55 – Breaking the Siege

Breaking the Siege

“Mr. Caint.”

“Yes!”

“Take 10 people and move along this route.”

“Okay!”

A soldier called Caint gets guidance and leaves the unit.

This time, the 5th group broke away from the unit. He starts with twenty people, sometimes sending only five, and the number of groups changes each time.

However, it does not change the fact that the strength of the main unit continues to decrease each time the group leaves. Compared to the first time, the unit has decreased noticeably.

‘This time the northeast direction is empty.’

I’m worried about the decrease in troops, but Philia feels the encirclement loosening every time Rai sends a group one by one.

You have to catch the enemy commander to get points, so the academy students are sending troops without abandoning the possibility that there is a lie in the group falling from the unit.

It’s okay once, but as this is repeated over and over again, the movement of the unit is frantic, as if confusion is coming from within the academy students who were forming the siege.

‘But why?’

There’s no way we could be shaken like this just by splitting up our forces to pursue the horde.

In the end, the number of the main unit was decreasing, and if the unit following closely pursued the attack at the cost, Lai’s unit would soon collapse. I don’t know how good Lai is in mercenary skills, but even if he sticks with three troops, if that’s not enough, he can catch him when his troops are replenished.

Rai’s troops are few in number anyway, so even if you believe in numbers and run into them, you will win. The group that escaped is already pursuing them, so even if you destroy the main unit quickly, victory is certain.

But none of the academy students attack Lai first.

With her troubled face in Philia, Rai looks at her as she changes the direction of her march.

“What are you so curious about?”

“Why aren’t you attacking?”

“Tactics should be changed flexibly according to the situation. Then, like an instructor, should I ask a few questions? What is the current situation? Don’t give obvious answers such as being surrounded or having a huge difference in troops. There are epidemics, floods, betrayals, and commanders can get hurt. So, what is that special thing now?”

Asking questions to the two who have followed her as her lieutenants, Philia is troubled. She pretends that Abigail isn’t interested either, but she listens to Rai and thinks it over.

“Has the siege become weak?”

“No no, that happened because I used something special. You mentioned the result.”

At Philia’s answer, Rai shook her head and looked at her Abigail.

“… The forest?”

“… How long will you be stupid? It’s not uncommon for forests to become battlefields. Well, it’s true that battlefields are forests, so you can run around like this, but isn’t it special enough?”

After bruising her Abigail, Rai looked at the two for a moment and waited for her answer, but her mouth did not open.

Seeing the signal flares going up in the distance and taking a look at the map in his hand, Lai changed the direction of his unit again and said as he moved.

“First of all. Not one army.”

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As Rai begins to explain, Dudley, who has been watching from a distance, moves closer and listens. Seeing that Hana, who had just become an employee, pulls him not to get too close, Hana rather looks like his senior.

But Dudley, who has a longing for a great general or a clever tactic, draws the one he is pulling closer with his eyes twinkling.

“A total of 14 troops. In terms of country, it is an allied force of 14 countries.”

“Why do we become allies? Same academy students, same purpose, same enemy.”

“Because everyone’s interests come first. Do you think training will end if you catch me?”

Filia thought about what Rai said, then shook her head.

Training is all about running your own unit and defeating other units. The goal of training is not to defeat Rai’s troops, so even if Rai is eliminated, the training continues.

“But if you catch Instructor Lai’s troops, they’ll all score perfect. There’s no reason to train more.”

“Is that so? Here comes the second specialty. That one.”

Rye points at Dudley. Dudley, who pretended not to know and listened, looked around in embarrassment when he was pointed out.

“The second thing is that this training is open to the public.”

To be precise, he pointed at the familiar on Dudley’s shoulder.

“What does that matter?”

“Why is that? Every Imperial soldier wants something, right? Something more precious than numbers like points.”

At Rai’s words full of ridicule, Philia hardens her expression.

“Honor…”

“That’s right. The lord, instructors, and ordinary citizens are all watching this. Of course, shouldn’t I make a name for myself? After catching me, I have to stand out the most. What is the most necessary thing to do that?”

“Full force.”

Filia answers Rai’s question immediately.

Training doesn’t end with catching a lie. If this was an ordinary training session, it would have been over after grabbing a lie and wasting time, but now everyone is watching.

Even if you catch a lie, there is no such thing as honor. Rather than beating the instructor, it was just that they rushed in and seduced one person. If so, the only way to prove your skills is to fight with the remaining academy students.

“It’s pissing me off to think that the kiddos are going to catch me for granted.”

She looked at Rai’s back as she walked with a carefree smile. As if thinking of something, Philia checked her map and checked the troops around her.

“Is that why you came near Hureiman’s unit?”

“Good, good. Good insight. That passed.”

Rai praises her Philia without looking back at her.

At first, Rai asked about the tendencies of her academy students. She and she planted her flag on some troops. The area where the unit is now is near the academy students whose flags were not planted.

And their evaluation is, to borrow Abigail’s words, an opportunist, an idiot who only dreams of dreams without ability, and a greedy piglet.

Philia thinks she judges Abigail too harshly, but to put it mildly, she doesn’t have that inclination.

Fureiman takes good care of his own interests like a ghost, and Zeppelin is too ostentatious. Triola, who has been reputed to be a greedy piglet, is said to be a bit selfish due to her greed.

If it’s as Rai expected, she’s a person who thinks about her future and saves her own troops.

“That’s why you asked about tendencies. But disposition determines the direction of war to this extent…”

Philia can’t connect her words properly.

She is so different from what she was taught. Having learned only her tactics of killing individual emotions and pursuing sophistication, it was difficult for Philia to understand her battlefield, which changed only with her disposition.

She knows very well that in the early days of the Age of War, her commanders often fell into traps or were defeated depending on their inclinations.

However, as time passed and war technology continued to develop, dozens of adjutants and staffs worked hard to create tactics and anticipate countless situations.

What is the reason for the existence of the commander who struggles to control the battlefield while struggling to control the battlefield even while the soldiers are fighting each other?

“This is why you can’t be a newbie.”

When her Abigail laughs at her, Philia glares at her and frowns at her.

As the atmosphere gets tough again, Rai says while watching the flares.

“Both are half right and half wrong. Fighting idiots with each other doesn’t change the fact that they’re both idiots.”

“……”

“First of all, the reason for the tendency to intervene in tactics is because the number of troops is too small. The more troops there are, the more sophisticated tactics are needed, and the fewer troops are more like mercenary skills than tactics, so it is inevitable that the commander’s tendency is strong. I pretend, but I’ve never experienced anything but small wars like this, have I?”

“……”

As if Rai’s words hit the mark, Abigail shuts her mouth and looks away.

“Philia, don’t just think about too big battles. It will take another 10 years for you to run a large unit no matter how well you do. In the meantime, you will be in charge of a small unit, but will you whine for not listening?”

“No.”

Philia answered briefly and looked away from her.

Looking at Rai, who simply silenced the two of them, Dudley nodded his head broadly. After seeing Dudley, who is obsessed with Rai, Hana, who has also experienced the field, is different, and sees Dudley forcibly, Hana forcibly drags him away and asks him to stay away from him.

“Mr. Pizalan, Mr. Rancourt, Mr. Beugelin, Mr. Picot…”

From Rai’s mouth, the names of the soldiers came out again.

This time I’m not a veteran. Seeing the faces of the soldiers who boasted of their strength among the soldiers whose names were called out, Philia turns to a tired expression when Rai calls his name endlessly.

‘Are you sure you remember all the names?’

No matter how close you become, it’s a short time over a glass of beer together. However, I remember each and every soldier’s name.

“And finally Abigail.”

When her name is called, Abigail frowns at her, but Rai casually gives her her map.

“You know what to do even if you don’t say anything?”

“Am I going to use it as a discard too?”

“Discard cards?”

Rai tilts her head at Abigail’s words.

No one is talking about it, but if this was a real situation rather than training, this is a tactic that would have been talked about a lot. He is splitting up his forces to save himself.

The enemy does not know where the commander is, so the enemy pursues the divided troops unconditionally. The main unit will be safe, but the divided group has a small number of troops, so the moment they are caught, they cannot escape annihilation.

Lai, who had been quiet for a while as if he didn’t understand, chuckled and laughed.

“Ah, did you see that? Then I don’t think I’m a very trustworthy commander. Think freely. I followed my orders as I led my troops and deserted.”

Rai hands over her map to Abigail, who stays still.

After watching him for a while, Abigail clicks her tongue and checks her map.

This time, it is a large group of 50 people. With this, the army has definitely been reduced.

Instead, the lure of 50 people was sure to attract the attention of other academy students.

Philia catches her loose heart.

Unlike the soldiers who became temporary adjutants, he seemed to think that he was a commander-level adjutant and that he would never leave the unit.

The next name to be called could be yourself. When she is called, she can’t predict what kind of emotion she will feel, so Philia bites her lips and takes her heart.

“What are you looking so serious about? We won’t lose. Let’s go fight back.”

Philia, who thinks that losing is not a problem, opens her eyes wide at Rai’s words to go for a counterattack.

You’re going to fight with these troops? Rai smiles at the suspicious eyes.

“I get annoyed when I’m the only one being unfair.”

I don’t know why he used the word unfair out of many words, but Philia followed him without saying a word.

* * *

Aizen is troubled by the news that troops have withdrawn from Rai’s unit again.

I have already sent 50 of my troops to the troops trying to escape this way. Since the other academy students were spreading their troops widely to maintain the encirclement, it was the right decision to withdraw their troops.

But this time, fifty is said to be on the move.

Fortunately, it wasn’t this side, but if there is a rai in that army, the problem will increase.

As an instructor who taught tactics and came from the field, 50 troops is not just 50. If that force had Rai, they might break through the encirclement and run away.

It’s unlikely that everyone is watching, but if you break through the encirclement and run in a straight line until the training is over, the academy students will become like dogs chasing chickens.

Aizen, mindful of Rai’s insane behavior, cannot overcome his anxiety and goes to Bella, who is in command of another unit.

“Can you move your troops to Schultz’s side?”

“Then the siege will be broken.”

“I’ll cover the place you’re in charge of.”

“Is it all right? If Laygang’s main force goes there, the damage won’t be too bad.”

As Bella worried, Aizen smiled and shook her head.

Right now, the target is Rai, not others. For now, his job is to hold the lie in place and hold the siege until other troops arrive.

“Yeah, if Instructor Rai comes, he’ll catch it somehow.”

“Other people will be nice if you’re willing to sacrifice, but do good things in moderation.”

“It’s okay. You need to catch the instructor first.”

Bella, who looked at Aizen who answered with a gentle smile, with a disgusted expression, leads her unit to Schultz’s unit.

With Shultz and Bella’s troops, even with Rai, 50 troops cannot easily penetrate it.

Bella was worried, but Aizen also had an idea.

A small river flows in front of this. If it was a knight, he could somehow jump over it at once, but since it was a tactical training, those who entered as commanders or adjutants were prohibited from fighting.

Of course, you have to fight with only soldiers, but it is not easy for soldiers to cross the river and attack.

Aizen believed that if he pulled the siege and was vigilant across the river, even if a tactical genius came, he could tie it down.

He informs the other academy students of his route and quickly moves his unit.

The unit ran for a long time and was able to reach the river first. Soldiers who look a little tired look at the cool water and hum.

Aizen, who was trying to repair them, looked back at the sight.

“……”

Across the street was Rye.

Responding almost like drawing his sword, Aizen fires his signal flares into the sky. He is here with Rai, who has never shown his face before. At the signal that he has been found, other troops will begin to flock to him.

All Aizen needs to do is keep a watchful eye on Rai’s troops across the river.

Looking at Lai who was still looking at him and Philia with a frustrated expression, Aizen thought he had a chance to win. If we continue to face off across the river, the academy students from across the river will arrive and fight Rai, so if we do well, we can preserve his forces as well.

While staring at Aizen, who started thinking about what happened next, Rai leads his troops upstream.

Aizen moves his troops along with Lai’s slowly moving troops, perhaps to find an easy place to cross. Although they do not fight each other, the tension continues to grow.

As if there is no way to easily attack the enemy across the river, even if it is an instructor, Lai’s troops continue to wander along the river, but time passes without giving any answer.

Signal flares are coming up from all sides, troops are getting closer.

As Aizen smiles at the thought of winning, Rai points a finger at him and says,

“Watch out. There’s a monster.”

I don’t know what you mean. As Aizen stares at him, he hears the screams of soldiers behind him.

“Kill them all!!”

Aizen’s defenseless troops are attacked from behind as they stare at the river.

When Aizen, taken aback by the attack of the unit that had come out from an unlikely direction, looked back, he saw Abigail with her red hair flying and breathing life.

She doesn’t attack directly, but with her ferocious eyes, she is shouting loudly at her forefront. Her soldiers who followed her took down her Aizen’s soldiers with a mighty swing of her unedged weapons.

“Why…?”

She turns around and looks towards the river. Only then does she realize that her Abigail, whom Rai has taken as her lieutenant, is not there. And Lai’s troops were pulling their bows.

Aizen screams in fright at the arrows that do not have arrowheads, but are treated as death if hit.

“Shield forward!”

But his front is not the front of the soldiers. Their front was on Abigail’s side, not on Rai’s side.

Uncontrolled soldiers are shot and killed defenselessly.

Half continues to shoot the bow and half starts to cross the river, but Aizen’s troops are confused and unable to do anything.

“W- A lot of work.”

Rai, who has safely succeeded in Doha and walks leisurely through the ruined battlefield, even greets Aizen and goes on his way again. As Philia walks past him, looking at him with her sympathetic eyes, Aizen shouts loudly and tries to rectify the soldiers, but he doesn’t get it right.

Rai’s unit, which was attacking back and forth, took the opportunity, but did not catch Eisen and disappeared into the forest.

Aizen couldn’t help but watch Lai leave in a daze.

It’s not that he didn’t do anything, but the troops in confusion didn’t listen to his orders, and the few soldiers around him who could understand didn’t even dare to pursue.

The other academy students arrived later, but all they could see was Aizen’s half-destroyed unit.

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