Chapter 185: (Self Edited) Carsefit
Looking down from aboard White Sunset, the battlefield appeared disarrayed. The Second Army was no longer functioning.
The Second Army found itself semi-encircled, held tightly in the grasp of both arms of the Hou Household’s forces, while their rear was being restrained by the Galloping Bird units. Some of those in the rear attempted to flee towards the main street and a few seemed to have made it, but they were quickly cut off by the Galloping Bird units, completing the encirclement.
In tactical theory, before such an encirclement could be completed, commanders must somehow maneuver their forces to prevent it. The army must be in disarray, unable to move properly.
The basic strategy of the Second Army was to defend the royal capital and, if defeated, retreat to the Royal Castle Island and fortify there. This was the traditional tactic of the Royal Guard through generations. Whenever Shibyaku was attacked, they would retreat there.
The Royal Castle Island was originally designed as a short-term refuge pending reinforcements and was not equipped for a prolonged siege. The Castle Island was situated in prime territory in the capital. It housed commercial establishments and government offices. Unlike a remote fortress, it couldn’t stockpile provisions and supplies beyond its capacity, and the provision storehouse, located at the least commercially valuable spot behind the castle, was merely symbolic with very limited supplies. Being on an island, the underground was too damp for food storage, rendering it unusable.
With a combined total of 18,000 soldiers for the First and Second Armies, plus providing for all the Witches’ kin, it was questionable if they could sustain themselves for a month. For these reasons, in past civil conflicts, without exception, the Royals and the Witches opted to confront the enemy outside the royal capital, defending the urban areas.
Though it might sound callous, it was preferable to lose some numbers before entering the Royal Castle Island. Whether they would win or lose was uncertain until the battle, and for the Witches, the royal capital was their source of income. Losing it without a fight was unacceptable. However, this time, the Royal Castle Island fell first.
Thick black smoke rose from the bridge, and the flags of the Hou Family fluttered atop the spires of the castle. With no escape route upon defeat, the soldiers had only a few options, either to fight desperately to the death, surrender, or discard their weapons and flee. These soldiers were not the type to fight to the death. They huddled without fleeing, slowly closing their arms around themselves.
I descended slowly, aiming for the main camp.