Lucy's vassals and I targeted Viscount Karl for retaliation.
As for why he's the first, well, Count Luke is just too great of a danger to
deal with for now, especially with our current standing.
Not to mention Marquis Krall would come out on us if we try to harm him
directly.
He is a precious heir who will succeed him, so it's only natural that the old
man will not stand idly by.
"Well, even if we don't attack him directly, retaliating against Viscount Karl
should still serve him a warning."
It was frustrating, but this is the only effective way I could think of right
now.
Fortunately or unfortunately, a large group of monsters is approaching
Krasland. Which meant Viscount Karl would participate in this battle
whenever he liked it or not. After all, it is his strategy that 'failed' last time.
In a way, he also got his piece in that incident, but with the Count backing
him, his loses are close to none.
But now that he is in the field, there was no way we would not take
advantage of this.
Again, I initiated a meeting with the retainers when Lucy was out.
"If we can get Viscount Karl away from the command and bring him to the
front, we can cook him as much as we want."
"He's a general staff member who is busy doing desk exercises in the rear
headquarters, so he won't move well on the battlefield."
"Then, I will lure him out and leave the details of the battlefield to you."
After saying that, the chief vassal old man nodded at my words, and the
other vassals affirmed me.
We each took our respective roles and began to take action. First, I headed
for the command headquarters, the enemy's base.
I had already researched the position and job description of the Viscount.
Basically, he plays the role of the battalion commander's or whoever is in
the front line's general advisor.
A battalion commander is usually the leader of a large force sent to the front
line to go into a battle.
They have only a minimum of his own forces as an escort, and the rest are
their staff officers who assist them.
With the authority given to them by the headquarters, that person will be in
charge of commanding the frontline troops that will take down the large
group of monsters as well as spearhead the operation. If y ou a re abl e to r
ad th is mes sa ge, y ou a re rea di ng f rom an unau thor ized aggr e gate sit
e. Re ad at my W ordP ress at sta bbi ng wit h a sy ri nge. ho me. bl og to s
uppo rt me an d my tra nsla tions.
"The problem is that even if Viscount Karl comes to the front, we would
have no chance to lead his troops into a trap if he stayed attached to the
commander in the field."
We must somehow isolate the Viscount alone.
"That's where I have to show my skills. I'm going after his boss."
After arriving at the headquarters, the first thing I did was to meet with the
Viscount's boss, in which this time was the battalion commander.
While waiting in an empty conference room, the battalion commander
arrived.
"Are you the junior officer who wants to see me?"
"My name is Yuushin Sanada, Battalion Commander Gray. It is an honor to
meet you."
The woman who appeared before me is a woman in her forties.
Countess Eleora Gray is an old woman but also the head of a high
aristocratic family.
"Forget the greetings. Just tell me what you want. You know I don't have
time for this."
She said to me bluntly, so I nodded and began to talk.
"To put it bluntly, I would like to ask. Would you be willing to send your
subordinate, Viscount Karl, as part of the detachment in the next
battlefield?"
"You want one of my chief of staffs in a separate unit? Well, there are a few
instances that it happened in the past."
When a separate unit is formed on the battlefield that cannot be reached by
the battalion commander's orders, a general staff officer can be sent there as
a liaison officer.
"But Just why would I do that? He's a good general staff member in his
own right, and I wouldn't want to give him up badly. If the operation fails
due to the lack of a chief of staff, there is no way of saving this operation. I
don't intend to move my men for your own convenience."
Battalion Commander Gray gives me a sharp look, but I am unfazed by it.
I have a trump card of my own.
"You don't need to worry about that. My master, Baroness Finlay, will be
able to fulfill her role as a detachment. We are just worried of Viscount
Karl, as he has no experience in the battlefield. Even more now that he
needs prestige because of his loss the other day," I supplemented. "Or
should I put it in another way?"
I looked at her in the eye and played the trump card I had prepared.
"The next battlefield will be the first for the unit led by the Battalion
Commander's son, won't it? I'm telling that our troops can keep an eye out
for him."
"-! You're using my son as an excuse?"
"I hope you won't stare at me like that. I have no intention of making
enemies of Your Excellency. I thought you might have some concerns about
your son's first battle. But in your position, you are not allowed to favor
him just because he is one of your own people. This comes us, who are
simply volunteering for that role."
Because she is a commanding officer who leads a far larger number of
troops than the average commander, she is not allowed to let her personal
feelings get in the way.
However, Battalion Commander Gray has lost her husband on the
battlefield before. She would not want to let her son die as well.
Now, what would you do? I don't think you have to choose between your
men, who can still be replaced, and your own son.
I asked the question one more time, confident of victory in my heart.
◆ ◆
Half a month later, a swarm of monsters that could not be thinned out soon
came attacking the city.
The total number of enemies was 3,000. Battalion Commander Gray, the
commander-in-chief of the operation, decided to divide her forces into two
groups, the main army, and a detachment.
We, led by Lucy, were placed in the detachment, and just as planned, there
was also the unit led by Viscount Karl.
In the end, General Gray agreed to my proposal. Moreover, he also
nominated Lucy as the Viscount's commanding officer.
As for the reason even though the Viscount is of higher rank than a Baron,
the Viscount still has no experience commanding the frontlines.
The very example of an armchair general.
"This makes things a lot easier. I could make a lot of excuses like the
misfiring of the friendlies and so on."
Let's make ample use of this grudge.
◆ ◆
"...Yuushin, is there a problem?"
"No, there is no problem. What about the war situation?"
The battle has already begun.
Right now, hordes of monsters are attacking toward the outer wall, and the
defenders are desperately fighting back.
It's about time the enemy got a bite of the main army.
The monsters were so intent on getting over the wall in front of us that they
didn't even notice us, the detachment, circling and sneaking behind them.
"I think it's about time, Commander Finlay," I spoke. "Let's get the troops
moving."
"I understand. All units begin action!"
Following her order, our two hundred troops began to move.
Behind our troops, our allied troops followed, and as promised, among
them is the unit led by the battalion commander's son.
As for them, we assigned a few of our vassals to keep a close eye on them,
so they should be fine.
"Distance to the enemy, 200 meters! Everybody speed up!"
After confirming the distance, I sent out a notice to those around me.
The troop's pace quickens even more, and the crowd of monsters,
numbering 3,000 and counting, got closer and closer in our view.
Same as before, the enemies on the outer edges seemed to have spotted us,
but it was already too late.
"We're engaging!"
"Charge in, break them down!"
Shouts of anger flew from the vassals leading the soldiers on the front line,
and the soldiers raised their swords.
"We'll take the first lunge!"
The one who led the entire charge was, as expected, Tilda.
With her in the lead, the troops charged forward with unrelenting vigor, and
they dug into the center of their opponents' formation.
Okay, we're doing good," I said. Commander Finlay, let's keep up the pace
and breakthrough."
"Yes, if we can push through the pack with the rest of the company..."
At that moment, a large shadow loomed in front of our unit.
About five meters tall, it was larger than the ogres we had been fighting and
felt like a wall.
"That giant is...the Cyclops! And it's coming around this way!"
Our senior advisor, the old man standing by Lucy's side, spat out
abhorrently.
"We can't go on unless we defeat that thing."
The distance from the Cyclops is less than fifty meters.
Lucy immediately gave an order to one of the rear-guard units.
"Crossbows, fire at the cyclops!"
Hearing these words, about 30 soldiers readied crossbows on their backs
and began shooting.
The crossbow, which has a longer range than a bow and arrow and is easier
to maneuver if limited to the first shot, was well received by the soldiers of
the units who often fight in the vanguard. Th is ch ap ter trans lati on is ma
de poss ib le by st abb ing wi th a sy ri nge tran slation s. che ck on ly up-t
o-d ate tra nslat ions on m y Wordp ress si te.
The Cyclops staggered after taking dozens of short bolts in one volley.
Then the soldiers, led by Tilda, charged in, rushing in for the kill.
Okay, that was good! Now is our chance!
I muttered to myself and then offered my opinion to Lucy.
"Commander Finlay, our breakthrough speed is beginning to slow down.
Let's change course to the right and break away from the horde to gain our
momentum again."
"I see. It would indeed be impossible to break through the front at this rate.
Please contact the following units."
I nodded and called down to each unit. At the same time, I put the plan into
action, or rather, inaction.
I sent a message to everyone. But I did not send a message to Viscount
Karl's troops.
"We will now break away from the horde and move on!"
As soon as Lucy says this, the flag waves and the troop movements change.
The following units started to disengage at the same time.
However, Viscount Karl and his escorts were delayed.
I reported to Lucy, not even bothering to mention the fact that I had "failed"
to report the situation.
"It seems that Viscount Karl's troops are lagging behind. Shall we go back
and cover them?"
I asked Lucy.
She thought for a moment, but she shook her head in the end.
The look on her face was one of a hard decision, however.
"If we, the leading unit, are to go back here, it will slow down the
breakaway, not to mention that our units will be compromised. We are
heavily hit in the last battle, so we cannot take any more risks. Since
Viscount's unit is at the very rear, we have no other choice but to ask them
to break away to the direction we came from."
"Roger. I'll let them know."
I smiled slightly as I said that.
Since the troops are already separated, I can't use the messenger. I called up
the flag bearer of our unit and waved the flag to the units on the other side.
The flags flown by each unit not only indicate the unit's affiliation but also
serve as a means of communication in the event of a melee.
"The request has been sent to the other side. Let's leave at once."
Lucy nodded at my words and increased the speed of the troops.
By the time the troops broke through the horde safely with the rest of the
forces in tow, the camp of monsters had largely collapsed.
There, the passive defense force counterattacked and exterminated them.
The operation succeeded brilliantly, and the monsters were destroyed, but
Viscount Karl's escort seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, losing up to
90% of its strength. I saw the Viscount himself barely escape, protected by
a small number of soldiers.
I thought that if he died, that would be the end of it, but I guess he still has
some luck in his hands.
He tried to claim that there had been a lack of communication with us, but I
dismissed it as a messenger accident that had occurred during the melee. In
this world, there are no communication devices, so even if there is a slight
defect, it will not be noticed as intentional and you will not be punished
severely.
In the end, I was only given a few small pats on the back, but I didn't
receive any significant punishment. So it was the same as being acquitted.
The Viscount's strength has fallen to the level where he cannot be revived.
"You, just you wait. I'll drown your face in the swamp and feed you plenty
of mud before killing you!"
It was hilarious to see Viscount Karl say this in the meeting after the battle,
with blue streaks on his forehead that looked like he might break a blood
vessel at any second.
With this, I had completed my retaliation against the Viscount.