepare for battle! Engaging in combat now will likely lead to a night battle!”

“It’s alright. The outcome will be decided before that.”

“Moreover, the army’s morale is too low for combat!”

“Whose morale? Whose morale is said to be low?”

“What…?”

As the battle readiness command was issued, soldiers moved without hesitation. There was no sign of morale decline due to the bypass of forces.

Witnessing this, Peredin was astonished.

“Surely, could it be…!”

Even Eonia involuntarily swallowed hard.

“I, I can’t believe it. To predict up to this point…!?”

The reason Eonia was astonished was simple.

Among the approximately 23,000 troops in the Caliphe camp here, not a single conscripted soldier served under Caliphe.

* * *

Chuk! Chuk! Chuk! The Caliper Army marched in unison.

Julian furrowed his brow at the sight. His subordinates didn’t hold back their mockery, calling it a foolish act.

“They’ve finally shown their true colors!”

“Emerging without a clue! hahahahaha!”

But Julian’s thoughts were different.

“No, this might just be the only chance given to the Caliper Army.”

“The only chance?”

“Sitting idle could lead to our army crumbling from within. However, entering battle now will at least give us a fighting chance.”

Moreover, with Madon detaching 5,000 light cavalry, the forces were almost evenly matched at 25,000 each.

“In that case…!”

“Well, no need to worry. Our army won’t crumble against such rabble. If we hold on until sunset, victory will be ours. Prepare the defense! Move quickly!”

Madon’s forces began their defense.

Julian followed Alz’s defense plan closely.

They densely positioned 23,000 infantry in the center and 1,000 cavalry on each flank.

“Try to penetrate the defense you once boasted about.”

But Alz lightly scoffed at this defense.

“What a foolish move.”

As the Caliper Army closed in, when the distance between the two sides was about 100 meters, the Caliper Army began their maneuvers.

“Move! Charge with all your might!”

“No room for stragglers! Hurry up!”

Officers barked orders harshly.

Due to the full force movement, chaos erupted in the Caliper formation, soldiers becoming entangled.

Seeing this, Julian thought the Caliper had lost control, but it was the opposite.

Alz, with remarkable focus, controlled the officers, establishing clear order amidst chaos.

And then, Julian felt a deep unease for the first time.

“What’s this eerie feeling?”

The Caliper’s current movements were reckless. Closing the gap with the enemy and creating disorder within their own ranks?

If there were arrows left, a direct volley would have caused significant damage.

However, Madon’s forces had no arrows left; they had used them all on the cavalry.

“Did they anticipate this situation? No way. That can’t be true.”

Then it happened.

Whoosh! The Caliper formation, which seemed entangled, elegantly split into two branches like unraveling threads, striking both flanks of Madon’s forces.

With the momentum already built within the formation, the charge was swift.

hehehe! Madon’s cavalry, caught off guard by the unexpected assault.

Julian bit his lip.

“Damn it! Was that maneuver to prevent the cavalry from charging?”

Just as Julian had deliberated on handling the cavalry, Alz had decided to deal with the cavalry on the flanks first.

Intentionally entangling the forces to conceal the charge’s path and then concentrating the weight on both sides to strike simultaneously.

The cavalry, which gains strength by charging, instead lost its power when it was attacked first.

“General! I will send infantry to support from the flanks!”

“No! That will weaken the center! They aim to divert our main forces’ attention to the flanks and break through the weakened center!”

There were still about 3,000 troops remaining in the front.

Julian thought that among these 3,000 soldiers, there would be the arrogant one who had shot an arrow at him.

“Trying to make a comeback by targeting my neck. Impossible! Send word to the cavalry on the flanks! Retreat temporarily to the rear and prepare for a charge! Concentrate the remaining infantry in the center!”

Once the infantry in the center held their ground by concentrating their strength, the cavalry, prepared for a charge, could attack from the flanks and crush the enemy in reverse.

Of course, for this to happen, the infantry in the center needed to buy time.

According to Julian’s estimation, that time could not exceed 30 minutes.

He believed they couldn’t endure that time.

“The enemy will press in from both sides! Hold your ground, everyone!”

However.

“Checkmate.”

With those murmured words, Alz fired! An arrow bound in purple cloth soared into the sky.

Then thud! Thud! The infantrymen at the front seemed to anticipate it, starting to take a defensive stance as if they were waiting for something.

Rather than pressing in from both sides, they raised shields and formed a straight line defense. As if to protect something behind them.

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“Defense…!?”

Why would they do such a thing?

As Julian pondered this question, Alz passed a death sentence.

“Fire at will!”