Chapter 287 - Chapter 280: Pride
"...Frederick-san, how many survivors are left in the cavalry unit?"
Noein asked while gazing at the Western Army, which was boiling with joy, and the enemy camp, which was proceeding with preparations for withdrawal.
"Not quite two hundred and fifty riders... why do you ask?"
"Then, please assemble those cavalrymen. I will gather those among the Claymore puppet mages whose magical power has recovered enough to move their golems."
"What!? Noein-dono, do you intend to launch an offensive against the enemy!?"
To Frederick, who widened his eyes, Noein showed a fearless smile.
"I won't go that far. Coming off yesterday's battle, the current Western Army doesn't have that much leeway... however, if the cavalry and golems line up and make a show of attacking, the enemy, who are likely maintaining only minimum vigilance, will surely panic. It will be quite a nuisance for them in a situation where they want to withdraw as quickly as possible."
"I see, so in short, it's harassment. Your... cunning knows no bounds."
"Fufu, I believe I've been like this ever since the battle of Barrel Fort."
"True. But hasn't it been polished year by year?"
Noein chuckled at Frederick's words, and then his face lit up as if he had thought of something else.
"That's right, while we're at it, let's prepare to fake night attacks again. Fake night attacks day after day, night after night, while they are rushing their withdrawal preparations. If I were a soldier or officer of Betumia, I would definitely find it a nuisance."
"...Understood. As you wish, General-kakka."
Nodding with a voice half-exasperated, Frederick left the area to assemble the cavalry unit.
.....
"General Foster, the preparations for the rear guard's retreat will be complete shortly. You should also prepare for departure soon."
The one who spoke to Irene, who stood alone with her head bowed in the wide space where the command tent had been until a few days ago, was her loyal adjutant.
The site of the wide tent that could house many legion commanders and their respective adjutants, security soldiers, and secretaries. Now, there was nothing here, and many of the generals who should have gathered here had already retreated to the rear with their subordinates.
The only force remaining by Irene's side was a military of about three thousand, who would serve as the delaying force at the very end of the retreat. While Irene was not yet a defeated general, she was in a state that anyone could only describe as a loser commander.
Now, the site of the tent, which was only uselessly wide, further stirred Irene's misery.
"...What was this battle. What is this pathetic state. This, this..."
Irene held her head, muttering like she was delirious with a dark expression.
The enemy commander, Viscount Noein Arqvist, was an extremely excellent general regarding defensive warfare. He was also blessed with talented subordinates. There was no doubt about that.
That was precisely why Irene had continued to attack persistently using orthodox methods. Thinking that challenging with a large army that lacked flexibility using trick after trick would only lead to confusion, she had cornered Viscount Arqvist's unit with a grand offensive that utilized an overwhelming difference in combat power.
And finally, she had reached the point of being just one step away. She was certain that she could win in the next offensive. She had come to a point where she could be sure of it.
At that stage, a retreat order came from the headquarters of the Western Invasion Army in the rear. Far from receiving support, it was an order to pull back the units. With this, she didn't know for what purpose they had fought until now, for what purpose the soldiers had died, and for what purpose they had been injured.
To make matters worse, the enemy, noticing that her side was retreating, had continued despicable harassment for days. Although she had tried to finish the transport of wounded soldiers and the unit's withdrawal in four days, as a result, it ended up requiring several more days.
The other fronts were also struggling terribly against the enemy's tactics utilizing that particular poison, and the supply lines further in the rear were said to be completely in disarray. And then came the order to stop the invasion and retreat. The atmosphere where the Betumia Republic Army could win no longer flowed. In Irene's intuition, a re-advance order would likely never be issued again.
The order to retreat to the home country would be issued just like this, and the Betumia Republic would suffer a virtual defeat. There was no evidence, but she felt intuitively that it would happen.
How did it come to this? When they first landed, she was certain it would go well. She was supposed to take the Marquis Gardwin territory and then occupy the entire western part of the Lordberg Kingdom with irresistible force. She was supposed to stand at the forefront and achieve military results.
Just a few days. If the order had been delayed by a few more days—no, if the Western Invasion Force's offensive had been faster—Irene would have succeeded in the invasion of the northwest, and the flow of the battle would have changed.
She could have become a hero who changed the war situation with one more step, but that step fell short and she became a loser. Receiving harassment from the enemy that thrust the fact that she was a loser in her face, she would now have to move backward while fearing the enemy's pursuit.
And in the end, she would flee back to her country as a loser and expose her living shame.
Such a thing should not be allowed to happen.
No, that's not it, she hated this. She simply hated it. She could not accept ending the battle in such an unsatisfying manner.
Thinking this, Irene stood up.
"...Let's go."
Leaving the site of the tent with her adjutant—Irene abruptly mounted her favorite horse and galloped away.
"General!? Hey, my horse!"
She could tell by the sound that the adjutant was shocked behind her and was chasing after her on a horse. However, Irene did not respond to him, galloped through the camp, galloped through the plains that had been a battlefield until just the other day, and stopped in front of the enemy camp.
Then, she shouted toward the Lordberg Kingdom Western Army, which was buzzing because an enemy general had suddenly approached alone.
"Viscount Noein Arqvist! Is the General, Viscount Arqvist, there!? Come before me! Viscount Arqvist!"
Facing the enemy camp where the buzzing grew even louder, Irene continued to shout.
"Grand Legion Commander-kakka, no, young lady, what on earth are you doing!? This is dangerous, please return to your camp!"
"Forgive me, do not mind me... Viscount Arqvist! Come out! Viscount Arqvist!"
As Irene raised her voice, ignoring the adjutant's restraint,
"...I will come out, so please calm down,"
the voice of Viscount Arqvist reached her, amplified by a 'Voice Amplification' magic item.
Eventually, without much waiting, Viscount Arqvist stepped forward, accompanied by the usual large man of a close aide and the rabbit-person slave. When Irene dismounted and approached a few steps, the Viscount also dismounted and walked toward her.
They stopped at a distance of a few meters and faced each other. Behind Irene, the adjutant stood by so that he could protect her at any time, and behind the Viscount, the two close aides stood guard in a posture without openings.
"Grand Legion Commander Foster, what on earth happened? You are on the verge of retreat, yet you come without even proper guards..."
To him, who had an exasperated face but agreed to the dialogue, Irene suddenly brought up the main point.
"I thank you for responding to my sudden summons. Viscount Arqvist... I desire a duel with you! I have come to convey that!"
At Irene's words, the Viscount widened his eyes, and his two close aides also raised their eyebrows slightly in surprise. She heard the adjutant behind her let out a voice of shock, "What!?"
"You may use your golems. Even if I win, I will not demand conditions such as surrender from your side. I simply want you to duel me. That is all!"
"...For what purpose?"
Viscount Arqvist asked Irene with a suspicious expression.
"For the sake of my pride as a soldier! I cannot be satisfied with retreating in such a manner! I do not wish to return to my country while exposing my shame!"
Hearing that answer, the Viscount sighed with a troubled expression, as if a child were throwing a tantrum.
"...I see. I do not know your personal strength, but it would be nearly impossible to defeat me, who uses golems, with your bare body. Even so, in order to maintain your own pride, you wish to duel me even if you perish here. Is that it?"
"That is correct! Even without me, there are plenty of generals capable of commanding the retreat. If you are also a soldier, my—"
"I refuse."
Viscount Arqvist interrupted Irene's words and declared it with cold eyes.
She tried to ask why, but when her eyes met his, she involuntarily swallowed her words. It was a gaze so sharp, it felt bone-chilling.
"...Grand Legion Commander Irene Foster. Certainly, you are likely a capable and splendid soldier. Among the enemies I have fought until now, I believe you were the strongest."
While evaluating Irene highly as he said this, Viscount Arqvist's gaze remained cold.
"However. Even if you as an individual are so, what about your country? Does your country, the Betumia Republic, have pride?"
"...!"
Viscount Arqvist spoke the name of Irene's homeland with a very loathsome expression.
"Your country and my country have traded for over a hundred years. Even if it was not in an equal form, we should have been friendly nations. However, your country unilaterally invaded the Lordberg Kingdom. Moreover, aiming for the gap when we were weakened by poor harvests. Is this what a proud civilized nation does?"
Being questioned, Irene had no words to answer.
"The behavior of your country since the start of the invasion is also the same. You killed the nobles here down to the young children, killed other soldiers without accepting surrender, plundered from innocent civilians, beat the men, and raped the women. Which side is the barbarian? I did not think the word pride would come from the mouth of a general of such a country. It is quite a tasteless joke."
"..."
This was what it meant to be unable to utter a word. Irene looked down, her face distorting with shame.
"...Therefore, if you truly wish to protect your own pride, you should change your shameful homeland."
There, the coldness suddenly vanished from Viscount Arqvist's voice. Irene looked up in slight surprise—and her eyes met his as he smiled gently.
"Your country committed a mistake. However, that should not be the sin of all the citizens. It is a mistake born from the intentions of a very small layer of leadership. If that is the case, your country can still start over. It can move in the right direction. For that purpose, in order to correct the country, you should fight and reclaim your pride."
"Fight... to correct the country...?"
"That is correct. You attained a high position at a young age and have high ability. If you intend to, you can likely achieve many things. If I were in your position, rather than scattering my life here for self-satisfaction, I would use my life meaningfully in that way."
Irene thought about the meaning of Viscount Arqvist's words, remained silent for a while, and then tightened her expression.
"...Viscount Arqvist, I gratefully accept your advice. Though you are an enemy, you are a good general and a wonderful man. I shall revise my perception of the Lordberg Kingdom, which possesses a paragon such as you."
"I am grateful for the excessive evaluation... Now, please return to your camp. This is still a battlefield, and this war is not yet over. You and I are enemies. Please forget this conversation until the end of the war. Regardless of who wins."
"...True. Excuse me."
Irene mounted again and turned on her heel. Glancing at Viscount Arqvist one last time, she moved her horse toward her own camp in silence. Her loyal adjutant followed behind her.
.....
While gazing at the back of Grand Legion Commander Foster as she departed, Noein muttered once the distance from her was sufficient.
"I hope that with that, after the war, that person will side with the people of Betumia and clash with the leadership layer. I want them to bicker domestically for as long as possible."
"...As I thought, that was the aim."
Yuri, who had been listening behind him, replied in a tone that seeped with resignation, going beyond exasperation.
"Fufu, we aren't fighting this war out of whim either. If it were a case where the war would end if I won, that would be one thing, but a duel just to humor the opponent's stubbornness is just tedious. There's no reason not to utilize an enemy general with whom I've established a connection... But for the record, it's true that I wanted that person to live a meaningful life, you know?"
Mounting his horse and turning back toward the main camp, Noein laughed.
"Now then... time to start the pursuit battle. It would be a problem if Grand Legion Commander Foster died, so just enough for the enemy to properly return to the rear. But while doing so, make sure to increase the enemy's burden and exhaust them. I'll have to do it skillfully."