Chapter 375 - Chapter 367: The Battle of Fioluviki Gorge — Opening Phase ①
The Fioluviki Gorge, a break in the small mountain range designated as the border between the Margraviate of Dale and the Kingdom of Revelant.
Across the fortress built there, the allied forces of the Kingdom of Revelant and the Grand Duchy of Arqvist faced off against the armies of the Kingdom of Vigora.
"...I am amazed they managed to gather such numbers. Even if it is a motley crew,"
Gabriel Revelant muttered in a voice tinged with exasperation as he looked out over the enemy army from the lookout post on the roof of the checkpoint, which served as the fortress headquarters.
The total number of enemy troops, even excluding those who had broken off as occupation forces for the Margraviate of Dale, easily exceeded five thousand. At the vanguard of that formation stood a unit of several hundred people—mere peasants given whatever blades could be found. To be precise, they were being forced to stand there.
"I see, so they use the people of the occupied Margraviate of Dale like that. How clever,"
When Noein spoke while looking down at the enemy camp with cold eyes, Gabriel directed a shuddering gaze toward him.
"Grand Duke Arqvist, you think that is clever?"
"Yes. It is a method in extremely poor taste, but it cannot be denied that it is effective. 'If you wish to guarantee the safety of your family, show your loyalty by bravely facing the enemies of the Kingdom of Vigora'... told that, the people of the Margraviate of Dale would have no choice but to obey. By using them, the Kingdom of Vigora can observe our methods of resistance without exhausting their main force."
As he spoke, Noein's lips twisted at his own words. He had seen such tactics during the former Betumia War. The slaughter of innocent people who had been turned into slave soldiers was one of the particularly foul-tasting memories of Noein's life.
The one who thought of this move was likely not Kaia, but Cadne. Thinking this, Noein looked toward the rear of the enemy camp—as he and the others had predicted, toward the flags of the enemy headquarters erected on a hill, and toward the enemy general.
Standing alongside the flag of the Kingdom of Vigora was a flag bearing the crest of the Lancel Royal Family. Next to that flag sat a chair like a palanquin, and there, a figure clad in golden armor could be seen.
The brilliance of the armor seemed somewhat duller than when Noein had seen it during the battle of Bezel. With Noein's eyesight, he could not discern facial features, but there was no mistake that it was Cadne.
"I see... what truly despicable people. There was exchange between the people of the Margraviate of Dale and our own. Among the soldiers, many likely have acquaintances among those people. If things go poorly, perhaps even relatives."
While lamenting, Gabriel ordered Margrave Hakkarainen beside him to prepare for battle. Upon receiving the order, Margrave Hakkarainen raised his voice to the soldiers of the Revelant Kingdom army, and everyone, from regular soldiers to peasant levies, prepared to move according to their respective roles.
"Yuri, preparations on our end are complete, right?"
"Yes. The ballista unit, the attack magic tool unit, and the Claymores are each ready to move at any time."
Yuri nodded immediately at Noein's words.
Since they could not go outside the fortress to fight at this moment, the ballistas' mission was to fire explosive flame arrows in high arcs from the rear interior of the fortress, and the Claymores' mission was to use golems to hurl stones or knock down enemies attempting to climb the defensive walls.
"Good, then... all that's left is to wait for the enemy to move."
.....
While the allied forces of the Kingdom of Revelant and the Grand Duchy of Arqvist prepared for battle, the armies of the Kingdom of Vigora were also completing their preparations to begin the offensive.
They formed ranks for battle, steeling themselves to move the moment an order was given.
Cadne and Kaia looked down upon this from the small hill they had designated as their headquarters.
"Oh, atop that checkpoint, that is the Arqvist family flag. That small man must be Noein Arqvist. The rabbit-person woman next to him and the large man with the shaved head are also familiar... A rematch has truly been granted. Noein Arqvist is actually there."
Wearing the personal armor he had taken with him when he was driven from the Kingdom of Lancel, Cadne muttered deeply. Beside him was his attendant, Yvette. They were surrounded by Guard soldiers who had been with him since his time in the Kingdom of Lancel.
"According to the wind mage on reconnaissance, the enemy's total number was slightly less than fifteen hundred. They seem to have put some effort into building the fortress, but no matter what, they cannot hold out with only that. If we continue the assault for a few days, it will fall,"
When Kaia spoke, Cadne stopped wearing a nostalgic expression while looking at Noein and suddenly looked anxious.
"The enemy numbers really are only that much? There are no ambushes?"
"Yes, the scouts confirmed the forest to the right rear and the forest to the left. Just as you said, they went as far as the treetops. All forests and groves within several kilometers of the surroundings have been confirmed, and sentries are stationed even now. Even if the enemy approaches from beyond the safety zone, we will certainly notice."
"I see. That was it... then it's fine."
Kaia gave a wry smile at Cadne, who still looked anxious.
"I am doing this because you told me to, you know? There are absolutely no enemies within a radius of several kilometers of this headquarters, and sentries are standing guard on the outside right now. Normally, one would not go this far. Furthermore, I have placed one hundred and fifty guards at the headquarters. In a plain where forests are merely scattered, it is impossible to plant an ambush capable of breaking through this many guards... so calm down. Trust our army's soldiers."
"...Yeah, sorry. It's not that I don't trust your soldiers. It's just, the opponent is Noein Arqvist."
During a previous campaign, Cadne had been defeated by Noein Arqvist's common-sense-defying strategies. The greatest cause of defeat was having his ranks thrown into chaos by ambushes hidden in the forest. Cadne himself had been shot by snipers hidden in the trees, which resulted in his disabled body.
Therefore, since this invasion began, Cadne had been saying "be wary of ambushes" so often that Kaia was exasperated.
"Your Majesty! Staff Officer! The ranks of the entire army have been finalized!"
At that moment, the one who walked up to Cadne and Kaia was General Gaziev, the wolf-person.
Originally, Gaziev was in a position where it would be permissible for him to stand pompously beside Kaia, but for the reason that he would not be satisfied unless he saw with his own eyes that each unit was ready, he had been walking through the camp and speaking to the officers and soldiers.
"The conscripts from the Margraviate of Dale have also finished lining up. I gave them one last good threatening, so they'll likely charge toward the enemy with desperate intensity!"
"I see. That will be a sight to see... then, Cadne, let us begin."
"Yeah. Do it. If we win this battle, your hegemony over the northern continent will be decided. I will also move one step closer to achieving my revenge."
"Indeed. By winning here, I shall become the hegemon of the northern continent... Begin the war! First, send out the conscripts!"
Reaching toward the enemy fortress, Kaia raised his voice solemnly. In accordance, several large drums were beaten to convey the order, and the conscripts, who were originally people of the Margraviate of Dale, began to advance toward the fortress. They moved as if being driven by the soldiers acting as overseers.
.....
Noein and the others watched this from the roof of the checkpoint.
Seeing the conscripts running with weapons that were merely for peace of mind, their faces leaking terror, Gabriel's expression distorted slightly.
When Noein looked toward the defensive wall, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Revelant also seemed shaken. Among them, the agitation of the levies was particularly great. They wore expressions of hesitation, wondering if they were to kill those people, and exchanged glances with those around them.
"King Gabriel. Let us use our army's ballista unit first. Killing the people of a neighboring country may cause hesitation for your soldiers. I will reduce their numbers as much as possible."
"...Then I leave it to you. I appreciate the consideration,"
When Noein spoke with a composed face, Gabriel replied in a heavy tone.
"Konrad, connect me to Dant."
"Understood."
Konrad, attending beside Noein, connected the 'Far-Talk' to Dant.
"Ballista unit, first squad, prepare to fire. The enemy will cross the first point shortly."
The words Noein spoke toward Konrad were conveyed exactly as they were to Dant, who led the ballista unit at the rear of the fortress.
The plain in front of the fortress was a gentle slope from Noein's perspective, and there, holes had been dug and rocks placed here and there to kill the momentum of the enemy's charge and make it difficult to run.
Among those, several rocks had been designated as markers, making it possible to know when the enemy passed the points fifty meters and twenty-five meters from the fortress. And the aim of the ballistas had been adjusted so that the arrows would land at those two points.
"The enemy has crossed the first point. First squad, fire whenever ready."
Noein's instruction was conveyed to Dant via Konrad, and a shout of "Fire!" was heard faintly from the rear.
Almost simultaneously, the sound of powerful strings snapping echoed in succession, and arrows with large ceramic jars fixed to their tips flew over their own camp.
The explosive flame arrows fired from the first squad of the ballista unit—six machines in total—fell into the midst of the enemy unit that was just now crossing the first point, fifty meters from the fortress wall.
In an instant, six flames were born within the crowd of enemy conscripts.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Hot! It's hooooot!"
Screams of agony rose from the unlucky ones who took direct hits and became balls of fire, and those whose bodies caught fire from scattering sparks; from the others, voices of surprise at the sudden attack rose.
The feet of the enemy conscripts stopped for a moment, but when they were threatened with swords from behind by the regular soldiers of the Kingdom of Vigora, they began to run toward the fortress again.
No matter how powerful a weapon the explosive flame arrows were, they were only six shots. Setting aside the psychological shock given, the actual damage was not that great. The enemies rendered incapable of combat were perhaps only twenty or thirty people.
"Ballista unit, prepare for the second squad's fire. Yuri, have the Claymores below prepare to hurl stones."
Konrad sent Noein's instructions to Dant, and Yuri sent a signal from the checkpoint lookout to the Claymores below. Seeing this, Gustav ordered the puppet mages under his command, and had his own golems prepare stones. A total of four golems held large stones, each about the size of a human upper body, one in each hand.
Beside Noein, who was shouting orders on the checkpoint roof, Matilda stood by, shield in hand. That shield was made of jet-black steel, and being lightweight, it was slightly larger than the ones she had held on previous battlefields.
Furthermore, the Guard led by Pence surrounded the two. While it was unlikely that enemy attacks would fly their way yet, Pence and the others allowed not a moment's negligence.
The enemy conscripts approached the second point, twenty-five meters from the fortress. There, six explosive flame arrows from the second squad of ballistas fell, and more unfortunate people had their bodies set ablaze.
Even so, upon the enemy soldiers who were driven forward, stones thrown by the golems of the unit led by Gustav now fell. The large stones, thrown with force, easily tore off human heads or limbs, ripping bodies apart. Red fountains rose within the enemy crowd, or red mists scattered.
The conscripts, while screaming and crying, continued to run desperately, and finally approached the fortress's defensive wall.