It had been an hour since the spearheads of the two armies had clashed with each other.
　Reports were arriving one after another at the main camp of the kingdom's army, which was located behind the central unit, from each unit.

''The left wing troops have also made contact with the enemy right wing troops!

Right-wing troops are pushing the enemy left-wing troops into the city!

The center is a power struggle.　We've stopped moving forward!

　On the plan laid out on the table, the surrounding terrain was drawn and a model representing each unit was placed. By moving the models as they were reported, the general and his staff were able to grasp the overall situation of the battlefield from the main camp.

'Can we win?'

　The only person who is here, but has not been able to grasp the state of the battlefield from the drawings, speaks up with a question.

''Ha, Your Highness. Although we are not at an advantage in terms of strength, we have made the calculations to win.''

　Turning with his body to the Lord who had asked him the question, General Ortlich, who was serving as the second-in-command, answered.

　Despite his position as second-in-command, General Ortlich is practically the supreme commander. There is only one person in this army with whom he treats with respect.
　That is, the formal supreme commander, the third prince of the House of Naglas himself.

"There are a lot more of them than we are, it seems. ......

We do not deny that. If we challenge a war of attrition from the front, our army will be the first to collapse. But we have taken all possible measures to prevent that from happening. Hey! Tell His Highness what's going on.

　The general instructed one of his staff members who was standing by to explain the details.
　Upon receiving the instruction, the general's chief of staff stepped forward. To prevent the third prince from interfering with his gaze, he stood at the side of the desk and extended his stick to the drawing that was spread out.

My troops are currently divided into a central, left and right wing. The Empire has likewise divided its forces into three sides, and all of the units are entering the battle from the front.

　Seeing the third prince nodding his head, the general staff continued his explanation.

The third prince nodded his head and said, "Of course, if things continue as they are, our army, which is inferior in strength, is at a disadvantage. However, our clandestine scouts have obtained the enemy's operational information in advance.

Do you have operational intelligence on the Empire?

Yes. Therefore, our troops are taking advantage of the enemy's operational information and laying a trap to reverse the formation. The enemy's plan is this--

　This is the information on the Empire's operations that was obtained by a secret spy. This was a plan to lure the right wing of the kingdom's troops into retreat, and then flank the drawn in right wing of the kingdom's troops with troops that had been diverted from the rear to attack from the flank, while at the same time the imperial left wing troops, which had been in a deceptive retreat, would be reversed.

　If the operation was successful, the kingdom's right-wing units, which were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, would be unable to support the front line and would collapse. Even if the center and left flank troops were to fight well, if the enemy flowed into the main line from the collapsed right flank, they would be conclusively defeated.

Moreover, it was the cavalry, which had overrun the main line in the earlier battle, that would attack the right flank from the flank.

You mean the one they sent from the southern continent with the army or something?

Yes, sir.

　The real identity of the cavalry straddling this unfamiliar beast is finally beginning to dawn on the kingdom.
　It's not yet known what their capabilities are, but considering how well they performed in the preliminaries, they are not an opponent to be underestimated.

"So, they're going to bring in more of that cavalry. ......

'So I'll take advantage of that. If you know that the cavalry will charge you, you can take countermeasures. We have distributed a lot of anti-cavalry equipment to the right flank.

　The chief of staff begins to explain the operation in detail.

"If the enemy's left flank is in a deceptive retreat, we will refrain from giving chase to them so that they won't be dragged into it.

　The model of the enemy's left wing troops placed on the figure is moved to the rear and the model of the enemy cavalry is moved from behind it to the front of the kingdom's right wing troops.

''Our right wing troops will intercept the enemy cavalry in defensive formation and strike with their shields and long spears. At the same time, with the central unit's main force that has been conserving its strength--

　He points the model of the kingdom's central troops towards the right wing troops and has them poke at the flank of the enemy cavalry.
　He then takes a small model that was placed behind the kingdom's right flank and runs around the right flank of the right flank to hit the enemy cavalry.

''The gist of the operation is that our cavalry, which is held back behind the right wing troops, will surround them from both sides and destroy them. The left flank of the enemy's left flank, which is far away due to their retreat, will not be able to return in time to cover them. Once the cavalry was killed, it was easy to slaughter the enemy's left-wing troops with the momentum they had.

　If one of the three sides collapsed, it would be impossible for both the enemy and their allies to hold the battle line.
　Using the enemy's strategy against them, they defeated the imperial left wing troops and used their momentum to assault the main camp. That was the strategy that the Royal Army had set up.

''I see. Is that why the left wing troops haven't gone on an aggressive offensive?''

Did you notice that? I am impressed by your insight. The role of the left wing unit is to create a diversion. We are instructed to attack the enemy to the extent that they will not be aware of our intentions.

　The territorial and royal troops are focused on the right flank of the kingdom's right flank and the central troops to be rolled out along the way in order to hit the enemy's cavalry and left flank troops.

　The left wing troops are mainly composed of militia. Among them was the Tria Territorial Army.
　If the quality of the soldiers was too poor, there was a possibility that the intention of the operation might leak out, and although it was natural that some territorial army would be assigned to the left flank, no one had ever thought that the commander of the Tholian Territorial Army would offer to do so.

　It sounds good to say that the left flank, which had no plans to go on an active offensive, was safe, but on the contrary, there was no opportunity for them to make achievements.
　The commanders of the various territorial armies, who had seen an opportunity to win by obtaining and using the enemy's operational information, were unable to gauge the thoughts of the commander of the Tholian territorial army.

　The General Staff wanted to assign the Tholian Territorial Army to the center or right wing, but it couldn't be helped if there was no one else who wanted to be assigned to the left wing.
　It was unavoidable to place the Tria Territorial Army on the left wing, while all the other territorial forces were allocated to the right wing and the main force in the center.

''But the spearhead of the central unit is attacking quite forcefully unlike the left wing, isn't it? I heard that the enemy is also waiting for you with a solidified formation.

As you might expect, the enemy will be suspicious if both the left flank and the center flank are passive. I have ordered the central spearhead to break through the enemy with all their might.

...... with no regard for the damage?

　The prince's expression is unreasonable.

The central spearhead is a mercenary force. Our soldiers will not be exhausted.

But mercenaries are still our people, aren't they?

"With all due respect, Your Highness. A mercenary has no loyalty to his country. Not all of the mercenaries in our army live in our country, and in fact, there are many who have stayed in our kingdom in peace, but have come to the Empire in this battle. I see no reason to show such sympathy to them.

That's how it works: ......

　He may not have been convinced, but the prince avoided any further reference to it.
　A choice that is operationally valid is not necessarily a choice that is morally admirable.
　In fact, more often than not, it is the opposite.
　He was wise enough to understand this, and was able to swallow it.

　If the prince were to interfere at this point, it would only cause confusion on the scene.
　The war situation is changing moment by moment without regard to the prince's values and feelings.

　To prove this, a message is rushing into the main camp.

It's a message!　The right-wing forces are defeating the enemy's left-wing forces and are being defeated!

　There is a noise in the air around you when you receive the report.

　This is because in this battle, it was the report that they had been waiting for to bring victory to the kingdom.
　That is to say, the present moment is the watershed between victory and defeat.

　General Oltrich nodded gravely and immediately gave instructions to his staff.

''Send a message to the cavalry and the main force of the central unit!　I want you to start acting like a man on a mission!

Ha!

　The eyes of the staff were filled with heat.
　The prince, who had been left behind in the busy camp, called out to the general as some of his men began to call for messengers.

"General, what does this mean...

　The general replied with a sincere expression to the prince, who silently threw the rest of his words at him.

Yes. It is happening as planned.





That's exactly what I was going for.

　The main camp where the commander of the Imperial Army resides.
　Like the kingdom, a drawing of the battlefield was spread out on the desk, and the officers were lined up on either side of it.

　The one who uttered his voice while receiving the gaze of all the officers was the commander of the imperial invasion army, the Great General.
　The reason why he is entrusted with the command of such a large scale army despite his young age of thirty-something is probably because he is the head of a powerful aristocrat in the Empire.
　In addition, this is a family that had been married off by an imperial princess three generations ago. It is also because they are related to the imperial family and have the confidence of the current emperor.

It has taken you a while.

　The man sitting closest to the officers lined up on either side nodded at the general's words.

''Now that's finally a weight off my shoulders. If we don't let the bait bite us, we won't know what we've been waiting for the Royal Army here for.''

As you wish. It was worth it to have them engaged in building the position with their rushing troops.

　They crushed the remaining forces of the kingdom, and when there was no one to prevent them from doing so, they marched on the capital and forced an alliance with the castle. This was the goal of the Empire.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
　But this time, to avoid making the same mistake, the goal was made thoroughly clear.

　Even before the war began, the priority was not the occupation of territory, but the destruction of the enemy's forces.
　This was the bait that was to be sown for that purpose. This was the operational information that had been developed from the left wing of the Imperial Guard.

It seems that the enemy's right wing is not taking advantage of the retreat of our left wing troops and is keeping its distance. It seems that they have danced around the false information that we have spread and are trying to trap us.

　The youngest officer who brought this report to light speaks up.

　The officer was right, the kingdom's army was keeping its distance against the deceptive actions of the imperial left wing troops.
　They may intend to set a trap to reverse our movement, but that is exactly what the Empire has set up.

　Of course, there's no problem if the Royal Army didn't bite the bait.
　In that case, as per the operational information I've provided, the cavalry and left-wing troops of the St. Rogers Monarchy would be able to go on the offensive with the cavalry and left-wing troops of the St. Rogers Monarchy and strike at the right wing of the Royal Army.
　Although it would take some time to settle the matter, the fact remains that the Imperial Army, which has a large number of troops, would have the advantage if it were to clash head on.

　However, in that case, even if they won the battle, there was a chance that they would have to defeat many of the remaining defeated soldiers.
　That's why the imperial army planned to spend a long time setting a bait and switch traps to strike a decisive blow to the Royal Army's strength.

　And so the Royal Army took the bait.
　In an attempt to pick up the winning edge, they were drawn to a place where they should not have been able to touch it.

　The kingdom's right wing troops, who had distanced themselves from the imperial left wing troops, were probably in the process of fortifying their defenses against the cavalry's assault.
　But the officers of the Empire knew that was a futile preparation.

　It is still fresh in their minds that the cavalry of the San Rogel monarchy, the creature known as a "flying horse" that they drive, had taken the upper echelons of the imperial army by surprise.
　I'm sure the Royal Army will experience the same surprise this time.

"I can see the look of surprise on the faces of the kingdom's generals.

　After a quick glance around at the faces of the officers, the general put an evil smile on his neat face.