Chapter 74 - The Monster of the Northernmost Territory II_007_Scouting
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This story is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to actual persons, organizations, or names is purely coincidental.
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007_Scouting
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Sora's House Forstei was assigned to the defense force on the tunnel side.
That Garus Count House was part of the main army.
"I want to scout the tunnel. Can I ask Forstei-dono?"
At the request of Colonel Strebas, commander of the tunnel direction force, Sora was to scout the tunnel.
This land had been incorporated into the Kuodo Kingdom long ago. Normally, they would ask a local noble familiar with the land to scout, but due to heavy losses in the previous battle, they were not accompanying this time.
Whether locals were present or not, they had to confirm the location of the tunnel. Because there was a high possibility that the Jabaru Kingdom Army was infiltrating through that tunnel. Moreover, the Jabaru Kingdom Army shouldn't be stupid, so they must be cleverly hiding the tunnel or guarding it heavily.
Therefore, he decided to ask Sora, who had brought this information, to scout. Colonel Strebas had a hunch that Sora possessed that kind of luck.
Around the Boldos Mountains, there were areas with dense trees and also rocky areas. Since cavalry had entered, rocky areas would be difficult to traverse. From that reasoning, Sora judged that searching the forest area was best.
"Sora-sama, we have discovered cavalry footprints."
The cavalry force deployed by the Jabaru Kingdom Army numbered in the hundreds. With that many horses moving, it would be strange if no tracks remained.
There, a path made by the cavalry trampling the grass was clearly visible.
"Good. Let's follow this and pinpoint the tunnel's location."
"Yes, sir!"
Even in situations like this, the Blue Wolf Tribe proved useful.
They ran silently through the forest. Moreover, with their keen sense of smell and hearing, they could detect the enemy's presence before the enemy did.
They sent the Blue Wolf Tribe ahead, and Sora and his group followed the tracks into the forest.
The domain soldiers who had looked down on Sora as a mere decoration when they left Amania Territory now acknowledged him.
After seeing Sora's magic, no one looked down on him. And if any domain soldier still did, an iron fist punishment from Knight Elbert would await them.
The Blue Wolf Tribe returned. According to their report, an enemy unit was constructing a defensive position about one kilometer ahead.
"I want to see that defensive position. Guide me, please."
Sora observed the Jabaru Kingdom Army's defensive position from behind the trees. The defensive position, with multiple layers of wooden palisades and also using the scattered forest trees, looked difficult to attack.
He checked from a distance for any gaps in the defensive position's surveillance network, but found no good attack point.
"They're keeping a pretty tight watch."
"That's how important the tunnel must be."
Sora and Knight Elbert exchanged words in hushed tones. Even the muscle-head Elbert was keeping his voice down here.
It seemed to Sora that they had spent years constructing this formidable defensive position. It was like a statement that they did not intend to let the tunnel be taken easily even if discovered.
"Elbert, how would you attack?"
"Of course, from the front, I would."
Sora thought that was just like Elbert, but that would result in heavy casualties. So he ignored Elbert's idea and thought for himself.
"The tunnel..."
If the enemy was using a tunnel, they could use one too. Dig underground and create an exit inside the defensive position. It would be an attack that caught the enemy off guard.
However, he didn't think this plan would be approved. The usual outcome was that they'd say there was no time or manpower.
Having obtained information on the defensive position, Sora rejoined the tunnel direction defense force.
"The defensive position has multiple layers of palisades. I estimate at least 1,000 soldiers, but we couldn't confirm the deeper areas, so we should assume there are more."
He drew a simple diagram of the defensive position and explained based on it.
It was Colonel Strebas, the commander, who groaned at that. Colonel Strebas's job was to prevent attacks from the tunnel side, but not knowing when an attack would come was stressful. Moreover, if the enemy had constructed a large-scale defensive position in the forest, they could direct their forces against them with ease.
"I intend to send a messenger to the main army immediately and seek instructions. I want to hear everyone's opinions if they have any."
"I think the enemy believes we haven't noticed the tunnel. If so, wouldn't a surprise attack be good?"
Major Gersang, a battalion commander present, expressed his opinion. He thought that now, while the enemy believed they hadn't noticed the tunnel's location, was the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack.
"If the surprise attack fails, they might come out in full force."
According to information from prisoners, about 5,000 soldiers were deployed around the tunnel.
If they could move not only the cavalry but also those 5,000 soldiers, the operation might have succeeded. It was believed that they avoided large-scale military action to hide the tunnel's location.
Since it seemed they weren't taking major military action to hide the tunnel, if a surprise attack to seize the defensive position failed, they might reinforce and go on the offensive. If that happened, it would be disastrous.
Opinions were split right down the middle.
Sora was also participating in that war council, but he did not actively speak.
Because Sora was only commanding the Amania territory soldiers as a proxy for the head of the family, and from the perspective of the military executives and other lords, he was one or two steps lower.
"We were ordered to watch for troops emerging from the tunnel. For now, we will limit ourselves to surveillance and await instructions from the main army."
Opinions were split, but in the end, Commander Colonel Strebas decided to follow the received orders and maintain vigilance.
"We will establish a surveillance system. Forstei-dono, do you have any opinion?"
Sora, who had been an observer, was suddenly addressed, and he straightened his posture with slight fluster.
"Even if we conduct surveillance, they might not notice us for a few days, but the enemy isn't stupid, so they will eventually notice. To avoid that, we would have to do it with a truly small number."
In other words, he was saying that if it came down to just surveillance, they should attack now, whether by surprise or assault.
If discovered, there was a high chance the enemy would reinforce. If that happened, they might not even be able to attack. Of course, the Kuodo Kingdom side might also receive reinforcements from home. Even so, fighting in the forest would reduce the impact of numerical advantage. Moreover, attacking an enemy that had built a solid defensive position was not easy. That's why Sora thought a surprise attack was better.
"Hmm... so you mean to conduct surveillance with a small elite force."
Won't he grasp the meaning behind my words?
Even Sora, who was critical of the frontal breakthrough theory like Knight Elbert, was more suited to offense than defense.
Sora, who had been tutored since childhood by Bajis, known as the Sage, had been placed in battlefields so harsh that the soldiers and nobles here had never experienced them. That was a special place called a labyrinth in this world.
Inside the labyrinth live monsters called Cervanus. Sora had fought Cervanus of the highest rank above high-rank, and even legendary-rank that treated the highest rank like children.
Legendary-rank Cervanus are monsters capable of destroying nations. He had experience fighting such Cervanus.
From that experience, if one focused purely on defense, they would only be forced to retreat. Against Cervanus that knew no fatigue, purely defending was detrimental. That also applied when facing numerically superior enemies.
That's why Sora attacked. Sometimes he failed when attacking, but he believed it led to better results than pure defense.
"The surveillance will be carried out by the army's troops. I want the lords to stand by without lowering their guard, in case of emergencies."
Sora's Amania Territory forces were assigned to the rear. This was consideration for their small numbers.
But since his magic would be difficult to utilize in a chaotic melee, he actually thought the front line would have been better.
"There's no excitement in the rear."
Knight Elbert sat on a tree stump and complained that the front line would have been better.
"That's how it is for small units like us."
"How boring."
Sora gave a wry smile at Elbert's way of thinking, calling the battlefield boring.
However, the battle Elbert had been waiting for was already imminent.
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