Chapter 237 – Zenon Plains Restoration War [Battle of Enakan Plains (1)] *Cordelia Cavalry Captain Illustration*
Zenon Plain Restoration War 〈 Battle of Enakan Plain (1)〉
In response to the commanders’ questions, Mayer nodded his head with a confident expression.
“Of course. The enemy will use cavalry as much as possible to flank our troops. But as you can see, the use of cavalry is quite limited here due to the forests and rivers. We will take advantage of that.”
“If you use it…?”
When Baron Grossman, commander of the 4th Corps, asked, Meyer pointed to the cavalry markings on the right side of the map.
“Our cavalry is certainly smaller than the enemy, but they are equal in quality. Isn’t that right, Sir Cordelia?”
“That’s right. In the last battle, there was a huge difference in numbers, and I was caught in an ambush by archers, so I felt like I was being pushed back… But I’m definitely not behind when it comes to breakthrough power.”
Mayer smiled with satisfaction at Cordelia’s confident voice.
“For the Western and Northern armies, please assign all cavalry units under the corps to Lord Cordelia. When all of our cavalry units are gathered, it will be a large army of over 7,000. This will be enough to buy us some time against the enemy’s left wing.”
“What if I buy time…?”
“While Lord Cordelia’s cavalry counters the attack of the enemy’s left wing, our main army will concentrate its forces and push back the enemy’s center at once. We will push through the enemy with dense infantry concentrated much more densely than usual.”
“Push and break through… Is that possible? The enemy’s infantry strength is as high as 30,000. They are all gathered in the center, even if it is our imperial army…”
Despite the slightly anxious voice of the western army commander, Baron Hassau, Maier continued his explanation.
“If you look at old records, there are several records of the besieged enemy attempting to break through the crowds during the annihilation battle led by Duke Tiruen and escaping from the front. Although he was probably good at commanding cavalry to surround the enemy, he was able to completely finish it off. It is clear that our troops are lacking in infantry command, so this time, we are truly demonstrating the scale of the empire.”
“But Minister!! What about the enemy’s right wing? The enemy’s right wing also has a huge cavalry force of up to 15,000!!”
“Baron Hart!! Melentine!! What are the preparations of the royal guard corps? Are you confident that you can hold your ground and cover the left side of the main army against 15,000 cavalry? If not, tell me now!”
Instead of answering Baron Hassau’s question, Maier called the two commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Guard Corps that made up the left wing.
“Of course I am confident!! Is there any way that our corps, which is the shield of His Majesty the Emperor, will be penetrated by those Teseito cavalry?”
“Unless they cut off the heads of all of our legions, they will never be able to overcome the main force.”
“I believe it! And don’t forget that as soon as you break through, the spear points of the Te Seito cavalry will be aimed at the Empress Dowager and her royal princesses!! Do you understand?”
At Mayer’s words, the eyes of all the commanders and staff turned to Yuria, Isabella, and Marie in the corner.
As they say, they are the flowers of the battlefield. Their beautiful appearance radiates charm despite the armor they are wearing, and Baron Hart and Melentine erased the smiles they had been wearing just a moment ago and bowed to them with serious faces. I did it.
“As long as the gods don’t die!! No, even if they die, I will definitely protect you!!”
“The enemy’s spear will never reach the three jade bodies, so don’t worry!!”
Yuria stood up, helped them up, and lightly patted their shoulders when she saw the guard corps commander kneeling down to bow.
“Don’t be too pushy. Your lives and the lives of the legionnaires all belong to His Majesty the Emperor. And you must not forget that each and every soldier is His Majesty’s precious child. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes!! Empress Dowager!!”
“Hohoho, and I don’t know about you, but we’re not that weak.”
“If someone strong enough to handle you appears, please break this down. We will rush to you right away. You understand that, right? You must never waste the lives of your soldiers in vain.”
Hart and Melentin bowed their heads deeply as they received the beads that Isabella gave them.
And so the meeting ended, and the Balkan Empire army slowly transformed its position for the battle that would take place two days later.
The next evening. The Duke of Tiruen, who was watching the change of position of the Balkan Empire army from atop a hill in the Enacan Plain where both armies were preparing for a decisive battle, turned his head at the sight of the Marquis of Grace approaching next to him.
“Your Excellency. Is there any need to fight the Balkan army stationed here? Although it is a plain, it is surrounded by a river and a forest, so I think the cavalry’s mobility will be limited.”
“Of course, your thoughts make sense. However, since our troops have left their advantageous garrison and gone on the offensive, it is difficult to choose a place where we have a complete advantage as the battlefield. And this is not a bad place at all.”
“Yes? How…”
As the Duke of Tiruen was just smiling at the puzzled Marquis of Grace, Count Mula, who came from behind, answered on his behalf.
“Commander Graze may not know this because he only specializes in infantry command, but horses require large amounts of horses and grass. Of course, our supply corps is working hard, but Kang In-geun, who can obtain drinking water and grass in large quantities, is bad. You can’t do it”
“But it’s too late to fight…”
“Still, this plain is not so narrow that cavalry cannot be used at all. Although there is a dense forest, the trees are not that thick, so it seems difficult for archers to ambush the infantry there. It is difficult for it to be effective.”
“I know what you mean, but… The problem is that our infantry power is inferior to that of the Vulcans. Of course, heavy armored cavalry can fill the role to some extent, but the difference in types of troops is stark…”
Haha!! I understand what you’re worried about. That’s something I’ve been thinking about. I was going to tell you tomorrow morning after watching the empire’s positions a little more, but… I can’t do it now that it’s like this. Would you like to hear it? “
When the Duke of Tiruen explained his plan in detail, the Marquis Grache nodded his head in understanding.
“Sure… That method will be enough for even our infantry to withstand it. It would be a shame to not see their embarrassed expressions until tomorrow. Haha,”
Marquis Graze’s laughter quickly spread to Count Mula and Duke Tarouen, and the three men leading the Tesseito army admired the beautiful scenery of the Enacan Plain as the sun set, confident of their victory.
Next day. As soon as the sun rose, both armies looked at each other and slowly advanced.
The ground shook and screamed at the movement of the large army of as many as 130,000 people, and numerous wild animals were busy running away, tired of the murder spewing out from both sides.
“… It’s really spectacular to see in person. They say that our Teseito army is not easy, but it really seems like the Balkan Empire is an empire. I’m already worried about whether we can win this…?”
A cavalry commander said this while looking at the Balkan Empire army, which was more than 10,000 stronger than them, and the Duke of Tiruen smiled.
“Don’t worry. There is probably no braver man like you in the Balkan army.”
Puhahahahahaha
The right-wing cavalry, directly led by Tiruen, burst into laughter at the joke he made and were able to relieve their tension at the majesty of the imperial army. Soon after, the sound of a large horn rang out across the plains, and they gradually slowed down their advance. 〈 Br〉
“All armies stop!!”
The two armies stopped for a moment, separated by a distance of about 300 meters, and went through the process of exchanging formal surrender documents.
Count Mayer, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army, and the Marquis of Graze, commander of the infantry of the Tesseito Army, came out in person to exchange documents, and tore up the documents in front of both sides, announcing the start of the war.
“By the way, where is Duke Tiruen hurting? Judging by the fact that you can’t even see the flag… Did you get scared by the majesty of our army and run away?”
Haha, how can that be possible? We’re dealing with just a count, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for His Highness to come out in person.”
“Hmm~ I heard there is a saying that the title of Count in the Balkan Empire is exchanged for a prince like Tesseito… Hehe”
“This guy dares to challenge His Majesty the King…!!”
The Marquis Graze gritted his teeth at Mayer’s sarcastic words, but if he pulled out his sword at this point, it would really be like smearing the king’s face, so he suppressed his anger and turned his back, promising to repay him on the battlefield.
And as soon as Mayer and the Marquis Grache returned to their respective camps, a huge horn sounded, and the full-scale battle began.
Puuuuu~~ Puuuuu~~
“Count Mula!! Lead the left wing and charge!! It’s a narrow road anyway, so there’s no need for fancy tricks!! Charge!! Show us the skills of our Tesseito cavalry!!”
As soon as the Duke of Tiruen’s order was given, the left wing cavalry led by Count Mula marched out.
With only 5,000 reserves behind, 10,000 cavalry headed to the right wing of the Balkans at full speed, and Cordelia’s 7,000 cavalry marched out from the Balkan camp to confront them.
“Oh, no!! Did they really gather all the cavalry on the right wing?”
Count Mula’s eyes widened as a much larger number of cavalry appeared on the right wing of the imperial army, which he had estimated to be around 4,000 at most.
However, the cavalry was far superior in number, and he could not attack the troops now, so he took the lead and led the troops. With a huge impact sound, the clash of the cavalry on both sides began, and the bloodshed of the Enakan Plain began.
*Illustration of Cordelia heading out
