◇ ◇ ◇
"What's more, I am the flag bearer of the anti-kingdom faction in the
principality," Gaius went on. "The reason we can take a hard-line position against
the kingdom is that the hard-liners have been keeping the moderates down. But, if I
were to vanish, the moderates in the principality would gain momentum."
The difference in power between the Principality of Amidonia and the Elfrieden
Kingdom was clear. Be it territory, population, number of soldiers, or prosperity,
they lost in all respects.
On top of that, Amidonia shared borders with the Orthodox Papal State of
Lunaria, a theocracy to the north which had its own unique set of values; the
Republic of Turgis to the south, with its policy of northward expansionism; and the
mercenary state Zem, the neutral state that would dispatch troops anywhere for the
right price, to the west. There was no telling when those who were weak of heart
might cozy up to one of these other states in an attempt at self-preservation.
That was why, in order to keep Amidonia as Amidonia, Gaius had needed to keep
a lid on such things. Now Elfrieden was trying to remove him.
Julius's eyes went wide. "No... You mean to say Souma plotted all of this solely to
take your head, Father?! He even used his own land as bait?!"
"Be careful, Julius," said Gaius. "This new king is nothing like Albert."
Gaius no longer underestimated Souma because of his youth.
He continued, "That is why Elfrieden will never let me escape. If I attempt to
retreat, they will pursue me to the very depths of hell. Their only goal is to slay me,
after all."
Julius said nothing.
"That is why I will remain here, to show them the pride of Amidonia," Gaius
finished.
"Then I will stay with you!" Julius cried.
"You mustn't! If we lose you, too, what will become of the principality?!"
"We have Roroa," Julius said.
"Hmph... She's not good enough." Even though he was speaking about his own
daughter, Gaius spat the words out with distaste. "It takes a venomous snake to lead
Amidonia. A venomous snake that will one day sink its fangs into the kingdom and
strike her dead. Roroa may have the blood of a cunning snake, but she lacks venom."
Even as Julius trembled with fear at the madness his father was starting to
display, he asked, "Father, what is this 'venom' you speak of?"
"The burning desire for revenge against Elfrieden," snapped Gaius. "Even while
surrounded by powerful states, our Principality of Amidonia has maintained her
independence, developed her unproductive land, endured through hunger, dug
mines under harsh conditions, and preserved herself as a state solely because of our
drive for revenge against the kingdom. Our hatred for the kingdom which stole our
fertile lands from us has driven us to become ever stronger, ever more prosperous.
...Unfortunately, Roroa may have a gift for finance, but she lacks that drive for
revenge. The only one who has at least somewhat inherited my venom, Julius, is
you."
With those words, Gaius rose from his seat and placed his hands on Julius'
shoulders.
"That is why you must survive. You are the only one who can carry on my desire
for revenge and keep Amidonia as she ought to be."
"Father..." Julius was bewildered.
Did that venomous blood flow in his veins? Certainly, Julius saw the kingdom as
his sworn enemy. However, could he burn with the same passion he saw in Gaius?
While Julius was still nonplussed, Gaius said to him, "At this point, we can't afford
to worry about being made into a puppet state. You should seek the Empire's aid. If
you do, it should at least prevent the kingdom's annexation of Amidonia."
"But... Like you were saying before, will the Empire forgive us for going against
the Mankind Declaration?" asked Julius.
"Lay all of the blame for that on me," said Gaius. "The vengeful fiend of Amidonia
refused to heed even his own son's warnings and plotted to invade the kingdom
against the Empire's wishes. That is all there is to it."
Julius gulped. Gaius didn't only intend to die here, he meant to take all of the ill
repute for their actions onto himself. Even Julius, who was known for his coldness
and composure, felt his heart stirred by that. Though, at the same time, there was an
anger towards the kingdom in his eyes.
When he saw those eyes, Gaius nodded in satisfaction, then pushed Julius away
from him. "Go, Julius. You must never let the soul of Amidonia be erased."
"...Forgive me." Julius saluted, then turned on his heel and departed.
Even after watching his back until he was out of sight, Gaius stood there for a
while. He took a deep breath, and his expression changed.
He no longer felt haste or indecision. He drew the sword at his hip with the stern
expression of a warrior.
"Now, all that is left is to do my duty as a warrior and show them the spirit of
Amidonia."
◇ ◇ ◇
"...That looks like it could be bad," Carla, who was standing at my side, suddenly
said.
The principality's army was already showing decisive signs of defeat, with no
shortage of soldiers fleeing or surrendering. The soldiers near the main camp who
were still resisting were completely surrounded. It felt like all that was left was to
wait for them to be eliminated.
What about that could possibly look bad?
"What's the problem?" Souma asked.
"There's no sign of Gaius VIII fleeing," Carla replied. "He's chosen to die here."
"I have no intent of letting him escape, so isn't that convenient?"
"...The cowardly have fled, the weak have fallen, and, as a result, the elite are
gathering around Gaius as he continues to resist," she said. "If they were to form a
suicide squad, no ordinary man would be able to stop them. Especially since, once an
army's victory is assured, its soldiers hold their lives all the more dear."
When I looked at the battlefield after she pointed that out, I saw 40,000 soldiers
from my own army seemingly unable to eliminate the enemy's main force, which
must have already been reduced to less than 500 troops. No matter how many tens
of thousands of soldiers we had, only around three people at most could attack any
soldier at one point in time. If they were clustered together, that number was even
lower.
To say nothing of the fact that the enemy had accepted their deaths and were
now fearless while, as the victors, our people held their lives all the more dear.
There would be no rewards or glory if they died. That was why they couldn't
press the attack.
A cold chill ran down my spine. I knew historical examples of this.
For instance, in the Siege of Osaka, Yukimura Sanada had led 3,000 men into a
suicide attack which had broken through Tadanao Matsudaira's army of 13,000 and
nearly reached their supreme commander, Ieyasu Tokugawa.
Another example had been in China, after the Battle of Gaixia, when a pursuing
force of several thousand men sent out by the victorious Liu Bang had been defeated
multiple times by the defeated Xiang Yu and twenty-eight of his retainers.
When there was too great a difference in will to fight, the difference in number of
soldiers lost all meaning. An army without the will to fight could never win, no
matter how great its numbers.
...I'll bet that force is going to come straight for my head.
Honestly... I was scared. Sun Tzu had said never to fight a suicide squad.
However, even so, I couldn't let Gaius get away from here. If I did, all our
sacrifices would have been in vain.
But... if, by some chance... if the worst were to happen...
"Listen, Carla," I turned and spoke to Carla.
"What?"
"...We need to talk."
◇ ◇ ◇
"Seek only the head of the enemy king, Souma Kazuya!" Gaius VIII shouted from
up on horseback.
Gaius had gathered the five hundred knights who were his most elite retainers
around him. He was about to carry out a suicide charge towards Elfrieden's main
camp. The area around him was crowded with tens of thousands of enemies. It
would be a road to death filled with enemy soldiers, one from which he would never
return.
Even if they were successful in striking Souma down, it would only mean that the
king fell at the hands of common soldiers. However, their grudge against Elfrieden,
which had been passed from father to son for the past fifty years, had seeped into
the very marrow of his retainers' bones. They would not falter.
"Let us show Elfrieden the spirit and valor of the Amidonian people!" Gaius
shouted.
"""Yeahhhhhhh!"""
Hearing that war cry from his retainers, Gaius pointed his sword towards the
center of the kingdom's army and swung it down. "Chaaaaarge!"
The nearly five hundred knights of his elite cavalry raced towards the center of
the kingdom's army.
They put any soldier in their path to the sword, crushing both enemy and stillresisting ally alike under their hooves as they advanced with the force of a
windstorm. They were like a flame shining one last time before it was extinguished.
That was why they shone all the more powerfully.
"Gaius VIII?! Has he gone mad?!" Ludwin, who was defending the center, looked
at that rampaging group from up on his white horse with a look of obvious distaste.
This sort of reckless charge was nothing less than suicide.
Well, it probably is suicide, he realized. Now that they've accepted their overall loss,
they're looking for a place to die. Honestly, I'd rather not have to play along with that...
Ludwin put on the helmet which he had taken off, hoisting his cavalry lance
skywards. He shouted to the knights of the Royal Guard behind him, "His Majesty is
behind us! We are this kingdom's shield! In the name of the Royal Guard, we will
stop that group even if it costs us our lives!"
"""Yeahhhhh!"""
"Let's go!" Ludwin called.
The nearly two thousand knights of the Royal Guard under Ludwin rushed
forward. It didn't take long for them to slam into the front of Gaius' five hundred
retainers.
When they collided, roughly half of Gaius' retainers were blown away in an
instant. Nearly as many of the Royal Guard were knocked flying as well, but
considering that they had had the numerical advantage to begin with, it could be
said that they had taken less serious losses. From there, it devolved into a melee
with the sound of hooves echoing.
In that jumble of friend and foe, Ludwin searched for Gaius. "I've found you,
Gaius!"
The man who appeared to be Gaius was in a group of knights charging intently
towards the main camp, and he wore a magnificent cloak. When the man in the cloak
saw Ludwin, he pointed his drawn sword towards him.
"You! Who are you?!" the man shouted.
"I am Captain of the Royal Guard, Ludwin Arcs."
"Hmph, an ornamental unit from the capital, is it?"
"Say what you will! Once we strike you down, this war will be over!" Ludwin
spurred his favorite horse forward. When he did, the retainers surrounding the man
in the cloak split off in different directions, as if they had signaled one another to do
so.
Gaius's retainers have abandoned him?!
Ludwin thought their behavior was strange for a moment, but right now he
needed to focus on the man in front of him. It seemed to be all the man in the cloak
could do just to parry Ludwin's lance thrusts with his sword.
"Guh... You fight well, considering your unit only exists to look pretty," grunted
the man.
"No matter where he puts me on display, my lance exists to pierce His Majesty's
enemies!" Ludwin declared.
Ludwin knocked the sword that was swung at him aside with his lance, thrusting
with all his might at the man's now-undefended torso. His lance struck true,
impaling the man and piercing through his cloak.
The man spat blood and hung his head, but he was smiling. "Well done...
However, it means nothing..."
"What?"
Then, the man raised his face and shouted, "Your Highness! Make our greatest
wish come true...!"
Looking at the expiring man, Ludwin was shocked.
When he thought about it, he'd had no idea what the face of the ruler of a country
they had no diplomatic contact with looked like. For instance, if Gaius had just had
one of his retainers wear his cloak, Ludwin would mistake that person for him.
What if Gaius was one of those knights who had scattered in different directions
before...?!
Ludwin inhaled sharply, then shouted, "His Majesty!"
When Ludwin turned around, he saw a lone knight charging towards the main
camp.