NOVEL NEXT Chapter 295
“I can’t comprehend this situation. No, I refuse to understand it.”
Jeongjae, mounted on a brown horse and heading north, stared silently for a long time at the mound of corpses blocking the army’s advance.
He looked and looked again, and finally, the words that escaped his mouth were nothing but a declaration of incomprehensibility. The sight of human corpses torn to shreds in the most gruesome manner was horrifying even to Jeongjae, who thought he had seen everything during five years of this brutal war.
“Even if you slice through tens of thousands of cabbage roots, you’ll run out of strength and collapse midway. You can’t even butcher tens of thousands of chickens without some hesitation. Most of these corpses were shot dead and then mutilated with blades. The only soldiers in the Demon King’s Army who use firearms are Helmut’s troops.”
“A fratricidal army.”
Margaret grimaced in disgust, to which Jeongjae nodded in agreement.
“How could such a situation arise? I mean… how is this possible? This war is fundamentally a conflict against other races, so why…?”
Jeongjae paused. He was reminded that he came from a world where humans killed each other more viciously than they would with anyone else.
Auschwitz, Nanjing, Congo, Tibet…
This sight was more horrifying than anything Jeongjae had ever seen, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it was the most horrific of all the events he knew.
“Is this merely human nature?”
“Scholars will explore this matter.”
Margaret said flatly. However, Jeongjae, knowing her well, could see the desperate effort to suppress her emotions behind her seemingly calm expression.
“But it doesn’t seem like a time for philosophers.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
A rational commander might worry that this sight would dampen the soldiers’ morale and would strategize accordingly. But Jeongjae was not that kind of commander.
A more passionate commander would expect that this horrific sight would fuel indignation and hatred among the soldiers, raising their morale instead. But Jeongjae was neither.
He was here as a representative of the people, thinking exactly as an ordinary person would. He was dazed, weeping, fuming, and grinding his teeth in anguish.
Yet, he had to make a decision.
“What should we do with these corpses, Margaret?”
“According to the Empire’s customs, they are also the people of the Empire. I know you’re obligated to clean them up…”
“It could be a trap. We can’t move hastily.”
“It might be the most brutal tactic to immobilize us by playing for time.”
“That’s true.”
“The rational choice is to burn them.”
That was a thought that had crossed Jeongjae’s mind as well. It was surprising that this suggestion came from an elf of all people. But looking around at the soldiers, Jeongjae rejected Margaret’s proposal.
“Let’s retreat. Even if the enemy is trying to buy time, we can’t go anywhere with troops in this state. We need to find a way to deal with these corpses as cautiously as possible while covering against potential enemy attacks.”
“Whether that’s the best method is questionable.”
“It might be a decision that Walter wouldn’t make.”
Jeongjae nodded, as if to acknowledge Margaret’s point.
“But this is a fight between righteousness and injustice. It must be so not just in principle, but in reality too. I’ve taken up this sword for that reason. Let’s withdraw. Until we find another path or another method.”
“That’s exactly why I decided to follow you.”
Margaret smiled faintly and gave the order for her troops to withdraw. Jeongjae also issued a temporary retreat order to the Imperial Army, and the Northern Expeditionary Force momentarily fell back from the path leading to the Demon King’s Castle. Violet Moriarty’s strategy to halt the enemy’s advance using the barrier of blood proved successful, even if only for a moment.
However, in another part of the battlefield, a different scheme by the Demon King’s Army was unfolding.
“Hero! Urgent news!”
A messenger hurriedly approached Jeongjae, who was regrouping after the retreat, and kneeled. Jeongjae quickly helped the messenger up and asked.
“What is it? Is it something I need to know?”
“On the left flank, due to the unilateral decision of Duke, combat has broken out! The enemy is superior and urgently needs reinforcement!”
“Duke Alex? What in the world is happening?”
“There were likely corpses littered in Alex Harker’s advance as well. But this is a rash move. He’s spreading his wings recklessly without the control of the main force.”
“It’s my mistake. I should have assigned an officer from the Eramenia army to oversee that flank. I was too focused on the center and right flank…”
“I want to know the precise scale. Under what circumstances did the battle break out?”
Margaret asked. The messenger briefly introduced the context of the battle.
Initially, Alex checked the bodies and returned to the main camp in shock, trying to write a report on what he witnessed. But due to the overwhelming shock, he couldn’t hold the pen properly, causing delays in submitting the official report.
In the meantime, intelligence arrived indicating that Jean Helmut’s main force was trying to circumvent the allied forces through the west. Overwhelmed by the unprecedented sight, Alex, without giving it much thought, decided to mobilize the Royal Knight Order on his own to block Helmut’s movement.
Naturally, this was a trap set by Helmut.
The Ironclad Knight Order, numbering 3,000, under the command of an excited commander, lost control of their exhilaration and charged recklessly after Helmut’s army.
Even the horses were affected by their rider’s intense fury and went wild, and by the time the cavalry caught up with the infantry, it was already too late.
Alex realized they had exposed their flank to the enemy’s overwhelming firepower, but only after falling into the trap.
“Ah, damn it.”
That was the sigh of the Emperor’s younger brother, filled with failures that felt more significant than success.
In an instant, gunfire erupted from the infantry, followed by the cannon fire of the artillery waiting in the back. Fortunately, even if they were enchanted, the Royal Knight Order armored with plate armor didn’t fall to mere bullets.
Some knights staggered from the concentrated fire, but the vast majority successfully maintained their ranks. Recovering his wits, Alex gave a front assault order toward the artillery that could deal effective blows. If they could eliminate the artillery, there would be no enemy force capable of harming them.
But the artillery was well protected by the infantry. While they ruthlessly smashed through the infantry, the artillery slowly retreated according to Helmut’s orders, drawing the knights deeper into the fray.
In that moment, Alex had an instinctive realization that Helmut was deliberately positioning the artillery where they could be seen to draw them into a tight space, and by the time Alex recognized the enemy’s intentions, Helmut was already executing the next phase of his plan.
Massive rocks were falling from the sky to block the cavalry’s retreat.
“Retreat, retreat! Quickly pull back the troops in this area! Fall back!”
Alex bellowed, biting his lip so hard he nearly brought himself to tears. He knew it well. Even if they pulled back the troops now, they had already suffered a complete defeat. The cannons positioned above were taking aim at them with formidable projectiles, and he had come to realize that the orc spear unit was meticulously preparing to slaughter the cornered knights.
Why was he like this? His sister had never recorded a loss on the battlefield at the age of 18, yet he, who took up arms later, kept making these blunders with the same forces.
Was it that he lacked a divine blessing? No, it wasn’t that simple. If Rose had commanded today, such calamity wouldn’t have occurred. If it were Rose, she would have prudently monitored the enemy’s movements and acted accordingly. She wouldn’t have made a rookie mistake, paralyzed by shock and unable to report back what she had seen to the center.
If it had been her, she would have coordinated with troops from different units for a more cohesive approach. No, if Rose had taken command of the knights, Helmut wouldn’t have dared to pull any tricks on this front. It was common knowledge that Rose Caprice was no ordinary woman.
“Am I that easy? Am I really that easy?”
At that moment, a cannonball struck Alex’s horse directly, crushing its armor and throwing Duke Harker off. Dropping his spear, Alex rolled on the ground and barely managed to draw his spare sword from his waist. The armor was sturdy enough that he didn’t sustain any serious injuries, but the greater pain at that moment was the deep wound to his pride.
Desperately trying to regain control of the situation, Alex swung his sword, cutting down orcs and calling out to the surrounding knights.
Yet, the shells continued to rain down over the heads of the knights, making it impossible for his commands to reach anyone.
A loud ringing echoed in his ears. He couldn’t even tell where he was swinging his sword. Was it toward the enemy infantry he had just struck down, an orc soldier, or perhaps one of his fallen comrades?
It was all unclear. He couldn’t make a judgment.
His vision blurred, the world grew dizzy. As Alex Harker screamed and charged at the enemies, he was suddenly overwhelmed by the barrage of gunfire and fell backward.
Perhaps because he was hit at such a close range, several bullets did not penetrate his armor but instead lodged into the thick plate armor. This shock was intense. The armor couldn’t absorb the impact of all the bullets, and the shockwave delivered significant force to the Duke, inflicting injuries comparable to fractures.
Lying on the ground, Alex stared blankly at the sky, murmuring to himself.
“It hasn’t been long since the previous Harker fell, and I… haven’t even properly completed my succession…”
It was then. In the blur of his vision, a color he believed he would never see here appeared before him. A color he thought would not belong in this place fluttered in front of his eyes.
Green. A green flag. Through the pain coursing through his entire body, he barely managed to open his eyes, hearing the unmistakable voice of the fairy lord.
“Don’t take a single step back and reorganize your ranks. The enemy is right in front of you. Completely crush them!”
The best relief pitcher on the continent, Margaret from Eramenia, once again appeared, leading a small cavalry unit to break through the encirclement.