Arc 4 Chapter 8 : Skirmish

[Elena POV]

I led fifty mounted soldiers after the Reconnaissance Unit reported difficulties conducting surveillance around the route that the main army would soon be taking.

Central Command had therefore assigned the task to the Cavalry Squadron under my command.

As soon as I received the order, I immediately set out with fifty riders. Intelligence estimated that the enemy group consisted of only ten to twenty soldiers.

This would be my first direct contact with enemy forces.

I hoped they would not be accompanied by one of their Cavalry Squadrons. If they weren't, this mission should be relatively simple.

After riding for ten minutes, we encountered eight people wearing the cloaks of the Reconnaissance Unit.

"Are you the Squadron that was sent to assist us?" one of the men asked.

Hmm...

Didn't he recognize me?

I suppose it was understandable. I rarely appeared in public outside the capital, since most of my time was spent within the academy.

"That's right. Elena of the First Cavalry Squadron," I answered.

He looked slightly surprised when I revealed my name, but his expression quickly returned to normal as he focused on me once more.

"All right. Follow me. I'll take you to the location where we'll ambush the reconnaissance team from the Republic of Venetia."

He turned around and began riding ahead.

I and the soldiers under my command followed behind him.

Not long afterward, we began climbing a hill.

At the top, we encountered the other members of the Reconnaissance Unit who had been waiting for us.

"Hagar, is this the Cavalry Squadron that's going to assist our team?" another man asked.

Several other mounted soldiers were standing beside him.

"Yes, Captain," the man named Hagar replied.

The Captain then turned his attention toward me.

His expression suddenly changed.

He immediately dismounted and dropped to one knee before me.

"Princess Elena, I had no idea you would personally oversee our small operation," he said. "My name is Marco. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness."

Seeing their Captain kneel, his subordinates—including Hagar—looked startled before quickly dismounting and kneeling as well.

I gestured for them to stand.

"Captain, could you explain what exactly you're doing here?" I asked.

"As you know, Princess Elena, the Reconnaissance Unit is responsible for monitoring the surrounding area and gathering information regarding enemy movements," Captain Marco explained.

"However, we've been unable to conduct our surveillance freely because the Republic of Venetia's Reconnaissance Units, escorted by their Cavalry, have been continuously patrolling this area."

So my suspicion had been correct.

We would have to defeat the Cavalry escorting their reconnaissance teams as part of this mission.

"Then what is our plan for dealing with this problem, Captain Marco?" I asked.

"Based on our estimates, the Venetian Reconnaissance Unit currently operating in this area consists of approximately ten to fifteen soldiers," the Captain said, his expression becoming serious.

"They have around thirty mounted soldiers following not far behind them. Our team intends to lure all of them toward this location."

He pointed toward the area where we were positioned.

"Once they arrive, Princess Elena and the Cavalry under your command will ambush them while they're caught off guard."

"I understand, Captain."

I nodded.

"Good luck luring them here."

"Don't worry, Princess Elena. I've done this many times when dealing with bandits."

He smiled confidently.

Captain Marco and the Reconnaissance Unit under his command then headed north.

I turned toward the fifty mounted soldiers under my command.

"This is our first mission in this war."

I raised my voice so everyone could hear me.

"I want every one of you to demonstrate the courage and determination of a true soldier! No one runs away, and you will always support your comrades during battle. Is that understood!?"

"OOOUUUHHH!"

"OOOUUUHHH!"

Their voices thundered across the hill.

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I smiled at their response.

My heart was beating faster than usual.

This was the first time I would lead soldiers into an actual battlefield.

It was different from the practical training I had undergone in my uncle Raymond's territory.

This time, I would be facing real soldiers—not a group of amateur bandits.

Kratak... Kratak... Kratak...

The sound of approaching hoofbeats reached my ears.

I looked toward the northern slope.

Captain Marco's Reconnaissance Unit was approaching, being pursued by forty to fifty mounted soldiers.

"Squadron Aguila!"

I shouted the name of the Squadron under my command.

"Attack the enemy Cavalry!"

"OOOUUUHHH!"

"OOOUUUHHH!"

I and the Cavalry under my command charged down the hill at full speed.

My right hand gripped a spear tightly, ready to pierce through an opponent with the momentum generated by my horse's speed.

"Damn it! It's a trap! Spread out!"

The enemy Cavalry looked shocked when they suddenly saw us descending upon them from the hill.

They attempted to maneuver and evade our charge.

But it was already too late.

The Cavalry under my command crashed into the enemy formation, their spears thrusting forward with the force of their momentum.

I drove my spear directly into the abdomen of one of the mounted soldiers.

He was still alive.

His body hung limply from the spear I was holding.

The initial charge incapacitated approximately eight enemy Cavalry soldiers, giving us a numerical advantage and placing us in a far more favorable position.

I discarded the spear in my hand and drew my sword.

Now, it was time for close-quarters combat.

"Attack! Finish them!"

I shouted the command, hoping to further motivate the soldiers under me.

The battle erupted.

The enemy attempted to fight back, but they had already been surrounded from two directions.

They were at a severe disadvantage.

I even dismounted from my horse so that I could move more freely while engaging the enemy Cavalry.

After approximately fifteen minutes of fighting, the battle finally came to an end.

Several enemy soldiers managed to escape, but we had successfully destroyed the Cavalry and Reconnaissance Unit that had been monitoring this area.

"How many casualties did we suffer?" I asked one of my soldiers.

"Two dead and six lightly wounded on our side," the soldier replied. "One member of Captain Marco's team was also killed."

The victory left a bitter taste in my mouth.

We had won my first battle.

Yet around forty enemy corpses now lay scattered across the area.

That meant approximately ten enemy soldiers had managed to escape our ambush.

Nearby, Captain Marco stood before two enemy soldiers who were sitting on the ground, clutching their wounds in pain.

I approached him, curious about what he intended to do with them.

"Congratulations on your victory, Captain," I said.

"This is our victory, Your Highness," he replied. "I only hope the sacrifice of those who fell today will have meaning in the battles to come."

Every battle would inevitably claim lives on both sides.

I would have to become accustomed to seeing comrades fall on the battlefield.

Otherwise, the psychological burden would interfere with my ability to fight during this war.

Captain Marco then drew his sword and pointed it toward the two captured soldiers.

"You two. If you answer my questions honestly, I'll have you treated as prisoners of war," Captain Marco said threateningly.

"If you don't, the two of you will die here. Understood?"

The two soldiers nodded.

It seemed Captain Marco intended to extract information from them.

"You first."

He pressed his sword against the neck of one of the soldiers.

"How many soldiers are stationed at Bitola Village?"

"A-about eight thousand soldiers are stationed there," the soldier answered.

But immediately after receiving the answer, Captain Marco swung his sword.

The blade struck the soldier's neck.

His head fell and rolled across the ground.

Why did he kill a soldier who had given him information?

I couldn't understand it.

"You."

Captain Marco turned toward the remaining prisoner.

"Tell me how many soldiers are stationed at Bitola Village."

"A-around four thousand soldiers," the soldier answered, visibly terrified.

"Good. Now tell us the routes being used by the other Reconnaissance Units of the Republic of Venetia."

This time, Captain Marco asked a different question.

The soldier proceeded to explain the routes taken by three other reconnaissance teams.

Captain Marco's expression became extremely grim as he listened to the enemy reveal information that could be used against his own comrades.

"All right. Take this man to the Main Army's tent for further interrogation."

One of his subordinates immediately followed the order.

Once the mission was complete, we all returned to the Main Army's tent to submit our report.

Captain Marco and I rode side by side at the front of the group.

"Captain, what exactly happened during that interrogation?" I asked.

"Ah, Your Highness. I suppose you're still unfamiliar with the standard procedure for interrogating enemy soldiers," Captain Marco said.

He then explained.

The first question had been a test.

Captain Marco had deliberately asked about information he already knew and had confirmed beforehand. He wanted to determine whether the prisoner intended to lie to him.

When the soldier's answer contradicted the information Captain Marco already knew to be true, he immediately killed him.

"This method serves two purposes," Captain Marco explained, raising his index finger.

"First, it allows us to determine whether a prisoner intends to deceive us. Second, it tells the remaining prisoner that we already know whether the information he gives us is genuine or fabricated."

"I see."

I nodded slowly.

"I learned a lot from you, Captain."

"Ahahaha, I was only following standard procedure. I didn't do anything particularly special, Your Highness."

He chuckled somewhat bashfully.

My first mission had gone smoothly.

I only hoped that our forces would not encounter any major obstacles in the days ahead.

The fewer lives we lost in this war, the better.

[Siena POV]

Nearly a month had passed since the war began.

Yet so far, there had been little more than minor skirmishes between the patrol and reconnaissance forces of both sides.

That was because we had adopted a defensive approach in this war.

There was simply no way we could directly compete with the one hundred thousand Imperial soldiers deployed to invade our territory.

At present, I was in Regium Fortress City.

More specifically, I was standing on the training grounds of the Musketeer unit.

This was a newly established unit composed of marksmen who would use firearms in battle.

"Ready! Aim..."

An instructor began issuing commands.

Every Musketeer raised their rifle and aimed at the targets positioned one hundred meters away.

"Fire!"

The instant the instructor gave the command, a deafening series of gunshots erupted across the training field.

One of the personnel then inspected the results of the Musketeers' shots against the targets.

"Squad C! Score: eighty-two!"

In addition to conventional firing squads, we were also training specialized Musketeers capable of engaging targets at extreme distances—from seven hundred and fifty meters all the way to one thousand five hundred meters—with exceptionally high accuracy.

Their primary purpose was to eliminate enemy mages who could potentially cause serious problems for our forces on the battlefield.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Suddenly, the loud ringing of bells echoed throughout the city.

I immediately turned my head.

"This is..."

The emergency alarm.

"Has the Imperial army already approached the city?"

Everyone on the training grounds immediately began running toward their assigned positions.

Only soldiers and medical personnel remained inside Regium Fortress City.

The civilian population had already been evacuated to Tusculum City, where they would be safer.

"The Imperial army is approaching! Get to your assigned positions immediately!" the instructor shouted.

I left the training grounds and ran toward the top of the city walls.

The archers were already lined up there, each holding a bow.

Dum! Dum-dudum! Dum!

The deep pounding of war drums echoed across the battlefield.

I looked ahead.

In the distance, I could just barely make out the enormous columns of the Imperial army advancing toward the fortress city.

"They're here..."

My gaze remained fixed on the approaching army.

With that many soldiers...

How long could we possibly withstand the Imperial assault on this fortress?

I didn't know.

But one thing was certain.

We would fight without end until those invaders finally lifted their feet from our homeland.