Chapter 102

After finishing the last negotiation with Duke Maxburg, we set out with him to engage in a decisive battle on the Lothringen Plain.

Although the departure was only 2 kilometers from our camp, it felt like walking dozens of miles due to the weight of the plate armor we wore.

As we marched down the path, the veteran soldiers joked with the new recruits, saying things like, “We’re off to war again,” and the recruits forced laughter at jokes they wouldn’t normally find funny.

To face the fear of death, to find comfort in the belief that they themselves wouldn’t die.

Then we moved to our respective positions.

Under my command were 100 knights, 1,000 men-at-arms, and 7,000 infantry. Baron Frost commanded the central army, which consisted of 100 knights, 800 men-at-arms, and 4,000 infantry. The right flank was led by Balt, who organized his troops in the same manner as Frost.

It seemed the enemy intended to harness the momentum of their vanguard to crush our forces, as they placed well-armed soldiers at the front, while the soldiers behind them appeared poorly equipped and poorly trained.

Since the enemy had elite troops at the front, the losses in the vanguard would likely be significant.

However, a commander is one who expects soldiers to die and orders them to stand in danger in order to achieve tactical objectives.

There was no time to be swept away by such feelings.

Not long after, a soldier rushed up to me and said.

“Count Your Excellency, it’s time. Please give the order!”

“All forces, advance slowly.”

As my command was given, Captain Frost echoed my order from behind me.

In response, the trumpet sounded, and the flag ordering us to march was raised.

My soldiers moved as if they had become one machine, all functioning as parts of an army, moving in unison with the same motions and speed.

After walking in silence for about 10 minutes, or perhaps 20, the flags of the enemy vanguard began to come into view.

A flag adorned with a golden-fleeced sheep and a black rabbit…

I didn’t know whose emblem the black rabbit represented, but given the rigorous discipline of the soldiers, it seemed we were in for a tough battle.

Moments later, I heard the shouts of squad leaders among the soldiers.

“Crossbowmen, move forward!! Pike troops hold your pikes diagonally to shield your faces!! If you get hit in the face with an arrow, you’re done for!!”

“Believe in the armor you’re wearing, the armor bestowed upon you by Count Croilet! Even if arrows hit you right in front of your eyes, it won’t pierce through!!! So you will not die!”

“Anyone who flees before the enemy will die here. And I will sell their families into slavery! Especially their daughters or wives will be sold to brothels!”

At those words, the pikemen raised their pikes diagonally to shield their faces, and the crossbowmen planted their pavises into the ground before aiming their crossbows towards the enemy.

Then Frost looked at me with a tense voice and said.

“Your Excellency.”

“All forces, fire at once! Continue firing per the orders of each company commander afterward!!”

“Fire after commanding fire!!”

A minute later, our soldiers’ arrows flew towards the enemy.

Thousands of arrows soared toward the enemy, but we didn’t watch; we sheltered our bodies to survive.

The soldiers with spears bent their right arms slightly to shield their faces, while the knights and men-at-arms used the shields in their hands, and the crossbowmen hunched behind their pavises to hide.

“Ah!”

“Ugh…”

“Mom, mom!!”

The screams occasionally echoed among the soldiers, but there was no time to worry about such things.

All I needed to do was to send reserves to reinforce any units with breaches and stand on the front lines with the soldiers.

Once the hail of arrows passed, our crossbowmen were the first to shoot arrows toward the enemy.

We exchanged volleys of arrows with the enemy, and before long, it seemed that both our arrows and theirs had run out.

Then, the golden-fleeced mercenary squad began to advance toward us slowly.

Simultaneously, among the soldiers, some foul-mouthed rascals shouted, intending to provoke the enemy as instructed.

“Aren’t you coming to rescue your parents in Lothringen?”

“We respect Count Croilet’s honor, so we won’t loot, kill, or rape, but the serfs and rabble inside are different. You know that hundreds were hanged just a few days ago, right? Oh, you didn’t know? That’s fine; now you do, but if you don’t hurry, you’re all really going to die!”

“Are you noble lords of the duke family trembling in fear with the serfs inside the castle?”

Once that provocation was over, the army bearing the emblem of the black rabbit began to charge forward excitedly ahead of the golden-fleeced mercenaries.

“Bastards! Our mother is in Lothringen!!”

“My first love, Emma, lives in Lothringen! We’re supposed to be getting married the day after tomorrow, and I’ve run away!!”

“Don’t you have parents either?”

Thus, the noble army with the black rabbit emblem approached us, excited.

However, perhaps due to their ingrained habits, even in an excited state, they maintained a unified pace as they charged.

Soon, our vanguard crashed into the enemy’s vanguard.

The enemy, seemingly unafraid of being impaled by spears, charged us with the intent to either pierce us with their metal gauntlets or die trying to slay the soldier directly in front of them.

I could see from a distance how terrifying those men were, and I imagined how horrifying it must be for our soldiers facing such enemies…

In that situation, however, our soldiers responded with remarkable composure.

They followed the teaching that breaking formation against elite soldiers who weren’t afraid of death would only increase the likelihood of casualties, so they would fall back but kept their formation intact.

If someone fell, the soldier right behind would fill the gap in the formation without hesitation.

However, as the enemy charged with deadly intent and began to massacre our forces, my command to lure them in meant our army began to show signs of even a minor defeat.

And to draw the enemy in as much as possible, I ordered to continue the weak defeat.

“Send one reserve squad to Vice’s battalion and two reserve squads to Helmut’s battalion!!”

“We’re short on troops!! If this continues, we might get annihilated!”

“To pretend to lose, such preparations are necessary! Any further questioning will be considered mutiny.”

Afterward, I continued to retreat while managing my reserves despite the relentless requests for reinforcements.

Before long, the enemy had reached the command post I had temporarily established, and the ones leading the charge shouted with glee.

“I heard Count Croilet’s forces are walking piles of gold! Providing such good armor and weapons even to lowly troops… But seeing you still lose to us, you must be a pig army with nothing but money.”

“Just grabbing two suits of armor should allow me to buy a farm! They’re not of the best quality, but… aren’t they at least the level that squires wear?”

“And if we win this battle… we’ll receive an enormous compensation. If all goes well, that’s a million gold coins… at the very least, 10 gold coins will fall to us.”

“Let’s go!!!”

Fools, war has never gone the way one thinks, regardless of the time…

Yet they are pleased that things seem to be working in their favor, truly blinded by the prospect of plunder.

Normally, a veteran would have caught on by now.

“Wait, this is an ambush!”

Even while retreating, they’re thinking of plundering spoils, which means we are likely to win this campaign.

By the way, I wonder if Balt and Baron Frost are doing well?

I turned to Frost and asked.

“Captain Frost, how much longer until we reach the target point? And have you seen any knights on horseback?”

“According to the scouting commander, the knights are currently making a wide detour to attack our forces from behind. We’ll arrive at the target point in about 10 more minutes…”

If we retreat while maintaining formation, it will take 10 minutes, but if we flee in disarray, it would take less than a minute.

Then the enemy’s knights should be waiting conveniently to ambush our backs.

As soon as possible, while showing the enemy a calculated gap.

“Order to light the torches and inform the men-at-arms and knights stationed at the rear to prepare for a rear attack. Command all troops to move by double time to the target point! Everyone, run!”

Upon hearing that, Frost looked bewildered for a moment and asked.

“If we break formation and run in front of the enemy, our casualties will skyrocket! Why are you telling us to turn our backs to run?”

“I’ve already given the same order to Balt and Frost! Have everyone prepare to run! In three minutes, we will run to that spot! We will leave everything behind except weapons and armor to make it look like a retreat!”

“What about the flag…”

“The success of the operation is the greatest honor, and the flag can be remade! Leave even the flags and run!”

Upon hearing that, Frost sighed, sensing that persuasion was useless, and said.

“Dispatch the legion standard-bearer and trumpeter to send the first retreat signal! Everyone discard all equipment and armor and retreat!”

At that order, the standard-bearer and trumpeter signaled retreat to all soldiers, and shortly after, the soldiers quickly began to drop various unnecessary flags on the ground and start running.

Seeing that, perhaps they knew that even though they’d be dirty, they would receive great rewards just for taking the company flags, battalion flags, or regimental flags.

As they scrambled to collect those, their formation became disordered, and the serf soldiers trailing behind appeared to think that our vanguard had won the war.

They began to run frantically toward us.

In response, our soldiers and junior commanders began to yell while running for their lives.

“Run! Run for your lives! Only your legs can save you!”

“This damn it!! I should be making accomplishments but instead I’m just running!! I’m just running!!”

“Why am I running in the armor I only trained in during marching drills!!”

“I don’t care, just run!!! It’s an order!!”

After running for about 2 minutes, I swung my spear, tied with the flag of the Croilet family, and said.

“Everyone halt, counter formation!! Aim your spears and set the formation!”

We established the formation slightly faster than the enemy, and they faced us with their soldiers, now a chaotic mix of serf soldiers, mercenaries, and elite troops.