I can see the Emperor's stats-Chapter 85
do you clean up
Devan was also staring at Peres with a blank expression because an unexpected situation happened just when he thought he was dead.
Perez had a surprisingly calm expression.
“Your Highness the Prince. I apologize for the rudeness. Devan, you too, quickly ask for forgiveness!”
He bowed deeply to Leonhard. Devan was awakened by the sound.
“I have committed a mortal sin.”
There was no way the knights or Leonhard would be able to further interrogate the commander-in-chief Peres, who was known for his reputation.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him either.”
“Today, the atmosphere seems to have been broken. As for His Highness the Prince's proposal, we will have a meeting within the 3 Corps and make a decision."
Thus, the meeting of the day came to an awkward end.
“Devan, you will follow me for a moment.”
At Peres's quiet call, Devan had no choice but to follow him, risking severe punishment.
Peres, who brought Devan to his quarters, was surprisingly not angry.
“First of all, your behavior today was very careless.”
“I have no face.”
“Whoa… … .”
Peres sighed once, looked at Devan, and then opened his mouth again.
“Do you know why I wrapped my body around you today?”
“Actually, I don’t know.”
Devan was also a commoner, and, if I had to say it, he had no major specialties other than that the first prince, Julius, had a particularly good opinion of him.
The situation just before was a situation where even Perez could be seriously injured. Why did he, who is known for his timid personality, do that?
“First of all, it's a request from His Highness the First Prince. But isn’t that enough of an explanation?”
“… … .”
What Perez said again was really unexpected.
“I just want to say thank you. What you said was exactly what I wanted to say. But I just couldn't bear it.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“While I was in the military, I saw many talented and upright people like you. But most of them didn't do well.”
Had it not been for Julius' request, Devan's talent, and Peres' personality, Devan's head would have been cut right away this time. Perez was concerned about that.
“You must have thought of me as timid in general, right?”
“Something like that… … .”
“As you can see, I am not a person who likes adventures. That's why I don't even have a proper major at this age. While leading the imperial army, which is said to be the strongest army on the continent.”
“The Count is a good commander.”
Devan actually thought Peres was a good boss, although sometimes he was frustrated. At least he wasn't a person who thought of soldiers as tools for victory like the 2nd prince.
Pérez smiled at Devan's heartfelt words.
“Actually, I don’t think I can give you any advice on the art of war. But I have something to tell you about conduct.”
Devan couldn't help but reflect deeply as he talked with Pérez. I thought he was a very timid person, but he was surprisingly a person who made such a choice because his subjectivity was clear.
“And with you covered, I don’t think I have any more choice!”
Peres made up his mind to join the side of Julius this time. It was not that he had accumulated something about Leonhard, who had come as his reinforcements and had been bystanders all along. In addition, he wrapped a commoner in front of him, so it was already not visible to the Grand Duke.
“Now that you are on a boat like this, what are you thinking? It seems that His Highness the 1st Prince wants you to make a contribution... … .”
“… … .”
Devon seemed to think for a moment. In fact, he had no idea why Julius had such a good opinion of him. His tactics were so unconventional that he had to graduate from the academy with acceptable results.
Unusually, however, it seemed that Julius was only interested in parts that no one was interested in. And now Perez probably wouldn't ignore his opinion.
After much thought, Devan finally spoke up.
“Actually, there are tactics that I would like to try out that are not proven methods.”
“What is it?”
* * *
In this Western Union Civil War, there were a total of four countries that rebelled against the Karvan Kingdom.
Among them, Bellerin, the duke of Kestin, the largest kingdom and commander-in-chief, was in a somewhat impatient state.
"We must capture Karvan's capital before additional Imperial reinforcements arrive."
Of course, Imperial reinforcements had already arrived. However, Leonhardt ran quickly with only elite knights and a handful of troops, so they still didn't notice.
But Bellerin, unaware of this, had no choice but to accelerate the advance.
If the capital was captured and all members of the royal family, including the king, were killed, there would be no reason for the empire to intervene in a country that had already collapsed.
It was also his specialty that he inflicted enormous damage on the Knights of Karvan in a sudden surprise attack. Now, even with the help of the Imperial Army, defending the capital would not be an easy task.
The so-called Western Alliance, formed by the four kingdoms, marched day and night and came close to the capital.
“The imperial army is encamped in Calais Forest and is trying to deal with us?”
"That's right."
At the words of the scout, Duke Bellerin put on a puzzled expression. It was because, as far as he knew, the Calais Forest was an absolutely advantageous terrain for his allies.
“It breaks through quickly. If we can defeat the imperial army this time, capturing the capital will be nothing short of cake!”
* * *
Meanwhile, the day before the Western Allied Forces came up, a staff meeting was convened again in a hurry in the 3 Corps.
“At this point, we can take full advantage of the terrain and block the enemy charge!”
“… … !?”
All the staff looked at him with the expression that Devan had eaten something wrong. This is because it is generally the terrain that should favor hand-to-hand combat.
“Hey, Devan. I know you're capable, but common sense doesn't make sense to go head-to-head in Calais Forest.”
As the saying goes, Calais Forest was the narrowest passage among the roads to the capital of the Karvan Kingdom.
This is because the narrow road through the forest is so narrow that there is only room left for hand-to-hand combat. If the number of knights was pushed back and they collided head-on, the result would be obvious. But Devan didn't back down on his point.
In addition, the commander, Earl Peres, did not object to Devan's idea.
“You are well aware that I am from the Karvan Kingdom. June now! It is the season corresponding to the rainy season in Karvan.”
Devan began to explain his strategy in a forceful tone.
* * *
When he finally came to a distance where he could discern the enemy, Bellerin looked at the 3rd Corps' formations with a puzzled expression.
'I put an archer in front?'
Unusually, the imperial army placed archers on both wings of the lead. The problem is that due to the nature of the archers who cannot wear thick armor, there is no way to stop the charge of the cavalry with such an arrangement.
Although he felt a bit uneasy, Bellerin was a veteran in the Western Union. Is there no reason for him to lose when he is ahead of everyone in common sense?
“Charge!”
“Hee hee hee!”
The knights lead the way, and the heavy cavalry follow, breaking through the enemy lines. This was the standard hand-to-hand combat tactic.
Bellerin believed that following this law faithfully, his troops could overwhelmingly trample the enemy lines.
“Shoot the arrow! Stop the charge!”
Wedge love!
On the side of the Imperial Army, countless arrows rained down. But Bellerin, who saw that, loosened her expression as if it were funny.
'You're going to try to block the knights with arrows in such a narrow terrain?'
Of course, even cavalry equipped with heavy armor and force-handling knights would be dangerous if exposed to a rain of arrows continuously. But isn't this a narrow straight passage? I was able to close the distance in an instant.
However, that expectation started to go wrong from the beginning.
“Hee hee hee!”
"omg!"
Suddenly, the horses of the knights who were charging from the front began to run wild and knock the knights off their horses. A cry erupted between the knights.
“It’s Caltrop! Watch out everyone!”
A caltrop is an iron barrier placed on the ground to block a horse charge.
Bellerin was a bit taken aback, but soon hardened her expression.
'It's a clumsy tactic.'
There was no way that the knights would be seriously injured just because they fell off their horses. It would have the effect of slowing down the advance a little, but if he could block the charge to that extent, he would have considered this strategy right away.
Of course, there were knights who fell off their horses and were injured or were injured by arrows stuck in various parts of their bodies.
'For now, slowing down the advance is a success.'
Devan smiled contemptuously. Now the next obstacle will catch the enemies off guard.
It is the land that became muddy with rain during the monsoon season!
Smack!
"It's fucking mud."
The knights dismounted and started galloping through the knee-deep mud, grumbling. If it's a horse, but at a human height, it takes a lot of stamina to pass through such muddy ground.
In addition, the imperial archers' fire was constantly beating their armor. Since they were knights who handled the force, they held out, but the troopers behind them were speechless and casualties continued.
“You damn archers, we’re almost there, it’s over!”
However, what welcomed the knights who had almost approached the archers were the sturdy wooden fences that Devan had set up in advance.
“Archers retreat back and keep firing! Knights protect archers!”
Archers lacked defense, but many of them were nimble and light. There, Devan placed knights and heavy infantry behind his fence to help the archers retreat.
On the other hand, the Western Allies charged with heavy armored cavalry or infantry, mostly for hand-to-hand combat. However, wearing such heavy armor, there was no way the body could move properly in the mud.
At least, if the knights quickly defeated the archers, it wouldn't have mattered if the advance was slowed down a bit, but Devan cleverly focused on protecting the archers instead of using the knights for assault.
The imperial archers retreated in an orderly manner, moving between previously installed wooden fences and raining arrows! Enemies who can't move properly in the mud!
The result was obvious. The knights had the ability to pursue the archers like tenacity, but the general troops to support them began to collapse.
The heavy armored soldiers of the enemy army, who had advanced to engage in hand-to-hand combat, could not overcome the rain of arrows hitting their armor and died in the mud, or were exhausted and could not advance properly.
Only then did Bellerin realize that he had been completely victimized. If the knights had easily collapsed the enemy camp as planned, this would never have happened, but the opponent had no intention of confrontation from the beginning.
'I don't know what kind of guy the commander is, but he's no ordinary fox. The common sense that the Knights can only be stopped by the Knights is completely destroyed!'
Bellerin was a veteran, so he could realize how novel this idea was.
This was the tactic of Devan Kalios that revolutionized the continent's military organization.
Until then, the charge of knights and cavalry wearing heavy armor on the continent was treated like a catastrophe that could not be helped by ordinary infantry.
However, Devan proved that the knights were by no means omnipotent by using appropriate terrain features and firefighting using arrows.
Starting from the integration of the Western Union in Julius' previous life, the war on the continent took on the aspect of firefighting, in which the firepower of archers and proper formation were considered more important, moving away from hand-to-hand combat in which knights' armed forces and heavily armored troops were the mainstream.
“Retreat!”
Bellerin had no choice but to retreat while shedding bloody tears. The knights became quite normal, but the cavalry and foot soldiers who followed suffered tremendous damage from the rain of arrows.
It was muddy there, so it was not easy to retreat.
“Count Perez! This is your chance to counterattack!”
Devan hurriedly asked the commander-in-chief, Pérez, to advance.
"ah… Got it. Archers back now!
Peres also looked at the battlefield with a bewildered expression and issued an order in haste. At the same time, the imperial cavalrymen waiting in the rear of the archers start charging at once.
“Aagh!”
"help me!!"
The charge of the cavalry was disastrous for the tired and exhausted soldiers already mired in the mud.
The Western Union Army began to collapse in an instant.
'It is already wrong to preserve the leading forces. Even the knights and rear troops must be preserved.'
Bellerin had no choice but to retreat, biting his lip, abandoning the leading troops. Even his troops, who had managed to retreat, suffered tremendous damage from the imperial army's relentless pursuit.
Devan sighed as he watched the scene.
'It was the first strategy I tried, but I'm glad it worked really well as Your Highness said.'
He remembered the conversation he had with Julius before leaving the imperial capital.
“The reason I believe you is that the theory I saw before was very interesting. If you get a chance this time, try that strategy.”
Devan made a puzzled expression. In fact, it was because the thesis was the culprit that prevented him from graduating from the academy several times.
“Are you talking about the thesis on fire warfare?”
"okay. I also looked around the war, and it is true that knights are useful on the battlefield, but I thought that the dependence was too great.”
Julius started explaining to Devan with a serious expression. Knights who handle the Force were also people after all. He has limited stamina, and if the arrow hits properly, he is bound to be injured.
'I've felt it ever since I met you at the academy, but Your Highness' words seem to be reading my heart, so my thoughts fit perfectly.'
The two had an exciting discussion about firefighting before parting that day.
Of course, on the inside, Julius felt embarrassed.
'In fact, everything I say is the method that Devan will develop in his previous life, so I'm really sorry... … .'
* * *
"You said that the 3rd Corps single-handedly defeated the enemy's main force?"
Upon hearing the aspect of the battle in Calais Forest, Leonhardt tried to manage his expression to be shaken and asked the question again.
"Then there's nothing for reinforcements to do?"
Pérez bowed his head again as if he was really embarrassed.
"Hwang Gong Hao, but it's not like there isn't one at all."
“Since you have been dispatched for the empire, you must do something. The count is the commander, so it's okay to give orders without minding that I'm the prince.”
"that is… … .”
Pérez raised his head with a really puzzled expression.
“The war is almost over now that the enemy's main force has been destroyed. However, several remnants of the enemy remained. Besides, most of them are noble knights, so it is a very difficult situation to come out for guerrilla warfare.”
“… … .”
Leonhardt almost failed to manage his expression for a moment. Because I understood what Peres meant.
“The knights Your Highness has brought are elite, so I'm asking you... … .”
'So the war is already over, so I'm telling you to clean up after yourself.'
The horse is the duty, and Leonhardt had little merit to take from this war.
However, he is sent as a reinforcement. Now, as long as there are no big enemies to defeat, I had to take care of small things and raise my rating somehow.
In the end, there was a slight deviation in the process, but as expected by Julius, Leonhardt came up to the west and was put in a position where he had to take care of all sorts of chores without being able to achieve his feat.
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