Arc 4 Chapter 27 : Fall back

[Siena POV]

The following morning, we reunited with the 20,000 troops who had attacked Regium Fortress City.

Earlier, we had ambushed 20,000 Imperial Reserve troops at Lake Tiberias. We had emerged victorious from that battle. Although our casualties numbered in the thousands, our efforts had succeeded in annihilating their Reserve forces, with 10,000 enemy corpses found after the battle.

We had also captured around 3,000 soldiers who surrendered toward the end of the battle. Of the remaining 7,000, some drowned in the lake while attempting to swim away, while others managed to escape through the encirclement formed by our forces.

I allowed the troops to rest after their victory.

At around four in the morning, we set out toward Regium Fortress City to join the other 20,000 troops who were planning to reclaim the city, which had been captured by the Empire several days earlier.

We arrived there at around seven in the morning, only for me to be surprised when I discovered that the 20,000 troops had already captured Regium Fortress City.

According to the report from the man I had entrusted with commanding those 20,000 troops, the Imperial soldiers guarding Regium Fortress City had mistaken our troops for their own Reserve forces—the very ones we had defeated at Lake Tiberias.

However, when our 20,000 troops approached the city gates, they finally realized that the forces they had allowed to come so close were actually their enemies.

Because of the negligence of the Imperial forces guarding Regium Fortress City, our 20,000 troops were able to capture the city quickly.

That afternoon, I was in the City Hall discussing our next move with several military officers who had participated in the operation.

"We suffered around 4,000 casualties while reclaiming Regium Fortress City from the Imperial forces," one of the military officers reported. "Taking into account the casualties we suffered in the battle at Lake Tiberias, we now have 25,000 troops capable of continuing the operation."

Five thousand casualties was a relatively small number considering that we had annihilated 20,000 troops and successfully reclaimed a city defended by 5,000 Imperial soldiers.

By tomorrow, it was certain that the Empire's main army, which was currently heading toward Tusculum City, would realize that our 25,000 troops were positioned directly behind them.

"We will leave 5,000 troops behind to defend Regium Fortress City, which we have reclaimed," I told them. "The remaining 20,000 will head toward Ebro Village to join the 30,000 troops from the Greco Republic and defeat the 20,000 Imperial troops stationed there."

Once we defeated the 20,000 troops at Ebro Village, only 70,000 Imperial troops would remain in this region. With the arrival of 30,000 troops from the Greco Republic, the total number of troops we could mobilize would reach 60,000.

If we could easily defeat the 20,000 Imperial troops currently heading toward Ebro Village, our chances of winning the war on this front would increase significantly.

That was why we had to move quickly. Since our numbers were far smaller, our army would be able to move faster than the Empire's main force of 70,000 troops heading toward Tusculum City.

"Once the troops have rested, gather them and prepare to move immediately," I ordered all the military officers present. "We must destroy the 20,000 troops at Ebro Village before the Empire's 70,000-strong main army arrives to rescue them."

Everyone nodded as they listened to my orders.

After I explained the next step of our operation, the military officers returned to their respective units to inform them of our new objective.

I could only hope that the Empire's main army would take longer to realize that we were here.

---

[Elena POV]

After three days of marching, we finally emerged from the Tuscan Forest in the afternoon. The entire army was currently resting and would resume its journey tomorrow morning toward Tusculum City, which was approximately 30 kilometers from here.

During this period of rest, I often secluded myself to practice with my sword. However, this time was different.

I was currently inside my Soul Room.

The place resembled a garden filled with flowers of various colors, lush green trees, and a fountain whose soothing sound could be heard clearly throughout the area.

In the middle of the garden sat a middle-aged blonde woman, quietly reading a book.

A gleaming crown adorned her head, signifying that she had once been the ruler of a country.

"Elena, it has been a long time since you last came here," the woman said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Queen Isabella. I've been occupied with various matters, even up until now," I replied as I sat down in the chair across from her.

Looking at her face made me wonder if this was what I would look like when I reached her age.

That was because she was my great-grandmother—Queen Isabella de Aragon—the woman who had made the Aragon Empire the strongest country on the continent.

Queen Isabella had ruled this country 250 years ago.

At that time, Aragon was still a Kingdom and had yet to become the Empire it was today. She was the one who had significantly expanded the Kingdom's territory, eventually allowing Aragon to attain the status of an Empire on this continent.

"Is that so? The last time you came to see me was before the academy tournament, when you wanted to activate one of your Profound Codices, wasn't it?" Queen Isabella said. "What brings you here now? No, tell me about the academy tournament first. Did you win it?"

Hearing her ask about the tournament reminded me of the battle that had ended in a draw.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Queen Isabella," I replied. "I was eliminated by a man before I could reach the semifinals."

Hearing an answer that did not meet her expectations, Queen Isabella closed her book and turned toward me.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Heee~ Who managed to eliminate you?" Queen Isabella asked with an intrigued expression. "Was it the Hero who possesses the Pendragon Codex you once told me about?"

"No," I answered. "In the quarterfinals, I fought a man from House Garcia. We defeated each other, and the match ended in a draw."

"Ah, that family of snakes, is it? I never expected someone from their family to possess enough talent to rival yours," Queen Isabella remarked.

I didn't think Raul's abilities had anything to do with talent.

However, I did not want to discuss the matter too deeply with Grandma Isabella right now.

"Queen Isabella, I want to ask you about one of my Profound Codices that I haven't been able to awaken," I said. "But before that, I want to know about our country's invasion of the Republic of Venetia 250 years ago, when you were still ruling. I heard the invasion failed because a storm destroyed our fleet. Is that true?"

Before the war began, I had studied the history of the Empire's relationship with the Republic of Venetia over the past 300 years.

Around 245 years ago, Queen Isabella had launched a massive expansion, conquering various nations surrounding our territory and incorporating the lands of those conquered peoples into the Kingdom of Aragon.

Over the course of fifteen years, the territory of the Kingdom of Aragon had nearly doubled in size.

However, that expansion came to a halt after Queen Isabella's failed attempt to invade the Republic of Venetia, which at the time had existed for only fifty years.

Various sources claimed that the failure had been caused by the Aragonese fleet being destroyed by a massive storm at sea.

However, I doubted that explanation.

There was no way an ordinary storm could have destroyed the entire Imperial force, which numbered 100,000 soldiers at the time!

Upon hearing my question, Queen Isabella's expression turned grim as she recalled the one and only failure she had experienced during her reign.

"To be honest, Elena, I don't know what happened that day," the Queen answered softly. "I wasn't part of the expedition. All I saw was the sky turning dark, storm winds forming, and the waves growing higher and higher until they flooded the coastline and submerged the land as far as two kilometers inland."

Two kilometers inland?

So it really hadn't been an ordinary natural disaster.

That meant the coastal cities must have been submerged after the storm.

"Only a few ships survived from our fleet, and even they were far behind the center of the disaster," Queen Isabella continued. "All they could see was a massive whirlpool rising high into the sky, followed by a gigantic wave that came crashing down and destroyed the ships far ahead of them."

A whirlpool?

If this had been caused by someone, then who could have possessed the ability to use magic on such a massive scale?

And besides, weren't the Venetian people Non-Sorcerers?

If that was the case, did they have an ally during the war?

"Elena, are you asking about this because our country is currently at war with the Republic Venetia?" the Queen asked.

I nodded.

"That's right. The war has been going on for more than a month."

"I see..." Queen Isabella murmured. "I hope you can tell the Marshal not to act recklessly when launching an attack on Florentia Island."

"I understand, Queen Isabella."

After discussing the Republic of Venetia, I then asked the Queen about my Profound Codex with the theme of Inspire.

It was the only Profound Codex I had yet to awaken.

"Try touching the hearts of the soldiers in battle," Queen Isabella advised.

Hearing her answer, I honestly still didn't understand what she meant by touching the hearts of the soldiers.

"The Inspire Profound Codex has an effect that grants the soldiers under your command an iron will, increased resistance to pain, and double the strength bonus for as long as you maintain the spell," she added.

"Thank you for the advice, Queen Isabella."

After asking everything I wanted to know, I left the Soul Room and immediately headed toward the army's main tent to discuss our next war strategy with Marshal Salazar.

When I arrived inside the tent, many military officers were already present. It seemed they were still waiting for Marshal Salazar to arrive.

"Princess Elena, were you just training outside?"

Uncle Raymond, who was standing beside me, asked the question.

I usually trained with him to refine my movements. However, he had recently been busy escorting the Reconnaissance Unit that was monitoring the surrounding area.

"No, I just came from my Soul Room. I needed to ask my Guider something, Uncle," I answered.

No one was allowed to reveal the identity of their Guider to others.

If someone learned who our Guider was, those skilled in Soul Magic could infiltrate our Soul Rooms and destroy the foundation of the Codex we possessed.

After talking with Uncle Raymond for a while, Marshal Salazar finally entered the tent.

His expression looked rather bad-tempered.

Had something happened?

"Everyone, we have received some bad news," Marshal Salazar announced without wasting any time. "30,000 troops suddenly appeared behind us, destroyed the 20,000 Reserve troops we had sent to reinforce the newly captured Regium, and they even managed to recapture the city within a single day!"

Hearing the Marshal's shocking news, all the military officers present displayed expressions of disbelief.

"Marshal Salazar, how could they appear behind us without being detected by the Reconnaissance Unit!?" one of the military officers asked what everyone else wanted to know.

"They most likely used the Vicenzo River route," Marshal Salazar answered. "When our Reconnaissance Unit was scouting the area around the river, they were driven back by an enemy Reconnaissance Unit whose numbers had suddenly increased significantly in that area."

"They must have landed at Bitola Village and then moved quickly during the night before our Reserve troops reached Lake Tiberias and launched an Ambush there."

The Republic of Venetia's ships were able to transport their troops upstream?

How?

Troop transport ships normally sailed only at sea and never traveled along rivers, much less against the current!

Was such a thing even possible?

Unless they were using a different type of vessel instead of conventional troop transport ships, perhaps it could be done.

After all, the Republic of Venetia was known for constantly developing new innovations in various fields across the continent.

"According to the reports from the soldiers who managed to escape their attack, the Republic of Venetia's forces currently stationed in Regium Fortress City number somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand," Marshal Salazar explained. "An army of this size could strike us from behind at any moment while our forces are attacking Tusculum City."

However, Marshal Salazar also explained that the Venetian forces behind us would most likely move toward Ebro Village, where 20,000 of our troops were stationed to hold off the 30,000 troops from the Republic of Greco.

Knowing this, our military commander said there were three options available to us.

The first was to take advantage of this opportunity and easily capture Tusculum City.

Marshal Salazar believed that the Republic of Venetia's forces behind us represented a portion of their main army stationed in this region.

That meant the defenses of Tusculum City had been reduced by half.

However, doing so would mean sacrificing 20,000 troops, and we would have to change our logistical supply route from the Duchy of Hernant to Wisperia County so that supplies could be sent to us through the Vicenzo River, just as the Republic of Venetia had done.

But the Republic of Venetia could block this river route at any time, leaving our army to starve without food supplies.

The second option was to move toward Ebro Village and join the remaining 20,000 troops stationed there.

However, because we had a larger army, our movement would be slower than that of the Republic of Venetia's forces, which were assumed to be heading toward Ebro Village to destroy our troops there.

If we arrived too late, we would risk being surrounded by their forces from both sides.

Even if we divided our forces again, the result would likely be the same, because their troops already had a one-day advantage over us in reaching Ebro Village.

The third option was to return to Regium Fortress City and recapture it, ensuring that our logistical supply route would not be severed and allowing us to continue our operations in this region.

No matter which option we chose, none of them was favorable to us.

We had been outmaneuvered this time.

A single move like this was enough to make us lose the initiative in the war.

The Republic of Venetia had a remarkably cunning strategist.

"We will retreat and recapture Regium Fortress City," the Marshal finally said.

"But Marshal Salazar! What about our 20,000 troops at Ebro Village!? Are we really going to abandon them just like that?" one of the military officers protested.

"Then do you have a better option for dealing with our current situation?" the Marshal asked.

He was right.

The first and second options carried the risk of our offensive operation failing and all of our forces in this region being wiped out.

The third option was the only one that carried no immediate operational risk and was the safest choice available to us.

The military officer fell silent, unable to say anything in response to the Marshal's question.

"We will recapture Regium Fortress City and seize Bitola Village so they cannot use it as a landing point for new troops again."

With that, we had returned to the situation we had been in at the beginning of the war.

Except now, the advantage on this front belonged to the Republic Venetia Alliance.