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~3rd Person Perspective~
When Ritsu gave the order to retreat, a nearby mage who used sound magic made a loud sound with Hyper Voice and told the whole army to retreat.
Hyper Voice is magic that magnifies sound and can deliver the user’s voice as it is, but of course, it doesn’t directly say retreat.
In the case of Kanare’s army, when they retreated, the voice rang out, “Activate Operation D.”
In this way, they can prepare to flee while the enemy army is on edge as to what they are going to do, making it easier to buy time.
Naturally, they will need to change the voice that gives the signal each time they use it, so from next time on, “Operation D” will no longer be a signal to retreat, but a signal to change to another strategy.
In warfare, they must not only think about winning but also about minimizing the damage when they lose.
The Canale troops were well-trained in retreating, and as soon as Ritsu gave the order, they began to make their preparations and began to withdraw.
The soldiers who were fighting on the front line will be the vanguards.
The Hyper Voice became so loud that it echoed throughout the battlefield.
The order to retreat had reached the soldiers on the front line, and they were fighting to buy as much time as possible.
They completed their preparations for retreat and retreated with Ritsu in the lead.
They had already built a camp in the rear, so they would retreat to that point.
The soldiers who had been leading the retreat seemed to be putting up a good fight, and no soldiers came after them.
With minimal damage, Ritsu succeeded in withdrawing.
“How many casualties in our army?” (Ritsu)
“There are about 250, sir.” (Soldier)
As he withdrew to the rear of the camp, Ritsu was trying to get an accurate picture of the situation.
A lot of the soldiers were killed or captured by the enemy, and a few of them returned.
Even those who came back were mostly injured and unable to fight any longer.
The damage to their own troops was not light, considering the total number of troops, but the damage to the enemy soldiers seemed to be considerably higher.
He didn’t know the exact number, but it was thought that at least a thousand of them had been rendered incapacitated by the barrage of magical attacks.
The soldiers within the fort had also struggled, so they would have defeated a reasonable number of enemies and could have also done considerable damage.
When they retreated, they lost some of their supplies because taking them with them would have slowed them down, and that was a loss that could not be ignored.
Even though they were receiving support from Clan, Canale’s resources were limited.
They might even have fewer resources available than Sights Army.
(However, It was as if the enemy had come to drop us without a second thought. It was surprising that their morale was so high… This battle would have had a more negative effect on my army’s command, so I withdrew to minimize the sacrifice. Even if I have done it, what hurts, hurts. Anyway, I have to report to Ars-sama as soon as possible.) (Ritsu)
Ritsu thought this and immediately wrote a letter and had it delivered to Fort Khmer, where Ars was.
~Ars Perspective~
At Khmer Fort.
I, along with Mireille and Russel, read the letter that Ritsu had sent.
The person who carried the letter used a horse to deliver it as fast as possible, so we were able to read it on the same day Ritsu wrote it.
The letter said that the enemy forces were strong and that they had retreated.
I groaned, “Mmmm,” wondering if it would work out that well after all.
“The enemy seems to be very motivated.” (Mireille)
Mireille looking surprised, also found that the morale of the enemy soldiers was quite high.
“I’m not sure what to do. If they keep up the momentum, they’ll be here soon. The enemy has a lot of troops, and no matter how much Ritsu-sensei and Charlotte-san are, we’ll still be outnumbered…” (Russel)
Russell is upset.
He seems to have plummeted into his negative thoughts. It may be unavoidable because the situation is just that kind of situation.
“For the time being, it might be better to negotiate for a cease-fire. The enemy seems to have also suffered a lot of damage, and if we make various tributes, we may be able to survive.” (Mireille)
“What kind of tribute?”
“ Well, it would be good to give them food, gold, resources, or something of value like a work of art. You could write the terms in a letter and have the soldiers deliver it.” (Mireille)
“Got it, let’s do it.”
I decided to follow Mireille’s advice and negotiate for a cease-fire.
I thought about the amount of food, money, resources, and artwork in the castle that I could currently provide wrote the conditions in a letter, and had the messenger send it along.
And it resulted in a failure.
The enemy did not cut off the envoy I sent to negotiate a cease-fire, but they wrote a letter of refusal and sent it to me.
Instead, the terms of peace are written,
“Canale County shall be a territory of the Province of Sights. Ars Louvent may continue to serve as county mayor. If you have any wishes, we will do our best to accommodate them… If Messiaen’s Clan attacks, we will send out reinforcements…”
Something like that was written on the page.
“Hmm. It seems that Sights does not want to take over Messiaen right now, but wants to take it, even if it is the Canale County. Canale isn’t a very valuable county, but if you keep Canale, you’ll be in a position to influence Messiaen. Does that mean they want it for Sights’ future strategy? Well, even if Sights will eventually attack Shoots, Messiaen is an opponent that they need to be wary of, so it’s worth keeping the Canale with them, isn’t it?” (Mireille)
Mireille analyzed the situation.
In the end, the Sights will probably need to make enemies outside and unite the province after their victory.
For that, warfare is essential.
Whether they are going to attack Messiaen or Shoots in the future, having Canale will definitely come in handy in some way.
Now that the Messiaen Province is in turmoil, they are probably looking for a chance to take Canale.
“If this is true, you might want to think about taking it.” (Russell)
Russell said this.
“I’m not sure what will happen if we keep fighting like this. If we accept this, at least Ars will remain the county mayor.” (Russell)
After muttering up to that point, Russell started muttering things that disagreed with his own opinion, “No… but…”
“This could also be just a lie, and it’s possible that you’ll be killed afterward… Even if it is true, it’s like advertising that you can’t trust the Louvent family. They would betray you even though they’re in a position to receive reinforcements from Clan-sama… Trust is important, isn’t it?”
There is also the option of betrayal here, but it seems to have many disadvantages.
“I think it’s better to not change sides.” (Lithia)
Lithia, who was near me, said.
“Clan-sama is a very talented person in the eyes of Ars-sama, isn’t he?” (Lithia)
“Of course.”
“And it seems that he thought highly of Ars-sama, and if you betray him badly, he might destroy you.” (Lithia)
To be destroyed… how… scary.
However, it is not a mistake.
The fact that I am highly regarded by Clan-sama means that they are that much warier of me when I become their enemy.
If I am the type of person that Clan-sama thinks that once I betray them, they will never trust me again, there is a big chance that they will conquer Canale and execute me.
“It might be a lie to keep him as Canale’s county mayor, so if you want to be county mayor, you’d better not hope for it. After our capture, Canale will become an important land for the Sights, and they won’t let someone they don’t trust become the county mayor. If the boy can show off his abilities well, he might be able to become a vassal of a great man in Sights, but he will probably be removed as county mayor.” (Mireille)
Mireille, who initially suggested that I should surrender, also opposed it this time.
Overall, the talk of changing sides is over.
In the first place, I’m reluctant to change sides because of my promise to Lemail-san.
“So we are not going along with the enemy’s offer… then a cease-fire is impossible…”
“We have to win the war.” (Mireille)
Mireille said with an indifferent expression.
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