Chapter 192: Chapter 192 - The Battle of Steelgarden (6)
In the moonlit night, a crow flies over the battlefield, sensing the banquet that is about to be served to them.
On the ground below, seventy thousand troops are charging three thousand.
Shouts and cries fill the air, the ground itself shakes with so many feet stomping it.
The giant tidal wave crashes onto the pebble that stands in their way. But no new sound arises, no clash of steel against steel. Both magic hurled and bodies in movement pass straight through the defending soldiers, who vanish in the air.
On the farthest side of the battlefield, at some distance over the hill, the defender army showers spells and projectiles on the crusaders.
Aurea’s illusions and the portals did their job creating a ruse.
The exasperated shouts and sighs that could be heard from the invaders were drowned by the death cries of ten thousand men.
:::
PoV: Aurea
"Yes, target the weaker units first! Go for the foot soldiers who aren’t protected!"
I normally wouldn’t be giving this kind of order, as the enemy’s foot soldiers are conscripts who probably didn’t even want to be here to begin with.
But tonight it’s our survival that is in check. And we need to thin their numbers as a way to blow even harder the hearts of the stronger soldiers.
"If you see anyone fleeing, let them flee! Always leave a visible option of retreat! Target only the ones who are determined to fight!"
If you cut off the enemy’s retreat, you bolster their resolve to fight.
And the war goal is not extermination. It’s to ward off the invasion. It’s a superiority-type war goal that might be achieved by merely breaking the invader’s will to fight.
"They are coming this way! Spatial units, prepare the portals! Maintain the formation!"
The ones unleashing the attacks don’t even need to look back to know where the portals are going to be spawned, nor do they need to look to their sides to know in which order they are supposed to turn tail and run.
They have practiced this drill countless times, honing the choreography to perfection.
"Spatial Units! Chant!!!"
I give the command to start the aria that all of them will be chanting so they all can finish it at the same time.
I don’t bother with the illusions this time. I let them see us fleeing, as they don’t have a way of knowing beforehand where we’ll flee to.
The crusaders are almost arriving at our position, though they are now running up the hillside.
"NOW!!! GO!!!"
All squads begin their movement to retreat through the portals, being transported to a position at the exact same height but on the mountain at the other side of the valley.
When the squads finish, it’s time for the commanders, then the portal casters. Then me.
The expressions on their faces as they see us retreating are truly a treat for my tired eyes. To have run all the way up here for nothing. The best thing was the hurling of insults.
Even from far to the other side, I can hear their shouting and exasperation.
It’s music to my ears.
:::
PoV: Urraca
"THIS IS SO DAMN USELESS!!! DON’T CHASE THEM! ALL UNITS!!! HAAAAAALT!!!!"
As the princess rides around relentlessly urging her troops to stand ground, the higher-ranking officers flock to her
"Your Highness! What do we do now?"
"Your Highness, there are more reports of troops deserting."
"Your Highness, the number of casualties..."
"Your Highness...!"
"Your High—"
"Enough! Assemble a tent for me, and call all the corps commanders. We’re having a command meeting. Oh, and bring those three dumbasses as well."
"You mean the three angels, Your Highness?"
"Do you see any other group that might be called ’those three dumbasses’ in this battlefield? Of course it’s them! Now GO!!!"
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
The poor officer scurried to deliver her orders.
:::
Inside a dimly lit tent, eight people are assembled in a sour mood. They are sitting in some chairs arranged in a circular shape.
There are orders for the guards to not allow anyone to come inside unless there are very urgent developments, and the tent is enveloped with several layers of protective and soundproof barriers.
"Okay. I don’t think that any one of us needs the situation in the field to be summarized, so let’s get straight to the point. First question is, why are they able to have enough mana to pull off that portal thing so many times in one battle?"
The one to first offer an answer is Extarraqueño, the Fire General, commander of the magic forces of Castro, who is commanding the united magic forces of the crusaders.
"I agree that this is the first thing to be addressed. From my preliminary assessment, those spells should have a steep cost in mana, and they have been pulling them off like nothing. They sent twenty thousand soldiers onto the walls at the start of the battle, then from the walls to the castle. And now three thousand soldiers are playing whack-a-mole with us! And they are supposed to have been excommunicated!"
"They were excommunicated! We did go through the ritual a second time, but I’m sure it was successful the first time!"
The High Bishop, who is the representative of the Church and commander of the priests and paladins, practically shouts trying to defend himself. But all eyes in the room are on the three envoys of the goddess, not him.
"It’s their goddess. She’s constantly healing them and restoring their mana."
"THEIR goddess? I thought there was only one?"
Urraca leans forward after hearing this answer, resting her elbows on her knees and squinting her eyes.
The angels didn’t flinch or show any emotion. Instead, Flavia answers in a cold and matter-of-fact manner, like she was commenting on the weather or something.
"There was only one. But they created a new one for themselves. Saint Lily, goddess of compassion. She’s fighting on their side."
Those words fall like a nuclear bomb on the room.