Chapter 351: The Place for the Decisive Battle

A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness Leonard. I am Charlotte, the granddaughter of Marquis Zweig.

It is nice to meet you, Lady Charlotte. I apologize for the earlier messenger.

After Leo withdrew from Lage, he was receiving Chars greeting.

When the forest fire broke out, Leo immediately sent a messenger to Char.

To relay that he wants her to help extinguish the fire with water magic.

Char acknowledged that command and left the pursuit to Leo to deal with the forest fire.

No, we can not leave that fire alone after all.

You really saved us. And for the reinforcements as well, you arrived at a good time.

I am glad that I was able to be of use to you, Your Highness.

Char still doesnt bring up Al in this conversation.

After all, the information may leak to the enemy.

If the enemy knows of Als existence then they might make them think that they will have a decisive battle with Leo while actually head to attack Al instead.

For the time being, we have managed to break the siege. Lady Charlotte, how do you think the enemy will move now?

That question was to test Char.

Leo already understood how well she can judge the situation by the timing she chose to charge in but he is testing how far she can read the war situation.

Depending on her ability, he will have to adjust how much work he is going to leave to her.

Whatever form it may be, a defeat is a defeat. The enemy needs a win. They will probably reorganize their army for a decisive battle. They do not have enough leeway to fight a war on multiple fronts after all.

Leo nods to Chars answer.

Leo also shared that opinion.

Whether he takes Gordons personality or the current situation into account, it is unlikely that he will stay passive after suffering a loss like this.

A decisive battle with Gordon at the lead is the most probable.

Then what do you suggest we do?

Let us gather our forces here as well. If we take long then more reinforcements may arrive for them but the larger their army is, the harsher their supply situation will become.

Good. We will go with that. I want you to stay by my side and share your opinion. Is that okay with you?

Yes, please leave it to me.

Leo decided to add Char to his aides and instructed his army to enter the castle.

Then he sent a messenger to General Harnisch.

The message was to have him join them as soon as possible.

Thus both armies are moving toward a decisive battle.

It has been a week since Henricks defeat.

Gordon and William were in the process of reorganizing their army.

Among 22,000 of Henricks troops, 15,000 of them managed to withdraw to Wismar while nearly 7,000 soldiers went missing.

Some probably were lost to the battlefield and others likely deserted.

His defeat and the loss of 7,000 soldiers werent cheap.

The only fortunate thing here is that most of the losses came from the Dominions army huh.

William says nothing to Gordons words.

He doesnt want to say that their deaths were fortunate.

However, he does not deny it as it is a fact.

Initially, the number of troops that arrived at Gordons side was 20,000. 5,000 of them came from the United Kingdom and 15,000 came from the Dominion.

Of these 20,000 soldiers, 5,000 of the United Kingdoms soldiers joined William along with another 5,000 from the Dominion. The 10,000 remaining soldiers were split between Gordon and Henrick who was ordered to join William at the frontline.

Soldiers of the United Kingdom withdrew from the frontline along with some from the Imperial Army before Henricks defeat.

Most of the lost 7,000 troops were soldiers from the Dominions army. Their morale and skill are already inferior to the other armies so when they were placed on the frontline, they couldnt react or cope with the surprise attack at all.

The number of deserters is likely to be large but that is not their concern right now.

Their army has indeed decreased in number but in terms of strength, they did not suffer that much loss.

William and Gordon are on the same page on that.

With you taking the lead, the Imperial army should be gathered around you. I will lead the armies of the United Kingdom and the Dominion myself.

I dont see any other option here. What about the reinforcements from the United Kingdom?

I expect around 10,000 men. All of them are from the United Kingdoms Army. the Dominion can not afford to send any more troops over anymore.

Including the nobles army and the unit that remained to protect Wismar, we have a little over 60,000 men huh.

That number was dissatisfying for Gordon.

Originally, Gordon had 40,000 soldiers. With the addition of 20,000 reinforcements, he had 60,000. Despite the loss of 7,000, he can make up for it with another 10,000 reinforcements.

However, Gordons original plan was to elicit generals and soldiers from the Empire to join his side.

Of course, some have joined him but the number is considerably less than he expected.

Counting in the troops needed to maintain and secure their base, he only has about 60,000 troops available.

On the opposite side, Leo has around 30,000 to 40,000 troops. However, the information he received suggested that the northern nobles have begun to move so there is a possibility that their number will increase even further.

We need to carefully pick the battlefield to secure our absolute victory huh.

The question is whether they will accept our challenge or not. They wont fall for a place that clearly disadvantages them you know.

With Leonards personality, he will want to end this battle as quickly as possible. He will accept some disadvantages if its a decisive battle.

A long-term conflict is undesirable for our side too after all. We still have the problem with the supply as well.

While saying so, William and Gordon unfold a map to figure out where their battlefield should be and what kind of strategy would guarantee their victory.

They started discussing.

They had many discussions like this back in the United Kingdom.

The discussion continued for a while and eventually, they agreed on one place.

As I thought, this place is the only option huh..

William said and pointed to a place on the map.

It was a plain.

However, its terrain is surrounded by mountains in the north and rivers to the south. Both armies can only fight each other in the middle.

If they can secure the mountain they can maintain an overwhelming advantage here.

Oster plain..if we can secure Mt. Haina in the north then our victory is secure.

Oster plain was a plain located between Leos castle and Wismar.

Although it is a little closer to Gordon in terms of distance, it is highly possible that Leo will accept the battle here.

It was the best battlefield for Gordon as it is large enough for tens of thousands of soldiers from both armies to deploy here.

The problem is how to lure Leonard here though..

I will handle that. I will make it look like the whole army is moving there. Once Leonard sees our movement he will surely try to get there before us but by that time we will already have full control of the mountain with the Dragon Knights. Theres no problem at all.

What would you do if he doesnt buy it?

We will have to adjust our strategy but they do not have enough leeway to afford that. Even if it smells like a trap, he doesnt have any choice but to accept it.

Its fine if thats the case but there is one problem left.

Hmm? Is there anything else?

William nods.

He then put two pieces on the plain.

One is representing Leos army while the other is Gordons.

In addition, William placed another piece behind Gordons army.

Because our back is blocked by mountains and rivers respectively, the means for escape of both armies is to escape to the east or west side. If our rear is compromised, we will be locked in a pincer attack.

They do not have the army to do that.

They will if the northern nobles joined them. Do not let your guard down.

Even if those people move, we are the one who decides the battlefield. Considering the distance, they do not have enough time to march behind us. Besides, even if they try to cross the mountain, the Dragon Knights will be there to alert us. They cant possibly attack our rear by surprise.

That is certainly true

You worried too much. Even if the enemy appears behind us, we can concentrate on one side and break through them. As long as they can not cross the mountain, we will have the advantage on this plain.

What Gordon said was not incorrect.

Among the armies facing Gordon, Leos army is at the forefront while the army of the northern nobles is further behind him.

Expecting a scenario where such an army outmaneuvered him is unrealistic.

Gordon..I might be thinking too much into this but until now, the Emperor still doesnt make his move. Does this not seem strange to you?

He is busy dealing with the Sokal empire and the Kingdom. If he dispatches the army, he wont know for sure which side they will choose to join after all.

Right. It is as you said. But dont you think that that way of thinking is too convenient for us? Is it not possible that the Emperor has already dispatched reinforcements?

There has been no report of the armys movement you know?

Our defeat in the capital was due to Leonard and Arnold who secretly sabotaged our move. If Arnold is somewhere in the north.he might be coming at us with some ridiculous plan again.

You are being too cautious. The Imperial Capital was his backyard but the north is different. You dont have to be so vigilant about him.

Saying so, Gordon laughed at Williams words.

However, Williams clouded expression does not clear up.

Since they have the advantage here, William couldnt help but doubt everything.

He fears that there might be someone who can turn the table on them.

However, he still couldnt see how.

In the end, Gordons army decided on the Oster plain to be their battlefield.

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