CH 365

Chapter 365 – Chrysanthemum War II (6)

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Our troops broke the enemy’s spirit without mercy.

Only blood, dust, and screams were left behind in the areas stomped on by our warhorses.

“Kuagh!”

“D-Do not back down! It will be the end of us if we back down now!”

Despite having been wholly ambushed, the royal army of Sardinia kept pushing themselves. However, this was still only the beginning of the hellscape. Once our first line succeeded in their charge, the second, third, and fourth lines followed suit with great intensity.

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– Voooooooo.

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The sound of bugles rang out all around.

The rear cavalrymen re-entered the place that the first line had passed.

The enemy had started to flee at a certain point, but it wasn’t certain when exactly.

They might have been able to endure the second charge. However, the enemy couldn’t even retaliate against the third charge. By the time our fourth charge happened, the enemy troops were already fleeing for their lives. The victor had been decided.

“Don’t run away, you cowards!”

A voice rang out from behind the enemy troops at that moment.

“Who will protect our families and neighbors if you run away now!? Protect Pavia! Protect the people! And prove to the world that you are not cowards who abandon their comrades!”

The voice sounded like it belonged to a middle-aged man. He was shouting angrily.

Only the commanders would use amplification magic during battle. Although the expensive price tags on magic artifacts also weighed in on this, it would only be confusing if multiple people were to amplify their voices and shout at the same time.

Therefore, the owner of that voice was either Earl Pavia or one of his direct subordinates.

“How brave.”

“But it is pointless.”

Laura smirked after she heard my praise.

“They allowed themselves to be ambushed in the dead of night. Even Big Sister Barbatos wouldn’t be able to do anything in a situation like this. Not only is bravery pointless in a time like this—but they even revealed where their commander is located.”

Laura glanced at me. I responded with a nod and proceeded to give another order.

“Fifth line, charge at the enemy commander!”

The fifth line which had been on standby this entire time started their advance. If you exclude our light cavalrymen, they were actually our last remaining soldiers. Laura had positioned elites in the first and fifth lines for this situation specifically.

Earl Pavia probably heard the command I gave.

“Fight back! Rather than live a coward, die honorably in battle!”

His cry was like that of a rabid beast.

“Goddess Artemis will remember this night! Blood for the Goddess!”

“Blood for the Goddess!”

There was still a fair number of enemy troops around Earl Pavia. They were probably the knight order from Pavia or Milano. The less than forty knights gave out a cry. The commander ordered and the knights responded.

“Glory to our countrymen! Death to our enemies!”

“Hurrah!”

“All hail His Highness the King!”

The knights hailed their king as they charged at us.

Their charge was truly heroic. However, they had a severe disadvantage in terms of numbers. Our fifth line consisted of a thousand men. They weren’t poorly equipped like the light cavalrymen. They were the most veteran cavalrymen that had been on the battlefield for decades. A thousand heavy cavalry clashed with forty knights.

“All hail His Highness the King!”

“For the plains of Sardinia!”

As expected, the knights were strong. Even though their charging distance was much shorter than ours, they were able to slaughter about a hundred to two hundred troops in an instant. Before long, there were only about a dozen knights left near the Earl. Their banner had long fallen to the ground.

“Impressive. Truly remarkable……!”

I expressed my deep satisfaction.

I had an acquired sickness. It was my phobia of knights.

Ever since my loss to Henrietta on Saint-Denis Plains, I would experience an orgasmic feeling of pleasure whenever I watched knights die pitifully. I wasn’t lying. This feeling was actually better than climaxing during sex.

It’d be wonderful if all the knights in the world died off. I’m serious.

“Huhaha. It was worth paying so much to hire these men. Kill them more! Shatter their helmets that look needlessly expensive. Crush their armor and feed them to the dogs.”

“……Is that all you feel after watching their charge?”

Laura looked appalled. It was like she was staring at food waste.

“Oh, their charge was indeed noble and brave, but that does not matter! That makes them deserve to be sullied even more! It would only be polite to dye a white sheet of paper in black paint. Slaughter them, warriors of Helvetica! Prove that knights are third-class soldiers that are only glossy on the outside!”

“How did I fall in love with such a man……?”

Laura let out a sigh.

The enemy’s knight order got wiped out while Laura and I, the two highest commanding officers on our side, were fooling around. The warhorses of the knights who struggled till the very end were felled by a barrage of spears, and the knights who still refused to give up were gifted a shower of arrows.

“Your Highness, the enemy commander has been captured alive! This is a great victory!”

Our squadron leaders gathered one by one. All of their faces were glowing.

We may have had a numerical advantage, but we still managed to annihilate an enemy army of five thousand cavalrymen which also included knights. On the other hand, our losses were minimal. This was quite literally our complete and utter victory.

“I offer my congratulations on the victory, Your Highness!”

“Your Highness’ strategy and bravery are comparable to the goddess Athena!”

Laura gave a dignified nod.

“You have fought hard. Who was the soldier that captured the enemy commander?”

“It was Sergeant Gisella of my squadron.”

A dwarf walked forward. He had a confident presence, but his actions seemed cautious since he was in the presence of the supreme commander. Or maybe he was intimidated by all the squadron leaders around him.

“Sergeant Gisella!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“You have displayed the bravery of a Helvetian warrior. Tonight’s battle shall be named after the river that flows through this land. From this point forth, tonight’s battle will be known as the Battle of Ticinus and, you, Sergeant Gisella, shall be known as the hero of this battle! Your name shall go down in history!”

The dwarf couldn’t possibly hide how moved he felt.

“I bestow upon you a small reward of 5,000 libra.”

“I-I am honored!”

The sergeant responded as strongly as he could. It was almost like he had squeezed those words out because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. The sound of gasps came up from those around us as well.

5,000 gold!

That was an amount that a normal mercenary could only earn after rolling through battlefields consistently for ten years.

However, half of their pay would go into food while a quarter would go into maintaining their equipment. A mercenary would have to live a frugal life for about thirty years to be able to earn 5,000 gold.

But what kind of mercenary would be frugal with their money when they could die at any moment? It was common for them to splurge on decent-quality beer and to embrace fair-looking prostitutes. 5,000 gold was an amount that they could never touch.

The sergeant and squadron leaders were naturally speechless before Her Highness the Duchess’ insanely huge reward.

“Are you the one in charge of the squadron that Sergeant Gisella is a part of?”

“Y-Yes, Your Highness. I go by Captain Palmin.”

The dwarven squadron leader stammered as he answered. He was the one who introduced the sergeant earlier.

“I see. I bestow 5,000 gold to Captain Palmin as well.”

“…….”

The captain hiccuped. The silent shock of the other squadron leaders around him was apparent. Laura paid their shock no mind as she raised her voice for those around us to hear.

“Heed me! Even though Captain Palmin could have taken his subordinate’s contribution for himself, he ultimately did not do so. Captain Palmin has shown us what it means to have the honor of a warrior and the virtue of a superior. A splendid man of character!”

Laura patted the shoulder of Captain Palmin who was now as rigid as a statue.

“The world denounces you all as specters of money. They call you evil spirits and murderers who kill others for money…….”

“…….”

“In truth, we do kill people. We do so willingly. However, even we have our pride. We do not steal the credit of our subordinates. We do not sell out our comrades. We do not flee when faced with combat……. This is our pride. This is why you are Helvetians!”

The soldiers raised their arms and cheered.

Helvetica is a country that was established by sub-races. They have always been scorned and disdained by the people of other nations. They may have survived thanks to the need for mercenaries, but how could they possibly forget the scorn they received during their lives?

Laura was facing this head-on and shattering it.

“For this reason, tonight’s battle is not my victory! It is not the victory of the Empire either! It is your victory, the victory of Helvetica! Tonight, the Goddesses have given us their vow. They have sworn that the continent will remember Helvetica! The continent shall fear Helvetica for all eternity!”

The sound of cheering resonated loudly throughout the sky. “Glory to the Duchess!”, “Glory to Helvetica!”, the soldiers cheered out endlessly.

However, I was moved for a different reason.

This was clean.

She skillfully poked at the victim mentality of Helvetians and the pride that mercenaries have for their jobs. At a certain point, Laura started to say “we”, putting herself into the group of mercenaries.

The mentality of most people consists of victim mentality, pride, and a sense of community spirit. These were the most important things that composed a person’s identity. Laura had tapped into that core mentality.

Speeches are a technique that can manipulate and instigate the mentality of others. In this regard, Laura received a passing grade. I don’t know who she took after, but her skill was remarkably clean. I’m sure she had the greatest and wisest teacher in the world…….

Laura walked forward as the soldiers continued to cheer.

Earl Pavia was before her bound in rope. There was an arrow stuck in his forearm and thigh. He had clearly fought back intensely.

“How dare a mere whore commit such a lowly trick……!”

Earl Pavia’s expression was burning with anger. He was a middle-aged man. Being a man of strict traditions, his wrinkles only accentuated his stern expression.

He seemed determined to show that, despite his captivity, he still possessed his spirit. Earl Pavia bellowed out boldly.

“As expected of a whore who seduced an emperor to your bed chamber! Yes, what can an adultress who already spread her legs to a demon be incapable of? You dirty traitorous bitch, may you receive judgment for dirtying your human hands with human blood! Even in his grave, your father is—.”

However, the Earl could not say anything more than that.

Laura unsheathed her sword and slit the Earl’s throat in a single move. The tip of the blade accurately sliced the area underneath the chin. The Earl grabbed his throat with his hands as he fell over. He coughed out blood and spluttered out sounds that only animals would make.

Laura raised the corners of her mouth as she looked down at the Earl.

“You can hate humans because you are human.”

A nearby squadron leader who had been on standby took out an axe and swung it down on the Earl’s neck. It took about 2 to 3 swings before the Earl’s head was separated from his body. Laura picked up the Earl’s head and raised it up high.

“Let us turn Sardinia into a sea of fire!”

The soldiers replied with the loudest cheer of the night.

Continental calendar: Year 1512, Month 6, Day 5.

In the first battle of Chrysanthemum War II, the Battle of Ticinus, Laura de Farnese annihilated 5,000 cavalrymen from Sardinia with 6,000 cavalrymen of her own, and she acquired the head of the enemy commander, Earl Pavia.

This battle ended in the imperial army’s complete victory.