WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 183: The Siege of Chatellerault Fortress (2)

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Yorgos seemed to be dividing his army into three parts. About four thousand five hundred were aimed at the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Edelstein. About three thousand were aimed at Chatellerault Fortress. About fifteen hundred remained at the main camp.

Was his plan to hold down the Arelia royal family's army inside the fortress while annihilating the reinforcements with more than twice their numbers? The fifteen hundred in the main camp were reserves. Thinking that, Friedrich smiled faintly. The enemy's movements were largely as expected. If he were in Yorgos's position, he would also first eliminate the obstacle by defeating the reinforcements in a field battle, completely break the morale of the Arelia royal family's army at the same time, and then focus on attacking the fortress.

However, he had no intention of letting things go as Yorgos wished.

The unit of four thousand five hundred approached with high fighting spirit. Among the enemy army, those who had received proper training, such as Yorgos's own forces, noble territorial troops, and mercenaries, were believed to number about three thousand, and around half of them seemed assigned to this unit. Apparently crossbowmen and others were lined up on the flanks as well, showing some measures against knights.

If they had professional soldiers used to battle as their core and more than twice the enemy's strength, the disadvantage of the enemy holding high ground on a gentle hill was not great. If they clashed head-on, they could win by relying on their numerical advantage. That was common sense.

But Friedrich's equipment lay outside the enemy's common sense.

"Loose!"

Romilda, commander of the archer battalion, had already been ordered to begin firing whenever the enemy came within range. She gave the command to one company directly under her. In response, one hundred archers of the Ferdinand Regiment fired arrows in arcs.

What they were equipped with were composite bows newly developed by the Kingdom of Edelstein.

In the decisive battle against the Kingdom of Arelia, the royal family had obtained several Black Crossbows borrowed from the Rigald Empire by pretending they had been lost. By analyzing them, they had gained some understanding of materials and manufacturing methods for composite bows with better performance than previous ones.

The one hundred latest composite bows produced in small quantities had been entrusted to the Ferdinand Regiment in part as a field test. Because the fine processing methods had not been fully analyzed, their performance did not match the empire's Black Bows, but they were still certainly higher-performing than conventional bows. Since the archers were positioned halfway up the hill, they also gained the advantage of height, and the arrows released from the composite bows flew in long arcs.

The enemy officers and soldiers, who had probably believed they were not yet within bow range, showed obvious agitation when they were showered with arrows far sooner than expected. Their advance slowed, and while it did, they took arrow after arrow and suffered no small number of casualties.

......

"Damn it, what is going on! Why are arrows reaching properly at this distance!"

Zated, who led the four-thousand-five-hundred-strong unit entrusted to him by Yorgos and was advancing to annihilate the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Edelstein, cursed as he saw the vanguard showered with arrows.

He could not have misjudged the distance. That meant the enemy bows had strangely long range. Were they composite bows using some technology not found on the Ludia continent?

Compared to the estimated number of enemy archers, the number of falling arrows was small, but if they continued advancing slowly like this, damage would expand. So would the soldiers' agitation. About three thousand of the four thousand five hundred were mere militia, so if their fighting spirit broke, they would become useless as strength.

Before the militia lost momentum and grew frightened, they should run through the rain of arrows and annihilate the enemy in one breath. For that purpose, it would be better to charge, even if the distance was still a little far.

Judging that, Zated gave a new order.

"Charge! Charge! If we close with them, the enemy will not be able to fire arrows so freely! Crush them at once!"

......

"...So they rush the charge after all. Good judgment."

Watching the enemy unit's movement and looking toward the man at the very rear who seemed to be its commander, Friedrich murmured.

"All forces, fall back. Make absolutely sure the formation does not break."

"Yes, sir."

Gregor nodded at Friedrich's new order and sent instructions to the messengers.

The order spread through the whole force, and the reinforcements of the Kingdom of Edelstein, positioned halfway up the hill, gradually withdrew. Looking at the approaching enemy, they retreated one step at a time with certainty in accordance with the voices of each unit commander.

As a result, the enemy unit, which had already begun its charge too soon and was running up the gentle slope, was forced to run an even longer distance. When that happened, the enemy soldiers, whose stamina varied greatly by individual, saw their pace become badly disordered. Among the militia forced to run at the front as expendable strength, those with stamina advanced ahead, while those without were left behind.

As a result, only several hundred men ran too far ahead. If they collided like this, the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Edelstein would temporarily gain the numerical advantage at the front.

......

"This is bad! Stop the charge! Stop! Fall back for now!"

Realizing this was an enemy trap, Zated shouted. But it was already too late. The militia at the very front were already far from the rear where orders were given, and they were wrapped in the excitement of charging alongside their comrades, so they did not recognize the newly issued order to stop.

And only a portion of the militia carried out a half-baked charge. The lightly equipped militia, exhausted after a long run, had no chance of breaking the battle line of the Kingdom of Edelstein, which was made up entirely of professional soldiers. They slammed into the heavy wall built by the officers and soldiers, were quickly scattered, showed their backs, and only then realized that they had run ahead.

Looking around, they saw that only several hundred of them had charged. They could not possibly win like this. Apparently thinking that, the militia collapsed into flight with surprising ease. The officers and soldiers of the Kingdom of Edelstein pursued them.

The following militia, seeing their comrades fleeing, also recognized that the charge had failed and that they were losing, and together with fatigue, they began to shrink back. When their routing comrades passed by, the next thing approaching them was the wall of the enemy army charging with the momentum of descending the slope. There was no one who wanted to be swallowed by that wall, and the militia fled one after another.

Once it reached this point, the wave of fleeing militia could no longer be stopped. Not only militia, but some mercenaries and regular soldiers also began to flee. The unit that had boasted four thousand five hundred soldiers was reduced to about half in no time. Only most of the regular soldiers and mercenaries, and the braver militia, remained.

Even that remaining half could not properly reform its lines because its comrades were fleeing in disorder and getting in the way. During that time, the charge of the Kingdom of Edelstein continued to approach, and the rain of arrows still flew in, disturbing their concentration. The allied archers lined up around Zated fired arced shots at the approaching enemy, but their number was small, and the suppressing effect was limited.

"Hold them back! Do not let the enemy break through!"

Now that it had come to this, he had to at least prevent complete collapse. He absolutely could not allow this enemy army to charge into the rear, the main camp where Yorgos was. Zated decided to devote himself to defense and encouraged the officers and soldiers lined up around him.

Then, this time, the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Edelstein collided in attack. Having reduced their numerical disadvantage and gained the momentum of descending the hill, the Edelstein side fought while maintaining superiority. The unit led by Zated was forced entirely onto the defensive.

......

Yorgos watched this from the main camp.

"How rare. To think Zated would struggle... I suppose the name of wise general is not for show."

Even from Yorgos's perspective, the tactics of the enemy general, Count Hosenfeld, were quite impressive. As expected of someone called a wise general. In the Kingdom of Edelstein, he was apparently praised as some kind of hero as well.

Leading a unit with many unreliable militia, Zated had done well simply by not allowing his formation to collapse completely before the enemy's skillful tactics. Fortunately, he seemed to have succeeded in stopping the enemy charge, so should Yorgos send the reserve forces from the main camp, or part of the forces assigned to Chatellerault Fortress, as support?

As he thought that, the officer watching the fortress side shouted a new report.

"Your Majesty! The fortress gate is opening!"

At that, Yorgos shifted his gaze toward the fortress.

The gate was indeed opening, and officers and soldiers in formation appeared from within. It seemed they intended to stop the siege and face him in a field battle.

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