Both screams and cheers could be heard from the battlefield. It was clearly an abnormal situation.
At least it was to Pelfiel, who was in charge of the attack on the rebel camp. It was something that could only be described as unplanned and unexpected.
「What’s going on? What’s the cause of this commotion?」
Pelfiel asked calmly, but her subordinates all shook their heads in a panic.
「We don’t know! Our troops are in complete disarray and we can’t get in touch with them at all! We’ve already sent messengers, but it will take a while to get any information back.」
「Too slow! ……Is what I want to say, but this is probably the best option given the current circumstances. Well done. So, does anyone have any guesses?」
The most likely scenario is that Prince Mercurio has deployed his trump card, a force that he’s likely been saving.」
One of Pelfiel’s supporting staff spoke up.
「But, they’ve already deployed their trump card, the Demon Soldiers, as well as a small elite force.」
「I guess they have other trump cards in addition to them. At the very least, they have Theorem. Considering that, it wouldn’t be too surprising.」
「……I see. But if that’s the case, isn’t it also possible that Her Highness Vihera has returned? Even if we’re using Quantum Breath to create an illusion over this area, it is more than likely Her Highness Vihera has noticed our movements.」
「Wait. But if that were the case, we should have received notice from the soldiers stationed outside Quantum Breath’s range. It would be impossible to hear nothing from them at all.」
「Then, all that’s left would be Princess Frizione’s army. But even in that case, it would be strange to not hear any news about them beforehand.」
「In the first place, we have catapults prepared on the roads towards the Imperial Capital, right? There’s no way for them to break through so easily……」
At that moment, there was a loud shout.
A soldier on horseback arrived, as if waiting for the right moment.
「A message, a message! Almost all the troops stationed in the direction of Princess Frizione’s army have been annihilated!」
「What-!?」
The man who had just said that everything would be fine as they had even prepared catapults had their eyes go wide.
No, it wasn’t just that man. Everyone else present had the same expression, even Pelfiel.
「Is that true?」
Still, as Kabajid’s trusted subordinate, Pelfiel asked again for confirmation without raising her voice like her subordinates.
「There’s no doubt! I……I saw it! Th-That Crimson, rampaging and destroying the catapults! In addition, the units not deployed to the catapults also suffered heavy losses from rocks that were dropped on them from the sky. There are many dead and injured, some units have even lost their commanding captain. Most are in disarray and are no longer functioning as combat units.」
「……I see. So that commotion was the work of Crimson.」
Pelfiel muttered.
Hearing her words, the others also realised what had happened.
「I get it now! ……So the reason there wasn’t any report was because Crimson arrived at the battlefield before our messengers?」
「That’s probably correct. Crimson has a Griffon as his familiar. One flies through the sky while the other runs along the ground. It goes without saying which is faster, right?」
「That is……」
Those listening to Pelfiel held their breathes.
Because her words were true.
「If only there were Dragon Knights……」
Some muttered, but Pelfiel quickly shook her head.
「It’s no use. Have you forgotten that Crimson wiped out all the Dragon Knights in the Spring War?」
「But, we could use them as messengers!」
「……Are you saying that Prince Kabajid’s judgment was wrong?」
At Pelfiel’s quiet question, the man, who had become agitated on the subject of Dragon Knights calmed down as if coming to his senses.
「I’m not saying that. But Prince Kabajid is also human. As such, there are times when he can’t think everything through. In those cases, I think it is necessary for us, his vassals, to admonish him.」
「That may be true, but we cannot deny the possibility that the Dragon Knights were not deployed for a reason we have not thought of. ……Well, that aside, I will give the order for all troops to withdraw for now. With the current state of confusion, continuing to fight will only increase our losses.」
「Yes! I will relay the order right away!」
A soldier who had been waiting to deliver orders immediately left the headquarters.
Seeing them leave, Pelfiel turned her attention back to her subordinates.
「Everyone, prepare to retreat.」
「We are retreating like this?」
「Yes. I’ve given the order and Crimson is here. There’s no chance of winning if we continue to fight like this. On the contrary, we risk getting wiped out by a fire tornado, just like the punitive force led by Bratta.」
「That is……」
The man, while dissatisfied with the retreat, knew the extent of losses Bratta had suffered and was unable to give a response.
With Crimson on the battlefield, there was no denying the possibility that a fire tornado would be used against them.
But, they had managed to bring the rebels to this point after so many attempts.
Was it really okay to retreat so easily? Everyone except Pelfiel felt that way.
Pelfiel smiled as she spoke to reassure her subordinates.
「Don’t worry. It’s true that this situation was unexpected in many ways, but Prince Kabajid should have fully anticipated this possibility. The troops heading this way are probably prepared to deal with Crimson.」
Hearing her words, her subordinates looked shocked.
What surprised them the most wasn’t just her words, but also her smile.
Pelfiel was someone strict with others and even stricter with herself. There were many who had never seen her smile before.
「Besides, His Highness Kabajid said before that he had a secret weapon against Crimson. If so, it’s about time to use that trump card.」
「A secret weapon……isn’t that the magic item that was used on Rhodes? Absorbing flames created by magic power.」
At his words, Pelfiel frowned slightly……so slightly that even those around her didn’t notice.
To Pelfiel, Rhodes was someone she had trained.
Even if Rhodes himself had wanted it, she honestly didn’t want him to use the Fire Eater or the magic item that gave him powerful regenerative abilities in exchange for sealing his will.
In fact, even if Kabajid was the one who thought of the idea, she was by no means fully convinced about it.
The thought passed through her mind for a moment before she shook her head to focus on the matter at hand.
The longer they took now, the greater their losses would be.
「His Highness Kabajid said that he had several ways to deal with Crimson. I don’t know what they are, but if there was only one method, he would never have said that there were several.」
Pelfiel’s words were true.
Kabajid, their lord, would never say something he couldn’t do.
They all understood that clearly from their experiences serving him.
That was why everyone followed Pelfiel’s orders.
「I understand. So, what do we say to the Second Prince’s faction?」
Since it was a cooperative punitive force that was attacking the rebel camp, naturally it wasn’t just Kabajid’s subordinates. Shurus’ troops were here as well.
However, the Second Prince’s faction had lost a great deal of power.
Part of the reason for that was the number of nobles in the faction that had been taken prisoner in the first battle against the rebel army. It was quite ironic that some of those same nobles were now under Pelfiel’s watch.
In any case, many of the nobles who were supposed to die had been taken prisoner instead, and the ongoing ransom meant that they had no way to send troops to the battlefield.
Of course, not all the nobles in the Second Prince’s faction had been captured. Some were completely unharmed because Shurus recognised them as capable from the beginning.
However, their faction power was still much lower than that of Kabajid’s, the largest faction among the princes and princesses. As a result, they had no choice but to hand over the initiative to the First Prince’s faction with regards to strategy when attacking the rebel camp.
「That’s right, I don’t mind telling them honestly. Even if they want to oppose Crimson in some clumsy manner, they should understand from past experience that it would just result in more losses for them. But if they really want to stay, that’s fine. We’ll use them as the rearguard when we retreat.」
Everyone present nodded at Pelfiel’s words and another messenger quickly left.
「Well, I said that, but the other side will probably agree to withdraw soon. If they fight Crimson head on, they’ll further reduce their already small fighting force.」
「I suppose so. In that case, we’ll have to prepare our own rearguard.」
「……What a pity. The famed Crimson. If I wasn’t the commander of this army, I would rather fight him myself.」
Pelfiel was confident in her own strength. However, she had yet to reach the level of strength to be given a title.
It was because of this that Pelfiel wanted to fight Crimson to feel the concrete difference in strength between them.
(Is that too much to ask? Besides, even if it isn’t possible this time, as long as Prince Kabajid and the rebel army are enemies, there will surely be an opportunity someday.)
Pelfiel quickly hid her regrets in her heart as she gave orders to her subordinates one after the other.
With Rei and Set still rampaging around, she thought it might be best to give up on any unit they had run into.
「Regardless, we need to leave this place as quickly as possible and put some distance between us and the rebels. Give clear instructions to everyone so that they don’t make a mistake when retreating! If we try to retreat along the highway to the Imperial Capital, we’ll end up clashing head on with Princess Frizione’s army. I’m giving permission to use Quantum Breath.」
「With our strength, there shouldn’t be any problem clashing with Princess Frizione’s army, right?」
One of the knights asked that, but Pelfiel looked at them with contempt.
「Are you an idiot? The morale of our soldiers is already low from fighting Crimson. Try fighting with Princess Frizione’s army in that situation. Our victory is likely with our numbers, but the losses will be considerable. Besides, what will you do if the rebel army pursues us while we are fighting them? There is a chance that Crimson might be in the pursuing group as well」
「……Sorry, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.」
「It’s fine to be hot blooded, but if you want to be useful to Prince Kabajid, you need to look beyond what is in front of you right now.」
She told her subordinate as if to scold him before giving additional orders.
「It’s no good! The troops fighting Crimson are already on the verge of collapse! More and more troops are fleeing from the area where Crimson is rampaging around!」
「The same goes for his Griffon! They haven’t suffered as much direct damage as the soldiers Crimson is fighting, but the psychological impact is much greater and many soldiers are fleeing!」
The people around Pelfiel were in a panic when the messengers reported the situation, but Pelfiel herself didn’t seem to care as she continued to give orders.
「Let the neighbouring units take command. As for the ones who fled, leave them alone, gathering them all up will only cause more chaos in the current situation. Gather up those under your commands and withdraw from the battlefield. Immediately send out units to hold the rebels back. I’m sure Istet and Matren’s units are stationed not far from Crimson and the Griffon. There’s no need to attack. Just buy them some time. What has the Second Prince’s faction said?」
「We haven’t heard back from them yet, no……they’re back!」
A nearby noble shouted in response to Pelfiel’s question.
At the same time, a messenger on horseback arrived at Pelfiel’s location.
「The Second Prince’s faction is also withdrawing. They’ll be sending out their own rearguard as well.」
「……I see.」
Pelfiel had expected the Second Prince’s faction to leave the entire rear guard to the First Prince’s faction, as they had the bigger army, so the result was quite unexpected.
But, her thoughts, if anything, were that they were worthy of admiration.
「It’s because Prince Shurus has a strong influence over the military. They can’t just leave the entire rear guard to us……quite impressive.」
Pelfiel muttered as she quickly gave the order to retreat.