Chapter 291 - Episode 284: Pursuit
"Alright, begin the charge the moment the simultaneous volley from the rear ballista unit hits the enemy lines!"
"""Yeah!!"""
When Gustav called out, the golem users of Claymore responded in unison.
"And Alain, just because you're running at the center front, don't get too excited and push too far ahead, got it?"
"I'm fine! I'm not that much of an idiot!"
"Seriously, be careful, okay? You can't die until you get back and hold Mary, right?"
"I know! Don't say that so loudly!"
As Alain protested Gustav's teasing warning, laughter broke out among the Claymore golem users and the great-shield soldiers protecting them.
What they were staring at was a fort constructed by the retreating Betumia Republic Army to obstruct the pursuit of the Lordberg Kingdom's Western Army. That said, its actual state was merely a makeshift structure of timber and stone built to block the mountain valley in the southwest where the Valerian Highway passes.
There were fewer than a hundred Betumia soldiers waiting there. Perhaps because they understood there was not a one-in-ten-thousand chance they could stop the pursuit, the soldiers' expressions were grim.
"Claymore, charge!"
The voice of Chief Attendant Yuri echoed from the rear, and approximately twenty golems lined up in the front row of the formation raised their battering rams.
"All personnel, charge!"
Shouting this, Gustav also sent his own golem forward. Diagonally in front of him, at the tip of the formation, Alain ran faster and further ahead than anyone else, having his golem hold a battering ram made of a special alloy.
With Alain's golem in the lead, Claymore advanced in a crescent formation, closing in on the enemy fort. In response, the Betumia soldiers fired fire arrows and the like in a desperate struggle, but such things could not possibly be effective against golems holding battering rams.
Witnessing the golems approach without flinching in the slightest, the Betumia soldiers turned pale, jumped down from the fort, and evacuated.
"The enemy is terrified! Crush that cardboard fort in one go!"
"Here we goooo!"
Simultaneous with Gustav's encouragement, Alain's golem leading the way reached the fort. The special-made battering ram, which was heavier than a normal one and could only be handled by Alain's golem, easily pierced the crudely built wall.
The sound of timber snapping and stone shattering echoed as a dull roar, and the shabby fort shook. Gustav's golem crashed in next to it, and after that, the golems holding battering rams pierced through in order from the center to the edges, and the fort's wall finally collapsed inward.
"Now! Crossbow unit and infantry units, advance!"
"The enemy is few! Don't let them escape; make them prey for the Angel's Honey!"
Following this, the mixed units of crossbowmen and infantry, which had been divided into two groups on the left and right, advanced according to the orders of their respective commanders, Baron Oggoren and Baron Wikander. They stepped over the fort, which had become mere rubble, and attacked the Betumia soldiers attempting to flee with their backs turned.
In a situation where they were vastly outnumbered and possessed not a shred of will to fight, all the Betumia soldiers were rendered combat-incapable upon receiving the undiluted Angel's Honey.
Thus, the battle in the mountain valley ended in a complete victory for the Western Army in a mere fifteen minutes.
"...That was an easy win."
"Yeah. It's a far cry from when we were the ones defending."
At the overly one-sided nature of the victory, Noein and Frederick, who had been handling overall command in the rear, looked on with slightly exasperated faces.
"My, as expected of Lord Arqvist. Having repelled Cadne's personal expedition, your command was splendid."
"No, in this battle, it was simply that the golem users of my territory were excellent."
"However, I have heard that it was Your Lordship yourself who trained those golem users. This too can be called Your Lordship's power."
The one easily dodging Noein's denial while stubbornly praising him was Baron Clovis Barthelemy, a noble of the Lancel Kingdom. Having entered the Lordberg Kingdom via the Bezel Great Forest Road and headed south along the highway to catch up with the Western Army, he was accompanying them in the capacity of a military officer from a friendly nation.
When Baron Barthelemy, who should not have been in the southwest of the kingdom, appeared, Noein was more surprised than at any other point during this great war.
"Ahaha, thank you... I'm sorry for leaving you with nothing to do despite you going through the trouble of accompanying us."
"Not at all. I am merely a military officer serving as a liaison and mediator. Since accompanying you is my duty, there is no need for concern."
Accompanied by about twenty subordinates, his official role was "to act as a bridge so that the Lordberg Kingdom's Western Army, which advanced south, can coordinate smoothly and flexibly when they merge with the Lancel Kingdom Army."
However, Noein believed that behind this lay a spectator's curiosity to witness the front lines of a historic great war, and perhaps even a desire to participate and achieve military merit himself.
"If the Lancel Kingdom Army continues its advance smoothly, we should be able to merge within a few more days."
"Yes, if that happens, we can carry out the pursuit more aggressively. It is very reassuring."
"We are now compatriots and comrades-in-arms. As a soldier of the Lancel Kingdom, I am grateful to hear you say that."
The Lordberg Kingdom's Western Army had increased its numbers to about 3,500 by merging with small units that had infiltrated the southwest and survivors of the southwestern nobility. Even so, compared to the Betumia Republic Army, it was by no means a large army.
If the Lancel Kingdom Army merged with them, it would become a great force that would not be inferior to the Betumia Republic Army.
"As a noble of the Lordberg Kingdom, I am truly grateful to the people of the Lancel Kingdom... Now then, I have the overall command for the future to attend to."
"Oh, that's right. I shall step back so as not to be in the way."
After confirming that Baron Barthelemy had moved away, Noein turned toward the aide beside him.
"Yuri, how was it?"
"Even in the confusion of the current battle, the soldiers of the Lancel Kingdom did not attempt to get close to the undiluted Angel's Honey. It seems they have no intention of blatantly attempting to steal it."
"I see... but keep up the surveillance just in case."
"Of course. I will give strict orders to the soldiers in charge."
While the production method of Angel's Honey was kept secret within the Milleon Holy Church Mission, versions diluted into paralytics or anesthetics had been exported to the Lancel Kingdom.
That said, the Lordberg Kingdom wanted to avoid the Lancel Kingdom obtaining a substantial amount of the undiluted liquid. Therefore, the Lancel Kingdom soldiers, including Baron Barthelemy, were being secretly monitored in their words and actions.
Perhaps the Baron and his men were aware of this, as they showed no strange movements.
"Well then, let's have Claymore clear the wreckage of the fort to open the road, and then we'll advance."
Noein said this while staring forward.
Partly because the Betumia Republic Army disliked incurring casualties in battle, the Western Army had continued its pursuit smoothly, suffering almost no damage up to this point.
.....
"Ahaha, I never thought you would merge with us, Count Marcel-kakka."
"...It is simply that His Majesty judged that I should merge here. It is not as if I came to your side of my own volition."
The one who answered Noein, who was speaking with a smile while riding side-by-side, with a sullen face was Count Edmund Marcel. Under the guise of reinforcements for the Western Army, which had suffered heavy troop attrition, he had just merged with Noein and the others, leading 500 cavalry.
Behind the fact that a big shot like Count Marcel was sent specifically, there were also ceremonial reasons; since the supreme commander of the Lancel Kingdom Army, who was scheduled to merge later, was reported to be a Marquis, the rank of Viscount Noein was slightly insufficient to handle the response.
"Yes, of course I understand. Still, it is reassuring to have Your Lordship in the same army... The Western Army has decreased its numbers considerably. It is due to my lack of ability as the general."
"...If you believe you have done your utmost as a general, you should not belittle yourself. For the sake of the soldiers who died, hold your head high and believe that you fought a meaningful battle. That too is the duty of a general."
Count Marcel spoke to Noein, who wore a painful smile. It was very difficult to perceive, but these were words of encouragement in his own way.