The news that the Crown Prince had beaten the Imperial Princess like a servant spread throughout the palace in an instant.
The Habsburg Empire's imperial palace was small. The palace gardens could hold, at best, a thousand people — a poor showing given the territory and prestige the Empire commanded. The current Emperor had attempted to expand the palace on multiple occasions. But the nobles refused to invest in the Imperial family's dignity, and the royal household lacked the finances to undertake construction on its own.
The absolute monarchy had fallen. Imperial Princess Elisabeth halted her steps. She stood still in the glass-smooth marble colonnade, gazing at the scenery beyond the pillars. Sunset was settling over the city. A deep golden dusk seeped into every alley. As if this world had suddenly ceased to be this world, a hush and an infinite languor parted gently beyond a curtain of twilight.
The Imperial Princess murmured to herself.
"They say some things shine brighter as they set… I suppose the Empire is not among them."
A nation that had commanded absolute prestige just a hundred and fifty years ago had now vanished. The Empire was perishing in the ugliest manner possible. She had deliberately provoked Crown Prince Rudolf, but she had not imagined he would be so lacking in patience. He was a fool. There was nothing to be gained from rumors like these circulating — not for him.
Every citizen of the Empire now knew the truth: that the Princess had wished to take the field, but the Crown Prince's faction had flatly refused her. Any possibility of the rumor spreading that "the Princess had deliberately withheld her forces to ensure the Crown Prince's defeat" had been shut down.
The Empire needed major surgery. The fat had to be carved away, the rotting flesh torn out without mercy. Perhaps the surgery would be so extreme that the patient itself would die. Above all, the fifty thousand soldiers conscripted for the Margrave–Crown Prince expedition — their sacrifice would be yet another yoke the physician had to bear. The seventeen-year-old Princess thought this as she looked down upon the city bathed in sunset.
The Empire's great army had moved. — The news shook the Plains Faction. Twenty thousand from the Central Army, twenty thousand mercenaries, ten thousand from the Margrave's forces — a total army of fifty thousand marched toward this very territory of Brandenburg. The moment intelligence was received, Legion Commander Barbatos convened a council of war.
Nineteen Demon Lords of the Sixth Legion gathered in the lord's conference room. No one was flustered by the fifty thousand troops. It was the expected development. The mood was one of what had come had come. Beleth and several others were clearly excited. We each held a wineglass in hand, filled with the wine Barbatos had personally poured for each of us.
Barbatos spoke with a smile.
"We'll skip the appetizer and go straight to the main course. It would be rude to refuse when the host has prepared such a lavish spread. No need for a siege. We end everything in a single engagement."
This time there was no tedious strategy conference. The Sixth Legion intended to utterly crush the enemy's fifty thousand with its eighteen thousand troops. A favorable battlefield had already been selected, and the order of battle was complete. The Sixth Legion was divided into Barbatos's unit, Beleth's unit, Zepar's unit, and so on to intercept the enemy. I was, naturally, part of Captain Zepar's unit.
"Comrades. What do you believe an army needs?"
Barbatos declared imperiously.
"An army needs victory. Absolute victory. Overwhelming victory. Comrades, I do not want an ordinary victory. I have no interest in the kind of battle where you win on one front and lose on another. I want a thorough, crushing victory!"
She raised her voice.
"A victory so absolute that they will never dare challenge us again! I want to see every human in the Empire torn limb from limb, tongues sliced off, innards spilling out! I want to see the blood of fifty thousand Imperial soldiers flow until the mountains, rivers, grass, and trees are dyed red! I want this battle to teach the human race once and for all that they can never overcome Demonkin! Comrades — may I count on you? On steps that never retreat and an indomitable will?"
Someone shouted, "Give us blood!" The Demon Lords roared in response. I too raised my voice to join them. Give us blood! Give us blood! Give us blood! ……
"Good."
Barbatos raised his right arm.
"Comrades, your army commander will always stand at the vanguard. When your battle lines crumble and the hooves of the knights shake heaven and earth, when you stare desperately ahead with the word 'retreat' on your lips — that is where I, Barbatos, will be standing. And when the order to charge is given, when you look straight ahead — that is where you will see me, Barbatos, already running!"
She drained her wine glass. The remaining eighteen Demon Lords also poured wine down their throats. A brief silence followed. Barbatos, having gulped down his drink in a single swallow, hurled the glass at the floor. Shards of glass scattered everywhere.
"To victory!"
The march began.
Four days later, the Crescent Alliance Army's Sixth Corps arrived in the Austerlitz hill region. This was the key passage leading from the northern provinces of the Habsburg Empire toward the capital. If the Crown Prince-Margrave expeditionary force ignored this position and pressed on, we could march directly into the capital. For the Habsburg Empire, it was a vital chokepoint that had to be held.
Even while on the march, we continued to listen for enemy movements. We learned which generals were stationed where and how each unit was deployed. According to our intelligence, the enemy nominally had Crown Prince Rudolf von Habsburg as supreme commander, but actual military control was in the hands of Margrave Fritz von Rosenberg. When these first-class intelligence reports came in more easily than expected, the Sixth Corps high command grew suspicious instead. They wondered whether false information had been planted as a smokescreen.
"This is not false information."
"Why do you say that?"
In response to Zepar's question, I offered my explanations.
I knew that this intelligence had been intentionally obtained with the tacit approval of the Third Imperial Princess. The information, funneled through the Kunkuska Trading Company, indicated that high society in the capital had been buzzing about a single incident — the Crown Prince assaulting a princess. Society figures gossiped endlessly about how such an outrageous event could have occurred, and they mobilized every aristocratic resource at their disposal to discover that the cause was tied to participation in the expeditionary force. In the process, a list of generals joining the expeditionary force circulated widely. In other words, this roster of generals had been authenticated by Habsburg high society itself.
Princess Elizabeth must have deliberately engineered the incident. The purpose was to provide us with intelligence… As always, her scheming was insidious.
"The enemy's command is held not by the central army but by the border army. The central army generals are undoubtedly resentful of this fact. Margrave von Rosenberg is, no matter how you look at it, a defeated general — the very man who lost his territories to us without putting up a fight. Why should an incompetent loser be playing the part of supreme commander? The central army officers will be very reluctant to recognize von Rosenberg's authority."
On the command map, small clay figurines shaped like chess pieces were arranged. Each figurine represented an enemy unit. I separated them into two groups — the central army and the border army.
"The twenty thousand mercenaries remain a variable. They were hired by the Crown Prince. Even if command technically belongs to Margrave von Rosenberg, the moment the Crown Prince wants something, they will follow their employer's orders without hesitation. Twenty thousand from the central army plus twenty thousand mercenaries makes forty thousand. A border army of only ten thousand in command simply cannot compete in sheer numbers. If things go sideways, the central army generals will attempt to persuade the Crown Prince to strip von Rosenberg of his command."
Barbatos grinned.
"So in short, they're nothing but a ragtag bunch who can't even secure their own command structure."
My role ended here. Analyzing the enemy's situation and providing commentary was well within my capabilities, but I knew nothing about how to exploit this situation for a tactical victory. That was the province of Barbatos and the other high-ranking Demon Lords. They were veteran warriors who had fought on countless battlefields.
Barbatos spoke.
"We'll exploit the enemy's divisions. Count von Rosenberg will want to secure a swift victory by unleashing an overwhelming offensive before his command crumbles. He'll charge in like a stallion in heat. The moment he spots the weakest point in our lines, he'll throw everything he has at it. Which is why—"
She moved the figurines on the map. They represented their own forces.
"We'll concede the high ground to the enemy. This central hill—intentionally leave it wide open."
The Austerlitz region featured a highland right at its center. On the map, it was labeled the Pratzen Heights. Zepar swallowed hard and spoke to Barbatos.
"Your Excellency, if we hand over the heights, the enemy's knight orders will run wild."
In this era, knight orders were monstrous forces beyond imagination. In the original world they were already considered a ultimate weapon, but here the knights' martial prowess was further amplified by Aura. No ordinary soldier could hope to match them. That was precisely why wars in this world always revolved around the knight orders.
If the enemy seized the heights, the knights would naturally find charging downhill far easier than ascending. On top of that, they'd have a full view of every unit on the battlefield and could coordinate their movements with far greater fluidity. Securing the heights in advance was therefore of paramount importance to the Demon Lord Army.
"I know. I'm letting them run wild on purpose."
But Barbatos rejected the conventional tactical approach. Tracing the terrain on the map with her finger, she explained. Where her finger pointed, a series of lakes dotted the landscape.
"I fought in this area two hundred years ago, and five hundred years before that. I know it well. There are plenty of lakes nearby, so thick fog rolls in every morning. I plan to begin the engagement at dawn and finish by noon. The knight orders won't be able to move freely with their vision obstructed."
"But Your Excellency. Conversely, if the battle drags on for any reason, the knights will be free to launch their charge."
"I already told you, you fool. It'll be over by noon."
Barbatos smiled deeply.
"Trust me. As much as I trust you. I guarantee it—Austerlitz will become a graveyard for the Imperial Army."
Throughout the council, Barbatos maintained her position with iron resolve. Some Demon Lords warned that the risk was far too great, but once Lord Beleth and Lord Zepar sided with her, the debate tilted sharply in her favor. In the end, the Sixth Legion reached an agreement: no units would be deployed on the Pratzen Heights.
"We'll divide our forces into three—center, left flank, and right flank. I, Barbatos, will take the center. Beleth will command the left. And Zepar, the right. The outcome of this battle hinges on nothing less than the right flank."
Barbatos turned her gaze to Zepar.
"Zepar. I'll be assigning the minimum number of troops to the right flank."
Commander Zepar slowly nodded his head.
"Understood. Then I am to serve as bait."
"Ah, we need to show them the most vulnerable spot. That way their cocks will go stiff and they'll come charging right in. Zepar. Your mission is to keep the command tent safe and sound until the battle is over. Don't let those humans breach your rear even once."
Zepar saluted.
"Commander. I will defend the right flank to the death."
"Comrades. Our battle will end with a single, decisive strike. This is an all-or-nothing fight. There is no room for blunder. Everyone, stand proud as Demon Lords and face the enemy head-on."
We all saluted together. Barbatos responded and returned the salute.
Two days later, the Imperial Army arrived in the Austerlitz region.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, they seized the Pratzen Heights. Would the battle unfold as Barbatos had predicted, or would it proceed along entirely conventional lines? I lacked the tactical acumen to gauge that. Even Laura harbored doubts about Barbatos's strategy. What could we do? We had no choice but to trust him.
I took up position on the right flank alongside Commander Zepar, with the Death Knights in tow. I had a premonition that a grueling battle was about to unfold……