Chapter 220: (Self Edited) Decisive Battle (1)
Beneath, in the wilderness north of the royal capital, the enemy’s large army was spread out.
The enemy’s vast army, which had marched all the way here, stepping over the bodies of their comrades, was now standing shoulder to shoulder in formation. The army, appearing like a fog making patterns on the ground, was a dense mass of humans, each with a will of their own, ready to engage in the decisive battle.
Many of them could have lived out their lives in peace without ever engaging in war. There was no imminent threat of foreign invasion, a food crisis causing mass starvation, or the destruction of industries due to a large-scale economic blockade. Despite the absence of such urgent threats, they were here.
Many of them would be wounded, spilling their entrails, writhing, and dying either today or tomorrow. Knowing the dangers, they still came here, either willingly or through conscription. They could have lived and ended their lives peacefully. It seemed like an inexplicable, irrational, mysterious supernatural phenomenon. Yet, one part of my mind, understanding the workings of society, considered it a natural occurrence.
The enemy was deployed in a very standard formation from a military standpoint. They formed a fairly wide and thick horizontal line in the center, with cavalry positioned on both flanks. However, there were no cavalry on the enemy’s left wing. They were hidden in the forest about three kilometers to the rear. These troops weren’t hiding to remain undetected as an ambush. Their presence was known through reconnaissance by Eagles.
Epitaph Palazzo likely didn’t think they were well hidden. Usually, having no cavalry on the left wing was unthinkable, so if they were hiding, it would likely be a small detachment for deception, just as I would do. By hiding in the forest, at least their numbers were obscured by the canopy, making it difficult to gauge how many cavalries were deployed. In reality, it was unreadable. Considering the initial force of 120,000, even though the numbers had likely decreased, it wouldn’t be surprising if about 10,000 cavalries remained.
The terrain was mostly flat from where the forest ended, and the residents of the northern royal capital had cut down the vegetation for firewood, leaving a wide-open area with no cover.
As I passed over the enemy camp, I scattered some papers from my bag. They fell gently. It seemed a subtle wind was blowing from the south to the north. Calculating the distance they would be carried, I released more papers from a bit further south, ensuring they fell nicely over the enemy’s heads. I then began to release a large number of papers into the wind.
The ten Eagles following behind me continued the task, scattering papers from different positions. The battlefield sky became filled with a shower of papers. It was beautiful.