novelraw Chapter 101: Revolutionary Defense War - Grand Duke Leopold (2)
Chapter 101: Revolutionary Defense War - Grand Duke Leopold (2)
The battle, starting early in the morning, continued past noon.
I watched as Grand Duke Leopold’s first defense line crumbled and the Imperial Army routed.
Planted by the Revolutionary Guard leading the charge amidst the shattered enemy line, the flag of Francia fluttered as the Revolutionary Army advanced.
Lowering my gaze, I saw Eris in her instantly recognizable white robe, following in the second line, protecting and encouraging soldiers.
Eris still seemed to have strength left, and the war situation was quite good.
No, rather than just good…….
“We are winning very smoothly, Your Excellency.”
I furrowed my brow slightly at Chief of Staff Berthier’s words.
“Too smoothly.”
I turned my telescope towards Grand Duke Leopold’s flag, still fluttering steadily in the distance.The tide of battle had clearly turned in our favor. Though outnumbered, we had seized a decisive advantage with the cards we held and our momentum.
At this point, the Grand Duke should either decide to retreat or throw a risky move, yet he stubbornly engaged in a contest of strength, sticking to a defensive battle.
Is he holding out to inflict even a little more damage, knowing that retreating blindly while the Chasseurs dominate the battlefield will only lead to being hunted down?
Even if he belatedly requested reinforcements from Duke Gunhild, the strategic points are blocked by the Chasseurs. It is nearly impossible for a messenger to slip through alone, so that can't be it either.
“Strange.”
“Pardon? Everything is going almost perfectly according to Your Excellency’s plan……”
Berthier spoke with a puzzled expression, but I frowned again and repeated.
“The Grand Duke is too relaxed.”
The war situation is definitely checkmate.
We have cornered the Imperial Army completely, yet the Grand Duke’s movements lack any sense of urgency.
In a situation like this, shouldn’t he at least attempt some resistance, perhaps by deploying the cavalry hidden in the center of his command tent?
No matter how experienced and seasoned a general the Grand Duke is, how can he remain so calm and unresponsive in such a situation?
I felt a cold sweat trickle down my spine.
I painstakingly lured the Grand Duke into a trap, yet I can’t shake this uneasy feeling.
“……In any case, the first defense line has collapsed. Once the second breaks, the battle is ours. The Revolutionary Guard’s mana must be nearly depleted, so pull them back and rotate them out. We cannot waste such precious forces pointlessly.”
“Understood, Your Excellency!”
In a battle fought amongst barricades like this, cavalry has little specific role, so unless the enemy deploys their cavalry, I have no reason to go out and fight myself.
It would be nice if the battle ended like this, but I have a strong premonition that it won’t.
In the first place, he is the renowned war hero of the Germania Empire. It would be stranger for him to collapse so easily.
“Any special reports from the Chasseurs? There’s something. Definitely……”
“Your Excellency! A report!”
“Just as I thought. What is it?”
“It’s Duke Gunhild’s forces! Duke Gunhild’s forces are approaching the battlefield!”
Berthier’s face turned deathly pale, and shivers ran down my spine.
“Wh-What? They couldn’t have sent a messenger, how many?”
“Approximately 30,000!”
30,000?
Not just a part of Duke Gunhild’s army returning, but the entire force that initially departed is bearing down on us?
Count Milbeau’s army is brazenly rampaging through the enemy's occupied territory, and yet they all came back?
“H-How is that possible! It’s been three days since they clearly departed north, how are they already here?”
Hearing Berthier’s trembling words, I finally grasped the situation.
“……They weren’t heading north from the start. They faked it.”
Understood that way, everything makes sense.
Having received such orders from the beginning and only pretending to head north before turning south, they could make it in this timeframe, explaining Duke Gunhild's return despite blocked messengers.
I thought I had brilliantly outsmarted Grand Duke Leopold, narrowing the military power gap for a decisive battle, but did he anticipate this and throw a risky move?
“Damn it, I knew it felt a bit too easy. ……Is Count Milbeau coming?”
By now, that Demian fellow must have figured out the situation, but will he come?
No, even if he does, it’s doubtful he can arrive in time.
Besides, Duke Gunhild’s force is 30,000 strong. Can a mere 10,000 turn the tide?
What about Count Baden’s situation? If we didn’t completely rout him, Count Baden might even stab Milbeau in the back.
“What should we do, Your Excellency?”
My thoughts only breed confusion, and even the usually composed Berthier is panicking.
The best outcome would be to crush Grand Duke Leopold’s army before Duke Gunhild arrives, but Grand Duke Leopold is not such an easy opponent.
In the worst-case scenario, we’ll exhaust ourselves attacking Grand Duke Leopold, only to have Duke Gunhild hit our flank, leading to a complete collapse.
I remained silent for a moment, then spoke.
“……For now, halt the offensive.”
Should we retreat here?
If we are defeated here, Demian’s mere 10,000 troops cannot stop them alone. We would lose not only the supply lines we just cut off but also the Alps trade route.
The moment I thought that.
As the retreat horn sounded and flag waved in our camp, a signal flag also rose from the Grand Duke's camp.
The signal to begin the offensive.
“Ha.”
Watching Grand Duke Leopold’s command flag fluttering far away, I let out a hollow laugh.
The Grand Duke had been waiting for this very moment, preparing a counterattack.
If we start retreating now, they will pursue fiercely, inflicting severe damage.
“Changing offense and defense.”
Now that it's come to this, we must hold off the offensive of Grand Duke Leopold and Duke Gunhild here.
I surveyed our army, spread across the open plain with no cover, a consequence of our offensive.
A defensive battle in an open field, 50,000 against 90,000?
……Can we hold out?
*
The flow of the war situation completely reversed.
Having just captured Grand Duke Leopold's first defense line, our army retreated to reform, but Grand Duke Leopold immediately launched a counterattack.
With artillery on both sides exhausted, cannon fire erupted only sporadically, while a white wave surged endlessly towards us.
“Hold the line!”
“Long live Francia!”
Amidst the gunfire and screams of melee combat between infantry lines, I galloped along our flank.
“Revolutionary Army! Charge!”
“Follow His Excellency the Marquis! Long live the Revolution!”
As the ground and I shook from the thunder of cavalry, I drew my sword and cried out.
“For Francia!”
I cut down the spear shaft thrust towards me, then swung upwards again, and the enemy cavalryman charging head-on fell from his horse, spewing blood.
Instantly, I parried a sword swung from behind and quickly twisted to thrust, felling another enemy cavalryman.
As I frantically cut down every enemy cavalryman in sight, the area around me suddenly cleared as the enemy cavalry retreated.
Behind the enemy cavalry, I could see Duke Gunhild’s infantry approaching in columns.
Turning my gaze, I also saw Grand Duke Leopold’s cavalry galloping fiercely from afar to aid Duke Gunhild’s cavalry.
“Your Excellency!”
Gaston leaped in and split a cavalryman charging while I was momentarily distracted, using his greatsword.
I glanced back at the Revolutionary Guard, hastily forming ranks to protect the flank, and shouted to my men, infusing mana into my voice.
“The next wave of enemies is coming! Quickly defeat the enemy cavalry before us!”
“Yes, sir!”
I immediately kicked my horse’s rump and charged, beginning to cut down the hesitant enemy cavalrymen haphazardly.
“Follow His Excellency the Marquis! Crush the enemy!”
As Gaston joined in routing the enemy cavalry, overwhelmed by our momentum, they turned and fled in fear.
Seeing this, I immediately shouted.
“Rally!”
“Cavalry, rally!”
Duke Gunhild committed his cavalry first to attack our engaged flank, while Grand Duke Leopold’s cavalry remained in the center, avoiding the Chasseurs.
“Rally complete, Your Excellency!”
“Good, we retreat immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Without cavalry to respond, we would have been helpless; because we did, the enemy committed their cavalry piecemeal. We managed to rout Duke Gunhild’s cavalry first, buying time for our reserve unit to deploy on the flank.
As I retreated, I turned my gaze towards Duke Gunhild’s forces, advancing not in neat horizontal lines but in column formation, stretching endlessly.
A chaotic mass, yet 30,000 troops stretching beyond the horizon.
The Revolutionary Guard consists of merely two regiments. More troops are needed to stop them.
As I snapped my gaze back towards our side, I saw 10,000 infantry from the main force reserve moving towards the flank.
Truly Dese and Berthier. Even without me, they make appropriate decisions on their own, making things easier.
I quickly scanned the front lines—
“Shit.”
I saw soldiers starting to desert one by one from the Center Army, which was engaged in a desperate struggle against the Grand Duke’s main force.
“Gaston! Take your unit and check Grand Duke Leopold’s cavalry! Send a messenger to Morel to prevent Duke Gunhild’s regrouped cavalry from hitting our flank!”
“As you command, Your Excellency!”
“You there! Go to headquarters immediately! Tell them I'll handle the center, so the reserve unit should continue reinforcing the flank!”
“Y-Yes, Your Excellency!”
“Move out! Move!”
Gaston and the designated cavalryman moved immediately, and I shouted to my men watching me.
“Follow me! We buy time for the broken Center Army to regroup!”
“Yes, sir!”
I immediately spurred my horse down the hill.
Just as expected, desertion from the Center Army, initially small, accelerated rapidly, and by the time we almost arrived, the collapsing Revolutionary Army soldiers were fleeing indiscriminately.
“Get out of the way if you want to live!”
“H-Huh! Your Excellency!”
As the fleeing soldiers scrambled away, the Imperial troops, barely recovered from their hard-won victory, were horrified to see me and my cavalry charging towards them.
“Charge! For Francia!”
“U-Uwaaah- Fire!”
A few panicked shots from the Imperial Army couldn't halt my direct subordinate cavalry, and the enemy soldiers, trembling as they raised their bayonets in disorganized formation, collapsed brutally under the cavalry charge.
“U-Uwaaah, sa- Kraak!”
I split the back of a line infantry soldier fleeing, and sliced off the arm holding a bayonet thrust from the side, gun included, causing the soldier to scream and fall.
The incessant sweat and splattered blood soaked my clothes, sticking unpleasantly.
“Your Excellency! Enemy cavalry approaching!”
Alerted by a subordinate’s urgent cry, I turned from my frenzy of cutting down enemy soldiers to see enemy cavalry charging towards us.
The cavalry Grand Duke Leopold had conserved was now charging towards us, who had filled the gap in the infantry line.
I immediately looked behind me.
The routing Center Army was barely regrouping while I held off the enemy. I saw the very last reserve unit preparing to engage.
If we pull back now, the enemy cavalry will directly hit our unprepared infantry.
Seeing Gaston’s unit rushing frantically towards us from beyond, I gathered my mana and shouted.
“Reform ranks!”
“Reform ranks!”
As the cavalrymen, having wildly cut down the broken Imperial troops, scrambled towards me, the Imperial cavalry galloped fiercely and were almost upon us.
Feeling the earth tremble from the charge of cavalry numbering more than twice our own, I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Gentlemen, you are the pride of Francia! Do you fear their cavalry?”
The panting cavalrymen, descendants of the Knight Kingdom, roared back in unison.
“No, sir!”
I thrust my sword towards the charging enemy cavalry and yelled.
“Then prove it! Charge forward! For Francia!”
“For Francia!”
No more words are needed. Just spur the horse’s rump and charge, surrendering body and soul to the heat of battle.
“Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”
“Sieg Heil Kaiser!”
The horrific sound of warhorses’ bones crushing echoed with the roar of collision, and I felt the faint resistance against my sword, swung with the momentum of the charge.
“Mana……!”
The Mithril sword, with its maximum mana absorption rate, ignored the enemy's resistance and cut right through, but other cavalrymen began clashing swords here and there.
“Ha! Still inexperienced!”
I sliced through another charging cavalryman, sword included, and blocked another’s blade, but screams and noise erupted all around.
Unlike the enemy cavalry we had been unilaterally slaughtering, this was Grand Duke Leopold’s personally trained, mana-wielding elite cavalry.
Though our cavalry might still be more skilled, fatigue from consecutive battles meant they were fighting on equal footing with the enemy.
Unable to overwhelm them with skill, it was only a moment before we began to be pushed back by the numerically superior enemy.
“Y-Your Excellency! These guys are strong!”
While dodging incoming swords, I gutted another cavalryman and shouted.
“Kill one more instead of talking! Gaston is coming!”
“That man is Marquis Lafayette!”
“Kill the Marquis!”
“Shit.”
As I parried, cut, and stabbed, frantically fighting off the enemy cavalry determinedly targeting me, screams erupted here and there.
Sweat flows like rain, and the sword, which felt moderately weighted at first, grows heavier and heavier.
“Tsk!”
Barely parrying a sharp thrust, I dodged a sword aimed at my head and nearly fell off my horse.
Gritting my teeth, I immediately straightened up and used the momentum to slice through the enemy cavalryman’s body, drawing a groan from the enemy side.
“Ugh……”
“Don’t fall back! The Marquis is tired too!”
Damn it, they know me well. How many are stuck on me?
One, two… four?
I think I took down five, but there are still this many left? How extravagant.
My eyes sting from the sweat pouring like rain, and even my warhorse, panting heavily, struggles to obey my commands.
If this goes wrong, I could really die.
“Protect His Excellency the Marquis!”
“Follow General Gaston!”
Just as I thought that, Gaston’s thunderous shout echoed, and screams and shouts erupted from the flank of the enemy cavalry that was pushing back our own.
I immediately gathered my mana and shouted.
“Gaston has arrived! Push them back!”
The gazes of the cavalrymen pressing me shifted momentarily to the flank, and as they did, I threw the dagger drawn from my belt and charged.
“Keok!”
“Uwaaak!”
“D-Damn it!”
Two fell simultaneously, one hit by the dagger and the other cut by my sword. The remaining two met my eyes and immediately turned their horses to flee.
“Haa, haa……”
Damn it, this is exhausting as hell.
“Your Excellency! Are you alright!”
“Ah, as you can see, I’m fi- Ugh.”
Trying to answer Gaston’s shout, a sudden pain made me groan involuntarily.
Touching it with my hand, blood was pouring from my left shoulder, apparently from an earlier dodge.
My body was already covered in blood, and perhaps the tension made me unaware of the injury.
“Y-Your Excellen-”
“Shut up, Gaston. Is this something to advertise to the whole neighborhood?”
“My apologies.”
Watching the Grand Duke’s cavalry finally rout, and our infantry advancing again to hold the center after regrouping, I said.
“I am going to find Her Majesty. Gaston, now that the center is deployed, fall back. I entrust command of my unit to you for a while.”
“I obey your command, Your Excellency!”
I spurred my weary horse onward.
The horse’s rough breathing and the jolting movement sent waves of pain from my bleeding shoulder, yet my gaze was captured by the countless warhorses and cavalrymen lying cold on the ground.
While buying time for the infantry to regroup the center and holding off the Grand Duke’s cavalry until Gaston’s cavalry arrived, nearly half of my subordinate cavalry had turned into cold corpses.
I believe I made the best choice in each moment, but was it truly the best?
No, even such thoughts are a luxury amidst the raging battle.
I consciously averted my gaze to the Revolutionary Guard and the 10,000 infantry. They were continuously repelling Duke Gunhild’s line infantry, advancing column by column on the flank.
For now, they are repelling those who rushed forward haphazardly and in disorder, but how long can they hold out once Duke Gunhild gets his act together?
The Center Army was somehow reorganized, and the Grand Duke’s cavalry was routed, but our losses are severe, and there are no more reserves.
My mind was in turmoil, yet I returned the salutes of those who saluted me as I marched forward.
At times like this, a blood-soaked uniform is rather convenient. To them, I won’t appear as a wounded commander, but as a commander fighting alongside them on the front lines, shedding blood and sweat.
After riding for some time, I finally met Eris.
The queen in her white robe, standing alone protecting the soldiers, having sent even Sir Beaumont to the cavalry, because every single person who could fight was needed now.
“Your Majesty.”
“Marquis?”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I dismounted and strode towards her, gently lifting the veil hanging inside Eris’s hood.
“Ah.”
Eris’s face looked visibly exhausted, but she didn't look like she was dying.
“……It seems your abilities have indeed grown stronger.”
“I told you they did……”
Eris had a slightly sulking face, and I gave a bitter smile.
“You are someone who tends not to look after yourself, ugh.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes, my left shoulder, a bit.”
Startled, Eris carefully examined my left shoulder, then reached out her hand and closed her eyes.
A bright light shone, accompanied by a warm, tingling sensation, as the bleeding stopped and new flesh grew over the wound.
Having finished the treatment, Eris wiped the sweat from her brow and spoke.
“Look who’s talking about not looking after themselves.”
“Haha, my apologies, Your Majes-”
My voice was cut off by the roar of an incoming cannonball.
Eris merely glanced sideways and extended her hand, blocking it with an unfurled golden barrier.
However, in that instant, I clearly saw Eris frown slightly and clutch her chest.
“……Side effect?”
“……Probably.”
“Since when?”
“Quite some time ago?”
Eris’s violet eyes remained calm as she replied, and for a moment, I almost blurted out everything, but I consciously shut my mouth.
Everyone here, including myself, is risking their lives fighting despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered.
Telling her to stay safe because she’s the queen are things Eris neither wants nor would listen to.
“……You know your body best. I trust you haven’t disregarded my request.”
“I know, Marquis. You were my supporter, and you are the vassal I trust the most.”
“……I trust you, Your Majesty.”
Eris smiled faintly, extended her gloved hand towards me, and said.
“I trust you too, Marquis Lafayette. That you will do your utmost to protect my nation and my people.”
I gave a bitter smile, took Eris’s hand, and kissed the back of it.
“I will obey your command, Your Majesty.”
Rising immediately and turning my back, I felt a warm light envelop me from behind, restoring some vitality to my exhausted body.
I mounted my horse, gave Eris a nod, and immediately galloped away.
To endure this desperate war situation for even a little longer.
*
At the end of the desperate battle, as the sunset faded.
Both armies, utterly worn-out, fought on with sheer grit and tenacity, friend and foe alike.
Grand Duke Leopold raised his telescope, surveying the war situation.
The enemy suffered countless casualties, but the presence of the Saint Queen, still blocking artillery fire and healing the wounded, remained intact.
The Revolutionary Army, crying out that they would protect their motherland and revolution, maintained steadfast morale despite the overwhelming disadvantage.
The Center Army, painstakingly broken, was reorganized after Marquis Lafayette’s cavalry intervened with great valor. Despite committing his carefully saved cavalry to capture Marquis Lafayette, the cavalry battle ended in defeat.
The enemy cavalry also suffered severe damage and was weakened, but the Grand Duke’s army was already exhausted, sluggishly repeating advances and retreats.
Duke Gunhild, who had finally arrived on the flank, failed in his hasty flank offensive with cavalry and was disgracefully repelled, committing troops piecemeal in marching order.
He belatedly launched a proper offensive, only after Grand Duke Leopold pressed him via messenger, yielding some results.
Their powerful elite infantry, capable of wielding mana, held out for a while, but the mere 10,000 Revolutionary Army soldiers on the flank finally began to waver under the all-out offensive launched by Duke Gunhild's 30,000.
However.
The Grand Duke couldn't tear his eyes away from the man visible through his telescope.
The enemy Commander-in-Chief, who, having lost even his warhorse amidst the fierce battle, rushed into the collapsing flank, wielding the flag of Francia in one hand and a sword in the other, fighting frantically on the very front lines.
When the Commander-in-Chief fights at the forefront, covered in blood and holding the flag, no soldier can simply turn tail and flee alone.
Watching the flank, which they had been painstakingly breaking, regroup, and seeing Duke Gunhild’s offensive falter, becoming intimidated, Grand Duke Leopold squeezed his eyes shut and lowered the telescope.
He had turned Marquis Lafayette’s trap against him, trapping him instead.
The enemy, who should have collapsed long ago, held on tenaciously, but it was clear they too had reached their limit.
The armies of the Grand Duke and Duke Gunhild had been repelled countless times, but they had enough troops to replace the routed units and continue the offensive.
Therefore, this battle would ultimately end in the Empire’s victory.
However.
Grand Duke Leopold turned his gaze away from the battlefield, looking down with dim eyes at the field of corpses that nearly covered the plains.
Even if they win like this, can this truly be called a victory?
The enemy is fighting to protect their motherland. They are fighting to protect the government they established.
Their queen is personally on the battlefield protecting her soldiers, while he drives countless subordinates to their deaths to seize a throne to offer to the Kaiserin.
Grand Duke Leopold closed his eyes tightly, gripped by a feeling of despair.
If only he possessed the martial prowess of that Marquis Lafayette, if only he too could lead from the front and fight alongside his men.
Would his heart have been even slightly more at ease then?
“Y-Your Grace!”
An urgent shout broke the Grand Duke’s train of thought.
“What is it?”
“An army is approaching from the northwest!”
“Northwest?”
The Grand Duke’s thoughts froze.
This battle is already won.
After creating the worst possible battlefield from which the enemy could not retreat, and enduring immense sacrifices to barely grasp victory, yet another army?
Is it Count Milbeau? But given the distance, there’s no way he could arrive in this timeframe.
Northwest means an army from Lumiere?
Enemy reinforcements? Or a reserve unit?
Whatever it is, if it's a hastily sent force, it can't be at the level of a proper regular army. It must be.
“What army is it? Their numbers?”
Before the messenger could even answer Grand Duke Leopold’s desperate question.
A thunderous shout, filled with overflowing mana, resounded across the entire battlefield.
[Lafayette, my brother! I, Kroxx, have come to keep my promise!]