Engagement - Grace
“Hahaha! Gotcha!”
Dehorman’s laughter echoed through the mountains. His prized giant axe was embedded in the Noguhwaho’s head.
Leo had once again left the Noguhwaho hunt to the hunting team. His skills had improved thanks to {Swordsmanship}, but he was still far from catching the massive monster. He had to be content with observing the creature, promising himself he’d catch it in the future.
As always, war broke out before spring had even arrived, and both the warrior Lena and Leo joined the fray.
Noel Dexter, who had vehemently opposed it the first time and disapproved the second, readily allowed his son to participate this time.
What significant progress.
Perhaps he judged that Leo wouldn’t be defeated by ordinary soldiers, as he focused on teaching him how to fight against knights.
Lena and Leo sparred with Noel until the very eve of their departure, and the day of deployment arrived in no time.
Soldiers and warriors formed ranks, their march commencing to the sound of drums and horns.
During the long journey, Leo once again bribed the conniving platoon commander. He had plenty of {Starting funds} left, so he generously gave a hefty sum. The platoon commander, enticed, made a tempting offer: to classify Lena as a patient and let her ride in a carriage.
Lena’s feet were blistered again. No matter how much he advised her, the clumsy girl wouldn’t break her habit of learning the hard way.
It was an unexpected benefit, but Lena refused. She endured the pain and walked the entire way.
As before, they reached the battlefield after two months of arduous marching. The battlefield, their second encounter, was as fierce as ever.
‘But why is the Astin Kingdom losing?’
From the perspective of an ignorant soldier, the Astin Kingdom seemed to have the upper hand.
The Astin Kingdom had many warriors who grew up in harsh environments, thanks to the assimilation of barbarians into their ranks. These warriors possessed superior combat abilities compared to the soldiers conscripted from the affluent Bellita Kingdom.
The rate at which troops were reinforced on the battlefield was also faster for the Astin Kingdom. The warriors could be immediately deployed with minimal training. On the other hand, the Bellita Kingdom took a long time to train its conscripts.
Instead, the Bellita Kingdom had a larger population, so every time reinforcements arrived, they came in massive numbers.
The situation with knights was a little different.
The Northern Kingdoms had a large number of knights, a curious phenomenon considering the sparse population of the North. This earned the Astin and Aster Kingdoms the title of “Lands of Knights.”
Overall, the Astin Kingdom was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of quantity. However, they made up for it with quality, both in the individual combat prowess of their soldiers and the number of knights, their elite fighting force.
However, wars in this world were fought in small, scattered detachments without large-scale engagements, so the Astin Kingdom, with its superior average individual combat strength, should have had the advantage.
For a shift in the tide of war, the conflict had to be prolonged.
As the war dragged on, the Bellita Kingdom’s conscripts would gain experience and become seasoned soldiers.
The same would apply to their own warriors, but the Bellita Kingdom, with its larger population, held a significant advantage in terms of turning its soldiers into veterans.
And the Bellita Kingdom was wealthier.
Impoverished by the harsh environment of the North and the aftermath of past civil wars, the Astin Kingdom lacked the resources to sustain a protracted war and had no choice but to seek a swift, decisive victory.
‘But I heard the war ended quickly… with the Astin Kingdom’s defeat.’
It was incomprehensible. If the war had ended quickly, the Astin Kingdom should have been victorious.
“Hey! Leo! Why are you spacing out again?!”
Lena shouted, cutting down an enemy in front of her.
Lena had quickly been promoted to squad commander.
It was thanks to Leo concealing his true abilities and letting her take most of the credit for their victories. If both of them became squad commanders, there was a risk of being separated into different units.
And then Lena might encounter Katrina alone.
Unaware of his true motives, Lena nagged him about not fighting at full strength.
Now that she was his superior, she really gave him an earful.
“Ah! Lena! Come on, that’s too much!”
“Well, if you don’t like it, you should climb the ranks too. What was that? I can’t hear you? Speak up.”
Lena teased playfully. He knew she was joking, but somehow, it still irked him.
***
As summer arrived, the battlefield was painted in lush green. It was time for the knights to run wild. The knights of each kingdom, paired in twos or threes, charged deep into the battlefield.
The soldiers’ battles were now relegated to a sideshow. Summer was the season where victory depended not on the deployment of ordinary troops but on which side could better utilize their knights.
Lena's squad, on high alert, held their position, advancing when the messenger sent by the company commander ordered them to advance and retreating when ordered to retreat.
Leo, too, remained vigilant.
Katrina would appear soon.
Meeting her was definitely an {event}. Being in the same detachment with Lena on the battlefield, the encounter with Katrina felt inevitable.
His prediction came true. On a hot summer afternoon, Katrina and a young knight emerged from the bushes.
What was that young knight’s name again?
“Knight!”
The messenger of their squad ran towards the other side.
A sense of déjà vu washed over him, but last time they were on the right ridge of the battlefield. This time, they were guarding the forest stretching out on the left, yet Katrina appeared all the same.
The only difference was Lena being a squad commander.
Lena, with a groan, asked, “Shall we take on the redhead?”
As the squad commander, she had to allocate their forces.
Leo shook his head.
“That knight looks stronger. Let’s take down the weaker-looking knight first and then help the others.”
Lena didn’t question how he knew that. The situation was too urgent for such inquiries, and she trusted Leo’s judgment.
“All squad members, hold the line against the female knight! Reinforcements will arrive soon!”
She rallied her soldiers. Coincidentally, the number of squad members this time was also fifteen, just like before. How strange.
During battles, squads with dwindling numbers often merged with others, resulting in squads with well over ten members. Yet, both times, they remained at fifteen.
Twelve soldiers, excluding the messenger, charged at Katrina, while Lena and Leo stood alone before the young knight.
“Oh my, it seems I underestimated you.”
“That’s because you’re so dim-witted, Deros. Let’s finish this quickly and go help the others.”
“Ah! Come on, senior! You’re too much.”
“Hahaha.”
Katrina remained composed despite facing twelve soldiers.
Leo looked away from Katrina. It pained him to admit it, but those twelve soldiers were about to die.
He focused on the young knight.
The knight named Deros swung his sword lightly. It was a force an ordinary soldier wouldn't be able to block, but Leo effortlessly parried it and countered.
“Huh?”
Lena's sword shot towards Deros’s legs. As he blocked her attack, Leo sidestepped and aimed for his flank.
Deros deflected Lena's sword and turned towards her, naturally moving away from Leo and intending to keep targeting Lena.
‘Not if I can help it.’
Leo clung tenaciously, disrupting his movements, while Lena pressed her attack relentlessly.
“Hey! You idiot! What are you doing with just two of them! Are you crazy! Do you want to die?!”
“...Senior Katrina! These guys are no joke!”
Katrina’s cry was more desperate than before.
She had already slain six, but with so many soldiers swarming her, it was taking longer than expected.
Finally, the reinforcements arrived.