Chapter 385 - Episode 377: The Battle of Fiuluviki Gorge — Decisive Battle ⑥
The pincer attack by the separate detachment in the rear and the main force at the fortress dealt a psychological blow to the forces of the Virgoa Kingdom that far exceeded the actual casualties.
Following the orders of Staff Officer Cadne, it had been meticulously investigated beforehand that there were no enemies other than those at the fortress. The soldiers had been told, "There is no need to worry about ambushes, so fight the enemy in front of you to your heart's content."
And yet, enemies who should not have existed suddenly appeared from the rear, and by the time the soldiers at the back of the main force noticed the anomaly and turned around, their own main camp had been nearly annihilated. The shock was tremendous.
To make matters worse, those enemies were sturdy golems, unfamiliar to the soldiers of countries located in the northernmost parts of the northern Adleon continent. Golems exhibiting a rampage like that of orcs pressed forward, and on top of that, attack magic was flying toward them.
The soldiers at the rear of the main force flinched, and not knowing how to fight the golems closing in on them, they fled in confusion, beginning to lose their organized combat capability.
While sensing the chaos in the rear, the soldiers in the middle and vanguard were also bewildered.
At their backs, enemies that had suddenly appeared were running wild, and from the front, enemies from within the fortress emerged, cloaked in a tremendous spirit. Though they were supposed to be the ones attacking, they now found themselves forced to defend against a fierce enemy onslaught.
In terms of numbers, the forces of the Virgoa Kingdom were still overwhelmingly advantaged. However, their formations had completely collapsed in the sudden melee. The orders of the nobles and officers serving as frontline commanders did not get through, or multiple contradictory orders flew about.
Originally, this should have been settled by simple brute force, and such a situation had not been envisioned. The main force, which had gathered soldiers from multiple countries and regions and was already in a state where precise coordination was impossible, was turning into a disorganized mob.
Amidst this, the rank-and-file soldiers began to be driven by anxiety.
There were supposed to be absolutely no ambushes, yet a swarm of golems was rampaging and attack magic was being unleashed directly behind them. The enemies in the fortress, which they thought was on the verge of falling, had instead struck out from the fortress to launch a fierce offensive against them.
Was this truly a battle advantageous to them? Was it a battle they could absolutely win? Were they truly overwhelming the enemy with numbers?
Would another separate enemy detachment appear from somewhere else? Would even more enemy soldiers emerge from that fortress and attack them?
Within a formation where thousands of people were intermingled, it was impossible for each individual soldier to grasp the accurate situation of their surroundings. To eyes clouded by anxiety, the enemy appeared more numerous than they actually were, and the casualties of their allies appeared more severe than they actually were.
We will surely lose just like this. Once a few soldiers reached that conclusion and felt fear, it spread to the surrounding soldiers in an instant. Fear is contagious.
"L-let's run."
"That's right, this war has nothing to do with us in the first place."
The first to decide to desert were the soldiers from countries that had participated as subordinate friendly nations.
These countries had looked at the current situation in the northern part of the continent and decided to join the war, judging that siding with the Virgoa Kingdom was advantageous. There was no reason to continue fighting to the point where the Virgoa Kingdom's defeat seemed likely. Morale was completely lost.
Not only the rank-and-file soldiers, but even the nobles and officers abandoned their own army; in the midst of the chaotic battlefield, they would call out to any soldiers of their own nation they luckily spotted and attempt to flee through the open flanks of the main force.
Their voices, shouting "Let's run" and "Let's get out of here," naturally reached other soldiers, decisively crushing their morale as well.
"Hey, retreat!"
"We don't have to obey Virgoa anymore! Let's go back to our country!"
Those who began to flee, lured by the soldiers of the friendly nations, were the soldiers of countries forced to participate as vassal states, or soldiers from regions that had been annexed by the Virgoa Kingdom only a short time ago.
They had not been ruled because they found advantages in submitting to the Virgoa Kingdom, but had allowed themselves to be ruled out of fear of the Virgoa Kingdom's military power and Kaia's influence. Unlike the countries that had submitted to the Virgoa Kingdom early on, they had not yet enjoyed any benefits from being ruled.
Now that it seemed likely the Virgoa Kingdom's power would be greatly diminished by defeat, there was no advantage for them to scatter their lives for the Virgoa Kingdom, nor any reason to fear the Virgoa Kingdom. Rather, it was better to flee and survive, using their lives for their own homelands. Depending on how the Virgoa Kingdom lost, the re-independence of their homelands might even be realized.
Generals who thought thus called out to their soldiers and likewise fled from the flanks of the battlefield.
However, there were those who tried to stop them. These were the soldiers born in the original Virgoa Kingdom, or soldiers from countries annexed by the Virgoa Kingdom long ago who had achieved more development than before.
Their loyalty to Kaia and the kingdom was high, or they had resolved that they could no longer turn back. They attempted to stop those trying to desert the enemy by force.
In response, those seeking to survive also attempted to break through by force. Slashing began to occur between those who were originally allies.
Seeing this, some of the rank-and-file soldiers, many of whom lacked the knowledge or education to grasp the circumstances, became confused. Allies had begun slashing each other before their very eyes. Some mistakenly believed there were traitors who had joined the enemy side, and began to run wild, seeing everything around them as an enemy.
Loss of will to fight due to calculation or fear, and paranoia caused by an inability to keep up with the sudden change in situation.
An army of over four thousand was collapsing before an enemy of fewer than a thousand.
King Gabriel of the Revelant Kingdom, who saw this while fighting at the very front himself, made the next decision.
"Sulho!"
At the King's call, Marquis Sulho Hakkarainen, who had been trampling enemy infantry while riding a Great Lizard, looked back.
"Pursue the fleeing Cadne! He escaped riding double on a horse! He shouldn't have gone very far!"
"As you wish! Shall I take him alive!?"
Asked by Marquis Hakkarainen, Gabriel looked back at Noein in the rear. Even amidst the clamor of the battlefield, Marquis Hakkarainen's ridiculously loud voice had reached Noein, passing over Gabriel.
"Please kill him! However, I would like the corpse brought back, if possible!"
Noein answered without hesitation.
Cadne would now only bring calamity. If possible, she wanted to show the proof of his death to the Lancel Kingdom, but Cadne's own life was unnecessary. Rather than attempting to take him alive, it was better to kill him certainly.
"Sulho! Kill Cadne! Bring back the corpse if possible!"
"Ha! Leave it to me!"
Marquis Hakkarainen took about twenty riders on Great Lizards from among the fifty-odd cavalry and left the battlefield, galloping north where Cadne had fled. There was no longer anyone on the enemy side who would attempt to pursue a cavalry unit of that size.
Among Great Lizards, military-grade individuals are not numerous because they take time and effort to raise, but they have more endurance than horses. On the other hand, Cadne was fleeing riding double on a horse due to his restricted condition. It was certain they would eventually catch up.
Even with Marquis Hakkarainen and his men gone, the superiority of the Revelant Kingdom and the Archduchy of Arqvist would no longer change. The collapse of the Virgoa Kingdom's forces would not stop.
Watching that unsightly state, Kaia was trembling with rage.
"You... how dare you... damn it all!"
Bellowing and putting strength into the hand gripping his sword, Kaia stepped forward with a momentum that seemed to push aside the royal guard soldiers surrounding him.
Then, staring at the enemy general, he shouted.
"Gabriel Revelant! Fight me in a one-on-one duel!"
Hearing Kaia's call, Gabriel dismounted and drew his sword. He muttered something to the escort soldiers around him.
As Kaia stepped forward, Gabriel also came forward a few steps. The soldiers around the two naturally stepped back, creating a slightly open space. There, the Lion-man and the Tiger-man kings glared at each other.
"Come on! A duel between king and king!"
Kaia provoked him, but Gabriel remained motionless, holding his sword in a flawless guard.
"What's wrong, why aren't you coming! You coward! Then I shall come to you!"
Kaia shouted thus and stepped in, exhibiting the explosive power characteristic of a Lion-man.
As Kaia approached, swinging his sword while letting out a roar—Gabriel leaped backward and lightly raised his hand as if giving a signal.
"!?"
In the next instant, the escort soldiers waiting around Gabriel thrust their spears forward. Against the unexpected attack, Kaia, who had been charging with maximum momentum, could not stop immediately and plunged himself into the forest of spears.
His entire body was pierced by more than ten spears.
The spears that had been thrust in sharply were pulled out just as sharply, and Kaia collapsed, spurting blood.
While battered and broken, Kaia still raised his face and glared at Gabriel. Gabriel looked down at such a Kaia.
"...Cowardly. Have you no pride as a king?"
"Pride? Of course I have it. However, I do not seek my pride in the method of fighting. I stake my pride as a king on what I fight for, and how I bring the fight to its conclusion."
To Kaia, who directed a gaze filled with resentment, Gabriel answered dispassionately.
"Of course, I do not deny seeking ambition as a king. It is your freedom to wish to be a strong king, or to try to build a strong country. It is also your prerogative to find aesthetics in a form of combat such as a one-on-one duel. However, thinking that the king of another country would play along with your whims was your youth, and your naivety."
To the foreign king a decade younger than himself, Gabriel spoke quietly, as if imparting a lesson.
But Kaia no longer had the opportunity to put that lesson to use. Kaia's face, looking up and glaring at Gabriel, was eventually slammed into the ground as the strength left his entire body.
"Kaia Virgoa. Your ambitions end here."
Just like that, Kaia never moved again.
With the king fallen, the soldiers of the Virgoa Kingdom who had witnessed that exact moment became certain of their defeat. Most of them completely lost their will to fight and attempted to flee, turning their backs.
"Mop-up operation! Crush the enemy in one go!"
"""Oooooh!"""
Conversely, the will to fight of the Revelant Kingdom's soldiers reached its peak. Responding to Gabriel's voice, they attacked the enemy soldiers with even greater momentum.