Wispa Holy Nation.
Allied Army Headquarters (Armored vehicle on the move).
“The Allied Army sounds good, but it’s just a multinational force. There are multiple independent command structures. Those guys… consider our citizens a nuisance in combat!”
The commander of the Wispa Holy Nation Army slams his hand on the metal table.
“I will definitely make the bereaved families pay compensation!”
Knock, knock.
“Commander? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing at all.”
He worried his guards, so the commander suppressed his emotions to regain composure and opened communications to check the situation with his unit.
“This is…”
Reports of a grim situation continued to come through the magic communication device. Suddenly, the communication cut off.
A pursuit battle.
A blow to the back.
“We have to escape, no matter what.”
“Mission understood.”
The armored vehicle took a hit.
From the shaking, it wasn’t stray fire.
It was debris from a friendly craft or vehicle.
“Commander! Are you unharmed…?”
“I’m fine. More importantly, let’s move to the vehicle ahead.”
The commander moved to the vehicle in front and visually confirmed their approximate location.
“Commander!?”
“Salutes are unnecessary. Concentrate on driving.”
“Yes, sir.”
He stopped the drivers from raising one hand to salute and picked up the binoculars hanging on the wall, scanning the surroundings.
“…”
There were hardly any friendly troops (from his own country) in sight. The multinational force showed no signs of issuing evacuation advisories to nearby villages. They were retreating without looking aside, constructing defense lines and heading towards the point where they would engage the enemy.
They weren’t even helping non-combatant civilians. What good were reinforcements!
His own army was moving to evacuate non-combatant civilians, even if it meant being defeated piecemeal, all for the sake of evacuation activities!
The commander repeated “non-combatant civilians” twice because it was an important matter.
Defense Line (under construction).
The multinational force, composed mainly of infantry, revelled in their positions inside the main camp tent.
“You’re late.”
“How dare you keep us waiting~”
“We want to discuss the plan quickly, you know?”
“…I apologize. We were guiding civilians… our citizens… to a safe location.”
“Do you even understand the meaning of reinforcements?”
The commander offered a sarcastic apology.
“Hmph. Our army was the first to start building the defense line.”
“Our soldiers are also eager to kill the enemy, so their morale remains high.”
“Our country did not agree to follow your orders, nor evade them. Instead of apologizing, we need to decide what to do next, or the enemy will continue to invade our territory?”
“…Let’s begin the strategy meeting.”
During the strategy meeting, each commander and general clashed over who would get the credit, and the meeting was adjourned with the understanding that they would act on their own accord again.
Defense Line
“`
□□ □ □ □ □
□ □ □
□ □ □□□ □ □
□ □ □
□□ □□ □
□ □ □□
“`
Three defense lines.
Each would weaken the enemy’s momentum, and the final defense line would halt the enemy army. They would then launch a fierce counterattack with their reserve units.
The soldiers on the first and second defense lines were expendable.
“Our army…”
“`
□□□□□□□□□
□□□□□□□□□
□□ □ □□
□□ □ □□
“`
The first defense line was a formation designed to absorb the enemy’s fierce assault. The goal was to sandwich the enemy army with the second and third defense lines. Unlike other countries’ armies, his own army didn’t have the luxury of reserves. If they couldn’t drive the enemy out of their territory, they would be gradually chipped away from their weak points. They had to defeat the enemy here, no matter what!
“My knight, please save this country.”
For the sake of the young princess (the third princess)!
The night before the deployment ceremony, the third princess secretly visited the barracks, which were filled with men. She came to directly ask the commander to protect the country and its people. The commander was deeply moved and, with a knight’s pledge, became the third princess’s knight and readily agreed to her wish. However, at the deployment ceremony, when he met with the commanders and generals of the multinational force, the reality of fulfilling the third princess’s wish became difficult. The commander felt as if the ground beneath his feet had disappeared.
And now, while commanding the defense line, he waits for the pursuing enemy and the remnants of his own forces.
“Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
“Oooooooooohhhhhh!”
“Ou! Ou! Ou! Ooooooohhh!”
The first defense line units of the multinational force, knowing they were expendable, charged forward before they were taken down.
“Wait for us—!?”
He felt sympathetic to the struggles of the first defense line commanders.
“The pressure from them is coming to our front! Flank units! I’m sorry, but raise your shields!”
“Ooooooh!”
“`
□ □
□ □
□ □
□←□□□□□□→□
□ □
□□ □ □□
□ □ □
□ □
“`
Although the defense would be weakened, being attacked from the flanks would lead to a worst-case scenario of escalating damage. Units were dispatched from the second defense line, and they barely managed to cover the flanks.
“Kill! Kill!”
“Capture the women alive! If you sever one of their limbs, they’ll behave! If they’re good-looking women, they’ll still fetch a high price when used!”
“Knight (Golem) units! Push the enemy back further! You’re not letting us infantry move in at this rate!”
“Are you just going to watch?!”
“We can’t concentrate on the fight!”
“`
□ ← Enemy □□□
□Enemy Enemy ← Enemy □▽■
□ Enemy Enemy EnemyEnemyEnemy
□ ← Enemy EnemyEnemy
“`
There were more enemy units than the multinational force was supposed to handle.
“Third defense line battle! It can’t be helped. Deploy a defense formation on the flanks! First and second defense line battles! Fight hard! Don’t let the enemy in!”
“Ooooooh!! Uoooooh!”
“Are the wounded still within acceptable limits? The multinational force’s ■ unit is starting to fall apart.”
It was their own fault, but he couldn’t allow the ripple effect of that damage to flow towards them. If he could return to his homeland alive, he would definitely get permission from His Majesty the King to punch them in the face!
“`
▽EnemyEnemy ← ▽■▽
▽Enemy ←Enemy ■■Enemy
□EnemyEnemy EnemyEnemyEnemy
□EnemyEnemy ← EnemyEnemy
“`
How many enemies are there?!
“Commander—Gagaga—”
“Hold on—Gagaga—”
It wasn’t a communication failure. The battlefield was struggling because there were simply too many enemies at every unit. Their attempts to intercept, sandwich, and counterattack were not going as planned. The units were being consumed by the enemy’s wave attacks, one after another, due to the sheer force of numbers.
Friendly army communications were also mixed in with the magic communications, making it a jumbled mess. He couldn’t tell which unit he was giving orders to, rendering communication meaningless.
“Restore the interference! Quickly!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Please give me some time!”
“…This is… gurgle… click click…”
“We can’t restore it any further.”
“We’ve done everything we can!”
“…Good work.”
“Yes, sir.”
With some improvement in the interference, he repeated the unit names multiple times before issuing orders, trying to get them to reach his own troops. The commander continued to issue orders to all units, even without a response from the unit leaders.
Aaaaagh! Kyaaa—!?
Badoom!! Zzzzzzz….
The battlefield descended into chaos. Some soldiers could be seen being violated by enemy soldiers, but upon closer inspection, they were friendly soldiers – a trivial matter compared to… friendly soldiers killing their own.
“Kill them!”
“Yes, sir. Aim. Target: enemy soldiers who killed our comrades! Fire!”
Fwoosh—… Badoom!!
“Guh?!!”
“Target eliminated.”
“Good work! Next, target that enemy soldier over there.”
“Hahaha!”
The commanders’ offensive was like throwing a drop of water into a burning inferno. Soldiers fell one after another, and the defense line became buried in a mountain of corpses.
“Retreat… Retreat!”
“Commander!? Are you sure!?”
“If we stay, nothing will change. Therefore, our only option is to engage in siege warfare and wait for the enemy army to withdraw due to supply issues.”
“Yes, sir. We will follow the commander’s orders. All units, hurry and retreat! Maintain discipline! Do not engage in conduct unbecoming of a soldier!”
“…Ooooh.”
“Your voices are too quiet!?”
“O, Oooooooh!”
“Alright! Retreat! Units in the rear, retreat in order!”
“`
↑ ↑ ↑
□ □□ □□
□□□□□□□□■
▽▽▽▽▽□□▽▽
▽■▽■■ Enemy▽EnemyEnemy
Enemy↑EnemyEnemyEnemyEnemy↑
EnemyEnemy↑EnemyEnemy↑
EnemyEnemyEnemyEnemyEnemyEnemyEnemy
“`
The enemy fired magic bullets without regard for friendly fire. The retreating units in the rear were blown away, hindering their retreat.
“It’s a traffic jam!”
“Now’s our chance!”
“Press the attack!”
Uooooooooooooooooooh!!!
They couldn’t break free.
“Com… Commander…”
“I know. You’re saying that prioritizing discipline means we can’t escape.”
“Ah, no… that is… yes, I believe you are correct.”
“An assistant like you is a valuable person for the future. I’m sorry that I, as your commander, cannot even buy you enough time to escape.”
“Commander!? Please don’t say such inauspicious things! Let’s escape from here together!?”
The commander blushed slightly at the somewhat hopeful remark.
“Alright/// Let’s escape.”
“Yes!”
After several hours of fighting a retreating battle, by dedicating a considerable number of personnel to the rear guard, the commander and his troops managed to reach a city protected by an outer wall, suitable for siege warfare. They had regrettably become separated from the multinational force—or was it regretful?
From the distance, they couldn’t capture sight of them with binoculars. They considered that they might have escaped to their homeland, but hearing situation reports from various areas from friendly forces, there was information that the multinational force had fled into other cities and towns.
“I hope they’re not engaging in looting…”
They had the resources to support an entire army. If the person in charge of the city was not uncooperative, they should be able to live with the city’s residents for several months.
“I’m worried about the multinational army’s commanders and generals, but since I can’t go all the way there…”
He could only hope that the situation on the ground wouldn’t turn into the worst possible scenario.
“Commander! The enemy army has formed a encirclement formation!”
“Hmm.”
“`
EnemyEnemyEnemyEnemyEnemyEnemy
EnemyEnemyEnemyEnemy
Enemy WallWallWall Enemy
Enemy WallCityWall Enemy
WallWallWall Enemy
Enemy
Enemy EnemyEnemy
“`
An encirclement formation designed to completely cut off their retreat to their homeland. They had left a few gaps in the formation so that they could attack, staying out of range of magic and arrows. However, they would not fall for that trap. Looking through the binoculars, it seemed there were ambushes hidden outside the encirclement, should the multinational force or remaining forces emerge.
“This formation shows no carelessness from our army, which has become a remnant force.”
The enemy commander is truly brilliant. He doubts if they are even humans with blood running through them.
“What will you do, Commander?”
“We decided on a war of attrition and fled to the city. For now, we will alternate shifts day and night to keep watch in all directions. Even if the enemy launches a feigned offensive, we will focus on defense. The idea of breaking through the encirclement? Ignore all of that. Even if command is passed down, attacking from within the city is forbidden. If violated, you will be court-martialed and sentenced to death.”
“Understood. I will convey your words to all soldiers.”
