Chapter 183: Hide and Seek

***Arc 8 One Who Spread Death, Chapter 183 Hide and Seek***

Orugan was on the elephant, looking up to heaven and covering his face with his palm.

The right wing――the flag had been toppled from its main camp.

And on one of them Elkar's head was impaled, and the flag was raised again.

It was less than half a koku after the war began.

Having lost the two War Lion Commander and the general, Gulshan's right wing had completely lost its organizational resistance――like spiderlings, they had given up on maintaining the line and started running somewhere else.

Some fled to the mountains in the east, others ran to the grasslands in the south――some of the soldiers ran away and tried to join him, and even in this situation, there were brave men who still showed courage to continue fighting under Orugan. However, it would probably be around 3000 at most.

The rest were either unable to leave the battle line and were slaughtered in the chaos, or ran away.

It was only natural.

Alberinea's conclusion was not a one-point breakthrough, but a complete breakthrough.

Gulshan's right wing was completely destroyed head-on.

Gulshan lost Alcazaris and all the beasts become blood festival.

From there, they successively lost the left wing, two War Lion Commander in the center, and a general.

The remaining right wing War Lion Commander was also an excellent man, but the enemy had one corps in the rear propel and assault from the left wing, and the corps that had broken through the center formed a siege.

The opening on the east side was probably intentional.

A complete encirclement would be difficult, and in a desperate situation, the soldiers would be roused to do nothing but fight.

However, if you give them hope, soldiers will prioritize their own survival, like insects attracted to a light.

The splendid battle lines of the right wing that existed half a koku ago no longer take shape.

It had become a melting pot of chaos.

――It was all about morale.

And that was their aim.

Orugan didn't notice it and went along with it.

Going all out from the beginning――no, 100,000 against 50,000, there was no need for that in this situation.

If it had been a simple flat push, it would not have gone this far.

――Challenging 100,000 with 50,000. Orugan believed that there was definitely a tactical plan.

He met with Garhka and met with Alberinea, and Orugan confirmed his suspicions, which was why he decided to do everything in his power to settle the matter as soon as possible.

But that was exactly why this result was born.

The problem wasn't that they had mysterious giants or bizarre javelins soldier.

The problem was that in the face of this, they gave their all from the very beginning.

And what happened was that the full-power assault was overwhelmed and the soldiers suffered an irreversible loss of morale.

If they had taken the form of a flat push without thinking, as they always do, the situation would not have reached the point where it did.

Then, even if they had lost the initial push, they would have been able to catch it with their thickness and give both Elkar and the two Lion War Commander time to think.

Even if the same result had occurred, Orugan would have had time to take some measures against their defeat.

The cause was not Elkar or his men, but himself.

It was his own decision that caused the collapse of the right wing in less than half a koku.

He never lets his guard down and leaves no stone unturned.

This idea was the reason for the General Orugan carelessness and incompetence.

It was his mistake to think that the enemy could take advantage of him if he was not careful.

――It was their hope to take their strongest blow head on.

Under his covered face, Orugan lifted his cheeks.

"...Vice-Chancellor?"

"Kuku... hahahaha――!! I can't bear it, Zalvaag!? Look at that! Alberinea has once again exceeded my imagination, being able to make the right wing disappear so easily!!"

His subordinates, who were in a hurry to change formations, looked at Orugan in fear as he suddenly started laughing.

The collapse of the right wing in such a short period of time――he wondered if the situation was so great that it caused him to go crazy.

The only ones who remained calm were the veteran subordinates and Zalvaag.

Zalvaag frowns and sighed.

Zalvaag knew better than anyone that he was a crazy war fanatic.

"...That's disrespectful, Vice-Chancellor. It's not a funny situation."

"Hahaha, how can I not laugh? I've never been this amused in my life――not even when I captured the royal capital."

The situation of 100,000 to 50,000 has changed to 70,000 to 50,000――no, 23,000 to 15,000.

The clash that occurred on the right wing was nothing more than a complete massacre, and the other side probably did not suffer much damage.

There were plenty of clashes that exceeded 10,000 that ended with the winner casualty being less than 100 people and the loser casualty being in few thousands.

And if there was such a difference in morale, that's how the battle would end.

Despite their fatigue, the enemy had three full corps.

And on their side, there were elite black-coated troops and about 10 unknown Giants.

Although there was a difference of nearly 10,000 soldiers, the difference was not as great as the numbers make it seems.

In fact, there was a great possibility that the other side would gain the upper hand.

Enemy right wing――Garhka pushed the initial assault a little, but from there he replaced his soldiers and built a front line without overdoing it.

Detouring the leftmost wing, stalling it and preparing for a sustained battle.

Garhka would hold the line, and Alberinea would finish off the main camp.

That was probably the plan.

It was not like Garhka, but if he made such a brilliant breakthrough, he could not complain.

It's only natural――no.

"...it's too clean."

"too clean...?"

"This battle between the main camp and Alberinea——this shape is too clean."

Breaking through the battle line beyond his expectations. Complete collapse of the right wing.

Alberinea's initial response was spectacular. One could even say it's perfect.

It was a feat that deserves unreserved praise and respect.

She must have been aiming for this shape from the beginning.

In fact, their advantage had been overturned, and they were at a disadvantage in terms of morale.

The right wing had collapsed with half of the enemy in front of it, this situation was causing turmoil in the main camp as well.

Their "payback" would be to let Killelea finish off Garhka on the left wing, but the other side was prepared for a thorough endurance battle.

It would takes a certain amount of time to defeat Garka.

In other words, no matter what happens, they had no choice but to fight under disadvantageous conditions.

――Alberinea had fully prepared the conditions for defeating them.

If Orugan was in her position, he would definitely attack.

Looking at this as a battle.

It was that kind of "beauty" that existed in this situation.

"Everyone would think that this would be the decisive moment. Alberinea would attack here, aiming for my neck."

"......"

Orugan looked not at the right wing but at the left wing――Garka and Kilrea.

In this situation, Orugan was forced to turn his back to his left wing.

No matter how he looked at it, Garhka was in no condition to get out of that situation.

――Normally that is.

"Alberinea is the monster who overwhelmed us head-on and created this situation... However, I have doubts as to whether that monster will be satisfied with this level."

"...Do you think there is a giant like that at General Garhka's place?"

"Do you think it's impossible? No, it might be something else."

Zalvaag thinks with serious eyes and told him.

"...It's possible. There's a possibility that the real aim is over there."

"Then――"

"However, we can't allocate any more troops from our headquarters. We can't have too many reserves just in case. We should let General Kilrea deal with everything."

"...The reason?"

"Isn't it very possible that their purpose is to us worry about that? In fact, it was not a trick that defeated the right wing, but a straight attack. This situation may be as beautiful as Vice-Chancellor say, but it has already taken shape."

Orugan lowered his eyes at those words and nodded.

Torn while reading the meaning behind each move.

The shock was not small for Orugan, and therefore it is very possible that he is too cautious.

"Messenger! Tell Kilrea to prepare for a breakthrough in case the enemy's main focus is on that side! Flag bearer, go ahead and give instructions on defensive formations!"

Kilrea had 55,000 troops――5,000 in the main camp, 30,000 to hold the enemy, and 20,000 to take a detour.

But Alcazaris, seeing the loss of the right wing's war elephant, they must have sensed the danger.

The detour of 20,000 was changed to 15,000 to add depth to line facing Garhka.

Facing Garhka, were 35,000 and 5,000 in the main camp.

In contrast, Garhka allocated nearly 5,000 to the rear of the right wing and to the stall of the detour, and 25,000 to the front.

However, Garhka took the diagonal position from the left wing.

Even if there was a possibility of a breakthrough, only one of the three corps of 15,000 in the center and left wing would be able to approach the main camp.

Naturally, Kilrea understood this, and thickened the front――but if one were to say that this action that Kilea took was a wise decision, they cannot praise it that much.

Since he first shaved off hithes 20,000 detour, Kilrea became passive.

He gave up the offensive option of forcibly surrounding and crushing the enemy before they could break through.

The decision was made too quickly.

As a result, Orugan had no choice but to tell them to hold their line and prevent a breakthrough.

Orugan would held off Alberinea's attack, while Kilrea defeated Garka, and the option of isolating Alberinea and destroying her with both armies disappeared.

From then on, while fighting Alberinea's army, he would also need to pay attention to the battle situation in Kilrea and Garhka.

If there was anything that could be done, it would be to divert troops from one side to another――but no matter what, Gulshan was completely on the defensive.

The initiative was on the enemies. What if that was the goal?

Orugan's brilliant mind presents countless possibilities.

And Orugan was troubled by the fact that the Alberinea army succeeded in completely breaking through the right wing, an attack that was impossible in the first place.

A General is someone that cuts out the impossible choices from countless possibilities and comes up with the correct answer.

However, when dealing with Alberinea, there is no longer an "impossible choice".

"Vice-Chancellor. In the end, war is simple."

"...?"

"Which one takes the head of the other's general is all that matters. Tactics are just a means to that end. Isn't that so?"

Orugan widened his eyes and smiled wryly.

And nod.

"Yes, as you said, Zalvaag. If Garhka breaks through in this situation, I don't think there's a chance of winning either way...I'll leave the backup to you."

"Yes sir... But I understand your concerns."

Zalvaag said and looked at Alberinea's army.

The Suiko was left behind. Alberinea was nowhere to be seen.

There's no doubt that she was hidden somewhere――but why wasn't her existence brought to the fore?

If they want to boost morale, there's nothing more effective than her.

If the monster that killed Alcazaris was going to take the lead, it would be even worse than now――No, the enemy's morale was at its peak at this point.

Even without Alberinea coming to the fore, the best results were being produced.

There was a strong possibility that she was conserving her physical strength for a collision with this main force.

Or maybe because of that small stature――he just didn't realize it, but there was a figure of her in the shadow of this abnormal military achievement.

Atop the elephant, they looks out over the battlefield from the perch.

Although there was a lot of information, there's a limit to a person's attention span.

There's also a good chance that he and Orugan simply didn't notice her.

The reason Orugan was wary was because he hadn't seen that silver hair since then.

It was not even clear when she disappeared from the Suiko's side.

"...Where are you, Alberinea?"

Zalvaag's eyes flicked across the battlefield, searching for the dancing silver hair.

"Muu... Still, you were an idiot. Just because the sword is durable, you didn't think about what would happen if the sword broke."

――It was on top of a tower.

Krische spread a blanket under her and lie sprawled there slovenly.

She watched the battle through a gap in the breastwork at the top of the tower, while nibling at her bread, her lips pursed and her feet swinging.

When the fight begins and the elephant hunting begins, Krische leaves Gallen in charge and begins moving.

She leaves the conspicuous Suiko behind and hides in the shadows of Mia and the First Corps and enters Nakria.

After that, she watched the battlefield from here while munching on the bread she bought at a bakery along the way.

As expected, the Alberinea army annihilated the enemy's right flank in the first move, but Krische complaints were endless.

"...My apologies. I never expected an enemy general to jump out in that situation."

Construction Team――One of the soldiers with one prosthetic leg says this while clutching the magic crystal hanging from his chest.

He was a soldier whose own Jarea Gashea was crushed by Elkar.

The secret weapon of the kingdom of Alberinea.

He lost Jarea Gashea, who brought revolutionary changes to the battlefield, in the first battle.

Regret and guilt――considering the hardships he had endured up until now, and the weight of the responsibility he has been given, this was not something he could easily accept.

There's a look of sadness on his face.

"Krische already said it was dangerous, Nekki. Well, some damage is to be expected. This is the first time you're using Pikapika (sparkly) in actual combat, so Krische will overlook it. It's a problem that can be resolved if you fix it."

"......yes ma'am"

The entire craft team involved with Jarea Gashea was here.

The reason it was placed on top of the tower was to ensure visibility――and to use the transmitter Pikapika (Krische naming).

Fundamentally, Jarea Gashea is an autonomous weapon.

As per the orders given to it, it would continue to kill the enemy until it was told to stop.

However, the problem was the ability to identify friend and foe.

For Jarea Gashea, what differentiated friend from enemy was the armor worn by soldiers.

It has a very advanced function that records the armor used by Alberan's army and optically reads and distinguishes it, but on the battlefield.

There was a possibility of malfunction due to damage to armor, loss of helmets, and various other factors, and the identification of enemies had to be taken to the extreme of 'all enemies except allies'.

People who wear custom-made armor, such as Kolkis and Bagil, were memorized in advance, but as far as the Garhka army is concerned, there was no such thing.

If by chance they were to enter the Gurkha army, there was a great possibility that they would try to kill the battalion commander or corps commander who was wearing the custom-made armor.

Therefore, it was basically necessary to send instructions from the outside regarding the direction of travel and the direction of battle, and the transmitter Pikapika was used for this purpose.

It was an excellent device that transmits orders by transmitting light of magical power, but there were two problems.

One was the obstacles.

If the magical power light was completely blocked by some kind of obstacle, commands would no longer be transmitted.

At first, there was a plan to attach it to the tip of the staff and accompany Jarea Gashea, but this was rejected because it might kill the operator and there was a possibility that the operator might lose sight of Jarea Gashea.

There was also a strong possibility that it would fall into another area of concern.

Another problem is that magical power tends to gather near the surface of the earth.

Although magical power appears to be irregular, there were some regularities to its movements, one of which is that it is attracted to the ground.

Magical energy flies around in the atmosphere on the wind, but as soon as it loses its momentum, it immediately descends to the earth surface.

Is it affected by gravity, or is there some other reason? Whatever the case, the magical power falls downwards.

Considering that the crystals of dense magic power, magic crystals, are basically generated underground, magic power tends to falls to the ground.

Especially here on the battlefield.

Even though each person is weak, when this many people come together, the magical power generated from their bodies increases the density of magical power, and it may have some kind of influence on the light of magical power.

Magical power is inherently unstable in its behavior as it reacts to a person's will, and the light of magical power sent from the transmitter cannot be said to have a large capacity, so it is easily influenced by it.

Considering the inconvenience caused by this, it would be better to emit light from as high a position as possible, and that was the reason why this place, the top of a tower, was chosen as the transmitting base.

Currently, there are basically no major problems, and if there were problems――

"Weight... hmm, maybe we should have them judge it based on the center of gravity, but if we do that, it would be troublesome if the armor peels off... Maybe it's best to have them look at it themselves..."

It was swinging the arm around without even noticing that the giant sword in was broken.

It wasn't originally intended to defeat a powerful magic possessor.

The initial objective was to mow down the battle line.

However, the way it died was extremely stupid.

If it had been able to assess the situation accurately, it would not have shown such a disastrous situation.

It may have held out until Areha and Colchis reached it, and might still be working fine.

Cliche looked dissatisfied as he grumbled and thought of ways to improve it.

The results of the battle by Jaleia Gashea are amazing.

On average, a single one cut down nearly a hundred people.

However, that accomplishments were natural to her――the killing machine she had created was only a natural success, and she only focused on its flaws.

The cold purple color captures Jarea Gashea standing on the battlefield from a distance, revealing the problems and deficiencies of its current situation.

In this short time, they killed 1,000 people with 12 machines, and only one machine was damaged.

There was no joy in her extraordinary military accomplishments.

All she thought about was how efficiently it could kill more people.

The squad leader, Nagal, who was standing next to her, felt something cold run down his spine as he watched her.

She was pure, kind, and abnormal.

Seeing that the weapon she created had taken countless lives, she was neither happy nor sad, her eyes only staring at the numbers.

Manipulating a magic doll with no emotions or life, and taking many lives.

The indescribable emotions that Nagal and the others try not to think or feel probably didn't exist in her.

If they could win without any damage, she would have no doubts about taking the lives of 100,000 people.

To her, life and death on the battlefield were just a matter of deduction on paper.

For her, who looks on honor and glory more callously than anyone, even the deeds of heroism are recorded with blood-lettered ledgers.

It was precisely because he learned of the sweet of the girl who spoke so fondly of the estate, and precisely because he came into contact with her kindness, that the distortions in her that contrasting it became more apparent.

For the sake of what she values, she can effortlessly eliminate everything else.

――In war, she didn't wish for any heroic tales.

She would even kill all the people in the world if they got in her way.

She has the wisdom to make that a reality.

Should he be happy or afraid to be on her side?

He looked at his left prosthetic hand and closed his eyes.

It was something that Nagal did not need to think about, at least not for him.

"It hurts to lose a Jarea Gashea, but let's change gears. If you become cowardly out of fear, your comrades fighting on the front lines will die instead. Consider that the transmitter we are holding now contains the lives of our friends. Rather, Jarea Gashea role is to serve as a shield and break for the soldiers."

"Ha!"

The reason she made this was for themselves.

"Look, a lot of Blacks died in the last battle, and Nagal and the other had their arms and legs flying off. But with an artificial soldier like this, even if a limb flies off, you can just fix it, and even if it breaks, you can rebuild it...Isn't this safe?"

However cruel this weapon may be, he knew her underlying reasons.

And she had talent.

But that's all.

Nagal knew that.

"...Nagal"

"Yes ma'am! What is it?"

To Nagal, who saluted with loyalty.

The displeased girl looked up at Nagal, her brow furrowed.

"Jaragasha, Pikapika. Krische know you were trying to say something nice, but you, the squad leader, have to pull yourself together."

"S-sory..."

The sight of Krische puffing out her cheeks and stomping her feet on the floor was endlessly adorable.

"...The enemy's main camp has begun to move."

"Ah, looks like it."

Krische looked back at the battlefield and narrowed her purple eyes.

"Like before, if you get a signal from Meow-Meow or Aleha, or if you get within a certain distance, attack."

"Yes ma'am"

"If the enemy reserves start making a detour, give a signal from here. Krische will go to Vinthril below."

"Understood!"

Krische said that and pick herself up and jumps off the other side of the tower.

"Nekki, act as a signal to Krische-sama."

"Yes sir!"

"There will be no advisors from here. Be even more careful."

Nagal smiled at the reassuring response he received and placed his hand on the transmitter around his neck.