Chapter 265 - Episode 258: Humanitarian Consideration
Once Irene had withdrawn her troops and returned to the camp, she was devising a strategy for the battles from tomorrow onward together with her adjutant and subordinates of legion commander rank.
"I knew the Kingdom of Lordberg used crossbows, but I never imagined they would use ballistae to scatter poison..."
Weapons designed so that even amateurs could fire arrows had once been used in the Republic of Betumia under the name "crossbow." However, as national strength grew and it became possible to assemble a sufficient number of archers, the crossbow—which was inferior to the bow in terms of manufacturing cost and rate of fire—gradually fell into obsolescence.
There were also circumstances where the nation's leadership hid actual crossbows, their manufacturing methods, and literature to ensure the populace did not possess the military power to start another revolution, causing the knowledge to wither over a long period of time.
While the design philosophy and mechanisms seemed somewhat different from Betumia's crossbows, information had reached her that a portion of the Kingdom of Lordberg's forces used similar weapons, and Irene had seen them herself. It was only natural that larger ballistae existed. However, firing a massive amount of thin arrows to scatter poison was unexpected.
"We have more archers, and although we possess powerful composite bows, as long as the enemy has constructed positions to hide in, the odds are against us,"
"Because of the poison the enemy uses, our attrition rate will likely be higher,"
the legion commanders gathered in the tent serving as the headquarters spoke.
As they said, since the enemy had taken up advantageous positions and even installed log shields, they were slightly disadvantaged even considering the power and rate of fire of bows. To remain crowded in one place and engage in an exchange of arrows was like telling the enemy to use them as targets.
To make matters worse, because the enemy's arrows were coated in poison, even light wounds that would normally not be fatal would render soldiers incapable of combat.
"But in the end, they are just crossbows. They lack rapid fire, and since they are using such things, the soldiers are likely just a ragtag group of peasant soldiers... Tomorrow, the infantry units will close in on the enemy camp all at once, killing them before the enemy has time to nock arrows into their crossbows, and remove the log shields blocking the path. Then, we will charge the cavalry units in to annihilate them."
They had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. They only needed to swallow the enemy camp with a momentum that small tricks like crossbows and poison could not keep up with. The legion commanders agreed with Irene's plan.
At that moment, a messenger rushed into the headquarters tent.
"Report! A report! A general of the enemy army has approached with a small force! He says he wishes to meet with our commander!"
At the unexpected report, the gathered legion commanders, as well as Irene and her adjutant, were momentarily stunned.
"...Hmph, how convenient. To think he would come strolling right up to us."
"Should we not just kill him now? There is no need for courtesy toward a barbarian general."
The messenger interrupted the words of the legion commanders.
"T-that is, the enemy general apparently came to deliver our wounded from the previous battle... He says there are still many wounded soldiers rolling around the battlefield, so we should come collect them."
"...What!? Hey, tell that enemy general absolutely not to be touched! I will meet him directly, as he wishes!"
Was the poison from earlier something that only sealed the soldiers' movements and did not threaten their lives? Having realized that possibility, Irene shouted and sent the messenger running again.
She herself hurriedly put on her helmet and rushed to the front line with her adjutant, several legion commanders who were her close aides, and escort soldiers.
And there, indeed, was a man who looked high-ranking, mounted and surrounded by soldiers who appeared to be escorts.
He was likely a high-ranking noble of this country. Seeing that he wore a black robe instead of armor, he was a mage. His features were youthful, and his build was small and slender. At a glance, he did not look like the general of a massive army at all.
Behind the man and the escorts surrounding him were about ten Betumia soldiers who seemed to have been carried on stretchers. Some among them seemed energetic enough to raise their upper bodies on their own, waving their hands or calling out to the soldiers on this side.
Then, the man who appeared to be the enemy general suddenly held something like a magic tool to his mouth and began to speak in a loud voice amplified by that magic tool.
"I am the General of the Western Army of the Kingdom of Lordberg, Viscount Noein Arqvist. I convey this to the commander of the Republic of Betumia's army. The soldiers you left behind on the battlefield are all alive, having only suffered paralysis in their bodies. As I am a proud noble of the Kingdom, I do not kill those who are wounded and unable to move."
While taking the form of conveying this to the commander, Irene, the man calling himself Viscount Arqvist spoke intentionally so that the entire Western Invasion Force could hear.
"Therefore, out of humanitarian consideration, we permit you to rescue the wounded. You likely do not wish to abandon comrades who are still alive. I promise that we will not lay a finger on you while you recover and transport the wounded from the battlefield."
Hearing Viscount Arqvist's words, the soldiers became noisy. It was only natural, as nearly a thousand comrades they thought they had lost in the previous battle were alive, and the enemy was returning them.
This was not simply a matter of compatriots being saved; it meant they had seen hope that even if they were wounded by the mysterious poison in future battles, they could return alive.
"..."
Irene advanced further and approached Viscount Arqvist. The adjutant, the legion commanders, and the escort soldiers followed in silence.
Perhaps in response to Irene's action, the Viscount also gave some instructions to those around him and stepped forward.
By his side were only a sturdy-looking man who seemed to be a close aide and a female beastman soldier who seemed to be an escort. In the Kingdom of Lordberg, just as in Betumia, beastmen were supposed to be targets of persecution, but to keep such a person as a personal escort meant this man was quite the eccentric.
Irene and Viscount Arqvist stopped after approaching to a distance where they could discern each other's expressions.
"I am the Commander of the Republic of Betumia's Western Invasion Force, Grand Legion Commander Irene Foster."
"Nice to meet you. I am honored to receive a direct greeting from the overall commander of the force."
Irene was slightly taken aback by Viscount Arqvist, who answered with a gentle smile as if he were greeting someone at a social gathering.
"...Viscount Arqvist, I understand your business. However, how can we believe that you will not lay a hand on us while we recover the wounded?"
"I have come this far with only a few escorts, knowing the danger. Solely to return the wounded soldiers of the Republic of Betumia's army. Does this action of mine not merit belief?"
Viscount Arqvist answered Irene's question while wearing a calm smile that was, again, out of place on a battlefield. Combined with his appearance, which looked like a child's at first glance, he was an opponent who strangely threw one's rhythm off.
Irene stared into the Viscount's eyes, considering his true intentions and goals. After a few seconds, she spoke again.
"...Very well. I shall believe your words. I will send a unit to recover the wounded to the front of your positions."
"As expected of a general of the Republic of Betumia, an advanced civilized nation. I believed that you would not do something like abandon your wounded soldiers."
Toward Viscount Arqvist, who said such things, Irene wore a stiff smile.
A thousand wounded soldiers whose bodies were paralyzed and who likely could no longer return to the front lines. Recovering them, caring for them, and transporting them to the rear would take considerable effort.
However, she had received strict orders from the commander-in-chief, General Hamilton, to keep the number of dead as low as possible. If soldiers she thought were dead were alive, she had no choice but to recover them.
Furthermore, Viscount Arqvist had gone out of his way to loudly proclaim the existence of the wounded to her soldiers and said he would let them be rescued out of "humanitarian consideration."
If she were to say she would not rescue the wounded now, the soldiers would think, "Grand Legion Commander Foster is a commander who abandons the injured." If the soldiers began to think they would be abandoned if they themselves were wounded, morale would drop catastrophically.
Irene had no choice other than to rescue the wounded soldiers, regardless of the burden.
"Then, I shall return. Let us meet again on the battlefield."
"...Yes."
Irene could only answer with a single word to Viscount Arqvist, who left after leaving a greeting while maintaining a gentle expression until the end.
"He was a strange man. Not like a general at all."
Viscount Arqvist's party departed, leaving the Betumia wounded along with their stretchers. The adjutant muttered while watching their backs.
"Indeed... To think such a person exists among the nobles of the Kingdom of Lordberg."
Among the nobles of the Kingdom of Lordberg, who loved to speak of noble pride and the spirit of knighthood, there were few who devised cunning schemes. Considering that, that Viscount Arqvist was considerably anomalous.
And those types of people are the most formidable when they become enemies.
Irene felt tension internally, thinking that this battle might become harsher than she had imagined.