Reincarnated Aristocrat Chapter 178: Relocation

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~Ritsu’s Perspective~

“Negotiations failed… Machinations Shadow… Stall Time…” (Ritsu)

　Looking at the letter sent by Ars-sama, I was able to grasp the situation to some extent.

“Even if I am told to earn time… it will not be easy…” (Ritsu)

　The enemy has a large army. They also have a powerful army, now with higher morale and a willingness to march forward.

　The construction of our camp is going well.

　We lost a lot of large catalytic engines when they broke through the last time, but we didn’t place all of them in the breached camp, so we were able to line up the large catalytic engines again this time.

　However, I was still wondering if and how I could earn time longer.

(It depended on how Shadow’s plans would turn out. If the operation was successful and the ether and supplies were lost, the enemy army would not be able to march at the same speed. We have to trust that Shadow will take care of it. Stalling for time may be difficult, but we have to make it work.) (Ritsu)

　I swear that I, Ritsu, will definitely make it work.

　There was no way I am going to disappoint Ars-sama, who had recognized my talent and had brought me to a position where I could lead an army as a Marcan.

　The enemy army was already closing in on us.

　This time, I expected that they would not take a wait-and-see approach, but would come in full force from the start.

(There is no time to plan detailed tactics… But if…) (Ritsu)

　If we can’t use tactics, we have to use our individual strengths.

　Of course, you can’t start without Charlotte’s magic power.

　But that wasn’t enough, I thought.

　After all, if it was just magic, there would always be times when she couldn’t attack because she would need time to add ether.

　If we allow a large army to approach us in that time, we will have no choice but to retreat as we did last time.

　Now that we have to buy time, we can’t allow ourselves to retreat so early on.

　The enemy is closing in, and we need to stop their advance while the mages are preparing their catalyst engine.

　It’s the turn of infantry and cavalry.

　However, the enemy soldiers are very numerous. If I go out to stop them, I’ll probably be killed easily.

(I have no choice but to come out.)

　If I lead the soldiers and keep on fighting, I can demoralize the enemy soldiers with my strength and also boost the morale of my allies by fighting ahead of them.

　Though I have been instructed by Ars-sama not to overdo it.

　For Ars-sama, he sees me as someone talented and reliable, so the thought of me dying or something like that was something he didn’t even want to think about.

　Now that there was no time to plan detailed tactics, the chances of winning were slim if I didn’t go for it, even if I have to ignore Ars-sama’s instructions.

(There’s nothing wrong with that. I just need to stay alive and do my job.) (Ritsu)

　I have no intention of dying.

　I am convinced that I could live and succeed in this operation perfectly.

　I believed in my abilities.

　The ability that Ars-sama found.

“I can’t die in a place like this because I was recognized by Ars-sama.” (Ritsu)

　I believe in Ars-sama’s appraisal skills, not just my own.

“Prepare for battle! We will earn as much time as possible!” (Ritsu)

　So I began giving detailed instructions to the entire army.

　Along with me, Braham, Zat, and the Metro Mercenary Company will also join the sortie.

“Yeah! I think I can gain recognition for this battle!” (Braham)

　Braham was happy, but Zat, who was smarter than him, didn’t feel that way.

“There… There are quite a lot of enemies that have to be stalled… can we stop them? With the number of our army.” (Zat)

　It’s not that easy to do what I am trying to achieve.

　We have to stop the approaching tens of thousands of highly motivated enemy soldiers with just around five thousand soldiers.

　There are thirty thousand Canale soldiers, including reinforcements from the main army from Clan-sama, but not all those troops can be used to stop the enemies here.

　The enemy army will not attack with their whole army, but they are still more than double the number of our soldiers.

　For mages, the quality of the soldiers is more important than the number, but for the infantry, their number is more important than their quality.

　So, if we were losing a lot of ground, it would be difficult for them to buy time.

“It’s okay. We can do it.” (Ritsu)

　I didn’t explain the whole plan but declared it so to encourage them.

“Can I ask you something?” (Cramant)

　Said Cramant, the leader of the Metro Mercenary Corps.

　He was the type of person who didn’t often interject his opinion in a war council, so it was unexpected that he would speak up.

“What is it?” (Ritsu)

“If you’re trying to buy time, I’d like to have an opinion on the arrangement. In our current state, we’re in greater danger of being breached.” (Cramant)

　Cramant said so without losing his calm expression at all.

　He thought that the opinion of Cramant, who had a lot of experience on the battlefield, would be very helpful, so he decided to listen to his opinion in detail.

“Tell me more. Why is it no good in the current state?” (Ritsu)

“We’ve got a lot of large catalytic machines lined up in a row right now, and we’re going to attack them all at once. Certainly, in this state, the firepower will increase and the destructive power will increase. Normally, when the battlefield is a sea of fire, the soldiers would be frightened, demoralized, and unable to fight properly, but the enemy generals are so skillful at commanding that they are attacking us like it is nothing. If that happens, you can certainly destroy the enemy soldiers with a single destructive force, but in the end, we will be outnumbered. The magic soldiers should be given small and medium-sized catalytic engines to provide cover fire for the infantry fighting in the vanguard.” (Cramant)

“Wait, I have to say that you don’t understand the purpose of this operation. It is true that the enemy soldiers were not swayed by a single magical attack from a large catalytic engine, But if you hit them twice. They’d be forced to regroup, so our plan is to buy some time. Attack with a large catalyst engine is essential.” (Ritsu)

“It’s not that I’m trying to eliminate magic attacks with the large catalytic machines. It’s about reducing it. The magic shot by that woman, Charlotte, is enough to damage the enemy army.”

　Cramant says so, I began to think about it in silence.

　If we let Charlotte alone use the large catalyst machine, our firepower will definitely be reduced.

　However, there is no doubt that it was Charlotte’s magic that had done the most damage to the enemy forces in the last battle.

　I think that we will be able to do something for unexpected events, but at the same time, I am worried that it will not be enough power.

“If you’re worried, let Musha use magic. That woman is the second most powerful mage.” (Cramant)

“No… Musha can certainly conjure powerful magic, but she is not very reliable…” (Ritsu)

　It’s a gamble, that’s for sure.

“I think Musha can do it.” (Charlotte)

　Charlotte, who basically listens silently to the military congress (more often sleeping), squeezes Musha for her opinion.

“Something has changed, and I have always been practicing with small catalyst engines, but I’ve been getting better and better. Maybe it’s because of the battles. But, I won’t know until I try to use large magic, and I think it’s going to be okay.” (Musha)

“You think…” (Ritsu)

　The words were groundless.

　It takes a lot of courage to believe it, but I decided to believe.

　Musha is also a talent found by Ars-sama.

　There was no doubt that she had potential, and it would not be a surprise if she was able to show it in battle.

　To the best of her ability, although I had no reason to believe it, I decided to think positively and believe.

　Accepting Cramant’s suggestion, there were only two mages who will be using the large catalyst engine, Charlotte and Musha.

　The rest of the mages will help the infantry to stop the enemy infantry.

　If the infantry could receive full support from the mages, it would be much easier for them to fight, and from the enemy’s point of view, it would be very difficult for them to break through.

　Following my instructions, the soldiers equipped themselves and went to their designated positions to prepare for battle.

　Now that everything was prepared for battle, it was time to wait for the enemy to arrive.

　And then, the enemy forces were closing in on the Canale army led by Ritsu.

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