"What the—! Why are monsters pouring out of the Blue Fortress!"
Kurts was stunned. Among the monsters streaming through the fortress gate were Ogres. Even in the darkness, he couldn't mistake them — they were Ogres. Creatures standing over four meters tall; apart from Ogres, he hadn't seen anything else among them.
He knew better than this. A commander was supposed to remain calm and composed at all times. Even when caught in an ambush, he had to rally his shaken troops with an air of "An ambush? I anticipated as much." If the command staff started panicking, the soldiers would never feel confident enough to fight.
And yet Kurts was stunned. There was no way not to be. The Blue Fortress hadn't even held for two or three hours. There couldn't have been more than five hundred monsters on the front line. The walls stood over fifteen meters tall — a simple number that belied their imposing height. And those walls couldn't last two or three hours?… Impossible! It had to be impossible!
"Ghk! Commander-in-Chief, follow me!"
"What are you going to do?"
Kurts clenched his teeth. What was he going to do?… There was no plan! He wanted to pass out on the spot. One thing was certain — he and his cavalry unit were cut off deep in enemy territory.
"We're breaking out! Cavalry! About-face! We carve a path back to headquarters!"
The cavalry had bunched together in one place. Kurts's order was relayed immediately. The cavalry at each fortress numbered only a hundred, but every single one was a soldier of at least Seventh-Grade — a truly elite unit. They did not panic. They shouted their responses.
"Yellow Fortress Cavalry Commander, Rackenverk! I'll break through the enemy line!"
"Red Fortress Cavalry Commander, Loubruk, I'll cover the rear!"
Orders flew and execution was swift. The cavalry wheeled about and charged toward the rear. Their formation was broken, but the surviving Orcs and Goblins stood in their way. The monsters couldn't withstand their spears and blades, but their speed inevitably dropped. Every moment lost like this was time the enemy used to steadily tighten its encirclement from all sides.
Someone screamed.
"O-Ogre! It's caught up!"
The Ogre! Kurts whipped his head around while spurring his horse. Something enormous, like a boulder come to life, was devouring the cavalry from behind. It was an axe. An axe bigger than a man tore through the night air and split riders and warhorses in two with a single swing. It moved with the force of a torrent. Each time the axe swept down, another soldier was smashed into the earth.
"The rear guard has been swallowed!"
"Loubruk has fallen!"
It was the nightmare of mace warfare all over again. When they had broken through the Orc shield wall, the cavalry had lost fewer than twenty men. But a single Ogre latching onto them and an entire portion of the unit was annihilated in an instant.
Kurts shook with fury. How much time and effort did it take to train a single cavalryman!
He was confident he could kill an Ogre if he could face it head-on. But he needed to break out of the enemy encampment as quickly as possible. With no hope of support from either wing, being cut off behind enemy lines meant death.
"Break through! We're getting out of here!"
Three minutes. A mere three minutes. The cavalry unit punched through the same spot they had broken through moments ago. But those three minutes were a nightmare. An Ogre fell upon the rear guard like a hunting hound, and to buy time for that, thirty cavalrymen voluntarily halted and held the line. Thanks to their sacrifice, the unit finally broke free of the enemy formation and charged toward their own lines.
The noble officer spoke.
"Adjutant. We made it! We're out!"
"This is no success. We merely paid in sacrificial lambs!"
Kurts spoke as though vomiting blood. In those three minutes, a quarter of the cavalry unit had been annihilated. By this point, Kurts had managed to grasp the general shape of the battle. The Demon Lord's army was not composed of two five-hundred-strong battalions. They likely fielded around two thousand troops. He had been thoroughly deceived.
The cavalry unit returned to the center of the human army's formation. Just as Kurts had expected, headquarters was in chaos. Twice as many enemy troops as anticipated had appeared out of nowhere. It would have been stranger if they hadn't panicked. At least with Kurts's return, headquarters stabilized somewhat.
"Report the situation."
Kurts said between ragged breaths. The moment he returned, he dismounted and joined the war council. There was no time to rest. The staff officers at headquarters scrambled to answer.
"The enemy has surrounded us on three sides."
"The two wings are isolated and under attack. They need to be reinforced immediately."
"The confirmed Ogre count alone has reached seven. There could be more lurking beyond that accursed darkness."
Kurts ground his teeth.
"Make that eight. I just had the pleasure of being chased by one of those bastards."
"Eight Ogres..."
Someone murmured. An invisible pressure crushed down on headquarters. Even now, the clash of iron on iron and the screams of humans and monsters alike echoed from every direction. Their forces were still holding, for the moment. But how long they could resist this ambush—headquarters was already contemplating the most desperate of conclusions.
Kurts spoke.
"Let's withdraw."
"Deputy Commander Schleiermacher—surely you understand? A retreat in the dead of night is no simple matter..."
"So you mean for us all to die here? Even a few need to escape."
The commanders groaned. Kurts was telling them to abandon their comrades and run. Every commander gathered here had been forged by military discipline and bonds of brotherhood. Even knowing that retreat was the only answer, they couldn't help but agonize over it. No—whether retreat was even possible in the first place was the real question……
"I will hold the rear."
"S-Schleiermacher, Deputy Commander—!"
Kurts spoke with a resolute expression.
"This operation was my design. It is only natural that I bear the responsibility."
"Rather, let us fight to the end. The outcome is not yet—"
"What about the mountain fortress?!"
Kurts shouted.
"If we are annihilated here, we hand Red Fortress over to the enemy as well. We cannot allow that. We will hole up in Red Fortress and hold out until the Border Count's army arrives as reinforcements. We must save as many troops as possible. While I hold the rear, retreat!"
The commanders fell silent.
"…R-Perhaps retreat might not even be possible."
At that moment, the noble superior spoke cautiously. One commander furrowed his brow and asked.
"Your Excellency, what do you mean by that?"
"I have no certainty myself either, but…if we estimate from the current situation, the Demon Lord's forces possess roughly two thousand troops in total. Yet when they attacked Green Fortress, and when they attacked Blue Fortress, they only sent a thousand at us. It means they intended to deceive us and lure us in."
The blond noble youth let out a sigh.
"They deliberately set things up so we would try to pick them off one by one. We moved exactly as the enemy planned, and they launched a surprise attack with the hidden remainder of their forces. You all understand what that means."
"So from the very beginning, we were in the palm of their hand…? Is that what you're saying, Your Excellency?"
"As regrettable as it is, yes."
He rubbed the corners of his eyes vigorously with both hands. Fatigue had settled deep into them. Night operations placed enormous psychological and physical strain on humans.
The monsters were less affected by it. They could perceive objects clearly in the dark, just like beasts. Even in the chaotic battle raging outside, the gap between humans and monsters would only become more pronounced.
The noble young man had already concluded in his mind that the human army would be defeated. The only question was how long they could hold out. Thirty minutes, an hour if they were lucky… after that, it would be a one-sided slaughter. Within three hours, two thousand elite soldiers of the Empire would be annihilated — literally to the last man. Running those calculations, the young man spoke.
"Hmm… even if a small detachment retreats now, it's too late. At best, maybe three hundred could break free. But infantry can't outrun an Ogre pursuit. Those three hundred won't even maintain formation — they'll be cut down by the Ogres' axes. Did I… did I get something wrong?"
"…No, Your Excellency. Your assessment is entirely correct."
"Even if those three hundred made it back to the Red Fortress, they couldn't mount a siege defense. The monsters would take it easily. We've lost. No matter what we do, the Red Fortress cannot be held. The Black Mountains have already been breached by the Crescent Alliance Army…"
A commander spoke in a trembling voice.
"C-Crescent Alliance Army? What exactly do you mean, sir?"
"Think about it. The enemy is attempting to capture the Red Fortress with a mere two thousand monsters. If we resist desperately here, well — at absolute best, we might whittle them down to about a thousand…"
Every commander held their breath as they listened to the young man.
"Let's say, being generous, that fifteen hundred monsters remain. Once the Red Fortress falls, the border lords will naturally raise a great army. Do you think fifteen hundred monsters could stop that army?"
The blond young man shook his head.
"Impossible. And yet the enemy is still trying to swallow the Red Fortress whole. Why? There's only one reason. They're confident they can hold off the border lords' armies."
"——A follow-up force! There's a follow-up force!"
Kurtz cried out in shock.
The young man gave a bitter smile.
"Yes. I think so too… the enemy has a massive follow-up force. If the main army is large enough to send two thousand monsters as its vanguard, try to imagine its true scale… the Crescent Alliance Army, or an army to rival it. Humanity is about to face a crisis unlike anything it has ever known…"
Kurtz finally understood everything. The enemy had not been hoping for a prolonged campaign. They wanted a short one — a single moment of annihilation. That was why they had drawn the fortress garrison to one place. He himself had pushed two thousand soldiers into the jaws of death.
"Without even knowing that… I was…"
The voice was choked and restrained. Kurtz could hardly believe those words had come from his own mouth.
The noble superior spoke.
"Don't blame yourself, aide. I'm the one who approved your operation. Not just me — everyone gathered here acknowledged that your plan was the best option. You didn't drag the Imperial Army into ruin alone…"
Everyone nodded. One of the commanders placed a hand on Kurtz's shoulder. Kurtz's face was turned downward. Suppressing self-reproach, anger, and endless guilt toward his soldiers, Kurtz spoke as though groaning.
"…Commander-in-Chief. Please lead the cavalry unit and withdraw."
The noble superior looked around.
"Wh-what are you talking about? Even if we retreat now, the Red Fortress is finished. It's pointless."
Kurtz blamed himself. The young prodigy before him was treating death here as a foregone conclusion. If there was no chance of holding the Red Fortress, then it would be better to fight to the last here — he was thinking of it as though it were the natural course of action.
Not even a fragment of the thought of abandoning the soldiers and fleeing existed in him… he was already a complete soldier. Had he considered such a man a fool? Had he judged that his success was merely due to connections because of his noble birth and young age… Kurtz reproached himself, thinking that he must truly have terrible judgment when it came to reading people.
"Someone must inform the margraves of the situation. This is only the opening battle. From here on, the war will be fought between the entire Imperial Army and the Crescent Alliance Army. Whether the margraves raise their armies first, or the main body of the Crescent Alliance Army reaches the Red Fortress first — that will determine the outcome of the war."
Kurtz raised his head and looked at the noble superior.
"Please take the cavalry unit to the margraves and deliver the news. If you do, then our efforts — the Imperial Army's proud soldiers fighting to the last here — will have meaning. The longer we hold the enemy in place, the more time the margraves will have to organize their forces. Even if we lose immediately, we'll gain an advantage in the war against the Crescent Alliance Army."
"Wait a moment. That doesn't make sense."
The young noble frowned.
"There's no particular reason it has to be me who carries the news to the margraves. Just letting the cavalry unit escape would be enough."
"If I may be so bold, I pride myself on not being a fool of a commander. Yet you toyed with me as though handling a child. The Demon Lord's army has a fearsome strategist among them. That person engineered tonight's disaster…"
Kurtz felt more fear than anger toward the unknown schemer. It was not difficult to defeat an opponent with overwhelming military force. But this strategist had brought about their ruin by actually reducing his own forces. It was not an exploit an ordinary strategist could accomplish.
"Never before has the Demon Lord's army devised a scheme of this magnitude. They only ever deployed powerful monsters. Now, on top of that, they have added cunning strategy. If it hadn't been for you, we would have died without ever realizing that those forces were the vanguard of the Crescent Alliance Army… Only you saw through the enemy's intentions. From now on, the Empire needs people like you. Survive, and stand against that vile strategist."
"Adjutant Schleiermacher…"
Worry crept into the young man's blue eyes. He was wrestling with a dilemma: should he take responsibility for the operation and die gloriously alongside his subordinates, or should he be the one to survive for the sake of the great war to come?
"I share the same opinion."
A commander stepped forward.
"Commander, sir, we will hold this position. Please, survive."
Kurts was stunned.
"Second Lieutenant Rakenberg. What are you saying? You should flee as well. I alone am sufficient to hold the rear."
"That is a foolish opinion. Did the deputy commander not say it himself? We need to hold those monster bastards for as long as possible."
The other commanders voiced their agreement.
"I feel the same way. How is one man supposed to command two thousand troops?"
"They would be annihilated in an instant, no question. That would defeat the entire purpose. I am staying as well."
"You damn fools!"
Kurts shouted. The commanders gathered here had all risen through the ranks under him. In private, they were like brothers. Their incomprehensible behavior pulled crude language from Kurts's mouth.
"What good do you think you will be? Get the hell out of here!"
"And what good will you be, brother, when you have already botched the operation? If someone made a mess, the rest should help clean it up. You cannot handle this alone."
"Exactly. I was worried the rear might collapse and you would just run off somewhere."
The commanders laughed. Kurts looked around in disbelief. All of them were smiling with their mouths, but their gazes were unwavering. It was the look only those who had stared down death could wear. Kurts knew no words could persuade them.
"You idiots…"
"Commander, sir. We will hold this position. Please, take the cavalry and go."
The young man fell silent. Even after witnessing the scene before him, he could not accept fleeing alone. But the reason they were volunteering to sacrifice themselves was solely to keep him alive. No—to keep the future of the Empire alive. His voice trembled faintly.
"So you are telling me to bear this disgrace."
"Yes. Forgive us. For the sake of the Habsburg Empire, you must live."
"…Fine. Bearing responsibility does not necessarily require death."
The young man looked at each of the commanders, one by one.
"My goal was to advance in rank. That's why I wanted to help the person I served. I noticed something off about this battle, but... it was my first engagement, and since you commanding officers were far more experienced than me, I figured I could leave it in your hands and thought nothing more of it. So this is my responsibility too."
Kurtz suddenly realized something. Come to think of it, the one who had told them not to leave the mountain fortress was also the noble superior. Back then, he'd assumed the young man was simply terrified of monsters and opposed the march. He'd also assumed the young man ultimately agreed to his plan out of sheer ambition... That wasn't it. The young man must have had his own reasons. Kurtz had dismissed them unilaterally.
"I swear to you all. I will kill that schemer who drove two thousand soldiers to their deaths. I will offer his head at your graves."
"That is sufficient."
The commanders saluted. The young man followed suit. The salute lingered longer than usual. The young man spoke in a low voice.
"Sig Kaiser Habsburg."
"Sig Habsburg."
Just in case, Kurtz and the young man swapped helmets and outfits. If the enemy learned the supreme commander had fled, they might pursue relentlessly. Kurtz intended to don the supreme commander's attire to deceive the enemy.
The young man led roughly a hundred remaining cavalry and withdrew. In the now one-man-short command center, Kurtz steadied himself and shouted.
"You idiots had a chance to run, but you just had to drink the poisoned cup. Don't think you'll die easily, though. From now on, anyone who doesn't take out at least one Ogre doesn't get to die!"
"One Ogre per person. Now that's quite the exchange rate."
The commanders snickered. Kurtz allowed himself a smile.
"Yeah. Living is easy, dying is hard. From now on, I'll engrave that into our enemies too. Smash every last monster into the ground! First, we close the flanks! Form squads of fifth-rank warriors or above to take down the Ogres! What are you standing around for! Move it, you idiots!"
"Understood!"
Their voices thundered through the command center.
Kurtz thought. That's right. The war wasn't over. If anything, it was just beginning. He would show them just how vicious humanity's dogs of war could be. Every last member of the command staff steeled their resolve.