Chapter 185 - Sitting Face to Face with the Marshal (8)
Right after the battle began in the western hilly area, the 16th and 17th Regiments, waiting in the forest, also launched their charge.
"Charge!"
"Waaaaa!"
Following their orders, the Imperial Army charged boldly toward the front line the Belliang Army had set up.
Because the complicated terrain of the forest forced them to spread out widely as they advanced, the effectiveness of their barriers decreased, and the Baltrachers were vigorously unleashing Balt Wind toward the enemy camp.
The combined Balt Wind created by so many Baltrachers was like a veritable storm, whipping up fallen leaves and clouds of dust from the forest floor so fiercely that those who faced it head-on could hardly keep their eyes open.
"Fire! Fire!"
Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!
The Belliang Army opened fire on the Imperial Army.
But it was almost impossible to aim properly when they could barely keep their eyes open, so most bullets were stopped by trees or disappeared somewhere, their whereabouts unknown.
Even the few bullets that did hit the enemy were so weakened by the Balt Wind barriers that they couldn't penetrate not only the armor but not even the tough military uniforms.
Crack!
"Argh!"
Still, if someone let their guard down and ran with their head up and took a hit to the face, they'd be put out of action right away.
Just because a bullet couldn't pierce a military uniform didn't mean the impact was any less dangerous—a single shot could shatter facial bones in an instant.
Despite catching bullets, the Imperial Army didn't fire back at the Belliang Army—they just kept running forward in silence.
After all, the enemy's suppressive fire was hardly effective anyway.
At this point, it was far better to close the distance quickly than waste time mounting a pointless counterattack.
"Waaaa!"
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
In the midst of the charging Imperial Army, Marie—short as she was—hardly even registered in the eyes of the others.
And because her short legs made her slower, even though she'd started out at the very front, she soon found herself toward the back half of the formation.
Thank goodness I'm using Balt Wind.
If I'd been using a Barrier instead, things would've been tricky.
I'd have needed to be at the front, which means I probably would've had to ride on a soldier's back like before.
"Form up!"
"1st Platoon Leader! Move to the left flank and take your position!"
"Stop! Take your positions! Any further and you're out of protection!"
"Barrier! Barrier!"
"Damn it! Marie! Where's Senior Captain Marie!"
A voice called out, searching for Marie, who had fallen behind.
Despite the urgent tone of her company commander's voice, Marie didn't panic.
She calmly ran forward, joining the line that had formed in front of the enemy's position, ducking behind a tree for cover, and dispersed her Balt Wind.
"Ready!"
As soon as the company commander saw Marie at his side, he shouted loudly.
The soldiers in cover tensed, preparing to thrust out their gun muzzles.
"One! Two! Three! Now!"
"Hup!"
At the company commander's signal, Marie unleashed her Balt with all her might.
The Balt Shield appeared between the trees.
Immediately after, the soldiers of the 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Regiment, all thrust out their muzzles and heads in perfect sync, aiming at the enemy line.
Babababang!
The Belliang Army opened up with suppressive fire.
But their bullets couldn't reach the 3rd Company.
Most were stopped by Marie's Barrier.
Pubbubuck!
"Aaagh!"
However, the 3rd Company's gunfire reached the Belliang Army—even with the barrier standing between them.
That was because Marie had created a thin gap in the barrier.
The soldiers of the 3rd Company poked only the muzzles of their guns through this narrow opening and fired, allowing them to attack the enemy while staying protected by the barrier.
Even though the gap wasn't tailored for each individual soldier but was set at a fixed height, it was maintained well enough that dozens of soldiers could remain safely behind cover and fire at the enemy unilaterally.
This alone showed how skilled a Baltracher Marie was.
Making a small gap in a barrier might not be difficult during training.
But in real combat, creating such an opening in a barrier of this size is by no means easy.
Even among far stronger and more experienced Baltrachers than Marie, there are very few who can use this seemingly simple variant barrier in actual battle.
In fact, it had taken Marie over a month after joining the Battle of Bertagne Forest before she was finally able to pull it off.
It was only possible because she had clenched her teeth and endlessly trained all day, without a single break.
"Charge! Charge!"
"Yaaahhhh!"
"Die, you bastards!"
Thanks to Marie's barrier, the 3rd Company could attack the enemy at will.
When the order to charge was given, they did not hesitate—they rushed forward with courage.
Anyone witnessing this could see just how much power a single strong Baltracher can wield on the battlefield.
"Whew…"
Although Marie turned the situation in their favor by making a barrier with a gap, she swayed with dizziness as a price for her effort.
She was already exhausted from sprinting this far while sustaining the Balt Wind, and now she had to block the enemy's gunfire alone with her barrier.
"Hup!"
The Company Commander caught the staggering Marie and hoisted her over his shoulder, then started running.
"Barrier! Barrier!"
"Argh!"
At the Company Commander's shout, another Baltracher from the 3rd Company rushed forward and created a barrier.
Because they were now too close to the enemy to block bullets with the Balt Wind alone, they had to rely on the barrier.
Bang! Bang bang bang! Thud, thud!
However, because of the trees, it was difficult to maintain the barrier properly, and every time they passed between the trunks, the barrier shrank drastically.
As a result, soldiers left uncovered were mowed down by enemy gunfire.
"Now's the time! Charge! Charge!"
But because the 3rd Company had surged forward, closing the distance with the enemy, the pressure on the other units eased.
With the enemy's fire focused on the 3rd Company, the rest could safely press their attack.
As the Imperial Army began to charge, with the 3rd Company forming the spearhead, the Belliang Army's front line started to break down and descend into chaos.
"We have to break through! Don't stop!"
Marie, slung over the Company Commander's shoulder like a sack of goods, closed her eyes and focused on recovering her strength.
The moment was sure to come when they would desperately need her power again.
She would have to wait until then.
The 3rd Company reached the enemy's front line in a single charge, and the Belliang Army hastily abandoned their positions and began to retreat.
But some Belliang soldiers weren't able to pull back in time.
Knowing that turning their backs and running now would only earn them a bullet in the back and a quick death, they clenched their teeth and raised their guns at the Imperial Army, desperate to take down even one more enemy.
"Senior Captain Marie!"
Just then, the Company Commander called out to Marie, and she opened her eyes to look ahead.
Her cloudy blue eyes twisted.
Wham!
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The red-uniformed soldiers within Marie's field of vision were crushed like insects underfoot—flattened and then burst apart. Blood and torn flesh, following the contours of some invisible force, floated for a moment before Marie's Balt Psychokinesis faded and everything rained down to the ground.
"Ugh…!"
"Ah, gross—!"
Even the charging Imperial Army soldiers recoiled at the horrifying, excessive attack.
Normally, when Baltrachers used telekinesis against the enemy, they'd try to neutralize them by shoving or tripping, not by outright killing. And even if they did kill, they'd never crush someone so completely that not even a recognizable body remained.
But Marie, smashing people without a trace as if she were killing bugs, destroyed human beings so completely that not even the human form was left.
It was far too thorough and relentless to be explained away as simply killing the enemy.
It was as if she simply couldn't tolerate even the slightest potential threat being left in the world, reducing them to unrecognizable lumps that were no longer even human.
Wham Splat! Wham!
"Ah, aaah! Spare me!"
"Stop! Damn it! Stop already!"
Marie relentlessly crushed and killed even the enemies who had completely lost their will to fight.
The Company Commander only managed to put an end to her brutal slaughter by pulling her oversized helmet—far too big for her small head—down over her eyes, cutting off her vision.
"Senior Captain Marie Fiders! Follow orders!"
"…Yes."
The Company Commander barked in Marie's ear, and she replied flatly.
Meanwhile, the 3rd Company was shooting the retreating enemies in the back as they fled in despair, clearing a path through the Belliang Army's front line.
"Ugh, damn it…!"
"Cut the crap and get back in formation!"
The soldiers of the 3rd Company hesitated, unwilling to step on the ground where just moments ago people like themselves had been crushed and scattered.
Even when the officers shouted and pushed them, they all tried to avoid stepping on that spot as they reformed their ranks.
They had seen sights far more horrific than this many times in the midst of battle.
They had seen corpses piled up inside trenches filled with rainwater, left for days until they rotted into viscous clumps, and they had witnessed the revolting sight of hundreds of insects gnawing away at the dead.
But those 'traces of humanity' left by Marie inspired a whole new level of terror in people.
Killed by an invisible force—so quickly not even a human shape was left behind—it went beyond what any Baltracher would ever do to a person.
It was impossible to believe humans could do this to each other.
Marie, who had caused it, didn't even seem like a human being anymore; and those killed by her method no longer seemed human, either.
People often said that soldiers died like insects, but in the case of those killed by Marie, that expression felt literal.
There wasn't a shred of dignity left behind.
"Hold position until the allied forces form up!"
With a shiver running down his spine, the 3rd Company Commander quickly set Marie down on the ground and brushed off his shoulder before issuing orders to his company.
He wasn't reacting this way out of some prejudice against the dirty White Monkey Aeblonian.
Rather, the very existence of the little girl called Marie Fiders evoked fear and disgust so deep within him that he couldn't help himself.
Marie didn't so much as blink at the Company Commander's reaction.
Calmly, she took cover behind a tree, sat down, closed her eyes, and focused on recovering her strength for the next charge.
Pale-faced and breathing in shallow gasps, Marie unclasped her waterskin and took a small sip of water.
Her small, wounded hands trembled.
I have to kill them.
I have to kill every one of them.
Marie began murmuring again, repeating what she had told herself thousands of times before.
I have to protect Ernest and Robert.
She recalled the time she had spent with the two of them before leaving Narvaing.
She thought back to her time at the Military Academy, to those joyful days spent laughing and chatting together.
She remembered the few personal belongings she'd managed to collect too—the box that Ernest and Robert had brought to her with "Glace" inside, and the dress she'd bought at the clothing shop in Narvaing.
Marie hadn't thrown away even the box that had held the "Glace."
That ordinary box meant so much to her that she treasured it like it was a precious keepsake.
I'm not wrong.
I just have to keep doing what I've done.
Marie believed that those happy, cherished moments were a reward she had earned through her own efforts.
She was certain that Ernest and Robert remained safe precisely because she'd ignored her own safety and devoted herself solely to killing the enemy.
That's why, even when Ernest and Robert voiced their worries and tried to dissuade her, Marie never listened.
Marie had a duty.
As a powerful Baltracher, her mission was to protect Ernest and Robert.
That duty had been hammered into her heart long ago, during her first winter at House Krieger, by Ernest's father, Haires Krieger, all for the sake of his son.
That was what made Marie who she was now.
Even in death, Marie would never be able to break free from that responsibility.
Thanks to the efforts of the 3rd Company, a hole had opened in the Belliang Army's front line, and it seemed like the 6th Division's breakthrough operation would succeed.
With this achievement in the battle, I'll finally be promoted.
Maybe now I can escape this damned fight at last.
The 3rd Company Commander was elated that his company had torn a hole through the enemy line at the front of the breakthrough operation.
This was a huge accomplishment, and he was sure he'd be promoted to major this time.
Then, just maybe, he wouldn't have to risk his life dashing across battlefields where bullets rained down like this anymore.
I'll get a medal too.
At the very least, I'll get the Bronze Star.
And if I'm promoted to major, I'll receive a pistol.
Then I won't have to lug around this damned rifle anymore.
He smiled to himself, picturing the medal and pistol he'd receive after this battle.
The medal would be nice, of course, but what really thrilled him was the prospect of trading in his long, heavy rifle for a light pistol he could strap to his hip—just imagining it made his head spin with anticipation.
To become a field officer at my age.
That's incredible.
I owe it all to Senior Captain Marie.
She might make me uneasy, but her skills are undeniable.
The 3rd Company Commander shot a brief glance at Marie, who was catching her breath, and let out a small chuckle.
He'd never imagined he'd ever come to feel any warmth toward this lowborn, terrifying Aeblonian girl.
In the past, he hadn't even considered her fully human.
But on the battlefield, strength was justice, and by that measure, Marie was the finest soldier he could ever trust with his life.
That tiny girl was more reliable than any Baltracher he'd ever met.
Maybe I should write a report to the higher-ups… After all she's done, she deserves at least a medal.
The 3rd Company Commander was considering sending a report to the higher-ups about the exceptional skills and achievements of Senior Captain Marie Fiders, hoping to secure an award for her.
Marie, being an Aeblonian, a Fiders, and a woman, had never had her accomplishments recognized, but if he put in a strong recommendation, she might be granted at least a Distinguished Service Medal.
"They say nationalism is losing its grip within the Empire due to the war and the purges—so if luck's on her side, maybe she could win an even greater reward."
If Marie—a woman, an Aeblonian, and a Fiders—was truly fortunate, she might even receive a Medal of Merit or some other commendation.
With more luck, this could even be her chance to be granted noble status by heredity.
The Empire, driven to the edge by the chaos of war, had only achieved a new sense of stability through unbelievably brutal and strict purges.
These purges didn't spare people just because they were Pure-blood Imperials or because they were nobles.
So, the "Pure-blood Imperial Nobles," who used to be the entrenched elite, began to be hanged one after another, and the nationalism that had long served as the backbone of imperial rule rapidly lost its power.
Since those with privilege had been involved in all sorts of corruption, many nobles died, and their empty places were filled by minority groups who had long been oppressed, with no discrimination against them.
Of course, the Aeblon people, after rashly staging a senseless rebellion soon after the war broke out, were crushed and found themselves in even worse circumstances than before.
Still, with the nationalists rampant throughout the Empire losing their influence and the rise of a new order called the "United Empire," soldiers like Marie—who served the army from outside the boundaries of their ethnic group—might finally see better treatment than before.
"Senior Captain Marie, when this battle is over, I'll be filing a report to the higher-ups on your achievements."
The 3rd Company Commander spoke to Marie in high spirits.
The prospect of his own imminent promotion to major had put him in such a good mood that he genuinely hoped Marie, who had played such a big part in it, would receive an award as well.
"..."
Marie didn't respond at all to his words, keeping her eyes closed and focusing solely on regaining her strength.
To her, being recognized for merit or receiving medals meant nothing.
As long as killing the enemy meant she could protect Ernest and Robert, nothing else mattered.
"Well, your consistency is comforting," the 3rd Company Commander said when Marie failed to respond, feeling a bit awkward.
He then turned his gaze forward again.
Other units were breaking through the front line one by one and forming ranks.
Now, if they just charged and fully drove out the enemy, they'd be able to take control of the forest.
The 3rd Company Commander's judgment was accurate—at least regarding the battle he could see unfolding before him.
However, what was happening outside his line of sight was completely overturning the entire battle situation, defying all his expectations.
Bang! Bang bang bang!
"It's the enemy! The enemy's behind us…!"
"Ahhh! Run!"
Suddenly, gunfire and screams erupted from the right flank of the battlefield, to the west of the forest.
As people came to their senses, they saw the lines on the right crumbling in panic and hastily retreating.
"What the hell! What happened!"
The 3rd Company had no idea what was going on.
The 17th Regiment was supposed to be guarding the right flank of the 16th Regiment.
So how had the enemy managed to break through on the right and infiltrate the Allied Forces' rear?
It made no sense.
"Charge! Drive out the Imperial bastards!"
"Waaah!"
Responding to the chaos, the Belliang Army, which had fallen back earlier, began to charge from the front.
The Imperial Army was thrown into confusion, beset by enemies striking from the right, retreating allies, and enemies charging at them head-on.
"Stop! Hold your lines—don't retreat!"
Commanders shouted in panic, ordering the troops to maintain their formation, but it was useless.
No one could figure out what was happening on the right, or what the soldiers had seen that caused them to flee in terror.
That mystery was soon answered—just not in a way anyone wanted.
"It's the Star of Summer!"
In the autumn forest, where leaves were falling, the summer that had passed suddenly returned.
A pale light streaked between the trees, a meteor blazing with a long tail, shining so brightly that even the sunlight could not compete.
Star of Summer—Estelle Pouarrié—had arrived on the battlefield.
"The Star of Summer."
At the very moment that name rang out, Marie, who had been recovering her strength leaning against a tree, sprang to her feet with wide, shocked eyes.
Her blue eyes darkened, swirling with hatred and murderous intent.
"All Baltrachers, gather here! We have to stop the Star of Summer!"
Even as he saw his troops on the right frantically retreat, the 3rd Company Commander decided not to fall back, but to make a stand and block Estelle right here.
He believed that victory was within reach if only Estelle could be stopped.
It was a grave misjudgment—he didn't know why their right flank had collapsed and, blinded by the narrow sight lines of the forest battlefield, he underestimated the situation.
From the beginning, it wasn't Estelle who broke through the lines; it was Bertrand's tactics alone that had created the breach.
Bertrand had expertly exploited the slight gap between the 16th and 17th Regiments—a gap that appeared solid but was subtly misaligned due to being led by different commanders.
He didn't just slip through; he widened that gap by continuously pushing and pulling at the front line's forces.
The 16th Regiment, deceived by the Belliang Army's feigned retreat, charged forward energetically, believing they had broken through the front lines.
Meanwhile, the 17th Regiment, faced with fierce resistance from the Belliang Army, chose to advance cautiously.
Between these two regiments, Bertrand personally commanded on the field, carefully maneuvering the units on either side.
As a result, a gap suddenly appeared before anyone realized it.
Bertrand then sent the Konchanya Rangers through that opening to disrupt the Imperial Army's rear.
When confusion spread through both the 16th and 17th Regiments, he immediately committed more troops, decisively widening the breach and capturing the Imperial Army's rear positions.
Only after he had turned the tide of battle through tactics alone did Bertrand finally deploy Estelle to seal the victory.
Unlike in the Bertagne Forest, this was a situation where the battle could be won through tactics alone.
Rather than having Estelle recklessly charge in by herself, it was much more efficient to lay the groundwork so that soldiers could support her and allow Estelle to fight steadily and effectively.
At the moment Bertrand exploited the gap between the 16th and 17th Regiments and broke through to the Imperial Army's rear, the damage sustained by the Belliang Army was, considering the scale of the battle, actually negligible.
Everywhere else, they had simply retreated without a proper fight, and even where they broke through, their main focus had been on maneuvering the lines back and forth.
Now, the Belliang Army was attacking both the front and the flanks and rear of the Imperial Army simultaneously.
With Estelle as well now entering the battlefield, they began systematically crushing the Imperial units that struggled to maintain cohesion and hold their lines.
Fighting within the forest, the battalion commanders of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Regiment, had no way of knowing the true battle situation.
For that reason, they resolved to stand and fight here, joining forces with the 3rd Company at the front to protect their battalion's hard-won achievement in breaking through the line—and, in their minds, to grasp victory.
"If we stay alert and fight cautiously, we can definitely beat them! Don't be afraid!"
It was a decision made because they couldn't grasp the overall situation, and also because they didn't know how strong the Star of Summer, Estelle Pouarrié—who was officially declared a bounty target by the Imperial Army—truly was.
Of those who had fought Estelle and lived to tell the tale, only four Baltracher from the 1st Battalion's 1st and 2nd Companies of the 13th Regiment, who had fought under Ernest's command, remained.
They all knew only too well how strong she was, having suffered at her hands, but since so few had survived a direct encounter, the Imperial Army didn't know how much to trust their accounts.
If they took these survivors' words at face value and gave in to fear, morale across the Imperial Army would plummet.
That's why, even though they set an official bounty on the Star of Summer, they refrained from specifying exactly how dangerous she was.
They just said she was strong, nothing more.
Therefore, unlike the 5th Division, which had been decimated by Estelle time and again at the battalion level, the 6th Division had little understanding of how terrifying she truly was.
In truth, Ernest was partly to blame for this vague perception of Estelle's strength.
Even four Baltrachers working together found it nearly impossible to stop the Star of Summer, Estelle Pouarrié.
Yet Ernest had managed to hold her off multiple times with just three or four Baltrachers—he had even overpowered her once and taken her prisoner.
Because of this, the higher-ups who had never seen Estelle in person naturally assumed, "Four Baltrachers will be enough."
If it hadn't been for Ernest's extraordinary achievements, the Imperial Army would have committed far more Baltrachers against Estelle and devised much sturdier tactics to counter her.
"There! It's the Star of Summer!"
"She's coming! Get ready!"
But here, on this battlefield, there was no one who truly understood how terrifying Estelle could be.
The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Regiment, united by high morale, prepared to face her head-on.
And Estelle wasn't even alone.
Following the careful and meticulous tactics of Bertrand, she was supported by countless Belliang troops, as well as two Belliang Baltrachers.
Even Stubborn-Headed Ferdinand, who had fought Estelle several times before, would have ordered a retreat without a second thought if he found himself in the same situation—unless Ernest was by his side—because the odds of victory were absolutely zero.
"She's coming!"
The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Regiment bravely entered the fight.
You can only be courageous when you don't know any better.
To those who truly understood, this wasn't courage, it was nothing more than reckless bravado.
'I have to protect them. I have to be the one to kill her.'
Marie glared at Estelle, who raced through the trees with her shining tail trailing behind, her muddy eyes flashing with sharpened killing intent.
And in the blink of an eye, the Star of Summer became a meteor falling from the sky, and the battle began.