First they invaded a country, then they complained when the same happened to them. It would be a specious argument, just like the Minister of Finance, Colbert, had said before they left for the front, but that was Elfrieden’s own fault for not signing the Mankind Declaration. Julius thought it was a good idea. However…
“You fool! The Empire isn’t the soft-hearted country you take them for!” Gaius mercilessly shot it down. “This invasion took advantage of a loophole in the declaration. Yes, if we send the request, the Empire will have to act, but after we’ve gone against the grain like this, they can’t have a positive opinion of us. They would like to use what’s happened here as a pretext to remove both of us, then turn our country into a puppet state.”
Julius fell silent.
Once he was told that, Julius could say no more.
Gaius looked at him, snorting, then raised his voice and ordered loudly, “If you understand that, then make haste! We must arrive before Van falls!”
However, their forced march ran into an obstacle.
It was in the Ursula Mountains which separate the Elfrieden Kingdom and Principality of Amidonia along the south of their border. When they came close to Goldoa Valley, which was the path through those mountains, men and horses got caught in the muddy ground one after another.
“Wh-What?! Where did this mud come from?!” a soldier shouted.
“Damn! My horse is stuck in the mire! Someone, pull him out for me!” another one howled.
“Oh, come on! There wasn’t any place like this on our way here, was there?!” yelled a third.
There were horses stuck in the mud everywhere, with people struggling with their feet stuck in the mud, too.
When Gaius saw this fiasco, he was astonished.
They had come through the Goldoa Valley on their way here. The ground hadn’t been muddy then like it was now, and no one had gotten their feet stuck like this.
“Why…?” he muttered. “It can’t have rained. Why is the road so bad?”
As if in response to Gaius’ mutterings, a single soldier called out:
“E-Enemy attack!”
The next moment, there was the sound of arrows swishing through the darkness, then the sound of something violently smashing. Each time that sound rang out, the Amidonian soldiers fell, one by one. When one of the soldiers carrying a torch near him fell from his horse with a muffled scream, Gaius felt an unease stirring inside him.
“What?! What is happening?!” he shouted.
A soldier rushed over to give him his report. “It’s an enemy ambush! It seems the kingdom had troops lying in wait for us in this valley! The enemy are hidden in among the trees, shooting arrows and ice at us!”
“Ice, you say?” Gaius blustered.
“We suspect there are ice mages mixed in with the enemy!”
“Mages… Of course! Curse them, this bad footing must be their work, too!” Gaius burst out.
Seeing that Gaius’s face was now a mask of rage, Julius desperately tried to get his father to stop. “Please, calm yourself, Father! The main force of the Kingdom’s army is headed towards Van. There can’t be many soldiers lying in wait. Also, it’s impossible to maneuver a large force on this narrow path. Right now, our best course of action is to get through the valley as quickly as possible.”
“Urgh, but with the road this bad…” Gaius muttered.
“…Let’s send the soldiers through first,” said Julius. “Our path will be wherever they don’t get stuck in the mud.”
Gaius’ eyes widened at the heartless suggestion. “You would have me throw away my soldiers like sacrificial pawns?”
“…There is little choice,” said Julius. “If the worst were to happen, if you were to be cut down, Father, the armies of the principality would break. Then we would no longer be able to fight the kingdom at all. Please, make the decision.”
“…I suppose there is no choice,” Gaius said.
Sacrificing his soldiers to find an escape route. If their positions had been reversed, it would have distressed Souma greatly to choose such an option, yet Gaius made the choice instantly.
For the Principality of Amidonia, their desire for revenge against the Elfrieden Kingdom had become a part of their identity by this point. It was fair to say that, even though they were surrounded by powerful nations and they had fallen into a food crisis and financial crisis, Amidonia had been able to continue on with an unbroken will thanks to their desire for revenge against Elfrieden. They didn’t care if they suffered, so long as Elfrieden suffered more.
In fact, even the suffering citizens blamed their woes not on the overzealous elites who had spent too much on the military, but on the kingdom which had robbed them of their prosperity long ago.
Even though 50 years had now passed.
With even the common citizens that far gone, the elites had begun to think it was okay to sacrifice anything in order to fight against the kingdom. In this country, those like Roroa and Colbert, who thought about trying to get by the best that they could with what they had, were outliers.
For Gaius, he was less concerned about the loss of his soldiers than he was about losing the ability to fight the kingdom. He was able to give the order without hesitation. “Advance the troops! We must hurry through to the other side of the Goldoa Valley!”
With this heartless order given, in a reversal of what they had done up to this point, the infantry began advancing first, with the cavalry advancing after them, ignoring the foot soldiers trapped in the mud as they advanced along the safe routes.
It was an awful scene.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if they had only been stuck in the mud. However, with tens of thousands of troops being ambushed, there was no way they would stay in orderly ranks. They were scattered around, so of course some tried to walk over the top of soldiers trapped in the swamp. These soldiers were stepped on and crushed by horses, dying in a way that was terrible to behold.
There was a group watching that portrait of hell unfold from up among the trees on the mountain slope. That group were all clad in black painted armor, carried bows and magic wands, and had black cloth wrapped around their faces.
This group was a commando unit from the kingdom Amidonia had just attacked. There were perhaps 2,000 of them. The central figure of that black-clad group was of slight build, but her proportions made it clear she was a woman, even through that outfit.
She was the leader of the commando unit.
The people down below were making no attempt to help their comrades who had sunken into the bog. If anything, the Amidonian forces were stepping on them as they retreated.
When she thought that humans could become this cruel in order to survive, it made her shudder a little.
There are times when a king must give cruel orders, she thought. However, when he shows so little hesitation, I find myself disliking him as a person rather than as a king.
As she was thinking that, one of her subordinates came to her with a report.
“Lady Canaria, the lead group of the principality’s forces has made it through the valley. Should we give pursuit?”
In response, the leader shook her head. “Not necessary. Our mission is to disrupt and stall the enemy. Besides, we’re only 2,000 strong. Even if we pursue them, we can’t expect better results than we’ve already achieved. We’ve done plenty. Prepare to withdraw.”
“Yes, ma’am!” he called.
Once the subordinate who had brought her the report left, she removed the cloth wrapped around her face.
At just that moment, the clouds covering the moon drew back, the moonlight shining down on her beautiful blue hair.