Chapter 168: I had a pleasant time after a long while (2)
“So it’s made to be light, strong, and tough.”
“Well, the basic imbuement magic originally means to strengthen the basics. And if you look over there, the cavalry lances have increased penetration power and durability.”
“I understand the durability, but how about the penetration power?”
Lucy grinned and took a stabbing stance with the lance. It’s ironic that he, a mage, looks so fitting in that posture.
“I designed the magic to increase the kinetic energy when it moves along this straight line following the shaft of the lance. Like this!”
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
The lance held by Lucy demonstrated several thrusts in an instant. It was an admirable speed that wouldn’t come out without a considerable amount of spear training. I understood what he meant.
“So you’re saying it makes the action of thrusting and withdrawing the lance much lighter?”
“Yes. You understand quickly. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a way to increase the attack power during a charge, but with this, continuous charges are possible. It means that despite being heavy cavalry, they can deliver multiple heavy blows.”
I nodded with an impressed expression. At that moment, the officer fully equipped in mounted armor started to move. He moved his body here and there while wearing the armor and said in a dumbfounded voice.
“Huh? This feels like no exercise at all.”
“How is it? Is it uncomfortable?”
“It’s so light that it’s rather unfamiliar. If I get used to that, it’ll be fine. I could run all day wearing this.”
Pleasure was also mixed in his voice. To be more precise, it was the voice of a mischievous child who had gotten a new toy. So is that why men are children even when they get old?
Lucy nodded as if he had done it himself and said with satisfaction.
“Now, let’s get into the actual demonstration! Let’s not make a fool of ourselves in front of the sponsor!”
“Ah, yes. I think I can mount this by myself.”
The officer headed towards where the horse was with a light gait, as if he was very pleased. A temporary track was made on one side, and at the end of it, a scarecrow dressed in armor was sitting on a wooden horse. That’s the charge target.
On the other side, work was underway to put harnesses and horse armor on the horses. Just in case, I asked Lucy.
“On the harnesses and horse armor too?”
“Of course.”
“How much weight is reduced?”
“Hmm, to the level of light cavalry.”
“Whoa. That’s amazing.”
Infantry can exert their greatest power when they gain distance, archers when they gain height, and cavalry when they gain speed.
Among them, cavalry takes a little time to reach the point where each unit can exert its maximum power, which is expressed as ‘fire is lit’ in the Imperial Army slang.
Especially in the case of heavy cavalry, it is a unit that is difficult to ‘light the fire’ due to its weight. Again, in Imperial Army slang, it’s in a state where ‘the firewood is wet’, so it takes distance and time to gain enough speed to exert destructive power.
However, once it gains speed, it becomes a massive hammer that strikes the enemy, so it’s a unit loved by commanders who prefer splendor and exhilaration.
To say that the weight of such heavy cavalry has been reduced means that the firewood has been dried and ignited.
It has all the advantages of heavy cavalry while boasting the speed of light cavalry. Truly fascinating.
“Oh? They’re already demonstrating.”
It was while I was stroking my chin, thinking about the spectacular scene that was about to unfold. Aila walked over with Levidian, grumbling.
“It ended faster than I thought, Lucy-ssi.”
“It doesn’t take that long with just weight reduction and reinforcement. Of course, it was possible because of the technology accumulated in Iperfect.”
“Oh, I see. This is a glorious moment that will change the tactics of the continent. But is that sturdy?”
The heavy cavalry officer mounted the horse, fully equipped with harnesses and armor. He held the cavalry lance and was running the horse moderately, as if trying to adjust the condition of the horse and himself.
Lucy crossed his arms and nodded.
“Of course! I emphasized lightness and sturdiness! Not only is the armor impenetrable by most charges, but the surface friction coefficient has been lowered to make it slippery. This makes close combat no problem!”
“Hmm, that’s not what I meant.”
“Huh?”
I looked at Aila almost at the same time as Lucy. Levidian also tilted her head, and while sipping tea from a wooden cup, Aila had a thoughtful expression.
Levidian urged her to speak.
“Aila, what do you mean? What’s the point?”
“Well, I think like this. If you equip it like that and run, the speed will be much faster than the existing charge, right? The impact force at the time of collision is proportional to the acceleration.”
“That’s right. That’s what I aimed for in the design.”
“Then did you calculate the recoil? If the fire is properly lit, the impact on the rider upon collision will be enormous.”
Aila said it nonchalantly, but the time around us stopped for a moment. Who cast such a large-scale magic? Did Magnolia Beming come and go?
She’s right. If the impact force increases, the shock to the rider will also increase proportionally. Generally, the cavalry lance breaks, absorbing the impact.
However, since that cavalry lance has been reinforced to be used multiple times, the impact will go directly to the rider……!
I forced my head, which barely turned, to rotate. Lucy’s face, which I saw that way, seemed to have the words ‘I didn’t think of that’ engraved on it.
Poo―!
At that moment, the charge trumpet blew. Oh no!
Having tested the speed moderately, the rider ran the horse excitedly. It was truly lightning fast for a heavy cavalryman. The length of the track was the standard length for a heavy cavalryman to achieve the best ‘fire’, but in this case, the speed would increase instead……!
The rider is in danger! Damn it! Once he starts running, he won’t even listen to orders!
I didn’t know how to solve it. But I knew two people who could save the rider in this situation.
“Aila! Levidian―!”
“Got it!”
“Don’t call me like you’re calling a chef! Physical Skip! 1st Class Limited Activation! Unni, fly―!”
The moment Levidian, who was running like an arrow, kicked the ground, she truly became an arrow and flew towards the running horse.
A moment later, Levidian, who had mounted the running horse, hurriedly stopped the horse, and the charge ended there. Lucy almost went crazy and said to Aila.
“Oh my god! I didn’t know ignoring physical force would be this great! Gravity and air resistance are also physical forces, right?! Oh my god! Then, if you maintain the same speed and accelerate, you take it as it is! Wait! Doesn’t gravitational acceleration apply?!”
“Is that the problem now?”
Lucy flinched at Aila’s rebuke. I smiled softly and said.
“Lucy.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“You can’t cast magic on the rider’s body, can you?”
“Uh, w-well, that’s right? Iperfect specializes in imbuement on weapons……”
“I’ll give you three days.”
“Gasp!”
He made a surprised expression, and I crossed my arms. If he can’t use that in three days, my strategy will be useless. Huh?
Lucy said with an almost desperate expression.
“Hey! Why is the deadline so short! And the conditions are harsh too! Depending on the remaining time and the difficulty of the conditions, the actual working time becomes incredibly long!”
“Then you can’t. So do it.”
“Ah, if I could say I can’t, I would have done it already!”
“Yes. So shut up and do it.”
I said with a bright smile. I feel like I’ve become a wicked client…… but Lucy will do it.
“Then please. If this goes well, we can catch Baius Extoria.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“It’s in my hands, huh?”
“Well, you could say that.”
Lucy stroked his chin. He seemed quite pleased that he was playing a major role in this important task. He said with an intrigued expression.
“Alright! Then first, pick 12 pretty female soldiers and have them serve me in three shifts, 24 hours a day, while I work……!”
“Aila, fire this guy!”
“Yes, sir, General!”
“Huh? Hey! Hey! I’m kidding! Hey! Risel! Hyung-nim! General! Your Excellency the Duke―!”
I walked towards the barracks, leaving Lucy’s desperate voice behind.
Read the room. Huh?
May 16, 377th year of the Imperial Calendar.
The Biston Valley is used as a passage to cross the Narvis Mountains. Compared to the Narvis Tunnel, it’s a thorny path with a large number of monsters, so it’s not used unless absolutely necessary.
Those ‘absolutely necessary’ cases refer to fleeing criminals, smugglers, and those who are not quite comfortable appearing in public.
Defeated soldiers are also not quite comfortable appearing in public, so perhaps this could be considered common sense.
“We’ve spotted a group of defeated soldiers from the Western Army marching 2 kilometers ahead. The formation is as follows.”
The scout explained in detail the deployment of the 30,000 troops. Due to the terrain, it’s an open space, so their location and appearance are clearly visible.
If our side is generally taking the shape of an awl, they have thickened their rear ranks, as if daring us to break through if we can.
Positioning heavy infantry and light cavalry in the rear, and archers right behind them, means that they intend to strike us with arrows as soon as we charge, and then bite us with infantry and cavalry.
Thanks to the short dry spell between spring and early summer, the valley was completely dry, and thanks to the path being cleared in front, we could also launch a cavalry charge.
In the end, the preliminary battlefield became a terrain that was not disadvantageous to either side.
“Then…… let’s hear the opinions of each commander. Girmina Asin, Commander of the 2080th Division, lead the way.”
“Yes, General. The horizontal level of the terrain is tilted towards the main unit. How about the cavalry charging ahead, reversing left and right just before the narrow alley of the valley, and then having the infantry enter there?”
“How about our unit dampening the morale of the archers before that? As you know, our range is almost twice as long as theirs. We can make them quite disheartened while the infantry enters.”
First Sword Martin seemed dissatisfied with the fact that he had nothing to do. Come to think of it, the 1024th Cheonbyeongdae and the 2080th Division are strangely on bad terms.
Perhaps it’s because the 2080th Division, which prides itself on its reconnaissance unit, and the 1024th Cheonbyeongdae, which mainly focuses on long-range mobile strike patrols, have similar specialties, leading to a sense of rivalry.
I turned my head from the two officers who had started a staring contest to the commander of the 2627th Heavy Cavalry Division.
Hwisler Mezin, Commander of the 2627th Heavy Cavalry Division, grinned with eyes so narrow that it was hard to tell if he could see.
“It’s a reasonable plan, but I’d like to point out that if we penetrate the enemy lines, the enemy can pressure us from the left and right. No matter how much the General’s help has improved our mobility, there’s not much we can do if a melee breaks out. The terrain isn’t easy to reverse and charge again after the initial charge.”
“Then what’s your opinion?”
“What choice do I have? All I know how to do is charge.”
He shrugged, indicating that he was leaving all command to me. It’s the ironclad rule of following orders from above, a virtue of a soldier.
I chuckled and looked at the map for a moment.
I can see through their intention to settle the battle before passing through the valley.
The terrain exiting the valley is only wide enough for two carriages to barely pass through, so it will take some time for the 30,000 troops to pass.
They will probably take position there, gradually pull back their troops, and build a suitable defense on the other side of the valley before completely retreating.
However, the commander of the defeated soldiers is Baius Extoria, and he’s a field commander who stands at the forefront. In a way, he has quite similar tastes to mine.
Would such a person really act so passively?
On the surface, they look like an angry dog, with a thickened rear, ready to bite if provoked, but in reality, they’re more like a coiled snake.
I’m guessing that snake is currently as irritated as it can be.
I didn’t devise any strategies during the pursuit, and thanks to that, Baius Extoria is highly likely to be frustrated.
The outline of this operation is to tire the opponent by doing nothing. I haven’t used any of the ingenuity or surprising tactics I showed when capturing Hanah or Narvis Fortress.
The effort put into capturing Hanah and the fortress was all for show, just for Baius to see.
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