Chapter 263 – End of the War [2nd Battle of Streve (1)] *Catherine Chinadress Illustration*
End of the war [2nd Battle of Streve (1)]
“Did you… See all the idiots in the world!! I warned you not to fight carelessly, but you forgot and ended this war in just one day?”
Just an hour ago, upon hearing the good news that the expeditionary force of the Southwestern Front had reached Streve, Meyer, who was smiling and enjoying a chat while drinking hot tea with the commanders of the Northern and Western Army, heard the worst news from the Northwestern Front. He burst into anger by throwing the teacup he was drinking at the barracks wall.
“Calm down, Minister Mayer. Those guys made a mistake due to their youthful energy… I guess they were probably swayed by a seasoned enemy general?”
“What kind of mistake is this!! It’s the fault of idiots who couldn’t properly follow the order to just stop fighting!!”
Even though Baron Sigwald, the commander of the northern army, stepped in to stop him, Mayer’s anger seemed not to subside, and he grunted and roughly removed the hand holding his shoulder.
Next, he approached the communication magic sphere and shouted into the faces of the two corps commanders on the screen.
“You idiots!! Retreat from there immediately and return to the County of Akel where His Majesty is!! And after reporting to His Majesty in detail how you were defeated, receive the punishment His Majesty gives you!!”
The two people’s complexions turned pale when they were told to confess their sins directly to the emperor, but since it was such a crushing defeat that they had nothing to say even if their heads ran dry, Arnim and Claudia quietly nodded.
“But… Can those guys retreat well? Shouldn’t we send some troops to guard them? I heard there are quite a few wounded soldiers.”
Mayer shook his head at the words of Baron Hassau, commander of the Western Army.
“By now, the news that our army is heading to Streve has probably reached the other side. Blocking that area would be a much higher priority than forming a pursuit army and annihilating the remnants of the defeated soldiers. Moreover, with the troops completely devastated at Enakan, there is no need to do anything. Since we fought a battle, the aftereffects will not be easy.”
“Hmm… I guess it’s worth it.”
“More than that, I’m worried about the army in Streve. According to my original plan, the 5th and 7th corps should have tied up the enemy masters. That’s why I added Viscount Amin and Ajin… I never thought such a catastrophe would happen…”
“Ugh… Viscount Amin was slightly injured in this battle and is said to need recuperation for about 3 months, and the Troll Master was also injured due to burns, so it would be difficult to deploy him to Streve.”
“Yes. The key to this Streb strategy is what to do with the opponent’s master power. Anyway, what is this because of the idiots… Sigh…”
Since it was clear that the enemy master would come towards Streve once the threat from the Northwestern Front had disappeared, Mayer glared at Arnim and Claudia once again, holding his forehead as if he was in pain.
“Well… I know this is presumptuous, but… How about asking Your Majesty to participate in the Strev Front? No matter what anyone says, the most masters in our empire are His Majesty the Emperor, the Commander of the Knights of the Guard, and Empress Lee. . Hee!!”
Arnim, who was suggesting to the communication sphere to ask Yuno to participate in the war, was tired of the three pairs of burning eyes staring at him through the communication sphere and had to throw his body backwards.
“What a crazy guy!!”
“What? You want us to ask His Majesty to go to the battlefield? And that too in a dangerous role, dealing with the enemy master? You are out of your mind after suffering such a crushing defeat!!”
“Is that something that came out of the mouth of a Balkan corps commander? Can’t you come out here right now? I guess you’ll have to die by my hands to come to your senses!!”
Maier, Baron Hassau, and Baron Sigvald glared at Arnim as if he were going to kill them and attacked him mercilessly.
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant… Just the facts themselves…”
‘Really… He looks thoughtless when he looks at things like this… But he’s definitely not that kind of person. He is a brave man who puts himself in danger due to poor judgment, but even in that situation, he makes the best judgment and goes into danger to execute it. Even now, it’s probably on purpose for me…’
Thanks to the intensive attention Arnim received, Claudia was able to take a breather out of the sight of the three high-ranking commanders, and due to that misunderstanding, her heart gradually began to tilt toward Arnim.
“Hmm… No matter what this guy’s bullshit is, as long as the enemy has a master, master power is essential for our military as well.”
“As expected, I have no choice but to ask Your Majesty to dispatch Sir Liechtenauer. He may have to deal with the two on his own… But in any case, his skills are the best on this continent. He will be able to do it.”
“… I’ll have to make a request to His Majesty first. If not, I have no choice but to withdraw the military…”
There was a concern that calling in the leader of the Knights Guards, which was directly under the Emperor, here and there as needed would be seen as a blow to the Emperor’s authority, so Mayer carefully sent a message to Yuno, who was resting in the County of Akel.
The three commanders were nervous that Yuno would reject them, but Yuno’s answer was very refreshing.
‘No matter how much I am the leader of the Knights of the Guard, if the country needs me, I will dispatch you at any time. And the same applies to luggage, so if a situation arises where you need to mobilize a master, feel free to request it at any time. And in this case, the commander of the Knights of the Guard’s intention to participate in the war was so certain that he was willing to go to the war unconditionally even if his luggage prevented it.’
When they heard Juno’s answer and the news that Liechtenauer had joined the Streb Expeditionary Force through space travel, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Liechtenauer, who had the worst experience of being taken hostage by Tiruen’s cowardly men and women during the last Battle of the Plain of Zenon, was full of revenge, and this time he headed straight for Streve, saying he would repay his debt on the Plain of Zenon.
Naturally, the joining of Liechtenauer caused the morale of the soldiers to plummet.
“Good! Let’s go as an expeditionary force! This time, we must completely make Streve a territory of our Balkan Empire!!”
“The 3rd Guards Corps must bypass Streve and prevent the enemy’s reinforcements and supplies from reaching it!! The remaining corps conduct a final inspection of the siege weapons! Tomorrow morning. The attack begins!!”
Upon hearing the news of Liechtenauer’s arrival, Mayer, who joined the Streb Expeditionary Force with other commanders, ordered an all-out attack on the Streb Expeditionary Force, and from the next day, a brutal wave offensive by the 30,000 Imperial Army began.
However, contrary to Mayer’s expectations, the Tesseito Kingdom flag hanging on the walls of Streve Castle remained intact even a few days after the imperial army’s offensive began.
If it had been the existing commander, he would have captured Streve a long time ago, but the morale of the fortress defenders was boosted by the fact that Count Mula, a master as well as Duke Tiruen, the commander-in-chief of the entire army and the country’s strongest master, had moved into the fortress with a few reinforcements. Soared into the sky without knowing how high it was, and under his command, all the defenders moved as one and crushed the Balkan wave offensive.
During those few days, numerous heavy infantrymen were knocked down by arrows while pounding on the castle gates with hammered vehicles, and while climbing a siege tower that had succeeded in attaching itself to the castle wall, they were burned to death along with the siege tower by a flying arrow.
Numerous light infantrymen were brought in with burns from boiling water while climbing up the walls using ladders, and died after their heads were broken by stones.
Although Tesseito’s two masters kept Liechtenauer in check by sporadically unleashing his sword energy and blocking his movements as much as possible, they were unable to engage in a direct duel as it was a siege rather than a rotation taking place on the plains, so Liechtenauer was a sacrificed soldier. I couldn’t help but feel indignant as I looked at the field.
“Duke Tiruen!! Come down from the castle walls!! I will make you pay for the cowardice you did last time!! Why? Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid to even fight a duel because if it is not a cowardly act, skill will not work? ? You coward!!”
While the troops for the offensive were being switched, Liechtenauer stepped forward and made a provocation, but all he got back from the castle wall was ridicule.
Haha, you will try so hard. Lord Liechtenauer. I admit that I am less skilled than you, so it is not natural for you to be afraid. Of course, if you want a duel, I will do it. Of course, you can join forces with Count Mula here. If it’s good, haha”
“… This bastard… I like it!! Come down!! I don’t care if it’s a 2-on-1 duel!!”
‘If it’s Count Mula, who couldn’t even defeat Cordelia, I’m confident that I’ll survive even if I get involved in the match with Tiruen. In the meantime, our army can occupy Streb!!’
The idea was to invite the opposing commander to the duel and then occupy the fortress in the meantime, but Tiruen seemed to have already read Liechtenauer’s thoughts and shouted with a funny face.
Haha, you’re really hot. But what? The situation seems to be more favorable to our side… If we accept their offer, we’ll have to impose a little more penalty, right? So what about the three of you? If you don’t mind the three of us, I can come down, right? Haha,”
“What… What? Three?”
When Richtenauer, embarrassed, raised his head and looked closely, not only was Count Mula sitting next to Tiruen, but also the Marquis of Grace, who had a slightly pale complexion.
“Lord Grache was injured in the last Battle of Enakan, but thanks to His Majesty the King, he was able to recover quickly. It looks like you are the only master left there besides the Emperor. Sir Amin and that troll were quite seriously injured. Even if it’s a war, they’re mobilizing monsters… You cowards… I will never forgive you!!”
‘Holy shit… Even if it’s me, three is too much… To be honest, I can only survive with just two, but it’s impossible to win… What should I do about this situation…’
Liechtenauer eventually gave up the duel and retreated, and Maier decided that it would be unreasonable to launch any further offensives, so he withdrew all his troops and had them take a rest before holding a meeting among their commanders.
“Whew… Minister. Is there no way? There have already been over 7,000 casualties. If we don’t let this go… It would be better to retreat here…”
At the words of Baron Hassau, the commander of the Western Army, who spoke of a cautious retreat, Maier hardened his face and shouted with a stern expression.
“No!! If we retreat and then get raided from the rear, that is also a problem. If we make a mistake, we may have to give up the western part of the Zenon Plain to the enemy again, so we must capture Streve here!!”
“That’s right. We can’t back down. Almost one legion, no, three legions if you include the disaster at Simenotra were destroyed, and we weren’t able to take even an inch of the enemy’s land!! No matter how much we recaptured the Plain of Zenon, this is… Therefore, we must retake Streve even if we launch an all-out attack using all of our legions.”
As the Emperor’s accomplishments, such as the great feat of recapturing the Plain of Zenon upon his ascension to the throne, could be overshadowed, Baron Sigvald, commander of the Northern Army, agreed with Mayer’s words and insisted on a decisive battle.
“… Even in a decisive battle, the enemy’s master power is a problem. Currently, we only have one Lord Liechtenauer, but the enemy now has three masters…”
“Shouldn’t we also ask Your Majesty to receive the remaining elixir from the imperial treasures and restore Viscount Amin?”
“Ugh… It is said that Heinrich, who was dethroned during the last civil war, gave the last elixir left in the imperial treasury to Count Kashu. So, there is nothing we can do now…”
When a figure wrapped in a robe suddenly entered the command barracks where all the commanders were groaning and covering their heads, everyone’s eyes turned to him, and the corps commanders put their hands on the hilts of their swords, preparing for a possible assassination.
“W-Who are you? Take off your robe right now and reveal your identity!! How dare you come here…”
At the words of the corps commanders, the person who broke into the command barracks took off the hood attached to his robe, and his identity was naturally revealed.
“Hohoho, you seem to be having a lot of problems? How… Can I help you out? Hehe”
Since her identity was Catherine, the second empress of the Balkans, the eyes of her numerous commanders and staff widened.
“Woah, Empress Mama!! Uh, how did you get here… You need to return to the palace right away!! This is the front line of the battle line! You never know when you might be attacked!!”
*Illustration of Catherine’s secret interior with her robe open
