The Main Family Is About to Die Out, so I, from a Branch Family, Am a Seed Provider (WN): Chapter 53

 

Episode 53: Connection

 The first thing I felt was an unpleasant feeling.

 On a small mountain leading to the mountains. At the top of the fortified mountain, although it was a hasty one, I was looking at the movement of the imperial army coming up the mountain, and I thought to myself.

 To hold off 80,000 enemies with only 600 soldiers, we had set up fences, pitfalls, falling rocks, and improvised trap bombs from the foot of the mountain to the middle of the mountain, and they had never been able to prevent them. I knew they would not be able to climb up easily.

 However, starting with the explosion that occurred just now, the Imperial Army attacked as if they knew which road would lead them safely to the top of the mountain.

 Even such an explanation is half-assed. They seem to know perfectly where the traps are, where the fences are, and even where the soldiers are. I even feel as if they are peeping into my head without restraint.

"Report! The third line has been breached and nearly half of the remaining troops at the foot of the mountain are surrounded!"

"...Damn it!"

 Penetration attack.

 A book on military tactics at my parents' house. The method of attack described in the book came to my mind.

 A strategy that uses overwhelming mobility to divide the enemy's front and rear units and then destroy the rear line. However, that was limited to flat terrain where mobility could be utilized, in other words, using cavalry.

 But in reality, the strategy is being perfected. After all, if the front line is breached so quickly, will they change their attack? Or perhaps this encirclement, which ignored mobility by forcefully attacking, could have been completed only because the Imperial Army outnumbered us.

 ......And I can't help but get a feeling that the Imperial Army knew our numbers.

 A cold sweat runs down my back and I feel a strange chill crawling up from under my feet, but I hit the ground with my right foot with all my strength to shake it off.

 Now is not the time to get caught up in such illusions.

 At the foot of the mountain, led by Elfie, who was entrusted to command the front line, the group is stranded.

 Furthermore, Armes, who was entrusted to the musketeer group to intercept the enemies that had passed the front line, was at the spot where the explosion had occurred.

 After the explosion, I sent a few soldiers to the area immediately to help, but I have yet to hear from them. Worst of all, I had lost contact with both Armes and Elfie at almost the same time, and I was literally in the position of having both of my wings torn off.

 And the sun was still high in the sky, so it would be some time before the sunset, and if that was the case, this was the only way.

"Let's bring down the main troops."

"Ha!"

 At my command, the soldiers waiting at the main camp begin to move.

 At the same time as I receive my sword from one of the soldiers, a banner is raised high in the sky, not my family's banner, but my own, as the next head of the family.

 From the empire's point of view, it is just one unit going out for reinforcements. But from our allies' point of view, it means that I, the commander, will join the front line myself.

 Normally, under the circumstances, it would be a bad idea to move the main troops with me, the commander. But that's okay for now.

 This bad move would probably be visible from the enemy's encirclement. Then, seeing this, I assumed that she, the old knight who has fought many battles and is the pride of my family, would surely see the true intention behind it and make a move.

"First, let's save Elfie and the others! Everyone follow me!"

 With only a small number of soldiers in the main camp, we descended from the mountaintop.

 As we approached the middle of the mountain, the sounds of swords clashing became louder, and the roar of gunfire echoed.

"Enemy troops ahead on the right! Roughly a thousand."

"Use the bombs we've planted! Blow 'em all up at once!"

 Upon receiving the order, one of the archers shoots an arrow at the rope to ignite it. A dull buzzing is heard, and at the same time, an explosion occurs.

 Even if the empire had known the location of the bombs, they had no way to deal with the explosion that had been detonated without warning.

 Many soldiers were blown away by the explosion, covered in blood, moaning, and dying.

 Even so, not all of them collapsed. The remaining enemy soldiers' gazes are focused on us.

 I could see the colors of various emotions, such as disgust, hatred, or, in the case of the lower-ranking soldiers, fear of the exchange of life itself that was taking place.

 As a side note, it is said that the Imperial Army has been increasing as they are recruiting by using the volunteer system and the conscription system.

 The number of the so-called professional soldiers is half and the number of soldiers on the battlefield is outstanding.

 Is that why? In such an army, I could only find one soldier who was neither a conscripted one nor a volunteer.

 Not confronting, and yet it was not afraid of death. Just standing there.

 And at that moment, when my eyes met with those lifeless, emotionless, mysterious eyes...

"...!"

 As I realized it, my right hand, stricken with fear, moved of its own accord, snatched the musket from the soldier at my side, held it up, and instantly pulled the trigger.

 Bang! A dry sound rings out, and within moments, a hole is formed between the soldier's eyebrows. As I watch the soldier fall on his back, blood spattering, my mind wanders to the soldier's strangeness.

 Perhaps that was......

 However, the other soldiers, not giving me time to think about it, mistakenly believed that the firing was the signal for battle, and the imperial troops attacked us, shouting a battle cry.

"Damn it...... they're coming! Intercept!"

 I was forced to concentrate on the enemy in front of me. I threw away the musket, which I had just finished firing, and brought my sword that was in my left hand to my right.

 I slit the throat of the approaching enemy soldier with the tip of my sword, move sideways to avoid an enemy who charges at me from a blind spot on my left side with the tip of his spear, and kicked him away.

 Unstable on one leg. And above all, the enemy soldiers who recognized me as the commander attack me like hungry beasts, and the soldiers cut down the enemy and shoot them down.

 Blood splatters all over my body, and with no time to catch my ragged breath, we descend the mountain little by little.

 But the battle between my unit of less than a hundred and the nearly a thousand imperial soldiers is a battle that will never be won. Everyone knew that we are going to lose.

"Young Master, let's retreat to the main camp! If this continues, the young master's life will be in danger."

"I know! But we're almost there!"

 We are going to lose from the start. We know that. However, our goal is to save Elfie and the others. That is why we keep moving.

"...!?"

 Immediately after hearing the sound of dry gunfire, I felt a sharp pain in my left leg.

 If one looked closely, one can see a hole through the armor a little above the knee. And blood is flowing from the hole.

"Young master!"

"I'm fine. Don't stop! Keep moving!"

"But with that injury!"

"If we stop, we'll be surrounded and that'll be the end of us! Just move!"

 I said so and holds back the guards who come rushing toward me.

 We must not stop. If we stay where we are, only death awaits us.

 Keep moving, keep our distance before the enemy swallows us up. Then, the old knight, the pride of our house, will surely......

"Young master!!"

"Elfie!"

 She was fighting at the foot of the mountain, and I believed that the moment she knew I had moved, she would force her way through the encirclement and climb up here.

 That is why we dared to move toward the foot of the mountain to shorten the distance from Elfie and the others and to shorten the time to meet up with them, which could be called a bad move.

 And we succeeded in joining up in this way.

"Are you injured?"

 As Elfie approaches, she sees the bullet hole in my leg and her face gets tense. I can only smile back at her because she had a look on her face that I don't see often.

"It's no big deal. More importantly, how many men are left?"

"...200 or so"

 Elfie is about to say something in response to my words, then swallows it and answers calmly. She had been entrusted with 300 people, but the results of pushing too hard were clearly visible in the numbers.

 It was unquestionably me who sent them to their deaths as their commander. I will mourn them next time but now is not the time.

"All right, then, let's head back to the summit."

"But there's still plenty of time until......"

"I don't care. We'll activate all the traps on the way back. We'll be fighting near the summit for a few more hours until sundown."

"Ha!"

 Elfie immediately ordered the allocation of troops, and I was carried back on the shoulder of one of the soldiers.

 Deployed in a circle around me and under Elfie's command, we climbed to the top of the mountain where the main camp was located, as swords clashing and gunfire rang out constantly, occasionally punctuated by grunts and shouts.

"May I have a word?"

"Hmm? Yeah, what's up?"

 While taking command, Elfie approached me and asks.

"There has been a change in the movements of the enemy forces since a few minutes ago. I am particularly concerned about the possibility that our movements may have been leaked to the enemy."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"I assume that the cause is probably due to the explosion that occurred in the place Armes is protecting. Young Master, have you heard anything from that child?"

"I've sent a few people over there, but nothing came back yet."

"I see."

 As I said that, Elfie is lost in thought, her hand over her mouth as if she is pondering something. She seems to agree with me in thinking that the explosion that occurred at the place where Armes and her group were deployed has led to the changes in the enemy.

 ......I still think that was the key action in all of this.

"Young master. I am afraid I have to suggest a change to the operation."

"Change?"

"Yes. If the operation is leaked to the enemy, the operation itself needs to be revised. Specifically, I would like to change the operation, bearing in mind that the location of the traps has been compromised......"

"No, I have another plan for that."

 Interrupting Elfie, I tell her about the soldier who gave me that eerie feeling.

 His emotionless eyes that reminded me of a dark, bottomless cave. I know for sure that he is no ordinary soldier, and I believe that he is the core of the current imperial army.

 Elfie also sensed it in the information, or perhaps she too sensed the presence of this soldier somewhere and readily accepted it.

"You mean we're going to give priority to taking them out?"

"I'm going to destroy any factors that might be troublesome later on. Can you do that?"

 To my question, Elfie just nodded silently.

"Then I have one last request."

"Hmm? What is it?"

 Elfie, who looked at me with a mysterious expression on her face while feeling that her manner was unusual, took a breath and said.

"As soon as you reach the top of the mountain, please move to the rear as soon as possible, young master."

"What?"

 While I was stunned, Elfie made a more concrete proposal...... no, rather than a proposal, she instructed me, the next head of the family, to do so.

"I want you to take charge of the wounded and those who can't join the battle and retreat."

"Wait, wait. Who's going to take command here if I retreat to the back?"

"I will take command. As we had planned, while we block the enemy at the top of the mountain, quickly retreat and go back home."

"No! I can't do that!"

 My voice is raspier than I expected. I was aware of the harsh tone in my words.

 However, if I leave this place now, I would be betraying the soldiers I had brought with me.

 In all ages and times, there has never been a story of a commander leaving his soldiers behind and running away. It does not matter if one was a nobleman or a knight.

"No, we are asking you to fall back."

 But Elfie, as if she has no intention of changing her suggestion, tells me again in a firm tone of voice.

"I won't retreat."

 Of course, I have no intention of bending.

 I have no intention of dying a spectacular death here, but I would rather die than run away and live in shame.

"This conversation is over. As soon as we reach the summit, all units will deploy in a circle formation. After that, until sunset......"

 I forcefully broke off the conversation and implied that I would not accept the proposal.

"I'm telling you that your injury is slowing us down."

"What did you say?"

 Cold, piercing, sharp words were thrown at me by Elfie.

"The young master with a wound is a hindrance and useless, inferior to any other soldier."

"You!"

"From now on, we will fight near the top of the mountain until sunset, and in a short time, we will withdraw our troops and maneuver to intercept the enemy. At a time when we have so much to do, the young master with his injury is, frankly speaking, a hindrance."

"...!"

 A clear notice of withdrawal. The sound of teeth gnashing resonates directly into my eardrums through my cheekbones.

"I will not listen to any of your objections or protests. Besides, I am Danna-sama's knight, and I am not under you yet. As long as the young master's life is at stake, I will force you to retreat at any cost...... even if it means incurring the wrath of the young master."

 Her words, spun in a harsh tone, exude her own determination.

 And to emphasize that she is not under me, the next head of the family, but my father's knight is the one and only card Elfie herself has in her hand for negotiations. I can't think of a good way to argue with her.

"...If I run away, I'll have the bad reputation of having forced my subordinates to take responsibility for the rear unit and run away."

"It doesn't matter as long as you are alive. And we will never criticize you in such a way."

 When Elfie said that, the soldier who was assisting me nodded quietly, although I hadn't noticed because he had been quiet and I am not paying attention to him.

"......We should be at the top of the mountain soon. As soon as we finish treating you, you will lead the wounded."

"...But."

"Excuse me, I have to go."

 Elfi looked at the soldier next to me and quickly turned and walked back to the battlefield with instructions to regroup.

"Then, young master. This way."

 The soldiers, which had been deployed in a circle around me, slow down and left. Damn it, we've reached the top. No, there's nothing wrong with that, but if we keep going like this, I'll really have to retreat ahead of the others under Elfie's leadership.

"The young master's back! Help me patch his wound!"

"Ha!"

 At the sound of the soldier's voice, several of the soldiers that remained in the main camp reacted immediately. One soldier brought a stool. I sat down on it and the soldier asks for a medic to patch up my injury.

"I want you to put a brace while you're at it. ......So I can walk on my own."

"Young master!?"

 The soldier, who had been listening to the conversation until we arrived here, raises an eyebrow at my order.

"It's all right. I'm not going to pick up a sword and directly fight the enemy. All I have to do is to watch the whole situation and give instructions."

 When I said that, I heard a buzz that had nothing to do with the battle.

 Both the medic and I looked in the direction of the noise.

"Someone call a doctor! This one gets first priority! Hurry up!!"

 A soldier with a pale, grief-stained expression passed in front of me and saw a knight walking right behind him, being held by two men.

 The entire right side of the knight's body was badly burned, and although I described it as walking, the knight was not actually moving.

"…………Eh."

 And I was speechless.

 The knight is carried in, held on both sides, head covered in blood and mud, and a familiar purplish color hair.

 I don't mind seeing badly injured people. But I was stunned to realize that the knight, who was on the verge of death, passing in front of me was Armes.