Chapter 237

* * *

Chel hastily organized his troops and immediately arrived at the nearest location, Mirage Castle.

“Is that really… a white flag fluttering there?”

The moment he noticed the white flag waving where Serpina’s yellow banner should have been, he was certain she had indeed abandoned her territory and withdrawn her forces.

“What shall we do, my lord?”

“What to do? What else but seize it at once!”

“…”

A few of the armed men tilted their heads uneasily, sensing something off about this situation. But for commanders who had served under the strong charisma of the Brance Army’s ruler, there was nothing harder than speaking out against their leader.

After subduing Mirage Castle, Chel left only the basic personnel needed to manage the territory. Without even issuing a disbandment order, he shouted to the still-armed soldiers:

“We don’t have time for this. We’re heading straight to Alcanwood Castle!”

“To Alcanwood Castle, you say?”

Alcanwood Castle, located just below Mirage Castle, was part of Serpina’s territory.

“With Mirage Castle so empty, there’s no way Alcanwood Castle has any troops left. It’s likely Jelin Castle or maybe even Hisfil Castle are also unoccupied. If we secure four territories, our army will firmly establish dominance over the Brance faction!”

“But shouldn’t we send scouts first…”

“Sending scouts would take too long! What are you thinking? Do you want to ruin our army?”

“No, I mean… not that…”

“If that’s the case, stop your idle chatter and follow my orders!”

Thus, with a hastily assembled army, he charged ahead as vanguard toward Alcanwood Castle.

As expected, Alcanwood Castle was also completely empty of troops.

The moment he planted his banner on Alcanwood Castle’s tower, Chel had an intuition.

“Has my era finally arrived?”

Until now, things hadn’t gone well simply because opportunities were lacking. Whatever the situation may be, by withdrawing troops from the border, the wicked Serpina has finally given our army its chance.

This golden opportunity falling into my lap like a ripe gourd is proof that the true lineage of the Brance Army belongs to none other than me, Chel Brance!

Though his rebellion didn’t go as planned and he grew anxious, was it because of that or his inherent tendency to get swept up in wild superstitions?

Regardless, all of this became an enormous “opportunity that absolutely mustn’t be missed” in Chel’s eyes, and his actions grew increasingly bold.

“Good. Let’s head straight to Jelin Castle! We’ll advance all the way to Hisfil Castle, so order everyone to prepare for forced march!”

Just as he confidently declared this…

“My lord!”

A soldier rushed urgently to Chel.

“What is it?”

“There’s a force approaching from the south!”

“What?”

From the south? That would be where Jelin Castle is…

“What affiliation?”

“Judging by the red flag… it appears to be the Aishias Army!”

“Aishias Army, you say?”

The Aishias Army emerging from below meant they had taken control of Jelin Castle and likely Hisfil Castle beyond it. Given the circumstances, it seems Serpina had withdrawn troops from that side as well, meaning we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of this free-for-all situation.

“Hmph!”

Of course, nothing ever went exactly according to plan… but this time, he felt confident. The certainty that the one seizing this opportunity wasn’t someone else but himself!

“How shall we proceed, my lord?”

“How else but the obvious choice?”

We shall…

* * *

“Hmm… it seems Chel has started moving directly.”

Epinal sighed deeply.

Having realized Serpina had withdrawn, we should have quickly seized nearby border territories… but while pondering whether it might be a trap, it seems Chel’s forces took the upper hand.

“What shall we do, General?”

“Let’s retreat. We lack sufficient troops for battle.”

Focused solely on rapid castle capture, we’ve pushed forward with a force specialized only in mobility.

Attempting siege warfare in such condition – unless you’re that renowned siege specialist – would be quite overwhelming for someone like myself.

“Also inform the vanguard Erhandorf.”

“Yes sir!”

Just as Epinal prepared to withdraw…

“Hey!”

“What’s wrong?!”

“…?”

Suddenly, an uneasy atmosphere spread through the vanguard.

And then… what appeared before her eyes was…

“…!!!!”

A rain of arrows pouring down from Alcanwood Castle’s walls!

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Dodge! Move aside!”

“Surely… they wouldn’t attack us without declaration of war?”

Though technically the Brance Army, we hadn’t thought they’d attack since Lin’s nation had clashed swords with us.

With our flag clearly showing we’re the Aishias Army, it seems they haven’t mistaken their target.

As the gates of Alcanwood Castle opened…

Unlike our hastily arrived forces, fully battle-prepared troops poured out.

Realizing the situation, Epinal immediately shouted to the soldiers:

“Everyone, form ranks! Battle commence! The battle has begun!”

Without any information on enemy numbers or their commander…

The Aishias Army unexpectedly crossed blades with an unexpected foe.

* * *

“Battle… with Chel’s forces…?”

“That’s right! We must assemble reinforcements immediately!”

Receiving urgent news, Yuri immediately fell into deep thought.

“Hold on… why would Chel’s forces attack ours?”

They knew Serpina had withdrawn troops from border territories, and if they had preemptively captured Alcanwood Castle, it could make sense.

But what could they possibly gain from fighting us in this situation?

For Chel, the best strategy would be to create a stalemate with our forces while suppressing Kalintz Brance and Lin Brance. Wasting time and troops in war with us would only risk losing hegemony within the Brance Army.

If I were Chel, I would have formed a temporary alliance with the completely external Aishias Army and dealt with Kalintz first.

Yet, he chose to antagonize us. For some unknown reason.

“We can’t just let this slide.”

This is a golden opportunity to capture Alcanwood Castle, perhaps even Mirage Castle beyond it and possibly Kelshtain Castle above that.

Since those castles are already mostly evacuated with many residents relocated, we could realistically conduct sieges.

“Understood. Then I’ll immediately organize reinforcements-”

“Hold on.”

“Anima?”

“While I understand your concern, engaging in full-scale battle with Chel’s forces might not be wise.”

“What do you mean?”

Anima spoke calmly.

“If Chel’s forces collapse, Kalintz’s forces or the main Brance Army will inevitably benefit. The balance maintained by the three factions will break, and the Brance Army will quickly reunify. This could lead us back into conflict with the entire Brance Army instead of just Serpina. In the end, Serpina would be the one laughing. Since we’ve decided to fight Serpina… rushing into action wouldn’t be prudent.”

“But they attacked us first!”

“In the grand scheme of things, it was just minor skirmishing. You know well the difference between war and battle.”

“So… what do you suggest we do?”

“For now, let’s send reinforcements but prioritize withdrawal to avoid further direct conflict with Chel. Also, we should postpone our move against Serpina.”

“What? You mean…”

Anima looked directly at Yuri with shining eyes.

“Let’s attack Hesna’s forces instead.”

“…”

“Situations dictate different responses. If we could have steadily pushed all the way to Kelshtain Castle, we might have fought Serpina’s forces immediately. But circumstances have changed. Think long-term, Yuri. We must eventually face Serpina anyway. You know better than anyone how much I hate that woman.”

Listening to this, Yuri exhaled softly.

Admittedly, when it came to these matters, Anima was far more skilled than herself.

“Alright. Then… let’s try the withdrawal approach.”

“Good decision, Yuri.”

Yuri immediately organized troops and followed Anima’s advice, giving orders to retreat as quickly as possible.

“Chel Brance…”

Anima muttered the name, sighing briefly.

While he was an unexpected obstacle, compared to Serpina, he was ultimately little more than a minor nuisance.

The Brance Army, split into thirds, were merely temporary nuisances to be swept away.

Both Anima and probably Yuri…

Currently thought this way.

* * *

However…

“Epinal…?”

A few days later.

Epinal returned with the devastating news that 80% of the initial expeditionary force had perished. Head bowed, she stood silently before Yuri.

Despite her usually capable nature, this poor result was understandable to Yuri. She understood armies focused solely on rapid territorial capture couldn’t effectively fight.

“Epinal, why so quiet? That’s not like you. It’s fine. Your forces weren’t properly organized for battle anyway. Just being able to return is fortunate, so don’t blame yourself.”

“…”

Watching Epinal’s continued silence…

Yuri carefully asked about the strange discomfort she’d sensed since Epinal entered.

“By the way… where is Erhandorf?”

“…Yuri.”

And simultaneously,

Epinal looked at Yuri with blazing eyes and said:

“Erhandorf… was captured by Chel.”