On the fourth day of the battle, Bartolo took on a cone-shaped formation to try to break through the center.
　He wanted to fight with the Phalanx at the tip and Rosais' forces on both wings to prevent the enemy from encircling them.

　However, they were unable to break it down when they were almost there and had to retreat.

　Bartolo retreated, deliberately making it look like the formation was in disarray in order to repel the enemy who had chased him, but Kepka Barca drew back without making a chase.

　Both sides are in a stalemate with no resolution.

　'Lord Bartolo, you were so close to fighting today. If you hadn't ordered a retreat, we would have eaten through the enemy's formation!

　It was a steward from the Autonomous City who said so at the military council, leading a Cilician phalanx.
　As if to agree with the steward, the generals of each country begin to complain about Bartolo.

　It's a disturbing atmosphere.
　It's a bad trend.

　I have faith in Bartolo's abilities.
　He's the only reason I've come to this point in my life.

　So I'm not going to push off the ladder here.

　If Bartolo said it was better for me to step aside, it must have been better for me to step aside.

　I try to open my mouth to defend Bartolo, but.....
　Before he could do so, Bartolo spoke up.

　'Indeed, we have been too cautious until now. Tomorrow, we will surely take on the enemy!

　Bartolo speaks powerfully.
　Hearing those words, the color of dissatisfaction disappears from the faces of the commanders present.

　On the other hand, despite Bartolo's strong statement, his expression is not excellent.
　It seems that he hasn't even been drinking, and he seems to have no energy at any time.

　........Are you sure it's good?　And you know what?
　You thought it was the best thing to do right then and there, didn't you?

　It was easily overturned and....


　Oh, this one's going to lose tomorrow.

　Such a voice froze the place that had been coalescing.
　The gazes of those who had participated in the military council gathered on the owner of the voice.

　It was Alexios.

　''What do you mean by that!
　'This is why mercenaries...'
　"I hear that Kepka Barka is your uncle!
　I don't trust you!
　'His Majesty King Almus, such a man should not be stopped by the army!

　There is a lot of accusations against Alexios.
　Alexios is not a very cooperative person, and sometimes he is sarcastic.

　Well, to put it bluntly, he has a bad character. I think he is a good person at heart, but he has a bad temperament.

　And he's from Pofenia, where we're currently engaged...and he's the nephew of an enemy general.

　They all harbored their dissatisfaction deep in their hearts.
　It had now exploded.

　'Alexios, I don't believe you would make a careless statement without a second thought. I'll give you time. Explain why you think that, along with the intent of your statement.

　I asked quietly.

　Then Alexios put on his best face, as if he's been waiting for it.

　I understand. I will explain. First of all, why can't we defeat Kepka Barca's army? The Pofenian army has 30,000 and the Rosais army has 40,000. Pophenians are outnumbered. Kepka Barca prefers to go on the offensive in their tactics, but if they are outnumbered, they will lose if they go on the offensive. That's why we keep defending the straight line.

　In order to attack, you have to concentrate your forces on one point.
　But when you do that, you dilute the strength of the other side and expose its weaknesses.

　On the other hand, as long as we abandon the attack and continue to defend, that formation will not be easy to break.

　That's why we're struggling.
　We know that.

　''But don't you wonder?　It's true that a turtle holed up in its shell is strong. But as long as the turtle is holed up in its shell, it can't defeat the crane.

　The image of a crane that keeps poking the shell of a turtle came into my mind.

　Is the turtle a kepka and the crane a Bartolo?

　'The turtle is waiting for the crane to get hungry and short-tempered and try to put its beak inside the shell. If the crane unintentionally slips its beak into the turtle's shell, the turtle will crush the beak with its strong jaws and emerge from its shell to devour the crane.

　The place goes quiet.

　Alexios continues with more words.

　'In the four battles, there is only one enemy army that has not moved once. It is the Hexpanian mercenaries. Hexpania is a land that has been closely related to the Barca family since ancient times, and the Hexpania Mercenaries are in effect private soldiers owned by the Barca family. They are far different from the other mercenaries in terms of skill level and combat power per capita. Probably, they plan to use them at the very edge of our almost defeating the Pofenian army, and then go on the offensive when we stop attacking them.

　Alexios' words were compelling.
　No one could argue back.

　Alexios shifted his gaze to Bartolo.

　'Lord Bartolo, do you think there is something wrong with my thoughts?'
　"...no, no. You're right. If you get too deep, you'll lose...

　Bartolo honestly admitted his mistake.
　Does this mean that the turtle's beak was avoided in the first place?

　''But that strategy is based on us going deep. Even though Pofenia's army has gained control of the sea, its supply should not be stable. The longer we drag it out, the worse off we'll be.......

　No, the longer it goes on, the worse off we are, too.
　In fact, unlike Pofenia, who can loot to replenish their supplies, we can't loot.

　If the war drags on, it will be our inferior country with lesser national strength that will be at a disadvantage.

　'I see, so the Pofenian army doesn't have to win. They have already gained control of the strait between Trisichelia and Adelunia. Their strategic objective has been reached. If we don't have to play the game, if we can bring this into a protracted war and make peace...

　Even just the edge of it was fine.
　From Pofenia's point of view, as long as she could get a place on the Adelunian Peninsula to serve as a naval base, she didn't need any other land.

　Of course you want it, but you don't want it so badly that you can't force yourself to get it.

　Perhaps Kepka Barca changed his policy when he failed to bring Rezad down.

　He wants to win by diplomacy, not by war.

　This is the most disgusting opponent I've ever experienced.
　General Clue was strong, but he was a genuine warrior who only wanted to win the war.

　But this opponent is different.

　He is an eclectic mix of politicians and soldiers who see war as a means of diplomacy and politics.


　'But we can't give them land in Adelunia, even if it's just a pebble. The captured Cilician people must be saved. We can only be allowed total victory.

　The way we've always done it won't work.

　But if we forcefully attack, we will lose.
　If we don't go on the offensive, a diplomatic defeat awaits us.

　Either way, a bad outcome awaits us....


　"Your Majesty, King Alms, I have a solution to our current situation. Would you be so kind as to hear it?
　Let's hear it.

　It's a night attack.

　A night attack...
　It's one of the tactics of taking the enemy by surprise in the middle of the night.

　But this tactic is very difficult.

　First of all, you must be able to distinguish between friend and foe in the dark.
　Secondly, one must be skilled enough to act in the dark without disrupting the ranks.
　Thirdly, the soldiers are exhausted.

　There are great advantages, but there are also great disadvantages.
　If you succeed, you can achieve great results, but if you fail, you will lose a lot of money.

　'The enemy will be prepared for it. I don't think we'll succeed.
　'I can make it work. At least, with just my Germanic cavalry, I have the math to keep my eyes open at night in the dark. I can't tell you how, but ... and ...

　Alexios grinned.

　'Doesn't Your Majesty have enough pawns in the dark to assassinate more than thirty people in the dark without anyone noticing?

　...you knew.
　Well, if you look closely into the Rezad attack, you'll find out.

　It was only possible because of Alice's superhuman physical abilities.

　"All right, all right. We'll take your plan. Explain to me the specifics of your plan.
　I understand. It's the time of day that matters...






　'General!　Sir!　Wake up, please wake up!
　Hmm?　...in the morning?　Let me get some more sleep....

　Kepka was rocked by the deputy, who opened the thinness but quickly wrapped himself in the blanket.
　The deputy forced the blanket off.

　'It's a night raid!　It's the enemy's night raid!
　A night attack?　It's Alexios!　I knew he'd use that blessing on me!　They should have been warned!　What were the guards doing!

　Kepka knows Alexios as well as Alexios knows Kepka well.
　It was predictable that Alexios would use his blessings and launch a night attack.

　That's why Kepka had set up the Hexpania mercenaries on guard.　
　It was because the other mercenaries could not be trusted.

　''I'm sorry too...''
　'Enough!　It was inevitable that the night attack happened. We'll get our forces together immediately. We will fight back!

　Kepka hurriedly puts on his armor and holds his sword in his hand.
　Then he runs out of the tabernacle and raises his voice.

　'All troops, gather in the center!

　Kepka's instructions are spread throughout the entire Pofenian army through the junior officers.
　The entire Pofenian army moves into the center of the city a little at a time.

　But.........

　"Oh, he cut me down!　The enemy is this close!　It's you!
　Shit, you got me too. Where are you?　Is that you?
　"Ta, captain!　The tit-for-tat has begun. ........Captain?　Oh, shit, he's dead!　

　If it was only Alexios who was launching the night attack, Kepka might have been able to handle it.
　However, Alexios is not the only one who is attacking at night.

　Alice, the biggest and biggest piece, is moving around unseen.

　Alice doesn't even allow herself the time to scream, killing the enemy soldiers ruthlessly.
　Before you know it, the fear of the people next to you becoming the silent dead is immeasurable.




　''Kuhn, there's not much of a gathering!　What the hell is going on...
　Oh, my goodness. General. The slaves we captured have escaped!

　'Shit, it's all bad news...'

　Kepka had been catching slaves as they plundered until the Confederates arrived.
　Whenever he reached a certain number, he would send them to the occupied coast....

　There were about five hundred slaves left in the main camp that they had failed to send out.
　Those slaves were unleashed and began to rampage.

　Even so, I should still call it a quintessential Kepka.
　Little by little, the confusion in the Pofenian army is subsiding.

　It was right after Kepka was distracted.

　The sound of an explosion could be heard.　
　The eyes of the soldiers, including Kepka, headed in the direction of the explosion, wondering what was going on.

　What they saw in their eyes was fire.
　The flames had dyed the pantry red.

　''Oh my God!　They've burned the pantry!
　'We're running out of food!
　The main camp has been destroyed!
　Kepka Barca has escaped!
　No, the enemy killed him!

　Untruthful drivel flew around the area.
　The fires in the pantry stopped and the Pofenian army began to crumble.

　"Well if we have no food we don't want to starve.
　I mean, we're going to kill each other, aren't we?
　'This is ridiculous. I'm supposed to get married at the end of this war.

　The mercenaries will be the first to run away.
　As soon as they bump into each other, it's a battle.

　We don't know if they are friend or foe.　
　What we do know is that they are preventing us from escaping.

　It's no longer possible to rebuild.

　Let's get out of here.

　Kepka finally makes a decision.
　He gathers a small group of Hexpanian mercenaries and attempts to escape.

　It was then.
　The sun came out of the sky as if it were a god saving Kepka.
　Night had dawned.

　All at once, the surroundings become brighter.

　Now we can finally escape.
　Perhaps they could rebuild.

　The Pofenia Army sees a glimmer of hope.
　At the same time, they heard the sound of the Grim Reaper's footsteps.

　''What is it?　This earth-shaking... oh, that's...

　I turned my gaze in the direction of the earth shaking, and there the Allied forces were lined up in an orderly fashion.
　They were waiting for the dawn to fall.

　The young king in the lead shouted something and waved his sword.
　On cue, the allied forces attacked the Pofenian army.


　Thirty thousand Pofenian troops.

　Five thousand dead. (Of which 4,000 were killed by each other.)
　20,000 prisoners.
　Five thousand fugitives.

　Thus the Pofenian army was destroyed.

________.

　'The only people who like the dark night are the color demon, the bat and the great general.
　-The Romany proverb

　quasi-phrase
　"The madman, the cloud, and the great general want to cross the high mountain.

　Japanese translation
　"The line between stupid and genius is fine.