Chapter 129

“Damn it!”

Expressing his anger, Commander Wallenstein returned to the main base with his soldiers.

They had pursued fiercely but ultimately lost track of the Frantz Kingdom Army.

This was the territory of the Kingdom of Frantz, and the geography of the area made it overwhelmingly bright over there.

In the end, Wallenstein and his group returned empty-handed.

What lay before their eyes now was the almost completely ruined sight of the main base.

“…Ugh…”

In a situation where the flames had completely extinguished, the devastation became all the more stark.

Most of the barracks were burned down, and nearly all the items inside were destroyed as well.

However, the loss of the living quarters was hardly a concern.

Above all, what was critical was the loss of military supplies…

Especially the military food supplies.

“…How much is left?”

“…Please, just kill me… Commander.”

“Get a report! Didn’t I ask how much is left?!”

“Th-that is…”

General Pretzel, wearing a face filled with despair and guilt, struggled to speak.

He hesitated for too long, but finally managed to respond.

“Eight-tenths of the total military food supplies… have been lost…”

“Eight-tenths… so much?”

“They have been relentlessly targeting our military food supplies since they began their attack…”

“I have… nothing more to say… Truly… I’m so sorry, Commander.”

“Ugh…”

His subordinates repeatedly apologized.

Yet at that moment, barely anything concerned Commander Wallenstein’s mind regarding them.

The most critical factor in leading an army was indeed food.

If there was no gunpowder, they could fight with spears if need be.

Without barracks, they could sleep on the street.

But food…

Without eating, the soldiers could not survive even a few days.

They might consider pillaging nearby villages, but even so, sustaining an army of tens of thousands through pillaging alone was impossible.

The enemies…

To be precise, Napoleona was well aware of this fact too, which is why she dedicated herself to fortifying their military food supplies.

“Um… what should we do, Commander?”

“We won’t last even a few days with the remaining food.”

“Even if we do pillage, we’re still tens of thousands. How much help could that be…”

“Ugh…”

With the soldiers expressing their concerns, Commander Wallenstein pondered between them.

Thus, in this situation where eight-tenths of the food supplies had vanished,

Commander Wallenstein could easily predict that the future ahead would be a severe headache.

“First… contact the mainland of the Holy Empire. Tell them to bring the food we need as quickly as possible in a month.”

“Ah… Understood, Commander.”

“Ha… But Commander, will we really last until then?”

“We hardly have any food left and the state it’s in isn’t good. How many days can we really survive…”

“So, you mean we withdraw as is? We need to hold out somehow. We must replenish supplies, whether through pillaging or whatever.”

Commander Wallenstein also recognized that the situation was very grim.

However, that did not mean he was willing to turn back just like that.

The losses endured to reach this point had already amounted to thousands.

Reluctant to lose that investment, Wallenstein had to hang on and conquer Pare at all costs.

“I command the entire army. After securing what remains, prepare to leave. Pare. We must march towards Pare as quickly as possible and capture it!”

“Y-yes! Commander!”

If they could capture Pare, the capital of this country, this war would be over, and they could somehow secure food again.

With that resolved, Wallenstein began to encourage his subordinates and hurried to prepare for movement.

*

Although it was a bit tense, the Frantz Kingdom Army successfully retreated without significant issues.

Retreating was said to be harder than advancing, and indeed it was, but they had already mapped out their escape route, so the process went smoothly.

However, despite this fact, Napoleona could not shake off the dreadful feeling lingering in her heart.

“The Black Knights… dozens of them… or perhaps even hundreds…”

Not widely known outside, as a high-ranking officer of the nation and particularly as one of General Rafael’s close aides, she understood their existence very well.

Though they superficially resembled humans, their essence was anything but…

Combat weapons of the Kingdom of Roycen bearing a power level of ten each.

As demonstrated in past battles,

they had the strength to reverse the tide of battle even with just three.

In a situation where so many terrifying beings had surged out, she could foresee that the upcoming circumstances would be truly challenging.

“Well, I’ve successfully dealt significant damage to their supplies… but how do I deal with all those Black Knights…”

The fact that they hadn’t pursued her yet was a fortunate stroke of luck.

If those vicious monsters had followed closely, it would have been impossible to retreat safely without such heavy losses.

However, having passed the immediate crisis,

with her already numerically disadvantaged forces now frightfully confronted by monsters capable of overwhelming them at any moment,

she could not think of a clear solution.

“The only consolation is that I bought some time by harming their supply lines…”

Gunpowder, uniforms, and food.

With the basic necessities for combat turned to ashes, their forces could only weaken substantially until resupplied.

Yet even that won’t matter if they receive supplies or pillage again.

It would amount to nothing more than buying time.

“I must find a way… to maximize this opportunity and cut off the enemy’s lifeline…”

She thought of asking the Pirate King, which might yield a surprisingly easy solution.

As always, he could provide a definitive answer with his tremendous strength, coupled with his brilliant ingenuity.

However…

At this moment, Napoleona was hesitating to seek help from the Pirate King.

It wasn’t simply because of a lack of manners.

Even if it was merely knowledge, she felt reluctant to ask for help again in light of the considerable assistance she had already received.

But more than that, a certain stubbornness had arisen in her heart.

Having received help this far, it was now her turn to solve the problem herself.

General Rafael had been captured.

During an attack on the enemy’s main base, she discovered that he had been taken not to the Kingdom of Frantz but to the Holy Empire’s homeland.

Now that the commander of the Revolutionary Army had effectively gone to a place from which he could not return,

it could be said that the future course of this country lay in her hands.

She could not endlessly rely on others for help.

Thus, to resolve the issues at hand with her own strength, Napoleona intensely contemplated…

And finally, a plan took shape in her mind.

Based on everything she had learned from the Pirate King until now…

*

“Father!”

As always, Ambasha greeted me with a bright smile.

While I gently hugged her, her expression conveyed, “You did well!”

I couldn’t help but smile warmly.

“You did great, Ambasha. It wasn’t an easy task, but you pulled through.”

“Hehe.”

As I praised her and patted her head, Ambasha giggled with a hint of bashfulness.

A familiar yet deeply joyful sight.

After finishing my praise for Ambasha,

my gaze turned towards the other subordinates nearby.

“You all did a great job. Defeating those Black Knights and capturing the target. Truly excellent work, my companions.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

In response to my words, Franklin bowed his head as a representative.

While I noticed her cautiously glancing at me, I felt a slight curiosity, but soon dismissed it as something minor and continued to speak with a smile.

“Now, where is that person? The one you captured, Ambasha?”

“…”

“Ah, I mean… we’ve temporarily locked him in a cave over there. We figured it might cause us some trouble if the folks from the Kingdom of Frantz found out.”

For some reason, Franklin appeared slightly uncomfortable as she kept quiet.

In her place, Auriel pointed towards the cave at the back while answering.

Simultaneously, a strangely unsettling atmosphere settled in.

Continuing to feel puzzled about that fact, I decided to proceed with the ‘interrogation’ in the cave.

Finally… I was meeting with the person I had awaited for so long…

The Duke Ocleang.