37-119

EP.119 Mayer Army’s Crisis (1) 

While Yuno was busy training Prinz’s soldiers and preparing for war, Mayer’s forces in the rear were conducting guerrilla operations with remarkable success. 

“Mayer Captain! We’ve discovered a new food storage!” 

Mayer, who was all smiles after the recent success of raiding three supply units, received a magical communication from Cordelia, which brightened his expression even further. 

“Well done!! Sir Cordelia. What’s the location?” 

“It’s hidden in the forest west of Yukan Castle. You have to go in a bit deep, and about 50 guards are stationed there, so please tell Gerard to be careful.” 

“Understood. I’ll send them out immediately… Estimated arrival time… If it’s Gerard’s light infantry, it should take about six hours, so they’ll arrive by this evening.” 

“Yes. I’ll leave it to you, then.” 

As soon as the communication ended, Mayer called Gerard into his tent. 

“Commander Gerard. Take half the light infantry and 50 rangers and set out for Yukan Castle immediately. There are about 50 guards, so be vigilant for any who might try to escape.” 

“Yes, Captain. Shall we proceed as before?” 

“Of course. Don’t forget.” 

“I understand.” 

After Gerard saluted and left, Mayer leisurely enjoyed a cup of coffee, savoring a much more peaceful afternoon than he ever had back in the territory. 

A few hours later, Macmorin, who had gone to distribute food taken from the raided supply units to a nearby village, returned with a report that he had also hit another supply unit on the way back. 

“Mayer, aren’t we giving away too much food? We only have about two weeks’ worth left for our own guys.” 

“Don’t worry. We need to gradually reduce our stock anyway. Are we going to march to the eastern region carrying all our food? The deadline with His Highness is in a month. We have to leave in two weeks.” 

Currently, their position was about halfway between Adria and the eastern region; for the imperial army, it would take about a month, but Mayer planned to cover it in two weeks, and Macmorin accepted this crazy plan as if it were nothing. 

“True… Then I’ll order that any more food we seize be preserved for the march. By the way, it looks like Heinrich’s side is starting to get defensive too. When we hit a supply unit earlier, a cavalry squad suddenly attacked us. Luckily, there were no casualties…” 

“Cavalry, you say?” 

“That’s right. I only took 50 men since we were just delivering food, and we nearly got wiped out. Still, our guys have really improved… Hey, Mayer?” 

As Mayer’s face suddenly turned serious, Macmorin’s expression hardened as well. 

“Macmorin. Go fetch Ajin immediately!” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“No time to explain! Hurry!” 

“Huh? Oh! Got it, I’ll go right now!!” 

Even Macmorin, who usually joked around with Mayer’s orders, obeyed instantly due to the gravity of Mayer’s tone. 

Macmorin quickly found Ajin and brought him. Even Ajin, a master, was startled by Mayer’s serious expression, and both were intensely curious about what was happening. 

“Grr! Mayer, what’s going on?” 

“Ajin, how many rangers are still in camp?” 

“About 200. Gerard took 50, and 50 are out on reconnaissance.” 

“Take all 200 and go after Gerard immediately! Time is very short! Gerard is in danger!!” 

“Understood! I’ll leave at once!” 

Ajin rushed out of Mayer’s tent, let out a roar, and summoned the rangers. 

“Grr!! Everyone, battle-ready and assemble in three minutes! We must reach Yukan Castle in two hours!” 

“Yes!” 

Though it was a harsh order to cover in two hours what took Gerard’s light infantry six, the rangers immediately obeyed Ajin, who had always protected them. 

With Ajin and the rangers heading out, Mayer ordered Macmorin to evacuate the camp and prepare to move to a new position. 

“Huh? Why all of a sudden? The rangers on reconnaissance haven’t reported anything…” 

“Signal them to retreat too. The enemy will be here soon. And… you know what I always say follow it to the letter.” 

“Ah… got it.” 

Macmorin began dismantling the camp and moving the position as planned. 

“Huh? What’s this?” 

“I told you, listen to me the first time from now on~” 

In the distance, the heavy footsteps of heavy infantry rumbled the ground, and Macmorin looked at Mayer in surprise. 

“How did you know? There were no reports.” 

“You said you were attacked by cavalry, right? The empire doesn’t use much cavalry there aren’t many grasslands for horses. If they sent such valuable cavalry here, it means they know our position.” 

“True~ We’ve hit enough food stores and supply units for them to catch on. Is that why you sent Ajin?” 

“Yes. That’s probably a trap. At first, I didn’t think of it, but if our position’s been found, they’ve probably set a trap for us.” 

“Still… looks like only about a thousand. Shouldn’t we be able to handle that? No archers, but we’re heavy infantry too. We’ve got 500 light infantry left, so we can wipe them out without anyone running away.” 

Mayer walked over and smacked Macmorin on the back of the head. 

“Idiot! You think we’re doing this just to kill imperial soldiers? They’re Balkans too! Sure, we’ll fight when we have to, but there’s no need for pointless battles. We’d take losses too… And if you did what I told you, Heinrich’s formation will actually get shaken up. Heh heh heh.” 

“Well… I did as you said, so don’t worry. But don’t you trust me at all?” 

“Hmph! Then act so I can trust you, idiot!!” 

While Mayer and Macmorin bickered, Gerard was in deep trouble. 

Just before the attack on Mayer’s main camp, Gerard, having captured the food store, was admiring the mountains of flour sacks. 

“Whew~ That’s a lot of food. Only 50 guards for all this? By the way, Sir Cordelia sure disappears fast. I don’t know why she wants His Highness’s praise so much. Maybe I’ll rest here a bit…” 

“Captain!! Come here, quick!” 

“Hm? What? I need to report back to base…” 

Annoyed, Gerard went over to the soldier who called him while moving the sacks. 

“What is it?” 

“This is strange. They look like flour sacks, but they’re way too heavy. Maybe…” 

As the soldier voiced his suspicion, Gerard’s face hardened, and he drew his dagger and cut open a sack. 

Inside was sand, not flour Gerard immediately realized it was a trap. 

“Everyone retreat! Head west as fast as you can until I order otherwise! If you’re caught, die with honor… Damn!!” 

As the soldiers dropped the sacks and grabbed their weapons, imperial heavy infantry, who had been lying in ambush in the forest, began to appear one by one. 

“Hahaha, you’re pretty sharp! I was curious who the rats raiding our supply lines were… so it was you. What unit are you from?” 

Gerard stayed silent, signaling his men to form up. 

“Oh? You’re outnumbered and surrounded, and you still resist? Surrender. If you do, I promise you’ll be spared.” 

“…There will be no surrender! Come on, you lackeys of the degenerate emperor!” 

“If you want to die, I’ll oblige you. But I won’t let you die easily. Everyone, close in slowly! Show them the terror of a heavy infantry encirclement!” 

Gerard tried to act tough, but his mind was dark with worry. 

He trusted his men’s skills, but the enemy were heavy infantry, which countered them, and there were about a thousand twice their number. 

‘And they’ve got us surrounded… Damn!!’ 

Even in this desperate situation, a cool breeze from the forest dried Gerard’s sweat, and he tried to rally his courage. 

“Whew~ It’s a good day to die… Guys! Even if we die here, let’s fight to the end!!” 

As the enemy’s spears and shields closed in, Gerard’s fighting spirit flared, and a fierce battle began.