novelraw Chapter 178: Krafte War - City Under Fire (9)
Chapter 178: Krafte War - City Under Fire (9)
Episode 178. Krafte War - The City of Gunfire (9)
“Mobilize everyone! Arm anyone who can move with a gun!”
The command post was in complete chaos.
“What’s your post?”
“A supply soldier, Your Excellency!”
“Excellent. You're an infantryman now. Grab a musket and follow me.”
We scraped together every remaining soldier in the command post and handed them muskets.
With no other choice, we had to mobilize not only non-combat branches but also any wounded soldiers in bandages whose limbs were still intact.
In the suddenly chaotic command post, Shandra stood with a dazed look, so I quickly approached her.
“Whoa, what is all this…”“Shandra! I need your help! You might die, but will you help me?”
“Oh, even without you asking, I was getting antsy just acting as a liaison officer and interpreter!”
Despite me saying she might die, Shandra followed me with a delighted expression.
Warriors are something else, anyway.
I found Adjutant-General Alexandre Berthier among the troops bustling about and immediately grabbed him to ask.
“Adjutant-General! The mobilization seems to be almost complete. So, what's our total strength?”
“Including the stragglers from the eastern defense line, the total is 3,726 men, His Excellency the Marquis!”
“Reporting! The 172nd Infantry Regiment has returned to headquarters! The regiment commander is killed in action! Total personnel: 324!”
Hearing the report from the hastily arrived messenger, Berthier gave an awkward smile and corrected himself.
“…So it’s 4,050 men now.”
…The regiment’s full strength is a thousand men, so I suppose there was no need to ask where the rest went.
I replied simply.
“Splendid.”
“Isn't it.”
Berthier and I looked at each other and let out a hollow laugh.
“Let's think positively. The stragglers will keep joining up. So, what's the strength of the Krafte Army attacking from the east?”
“The reports are too chaotic to get an exact number, but we estimate it to be over 30,000.”
“And the Empire's knights?”
“Including Count Wittelsbach, there seem to be about 100 of them. They can't all be knights; that number likely includes elite cuirassiers. To ordinary soldiers, they all look the same anyway.”
Then again, in their eyes, they all look like monsters, so they’d probably only see them as knights.
“Shandra. You must have fought them in the last battle. Is this the most they can mobilize?”
When we had our decisive battle with the Krafte Army, Shandra and the Iberian Brothers fought the Empire's reinforcements.
She must have grasped their approximate scale back then.
Honestly, it would be difficult if the Great King pulled out another hidden card, so I hope this is it.
Shandra seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
“Probably?”
“……”
'Probably,' she says.
My expression almost stiffened, but considering Shandra’s free-spirited nature, I guess it meant she was sure.
“There's no retreat. I've requested reinforcements from every direction, so we just have to hold on. Berthier, I leave the command to you.”
“Their plan is clearly a decapitation strike, and the Commander-in-Chief intends to stand on the front lines?”
To Berthier’s somewhat incredulous question, I too gave a bitter smile.
“If I arm non-combat troops and stragglers and order them to hold the line from the safety of the rear, do you think they'd manage?”
“Haha, they probably wouldn't… Understood, His Excellency the Marquis. Please don't overdo it.”
“…I can't make any promises.”
Thinking of Christine, who must be worried since communication was cut off by the siege, I have to survive, even if by force.
“I'll try. Let's go, Shandra. You're the most reliable one here in a fight, among all who are left.”
Shandra smiled slyly and threw a joke.
“That's heartening. I would've been even more motivated if Sir Gaston had been left behind…”
“I know.”
Why did I send Gaston away and get myself into this mess.
And Millbeau, so convinced the Southern Region was the main attack that he rushed off there…
I let out a small sigh and raised my head.
“This is not the time to be weighing options. If we hold, we win. If we fall, we lose! Let's go!”
*
“Move the cannons, hurry!”
“Prepare for grapeshot bombardment!”
We frantically moved the cannons used to clear a path for Karok and the Iberian Brotherhood, and they were aimed at the eastern road where the Krafte Army would soon arrive, loaded with grapeshot.
In the meantime, stragglers from the eastern defense line continued to join us, bringing our numbers close to 10,000, but they were still just a mix of a hastily formed defense force and stragglers.
I couldn't expect them to hold out for long against Krafte's strong army, so my plan was to reduce the enemy numbers as much as possible with a grapeshot bombardment before the engagement began…
But the moment the Krafte Army began to appear on the other side of the road, I immediately spat out a curse.
“Ah, for fuck's sake.”
Because in front of the charging Krafte Army, there was a flood of Revolutionary Army soldiers fleeing from them.
Could it be intentional?
Were they deliberately letting our men flee just ahead, knowing we couldn’t just sweep them all away with grapeshot?
No, that's too much.
Even for the Krafte Army, it would be difficult to do that intentionally; it must be a result of the desperate war situation and their rapid advance.
But…
“What should we do, His Excellency the Marquis?”
“…Damn it.”
Even setting aside the quality of troops, the difference in numbers is overwhelming. If we don’t hit them with grapeshot here, it’s all over.
But if I also sweep away the fleeing Revolutionary Army soldiers, what about the morale of our troops, already full of stragglers and non-combatants?
The deliberation was short.
“I'm counting on you, Berthier.”
“Sir?”
“I'll hold them off until our allies have all escaped. When I give the signal, open fire!”
“W-What are you saying, His Excellency the Marquis! That's reckle—”
“Shandra!”
“Yes?”
“Follow me!”
“Uh, huh?”
Taking Shandra, who followed despite her clueless expression, I started running straight toward the enemy lines.
This is street fighting. Even for what's called a central city road, the space isn’t that wide.
“Hah, huff, His Excellency the Marquis!”
“Don't stop, run! Join the defense line!”
“Ah, understood!”
I shoved aside a Revolutionary Army soldier who had stopped in his tracks, terrified upon seeing me, and ran on with my sword drawn.
“M-Marquis Lafayette?!”
What, why is the Krafte Army panicking?
As I cut down a soldier who was too stunned to even raise his bayonet, blood splattered—and a sideways glance showed Shandra, having grasped the situation, was already dancing wildly, cutting down the Krafte Army soldiers.
“It's Marquis Lafayette!”
“Kil— Gak?”
Even the sensation of severing a human arm felt like nothing, and amidst it all, I quickly scanned the enemies.
The knights, Count Wittelsbach?
“Eeya— Aaargh!”
The Krafte Army might be strong, but that's by the standard of regular soldiers; cannon fodder who aren't knights can't catch me.
I split a thrusting bayonet along with its rifle, sever an arm, slice a neck, cleave a body, and for one who flinched at the sight of his comrade being butchered, I throw a dagger and embed it between his eyes.
As a dozen Krafte soldiers charging at me were swept away in an instant, even that Krafte Army seemed to falter for a moment.
Glancing back, the Revolutionary Army's stragglers were still running toward the cannons.
“So damn slow, really!”
Only after a little more time of Shandra and I rampaging frantically and slaughtering the Krafte Army did I finally spot Count Wittelsbach.
Far in the back, sword in hand, staring intently at what I was doing.
“Ha.”
So even knights know to fear grapeshot, eh?
I don't know how much time passed, but just as my breathing had grown a little ragged from mindlessly cutting down the charging Krafte soldiers, Berthier's voice reached me.
“That's enough now, His Excellency the Marquis!”
“Get down, Shandra!”
“Wow, you really work me to the bone!”
No sooner had Shandra and I kicked away the nearest enemy soldier, created some distance, and dropped to the ground, than the sound of cannon fire erupted, shaking the very earth.
The Krafte Army, distracted by the sight of Shandra and me wreaking havoc right before their eyes, was hit squarely by the hail of grapeshot.
Elite soldiers or not, without even being able to scream properly, everyone was equally peppered with holes, spraying blood.
“Ha, I almost got myself killed too.”
I was definitely prone, keeping as low as possible, yet I could clearly feel my magic barrier wavering precariously from just a few fragments scraping across the ground.
But there was no time to relax in relief; I shot back up the instant the grapeshot bombardment passed.
“Shandra, are you alive?”
“I'm alive, but…”
What?
I turned in alarm to see Shandra, still prone on the ground, bleeding from her shoulder and back.
Perhaps having protected her head, her arm was embedded with shrapnel, and my heart sank.
“Marquis-nim, are you even human? How did you withstand that with a magic barrier?”
“…Damn it, I'll apologize later!”
Did I overestimate Shandra's capabilities? Or have I lost my senses as I've grown stronger?
Either way, I felt a chill run down my spine at my clear misjudgment.
However, the situation gave no time to be flustered.
“His Excellency the Marquis, the enemy is charging again!”
To Berthier's urgent shout, I immediately yelled back.
“I have eyes, I know!”
Despite their comrades who had been charging ahead of them being turned into an unrecognizable mess, the Krafte Army began to charge again with almost no delay.
At this rate, they'll reach us before the artillery can reload!
“Pardon me.”
I immediately scooped Shandra up in my arms and started running toward the defense line.
“Wow, this is comfortable. Hehe, I wanted to be held like this by Sir Gaston.”
“…The fact that you can joke means you'll probably live.”
I say that, but I have no face to say anything to Shandra, who got hurt going along with my reckless stunt to save the Revolutionary Army.
…And to Gaston, who will be shocked to see her like this.
“Don't worry too much, Marquis-nim. I guess my training was still lacking. The King ordered me to aid you, his brother, with all my strength, so this is a proud wound.”
“…I will surely repay that devotion. Berthier! Take some men and escort Shandra to the Southern Region! She needs to be treated by Her Majesty the Queen!”
“Understood, His Excellency the Marquis! I am transferring command immediately!”
I handed Shandra over to Berthier and immediately turned my head to survey the defense line.
Thanks to the time I bought by braving the danger of being swept up in the grapeshot, the soldiers who had fled in a hurry had caught their breath under Berthier's command and joined the ranks.
At the very least, in their eyes now, the respect for the Commander-in-Chief who had plunged into enemy lines to save them seemed thicker than their fear of the Krafte Army.
This should be manageable.
I drew my sword and shouted.
“All units, prepare to fire!”
“Prepare to fire—!”
“First rank, aim!”
The momentum of the Revolutionary Army as they raised their muskets in unison was so orderly that you couldn't believe they were stragglers.
The Krafte Army's charge down the road, filled with the flesh and blood of their comrades hit by grapeshot, was tremendous, but they were still nothing more than humans of flesh and blood.
“Hold, hold!”
Knowing full well the enemy has no ammunition, there’s no need to fire at maximum range.
“A little closer!”
“Waaaaaah—!”
“Glory to Krafte!”
Only when the distance was so close that the enemy's battle cries could be heard unfiltered did I swing my sword down and shout.
“First rank, fire!”
The distance was barely 50 meters. At this range, it's harder to miss than to hit.
The muskets roared in unison, and the Krafte soldiers at the front collapsed limply.
“Don't stop! Charge!”
“For His Majesty the Great King!”
In front of the Krafte Army, which continued its charge with unbroken morale, I quickly gave the next order.
“First rank, kneel! Second rank, aim!”
With a clatter, the muskets were aimed—
The distance was now only about 30 meters.
“Fire!”
Once again, the muskets fired in unison, piercing the Krafte soldiers who had come right before their eyes.
The bullets fired at point-blank range penetrated the soldiers and even inflicted damage on those behind them, and the enemy's ranks were instantly riddled with holes.
This is a battle of morale, after all!
“Charge!”
I charged forward without hesitation, and a shout erupted from behind me with almost no delay.
“Follow His Excellency the Marquis!”
“Long live the Revolution—!”
*
On the roof of a building a short distance from the eastern defense line.
Looking down at the Revolutionary Army, led by Marquis Lafayette, as it counter-charged the numerically superior Krafte Army, Gilles de Lionel fiddled with the dagger in his hand before thrusting it back into his belt.
“…Finally, is it.”
Muttering softly, Gilles de Lionel soon leaped from the roof and began to walk toward the battlefield, which was shimmering with hostility and chaos.