A few days later, the allied forces of three kingdoms finally arrived at Pavilion.
After a brief rest, they launched an attack on the Empire’s 12th Legion.
The longer they delayed, the more disadvantageous it would become. They had to go all-in now.
For the bigger picture, to secure the future of the three-nation alliance. And for the smaller picture, to advance the interests of the command.
The allied forces first targeted the enemy guarding the pass, naturally.
Next came the enemy positioned on the mountain. After all, breaking through here would end everything.
“The enemy hasn’t been here long. At best, they’re maintaining an unstable supply line relying on the pass they’re guarding.”
So if they could just cut off that route, the enemies above on the mountain might as well not exist.
“Charge! Charge!!”
Bethel, the commander of the allied forces, sought to immediately break through the Empire’s defensive lines.
Knowing the enemy was split, he aimed to pressure them with the allied advantage in numbers.
It’s true that maneuvering a large army through the narrow pass posed many difficulties.
But it was a must to break through. For personal glory and the future of the homeland.
“There’s no time to look back. Even if we need rest, we have to take this pass at least. I’m sorry to the soldiers, but there’s no other choice!”
Having set aside a portion of troops to monitor the mountain, Bethel still had room to maneuver.
So when he was about to commit the reserves for a one-day decisive strike…
“Commander! Commander! It’s an emergency! Over there! Over there!”
Flustered aides pointed toward somewhere.
Suddenly, Imperial flags started rising on the mountain – from the completely opposite side to where they thought the enemy was.
“d*mn.”
Their attention had been focused entirely on the main defensive line at the pass and the adjacent mountain.
Then, from a completely unexpected position, the enemy revealed their hidden force.
Now they were sandwiched between the defensive line in front and enemies on the flanks.
“Commander, we must halt the offensive. If we don’t, our army could be surrounded!”
“No, Commander! If the enemy has split their forces into three places, there must be fewer troops defending the pass. We should gamble everything on this attack!”
“If they come down now while we’ve stretched our lines thin by committing the reserves, we’ll be cut in half! Our forces are too extended!”
The situation got complicated. Particularly because all three kingdom’s commanders were gathered, which was a fatal flaw.
From junior officers to the commander, everyone was anxious to claim credit.
Though the three kingdoms had united, ultimately, one would take the lead.
And the way to gain that leadership was to exert influence during the battle against the Empire.
Some sought to achieve that through victory in the fight.
Others sought to gain it through momentary decisions instead of overall success.
Should they push forward recklessly? Or retreat and assess the situation?
Caught between these dilemmas, Bethel eventually decided to halt the offensive.
“Commander! If we retreat now, we’ll never get another chance!”
“Please reconsider, Commander! Bethel Commander!”
Naturally, the commanders from Burkhai and Caden rose in protest.
Whether it was the commander’s rightful decision or a rational choice didn’t matter.
All they could see now was an opportunity to seize control from Porland.
When there was an Imperial legion right in front of them…
When it was unclear if the three kingdoms could defeat the Empire…
If someone asked if it was possible for them to fight among themselves amidst all this?
Humans, after all, could fight even as their ship was sinking.
Our mountain-climbing enthusiast, Mr. Masuk, would have his blunders talked about for a long time.
Even after a thousand years, everyone would mock his foolish actions.
And another two thousand years after that, countless people would curse his idiocy.
But to be honest, I don’t necessarily see claiming high ground as bad.
After all, occupying elevated positions isn’t against military principles.
It’s just unfortunate that there were a few mistakes made.
First, while occupying high ground, the main forces shouldn’t stray too far from the key battlefield.
Our goal was ultimately to hold the pass and hold the enemy’s feet.
He thought conquering the mountain would be the key to victory, but I only saw part of that as true.
Even though the army was divided, the forces guarding the pass were still strong.
Second, if you’re going to take one mountain, why not take two?
One mountain could become a fortress, guarding another fortress like a wall.
They could form dual, even triple, defensive lines.
In fact, exposing one mountain to the enemies while hiding the other would likely confuse them.
“And this is most crucial.”
Instead of trying to achieve perfection, it’s better to force mistakes on the enemy you’re facing.
If the enemies focus on the pass, detachments from the two high grounds could descend.
But if they try to surround the mountains, the enemies at the pass wouldn’t just sit still.
Their movements would be constrained, and the morale within their military would deteriorate quickly.
Most importantly, failing to break through here would allow another Imperial legion to invade allied territories.
They’re not a single unified nation like us. They’re a coalition of three countries.
They apparently fought a lot with each other. Relationships built in a day don’t mend in a day either, right?
“Are you kidding? Their internal atmosphere would be even more chaotic.”
So against such enemies, take away their composure.
Instill fear. Make them frantic. Make them lose their flexibility.
You don’t need an earth-shattering, stroke of genius strategy.
Just sticking to the fundamentals and doing them solidly is enough.
After all, victory or defeat in most cases is just about who makes more mistakes.
“Wouldn’t this have been enough? Just a mediocre effort would have sufficed. Why?”
And amidst all this, I heard that instead of just retreating, they fled after the defeat?
Even Mr. Zhuge who taught strategy could legitimately turn into a Joker and go crazy over this.
“Prince Kael, look over there.”
“Can’t be.”
“Yes. It seems the enemy is withdrawing troops and reorganizing their ranks.”
Sighing in relief upon hearing the nearby field commander’s words,
I was worried our opposing commander might pretend to be insane and keep pushing forward.
I expected them to retreat, but crazy people always exist.
If they really did that, my cleverly-prepared plan would have been wasted.
“Then please tell the Legion Commander we can proceed to the next operation.”
“Understood, Prince Kael.”
As we did with the last performance for our soldiers, and how we sent arrows back to Nobogorod.
This time, I intended to ignite the giant powder keg of psychology.
“What exactly is the plan here, Commander? Although the flanks were considered risky, our Burkhai army could have easily handled it.”
“Our Caden army was also ready to secure the other flank. If we had pushed forward, we could have taken both high grounds and even broken through the defensive line!”
“…”
d*mn them. Burkhai and Caden, both so desperate to devour our Porland.
Watching with a glare, Bethel observed the gathered commanders speaking confidently by his side.
Though silent, both kingdoms wanted the same two things from Porland.
One, the relatively large population and extensive farmland for its size.
Porland, with its single army but overall command authority, was naturally having its intentions twisted.
“All of you, calm down! Calm down! What are you doing?!”
“The Commander’s decision was undoubtedly the right one. If our center had been cut, the front lines would have collapsed.”
Of course, Porland commanders and a few foreign commanders reprimanded them.
In this situation where they’re already fighting a war against the Empire, they’re still battling for control!
Thanks to their tearful efforts, the command post barely regained its calm.
But the broken atmosphere wouldn’t recover easily.
“For now, nothing has changed. Our alliance still needs to break through here in Pavilion.”
“The casualty situation is minor outside of what we suffered when attacking the pass. Still, the combined deaths and captured by the Empire amount to at least a few hundred.”
“According to reconnaissance, there don’t seem to be many enemies on the two mountains. But this might still be a deception, and even if it isn’t, we can’t recklessly charge in.”
They fell into the trap too easily early on, overly worried about taking a single mountain.
Especially since the person who carried out this strategy was the Empire’s Holy One, a young sage and all.
When they claimed a good hit against Nobogorod…
But it was bait. He hung his reputation as bait and awaited the allied forces to take it.
Then he secretly moved troops, captured the opposite mountain, and built yet another wall.
“As long as the enemy doesn’t descend haphazardly, those two mountains will protect each other. It’s hard to surround either, making them difficult to take.”
“Similarly, when we attack the front lines, our own soldiers fear flanking attacks from the mountains and can’t move properly.”
As reports continued to flood in, not only Bethel but all the other commanders sighed.
Too smoothly flowing, they didn’t even consider they were being tricked.
The news of an excellent strategist conquering the mountain spread everywhere, and they were tied down by it.
“Commander!”
When they tried to refresh the atmosphere and continue the meeting…
A messenger rolled into the command tent almost falling over.
“A little while ago, the Empire released our prisoners!”
“Released?”
“Yes! Our scouts have confirmed they’re returning to our camp disarmed.”
Prisoner release, huh. Could the enemy be trying to lower our morale?
Are they so at ease they’re telling us to stay vigilant?
As the alliance’s command staff pondered over this unexpected turn of events…
“By the way, Commander! All the released prisoners are from Porland!”
At that moment, a strange atmosphere began to swirl within the tent.
