BXBX NOVEL 126 - - Art. 126. Pride Obstructs
Matkal\'s eyes are darting about.
"...the meals in this house are so noisy..."
"Hm? Wouldn\'t it taste better if everyone ate together in a lively atmosphere?"
"Linos, in most noble houses, meals are eaten in silence. It\'s only in my family that the marquises eat lively meals when they\'re not having a party.
Rico follows up.
"Really? So, shall we eat in peace?"
"No. This is a good one. I was a little surprised at first, but once you get used to it, I like it better when everyone eats together.
"And that means..."
"It is unprecedented for a defeated general to be invited to the residence of an enemy general and be treated in this manner..."
"Hospitality? They just want us to eat.
"No... even so..."
Don\'t be so hard on yourself. See, we\'re running out of fried chicken because of your weird talk!
It\'s not my fault...
"It\'s okay. There\'s still some left. Please eat as much as you can, Mr. Matkal.
So dinner was finished, and Rico and I drove Matkal back to Juka.
A few days later, the Lamarong army, which was stationed in the border region of the Heedata Empire, received a message.
What? Are you saying that the imperial army of Juka\'s capital is moving south?"
"But... has the Great Demon King\'s army begun to move?"
"If that\'s the case... we\'ll..."
"Yeah! How can we be so timid!"
The commander of the Third Army, Almond, gave the discouraged generals a warning.
"Even if he is the Great Demon King, he will be no match for us when we, the Imperial Army, are all out in force! But first, we must strike the enemy in front of us!
"Almond, wait."
The words were interrupted by the commander-in-chief, General Callies.
"If we don\'t know what kind of army the Demon Lord has, it may cause more damage to our side. We must send out scouts and carefully gauge their strength."
"The General always does that! It is not good for the morale of the troops to be so carefree!"
Almond was angry from the bottom of his stomach. He wondered why he had not defeated the enemy in front of him and quickly returned to his country.
After the Matocalu, the Imperial Guard\'s most elite force, had defeated Juka, an army of more than 100,000 men from Heedata pushed out toward the border. That\'s good. It was just as we had expected at first. The Imperial Guard immediately sent an army of 100,000 men with Caries as commander-in-chief.
The Ramallon army, which had grown to 150,000 troops with the 50,000 troops originally sent to the border, completed its position across the Irbezi River, the border, in a standoff with the army of Heedata. The Irbezi River is a mountainous river, and the two armies of the Empire and the Empire were positioned in the mountains across the river, creating the appearance of a mountain battle.
Ramallon was planning to send 10,000 of his army to Juka as reinforcements. Then came the news of the destruction of Matkal\'s forces and the resurrection of the Great Demon King. Immediately, Caries decided to freeze future operations, and the front line was at a stalemate.
Almond and his followers were of one mind. They should withdraw their troops to the capital at once. But to do so, the army of Heedata in front of them would be an obstacle. Combined with the response of the Great Demon King, the bureaucrats have held numerous military discussions over the past few days, but no effective measures have emerged.
Almond was getting impatient. The location where the Imperial Army is now positioned is where the two borders of Heedata and Juka meet. If the army of the Great Demon King from Juka appeared here, Ramallon\'s army would be surrounded. In such a case, the Imperial Kingdom would be at a disadvantage.
The commander-in-chief, Caries, did not take no action. There was even a time when he informed the Heedata of the resurrection of the Great Demon King and asked for a ceasefire in order to counter the Demon King\'s army. However, the Imperial side sneered at the messenger and even claimed that the Demon King did not exist, thus breaking off the proposal.
In reality, the Heedata side was equally eager to withdraw from the war as soon as possible.
"...But Ramallon is not moving."
Lyssen, the commander of the southern army of the Heedata Empire, muttered to his staff.
They outnumber us. But the Honorary Marquis of Bartham has taken the royal city of Juka. If we wait a little longer, I think they will retreat..."
"The Great Demon King will return and attack here, so we must retreat to the country first... If we accept such talk and retreat, we will be ridiculed for a long time to come."
"The sooner you retreat, the sooner we can retreat."
"Yes. But that\'s them. They might charge at us or try to get behind us. Keep your guards tight."
Thus, the battle line remained at a stalemate as both sides were waiting to see what the other would do.
"...I mean..."
Stalemate.
I am having tea with the old general and Knogen in a room of the barracks next to the north gate of the capital.
Three days after I had gone with Lafayence to deliver relief supplies to the south, I had used the wings of Ilimo to observe the border between the Imperial Army and Ramallon, which is located near here. There was no sign of a battle, and the two armies were just staring at each other across the river.
"I think it would be better if someone intervened in this situation. Shall I go?
"No, it will complicate things if you get in the middle of this. You are the brother-in-law of the Emperor. If you are to intercede, it must be with someone who is not involved with Heedata and Ramallon.
"Is that how it\'s supposed to be?"
"I guess both sides are in a situation where they can\'t back down. If one of them withdraws, they will withdraw, but since the honor of both countries is at stake, they can\'t withdraw so easily.
"It\'s a bunch of nonsense."
"Well, don\'t say that. From a strategic point of view, a retreat battle in the mountains can cause serious damage if not carefully prepared. There is no guarantee that you will not be attacked during the retreat. If you are talking about someone who can do it, Knogen can do it, can\'t he?
"I can\'t do it, General."
How would you retreat?
"Hmmm. I think we should pretend that the imperial army is in the mountains and retreat under the cover of night.
"I see. But won\'t Lamarron mock us for fleeing before the enemy?
We should leave them alone. Wouldn\'t it rather prove the high skill level of the Imperial Army if they retreated in style overnight?"
"...Knogen is very positive. I don\'t dislike that idea. But I wonder if the southern army has that level of skill. They would retreat from the mountain in the middle of the night without making a single sound. If they could do it, I would certainly admire them, but it would be difficult. How about my SS?
The old general laughs.
"Well, General, what would you do?"
"Well, me. If it were me... I would inflict a certain amount of damage on the enemy, discourage any counterattack, and then retreat... I\'m sorry, I have no idea how to inflict that damage. Perhaps in the end I will adopt the same strategy as Knogen.
"If you tell the enemy about this strategy, he might retreat, don\'t you think?"
"Maybe so, hahahahahaha."
They laugh heartily.
"But, but... But if we don\'t do something, our soldiers will be exhausted. But if things continue as they are, the soldiers will be exhausted.
The old general says seriously. I think, crossing my arms. How can we make both armies retreat with the least damage?
"I\'ve got a plan. I don\'t know if it will work..."
I tell them about the plan I\'ve come up with.
"Interesting! That\'s worth a try! That\'s what I\'m talking about, Mr. Linos. That\'s unheard of.
Shall I start the preparations now?
"Knogen, get ready. You\'d better hurry."
"Well, General Lafayence, this is just an idea..."
No, that\'s enough. I\'ll write a letter to Lyssen. No, I think it would be better to get a royal decree from His Majesty."
Completely ignoring me, the old general gleefully began to think about laying the groundwork.
"Well, you live long, don\'t you? I never thought I could come up with such an interesting plan. This is going to be interesting. It\'s going to be fun. Hmmm..."
...Maybe this old man is a fighting maniac after all.