“Fourteen cavalrymen dead, eight wounded. The enemy also escaped,” Colonel Marvin von Korn reported stiffly to Lieutenant General Max Clausewitz as his horse reached Max’s general staff column. Marvin was Max’s second in command, currently in charge of Max’s cavalry force. So far, Max has given Marvin the order to aggressively scout and pursue the enemy.

  He was hoping that such a move would mask his rapid maneuvers for the enemy, as his men weren’t fully capable of moving through the countryside with horses and wagons. Only a few select units were fully equipped with heavy mobility carriages pulled by land dragons, so they could only realistically form a vanguard force to quickly assault and occupy towns and villages on their path in advance of the main column.

  That was why Max was disappointed.

  “How did this happen?” Max asked, frowning as he slowed his horse down to a brisk trot.

  “They’ve had a high-level mage with them.” Marvin rode side by side with Max, his tone equally incensed. “By the time I arrived at the scene with the regiment, the enemy skirmishers and scouts had already escaped. I did order Captain Schur to pursue them, but I doubt that will lead to anything.”

  “Shit.”

  “We have to reevaluate our plans,” Marvin continued. “The enemy will most likely expect us on their western flank from now on. Even if General Bismarck is assaulting them head-on at Fort Henderson, I’m pretty sure they have dug-in troops in their western flank.”

  “I know. That’s what I’m thinking about.”

  The orders and instructions given by Wilhelm ran through Max’s mind. He was expected to sneak to the enemy’s rear, bypassing the troops that General Horatio of the Second Continental Army most likely placed on his left flank, which was a forested area that would be too difficult to assault. It was an exceedingly crucial task, because the center of the enemy’s formation was bolstered by Fort Henderson, making it impossible to assault.

  Meanwhile, the enemy’s right flank was only approachable through plains with lower elevation. While an attack there could easily break through at the right circumstances, as even high ground wouldn’t offer the defenders much if the attackers were extremely determined and capable. Max wasn’t banking on that, and most likely, neither would Wilhelm.

  “Even if they spotted us,” Max slowly rode past the lines of [Crossbowmen] and [Swordsmen] marching in formation on the dirt road. “We cannot change course.”

  “What?” Marvin seemed displeased. “Are you thinking straight? We don’t have anyone else covering our asses. We’ll overextend.”

  “Even then, if we do not cut their supply lines and threaten their rear, General Bismarck would have a hard time dislodging them from Fort Henderson. Thousands of soldiers are going to die.”

  “I’m just thinking about our battlegroup.” Marvin shook his head. “But, if that’s your response to this, sure. I’ll tell the boys to maintain course.”

  “We won’t have to occupy their rear that long anyway.”

  “You’re not sure about that.”

  “I’m not, but that’s the problem, no? That if we try taking their supply lines on the rear, that we’d get sandwiched between General Horatio’s army and another army? Well, I say, that won’t happen.”

  Max nodded to himself, his confidence rising.

  “Alexa Theresa is present in the Army of the Leine. I’m sure that they’re already planning to do something that will break the enemy’s composure. With us cutting them off from retreat, General Horatio will have no choice but to surrender or face a rout.”

  “Oddly optimistic, sir.”

  “Why not? Where Alexa Theresa goes, the saintess goes. After Rutherford Pass, we should learn about that.”

  A grin grew on Max’s face. “Continue charging forward aggressively. If the enemy forms a defense line in advance, smash ‘em. I want us cutting straight through their lines quickly.”

  “Affirm, sir.”

  +++

  “Forward, for the crown princess!”

  “No retreat! The saint has your back! We must get to the enemy lines to recover the wounded, and the same will be done to you!”

  Like clockwork, orders rang left and right in the battlefield. The eastern flank of the Second Continental Army was beset by assault after assault, each one more determined than the last. Even though the revolutionary soldiers managed to dig themselves a decent trench line, with thousands of loyalist soldiers storming their lines every twenty minutes, bodies were piling high.

  The method of advance utilized by the loyalists was simple. Sappers dug with their skills and magic rapidly, pushing forward trench lines that could be used by hundreds of soldiers to deploy from close to enemy lines, ensuring that they won’t be cut down in the flat plains in advance by the pouring onslaught of crossbow bolts and spells coming from the revolutionaries.

  Once that was done, assault troopers charged out of the trench lines in waves, each attack weakening the forces present on the revolutionaries’s defense lines. Once the enemy lines were captured, the sappers would advance forward, connecting the ditches they used to the enemy trenches, before continuing to dig forward to set up the next assault base.

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  They were doing it again, and again, and again. Every hour, loyalist forces inched forward to the elevated hills held by the revolutionaries. The threat of losing it was becoming higher and higher, and the loyalists themselves, despite being on the defensive, were suffering horrendous losses. It was especially apparent whenever they tried to conduct desperate counterattacks, which only cost more bodies.

  On the loyalist side, on the other hand, the wounded and dead also piled up, but most were being recovered, as each time they advanced, the wounded would be simply carried out of the field to be healed by the saintess herself. It was such a gruesome cycle that many soldiers were now already at their second, third, or fourth assault of the day.

  Wilhelm thus kept himself relatively close to the frontline, closely observing and directing the assault. He had been using his [Azur Eyes] skill for the better part of the day already, which, as usual, took its toll on him. He was tracking literal thousands of soldiers and officers, their positions, the words they exchanged with each other, and much, much more.

  Alexa is already demanding that I end this battle.

  Secondarily, Phoebe is at her wit's end.

  While outside observers may take Wilhelm’s actions as cold and callous, he did care, at the end of the day. Every time he watched another soldier fall with injuries and get dragged back, he would wince. Every time he watched the artillery wiping out entire squads of his soldiers, rendering them unrecoverable, he felt a gut punch. Every time he had to talk to Alexa as she complained about his methods, he felt shame.

  Indeed, Wilhelm felt shame as he tightly held his telescope. Quite frankly, just as his skin’s complexion became healthier and healthier each day—Phoebe’s presence seemed to be doing wonders at reversing his demonic corruption—Wilhelm also felt his heart turning warmer and susceptible to a great array of emotions. It was why he resolved to try his best to win as cleanly as possible.

  When this war started, all he wanted was to win. Slowly now, he wanted to also win, but please, Alexa, lessen the emotional scars he would be inflicting on Phoebe and, to a lesser extent, Adele. But the sight in front of him wasn’t helping that. Even his earlier plan, which he concocted in an attempt to help this goal of his, placed Alexa and Phoebe in grave danger.

  That’s why I have to soften them up first.

  Someone patted Wilhelm’s back, distracting his mind from his calculations and assessments of the situation.

  “We should start massing up for a general assault.”

  Wilhelm turned back. It was General Clemens of the XI Corps, one of the units tasked with taking the Second Continental Army’s eastern flank. The man calmly lit a cigar on his lips, speaking eloquently even with the object stuck on his mouth.

  “The enemy is close to breaking now. With the initiative we have, a general push will dislodge them from those hills.” The nobleman then grinned as he huffed out smoke. “What do you think? These piecemeal attacks are a bit of a slog, after all.”

  Wilhelm considered Clemens' suggestion before shaking his head. “Look, I’m conducting the attacks in this style to limit our hourly losses.”

  “It’s not about taking the hills?”

  “It’s both about that and limitation of casualties. If we charged in with a massed attack, the saintess wouldn’t be able to save a lot of injured soldiers.”

  “Taking losses is a part of war, isn’t it?” Clemens asked. “I tell you what, if I send the entire XI corps straight on the edge of their lines, I’ll break it. Even at two thousand casualties, it’ll be a worthy trade.”

  “Hmm, indeed, we would be able to park our direct-fire shütze pieces over there and pierce the walls of Fort Henderson.”

  “And we’ll be able to do that before our indirect-fire shütze pieces run out of their magic crystals.” Clemens stood beside Wilhelm. “So why not?”

  “...”

  “Sir Wilhelm?”

  “Her Highness doesn’t want obscene casualties. I operate with that parameter in mind.”

  +++

  Alexa glumly looked at the food in front of her. It was already near afternoon, and yet, she was still waiting for Wilhelm’s signal to set out. She had been stuck here, in this dull tent, first silently sipping tea while reading a small novel that Adele bought in a bag she bought here, then taking a brief nap.

  It was hard to sleep, though, as the sounds of battle drowned the surroundings. Even when she was far away from the actual fighting at the moment, as she was in the rear camp, the shütze pieces firing their fireball artillery spells were nearby. There were more than a dozen batteries of them active at the moment, each of them having at least six shütze pieces. As a result, every minute, around two or three of them would blast the ears of everyone in the rear camp.

  Right now, she felt the rumbles again, slightly shaking the table where her food was on. Eyebags had already formed up on her eyes, but she still did her best to dig in. Adele, in front of her, was eating it after all. She didn’t want to look like a weak child in front of her servant. As she was doing that, suddenly, their tent opened up.

  Outside, a tired Phoebe entered. She was holding a tray on her hand, food placed on it. Immediately, Alexa’s eyes brightened up, and she beckoned for her to take her seat.

  “Here, Phoebe!” Alexa said, standing up and grabbing one of the chairs herself to place it near the table. “They gave you a break?”

  “Huh…oh, yeah,” Phoebe nodded as she placed the tray on the table, taking a seat. She seemed a bit out of her element. “Sorry, I just felt a bit…”

  “It’s fine, don’t worry!” Alexa smiled, placing her hands on Phoebe’s back. “There, there, I can work these out. Just relax for me, okay? You did enough good work today.”

  “Did I?” Phoebe stabbed a piece of overcooked pork on her tray. “Three soldiers just died earlier. Was I too late? Why? Why?”

  Phoebe took a deep breath. “No, I don’t think I was late. I botched it. The spell. How come I still haven’t mastered it?”

  Alexa stopped. Even Adele, who was earlier engrossed in her food as she tried to escape the war, also stopped. But then, Alexa continued massaging Phoebe’s back. It was unlike Alexa to serve someone else, but Phoebe worked very hard today at saving lives, and she seemed like she was beating herself up for coming up short in that task.

  Alexa did not want to see her good friend going through that.

  “That’s why they let go of me,” Phoebe said. “I should be there, saving more—”

  “Shush,” Alexa chided. “Keep eating. You need to rest. You’ve been at it since morning. That’s absolutely why they let you go for now.”

  “I failed them.”

  “You absolutely did not. You’re, right now, the most useful woman in this army.” Alexa smiled bitterly. “Even I, the crown princess, cannot compare to you. So what if you failed once or twice? You still saved thousands of lives.”

  “I—”

  Right then, she heard a drop after a horse’s neigh. Another person entered the tent.

  “Alexa, Phoebe.” It was Wilhelm, and he seemed to be in a rush. “You two will deploy now. We have an opening.”

  It seemed like there would truly be no rest for them for now.