Chapter 24: Revolt of Hadrianus (III)

The battle formations of the Imperial Lemurian Army and the rebel army are as follows.

■...Pikemen

●...Halberdiers

★...Longbowmen

▲...Clibanarii

□...Infantry

☆...Crossbowmen

△...Cavalry

※Black is Hercule's side, White is Hadrianus's

※Each symbol represents one battalion（1,000 ~ 2,000 soldiers）

※Subject to measurement error

Situated on the flanks of the Lemurian Army led by Hercule were four cavalry battalions. In the middle was one infantry regiment. Longbowmen were deployed in the front row.

On the opposing side, the rebel army had 1,000 cavalry placed on each flank. In the center were 20,000 infantry. Crossbowmen were positioned in the front row.

"All troops, advance!! Crush the rebels!!"

"The Lord is with me. Let us bring down the phony emperor!!"

As soon as Hercule and Hadrianus both gave their orders, the two armies started moving.

The first to take action were the cavalry on the two wings and the ranged units in the middle.

"Hm, I guess the cavalrymen that the nobles threw together aren't that weak after all."

Garphis, who was in command of the clibanarii on the Lemurian Army's right wing, drove his troops forward with a lance in hand. The clibanarii charge was indeed powerful, but they had to accelerate for a certain distance before they could unleash such a mighty attack. If they began accelerating from too far away, though, the horses would get tired and the force would diminish.

Cavalry charge was not simply charging forward. It was a sophisticated maneuver that required excellent judgment of distance.

And then…

"CHARGE!!!"

The speed of the enemy cavalry; the speed of our own; and the distance. Making calculations with his perception, finely honed over the years, Garphis began to accelerate as soon as he got into the perfect range.

"Wind's protection!!"

On Garphis's command, the elves simultaneously invoked their contracted wind spirits. Those were almost always low-ranked spirits that could be contracted by most elves. Each spirit was capable of making a light breeze at best, but if five thousand of them manipulated wind all at once…

Even if each spirit could only create a breeze, combined they would turn into a strong squall!!

Catching wind blowing from behind their back, the clibanarii accelerated rapidly. Meanwhile, the enemy cavalry messed up their timing and couldn't gain enough speed.

The enemy charge that lacked force smashed into the clibanarii who were at their peak acceleration.

"Amon!!"

When Garphis called upon his contracted spirit, flame strewed out. Enemy cavalrymen who came into contact with the flame of the top-ranking spirit, Amon, were instantly charred alive. Several cavalrymen tried to gang up on Garphis but were blown away in return.

Just like that, the enemy cavalry turned around and fled. Garphis and his men gave chase.

Completely remove enemy cavalry from the battlefield—that was the order that Garphis received.

Meanwhile, the left-wing cavalry of the Lemurian Army was commanded by Edmond. Beside him was Carolina.

"I'm in your care."

"Yeah, same here. It's my pleasure to fight alongside the magnificent knightess who contracted the first-class spirit, Eligos, at such a young age… That said, General Garphis sure is strict, isn't he."

Garphis was a strict father. On the battlefield, he made sure to distance himself as much as possible from Carolina. He feared that she might end up relying too much on her father if he kept her close, and Garphis didn't want to spoil her either. It was all for Carolina's sake.

Should something happened to Carolina, though, Edmond wouldn't get away in one piece.

"I can't lead a charge as skillfully as General Garphis, but… that might be educational in its own way."

"Yes sir! I will keep my eyes peeled!"

Edmond was amused by Carolina's serious response. She really took after her father.

Even though they don't get along well, it's still a far cry from the relationships between us father and sons, and between us brothers….

"Oops, that's not important right now. Men… let's move!!"

Edmond quickly galloped his mount. If it was Garphis, he would charge directly from the front, but…

"Proceed according to the plan, Carolina."

"Understood, sir."

One-third of the troops were put under Carolina's command and split off from the main force. And then…

"CHARGE!"

"CHARGE!"

Edmond and Carolina accelerated at the same time. The charge wasn't as flawless as Garphis's, but still superb enough to get a ten out of ten.

Spurred on by the tailwinds generated by wind spirits, the two armies collided with each other…

Right before that moment.

Carolina's group slipped away diagonally, avoiding the enemy charge. Only Edmond's main force crashed into the enemy cavalry.

"We will welcome you first… Andromalius!!"

One of the Seventy-two Demons, the great spirit who ruled over thievery and justice. Andromalius's power was "Stealing". Meaning…

"H-Huh? My sword ain't here…"

"My helmet!!"

"Armor, where's my armor?"

"M-My undies!!"

Andromalius's power was to steal a random object among about 300 people. It tended to take weapons and armors, but in rare cases, something worthless could be stolen too.

But that hardly mattered.

"T-Timeout!! I don't have my sword!!"

"Who would wait, dumbass?"

Edmond cut down a foe who was in panic without his sword. His subordinates also slew enemy after enemy with ease.

The movement of the enemy cavalry had ground into a halt. At that moment…

"Eligos!!"

Carolina's troops who had surrounded the enemy cavalry's flanks began to push in. Unable to withstand the assault, the enemy troops began to rout.

"Fleeing, eh? Men, after them!!"

"YES SIR!!"

While the cavalry in both wings were crashing into each other, the infantry troops in the center also began to move. The first to clash was the Lemurian longbow corps and the rebel army's crossbow units.

"The Lemurian Army's longbow corps are truly powerful, Your Majesty."

"Well, they've got a lot of drilling. The power, accuracy and shooting range also far outstrip those of regular archers thanks to wind magic… It's a given that we come out on top in an exchange of arrows."

While Hercule and Darios were talking, the Lemurian longbow corps annihilated the rebels' crossbowmen. It was at this moment that the rebels' infantry began to move. Upon seeing that, Hercule ordered the longbow corps to fall back…

"As we have discussed, I'm entrusting the right side to you, Darios. You remember the plan, right?"

"Yes, I got it already."

Hercule and Darios divided their roles according to what they discussed beforehand and mobilized the troops.

Hercule ordered the longbow corps to evacuate to the flanks and the infantry's rear. Then he had the halberd units from the front and back spread out to the left and right and the pike units move forward.

The Lemurian pike units and the rebel army's infantry smashed into each other.

The rebel infantrymen, lacking coordination and uniformity in equipment, could not push back the pike units.

"Wait, don't push forward yet."

"Preserve stamina. Notify all commanding officers to refrain from advancing."

Hercule and Darios ordered the pike units to focus entirely on defense. Meanwhile, the longbow corps continue to shoot at spots far from the frontline, shaving away the rebel infantry's numbers.

And then…

Hercule and Darios composedly sent the halberd units to surround the rebels' flanks. It was but a simple maneuver for the halberd units that, unlike the pike corps, were highly mobile and had been extensively drilled.

Then, the tightly packed pike units began to spread out to both sides in a thin formation as if to plug up the holes left open by the halberdiers.

Before they realized it, the rebel army had already been enveloped in their flanks. They were slowly being pushed toward the middle.

That was also the moment Garphis and Edmond finished crushing the cavalry on the wings. Finally…

The battle was decided.