Chapter 112

The holy empire’s corpses were strewn everywhere.

In the midst of that, the soldiers of the Frantz Kingdom were letting out shouts of victory.

“Hooray!”

“We won! Victory for the Kingdom of Frantz!”

“Long live General Napoleona! Long live the Pirate King!”

A perfect victory achieved in the first battle.

The joy was felt even greater knowing it was a triumph that shattered the enemy’s deceptive tactics.

And among them, one person stood out with a brighter smile than anyone else.

Napoleona, as the commander overseeing this battle, felt her heart swell with pride.

Although she had participated in several battles as a general, this was the first full-scale conflict against the Holy Empire.

The fact that she personally marked the beginning of this victory held immense significance for Napoleona.

“I really won… I, Napoleona, have claimed the first victory against one of the strongest nations on the continent, the Holy Empire!”

An intense sense of achievement that she had never felt before.

And amid these emotions, there was only the overflowing joy for that man…

The Pirate King Ezra Drake.

Honestly, until she arrived here, Napoleona had her doubts.

She knew the enemy was employing deceptive tactics, but she couldn’t come to a clear conclusion about where their real frontal assault would come from.

The border between the Frantz Kingdom and the Holy Empire was quite expansive,

and mostly consisted of flatlands following the Rhine River, not even a mountain range or anything separating them.

Even the Rhine River itself was not particularly wide, meaning there were dozens of easy routes for infiltration, making it nearly impossible to determine where the enemy was going to strike…

Almost impossible, even more so than predicting the escape route of Duke Ocleang.

However,

the Pirate King accomplished that challenging task in an instant.

As if he had known from the very beginning where they would come from.

“Indeed, he is astonishing… He could read the enemy’s movements as if it were written on his palm… Truly… if I stay by the Pirate King’s side in this war, there’s almost… nothing to be afraid of.”

The Pirate King’s might needed no further explanation, but it was that wisdom that truly stood out to her.

The ability to see what others could not.

With that insight, Napoleona believed that there was no longer any need to fear most dangers.

Except for one thing…

*

Watching the cheering soldiers of the Frantz Kingdom, I couldn’t help but smirk slightly to myself.

Before my eyes, the Frantz Kingdom soldiers were celebrating their victory, but the original story depicted their situation quite differently.

Originally, in the story, the revolutionary forces began purging most of the noble officers right after executing the queen, led by the rampaging Robes Fiora.

As a result of the collapse of the command structure, the Frantz Kingdom’s army was unable to properly respond to the Holy Empire’s offensive.

They couldn’t even detect the enemy that had infiltrated Arden.

The troops they urgently dispatched to the Loren region also suffered consecutive defeats.

Ultimately, the Frantz Kingdom was nearly destroyed, allowing the Holy Empire’s forces to push as far as Pare.

From that point on, the protagonists began their activities and turned the tide, but due to the hardships from consecutive defeats and the ravaged homeland, the Frantz Kingdom’s protagonists genuinely had a rough time in the beginning.

Thanks to the unnecessary attention to detail in the story, the initial prices in Frantz Kingdom were over three times higher than those of the Holy Empire’s protagonists, and the rewards offered for tasks were barely half of that.

Not to mention the frequent unexpected events like raids by bandits, which happened twice as often.

Thus, the economic and security crises persisted throughout the early stages.

It wasn’t until they completed the mid-quest known as “The Spring of Pare” that things finally stabilized.

However, the current situation was fundamentally different from that original story.

First of all, Queen Louis was still alive, and General Rafael had taken over power instead of Robes Fiora, resulting in significantly fewer defections among the noble officers.

There were substantial differences in the basic military strength compared to the original work.

Moreover, from my perspective, given that we needed to win this war quickly and take the head of that Ocleang bastard, I had no reason to let the situation play out like in the original story.

Of course, I didn’t plan to be overly proactive, but at the very least, I should seize any opportunities to earn merit while things were this easy.

That way, even if I had to pull back during future troublesome battles, I could still boast about my contributions.

“After all, there shouldn’t be any major dangers for a while, so I can afford to have some fun for now. At least until those things show up…”

*

“What… what did you say?”

“Wh-what did you just say? S-say it again!”

Before me knelt the generals, looking utterly pathetic.

They spoke in trembling voices, deeply bowing their heads.

“W-we… have lost… We were ambushed by the Frantz Kingdom soldiers and couldn’t…”

Bang!

Before the generals could finish, Commander Wallenstein slammed his fist on the table.

With rage etched across his face, he shouted sharply.

“Does that even make sense? An ambush! How could the Frantz Kingdom know our route of attack!”

“We… we don’t know! We truly have no idea!”

“B-but it’s the truth! We were caught off guard when we were taking a break in the forest!”

“No… how poorly must you have moved for the enemy to notice? What was General Murriol doing? What about General Veneto?”

“G-General Murriol was overwhelmed the moment the battle began… And General Veneto didn’t last long after…”

“W-what? Then what kind of face do you have to come back here? While all the high nobles died and the soldiers perished, what were you thinking to crawl back here?”

“W-we… we are terribly sorry, Commander…”

“J-just kill me!”

The utterly dumbfounded Commander Wallenstein exploded in anger.

Regarding the situation where a plan he thought was 100% successful had been utterly destroyed, he could only feel an overwhelming sense of anger along with a throbbing headache.

“This can’t be… How did it go wrong right from the start!”

The beginning is important in anything.

In war, the side that seizes the initiative early can dictate the flow afterward, and for that purpose, Commander Wallenstein had concocted a strategy to soundly defeat the enemy.

But… the complete failure of that strategy, leading to his subordinates getting thoroughly trounced.

Because of this, the Holy Empire Army had not only failed to gain morale but had their own energy sapped away.

In this situation, Commander Wallenstein had to somehow overturn the atmosphere.

And as a result of that judgment…

“I cannot allow this. Prepare to move across the country right now. We will cross the Rhine and advance.”

“! B-but Commander?!”

“A-are you sure? The forces from the Roycen region and some other areas haven’t arrived yet…”

“It doesn’t matter! I command an immediate advance! We will take complete control of the Loren region and march straight to Pare!”

Commander Wallenstein issued orders with a burning spirit.

Though it may seem on the surface as if he was moving his forces out of sheer emotion, there was a cold calculation underneath.

“The enemy’s morale has risen after losing the first battle. If we let this situation fester, our own soldiers will become fearful and their morale will plummet. It’s better for us to launch a surprise attack…”

In a situation rife with excitement, people are inevitably prone to carelessness.

To capitalize on that opening…

Commander Wallenstein commanded an immediate advance.

The number of troops beginning to move under his orders was a staggering 80,000.

Though not all of the expeditionary force had arrived, this number should be sufficient to take on the Frantz Kingdom Army.

With that conclusion, the Empire Army began to cross the Rhine River.

And… watching their movements,

The one who had gathered his troops and was waiting in the Loren region,

General Rafael immediately gave orders to his generals.

“They’re coming. Prepare for defense!”

“Yes, General!”

The soldiers shouted out with a resolute voice.

Having already heard the report of victory from the Arden Forest, the morale of the Frantz Kingdom soldiers was soaring to the heavens.

“Come at me! I will ensure you remember the terror of the Frantz Kingdom!”