"She walked into the lion's den of her own free will?"
"She saw one thing but not the other. An open plain with no obstructions in any direction — that's precisely the terrain best suited for deploying cavalry."
Looking at infantry alone, the Sardinian Kingdom's forces outnumbered ours two to one.
But if you set the cavalry aside separately, our forces nearly doubled theirs. The Duke of Milan had chosen the plain to compensate for his weakness, but in reality he had only reinforced it.
"The Duke of Milan surely knows that his cavalry is his weak point. Therefore, the main thrust of whatever strategy he puts forward will revolve around two things: holding out against our cavalry for as long as possible, and positioning elite infantry behind the lines to guard against a cavalry charge — just in case."
Our Imperial Army, on the other hand, had one objective: hold out against the enemy's infantry for as long as possible.
Would the Kingdom's forces collapse under the Imperial cavalry first? Or would the Imperial Army be crushed beneath the Kingdom's infantry first? The outcome of that question would decide the entire battle.
"Then."
Queen Henriette smiled faintly.
"So the fate of this battle rests with my cavalry."
"That is correct, Your Majesty."
"I know it sounds strange to put it this way, but — can I entrust my fate to you? In the end, you are merely the army of a foreign nation. If I were to betray you, you would be routed with no way to recover."
Her words startled the commanders around her more than anyone. A general even cried out, "Your Majesty!" to object. Laura did not bat an eye. A voice filled with conviction flowed from her lips.
"You will not betray us, Your Majesty."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because Court Count Dantalion did not inform me that you would."
"...Excuse me?"
Henriette's gaze, which had been eagerly anticipating some other answer, was instantaneously tinged with bewilderment. Regardless, Laura continued with what she had to say.
"I am ignorant of politics. But the Court Count is not. If Your Majesty harbored any intention of betrayal, there is no way the Court Count would have failed to notice. He said nothing to me whatsoever — and therefore, I trust Your Majesty completely."
"…Well."
"As long as it's certain that there is no possibility of betrayal, the Bretagne cavalry is merely a very reliable fighting force to me. Entrusting the fate of battle to our strongest asset is entirely natural."
Laura looked around the room. Her gaze asked if there were any further questions. The commander-in-chief's statement left everyone inside the tent speechless. Laura offered a few more explanations, then said, "This concludes the meeting," and left with quick steps.
"…Dantalion."
Henriette called me softly.
Incidentally, Henriette did not like to call me the Court Count. The reason was that she had been defeated by the Demon Lord, not by some mere Imperial Court Count.
"Speak, Your Majesty."
"You are… how should I put it? Truly a man of deep sin."
I tilted my head.
"A compliment, Your Majesty?"
"It means you should rot in hell."
Laura. This is bad. My comment just increased Her Majesty's probability of betrayal by one percent.
The next morning, the sound of trumpets was heard from the Kingdom army's camp at dawn.
In general, the more confident one was of victory, the sooner the battle began. It wasn't a mindset of finishing quickly and going home early. It was simply to make pursuing the enemy easier after securing victory.
If the battle dragged on until late at night, the pursuit would also continue through the night. Night was not an ideal time for chasing, and it was convenient for stragglers to use the darkness to escape. Duke Milano had blown his trumpet before we did. It was a declaration of his full confidence in victory.
Eight o'clock in the morning. As the cool autumn air settled, both armies arrayed their troops.
I was riding my horse to the most dangerous location in this war. It was the first line of the Imperial army. Since our objective was to hold off the enemy infantry, this place, which would be the first to meet that infantry, was certain to be the fiercest battleground.
"This burden is too heavy for me, Laura."
I gave a wry smile and peered across the plain with a small telescope. Humans, humans, and then even more humans. No matter where or how I looked, it was teeming with people.
This was my first time facing such a large enemy force since the war with the Crescent Alliance Army. Even back then, like now, my heart was unsettled just before battle. I always grew anxious when on the verge of fighting. War was different from politics. There were too many variables. Well, Laura would probably say the exact opposite…
─ Rise up, O Kingdom of Sardinia, against foreign oppression!
Because it was a large-scale battle, a speech duel preceded it.
A gentleman who looked impressively well-aged was projected at massive scale, delivering his address. A speech battle with projection magic accompanied by translation magic was a luxury only available when you had mages in sufficient numbers.
The Duke of Milan had a deep, resonant voice with natural force behind it. He had the face of a man who would make a fine politician. What I mean is, he had the kind of face where even when he lied, people would naively nod and think, "Ah, he must have had his reasons for lying."
The Duke knew how to dress up impressive words in even more impressive language. There was elegance, there was proper resonance, and he deftly stirred up patriotism and hometown pride.
"Oooh."
It had been a while since I'd heard such a fine speech. When it was all over, I was clapping. The soldiers around me stared with looks that said, "Your Excellency...? Seriously...? Are you genuinely applauding right now?" Their faces said they wanted to call him an idiot but couldn't bring themselves to, since he was their commanding officer. Why? Art, after all, has always transcended the line between friend and foe.
─ Gentlemen.
On our side, the one who stepped up to speak wasn't me, but Queen Henrietta.
The reason was simple. Since Laura had claimed the position of supreme commander, I needed to at least concede the role of public face to the queen. Besides, Henrietta needed something to show off when she returned to Bretagne.
Henrietta also had a quite lovely voice. It was slightly rough compared to Elizabeth's, but she could certainly deliver a magnificent speech. I waited leisurely for Queen Henrietta's address.
─ There is no creature more revolting in my sight right now than that loitering leper, the bastard whelp of a whore born in an outhouse, and that old geezer whose every joint is bent like a stalk of wilted spinach.
"Pffbt!"
The moment I heard those opening words, I let loose with a spectacular spit-take. Dumbfounded, I involuntarily turned to look behind me. The enormous projection of Henrietta wore a solemn, earnest expression. Had I perhaps misheard?
─ That old coot has gone so far into dementia that he doesn't even know where he is, and he's sitting there taking a massive dump.
I hadn't misheard! She was really saying things about shit and whatnot with that dead-serious expression on her face!
─ Presumably, we'll have to personally inform this old man that this place isn't a restroom built for the elderly, but a battlefield—though sadly, by then he'll be trembling in fear and terror, pissing himself, and so the old codger is destined to turn this Maledictus Plain into his personal toilet. Oh, goddesses! I can already smell the shit wafting all the way to my nostrils!
The soldiers burst out laughing.
The Bretagne soldiers' laughter was the loudest. The queen's way of speaking seemed familiar to them. The other soldiers gradually caught the laughter too, and since they were rough-and-tumble men to begin with, the queen's speech actually suited their temperament—they roared back with a resounding "UOOOOH!"
─ The enemy sent out as their representative leader an old man who probably can't even get it up in the morning. In other words, every last one of those fellows huddled over there is an impotent bunch of morons. Gentlemen, I confess that while I have encountered countless males in my time, I have never seen mutts with such pathetically shrunken balls as those.
The soldiers' laughter grew even louder. Some whistled openly, while others, fired up by the queen, hurled every crude insult and profanity imaginable at the enemy ranks. It was quite the spectacle.
─ Those fellows are so hopeless in bed that their wives beat them senseless and drove them all the way here. Gentlemen! At the very least, we are not so feeble as to lose to a bunch of pathetic wretches who get cucked by their own wives!
The soldiers roared, "UOOOOH," thrusting their spears high into the air.
─ They certainly outnumber us! What is even more certain is that every last one of them is a dimwit with less between his legs than a single one of your balls!
Henrietta drew the longsword from her hip and leveled it straight ahead.
─ You, on the other hand, are true men—and unlike those eunuch bastards swarming over there, you each possess a fine pair of balls! Go show them what a real man looks like! All units! Forward!
The war cry reached its peak.
The various divisions blew their traditional war horns in a discordant frenzy. Drums thundered in exhilarating off-beat rhythms, and soldiers without instruments stamped their feet, turning their entire bodies into percussion.
"…Well. I mean. She's a queen of a nation."
I let out a half-bitter laugh. The atmosphere that the Duke of Milan had so carefully cultivated—gentlemanly and romantic—had evaporated without a trace. Her personality was worlds apart from the magnificent speech Elizabeth had delivered at the Bruno Plains, but I had to admit it was effective.
So this was Her Majesty the red-haired queen, whose temperament was as unpredictable as a flickering flame. I could understand why the soldiers adored her so much. But she wasn't exactly my type…
With the initial battle of nerves won on our side, the two armies drew closer and closer.
First, on the left flank, the cavalry clashed with one another.
I recalled what Laura had explained yesterday.
*'The enemy will most likely deploy their finest cavalry on the left flank.'*
*'The left flank borders the river. That means the battlefield is constrained, and the terrain is relatively soft.'*
*'The Duke of Milan's objective is not to win the cavalry engagement. It is to avoid losing it. As long as either the right or left flank holds out for a long while, he'll consider that sufficient.'*
That was precisely why the Kingdom's army had positioned its elite troops on terrain unfavorable for cavalry combat. That was Laura's prediction.
*'Therefore, we too shall commit our most elite cavalry to the left flank.'*
*'There is no reason to hesitate.——Sweep them all away in a single blow.'*
A bright light enveloped the cavalry on the left flank.
It was Saint Longueville bestowing her blessing.
That's right. The cavalry currently holding the left flank of the allied forces was none other than the Bretagne army—five thousand horsemen led personally by Queen Henriette.
The Kingdom's cavalry sent to intercept them were, judging by their banners, a small number of knight orders alongside a large contingent of multinational mercenaries. For the Kingdom's army, whose main force consisted of citizen militia, these would undoubtedly be their most reliable fighting force.
The Bretagne army and the Kingdom's army clashed along the riverbank. I casually watched the cavalry battle through my telescope. Spears crossed and punched through soldiers' chests, while soldiers whose bodies were torn by curved swords tumbled from their horses and rolled across the ground without mercy.
"Hmm."
I lowered the telescope from my eyes. I felt no need to observe any further.
"No contest."
It was an overwhelming victory for the Bretagne army.
The Kingdom's army was being torn to shreds in a single clash.
============================ Author's Notes ============================
[Reader Comments]
NineBreaker: Even now, pretending to be ordinary... (shrugs)
asdMage: The Sforza family's symbol is a Leviathan. How unfortunate...
Bug: Venus doesn't appear. She's not the real heroine. (...)
Fromalmaroon: It's a misunderstanding! That's all a misunderstanding!
SuCheonCheonSa: Yap yap.
xusaku: Hah hah.
TheDaybreak: Thank you.
FishPerson: About that "human head" remark—let me just say, Laura has been quite happy lately since her collection has grown quite large.
Kodks: Thank you.
Who was it? Hooray?
Have a wonderful day ^^