Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 11

When Siluca received a report from Irvin that a movement had occurred in the enemy camp, she immediately ran out of her tent as well. She was using magic to enlarge her vision and observe the enemy’s formations.

「I don’t know what’s going on, but this is a good opportunity for us. 」

Siluca answered Theo and advised that now would be the best time to launch their attack.

「Understood! 」

Theo made an immediate decision and gave orders to his subordinate Lords who have gathered around him.

「Petr’s squad will advance with their large shield, and Lassic’s squad shall follow after them. Igor’s squad will cross the river by boat and surround the enemy. The main squad should wait for a while to secure a potential retreat route. And in case that the Factory Alliance should start gaining the upper hand over us and charge at us, you’re to flee immediately. Don’t let them catch you on the other side at all costs. 」

Although night had just broken, each unit was ready to attack immediately as soon as they received the orders.

「Spearhead, form up! 」

Petr activated his 「Myurmidon」 Banner. His troops quickly arranged themselves in formation, raised their tower shields, and began advancing forward at a fast pace.

「We’re going to go wild as well! 」

Lasik raised his sword and encouraged his knights and soldiers as he activated his own Banner, 「Spartan」. His soldiers have originally been rigorously trained in mercenary-style training, but the power of his Banner was further increasing the individual fighting capabilities of each soldier.

「Send out the small boats! 」

Igor commanded his troops and raised his own Banner, 「Jeager」. It is a traditional battle flag of the Constance family that enhances stealth and mobility of the troops under its influence. And just like that, over a hundred small boats were carried out to the river.

At that moment, a horseman who had crossed the bridge came to Theo’s headquarters. Irvin took the horse’s reins and guided it.

「You… 」

Siluca was stunned when she saw the person who was riding on top of the horse, because it was Kurt Gallas, the Earl of Leclerc.

「I had no idea that the army of the Artuk Treaty has dispatched troops to the border with Waldrind, and that you managed to mobilize so many soldiers. That’s certainly reassuring to see. 」

Kurt got down from his horse and said in an excited voice.

「Long time no see. 」
Theo calls out to the Earl of Leclerc and bowed to him briefly.

「Indeed. Who would’ve thought that someone who was just a Knight accompanying Lord Vilar to the Lord’s Conference in Halusia would now grow so much as to become an Earl, and the leader of the entire Artuk Treaty at that? 」

Klute looked at Theo seriously. These words may be taken as ironic, but judging from the look on his face, it seems like he is genuinely impressed with how much Theo managed to achieve in such a short amount of time.

「We’ll talk about everything that happened since then once this battle is going to be over. 」

「That’s right. The enemy camp should be in confusion right now, so it should be easy to break through it right now. 」

「And we have you to thank for it, Lord Kurt. 」

Theo smiles and nods, then directed Emma and Luna to lead the Earl of Leclerc to his tent and let him rest. The twin werewolf maids bowed politely and then led Kurt out.

The Heavy Knights of Waldrind had never imagined that there would be someone who could break through their camp with just a single horse. And from behind at that.

After rampaging for a while in the enemy’s camp in the twilight, the Earl of Leclerc slashed through the fence with his sword and the halberd he had taken from his soldiers, and crossed the bridge. At that time, he was hit by several heavy crossbow shots, but due to the protection of his Crest, he was not seriously injured. Priscilla of the Order of the crest was called to the tent and he was immediately treated just to be sure that he won’t bleed to death because of some hidden injury.
In any case, it would seem that the battle between the Artuk Treaty and the forces of Waldrind is going to be resolved in a short time.

Once Petr’s team managed to cross the bridge while blocking the enemy’s heavy crossbows with their tower shields, the rest of the resulting battle was pretty one-sided. Waldrind’s soldiers were unsteady and were far from fighting in an organized manner. Lassic’s team then engaged them in close quarters combat, and Igor’s team cuts off their escape route. The knights of Sistina, who were under Theo’s direct command then charged in and finished them off.

Waldrind’s knights and soldiers all died in battle or were surrendering one after another. Only a marginal percentage of them actually managed to escape from the battlefield.

In the meantime, the forces of the Artuk Treaty only suffered some light damage.

(Lord Theo is really lucky.)

Siluca was impressed, but she also thought that’s because he always kept moving. No matter how difficult the situation is, Theo never gives up and moves forward, paving the way for himself and those who have chosen to follow him.

After the battle, Theo and Siluca returned to the main camp. Lassic, Petr, and Igor also accompanied him. While they were away, the Earl of Leclerc took a bath, changed into a new set of clothes and waited for them to return. When they arrived, all of them exchanged proper greetings.

Irvin, Emma, and Luna carried the tea into the tent and arranged the chairs. Once everyone was seated, food and drinks were also brought in.

「It’s great to see you again. I can’t believe you came through the enemy territory of Waldrind all by yourself. 」

Theo smiled at Kurt.

「I wanted to see the enemy country anyway. I had heard rumors about it before, but it was a really good country. The public order was good, the people were hardworking, and there were various industries growing all around the capital city, Bertha. 」

「Thanks to you, Lord Kurt, we were able to win a great victory against the Heavy Knights of Waldrind. 」

Theo thanked him.

「You sent your troops to keep Waldrind in check, so I should be the one who should be grateful to you. Although the Artuk Treaty is independent from the Fantasia Union, I hope that we will continue our cooperative relationship. 」

「What the Artuk Treaty aims for is reconciliation between the Union and the Alliance. To achieve this, the three powers, including the Treaty, must be balanced militarily. Otherwise, the Alliance will not respond to negotiations. 」

「I don’t think the Alliance will agree to any sort of settlement… 」

Kurt made a reluctant face.

「Rather, don’t you think it would be faster to overwhelm the Alliance militarily and defeat it? 」

「I think it would be difficult to pull off in reality… 」

Siluca said modestly.

「So you’re not going to use your overwhelming advantage to take over Waldrind? 」

Even though Theo mobilized a large army of 10,000 men, he was reluctant to attack the opposing army that had only 3000 men in it.

「You guys are putting up a good fight. The problem is that the Union is weak! It’s time for us all to unite and fight against the Factory Alliance, but the Fantasia Union is content with sitting around and not doing anything! 」

Kurt yelled in anger and slammed the table with his fists. However, he quickly came to his senses and apologized to Theo and the others.

「Don’t worry about it. Besides… 」

Theo said calmly, changing the subject of conversation swiftly.

「I heard that there is a stalemate in the northern part of the continent? 」

「Yes, Waldrind was giving me quite a hard time. I’m fighting them with groups of mercenaries, and having them stay around costs a huge amount of money. Honestly, it’s going to be a long battle and it’s going to be tough to achieve victory against them if something is not done to break the impasse soon. 」

Kurt shared his circumstances with everyone without omitting any information.

Since he didn’t have any money right now, the renumeration form the Earl of Leclerc to the mercenaries was delayed indefinitely, which caused the more honest mercenaries to terminate their contracts, and the rogue mercenaries began plundering the people of the territory that the Earl of Leclerc took over. They were completely out of control.

「So first of all, I would like to request immediate financial support to continue fighting. 」