"G-Grand Duke…"
The aides stared at the Grand Duke with anxious faces. That gaze snapped him out of his daze. If he lost his composure, all would be lost.
"Sir de Durazzo! Take the mage corps and march to the left flank at once!"
"Your Grace. But if this old man leaves his post, the enemy mages who have been silent until now will seize the chance to strike at the center."
The old mage was worried. The Grand Duke felt the mage's concern was valid, but he could not retract his words now. A commander-in-chief's order had to weigh more than a thousand gold pieces.
"Sending infantry now won't help — they won't arrive before the left flank collapses. If the left falls, this position is next! Your task is to help the Knight Commander drive off the enemy cavalry by any means necessary. Understood?"
"I shall obey this solemn command."
Fifteen mages used teleportation to rush to the left flank.
Now only three mages remained at the center. A mage relaying reports from each front line, and the mages guarding the Grand Duke of Florence himself. This was far from enough to neutralize the enemy's battle magic.
"All commanders, fight on!"
The Grand Duke of Florence bellowed.
Seeing the Grand Duke and court mages rapidly exchanging orders before their eyes, the aides gradually recovered their composure. Something was being done. That feeling in itself was what mattered. The bewilderment faded from the aides' expressions.
"Pull five thousand troops from the center and deploy them to the right flank. Use the reserves."
"Understood, Your Grace!"
"Send two thousand to the left flank as well. There's no telling how long the Knight Commander can hold. Prepare for the worst!"
In an instant, the reserves had been reduced by seven thousand.
"…"
The Grand Duke clicked his tongue in frustration. The aides were hurriedly relaying orders, but the unease in his heart refused to subside.
At this moment, the centers of both armies had settled into a dead even stalemate.
The Imperial forces had fifteen thousand infantry, while the Kingdom's forces had eighteen thousand.
The Grand Duke could not determine the exact numbers on both sides, but by eyeballing it, he could tell the difference was more than a thousand but less than five thousand.
'Around four thousand. A difference of four thousand... That's not enough.'
The opponents were the famed Helvetica mercenaries. A gap of roughly four thousand might as well be nothing.
Moreover, the Kingdom's forces were inferior to the Imperial forces in magical firepower. On his side, excluding apprentices, there were seventeen mages. Meanwhile, the Imperial army had almost certainly assembled a mage corps numbering over twenty.
Up until now, they had only needed to defend against the enemy's incoming spells. Even if outnumbered, focusing purely on defense had been more than sufficient to hold the line.
In magical warfare, defense was far easier than offense. For example, if an enemy mage launched a fireball, his side could deploy a barrier using water-attribute magic. That was why, even though the Imperial army had brought over twenty mages, the Florence Grand Duke's mages had so far blocked every attack without issue.
However, he could not guarantee that problems would not arise going forward.
A short while later.
"...They've caught on after all."
Enemy spells began to pour in from the front. Fireballs detonated without pause.
The Kingdom's mages fought back valiantly, but they were clearly outmatched. Two of his mages were straining to the breaking point, prepared to exhaust their mana reserves entirely. Meanwhile, the Imperial army had, by his estimation, committed roughly ten mages to the center...
The enemy's magical forces numbered twenty. With ten deployed at the center, the remaining ten must have headed elsewhere. The Grand Duke could easily guess where.
"Your Grace. Sir de Durazzo has submitted a report."
"So the Empire has responded with mages as well."
"...Yes. The report states that the Empire has deployed a mage unit of eleven to the left flank."
The Grand Duke slowly nodded.
"Pull two thousand infantry from the front line. Deploy them to the left flank."
His voice came out flat, all emotion drained from it.
"Your Grace, however... that would leave us with no reserves whatsoever."
"It doesn't matter. Now is the moment to pour in the reserves."
Even as the Grand Duke issued the order, he sensed what was coming.
The left flank collapsed before long. The deputy corps commander was killed instantly — the ambush had caught them completely off guard. Fortunately, the corps commander had survived and was directing the troops, but it was only a stopgap measure. The attempt to bring in mages for reinforcement was also thwarted, as the enemy responded with identical countermeasures.
The imperial army had not been preparing to retreat. They had been aiming for nothing less than a textbook encirclement and annihilation……
'When did they even position those ambushers… Could it be, while chasing the Pavia citizens yesterday?'
A chill crept through the Grand Duke's chest.
'Did they destroy Pavia just to lure us out? Releasing the citizens, marching toward Piacenza — was it all a premeditated deception!'
The Grand Duke looked ahead.
Beyond the curtain of soldiers, a banner bearing a blue landscape painting fluttered in the wind. A house that should have perished eight years ago was once again unfurling its sigil. It was as though they meant to repeat what had happened eight years ago — only in reverse.
The Grand Duke bit down on his lip.
A groan escaped through his lips, mingled with bright red blood.
"Laura de Farnese……!"
"The enemy has begun retreating on the right flank."
"The Florence Black Eagle Knights are in rout! Baron de Blanc slew the corps commander!"
"Our allied cavalry on the left flank — commencing charge!"
Reports poured in from every unit without cease. Most were reports of victory.
The faces in the command post were bright. Occasional laughter burst forth here and there. The mood could only be good — right now, the imperial army was re-creating a textbook encirclement annihilation.
The ambush had been a resounding success. The enemy knights had been caught completely exposed on their flank and hammered by the charge. They had already been fighting at a two-to-one disadvantage, and on top of that came the surprise assault.
According to the reports, nearly half the knights had been killed or thrown from their mounts within five minutes. In a crisis like this, not even Elizabeth's grandfather could have turned the tide — though Elizabeth's grandfather hadn't exactly been a capable emperor to begin with……
"Baron de Blanc is putting on a truly remarkable performance. With the corps commander's head in hand, he is the foremost contributor to this victory."
"Hmm. Impressive."
Laura nodded at my words.
Her gaze remained fixed forward. She had not looked away from the front even once since the battle began.
"Relay my orders to Baron de Blanc. Once the right flank is secured, he is to drive straight into the rear of the enemy's main force. However, leave one gap open — let the enemy flee toward the marshlands."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The aide snapped off a crisp salute.
Around her, officers regarded Laura with looks of admiration. She seemed to have forgotten the very word "defeat." She controlled the flow of battle with perfect mastery, as though she could see straight through the enemy's mind. The commanders whispered among themselves in a mixture of awe and fear.
*'Her Highness the Commander-in-Chief is the reincarnation of the goddess Athena.'*
It was practically blasphemy. But some believed it with genuine conviction. And honestly, Laura was beautiful enough to make anyone want to worship her.
The mercenary captains grew ever more deferential — at this point, if Laura ordered them to brew beer out of grapes, they would have saluted and answered, "Yes, Your Highness!" without hesitation.
I smiled faintly and spoke.
"Would it not be wise to order the mages to unleash their full power at this point, Duchess? They should have no reserves left to hold back."
"Very well. It does not matter if they do not conserve their mana."
The order was relayed to the mages immediately. Moments later, countless explosions erupted across the battlefield.
Our forces had twenty-seven combat mages. They were not mages hired by the Helvetica Confederation. They were individuals I had contracted personally. My domain was overflowing with mage towers, and as long as you offered the right terms, you could hire as many mages as you wanted.
Those "right terms" included granting permission for inhuman dissection and experimentation on prisoners, but…
Well, last night I had gifted a hundred citizens of Pavia who had instigated the rebellion to the mages. The only future left for them was to be strapped to a dissection table and watch with their own two eyes as their insides were examined to see what color they were.
The fate of the remaining citizens had also been decided. The Helvetica Confederation had expressed interest in purchasing them as slaves. Rugged mountain ranges stretched across Helvetica, riddled with mines. The slaves would spend the rest of their lives in those perilous tunnels.
"Your Highness, the right flank has been secured. Baron de Blanc has reported that he will proceed to the next phase."
Two thousand soldiers under the baron's command had circled around to the enemy's rear without stopping.
It was the moment the encirclement was completed.
There was no need to completely seal off the rear. Simply pressuring the enemy from behind—that fact alone was sufficient. The enemy now had to worry not only about the front but also about the rear. Inevitably, the lines at the front grew thinner.
Into those thinned-out lines, our mages mercilessly thrust fireballs. The ground trembled with the roar of explosions.
A complete encirclement combined with a relentless barrage of magic. The Kingdom of Sardinia's army was tasting hell.
Thirty minutes later, the edge of the enemy's center collapsed.
"Some of the enemy forces are fleeing!"
"The Kingdom's lines are collapsing one after another! Your Highness! The lines are collapsing!"
Cheers erupted from the command post.
This was the end.
Once a battle line began to break, it toppled in moments like a row of dominoes. What was needed to stop that was a reserve force. You had to quickly feed fresh reserves into any line at risk of crumbling.
The Kingdom of Sardinia had run out of reserves. In other words, it was over here. The Medici family of Florence would fall today……
"The Blue Chamois Regiment is requesting permission to pursue!"
"Baron de Blanc has also requested authorization to give chase!"
I let out a bitter smile. How impatient.
Regiment after regiment had been filing requests for pursuit authorization. Hunting down fleeing enemies was obviously easier than attacking those who fought back. It was also simpler to inflate the body count.
But they were jumping the gun just a little. The Grand Duke of Florence was still resisting. Now was the time to press the Grand Duke a bit harder. There would be plenty of time for pursuit later.
"Pursuit is authorized."
"……Your Grace?"
An unexpected order came from Laura's lips.
I spoke without concealing my confusion.
"Parts of the kingdom's army are still fighting fiercely."
"I am aware."
"Would it not be better to leave them be? If we allow the pursuit now, it will give the enemy the impression that 'fleeing means being hunted.' As a result, their resistance will only grow more desperate."
Laura offered a faint smile.
"I am aware of that as well."
"Then why..."
"Court Count."
For the first time since the battle began, Laura turned her gaze toward me.
Those sapphire-blue eyes looked straight into my face.
"Once, my master taught me something: that a perfect victory is just as harmful as a perfect defeat."
"..."
That was something I had told Laura.
"But this is a golden opportunity to capture the Grand Duke of Florence."
"Now is not the time to strike down the Grand Duke. Court Count. Trust me."
I was not convinced, but I bowed my waist immediately. The supreme commander's orders were to be absolute.
Our cavalry began pursuing the enemy. The fate of soldiers who had turned their backs to cavalry was wretched. They were annihilated by cavalry blades before they could even reach the riverbank.
Seeing this, the enemy's remaining ranks tightened their formation. Just as I had predicted.
The enemy fought desperately to break through our center. When the damage grew severe, Laura once again issued a strange order.
"Let them break through the center."
She was telling us not to engage directly — to avoid close combat altogether.
This order left not just me but most of the commanders perplexed, yet since the supreme commander had already demonstrated a flawless victory, everyone obeyed without a word.
The Grand Duke of Florence succeeded in breaking through our center.
Afterward, the Grand Duke fled without looking back. It was not a reckless retreat — he withdrew in disciplined formation, maintaining proper battle lines. Pursuing rashly would have been dangerous. In the end, roughly ten thousand soldiers escaped the battlefield with him.
We had gone to the trouble of perfectly encircling them only to let them go, but a great victory was still a great victory.
"Congratulations on your victory, Your Highness!"
"Your Highness is truly worthy of bearing the name of the goddess Athena!"
The regiment commanders rushed over and knelt on one knee.
Nearly twenty thousand of the enemy's thirty thousand had fallen. Excluding the ten thousand infantry, the Kingdom of Sardinia's forces had melted away almost entirely. The sun of June 28, 1512 of the Continental Calendar set just like that.
Another great victory.
Now the Sardinians understood it for certain.
That Laura de Farnese would be a calamity.
============================ Author's Note ============================
I'll be uploading a map to the settings section.