CH 371

Chapter 371 – Chrysanthemum War II (12)

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“Push them back! Muster up the strength you had back when you were still being bottle-fed, you runts!”

“Endure! Do not cover your eyes with your shields!”

A close-pitched battle where blood scattered between infantrymen unfolded.

Spears impaled through chests and blades swung down on collar bones and tore into the areas between the shoulder and neck. The loud banging of metal rang out as shields pushed away other shields. Petty officers would occasionally stick their necks out to shout obscenities at the soldiers who would foolishly break formation.

However, after fifteen to thirty minutes, there was one side that was clearly getting pushed back.

It was the imperial army.

The Sardinian infantrymen were slowly pushing the imperial army back.

“Your Highness, our side has the upper hand!”

“Excellent!”

The Grand Duke of Florence clenched his fist.

“The enemy has far fewer foot soldiers than we do. Push them back! Keep up this momentum!”

The supreme commander’s excitement affected the other adjutants.

Initially, the Sardinian commanders were hesitant about crossing the river. They were suspicious of why the imperial army had deliberately left Pavia and had come out this far. Were they going to attack while they tried to cross the river? Or were they going to break open a dam somewhere upstream……?

However, Supreme Commander Cosimo de Medici thought differently.

“We will immediately prepare to cross the river.”

“Your Highness!”

The commanders refuted with surprised looks on their faces.

“While the water may be shallow, we cannot afford to let our guard down. I fear they may take advantage of our momentary vulnerability while we are fording the water.”

“From what I have heard, the imperial army has about 30,000 soldiers.”

The Grand Duke spoke. His tone was cold.

“Looking at them now, they have only a little more than 20,000. Where do you think the rest of their soldiers are?”

“…….”

“There are more than 10,000 civilians they are holding as prisoners in Pavia. They must leave behind a few thousand soldiers to deal with all of them.”

“……! Your Highness, then does that mean?!”

The Grand Duke nodded.

“That is right. In the end, that whore has decided to dispose of the civilians. The reason they came out this far is to buy themselves enough time to deal with them. If we delay our advance any longer than this because of our fear of crossing the river, then a devastating tragedy will unfold in Pavia.”

The commanders let out a long groan.

“O Goddess…….”

“Those damn imperial bastards! Do they know no honor!?”

There were those who became enraged by the enemy’s cruel antics and those who scowled as they imagined the tragedy that was unfolding in Pavia right now. The Grand Duke of Florence felt like he could burst into rage at any moment, but he barely managed to endure.

“Do you get it now? They are not here to win. They are trying to stall until they are able to take care of everything in their backline so that they can retreat with more ease…….”

The Grand Duke glared sharply ahead.

The imperial army’s mounted archers were harassing their side by shooting arrows every so often. It appeared that they still wanted to annoy them. Anyone could tell that the enemy was trying to bait them.

Were they actually trying to bait them? If so, then their intent was way too obvious. The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes.

‘There is always a trick hiding behind a ploy that’s excessively obvious. Shall we confirm this?’

The Grand Duke first sent out mounted archers of his own.

There were about a thousand of them. He deliberately deployed a similar amount as the enemy.

The Grand Duke’s calculation was simple. If the enemy was really trying to lure them in, then they will mobilize more mounted archers to attack them. If the enemy employs more soldiers, then they would have to do the same.

‘On the other hand, if they are simply pretending in order to lure them in.’

The Grand Duke thought to himself.

‘The imperial army will continue to harass their side with their thousand mounted archers. If that happens, then the enemy’s goal is to plant doubt in their minds. The enemy is preventing them from crossing the river rashly because of some plot…….’

The Grand Duke looked at the battlefield with cold eyes.

The imperial army’s mounted archers crossed the river as they fled from the kingdom’s mounted archers. Once the kingdom’s mounted archers turned back, thinking that they had chased the enemy far enough, the imperial army would turn right around to attack them again. The corners of the Grand Duke’s mouth drew upward once he saw this.

“As I thought, this is a bluff.”

After observing the way the enemy mounted archers moved, the Grand Duke came to three conclusions.

First, the enemy’s goal isn’t to actually lure them in.

Their real goal is to stall for time. By pretending to lure us in, they are trying to make us cautious about potential traps.

Second, they don’t want an all-out battle.

The enemy was probably panicking since we knew that the inside of Pavia was destroyed. They wanted to escape in secret, but it was obvious that we would chase after them once the information was leaked.

And third.

Right now was the moment that they wanted to fight the least.

“Order the rest of our men to advance!”

The Grand Duke of Florence no longer had any more hesitation.

It was undoubtedly risky to cross a river in order to attack. However, the Trebbia River is shallow. In fact, the imperial mounted archers have been crossing back and forth across the river as if it were their own backyard.

The Grand Duke spoke to the commanding officers who still seemed hesitant about crossing the river.

“Fear not. The imperial army may not have intended it, but they have instilled confidence in us. They have assured us that advancing our forces across that river poses no problem whatsoever. They have basically tripped over their own scheme.”

A chuckle flowed out from the Grand Duke’s mouth.

The commanding officers nodded their heads, clearly convinced. The mounted archers of the enemy were providing undeniable evidence that the Trebbia River was safe for crossing. The water would probably only reach up to the hips of their infantrymen.

“Yes, Your Highness! We will pass your command down to each regiment.”

The sound of horns echoed throughout the plains.

With the knights at the front, the kingdom’s army of 30,000 troops advanced.

Soon after, the cavalrymen on both wings crossed the river first. Once they did, the enemy responded in kind with their own cavalrymen. While the cavalrymen were engaged in combat, the infantrymen mustered all their strength to cross the river which reached up to their waists.

“…….”

“…….”

The command group was filled with unease. This was the most dangerous hurdle that they had to cross.

They sent their knights and cavalrymen first to allow the rest of their army to cross safely. The knights and cavalrymen had to desperately do their best to prevent the enemy from interfering…….

The imperial army had more cavalry than expected. At a glance, it was evident that they outnumbered the Grand Duke’s own forces by twice the amount. They weren’t light cavalry, but fully equipped heavy cavalry that were no different from knights. The question was how long their own cavalrymen would be able to last…….

‘O Gods, please do not grant mercy to these slaughterers!’

The Grand Duke prayed. He had calmly mounted his horse and was crossing the river with his command group, but on the inside, he was more anxious than anyone else.

‘Do not forgive that harlot who had sold her body to demons and grant me the strength to avenge the innocent civilians who have fallen!’

The infantrymen crossed the river quickly.

Once his horse exited the water and stepped on land, the Grand Duke of Florence became certain of their victory. No issues had occurred. Their cavalrymen managed to splendidly fend off the enemy cavalrymen even though they had twice their number!

“Men! Behold!”

The Grand Duke was filled with glee as he shouted.

However, he didn’t display his happiness on his face. The Grand Duke made sure to always maintain his dignified face and tone. The Grand Duke knew very well that even the slightest change in the supreme commander’s expression could have a negative impact on the army as a whole.

“They never expected that we would charge at them so suddenly. We successfully crossed the river without receiving any sort of interference. We have taken the enemy off guard!”

“Your insight was correct, Your Highness!”

The adjutants responded loudly and the Grand Duke nodded in return.

“It is now your turn to exert yourselves. Do not waste our overwhelming infantry power and wipe out the enemy!”

“Yes, Your Highness! All men, charge!”

After crossing the river safely, the kingdom’s army advanced confidently.

The Grand Duke looked back with pride. Most of their regiments had successfully crossed the river. However, there were scattered marshes along the riverbank. Unfortunate soldiers who ended up in those areas had no choice but to be mired in thick mud up to their thighs.

‘This could have been bad.’

The Grand Duke furrowed his brows.

‘The heavens must have blessed us. This could have turned into a calamity if we were attacked while crossing.’

If the imperial army had been adequately prepared for a full-scale battle, or if they had had a thorough understanding of the terrain, then they would have surely driven the kingdom’s forces into those marshy areas. We would have found ourselves in a terrible situation…….

“Hm.”

Realizing that they had unknowingly overcome a crisis, the Grand Duke felt relieved.

Furthermore, the Grand Duke became even more convinced that the imperial army was truly unprepared for a counterattack. It was also clear that they were unfamiliar with the geography of this area. The Grand Duke was certain of his decision now. Launching an attack on the imperial army at this moment was the right decision to make.

Sure enough.

As soon as the infantry clashed, it didn’t take even an hour for the outcome to become apparent.

“Your Highness, our side is winning!”

An adjutant reported while filled with excitement. Ten meters. Since the battle had started, the kingdom’s forces managed to push the imperial army’s ranks back by ten meters. They were pushed back ten meters in only thirty minutes. The imperial army was clearly losing.

The Grand Duke of Florence unconsciously clenched his fists.

“Good! The enemy has far less infantry than we do! Push them back! Continue to push them back!”

There wasn’t only good news.

As if exchanging luck for misfortune, another adjutant arrived to report bad news.

“Our cavalrymen on the right flank are losing!”

“What……? What is Baron Veritamor doing!?”

The regiment commanders around the Grand Duke spoke up before he could respond.

“The man who is receiving the highest possible pay is running away in fear first! Your Highness! We must punish the baron under military law.”

“Mm. I will do so after the battle during the dispensation of justice both to services and crimes.”

The Grand Duke nodded.

He internally didn’t blame the cavalrymen on the right flank. They did their job splendidly considering that they had to face a group two times their size. However, if he magnanimously forgives the retreat of his troops, then that could increase the chances of the other soldiers running away.

“On the other hand, Knight Captain Luano remains steadfast. He has not been pushed back even slightly.”

“While our right flank may have succumbed, our left flank remains robust. I see no cause for excessive concern.”

At present, the kingdom’s army held the advantage on the battlefield.

Notably, there was a significant disparity in the number of infantrymen positioned at the center. The imperial army fielded around 15,000 soldiers, whereas the kingdom’s forces boasted a formidable infantry contingent of approximately 30,000.

The imperial army had an advantage on the mounted front, but that wasn’t enough to turn the tides around. The right cavalry flank of the kingdom’s army may have retreated in defeat, but the knight order of Florence was still fighting valiantly against the enemy on the left side.

You could say the kingdom’s army was overwhelming the imperial army by only a slight amount. Nonetheless, as long as they had the upper hand, the imperial army’s forces will undoubtedly wither away over time.

‘This will be a prolonged battle,’ the Grand Duke thought to himself. At the longest, six hours. At the shortest, two hours……. This was how long the battle will most likely last.

Since the mercenaries of Helvetica are known to be formidable, they should resolve themselves to fight for five hours. However, the conclusion was already determined. It was their victory.

‘The problem is that we do not have any cavalrymen to pursue the enemy.’

The Grand Duke felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

‘Though victory may be within our grasp in this battle, the enemy will likely manage to retain at least seventy percent of their forces. It will be a partial triumph, not a resounding one. Is it truly impossible to bring an end to this war swiftly through a single battle? ……No, for now, I must find solace in the fact that we were able to safeguard Pavia. I have achieved what the Duke of Milano could not! This accomplishment should suffice…….’

It happened right when the Grand Duke was about to order their right flank to preserve their manpower.

“Y-Your Highness. A report has arrived from Knight Captain Luano!”

The Grand Duke of Florence was snapped out of his thoughts as he turned his head. The face of the mage holding up a magic ball was haggard.

“What is it? On with it.”

“Surprise attack, on our left side! Vice-Captain Getanne has fallen in battle!”

“……!”

The faces of all of the commanding officers including the Grand Duke froze.

“An ambush! Troops from the imperial army have launched a surprise attack on the knight order!”

“What are you saying? Where could they have possibly…….”

“Our left flank cavalrymen are being routed. The knight order has lost thirty…… no, forty percent of its troops! The knight captain is requesting your command, Your Highness!”

Cosimo de Medici’s expression contorted.

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