Chapter 118 – Imperial Army vs Brenark Kingdom Army

“Father…this has turned into quite the troublesome situation…”

“Indeed… those brats… where did they learn about our plundering…?”

The Brenark knights had been carrying out thorough looting but now they were stationed in a large town.

Unlike the villages they had attacked before, this place had a larger population, so they couldn’t simply slaughter everyone. While they still carried out looting, they had to be mindful of the scale.

Jeigan changed his approach and decided to stay in this town for about a week. During that time, they intended to take every valuable they could and force all the residents into serving them.

In short, they planned to hold a debauched revel here. The knights threatened the townspeople, seized alcohol and food at will, raped any woman they found, and killed men for amusement.

The knights were thoroughly enjoying themselves. They treated the detested Imperial citizens like slaves, and no matter how cruelly they acted, they would not be held accountable.

Everything could be blamed on bandits, and even if the Empire suspected something, it wouldn’t escalate into a diplomatic issue.

After all, the Empire in its current state couldn’t even quell its long-standing civil war, and had gone so far as to rely on their military strength like this.

Their numbers were also greater. From the Empire’s perspective, they would desperately want the cooperation of the powerful fifty-thousand-strong Brenark knights.

Moreover, unlike the villages before, this town had a fair number of young men and women. Jeigan even considered taking some of them back as slaves.

In any case, within this town, the Brenark knights were an absolute authority.

They were fully aware that no one could oppose them, and as the days of their stay increased, that attitude only grew more extreme.

By the fifth day, the town had become something that could only be described as hell. Of course, Jeigan and his men had no way of knowing it, but the scene closely resembled what had once been common when Seazack’s group first took control of the western region.

Though things had somewhat settled over the past ten-plus years, the Brenark knights had yet to grow accustomed to the intoxicating feeling of being absolute rulers in this land, leaving them in a constant state of exhilaration.

Their actions only continued to escalate, openly repeating acts they could never get away with in their homeland…and it was that very sight that had been witnessed by Imperial scouts.

With the enraged vanguard attacking, Jeigan and his forces were forced to respond.

The vanguard was only a small force, charging in driven purely by anger, so they were successfully wiped out with minimal losses.

However, reports that they had been repeatedly looting had most likely already reached Arloston. If the vanguard had charged in unable to contain their rage, there was no guarantee the same wouldn’t happen with the main Imperial army.

Thus, Jeigan immediately decided to prepare for interception and formed ranks outside the town.

The next day, the Imperial knights led by Arloston appeared. They formed a horizontal battle line with cavalry positioned on both flanks, making it clear they intended to fight.

“Gabusrein. What of the spoils we loaded up?”

“Yes, sir. They were sent out of the town yesterday.”

“Good… then we’ve achieved our minimum objective.”

The two armies faced each other, and already two days had passed. While a full-scale clash had yet to occur, scattered skirmishes had already begun.

Before Arloston’s main force appeared, Jeigan had deployed his formation outside the town, a decision that reflected his competence as a commander.

The town itself was not suited for defensive warfare, and from Jeigan’s perspective, it wasn’t even a position worth defending.

If they were going to meet the enemy, forming up on open ground was only natural. Brenark held an overwhelming numerical advantage and if they clashed head-on, victory would be theirs.

Arloston understood this as well, which is why, despite his anger, a full engagement had yet to occur.

‘But that brat… to think he had spies tracking us as we advanced from the north…’

Their marching speeds were different, so it should have been difficult to track them. And for Arloston, who wanted to keep liberating territory as quickly as possible, there shouldn’t have been any room to divert attention or manpower toward them.

That was what Jeigan had believed but now Arloston had left Seazack unchecked and marched his army here to stop the looting. Realizing he had miscalculated on that point, Jeigan frowned.

Right now, the force deployed before them was the full Imperial knight army that had invaded the western region. In other words, Arloston had completely ignored Seazack and instead come to subjugate the Brenark knights first.

“So…what shall we do, Father? Shall we send an envoy and protest that they’ve broken the alliance?”

“Hmph…that wouldn’t be bad either. It might provoke that brat even further. Haven’t they always said that justice belongs to the victor?”

“Oh… meaning?”

There were several possible paths forward. One option would be to avoid fighting Arloston altogether and simply return straight to Brenark. The spoils they had gathered were already more than sufficient to report to the king.

However, Jeigan considered that it might not be a bad idea to further weaken the Empire here and now.

After thoroughly annihilating the Imperial knight force led by Arloston, he would declare:

“We were cooperating in the subjugation of Seazack in accordance with the alliance, yet the Imperial army betrayed us. We had no choice but to repel them. What is the meaning of this? Did the Empire lure us here from the very beginning to trap us?”

Hearing Jeigan’s words, Gabusrein’s face broke into a grin of pure delight.

Whether or not it was the truth no longer mattered. If the elite thirty-thousand-strong Imperial knight force were destroyed, the Empire’s influence itself would collapse.

And if it were King Rudix, he would be able to make full use of this situation.

They could even threaten the Empire and depending on how things played out, it wouldn’t be surprising if they launched a full-scale campaign themselves to bring the western region under their control.

There’s a saying that history is written by the victors, but more than that, the victor’s words prioritize their own convenience above all else. There is no room for the defeated to wedge themselves into that narrative.

“We’ve already sent envoys several times to negotiate, haven’t we? And all of them were killed in those skirmishes the other day… that’s how it went, right?”

“Ah…now that you mention it, that was indeed the case.”

In reality, they had never sent any envoys, but the two continued their shameless exchange.

“Honestly, that young commander of knights is quite troublesome. We moved our forces into the town to put a stop to the bandits’ atrocities and yet of all things, he misunderstands it as us committing looting…”

“Conflicts arising from misunderstandings have existed since ancient times.”

Father and son let out a quiet chuckle together.

“Arloston-dono is still young. Such misunderstandings are to be expected…”

“General Jeigan!”

A messenger came running up. Jeigan gestured for the report.

“There are changes in the Imperial knight formation! Most likely…”

“So, they’re finally making their move.”

Both armies had formed horizontal battle lines, with cavalry positioned on the flanks and the main infantry force in the center. It was a balanced formation, suited for both offense and defense.

However, it was extremely vulnerable to attacks from the sides or rear. That was why mobile cavalry units were placed on both flanks, ready to cover those weak points.

The cavalry also had ample lateral space to maneuver, making it easier to respond to various battlefield situations.

Additionally, the Brenark knights numbered fifty thousand, giving them a clear advantage over the Imperial knights’ thirty thousand. For that reason, Jeigan had positioned a reserve force of ten thousand behind the main line.

With this, even if part of their formation were to collapse or hidden troops were to appear, they could immediately commit their reserve forces and cover the gap.

Even if the clash between the two horizontal lines resulted in a stalemate, those reserves could be maneuvered around to strike the enemy’s flanks and rear as a decisive blow.

Jeigan intended to fully exploit his numerical advantage and annihilate the Imperial knights here.

As he listened to the messenger’s report, he stepped out of the command tent and looked over the Imperial army spread out before him.

“…That is…”

The sound of horns echoed, and in the center of the formation, colorful flags were raised. It was likely a prearranged signal.

Until just moments ago, the Imperial knights had also been in a standard horizontal formation. But as dust billowed into the air, their ranks began shifting rapidly. In the blink of an eye, they had reformed into a strange new formation.

Witnessing such swift and precise movement of an entire army, Jeigan and Gabusrein swallowed hard at the sheer level of discipline displayed. But—

“Their intent is obvious… as expected of a youngster.”

The newly formed arrangement had concentrated cavalry on the right wing.

In contrast, the left wing consisted of lines of heavily armored infantry and a small number of heavily armored cavalry wielding silver spears.

“Father… that Imperial formation…”

“They intend to break through our left flank using their cavalry on the right wing. Their infantry will hold the line until the cavalry punches through.”

A concentrated cavalry assault aimed at a single point. If it succeeded, it would certainly be an effective strike.

Once they broke through, the cavalry could circle around and, together with the infantry, crush them in a pincer attack.

“They must think that by changing formations so quickly, we won’t be able to respond in time…”

At that moment, the sound of horns rang out once more from the Imperial army. They would begin moving any second now.

“Even with their cavalry concentrated like that, there’s no way they can break through our lines. They may not be able to see it from their side, but we have ten thousand reserves positioned behind us. And even if, by some chance, our left flank starts to falter, we can commit those reserves or redirect cavalry from our right wing.”

“The number of cavalry on their left flank has dropped significantly, after all.”

It was an interesting move but nothing more than that. It wasn’t a decisive play that could corner them.

Their speed in changing formation was certainly impressive. Even the Brenark knights couldn’t replicate something like that. It clearly showed just how well-trained they were.

However, Jeigan himself was an experienced commander. He had already considered multiple ways to deploy his reserves in response to unexpected tactics like this. There was no reason for him to panic.

At least, not until this very moment.

“…!? F-Father…!?”

“Hm…!?”

The Imperial knights finally began to move. But the first to advance was the enemy’s left wing… a unit centered on heavily armored infantry.

A moment later, the unit beside them began to move. Then, with another delay, the next unit followed.

As this pattern continued, the once-horizontal formation gradually shifted into a slanted line… a diagonal formation. And the right-wing cavalry, which should have been the fastest, was the last to begin advancing.

Moreover, they never moved ahead of the units in front of them.

“What is this…!? N-No, prepare to intercept!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”