I Am the Monarch – Chapter 41 : Revenge battle (2)

 

“Roan!”

Aaron increased his voice .
His face was bright red .

“If it’s because of my daughter, you can…… . . ”

When he talked up to there .
Roan shook his head .

“It’s not because of that reason . ”

A calm voice .
Aaron, Mendel and Gale looked at Roan .
There was a weird look on their faces .
Roan continued saying with a calm expression .

“Violin is hot tempered and violent . For her to charge straight towards Beno castle without plundering and pillaging means that her rage towards rose troop is really that great . ”

He didn’t reveal himself to be her target of revenge .
The three others nodded .
Roan continued saying .

“In this kind of situation, when Violin arrives and finds that the gates are closed how will she act?”

The three couldn’t answer .
Roan drew a line around Beno castle .

“If it’s the hot tempered and violent Violin, she would annihilate every village around Beno castle . ”

Boom .

In that instant, the three faces stiffened .
A problem they hadn’t thought about .

‘We just thought that we only had to block their surprise attack . ’
We thought that Beno castle shouldn’t fall in danger . ’

Thoughts that amounted that much .
However Roan was thinking what would happen even after that .

‘Well, there was a similar case in previous battles . ’

As the situation was urgent, they had even forgotten that there was a precedent .
Aaron looked at the map with a serious expression .

“Certainly, if it’s the crazy female warrior Violin, there’s a high possibility she will do that . ”

He couldn’t make the surroundings of Beno castle a wasteland .
Aaron looked at Roan .

“Then you think that we have to battle them on an open field?”
“Yes . ”

A short reply but filled with confidence .
Aaron looked at Roan’s eyes fixedly .

“Then what region would be suitable?”

At those words, Roan replied without hesitation .

“Obviously, Slan region . ”

He pointed the northwestern part of Beno castle .

“This region is the starting point in the northwest, and there are villages surrounding it . To stop Violin’s troop he have to take Slen region as the starting point and make a blockade towards the northwest . ”

A voice filled with certainness .
The three of them ruminated the words and looked at the map .
Just like Roan’s words, there were many villagers living in the northwestern part of Slen region .

‘We have to defend Slen region to save the villagers . ’
‘We have to build lines in the northwestern part of the region . ’

They all looked at Roan with surprised looks .

‘He’s a really amazing guy . ’
‘Compared to others, he has the ability and insight to look through situations . ’
‘Until where does his abilities spread to?’

Praises they couldn’t say it out loud .
Roan pretended not to notice that and pointed at the map .

“But this region is an open field . It’s an advantageous area for the orc troop that are riding lopuses . ”
“Then what do we do?”

Aaron, Mendel and Gale looked at Roan while having forgotten their rank .

“I will have to go there myself . I want to check the topography of the region as well . ”

He had experienced many things for the past 20 years and remembered a lot of information and knowledge, but unfortunately he didn’t remember much about things related to Slen region .
At those words Aaron nodded .

“Fine . I will go to the corps headquarters and give you the best horse . ”
“Now that it turned out like this, I would like to go along with the 12th squad . ”
“Do so . ”
“Thank you . ”

Roan lowered his head .
Aaron, Gale and Mendel looked at him with a fixed gaze .

“In this situation, it’s almost impossible to bring troops from another region . ”

They needed quite a lot of time to prepare preparations and travel all the way to Slen region .
Aaron continued saying .

“I will dispatch you troops from the headquarters, so drive back Violin . ”
“Yes! Understood!”

Gale, Mendel and Roan bent down .
Aaron’s eyes calmly sank .

‘If they can only defend Slen region…… . . ’

The safety of the villagers would be acquired, but he could also get Mary’s safety .
killing two birds with one stone .
His sight directed to Roan .

‘Roan . I’m begging you . ’

Soon, even Aaron was depending on Roan .
Roan was now holding a big importance inside the corps, even without him knowing .

*****

“Yes? An open field battle?”
“We are making a line on the northwestern part of Slen region?”

Expected reactions .
Gale smiled bitterly at the fierce reactions of the adjutants .
He explained with a calm voice everything Roan had said .

“Ah……”

Only then did the adjutants let out a low exclamation and get convinced .

“But even so, to face the orcs that are riding lopuses in an open field……… . ”

A ridiculous situation .
Gale pointed Roan with a gesture of his chin .

“For now, I will look how Roan checks Slen region . ”

At those words, Kennis and the other adjutants all looked towards Roan .
Roan was looking at the map spread on the table .

‘Does he have something thought?’
‘If it’s Roan, he will have a mysterious tactic . ’

Kennis and the adjutants gulped dry saliva .
Eyes filled with expectation .
However, Roan couldn’t hide his stuffiness while looking at the map .

‘The map is really a mess . ’

Compared to the map 20 years from now on, it was a child’s scribble .
Only the villages, mountains, forests, and rivers were marked .
There were a lot of things that were excluded .
Roan’s finger pointed to one side of the map .
A white part that didn’t have anything .

‘Slen region… . . ’

His finger now moved to the northwest .
The region where they would have to fight the orc troop .

‘There’s a short gorge, forest, and river…… . . ’

Just looking at the map, it wasn’t a topography that would be of any help .

‘Certainly, I will have to go myself . ’

Roan turned his head and looked at Gale .

“Troop commander . Me and the 12th squad will depart right now . ”

RIght before he said that, Gale nodded .

“Right . I already prepared the horses . ”

The special 20 war horses Aaron prepared .
Roan saluted shortly towards Gale and the adjutants and went towards the abode of the 12th squad .

“Sir adjutant . ”

The 12th squad were already ready for dispatch .
Nervousness could be seen on their faces .

“There’s no need to be nervous . We are just going to check how the territory is . ”

A soft voice .
The squad members nodded unconsciously .

“To shorten the time, we will go riding horses . Who hasn’t rode a horse until now?”

At those words Glenn and Pierce raised their hands .
Even so, maybe it was because the other squad members have faced more battles, but they had experience on riding horses .
Roan entrusted them to Austin and Lander, that had the most experience .

‘From now on, to become a general that will lead a troop, they should at least learn cavalry . ’

There were many things he had to teach them from now on .

‘But of course, I also have to learn . ’

Roan’s eyes shone .
His objective changed from great general to monarch .
Now it was difficult if he simply relied on spearmanship, strategies and tactics .

‘There isn’t a subject called emperor’s studies for nothing . ’

Now that he started, he wanted to become a monarch that was like a real monarch .
Roan took in a deep breath .

‘I can do it one by one . But first……’

The danger in front of his eyes .
He had to concentrate on driving back Violin’s troop .

“Let’s go . ”
“Yes! Understood . ”

At Roan’s words, the 12th squad replied shortly and saluted .
After a while, several war horses rode down through the entrance of the troop’s headquarters .

Dudududu .

Horse steps that shook the ground .
Roan was in the front of the war horses riding quickly towards the northwest .

‘I need to come up with a good strategy and tactic . What a problem . ’

His hands were grabbing the reins and his legs kicked the horse without stop .
But his head was spinning so fast about finding the adequate strategy and tactic from the many ones he knew, that a sound could be heard coming out of his head .

Swiiiiiiish .

The west wind blew scarily .

*****

Roan sat on the saddle and frowned .
Slen region was really an empty plain, just like its name .
Wherever they went, a wide and empty plain extended .

‘Even so, the finest place is this one . ’

The place they found after checking the region thoroughly .
The short gorge, small forest and the deep river they have already checked on the map was near Midis village .

“The gorge of Plam mountain is too short, and Riten’s forest is also no good . ”

Austin approached and let out a sigh .
Roan slowly nodded .

‘It’s difficult to see a big effect even when we ambush them in the gorge or set the forest on fire . ’

Most of all, if they charged through the gorge and forest, they would be able to see the empty plain .

‘Even so, because of Slaion river that flows to the north, the size of the plain is narrower than elsewhere . ’

Roan looked at the surrounding scenery with calm eyes .

‘Most of all, there’s a high possibility Violin’s troop will pass through this region . ’

The shortest distance from the starting point to Beno castle .

‘I have to think of the most adequate tactic for the current situation . Is it certainly ambush? Or attacking with fire? Or if not, an inundation tactic again?’

Many thoughts filled his head .
Then, he heard Lander’s voice .

“Sir adjutant! The youth from that time came again!”

Lander, that was checking on the vicinity topography, appeared with a youth that had a shabby look .

“Ah!”

Roan let out a low exclamation and got off the horse .

“Mister Chris!”
“Sir adjutant . ”

The youth had a shabby appearance .
It was Chris that had left to seize information about Violin’s troop and their trajectory .
Roand and Chris held hands .

“You aren’t hurt?”
“I’m fine . ”

Chris smiled brightly and hit his chest .
He did seem exhausted, but an expression that seemed somewhat proud .

“Violin’s troop is somewhere located 4 days from here . ”
“It’s quite a far distance . ”

Roan frowned .
They were moving while riding lopuses .
Lopuses were as fast as horses .
And they were better when it came to instant changes in movements .
Because of that, he expected them to arrive in two days .
Chris smiled brightly and replied .

“First, their trajectory isn’t really effective as they are moving while avoiding the eyes of the region’s troop and residents . To top that off, they are moving in separate squads as they can’t move the 2 thousand together . ”

Violin’s objective was making a surprise attack .
Because of that she didn’t want to face troops from another region and fight for nothing .

‘Stupid **** . A true surprise attack is based on swift movements . ’

The longer their trajectory became, they would be able to evade useless fights, but there was a big chance that the most important thing, being the surprise attack, would fail .
Chris’s continued saying .

“And because they moved without stop, the lopuses and also the orcs are quite exhausted . They are in the middle of resting after a long while . ”

Roan smiled faintly and nodded .

“Because of that, we could earn some time . ”
“This is the records of how their troop is composed and their formation . ”

Chris lent out a small piece of paper .
Roan carefully received that and asked in a low voice .

“But how did you chase their tails?”

It wouldn’t be easy to chase the tails of the orcs that were riding lopuses and gather information .
At those words Chris shook his head .

“I didn’t chase their tails . I waited in front . ”
“Yes?”

Roan asked back while opening his eyes big .
Chris smiled faintly and continued saying .

“At first, I checked the places they passed by and after that I registered and organized the information . After I did that, I could vaguely see their moving pattern . They were moving towards Beno castle tle while avoiding places where troops were stationed, places where people from the kingdom appeared, and also places where monster appeared . ”
“Ah… . ”

It meant that he had guessed their trajectory beforehand with the basic information as the background .

‘He’s really a person I want . ’

”
“Ah……”

It meant that he had guessed the trajectory beforehand with the basic information as the background .

‘He’s really an existence I want . ’

He gave meaningful results with limited information .
Roan bit his lower lip and looked at Chris .

“Then what’s the expected moving trajectory?”

At those words Chris smiled brightly and pointed below Roan’s feet .

“You chose a really suitable place . They will soon come over here . ”

A voice filled with confidence
Roan didn’t ask any more .

‘If Chris says so, it will be it . ’

A perfect trust .

“Then I will have to decorate this place to become a party . ”

Roan smiled brightly and looked towards the gorge and forest .
At those words Chris put a surprised expression .

‘Does he believe my words?’

There wasn’t even a question if it was true or he was certain .

‘He believes in me, in my abilities . ’

A corner of his heart became numb with proudness .
It was a really nice feeling being recognized by someone .
Chris forced himself not to smile and looked at Roan .

“But this isn’t that good of a place to make a party . ”

At those words Roan smirked and shook his head .

“Even so, it’s the best place on our surroundings . ”

He was certainly smiling, but his face was somewhat filled with worry .

‘For now I will have to make them confused with an ambush or attacking with flames . The problem…… . ’

Was when Violin’s troop got out of the forest or gorge and entered the plains .
The area was narrow because of Sleion river, but a plain was still a plain .
It was the best place for lopuses to run on it .
Compared to that, the military power they had was closer to something standard .

‘The composition itself is good, but compared to the orcs our mobility falls behind . ’

If in case Violin didn’t choose to battle but to charge through, the empty Beno castle would fall in the hands of the enemies .

‘But although it won’t happen…… . . ’

If he stepped in and revealed his identity, it would end there .
Because Violin’s objective would still be revenge for her husband .

‘Uhm . What method was there to face enemies with great mobility on an open field…… . . ’

The many strategies Ian and the other excellent strategies made appeared in his head .
But there was no specific strategy that appeared .
Then Lander, that was next to him and listening to the conversation, let out a sigh and grumbled .

“Tch . If the orc **** came a bit later we would be able to make a wooden fortress or an earth one . ”

Even if it wasn’t completed it would still be good .
If they raised a long and strong wall on the other side of the river, even the orcs that were riding lopuses wouldn’t be able to act rashly .

“Stupid . How do we make a fortress in 4 days? If we could set up a formation, that would be fortunate on itself . ”

Austin clicked his tongue and rebuked .
Lander nodded with a sulky expression .

“It was just my thought . My thought . Ahem . ”

He cleared his throat and looked at the clear field .

“Won’t a cool fortress fall on the skies?”

When he was thinking about that .
Roan’s eyes, that was pondering, started to shine .
His sight passed through Lander and looked at the plain .
A peaceful scenery .

‘It’s that . ’

A faint smile appeared on Roan’s mouth .

“Lander . ”
“Yes?”

Lander felt intimidated for a second .
Roan grabbed his shoulders and nodded .

“It’s a really good thought . ”
“Yes? What is?”

Lander asked back with a confused face .
Roan smiled faintly and replied .

“Let’s raise a fortress over here . ”

< Revenge battle (2) > End

 

Translator’s note: Thanks for reading!

 

Translator : Subak

Proofreader: Vape_Lupe