CH 372

Chapter 372 – Chrysanthemum War II (13)

Ο

Ο

Ο

“Y-Your Highness…….”

The adjutants nervously turned to look at the Grand Duke. Those gazes brought the Grand Duke back to his senses. The worst would happen if he were to panic now.

“Sir Durres! Take our mages and immediately go to our left flank!”

“But Your Highness, I fear that the enemy mages that have been silent up to this point will attack this location if I were to leave this position.”

The old mage voiced his concerns. The Grand Duke could tell that the mage’s concern was rational, but he couldn’t allow himself to change his words now. The Supreme Commander’s order had to be heavier than metal.

“Our foot soldiers will not make it in time if we were to send them now. If our left flank falls, then we will be next! Your mission is to assist the knight captain and chase the enemy cavalrymen away by any means necessary. Do you understand?”

“As you command.”

Fifteen mages cast a teleportation spell to instantly move to the left flank.

There were now only three mages left in the center. The mage who receives the reports that come from each front and the mages who were in charge of protecting the Grand Duke. This wasn’t enough to safely block an assault by enemy mages if it were to happen.

“The rest of you must fight valiantly!”

The Grand Duke of Florence shouted.

After witnessing the Grand Duke give orders to the court mages, the other commanding officers managed to compose themselves. Something was happening. It was crucial to at least give off this impression. The panic in everyone’s eyes had diminished somewhat.

“Take 5,000 troops from our center and reposition them to our left flank. We will use our reserved force.”

“Understood!”

“Also, send 2,000 troops to our right flank. We do not know how long the knight captain will be able to endure, so we must prepare for the worst!”

Their troops in reserve shrunk down by 7,000 in an instant.

“…….”

The Grand Duke clicked his tongue in his mind. His adjutants were rushing to pass his orders down, but his anxiety still remained.

They were now placed on a threshold where the central armies on both sides were almost equal.

The imperial army had about 15,000 foot soldiers while the kingdom had 18,000.

The Grand Duke didn’t know the exact number of enemy troops, but he could tell that his side outnumbered the enemy by at least a thousand and at most five thousand.

‘A difference of about four thousand……. This is not enough.’

Their opponents were the renowned mercenaries of Helvetica. It would probably be fine to say that a difference of four thousand meant nothing.

Moreover, the magical might of the kingdom’s army paled in comparison to the imperial forces. Excluding the apprentices, the Grand Duke’s army comprised a mere seventeen mages. In stark contrast, it was almost certain that the enemy boasted a magic unit consisting of over twenty skilled mages.

Thus far, their strategy had revolved around defending against the enemy’s magical assaults. Though their mage count was lower, they managed to hold their ground by focusing solely on defensive spells.

After all, in the realm of magic battles, defense proved easier than offense. A fireball could be repelled with a well-timed water spell, enabling the mages brought by the Grand Duke of Florence to hold their own against the imperial army, despite their numerical disadvantage.

However, there was no guarantee that this would continue.

Shortly thereafter.

“……As I suspected, they have taken notice.”

The enemy unleashed an unrelenting barrage of spells. Lumps of fire descended from the sky endlessly.

The kingdom’s mages exerted their utmost effort to counter the onslaught, but it quickly became evident that this was too much for them. The two mages serving under the Grand Duke sweated profusely as they fought with unwavering determination, even willing to deplete their mana reserves entirely. Meanwhile, the imperial army had positioned a mere ten mages at the center…….

The enemy has about twenty mages. Since there were only ten positioned at the center, this meant that the rest had been sent somewhere else. The Grand Duke immediately knew where they must’ve been sent.

“Your Highness, a report has arrived from Sir Durres.”

“Did the imperial army also respond in kind with their mages?”

“……Yes. The report says that the imperial army has deployed a unit of eleven mages at our left flank.”

The Grand Duke slowly nodded his head.

“Move 2,000 foot soldiers from our front to our left flank.”

He unknowingly found himself speaking in an emotionless tone.

“But Your Highness…… If we do that, then we will no longer have any troops in reserve.”

“It does not matter. Now is the moment to use those reserve troops.”

The Grand Duke had a gut feeling as he gave his orders.

Their left wing was most likely going to fall soon. The ambush was so sudden that the vice-knight captain was killed instantly. The knight captain had fortunately survived and was still ordering the troops, but that was only a stopgap. The Grand Duke’s attempt to save his troops by sending mages was blocked as the enemy had responded in kind.

The imperial army wasn’t getting ready to retreat. They were making thorough preparations to encircle and wipe out the kingdom’s army…….

‘When did they conceal their ambush……? Wait, was it when they were pursuing the escapees from Pavia?’

A cold shiver coursed through the Grand Duke’s chest.

‘So, they razed Pavia to entice us into their trap? Allowing the civilians to escape and advancing toward Piacenza… Was every step of this part of their elaborate scheme!?’

The Grand Duke looked ahead.

Beyond the veil of darkness, a flag adorned with a blue mountain hydrangea fluttered in the wind. The once-ruined lineage, believed to have perished eight years ago, was now proudly displaying their emblem once again. It was as if they were trying to recreate the events of eight years ago, but this time with opposite results.

The Grand Duke bit his lips.

A groan slipped out from his lips along with a trickle of blood.

“Laura de Farnese……!”

Ο

* * *

Ο

“The enemy forces have begun their retreat from the right flank.”

“Florence’s Black Eagle Order has been defeated. Baroness de Blanc has struck their knight captain down!”

“Our allied cavalry on the left flank is initiating a charge!”

An endless number of reports came from each of the units. Most of them were about them winning.

The expressions of those in our high command were bright. The sound of laughter could even be heard from time to time. It was only natural that everyone would be in a good mood. Our imperial army was currently executing a textbook example of an encirclement.

The ambush was a huge success. The enemy knight order received our charge on their completely exposed side. Those knights were already fighting against a unit twice their size, but they ended up getting ambushed while also trying to deal with that disadvantage.

According to the report, nearly half of the knight order had either been killed or dismounted within five minutes. Even Elizabeth’s grandfather wouldn’t be able to overcome this crisis. Although they say that Elizabeth’s grandfather wasn’t a particularly competent emperor…….

“Baroness de Blanc has been showing some impressive results. Seeing that she has acquired the head of the knight captain, she has claimed the spot for greatest contribution.”

“Hm. Excellent.”

Laura nodded in response to my words.

Her gaze was fixated on the battle before her. She never once turned away from the battlefield ever since the battle commenced.

“Deliver the following order to Baroness de Blanc. Once the right flank is secured, immediately launch an assault on the enemy’s rear. However, leave an opening unguarded to lure their troops into the marshland.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

An adjutant saluted briskly.

Everyone was gazing at Laura with eyes filled with respect. It seemed like she had forgotten the existence of the word “defeat”. She had complete control over the battlefield as if she could see through the minds of the enemy like they were glass. The commanding officers looked at her half in surprise and half in fear as they whispered to each other.

‘The Supreme Commander must be the reincarnation of Goddess Athena.’

Their words were close to being blasphemous. However, there were those who genuinely believed this. Considering that Laura’s beauty rivaled that of goddesses, I understood why people would want to worship her.

The mercenary captains became so well-mannered that they would probably gladly oblige if Laura ordered them to make beer out of grapes.

I smiled faintly as I spoke.

“How about ordering our mages to go all out now, Duchess? The enemy is no longer capable of enduring.”

“Very well, then. Inform the mages that they do not have to conserve their mana anymore.”

The order was promptly given to the mages. Soon after, a countless number of explosions erupted on the battlefield.

Our army has 27 battle mages. They weren’t hired from Helvetica. They were individuals I had personally contracted. My land is filled with mage towers, so I can hire mages with ease as long as I offered decent conditions.

Although a line that says they’re allowed to do all sorts of inhumane experimentation on prisoners is one of those decent conditions…….

Well, we gifted a hundred of the civilians that revolted in Pavia last night to the mages. The only fate that awaited those rebels was being tied to a table and being allowed to see the color of their innards.

The fates of the rest of the civilians were also decided. The Helvetica Federation had voiced their interest in purchasing them as slaves. The rough mountains of Helvetica are abundant with mines, so the slaves will live the rest of their lives in these dangerous mines.

“Your Highness, the right flank has been cleared out. Baroness de Blanc has reported that she will carry out the next stage of the operation.”

The two thousand troops led by the Baroness were taken straight to the enemy’s backside.

This was the moment our encirclement was completed on all four sides.

There was no need to block the enemy’s rear completely. Simply applying pressure on them from behind was enough. This forces the enemy to worry about both their front and rear. They will inevitably become spread thin.

The mages unleashed a relentless barrage of fireballs upon the enemy’s thinly spread formation. Each explosion reverberated through the ground, causing tremors of destruction.

The Kingdom of Sardinia’s army found themselves encircled and mercilessly bombarded by magical assaults, plunging them into a living hell.

Thirty minutes later, the corners of the enemy’s central army collapsed.

“A portion of the enemy troops is fleeing!”

“The kingdom’s battle lines are collapsing one line at a time, Your Highness! They are collapsing!”

Joyful cheers erupted within our command group.

It was over now.

Once a battle line starts to collapse, a domino effect takes hold. You need troops in reserve to prevent this. Lines that are about to fall must be supplemented with reserved troops as soon as possible.

The Kingdom of Sardinia’s army was out of reserves. Therefore, this was it for them. Florence’s lineage of Medici will fall today…….

“The Blue Goat regiment is requesting to be allowed to pursue the enemy!”

“Baroness de Blanc is also asking for permission to pursue!”

I smiled wryly. How impatient.

Each regiment arrived one by one to ask for permission to pursue the enemy. It’s naturally easier to hunt enemy soldiers that are running away than the ones that are still fighting back, making it easier for them to pocket more military gains.

However, this was a little too soon. The Grand Duke of Florence was still fighting back. They had to corner the Grand Duke more right now. It wouldn’t be too late to pursue them afterward.

“I permit it.”

“……Duchess?”

An unexpected answer came out of Laura’s mouth.

I didn’t hide my confusion as I spoke.

“A portion of the kingdom’s army is still fighting back intensely.”

“I am aware.”

“Would it not be better to leave them be? If you allow our men to pursue them now, then you will make the enemy believe that they will be hunted down if they try to run. This will ultimately make them fight back more desperately.”

Laura smiled slightly.

“I am well aware of that as well.”

“Then why……?”

“Count Palatine.”

Laura turned her head for the first time since the battle had started.

Her sapphire-like eyes stared straight at my face.

“There is something my teacher once told me in the past: a perfect victory is as harmful as a perfect defeat.”

“…….”

Those were the words I said to Laura.

“But this is the best opportunity to capture the Grand Duke of Florence.”

“This is not the time to strike down the Grand Duke. Count Palatine, I ask that you trust me.”

I didn’t understand, but I immediately lowered my head. I have to respect the Supreme Commander’s command.

Our cavalrymen began to pursue the enemy. The fate that befell the soldiers that turned their backs to the cavalrymen was tragic. They were killed by the weapons of our mounted soldiers before they could even reach the river.

After witnessing that, the remainder of the enemy’s soldiers gathered together. It was as I had predicted.

The enemy troops struggled desperately in order to get through the center of our army. Once it got to the point where we were starting to incur great losses, Laura gave another strange order.

“Allow the enemy troops to get through our center.”

She was telling them to deliberately step aside and avoid combat.

Even though most of the other commanding officers were as confused as I was, no one voiced their complaints toward the supreme commander since she had already shown them a flawless victory.

The Grand Duke of Florence successfully got through the center of our formation.

Immediately after, the Grand Duke fled without turning back. It wasn’t a reckless escape, but a well-thought-out one. He could still turn the tables around if we tried to pursue him recklessly. In the end, about ten thousand of the kingdom’s troops managed to escape the battlefield with the Grand Duke.

“Congratulations on the victory, Your Highness!”

“Your Highness, you truly possess the qualifications to stand in place of the goddess Athena herself!”

The regiment commanders quickly approached to kneel down on one knee.

Out of the thirty thousand enemy troops, we had managed to defeat nearly twenty thousand of them. Excluding the ten thousand infantrymen, the Kingdom of Sardinia’s army had quite literally melted. This was how the sun set on the 28th day, 6th month, and 1512th year of the continental calendar.

Another great victory.

The people of Sardinia now came to the realization.

They realized that Laura de Farnese will be a calamity.