Chapter 249 – Battle to Recapture Zenon Plain [Battle of Enakan Plain (13)] *Spiritualist Mari’s Slightly Exposed Illustration*
Battle to recapture the Zenon Plain 〈Battle of the Enakan Plain (13)〉
“Huh, what happened? What about Liechtenauer?”
“A sudden bolt of lightning hit us, and while we were looking up at the sky for a moment, we were all over the place…”
Upon hearing that the hostage had disappeared, Tiruen shouted in exasperation to the knights near the Liechtenauer.
“What the hell! What are they doing with so many people gathered together? These so-called knights!! How can I help the cause when they can’t even properly protect a hostage who is drunk and unconscious!!”
“I’m sorry! Your Excellency!”
“Wizards!! Did you not know that an enemy wizard was creating lightning and rescuing hostages while you were safely protected behind the scenes?”
“Yes… It’s impossible at our level…”
“It is a magical power that we cannot even imagine… I think it would have been difficult for us to block it even if we knew about it.”
Tiruen looked at the imperial army camp with angry eyes as he saw the knights and wizards begging him for sin.
By Yuno’s side, Isabella and Marie, who had rescued Richtenauer, were smiling brightly, and when Richtenauer, whom they had rescued, was seen coming to his senses after being healed by Yuria, Tiruen quickly turned his head.
‘Now that Liechtenauer has recovered his strength… His power can be seen as equal. Even though I’m injured… I’m still able to stop the emperor… And although Liechtenauer is stronger than me or the emperor, due to the nature of his swordsmanship, he’s not suitable for dealing with large armies, so you just have to use numbers. But…’
In his eyes, he also saw soldiers whose morale had plummeted.
The defeat brought about by the unreasonable Battle of Hippo and the enemy emperor who was slaughtering them without mercy. And the fact that the continent’s strongest master, whom they had taken prisoner, had regained his strength was enough to make the soldiers think about defeat.
‘If you think about the reinforcements, further battles will be difficult… Esgran is doing well in blocking, but we don’t know when additional support will come from the central army or the enemy’s right wing. So, in this war, we must admit defeat and preserve our strength as much as possible to protect the territory we currently occupy!’
Not long after he started thinking, Tiruen’s brilliant mind quickly came to a conclusion.
And since he was not a foolish person who dragged his feet on his decisions, he immediately mounted his horse, raised his sword high, and gave orders to his troops.
“All armies! We are retreating!! Send a message to Esgran and inform him of our retreat!!”
When Tiruen’s order to retreat was given, the cavalry commanders’ faces lit up at the thought that his life had been saved.
“Keep your army in an orderly formation! Retreat slowly while blocking the enemy’s pursuit, then join Esgran’s troops and speed up to shake off the enemy’s pursuit!”
“Old! I will follow your orders, Your Excellency!”
‘Ugh… This humiliation… I will definitely repay you… Emperor Yuno!!’
Tiruen, who glared at Yuno from the rear of the army for a long time and then slowly began to retreat, crumpled his face in severe pain rising from his lower leg every time his horse took a step, burning his desire for revenge against Yuno.
Serious damage was expected if the two masters, who had fully recovered, pursued them, but fortunately, the Balkan Empire army did not pursue them, perhaps due to insufficient forces, and the Tesseito army was able to safely retreat to their base after joining Esgran’s detachment. There was.
But the next morning. The military situation reported to Tiruen, who inspected his troops, was more serious than he thought.
“What? The Marquis Grace was seriously injured?”
“Yes! That’s right. Thanks to the quick treatment, his life was saved, but the internal organs and mana hole inside his abdomen were damaged… It is said that he will need to recuperate for at least a year. And the infantry said that the Marquis of Grace had not fallen. It is said that the enemy was completely destroyed by the 10,000-strong reserve force that rushed in to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Fortunately, Count Mula, who was reporting to him, seemed to be safe, but about half of the cavalry he was leading was killed, and the infantry led by the Marquis of Grace was almost completely annihilated by the imperial army, with only about 5,000 surviving. Duke Tiruen was speechless.
‘I heard reports that the left wing and central army were defeated and retreating to their base, but I was too busy healing my injuries… I didn’t know the situation was this serious… It might be unreasonable to return to Zeno’s occupied area. There must be. The enemy’s movements are quiet now, but if we are not careful… The entire army may bury its bones here.’
Although he was in a position to fight a retreat that would result in the most casualties, he still had to somehow save as many troops as possible to even be able to proceed with a defensive battle on the Zenon Plain, so he began planning a route so that even the remaining 20,000 troops could survive safely. I did it.
“Your Excellency. Wouldn’t it be better to retreat to the plains where we advanced? If we make the most of our strength, mobility, the enemy will not dare pursue us.”
Count Mula gave careful advice to Tiruen, who was looking at his map and thinking, but he shook his head.
“No. We will retreat through here.”
The place his finger pointed to was a small forest on the right side of the battlefield where Yuno had appeared in the battle just before.
It was clearly a shortcut that led straight to the occupied area of Tesseito in Zeno, but as a mountainous area awaited you after leaving the forest, Count Mula threw up his flagship.
“Your Excellency!! Please reconsider your decision! It is said to be at a low altitude, but the area nearby is a mountain range! This means that it is impossible for our cavalry to move quickly!!”
“Lord Mula. Think about it carefully. In this battle, the cavalry you led lost many horses thanks to the Balkan army’s maneuver. And the same goes for the cavalry I led. In fact, there were cases where other soldiers who lost their horses were brought back on horseback. Wasn’t there a lot of cavalry that couldn’t speed up properly? Besides, we are now in a position where we have to fight a defensive battle, which means that the few heavy infantry left in our army are very precious.”
“But!! The cavalry is our army’s top priority core unit! Don’t you know that all of our army’s tactics are centered around cavalry?”
Despite Count Mula’s protests, Tiruen continued to shake his head.
“The situation on the battlefield always changes. In a defensive battle, a few cavalry is enough. And anyway, whether it is infantry or cavalry, we are the same Tesseito army. If the cavalry retreats with all its might on the plain, the infantry will fall behind… At that time, the enemy’s pursuing force If this comes, will you be able to abandon the soldiers who trusted us and followed us here?”
Count Mula was speechless at Tiruen’s words.
“And just because you’re heading to a mountain range doesn’t mean you have to move slowly. Anyway, the mountain ranges in this area aren’t as rugged as the Dragon’s Breath Mountains, so you can pass through them in a day. Then, you can run to our garrison in a month. And the mobility of our troops is If this falls, wouldn’t the same be true for the enemy?”
“… After hearing what you said, Your Excellency is right. And when the enemy’s pursuing force comes after us, this mullah will stand at the last line to protect our troops and make sure to repel the enemy.”
Ti Ruen smiled bitterly at the sight of Mula expressing confidence by pounding his chest.
“Ugh~ Normally, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it for me… I’m sorry.”
“No. The priority is to heal the injury so that no aftereffects remain. It is Your Excellency, not anyone else, who supports our Tesseito. Therefore, it can be said that Your Excellency’s speedy recovery is the number one goal for our army’s victory.”
“… Thank you, Lord Mullah. I ask you to lead the withdrawal.”
Tiruen patted Mulla’s shoulder and praised him for his hard work, then lay down on the bed and began to concentrate on recovering his body.
Meanwhile, Count Mula quickly led the withdrawal, and Tesseito’s army completed all preparations before noon and began withdrawing.
“Withdraw!! You don’t have to be too fast! Stay in line and move slowly!”
The morale of Teseito’s army, which retreated in an orderly formation, seemed quite high for an army that had lost a battle.
Although we were defeated, not a single master died and not a single piece of territory was lost, so it was thanks to Count Mula’s speech that it would be worth returning to the garrison and replenishing troops to face the Balkans again, and anyway, only the mountain range in front of us passed. There was hope that they would reach the garrison immediately, so Tesseito’s army began to enter the mountain range at a rapid pace.
Meanwhile, at the imperial military garrison, Yuno was checking his troops while receiving reports from each corps commander.
“Uh… Your Majesty! I’m sorry for telling you…”
“Hmm? I’m sorry to tell you… If you have anything to talk about, do it quickly.”
The person who was hesitating in front of Juno was Count Arnim, the commander of the 5th Legion.
Then he knelt in front of Yuno in a trembling voice and told him his demands.
“Wouldn’t it be better to pursue the enemy as quickly as possible instead of the time we are in this situation? Our 5th Corps is ready at any time. Our light infantry will move at the fastest possible speed and annihilate the enemy, so please allow the chase.”
“Shouldn’t you request that from Commander-in-Chief Mayer, not me? This is a battlefield, not the imperial palace, and therefore the supreme commander is Minister Mayer, not Jim.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief! Please allow the chase!!”
Mayer briefly bowed his head and expressed his gratitude for Yuno’s consideration in establishing his authority, then smiled at Arnim and the other corps commanders.
“Do you all think the same? Well… You probably think the same way. And, although you can’t say it, you probably have complaints about taking away the opportunity to make the biggest achievement.”
“… No!!”
“No, but… But do you know why Your Majesty appeared late on this battlefield? No matter what battle is going on, Your Majesty always stands at the forefront and tries to make a fuss, which makes me feel bad.”
Yuno pouted her lips at the words of Mayer, who suddenly risked herself and fell.
“No… Why is Jim suddenly so still… How could I have done that…”
“He did that at Streve, where I first met His Majesty… I heard he did that at Monster Mountains as well. And didn’t he do that on the Eastern Front, and in Adria? And when the Archangel appeared…”
It was obvious that he would be at a disadvantage if he continued to listen, so Yuno slapped his hand and covered Mayer’s mouth.
“Ahh… I understand. Please continue explaining.”
“Ugh… I understand. Anyway, His Majesty took some time to plant trustworthy mercenaries in the mountains they were retreating from. While they suffered in the mountains, we preserved our troops and slowly advanced towards the Zenon Plain. If you leave, you can do it, understand?”
“If you say you are a trustworthy mercenary…?”
Even though all the corps commanders were tilting their heads and showing curiosity, Yuno and Mayer only smiled and did not give a proper answer.
And as for the answer to that, the Tesseito soldiers crossing the mountain range were experiencing it directly with their own bodies.
“Kuuuuu!!!”
“Run away!! It’s a troll!!”
The sight of the troll roaring loudly in front of them made the Tesseito soldiers urinate, and soon their bodies were torn to shreds, clearly showing the power of the troll in the midnight forest.
*Angry Marie Illustration Medicine Exposure Ver1
*Angry Marie illustration drug exposure ver2