It took two days to reorganize the troops.

　Well, it was not so much that it took too long, considering that the chain of command had put together a complex Allied army.

　But it was also true that it had given the enemy two days to regroup.



　''So, how is General Clue doing?''
　The reconnaissance team reports that they're holed up in a city about a day's drive from here.

　You're holed up in a city...
　It wouldn't be good if they played a siege battle.

　It's July now.
　In another three months, it will be autumn and you will have to prepare for the winter camp.

　Winter camping is to survive the winter by pitching a camp in a place where food is relatively abundant and easy to live.
　In the ancient world, winter military operations were very dangerous.

　The cold winter weather alone would diminish a soldier's strength.

　Basically, most armies winterize because 'the benefits of winter military action < the risks that arise from it'.

　It's commonly known as a natural truce.

　This means that after another three or four months, you're stuck in a huddle for another three or four months.
　This is a huge blow to our country, where home-grown agriculture is the mainstay of our soldiers.

　Roselle might be good because much of its industry is hunter-gatherer and nomadic, but....

　No, I don't think so.
　Bartolo, who picked up on my muttering, shook his head.

　'Why?'
　''That's easy. Roselle's borders shouldn't have so much time on their hands that they can let a large army of thirty thousand people play in a place like this. There are a lot of enemies in Roselle. Gilbed, Fardham, the Adelnians of the northern Adelian peninsula, the northeastern Gaul, and the Germanis...
　I see...

　It's hard to be a big country.
　It's also not a good idea to have too wide a border.

　So you're saying that they're going to come after General Clue for a short battle?
　Probably.

　So it's a meeting.　
　The total number is still lower here....

　I hope the siege and annihilation warfare comes through because we have superior cavalry numbers.
　General Clue is good at assault and division warfare.

　The problem is the hairy creature or something like that. Don't you have any pictures or anything?
　It's there. I had a guy with a great drawing do it for me. I'll have him come back with it now.

　Bartolo called for the messenger and had him bring the painting.
　It's a pretty good painting," he said.

　Me, the big family, Muzio, Yuria, Tetra, Ron and the others, Alexios and Melia look at the painting.

　This is.........

　Mammoth!
　Elephants.
　You're an elephant.

　Me, Alexios and Melia's voices overlap.

　Alexios asks a little unexpectedly.

　'Do you know an elephant?　King Rosais.
　Hmm, yeah. I've heard of them. You have one in Pofenia?
　'Yes. Not so shaggy, though. There's a species of elephant called the forest elephant. We use them for construction and warfare.

　Hmmm....
　But still, a mammoth.

　As I recall, the name "mammoth" is Tatar for "one who lives on the earth" or something like that.
　Then it's not what the Adelnians would call it.

　'Well, good. I think we'll call him Kenagazo. ...Alexios. Tell me what to do about the elephant and how to use it.

　Alexios nodded lightly and then began to explain.

　'Elephants are used in two ways. One is to make them charge and also disrupt the enemy's formation. Elephants are very huge, so to someone who is not used to seeing them, they are very frightening. And they can be quite fast with that huge body. If it is crushed, it is the end of consistency. Its epidermis is thick, so it won't die that easily. In terms of pure destructive power, it's even more terrifying than a cavalry assault.

　Bartolo is painfully aware of that.
　So what's the second use?

　Secondly, they can be used as shields. Elephants have a bit of a special smell - horses don't like that smell. One way is to place the elephants on the sides to prevent flanking attacks by the cavalry. And I don't think he's the kind of person who would repeat the same move over and over again.

　'Well...'

　The general named Kryu is extremely talented.
　At first, I had the impression that he was just a fierce general who was good at breaking through to the front...

　I looked at the remains of the battle for the King's Landing and reconsidered.
　That was as much of a wise general as Bartolo and Alexios.

　''But if the horses don't like it, it's tricky. We can't get around the flanks...''

　Muzio scowled.
　He would receive them with his heavily armed infantry and surround and destroy them with flanking and rear attacks of cavalry.

　This has become the basic tactic of King Rosais' country and the Equus tribe.

　But with the elephants, this cannot be done.


　''Even if we continue to challenge them, we risk having our flanking attacks blocked by the elephants and eating through their long stretched formations.
　So we'll have to deal with the elephant first.

　I don't know how you could take down an elephant.

　As I recall, Scipio opened up a wide gap between the heavily armed infantry, got past the elephants, and then stabbed them to death with a spear thrower.
　I also think there was a diadcoy who used chains to stall the war elephants in the Diadcoy War.

　But the enemy is more likely to use them as a moving barrier, not an assault...
　Which means....

　'Rosward. Our cavalry was okay with the bombing spear, right?
　Yes, sir. I've trained him to be a good sport and not to be surprised.

　Okay, then. Then we're good to go.
　And.....

　What about the enemy's slave troops?
　I'll take care of that.

　Julia spoke up.

　'The enemy is using witchcraft to eliminate fear, right?　Then I'll try to break the spell. Not completely, but I'm sure it will work to some extent.
　"All sorcerers and enemy sorcerers against the oldest old woman in the world.

　Tetra it's rude to call her an old woman, no matter how much you want to.
　You're young on the outside.

　Anyway, the slave unit's response has been decided.

　The only thing left to do now is to find a way to cut down on General Liu's crazy assault capabilities.

　Bartolo muttered as he took a drink.　
　'You should only stop drinking when you have a meeting.

　'General Kryu has a blessing, doesn't he?　The "physical performance system
　Yeah. I just got a peek with my clairvoyance and guards. Blessing and charm. It's a tricky one. Even the soldiers are getting stronger.

　Hmmm, what to do...

　Lord Almus, he's so strong.

　What's the matter, Lulu? You're the one who lifted me up.

　"When was the last time you killed a bear with a spear thrower?

　Seo-yeon nodded.
　As I recall, it was not long after the refugees arrived, right?

　I've seen that happen....

　.........

　So you're saying I shouldn't do it?
　I thought the king was the only one who could stop General Clue.

　All eyes are on me.
　All right. All I have to do is fight General Liu, right? Bartolo will be in charge anyway, so there's no problem for me to be on the front lines.

　I don't have much combat experience, but...　
　It was always one-sided.

　But I guess that's the same with General Kryu.
　There's no way there's a blessing holder like us laying around.

　I'm not sure I'm the only one, though.
　Don't forget me!
　I'll help you. You'll be fine. We're not gonna make the mistake of shooting through it together.

　Ron and Gram stand up.
　I see. These two are under the influence of my Great King's blessing, so they're strong, if not as strong as me.

　'I'll support them too. I don't want my best friend to die.

　Muzio also grinned.　
　This guy had a blessing too.

　He controlled the wind and was a warrior.

　I catch Kryu and Ron supports him close by.
　Muzio and Gram support with arrows from behind...

　Yeah. That's not a bad lineup.
　It's a surefire way to stop them.

　''Let's put our best and brightest in the front line, with the proximal guards at the center. Let's move back a little bit, catching General Kryu in the act and then...

　Bartolo wraps his fist in his palm and shows it to me.

　I don't have to tell you.　
　It's a siege and annihilation.


　So, let's go to work on your preparations. Tetra, don't forget to check your explosive spears.
　Yes, sir. Alms.

　The leading men go back to their respective camps.
　This war, if we don't end it for good, will reverberate later on.

　Perhaps tomorrow or the day after tomorrow will be the decisive battle...


　"General Liu. You may not have any experience of losing, but I haven't lost before either. I'm supposed to be the son of the God of War. If I lose, there will be consequences and I will definitely win!


　The decisive battle is near.