"So we have nearly 2,000 survivors from my army and then 3,250 coming from the Marquis Cyril de Montfort―― huh."

"The enemies were still superior in numbers.."

Count Ambroise and Gabriel de Montfort looked glum.

That was all of the enemy’s visible forces, but the whereabouts of the enemy’s cavalry were unknown.

If those 2,000 cavalry decide to show up here, not much of our advantage would be left.

"Is there a chance they circle to the back?"

I felt like I should say something.

"Defense forces have been left in the towns and villages. It won’t be easy for cavalry to break through alone."

"If the main army loses, they would actually be isolated. Ignoring this fight to take an excursion is not possible."

Then that’s fine.

Our war council does not proceed any further.

To begin with, the enemy was staring us in the face on the plains before us, so there’s no need to plan or anything.

The enemy, likely thinking the same, quickly made a move.

"Enemy incoming!"

Our meaningless war council was halted at the sound of the lookout’s voice.

Gabriel and Auclair shouted orders at their armies, Ambroise roared passionately.

When I glanced over at Leonhardt, he nodded to indicate he had no problems.

In times like these, this guy was nice and quiet.

He proceeded to whisper in my ear.

"I have already secured the route for an emergency escape."

Don’t say something unlucky.

Because my morale dropped, I took off Mirai’s hat and ruffled her short black hair.

"Aaah! I spent a lot of time setting it in place!"

Good, I’ve recovered.

Our army and Saxon-Fanoss Union’s army collided at the same time.

The enemy’s formation was slightly pointed in the middle while our ally’s formation was slighted caved in to accommodate.

Arrows flew, a small amount of cavalry charged forward, infantry tried to detour around, squads intercepted each other and fought, and then separated.

"It’s a normal fight."

I casually muttered.

"90% of the enemy’s moves are by the book. Although it is noticeable, a clever scheme can’t be used."

Leonhardt was right.

It was the same during the siege in Torose. The enemy had a fundamentally orthodox way of fighting.

"And when those guys choose to respond in a similar orthodox manner, they get crushed by an ingenious plan."

"Don’t speak like it’s somebody else’s problem."

Leonhardt peeked at me without saying anything.

Everyone besides us were unrelated, but I knew what you’re implying.

"The current state of battle isn’t bad. Nobody in the front is taking a single step back, attempts at detours are all blocked, and cavalry charges are repelled with ease."

When Myla commented on her horse, I quickly wrapped her up in a blanket.

"Gosh, I’m already healed so you don’t have to wrap me up like a fragile object!"

I still worried.

"Lord Gabriel was right when he said Count Ambroise is skilled. It doesn’t look like they can get past our defenses."

Purposely not leaving for an offensive must have considered the troops’ fatigue from last night’s ambush.

Despite a valiant effort from the enemy, our numbers and defenses didn’t look close to falling.

"Archers, volley fire! Loose!"

"Don’t lose to them! Fire back!"

In response to the enemy’s concentrated shooting, shields were propped up to minimize any significant effect.

Rather, it seemed our counterattack produced more casualties on the enemy side.

"To the middle. Follow me――"

"Don’t break formation. Crossbows, line up!"

Daring cavalry charges were stopped by a forest of spears.

And once their feet stopped moving, they were sitting ducks for the crossbowmen.

"Detour to the right. Get to the rear!"

"Send the reserve army. Obstruct their path."

Both squads collided.

Unable to complete their detour, the enemy gave up and pulled back.

"They’re having a hard time too."

At this rate, all these fruitless attacks would exhaust them.

A chance to attack would be born from that.

"Forcing their way through with a frontal attack is difficult. If a scheme is going to be used, now is the time."

As if following a script, the enemy as a whole withdrew slightly.

Our allies suddenly became livelier, but Ambroise didn’t go on the attack.

He probably determined that three hours since the start of battle at dawn wasn’t enough to tire out the soldiers.

"Let’s see, are they switching out another army? Some ugly looking guys have come out."

Appearing on the front lines were soldiers wearing simple armor…… no, they’re in plain clothes.

With mismatching heights and scattered formation, they seemed like militia gathered from a random village.

"They aren’t holding any weapons."

Far seeing Reina commented curiously.

Our allies cautiously propped up their shields and aimed their crossbows when the unarmed enemy squad was approaching……

"Blaze squad, fire!"

Several dozen flames assailed our allies.

In an instant, both soldier and shield got engulfed by fire, causing them to roll on the ground.

"W-what the-!?"

"I don’t see catapults anywhere!"

More fire rained down on the heads of the confused soldiers.

"Uwaaa! What the heck is going on!?"

"R-run away!"

Our ally soldiers started falling apart.

Archers stepped up to provide support.

"Gale squad, ready!"

At the same time, the enemy archers let loose their arrows in unison―― with that said, they were shooting at a distance they couldn’t reach, however……

"Gyaa!"

"What’s that range!?"

The arrows fired by the enemy archers swerved in a different direction when they reached the airspace above the suspicious enemy squad, then rained down at our allied archers with more speed.

It was a volley from a range beyond that of archers.

Not to mention the arrows were as powerful as if they were fired from close range, easily penetrating leather armors.

"Magic users. I’m impressed at how many were gathered with a usable level."

Magic users were already very scarce, and the numbers which could contribute positively to a battle were even smaller.

Now we’re seeing enough magic users that could be grouped according to their respective elements, very impressive.

"Create a wall of fire!"

Several magic users walked forward while emitting fire.

The magnitude of the magic cleared the way of any allied soldiers.

"Quite powerful, but I feel Selene’s magic is many times stronger." I commented.

"Although each of them is weak, their number is large and their magical elements vary." Mirai who had experience witnessing Sylvia's and the elven girl, Selene's arcane magic, also commented.

"Our allies are gradually falling into a state of panic."

I was sure this was their first time seeing such a large number of magic users after all.

An excellent scheme on the enemy’s part.

"Leonhardt, what would you do?"

"Simply charge right at them."

Leonhardt pointed at the disorganized ally soldiers.

"Sure, their magic is flashy, but not many soldiers got injured if you actually count. I think it’s nothing more than a smokescreen. If you close the distance without being overly concerned about losses, you can easily defeat them. Even if they aren’t completely defeated, they won’t be able to launch magic when the fight is brought to them."

"Makes sense."

It’s still a fact that our allies were a mess right now though.

If they were ordered to charge, I doubted they could move properly.

At this rate, a powerful barrage might follow the smokescreen.

"It seems Count Ambroise lost too many men. Marquis' soldiers are also falling apart." Reina said.

"I guessed it's time for our debut." I rode on my horse. Others also followed me.