129 - - Art. 129 The Withdrawal War Is A Mental War
"No way...?"
Lafayence and Knogen are also looking intently at the other side of the river. They can see some bonfires, but there is no sign of soldiers pulling up.
"Let\'s hurry up and get to Lord Lyssen!"
We leave Knogen to take care of the rest and head for the headquarters of the Imperial Army.
"What? The enemy has started to retreat?
Lyssen, the commander of the Southern Legion, who was just about to eat his dinner, stood up holding a plate of food.
"Yes, perhaps, but..."
"No, we cannot take such unconfirmed information for granted."
"You are right. Could you send out a scout or something to confirm this?
"...Very well."
Ryssen served us dinner, saying that it would take some time for the scouts to return. The menu consisted of bread, soup, and some kind of roasted meat and boiled beans.
The cook of our unit has put a lot of effort into making this dish. Taste it and eat it. And there\'s sake too. Have a drink.
Lyssen makes a smug offer. The old general and I eat in silence. Frankly, it\'s not very good.
"But today\'s victory was a great victory."
Lyssen looks pleased as he sips his drink.
"The Marquis was brilliant, but the quick retreat of the Reichswehr was also brilliant," he said. That was enough to get the enemy\'s left flank to move. It was a great blow to round them all up!
"That\'s what I\'m talking about, Mr. Lyssen."
Lafayence grins.
"No, no, I\'m just a little kid compared to you, Mr. Lafayence!"
Just when we were getting tired of dealing with this old man, the scouts returned. As I had expected, the Lamarong forces had retreated.
"Ha ha ha! We had no idea that they would flee in fear of our voices. Lamarons are not as good as they sound. All right! Let\'s go! Gather the staff!"
No, wait.
Lafayence holds them off.
"Some of them were defeated, but now they are retreating in an organized manner," Lafayence said. If we go after them recklessly, we will suffer a severe blow that we cannot recover from.
"What faint-heartedness! Where is the great General Lafayence! Now is an opportune time!"
"You are drunk. How can you command in such a state?
"Shut up! I am the Commander of the Southern Army! I don\'t take orders from anyone!"
Lyssen pushes Lafayence out of the way and walks away.
"Hey, gather the staff! The staff..."
At that moment, Lafayence\'s sword was swinging down on Lyssen\'s neck.
"...The legionnaire is drunk. Take care of him.
The old general told his messenger and urged me to leave.
"...Are you all right, sir?"
"Hey, it\'s okay. A follow-up battle now would cause a lot of damage. Think about it. We\'re going into enemy territory we don\'t know. And on this night. They\'ll be in retreat. It would be suicide to attack them. The purpose of this war is to check Ramallon. It is not to invade the Kingdom. We must not be unreasonably greedy.
With that, we left the main camp.
Lafayence, Knogen, and the rest of the group spend the night among the imperial troops.
"Please, Marquis, go back to your house."
"No, if you need anything..."
"Maybe I\'ll be all right. If you need anything else, I will visit your house using the transfer wards."
"...Okay. I\'ll make sure Knogen is ready to use it."
After saying this, I set up a ward for them to sleep in, and after that, I returned to the house with a transfer ward.
When I returned to the house, dinner was already finished and everyone seemed to be taking a bath or something. Faerie looked a little sleepy, but when she found me, she came fluttering to me. I hold her in my arms and ask Gon how her day is going. Nothing seems to be wrong.
I put Faeri in the cage where she usually sleeps and head for the distance. May is in the lab. She says that they are on track to help the Siljus and the others, and that they are now working on developing the necessary farming tools. I told her to take it easy and went upstairs.
Rico had just come out of the bathroom. She hugged me as soon as she found me.
"... What\'s wrong, Rico?"
"... Welcome back. Are you hurt anywhere?
I\'m fine. I\'m fine.
"What\'s for dinner?"
"Yes, I ate the food they served me at the Imperial Guard headquarters. It wasn\'t very good, though."
"Would you like me to cook something?"
"No, thanks. I\'d rather take a bath. Do you want to take a bath with me?
"Of course."
Finally, Rico pulled himself away from me.
As we bathe, we report to each other about what happened today. I had been worried about Krumphal since I had pulled out Knogen\'s group, but it seems that my fears are unfounded. It seems that the remaining Knogen\'s men are getting support from the sea people and others, but for the time being there seems to be no problem because the area is safe to begin with.
While we were talking about this, Mei came to take a bath. The three of us talk in the bath. It is the most restful time of the day. Then we went to bed together, and the morning came.
Early in the morning, I get up before dawn, and we move back to the battlefield. The troops of Lafayence and Knogen seemed to be resting in the wards I had set up, taking turns to watch over the battlefield. I went to the fire and took out from the endless storage two leftover containers of zenzai (Japanese red bean soup), which I had prepared for the cookout, and put them on the fire and began to simmer them.
As soon as they were cooked and the delicious smell was in the air, Knogen and Lafayence woke up.
It smells so good!
"This is the zenzai specially made by Mr. Linos, isn\'t it?"
"Yeah, you can have some if you want."
No, thank you. When I\'m tired, I crave something sweet.
"No, this is... delicious."
While everyone was eating zenzai, a messenger came from the main camp.
"General Lafayence, the Honorable Marquis de Berthaume, please come to the main camp immediately!
"Okay."
"Ah~ up the mountain again. It\'s hard on the old man."
We arrived at the tent of the main camp of the Imperial Southern Army. Once inside, we found all the staff officers.
"...I remember the part yesterday where I thought we were going to attack the enemy, but I don\'t remember anything after that. Don\'t you know that?"
A grim-faced Lyssen glares at us.
"Mr. Lyssen has been drinking a lot. Do you remember that?
Lafayence asks, "What\'s the point of having a job if you can\'t get a job?
"I was... drinking, but I wasn\'t drunk."
"Is that so? No, we were surprised when he suddenly collapsed. He turned over on his back. We had Master Linos cast a recovery spell on him, but from the looks of it, it didn\'t seem to do him much good.
"Then this pain in my neck..."
"Mm. You must have hit it when you fell. You were in a hurry, weren\'t you, Mr. Rinos?"
Yes, that\'s right.
The old general stuck out his tongue in a way that Lyssen could not understand, shrugged his head and laughed.
"...Well, good. I asked the lords to gather here because... well, nothing else. There is a Lamarong army in the center, but it seems that most of them retreated last night. I would like your opinion on how to respond."
The staff was divided between two opinions: one was that we should pursue the Lamarong forces and the other was that we should retreat after seeing their retreat. At that moment, a messenger burst into the main camp.
"I tell you! Ramallon\'s army has come out of the forest. He has deployed his army on the riverbank!
I went outside and saw thousands of Lamarong\'s troops deployed along the riverbanks.
Then, a cavalryman came into the river.
"We are now entering Shura! When you meet the enemy, slay the enemy! When you meet your parents, you cut them down! Leave the small fry alone! I aim for the head of the general!"
The cavalrymen are shouting so loudly that it echoes through the mountains. As if in response, the soldiers raise their voices as well. They responded in unison, without a stitch of difference.
"Down with the enemy! "Beat it!"
Kill the enemy! "Kill!"
The knight\'s voice is the signal for the soldiers to repeat their words. They are repeating such a thing.
"...What a nuisance. All right. I\'ll show you the horror of the Imperial Guard.
"No, let\'s retreat. Master Lyssen.
What?
"It\'s probably just to buy time for the allies to retreat. And it\'s a suicide squad. If we take it out, the Imperial Guard will suffer heavy casualties. I don\'t think it\'s right for the Empire to duel with that knight now. Let\'s show some composure and withdraw without hesitation.
"I agree with you, Mr. Linos. Our goal is not to invade Ramallon. It is a check. That purpose has been achieved. We are the winners. We can retreat with ease.
Many of the staff nodded in agreement with Lafayence. Lyssen closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then seemed to give up,
"Well, we did do a lot of damage in Lamaron. We\'ve done enough damage. We\'ll retreat now. Prepare to retreat!
As if they had been waiting for his words, the staff moved quickly.
"...Commander Almond, the enemy is not making any moves.
Sheba, the deputy commander, mutters. Almond stared at the Heedata army and did not move an inch.
"Commander, look! The enemy... has begun to retreat!"
The great legions of the Heedata Empire are beginning to retreat. We have been watching them for some time, but it seems that the enemy is not willing to be provoked.
Almond turned his horse toward the imperial kingdom. The 5,000 members of the suicide squad began to follow.
Suddenly Almond looked at the border of Juca. What in the world was the Great Demon King? Was he really back? As he was thinking about this, he saw an adventurer-looking man astride a white horse and a group of adventurers following him on the other side of the river. Then I saw a group of cavalrymen in splendid armor like the cavalrymen of the Kingsguard pulling up toward the Juka.
Suddenly, I felt my eyes meet those of an adventurer-looking man on a white horse. He looked much younger than himself. But this man was dangerous, Almond\'s instincts told him.
"One day, we\'ll have to decide who is the better man..." he thought.
Muttering these words, they walked faster toward the capital.