Chapter 14: Food Eaten With Everyone After Exercise is Delicious

Sulawesi Grand Bridge, David’s diversion unit headquarters.

Thinking that they had successfully pinned down the enemy main force, David was in an extremely good mood. He composedly sat in his chair, and was waiting for time to pass while drinking cider. There’s no battle this comfortable, probably. Just by taking a battle formation, victory was in their hands.

“Hmph, those Rebel Army guys aren’t such a big deal. After all this, are the insurgents little girls? Friggen Yalder, to have fallen behind these kind of guys. He’ll never be called a brave general ever again.”

“Certainly, General Yalder was weak-minded. He did receive his just-desserts though.”

“This time, there will be no mercy. We will continue to Antigua, and Salvador Fortress will also fall. We’ll massacre all the survivors together. We’ll also weed out those that worked with them. So that a matter like this never occurs again, we will thoroughly do them in.”

David stabbed a knife onto the Rebel Army’s stronghold on the map.

“……However, they are not showing any movements entirely. Despite us already confronting them for three days. They have not even shown a sign of changing course. Are they planning on abandoning Antigua?”

“They’re probably scared of a pursuit attack and can’t move. After all, they are a gathering of small fry. They can’t advance, they can’t withdraw, enemy though they may be, I pity them. They aren’t worthy of sympathy.”

Replied David, confidently, at the Chief Staff Officer’s words.

“While we are like this, it is probably about time our main body has arrived at Antigua. I believe it is likely they are in the middle of the siege. Or maybe even it has already fallen.”

“Umu. They’re truly idiots. They probably know what has befallen their castle about now. How about tying a letter to an arrow and letting them know? They’ll think it’s a sham, but it’s real heh. Once they know, they’ll be helpless!”

When David laughed loudly, the servile Chief Staff Officer also smiled. Victory was before his eyes. He expected information to reach them that they made Antigua surrender soon. If the enemy planned on staying, then they would be pincered from Antigua.

The enemy’s momentum would be halted, and if they retreated to their headquarters, Salvador Fortress, they would pursued at once. After that, they would start the clean up, and it would be the best chance to accrue achievements.

Trample, pillage, and then massacre. The things soldiers wanted. Military officers surely were also filled with fighting spirit. The door to glory would soon be opened.

—-Interrupting him, the sounds of horns reverberating sonorously could be heard. Following were the sounds of drums and chimes.

“—-So they’re doing that too huh. Let them unreservedly and gaudily play. It’s good entertainment.”

“……? No, they have not given the order for a fake attack today yet.”

A staff officer stated his doubt, but he was brushed away with a ‘whatever.’ Since the unit would currently not move out, there was no need to care about military regulations.

A short time later, a messenger came to David’s headquarters with a report.

“Excuse me, Your Excellency!”

A staff officer enquired to the messenger who executed a salute.

“What’s up?”

“Sir- The confronted Rebel Army has movement. An enemy force composed mostly of infantry is advancing to Sulawesi Grand Bridge!”

“Hmph, idiotic pretense. Is this a desperation move? They’re just asking to be crushed.”

David drained his cider while amazed.

“Your Excellency, there is no need to panic. Let us wait and make it rain arrows. I believe they are just testing the waters. If we go for an offensive, they will easily retreat.”

“I leave it to you Chief Staff Officer. I permit you to pursue a little. But, avoid chasing too far. There is absolutely no need to lose troops over something so trivial.”

“Sir-, please leave it to me. I will immediately drive them away.”

The Chief Staff Officer gave his instructions, and the messenger double timed back to the vanguard.

Then, another messenger flew in. This time, it was different than last time. His face was agitated.

“P, please excuse me-!”

His face was caked in mud and sweat, he bore wounds, and his breathing was haggard. David unwittingly grimaced and berated the messenger before he could speak up.

“You are a messenger of the glorious Kingdom’s Army aren’t you? With such an appearance, can you really accurately communicate your information?”

“Y, Your Excellency, b, bad news-!”

“Calm down you fool. You’re so noisy, what the heck happened!

“The First Division aiming for A, Antigua was destroyed! Major General Alexei was killed in action! The advance cavalry unit was annihilated!”

At the messenger’s voice, the place fell silent. No one could speak up. The messenger continued and reported sad news.

“The Second Division that crossed the river have their backs to it and were suddenly attacked! They were besieged, lost half their numbers, and are preparing to flee-!!”

“D, don’t screw with me! Like there would be something so ridiculous-!! Check one more time! Isn’t the enemy’s main force right in front of our eyes!?”

David threw down the glass in his hands. But, the report was not over yet.

“The enemy has reconstructed the destroyed pontoon bridges and crushed the Third Division. Furthermore, they are heading this way!!”

They crushed the First Division, routed the Second Division infantry unit, and afterwards repaired and reconstructed the pontoon bridges. The Third Division at a standstill before the river crossing had encountered them. As they were a force mainly of siege weapons and supply convoys, they were annihilated with no means of resistance.

Having crossed the river, the Liberation Army main forces were not heading to Belta but to Sulawesi Grand Bridge.

They had not prepared the siege weapons necessary to assault Belta, but more importantly, Sulawesi Grand Bridge was an important position that they wanted under their control. If they took this place, that would be similar to driving a wedge into the Belta area.

“—-Lies. I, I can’t believe it. This is misinformation. No, the enemy’s lie no doubt!”

David stood up while trembling. The staff officers’ faces were pale. If this was true, staying here would be too dangerous, since the enemy’s main force that crossed the river would be heading here. They would be pincered.

“Your Excellency, the vanguard has started battle at the Grand Bridge, and many of the enemy are trying to cross the river using ferry boats!”

“Shoot them down with arrows!! Absolutely do not let them approach!”

“Roger sir-, understood!”

“Your Excellency, we must urgently pull troops from Belta. We will be pincered like this.”

“Silence-, continue the strategy! Soon, a report that Antigua has been taken control of will come, surely-! Going along with these lies is going along with the enemy’s plan right!? I won’t be tricked-!”

David kicked away his command post desk. The Fourth Army’s main force was still going strong. He could only believe that. They were only a mish-mash of insurgents; a defeat was impossible. That he, David, would be defeated was impossible.

—-The final piece of information flew in for the agitated David.

“Reporting-! A great number of enemy soldiers has been confirmed from the south; their flag is the Rebel Army’s! We are being attacked from the side-!”

The violent sounds of war could be heard. From far away were the coming sounds of horses’ hooves.

Time, for David, stopped

Sulawesi Grand Bridge, Liberation Army encampment on the opposite shore.

Having confirmed the progress of battle, a silver-haired general was nodding many times.

He was the commander who led the main force unit that David was thinking of.

“To not have seen through the decoy from the very beginning, how pitiful.”

“It would suck to be them huh. To have every particular of their strategy seen though, just judging from their staff officers, they are crazy. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.”

“Taking that into consideration, the ones that set up this strategy were probably the staff officers. That they don’t know of our army is proof. Those guys will be defeated just as they should be.”

Muttered the Colonel silently, and a staff officer agreed.

“The Colonel’s words pains my ears. Although our morale is sufficient, we are insecure about our skill therefore…”

This diversion unit in particular was an assembled force of 10,000 regular soldiers, 5,000 militiamen, and the rest were volunteering civilians. Due to their battleflags and phony straw soldiers, they kind of appeared something like 30,000 or 40,000.

“But, one cannot win a battle with just skill. It is the soldiers’ morale that matters in the end. They must have the drive to win; they’re nothing without it. No matter how one uses plans, or how an excellent commander commands.”

“Certainly. We have an ideal that needs to be realized. We will not lose to the lot of the completely decayed Kingdom.”

“That’s the spirit. These old bones are a bit tired.”

The Commander joking patted his back, and the Adjutant spoke up while smiling bitterly.

“We will work you until the end, Colonel.”

The extremely comical monkey show of mutual decoys glaring at each other would soon end. They were coercively crossing from the front of the river using the bridges and small ferries. Their main force would attack from the side. The situation had completely reversed right now, and overrunning the enemy encampment was only a matter of time probably.

The Grand Bridge’s defenses and offenses were equal, but the difference was that the enemy would be completely pressured from the side by a unit hitting their flank. Just one more push, and the enemy that had fallen into chaos would be kicked aside, and they would take possession of Sulawesi Grand Bridge. They had already inflicted serious damage onto the enemy’s defense forces, and it wouldn’t be long before Belta Castle also fell probably.

The aged commander recalled the face of the young man who distinguished himself in this battle–the face of the Hero carrying the future Kingdom on his shoulders. He was a man who would realize their dreams without fail. He wondered if he would be able to see it with his own eyes.

“……You know, I heard Lieutenant Colonel Fynn took the head of the enemy commander again. What frightening performance as always. The Flag of the Lion is not just a decoration it seems.”

He had smashed the enemy cavalry unit and had taken Major General Alexei’s head he heard. He took it upon himself to pursue the remnants of the enemy Second Division it appeared.

“He will soon be the Hero of this battle I bet, Lieutenant Colonel Fynn will. His fame amongst the soldiers is also on the rise too. If he gets promoted again, he’ll finally be on par with you huh.”

“Princess Altura, and now Lieutenant Colonel Fynn, with this, the reputation of us old people will collapse. Hmph, we definitely don’t want to lose to the youths. We’ll just have to show them the difference in how long we’ve served, how about it?”

The commander exhaled with his nose and stood up. Old though he may be, he could still move his body. He took his battleaxe in hand, and swung it around, just warming up.

“The Colonel still has much active service left in him. ……Is it not about time we also go for a full on charge?”

“Okay! Shove the rear guard infantry unit to the front. Tell the civilians that have cooperated with us to stand back. The outcome of this battle has already been decided. All that’s left is to squash them. We’ll splendidly take the enemy commander’s head, and devote our battle Princess Altura how about it!?”

“Sir-, Understood!!”

—-The Liberation Army, Sulawesi Grand Bridge diversion unit, started the attack.

This battle should have been concluded with this one attack.

David’s 20,000 were pulverized from the front, and they had already fallen into pandemonium. They were inferior in numbers, lacked leadership ability, and their soldiers had not the will to fight. As a consequence of the mixed units which had been haphazardly merged, each unit’s cooperation was in a sorry state. Already, the units would collapse before long, and the Liberation Army would be able to rout them.

Every one of the Liberation Army generals nearby Sulawesi Grand Bridge expected an overwhelmingly favourable victory for the Liberation Army. This battle should have ended.

Until behind the civilians who breathed sighs of relief, bathing in their victory, a white, ominous bird appeared. It was a unit galloping with terrible speed, in ranks with not one thread out of file, uninvited to the party. The people watched them with smiles. It was reinforcements from Salvador Fortress. They waved their hands in their air and beckoned them. Someone even raised a cheer. They linked shoulders and were laughing.

These men no longer oppressed smiled from their souls.

They had finally been liberated, and they were content from the bottom of their hearts.

—-Until a blood-stained scythe would mercilessly swoop down on them.

Now at an audaciously close distance, Schera’s Cavalry had gone northward, aiming for Sulawesi Grand Bridge. They had soundly shut down all the Liberation Army scouts, and they had finally arrived behind Sulawesi Grand Bridge. Luckily for them, they had not encountered an enemy unit.

Not a single horseman had defected. They had zero deserters. For a unit in the middle of a rout, this was almost unbelieveable. Their provisions carried on hand had already been exhausted. Schera was at the limits of her endurance. She was awfully hungry. Why did she have to experience such an empty hunger.

“Major, this is the last candy. Please help yourself.”

“…………”

When Katarina offered a sacrifice to Death, Schera silently took it and crunched it.

Absolutely not enough. Her irritation due to the empty hunger did not stop. Her shouldered scythe was trembling in rage. Vander asked carefully, so as to not disturb that rage.

“Ma, Major. What will we do after this? In front of us, an enemy unit is lying in wait. We have made it this far safely. If we go a little more northward, there is a ford we can cross—-”

He cut his words off there–because he was glared at with bloodshot eyes. If he spoke poorly, it seemed like that maddened scythe would swing down at any moment. Schera was just in that bad a mood.

“Despite there being a shortcut right in front of our eyes, why is there a necessity to make a detour? —-Second Lieutenant Katarina. Are you of the same opinion?”

While oozing bloodlust from her small body, she glared at another adjutant.

“There is indeed no need. We will stab them in the rear, and they will only be smashed altogether. We can absolutely break through. I will devote even the last vestiges of my poor strength.”

“That so? Then no problem. Let’s go.”

“Sir-, there is no problem at all. Major Schera.”

Katarina pushed up her glasses, and took out a small rod from her waist and elongated it. It was a telescoping, portable magic cane. This was the first time Vander had seen that cane. He had heard not a single word that this Second Lieutenant colleague of his had knowledge in sorcery.

“O, oi. You can use sorcery? I’ve never heard of it.”

“I just never said it. However, there is no longer a need to keep it hidden. For Major Schera’s sake, I will devote all my power. I had decided this some time ago. I will happily use pagan* magic. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The daughter of a heretic is a heretic.”

Spoke Katarina rapidly on and on. Her eyes were the same as the other cavalry members.

“……What do you mean?”

Asked back Vander who could not understand. Katarina did not respond to that question.

2,500 cavalry waited for orders. For the order to charge and decimate. The horses neighed, sensing their bloodthirst, and their bodies shook.

Schera raised her scythe, and gave her command.

“Target: Sulawesi Grand Bridge! All members charge-!! Kill them!”

““““““Ou-!!””””””

Their yells resonated, and Schera galloped down the hill at the vanguard. Her two adjutants followed, the 2,500 cavalry kicked up a cloud of dust, and they started dashing like a fierce wave. The Liberation Army flag was drawing closer. Many enemy soldiers began to notice Schera and her group. They soon started to let out cheers and waved their hands. They were welcoming Death. The unarmed civilian people were smiling. However, Schera’s expression did not change. Before her eyes were simply enemies. Food just waiting to be eaten.

“Wa, wait stop! Stop your hors—-”

Her scythe mowed down several civilians who tried to flee, and she went straight ahead. The cavalry following behind her charged while reaching with their spears, and they trampled and killed scores of people.

“Kill whoever you get your hands on! Don’t bother asking who they are! Kill all the Rebel Army-!”

Death gave her command, and the cavalrymen’s devastation began. Weaponless civilians ran, trying to escape. Some poorly equipped militiamen resisted, but they were pierced by spears thrusted from on horseback, and they died.

Schera massacred the enemy camp like cutting weeds. Her scythe flew left and right, spun like a watermill, and randomly cut off limbs. Her momentum did not stop, and she rushed all way to the front of the enemy camp.

“S, spare us. W, we aren’t soldiers.”

“You guys, are the Kingdom right? Wh, why would you do this”

“Let us go—-”

Silently, towards these men who had sank to the ground, the scythe’s tempered edge extended, and killed them.

Accompanying her, Katarina pointed her cane towards their bodies and chanted a spell. It was necromancy, which manipulated soulless corpses. It was magic for people who had fallen off God’s path. There only one usable spell. The corpses could not move freely like the caster. There was also no way to move hundreds. It was her limit to move two. From self-study, she could only learn just this one spell.

“……Go.”

“How interesting that is. To reuse corpses, very intriguing.”

“Thank you very much, Major Schera!”

“What happens after?”

“This. ……Explode-!”

The reanimated corpses crawled deep into the enemy soldiers, and deliberately exploded. The blast swallowed the surrounding soldiers, and the area was pregnant with the smell of burning bodies.

Schera observed, seemingly very satisfied, and once again started the slaughter.

Vander took only humans that had weapons as his opponents. Before his eyes were clearly not soldiers. Only humans that seemed to live in farm villages until a few days ago. He had not become a soldier to slaughter the citizens, not to conduct this kind of indiscriminate slaughter.

He was different. He was different from them.

“Die-!”

“—-Shut up! Take this-!!”

Thrusted spears crossed, and stabbed into a body. Aiming for that opening, a lunged spear stabbed into Vander’s back. ‘Shit,’ he thought, but the arm was immature it seemed, and the spear’s tip grinded against his armor and was deflected. He pulled out his spear, intending to counterattack, and he hastily turned his horse’s head around. It was a Liberation Army soldier wearing crude armor on his body. His height, short. It appeared to be a boy soldier. Maybe about the same size as Schera, maybe even a little shorter. His face was still childish.

He was shaking in surprise that his spear that he had thrusted as hard as he could was deflected. He was completely disheartened.

“Tsk-, be obedient kid!! Do you have a deathwish!?”

“—-Hi- Ah, ah-”

“Don’t be so brazen-!”

Vander knocked away the boy soldier’s weapon with his spear. He did not have the intention of killing children.

—-But.

“I said to kill everyone, Second Lieutenant Vander.”

From behind the unarmed boy soldier, the blade of misfortune swung down. After a cry like a squeal, he died.

“……He was still a child, Major.”

Vander scowled at her, but Schera paid no mind and swung off the blood. She shifted her gaze, searching for her next prey.

“Then, why was he on the battlefield? If you will resent, resent the one who brought him here.”

“He could no longer fight-”

“If he can pick up a sword, he can still fight. And then, he will challenge you again. Are you not a soldier? Or are you a saint? Do you think we’re at a church?”

“—–!”

“All members, gather-!! We will crush the enemy at the Grand Bridge-!!”

Under Schera’s command, the cavalry gathered, and turned their horses towards the Grand Bridge.

“Colonel, enemy attack from the rear! Cavalry are advancing while killing the civilians!!”

“What’d you say? Where the heck did they come from!? The enemy cavalry should have been annihilated right!?”

“B, but they’re here! Enemy has a white bird coat of arms on a black flag! Their vanguard is a commander holding a scythe!”

“The rumored Death God!? Alright, we’ll stop them in their tracks here. Absolutely do not let them break through the bridge! We’ll be laughed at if they can get away successfully!!”

The raiding cavalry that raised havoc for their supply trains from before. The unit associated with the name Death. He had heard of their rumored commander.

“Sir-! Infantry unit! Assemble the formation!! We’ll obstruct the Death God’s charge!!”

The infantry unit dispatched to the middle of the bridge, commanded, constructed a wall of spears. A cavalry certainly had rushing power, but they were weak against readied spears. They would absolutely hesitate, fearing death. If they encircled them at that time and attacked, there would be nothing to fear.

“Spear line, forward-!! Shoulder to shoulder-!”

“Spears, Braceeeeeeeeeee–!!”

The spearmen, overflowing with morale, braced their spears. From the direction their allies should have been, blood spurts flew, and an odd army came charging. While they were in a column formation, they were coming in just a single, straight line.

“Uooooooooooooo–!!”

“Spears-! Forwardddddddd-!!”

“Dieeeeeeeeee–!!”

The troops holding the black flag plunged into the wall of spears with absolutely no hesitation. They propelled their spears from atop horseback and decided to run the spearmen over with their horses’ momentum. They felt not a moment’s indecision.

Horses and rider were skewered. While being skewered, they were also taking down the enemy infantry. Soldiers that had fallen off their horses threw themselves off the Grand Bridge, making sure to take the enemy with them. Schera’s unit had teared open a section of the spear line by sacrificing dozens of soldiers.

In that opening, Schera was swinging her scythe from atop her horse. Katarina, who had exhausted her magical power, was also swinging a sword. The regular soldiers of the Liberation Army were pushed back. They couldn’t stop the enemy’s momentum.

“The commander, kill that commander! That’ll weaken the enemy’s momentum-! Absolutely halt them-!”

“Colonel, you are too far forward! Please step back!”

The Adjutant stopped him, but he shook him off and wielded his battleaxe. He smashed a charging cavalryman. Though he inflicted a fatal wound, the rider was about to stand up again, so he cut off his head. What fearsome mettle, he was inwardly shocked. They were clearly different from the other soldiers of the Kingdom.

“Shut up! They’ll break through the this bridge at this rate-!! You monsters-! What’s with the force of their charge-”

“—-Colonel, this is dangerous!”

“Surround them with soldiers; flatten them with numbers!! Do not show them any leniency!”

Raising his voice, he encouraged his soldiers. One rider in black armor stood out conspicuously. She was their commander no doubt. When the Colonel thoughtlessly glared at her, he met her eyes.

Schera smiled like a little girl… whose face was covered in blood. The Colonel was entranced by Death.

“—-ah.”

A small sickle stabbed into the face of the speechless Colonel. It was a throw with no prior movements. The commander of the Liberation Army diversion unit had easily died. The throat of the Adjutant who tried to help him up as well, was pierced by a thrown sickle.

David’s Headquarters, being pincered.

Disastrous reports were coming in one after another. David’s headquarters had also become perilous. He unsheathed his heirloom sword and steeled himself for when the time would come. A noble had to proudly die.

“Y, your Excellency. Please, you of all people must escape Your Excellency! We will open a way out to Belta!”

Spoke up the Chief Staff Officer, but David shook his head sideways.

“I, cannot. If I escape right now, we will be completely routed. If I had to run away and uncouthly die, I would die here! I have my pride as a noble-”

“B, but! Belta!”

If David escaped, it would be assured that they would be routed.

But, in this situation, it was the defeated commander’s duty to save even a single soldier and repatriate to Belta. David may have his pride as a noble, but he was the worst commander. To David who stood at the head of the army with his elite guards, a report for the umpteenth time came.

“Your Excellency David-!”

“What is it this time! Have they finally broken through the bridge!?”

“R, reinforcements! Reinforcements from our army has come!!”

“Bullshit! Where the heck did they come from!? Don’t tell me they abandoned Belta!!”

David was not fool enough to leave Belta Castle empty. He had sent out a messenger, and strictly told them to devote themselves to defense. As far as he was concerned, it was absolutely unthinkable for reinforcements to come from the Belta area.

“No-! Reinforcements from Sulawesi Grand Bridge!! They have boldly penetrated the enemy camp!”

For a second, David had thought this messenger had gone mad. The other staff officers as well. But, when he shifted his attention to the bridge, the situation was strange. David’s unit that was being pushed back was making a comeback. The enemy’s river crossing unit was also turning away without reaching land.

“Who!? Whose unit came!? Is it Alexei’s cavalry-!??”

David naturally leaned forward in excitement. His voice cracked in anticipation.

Who. Who came? Did Alexei’s cavalry survive? Reinforcements from the Royal Capital? It would be difficult to believe, but it wasn’t impossible for it to be volunteer soldiers.

“White crow coat of arms on a black flag!! The commander is unknown, but they are overrunning the enemy encampment!!”

“Y, Your Excellency. Please use this.”

A staff officer handed over a spyglass. It wasn’t as good an Empire-made one, but one could see close enough to the Grand Bridge. David investigated steadily. A black flag and a white crow emblem. He hadn’t seen it before. He had no recollection of there being such a family crest. Black was also bad luck.

He looked at the cavalrymen holding the flags. Everyone was fighting with terrific valor. They trampled the enemy without paying any mind to thrusted spears.

He stared at the especially conspicuous commander holding a scythe. She was wearing a helmet, but she had that characteristic short stature.

A young face covered in crimson blood. She was a young, female commander with a twisted smile while slashing at her prey.

“T, that’s, S, Major Schera.”

Her name escaped his lips, and he was lost for words. At such a fearsome manner of fighting, he could not articulate. She was splitting the enemy as if she was a veteran general. When he thought they had broken through the bridge, she gave a further command, and once again charged towards the opposite shore. The spirit of the enemy soldiers, who had not expected them to turn around, was completely crushed.The enemy unit who had lost their leader were like novices scrambling for their lives, trying to escape from Death’s scythe. Following them from behind were the cavalrymen savagely swooping down on them. The Grand Bridge was awash with fresh blood.

“Y, Your Excellency David! We cannot just let this be. Take our forces on the bridge and allocate them to our flank, and then plan to retreat! I do not think we have faculty to fight the enemy’s main force in a series of battle any more-!”

“………..:”

“—-Your Excellency! Major General David, Your Excellency-! Your orders immediately!”

“Ah, yeah. I, leave it to you. H, hurry and, deal with it.”

“Sir-!”

The Chief Staff Officer barked his orders to the military officers angrily. They had to avoid being annihilated at all costs. They were desperate.

“……Th, that’s a Death God. Certainly, Death itself. Was Y, Yalder right?”

While shivering, David gazed long at Schera’s style of fighting, as if eating it up. He had completely forgotten about commanding.

Afterwards, the troops of David’s unit assigned to the river bank and Grand Bridge were successfully moved to the flanks.

The Liberation Army contributing a fierce attack from the side were bewildered at a counterattack beyond their expectations. The unit that was on the verge of being routed had suddenly gotten a second wind and were making a comeback.

The Liberation Army that was striking from the side, though they were called the main force, were mostly comprised of only units swift on their feet. They stressed the ability to pincer, and they should have made the enemy take to their heels with a swift attack. After a series of battles, they had built up fatigue, and the soldiers’ power had fallen as one would expect. Due to the difference in stamina and their declining might, the casualties on the Liberation Army side gradually started increasing.

The Liberation Army commander, Behrouz, deciding now was enough, temporarily pulled his soldiers back. There was also the report that many civilians and militiamen were victimized. He needed for the state of affairs to calm down.

David escaped from his predicament and somehow scurried back to Belta. Defeated soldiers were continuously returning. All the soldiers were completely exhausted. The Kingdom’s Army had lost too many things in this battle.

—-Fourth Army surviving soldiers: 30,000.

A third had died in battle, and the rest had thrown down their swords and surrendered or deserted.

Driving a wedge into Belta, Sulawesi Grand Bridge was taken, and even the river crossing site was snatched away from them. Afterwards, the Liberation Army would probably close in on them like a noose around their necks.

David was angry and embarrassed, and he fell ill from his anxiety due to self-condemnation.

The Battle of Alucia Crossing ended in the crushing defeat for the Kingdom’s Army. Their loss did not end in just losing troops and Sulawesi Grand Bridge. As the sun set on the Kingdom, it had the result of making known to the populace that the Kingdom no longer had the power to put an end to the Rebel Army. The victorious Liberation Army took the surrendered soldiers into their fold and further surged in power.

Schera quietly repatriated, taking her cavalry along with her. Each and every one was bloodstained, but they entered the castle as if proud of that. The castle garrison that had ushered them in could only watch them with held breaths. The white bird was painted deep crimson. Just how many lives had it sucked in.

While wearing her bloodied armor, Schera rushed into the barracks cafeteria. She took as much as she could, and headed to the camp grounds where her soldiers were waiting. All the surviving cavalrymen were smiling while eating together with their commander. That she was able to have an enjoyable meal with her comrades made Schera very happy.

After consuming enough for three men, Schera fell asleep with a contented smile.

—-As for those victimized civilians, their story would be handed down to posterity as “The Tragedy of Sulawesi Grand Bridge.” They boldly faced the Death God’s surprise attack, fought, and then died noble deaths; they were heroes. In commemoration of their altruism, a large monument to comfort their spirits would be erected beside the Grand Bridge.

*外法 Eastern religious term that I have westernized for brevity.

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