Pitched Battle

A battle does not begin the moment orders are given.

It takes a considerable amount of time for soldiers to leave the camp and form their ranks.

"So we won't be fighting from inside the fortifications?"

A general confirmed. Indeed, fighting from within the reinforced position would allow them to wage a considerably advantageous battle. The number of casualties would also decrease.

However, that would not achieve their fundamental objective.

"As planned from the start, we will settle this in a pitched battle."

There were no further objections to Ria's words, and the generals dispersed to command their respective units.

Ria also prepared her military attire and readied herself for a speech. In pitched battles like this, it was customary for the supreme commander to give words of encouragement.

On Cordova's side as well, generals were giving speeches to their soldiers. Enduring the urge to hurl a fireball at their backs was difficult.

"Soldiers, you all know what has happened to the nations that have been invaded by Cordova."

Using amplification magic, her voice should reach the entire army, but Ria was particularly conscious of the officers and soldiers of the allied nations' forces standing at the front.

"Defeated soldiers become slaves, exploited in mines or on farms, and most of them lose their lives within three years."

Whether it was true or not, such rumors certainly existed. She thoroughly fanned their fears.

"And the conquered nations suffer under heavy taxes and forced labor, with the army's watchful eyes making escape impossible."

She continued piling on the stress.

"Why has Cordova's barbarism been tolerated until now? It is not because that nation is strong."

Here, she shifted the topic slightly.

"It is because we could not unite. Because Cordova attacked the weak nations."

This too was fact. Isolating nations through diplomacy, then invading. That was Cordova's standard practice.

"But now things are different. Against Cordova's aggression and tyranny, Manesh has risen up, with beastkin and ogre warriors lending their strength."

Yes, they were different from the nations that had been defeated in the past.

"Ogre warriors, each one worth ten humans, number three thousand!"

A little padding of the numbers should be permissible. Victory justified the means.

"And you have the latest weapons and armor in your hands, fully prepared to meet the enemy."

The weapons had been quite an ordeal to make. It would be pointless if they weren't put to good use.

"Furthermore, on our side is the Dragonslayer Saint, Carla Raparb Uslan!"

A hero of this age who had slain a dragon capable of destroying nations. Here, Carla also stepped forward, revealing herself. Carla's fame, frankly speaking, exceeded Ria's. And now, she was their ally.

"We will be victorious. And we will be freed from Cordova's terror."

Ah, she'd forgotten to mention Casalia's support. But she couldn't start over now.

"For our homeland and our families' futures. Victory!"

She raised her drawn katana toward the heavens. Carla also drew her holy sword and joined the chant.

"Victory!"

Soldiers with loud voices whom she had instructed beforehand began chanting along. That murmur spread and was shared by all the soldiers.

Victory. Victory. Victory.

Morale had risen.

Now, let the war begin.

When Ria and the others returned to the command post on the high ground, the allied forces positioned at the front began their advance.

In response, Cordova's infantry also advanced, and both sides entered bow range.

Since both armies' soldiers carried shields, the arrows weren't very effective. However, those with bad luck would be struck through the gaps and lose their lives.

Ria sighed in her heart.

She was reminded once again that she loved war.

Not just the deaths of enemies, but even the deaths of allies—she received it all as pleasure. She loved battles where lives were on the line.

What a deeply sinful person she was. Ria couldn't help but smile wryly at her own heart.

The infantry advanced further, and the spears in their hands made contact.

Their spears were longer. These were spears Ria had specially made. Despite being mass-produced, gathering this many had been difficult.

The initial clash appeared to favor their side, but Cordova's army gradually began pushing back. Their fundamental strength was different. Cordova's harsh military training was famous.

The cavalry tried to encircle them from both flanks.

Their side had only about half the cavalry the enemy did. Therefore, Ria had concentrated all their cavalry on the right flank.

This clash between cavalry forces was roughly even. Rather, since they had lured them into simple traps, their side might even have the advantage.

The left flank was being defended by Manesh infantry, using long spears and traps to force the enemy cavalry to detour. So far, everything was going exactly according to plan.

The reserve forces at hand consisted of five thousand Manesh soldiers and two thousand ogres in full.

Since Cordova had divided its infantry into three groups, roughly two-thirds of their twenty thousand infantry were calculated as reserves.

Considering the ogres' combat strength, it seemed like they could win even if they just attacked head-on. But she couldn't be optimistic.

Though ogres possessed physical abilities that overwhelmed humans, there were two aspects in which they were hardly different from humans.

First was magical power. In this regard, humans could even be said to be superior. And the other was a crucial factor on this battlefield.

That was stamina.

Because of their massive bodies, ogres only had stamina comparable to humans. While they excelled in momentary destructive power, they couldn't sustain it continuously.

Therefore, the ogres' fighting strength would be used for the final push.

"Serge, contact the 13th Battalion. One hundred paces to the right."

"Roger."

An even more unfair weapon than the ogres. That was the inter-unit communication using Serge's space-time magic.

Trained Cordovan soldiers moved organically at battalion or platoon scale, but their side couldn't do the same. This instantaneous communication from headquarters compensated for that.

Without being overwhelmed, they held their ground and fought. This was due to their high morale as well as their enhanced physical abilities.

"Deploy the 17th Battalion. Rotate with the 9th Battalion."

They appropriately withdrew fatigued units to let them recover their stamina. For that, there was Carla's magic.

The enemy's mage troops used attack magic. They returned fire, but the coalition clearly had the advantage here. Carla, a mage with nearly infinite magical power, neutralized the enemy's spells.

The Cordovan infantry that normally should have gradually overwhelmed their opponents was completely halted in place.

They rotated reserves in at battalion scale and pushed with fresh strength, but the line didn't budge. It was a stalemate.

"Contact the right flank cavalry to separate the enemy from the battlefield."

"Roger."

Along with the enemy hitting the left flank, a gap formed between the enemy's cavalry and infantry.

The enemy commander seemed competent as well, trying to bring back his left flank cavalry. However, their cavalry desperately obstructed this.

The enemy's right flank cavalry had detoured too far in attempting to encircle them. Their cavalry's initial charging power had weakened, and now mounted soldiers were merely fighting against their infantry equipped with long polearms.

The battle that began in the morning had clearly shifted in the coalition's favor by noon.

This was because wounded and exhausted soldiers sent to the rear were returned to the battlefield by Carla's wide-area healing and recovery magic.

Though Carla didn't use—couldn't use—destructive magic, she devoted all her power to healing and recovery.

(With Carla and Serge, there's practically no way to lose on a single battlefield. The problem would be if the battlefield were divided and I had to oversee the entire situation.)

Ria's Gift allowed her to survey the battlefield from above, but she would need to test eventually just how far its range extended.

The enemy's reserves were deployed, and their side also sent out reserves.

This left their side with the ogre forces remaining, while the other side had no reserves left.

And the enemy's infantry and cavalry were now separated.

"It's time."

Ria judged and ordered Serge.

"Have the ogres charge the enemy from both flanks."

A battle cry rose up.

The ogres, who had been forced to wait all this time, exploded with combat fervor.

Their penetrating power was incomparable to cavalry. They enveloped and divided the enemy infantry from both flanks.

'What fine warriors.'

Something clicked into place within her, and Ria naturally spoke those words.

This was Ria's fifth Gift. The one even Valis hadn't mentioned—a Gift simply for continuing to fight.

If it had to be named, it would be 'Shura' or 'Primal Instinct.'

Despite being semi-encircled, halted by an iron wall in front, and trampled by the ogre charge, the Cordovan army still maintained order.

This was because their non-commissioned officers were each excellently commanding their soldiers, but there was no time to praise that.

"Well, one more push then."

She might as well deliver that push herself.

"I'm heading out. Shizuna, follow me. Rudolph, let's go!"

Those around her hastily tried to stop Ria as she mounted Matsukaze. Among them were both Carla and Serge.

"Ria, this is reckless!"

Ria felt like she'd heard Carla's voice like that for the first time.

"What about my reports?"

Serge, on the other hand, wasn't particularly worried. He had already seen Ria charging into Cordovan soldiers once before.

"Keep sending them to me. I'll give instructions as needed."

Amid the flustered officers, Ria sortied leading her personal guard.

One rider worth a thousand.

A warrior without equal.

With Shizuna and Rudolph slightly behind her, Ria led her personal guard, cutting through allied lines and crashing into the enemy front.

Each time the cross spear was swung, a life was extinguished.

"Her Highness has come! Don't show her anything shameful!"

Commanders shouted encouragement to their soldiers. Soldiers who had been fighting at their limits exceeded those limits.

The same was true for the ogres on both flanks who heard the voice. Hearing that Ria was fighting alongside them, their fighting spirit couldn't have risen any higher.

If Ria had died or been captured here, it might have led to a complete reversal by Cordova.

But Ria had calculated that the enemy lacked such reserves before deliberately taking this bold action.

In fact, the Cordovan army collapsed.

Cordovan soldiers, bound by strict discipline that forbade retreat without orders, finally broke and ran.

The front collapsed, and a rout began.

Far away on a high ground, two figures watched the battle unfold.

One was a dark elf, her appearance unchanged.

The other appeared to be a middle-aged human male, but the bestial aura emanating from him was different.

"Looks like Cordova's gonna get destroyed, huh?"

To the man who spoke without much thought, Rei returned a flat voice.

"Cordova's resilience should not be underestimated. This won't be decided so easily."

"Nah, nah, think about it more intuitively. War has momentum, you know?"

The man's words carried weight. It was probably a unique sense that came from having actually commanded wars in the demon territory.

Ordered by the Demon King, this man had come to this land.

His name was Ordo.

A subordinate of the Demon King who boasted outstanding strength, and at the same time, a man famous for his many problematic behaviors.

Why did their beloved Demon King continue to employ such a man? Honestly, Rei found it questionable, but if ordered, she had no choice but to cooperate.

"Even so, what a beauty."

Ordo's vision, far beyond human capability, had laid bare Manesh's encampment.

"Especially that silver-haired woman. I want to force her down and violate her over and over."

He spoke his desire-laden words casually in front of a woman. This too was unpleasant for Rei, who possessed strong self-awareness.

"That's the Dragonslayer. And His Majesty also said not to carelessly reduce the humans' fighting strength."

"I know. I won't disobey His Majesty's orders."

But, Ordo thought.

Could a human who could be defeated by the likes of himself really become a useful force for His Majesty?

Besides, as long as he didn't kill them, enjoying himself a little could be written off as battlefield matters.

He had time. For a while, he would be operating covertly in this northwestern part of the continent.

Unlike the conspicuous dark elf and the vampire who could barely move during daylight, he could easily infiltrate human society.

He had no intention whatsoever of defying the Demon King. But there was more than one way to look at things.

Imagining himself pinning down the silver-haired saint, Ordo wore a savage smile.