Chapter 381 - Episode 373: The Battle of Fioluviki Gorge — Decisive Battle ②
As the combat of the second day began and the armies of the two nations clashed across the fortress. In the forest to the right and rear, as seen from the Virgo Kingdom's main camp, there were human figures.
The number was fifteen. Eight were puppet mages, and seven were soldiers.
"...Alright, almost all the enemies have been firmly drawn toward the fortress. Our concealment hasn't been noticed. As expected of a plan conceived by His Excellency Arqvist."
Peering at the battlefield from the shadow of a tree and muttering with a fearless smile was Gustav, the captain of the Claymores.
Behind Gustav, a golem knelt on the ground in attendance, and behind that, the other seven puppet mages and their respective golems stood by. Further back, seven soldiers waited for the signal to deploy, magic tools for attack magic in their hands.
Every one of them wore a bellicose expression, preparing for the moment they would strike and take the enemy by surprise.
About a week ago, Grand Duke Noein Arqvist had a thought. A method to place an ambush outside the fortress and launch a surprise attack on the enemy's main camp from the rear.
If one were to hide troops, the forest located to the right rear of the enemy's main camp was optimal.
However, the enemy would think of that as well. Before the start of the war, scouts would enter the forest to check for ambushes. It would be impossible to hide troops there in advance.
If that were the case, they could simply send troops out from the fortress after the battle had begun, hiding them in the forest without the enemy noticing.
But if troops marched out boldly from the fortress gates, the enemy would notice.
In that case, they could let them blend into the darkness of night and deploy them from the sky. The Kingdom of Levrant had five excellent wind mages. Over short distances, if the person was small and light, they could fly while carrying someone. The wind mages could carry the soldiers, fly out from the fortress covered in black cloth to hide the light of magic activation, and land beside the forest.
Before that, by sending a unit carrying torches outside the fortress to hint at a night attack and draw the enemy's attention there, no one would be able to catch sight of small black objects flying against the black shadows of the rocky mountains on a new moon night, which was already dark.
However, even using wind mages to transport troops outside the fortress, the number of people would be limited.
Even if the wind mages were given the expensive mana recovery potions brought in by the Grand Duchy of Arqvist's army, considering the mental and physical fatigue, they could fly to the forest while carrying a person at most three times. They could only transport about fifteen people.
If so, they simply had to raise the attacking power of those fifteen to the absolute limit.
Humans could not be hidden in the forest in advance. However, objects were different—golems and attack magic tools.
They could just bury them. Deep in the forest, beneath the ground.
Attack magic tools could be easily placed under the soil in wooden boxes.
It was the same for golems. Golems, which became warriors capable of taking on a thousand men in the hands of the Claymores, were tools, so they required neither food, water, nor breath. Even if left under the soil for several days, they would not die, nor would they complain.
The holes for containment were dug deep by the Kingdom of Levrant's earth mages and the golems themselves; the golems lay down inside, and soil was covered over them and packed down. On top of that, fallen leaves and branches were scattered thickly, and the wind mages blew wind throughout the area to make it blend into the scenery.
Markers known only to their allies were placed at the burial sites, and with that, preparations were complete.
By doing this, enemy scouts entering the forest would be led to believe there were no ambushes. Since there actually weren't any, it was natural for the enemy to think so. Because humans cannot live under the ground, the enemy would search the surface and, at most, the treetops. It was realistically impossible for the ground of a forest, which was by no means narrow, to be dug up exhaustively.
Once the battle began, they would fight with all their might to survive only the opening phase. Gustav and the others, who had buried their own golems, would fight using spare golems (though there were only four, so not everyone could use one). They would repel the enemy and keep the fortress surviving.
Then, on that night, they would perform a fake night attack for deception and the transport of the separate detachment via wind mages.
Gustav and his comrades had their hearts in their throats during this transport. In the pitch-black night, they were carried to the edge of the forest by wind mages who wobbled while holding the heavy cargo of humans. A landscape where jet-blackness spread directly below and countless campfires of the enemy army spread to the right. Flying through the black sky wearing only under-armor to reduce weight to the absolute limit, knowing that falling meant inevitable death, was a horrifying experience.
Still, having arrived safely in the forest, Gustav and the others first cooperated to dig up one golem. After that, they operated it to dig up the other golems, the magic tools, and furthermore, their own armor which had also been buried in advance.
And now, as the night had dawned, Gustav and the others had finished their combat preparations and were observing the enemy's main camp from within the forest.
"The order should come soon. Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally."
"I did that long ago."
"I'm actually tired of waiting."
To Gustav's call, the puppet mages and soldiers responded with lighthearted banter and laughter.
To increase the success rate of this surprise attack, it was necessary to firmly draw the enemy's main force toward the fortress. If they attacked the enemy's main camp at a half-baked timing and the enemy's main force noticed and turned back, Gustav and his men would inevitably be annihilated.
Therefore, for a while after the start of the battle, they would observe the fighting. They would wait for the situation where the enemy's main force pressed against the fortress, became absorbed in the fight at the front, and the soldiers of each unit became mixed together, making it impossible to move nimbly. They waited patiently for the deployment order from the fortress.
Just as Gustav and the others thought the time was right—troops moved from the enemy's main camp. It seemed the general, Kaia Virgo, was going to the front himself.
That spirit was admirable, but thanks to him heading forward leading the royal guard units, the military strength of the enemy's main camp decreased further. Now, there were only about a hundred people. This was unexpected luck. It was the best opportunity imaginable.
The main force likely thought the same, as 'Far-Talk' connected to Gustav's head.
'This is Konrad. An order from His Excellency Granat. Deploy and annihilate the enemy's main camp. After that, strike the enemy's main force from the rear.'
"This is Gustav. Understood."
With only that confirmation, the 'Far-Talk' cut off, and Gustav looked back at the members of the separate detachment.
Then, he smiled.
"Gentlemen, the deployment order has been given. Let us show the enemy who opposes His Excellency and our homeland the power of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist's army. Let us make the enemy realize our pride and resolve... Claymores, form ranks! Magic tool unit, prepare to fire! This is the first shot against an enemy that isn't even looking this way. Hit them hard in the flank!"
"""Ha!"""
To Gustav's encouragement, the bellicose voices of fourteen people responded.
Eight golems and seven attack magic tools. Although the combat power was significant, the headcount was a mere fifteen. Even so, morale was raised to the absolute limit.
This was a proud and meaningful battle. It was a battle to show that the Grand Duchy of Arqvist was an independent nation, a nation with the power to protect its own interests, and that the Grand Duchy's army possessed that much power.
Among that, they were the ones bearing the most important role. There was no way they wouldn't be boiling with excitement.
"Magic tool unit, ready to fire."
"Good. Fire all together on my command. Simultaneously, Claymores, advance the golems. Hide yourselves firmly behind the golems... Fire!"
Following Gustav's words, the soldiers of the magic tool unit pulled their triggers all at once.
In an instant, the mana circuits engraved in the magic tools and the precious stones at the tips emitted a dazzling light, magic circles expanded in front of the magic tools, and magic was released from their centers.
Prioritizing lethality, the magic tools deployed to this separate detachment were 'Flame Bullet,' 'Ice Bullet,' and 'Earth Spear.' Malice in the form of flame, ice, and clumps of earth approached the enemy soldiers who were leisurely observing the battlefield beyond the simple sights the soldiers peered through.
Without waiting for the impact, Gustav and the others began their advance.
Simultaneously with exiting the forest, eight golems lined up in front, centered around Gustav's golem, forming a wedge formation with the puppet mages and soldiers positioned behind them. By the time they began running toward the enemy camp, the first volley had impacted the Virgo Kingdom army's main camp.
Suddenly, they received seven direct hits of attack magic from a direction where none should have been. In an instant, more than twenty people were rendered combat-incapable, and above all, everyone fell into a state of confusion.
Seeing the swarm of golems approaching, that confusion reached its peak.
The nations further north even within the northern part of the continent could not create golems due to their low technical capabilities. Puppet mages born in those countries usually migrated to the southern nations of the north, or in some cases to the southern part of the continent; in other words, the people of the Virgo Kingdom and its vassal nations were not used to seeing golems. Many were seeing them for the first time in this war.
From their perspective, the sight of jet-black humanoids boasting two-meter-tall frames approaching had a tremendous impact. Being elites guarding the main camp, they tried to form a defensive formation despite the confusion, but their expressions could not hide their bewilderment.
And the one who understood the danger of the approaching enemy most correctly was Cadne, who had fought that enemy before.
"What are you doing! An infantry defensive formation won't work against those! Mages, fire your magic quickly! Destroy them before they get here! Hurry! Hurry!!"
Following Cadne's shouting, the mages of the main camp's direct guard—three of them lined up since one had died in the enemy's previous volley—fired their respective magic. One 'Earth Spear,' one 'Fire Arrow,' and one 'Flame Bullet' flew toward the golems.
It was an attack against large targets moving in a straight line. The three attack magics flew toward the golems without missing—and were deflected.
"Hahaha, as expected of Jet-Black Steel. Attack magic of that level is powerless."
Looking forward from the gap where the golems lined up at the front inside the wedge formation, Gustav let out a laugh.
The assault shields used to block the enemy's fire arrows inside the fortress were also equipped on the golems of this separate detachment. Because there wasn't much time until deployment and the raw material garnet was insufficient, they could only prepare them for three units.
By making the wedge formation narrow, those three units covered almost the entire front of the column, and the enemy's attack magic hit the assault shields held by those three. It was Jet-Black Steel that deflected Crossbow bolts even at a thickness comparable to human armor. The thickness of the assault shields the golems held was three times that. Half-hearted attack magic had no way of penetrating.
"Stop! Magic tool unit, spread outside the formation and fire one shot! Then immediately return behind the golems!"
At Gustav's words, the separate detachment moved like a single organism. Everyone, including the golems, stopped dead in their tracks, and the soldiers with magic tools leaped from the shadows of the golems and spread to the left and right.
Then, they fired magic toward the enemy main camp again.
The enemy mages required more than ten seconds before the next magic activation. And with the poor-quality bows of the enemy, the current position of Gustav and his men was not within the effective range of arrows.
One-sided attacks assaulted the soldiers of the Virgo Kingdom army, resulting in more than ten casualties.
The soldiers with magic tools immediately entered the shadows of the golems, and according to Gustav's instructions, everyone began to advance again.
Regarding the announcement of the book release date, I received many words of celebration and support. Thank you very much.
I will also be sharing information on the author's Twitter from now on, so I would be happy if you could take a look there as well (you should find it quickly by searching for "Enoki Surume" or "The Happiness Tale of the Twisted Lord").