Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 96: A King and his General (9)

ΟΟΟ

I became speechless for a moment. I was bewildered. Catapults are hard to aim even when you have a clear view. If you launch boulders anyway, then they’ll get swallowed by the darkness and the fog and you won’t be able to confirm whether they hit anything or not. I couldn’t understand the enemy’s thought process.

“In the middle of the night? They do not even have a clear view of us. Have any of our forces been injured by this attack?”

Does the imperial army perhaps have a way to confirm where their shots land? If so, then that would turn this situation around completely. This would mean our enemy could pelt us freely since we have no way to attack their siege equipment. We had set up our encampment here in preparation of a cavalry charge, but that might end up being pointless as we run away in order to avoid the projectiles…….

General Zepar got rid of my concerns.

– Currently, all of our forces in the right wing are unharmed. All forces, do not lower your guard and be prepared.

Afterward, General Zepar continued to tell us over and over again to not lower our guards and to not break formation. He must’ve come to the conclusion that the enemy was trying to make us panic by using catapults. Well, I agreed. I couldn’t think of any other intentions the enemy could have had. 

Laura thought differently. She spoke while twirling her blonde hair.

“There is no way they would utilize catapults without any clear intentions.”

“But what purpose do catapults have if you cannot hit anything?”

“You must change your way of thinking. I believe that the imperial army thinks it is fine if they do not hit anything.”

In other words, the boulders being launched at us weren’t for the sake of hitting us. I felt Laura’s seriousness as I lowered my voice.

“……If they are not meant to hit us, then.”

“I believe that their goal is to seal our movements. Even if their accuracy is absolutely abysmal, they are still firing their boulders. Our forces naturally shrunk back. We are unable to move our troops hastily. I do not know for what reason, but the imperial army is trying to hold us in place.”

I rubbed my forehead. Laura’s assumption seemed plausible. Although Laura said that she didn’t know the reason, I immediately figured out the enemy’s intentions. Laura most likely doesn’t know because she hasn’t experienced a large-scale battle yet. I felt a headache coming.

“The imperial army is planning to go on a full-offensive right now.”

“Mm? How do you know that?”

This is a basic strategy. They’re trying to hold our forces in place by applying pressure across our entire army. They’ll then focus all of their troops into a single point of our army. If a section of our line of defense collapses, then that would be our downfall as long as we don’t have any countermeasures prepared.

And unfortunately……we’re the ‘single point’ that the imperial army has chosen.

This is obvious. The right wing was the only place boulders weren’t flying towards. This meant that the imperial army was already moving this way. Even if the imperial army had some god-like catapulting ability, they wouldn’t risk catapulting boulders towards a direction their allies are moving towards. They must’ve observed our forces yesterday evening and realized that our right wing is the weakest side.

I immediately reported this. General Zepar took my assumption seriously. He must have fallen into deep thought about something as his words trailed off at the end.

– The right wing will experience the fiercest battle. Just as the commander had hoped…….

All of the units that were assigned to the right wing entered a state of alert around 5 in the morning. Our surroundings were dark and the fog prevented even monsters who had good night vision from being able to see beyond a hundred meters. The imperial army believed that this was the perfect opportunity to attack.

30 golems, 10 fairies, and 12 death knights.

My unit consists of a total of 52 monsters. My golems and fairies have reached the highest level attainable by lowest tier monsters which happens to be 10. They’re stronger than the average monster. Adding to this, my death knights are level 50. In human standards, my army has foot soldiers, archers, and elite knights. I may not have a lot, but I’m confident in their strength! We’re in a dark and foul battlefield anyway. Numbers don’t mean a lot here.

How the enemy attacks is the key point. Are they going to use traditional tactics and put their infantry at the front, or are they going to aim for a surprise attack and make their cavalrymen charge first? If it’s the infantry first, then I have a chance of winning. If it’s the cavalry, then……I did dig a hole in front of our position and set up some stakes, but I honestly don’t feel like this would slow them down. I’ll have to pretend as if I’m fighting and use the fog as a shield while I run away. I have to defeat them by uniting with the other units around me.

– A familiar has discovered the enemy troops.

We were informed about what our scouts saw. The situation was proceeding according to how Laura and I had predicted. The imperial army was marching towards our right wing and they intended to attack our entire right wing. They’re probably planning to make our right wing collapse and then take care of our left wing and center armies one by one.

According to the report, the imperial army had mobilized foot soldiers and cavalrymen. This meant that they didn’t intend to end it by simply launching a surprise attack. This will be a rough battle for both the enemy and our allies. The hills of Austerlitz will be drenched in blood all throughout winter and spring. 

I waited nervously. Boulders were still causing the earth to shake in several minute intervals. 

How much time has passed now? Something flew towards us from the swampy darkness of the black fog. It wasn’t only one thing. It was several dozen. They flew sharply through the air and landed near us. One of them happened to land directly in front of me. An arrow.

“…….”

“…….”

Laura and I unconsciously turned to look at each other. We both looked speechless. It wasn’t because the arrow was weird. It was because, in the distance beyond a hundred meters, we could hear the sound of hooves. Arrows and the sound of hooves. This could only mean one thing. The corners of Laura’s mouth contorted before she made an unpleasant remark.

“……Those are not just cavalrymen, are they?”

The enemy was utilizing mounted archers.

* * *

The imperial army, no, would it just be Supreme Commander Margrave von Rosenberg in this situation? The margrave’s strategy was absurdly original. If it weren’t, then would Laura have lost her composure for a moment?

“To think they would use mounted archers in the middle of the night!”

Using catapults to suppress our left wing and center army was understandable. However, using mounted archers was unimaginable. This was because of an incredibly fundamental reason. Mounted archers are meant for the sake of shooting arrows at the enemy from a distance and then retreating a set distance. It’s obvious, but mounted archers require perfect coordination.

If they shoot an arrow and turn in the wrong direction, it wouldn’t be surprising if they crashed against one another. They must naturally maintain a set distance between one another and they have to all fire at the same time in order to raise their accuracy. There’s no way their accuracy could be good when on horseback, so they have to increase it through sheer numbers.

In short, horseback archery is hard to master, but executing it in small groups usually isn’t a hard task. ……However, the battlefield right now is incredibly dark. It’s so dark that if they mess up even slightly, they could collide seriously with the other archers. Using elite mounted archers in a situation like this is crazy.

The issue is that this crazy tactic is working on us.

“Do these crazy bastards not care how much arrows cost……?”

“Their arrows were most likely provided by their knights. I have never heard about the Habsburg Empire raising mounted archers at a professional level. They are most likely the attendant cavalrymen serving under Rosenberg’s knights.”

Laura and I conversed while hiding behind a cover. We had built our encampment as sturdy as possible in case of a cavalry charge, so we naturally had a lot of cover that could be used to avoid arrows. From the wagons we had placed under requisition to the doors we had taken from the villages as we traveled from Brandenburg to here. 

The citizens of this world usually have sturdy and thick front doors because of the constant threat of monsters, so they also make excellent shields in case of emergencies. Thanks to the citizens of this world, my unit is able to receive almost no injuries whatsoever despite the endless torrent of arrows. If the arrows that got stuck in two golems count as injuries, that is. For golems with 50% additional endurance against physical attacks, arrows are no different from mosquito bites to them. 

Referentially, death knights reduce physical damage by 70%. The fairies are the size of peas, so there’s no way they could get hit by arrows. It wasn’t intentional, but my unit is almost completely immune to arrows. However,

“……We cannot move at all.”

Laura groaned. This was the issue. We have to hide our bodies behind cover and stay still.

My unit has a high resistance against physical damage so we can move to a certain degree, but the other units are different. Other units consist of mostly orcs and goblins. Both of which do not have even a tiny bit of physical resistance. All they can do is quietly sit behind cover as arrows continue to barrage us.

The barrage from the mounted archers wasn’t happening to only my unit but the entire right wing. This means that the right wing’s movement has been almost entirely sealed.

The imperial army’s intention was clear. They intended to move around freely while holding us down. According to the reports from the familiars that were scouting, their foot soldiers are being concentrated towards a single point of the right wing. They were planning to wipe out a portion of the right wing while holding everyone else down with mounted archers.

I let out a sigh.

“As expected of Rosenberg. It is a simple but effective strategy.”

First, the catapults. Second, the mounted archers.

Everything was operating under one principle. Seal off the center and left wing of the Demon Lord army through an endless assault from catapults, seal off the entire right wing with mounted archers, and then focus their forces at a single part of the right wing. ……’Raise your mobility and kill the enemy’s mobility’, they were executing this strategy to a tee.

The troubling thing is the fact that we couldn’t really do anything even though we’ve figured out their strategy. If we want to do something, then we need to be able to move first! Damn it. The enemy forces are carefully advancing their foot soldiers through the fog, but all we can do is hide behind a wooden door and sigh.

“How about asking for reinforcements from the commander?”

“It will most likely be rejected.”

I shook my head.

“Barbatos wants the right wing to lure as much of the enemy forces towards us as possible. If she sends troops from either the center army or the left wing just to protect the right wing, then that would be putting the horse before the cart.”

We’re pressed for time. At this rate, a part of the right wing will helplessly get breached. We can’t ask the other armies for reinforcements and the other units in the right wing aren’t able to move freely either. 

In the end, my unit has only one choice left. It’s a shitty choice, though.

“Our unit has to wipe out the mounted archers with our own power.”

“……Is that okay? Your Lordship’s troops will be harmed.”

“I do not want to, but it cannot be helped. If I do nothing because I do not want to waste my troops, then that would allow the enemy foot soldiers to breach us and wipe us out anyway.”

Seriously, this is such a bothersome enemy. Margrave Rosenberg is definitely a level higher than Kurz Schleiermacher from the fortresses on the Black Mountains. It was the same with Kurz, but I’m going to have to kill Rosenberg for the sake of my future as well. I adjusted my armor and spoke.

“Go prepare, Laura. It seems that our unit has been selected as the hope of tonight’s ball, here in Austerlitz.”

Laura nodded. She must have fallen into deep thought as her gaze shifted towards the pea patch. What was she thinking about? Was she feeling remorse about stepping foot in a large-scale battle for the first time? Or was she perhaps feeling a sense of irony for being on the side of the Crescent Alliance, the enemy of mankind, and fighting against the imperial army? I had no way to find out.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sorry for the slow upload. I did say I was taking a break. Although I didn’t actually take a break. I still translated every day, albeit a little slower than usual cause I was busy. I have one more week of assignments before my finals are here. I do think I should take a proper break for like a week or something some day before I end up burning out. 

In any case, I’ll see you guys in the next release.