Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter 107 Where Will They Come From?
“Aigoo, my body aches.”
After warming up for the first time in a while, my whole body was screaming.
“You should have taken it easy, why did you have to overdo it?”
That human Chris, really.
It was so annoying how he asked when he clearly knew.
Especially since he deliberately didn't stop me.
“Did it ease your worries?”
Chris responded with a small smile instead of an answer.
Truly, mages were as sly now as they were in the past.
Click.
Chris closed the door and lit a candle.
The dark room brightened.
‘Spy list, revised operational plan, troop deployment map, search and reconnaissance plan.’
Documents that could not be hidden filled one wall.
Various issues were written on the blackboard. Some had not been completely erased.
‘Request for troop reinforcement, attempt at conscription.’
All the contents regarding troop reinforcement were crossed out.
It was clear that it was difficult to secure the necessary amount no matter what they did.
Still, there were many traces of something having been written, as if they were trying to find a way.
‘It seems he’s eating poorly too.’
Leftover bread, cold coffee, and dried-up soup were scattered on the table.
Clothes were also rolling on the floor.
This would never have happened with the Chris I knew before.
He must be so busy that he couldn't pay attention to such things.
I could feel the commander's hardship in trying to stop Uresra.
“Did something happen on your way here?”
“I took care of a nuisance for the Rosenberg family.”
“You mean the son?”
I nodded and drank the tea Chris had given me.
Even when he was busy, he seemed to care about the taste of his tea.
“You drink bitter things so well. You used to hate them so much.”
“Life is bitter, so this is nothing.”
Chris let out a scoff with a strange smile.
If he knew what kind of life I had lived, he wouldn't be able to laugh like that.
I had even died and been reborn as a child.
……Well, what can I do? I just have to accept it.
“What was the problem with the son?”
“Uresra.”
Chris's face darkened.
“Was the child's illness the work of Uresra?”
“They had been feeding him medicine continuously. The culprit was the head butler, I think? I think that was it.”
“To have planted a person for so many years…”
A serious atmosphere circulated in the room.
Chris also seemed to know what the incident at the Rosenberg family meant.
“You've worked hard.”
“I did. I had a hard time dealing with that.”
“You still have no humility.”
“I'm just stating the facts.”
Chris fidgeted with his teacup, saying, “Still, there are times when humility is needed.”
In the meantime, I looked at the map spread out on Chris's desk.
Several lines were drawn messily.
Small ivory dolls were also placed without any order.
“It seems you've confirmed that Uresra has made a move.”
“Yes, according to intelligence, they moved the medical corps to the front.”
“And you don't know anything about the advance party?”
“Haven't you heard already?”
It seemed to be exactly as Saint-Sard had said.
Then where did the Uresra bastards move their medical corps?
I traced the military movements of Uresra in my memory.
They kept their medical corps with the command headquarters.
They didn't send injured soldiers to the rear but treated them quickly and pushed them back onto the battlefield.
If those bastards were serious about starting a war, they would have placed their medical corps not far from the main battlefield.
If so…
“The Ricalypse Plains?”
Chris asked with his eyes why I had placed the horse there.
I placed a red doll holding a sword in front of the barrier.
“Like it or not, the battle will take place here.”
“Continue.”
I slowly moved my hand on the map.
The land in front of the barrier, the huge road that crossed the forest, the high mountain in front of the land, the wide river with a considerably strong current.
Passing these, I stopped at the Akal Corridor.
Chris repeatedly looked at all the places I had stopped.
I moved my hand again.
The Akal Corridor, the fan-shaped land leading to the Akal Corridor, the Ricalypse Plains that followed the land.
“A place not far from the battlefield. A place advantageous for defense. A place where it's easy to check the battlefield because there's a high place nearby. If you put it like this, there's no place like the Ricalypse Plains. The Akal Corridor is the biggest problem, but if you secure that, everything else is solved.”
Chris stared at me.
“Why?”
“Did you also study military science?”
Study…
Chris probably thought I had looked at books, met with teachers, and heard explanations.
Unfortunately, that had never happened.
‘It’s all less than real combat.’
Since I learned through experience, maybe that could be called studying too.
“What are you going to do about the Akal Corridor?”
“I'm thinking of deploying one battalion.”
“How many people make up a battalion now?”
When Alfred reformed the military system, one battalion was set at 500 men. The reason was that having a precise unit would allow for efficient operation of the troops. And it was actually so.
“If you've studied military science, you should know that much.”
“……I'm just confirming. Confirming.”
“Originally it's 500. We're short on people, so it'll probably be around 460.”
“Hmm.”
That was far from enough to block the Akal Corridor.
“I know it's not enough. But if we deploy more troops than that, a hole will open up in the barrier.”
I understood.
The enemy would be moving with at least ten thousand troops.
But there were only about 3,000 at the barrier.
Maybe even less than that.
To forcibly block the Akal Corridor, we would have to put in 2,000 men.
No, even that number was not enough. We would need ten thousand to completely block the enemy.
‘In a corridor, reducing the enemy's numbers is the best option.’
If we set the exchange ratio high, it would be about 1 to 20.
‘To catch ten thousand…’
It would be a tremendous feat if we could do it.
But it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit. The enemy's numbers were too large.
On the other hand…
‘It would be a fatal wound for us.’
Every single person was precious.
So, we had no choice but to focus on a siege battle.
Because it was a place that must be protected.
That was why search and reconnaissance were important.
We had to know which point the enemy was targeting and what kind of forces they were bringing in to be able to respond appropriately.
Furthermore, if we could find out where the enemy was stationed, a surprise attack was also possible.
‘A well-executed surprise attack can cut their forces in half. While preserving our own troops.’
We could also lower their morale.
“Hmm.”
Chris was lost in thought, looking at his cold tea.
Ripples formed in the teacup.
I quietly watched Chris.
“Converging attack, corridor, 6th army. Is it because of that note?”
“Did Saint-Sard tell you?”
“Didn't you tell him to tell me?”
No matter how much of a search party leader he was, he wouldn't make such a request without permission from above.
Especially if it was a dangerous task that everyone opposed.
If something happened during the search and reconnaissance, or if the act of going out itself became a problem, it would be difficult to avoid capital punishment.
“You have a good eye.”
“Even if I'm an abandoned prince, I'm still royalty. What kind of madman would ask a prince to go with him to his death? Someone must have told him to do it.”
Chris showed an awkward smile.
“Where are you thinking?”
Chris placed six horses in the middle of the mountain.
“It's gentler than other places. If we can just cross it, we can aim for the rear.”
It wasn't wrong.
But would Uresra go to such lengths? I wondered.
“Do you think it's not?”
“It's cold, but they're crossing the mountains? Wouldn't that be too risky? And what about supplies?”
“I believe their primary objective is to seize the Akal Corridor. If they can just capture the Akal Corridor, supplies will be resolved.”
It was convincing enough.
But…
“Do you have another idea?”
I repeatedly pondered the identity of the strange sense of incongruity.
The Uresra I had experienced and the Uresra of now were different.
Therefore, it was difficult to say how they would come out by relying on old experience.
And Chris's thinking was very rational.
He said all the personnel sent for search and reconnaissance had disappeared.
If they had desperately tried to block them in order to quietly cross the mountains.
“They would be most vulnerable when they've crossed the mountains. They would have wanted to block them somehow.”
Everything fit.
Excessively so.
It seemed Chris was also seeing something.
“Is there any clue that they will cross the mountains?”
“……There is.”
Chris pointed to a village near the strategic point.
“The number of carriages entering the village has more than doubled compared to usual.”
So that was why he couldn't make a decision.
“Why is everyone against the search and reconnaissance?”
“The opinion is that we should deploy two battalions and attack the descending enemy without wasting time. They say we'll miss the timing if we send out a search and reconnaissance team to confirm.”
“But you're still trying to send out a search and reconnaissance team first?”
“Because we need to confirm and then move. It's too risky to send a force of 1,000 men.”
“Hmm…”
Was that really the reason he couldn't decide?
“Why do you feel it's not?”
Chris's eyes widened.
“You haven't sent out a search and reconnaissance team, nor have you sent troops. Isn't it because something is bothering you?”
“We did send them.”
“Really? Then why are you trying to send them again? No, what's bothering you?”
“All the information points to that place.”
So it was.
It fit too perfectly, like gears turning.
As if they wanted us to come to that place.
“It's a different point.”
The bastards I had experienced and the bastards now were definitely different.
Back then, they came in straightforwardly to the point of being foolish, but now they had become much more cunning.
“Do you have a place in mind?”
I didn't answer right away.
First, let's think about what their plan was.
One, draw out a large number of troops to the lured location.
Two, deploy as much combat power as possible to the barrier with weakened defenses.
Simply put, it was like this.
But it was an incredibly powerful operation.
‘To throw in a large number of troops at once. At once…’
In a way, it was very Uresra-like.
Uresra-like?
“They could do that.”
“What do you mean?”
I picked up a red horse and placed it on the wide river, the Billien.
“The river is frozen, but not enough for troops to move.”
“Why do you think they will come on foot?”
Troop movement, supply movement.
To solve these easily, there was nothing like a ship.
“Are you serious?”
Chris was concluding that they couldn't move by ship because the river was frozen.
But the opponent was Uresra.
A mad country that had fought for hundreds of years to find an unfrozen sea, an unfrozen land.
And Poinus had both an unfrozen sea and an unfrozen land.
“They are the kind of bastards who would do anything if there was something to gain for the money they poured in.”
That was, if they were the bastards I remembered.
Of course, the bastards now were different.
But blood is thicker than water.
Even if they were defeated in this war, even if their country was ruined because of the defeat, if there was a chance, they were the kind of bastards who would use everything.
***
The number of troops given was 100.
The one guiding the way was Saint-Sard.
The one commanding the troops and carrying out the operation was…
“Hey, why is the battalion commander here? He should be protecting his own battalion.”
Perignon had volunteered for the search and reconnaissance.
I had heard that the 3rd Battalion was a very important unit here.
If he was the commander of such a place, he should be managing his troops and organizing operational plans, I didn't know why he was doing this.
“It is because I am curious about Your Highness.”
“What kind of crazy talk is that?”
Did it make sense to forget one's duty because one was curious about a person?
“I will be managing the 3rd Battalion. To command and control a number as large as 100, a commander is absolutely necessary.”
Chris tried to sort out the situation, telling me not to worry.
“If it's 100 men, a company commander-level person can go. That ignorant kid from before. Him.”
“You mean Oudinot?”
Whether it was Oudinot or Udyr, that level was sufficient.
“Since Your Highness is going along, we must be careful.”
Since when was he so considerate?
“That's why Rodrigo is going with us.”
“He probably hasn't commanded troops before. Stop complaining and move. We don't have time.”
Chris waved his hand as if he couldn't listen anymore.
In response, the gate of the barrier opened.
The time for search and reconnaissance had come.