Volume 6 Chapter 75 It's Waldner, After All. The Opponent Is Also Thinking About various Things.
The day after Randy and the others checked the date of the eclipse, battles began to intensify in various parts of the kingdom.
Fierce naval battles were fought in the west and south. At the same time, the defensive forces repelled the Empire, which was landing in a dispersed manner.
Meanwhile, the enemy's movements were slowest in the northern plains, which Waldner was guarding.
In the northern plains, near the border with the Empire that Waldner was guarding, they confirmed several cross-border attacks by the Imperial army since last night.
However, they hadn't been able to break through Waldner, who hadn't let his guard down.
And then, when morning came, a large-scale cross-border attack by the Imperial army finally began...
"They're too weak, aren't they?"
"It can't be helped. Their goal is to stall us."
Airen and his older brother, Irvin, were watching the Imperial army retreating across the river.
The Empire had retreated less than 2 hours after the start.
Waldner's morale was rising, but Irvin was calmly watching the Empire's formation.
The two armies facing each other across the river, Waldner, who was on the defensive side, had an overwhelming advantage.
The Empire, which needed to cross the river, was bound to have a scattered attack.
It takes excellent soldiers and generals to bring them together, but there was no sign of that in the Imperial army they saw.
Their movements to prepare their formation were also slow.
The army moving slowly made him want to say, "Are you okay?" even from across the river.
The situation was far from the strength of the Imperial army he had heard rumors about, and it was helping to raise the morale of his allies.
Their movements were so bad that laughter erupted from somewhere.
It could be said that the enemy was so bad that he couldn't help but laugh on the battlefield...
"Next time they come, I'll destroy them!"
"The spoils are mine!"
...The morale that had risen too high brought a slightly frivolous atmosphere to the soldiers.
It was certainly good that morale was rising, but Irvin frowned at the way they were attacking, as if they were deliberately stirring up Waldner's momentum.
"It's a bit of an unpleasant way to fight."
"Really?" Airen tilted her head at the thoughtful Irvin.
In Airen's eyes, she saw the Empire, which was supposed to be the invading side, deploying a defensive formation across the river for some reason.
"I only see a coward's tactic..."
Airen was in a bad mood, as usual.
It was because of the letter from Arthur that arrived yesterday.
'How is the situation in the north? Are there any dangers?'
The letter worried about Airen, but Airen just wanted to say "Leave me alone."
"I just want to get this over with..."
Airen glared at the Imperial army across the river, who were setting up their defenses.
They were in a complete defensive formation.
Irvin grabbed Airen's shoulder as Airen clicked her tongue, saying "Cowards."
"Airen, calm down."
"I am calm."
But she was totally worked up.
Not just Airen, but the other soldiers and Knights too.
It couldn't be helped.
They had been teased for a whole day, and when they attacked, they were weak.
Because they had completely shut out the Imperial army, who were famous, the young soldiers and Knights weren't grounded.
"Father──"
Irvin looked back at Rolf, as his army was getting excited.
Rolf, who had been silent with his arms crossed, nodded quietly.
"Give the order to the whole army. Retreat to the main camp while maintaining the defensive formation."
Airen turned around, surprised, and asked, "Are you serious?"
"Even though the Empire is completely on the defensive, if we retreat here──"
"Don't lose sight of our goal. Our role is defense and... to annihilate the enemies who invaded this land."
Airen looked down, saying "But..." at Rolf's words.
"Stop it. Don't make me say it again. When I say retreat, you retreat."
Airen, overwhelmed by the pressure, whispered "...Yes," and sent a messenger to the unit.
"All units, retreat to the main camp while maintaining the defensive formation!"
For the Waldner army, who were getting excited, that message was like cold water. The voices of question, "Why?" could be heard here and there, and it could completely confuse the army.
Still, the big confusion didn't happen because the veteran soldiers and Knights, who were close to Rolf's age, hit the butts of the excited young soldiers.
The veterans, including Wayne's father, were calm like Irvin, unlike the excited young Knights, and they were seeing the situation.
Something was strange.
The strange atmosphere of the battlefield, and the enemy soldiers who they wanted to keep in that atmosphere.
So, they followed Rolf's sudden order without question.
Because of that, the young soldiers who were excited, were only unhappy for a moment.
They calmed down when they saw the veterans, who always took care of them, following the orders calmly.
This depth of ranks and the strong trust between them might be Waldner's strength.
Leaving the Empire's army dumbfounded across the river, Waldner's army maintained their formation and retreated quickly to the top of a small hill where they set up their main camp.
The sun was just past its highest point.
"Father, the entire army has finished retreating."
Rolf finally smiled at Airen, who had calmed down, and asked, "Are you calm now?"
"Yes. Me too, and the young ones..."
Airen gave a wry smile and looked at the river far away from the high position.
The Empire's army, which should be deployed over there, was barely visible from this position.
"Is it a trap by [Pilgrim of Truth]?"
"Who knows. But, since we can't explain that strange heat, we should suspect the enemy's strategy."
Rolf sighed, and he couldn't stop complaining about Arthur in his heart.
He messed up Airen's mind at the wrong time and made him dance on the front lines with that strange heat.
If Airen had been a little calmer, she wouldn't have shown such a disgrace, he thought.
However, the retreat wasn't just because of the atmosphere of the battlefield.
Rolf's intuition was the biggest reason, as he felt something was off with the enemy's time-wasting tactics.
"Let the whole army rest. They'll be here soon..."
Just as Rolf said, about an hour after Waldner took a break...
"There are troops to the east. The flag is...Duke Rothheim!"
The report caused a slight stir in Waldner's main camp.
Normally, it would be reinforcements, but the Rothheim army was heading straight towards them.
"I wonder why they're joining us without a messenger."
Irvin sighed and said, "I don't want to think about it," as Rolf laughed.
As the two were worried about, the Duke Rothheim army, heading straight towards them, was charging in a way that looked like an attack.
"The Empire's army is moving!"
The next report told them about the movement of the Empire's army across the river.
Both armies were heading straight to the Waldner headquarters from the east and north.
Airen and the young soldiers felt a chill run down their spines at the sight.
If they had kept facing the Empire like that, the Duke's army would have come from the east and knocked them hard.
But now, having retreated to the headquarters and calmed down, they were in a high position.
Although they were surprised by Rothheim's action──completely betraying the kingdom──Waldner, fully prepared, wasn't too shocked.
From the Waldner army, prepared for an ambush, arrows and magic rained down in 2 directions...
The Duke's army and the Empire's army, losing their momentum, stopped in their tracks.
"Father... they are still up to something."
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