When the right wing of the Imperial Guard launched its offensive, the battle was already in motion.

　In the tent in the main camp, the great general in command of the Imperial Army received reports one after another in a good mood.

That's right. I see," he said, "that the hibakusha have succeeded in attacking the enemy's main camp.

'Ha!　The troops guarding the kingdom's main camp have disturbed the math and fled!　It seems that the left flankers have also annihilated the confused right flankers, and are now engaged in sweeping up the rest of the enemy and pursuing them!

　Even the messenger who brought the report couldn't seem to hide the joy on his face.

''Good, that's it!

'Congratulations, my lord. Our forces will now be victorious.

　One of the officers spoke to the general from beside him as he slammed his right fist into his open left hand.

He said, "Hmm. I believe that our army will no longer be defeated. So what is the status of the rest of the troops?

　After replying to the officer, the general asked the message he had come to report to the general.

''Ha. Half of the enemy's left wing troops retreated at the same time as the right wing turned to the offensive. They are overwhelmed by the difference in force and are fighting extremely well. However, in the center, the resistance of the enemy forces is so strong that the results of the battle are not as good as we would like.

'Hmm. ....... Now that the victory or defeat has been decided, we won't let our men die for nothing. The center should fall back except for the mercenary troops. And tell the remaining mercenary troops that their offensive is unnecessary.

Ha!

　After receiving the general's instructions, the messenger immediately left the tent with an agile movement.

''Will the mercenaries listen to the instructions meekly?''

It's not going to happen.

　Unlike soldiers, mercenaries have to produce understandable results in order to get their rewards.
　Of course, they will be paid for simply participating in the war, but that alone will not be worth risking their lives.

　In order to take credit and earn more rewards, mercenaries will fight valiantly as long as their lives are not in danger.
　A battle in which they are overwhelmingly outnumbered is a great opportunity to take credit.
　It was unlikely that the mercenaries would listen to a simple request for restraint.

'Well, if the mercenaries are willing to fight actively, that's fine. There are no towns or settlements in the vicinity anyway. If there's no one to loot, then it won't be a problem.''

　I don't care if we are a little off the hook. The general said implicitly to his men.





　In the middle of the battlefield.
　Even in the center, where mercenaries of both armies were clashing fiercely, they could sense a change in the situation.

''Enemy, are you tired?

　That's how Ted described the enemy's momentum, which was weakening next.

'Right. Did they give you some orders from above?'

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of it.

　It was not an advantageous battle to begin with, but thanks to the success of Ardis and the Byakuya no Myojo, the scales that were barely evenly balanced are now shifting.
　The pressure from the imperial army has weakened, and in some places, the allies who had been struggling in those areas can be seen pushing back.

　Of course, the central unit is still outnumbered on the battlefield as a whole.
　However, there are places where the kingdom side has secured the upper hand locally.
　This place where Ardis is demonstrating its power to the hilt is also the front line where the kingdom side is pushing the enemy the most.

　The one who gave me an answer to the change in the situation that I didn't understand the reason for a while was Moore, the commander of the kingdom's mercenary unit, who appeared out of nowhere.

''Why would a commander come to the frontline like this?''

'It's not that strange, is it?　Even if you're a commander, you're just a troop leader. This is the safest place in the unit to begin with, isn't it?

　Ted has a dumbfounded look on his face, and Moore replies blithely after looking around.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in this situation.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.

It's a good thing, though, that it's much better than just getting orders from behind the scenes.

　It is true that the mercenary army is in the middle of a fierce battle, so it is not a situation where they can gaze from a safe distance.
　In that sense, the place where Aldis, Ted and the rest of the 'Byakuya no Meibei' are is the safest place on this battlefield.

The only thing you can do is to get your hands dirty. The enemy's attack has been weakening for a while now, what's going on?

　Orphelia, who used magic to cover her nearby allies, joins the conversation in the middle.

''Ah, you know what I mean after all: ......''

　Moore looks awkward.

'I'm just having him check, actually--'

'Captain, that's not what I'm going to tell them.

　He was about to say something when a slender subordinate interrupted Moore from the side.

'You're a real hard man, aren't you? 'Don't worry, they're not the kind of balls that get blown away by the wind of cowardice.

　When he made his men back down with that, Moore turned to Aldis and his men.

It seems that the right wing has actually been overtaken by the enemy's cavalry. It's the same unit that drives that unfamiliar beast. The enemy, having passed through the right wing, attacked our main camp at the rear. The main camp, which was caught by surprise, is currently in the process of being destroyed. The pressure of the enemy has weakened because they thought they had a chance to win, so they dropped all their non-mercenary soldiers.

I see. ......

　Aldis and the others show a look of satisfaction at Moore's explanation.

'Oh, you mean a losing battle,'

　Norris says without hiding his tired face, and nonchalantly shoots an arrow at the enemy group.

　Even if you know that the odds of defeat are great, there is no one here who would be flustered.
　It was originally a battle in which they were outnumbered.
　It's not just a matter of how much money you're willing to spend, it's also a matter of how much you're willing to pay.

　But to Moore's subsequent words, Aldis was the only one who reacted with a sharp look.

It seems that the enemy's offensive is intensifying on the left flank from the stalemate. In addition, I heard that the territorial army, which made up half of the left flank troops, had moved out of the battlefield to rescue the main force. I wonder if the remaining troops are enough to put up a decent fight.

Is that true?

That's why I said I'm checking. You can't expect accurate information in the middle of a battlefield like this.

　Indeed, what Moore says is reasonable.
　In a battlefield where there was no order and nothing to do, it was natural that there would be a certain amount of misinformation and false information due to the machinations of the enemy.
　It would be too much to ask for strict accuracy in information conveyed verbally in a message.

　However, Ardis also has his own circumstances.
　It's not that they are financially impoverished, but the reason they went out of their way to come to the battlefield under the command of the Royal Army is because they are in that left-wing unit.

I'm not sure what you are going to do now.　Are you going to pull out?

"If you're sure about the fact that the main camp is destroyed, there's no point in continuing to fight here. We'll retreat once we've bought enough time to make an excuse. If the main camp is still intact, ......, we'll have no choice but to hold the line until new orders are given.

　As soon as Moore was finished, Aldis cut him off abruptly.

'Do me a favor,'

Hmm?　What is it?

If the main camp is not already functioning, then I'd like to see it act on its own, away from the command.

　It wasn't Moore who responded to those words.

What are you talking about, my dear?

　A slender man standing next to Moore raises an eyebrow and gives me a reproachful look.

'How can you possibly approve of such a thing?'

　He would have a point.
　There is no way that a person in command of a unit would approve of leaving their command for such a selfish reason.

You're not going to be able to get away with it.　You don't think a man as good as you would have been blown away by the winds of cowardice, do you?

I know a guy in the left wing.

　When Moore asks why, Aldis answers honestly.

He says, "I joined this fight originally because I didn't want that guy to die. If what you just said is true, isn't the left pretty dangerous?

　Depending on how you look at it, it would be unavoidable to be taken as fleeing before the enemy, such as wanting to get out from under command at a time when defeat was likely, depending on how you look at it.

　He thought about not joining the army from the beginning and only defending Kirill, but in that case, there was a chance that he would be recognized as an adversary by his allies as well as the enemy.
　In fact, even if it was a third party who didn't belong to the kingdom or the empire, the soldiers who were killed on the battlefield wouldn't necessarily think the same way. Rather, those who were not allies and those who were suspicious could even be targeted for attack without question.

''So you want to get out of here and head to the rescue?''

　Aldis nodded as he met Moore's probing gaze squarely in front of him.

'I know full well I'm being selfish. That's why I'm asking you to do this.'

　Moore keeps his mouth shut as if he is thinking about something.

"I'm not going to allow you to leave your post for that reason--

　Moore restrains the slender man who is about to close in on Aldis in a tight tone of voice with his hand.

'All right,'

Captain?

　A slender man rolls his eyes in disbelief.

'It's unlikely that we'll avoid a losing battle anyway. If that's the case, all that's left is to run home. Fortunately, we have only strong mercenaries here, so they won't go down easily. But the soldiers of the left wing troops are all militia and student soldiers. If I could, I'd like to get them out of here alive. Don't you think so?

...... It's not fair to ask that question. Generally speaking, how much can you do just because one mercenary went to the rescue?

''It's not wrong to say that he's a single mercenary, but he's that 'Three Great Defeaters'.　I think you're going to do something about it.

There's a big difference between dealing with demons and dealing with an army. ......

　Well, if the captain has decided to do it, it can't be helped, the slender man reluctantly agrees without even trying to hide a sigh.

''That's what I mean. It's not a good idea to say that you've quit the squad, so we'll say that you're heading to the rescue of the left wing troops under my direction. The sooner you go to the rescue, the better.　This is fine, just head over there now.

Shouldn't we wait for the guy we sent to check on the situation to come back?

　It was Moore himself who said that he still didn't know if the information he had just given was true or not.

'That's fine. But you'll "owe me one" in return. You'll have to pay me back properly later.

All right. "I'll remember. I'll try to remember that.

　When the two of them had come to an agreement, Norris, who until then had been concentrating on shooting arrows without interrupting, showed a disappointed expression.

''Ah, so you're going to leave Ardis?

I'm sorry, Norris.

Well, if you feel bad about it, you can buy me a drink after you return to King's Landing.

Don't forget for us, Aldis.

We're good at what we do, so don't worry about it.

　The members of the Byakuya no Myojo approve of Ardis' departure in three different ways.
　Before the battle, they had spoken of relying on Ardis's strength, but that doesn't mean they are shameless enough to lean on others in a piggybacked way.

　After leaving a short word of thanks to the three of them, Ardis immediately turned his body around and left.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this topic.