Chapter 74

–Third Person/Treia POV–

「Lord Mezale…………what have you done?!」

「An arrow has flown to Goldonia’s side! They won’t let us just apologize now!」

The unknown citizen shouting on top of the hill has become a corpse . But there were no cheers from the soldiers, and the nearby commanders and nobles are also stunned .

That is natural; the arrows released by Viscount Mezale after getting provoked has taken the life of the detestable rebel, but the arrows which failed to hit their targets crossed over the hill and flew into Goldonia territory . Moreover, the feudal lord’s army was on the other side in their formation already, and the arrows fell on their heads . Many citizens and soldiers have witnessed that very act of brutality so there is no escaping the situation now .

「Lord Mezale, you bastard!」

The commander of the entire army, the person who was trying to calm the soldiers down, desperately saw his own efforts go to waste as he pressed Mezale for answers .

「Logjeel-dono, question him afterwards . First, we have to give the Goldonia-side some sort of excuse or else it will turn into something troublesome!」

The man acting as the staff officer glares at the drooping Mezale, but he also remonstrates Logjeel .

「Good, now send an urgent messenger . Make it one with as high a status as possible . 」

「We are currently still hunting over half of the farmers so it will take a little time, but I will hurry as much as I can . 」

The staff officer sends out a horse .

「Lord Mezale, you forced us into a disadvantage in the negotiations with Goldonia this time! You better prepare yourself!」

Logjeel is worrying about the upcoming negotiations in his mind . There was nothing he could do for his army about the mistake . Even if a story was fabricated that the flown arrow was due to a noble’s younger sibling being hurt, it’s not something he could complain about . It would be nice if it could be settled by just paying compensations, since it would be troublesome if it turns into a conversation about territory . The changing of border lines is a cross-national issue and must be reported to your home country’s government no matter what . If the conclusion of this incident turns into something unsightly, his leadership ability will no doubt be questioned and the royal family would also have a poor impression of him .

Once again, he glared at Viscount Mezale, telling him that he really did something unnecessary, and it was at that point when his worries disappeared – worries about paying compensation, about the cession of territory – it was as if he had no problems in the first place . He didn’t even feel there was a need to send a messenger either .

The accidental shooting of those few arrows did not matter at all . That’s because of the rain of steel – over 1000 arrows came pouring down on him from above .

–Aegir POV–

「Charge!!」

From my one command, the cavalry squad began to charge all at once . It was the pattern of attack where, after you gift them with a rain of arrows, the cavalry charges in to crush the distraught enemies .

In the blink of an eye, the army composed of the eastern army’s spear cavalry and heavy cavalry, and also the bow cavalry – formerly the mountain nation – gallops over the shallow hill . The bow cavalry stops at the peak of the hill and release their arrows continuously, which have increased in power due to the difference in height . The power of the newly upgraded Goldonian-made bows is incomparable to that of their previous crudely-made bows, and unless the enemies are equipped with heavy plate armor, the arrows will pierce through their defenses .

The heavy cavalry and the spear cavalry are pushing through the enemies under the support from those arrows . The enemy infantry also had longspear squads here and there, but due to the storm of arrows, they couldn’t get into formation and were trampled over . No matter how strong longspears were against cavalry, they will only be able to withstand frontal attacks . If you circle around them, they turn into nothing more than slow-witted infantry .

「You despicable person, oppressor of the people, I’ll punish you!」

Irijina thrusts her spear while riding as the lead vanguard of the spear cavalry . Swinging her spear from atop her horse, she vanquishes one Treian soldier after the other . Maybe she feels resentment that the people of her home country are being oppressed . To the citizens, the Arkland army were the most cruel, but I’ll purposely not say that to this innocent girl .

「Soryaa!」

After finishing off about five of them, a herd of enemy spearmen obstructed her, but soon after, a rain of arrows poured down from the top of the hill . The squad of spearmen quickly collapsed, and once again, Irijina was able to resume her rampage . Watching her go wild makes me excited too .

「Leopolt, take command . 」

「Don’t over do it . 」

Objectively speaking, I would rather go wild on the battlefield than stay in the headquarters and give commands . Leopolt was originally the one who took control of the entire squad after all .

「I’ll accompany you . 」

「Pipi is going too . 」

Celia and Pipi, as well as the selected ten accompanying cavalry came along, bringing their horses with them . As expected, Leopolt and Celia earnestly asked them to stop me from riding out alone . According to what Leopolt said, if I were to die by myself, then the entire squad would crumble and it would be quite a nuisance to him .

「I won’t make such a blunder though . 」

I penetrate into the center of the enemy formation, and lop off the head of the guy who looks like a noble, and is causing a commotion and panicking while on horseback at the sudden frontal attack . As a matter of fact, there really is no meaning in hesitating to attack . In addition, in terms of numbers, the enemy has 5000 and our allies are 3000 strong; even considering their loss more or less in their fight with the farmers, we are still at a numerical disadvantage . It would be the best if we can crush the enemy while they’re confused .

「Wh-what’s going on?!!」

I pierce the torso of the flustered commander and trample over the infantry acting as guards . After I swung my spear completely, an infantry suddenly came from my flank so I used my left hand to punch him away .

「Gueh!」

「Hiih! Monster!」

Who’s the monster? I just smashed his head apart with my fist . I return the favor to the rude soldier by grabbing him by the throat with my bloody left hand and snapping his neck .

The enemy soldiers slowly withdraw while pointing their weapons at me . I can’t say that they are brave compared to the mountain nation or even my own soldiers . That reminds me, Treia didn’t send out much offense in the battle in Arkland .

Then, three enemy heavy cavalry brandished their large lances at me and came charging . It seems that the enemy has some people who can deal with the situation quickly too . I bring my spear up as well and was going to meet them but, just before making contact, the three of them, having removed their helmets for breathing and to gain a better field of view, took arrows in their face and fell off their horse .

「Chief! What do you think of Pipi’s skill?」

「Three of them in just ten seconds? ……how impressive . 」

I focused only on the precision of her horseback shooting, but the speed of her volley was just as quick . Even amongst the mountain nation, Pipi is in a class of her own, but looking at the state of battle, the bow cavalry are also one-sidedly overwhelming the Treian army . The plains already make them powerful, but gaining composite bows and superior quality arrows multiplied their ability several times over . Their statures match their horses, and are quite small, so the speed at which they run in a straight line are inferior to that of regular cavalry . However, when trying to escape with them shooting at you from the back, it is an arduous task .

The Treian army took damage from the surprise attack and wanted to run away quickly . It wasn’t enough damage to destroy them, but the battle which started all of a sudden lowered their morale .

「Bow cavalry, bring down the escaping enemies from behind! Heavy cavalry and spear cavalry will charge into the enemies that are fighting the farmers!」

No matter how delicate and precise your shooting is, if you shoot an arrow into a large free-for-all where everyone is at grappling distance with each other, you will indiscriminately wound people . It might come back to bite us in the ass later .

I’m at the front of the leading heavy cavalry and jump into the fray where the Treian army and farmers are fighting, cutting down whichever enemy is within my range . The slain enemies get shredded and scatter all over . It was natural for the Treian soldiers, but even the farmers that I should be saving are standing there dazed and young women also fainted . It’s not like I want to brutally kill them, it’s just that my spear is in the heavyweight class and everything it touches gets torn to pieces .

「Why is the Goldonian army-?!」

「Why weren’t they mentioned to us?!」

There’s nothing I can do to answer these guys’ question . I just bore my spear through the center of the two knights’ bodies who can’t deal with the situation and end them .

「Aegir-sama, the enemy is collapsing on all fronts . If the infantry squad takes part as well, it should be a rout . 」

Celia is standing on her knees while riding her horse and trying to grasp the situation by elevating her vision . It’s quite the unreasonable posture, so be careful not to fall .

「Let’s do that . In the end, it’s just an accidental battle, so there is no need so annihilate the enemy . 」

Suddenly, a single group amongst the chaos was discovered to be escaping as fast as they could . They were riding on horses in a formation where a single man was surrounded by the others and everyone was wearing flashy and outstanding battle gear .

「The commander, huh? ……Why don’t I crush him while I’m at it . 」

I thought about throwing my spear, but the distance is over 50 m and I don’t think I can hit someone on a horse .

「Pipi, that flashy guy in the middle – Can you get him?」

「Yeah . If I hit him, are you gonna give me a reward?」

What a cutie, I’ll have to give her some snacks that I secretly brought later .

「The wind is blowing sideways, wait a bit . 」

Pipi wets her finger with some saliva and held it up in the air, and after the wind ceases momentarily, she swiftly nocks an arrow and releases it . While we were waiting, the distance between him and us grew to over 100 m, but the arrow rose up diagonally and as if it got sucked down, pierced the side of the man’s head dead on . All of a sudden, the man stiffened straight up on his horse and fell off . It was impossible to avoid instant death from getting an arrow to the head .

「Charge! Rout the enemy!」

On the order from Celia’s cute shout, the infantry squad also began their invasion . The Treian army’s lines, having been divided by the cavalry doing as they pleased, completely collapsed as soon as the infantry charged in, and even the farmers pursued them to chase them away .

「The reward, I’m looking forward to it . 」

Seeing how the battle is over, Pipi skillfully jumped back on Schwartz . When she buried her face into my chest, I realized that we had different definitions of rewards in our minds .

「It’s Aegir-sama’s victory! ……why are you on the same horse as Aegir-sama?」

Without answering the narrow-eyed Celia, we ride up in front of the farmers who have sunk to the floor . The reactions of the farmers were all uniformly favorable .

「Hurray for Goldonia!」

「I thought we were done for . 」

「That person is Lord Hardlett!?」

「In the flesh……」

While Celia and Leopolt are getting the formation in order, it is necessary to calm the people down .

「Everyone listen! This battle was caused by the fact that the kingdom of Treia crossed our border by sending an attack at us . I am not here to support your rebellion, but I won’t stop anyone who wants to enter my territory . 」

Cheers erupted from everyone . I don’t have any particular emotional attachment to them, but when I see sisters hugging each other while crying, I feel like I’ve done a good deed . If possible, I want to hug them altogether .

「However, when you enter my territory, you are not permitted to carry weapons . Swords, spears and anything in the same vein will all have to be abandoned . 」

After they’ve been disarmed, the rest will be left to Adolph . Since then, I talked a bit with Leopolt but they couldn’t wait for that . But, there was also a line of farmers who rushed to do so out of happiness .

「Viscount Hardlett-sama, we supported the rebellion but we aren’t farmers . We are soldiers of the standing army . Since Arkland has disappeared, we have had no place to go…… so could you add us into your army?」

Normally guys like these would become mercenaries, but Treia’s occupation policies don’t allow that .

「Then, go until Rafen along with the farmers . You’ll be newly employed there as part of the private army since I can’t do so right now . 」

The upcoming operation will demand speed and leadership ability . We’ll be entering into enemy territory as it is, so I don’t want to bring along people of unknown nature . Just increasing our numbers from those gathered here would only slow us down .

The people left to the east and our preparations are finished .

「Leopolt, have you told the royalty?」

「Yes, I have already dispatched a messenger to tell the kingdom of the accident-caused collision of forces . The horse will take two days to reach the capital and two days to get back, so a total of four days will be needed for this task to get accomplished . 」

「Then, let’s hurry . 」

The ones lined up are just the cavalry and the supply wagon . The slow-footed infantry will act as the citizens’ escorts and surveillance as they head back to Rafen . What is needed from this point on is overwhelming speed .

「All troops, move out! Let’s overtake those Treian guys . 」

–Third person/ Erich POV–

Two days later, Capital of Goldonia

「……What is that guy doing?」

Erich, having saw the letter, realized that he is turning pale . There are three things written in there:

The Treian army and the rebelling farmers are skirmishing on the outskirts of the border in the western area, so I have sortied just to be vigilant .

In the same place, we were attacked by the Treian army and are counterattacking, so I will need to defeat them .

In order to completely eliminate the threat, I am pursuing the escaping enemy and starting our advance into Treian territory .

The contents in those brief sentences was sufficient enough for Erich to halt his official duties and seek an audience with the king . A letter with the same contents should have been delivered to the royalty as well .

「Just when I thought you moved to your territory just recently, you go and cause some conflict so soon……」

There isn’t anyone around Erich but he couldn’t help but grumble .

「Your Majesty, I believe you are in a good mood……」

「Please stop it Erich, if even you compliment me so, I’ll get fed up . 」

The king……Alexandro the first asked the servant to leave and got the kneeling Erich to stand up .

「Then, please excuse me . This time, to ask for such a sudden audience……」

As if the king knew what was going to be said, he held out the letter .

「The letter has also reached me . It seems Hardlett has gone and done it . 」

The king spread his arms to show his worry and smiles bitterly .

「It is my lack of supervision . I sincerely apologize . 」

「What are you saying? Lord Hardlett is a noble that I have granted with the Viscount title, and is your colleague . There is no one but me who should take responsibility . 」

That is so in theory, but the fact that Erich is here as the representative of the new nobles means that he wants to be involved in this situation .

「In any case, only a fool would complain about something that has already happened . I want to know how we can settle this conflict . 」

「In the letter, it says that they were attacked first . If this is the truth, his overreactions will more or less be pardoned . The problem is that the witnesses are the escaping people…… If you look from Treia’s side, they are traitors . They may insist that the people will lie just for the sake of putting them at a disadvantage . 」

「Hm, is it on the premise that Lord Hardlett led his troops first?」

「Well, I believe that since it was an accidental clash, there first had to have been a ceasefire after the troops have been led . 」

Erich returns something obvious to the king with a dubious face, but the king silently goes into thinking .

「The letter was sent the day before yesterday, right? It will depend on how far he has advanced during the two days . 」

Erich spreads the map that he brought on the desk . He is also a veteran general who has led armies many times; he can precisely ascertain the marching speed of the army .

「Treia’s army got routed so there aren’t any decent enemies in the western area . If they can advance as they please, then they will be at this point, and if at that time they sent a messenger that arrived in two days, then they should have arrived around the outskirts of this city called Mayse . 」

「They unexpectedly didn’t progress much . 」

「The time an army can march in a single day, excluding resting time, is about six hours, and it will take even longer if they aren’t familiar with the land . This calculation also takes into account whether the march is going well . 」

「Then give the order for them to stop near this city of Mayse . At the same time, we will send a messenger to Treia to tell them we will hold negotiations with the prerequisite of them having to withdraw their troops . Will that be sufficient?」

「Yes . I believe that is ideal, however they may act out of emotion from having people step on their land and may not abide by the ceasefire . Just in case, I will arrange for the central army to prepare for battle . 」

Then, the king unusually said something inarticulate .

「Erich, this is a hypothetical thought . If you let Hardlett do as he pleases, how much trouble do you think he’ll stir up in Treia?」

「…… . I purposely try not to ask that question, but the skill and equipment of the eastern army under his command is not that different from that of the central army’s . Including the private army, his military force should be limited to around 3000 . He has a lot of cavalry so he might push the enemies