Chapter 241 – Battle to Retake Zenon Plains [Battle of Enakan Plains (5)] *Christmas Commemorative Isabella Santa Illustration*
Battle to recapture the Zenon Plain 〈Battle of the Enakan Plain (5)〉
Meanwhile, in the center, the Teseito army was being pressed down by the overwhelming power of the imperial army.
“Hold on!! The moment you break through, this war will be lost!! All we have to do is hold on while the left and right cavalry crush the enemy!!”
After defeating all the light infantry of the Balkan 5th Corps that had invaded the interior of the corps, the Marquis of Grace encouraged his soldiers to do their best and gave appropriate orders to his staff in accordance with the changing battlefield to minimize damage to his troops. Br〉
“11th Hundredth Division! Fall back!! The 35th Hundredth Division blocks that position!! Lucaris! You should lead the 5th Hundredth Division and support the right flank!! If that side is breached, it will eventually collapse!”
However, the Marquis Graze’s skillful command was shining even in that situation.
He used his reserves to the extreme, directing his knights to strike and drop reinforcements at just the right time.
In addition to his timely use of reserves, the Marquis of Grace observed the battlefield extensively and checked where the Balkan offensive was getting rough. He replaced his units in places where the line was likely to collapse and efficiently defended the Balkan wave offensive.
As the Tesseito army moved, the faces of Baron Hasau, commander of the Western Army, who was commanding the Balkan heavy infantry, and each corps commander became increasingly hard.
“Damn it!! I thought he would just swing his sword at the front ignorantly because he was a master… But he has amazing commanding ability… He is able to hold on even when he is being pushed by 3 corps…”
“That’s right. It would be easier if you come out with your sword and attack us. They have figured out the flow of our troops and are blocking that area, so it won’t be easy to push them in.”
Baroness Claudia, commander of the 7th Corps, agreed with Baron Hassau’s words and suddenly furrowed her brow as she gave the order to rotate her troops.
It was because of Count Arnim, the commander of the 5th Corps, who was breathing heavily and wiping the blood from his forehead next to him.
“No! Commander of the 7th Corps! If that crazy guy goes on a rampage with a sword, do you have the confidence to stop him? I’ve just lived a terrible life!!”
“… Don’t you think it was wrong for the corps commander, the highest commander, to go in there personally carrying a sword? He was excited and said he could go on a rampage for the first time in a long time, and I knew I would.”
“Wouldn’t it be better than the commander of a corps being so scared that he’d be stuck in the back and ordering his soldiers to sacrifice their lives? The honor of a noble… Ah!! A fallen noble family, where the newly granted baronetcy is more important than anything else, doesn’t they know much about such honor? ?”
Cheaeng!!
“… You really almost died again? Are you crazy?”
“If you call him a fallen nobleman one more time, I’ll kill him, right?”
“Stop!! This is a battlefield! It’s in front of the commander!! Be careful!! What are you going to do by having an emotional fight even on the battlefield?”
“That’s right. I know you’re both young and full of energy, but don’t you know that you have to be calmer than anyone else on the battlefield?”
In the end, the 5th and 7th Corps commanders, who almost ended up stabbing each other, glared at each other sharply and bowed their heads to the mediation of the 6th Corps commander, Baron Heist, and the 8th Corps commander, Viscount Fedor.
At that time, an aide came running with a bright face and reported.
“It is said that the cavalry led by Sir Cordelia defeated the enemy’s left wing!! The casualties of our cavalry exceeded 3,000, but the enemy cavalry is also expected to suffer over 5,000 casualties!!”
“Finally!!”
“Then I think we can push a little harder! Commander, I will also move all the troops who were preparing for the surprise attack from the right wing to the front!!”
“Good! We must not miss this opportunity!! The commander of the 5th Corps will also reorganize the soldiers under his command and then go on the assault again! Can you do it?”
“That’s okay, but if we rush in, the master over there will be there again…”
“I will deal with him.”
The moment Arnim spoke while stroking the ponytail that had been slightly cut off by the Marquis Grache’s sword, a heavy, low-pitched voice was heard from behind, and all the corps commanders’ eyes turned to the direction from which the voice came.
“Viscount Amin!!”
“Vice-captain of the Knights of the Guard!!”
The corps commanders’ eyes widened as they looked at Viscount Amin and the two squadrons of Guard Knights standing behind him.
And it wasn’t just the corps commanders who looked surprised, but also the western army commander, Baron Hassau.
Viscount Amin was superior to him in everything, including his title, age, and military experience, and he had also had a bad temper in the past, so Baron Hassau quickly came down from the podium to greet him.
“How could it be that the vice-captain of the Knights of the Guard was not here to protect the Empress Dowager?”
“She said that Mama should not worry about her, and she sent me here. She said that if I deal with the Master, at least one of our soldiers will be sacrificed.”
Each commander and staff gasped in admiration at Viscount Amin’s words.
“Commander. Please give me an order. According to Empress Dowager Mama’s orders, I and the knights under my command will be assigned to your command until this battle is over.”
Seeing the appearance of Viscount Amin, who was completely different from before and showing himself as a complete knight of the royal guard, Baron Hassau gave an order without delay in a firm voice.
“Good!! From now on, the 6th and 7th Corps commanders will push the enemy with all their might to create an opening once again!! And the 5th Corps, together with Viscount Amin and the Guard Knights, will break through the enemy’s center!!”
“Old! I will follow your orders!!”
Looking at the corps commanders and Viscount Amin running out after receiving orders in a powerful voice, Baron Hassau turned around and looked at the one remaining corps commander.
“And the Commander of the 8th Corps, please prepare your troops. And as soon as the enemy is routed, we must chase them down so that they will never be able to set foot in Zeno again.”
“Yes, I understand.”
With the commander of the 8th Corps absent, only Baron Hassau and his staff remained at the central army headquarters, and they looked at the advancing soldiers and prayed for victory.
“Complement the left a little more!! Koffler! Take two hundred people and support the 45th hundred people! It must never be breached!!”
“Waaaaa!!”
The Marquis of Grace, who was busy leading his soldiers, opened his eyes wide when he heard the shouts of the Balkan army coming from the front.
“Why are they suddenly… If they send out all the soldiers like that and get stuck, the soldiers who don’t have enough stamina will be pushed out in an instant… What were they thinking…?”
The Marquis of Grace, who had doubts about the movements of the Balkan army, soon learned the reason.
“Commander!! It is said that Count Mula, who was fighting with the Balkan cavalry on the left wing, was defeated!! It is said that there were approximately 5,000 casualties. Fortunately, the enemy’s pursuit was prevented thanks to the movement of the reserve force, so no further damage was suffered. I do it!!”
“What? Count Mula was defeated? There was a cavalry commander in the Balkans who could stop him? That’s ridiculous!!”
He thought that the battle between the cavalry would be an inevitable victory for Te Seito’s army, but his eyes were shaken by the news of the left wing’s defeat brought by his staff.
“Huh, how did you lose? Can I know the details?”
“It is said that the identity of the enemy cavalry commander was Cordelia, the adoptive daughter of Count Le Delmo, and that while Count Mula was fighting with her, her rearguard was stabbed by the movement of her enemy’s cavalry and was defeated.”
“Ouch! Looks like that bad habit has come out again!! That habit of concentrating on the battle and losing track of the command of the troops!! Damn it!! Then what about the remaining troops? Are you saying the battle can be continued with the remaining troops?”
“It is judged to be unreasonable to continue the battle because the horses are so badly injured, and the remaining troops can only show movement to keep the enemy cavalry in check!”
After hearing the entire report from his staff, the Marquis Graze was troubled.
‘At least you don’t have to worry about cavalry charges since it keeps the enemy cavalry in check… But this is where the problem lies. Since our left wing has collapsed, the enemy will also charge all the troops that were concerned about that side, and the result is what it is now… In that case, it would be better to retreat…’
The Marquis of Grace, who thought about retreat for a moment, shook his head.
‘No. We, in our Kingdom of Tesseito, have Duke Tiruen! Let’s believe in Him!! He will give you victory if you keep holding on!!’
“We can do it!! I believe in His Majesty the Duke of Tiruen!! If we hold out, we will hear the news of victory from the right wing…!!”
Easy profit!!
The Marquis of Grace, who was encouraging his soldiers to fight against the pouring imperial army, swung his sword at a sound flying towards him, but stopped his arm for a moment.
Tuk!!
Instead of cutting down the flying sword, he slightly bounced it away, and at the same time kicked away the small figure that was swinging its sword at him.
Pow!!
“Ouch, ouch… Mistress… It hurts badly! It’s not working this time…”
“Hmm… Did you think that if you were fooled once, you’d be fooled twice? Anyway, you came all the way here… You’re probably prepared to leave your head behind, right?”
Recognizing that the person who was swinging his sword at him was the commander of the imperial army that he had missed earlier, the Marquis Grache raised his sword towards him and unleashed his sword energy. But…
Kaaaaang!!
His eyes widened as he saw his sword power blocked so easily, and he frowned at the sight of the knight standing in front of him.
Haha!! No matter how confident I am as a corps commander at such a young age, I’m not the kind of person who would attack the master without thinking, right? Respected vice-captain. Then, please. I have to command the soldiers, so that’s enough…”
Looking at Arnim’s hateful appearance, the Marquis Graze felt the urge to cut him down right away, but the fighting spirit radiating from the body of the knight standing in front of him did not give him that time.
“Looking at you… You are a formidable person. My name is Herald Evergeni Grache, commander of the infantry of the Tesseito Kingdom Army. May I ask your name?”
“My name is Georg Emilst von Amin. Although I am lacking, I am the vice-captain of the Great Balkan Empire Guard Knights.”
The Marquis Graze smiled faintly at the name revealed by the other party, and there was tremendous tension on the battlefield.
Even though the soldiers were fighting fiercely, they began to quietly move their positions to avoid being caught up in the decisive battle between the masters.
*Christmas commemorative Isabella Santa illustration*