Chapter 20 – One Year After the Imperial Occupation – The Imperial Knights’ New Movements

‘……What is this?’

As I proceeded through the natural cave, the wall had what clearly looked like a door embedded in it.

No, more accurately, it was a rock face with the design of a door carved into it. At the centre was a vertical hollow cavity, and if I turned sideways, it seemed I could advance through to the other side.

“……………..”

Just who made this…? No, more fundamentally, is this really a natural cave?

Until reaching this point, I had felt a sense of dissonance. First, the monsters inhabiting this space – I’ve never heard of such creatures existing.

And were these things born here? If such monsters dwell underneath the continent, why does no one know about it? Don’t they ever come above ground?

Then there’s this man-made structure right in front of me. It’s as if beckoning me to proceed further.

‘However, since there’s no other path, I have no choice but to go on…’

There have been forks in the caves before. Sometimes the path I chose was a dead end. I thought this might be another dead end… but then I found this door.

I calmed my mind to a tranquil state, then turned sideways and began advancing through the narrow hollow. I’ve gotten quite adept at achieving this mindset.

‘Tight squeeze… The jagged rock face is painful…’

The clothes I was wearing were already tattered rags. This is only going to shred them further…

‘…Hmm?’

After passing through the hollow, there was a somewhat more open space. I didn’t sense any living presences. Carefully, I began investigating what might be in this area.

‘I only feel an airflow from the hollow entrance. …No, I feel it coming from above too. This space itself doesn’t seem that large, but the ceiling is high…?’

Illuminating the walls with my crest as I walked, I ended up back at the entrance. It seems I circled around.

‘The left and right from the entrance were semicircular, while the front was more linear in shape.’

That’s how the outer perimeter was structured. Next, I headed towards the centre of the space. And that’s when I saw them.

‘Books…? In a place like this…? Who…?’

There were piles of books stacked up. No telling how long they’d been there. And suspiciously, they didn’t seem very degraded.

But after walking through endless darkness for what felt like an eternity, finding books at my journey’s end piqued my interest.

While still maintaining caution, I reached out towards one of the volumes.

■

Around one year after the Zeltreich Empire brought the Kingdom of Amatsuki under its control, the Imperial Knights launched a full-scale invasion against one of the territories that had been engaging in skirmishes with the Territorial Lords Alliance.

The knights who set out from the imperial capital were the Silver Lance Knights. Their numbers totaled 20,000, led by Silver Lance Knight Commander Bandred Cruarde. Their target was the Kamurakku Territory, one of the Territorial Lords Alliance’s domains.

The Kamurakku Territory was located in the western part of the Territorial Lords’ lands. Further west was territory ruled by a different lord, bordering the lawless western frontier of the empire.

The empire aimed to first split the Territorial Lords Alliance’s forces in two by invading the Kamurakku Territory.

“Bandred-sama! The enemy has 30,000 right in front of us, with no signs of reinforcements!”

“Heh…just as the intelligence said. They likely won’t receive aid from other territories.”

While the Kamurakku Territory had a sizable force of around 30,000 troops, they did not request assistance from other territories against the Imperial invasion. There were several reasons for this.

First, they believed their numbers gave them an advantage. They had taken position on the plains in advance to confront the Imperial Knights, intending to force a straightforward clash of military strength.

Second, they judged Bandred himself to be young and lacking renown. They assumed he lacked true prowess as a knight, having been appointed commander solely due to his family’s status.

Third, the lord of Kamurakku Territory wished to seize the leadership of the Territorial Lords Alliance for himself.

Currently, policies within the Alliance are decided by four major territorial lords at its centre. There are dozens of other lords but effectively these four hold overall command.

If Kamurakku defeated the Imperial Knights here, their lord would undoubtedly gain immense influence within the Alliance. From that position, he could potentially sway the other lords to his side and become one of the new major lords himself.

The Alliance forces did not think 30,000 of their troops would immediately lose to the Imperial force of 20,000. Even if they struggled, they planned to send reinforcements from the east to strike the Imperial Knights’ flank.

However…

“Break through!!!!”

“「「「Ooooooohhhhh!!!!!」」」”

Bandred’s Silver Lance Knights were primarily heavily-armoured cavalry forces.

He arrayed 10,000 of his cavalry into a wedge formation. The most elite heavily-armoured knights, including himself, anchored the central vanguard. This wedge shape allowed the centre to form a thrusting spearhead formation optimised for piercing enemy lines through sheer force.

Originally, the Kamurakku forces planned to set up a palisade of wooden stakes to defend against a cavalry charge.

However, arrogantly certain of their victory, they delayed taking that precaution. Meanwhile, Bandred advanced at a faster pace than expected, intent on forcing a conclusion before the enemy’s preparations were complete.

As a result, the Kamurakku forces had to confront the Imperial Knights without properly fortifying their position.

No matter how they tried to halt the Imperial charge, its momentum was unstoppable. The centre of their lines was pierced through in an instant.

“Encircle them from the flanks!!”

“「「「Ooooooohhhhh!!!!!」」」”

After splitting the Kamurakku army’s centre, Bandred divided his forces into two. Each wing swung around to attack the enemy’s rear.

“Uwaaahhhh!?”

“Stay calm! We still outnumber them! Deal with this systematically!”

“Huh!? Over there too!?”

Though thrown into disarray by the initial charge, the Kamurakku forces still had greater numbers and could have regrouped. However, Imperial reinforcements then appeared from the south.

While Bandred led 10,000 elite heavily-armoured cavalry knights in the initial charge, the remaining 10,000 were infantry armed with long spears. And these infantry forces immediately launched their own assault onto the battlefield.

“Oh no! At this rate we’ll be caught in a pincer attack!”

“Hurry! Focus on taking down their cavalry!”

“I-It’s no use! Those troops are elites! Too strong…!”

“Gyaaaahh!!”

Though outnumbered, the Silver Lance Knights’ heavily-armoured cavalry were all elite veterans. They held firm until the infantry arrived to complete the encirclement.

With the Kamurakku forces now surrounded, all that was left was to grind them down.

“Hiiieeeee!”

“R-Retreat!”

“W-Wait! Don’t retreat, coward!”

“The commander’s been killed!”

“This side too!”

Faced with the Imperial double envelopment, what started as confidence in their numerical superiority rapidly collapsed into a disorganised rout for the Kamurakku army as leaders fell. The elite Imperial Knights simply proved too skilled and formidable an opponent.

“It’s.. It’s no use anymore! Aaahh!”

With the situation devolving, the outcome was all but decided. Bandred shouted out in a booming voice:

“Ours is the victory! Let our battle cries ring out!”

“「「「Ooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!!」」」”

Hearing the Imperial Knights’ raucous cheers of triumph, the remaining Kamurakku forces were psychologically crushed by the reality of their defeat.

“From here, we enter the mopping up phase! Those who discard their weapons and surrender shall be spared! Those who flee or keep their arms shall be killed!”

“「「「Ooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!!」」」”

Thus the Kamurakku Territory was defeated in the initial battle, utterly routed before the Territorial Lords Alliance could send reinforcements. However, allowing the Imperial Knights to continue their northern advance would risk the Alliance being cut in two, east and west.

To prevent this, troops were sent to fortify the northern part of the Kamurakku Territory, while another army advanced from the east to threaten the overextended Imperial supply lines.

Having originally prepared for reinforcements, the Alliance reacted swiftly. As a result, the Silver Lance Knights halted their advance to occupy the Kamurakku Territory, and the Alliance managed to avoid being split apart, for the time being.

However, after years of stalemate, it was clear to all that the Territorial Lords had suffered a decisive defeat here.

The fact that 30,000 troops fell in just a single day’s battle also sent shockwaves through the ranks of the territorial lords.