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“A formidable army indeed…” (Dimitri)

Dimitri Daz said in amazement.

We were on a hill on the Rube Household’s side of the river, watching as the Hou Household’s members arrived to observe. Gin Toga, busy with final preparations, wasn’t there, but most of the others were. Originally, the Rube Household created this lookout post to avoid the constant hassle of flying eagles across the river, so the trees obstructing the view were cleared, making the hilltop completely bald.

It was a bit too much to call it a fortress or a base. There was just a simple fence and nothing more. Since the goal was to see across the river, there wasn’t even a watchtower.

“There might be over a hundred thousand of them.” (Dimitri)

“It’s overwhelming.” (Tigris)

“Their countries cover more than ten times the area of ours, so they have the numbers.” (Yuri)

‘Moreover, their yield from that area isn’t small. It’s probably double ours. In terms of habitable land, they have far more compared to our mountainous and marshy region.’

“…They’re starting to move.” (Tigris)

Tigris Hamon said.

As usual, she was neatly dressed in a high-collared uniform, with her hair tied in a ponytail, standing tall and straight.

The river between the two sides was about 100 meters wide, and Hot Bridge spanned it in a series of arches. It was a calm river, with a gentle flow this season. According to Kien, the water was only knee to thigh deep. Even the water temperature was just slightly cold for this season. In other words, it was a river that could easily be waded across.

After reaching the flatlands with a gentle slope, the river widened significantly, making it impossible to build an upstream dam to release water and sweep away the crossing army. Although there was talk of a suitable location, the plan was abandoned. Just as natural dam breaks in the mountains causing mudflows have little effect near the river mouth, this plan would have minimal impact. Calculations showed that at most, the river level would rise by only 4 cm. No matter how one looked at it, preventing the crossing seemed impossible.

Kien did not intend to stop the crossing but planned to use the bridge effectively to inflict as much damage as possible. Previously, parts of this bridge had been destroyed by gunboats, and Kien had made temporary repairs. Long logs were lined up, fixed with metal clamps, and flat boards were nailed on top to make it level. Kien had left it as it was. In other words, the bridge was still usable.

“Well then, let’s see how Kien-dono fights this battle…” (Yuri)

“Indeed.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri had participated in the previous war against the Crusaders two years and also attended the last one as a spectator. He had seen two Crusades. As for the Crusade before those, it was 42 years ago, and Dimitri must have been just a baby then.

“Can we really win against that army…?” (Tigris)

Tigris said, sounding weak. Unlike Dimitri, Tigris had only observed the war before last and participated in the last one.

“We can win. If we draw them into the royal capital.” (Yuri)

‘I too am anxious deep inside, though I don’t say it aloud. I thought we could handle the enemy even if they were numerous, but I hadn’t expected over 100000. The last time, it was 80000. To them, it must feel like rushing to a closing sale. What a nuisance.’

“They’re using the bridge.” (Tigris)

Tigris said while looking through her own telescope at the enemy lines. She must have been looking at the same spot as me. The vanguard of the Crusaders had set foot on the bridge and was beginning to march in.

As expected, if the bridge remained, this would happen. If they had to cross the river by wading, tens of thousands of soldiers would have to enter the river at once. Even if wet clothes were not a concern, human nature would make them prefer using the bridge. Since there was a bridge right in front of them that allowed them to walk across without getting wet or exposing their slow-moving, unprotected troops to the enemy while wading through the riverbed, they naturally preferred to use it.

“They seem to be shooting arrows.” (Dimitri)

Arrows flew sporadically from the Rube Household’s side. These weren’t aimed shots but rather arcing arrows falling like rain. The distance was about 100 meters, so they were within range.

I listened carefully, but I couldn’t hear any rustling of the trees. Luckily for Kien, it was windless.

The first volley splashed into the river, but the second volley rained down on the enemies on the bridge. The Crusaders, upon sensing the arrows, raised their shields overhead like a roof. They were well-prepared.

“It seems the temporarily repaired bridge is creaking.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri remarked, prompting me to direct my telescope there.

“Yeah, it looks like they’re crossing it cautiously… The bridge must be flexing underfoot, making them nervous.” (Yuri)

Kien had mentioned intending to cut into the logs used in the bridge’s temporary repair. It seemed he had done so because the soldiers walking across appeared hesitant, unnerved by the unusual feeling underfoot. The bridge likely flexed up and down, creating an instability akin to a swaying suspension bridge. Additionally, there were no railings on the repaired sections. If pushed by their comrades, they would plummet five meters into the river below. Though they would fall into water, five meters was enough height to instill a fear of death.

“In that situation… Hmm, if it were me, I’d attack by crossing both the river and the bridge simultaneously. Attacks on the bridge would be less concentrated.” (Tigris)

Tigris said.

“I might do the same. Their plan seems a bit too obvious.” (Dimitri)

The Rube Household army was focusing its forces on the bridge. With about 20,000 troops, if they crossed the river simultaneously from other parts, as Tigris suggested, the forces would have to be spread out. Fewer troops would need to be dealt with on the bridge after crossing, so even if the bridge was seen as the main attack route, letting them cross had its merits. Alternatively, they could have a wide front crossing from the start. After the enemy spread out over a wide area, a sudden cavalry charge on the bridge could quickly break through.

“Being a multinational army, their coordination might be lacking… And with such a large force, they might not be too concerned about preserving their soldiers.” (Yuri)

‘To the enemy, this battle probably seems like an easy win. The Rube Household army doesn’t have the capability to prevent the crossing, making this perception quite accurate. The discussion about tactics boils down to whether or not the loss ratio matters. In terms of victory or defeat, this battle is undeniably a win. If it were a single nation, they might try to conserve their soldiers, but with multiple nations involved, the commanders probably don’t care much about the losses of other countries’ troops.’

“I wonder if the makeshift bridge will collapse if a cart goes over it.” (Tigris)

Other than the cuts made in the logs, there weren’t any other traps, so if the bridge didn’t collapse, it would fall into the enemy’s hands.

“What do you think… if it hasn’t collapsed under the weight of all those soldiers, a single cart probably wouldn’t do it.” (Dimitri)

“Hmm…” (Yuri)

‘However, considering that the bridge should normally be able to support carts without any hesitation, restricting the load might be seen as a limitation. If they can’t place much weight on the makeshift repairs, it could act as a bottleneck, effectively reducing the usable width of the bridge. Well, if it doesn’t collapse, the enemy might reinforce it.’

“Even though we’re luring them in, it doesn’t feel good to just give the bridge away to the enemy.” (Tigris)

“True. But we’re planning to blow up the bridge anyway, so it’s not a huge issue.” (Yuri)

“Yes, you’re right.” (Tigris)

‘I had heard that they planned to destroy another section of the bridge in addition to the makeshift repairs. One way or another, the bridge would be demolished. Still, being able to discuss and observe like this isn’t bad at all.’

On the hill where I was standing, members of the Hou Household were gathered, noisily discussing the situation. This was the best observation point in the vicinity, but the Rube Household relied heavily on Eagles for information gathering, so they weren’t discussing.

‘You can’t have discussions like this while riding an eagle.’

“…It looks like the vanguard troops are from Tyrellme.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri said.

“How can you tell?” (Yuri)

They didn’t carry flags to avoid obstructing their shields against arrows.

“Their front-line shields.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri told me to look at the front. Looking at the front lines, I saw sturdy shields that looked impregnable even to bullets. The shields bore the coat of arms of the Tyrellme God-Protected Empire.

“It makes sense. They’re the ones who sent the most troops after all.”  (Tigris)

Tigris commented.

“Yeah, true…” (Yuri)

The Crusaders kept advancing across the bridge, past the makeshift repairs. Once the enemy soldiers had crossed halfway, the Rube Household began firing, and smoke from gunpowder started to rise. However, the thick shields seemed to render these efforts ineffective. Equipped with wheels at the bottom, the shields were pushed from behind like a game of push and pull, advancing relentlessly despite the impact of bullets.

Generally, using portable shields against firearms wasn’t practical due to the required defense capabilities of the shields, which would make the troops cumbersome. However, it was perfectly usable in front of the Hot Bridge, with its narrow width of only about four meters. The enemy seemed to have thought it through quite well.

As I watched through the telescope, the coat of arms of the Tyrellme God-Protected Empire was quickly chipped away by bullets and disappeared without a trace.

“Seems like the arrows aren’t effective at all.” (Tigris)

The arcing arrows had been continuously raining down for a while now.

“No, they’re probably just not visible, but they’re piercing through the gaps. Once the soldiers are gone, the bridge will be covered in the bodies of our allies.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri spoke, likely drawing from experience in battles from before. They were probably just filling in the gaps once they fell.

“They’re about to engage…” (Dimitri)

The enemy’s large shields were almost in contact with the Rube Household’s front line. The bridge was already packed with Crusader infantry. For the Rube Household’s plan, this was the perfect opportunity.

“Here they come.” (Tigris)

Tigris spoke up.

Looking up at the bridge, Royal Eagles were descending gracefully, forming a line and gliding down as if the bridge were their runway. This was the Rube Household’s strategy. A linear bombing with Molotov cocktails on the bridge, where there was no escape. Today, with no wind, the Molotov cocktails would fall straight down. Weather-wise, it was perfect. The eagles, forming a beautiful evenly spaced line, glided smoothly towards the bridge.

‘Will they drop them?’

Just then, one of the eagles jerked unnaturally.

‘Huh?’

As if being knocked down by an invisible giant’s hand in midair, its feathers scattered, and it was shot down with a bang. A mouse-colored smoke rose from the bridge, and after a delay of about three seconds, a low boom echoed.

“Your Excellency Yuri.” (Tigris)

Tigris said.

‘I know it.’

“From the sound of it, it’s a cannon.” (Yuri)

It seemed like two of them were taken down from the front. One seemed to have been hit after release, as a part of the bridge was engulfed in flames. The first one felt more like it was just flicked from behind its legs. But the second one seemed to be a direct hit. The remaining eight Eagles aborted their descent and were now ascending.

“Dimitri, send a messenger to the Rube Household. Immediately blow up the bridge and capture enemy anti-aircraft weapons.” (Yuri)

“Hah!” (Dimitri)

Dimitri immediately moved to dispatch a messenger.

Looking through the telescope, it seemed they were prepared. Buckets were lowered onto the river surface, extinguishing the fires caused by the Molotov cocktails. The Crusaders were calmly handling the situation and advancing. It felt like they were given instructions in advance about what would happen. They had completely anticipated this.

It seemed they had even anticipated where the Eagles would come from. Well, it was quite obvious that the hastily repaired bridge, easily retrievable or destructible, was nothing but a trap.

“Your Excellency Yuri, have you received information about the blasting location? If the cannon is on this side…” (Tigris)

If that were the case, the cannon would be left on the other side of the blasted bridge. We wouldn’t be able to retrieve it, and it would be taken away.

“It’s okay. I can see the bomb squad.” (Yuri)

As I was searching earlier, I spotted soldiers hiding under about a third of the bridge. That must be it.

‘If it was too close to the bank, even if we destroyed it, the bridge could still be used halfway. If the bridge could be carried to a location very close to the bank, we could make a slope from there or use ropes to lower it, and the bridge would still be usable. They must have avoided that.’

As I looked through the telescope, the hidden soldiers scattered like a swarm of spiders. Immediately after that, an explosion occurred, and a part of the arch was blown away. With a delay of about three seconds, the explosion sound echoed. Smoke billowed from the blasted section, and once it cleared, the bridge had collapsed safely.

“All right, it’s broken.” (Tigris)

“Oh… that’s no good.” (Yuri)

“What’s wrong?” (Tigris)

“They’re trying to drop the cannon into the river. They probably don’t want it to be captured.” (Yuri)

Looking through the telescope, it was clear that enemy soldiers were struggling to drop what seemed to be a small cannon. The Hot Bridge had railings about the height of an adult’s chest. They seemed to be having a hard time overcoming the railings.

“It looks like the railings are getting in the way. It might be impossible.” (Tigris)

It was lucky that they were trying to drop it from this side. Judging from the faint silhouette, it seemed to be a small mortar.

‘A mortar is a short-barreled cannon with a stout, chunky appearance, and because of its short barrel, it can be made relatively light. However, since the barrel is short, the range over which the combustion gas pressure accelerates the projectile is short, so the projectile doesn’t go very far. Originally, it was used to attack castle walls with a parabolic trajectory. Although it receives minimal benefits from the acceleration of gas pressure, the projectile flies due to the shock of the explosion. They probably loaded something like a scatter shot and aimed it at the diving eagles.

You don’t need much energy to shoot down a flying Eagle. Eagle bones are weaker than human bones, so even if you don’t have enough energy to tear a human body apart, it’s easy to shatter the bones and render a Royal Eagle unable to fly if you hit it head-on during its dive. While I haven’t tried it, if it had the power of a baseball dead ball, it would likely be enough to be a threat.

They probably have handles attached to the carrying base so that six or eight people can carry it. It can also be rotated manually, and with a gun ear, adjusting the elevation is easy. It might have been the optimal solution as an anti-aircraft gun against eagles.’

“Your Excellency Yuri, the messenger has been dispatched.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri reported as a flying Eagle was heading towards the Rube Household’s camp.

“We’ve already destroyed the bridge… ah, damn. They are starting to return.” (Tigris)

It seemed that the soldiers had given up on crossing the railings, likely under orders to avoid capture, and were beginning to carry the cannon back from the base. At the end of the bridge, the Rube Household had begun their offensive. They were charging aggressively, trampling over the confused soldiers who had lost their retreat.

Ideally, we wanted the Rube Household soldiers to retrieve the cannon and return, but if it fell into the river from the blasted section, it would be difficult to bring it back. Carrying the cannon alone would be quite difficult, and if they had to wade through the water to retrieve it, it would likely be impossible.

“Sigh… it’s no use. Well, it’s fine.” (Dimitri)

‘It’s not certain that those cannons being used are officially mass-produced equipment. There are small mortars domestically available as well. We should verify countermeasures against them.’

“I see they’ve started crossing the river now that the bridge is unusable.” (Yuri)

Taking my eyes off the telescope and observing the battlefield with the naked eye, indeed, foot crossings had begun. Around 20000 soldiers were attempting to cross the river simultaneously, slightly upstream from the bridge. There was no way to prevent this.

“Oh.” (Tigris)

Tigris said something.

“What’s wrong?” (Yuri)

“The cannon bearer was killed by a stray arrow. He fell over.” (Tigris)

That was fortunate. I looked through the telescope again and indeed, it seemed they had dropped the cannon.

“Actually, they’re getting backed up. The Rube Household might make it in time.” (Dimitri)

The collapse point was crowded with soldiers trying to escape as their retreat was cut off. Despite the rubble, the height was about four meters, so the soldiers seemed to be waist-deep. Most of them were pushed from behind and fell, resulting in tragic outcomes, some falling headfirst. Some were jumping off the railing, but most had injured legs and couldn’t walk.

“Ah, they made it in time.” (Yuri)

They made it in time. The ones desperately carrying the cannon were swallowed up by the Rube Household.

‘They’ll likely retrieve it. For now, the tide has turned decisively.’

“Your Excellency Yuri, how do you see it? Is it a loss for Kien-dono?” (Dimitri)

Dimitri asked.

“I’m not sure. If they manage to evade a successful pursuit and retreat, it might just be a draw. The capture of the enemy’s new weapon is significant.” (Yuri)

‘Although it’s not entirely accurate to call the mortar a new weapon, as it’s been around for centuries, it’s significant that they’ve managed to capture and repurpose it. Nonetheless, capturing it is a significant achievement. Actually, trying out the cannons and verifying their rotation speed and elevation capabilities should allow us to devise methods for the eagles to evade the gunfire.’

” Kien-dono’s approach was a bit too elaborate. They saw right through it.” (Yuri)

The Rube Household’s plan was to conduct linear bombing on the bridge, turning it into a scorched field, then repeat the same tactic as long as the enemy aimed for the bridge, causing significant bloodshed. Once the enemy switched to river crossing, they planned to defend the riverbank adequately and retreat. That was the plan. But the enemy didn’t play along.

The fact that the bridge was chosen as the invasion route, despite my previous demolition of a bridge, was foolish. As a result, despite thwarting the ace up their sleeve of Eagle bombardment, the bridge was still damaged. They revealed their secret weapon but failed to turn it into a decisive victory. It wasn’t a significant secret, yet it was captured. However, it could be that the Crusaders made their decisions through a council of nations, so once the main objective became the bridge, there might have been no choice but to follow that decision.

“Nevertheless, we can say we achieved some success. It’s not bad.” (Yuri)

‘Considering the destruction of the bridge and the subsequent defense along the riverbank, the battle was fought under advantageous conditions. Compared to the initial plan, which aimed to destroy the bridge and kill more than twice the number of Crusaders to impact their morale, it might seem lackluster, but it’s not bad.

The main objective of attacking the enemy’s supply line by destroying the bridge has been accomplished. If the bridge had remained intact after the failed explosion, there would have been outrage. But they were well-prepared and successful, so it’s not bad for now.’

“If you intend to praise their efforts, I shall deliver the message.” (Tigris)

“Praise?” (Yuri)

I didn’t quite understand.

“They might attempt to expand their achievements through futile resistance, considering the failure of the operation, His Excellency Yuri.” (Dimitri)

“…They can’t be that foolish.” (Yuri)

“That’s just how subordinates are, I believe.” (Tigris)

‘Is that so? I don’t really have the mindset of being beneath anyone. Formally, I’ve been delegated full authority by Queen Carol, but that’s just a transfer of rights. The original hierarchy hasn’t changed. As the heads of the respective households, our positions should be equal. However, considering it from a subordinate’s perspective, indeed, there were those kinds of fools who would go to such useless lengths.’

“Well then, please convey that achieving capture alone is already a significant achievement. Make sure it doesn’t come across as condescending.” (Yuri)

“Yes. I’ll go right away.” (Tigris)

Tigris hurried off.

‘We still have time since it looks like it will take a while for them to finish crossing the river.’

“What do you think?” (Yuri)

I asked Dimitri, who was next to me.

“It’s a thoughtful gesture, reminiscent of a woman’s concern. While not strictly necessary, it certainly helps to weaken any resistance to retreat. It’s not a bad thing.” (Dimitri)

“Indeed.” (Yuri)

“It may not be necessary for Kien-dono, though.” (Dimitri)

“Who knows? It might be necessary for Liao Rube.” (Yuri)

It could backfire, though.

“Is Liao leading them?” (Yuri)

“Kien-dono is leading them, but it seems he came up with the idea of using firebombs for bombing. It’s just hearsay, but that’s the information I’ve gathered.” (Dimitri)

‘This battle is entirely entrusted to the Rube Household. For them, it’s a sacred battle to defend their homeland, so seizing leadership from them would be emotionally problematic. Apart from sending the messenger earlier and stopping the pointless dam construction, I haven’t interfered in anything else.’

“Being of the same age and position, perhaps a sense of rivalry might develop.” (Dimitri)

‘Perhaps. Certainly, rivalry or a sense of competition might be inevitable.’

“Anyway, Liao isn’t incompetent. He hasn’t done anything wrong.” (Yuri)

‘While I don’t consider him exceptionally talented, he does possess human charisma and is quite suited to leadership. He’s not bad. This time, things just didn’t go well.’

On the river, the Rube Household’s army had begun shooting arrows.

‘Once this is over, the next battle will likely be in Mital. For me, this is where it truly begins.’

“Well then, I have business with the Queen’s Sword, so I’ll be off.” (Yuri)

“Understood. Thank you for your hard work.” (Dimitri)

“Goodbye.” (Yuri)

I walked off toward the White Sunset to attend to my affairs.