"Why on earth should I have to move together with the likes of you?"
"Did I not tell you? I happen to be quite fond of Lord Vassago."
Vassago made a face as though he'd just bitten into garbage. Well, even with a heart as vast as the ocean, a reaction like that still stung. I'd hoped he'd handle me with just a little more care.
Summer, Year 1511 of the Continental Calendar. Emperor Rudolf von Habsburg raised a great army.
The total force numbered a staggering fifty thousand. Moreover, it was a multi-species coalition of humans and demons. While the vast majority were demons, the fact that both the supreme commander and the deputy commander were of the human race caused quite a stir.
The moment Laura assumed the role of deputy commander, she declared:
"Any who violate military law will be severely punished, regardless of rank or station."
The haughty upper-class demons dismissed the new commander with contempt. As if they would take orders from a human—worse, from a young woman. That attitude spread openly among the ranks.
But within a mere ten days, seven officers were executed, and the mood shifted entirely.
In this world only I know it, but Laura is a woman warrior known as the Iron-Blooded Prime Minister. To put it as a joke—more soldiers died by Laura's hand in execution than died fighting the enemy in the game.
"To think a soldier on the battlefield would fuss over race and age—what tremendous gall. Once your head is severed, it doesn't matter whether you're a demon or a human, a child or an elder—you won't be able to squawk anymore. So I do hope your necks are as sturdy as your nerve."
That was what Laura said with her own hands, slicing open the demons' throats. What's more, Laura carved the flesh from the severed corpses and kept the skulls in her quarters. She was simply acting out of habit, but the monster soldiers received it quite differently.
'There's a human woman out there even worse than us.'
'I should've known the moment Lord Barbatos threw his support behind her.'
'That cruelty got me hard without even realizing it. Heh heh.'
There were some seriously unhinged reactions, but I ignored them. Laura being gang-raped by orcs—absolutely not. There was no way I'd get hard or anything like that. Absolutely not.
With the legion commanders silently lending their support, there was only so much the officers and soldiers could do to resist. Regardless of anything else, the Demon Lord Army operated under absolute chain of command, with the Demon Lord at its apex. Even Paimon, famous for his kindness, showed no mercy or forgiveness when it came to military discipline.
"When war breaks out, soldiers are those who defend equality and freedom—they are not those who revel in it."
That was a theory Paimon once put forward. That should give you a rough idea of the atmosphere in this army. Monsters don't have human rights or anything of the sort……
Thanks to that, Laura's military authority was established.
As the five-hundred-thousand-strong army began preparing for war in earnest, four thousand troops were selected for the vanguard. The vanguard included the former third-ranked Demon Lord Vassago and myself. The two of us marched side by side, having a pleasant conversation.
Vassago twisted his face into a look of disgust.
"Don't you ever say you like me or anything like that in front of me again, you clown. The moment I lay eyes on you, I feel like throwing up."
We were having a pleasant conversation.
"Hmph, as if you even know how to engage in battle. All you do is cower behind Barbatos's back, cowardly scheming and killing time."
"Haha."
I scratched my cheek.
The truth was, from my perspective, Vassago was easy to deal with. Compared to the average Demon Lord who might as well have fifty snakes coiled in his gut, Vassago was honest to the point of simplicity. If Sitri was simple in the sense of being pure, then Vassago was simple in the sense of being petty.
"You know, I actually contributed quite a bit to breaking through the Black Mountains and seizing Brandenburg."
"You're still deluding yourself. At the Black Mountains, Zepar commanded the army, and at Brandenburg, wasn't it Barbatos who led the forces?"
Vassago sneered.
"Either way, all you did was scheme from the shadows. There's a world of difference between serving as a commander in war and serving as a staff officer, clown."
"Mm..."
"Don't let it go to your head just because a lowlife like you managed to serve as a staff officer. That's exactly the kind of fool who gets handed a massive army and promptly gets it destroyed. I'm actually looking forward to the day you fall."
Sorry to say, I've already spectacularly botched things before.
I grinned from ear to ear.
"Since you, Lord Vassago, will be commanding the army this time, victory is all but guaranteed. I'm counting on it."
"...That's right. I am the vanguard commander. Don't interfere with my command."
Vassago turned his head away. We aligned our horses and led the troops forward.
Generally, the mission assigned to the vanguard falls into two broad categories.
First: advance ahead of the main force to survey the terrain and water sources.
Think about it — you're calling this fifty thousand soldiers, but imagine all of them spreading out their bedding at once. You'll need a vast, open plain. The visibility has to be wide enough that even if the enemy launches a surprise attack, you can spot it well in advance. A nearby stream or lake with decent water quality is also essential.
Terrain that satisfies all these conditions is rarer than you'd think. If the vanguard doesn't scout ahead and clear the path for the main force, things will get ugly fast.
Second: probe the enemy's state of readiness.
When we send out our vanguard, the other side will naturally deploy theirs in response. By gauging how competent that enemy vanguard turns out to be, you can generally get a read on their national strength.
If their vanguard is worthless, it means they've barely prepared for war at all. They probably scrambled to throw together a stopgap force to buy time while hastily organizing a real army back home. In cases like this, you should relay the intelligence to the main force and aim for a swift, decisive engagement.
On the other hand, if their vanguard is formidable… it means the enemy nation has been on a permanent war footing.
Where the two vanguards meet also tells you a lot about their level of preparation. If you only run into them long after breaking through the border, it means they were prepared for war but hadn't expected it to happen right now.
And then—
"I can see Frank's vanguard."
If we're encountering the enemy vanguard a mere two days after crossing the border, it means they've read our movements completely. For an invading force, there is no worse scenario.
Vassago raised a portable telescope to his eye and studied the enemy lines.
"I'd estimate around three thousand. evenly matched, it seems…"
"There are two banners bearing the insignia of a knightly order. It doesn't look like a central army unit — more like a regional garrison. Still, they won't be easy."
"Which is precisely what 'evenly matched' means. Useless lot."
Vassago snorted without lowering the telescope.
As it happened, the two armies converged on a plain suited for hosting a large force. It was hard to call that a coincidence. The enemy had anticipated we would come this way and had even chosen the battlefield. Honestly, it was impossible to tell just how long they'd been reading our movements.
"Humans are so annoying — they die too quickly. Noble families flip and change every few centuries, and there's no way to keep track of them all."
Vassago muttered irritably. He was studying the enemy's banners.
"Four hundred years ago, shields were all the rage, and now it's flowers. Lilies, roses, chrysanthemums... Anyone looking at this would mistake the battlefield for a garden."
"Well, compared to us, humans can't help but have short lifespans."
I smiled wryly.
A Demon Lord lived forever unless someone killed them. Bael had recently set the record for the shortest-reigning Demon Lord before dying. Even if you swapped out the human race for the fairy race, they'd still fall short.
"The black rose with the stray dog motif — that's Marshal Gaspard de Tavannes. Among the Frankish generals, he's one of the more clear-headed ones. He once served as the Emperor's lieutenant general. Not that a Frankish lieutenant general would have had much real authority."
For reference, he was one of the enemy commanders who had fought at the Battle of Saint-Denis. He had no particular connection to the left flank where I'd been stationed, though.
Vassago glanced at me with renewed interest.
"...You have their heraldic crests memorized?"
"I'm hardly an expert, but I know a bit."
When I'd fought in the Frankish civil war, I'd memorized most of the major houses. I'd even reviewed them a few days ago. I could recognize every family arrayed on this plain except one.
"The two crossed spears — that's Baron Verneuil. The lioness biting the rose is Count Hébreux. He must be commanding one of the knight orders. The white chrysanthemum would be Baron Chaste. They're all fierce commanders. A solid lineup."
"......"
"It seems they're a bit light on strategists. Still, they work well enough as a vanguard. The unpleasant part is that Marshal de Tavannes has come out in person. He's a former lieutenant general. The fact that someone of his caliber responded so quickly... The humans have been preparing for this war for some time."
The Tavannes family held its fief in southern Frankland. Our army had invaded the northeastern part of Frankland. Even at a forced march, it was too far to intercept us in just two days.
"Moreover, they're all Frankish houses. There's not a single Breton among them. They deliberately selected only Frankish families and packed them into the vanguard. Impressive."
As expected of Queen Henrietta. She had an almost animalistic instinct for war. Here, it was perfectly fine to give honest admiration.
"Even if we win this battle, it's not all that bad from the queen's perspective. From Bretagne's point of view, the great nobles of Frankland are potential rebels. She intends to either eliminate them or at least drive them onto the battlefield with this opportunity."
"......"
"In the meantime, she seizes the authority of the Frankish Emperor for herself. A brilliant piece of work."
Vassago asked in a quiet voice.
"Seizing the authority of the Frankish Emperor? What do you mean by that?"
"Hmm? Well, the Queen of Bretagne intends to use the war as an opportunity to openly usurp the imperial throne."
I counted the number of knights. There were about six hundred. One-fifth of the three-thousand-strong enemy force was composed of knights. It was an absurdly aggressive force composition.
"The Queen has been eyeing the Frankish Emperor's position for a long time. But no matter how weak Frankia may be, openly usurping the throne would trigger rebellions across the nation in an instant. Now, with the Demon Lord's army invading, is her chance. If she holds us off, she becomes the hero who saved the kingdom."
"......"
"Well, the Frankish Emperor is probably confined to some corner of a palace by now. All she has to do is claim he's suffering from an illness, and that settles it."
In the meantime, Henrietta had swallowed Frankia's military authority whole. She was truly a remarkable woman who knew how to exploit war to her advantage. This world was full of capable people, and it was exhausting.
"......Could you tell from the vanguard's banners alone?"
"Hm? Ah, well. Only a little, though."
How interesting. Queen Henrietta would probably hold a wedding with the Frankish Emperor the moment victory was secured. Both the Queen and the Emperor were well past the age of marriage — unwed, at that. It would amount to a kind of union government.
Of course, it would only be a union government in name; Henrietta would hold all the real power. And the "ill" Emperor would likely waste away and die before long. When that happened, the master of both empire and kingdom would unambiguously be Henrietta de Bretagne-Frankia.
That was assuming Henrietta won, of course.
I was happily imagining how events might unfold when Vassago muttered from beside me.
"......You fool. It wasn't just 'a little'......"
"Yes? Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn't hear you."
"It's nothing. Imbecile."
Vassago snapped back irritably. It seemed his stomach always bothered him.
Just then, a lone rider burst out from the enemy lines into the center of the plain. Were they sending an envoy before battle? But for an envoy, the rider was far too lavishly armed.
"Hear me, wretched horde of Monsters!"
The lone rider gripped the shaft of a lance and roared. His voice, charged with mana, boomed across the field.
"I am Ergan, knight of the Franks, and I will settle this with you! If there are any among you who are not cowards, come out at once and cross swords with me!"
In simpler terms, he was proposing a one-on-one duel.