WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 45: The End of the War (2)
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While Ubel shook his head at the soldiers’ continuing cheers,
Jeg watched the scene with a satisfied smile.
“A great victory. Once those fools in the subjugation force hear of these achievements, they’ll be sick with envy.”
“It was a result earned thanks to your decision.”
“Haha, there’s no need to gild my reputation. If I didn’t have a knight as capable as you at my side, Anton, how could we have achieved such a result?”
Anton Howard.
If his younger cousin had not led the vanguard, such achievements would not have come easily.
“But where is Seton?”
“Rounding up the cavalry.”
“I see. By the way...”
Jeg shifted his gaze toward Ubel in the distance.
“Ubel’s command ability exceeds my expectations.”
Honestly, there was nothing special about the strategy itself, drawing the enemy’s attention with infantry before crushing them with cavalry.
What deserved attention was Ubel’s ability to carry it out and the soldiers’ trust in him.
“The soldiers showed no hesitation when charging at enemies more than twice their number.”
“His individual combat prowess also seems exceptional.”
“Oh? I think this is the first time you’ve praised someone around your age. Is he really that good? How does he compare to you or Seton?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hm. Is that so?”
This was the first time Jeg had seen Anton struggle to assess someone this much.
“Well, we’ll know if we watch him a little longer.”
Jeg smirked and engraved the name Ubel into his mind.
A person he could not yet accurately judge, but one who interested him.
‘Will it remain no more than simple interest...’
He would have to watch a little longer to see whether it became something more.
＊＊＊＊＊
After the battle ended, I ordered the soldiers to bind the enemies who had surrendered, then ran straight for the Left Army’s camp.
Berun and Pellon were waiting for me there, their faces somewhat haggard.
“Ubel...”
“Lord Berun, I’m sorry I’m late...”
Before I could finish speaking, he pulled me into an embrace.
“Lord Berun?”
“Thank you. Ubel, thanks to you, we... the soldiers survived...”
At his words of gratitude, I turned to look around.
Everyone looked as though they might collapse at any moment.
It seemed they had been fighting desperately because they could endure no longer.
Thinking of all they must have suffered, I offered them comfort.
“You’ve worked hard. We’re here now, so you can rest easy.”
“Yes, thank...”
Then, at that moment,
Berun’s body slowly crumpled.
Thud!
“Lord Berun?!”
“Medic! Get a medic here immediately!”
At Pellon’s urging, the soldiers hurried off to summon a medic.
The medics arrived shortly afterward, examined Berun’s condition, and cautiously spoke.
“Fortunately, he has only fainted. He has lost a great deal of blood, but if we stop the bleeding and allow him to rest, his life should not be in danger.”
What a relief that it was nothing more serious.
“Sir Pellon, Lord Berun needs rest, and our soldiers are exhausted as well. I think we should enter the fortress for now.”
“Understood. All troops! Lead the bound prisoners and enter the fortress!”
At Pellon’s shout, the soldiers filed into the fortress.
After organizing the soldiers, he spoke to me with an awkward expression.
“Ahem, Commander of Five Hundred Ubel should also go inside now...”
I knew why he felt awkward.
It was because our positions had changed with my promotion.
I was a Commander of Five Hundred.
Pellon was a centurion.
Normally, he would have had to use formal speech with me, but given the friendship we had built, I did not want to force such formality on him.
“You can speak comfortably, as before.”
“Whew... Thank you for your consideration.”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, have you heard any news from the Central Army?”
“We were isolated by the enemy, so we received no news.”
“I believe I can answer that.”
Jeg approached us with a faint smile.
Having never met Jeg before, Pellon introduced himself first.
“I am Pellon, a centurion under Berun’s thousand-man unit in the Left Army. If it is not impolite, may I ask your name, sir?”
“I am Jeg Hallios, commander of the subjugation force’s cavalry.”
“So you are a member of House Hallios, the marquis’s family. But you say you can answer our question about the news...”
“A messenger we sent to the subjugation force several days ago has brought news. Hearing that the advance party was headed to the Left Army, they immediately went to rescue the Central Army.”
“Ha, that is truly welcome news.”
“I agree. The headquarters where the Central Army is stationed is closer than this place, so they should be nearly there by now.”
After finishing his explanation, he turned his gaze toward me.
“What do you intend to do? If we are to join the battle in time and earn merit, we must move quickly.”
When he asked whether we would move immediately, I shook my head.
“The battle has only just ended, and the soldiers have not yet recovered from their exhaustion. If we move, I intend for us to rest well today and depart tomorrow morning.”
The headquarters where the Central Army was located was roughly half a day away from here.
If we departed at once, we could arrive around sunset, but I had no desire to push us that far.
“Oh? The subjugation force may take all the credit if we delay. Are you certain?”
I shook my head again.
“If we continue fighting in this state, the soldiers’ losses will only grow. Rather than sacrifice innocent soldiers, it is better to yield the merit.”
Now that the subjugation force had gone, it was only a matter of time before the enemy collapsed.
‘There’s no reason to burden the soldiers by greedily chasing merit.’
I had already earned enough merit.
If I grew greedier here, only more soldiers would die.
“Hah. You prioritize the group’s interests over personal glory. That is truly admirable. Tsk, the commanders of the subjugation force should look at you and learn.”
“Hahaha...”
“Since we decided to move with you, we should match your pace. I will tell the advance party’s soldiers that we will move tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Heh, what consideration?”
Jeg waved a hand, then headed toward the cavalry to relay the news.
Since he agreed with my decision, our departure the next morning was now settled.
‘It’s finally coming to an end.’
Kantulan remained with the barbarian main force, but even a Master would find it difficult to reverse a battle whose outcome had completely tipped against them.
‘Is all that remains preparing for what will happen after the war ends?’
I was certain that this tiresome war would soon come to an end.
The next day,
I led the well-rested soldiers toward the headquarters where the Central Army was holding out, intending to support them.
As we marched, I thought the battle would likely be nearly over by now.
However, the news brought by the subjugation force was completely different from what I expected.
When we had traveled nearly halfway to our destination,
a mounted messenger, covered in dust, stopped our column.
“What is it?”
When I asked with a frown at the sudden interruption,
the messenger answered with a desperate expression.
“I-I have come to deliver a message from Marquis Rokselon.”
“Speak.”
“Under the commanders’ leadership, the subjugation force safely rescued the Central Army and thoroughly defeated the enemy. However, in the process, Kantulan, the Master hailed as the Great Chieftain, escaped with several hundred barbarians.”
“What?”
“They let the enemy leader escape? What does that mean?!”
Not only I, but even Jeg could not hide his shock.
Our victory was something to celebrate,
but without capturing Kantulan, it was only half a victory.
As long as that Great Chieftain remained alive,
the barbarians could gather their strength again and attack the Empire at any time.
“How did they let Kantulan escape? Even if Kantulan is a Master, Marquis Rokselon and Count Mirus were there!”
I inwardly nodded at Jeg’s outburst.
As he said, the two commanders of the subjugation force were among the Empire’s most renowned generals.
They had suffered at the hands of those noble faction bastards before, but that had been a matter of politics. On the battlefield, they were different.
Hadn’t they captured Kantulan without much difficulty in the game?
‘And yet those two let Kantulan escape this time?’
Of course I had doubts.
“What exactly happened?”
“The commanders broke through the enemy formation surrounding the Central Army and attempted to surround and annihilate them in turn. However, due to the torrential rain several days ago, the ground was still muddy, which disrupted the formation of the encirclement.”
“Hah!”
“Kantulan took advantage of that gap and desperately charged through, and then...”
“So the encirclement was breached.”
A variable caused by abnormal weather.
The butterfly effect created by the Great Invasion arriving early had hindered us.
“Then what message did the commanders send us?”
“They asked us to block the enemy’s retreat before their leader escapes completely.”
“Their retreat route...”
Perhaps because he was unfamiliar with the geography of the north, Jeg asked for my opinion.
“What do you think? Does it seem possible?”
“...Honestly, it will be difficult.”
I agreed that we had to block their retreat.
Given our current position, we could block their escape more easily than the subjugation force at the Central Army. And if Kantulan escaped like this, the Great Invasion would undoubtedly end in an unsatisfactory manner.
However,
“To return from the north to the barbarians’ land, they must cross the Elnes Mountains, but there are not just one or two routes.”
There were twenty routes through military outposts alone. If we also considered paths through the brush where people could cross the mountains without using a road, there were well over sixty possible routes.
‘Even excluding the treacherous paths that would be difficult for several hundred people to pass through...’
There would still be dozens of options.
“So it is impossible for us to control every route with our current numbers.”
“That is correct.”
“Then we have no choice but to predict the route the enemy will take and act accordingly...”
Jeg looked at me with serious eyes.
“Honestly, I know little of the geography of the north and know nothing about barbarian customs. Therefore, I will completely trust and follow your decision.”
“You mean...”
“Ah! That does not mean I intend to shift responsibility onto you. If this becomes a problem later, I will take responsibility, so there is no need to feel burdened.”
“Whew. I’ll give it a try.”
“I am counting on you.”
There was no time, so I had to decide quickly.
“Dihelm, the map!”
“Yes, I have it ready.”
As Dihelm handed me a map of the front, I studied it carefully and racked my brain.
‘Focus.’
I recalled the routes taken by the surviving remnants as they retreated after Kantulan died in the original Great Invasion.
Song of the Empire had many possible outcomes, and the flow differed with every playthrough, so I could not point to one place with certainty. Still, there were somewhat standardized patterns.
‘If I remember correctly, there are three main escape routes they use. If they flee, there is a high chance they will take one of these three.’
I covered my forehead with a hand and let out a low groan.
‘...The problem is that it will be difficult to divide our forces among these three locations.’
If we split our forces poorly, Kantulan would simply destroy them. Therefore, we had to choose one of the three escape routes.
Rubbing my brow, I thought.
‘Where? Where will they go...’
Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Wait. More importantly, why did Kantulan flee?’
No matter how unfavorable the battle had become or how loose the subjugation force’s encirclement was, barbarians were people who considered fleeing shameful.
‘The Kantulan I know would have fought to the death without caring about dying.’
Yet Kantulan had chosen to retreat, even enduring disgrace and shame.
‘Why? What changed... Ah!’
In that instant, it felt as if I had been struck by lightning, and one word flashed through my mind.
[Abnormal Weather]
A variable that had not existed in the original Great Invasion.
The barbarians had already experienced this abnormal weather in their own lands several months ago.
So when they saw the torrential rain this time, they must have thought that,
just as they had, the Empire would also fall into great confusion because of abnormal weather.
‘Kantulan saw a possibility.’
If Kantulan endured the shame and survived somehow, then crossed the border again when the Empire later fell into confusion, they could win then.
That brought me back to the beginning.
‘Let’s think from Kantulan’s perspective.’
Kantulan would want to save as many barbarians as possible to plan for the future.
‘Then Kantulan will seek a route that lets them return to their homeland quickly, while making it difficult for the numerous subjugation force troops to pursue them.’
The place that met those conditions was...
“Here.”
With a voice full of certainty, I pointed to one spot on the map.
“The enemy will attempt to retreat through here.”
“Lord Ubel? This place is...”
“You mean they will truly pass through here?”
Marcus looked at me with some surprise, while Max frowned and rubbed his ruined eye.
Their reactions were natural.
This place was very familiar to me and the members of my ten-person squad.
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