Chapter 23: I Am Afraid

The next day, at dusk.

"Berka. The Yaiban army has finally reached Buyurdesto."

"Yeah, I saw them with my own eyes."

At last, the forces of the enemy nation Yaiban were approaching Buyurdesto.

On the plains flushed red by the sunset, a deployed army waved the blue flags of Yaiban.

"The sun will be down soon. Prepare the signal fires."

"Understood."

Even from afar, the overwhelming size of their force was clear.

The soldiers carrying banners swarmed across the land like insects crawling out of the earth.

"...That's an incredible number."

"They outnumber us ten to one, easily."

"Will we be alright?"

"We won't—that’s why we kidnapped Princess Rishali."

"Ah, yes, of course."

Until now, Berka had used the terrain and the city walls to win without taking a single scratch.

But not even his strategies could overturn a tenfold difference in numbers.

"From here on, there’s no way we can avoid casualties."

"...I see."

"There will be enormous loss of life. Princess Rishali, what will you say to the soldiers who give their lives?"

"You’re right..."

Unfortunately, I cannot take part in the battle myself.

With my physical condition, I can’t fight. I’ve never commanded an army, either.

I’m just a figurehead, here in name only.

"Shall I tell them, ‘My life is with yours’?"

"With theirs?"

"I may not be able to contribute directly to the war. But I can still risk my life alongside them."

There is a purpose for royalty in war.

It is to maintain morale—something crucial in battle.

"A princess willing to stake her life, standing in the rear... what other army can boast of that?"

"......"

"This battle is not just for Buyurdesto. Declare it a decisive battle for the entire nation of Saripa."

A standard-bearer isn’t just someone standing at the front giving commands.

Rousing the will to fight is an equally important duty.

"To use royalty in war means this: elevate the meaning of the battle itself."

"......"

"If I survive this decisive battle, I’ll ensure it’s passed down through history. And that will raise the value of every soldier’s sacrifice."

Royalty is a symbol—just their presence can raise morale dramatically.

That is why royalty must wield authority, be loved by the people, and be respected.

"I’ll declare this battle our ‘Decisive Struggle’—and that the first charge will be led by the forces of Buyurdesto."

"Not a bad speech. I’ll leave it to you."

"Gladly."

There’s not much I can do in this battle.

But if that’s the case, then I’ll do everything I can.

---

And so, I rallied the soldiers with that kind of speech.

We were ready. It was time for the decisive battle—let them come from wherever they pleased.

"The enemy has halted their advance. I suppose the full-scale attack will come tomorrow?"

"No, they'll probably launch a night raid."

"Is that so?"

The Yaiban army had stopped moving before nightfall and begun setting up camp.

I thought perhaps they weren’t going to fight today, but according to Berka, a night raid was likely.

"Yaiban soldiers have suffered terribly at the hands of our archers so far. Lately, they've taken to avoiding arrows altogether and opting for nighttime attacks instead."

"I see."

Apparently, the Yaiban troops were on edge, after being thoroughly toyed with by Berka up to this point.

They had developed a habit of launching surprise attacks deep into the night, when visibility was too poor for archery.

"Traps like pitfall holes and poison smoke work well against night raids... but we’ve used those already. They’ll probably advance cautiously, keeping an eye on their footing."

"So what do we do, then?"

"We still have a trump card left. Look at their formation."

At present, the Yaiban army had set up camp in two directions—west and north.

They were likely waiting to merge with reinforcements and execute a pincer move.

"Just as I predicted. They've formed the perfect setup for us. The first day should be an easy win."

"...What exactly are you planning?"

"A tactic that becomes even more effective the larger the enemy force—Hellfire, the Inferno Beacon."

"Huh."

"Sorry, but only the strike unit gets the details. Just watch for now."

With that, Berka gave a sly grin.

---

Nights in this world are pitch black.

Especially outside the cities—there are no such things as streetlights out here, and visibility at night is absolutely terrible.

So, if you’re planning to launch a night raid in the middle of such darkness…

You march toward the fortress walls using the beacons lit along them as your guide.

Fires burning atop the walls stand out starkly in the dead of night.

You might think it’d be smarter not to light any beacons at all—but from the defender’s perspective, it’s not that simple.

That’s because poor visibility gives an overwhelming advantage to the attackers.

It becomes much harder to spot an approaching enemy, and far easier for them to escape.

Beacons have their downsides, but for the defending side, being able to see is a critical advantage.

Which is why, under normal circumstances, beacons are always lit... However—

"Cover them with sand! Extinguish the beacons!"

"Understood!"

Berka had indeed lit the beacons at first.

But once he confirmed the enemy had begun to move, he ordered all the fires within the camp extinguished.

He chose to fight in pitch darkness.

---

"The fire on that side went out?"

"What does that mean?"

The Yaiban army grew increasingly alert at this action taken by Berka.

The extinguishing of a signal fire in itself wasn’t a major issue.

They still had a general sense of direction, so they likely wouldn’t lose their way.

"If the fire’s gone, then let’s use the darkness to sneak in!"

"No—don’t underestimate them. That enemy is cunning. They might be plotting something."

Still, the Yaiban commander didn’t advance carelessly.

He had judged, based on Berka’s past behavior, that they were likely planning some kind of stratagem.

"What if the enemy uses the cover of darkness to launch a surprise attack?"

"Good point. Increase reconnaissance around the area."

With thorough inspection of the surroundings, the Yaiban commander cautiously advanced toward Byuredesto.

Maintaining a heightened state of alert in case of an ambush.

"We can hear sounds of fighting in the distance."

"As expected, the enemy’s aiming for a surprise attack. Stay sharp!"

As they pressed forward, the sounds of shouting and clashing swords rang out for several minutes in the distance.

Hearing this, the commander tightened his guard to the utmost.

"R-report! One of our soldiers—"

"What happened?"

Before long, a severely wounded Yaiban soldier came stumbling in, barely alive.

"He says he’s from General Reese’s western unit—says he has urgent news."

"Out with it. Speak."

"Actually..."

According to the soldier, the unit he’d been assigned to had been attacked—by other “Yaiban soldiers.”

General Reese’s men, caught off guard, had descended into chaos.

Apparently, the voices of these “Yaiban soldiers” had noticeable accents.

"It seems the enemy disguised themselves using Yaiban uniforms and launched a surprise attack."

"How vile!! Do they think war is a game!?"

The report implied that the Saripa army had disguised themselves as Yaiban soldiers in order to execute their ambush.

"You’ve done well to bring this message. Get him treated immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The Saripa army—refusing to fight honorably, willing to employ such cowardly and underhanded tactics.

Enraged by their cruelty, the Yaiban commander clenched his fists.

"Those kinds of dirty tricks won’t work on me."

Believing the wounded soldier’s account, the Yaiban commander advanced into the darkness, seething with murderous intent.

After marching for several kilometers—

"Hm? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, are you friendly forces?"

He encountered a unit of Yaiban soldiers—who weren’t supposed to be on this path.

That night, the Yaiban army had planned a two-pronged assault from the north and west.

Their routes were supposed to intersect at right angles, and they were not meant to encounter each other until they reached the fortress of Byuredesto.

"Isn’t this outside your designated route?"

"Not at all. I believe you are the ones who’ve gone astray."

Yet something felt off to the Yaiban commander—the way these supposed allies moved and behaved.

Though they greeted him amicably on the surface, they gave off a palpable aura of concealed hostility.

"Now! Attack!"

Where did the voice come from?

With a sudden shout—spoken with a distinct Saripa accent—the air shifted. Swords were drawn on both sides.

"I knew it—you’re no allies!"

"You bastards! I’ll kill you all!"

That one cry in the Saripa tongue triggered a slaughter.

In the middle of a dim plain under cover of night, death screams echoed across the land.

"It’s a Saripa ambush! They’re wearing our uniforms!"

"Don’t be fooled—kill them! Kill them all!"

The Yaiban soldiers fought desperately.

They couldn’t even tell who was friend or foe anymore. The battle raged on for over an hour.

They assumed anyone they saw was the enemy and kept swinging their swords until no one was left standing.

"...Wait—General Reese?"

"Oh?"

And finally, the commanders of the two Yaiban forces came face-to-face.

"Wh—wait a minute—"

"Damn it... this is..."

At last, both sides realized the bitter truth.

They had been fighting each other the entire time.

---

"…Why did the Yaiban forces advance into such a strange location?"

"Ah. Before we put out the signal fires, we lit them in a position shifted away from Byuredesto."

Just before dawn.

I had been up, preparing for the enemy, but not a single Yaiban soldier came.

"If you shift the placement of the signal fires when lighting them, the enemy will misinterpret the direction of your advance. Then, by extinguishing the fires, we completely made them lose track of Byuredesto."

"I-I see…"

"After that, we spread a false report that ‘Saripa troops had disguised themselves as Yaiban soldiers to launch a surprise attack,’ and got them to fight each other. They fell for it so perfectly, I couldn’t stop laughing."

Berka said this cheerfully, grinning.

The “Houndy Infernus Unit” is apparently a special forces team specialized in covert ops, made up of skilled actors.

It seems they used their theatrical prowess to mislead the Yaiban army with disinformation and provoke a friendly fire incident.

"There had been opportunities to try causing internal conflict before, and I was confident it would work—"

"You never used it until now?"

"Friendly fire is most effective when the enemy has a large force. That’s why I saved it until they committed to a serious attack."

"…"

"I don’t fall behind enemies who spout nonsense like ‘fight with honor.’"

Saying that, Berka burst into hearty laughter.

Not only does he devise these schemes, but he also times them perfectly. This guy…

"Well then, I’ll be heading out. …Princess Rishali, I’ll leave rallying the soldiers to you."

"Eh, uh… You’re heading out now?"

"Yeah. There’s no better time than this."

He stood up, fixing his gaze beyond the castle walls.

"The Houndy Infernus Unit is still embedded within the Yaiban army. It’s time for them to do one more job."

"What?"

"This time, they’ll actually disguise themselves with real Yaiban gear and launch a surprise attack. While remaining undercover, they’ll shout ‘Don’t attack, another friendly fire incident is happening!’ to sow further confusion."

"…"

"That way, we’ll have free rein to slaughter the enemy as we please. …Strike them while they’re wounded—that’s the way of war."

With those words, Berka gallantly led the troops out, disappearing into the dark of night.

He then used position info relayed from the Houndy Infernus Unit to conduct a surprise attack, and reportedly rampaged through the enemy camp.

From my vantage point, all I could see was the plains near Byuredesto going up in flames.

"HAH-hahahaha! It’s a crushing victory!!"

"Berka-boss is back in triumph!"

"Yeah!!"

Berka later returned to Byuredesto, his armor soaked in blood, having looted weapons and gear from the enemy camp with ease.

…And as the morning sun rose over the land, the bodies of Yaiban soldiers lay scattered across the ground—so many it was hard to look.

"The enemy’s fled. This should buy us a few days."

"Serves them right."

Apparently, the Yaiban troops were forced to keep attacking each other all night by Berka’s forces.

As a result, their command structure fell into chaos, and they could no longer function as a proper army.

Eventually, the Yaiban troops abandoned their position and retreated.

"When will the next enemy arrive?"

"Three days from now, supposedly."

"Alright, then we can catch a breather."

The reinforcements coming in a few days are apparently the main force—the ones defeated today were just an advance party.

Even so, they crushed an enemy several times their size and sent them packing.

"Big brother, impressive, right?"

"Terrifying, honestly…"

This opening battle was an undeniable, overwhelming victory for the Saripa side.