From The Start Of Battle

“Was that what you’d call a war of words? So there’s etiquette around here like that before a battle begins.”

I asked Kiriku beside me what he thought about the enemy army’s surrender demand that had just taken place.

It was possible I simply hadn’t known, and Sword and Legions had something like that too. There were times when, on the battlefield, you met the king of another country or a major character for the first time and a conversation event would trigger… so maybe what the enemy did earlier served the same role.

“It was unexpected that a commander would announce himself and go out of his way to demand our surrender before a fight. We may need to look into what meaning it has.”

Yeah—so it wasn’t that. Still, as Kiriku said, it would be better to investigate.

“To reduce lingering resentment after the war, we should investigate it. And there might be rules to war. To look into that as well, we need to take commanders prisoner whenever possible.”

“Rules… to war?”

“It’s only a hypothetical. If there are formal rules to war, and we violate them, there’s a chance everyone around us becomes an enemy all at once. There might be inter-state agreements like that.”

Implicit rules were one thing, but if it was codified like an international treaty, violating it could bring scary sanctions… well, economic sanctions probably wouldn’t matter much to us.

Coalitions and encirclement alliances, too… one way or another, we might manage. Expanding fronts and food shortages weren’t problems for us. Teleportation via a mana collection device, securing supplies with mana stones, replenishing troops—if we had those two things, the mana collection device and mana stones, we could handle most situations.

I had told Arandor to think about logistics before, but compared to ordinary armies, our burden was unbelievably light. A thirty-thousand-strong army needed only enough provisions for three people. And movement was instantaneous teleportation up to the nearest friendly base, and even marching on foot at thirty kilometers an hour was no problem.

Even if summoned troops were wiped out, they could be resummoned the following week—and at this point, our troop pool was close to a hundred million.

Well, if there was an opponent who could grind through a hundred million, we’d be out of options… but unlike us, the enemy was flesh and blood. Recovering from wounds wouldn’t be easy, and death was the end.

For the record: even if summoned troops weren’t killed, they vanished after one week. And each commander could summon only once per week.

Since it was once per week regardless of how many were summoned, hoarding too much was bad, and summoning too many was bad too.

If mana stones started pouring in, it wouldn’t matter, but with our current low income, we needed to avoid waste as much as possible. Honestly, the early game in Sword and Legions had been like this. After multiple playthroughs, carryover mana stones let you sprint through the opening, so you stopped caring as much.

Also, we had earned income over this month from the goblins and the villages we brought under our rule, but even so, we were still running a deficit once you counted basic upkeep alone.

I had thought about secretly placing a mana collection device in the nearest city, but apparently it needed to be installed outdoors, so it wasn’t as simple as buying a house and putting it inside.

I even thought, “What if we open a window—would that work?” and had Otonoha test it, but it still didn’t work.

My thoughts had flown off not just to the day after tomorrow, but to next week. I needed to focus on this.

“Well, we can deal with that after this war is over. For now, we can only proceed in our own way.”

“Yes. The enemy has begun moving. But their movement is remarkably slow…”

Just as Kiriku said, the enemy army advanced toward us at an extremely slow pace.

“The cavalry is in the last line? That’s an odd formation. A line… no, is that a phalanx?”

I zoomed in on the enemy army to check their formation.

They had soldiers holding large shields at the very front, with others behind them carrying slightly smaller shields. And threaded between them at regular intervals were soldiers holding long spears.

A formation where the large shields in front blocked frontal attacks, the smaller shields behind covered overhead to block arcing arrows and thrown stones, and the long spears attacked through gaps in the shields… that was what it looked like.

“A phalanx…?”

“Yeah. Each unit is like a small fortress protected by shields. It absorbs a charge, deflects arrows, and strikes back at the same time. It’s a pretty troublesome formation.”

They weren’t bracing shields to the sides yet, but I was probably right. Which meant the cavalry behind them were a mobile force. The phalanx would absorb our attacks, and in that opening, the cavalry would ride rampant…

“It’s not a formation we saw in our own wars… but as expected of Fels-sama. To have knowledge like that.”

“It’s just something I saw in old texts. By the way, that formation has a clear weakness. It lacks mobility, so it’s extremely fragile when hit from the flank. With that density and those long spears, even turning is a struggle. The cavalry in the rear is probably to compensate for that, but… there’s another weakness that’s fatal. Kiriku, do you know what it is?”

“Yes. Area attacks.”

“Correct. Also called a dense formation—it’s extremely weak to area attacks. Even if it isn’t an area spell, you could wipe out an entire unit at once.”

“And yet they’re leaving such a fatal weakness exposed… if there’s an explanation, it would be that they have some countermeasure against magic.”

A countermeasure against magic… that hadn’t occurred to me.

“A countermeasure against magic. If we think in our own common sense, it would be equipment or abilities, but they’re flesh and blood, not summoned troops. Outfitting every soldier with anti-magic measures would be costly.”

In Sword and Legions equipment, there were three types of anti-magic: reduce, absorb, and reflect. But all of them were quirky and hard to use.

Damage reduction only reduced a specific element, leaving you completely exposed to others.

Absorption was worse—damage from any element you couldn’t absorb was doubled.

Reflection did what it said, but it reflected healing and buffs too, which made it awkward.

Frankly, it was horribly unbalanced… but Sword and Legions leaned toward offense-heavy design, and defensive gear was generally clumsy.

To be honest, I owned that sort of equipment, but it just sat as dead weight in storage.

Magic resistance abilities were passive—once learned, they lasted permanently—so I had basically taught resistance abilities to most of our combat-oriented members.

“Even if they have some magical countermeasure, the mage unit we deployed is Kamila. With abilities like reflection nullification and resistance penetration, she should be able to blow them away without problems.”

Sure, it was possible some unknown technology could block magic, but if we worried about that, we’d be unable to act.

“That said, the first charge this time is Jōsen. His match-up against that formation is bad, but he has mobility. We’ll break them from the flank… Jōsen, are you ready?”

“Yes! Of course, I am!”

“Good. Then we begin our war now. The one to take the first charge is you, Jōsen. The enemy is in a dense formation. Striking it head-on is unfavorable for your unit, which is made up of swordsmen. But that formation has a weakness—it’s extremely fragile to flank attacks. Use your mobility and land a blow from the side. And don’t miss the signal to pull back, got it?”

“I understand every detail!”

“Kamila, once Jōsen makes contact, I want you advancing. Rods, Rio, protect Kamila.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

After Jōsen, I spoke to Kamila and the others deployed behind him.

Rods and Rio each commanded spear troops and sword troops, and were assigned as vice-commanders under Kamila’s mage unit. Both had belonged to the combat corps back in Sword and Legions, and their abilities were top-tier.

“Advance!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

With my command, Jōsen’s unit began its advance.

Compared to the enemy army, still inching forward, the difference was like heaven and earth.

“Still… the enemy’s movement is incredibly sluggish. Leaving magic aside, we’re already within bow range, aren’t we? And yet they still haven’t made any move.”

“From what I can see, the archers are deployed behind the shield troops and in front of the cavalry… but they aren’t even raising their bows… Is it some kind of trap?”

“Given their marching speed, they’re definitely wary of us. But not even shooting arrows… ah, maybe they’re trying to lure us in?”

“I see. Lure in and annihilate…”

In games, that was called a bait tactic. Use high-defense troops as bait, then surround and kill the enemies that overextend. You chip away at their forces like that, while gradually pushing the line forward. Depending on how smart the enemy AI was, it worked in most games.

As I thought that over, talking with Kiriku while analyzing the battlefield, the distance between Jōsen and the enemy closed rapidly.

“Jōsen, increase speed and go for the flank. And don’t stop moving if you can help it.”

“Understood!”

With that response, Jōsen’s unit accelerated and began moving in one burst toward the enemy’s flank.

It felt faster than it had on the game screen… or was that just because the enemy was moving so slowly?

“Kamila, it’s almost your turn. After Jōsen makes contact, move in one burst to the designated point.”

“Roger that.”

Good. Kamila should be fine too. The enemy… seemed shaken by Jōsen suddenly changing direction and trying to swing around their flank. In the game, enemy ‘shaken’ states weren’t depicted like this, but on a real battlefield, it made sense.

Jōsen’s movement speed was faster than when we first came to that village… I couldn’t measure accurately in this overhead view without a distance readout, but it looked like sixty kilometers an hour. Faster than their cavalry, maybe.

If the enemy didn’t get rattled by that, I’d be the one rattled.

Still… watching the battlefield from overhead like this dulled the sense of reality. That didn’t feel like a good sign… but no—stop thinking about unnecessary things.

In that single instant of distraction, Jōsen’s unit reached the enemy flank and crashed into them!

In the next moment, as if a Three Kingdoms-style hero had charged through, enemy soldiers went flying.

…Huh?

Before I could even process it, Jōsen’s unit kept moving while scattering the enemy vanguard, and in the blink of an eye, it had punched straight through from one end of the enemy’s line to the other.

That wasn’t what I planned… My plan had been: Jōsen’s mobile unit hits the flank and throws them into confusion. At the same time, Kamila advances. Once she reaches position, Jōsen pulls back, Kamila unleashes magic, the confusion spreads, then Jōsen and Kamila charge again.

That was the flow I’d imagined… but the enemy vanguard was already annihilated.

The enemy… looked less ‘confused’ and more ‘stunned.’ Well, I got it. I’d almost made a very un-Overlord-like noise just now.

Right—focus.

I needed to issue orders before I stood there blankly… but this gap in power was a happy miscalculation. I knew we were strong to some degree, but I hadn’t expected this level of overwhelming force.

With a gap like this… we change the plan.

“Kamila, build a wall behind the enemy so they can’t escape. Jōsen, prioritize the enemy cavalry in the rear! Don’t get caught in Kamila’s magic, got it? The units waiting in the rear—charge as well! Don’t let a single one escape! Capture the commanders no matter what!”

Normally, completely sealing off an enemy’s retreat was said to be a bad idea, because they’d give up on running and become a death force that fought to the end. But with this overwhelming difference in strength, even if they fought to the death, it wouldn’t change anything.

It was like an unarmed person leaping in front of a bullet train.

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Right after my order, a wall of flame rose behind the enemy—an unbelievable height. This was… not Flame Wall, but Flame Area?

Flame Area was a war-phase spell, originally meant to damage enemy armies, but… in reality, this was what it looked like. “Damage” wasn’t the word—an entire army would be burned alive.

I’d been trying to fire something like this at the goblin settlement…? Thank goodness Eisha advised me… I would’ve caused a massive wildfire.

Before I could keep thinking about anything that carefree, our army’s charge was overwhelming. In less than ten minutes from the start of battle, the enemy force was annihilated. We succeeded in capturing over a dozen commanders, including the overall commander.

Our army suffered zero losses, while all fifteen hundred of the enemy fell. The only thing left behind was our banner alone.

…Even some official high-command propaganda would be a little more modest than that, wouldn’t it?