Chapter 81 : Tarierre Kingdom (2)
Tarierre Kingdom (2)
"What is that innovative strategy, then?"
Walter listened attentively to Gregory's words. Since Gregory had always come up with ingenious solutions in times of crisis, Walter's expectations were high.
"We will form a special unit."
"A special unit?"
Walter was surprised and questioned Gregory again at his unexpected words. Of course, there was no special unit here capable of breaking through all those crowds.
Adrian, who had been listening to the plan, also showed a troubled expression.
"Gregory, as much as I respect you, forming a special unit now—do you really think that's possible?"
"The reason for forming a special unit is simple. First, we must prevent the enemies from getting too close to the walls..."
Perhaps expecting criticism, Gregory immediately began explaining the reasoning behind the plan.
And upon hearing the purpose of the strategy, garneth and Seria began to admire it in succession.
"To devise a strategy yourself..."
"As expected, it seems the talent who saved the kingdom can't be caught up to easily."
Gregory believed that this was the perfect opportunity to change the course of the war. The Dawn Knight Order had high individual abilities, and in terms of average potential, were stronger than other knight orders.
What's more, the ability to fight with longer reach was certainly advantageous. No matter how excellent the shieldbearers were, it was only natural that they wouldn't be able to catch up to mounted knights.
Gregory decided to armor the horses. They had been sufficiently trained by now, and there were even comrades who had overcome their traumas through continued practice, so he thought falling from their horses on the battlefield would be an improbable event.
'But if I don't know the scale, this plan cannot be executed.'
To prevent a situation where an excessive number of shieldbearers would make the operation impossible, Gregory sent out scouts in advance.
He didn't stop there. Gregory pointed directly to Ernest and said,
"And I will entrust the command of this military operation to Ernest."
Everyone froze for a moment at Gregory's words. To devise a plan and then have someone else command it?
Did that make any sense?
Naturally, Gregory explained his reasoning.
"At present, we have no one to control the interior. We need a person to coordinate the soldiers from behind the walls."
Alessandro beamed at Gregory and said,
"Then why don't I do it?"
Gregory, however, ignored Alessandro, who was bursting with excitement, and continued speaking.
"Walter, who has both military management, strategy, and martial prowess, must go to the front lines himself. Therefore, Ernest should take command."
Brea looked lost at Gregory's words. It obviously seemed that if military management and strategy were required, Walter should command instead of Ernest.
It was a valid point. However, in a wartime situation, Gregory judged that choosing the best rather than the second-best was the right thing to do. Given the countless matters to pay attention to when commanding, it was better for Walter, who could overpower the enemy with force, to focus on battle.
Just as Gregory was about to explain his reasoning, garneth spoke sharply to Brea first.
"You only see one aspect. Considering Ernest's achievements, he is also brilliant in strategy. Maybe not as much as Commander Walter, but Ernest is more than enough."
With much study of strategy through years of campaigns, garneth could understand Gregory's intentions.
He looked at Gregory with a sharp gaze. There was a sense of awe at this young man, who seemingly had no war experience, but was able to see through the battlefield with such clarity.
"If the commander can worry less about the flow of the battle and focus on reducing even just one more enemy—a method you've chosen, correct?"
Gregory bowed politely, then offered further explanation for what might have been lacking.
"Thank you for explaining it perfectly. That's correct. If you take command, your attention will inevitably be divided by the formation and active tactics. I want to prevent that."
This time, Kylas raised a question regarding Gregory's explanation. He had been quietly listening to the plan.
It wasn't that he disliked Gregory's strategy or distrusted Gregory.
He simply wanted to clarify something he was curious about.
"Gregory, I have a question. Is there a specific reason you're trying to protect the interior of the walls?"
Gregory, having prepared in advance, gave an immediate answer.
"From the inside, we will prepare a concentrated volley to deal with the ordinary soldiers, not just the shieldbearers. Moreover, as a precaution against possible shieldbearer advances, we are also planning rock-falls and fire arrows."
Kylas did not object. If it was about being prepared for the unexpected, he believed that Gregory, who was keen and quick to read the tide of battle, would be of great help.
Leonics and Amelia, apparently tired of the boring strategic talk, leapt to their feet with excitement.
"Waaaah! I don't care. We're going to defeat the enemies! My strength is overflowing—I can't just sit still!"
"Fine. Let's make it a contest to see who brings down the most enemies!"
Gregory was not worried about them. Although a sudden powerful force had appeared, the fact was that they had already postponed the war for a long time by relying on his resourcefulness.
In that time, the combat abilities of his cherished comrades had been raised sufficiently.
Of course, variables could never be guessed on the battlefield, but he judged that the results of their efforts so far wouldn't be so easily overturned.
So Gregory left a final word of advice, then withdrew.
"Just be careful of the knights from Blandi Kingdom."
Currently, the shieldbearers of Tarierre Kingdom supporting Blandi Kingdom were mere soldiers. That meant there was a high possibility there were no knights among them.
In other words, they simply needed to be wary of the skilled swordsmen not carrying shields.
Understanding this, the Dawn Knight Order nodded determinedly, tightened their armor, and steeled themselves.
Under the weight of this pressure, their steps looked unusually heavy as they walked away.
'Alright... I should also prepare for the upcoming war now.'
Gregory provided information only as necessary. Blandi Kingdom's population was about four times that of Arme. If they conducted a war of attrition, Arme would be at a disadvantage.
With such a large population, the variety of soldiers mobilized for war was naturally greater. Consequently, countermeasures for those types of soldiers had to be prepared in advance.
Comrades might find his actions strange, but surviving — and making sure his comrades did not die — was the highest priority, was it not?
***
'It seems all the knights are feeling intimidated.'
Walter observed the reactions of his comrades before the war. War was like walking on thin ice, where it wouldn't be surprising if anyone died at any moment.
If one were to die on this battlefield, they might not even be able to recover an intact body.
"Hiiiyaaa, lady Amelia is here! I'll snatch away everyone's lives!"
"Leonics is also entering this battlefield! Soldiers, do not be afraid—follow me!"
Whether it was excitement over the chance to show off their strength or just childishness, Walter couldn't tell with Leonics and Amelia.
'Looks like those two aren't intimidated. In fact, they seem even more fired up... Well, they're always like that, so it's to be expected.'
Somehow, the fact that they were allies felt all the more reassuring.
Walter soon began explaining the rules of engagement. As things stood, it would be the same as fighting without knowing how to act.
He thought it best to establish proper conduct in advance so that neither the soldiers nor the knights would get confused.
First, Walter gave words of comfort and urged them to steady their hearts to elevate morale.
"Listen up, everyone! Our time to shine has come. Even greater trials await us compared to our training thus far. Steel your hearts and stand strong."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers seemed relieved to know that Walter himself would be fighting on the battlefield. The knight order commander's skill was known to be extraordinary.
Just before heading out, Walter shared his plan for breaking through the battlefield with his knights. Aware of Gregory's intentions, he aimed to reduce the number of shieldbearers as much as possible.
First, shieldbearers can only block in one direction. That means their rear is their weakness.
Second, war is different from training. To harm enemies armored in plate, gaps must be targeted. With normal attacks, there's a high chance the sword will glance off their sturdy armor.
Therefore, the strategy was to lure the enemy to expose weaknesses, split up, and assign teams to annihilate them.